It amazes me that all those rugged western cowboy can get all Big State when it comes to drugs (actually, nothing really amazes me in the war on the drugs). The headline reads: In Montana, an Economic Boom Faces Repeal Effort. Really? Because you’d think they wouldn’t be in a position to shut down money-making agriculture. A resurgent Republican majority…
Month: March 2011
NYC Settles in Public Housing Trespassing Cases
From the Times: New York City has quietly reached settlements with several plaintiffs in a federal class-action lawsuit alleging that the city’s trespassing-enforcement policies in public housing complexes are discriminatory and unlawful, lawyers and others said this week. … The city made its offers in October and December and is in the process of paying a total of slightly more…
Officers in Alvarez Shooting Not Indicted
Well I guess since nobody was indicted, we can all shake and go home. But seriously… it would have been horrible if the officers were indicted for doing their job. Though the fact that Alvarez also gets to walk bothers me less since he already survived his “trial by ordeal.” I mean the guy was shot 23(!) times, “27 holes,”…
In case you were wondering…
In case you were wondering–I sure was–what happened to Marisol Valles García, the 20-year-old Mexican woman/criminal-justice student who became police chief in a town because nobody else wanted the job… here’s an update in the Times. Nothing too revelatory… but at least she’s still alive. Though there’s also a chance she hopped over the border. Update, March 7: I just…
This is America
Hopefully just a very small part of it. Shame on us. I try not and make the Nazi comparison lightly, but people, this is American fascism. You know you’re a fascist when: You wrap yourself in an American flag to call another group of Americans terrorists, killers, and pure evil. You wish another group of Americans an early death for…
Mexico Frustrated at US Inability to Control Border
At least when it comes to our guns and demand for drugs. Calderon and Obama met, and seemed to accomplish nothing. Of course the border can’t be sealed, not if we want free trade. So we’ll keep getting their drugs, because we want them and have money. And they’ll keep getting our guns, because they want them and have money.…
The Headline You Never See
“An Angry Man Is Met by a Smart, Experienced Police Team” But this headline is real. And it’s not from the Onion. It’s from the New York Times. The story is by Al Baker. I did not know, as his bio says, that he’s the son of a police officer. Maybe that’s why his stories are generally more nuanced and…
Alvarez is no Ham Sandwich
A grand jury didn’t indict Angel Alvarez. This is surprising, given how they say a grand jury would indict a ham sandwich. Here’s what I wrote about his shooting back in August.
Fewer Cops = More Crime
That’s the news from Camden. Though I should point out that were it not for the layoffs (almost half the department!), the chief would probably be boasting that homicides are down. But everything else is up, including shootings. Hmmm, maybe there’s a correlation between fewer cops and bad aim?
How We Train Our Cops to Fear Islam
Here’s an interesting article by Meg Stalcup and Joshua Craze in The Washington Monthly. The subtitle is: “There aren’t nearly enough counterterrorism experts to instruct all of America’s police–So we got these guys instead.” Despite their different backgrounds, the counterterrorism trainers we interviewed have a remarkably similar worldview. It is one of total, civilizational war–a conflict against Islam that involves…