The pro-police people getting wound up about this are mischaracterizing the whole thing, It's not about being anti-police. Most people have no problems with the police when they are properly doing doing their jobs. It's not about defending the guy that got shot. I noticed that no one is questioning why tactical plain clothes police were making a traffic stop. Isn't that normally done by uniformed police in marked vehicles? Was a traffic stop the real reason? 96 shots? Yes, the guy should not have shot at them. But I wonder how many people reading this live in a neighborhood where stopping your car for the wrong people could get you killed? I want the protesters to look at something else. The police are always good guys when going after others. What if it were you? I am a senior citizen from the south side of Chicago. I can't count the number of times I have heard people complain about police pulling them over rather than going after people for serious crimes. 96 shots? What if some of those bullets had kept going and killed innocent people merely going about their daily business? What I am saying is that there is a middle ground here. I am all for the police when they are protecting me and taking dangerous people off the street in a legal manner. When they don't do it the right way, that is something else.
The idea of schools teaching how to conduct oneself when detained by police is intriguing. It could be very good and save lives, but I a afraid it would be another circus of a "debate". Teaching people to know their rights and how to enforce them, would certainly be seen as teaching them how not to get caught for crimes they have done. Imagine the reaction from MADD if schools told kids how to avoid taking a roadside breathalizer test when a cop tells them to do it?
It's so obvious the cops had a tip about Reed possessing a gun illegally, possibly they had a tip he had committed a crime with it & wanted to take him off the street & get him into jail.
But what I don't get is the seat belt lie, since they could've used the fact he had extra dark tinted windows in the front seats which are illegal in Illinois. Why not say that for the reason to make the stop? More proof we hire some really stupid people to be cops!
I can tell you, as a pedestrian & bike rider, I hate those extra dark windows, as seeing a driver's face when crossing the street is necessary for my own safety. I wish the cops would pull everyone with them over & ticket them.
And I think they didn't fire 96 times, just 79 times, which is still too many, as a couple of the cops actually managed to switch out their expended magazines for new full ones, the other 17 shots were from Reed, as that's how many expended shells they found inside his car. I thought I read that one of the cops shot him when he was already dead on the ground outside the car. That was definitely overkill!
Is Elon Musk aware that if one wants to read "X" on a desktop computer, one must go to twitter.com? So long as that's still the address, Imma call it Twitter too
Time for a fun story. The year is 1968, earlier that year my family moved from Massachusetts to Wheaton, Illinois. We are moving up to middle class to a new housing development It is May and I am finishing up my studies to graduate from Wheaton Central High School (and about to be drafted).
Anyway it is a nice May evening and I am coming home at 8:30 pm from the Wheaton Public Library in my Dad’s Ford Country Squire Station Wagon. I am 5 foot 5 inches, whiter than white, wearing a Massachusetts letter jacket (track) and carrying library books. I am heading to the side door of my home.
Suddenly a Wheaton Police car with lights flashing (no siren) comes flying across our newly seeded lawn. A single officer jumps out of the car puts his search beam on me, pulls out his shot gun, aims at me and yells freeze. So I freeze. He then approaches me with the gun pointed at my face…until he gets real close. He slaps the books out of my hand and tells me to put my hands up, then put my upper torso on the hood of the car and to spread my legs and back up. As I am doing this, he puts the shot gun to the back of my head,
I say to him “Officer, I think you are making a mistake” in a low matter of fact voice. He screams “Shut up punk” and pushes the barrel of the gun against my head. He then frisks me, taking out my car keys, my wallet and placing it on the hood of the car.
By this time the lights from the police car has attracted my Dad . He opens the side door and asks the policeman what is wrong. “I caught this punk trying to rob your house” he says in reply.
My Dad goes “That’s my son.”.
The Policeman immediately pulls the shotgun off my head, sprints back to his car, puts the searchlight in my Dad’s face and then takes off from our front yard (further damaging our new lawn) and disappears into the night. Neither of us got a good look at him, so no identification was possible.
My Dad asks me what was that all about. I told him I had no idea, it was like he was staked out waiting for me. I then thanked my Dad for identifying me and he laughed.
I had no prior criminal record, I was a member of the National Honor Society and
had no prior contact with any Wheaton Police since coming to Illinois.
One last note, none of the books looked like guns and they were checked out legally from the library…whoa…glad I am not Black.
I guess the Police at times can see the world from a whole different perspective. I trusted the Police at that time, it did not occur to me to run, I wonder if he would have blasted me if I tried to escape.
Leaving the "we knew he had a gun" death aside ( a massive mistake that must be investigated), is it simple minded to ask why, in cases where a minor infraction (no tail light, not wearing a seat belt, those cursed tinted windows, etc.) is spotted, the police do not simply take a picture of the license plate and follow up not in traffic and not after the heat of a chase.
On one of the Sunday morning news programs, Gov. Chris Sununu (who I generally think is a jerk) said something possibly insightful, that a lot of the Republican electorate doesn’t care who’s at the top of the ticket, they just want a change of administration, and Trump is just some of the baggage they have to put up with to achieve that. While I don’t claim this is widely true, it may be true enough to make a difference.
Happy Tuesday! First, fuck the right-wing. They are worthless individuals with no redeeming qualities who cannot begin to comprehend the concept of rights, only privilege at their discretion. They are incapable of living in our inclusive, liberal society without trying to destroy it. They are authoritarians and precisely the ilk that we need to ensure never get a badge or put in any position of authority. It is their mentality that created this situation.
This mentality could never cotton to the idea that government's central role is to ensure equal treatment under the law, equal opportunity, protection of individual rights and participation in and consent to governance. These were the people who fought for slavery, implemented Jim Crow and then Separate But Equal, fought for segregation and thus set the stage for generations of unequal opportunity that created the environment for crime. They militarized police forces and granted them ever greater authority to use deadly force and defended abuse as necessary to fight crime.
I suggest that everyone read Radley Balko's book "Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces" to gain an understanding of how we got here. The right are scared, petty people who have no place in our inclusive, liberal society. The only answer is to marginalize them.
"Jake’s description of how the right characterizes the far left is fairly apt though the characterization itself is wildly misleading."
I'd argue it's not quite as misleading as it used to be, but, yes, very true, especially as to actual state- or national-level Democratic politicians.
The thing is, even if there's not even a kernel of truth to it, the fact remains that lots of people see Democrats in that light, and so Democrats need to distance themselves forcefully from these perceptions. The "brand," as people like to say, is in the toilet. This is an emergency!
This article, arguing that Biden needs to worry about the center more than the left seems right to me.
What the article points out is that Biden is actually governing as the sort of center-left type people like. But people don't see him as governing that way. They don't know that he's doing just what they want. This is partly because the administration itself frames its record in more progressive terms that don't align with what most people want to hear. Very irritating! Example:
"One case in point is energy policy. Under Biden, American energy production has reached historic highs—a popular accomplishment that voters overwhelmingly support. But you would never know it from listening to him. The achievement went unmentioned in the president’s recent State of the Union address and his recent campaign speeches, where he has preferred to talk about climate investments and 'environmental justice.' Perhaps as a result, most Americans disapprove of his handling of energy, and many blame him for high gas prices."
Great VTotWs this go-round EZ! I had a hard time choosing between Teacher Shortage Emergency and Banjo Attack - I selected the latter because I snorted out loud when reading it. Bear Attack Ice Cream solace was also excellent (and is leading, currently).
I agree with your take on the necessary thorough review of the Reed case. I remember how much heat you took from your own side in the position you staked out in the Adam Toledo case.
I think Jake H's approach is a good one regarding Dem messaging.
If your readers haven't read it yet - they should seek out Paul Waldman's co-authored piece in the New Republic https://newrepublic.com/article/180570/trump-rural-white-resentment-honest-assessment. The Mainstream Media simply does not want to call a spade a spade. (Waldman used to write for WaPo as part of Greg Sargent's "Plum Line" column.)
I disagree with JakeH that President Biden should create lots of Sister Souljah moments. Say what you will, but many of the positions that some people consider to be “woke” are good positions that look towards the future as opposed to what JakeH suggests the Dems should choose as the first three elements in their platform: “God, country, and freedom.” Policies to reduce climate change, policies to insure that minorities and women are represented in important positions in government and business (DEI), policies to assist immigrants displaced by climate change and/or dictatorial governments—those are all policies that are forward-looking, that look forward to a world interconnected by the internet, trade, and peaceful cooperation. Demonizing those policies to appeal to the “God, country, and freedom” folks is really paying homage to a backward looking view, to the views of people who are afraid of change.
When I see Republicans chanting “USA, USA, USA” as we saw Trump supporters chanting outside the Manhattan courthouse where Trump was on trial, they seem so childlike to me. “God, country, and freedom.” You know, we are the only country ever to use nuclear weapons against a civilian population. Maybe we shouldn’t be shouting “USA, USA, USA” so much; maybe we shouldn’t be promoting that sort of unthinking childlike patriotism; maybe we should be considering how to work together with people from other nations, who also love their countries, to create a world where cooperation rather than combat is revered.
Sister Souljah moments. No thanks. I, for one, have no desire to genuflect and pay homage to the “God, country, and freedom” crowd.
I just finished listening to last week's Mincing Rascals Podcast. I can't believe Marj Halperin suggest the police planted the gun found in Justin Reed's car! She adds no value to the podcast and doesn't realize there's more than one side to a story -- even you, Eric, occasionally demonstrate this ;) BTW, this week's visual tweets were the best ever -- I couldn't make up mind!
I am a Dad to three daughters (35,38 and 41 now) and they grabbed onto and went through many “fashion” trends. Piercings. Multi color hair. A short try at gothish for one. Baggy jeans, too short skirts (go upstairs and put on some clothes please.) With almost all of it I took my wife’s advice which was “don’t worry, it will pass”, and it always did. But the one single fashion trend that I do not understand is the ripped pants. Where did it come from? What does it mean? Do you get a discount because part of the material is missing. It’s a mystery to me.
The pro-police people getting wound up about this are mischaracterizing the whole thing, It's not about being anti-police. Most people have no problems with the police when they are properly doing doing their jobs. It's not about defending the guy that got shot. I noticed that no one is questioning why tactical plain clothes police were making a traffic stop. Isn't that normally done by uniformed police in marked vehicles? Was a traffic stop the real reason? 96 shots? Yes, the guy should not have shot at them. But I wonder how many people reading this live in a neighborhood where stopping your car for the wrong people could get you killed? I want the protesters to look at something else. The police are always good guys when going after others. What if it were you? I am a senior citizen from the south side of Chicago. I can't count the number of times I have heard people complain about police pulling them over rather than going after people for serious crimes. 96 shots? What if some of those bullets had kept going and killed innocent people merely going about their daily business? What I am saying is that there is a middle ground here. I am all for the police when they are protecting me and taking dangerous people off the street in a legal manner. When they don't do it the right way, that is something else.
The idea of schools teaching how to conduct oneself when detained by police is intriguing. It could be very good and save lives, but I a afraid it would be another circus of a "debate". Teaching people to know their rights and how to enforce them, would certainly be seen as teaching them how not to get caught for crimes they have done. Imagine the reaction from MADD if schools told kids how to avoid taking a roadside breathalizer test when a cop tells them to do it?
It's so obvious the cops had a tip about Reed possessing a gun illegally, possibly they had a tip he had committed a crime with it & wanted to take him off the street & get him into jail.
But what I don't get is the seat belt lie, since they could've used the fact he had extra dark tinted windows in the front seats which are illegal in Illinois. Why not say that for the reason to make the stop? More proof we hire some really stupid people to be cops!
I can tell you, as a pedestrian & bike rider, I hate those extra dark windows, as seeing a driver's face when crossing the street is necessary for my own safety. I wish the cops would pull everyone with them over & ticket them.
And I think they didn't fire 96 times, just 79 times, which is still too many, as a couple of the cops actually managed to switch out their expended magazines for new full ones, the other 17 shots were from Reed, as that's how many expended shells they found inside his car. I thought I read that one of the cops shot him when he was already dead on the ground outside the car. That was definitely overkill!
Is Elon Musk aware that if one wants to read "X" on a desktop computer, one must go to twitter.com? So long as that's still the address, Imma call it Twitter too
Time for a fun story. The year is 1968, earlier that year my family moved from Massachusetts to Wheaton, Illinois. We are moving up to middle class to a new housing development It is May and I am finishing up my studies to graduate from Wheaton Central High School (and about to be drafted).
Anyway it is a nice May evening and I am coming home at 8:30 pm from the Wheaton Public Library in my Dad’s Ford Country Squire Station Wagon. I am 5 foot 5 inches, whiter than white, wearing a Massachusetts letter jacket (track) and carrying library books. I am heading to the side door of my home.
Suddenly a Wheaton Police car with lights flashing (no siren) comes flying across our newly seeded lawn. A single officer jumps out of the car puts his search beam on me, pulls out his shot gun, aims at me and yells freeze. So I freeze. He then approaches me with the gun pointed at my face…until he gets real close. He slaps the books out of my hand and tells me to put my hands up, then put my upper torso on the hood of the car and to spread my legs and back up. As I am doing this, he puts the shot gun to the back of my head,
I say to him “Officer, I think you are making a mistake” in a low matter of fact voice. He screams “Shut up punk” and pushes the barrel of the gun against my head. He then frisks me, taking out my car keys, my wallet and placing it on the hood of the car.
By this time the lights from the police car has attracted my Dad . He opens the side door and asks the policeman what is wrong. “I caught this punk trying to rob your house” he says in reply.
My Dad goes “That’s my son.”.
The Policeman immediately pulls the shotgun off my head, sprints back to his car, puts the searchlight in my Dad’s face and then takes off from our front yard (further damaging our new lawn) and disappears into the night. Neither of us got a good look at him, so no identification was possible.
My Dad asks me what was that all about. I told him I had no idea, it was like he was staked out waiting for me. I then thanked my Dad for identifying me and he laughed.
I had no prior criminal record, I was a member of the National Honor Society and
had no prior contact with any Wheaton Police since coming to Illinois.
One last note, none of the books looked like guns and they were checked out legally from the library…whoa…glad I am not Black.
I guess the Police at times can see the world from a whole different perspective. I trusted the Police at that time, it did not occur to me to run, I wonder if he would have blasted me if I tried to escape.
We’ll never know…..
Leaving the "we knew he had a gun" death aside ( a massive mistake that must be investigated), is it simple minded to ask why, in cases where a minor infraction (no tail light, not wearing a seat belt, those cursed tinted windows, etc.) is spotted, the police do not simply take a picture of the license plate and follow up not in traffic and not after the heat of a chase.
On one of the Sunday morning news programs, Gov. Chris Sununu (who I generally think is a jerk) said something possibly insightful, that a lot of the Republican electorate doesn’t care who’s at the top of the ticket, they just want a change of administration, and Trump is just some of the baggage they have to put up with to achieve that. While I don’t claim this is widely true, it may be true enough to make a difference.
Happy Tuesday! First, fuck the right-wing. They are worthless individuals with no redeeming qualities who cannot begin to comprehend the concept of rights, only privilege at their discretion. They are incapable of living in our inclusive, liberal society without trying to destroy it. They are authoritarians and precisely the ilk that we need to ensure never get a badge or put in any position of authority. It is their mentality that created this situation.
This mentality could never cotton to the idea that government's central role is to ensure equal treatment under the law, equal opportunity, protection of individual rights and participation in and consent to governance. These were the people who fought for slavery, implemented Jim Crow and then Separate But Equal, fought for segregation and thus set the stage for generations of unequal opportunity that created the environment for crime. They militarized police forces and granted them ever greater authority to use deadly force and defended abuse as necessary to fight crime.
I suggest that everyone read Radley Balko's book "Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces" to gain an understanding of how we got here. The right are scared, petty people who have no place in our inclusive, liberal society. The only answer is to marginalize them.
"Jake’s description of how the right characterizes the far left is fairly apt though the characterization itself is wildly misleading."
I'd argue it's not quite as misleading as it used to be, but, yes, very true, especially as to actual state- or national-level Democratic politicians.
The thing is, even if there's not even a kernel of truth to it, the fact remains that lots of people see Democrats in that light, and so Democrats need to distance themselves forcefully from these perceptions. The "brand," as people like to say, is in the toilet. This is an emergency!
This article, arguing that Biden needs to worry about the center more than the left seems right to me.
https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/while-biden-worries-about-the-left-the-voters-he-needs-are-in-the-center-d9130c8b?mod=hp_lead_pos5
What the article points out is that Biden is actually governing as the sort of center-left type people like. But people don't see him as governing that way. They don't know that he's doing just what they want. This is partly because the administration itself frames its record in more progressive terms that don't align with what most people want to hear. Very irritating! Example:
"One case in point is energy policy. Under Biden, American energy production has reached historic highs—a popular accomplishment that voters overwhelmingly support. But you would never know it from listening to him. The achievement went unmentioned in the president’s recent State of the Union address and his recent campaign speeches, where he has preferred to talk about climate investments and 'environmental justice.' Perhaps as a result, most Americans disapprove of his handling of energy, and many blame him for high gas prices."
Great VTotWs this go-round EZ! I had a hard time choosing between Teacher Shortage Emergency and Banjo Attack - I selected the latter because I snorted out loud when reading it. Bear Attack Ice Cream solace was also excellent (and is leading, currently).
I agree with your take on the necessary thorough review of the Reed case. I remember how much heat you took from your own side in the position you staked out in the Adam Toledo case.
I think Jake H's approach is a good one regarding Dem messaging.
If your readers haven't read it yet - they should seek out Paul Waldman's co-authored piece in the New Republic https://newrepublic.com/article/180570/trump-rural-white-resentment-honest-assessment. The Mainstream Media simply does not want to call a spade a spade. (Waldman used to write for WaPo as part of Greg Sargent's "Plum Line" column.)
With children being shot and killed on a regular basis, I have no sympathy for Dexter Reed and his ilk.
That scene was a shit show from the onset, but the question I cannot get out of my head is, why did he not comply?
I disagree with JakeH that President Biden should create lots of Sister Souljah moments. Say what you will, but many of the positions that some people consider to be “woke” are good positions that look towards the future as opposed to what JakeH suggests the Dems should choose as the first three elements in their platform: “God, country, and freedom.” Policies to reduce climate change, policies to insure that minorities and women are represented in important positions in government and business (DEI), policies to assist immigrants displaced by climate change and/or dictatorial governments—those are all policies that are forward-looking, that look forward to a world interconnected by the internet, trade, and peaceful cooperation. Demonizing those policies to appeal to the “God, country, and freedom” folks is really paying homage to a backward looking view, to the views of people who are afraid of change.
When I see Republicans chanting “USA, USA, USA” as we saw Trump supporters chanting outside the Manhattan courthouse where Trump was on trial, they seem so childlike to me. “God, country, and freedom.” You know, we are the only country ever to use nuclear weapons against a civilian population. Maybe we shouldn’t be shouting “USA, USA, USA” so much; maybe we shouldn’t be promoting that sort of unthinking childlike patriotism; maybe we should be considering how to work together with people from other nations, who also love their countries, to create a world where cooperation rather than combat is revered.
Sister Souljah moments. No thanks. I, for one, have no desire to genuflect and pay homage to the “God, country, and freedom” crowd.
Another view on the idea of a Sister Souljah moment.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/11/29/joe-biden-sister-souljah-moment-523448
I just finished listening to last week's Mincing Rascals Podcast. I can't believe Marj Halperin suggest the police planted the gun found in Justin Reed's car! She adds no value to the podcast and doesn't realize there's more than one side to a story -- even you, Eric, occasionally demonstrate this ;) BTW, this week's visual tweets were the best ever -- I couldn't make up mind!
I am a Dad to three daughters (35,38 and 41 now) and they grabbed onto and went through many “fashion” trends. Piercings. Multi color hair. A short try at gothish for one. Baggy jeans, too short skirts (go upstairs and put on some clothes please.) With almost all of it I took my wife’s advice which was “don’t worry, it will pass”, and it always did. But the one single fashion trend that I do not understand is the ripped pants. Where did it come from? What does it mean? Do you get a discount because part of the material is missing. It’s a mystery to me.