[City Journal Online] The war on cops, ideological and sometimes lethal, may be expanding into a broader race war, in which only one side fights. The thugs who torched businesses and police cars, assaulted cops, and shot at firemen in northwestern Milwaukee on Saturday night went after "white bitches," among other targets. (The riots were inspired by the fatal police shooting of Sylville K. Smith, a black man. Smith, who had an extensive arrest record, including for a shooting, fled from officers after a traffic stop while carrying a stolen handgun; he refused commands to drop the gun. Wisconsin governor Scott Walker has activated the state’s National Guard and declared a state of emergency, but violence continued into Sunday night, with four officers injured, three squad cars damaged, and multiple businesses burned down.) The Black Lives Matter-inspired assassin who murdered five police officers in Dallas in July 2016 said that he wanted to kill white people, as well as white cops. The vitriol that officers working in urban areas now encounter on a daily basis is inflected with racism.
And if the war on cops escalates into more frequent attacks on whites and their perceived interests, the elite establishment will bear much of the blame. For the last two years, President Barack Obama has seized every opportunity to advise blacks that they are the victims of a racist criminal justice system. We should not be surprised when that belief, so constantly inflamed, erupts into violence. Even in his remarks at the memorial service for the five murdered Dallas cops, Obama had the gall to trot out his usual racial vendetta against the police, even though he was fully on notice that cops were being killed because of it:
When African-Americans from all walks of life, from different communities across the country, voice a growing despair over what they perceive to be unequal treatment; when study after study shows that whites and people of color experience the criminal justice system differently, so that if you’re black, you’re more likely to be pulled over or searched or arrested, more likely to get longer sentences, more likely to get the death penalty for the same crime; when mothers and fathers raise their kids right and have "the talk" about how to respond if stopped by a police officer--"yes, sir," "no, sir"--but still fear that something terrible may happen when their child walks out the door, still fear that kids being stupid and not quite doing things right might end in tragedy--when all this takes place more than 50 years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, we cannot simply turn away and dismiss those in peaceful protest as troublemakers or paranoid.
Obama’s indictment ignored, as usual, the astronomically higher rates of black crime that fully explain racial disparities in the criminal justice system.
Meanwhile, Obama hasn’t uttered a word in condemnation of the lawless behavior in Milwaukee, two days into the events.
#1
Not to worry; Prez Hildabeest will put out the fires! Lower the oceans! Cool the planet! A chicken in every pot! And a pony.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/16/2016 10:46 Comments ||
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#2
Talks about mothers and fathers raising their children. Right there you know the writer doesn't mean the Democratically controlled, welfare state of the black community. They's just players and hos.
#4
In the interest of accuracy, this paragraph is from a memorial service speech by our Glorious Leader, Barack Obama, Calmer of Oceans, Healer of Nations:
When African-Americans from all walks of life, from different communities across the country, voice a growing despair over what they perceive to be unequal treatment; when study after study shows that whites and people of color experience the criminal justice system differently, so that if you’re black, you’re more likely to be pulled over or searched or arrested, more likely to get longer sentences, more likely to get the death penalty for the same crime; when mothers and fathers raise their kids right and have "the talk" about how to respond if stopped by a police officer--"yes, sir," "no, sir"--but still fear that something terrible may happen when their child walks out the door, still fear that kids being stupid and not quite doing things right might end in tragedy--when all this takes place more than 50 years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, we cannot simply turn away and dismiss those in peaceful protest as troublemakers or paranoid.
The author of the piece, Heather Mac Donald, has a much different viewpoint and a much deeper understanding of the underlying problem. tl;dr:
Obama’s indictment ignored, as usual, the astronomically higher rates of black crime that fully explain racial disparities in the criminal justice system.
#5
The power of the race card is the unwillingness of most Americans to risk being called racist, even when is clearly untrue.
It is factually accurate that blacks are disproportionately represented in criminal justice statistics and the incarcerated population in America. The answer Foe this in the most simplistic form is either that the system is racist or they are more criminal in their behavior.
Since few dare to assert the obvious it must be the system. The consequences of paternalistic public policy by predominantly democrat politicians has produced the inner city plantations of welfare moms and feral youths. Lacking any real understanding of the way the world works beyond their little tribal enclaves they sense they have been robbed by white people of what should come naturally to them.
This is a recipe for disaster and to win Hilda seems to use it. It will flare badly ....
#6
" we cannot simply turn away and dismiss those in peaceful protest as troublemakers or paranoid"
Sure we can. I've been hearing the same claims since the 2001 riots in Cincinnati -- and all but two of the cases those riots "championed" were clear-cut self-defense. The exceptions saw the officers charged and tried.
The problem is blacks don't think they need to obey the law. Then that attitude piles up into a career of crime, or being so drug-addled they couldn't work if they tried, and THEN comes some wannabe-Hitler who tells them it's all whiteys fault, because slavery. Because people who have never harmed them have the same skin color as someone who abused an ancestor 150 years ago, those people owe them everything.
Sorry, no. I'll listen to claims about police abuse, but most of the claims fall apart rather quickly. And then it seems like the more violent and abusive the thug, the more anger his death causes.
For God's sake, if half as much anger was shown towards the thugs whose random shots kill little kids...
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
08/16/2016 14:53 Comments ||
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#7
Urbanism has failed. If you don't have to go work in a big city, it's worth your while to locate somewhere outside the big urban areas' "tax event horizons...."
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/16/2016 16:42 Comments ||
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#8
What has surprised me is the number of African-Americans (at least the ones willing to say so on video) that seem to think crime is some kind of right.
"Why'd she have to shoot him? How else is he going to get stuff."
#9
...we cannot simply turn away and dismiss those in peaceful protest as troublemakers or paranoid.
1) It doesn't look to me like the Ferguson, Baltimore or Milwaukee 'protests' were peaceful. What fucking planet is this guy on?
2) I have / had an extensive juvenile police record. At some point it dawned on me that I will not accomplish anything meaningful in life if I kept acting like the rest of my family, so I stopped shoplifting, stealing bikes, selling weed, vandalizing property and hiking school, got into college and out of my hometown. If these 'peaceful protestors' lack the ability to do the proverbial soul search and change their behavior, I don't have too much sympathy for them.
#11
Ship - that's my white privilege kicking in; it had nothing to do with 300+ hours spent in the Sloan MIT and UMass-Boston libraries studying and taking old CPA exams. I wasn't taking that exam a second time.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
08/16/2016 21:13 Comments ||
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#13
As the great Professor Reynolds once stated - "The government decides to try to increase the middle class by subsidizing things that middle class people have: If middle-class people go to college and own homes, then surely if more people go to college and own homes, we’ll have more middle-class people. But homeownership and college aren’t causes of middle-class status, they’re markers for possessing the kinds of traits — self-discipline, the ability to defer gratification, etc. — that let you enter, and stay, in the middle class. Subsidizing the markers doesn’t produce the traits; if anything, it undermines them."
[Quora] Stop trying to be so good at so many things. Pursue strategic mediocrity.
Excellence is a fabulous habit. When you're 17, it gets you into a top college. However, at some point in your 20s or 30s, it becomes necessary to let go of the overachiever mindset.
We're trained as teenagers to believe that we should be good at everything. We're supposed to earn As in every subject, play varsity sports, run student clubs, volunteer, have creative outlets, AND have a full social calendar.
The message is exhausting. It's also dead wrong. At least, once you finish your education, it's a recipe for disaster.
In adulthood, success comes when you are most fully yourself. More yourself than you think you can be. More yourself than you think you can get away with.
This means that you accept not just who you are, but who you are not. You allow yourself to stop pursuing goals that are inauthentic for you now.
Webster's defines mediocrity as "not having the special ability to do something well." None of us wants to be mediocre at everything in our lives. What's easy to forget, though, is that we have to be mediocre at many things to excel at what truly matters.
Alas, we can't all be visionary billionaires with six pack abs, tight knit families, and rich community involvements. Adulthood is about specialization and prioritization.
Instead of playing a game with one definition of success (going to the right school, working for the right employer, etc), we're each playing our own game. This means that ‐ cheesy as it sounds ‐ we can all be winners.
Only one racehorse per year can win the Triple Crown.
Fortunately, you are not a racehorse. You are a unicorn.
"Always remember that you are absolutely unique," said Margaret Mead. "Just like everyone else." You are an unprecedented mix of strengths and weaknesses.
The good news is that every weakness is the flipside of a strength.
Are you indecisive? Well, congratulations, because you are also a thoughtful person who knows how to weigh all sides of an issue.
Are you bossy? Woo hoo! You might be the next Sheryl Sandberg or Tina Fey. (Read Lean In or Bossy Pants for inspiration.)
Are you impractical? Hello, visionary!
The goal of adulthood is not to become a well-rounded success machine. The goal is to polarize yourself. The goal is to take bold actions that allow your tribe to recognize you as one of their own. The goal is to double down on your strengths and build a career around them, rather than trying to shore up your weaknesses. (Check out Seth Godin and Marcus Buckingham for more info on these concepts.)
And when you're not taking bold actions, the goal is to relax, get lots of sleep, spend time outdoors, and enjoy your loved ones. (Sleeping when you're tired: the #2 most useful thing that most people don't do.)
The hard part, for recovering overachievers, isn't doubling down on strengths. It's allowing ourselves to suck. It's letting go of promising roles and opportunities that are just not a fit. It's giving up on old dreams.
For the record, I'm not saying that we should simply accept bad habits. Being bossy is no excuse for being an asshole. Being impractical is no excuse for not learning effective tactics to get your visions to market.
But often, I think, we're trying to fix a part of ourselves that is actually not broken. We’re too quick to assume that we are flawed. We think that we should be able to succeed at anything we put our mind to.
The truth is that only a few things in life are really worth succeeding at. It is the work of a lifetime to figure out what those things are for you.
If you're not sure where to become mediocre, here are a few ideas. Some of these things are sure to be important to you, others will not be. Most of these things are "good", but it's tough to make them all a priority. Is there anything here you could put on the back burner, at least for today?
Wealth, status, fame, achievement, keeping your house clean, owning your own home, being fashionable, having a nice car, owning a car at all, looking fab in a bathing suit, training for a triathlon, going to a top tier university, going to grad school, going to college, getting married, having kids, starting your own business, changing the world, eating vegan, eating paleo, overcoming addictions, having a rich spiritual life, staying healthy, working on your art, volunteering, getting promoted, traveling the world, learning new things, keeping up on social media, having an active social life, networking, reading up on industry news, being active in your community.
Being OK with mediocrity in the things that don't matter - even if everyone around you thinks these things are really important - gives you the energy you need to immerse yourself in the things that do matter.
[LI] A few days ago in our Quick Hits feature, this Insurrectionist wrote "the server is a Sword of Damocles over Hillary's campaign. Whatever the polls may say, Clinton knows that she is just one disclosure away from disaster." Has Mika Brzezinski heard the hair holding that Sword start to fray? Today's Morning Joe reported on the disclosure that a senior Clinton Foundation official had contacted close Hillary advisers Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills to request, as something "very important," that they set up a contact between a billionaire foreign Foundation donor and the US ambassador to Lebanon.
Reacting, Mika said "as a Clinton supporter, I think the bigger question is, what is going to come out? Could something big come out? Could we have implosion of epic proportions. Could you say that the candidate you support doesn’t have something lurking here that could bring down her campaign?"
Fellow Dem Harold Ford, Jr. tried to console Mika: "I haven't seen any e-mails that suggest that anything would cause it to implode." But Mika's fears were not allayed: "this worries me." Ford begs the question. It's not a question of emails he's already seen: it's those potentially coming down the pike that could sink Clinton.
Note Bill Clinton's weasel word: we never did anything "knowingly" inappropriate. Depends on what the meaning of "inappropriate" is, Bill?
KRISTEN WELKER: State Department emails obtained by a conservative advocacy group [Judicial Watch] raising fresh questions about the relationship between the Clinton family foundation and Secretary Clinton's State Department. One dated 2009. A Clinton Foundation executive emailed Secretary Clinton's top advisors, Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills, requesting they set up a meeting between a billionaire donor and the US Ambassador to Lebanon. This is very important, he said. Critics have pounced on foreign donations to the foundation, questioning whether that bought donors access to the State Department.
DONALD TRUMP: It's called pay for play.
WELKER: Last year Bill Clinton defended the foundation to Cynthia McFadden.
BILL CLINTON: We have never done anything knowingly inappropriate in terms of taking money to influence any kind of government American policy.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: As a Clinton supporter, I think the bigger question is, what's going to come out? And could something big come out? Could we have some sort of implosion of epic proportions? Is there something lurking there. Can you confidently say that the candidate you support doesn't have something lurking here that could bring down her campaign?
HAROLD FORD, JR.: I haven't seen any emails that suggest that anything would cause it to implode --
#1
Oh, the campaign will continue. Even is she was slab cold dead from natural causes, pining for the fjords, the media would drag her stiff carcass to the finish line.
[DAWN] WHEN will we learn that moments of joy can be celebrated in less lethal ways? On Independence Day, about a dozen people were admitted to hospitals across Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... , some with serious injuries caused by the hail of bullets fired by trigger-happy individuals into the air in various neighbourhoods of the city. Despite the hazards of this practice, there has been little attempt to crack down on those mindlessly carrying on with this exercise in celebration. It is high time people were made to understand that bullets thus fired will inevitably come down, and those caught indulging in such a show of joy must be penalised for endangering the lives of others.
Curbing the practice is a challenge. Guns are commonly owned and many people see it as a matter of ego to ignore advice about other people’s safety. An awareness campaign is badly needed to sensitise people to the hazards posed by the practice. The frivolous discharge of firearms is a serious menace to society and the practice can only end if it is delegitimised to the point where people are willing to report those who indulge in it. Unfortunately, with firearms as ubiquitous as they are in our society, one does not expect the police to be able to do much to discourage such firing. Help is needed from the community to take collective ownership of the effort to discourage the practice, and apprehend those who engage in it. It is completely unacceptable that firing joy shots into the air should be allowed as a way of celebrating anything, whether it is Independence Day, a wedding, or any other occasion, especially in densely populated cities. The practice needs to be countered through a large and coordinated effort. The state can lead the way and the media can also help in spreading awareness about its dangers. Too many injuries, in some cases fatal, have been caused by the practice and it is high time to pull all resources together to end it.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2016 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] CONTROVERSY thy name is Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality problems... -- or so it would appear to be all too often. Steaming into Islamabad for yet another anti-government rally, the PTI supremo on Sunday night ventured into the fraught world of civil-military relations. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... is afraid of the army, a thundering Mr Khan claimed. Moreover, it is because the government is afraid it cannot control army chief Gen Raheel Sharif ..Pak chief of army staff, meaning he pulls the strings on the Nawaz Sharif puppet to make it dance and sing and not do much at all.... that the government has tried to give him an extension and even a promotion, Mr Khan alleged. Never mind that there has been absolutely no indication from either the government or the army chief that a scheduled change of army command will not take place in late November. Never mind that Gen Sharif himself categorically stated in January that he would retire on time and that neither he nor the military high command has suggested anything contradictory since. All that appears to matter are the rumours and insinuations that Mr Khan apparently sees swirling around him and that he decides must be true.
Surely, this is not the way of a responsible politician. Perhaps the PTI chief, in his endless bid to oust or destabilise the PML-N government, understands the value of cynical politics: if Mr Khan breathes fresh life into old rumour, sections of the media and the political class can join in the clamour and seemingly turn the patently false into a likely possibility. And if that rumour can give the government jitters or draw the military deeper into the political realm, then the possibility of an overreaction by either side could redound to the PTI’s advantage. But what is remotely democratic about such tactics or, indeed, how is any of it good for institutional stability? Mr Khan has a democratic right to protest and oppose the elected government of the country. He also has the right to share with the public his opinion on matters of national importance -- but there is a line between sensible, even strident, critique and wanton disruption.
To be sure, the civil-military imbalance is real and Prime Minister Sharif and the army chief have clearly had policy differences over the past two and a half years. Yet, both have found a way to coexist and, as Gen Sharif’s term comes to an end, there is little doubt that the military is not seeking to interrupt democratic continuity. The unfortunate and unnecessary military criticism of the political government in the wake of the Quetta bombing may have served as yet another reminder of how carefully civil-military ties need to be managed, but it has occurred against the backdrop of a scheduled, impending and orderly change of command in the army. Mr Khan clearly believes that Nawaz Sharif is unfit to lead this country. But there remains a fundamental question to be asked of Mr Khan: is he truly ready for the responsibility of leading it?
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2016 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[DAWN] WHEN will we learn that moments of joy can be celebrated in less lethal ways? On Independence Day, about a dozen people were admitted to hospitals across 
