Here we go, February. It’s the shortest month of the year. It can be warm and balmy or it can be frigid. There are lots of holidays in February. Both Lincoln and Washington were born in February. We have 3 family birthdays this month. February 9, 10, and 26.
I just got the call of doom. Car totaled I got deered by a deer. I have to bury a wonderful car.
My how the mighty have fallen… the once beloved Ed Shultz fell from grace at MSNBC and is now a paid member of the Russian government propaganda machine.
http://www.mediaite.com/online/ed-schultz-gets-slammed-in-advance-of-new-show-on-rt-america/
What did he do?
If only Sean Hannity could be sliced down.
WOW !! Hope YOU are not totaled, Moon! What a scare.
Thanks, Punchak. I was expecting the other shoe to fall. It happened the Thursday before the blizzard. They kept getting in and finding more and more that needed fixing. This morning I got the totaled call. Sigh. I had an old 2003 escape limited. I loved it.
Then I drove new cars…rentals. I was destroyed after driving a high end Tahoe. Spoiled forever once I saw all the bells and whistles.
Sorry to hear about the deer, is everyone okay (other than the deer)? It always sucks when something like that happens to a good car that you like.
Everyone was fine. Our housemate was driving. Thank goodness he wasn’t injured. I was out all day being decadent. I have gone from an old car to top of the line new car. Sigh.
Flint Michigan – A whole generation of Americans are being poisoned by a cost cutting move. Where are the Congressional investigations to get to the bottom of this?
This is America and we cannot supply good water to a city of people. Shame. Let’s have another repeal Obamacare vote, cause that is easy to do. The hard stuff – let just sound bite it away.
You have made some excellent points, Pat.
Punxsutawney Phil, the world’s most famous furry forecaster, failed to see his shadow Tuesday morning, meaning spring is right around the corner, or so the folklore says.
(according to the WaPo)
It sure doesn’t seem very spring-like to me.
Feel the Bern!
How Sanders caught fire in Iowa and turned the Clinton coronation into a real race
By Karen Tumulty February 2 at 8:28 AM
DES MOINES — It was the first big strategy session between Hillary Clinton and the yet-to-be-announced manager of her yet-to-be-launched presidential campaign.
As they huddled that day last March in the converted barn that serves as her home office in Chappaqua, N.Y., Robby Mook thought he ought to call the presumed front-runner’s attention to a rumor that was starting to go around.
“Bernie Sanders is going to be a real contender if he gets in,” Mook recalls warning his new boss. Mook grew up in Vermont and knew what happened to those who underestimated Burlington’s onetime mayor.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-sanders-caught-fire-in-iowa-and-turned-the-clinton-coronation-into-a-real-race/2016/02/02/83b08d22-c79a-11e5-8965-0607e0e265ce_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_demiowa-130am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory
@Moon-howler
At least everyone is okay, cars can be replaced. Moon Howlers can’t
Thanks, Jackson. Car replacement took place today. Sigh. Devine decadence.
Venison tenderized by the effect of the sudden deceleration created by the impact with a moving vehicle makes good jerky or sausage.
It ran off in the woods to croak.
Bill Clinton is looking rather frail these days.
He shouldn’t. He isn’t all that old. I think it is the baggy eyes. Plus…he is pretty much a vegetarian. Never trust a meat eater gone vegan.
Y’all be pleased to hear that you won’t be seeing me around anymore. This place is too much like a country club for me. Y’all are more interested in etticute and getting along than having real discussions, especially about anything relating to race. You let the right wingers have a ‘hecklers veto’ on anything that they find uncomfortable. To say nothing of the double standard of how they get treated. Right winger has fantasizes about my death and I’m the one calling names. Is it any wonder that there are no people of color here?
Here are just a few things in the last couple weeks that were completely ignored around here.
– 6 white Arizona high school girls on ‘senior picture day’ wear shirts that spell out NI**ER. How cute. Just high school girls having fun. Nothing at all racist about that. I’m sure they’ll grow out of it and that they’ll completely never discriminate against black folks when they are older.
– Trump spokesperson defends by her 2012 tweet “Obama’s dad born in Africa, Mitt Romney’s dad born in Mexico. Any pure breeds left?” Needless to say, she doesn’t lose her job. And we certainly can’t suggest that says anything about Trump supporters. She probably was just talking about puppies.
– And of course, we can’t talk about the fact that police killed 102 unarmed black people in 2015, more than any other race. Unarmed black people were killed at 5x the rate of unarmed whites. And only 9 of the 102 cases resulted in the cop being charged with a crime. One of the unarmed victims was from Fairfax, but the cop that killed her was not charged with anything.
http://mappingpoliceviolence.org/unarmed (Betcha that link never gets clicked on)
But again, we can’t rile up the right wingers by talking about that. We sure can’t say that it has nothing to do with crime rates or the racial makeup of cities. (St. Louis PD killed 7x as many people per capita than Philly PD.) Clearly it’s a black-on-black crime problem.
So enjoy your tea and crumpets folks. And if every once and a while you wonder why you don’t have any black people around, remember, it’s the fault of black folks. You’re completely open to having black folks around as long as they act exactly the way you want and don’t say anything that makes the Tea Party members upset.
On the slim chance any of that bothers you, you should try going visiting some sites where actual black people hang out. Start somewhere safe like The Root or The Porch on Daily Kos. You’ll learn a lot about black people and you might even start to realize that Black Lives Matter. Try reading an article by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Go old school and read Ralph Ellison. Read anything about Civil Rights besides the “I have a dream” speech (Right wingers, you probably shouldn’t do this. Not sure you can handle seeing what real, unfiltered black people think about your Tea Party.)
Why would I want to do that? I am going to assume that your entire diatribe was directed at me. Why would I want to change the entire tone of a somewhat successful blog?
Truthfully, this blog began over the immigration issue locally. I bet YOU didn’t even click on ABOUT US. Do that and then come back with your complaints about our “whiteness” and our interest in only white people stuff.
I strongly suggest that you would probably be more comfortable going to those sites you listed. You have an issue and a cause. Your blogging needs won’t be met here. I am more the illegal alien apologist kinda woman than I am a BLM woman. There is only so much room for causes.
I don’t know what the race of everyone is here. There isn’t a race litmus test. Sorry you think we are too polite. I consider that a compliment. A mark of living in a civilized society is that people practice good manners, in my world. We don’t need to yell, scream, and beat each other over the head. It doesn’t take away from the depth of conviction or forcefulness of will–it just makes us use our brains more when we aren’t bellowing and going on the attack.
As for the Tea Party, you make me laugh. Go back through this blog. Look at issues when the Tea Party was at its height. I pretty much said I thought they were contemptible and foolish. I think, however, you are making a mistake of branding all GOP-ers as Tea Party. They aren’t.
I wasn’t calling you out specifically, just about everybody here has blinders on when it comes to race, which is how I KNOW there isn’t a single black person here. The only thing I’d call you out on is that you tolerate a lot more ‘politeness’ from the right wingers than from others. Perhaps I misread, and one of your posters actually said “Fuck Off And Die. In a Fire [Please]” Such impeccable manners. And somehow you equate calling the Tea Party racist (which it is. but you never let my post with the links to all the white surpremist members of the tea party out of moderation) as being equal to telling people to die. That’s an interesting form of even handedness.
But you’re right, don’t change a thing. And definitely don’t read Brown is the New White. (http://www.amazon.com/Brown-New-White-Demographic-Revolution/dp/1620971151) Just keep doing what you’re doing and you can still attract a subset of the minority white liberals that like being bullied by right wingers. You keep doing your thing and ignore black issues. We know who our friends are and who they aren’t. BLM is very aware of which parts of the Progressive coalition are helping and who isn’t. Your litmus test issue (reproductive freedom) rests on support from millions of black voters. You ought to remember that and return the favor when there are issues that are important to us.
I am well aware of the history of you and Elena and the Coffee Party woman and 7500 Liberty Street or whatever that movie was called. Would that you cared half as much about the murder of black people. But since you don’t have any personal experience with bad cops, you don’t see the urgency.
I mean really, 102 UNARMED black people were killed by police last year. That doesn’t concern you? When a mother wishes the police had tazed her 12 year old boy because then at least he’d still be alive, you don’t think that something needs to change?
You’re also right that I am way more concerned about hundreds of black people dying in state sponsored extrajudical killings than I am about Ted Cruz sending out a flyer. The question is, why aren’t you?
I will answer in increments. I didn’t not let you through over calling tea party racist, necessarily. I might have been leaving for the day and didn’t want to have to clean up the carnage when I returned. I don’t think it is fair to say that everyone who supports the tea party is racist. That’s way to broad brush for me. Are some people? Absolutely and I don’t like using the term racist.
Why, you might ask? Because I think everyone is racist in some way. Its the human condition. Secondly, we don’t know what is in people’s hearts for the most part. I know people who say things we might consider racist but who would give a Latino or Black the shirt off their backs. They might just use wrong terms. I am thinking of such a person right now. They didn’t grow up around here and they don’t live around here. Different people come from different environments.
If you go around calling people racist, the conversation only has one direction to go. Down.
More in a few…
I absolutely claim reproductive rights as my flagship issue. I expect Lots of black women also claim reproductive rights as their issue. It really isn’t either or.
Let’s talk about bad cops. Of course I have had experiences with bad cops–some of them fairly serious. No they didn’t shoot me. I know how to act around cops. I also didn’t end up in jail. Do you not think white people end up in bad cop situations? What are the real stats as far as unarmed white people or Latinos being shot by cops?
I am not sure unarmed is really the issue. If you are behaving in a menacing way…all bets are off…I don’t care what race you are. I certainly had that talk with my son.
If you are black, walking down the street minding your own business and a cop pops you off, then you will have my attention. I don’t think that has been the case. You probably didn’t pay much attention to the situations that I did make comment on.
Let me ask YOU a question. If there had been 102 unarmed white deaths (and I expect there have been), what would your reaction be?
Actually, if I were going to adopt another cause, I would probably be more interested in the number of black men who have been imprisoned for non violent crimes like drug use.
I think you are on very shaky grounds assuming that you know about my experience with cops or really what I think about things.
For instance, what were my feelings about Treyvon Martin?
Are you assuming that brown lives don’t matter as much as black lives? It sure sounds like it.
I am still laughing about my lack of experience with bad cops. I wish that were so.
I tend to think local about things where I can affect change. I don’t think we have a problem with unarmed black people being killed. Can you cite a couple of examples where a Manassas City cop or a PWC cop have killed someone unjustified?
Nate, you have to try harder than that. There must be some reason you came on here in the first place, why give up so easily? I’m guessing you thought you might make some headway here with a unique viewpoint, and I think you could. But it’ll take awhile and it may never be obvious. It’s good to get people (and yourself) out of our comfort zones. I agree that there are a chorus of Tea Party flat-earthers here, but there’s a lot of other folks, too. That’s what makes it interesting in my mind.
Nobody respects a quitter, Nate. Come out punchin’ and don’t stop until you can’t raise your arms anymore.
@middleman
The problem was that he DID come out punching.
You know…instead of trying to discuss things. He started with insults and bigotry.
It seems that is all he has.
You and I don’t agree on much. But you don’t try to insult people or make blanket statements about race, creed, etc. Thus, you and I can have a conversation.
Even though you do look silly calling Tea Party flat earthers, when your candidates profess belief in socialism as an economic concept.
Btw, Moon, sorry to hear about your car- glad everyone (except the deer) is ok. A faithful old car is like an old pair of gloves- it becomes an extension of yourself. My wife was hit by a deer earlier this winter- it was a glancing blow but still caused over $2000 in damages.
Thanks, middleman. Dog Breath was driving. It was a scary experience. They thought it could be repaired. The more they opened, the more they found. It just got too expensive to fix. I was very used to not having a car payment. However, I didn’t realize all the wonderful equipment on cars nowadays. Holy cow. nirvana.
Something bad happened to me. I got a Tahoe as a rental during the blizzard. It had EVERYTHING on it. It spoiled me for any other car experience ever. So, the totaling was probably a blessing. After the Tahoe, I was going to trade in the 2003 Escape for something more ….loaded. I think the insurance company was fair. I drove a car for 4 years for 900 bucks. You can’t beat that with a stick.
I am glad Mrs. Middleman wasn’t injured. I am terrified of deer. I live in extra fear every time I come home from my brother’s house on Pleasant Valley Road.
And who are “my” candidates, Cargo? I don’t think I’ve expressed any preference.
Personally, I am NOT pleased that nateX has declared his intention to depart. I find a voice from another direction very useful on this blog — so long as opening statements do not label other bloggers in a way which is non-conducive to further conversation.
News just heard this minute on the radio: two police officers shot tonight in the Bronx. One said to be in very serious condition. No details yet.
How many police officers have been shot in the United States in the past year? How many have been killed? How many have been in New York City?
Every day cops go out on the job and don’t know if they are coming home. Its difficult to be right 100% of the time, especially when your life is in danger. Yes there are bad cops. The vast majority are good and decent people, at least in this area. Those who aren’t should be reported each and every time they aren’t.
Prelim news reports say that two officers, one of them female, were shot in or near the Melrose House and the Jackson House, two public housing projects in the Bronx. One cop in the operating room, but first reports say that neither one appears to have a life-threatening injury. Three perps. One shot and wounded. One caught. One still on the lam.
@nateX
I am one of the “right-wingers” on this blog that you are probably railing about. Sure Cargo responded forcefully when you stated that all Tea Partiers are racist. But isn’t the statement that Tea Partiers are racist the kind of broad-brush bias that the civil rights movement seeks to eradicate?
You asked if any of us had read Ta-nehisi Coates. I have read many of his articles in The Atlantic including his discussion of reparations and his critiques of the police. One of his articles struck a chord: The paranoid style of American policing. Coates made some really good points.
Being a conservative, however, my first thought is always what can an individual do to help himself. There is an element of truth regarding Coates’ thesis on police paranoia, but the culture cannot be changed over night–it will probably take a decade or more for meaningful change to be affected. So what can be done in the meantime to protect our youth?
Black leaders (Coates, Lebron James, etc.) should explain to youth of ALL races how to behave around the police: obey their commands; say yes sir/no sir; keep your hands where they can be seen; don’t run; don’t make sudden movements. Avoid crime ridden areas, particularly when it is dark and late. Even if the stop is unfair, keep your mouth shut, obey, live, and then sue them another day. That’s the true American way.
This is the advice that I have repeated incessantly to my kids.
So, as a conservative, I do indeed read diverse opinions including Coates and Ben Ellison. Have you ever read Samuel Hunnington and Milton Friedman?
I am not a conservative and I agree with you almost 100% Kelly.
Teenage boys are at risk in general. I don’t care what race they are. Why? Because they are known to do stupid, impulsive, dangerous things. They believe they are immortal.
Those attributes are perceived as dangerous by cops–dangerous to the cops and to other people.
Thanks for addressing this issue.
@middleman
Thank you for the response. It’s about the only welcoming thing anyone has said here.
As to why I’m leaving, you can see from the other responses why. You said I should rumble more, but the right wingers go into death fantasy mode if I say anything they deem too controversial. I’m impressed that you can get away with calling them flat earthers. I know I can’t.
As for why I came, it’s because I thought that white liberals and moderates would actually give a damn about the murder of black folks when confronted with the facts. But that’s no going to happen here. Here’s a perfect example:
I posted a link to Mapping Police Violence that documents police killings in 2015. I know at least Moon-howler didn’t bother to click on the link? How do I know that? Because she immediately asked a question that was answered on the very first page of the site:
> Let me ask YOU a question. If there had been 102 unarmed white deaths (and I expect there have been), what would your reaction be?
The answer to that question is: No, you are incorrect. There have not been 102 unarmed white people killed by cops. From the site: Police killed at least 102 unarmed black people in 2015, more than any other race. That means, there weren’t 102 unarmed white people killed even though whites are 5x the population of blacks. Even worse, since blacks are killed by cops at a rate 5x that of whites (and about 3x that of Hispanics) it would need to be over 500 unarmed white people killed by cops to be equal.
So answer me this: if cops killed 1.5 unarmed white people (to get to around 500 per year) every day for a year, do you think the reaction would be as quiet as when its black folk? I assure you, I will be calling for police reforms when that happens. Oh wait, I’m already doing it.
How about this one:
>If you are black, walking down the street minding your own business and a cop pops you off, then you will have my attention. I don’t think that has been the case.
Tamir Rice was 12 years old, playing in his front yard. He was playing with a BB gun and a busybody neighbor called it into police even saying it “PROBABLY WAS A TOY”. Police roll up, and by the evidence from the cop car, shoot Tamir Rice twice within 2 seconds of the police car arriving. Two seconds. One Mississippi, Two Missiisspi, Bang. Bang. The cop car hadn’t even come to a halt. (Note: all of that is from the evidence the police released.) Of course the cop lied and claimed he had shouted “multiple warnings” then ‘edited’ his statement after the data from the car was made public.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Tamir didn’t die instantly. Instead, the cops refused to perform first aid on him. Tamir died the next day. And of course, the cops weren’t charged with anything.
Do I have your attention now?
Let’s move onto:
> How many police officers have been shot in the United States in the past year?
From the Officer Down Memorial Page: Line of Duty Deaths: 129
Factor out heart attacks, car accidents, etc. and you get: Gunfire: 39. Gunfire (Accidental): 2. So 41 cops killed by guns. Vs. 102 unarmed black people.
Equating the risk to cops vs. black people is (A word I apparently can’t say here) Cops volunteer for their job. They are paid for it and receive training. They have backup, body armor and have multiple non lethal weapons they could use to subdue a person (pepper spray, tazer, baton, etc.) In almost every situation, cops instigate contact. They control the situation and can call for backup. Hell, most police these days have got tanks!
Tamir Rice wasn’t given the option to avoid getting murdered. Or are black kids not allowed to play with a BB gun in their own yard? (Funny how all the gun nuts are quiet when its a black kid getting killed for carrying a toy gun. If it had been a white guy holding a real rifle in his front yard, they’d be all ‘Obamaz after r gunz!”)
Yes, it’s risky to be a cop. But it’s even riskier to be a black person around a cop.
So why am I leaving? Because I’m not going argue with a brick wall. I came here because I thought people might actually give a damn about the murder of black people when confronted with the facts. But they don’t. So I’m not going to waste my time here. I’ll somewhere else where I can play a small role in ending the police murder of black people.
I’ll try one last pitch: You folks realize when we finally get the reforms BLM is fighting for, police will be killing fewer white and Hispanic people too, right? So everybody benefits when Black Lives Matter.
Let me address something with you, Mr. Nate. I maintain and moderate this blog by myself. I don’t have time to read every effen link someone posts here. I had a busy day yesterday. Yet, I try to check in and respond to readers which is more than what generally happens on most blogs.
I make no apologies for not reading your link. I don’t read a lot of them posted by other people. I simply don’t have time. For the record, no pay comes with this blog.
Part of your problem is that you perceive every single thing as a personal slight.
BTW, I also addressed some of the issues here off-line. Why are you still in moderation? Simply put, you came on the blog balls to the wall insulting people. It has nothing to do with your race. It has everything to do with tone and manners. I don’t even know that you really are black. It simply doesn’t matter to me at least, what your race is.
All politics are local. I have no control over what happens in Baltimore or Missouri. I certainly have addressed what happens here. We have an excellent police department.
As for black kids playing with a bb gun? are we speaking of an urban front yard? It’s probably not a good idea for any kid in an urban area to have a bb gun. Country kids yes. City kids…bad idea.
I am not going to mention screen doors….wouldn’t fit into the tone I want on this blog.
> As for black kids playing with a bb gun? are we speaking of an urban front yard? It’s probably not a good idea for any kid in an urban area to have a bb gun. Country kids yes. City kids…bad idea.
Wow. Just wow.
The police shot a child playing with a legal toy within two seconds of arriving on the scene and don’t even try to perform first aid and you blame the kid.
There’s really nothing else to say. Bye y’all.
I didn’t blame anyone. I didn’t mention race. I said having a bb gun in an urban area is a bad idea.
I don’t care what one’s race is. I didn’t let my kids have bb guns. We live in a suburban area. Just a little too urban.
I think we call it common sense, Nate. I hope you are never in a position where you have to decide if someone is going to off you. Its a judgement call. That’s why using common sense is so critical.
You would probably have a much better blogging experience elsewhere because I am not going to have you guilt me.
Sorry. I cut my teeth of dealing with people who wanted to strut paranoia. I look it in the eye and call it what it is. You were trying to guilt me and change the tone of my blog because of your own agenda. It just ain’t gonna happen. I am taking you at your word.
Bye.
@nateX
Tamir Rice wasn’t given the option to avoid getting murdered. Or are black kids not allowed to play with a BB gun in their own yard?
The AirSoft gun used by Tamir was a real looking weapon – https://twitter.com/ScottTaylorTV/status/681567388580577280/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
It was lacking the orange tip which *might* have indicated that it was not a real weapon. Who took the orange tip off – a little personal responsibility there. He was not even in his yard.
@Pat.Herve
I am leaving, but I won’t let you end this conversation with something so deceptive. The pellet gun was in Tamir’s waistband so the cops had already shot Tamir twice before they even saw the tip of the toy. From Wikipedia:
Police said that Rice then reached into his waistband and pulled out the pellet gun, and was then shot and killed by Officer Timothy Loehmann. The video shows that Rice did not pull out the pellet gun.[46] In the video, Rice is using both hands to hold his shirt up and expose the pellet gun to view just before he falls to the ground.
Police described the pellet gun as looking real and later explained that the neon tip of the pellet gun was missing.[9] However the police never saw Rice brandish or point the pistol at them to determine if the orange cap was actually missing or not.
– – –
But yeah, it’s completely the fault of the 12 year old, who is holding up his shirt with both hands to show the cops he has a toy gun in his waistband. Clearly the police couldn’t wait more than two seconds to gun him down. The first time the cops got to see the tip of Tamir’s toy was while he was crumbled on the ground dying.
And obviously, the fact that the toy didn’t have an orange tip on it completely absolves the police from trying to perform first aid on a dying child.
You weren’t there. You don’t know what they saw or didn’t see.
Either that or I am not privy to the same set of facts you are.
Nate, everyone has his or her own issues. Maybe you will solve the world’s racial problems. You won’t, however, if your answer is to accuse everyone of racism, which you have clearly done. You have been pretty much a one pony show. Have you come on this blog and talked about any of the things that others are talking about?
You have pulled an Oliver Stone. You have tried to beat people over the head with your personal agenda rather than sell your ideas. Caveman style doesn’t usually last. A good sales job does.
Moon, the Tamir Rice shooting Nate is referring to has been discussed previously on your blog. The video is readily available on the web. It’s hard to defend the police on this one.
Kelly, Moon, et al, to completely ignore 300 years of race abuse and discrimination in America and boil it all down to advice on how all races should conduct themselves during encounters with police while waiting for the culture to change is not an answer likely to be well received by those on the wrong end of a nightstick. Black folks have heard “just wait- change is a comin” for a hundred years.
Now I’m not preaching here or casting the racism stone at anyone- I’ve been as guilty of racism as the next old white guy, most of the time not even realizing it until later. I’m just saying that we have to look at events today through the prizm of the hundreds of years of race based mistreatment that is a historical reality in our country.
Actually, I don’t have to look through the “prizm” of anything. I just want my police officer family member to come home safely each night. It outrages me to read nate say something as ridiculous as “cops volunteer for the job,” or that it’s somehow their fault if they get hurt because they initiated the event in the first place. They have to do the job. It’s not part of their charge to just overlook crime because someone might get hurt. Citizens called the police because Tamir was carrying an exact replica. Were those citizens white or black? Did the call make them racist? What difference does it make? How do we know his parents didn’t mistakenly leave a real gun lying around for him to take to the park? It happens.
Nate won’t participate unless we brainlessly accept media-driven lies? So long, sir.
Pat, the police also violated recognized protocol and put themselves in a vulnerable position in the way they approached the child in the park. The way they positioned themselves was at least partially if not entirely causative for the perceived need for the violent response that resulted.
It was a child who the dispatcher emphasized was likely carrying a toy. Further, there were no other civilians in harms way. Police should always be given the benefit of the doubt and the freedom to assess situations and do their job, but after watching the video it’s hard to justify shooting that kid.
Emma, nothing you said above changes the reality that the manner of response affected the outcome, as I stated above.
And you’re right, you don’t have to look through the prizm- and we’ll still have the same race divide 100 years from now…
I think the militarization of the police is part of the problem. In some instances it may be the correct response, but it has the ability to become heavy-handed quickly. And beyond the militarization, there’s the problem with individuals – both on the police force and in the public. It’s too often an Us vs. Them – with the expected response.
NateX, how do you think this country can move more quickly to end racism? My grandniece is a junior high school aged bi-racial child. She only knows one other bi-racial kid and I think she’s struggling to think about where she fits in. Does she have to opt for one race or the other or can she just be herself with her own interests? I’ve attended her parties and kids of many races and ethnicities were there. At her age there isn’t much of a problem but there are hints that there can be.
I think the militarization of police forces is a direct result of 9-11 and is sometimes necessary.
Perhaps if police forces didn’t have to scrape and claw for every penny more money would be there for the most qualified candidates.
I think it escalated after 9-11 but was there as a force during the Civil Rights era of the 60s. My father was on a SWAT team in the 70s. I should have asked him about his experience. The only thing I remember him saying was that because he was the smallest guy at 5’7″, they could always throw him through a window. I don’t know if he ever had to actually function with this team or if it was a stand-by group.
I guess I was thinking of how the Boston police responded to the Marathon bombing. (some of the various equipment etc.)
Remember the cops in College Park that stormed that kid after some sporting event? The kid ended up being a judge’s grandson or something.
I suppose I resent someone who doesn’t know me at all saying I am unaware of bad cop experiences. Try being on the wrong side of a political issue.
@middleman
It was a child who the dispatcher emphasized was likely carrying a toy. – not true.
The dispatcher was told that the gun *may* have been a toy. That information was not relayed to the police. And from a distance, it was IMPOSSIBLE to determine if it was real or a toy. It should not have happened, but it did. But the kid should not have been brandishing a weapon.
Perhaps one might consider the possibility that the quickness of the contemporary police officer to respond with lethal force, especially against young Blacks, may have some very strong roots in the amount of violent crime one sees in the Black communities of many of our major cities. Parts of Chicago, for example, have become a virtual battlefield, with casualties mounting almost every day. And this in a country where a 2011 Department of Justice study showed that, from 1980 to 2008, 93% of Black homicide victims were killed by Blacks and young adult Black males had the highest homicide offending rate compared to offenders in other racial or sexual categories.
I think it is no wonder, then, that a cop, even one well trained and experienced in hostile encounters, might have, as they say, an itchy trigger finger. These are not robocops. They are as human as you and I, and the survival instinct is just as strong. Yet we expect them to make absolutely correct decisions time after time after time, even under extreme duress. In some American places, unfortunately, these are the near equivalent of instant battlefield decisions.
Instead of laying blanket accusations on our police officers of being racist or callous or too quick to shoot or too militarized, perhaps we should put the blame where it really belongs, in my opinion: on all of the rest of us. And I mean all of us. Somehow we have allowed too many of our localities to become festering centers of chronic unemployment, lagging education; hopelessness, drugs, gangs, violence, and despair. Maybe instead of asking the police to put their own lives even more at risk, we ought to give ourselves a national multi-racial kick in the ass and, instead of swapping claims about racism, start seriously to clean up those areas of human despair in an effort to eliminate the current problems as much as we can.
What the hell are we waiting for? Full scale battles in the ghetto streets? The problems are plain to see for all of us, White, Black, or whatever. I say it is time to address them as a priority national project, not just a piecemeal effort. My personal police experience has included work in some of the sorriest foreign slums you will ever encounter. In some of those places of utter despair, it was almost impossible for a good man to even dream of a different kind of future. But here, in this country, we can certainly find the means and the resolution to end this absolutely insane divide between the good life and the bad life. We can at least make a major effort to give people in distress some hope of being able to climb out of it. Then maybe we can stop talking all the time about whether a cop should have been slower to use lethal force.
Standing ovation, Wolve. You have made some excellent points.
@Wolve
+1 +1 +1
And it starts with INVESTMENT. We, the US have not invested in our own country in years. We are turning ourselves into a third world country –
one exported job after another
one more contractor and one less employee
corporations are people until in comes to patriotism
no training programs – we want to import trained people
no corporate loyalty, hire and fire by the hour
and it goes on. No wonder people have a feeling that they have a limited future. Our path is to squeeze out every nickel and make no investment.
Just look at Apple (and many other Tech companies) – they create something in the US. The patent it. They ‘sell’ the patent to a foreign owned subsidiary. They pay a licensing fee to the foreign owned subsidiary. The profits leave the US tax free, even though it was created and sold in the US. Sure the US has a high tax rate- but NO corporation pays those high rates – and we police the world for those corporations to have a global market. Oil companies do not want to pay taxes but we police the Persian Gulf. Walmart does not want to pay taxes but we police the China Sea – where we are risking international situations right now. We need to invest in our people, infrastructure and future. This article is a little dated but does try to talk about the opportunity gap –
http://www.npr.org/2013/01/17/169509521/in-connecticut-two-sides-of-a-deep-economic-divide
There is an article in the WaPo this morning about Walmart closing a whole bunch of stores in rural depressed areas because the stores aren’t making huge profits. Well…no duh!
Its killing the locals in terms of jobs and buying needed goods.
I have a friend who worked for the company who set up the website for the original Obamacare. The imports …..I am astounded that the damn thing ever worked. We import workers at probably half the pay…meanwhile Americans can’t find jobs in their field. I came away outraged that any company would do that. I am not at liberty to tell the stories he told me but geez.
Pat is right. We need to invest in infrastructure, people, communities. Look what Dominion Power is being allowed to do over in the Potomac. Its disgraceful. I am not an environmentalist nut wing. But why would ash be allowed to pollute the rivers, just to keep Dominion Power happy?
“Maybe instead of asking the police to put their own lives even more at risk, we ought to give ourselves a national multi-racial kick in the ass and, instead of swapping claims about racism, start seriously to clean up those areas of human despair in an effort to eliminate the current problems as much as we can.”
But that would require actual leadership, a risky proposition for any elected incumbent. The blame game creates job security, to a large extent, because so many voters are unwilling to scratch the surface of what they hear on TV. So much easier to declare that one’s side is correct, just, and morally superior, while “the other side” consists of hateful, crazy, uninformed flat-earthers.
Emma, you have made some excellent points.
I was trying to transmit that sentiment, although I obviously didn’t do such a hot job.
Pat, it isn’t clear whether or not the message got to the responding officers, but look at what you said: “the kid should have not been brandishing a weapon.” Did that make it ok for the police to kill a child? Was the child endangering any other human? Had shots been fired? You want to argue over whether the dispatcher said “may” or “likely?” Really??
I’ll say again, in this particular case the police contributed to the unnecessary death of a child. If they had pulled up on the road and not the grass 5 feet from the child they could have assessed the situation without putting themselves in possible harms way and the result would likely have been different. The child had not fired on anyone, there was no one in immediate danger, it was not a shoot to kill situation. Granted, this is from an armchair quarterback position, but the video is clear.
I’m frankly amazed that you continue to insist on trying to paper over the reality here. Certainly the vast majority of police officers do a great job putting their lives on the line every day to protect us, but if we can’t ever admit when a situation is obviously wrong, we’ll just be apologists for police and give up any civilian oversight of police and government.
But yet across the nation, millions of people are saying what happened from thousands of miles away.
It is a local issue that local people have to fix. Pat (and Emma) is right that the current political issues over these situations square people off into good and bad when in reality, it isn’t that simple.
First off, we cannot expect cops to have super human judgement. They face death every time they go to work. I would look at track record, and a whole lot of other things before I started to figuratively string up a cop. Facts, cameras, witnesses, are all important, yet none of those things necessarily tell the whole story.
Meanwhile, individuals need to make smart decisions. Parents need to remind kids continually how to behave when and if they have cop experiences. You don’t wait until they are teenagers.
I have been rather fascinated with the killing of that child by Tech students. It’s horrifying. Community leader turns bad. But, and what no one is saying….the victim bears some responsibility also. She represented herself on social media as an older young woman and she snuck out. She knew she was doing wrong. Now, before everyone starts beating me up….she didn’t deserve to be killed or harmed in any way. But…that’s why parents tell their kids not to do these things…for a reason. These behaviors are dangerous because you might run in to perverts.
Did one of her friends try to tell the SR officer at middle school? who knows. But what the hell is he going to do about it if she did? He isn’t her parent.
Tell the parents, you might say. Well…been there, done that. Telling parents something negative about their little johnny or Susie is a good way to get your face ripped off. Lots of people are in the MY CHILD WOULD NEVER….club. The more the issue has to do with sex, the dicier it becomes. It’s much easier to tell a parent that their kid punched someone in the face and broke a few bones than it is to tell them that their kid “entertained the troops” at a party last weekend and you have a note proving it.
Wolve, you make some good points, and some work to this end has already begun with the nationwide effort to address the unfair drug incarceration laws that have resulted in the imprisionment and break up of families for many in the black communities. Beyond that we need more research on drug addiction and how to prevent/treat it. A lot of the drug addiction and crime in the inner-cities is due to the despair and lack of opportunities for advancement there. And much of the lack of opportunity is tied to the loss of blue collar work across the spectrum. We do need to “make a major effort to give people in distress some hope of being able to climb out of it.” However, this kind of effort is always pegged as “big government” and past efforts in this vein have been roundly discredited making it nearly impossible to start any new efforts.
@middleman
Pat, it isn’t clear whether or not the message got to the responding officers, – it is clear. That information did not get to the officers.
This is another area where we are failing.
Michigan GOP complaining that Obama admin not doing enough to help our Flint (a local problem) – https://www.facebook.com/MIGOP/photos/a.10150898965927921.411749.104319892920/10153454512272921/?type=3&theater
Republicans in Congress fail to authorize an aid package – https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/02/04/democrats-prepare-to-block-senate-energy-bill-over-flint-aid/
Always complaining about EPA overreach, yet complain now that EPA did not do enough.
You cannot have it both ways. Personally, this is a Flint/Michigan man made problem and I do not think Federal funds are necessary beyond loans. Time for our Leaders to actually LEAD and make the hard decisions we are electing them to do, but alas, kick the can down the road some more as there are fund raisers to do and babies to kiss.
@Wolve
Overall the real issue is the break-up of the family unit in the United States. How many of these young males have responsible men in their lives who teach them how to behave and become productive members of society? Very few. Somehow society has to reintroduce structure and discipline to a vast segment of young adults. Until that happens, the prospects for a large-scale renaissance of our inner cities would seem to be very bleak.
We could invest billions on inner cities, but it would make little difference if nothing changes the fundamental outlook on life to provide hope and a sense of shared responsibility for these young adults.
Perhaps it is time to re-introduce universal conscription into the military and/or Peace Corps. Not an ideal solution obviously. The military would not want the headache, but perhaps the situation is so dire that the draft should be brought back anyway.
I am going to ask if that has really changed all that much in say the past 150 years?
I think the real problem is that poor people are living IN cities. Rural poor people seem to get along much better than urban poor people, especially as far as extended family and family structure go.
Conscripting people to go kill is not a cure for stopping the killing in inner cities. Vietnam comes to mind….
Big brother and Big sister programs help. Adequate child care programs, decent rather than decaying schools, health care, grant programs for retraining and vocational training, reliable public transportation, a well-trained and well paid police force are all starting points. Did I leave out contraception (this is ME you are talking to and I think safe, reliable contraception cures a lot of social woes)? Something needs to happen that demotes the glorification of early sex and early parenthood.
I am stepping back up on my soap box. Absolutely nothing contributes to the cycle of generational poverty more than early pregnancy. When women don’t have control over their own reproduction, they are locked into the abyss. Child care is horribly expensive, even more so in the city. Women often become welfare mothers because they have no place safe to leave their children. Postponing parenthood by 5 years can make the difference in escape from generational poverty or not.
The Australian government has accepted the premise that global warming is real and that the science is settled.
CSIRO: The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is the federal government agency for scientific research in Australia with its headquarters in Canberra and numerous sites around Australia.
CSIRO has decided, since the science is settled, and that the warming is real, and that the vast consensus says so, that they don’t need the global warming research team anymore and will, instead focus on adaptation and mitigation.
http://joannenova.com.au/2016/02/csiro-wipes-out-climate-division-350-scientists-to-go-since-its-beyond-debate-who-needs-em/
I think we all can agree that global warming exists. Why it exists seems to be the problem, doesn’t it?
I don’t pretend to know the answers to this major problem; but I really fear that, if we do not make a move soon to begin solving it, we may find ourselves in some kind of constant and violent urban crisis which will be nearly impossible to handle. In my experience overseas, despair turns into anger and anger into hate and then the hate eventually turns into violence and chaos. There is nothing which says that the USA will always be immune from such a sad turn of events.
I think we have to address this on a combined national, state, and local level with the same kind of sense of purpose and drive that went into our NASA program to land a man on the moon. And I very much agree that we have to get the politics and partisanship out of it….absolutely out of it.
I tend to imagine a national commission formed with the cooperation of the White House and the Congress, paid for by Congress (meaning us), and designed (1) to assess the problem from an overall perspective; (2) to decide on the best potential ways to apply thought to action; and (3) making a start by using one or two of our major problem areas —Camden, Detroit, East St. Louis, North Philadelphia, Southside Chicago, whatever — as testing laboratories to find how what works best through a combination of common sense actions and local desires. To me that means bringing in the best of the best in all our multiple racial groups — academia, education, finance, business, labor, sociology, urban planning, race relations, public health, federal and local experts in urban problems, charities, religions, law enforcement, etc. — and endowing them as a group with funds and the commission to make it work. No politicians, no ideologues, no partisans — just true, accomplished, and determined professionals who have the desire and the patriotism to help us escape this national dilemma and the ability to work together as a team…indeed, a sort of “crisis team.”
Am I dreaming here? Are we so divided in 2016 that such a national effort would surely stumble and fall on the rocks of partisanship and ideology? Can we still do something like this, or are we condemned to suffer because we can no longer work with each other for the good of all?
You know, I think this topic is probably one of our best discussions we have ever had on this blog. I guess we have to thank Nate for starting the ball rolling, although not as he intended.
You have made some excellent points, Wolve. It’s absolutely scary to think that we have regions within cities that you just can’t venture into. The burning of Baltimore was just a microcosm of what can happen.
Wolve, I am going to use your post as a sounding board about something. Nate seemed to want to convert us all. Well, that was not going to happen. I expect he is probably still lurking which is fine. He is welcome back under the same conditions.
He was kept in moderation because I didn’t want the toxicity to spill over into the blog. He came on too forcefully in the beginning and I don’t want to have to monitor this blog every waking minute. We can all feel strongly about issues but I still think we have been able to accomplish what most blogs have not–that is people from all political perspectives being civil to each other most of the time.
I get tickled when I read another local blog calling us the liberal blog. Too funny. I think the people here, for the most part, are fiercely independent, if nothing else.
At any rate, if having decent etiquette is the worst thing we are accused of, then I feel fortunate. Thank everyone for backing off and letting me take the major hits. Although I didn’t appreciate the balls to the wall approach, maybe that’s what it took and it certainly has lead to some very meaningful, non-partisan discussion. If someone wants to start something about me….big deal. It won’t hurt my career path. That ship has sailed. My friends will still be my friends. We have weathered political disagreements on many occasions. I also have a little control over content. Not total, but some
It’s times like this when I would vote us #1 blog.
@middleman
You nailed something right there, Middleman. Drugs. That is, in my opinion, one of the worst things we would have to overcome in order to get to first base in this. And that problem is waxing far outside the areas where I feel we need to concentrate in a big way. I am about ready to tear my hair out whenever I read locally about someone who has overdosed on heroin or gone nuts on meth or some other idiotic substance. It’s a plague. And never mind the ghetto; my own grandchildren are potential targets.
You are spot on. Finding some sure way to treat those who are addicted must be combined with finding ways to convince our people to turn away from the drugs and help us to keep them out. Absolutely critical. It could be that nothing would work until we addressed that problem first. Another vital thing is, as Pat stated, investment. How do you get that if you have not changed the illegal substance environment, both as to usage and the violence that accompanies distribution and control?
How on earth do you do that? That is the 64,000 dollar question. We have had the war on drugs for what???? 4 decades? We aren’t winning. We have people in prison who really shouldn’t be.
I don’t know. It absolutely makes you want to tear your hair out.
You legalize drugs. You tax them. Did prohibitions stop alcohol (a drug) – No.
Currently, there are no manufacturing controls on the drugs (meth, pot, etc), so each batch is laced with different chemicals which can cause different outcomes. Remember the bath salts – the problem has not gone away. Salvia – the laws cannot keep up. Cocaine, Crack, Crank – it was funny when it was in the inner cities.
The only thing we are doing with the current system is overburdening our jails (highest per capita in world), focusing many resources (DEA, local police, CBP, etc), enriching the cartels and gangs, causing violence, the list goes on. Take the money off the table. The cartel’s are into drugs because that is where the money is. Gangs are into drugs for the access and money.
Take the money and effort we are spending on drug enforcement (and militarizing drug enforcement) to educate and treat people – although we can see with cigarettes, there are those that do not want the government to tell them what to do even though i has been proven that cigarettes cause cancer and increased healthcare costs to all of us. Educate people. Treat the addiction. Most educated people do not smoke anymore. Although, they are being suckered in with the Vapes (electric cigarette).
Go after the doctors that are over prescribing pain medications. Our Medicare Part D program is being abused – http://oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-03-15-00180.pdf – and it is not fixed, so, we the people are funding doctor shopping and overprescribing of many drugs.
Make treatment more available and affordable. Many times substance abuse programs are not covered by insurance. It is expensive.
Address mental illness. It is a disease. Treat it as such. In the 50’s/60’s we closed all of the mental hospitals and dumped the patient on the streets. We stigmatize those that are affected. We have given their jobs away to lower paid immigrants. We outsource jobs to the lowest paid contractor – years ago we hired employees into low level positions and they could stay there and retire. Think about the custodian’s years ago. Now, not so much – hire and fire, pay by the hour and if you can do it 2 cents cheaper by paying undocumented, even better.
Just like with Cuba – 50 years of isolation did not get us any change – do something different. If only Congress had time to address the issue and actually debate instead of manufactured faux crisis after crisis. No budgets, debt ceiling, fiscal cliffs, sequestration, repeal Obamacare (with no replace), etc.
Congress is failing us and will not address any issue with any substance. Stop the ware on drugs, it has failed, do something different.
Yea, the war on drugs has been ineffective and has not produced the desired results.
Lawmakers trumpet toughness and “crackdown” and end up with a bunch of kids and young adults in the prison system at high costs.
One of the first things to go in local budgets is the drug programs, especially for offenders and people who are incarcerated.
Treating mental illness is also the place to start with gun control issues. How many homeless people are mentally ill? Probably a very high percent.
ARRGGHHHHHHH!!!
We are dealing with an insidious condition. The trumpet method just hasnt worked.
Just look here in Prince William County – a continued effort to defund the Jailhouse Drug Rehab programs.
Every year – 2013 – http://potomaclocal.com/2013/04/23/inmate-drug-program-slashed-as-prince-william-approves-new-budget/
2015 – http://potomaclocal.com/2015/02/21/funding-largely-restored-programs-facing-cuts-prince-william-budget-process-far/
The County Sup was forced to produce an unworkable budget and those that forced it – then did not want to vote on it.
Good find, Pat. Guess who usually leads the pack in stripping away these kinds of programs. Look no further than Gainesville.
@Wolve
I agree, drugs feed crime and crime feeds drugs. In the inner cities, and even now in many small towns across the country, drug use and sales is at the root of family disintegration, incarceration and single parent households, not to mention the decay of schools and neighborhoods in general.
I have two cousins and two nephews that are addicted to various substances to differing degrees. For one it’s alcohol, one is heroin, one is weed and one is amphetamines. The alcohol addict is actually the worst- he has abandoned his wife and children, freeloaded at his parents house for years (he’s 50 years old) and has attacked his mother and father more than once. He’s in jail now, again, this time for a while. He’s a nice guy when sober. The heroin addict sold his grandfathers prized classic pick-up among other things and virtually bankrupted him (his grandfather) before he passed last year. The pot-head actually holds a job and pays his bills.
I’ve thought about this since I was a kid and I had friends descend into that thousand-foot stare that you get when you’re gone on drugs. I had a friend that never fully recovered from a bad LSD and later became convinced that GM was trying to kill him. I was hitch-hiking one time and was picked up by some kids that offered me the paint bag they were huffing from. I knew at that time that we were going down a bad road.
I think that somehow we have to address the conditions, either personal or societal, that lead to addiction and drug overuse. Some of it is personality type that often preordains addictive behavior. You have to address it on the user end- we’ve made it very obvious with the “drug wars” over the past 50 years that if people want drugs they will get them no matter what the government does, at least in a free society such as ours.
As you were telling your personal experiences with people, the thought hit me that as long as people have free will, and drugs give them momentary pleasure, there is going to be not stopping. Throw in some strong capitalism, and drugs are here to stay.
I totally agree that drugs denigrate our society but in the end, isn’t it a matter of personal choice?
Drug wars did nothing other than put those unlucky enough to get caught in prison. The War on Drugs certainly didn’t accomplish anything else.
Being a pothead is probably the best of all. He works and is self sustaining.
Yes, Nate did start this ball rolling and that’s exactly why I thought he should stay. I wouldn’t be too hard on ol’ Nate- I suspect he’s fairly young and has a fire in his belly, so he can be exasperating at times. I remember those times (vaguely!). But he took a chance on us and I think over time we could all benefit from his point of view as long as everything’s kept fairly constructive.
I don’t disagree, and that’s why I let his comments through in the first place. I agree with your assessment.
It was just a situation I needed to keep an eye on. If people don’t have fire in their belly, nothing ever gets done. It’s sort of like the good side of NIMBY. If people didn’t care about issues right there in their own “yards,” who would care?
I don’t think that Nate has gotten to the point where he realizes everyone isn’t going to feel the fire and that perhaps selling an idea is preferable to beating someone over the head with it.
I have a button that says Age and treachery will overcome youth and inexperience each and every time. I thought of that.
Nate is welcome to come back.
and we need to get away from this BS that the US is the most tax country in the world. We are not. Repeat, we are not the most taxed country in the world. Comparing our corporate income tax to that of say Ireland – does not relate as they have a high VAT (Value Added Tax) which we do not have in the US. We are actually middle of the pack with many other countries with higher tax burdens.
Stop deceiving us with this high tax nonsense. Stop singing the ridiculous pledge that prevents one from doing anything constructive.
We are far from the most taxed country in the world.
@Pat.Herve
What we do have that the others do not is double taxation.
We tax them on what is earned in other countries. The other countries limit it to what is earned in THAT country.
Thus, our companies merge with other companies headquartered overseas and our companies keep billions of profit offshore.
@Cargosquid
Good point, Cargo. We should tax corporations based on what percentage of their sales are in the U.S. That change would virtually eliminate “inversions.” Johnson Controls is undergoing a “move” to Ireland right now that will deny the U.S. treasury 150 million a year. That’s gratitude for the taxpayers bailing them out in 2009-10!
@Cargosquid
Corporations are not double taxed.
If they pay taxes where the income is earned, that is counted towards a foreign tax credit. It is not double taxed. What our corporations have done is exported the profits to wholly owned foreign entities. They want the US to police the oceans and lands – yet pay for none of it. Corporations are setting up shame operations in Bermuda, Cayman Islands and other areas just for the sake of income shifting in order to avoid paying taxes to any entity.
Maybe we should change to a territorial tax system (the income shifting issue still exists) – but we will to if Congress refuses to think and debate.
Rubio sure got his butt handed to him last night! Too bad for you guys. He was your best chance at recapturing the WH.