I’m in Dublin. I love Ireland (though England was great, too). I received an email from the Washington Monthly (you may remember them as one of the first magazines to publish a Flogging piece) asking my opinion about the UC Davis pepper-spray incident. I hadn’t heard of it. But ignorance is not bliss. So now I’ve watched the video. I…
Category: Police
Right Wing Lies (V)
From the Washington Monthly(called out by them… not their lie): President Obama told business leaders at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that U.S. policymakers have been “a little bit lazy” when it comes to attracting businesses to American soil. Republicans have taken this line and said the president called Americans “lazy.” The GOP attack is an unambiguous lie. It’s…
Occupy Updates
The best current/live account of what’s going on is from a UK paper. (Why is that?) The Guardian. Also, I wrote an update to my Slate article.
Egypt pics
I just added some picture from Egypt (to a previous post). Scroll down if you care.
Police vs. Occupy Wall Street
Turns out I dohave a few thoughts about police and Occupy Wall Street. Read all about it on Slate.com: If cops could wave a magic wand, the protesters would simply go away. But if cops could wave a magic wand, the whole damned city would probably disappear. Police relate to the demoralized employees in the film Clerks: “This job would…
The Revolution Will Return After This Commercial Break
I’m back from a few days in Cairo. I’m not an Egypt expert. But I probably follow the country more than most people because I have Egyptian friends, my wife has spent a lot of time there, and I’ve been there a bunch of times. First the good news: Egyptians are still friendly, holding up well, and there are taxis…
Patrolman Kelly
Has Ray Kelly ever fixed a ticket? I’ll take him at his word that he hasn’t. But has Ray Kelly ever written a ticket? I mean, how long was Kelly on patrol?
What the F*ck?!
I’m just catching up on the news. Those riots at Penn State? Really? There has been lots of intelligent discussion on this matter elsewhere. So I won’t add to that. But I do feel the need to say what’s on my mind: It’s absolutely f*cking amazing what white people can sometimes get away with! Or put it this way: Just…
How many strikes do you need?
You know, I’m against “three strikes and you’re out.” It’s too expensive and doesn’t deter. But the case could be made for “20 strikes and we’ll lock you up till you’re 50” (admittedly, it lacks a certain jingoistic ring). But seriously, at some point you do have to keep “them” (people certain to offend) away from “us” (everybody else). The…
Too Gentle a Slap
I’ve said beforethat Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna should be in trouble (but not fired). But this seems like too gentle a slap on the wrist. What worries me isn’t his career (I couldn’t care less), but the message it sends. Clearly transferring this man to a precinct closer to home is a case of rewarding an officer for 30 years…