But six shot in Harlem isn’t. Interesting.
And a paragraph in the New York Times.
And I swear, I have an alibi! And I don’t have a car.
Category: Police
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Oh, Baltimore
I always leave Baltimore loving it more than ever. This time was no exception. Except I was really wet. Man did it rain.
A shame, considering the Book Fest was outdoors. Yeah, they had tents. But it was wet. Man did it rain.
I got in on Friday night and went out drinking with my Palin-loving friends.
Saturday I had lunch at Icarus (they make good crab cakes) and got to chat with Xenophone, whom I haven’t seen in years. Then I walked to the Highlandtown Library in the rain.
Thanks to an influx of Mexicans and other from south of the border, Greektown and Highlandtown are very different than I remember. There are taquerias in Highlandtown! A lot of them. It’s hard to imagine. And property values are up. I’ll tell you what, Eastern Ave looks a lot better than it did when I left in 2001.
The library talk went well. It was a small turnout, about 20 people, but a very good discussion. Some very good Greeks (and non Greeks) were there. I was actually quite deeply moved. Senator Sarbanes and the Maroudas family and John Gavrilis. If it weren’t for them, I never would have gone to Baltimore.
Yes, Senator Paul Sarbanes and his wife were there. Sarbanes knew my father. Sarbanes is a very good man. He gives me faith in both politics and politicians. Seriously. He’s so low key. And so nice and caring. Nobody turns their head. But they all know who he is. I didn’t even recognize him at first. Like the Senator is always at the Enoch Pratt Free Library, Southeast Anchor branch. Maybe he is. I’m proud to have voted for him. Too bad I can’t vote for his son.
Then I got a ride to the book fest and a nice little tour of the growth of Southeast Baltimore. But the book fest was basically a washout. I talked twice. And I thank anybody and everybody who showed up in the rain.
Afterward, I went with friends to the Owl Bar in the Belvedere. Classy. I had never been there before. And then on the 10:45 train back to NYC.
29 hours in Baltimore. Such a fine city. And I think it’s finally on the rebound. Too bad it rained. Man did it rain.
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More on the Tase
The Timessaysthe LT who ordered the Tas is getting in trouble.
Supposedly the Posthas a video. I wonder if it will change my mind. Here’s the link.
Hmmmm…. Unfortunately the video doesn’t clear much up. It doesn’t show the interaction between the light bulb and cop on the fire escape. That’s what I want to see. Was the officer being attached and could the officer not get away?
At the momentof Tas, there was certainly notjustification for lethalforce. And maybe time for a tactical retreat from the fire escape. But ifa person attacks an officer who can’t get away, I got no problem with shooting him one way or the other.
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60% oppose mandatory minimum sentences
But that means that 40% support mandatory prison terms for non-violent drug offenses. Still I guess it’s less than half. Read the story in the Christian Science Monitor.
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Overcrowded California Prisons
Something has got to give. We’ll see what.
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Man farts at officer, charged with battery
Talk about a deadly weapon!
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Oh, Taser. How you kill.
In an instructional manual for Taser use. This picture seems like an example of what notto do. Don’t Taser naked men standing on ledges.But it’s not that simple. Here’s story in The Daily News. The police were tying themselves to the fire escape to try and grab the guy. The guy takes a large fluorescent bulb and starts hitting and pokingthe officers. I think you gotta Tas him and take the chances he dies. I think you could shoot him in this case. But at least using the Taser gives him some chance to live.
But I will note, because I’m generally against the use of Tasers, that this is at least the second man in New York to die after being Tased is the past few years. Tasers can be lethal and should be thought of as potentially lethal force.
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Republican fiscal mismanagement
You mean ending government regulation, raising spending, cutting taxes, and helping the rich doesn’t make the economy strong? Wow. Who would have thought?
You do realize that $700 billion is more than $2,000 for every man woman and child in the United States. That is, as they say, “real money.”
I’m no economist. And I don’t understand what’s really going on any better than you do. But something is very obvious: companies should not be allowed to get too big to fail. Duh! That’s why we regulate.
And while I generally prefer my socialism for the poor and working class rather than the rich, I’d feel better if we could get as much of this $700 billion as possible to come from people who profited from this mess.
Now I wonder how Republicans are going to blame Democrats for all this. Oh, that’s right. Now we have to rise “above politics.” Easy to say when you’re the ones that f*cked everything up. Fine mess you rich bastards have gotten us into. If only capital gain taxes were lower, I’m sure everything would be better.
Of course a lot of Republicans are also pissed because they don’t like Republican fiscal mismanagement either. Why, I’m old enough to remember when fiscal mismanagement was a Democratic issue. Those were the days!
Meanwhile, poor Americans are being kicked out of their crappy formaldehyde-infested trailers in New Orleans. Years after the flood. It’s just not right. It just don’t make sense.
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Another reason to legalize drugs
The Agitator has a story about a drug raid gone amok. I had never heard about Ryan Frederick or Detective Jarrod Shivers. There is so much I don’t like about this: the war on drugs, a bad CI (confidential informant), a drug raid, and (most of all) a dead police officer. I hate the war on drugs.
Police should not be busting down the doors of American citizens. That’s not (or didn’t used to be) the American way.
Click here For a complete list of botched paramilitary police raids.
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Baltimore appearances this weekend
To everyone in Baltimore, I’m heading down there this weekend for a variety of on Saturday appearances. First at the Highlandtown Library, then at the Book Festival. For details, look at the “upcoming events” listed in the right column. Then come say hi.