It smelled like death
You would think that by now we would have heard of all the different ways in which the police can enact suffering and violence against citizens right? There certainly can't be anything much worse they could do to us just beyond the scope of our imaginations right? Well fuck me and fuck you because there is of course no limit.
Even knowing that though this story fucks me up. Jesus Christ man. It's even worse than this one I wrote about a couple weeks ago in which they tortured a man into thinking he had killed his father then let him continue to believe it once he was found alive and well.
In August of 2018 the manager of a supermarket in Lancaster, a city in north Los Angeles County, called a plumber because he noticed a horrible odor coming from one of the brick columns outside the store. After digging around to find out what was going on in there they saw a shoe and a leg NBC Los Angeles reported at the time.
"I saw some gooey liquid and it smelled really foul ... it was oozing out of the pillar onto the pavement," one witness said.
"It smelled like death."
They had found the body of a man named Raymundo Rivera stuck inside the structure. Six days earlier Rivera had fled from police after he was pulled over for a fake license plate. He had run into the store and up onto the roof where they lost track of him the police said.
"He may have gotten inside there and gotten down to try and hide from the deputies and then couldn't get out," lieutenant John Corina of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said which was a lie.
It's "one of those strange cases," he said which wasn't.
According to a new lawsuit being brought against LA County by the ex-girlfriend of a former LA County Deputy Sheriff named Aaron Tanner the cops on the scene that day had seen Rivera fall into the pillar and left him there to die on purpose.
All for a traffic violation and running away.
Rivera's family is now suing the county for wrongful death after the allegations came to light as LA Public Press reported. Rivera's wife withheld her name when speaking to the outlet for fear of retribution from the police gang Tanner is said to have been a member of. Tanner's girlfriend also withheld her name from her lawsuit against the county for the same reasons. Considering some of the other allegations against Tanner in the suit – including repeated domestic violence and that his colleagues (fellow gang members) stalked and intimidated her – that's probably a good idea.
We often talk about cops as being members of the most violent street gang in any given city. That's certainly true in the metaphorical sense but in Los Angeles it's also quite literal. (Read more on this case and the history of police gangs here in the Los Angeles Times.)
LA Public Press:
Tanner allegedly told her that he was the shot caller, or leader, of the Rattlesnakes deputy gang at the Lancaster sheriff’s station,
Deputy gangs are groups of sworn personnel who identify themselves by a name and symbol, like matching tattoos, and engage in a pattern of on-duty behavior that intentionally violates the law or fundamental principles of professional policing, according to the California Penal Code.
The allegations in the lawsuit filed by his ex assert that Tanner openly referred to the Rattlesnakes as his gang, claimed that Rattlesnakes members intimidate other deputies, made false arrests, and framed people for crimes they did not commit. The suit also alleges that members would withhold backup on other deputies’ patrol calls “to endanger their lives,” wrote false police reports, and engaged in other “illegal conduct” – all reported hallmarks of deputy gangs.
Remember lieutenant Corina from the scene of the death I mentioned earlier? He was also a member of a Neo-Nazi police gang called the Vikings it has been reported. He has since died.
One of the most surprising things here is that Tanner is no longer employed by the county. It's unclear why.
The same year he is alleged to have left a man to suffer a torturous agonizing death Tanner did however receive a Lifesaving Award from the LA County Sheriff's Department so who is to say if he is bad or not?
I'm glad that these suits are being brought against the county although I wouldn't necessarily hold out any hope that Tanner and his fellow gang members will face serious consequences. Knowing the way Qualified Immunity works some fucking court is probably going to say there is no previous clearly established case law saying that it's a violation of one's civil rights to be Cask of Amontillado'd and left to rot.
Let's take a look in at what the governor of California is up to these days real quick.
Now check this out. My god this tweet I'm about to show you takes such a sharp turn you could break your neck reading it.
Ok sure that sounds kind of true Van Jones. People do seem lonely lately. Let's read on.
Oh is it? Is "AI" going to solve loneliness? Is it going to do that? Is it going to solve homelessness too? Oh wow! Oh gosh! Is it going to make my hair grow back and Natalie Portman show up at my door and ask me if I want to go smoke cigarettes with her?
These fucking morons man I swear to god. I hope the tech money is worth it.
Next up Patrick Kuklinski joins us to write about the recently passed “Don’t Say Climate Change” bill in Florida.
More from me after that.
Kuklinski previously wrote for Hell World on the latest assault on the rights and dignity of trans people in Florida.
"And now in a historic decision, the state of Florida is not only banning gender changes on driver’s licenses, they’re revoking previously issued licenses, and accusing those who hold them of fraud."
Please help pay for our great freelancers with a subscription if you can.
I feel like we’re cooking them all
by Patrick Kuklinski
Despite being in my early twenties, I remember my summers growing up feeling drastically different from the ones we have now. In the south it was relentless, like wading around through soup, but just before I moved north in 2019, they had gone from relentless to brutal. We’d go several days in a row with temperatures over 110°, which made being a kid kind of miserable. It’s hard to tell your children to get outside when they’ll be slowly turned into jerky if they do. I felt worse for my husky mix who couldn’t be out there for more than a few minutes without panting heavily.
I was warned that moving to New Hampshire would be too cold for me. Nope. The summers aren’t quite as bad, although still pretty damn hot, but last year’s winter was near nonexistent. Where I live, it didn’t snow until January, which is almost unheard of for the northeast.
Something strange is happening and we all know what it is. Well, a lot of us anyway. It remains mind-boggling to me that so many people my parents’ age or older don’t seem to share my generation’s sense of alarm about climate change. The fact of it, one with overwhelming evidence, should be accepted in the same way that we all agree that dogs bark, cats meow, the sky is blue, and Ron DeSantis doesn’t care about you or your family.
And yet over the course of my life climate change has grown more and more attached and entrenched in political identity. That choosing of sides threatens not only all American citizens, even the ones who think their wealth might protect them, but people all over the world who will have to deal with the consequences of our ongoing war on the planet.
PEW Research Center has data on how this all breaks down on partisan lines. 78% of American Democrats consider climate change a major threat, they found, compared to only 23% of Republicans. It’s probably not a surprise either that white, conservative men are the largest U.S demographic of climate change deniers, and while their beliefs may be unfounded, they will defend them staunchly. Perhaps violently.
One of the most prominent examples of that cohort digging their heels in about climate change is also one of the most powerful men in Florida. Governor Ron DeSantis’s new legislation (HB 1645) seems like it could bring all of the state’s previous, if insufficient, progress on climate change to a screeching halt.
HB 1645, which was enacted in May of 2024, might not have been such a shocking and spiteful play if it was introduced in, say, 2005. Back then the alarms were certainly being sounded by environmentalists, but there was much less concern from most government officials. But it’s 2024, and DeSantis’s bill has not only removed any mention or usage of the words “climate change” from Florida state law by deleting 50 plus lines of previous statutes, it is also restructuring the state’s fossil-fuel based energy policy. Given that climate change was previously listed as a priority for the state, and DeSantis has now struck even mere mention of the subject, it’s clear that any changes to come in the short term likely won’t be on the side of environmental progress. Perhaps DeSantis doesn’t care, but for people my age that’s a real problem.
Many people outside of Florida may take the state’s climate, where, obviously, it’s very, very hot, as par for the course. Stifling heat is just the cost of living there. That doesn’t mean it isn’t getting hotter by the year. Tourists may not notice the change when they visit, but the residents and wildlife sure do. Since DeSantis also recently removed heat protections for outdoor workers, they’re certainly noticing. And there’s only so long the sparse trees and awnings at amusement parks will protect visitors. Soon, the tourism industry will have to face the music too.
Noah Barguez-Arias, a student at the University of Florida working towards a masters in entomology is particularly worried about the effects on wildlife. She was born and raised in Florida, and has remained passionate about preserving the climate of her home while studying the way it affects the ecosystem.
“We have absolutely seen spikes in extreme weather patterns in recent years. Our hurricane seasons see more storms. We’re seeing more instances of sudden heavy rain and flooding, and areas that never flooded can now be submerged at least ankle-deep in water. We’re seeing hotter, drier springs and summers and fewer cold winter days,” she told me.
“An outsider would think Florida is hot and humid 100% of the time, but the truth is that we can have some chilly days. When I was a child, we would often get weeks of temperatures dipping below 60°F (10°C) in winter months, which is quite cold for us. In the last 5-10 years, however, we would be lucky to see two weeks of that.”
The persistent heat impacts every part of Florida’s ecosystem, from making a more welcoming environment for invasive species to creating a boom in algal blooms, which thrive in the heat.
“People are already discouraged from going outside in general due to the heat; I don’t think the idea of hiking on an open trail or kayaking in open water for hours in this weather would be any more encouraging,” she said. “We have seen mass die-offs of fish, coral, and insects in recent years, and this can absolutely demoralize people from exploring or going on sightseeing tours.”
She also noted that, at least temporarily, this may cause a boom of tourists trying to rush down to see the wild sights of Florida firsthand before they potentially disappear.
Barguez-Arias’s expertise is in terrestrial invertebrates and marine life, and from her experience, they aren’t too thrilled about the warming climate either.
“I feel like we’re cooking them all,” she said. “The waters surrounding the Florida Keys, for example, reached an all-time high of 101° last year, and that has the potential to wreck the entire marine ecosystem. Coral reefs are among the most threatened since they are so sensitive to temperature. If trends continue, I would not be surprised if, five years later, I hear that all of our coral died.”
Currently, all of the Florida Keys’ coral reefs are at Alert Level 2 for bleaching conditions, which means significant mortality is likely. With outright refusal by governmental officials to address the climate crisis, it’s unlikely the situation will miraculously improve on its own.
Florida’s current leaders are doing nothing to help solve these kinds of problems. Actions taken by the likes of DeSantis in fact are exacerbating them. Adam Sanchez, a Floridian and environmental scientist who works in the environmental assessment and remediation industry, told me that a heat index of 111° during a workday in 2023 nearly caused him to be hospitalized. Even though Sanchez thankfully survived, it’s a startling indicator of what’s to come in the next few years. Sanchez is afraid of what this could mean, not only for Floridians, but for the world.
“We are approaching the limits of human survivability,” he said. “The Panhandle still bears many scars from the 2018 hurricane season, over 6 years ago now. Communities cannot recover enough to build resilience to climate change.”
Heat stress like he experienced is becoming a common occupational health hazard. Heat related deaths in Florida experienced an unprecedented surge of 88% between 2019 and 2022. That’s another thing DeSantis is hoping to make worse by removing required heat breaks for outdoor workers (including government employees); additionally, he blocked local governments from requiring heat exposure provisions of their own. This callous move will, and already has, cost lives. On April 15th, a 26 year old field laborer died his first day on the job after experiencing heat-related illness. Although he informed others he was not feeling well, no action was taken, and he ultimately died due to neglect not only by the company he worked for, but by the government that should have protected him. This lack of protection will disproportionately impact Hispanic and non-citizen immigrant workers. Hispanic workers make up 40% of the non-elderly adult outdoor workforce in Florida compared with 30% of the total non-elderly adult workforce, and non-citizen immigrants make up nearly twice the share of outdoor workers compared to their share of the workforce.
Sanchez also noted something that’s been clear to most concerned about the climate, which is that the most vulnerable populations will suffer disproportionately.
“I dread thinking about what this means for Florida's unhoused population,” he said.
Those well off enough to continue disregarding the issue will continue on their course largely unbothered. For a little while at least.
“It almost goes without saying, but more severe weather will mean more accidents related to severe weather, and more damage to property and coastline from severe weather. Increased risk is inevitable.”
Despite DeSantis’s best efforts, Floridians by and large still care about the climate. Of course some will take his side, but there are just as many people fighting for climate justice. Organizations like the Florida Climate Group and Florida Clinicians for Climate Action continue to promote responsible climate action, organize climate protests, and educate the surrounding community. In January, before DeSantis’s new legislation had even passed, over 200 youth gathered at the state capital to protest for climate justice.
Florida has been described as the country’s “ground zero” for climate change; a 2017 study by Cornell University projected that by 2100 over two million Floridians will be forced from their homes due to climate-induced sea level rises. As that’s less than 80 years away, many kids growing up in Florida today who plan to stay in the state will, at some point, have no choice but to flee due to the spitefulness and selfishness of today’s government. Maybe the projected homelessness of two million people should be a bigger concern, but by that time, DeSantis will be dead and so it means nothing to the likes of him.
In 2023, Florida Atlantic University conducted a Climate Resilience Survey, and found that 65% of respondents, with 49% being Republicans, believed that climate change was predominantly the result of human activity. Floridians are growing wise to the truth, and we can only hope that will influence change in elections to come. It’s unclear what the future holds for Florida’s residents, but it’s obvious that doing nothing won’t be the solution to climate change. In an ideal scenario, DeSantis will eventually be replaced by a climate-wise governor, but we don’t have too much longer to sit here waiting on the very hot sidelines.
Patrick Kuklinski is a writer with a Bachelor’s in Environmental Sciences. As you may have guessed, this means he is very angry and also very frequently underemployed. When he’s not working, he’s quietly freaking out about the microplastic content of his blood. Find him at todaysbird.tumblr.com.
My god this thread by a man named Ibrahim about finding a bombed out apartment to take his sick parents to live in in Gaza (and still have to pay rent) is heartbreaking.
"While cleaning up the apartment amidst this rubble mixed with sadness, I found things that are still intact, beautiful things that still inspire hope in the soul!" he wrote.
According to this report in Notus it seems that Republicans and Democrats alike are having trouble raising as much in small money donations as they've become accustomed to this year.
In a stark reversal from recent political history, both parties have seen a significant decline this election cycle in the small-dollar contributions they harvest via text and email, largely from rank-and-file voters of modest means. Gone are the days when any candidate could expect to rake in small donations, according to Republican and Democratic digital strategists. Instead, only the smartest campaigns — and the perennial guests on Fox News — see the type of cash influx that was routine five years ago.
That's funny I would have thought that Democrats texting and emailing me 25 times a day about how democracy itself is at stake and the only thing preventing it all from collapsing is me chipping in with $10 would have worked indefinitely.
Compared to their Republican counterparts, Democratic strategists were less concerned about the problem of over-soliciting their donors. But they say some of the party’s notoriously alarmist fundraising messages nonetheless had, over time, turned off some of their contributors.
“If you tell people for six years that the sky is falling, when the sky is actually falling, they’re not going to believe you,” said Amanda Litman, co-founder of the progressive group Run for Something.
“I think it’s gotten worse,” she added, “and I think they’ve had to get more desperate and urgent because the old things aren’t working.”
I can't imagine how they could realistically get more desperate?
"Hi Luke it's Katherine Clarke I'm outside your fucking house with a gun and the only thing standing between me and you is $6. Call it $12 actually. I'll be back tomorrow. Same deal."
I've given to a bunch of politicians over the past few years like Bernie and Tlaib and Omar and others like that but I don't think I ever will again. They're just going to pass off my information to some other random Democrat pud. It's just not worth it alerting them that they've got a live one on the hook. Everything else I've tried – reporting them as spam, telling them to suck me off etc. – doesn't seem to have worked.
I'm sorry I didn't get to see it in the theaters but now that it's streaming I finally watched Godzilla Minus One and I can report it's as good as everyone has said. If you just saw it and never read this piece we ran on it by Sean T. Collins go back and check it out.
The main characters of Godzilla Minus One are a kamikaze pilot living with the shame of refusing to kill himself to kill others, a survivor of the Tokyo firebombing who found herself caring for the baby of a woman she watched die, a sailor who wishes he’d been old enough to fight and a crew full of navy veterans who tell him he should be “proud,” in their words, to never have fought at all. I cried when the traumatized pilot twice had mental breaks in which he was convinced Godzilla had actually killed him years earlier. I cried when the orphaned little girl asked for her dead mother...
Yamazki’s film is the best and worst of humanity refracted through a radioactive green lens. It’s uranium glass. It makes you feel the colossal weight of the crimes committed by both sides in World War II, embodies them in the form of Godzilla, and unleashes it on people who do not deserve to suffer and die. What more could you possibly ask from a horror movie?
Ok see you next time buddy. Here's a nice song.