First published many years ago. I’ll just keep doing so. Tom Tomorrow, one of my favorite cartoonists, summarizes gun control and killings quite well. Click through to read. “Barring some seismic realignment in this country, the gun control debate is all but settled–and your side won. The occasional horrific civilian massacre is just the price the rest of us have…
Bill Bratton in the Daily News: There seems to be a widespread belief among certain members of the political class that protecting the country against terrorism is a matter of ideology. According to them, the strong leaders in this area are the ones who are willing to insult Muslims, advocate torture, and engage in various other provocations. They claim that…
So I was in this 3 AM bar fight last night. More of a scuffle really. Technically I won, if such a thing is possible. (Does anybody really win a 3 AM bar fight?) Now those who know me know my fuse in long. I don’t go looking for fights, because I don’t want to lose a fight. Hell, I’ve…
My friend Annia Ciezadlo wrote this piece for the Washington Post. How come when innocent Parisians were killed by terrorists, everybody shed a tear? (as they should) But when innocent Beirutis get killed by terrorists, they’re described as living in an “Hezbollah stronghold.” If you’re too lazy to click though, here’s a chunk of it: The Syrian refugee crisis has…
My man Eugene O’Donnell wrote this in the Daily News. It’s worth reading, given general opposition (including some from me) to the militarization of police: At present only a handful of police departments have the capacity to intimidate would-be terrorists and, if need be, wage sustained combat against them in the streets of America. This is a weakness to correct,…
Let’s not forget the French police officers who were killed. Particularly Ahmed Merabet, who died protecting other people’s right to make fun of his religion. David Brooks has an interesting take on the matter. While deliberate provocation is best left at the kids’ table, let’s not get too on our high-horse about our own dedication to free speech: Let’s face…
I suppose today is just as good as any day to link to my post from 2010: Draw Mohammed Day. This is the cartoon that started it all (though this was Norway, I think, and not France). But click through for more. Meanwhile it’s worth posting this article from the Onion in 2012: “No One Murdered Because Of This Image”…
While in Rwanda, as we entered some place, the underside of our car was getting “mirrored” by some old guy with a mirror on a stick. I rolled my eyes and said to my friends: “Like he was any clue what a bomb looks like. This is just what we call in America ‘security theater.’” My friend pulled out his…
I am a day late and a dollar short on this, because these AP reportson the NYPD Intelligence Division “Demographics Unit” came out in 2011 and 2012 (mostly when I was out of the country). The reports are from 2006, but only now am I fully appreciating them. Here’s New York Magazine’s more recent take on the whole operation. Of…
As usual David Simon makes a lot of sense. But what I don’t understand, and what bothers me most about the whole deal, is why it had to be a secret. If this were really a “healthy” discussion we should be having, then why did it take a whistleblower to start it? hard to imagine we’re less safe because it’s…