Diego Bernal
@DiegoBernalTX
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Texas State Representative for HD 123. Daddy to Xan. Lawyer. Artist. Advocate. IG/FB: @DiegoBernalTX
San Antonio, TX
Joined December 2010
Here’s a good discussion of the what & why of the Texas voter suppression bill and our fight against it. And yes- I always talk with my hands. Many thanks to @Gurupresario Podcast for having me. #txlege .
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How is rejecting 40%-60% of all mail-in ballot applications not voter suppression? #txlege.
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When most politicians say “stop politicizing” something, it usually means stop talking about the things they could have done to prevent it.
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Greg Abbott has been Governor of Texas for eight years. With Republican majorities in the House and Senate. Anything he’s saying he’s going to do is something he could have done, but didn’t.
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You want to know why Texas continued to add voting restrictions year after year? . This is it.
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Honored to introduce the next Governor of Texas, in my hometown, and old stomping grounds. @BetoORourke @papertigersa
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Don’t forget one reason your utility bills are so high is @GregAbbott_TX’s donors got rich while Texas froze and now we’re paying that ransom in installments.
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This made my morning. Coffee is just an extra at this point.
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Texas Republicans in one tweet: . The Texas Senate is requiring negative COVID tests to enter hearing rooms. Governor .@GregAbbott_TX is forbidding school districts from requiring masks to enter classrooms. #txlege.
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Predictable: . Texas inches towards purple, a threat to Republican dominance. State leadership takes drastic steps—purging voter rolls, targeting our grassroots champions, and voter suppression laws—to push back. We can either give up or keep going. Let’s keep going.
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Actually you didn’t. You tried to derail it, all the way down to the moments before the signing ceremony. I know, not just because I was there, but I spent nearly two years on that bill; I was responsible for big pieces of it. You were nowhere to be found.
I passed the largest school finance reform in 40 years and passed an $11 billion education package, the largest increase in public school funding in Texas history, including the biggest pay raise for teachers in years.
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Texas: If you can’t stand in the long lines due to a physical challenge, you can go to the front and the election workers will allow you to vote. The more you know… . #txlege
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It would be so on-the-nose if Gov. Abbott had the commercial pulled *the same month* he signed the do-nothing bill that targets social media for “censoring conservative voices.”.
.@ProjectLincoln believes hidden hand caused @UTAustin to pull ad critical of @GovAbbott set to air on @LonghornNetwork during yesterday’s Texas-Rice game #txlege
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From policy to Uvalde, Beto is the only person in the race acting like a parent. @BetoORourke.
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Just got home from visiting Border Patrol stations in El Paso. @JoaquinCastrotx & @AOC have already shown what they found there (State Reps visited the same afternoon). It's hard to write or explain everything I'm feeling a day later, but here's my 2 cents on the policy end.
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So you know who we’re dealing with: . After the El Paso shooting the Texas Legislature reconvened and made it *easier* to access and carry firearms. Read it again.
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FYI. By refusing to call a Special Session, @GovAbbott has guaranteed there won’t be any new gun safety or mental health laws—or funding—in place by next school year. Read it again.
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How cool would it be to have a Texas Attorney General who doesn’t think kids should be denied food at school? . A real radical. @RochelleMGarza.
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No mask mandate. No vaccines for teachers. No expansion of Medicaid. Politically "pro life" with "let die" policies. #txlege.
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.@GregAbbott_TX is. -forbidding schools from requiring masks,. -failing to fund distance learning alternatives, and . -refusing to send aid to hospitals or cities,. because he thinks he will be rewarded politically. Let that sink in. #txlege.
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I cannot overstate how important it is to fully fund public education.
If inflation was 0% in July then why do we need the Inflation Reduction Act. Asking for every taxpayer.
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Texas: We need stricter gun laws. Anything is better than what we have now. @GregAbbott_TX: No. They don’t work. This is a mental health issue. Texas: Well, expand Medicaid. It provides and *pays for* more mental health services. Gov. Abbott: No.
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Only .@GregAbbott_TX would look at the migrants—piled into a sweltering trailer, chasing dreams, hurting no one, fighting for and many losing their lives—and think, . “It’s too easy to come here.”.
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-I learned schools couldn't give leftover, untouched cafeteria food to hungry students. - Filed a bill to fix it. -The bill is now law.
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.@GregAbbott_TX says that gun laws won’t “solve the problem”. Technically he’s right. Nothing will “solve” it completely. But they will HELP. Refusing to even consider them is a refusal to help. And that’s all we need to know. #vote.
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This week Greg Abbott said he wouldn’t call a Special Session on gun control. This week he also pushed for school vouchers, so “parents don’t have to send their children to schools that aren’t safe.”. Texas deserves better.
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Why post so much?. I’m an angry dad with a 4yo in public school. And I’m a TX State Rep. who—with many others— has fought, pushed, maneuvered, and BEGGED that we try something new. Instead they spiked the ball in our face, made things worse. We’re witness to it all. It’s hard.
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The CRT nonsense got a Special Session, in time for the next school year. The trans athlete nonsense got a Special Session, in time for the next school year. But the Uvalde school shooting gets a Special…Committee, changing nothing before the next school year.
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Imagine if thousands lost power during a storm, and as utilities tried to restore it, the price shot up into the billions. Later, the govt. went easy on the energy companies, who not only left the ppl with the bill, but also wrote the governor a huge check. Texas. Last year.
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Tenure wasn’t on the Texas Republican platform. Anywhere. Dan Patrick decided it was an issue, out of the blue. And now it’s going to be in every speech and policy push by every Republican. The issues are manufactured.
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Texas cannot drastically cut education funding and then rail against "failing schools." You can't be the arsonist AND fire marshal. #txlege.
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So rich parents can get tuition coupons for private school, but poor kids can’t get a sandwich this summer. #txlege.
Federal aid to Texas could have fed 3.7M children here this summer. But the state turned the cash down, saying the timing, "current resource restraints" on agencies and the effort to implement the program made it impossible. Story by @beckyfogel.#txlege.
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The Ted Cruz burn pit issue is a perfect example of Republicans in Texas:. They fabricate problems (voter fraud, CRT, trans athletes), but never help those who need it (the uninsured, foster children, veterans, special needs students, etc.). It’s political theater. A parody.
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The party arguing for “election integrity” just established quorum by voting members present who weren’t on the floor. Make sense now? #txlege.
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So Governor Abbott wages war against public schools (masks, curriculum, books, etc.), and then creates a task force to address the teacher shortage. You can’t be the arsonist and the fire marshal.
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I thought liberty meant government generally leaving people alone. And yet, Texas can’t seem to just leave people alone. #txlege.
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Updated: . @GregAbbott_TX says school choice (vouchers) is a top priority. He also accuses Dems of being urban elitists. There are VERY, VERY few private schools in rural TX. So the policy would only be for private schools in… big urban cities? #txlege.
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#TxLege leadership wanted open and campus carry. They got it. They opposed background check & red flag laws, gun show loophole reform, and more. Got that, too. It isn't working. Time to act. To TRY. I'm not going to tell you why. You need to tell us why not. #GunReformNow.
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The leading cause of death for Texas children is gun violence. The Speaker just said the Texas House will not hear *any* gun control bills. But in order to preserve our committee assignments & legislative agenda we’re expected to support him. When does respect become ransom?.
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Gov. Abbott saying he’ll add fully funding public education to the Special Session IF his voucher bill passes is one of the coldest “I could’ve done it all along” takes we’ve seen in a long time. #txlege.
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Headed to DC. Voting is a sacred right that needs our protection, not be a game with rules that can be rigged to guarantee winners & losers. It is my job & duty to keep that from happening. #txlege . PS- While I’m at it, might as well brush up on my Critical Race Theory.
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Have you ever been to Uvalde? . Trust me, they have God. That’s not their problem.
Our nation needs to take a serious look at the state of mental health today. Sometimes meds can be the problem. America is failing our youngest generations from decades of rejecting good moral values and teachings. We don’t need more gun control. We need to return to God.
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Also, I can't understand how any person, especially @GOP officeholders, can be ok w/ this. These are people. CHILDREN. There is no reasonable, rational, logical, economic, or logistical excuse for what is happening. Is the seat you hold so precious that you will say nothing?.
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I got kicked out of HS my freshman yr, went to another. I almost dropped out of college. I almost dropped out of law school. I had to take the bar exam 2X. I needed a runoff to join City Council & the #txlege. I got through it w/ the help of others. Need help? Please ask.
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School districts need the ability to require masks. Adults are supposed to protect children. You aren’t. #txlege.
The time for government mask mandates is over—now is the time for personal responsibility. In May, I signed an executive order prohibiting mask mandates by gov't entities. Every Texan has the right to choose whether they will wear a mask or have their children wear masks.
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This AM, I sent a bipartisan letter to the TEA requesting that TX seek the federal waivers necessary to cancel the STAAR test. At most, STAAR should only be used as a diagnostic tool, as opposed to determine sanctions under the A-F accountability system. #txlege
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Your friends profited off the winter storm crisis. Give the $1M back. #txlege.
Texas & Florida law enforcement officers are working around the clock to secure the border. Thank you, @GovRonDeSantis, for sending resources. Together, we will keep our communities safe from the cartels & human traffickers profiting off Biden’s border crisis.
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Texas Schools:.🚩No Special Session after Uvalde.🚩Massive teacher shortage.🚩Fake controversies over curriculum & books.🚩Sued over masks.🚩Harder to pass bonds. Gov Abbott’s #1 priority:.🚩Vouchers, so “parents can send their children to safe schools.” (He really said that.).
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Tomorrow, let's go vote as Beto stops by to cheer us on. Details in the FB link below. @BetoORourke #Beto #SATXFORBETO #texasdems
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@tedcruz @BetoORourke @realDonaldTrump Dear .@tedcruz . This isn't a picture of the far left, it's a picture of the Texans you've left behind. Both D's and R's have told .@BetoORourke this over and over again. In person. You defending the President only makes my point.
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As #Uvalde went back to school, state leadership said nothing. No statements. No tweets. Zero. Border stuff? Bus tour? Sure, they *campaigned*. But they said nothing to the children or community there. Let that sink in.
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You can’t cosplay the Special Session as anything else. You stripped away the salaries & health insurance of over 2000 people because you didn’t get what you wanted. Not on health care. Not on teacher salaries. Not on property tax relief. Voter suppression. Own it. #txlege.
Democrats must get back to the job they were elected to do. Their constituents must not be denied important resources simply because their elected representatives refused to show up to work.
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Republicans: It’s not the guns. This is a mental health issue. Texas: Ok, well then let’s start with universal background checks. To, you know…check. Republicans: No.
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Most of the new Republican bills being filed to weatherize power plants, update infrastructure, reel in ERCOT, etc., have been filed by Democrats for years. Years. Republicans killed them all. You can't be the arsonist and the fire marshal at the same time. #txlege.
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We spend so much time doing things we shouldn’t have to. Solve problems, don’t create them. #txlege
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When Texas Republicans are telling Democrats to “come back to work” so they can pass their voter suppression bill, they also want us to come back to do this. This is the kind of “work” they’re talking about. #txlege.
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Pay, workload, COVID, masks, CRT, banned books, standardized tests, the demonizing of trans and undocumented students, vouchers, student-to-counselor ratios, and school safety. Again. Educators are about to flip Texas.
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This is how low the bar is for a win in Texas right now:. The lights didn’t turn off. #txlege.
Texas power grid was slated to hit a record high demand w/the heat on Tuesday. It didn’t happen!. Why?. New strategies & tools used at ERCOT & PUC are increasing capacity & reducing demand. Result: ERCOT easily met demand as the chart below shows—with 8,000 Megawatts to spare.
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“One of my biggest priories this Session is property tax relief.” . -@GregAbbott_TX, at the beginning of *every* Texas Legislative Session since 2015. Republicans have been in power for over a quarter century. How do you think this is going to go? #txlege.
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I'm done trying to explain to #txlege leadership why we need statewide stay at home/shelter in place orders. The experts have spoken. Anything else is just politics. Healthcare professionals request .@GregAbbott_TX to order shelter-in-place now.
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There isn’t one law enforcement agency that says permitless carry has made Texas safer. During the same time mass shootings in Texas have increased by 62%. I guess @GregAbbott_TX only backs the blue when it’s politically convenient.
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I’ve seen the new maps. They’re bad. Even my district, which remains a safe D seat, is stained by their efforts. Getting re-elected isn’t the issue. People being robbed of real representation—THAT’S the issue. #txlege.
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You're right. He should have resigned.
Ted Cruz should not have apologized.
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.@JulianCastro showed the country who we already knew he was. This was his night. He deserves to be on every debate stage, and in this for the long haul. Let's get him there. #DemDebate #Castro2020.
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We can’t really say we have teachers’ backs if we repeatedly ignore and reject every request, ask, and plea they make. Just saying, #txlege.
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I’m going to remind everyone that opposed my efforts to require air conditioning in San Antonio (won) and all Texas (lost) housing projects that I’m coming again. It was 107 degrees today. Women, children, the elderly, and disabled live there. WTH is wrong with you people?.
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I don't know how much we expect students, families, and teachers to endure. Start the process, seek the waivers- cancel the STAAR and TELPAS now. #txlege.
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After a record-breaking day of #covid19 cases, and @GregAbbott_TX in national headlines for doing nothing about it, guess what the state goes and does? . Files a brief w/ #SCOTUS to end Obamacare, which would increase TX's already worst-in-the-US uninsured rate by 37%. #txlege.
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Greg Abbott made your electricity bill go up. Now he’s raising the prices of groceries. This is on top of the other stains on Texas (foster care, highest uninsured rate, etc.). You want more of this?.
"Absolutely we will see these costs be shared with consumers.". The Texas International Produce Association says Gov. Abbott's border security strategy of enhanced searches of trucks has caused massive delays in shipping products, which can lead to higher costs for consumers:
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How about build some healthcare.
After Biden halted contruction of Trump's border wall, hundreds of unused wall panels were left at sites like this one in Eagle Pass. Because Biden refuses to build the wall, Texas has obtained this material for free. We're using it to build the wall & secure our border.
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Don’t tell me to get back to work when you’re more upset about football conferences than you are about the Governor sending our kids back to school without masks. #txlege.
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Or, in your case:. ✅Plane Tickets.
It is better to be over prepared than underprepared for winter weather. Things to have on hand as the winter weather approaches:. ✅ Extra warm clothes & blankets.✅ Portable lights and extra batteries.✅ First-aid kit.✅ Extra nonperishable food and water for family and pets.
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I was the on the School Finance Committee and Vice Chair of the Texas House Committee on Public Education during the crafting of HB 3. I’m the second House signature on the bill. Let me tell you, Greg Abbott didn’t write any of it.
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For the record:. @GregAbbott_TX doesn't talk/listen to legislators. Every conference call, except one, has been one-way. We can only listen. We're asked to submit our questions ahead of time. Here are some of mine. None have been directly addressed. Share yours, #txlege.
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Again: @GregAbbott_TX’s defunding of the Legislative Branch is a ransom. Both he & @DanPatrick are using state employee salaries & benefits in that exact way. I won’t be lectured about “respecting the institution” by anyone—R or D—who refuses to stand against this. #txlege.
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People around the country are celebrating in the streets like a regime just fell.
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We should never hold what children need hostage for what adults want. #txlege.
.@GovAbbott: "Once ESAs are passed, I will put on the legislative call the full funding for public education, including teacher pay raises." #txlege.
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Voted to impeach. It passed with 121 out of 150 votes.
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If .@GregAbbott_TX can allocate $250M for his border wall *without* the Legislature, why wouldn’t he do the same for . -13th check, .-foster care, and .-Article X? . Republicans killed the Dem bills on these issues. If they’re priorities, prove it. #txlege.
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With the announcement of greater vaccine availability there is no reason not to prioritize all teachers and in-school personnel. Do it now. @GregAbbott_TX #txlege.
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These warrants don’t make us any less right, our cause any less righteous, or the bill any less discriminatory and harmful to all Texans. If I’m in trouble it’s only because they say so. And that makes it #GoodTrouble. #txlege
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Mathew McConaughey isn’t from Hollywood. He’s from Uvalde, TX.
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Biggest problem with public education according to teachers: STAAR. According to parents: STAAR . Gov. Abbott: These rogue school districts must give parents the syllabus! . @GregAbbott_TX #txlege.
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All of a sudden this session is about everything other than his voter suppression bill and attacking trans children. Sure. #txlege.
A much-needed cost of living increase for retired teachers. Funding for foster children. Property tax relief. All stalled in the #txlege because the Dems abandoned their responsibilities & constituents. #getbacktowork
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Teachers are leaving in droves. The foster care system is in shambles. Inflation is made even worse by the Governor’s border stunts. And this is what Dan Patrick leads with. Politics over people. #txlege
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79 mins is 9,489 split seconds.
The second guessing and finger pointing among state and local law enforcement is destructive, distracting, and unfair. Complex scenarios require split second decisions. Easy to criticize with 20-20 hindsight.
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