In a marvelous display of the realities of free speech, Los Angelinos took to the streets this week in a loving and harmonious outpouring of loyalty to the First Amendment. The celebration, prompted by their over-the-top care for their fellow humans, threw stuffy old constraints to the wind and showed their tender support for neighbors by setting fires, throwing rocks at police, blocking freeways and looting.
This was George Floyd 2020, Rodney King 1992, Tiananmen Square and the Brandenburg Gate both in 1989, Kent State 1970, Prague 1968, Selma 1965, Tulsa 1921, Haymarket Square 1886, and the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794, all rolled into one. Never mind about sorting out the good guys from the bad guys: Protests are protests, and the more energetic, the better.
Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials sought to deliver warrants related to money laundering, tax evasion and customs fraud at three business locations in Los Angeles last weekend. There was an immediate backlash from citizens who, perhaps correctly, perceived that the targets of the federal investigation focused on persons from south of the border who were in this country illegally.
According to Border Czar Tom Homan’s interview on MSNBC, reported by Fox News, the law enforcement effort was aimed at unravelling a conspiracy where millions of dollars in legitimate U.S. fees were going unreported and unpaid. The cash was being laundered in Mexico and Columbia.
In connection with the coordinated raids — coordinated, because that’s how raids are done — ICE arrested individuals accused of murder, sex crimes and other violent crimes.
Somehow, spontaneously, the city went nuts. Just as in most conflicts, the riots that ensued became about something they were not about. Submerged — or completely absent from — news reporting this week has been the discussion of money laundering, tax evasion and customs fraud.
It is now about a heavy-handed megalomaniacal orange man who uses flash bang grenades and rubber bullets to keep freedom-loving people from expressing their opinions.
ABC News rolled tape of a reporter covering a portion of the demonstrations. In front of images of multiple cars on fire, the reporter explained, “It’s just a bunch of people having fun watching cars burn.”
Harmless fun, he pointed out. It was only when ICE showed up that things began to get out of hand.
As this is a-writing, the Mayor of Los Angeles and the Governor of California have both been vociferous in their public statements, although Mayor Bass has now implemented a curfew in the downtown corridor. Their voices have been joined by the former Vice President of the United States, although I have noted that when she speaks it’s not always easy to sift through the words to figure out what she’s saying.
Nevertheless, these public acclamations are united in condemning, not the citizens who are rioting, but the Trump administration.
I don’t think Mr. Trump is going to back down. At latest count there are 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines engaged, plus no doubt many hundreds of police, sheriff and Highway Patrol officers.
Word is that similar riots are planned in other major cities, standing in solidarity with Los Angeles. By the time you read this, that picture will become more clear from the news.
Or maybe more smoky from the fires.
Number 3. RedState. Tax-payer funded riots: Follow the money in Los Angeles.
It always makes us ask: Who’s paying for this?
I was particularly struck by the image of the black pickup truck delivering boxes of new face shields to rioters in LA. A masked driver drove up to a crowd at an intersection, and a pair of women in the back began handing out the shields.
The goods were still in factory packaging. Close-up photos showed the item was a Honeywell “bionic shield,” equipped with a “clear polycarbonate visor and anti-fog/hard coat.” It is available on Amazon for $29.44.
So… whose pickup was that? Who were the women handing out the items?
Did someone merely happen to have a truck load of those shields stored in the attic and figured, “Hey, those kids on the street could probably use these.” Was he seized with sudden compassion for those who needed eye protection?
Another observation: Many signs held by the rioters in LA appear to be professionally produced. In news photos, while there are many signs crudely hand-lettered with Magic Marker or paint, which would be expected, there are several examples of much more sophisticated signage.
Where’d the signs come from?
In 1995, Otto J. Scott wrote a passage in “Robespierre: The Fool As Revolutionary,” an account of the French Revolution, that came to mind when I saw that pickup truck. At one point when that revolution was just gaining steam — 1791 or thereabouts — there suddenly appeared all over France, in major cities and tiny hamlets, thousands of tiny tri-colored French flags.
Overnight, everyone in France was sporting the colors. Clearly, this said that the revolution was a patriotic demonstration and not merely unbridled regicide in the making.
In his book, Scott asked the questions which were never answered: Who made all those flags? Where were they stored? How did it come about that they all appeared over the countryside at the same time? And who paid for the materials?
It appears that somebody with money and organization may have a hand in the LA unrest. An article this week at AOL suggests that a Chinese American, one Neville Singham, is a key financial contributor to China’s Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL). The New York Times has described PSL as engaged in a “lavishly funded influence campaign” promoting CCP propaganda.
What appears to be spontaneous, is often, not.
I believe I have quoted J.R.R. Tolkien before: “It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.”
And speaking of flags, it is a little bit interesting to observe the widespread display of colorful Mexican flags in LA earlier this week among the smoke and fire. It is not beyond reason that some might conclude that when a major American city is burned up by gangs carrying foreign flags, it could easily be seen as something like an act of war.
It does not help that image when President Sheinbaum of Mexico praises the rioters. While condemning the violence. Of course.
Babylon Bee suggested that illegal alien sympathizers are helping film Republican campaign footage for the 2026 midterms.
Number 2. Al-Jazeera. Couple charged with smuggling toxic fungus into U.S.
Meanwhile, it might be useful to ask, what else is in the news that we are NOT seeing while LA burns? And is it remotely possible that LA is burning in order to draw our attention away from something else?
An article from ABC News raises the issue.
Two Chinese nationals were arrested in the U.S. recently. Yunqing Jian and Zunyong Liu are both affiliated with the University of Michigan. They were apprehended when they were found carrying small samples of what U.S. officials are calling a biological pathogen which could be used to attack agricultural crops.
Agro-terrorism, 21st-century style. How about that.
Then later this week, a third Chinese individual headed for U of Michigan was stopped by TSA at Detroit Metro airport, a regular stopover for the final leg of a flight to Ann Arbor. This person was identified as Chengxuan Han, who had stuffed tiny ziptop bags (of apparently the same bio material) inside what appeared to be a used Kleenex tissue, no doubt to discourage investigation.
I know TSA gets a bad rap, and some of it deservedly, but you gotta hand to the agent who unwrapped a used Kleenex to examine the contents.
Now, to be a little technical, and because I happen to have a deeply personal interest in this story, the fungus they attempted to introduce is called Fusarium graminearum. The article indicates that when introduced to crops, fusarium: “causes ‘head blight,’ a disease affecting wheat, barley, maize, and rice. Its toxins cause vomiting, liver damage, and reproductive defects in humans and livestock”.
On something like July 27, 2022, I had my own run-in with the fusarium fungus. After a month in the hospital with acute myeloid leukemia, I had endured the first round chemotherapy, with all the associated nasty side effects, and on night 34 I was ready to go home. I would return in 2 weeks for the next round of chemo.
That night as I got into bed, my spleen blew up. A sudden rupture released blood which flooded my abdomen. Blood loosed from the vascular system induces a sharp, grating sensation. In my case, it felt like I was stuffed with shards of broken glass. The pain was sudden and intolerable.
Nurses responded, transported me to ICU and I spent the night in indescribable agony.
The next morning a surgical team performed an emergency operation to remove the spleen. When they did, they found a ball of fungus adhered to the broken organ. The fungus was fusarium. I have no idea what a blood-borne fungus by that name, contracted in a hospital, has to do with the American wheat crop, but if that sort of infectious blight is in our future, my vote is no.
Nail those people and send them far away.
The other item I found really fascinating was another Gateway Pundit note about Edwards Air Force Base. Brigadier General Doug Wickert this month hosted a briefing for nearby civilian community leaders, focused on the potential threat of a Chinese military direct attack on the air base.
Edwards AFB is in the Mojave Desert, 100 miles from Los Angeles. Like every other military installation in this country, it is dependent on local civilian infrastructure for electricity, clean water and food. The supply chain for the Base is entirely made up of civilian transport contractors who use roads and bridges.
General Wickert raised the possibility of an unprovoked first strike by Chinese forces.
Edwards is home to testing and development of military aircraft, related to the nearby production of Northrup Grumman’s B-21 bomber. Also close is Grey Butte Field, an airport owned by General Atomics, which is central to U.S. Air Force drone production and research.
This discussion of an unthinkable Pearl Harbor-like attack is in the open, and highlights the inseparable connection between civilian infrastructure and U.S. military preparedness.
I am glad someone is thinking about these things, but it is a little discouraging to have to prowl sources like The Gateway Pundit or the Epoch Times to find any reference to them whatsoever.
“It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.”
Number 1. AARP. Senior citizen use of marijuana takes a serious upward swing.
All the foregoing may explain why this one IS in the news.
Marijuana use is on the rise, and the cool kids are now in the 65-and-older set. According to a recent study, usage among this demographic has nearly doubled from 2021 to 2023. College educated, high-income females lead the increase.
That “doubling” thing sounds alarming, but consider that the real numbers went from 2% to 4%. If you know a hundred middle class, well educated senior citizens, there were 2 of them on weed in 2021; now there are 4. Not much as a percentage of the population, but still a trend that bears watching.
This probably has as much to do with the legalization craze as with anything else. Medicinal marijuana is now legal in 39 states, and those with incomes above $75,000 are better able to afford it.
There is also, the article points out, the idea that seniors with multiple health issues are the most likely users. This is perhaps worrisome, as there are unknown interactions with traditional pharmaceuticals likely to be found among this aging demographic.
And why you would want to treat high blood pressure or respiratory issues with smoking is a linkage that defies common sense.
Yeah… common sense. But we are talking about getting high on marijuana, anyway. While the world burns. Go figure.
And thanks for joining The Alligator News Roundup for Friday, June 13, 2025. To add spice to your life this summer, find some divisive political issue sure to inflame tensions among close friends, and set somebody’s car on fire. It’s sure to establish your reputation in your local community, and may even get you elected to public office! Now THAT’s where the money is!
Have a good weekend!
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