Culture Wars

[Rick]

 

I'm hardly proposing defunding the police and most practical people aren't either. I think Camden's solution is illustrative but largely impossible to duplicate in most situations. 'Defund the police' is at lot easier to print or chant than 'retrain and reform the police and make sure there is a system to hold them accountable', in much the same way saying 'lock her up' is an easy way to denote dissatisfaction with democrats even the the target in question isn't running for any office.

 

Police reform isn't going to fix the poverty you see in the inner city with the segments of the population that everyone has deemed as being the targets of systemic racism. Instead it turns into how we can apologize for things we don't do while ignoring the things that need to actually happen.

 

Fixing the schools so these kids have something other than violent crime to turn to would be a good start. Fixing the economic wasteland the cities are would also be a good start. Instead we're going the opposite way. The tax base is being punished, we're all self flagellating as to how we're guilty of sin and not actually fixing ANY of the actual problems.

 

There is monetary poverty and then there is the much worse leadership poverty. With 3/4 black kids born out of wedlock one can easily see where this problem begins. With a tax-payer supported welfare system one can easily see why this problem is perpetuated. The last good, national-level Democrat Daniel Patrick Moynihan, late U.S. Senator from New York pointed this out in 1965 with his "The Negro Family: The Case For National Action."

From then Senator Obama on June, 2008 "...We know that more than half of all black children live in single-parent households, a number that has doubled — doubled — since we were children. We know the statistics — that children who grow up without a father are five times more likely to live in poverty and commit crime; nine times more likely to drop out of schools and 20 times more likely to end up in prison. They are more likely to have behavioral problems, or run away from home or become teenage parents themselves. And the foundations of our community are weaker because of it."

Now is the time for prominent black fathers to speak out on this greatest failure of the a community and a nation. Ex-President Obama, General Colin Powell, etc. need to speak out on this lack of men and specifically this lack of fathers. When inspiration is needed one can totally rely on the greatest father/son relationship the world will ever see in God and Jesus Christ.

[Roman Alymov]

 

Popular mechanics: How to Topple a Statue Using Science

Bring that sucker down without anyone getting hurt.

By James Stout

Jun 15, 2020

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a32870657/remove-statue-science/?fbclid=IwAR2IIslb7eNFVpsWP2cn2BrnC_cb9KHwjo7aW5xBgoQGeFELILCPPMtdpNw

 

Disappointing to realize that Popular Mechanics, which was once about constructing and building things, has placed itself firmly on the burn-it-all-down side of the culture war. We can add this to the Egyptologist who recently explained in detail how to pull down offending obelisks. The Taliban must be so proud.

 

 

 

Should you happen to find yourself near a statue that you decide you no longer like, we asked scientists for the best, safest ways to bring it to the ground without anyone getting hurt—except, of course, for the inanimate racist who’s been dead for a century anyway.

Yes, this is all you need to proceed - "you decide you no longer like" X - that makes it fine to proceed with ropes, butane torches and thermite. Petitioning the municipal authorities or the institution on whose grounds the statue sits to get the offending statue removed by democratic means is so gauche and uncool, I guess. Feelings don't care about facts or anything except immediate gratification right effing NOW!!!

 

Slightly surprised they didn't include how to make your own explosives as well, but presumably there was an editor with an eye towards legal matters. Or maybe that is coming next month.

**********************

 

On to the next.

And the next.

Popular Mechanics has your back.

 

--

Soren

 

Post-Soviet migrants in USA and other Western countries are terrified – the mood in their social networks is like “We are witnessing great country collapsing around us for the second time in our lifetime”, some consider buying arms and forming self-defense groups.

[Stuart Galbraith]

 

As far as I know this was a shoot against a law abiding citizen who legally carried and informed officers he was carrying. I am aware of any criminal activity in this particular case, both priors and during incident.

 

Have you watched the footage of the stop at the Wendy's off of University avenue in Atlanta? the one that Brooks died at? Tell Look at the conversation and look at the fight.

 

Now, think of EVERY encounter you have with 1/2 the people you work with can got that direction at the drop of a hat, up to and including you being shot just suddenly.

 

Like this:

 

Now, in Castile's case the officer CLEARLY did the wrong thing and was jumpy. I've encountered similarly somewhat jumpy officers. You know what I did? I was slow, I kept my hands out and I didn't fiddle with my pockets. I deliberately interlaced my fingers in front of me and did what they said. Due to the circumstances I could tell BOTH were nervous and I did what I could to make it clear I was not a threat.

 

Josh, ever see this incident before?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsrC5QV_Yrc

 

Ryan, did you ever stop to think that if you have to act like morphine in front of two Jumpy Cops for fear of setting them off, there is something inherently wrong there?

 

If I ever get pulled over, I want this guy to do it. Which just goes to show, there are plenty of cops out there as steady as a rock.

[Ssnake]

Anyone in the US that you encounter (as a police officer, or as a normal person) could be armed. That likelihood alone tends to make people nervous. It may be that people who regularly do not carry a weapon don't think about this much - but they should, before judging LEOs. Now you could say that "weapons are the problem" but you won't get to push the toothpaste back, so debating "guns" on the fundamental level is a waste of time or an indicator that you don't actually want to debate any hot button topic that has a chance of actually addressing contributing factors.

 

Do asshole cops exist?

Absolutely.

Do they tend to abuse their position of authority?

Without doubt.

Are police unions part of the problem that these assholes can't get removed from their jobs?

It seems so.

 

Does that justify arson, riots, general lawlessness, the plan to disband all police?

Hell, no!

[Stargrunt6]

 

 

As for why this is happening and why local municipalities are submitting to it - because it keeps happening and nothing gets solved, time after time, and this particular time due to COVID, lot of people, including a lot of white people, have plenty of free time to demonstrate repeatedly.

What is demonstrating going to do?What's the actual problem? What's causing it. Why do you think urban police departments get into altercations with citizens who have substantive criminal histories and then there's a fight and a shooting? Why is this framed as racism when there's even black officers involved from the officer to the senior police leadership and mayor? Perhaps something else is going on?The anti-trump frustration is just more projection of what the problem is caused by and ignoring the reality.

I think Murph once said something along the lines of 'do your job right and the camera is your friend'. What we're seeing is a whole lot of cops not doing their job right, both in these killings and their reaction to peaceful protests (rioters are a different enforcement issue). People have been asking for changes to the police force sinceRodney King and nothing happened. Now a few things are happening. Perhaps that will prevent future protests and rioting. We will see. Serious question: do you think cops in Atlanta treat blacks the same as whites?

I think police everywhere treat suspects they deal with with a great deal of temerity given they can go from calm to deadly in the blink of an eye. Having actually spoken to officers that have been in shootings and many encounters I have a pretty good idea of what they are and are not concerned with. They're generally NOT concerned about a white or black man who's armed, has a carry license they've seen and is effectively at ZERO chance of shooting them because he doesn't want to get a speeding ticket. They are concerned about suspects who are in neighborhoods where the cops will be shot for even attempting to do the jobs that we ostensibly pay them to do.Ever beat your dog for doing what you want it to do? Does that work? Cops in many cities are like beaten dogs. They get beaten for barking at the wrong people AND then people get mad that they don't bark at the people they WANT them to bark at. So, naturally they're fucked up and bite at the wrong time.

I agree with this. Police are also humans. So if tbe environment gles bad and they are sandwiched between bad enrionment and dysfunctional laws that hamper on police effectiveness, then it should be expected that errors in the force will increase. That doesn't go as far as entirely excusing police errors. But BLM related activities being triggered from the police error is exceeding by far a reasonable reaction. Rather what it is doing is forming an additional pressure point to the already bad environment and dysnfunctional laws.

In the words of Scott Adams "they (the activists)talked themselves past the sale."

[Ivanhoe]

Anyone in the US that you encounter (as a police officer, or as a normal person) could be armed. That likelihood alone tends to make people nervous. It may be that people who regularly do not carry a weapon don't think about this much - but they should, before judging LEOs. Now you could say that "weapons are the problem" but you won't get to push the toothpaste back, so debating "guns" on the fundamental level is a waste of time or an indicator that you don't actually want to debate any hot button topic that has a chance of actually addressing contributing factors.

 

I live in what Americans consider a firearm-intensive AO. I am surrounded by armed people on a daily basis. I'm not nervous about that (especially considering the much more significant carnage on the roads).

 

Before the CCW movement swept the land, the vast majority of commonplace people carrying concealed were habitual offenders. Strangely, obody had a problem with that. Except LEOs, of course.

 

Just a reminder, the reinvention of body armor and the development of a massive body armor industry came from a pizza delivery guy who found that his market wasn't pizza delivery guys but LEOs.

 

Shooting at LEOs became a big thing in the 1960s, enthusiastically supported by the Black Panthers, who are being emulated by BLM.

[DKTanker]

 

Josh, where do you live? Were you effected by the rioting? Were you even effected by the police killing a man who was drunk, out on parole and didn't want to go back to prison? Do you think that's worth burning down anything over?

 

He doesn't give a damn, his side is winning. Even if everything he owns and people he loves went up in smoke, he knows that the greater good is being served. That's just who the left is.

[Stuart Galbraith]

Anyone in the US that you encounter (as a police officer, or as a normal person) could be armed. That likelihood alone tends to make people nervous. It may be that people who regularly do not carry a weapon don't think about this much - but they should, before judging LEOs. Now you could say that "weapons are the problem" but you won't get to push the toothpaste back, so debating "guns" on the fundamental level is a waste of time or an indicator that you don't actually want to debate any hot button topic that has a chance of actually addressing contributing factors.

 

Do asshole cops exist?

Absolutely.

Do they tend to abuse their position of authority?

Without doubt.

Are police unions part of the problem that these assholes can't get removed from their jobs?

It seems so.

 

Does that justify arson, riots, general lawlessness, the plan to disband all police?

Hell, no!

It doesnt justifying arson, riots, general lawlessness or plans to disband the police, absolutely. OTOH, as in many cases in my own country when safe little coteries ignore change for decades, when it finally comes it comes in a tidal wave. The police Unions knew there as a problem with police/public interaction for years. They knew in particularly there was a problem with police/racial minorities for years. They stalled, refused to deal with it honestly. I dont support whats coming, otoh, they have all but greased the rails for it with their own intransigence.

[glenn239]

Anyone in the US that you encounter (as a police officer, or as a normal person) could be armed. That likelihood alone tends to make people nervous. It may be that people who regularly do not carry a weapon don't think about this much - but they should, before judging LEOs. Now you could say that "weapons are the problem" but you won't get to push the toothpaste back, so debating "guns" on the fundamental level is a waste of time or an indicator that you don't actually want to debate any hot button topic that has a chance of actually addressing contributing factors.

 

Do asshole cops exist?

Absolutely.

Do they tend to abuse their position of authority?

Without doubt.

Are police unions part of the problem that these assholes can't get removed from their jobs?

It seems so.

 

Does that justify arson, riots, general lawlessness, the plan to disband all police?

Hell, no!

 

Hair trigger cops and hair trigger suspects are the problem. I was pulled over leaving a 'burb on the outskirts of Chicago a few years back. The cop said that he did it because I had a blue running light in my headlight. I assumed what he was actually saying was that my blue running light caused him to think I was black and why would a black guy from Chicago be driving on that highway in the morning? So, right off the bat I'm thinking this guy is nuts. Then, he asks me if I have weapons in the car and I say no. Good answer. The rest of the encounter goes smoothly and I'm on my way in 10 minutes, and all that time I felt I was dealing with a sociopath nutcase that could go off at any second. Utterly unlike any cop I've ever dealt with in Canada.

[rmgill]

There is monetary poverty and then there is the much worse leadership poverty. With 3/4 black kids born out of wedlock one can easily see where this problem begins. With a tax-payer supported welfare system one can easily see why this problem is perpetuated. The last good, national-level Democrat Daniel Patrick Moynihan, late U.S. Senator from New York pointed this out in 1965 with his "The Negro Family: The Case For National Action."

From then Senator Obama on June, 2008 "...We know that more than half of all black children live in single-parent households, a number that has doubled — doubled — since we were children. We know the statistics — that children who grow up without a father are five times more likely to live in poverty and commit crime; nine times more likely to drop out of schools and 20 times more likely to end up in prison. They are more likely to have behavioral problems, or run away from home or become teenage parents themselves. And the foundations of our community are weaker because of it."

Now is the time for prominent black fathers to speak out on this greatest failure of the a community and a nation. Ex-President Obama, General Colin Powell, etc. need to speak out on this lack of men and specifically this lack of fathers. When inspiration is needed one can totally rely on the greatest father/son relationship the world will ever see in God and Jesus Christ.

 

It needs more than 'speaking out'. It needs policy change and removing the income cliff to moving out of poverty and off of social assistance.

[rmgill]

It needs more than 'speaking out'. It needs policy change and removing the income cliff to moving out of poverty and off of social assistance.

 

There is monetary poverty and then there is the much worse leadership poverty. With 3/4 black kids born out of wedlock one can easily see where this problem begins. With a tax-payer supported welfare system one can easily see why this problem is perpetuated. The last good, national-level Democrat Daniel Patrick Moynihan, late U.S. Senator from New York pointed this out in 1965 with his "The Negro Family: The Case For National Action."

From then Senator Obama on June, 2008 "...We know that more than half of all black children live in single-parent households, a number that has doubled — doubled — since we were children. We know the statistics — that children who grow up without a father are five times more likely to live in poverty and commit crime; nine times more likely to drop out of schools and 20 times more likely to end up in prison. They are more likely to have behavioral problems, or run away from home or become teenage parents themselves. And the foundations of our community are weaker because of it."

Now is the time for prominent black fathers to speak out on this greatest failure of the a community and a nation. Ex-President Obama, General Colin Powell, etc. need to speak out on this lack of men and specifically this lack of fathers. When inspiration is needed one can totally rely on the greatest father/son relationship the world will ever see in God and Jesus Christ.

[rmgill]

Ryan, did you ever stop to think that if you have to act like morphine in front of two Jumpy Cops for fear of setting them off, there is something inherently wrong there?

Well in the one instance it was 2am, they were obviously young, I was armed and I was driving the Ferret that looks like it has an GPMG in the turret. I was calm and polite but I was also politely critical when one of them asked if my handgun was "registered". I calmly pointed out that it wasn't and that gun registration attempts by local government was actually illegal in Georgia. They clearly relaxed more once it was clear I was not in a reasonable position to machine gun them down and drive away. The were obviously fishing for something, but knew they had nothing to go on. I was legal and they had no RAS. I wasn't mad about it because a ferret driving around the County Seat at 2am IS kinda odd. I called the next day, spoke to a SGT and left some witty criticism for the SGT who was similarly amused but was also going to have a talk with them.

 

I've also been standing in a parking lot talking with several officers while I had a handgun on my hip, a carbine slung and a bicycle I was using to go to the range nearby. They had had reports of a someone with a large machine gun (haha FS2000) and the Major was also fishing because he thought he could. He had 3 officers and a Lt there as well. Again there, I was polite, firm in my assertion of my rights but I didn't dance around and fiddle with my hip, belt, gun or pockets or behave in a rude manner because I'd been stopped without legal cause. I did object to the Tier II terry, but clearly stated that the tier I that the Lt started it out as was entirely reasonable which.

 

You can stand up for your rights politely and firmly without being a complete asshole.

 

If I ever get pulled over, I want this guy to do it. Which just goes to show, there are plenty of cops out there as steady as a rock.

There are several lessons with the murder of that Deputy.

 

1. he was too afraid to shoot someone who needed shooting.

2. encounters can go sideways badly, some don't always give warning and some that seem like someone who's slightly unhinged can go VERY badly.

3. police work is dangerous. Ignoring those dangers for the cops is foolish.

[rmgill]

Hair trigger cops and hair trigger suspects are the problem. I was pulled over leaving a 'burb on the outskirts of Chicago a few years back. The cop said that he did it because I had a blue running light in my headlight. I assumed what he was actually saying was that my blue running light caused him to think I was black and why would a black guy from Chicago be driving on that highway in the morning? So, right off the bat I'm thinking this guy is nuts. Then, he asks me if I have weapons in the car and I say no. Good answer. The rest of the encounter goes smoothly and I'm on my way in 10 minutes, and all that time I felt I was dealing with a sociopath nutcase that could go off at any second. Utterly unlike any cop I've ever dealt with in Canada.

Given the rate of homicides in Chicago, it's possible he deals with sociopaths all the time. There's an issue with Illinois where if you have guns you can be a problem. Down here where there's not a monopoly on force, having a gun, being clear about it and having a carry license is a quick way to dial back most encounters when they realize that the chances of you suddenly trying to shoot them have dropped to nil. I've stood in a crowd of folks who were all armed, at a protest with cops standing around and everyone was calm and polite with no one freaking out (other than Bloomberg's moms who don't get enough action.).

[Tim the Tank Nut]

way back in the thread Josh posted do cops in Atlanta treat black people differently than white people?

Do black people in Atlanta act differently than white people?

Is Atlanta (the city) run by Republicans or Democrats?

Are Police unions primarily supporters of Republicans or Democrats?

 

See, Democrat policies are why we are where we are today. Seattle is not exactly a Team R stronghold.

I'm not certain that President Trump will be re-elected. I hope very much that he will be but having said that electing the same people that have controlled Minneapolis and Seattle to the White House doesn't seem like a big advancement for the working class black people.

 

It is also worth remembering that the Left is proud of what they are and what they have done. They are not ashamed. As the election draws near their rhetoric will increase and the volume knob doesn't go past eleven...

[Jeff]

Ryan, outstanding job of making your case. Bravo!

[Jeff]

"Mostly peaceful"

 

Minneapolis Issues Map Showing Extent Of Buildings Damaged In Unrest Over George Floyd’s Death

 

[Jeff]

Brendan Carr

@BrendanCarrFCC

Google makes one of the strongest arguments yet for Section 230 reform.

 

Quote Tweet

Google Communications

@Google_Comms

· 19h

Our policies do not allow ads to run against dangerous or derogatory content, which includes comments on sites, and we offer guidance and best practices to publishers on how to comply. https://blog.google/products/adsense/manage-risks-associated-with-user-comments/

Show this thread

6:14 PM · Jun 16, 2020·

https://twitter.com/BrendanCarrFCC/status/1273016144912211968

 

2. Big Tech has long argued that it needs Section 230’s unique set of liability protections because websites simply couldn’t operate if they were held liable for comments or user-generated posts.

 

3. Not so, according to Google’s own ad policy!

Google is now holding The Federalist responsible for comments and user-generated posts, and Google will be demonetizing the website as a result.

 

4. Google has no problem treating The Federalist as the publisher of comments and user-generated posts on that website for purposes of Google’s own ad policy.

Yet Google expends significant resources to protect its own platforms from that type of treatment under Section 230.

 

5. This also appears to be an example of established media gatekeepers attempting to regain control of the political narrative - not through persuasion but coercion.

A legacy media outlet lobbied Big Tech to punish a new media competitor.

 

6. For Google, the hypocrisy here is stunning.

It has no problem providing a platform for Communist China propaganda, & it has censored posts the regime wouldn’t like.

Yet it draws a line on the comment section of a conservative publication in America.

 

 

[Jeff]

That's a shame. But hey, it was mostly peaceful, amirite?

 

Far Left WA Mayor Who ‘Took a Knee’ with Black Lives Matter Thugs Gets Home Vandalized During George Floyd Riots, Calls it “Domestic Terrorism”

[Roman Alymov]

 

I'm not certain that President Trump will be re-elected.

I’m afraid it does not matter if Trump will stay President for extra few years or not: looking from another side of Arctic Pole , I see no signs of situation with social split in USA healed – but, contrary, all signs of situation deteriorating. Events we see now are rooted back in decades (as well as collapse of USSR was rooted in decisions made in 1960th), so all Trump could do now is to slow down the process for some time, but not for long. The only thing that could possibly reverse the situation is some sort of white rural middle class and blue collar (plus, may be, what is left of industrial working class) uprising taking full control of entire country (including big cities) but it is extremely unlikely event.

 

[Murph]

That's a shame. But hey, it was mostly peaceful, amirite?

 

Far Left WA Mayor Who ‘Took a Knee’ with Black Lives Matter Thugs Gets Home Vandalized During George Floyd Riots, Calls it “Domestic Terrorism”

That mayor needs to check their privilege.

[Rick]

 

 

I'm not certain that President Trump will be re-elected.

I’m afraid it does not matter if Trump will stay President for extra few years or not: looking from another side of Arctic Pole , I see no signs of situation with social split in USA healed – but, contrary, all signs of situation deteriorating. Events we see now are rooted back in decades (as well as collapse of USSR was rooted in decisions made in 1960th), so all Trump could do now is to slow down the process for some time, but not for long. The only thing that could possibly reverse the situation is some sort of white rural middle class and blue collar (plus, may be, what is left of industrial working class) uprising taking full control of entire country (including big cities) but it is extremely unlikely event.

 

 

https://www.vox.com/2020/3/9/21151095/black-women-trump-gop-conservatism-gap-2020

 

Roman, the above U.S. liberal-leaning post gives, imo, some good, basic input into U.S. voting patterns. The white middle-class, especially men, will go Republican. And more non-white men are at least leaning toward Trump. It is men who will propel Trump to his second term. Also, hopefully, the U.S. Congress, ie House of Representatives, will go Republican. Again, just my opinion, at this point, the election will go to Trump and Congress will go, barely, Republican.

[Brasidas]

 

 

I'm not certain that President Trump will be re-elected.

I’m afraid it does not matter if Trump will stay President for extra few years or not: looking from another side of Arctic Pole , I see no signs of situation with social split in USA healed – but, contrary, all signs of situation deteriorating. Events we see now are rooted back in decades (as well as collapse of USSR was rooted in decisions made in 1960th), so all Trump could do now is to slow down the process for some time, but not for long. The only thing that could possibly reverse the situation is some sort of white rural middle class and blue collar (plus, may be, what is left of industrial working class) uprising taking full control of entire country (including big cities) but it is extremely unlikely event.

 

 

 

There are too many diverse interests and no focal figure for either side. Leftists are fractured and infighting, and the right wing is similar. I'm 50/50 on if armed internal conflict will break out near term, and if it does, you're not getting a Humpty Dumpty at the end unless someone volunteers to be the new Hitler/Stalin and sanitizes the opposition out of society. Till then, if armed internal conflict does break out and is not contained, I see large scale balkanization being the new normal.

[lucklucky]

Marxist Journalism says you are a no person. Now you know why you will see capitalized Black and non capitalized white. Orwell would recognize this.

 

 

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/washington-secrets/media-race-to-capitalize-b-for-black-keep-w-for-whites-lowercase

 

America’s press is rushing to show its support and sensitivity for the movement led by Black Lives Matter by capitalizing "Black" while keeping “white” lowercase.

USA Today and its network of 260 media outlets announced the plan in the last week. It is also a style policy in other newsrooms, including NBC News, the Los Angeles Times, and Chicago Sun-Times, and some expect the Associated Press to follow soon.

 

The Los Angeles Times, USA Today and NBC News last week decided to capitalize Black, and the National Association of Black Journalists urged other news organizations to do the same.
AP leaders continue to discuss. For now, we lowercase black and white.https://t.co/XsgiOJQudQ

— APStylebook (@APStylebook) June 16, 2020

“AP leaders continue to discuss. For now, we lowercase black and white,” said the outlet on Twitter.

African American is uppercased in virtually all media.

At the Columbia Journalism Review, which also capitalizes “B” but not “w,” a new column explained the difference.

 

To our readers: Why we’re now capitalizing the ‘B’ in Black https://t.co/SiRime5ZLT

— Nader Issa (@NaderDIssa) June 15, 2020

“Black is an ethnic designation; white merely describes the skin color of people who can, usually without much difficulty, trace their ethnic origins back to a handful of European countries,” it said.

CJR added, “This all makes for a good start, but it will mean nothing if white Americans don’t make an effort to understand the whys and wherefores — which is to say, the history that delivered us to this precise point in time. That, of course, will be a taller order than simply asking them to capitalize one little letter.”

 

Edited June 17, 2020 by lucklucky

[Jeff]

“Black is an ethnic designation; white merely describes the skin color of people"

 

Wut?

 

Africa being so homogeneous and all.

[Brasidas]

“Black is an ethnic designation; white merely describes the skin color of people"

 

Wut?

 

Africa being so homogeneous and all.

Personally, I love the fact that Mirriam-Webster changed the definition of racism, so that the term can be applied to anything you don't like.