NYPD Officer Who Killed Eric Garner with a Choke Hold Will Not Be Charged

Another killer cop walks free
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The New York Police Department banned choke holds 21 years ago, in 1993. And today, a grand jury in Staten Island declined to indict an NYPD officer who used a choke hold to kill 43-year old Eric Garner: No Charges in Eric Garner Chokehold Case for Officer.

An indictment was considered only against Officer Pantaleo, who testified last, on Nov. 21, his lawyer, Stuart London, said. The other officers received immunity, he said.

The case exposed lapses in police tactics - chokeholds are banned by the Police Department’s own guidelines - and raised questions about the aggressive policing of minor offenses in a time of historically low crime. The officers, part of a plainclothes unit, suspected Mr. Garner of selling loose cigarettes on the street near the Staten Island Ferry Terminal, a complaint among local business owners.

UPDATE at 12/3/14 12:23:42 pm by Charles Johnson

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469 comments
1 Targetpractice  Dec 3, 2014 11:54:48am
2 blueraven  Dec 3, 2014 11:55:14am

This is unacceptable.

Why even try to arrest Mr Garner in the first place? Really? Selling cigarettes?
He should have been issued a ticket and told to move along.

3 GlutenFreeJesus  Dec 3, 2014 11:55:19am

Bullshit. Again.

4 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 11:55:58am

No justice.

5 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 11:56:39am

re: #2 blueraven

This is unacceptable.

Why even try to arrest Mr Garner in the first place? Really? Selling cigarettes?
He should have been issued a ticket and told to move along.

Because that would have been the reasonable thing to do. Too many of these thuggish cops I think get a genuine thrill out of roughing people up..

6 Kragar  Dec 3, 2014 11:56:59am

Nope

Nope

Fuck all this bullshit

Nope

7 Kragar  Dec 3, 2014 11:58:02am
8 Ace-o-aces  Dec 3, 2014 11:58:25am
9 No Country For Old Haters  Dec 3, 2014 11:58:36am

re: #2 blueraven

This is unacceptable.

Why even try to arrest Mr Garner in the first place? Really? Selling cigarettes?
He should have been issued a ticket and told to move along.

He was also black and poor, which is obviously the more serious crime in America.

10 Targetpractice  Dec 3, 2014 11:58:54am

And no chance that the DA will decide to press forward with charges. Hell, with as cozy as prosecutors have gotten with police departments, I imagine this was another case of a defense attorney masquerading as a servant of the people.

11 The Vicious Babushka  Dec 3, 2014 11:59:00am
12 Kragar  Dec 3, 2014 11:59:54am
13 Zamb  Dec 3, 2014 11:59:57am

We live in a society that has decided some people don’t deserve any rights. You commit a crime, no matter how minor you no longer allowed due process. Trial by jury is not just a hindrance in carrying out this form of justice, better to have everyone executed in the streets. You no longer deserve any respect from your fellow citizens, you should not have a say in the world around you, and you sure as hell shouldn’t be getting a second chance. Unless of course you’re white and at least middle class, because we know you really didn’t mean it.

14 Charles Johnson  Dec 3, 2014 12:00:14pm

If you watch the video, it’s obvious this was an absolutely unwarranted attack, way way over the top. This is what injustice looks like.

The only thing that happened to this cop is that he was suspended from the force and may be fired.

15 Charles Johnson  Dec 3, 2014 12:01:14pm

re: #12 Kragar

That’s a good point - there were several people recording this whole thing with cell phones. Didn’t stop any of these police.

16 blueraven  Dec 3, 2014 12:01:33pm

re: #14 Charles Johnson

If you watch the video, it’s obvious this was an absolutely unwarranted attack, way way over the top. This is what injustice looks like.

The only thing that happened to this cop is that he was suspended from the force and may be fired.

Why? Obviously, he did nothing wrong!
///

17 No Country For Old Haters  Dec 3, 2014 12:02:19pm

re: #13 Zamb

The right-wing authoritarians who claim to be freedom-loving conservatives are completely in denial as to what they are. They only want the freedom to oppress others.

18 Charles Johnson  Dec 3, 2014 12:02:28pm
19 Franklin  Dec 3, 2014 12:02:38pm
20 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 12:03:28pm

re: #15 Charles Johnson

That’s a good point - there were several people recording this whole thing with cell phones. Didn’t stop any of these police.

I don’t know what the answer is. I think the cameras are a start but what we really need is the feds to get more involved in cases like this and Brown and several others. We got a serious problem in this country when it comes to white cops indiscriminately violently acting towards black civilians.

21 nearly-headless smith25  Dec 3, 2014 12:03:47pm

Posted this here after Mike Brown was killed.

Here we go again…

22 Kragar  Dec 3, 2014 12:04:01pm
23 Targetpractice  Dec 3, 2014 12:04:51pm

As was noted time and time again last week, 99.9% of grand juries impaneled bring back a “true bill,” find that probable cause was satisfied. To first indict the metaphorical ham sandwich, the prosecutor has to want an indictment. As it is, it seems that when a cop is the defendant, the ham sandwich goes free.

24 Feline Fearless Leader  Dec 3, 2014 12:04:58pm

re: #22 Kragar

If Eric has had a gun…

Yea, right.
///

25 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 12:06:43pm

re: #22 Kragar

[Embedded content]

Yep, I’ve brought up the fact that we got Holmes captured alive who was armed and had killed a dozen people but that somehow guys like Garner, Brown, and countless others have to be killed while they’re unarmed and in many cases didn’t even commit a crime.

26 leftynyc  Dec 3, 2014 12:07:11pm

This decision quite literally makes me sick. I know it’s Staten Island but still….cops seemingly have a license to kill minorities without any repercussions whatsoever.

27 Ace-o-aces  Dec 3, 2014 12:08:20pm
28 Charles Johnson  Dec 3, 2014 12:08:27pm

Police officers are basically allowed to be judge, jury, and executioner at any minute, with or without reason.

We’re living in Judge Dredd’s world.

29 Franklin  Dec 3, 2014 12:09:00pm
30 Mike Lamb  Dec 3, 2014 12:09:17pm

Are the lunatics at the police officers forum explaining how this was justified? At some point you’d think those yahoos would realize that guys like Darren Wilson and the cops here are BIG reasons why their job is hard.

31 The Vicious Babushka  Dec 3, 2014 12:09:38pm

BLIND SQUIRREL FINDS A NUT

32 GlutenFreeJesus  Dec 3, 2014 12:09:40pm

re: #24 Feline Fearless Leader

Big black guy with hands. MOAR DANJERUS DEN A GUNZ!!!!!!

33 Kragar  Dec 3, 2014 12:09:40pm
34 Kragar  Dec 3, 2014 12:10:15pm

re: #28 Charles Johnson

Police officers are basically allowed to be judge, jury, and executioner at any minute, with or without reason.

We’re living in Judge Dredd’s world.

In Dredd’s world, even the Judges were held accountable.

35 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 12:10:54pm

re: #31 The Vicious Fergushka

BLIND SQUIRREL FINDS A NUT

[Embedded content]

If Ben Shapiro is disturbed by this, that should tell you something.

36 lawhawk  Dec 3, 2014 12:11:00pm

When people comment about need to fix the justice system, it’s because the system IS fixed - to protect cops against indictments for homicide. This has to change, and this is where reform must start.

That there’s no indictment in death of #EricGarner despite video shows impossibly high bar in prosecuting cops for excessive force.

As others are pointing out, you have guys who are able to flaunt federal authority for refusing to pay grazing fees and openly target law enforcement with high powered rifles, and the law enforcement doesn’t even blink.

A black man is allegedly caught selling untaxed cigarettes, and is put in an illegal chokehold and is killed by an officer. Not only is that wrong, but that there isn’t an indictment for reckless endangerment shows just how broken fixed the system is.

This is why so many in the black community are angry. It’s why there are protests. It’s why they are struggling to be heard and why they don’t see any point in trusting the justice system or cops generally - the system is a stacked deck against them, even when the wrongdoing is staring you in the face.

37 Aunty Entity Dragon  Dec 3, 2014 12:11:30pm

re: #14 Charles Johnson

If you watch the video, it’s obvious this was an absolutely unwarranted attack, way way over the top. This is what injustice looks like.

The only thing that happened to this cop is that he was suspended from the force and may be fired.

The NYPD union is one of the strongest in the country. If he is fired…they will absolutely get him back in his job with all back pay due. Getting rid of bad cops is next to impossible in major cities.

theatlantic.com

38 Charles Johnson  Dec 3, 2014 12:12:04pm
39 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 12:12:19pm

re: #36 lawhawk

When people comment about need to fix the justice system, it’s because the system IS fixed - to protect cops against indictments for homicide. This has to change, and this is where reform must start.

That there’s no indictment in death of #EricGarner despite video shows impossibly high bar in prosecuting cops for excessive force.

[Embedded content]

As others are pointing out, you have guys who are able to flaunt federal authority for refusing to pay grazing fees and openly target law enforcement with high powered rifles, and the law enforcement doesn’t even blink.

A black man is allegedly caught selling untaxed cigarettes, and is put in an illegal chokehold and is killed by an officer. Not only is that wrong, but that there isn’t an indictment for reckless endangerment shows just how broken fixed the system is.

This is why so many in the black community are angry. It’s why there are protests. It’s why they are struggling to be heard and why they don’t see any point in trusting the justice system or cops generally - the system is a stacked deck against them, even when the wrongdoing is staring you in the face.

Yep but they’re not allowed to be angry see because you know American exceptionalism and racism is just something that “Race hustlers” like Al Sharpton bring up to get money.

40 Ace-o-aces  Dec 3, 2014 12:12:37pm

re: #31 The Vicious Fergushka

41 lawhawk  Dec 3, 2014 12:12:57pm

re: #33 Kragar

42 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 12:13:10pm

re: #37 Aunty Entity Dragon

The NYPD union is one of the strongest in the country. If he is fired…they will absolutely get him back in his job with all back pay due. Getting rid of bad cops is next to impossible in major cities.

theatlantic.com

You know, I’m pretty strongly pro union but it’s interesting to me that this union doesn’t get anywhere near the criticism and scrutiny that the other unions do which is amazing considering they go to bat for murderers.

43 Feline Fearless Leader  Dec 3, 2014 12:13:23pm

Mildly curious to see if this case cracks a few people out of their complacency regarding these incidents. And then maybe they do a little reading and investigation and then reappraise their posts regarding Michael Brown being a “thug”.

But I’m probably kidding myself.

44 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 12:14:34pm

Hell guys we got the younger Tsaraniev brother alive. This is just disgusting. I’m not looking forward to hearing my 87 grandmother again blindly defend a white cop killing a black civilian. I love her to death but her racism in these cases just comes out and disgusts me.

45 Skip Intro  Dec 3, 2014 12:14:45pm

re: #23 Targetpractice

As was noted time and time again last week, 99.9% of grand juries impaneled bring back a “true bill,” find that probable cause was satisfied. To first indict the metaphorical ham sandwich, the prosecutor has to want an indictment. As it is, it seems that when a cop is the defendant, the ham sandwich goes free.

That only applies to Federal grand juries. Local GJs seem to have been taken over by the sovereign citizen movement.

46 Targetpractice  Dec 3, 2014 12:15:29pm

re: #36 lawhawk

When people comment about need to fix the justice system, it’s because the system IS fixed - to protect cops against indictments for homicide. This has to change, and this is where reform must start.

That there’s no indictment in death of #EricGarner despite video shows impossibly high bar in prosecuting cops for excessive force.

[Embedded content]

As others are pointing out, you have guys who are able to flaunt federal authority for refusing to pay grazing fees and openly target law enforcement with high powered rifles, and the law enforcement doesn’t even blink.

A black man is allegedly caught selling untaxed cigarettes, and is put in an illegal chokehold and is killed by an officer. Not only is that wrong, but that there isn’t an indictment for reckless endangerment shows just how broken fixed the system is.

This is why so many in the black community are angry. It’s why there are protests. It’s why they are struggling to be heard and why they don’t see any point in trusting the justice system or cops generally - the system is a stacked deck against them, even when the wrongdoing is staring you in the face.

What it shows to the black community is that there’s two sets of laws: One for white folks and another for everybody else. You can be sure that, if Garner had been a white man, the DA would at least feel safe in pursuing charges in absence of an indictment. Though they’d be hesitant as, even then, Garner would have been poor and thus not as “important” as, say, a rich white person from Queens.

47 Rightwingconspirator  Dec 3, 2014 12:15:34pm

re: #15 Charles Johnson

That’s a good point - there were several people recording this whole thing with cell phones. Didn’t stop any of these police.

Well hang on a second. Where would we be if there were no video at all? Gotta take those fixes as separate necessities. Change policy, get the cameras. Either way ‘round.

Nobody serious calls cameras perfect or a panacea. But they do result is a very significant reduction in use of force by police. Edit-And gives us the tools and evidence to demand change when the system fails.

48 Charles Johnson  Dec 3, 2014 12:15:53pm

I’m sure Chuck C. Johnson is already digging for Eric Garner’s criminal record, and his children’s addresses.

49 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 12:17:02pm

re: #48 Charles Johnson

I’m sure Chuck C. Johnson is already digging for Eric Garner’s criminal record, and his children’s addresses.

Jim Hoft is digging up his voting record.//

50 Skip Intro  Dec 3, 2014 12:17:53pm

re: #49 HappyWarrior

Bryan Fischer is searching his family tree for demons.

51 Aunty Entity Dragon  Dec 3, 2014 12:17:57pm

re: #45 Skip Intro

That only applies to Federal grand juries. Local GJs seem to have been taken over by the sovereign citizen movement.

Truer then you know.

Local grand juries are overwhelmingly white retirees, and disproportionately staffed with retired law enforcement in many areas.

52 Targetpractice  Dec 3, 2014 12:18:04pm

re: #43 Feline Fearless Leader

Mildly curious to see if this case cracks a few people out of their complacency regarding these incidents. And then maybe they do a little reading and investigation and then reappraise their posts regarding Michael Brown being a “thug”.

But I’m probably kidding myself.

There’s a few blind squirrels finding nuts at the usual haunts, but you can be sure that they’ll be outnumbered swiftly by the wannabe Dirty Harry crowd who will tell themselves that Garner would have been alright if he’d just obeyed the cops.

53 Skip Intro  Dec 3, 2014 12:19:52pm

re: #51 Aunty Entity Dragon

Truer then you know.

Local grand juries are overwhelmingly white retirees, and disproportionately staffed with retired law enforcement in many areas.

Where I live they run advertisements for people to apply to sit on the county grand jury. I can see how these could end up being populated with people who have nothing else to do and who also have an agenda.

54 leftynyc  Dec 3, 2014 12:20:00pm

re: #41 lawhawk

[Embedded content]

Lawhawk - since the chokehold is against police rules (but not against NY law apparently), can he still remain fired?

55 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 12:20:18pm

re: #50 Skip Intro

Bryan Fischer is searching his family tree for demons.

I’m sure of it. By the way, any news of anything happening in the Tamir Rice case?

56 Backwoods_Sleuth  Dec 3, 2014 12:20:47pm

And I’m seeing tweets to shut down the Christmas tree lighting.

57 Charles Johnson  Dec 3, 2014 12:20:50pm
58 Romantic Heretic  Dec 3, 2014 12:21:00pm

re: #9 No Country For Old Haters

He was also black and poor, which is obviously the more serious crime in America.

Sinners must be punished.

59 BeachDem  Dec 3, 2014 12:21:15pm

re: #31 The Vicious Fergushka

BLIND SQUIRREL FINDS A NUT

[Embedded content]

Well, I’d go with finds a rock and thinks it’s a nut. I don’t know that I’d say the case is “more disturbing on every level” than the murder of unarmed teens. Leave it to Bennie to quantify his disturbance.

60 Backwoods_Sleuth  Dec 3, 2014 12:21:46pm
61 unproven innocence  Dec 3, 2014 12:21:47pm

The obvious lesson here is that if you are trying to kick a tobacco addiction, you should buy the product by the pack, or by the carton. It’s simple economics. /

62 leftynyc  Dec 3, 2014 12:22:05pm

re: #56 Backwoods_Sleuth

[Embedded content]

And I’m seeing tweets to shut down the Christmas tree lighting.

Oh shit - that’s where I’m headed at 5.

63 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 12:22:18pm

re: #57 Charles Johnson

[Embedded content]

Yeah well fuck you Officer Pantaleo. There was literally no reason to put this man in a chokehold. I guess this is an improvement over Darren Wilson acting like he has no regrets at all though.

64 Backwoods_Sleuth  Dec 3, 2014 12:22:46pm

re: #62 leftynyc

Oh shit - that’s where I’m headed at 5.

Thought you might need a heads up for that.

65 Skip Intro  Dec 3, 2014 12:23:41pm

re: #57 Charles Johnson

[Embedded content]

I’m so tired of reading bullshit like this. “We’ll keep him in our prayers” costs nothing and is worth less. “Please accept my condolences for his loss” should read “I’ve been told to tell you I’m sorry I killed him for no reason. Please don’t sue”.

66 Ace-o-aces  Dec 3, 2014 12:23:50pm

re: #48 Charles Johnson

I’m sure Chuck C. Johnson is already digging for Eric Garner’s criminal record, and his children’s addresses.

Yes, and I’m sure he’ll label it as BREAKING news despite the fact the information has been on wikipedia for weeks.

67 leftynyc  Dec 3, 2014 12:23:59pm

re: #64 Backwoods_Sleuth

Thought you might need a heads up for that.

All I have is the internet so if anyone sees anything on the TV machine, I would appreciate any news about what’s going on at Grand Central.

68 Targetpractice  Dec 3, 2014 12:24:32pm

re: #57 Charles Johnson

[Embedded content]

Yes, he never meant to hurt anybody, he just allowed a man to be killed with a technique that’s been banned by his department likely for longer than he’s had that uniform.

But let us take heart, he didn’t mean for it to happen./////

69 Shiplord Kirel  Dec 3, 2014 12:24:36pm

We may be looking at a complete collapse of police authority in this country. Freeper racists still support any cop who kills a black person but there is also substantial dissent and criticism of the police even there. The killer cops are quickly losing all credibility, with elements of the political right as well as the left.

This has been a long time coming. Many years ago, Daryl Gates and the advocates of steroid pumped “aggressive policing” decided they could maintain control of society by brute force and intimidation alone, with no need for the approval and support of the “sheeple” who give them their power and who pay their salaries. “Sheeple” who still supported their local police, as the NRA used to advise, were laughed at as ass kissers and sycophants, behind their backs, and often to their faces.
This created a culture of arrogance whose adherents did not understand that in fact they still needed community support for the simple reason that the cops themselves and their few supporters and cronies in the legal system are neither strong enough nor numerous enough to maintain control by themselves.
Now their support is eroding away to nothing, and they are finding out that gunplay, ninja suits, and huge biceps alone will not cow the entire world.

70 leftynyc  Dec 3, 2014 12:24:46pm

re: #64 Backwoods_Sleuth

Thought you might need a heads up for that.

If it remains peaceful, I will join the protesters.

71 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 12:26:24pm

re: #68 Targetpractice

Yes, he never meant to hurt anybody, he just allowed a man to be killed with a technique that’s been banned by his department likely for longer than he’s had that uniform.

But let us take heart, he didn’t mean for it to happen./////

Well let’s not forget, he’s the real victim here. Why, people are upset that he wasn’t indicted. That’s almost as bad as being killed himself.

72 lawhawk  Dec 3, 2014 12:27:14pm

re: #43 Feline Fearless Leader

This case wont, but the case of an unarmed Akai Gurley being gunned down by a rookie NYPD cop while walking down a stairwell should.

Gurley did nothing wrong other than decide that he shouldn’t wait for a slow elevator. Gurley was gunned down by an inexperienced cop who had an itchy trigger finger.

Even the NYPD admits that was an accidental shooting within hours of the event.

But will an indictment be forthcoming in that case? I wouldn’t hold my breath either.

And the union wont necessarily go to bat for a rookie in the way that they might for someone who has a few years on the force. It’s the nature of the union too.

73 Aunty Entity Dragon  Dec 3, 2014 12:27:15pm

policeone.com doing a little grave dancing…

Posted by officer1149 on Wednesday, December 03, 2014 08:07 PM Pacific Report Abuse

If you can shout “I can’t breath” you can probably breath!

Posted by indy1982 on Wednesday, December 03, 2014 08:02 PM Pacific Report Abuse

Here we go again!!!

Posted by Kenstah on Wednesday, December 03, 2014 07:33 PM Pacific Report Abuse

@rdramsey…yep, BUT…the media keeps saying the officer did a CHOKE HOLD, like we’re the WWF or something, NOT calling at a carotid restraint like it’s supposed to be called.

Burn this bitch down!


Posted by rdramsey on Wednesday, December 03, 2014 07:03 PM Pacific Report Abuse

If memory serves, the deceadant was a rather large “gentleman” and died of a preexisting coronary condition.

74 Skip Intro  Dec 3, 2014 12:27:23pm

re: #55 HappyWarrior

I’m sure of it. By the way, any news of anything happening in the Tamir Rice case?

Not that I’ve heard, although a moron wrote a letter to my local paper today saying he’d empty his weapon at anyone pointing a “gun” with orange or whatever color it’s supposed to be mark on the end because how would he know it wasn’t a real gun with a paint job.

So yeah, as far as he’s concerned the little murdering bastard had it coming.

75 The Vicious Babushka  Dec 3, 2014 12:27:24pm

LOL there’s a LIBERAL in my Time Line trying to splain how all them pasta-slurping Eyetalians is TEH RACIST.

76 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 12:28:33pm

re: #73 Aunty Entity Dragon

policeone.com doing a little grave dancing…

Posted by officer1149 on Wednesday, December 03, 2014 08:07 PM Pacific Report Abuse

If you can shout “I can’t breath” you can probably breath!

Posted by indy1982 on Wednesday, December 03, 2014 08:02 PM Pacific Report Abuse

Here we go again!!!

Posted by Kenstah on Wednesday, December 03, 2014 07:33 PM Pacific Report Abuse

@rdramsey…yep, BUT…the media keeps saying the officer did a CHOKE HOLD, like we’re the WWF or something, NOT calling at a carotid restraint like it’s supposed to be called.

Burn this bitch down!

Posted by rdramsey on Wednesday, December 03, 2014 07:03 PM Pacific Report Abuse

If memory serves, the deceadant was a rather large “gentleman” and died of a preexisting coronary condition.

Nice to know that these are the people supposed to be “protecting” us. Agh. Fuckers will defend any of their own that kill any civilian.

77 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 12:29:37pm

re: #74 Skip Intro

Not that I’ve heard, although a moron wrote a letter to my local paper today saying he’d empty his weapon at anyone pointing a “gun” with orange or whatever color it’s supposed to be mark on the end because how would he know it wasn’t a real gun with a paint job.

So yeah, as far as he’s concerned the little murdering bastard had it coming.

Tough guy. Fuck the gun fuckers.

78 Backwoods_Sleuth  Dec 3, 2014 12:29:51pm
79 Targetpractice  Dec 3, 2014 12:30:46pm

re: #76 HappyWarrior

Nice to know that these are the people supposed to be “protecting” us. Agh. Fuckers will defend any of their own that kill any civilian.

It’s the tribal mentality on display, “Us” vs. “Them.” If you’re not part of the tribe, then all they want is your respect. If they can’t get that, then they’ll gladly take your fear instead.

80 lawhawk  Dec 3, 2014 12:31:34pm

re: #54 leftynyc

Lawhawk - since the chokehold is against police rules (but not against NY law apparently), can he still remain fired?

His employment status with the NYPD will be governed by the union contract. There will likely be a hearing and whatever disciplinary actions meted out pursuant to those rules. He’s required to follow the police rules.

81 Archangelus  Dec 3, 2014 12:31:34pm

It nice that the officer involved in the death of Eric Garner feels “very sad” - It’s just sad that Eric Gardner probably feels “very dead”… /

82 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 12:31:56pm

re: #79 Targetpractice

It’s the tribal mentality on display, “Us” vs. “Them.” If you’re not part of the tribe, then all they want is your respect. If they can’t get that, then they’ll gladly take your fear instead.

Blue mafia.

83 BeachDem  Dec 3, 2014 12:32:15pm

re: #72 lawhawk

This case wont, but the case of an unarmed Akai Gurley being gunned down by a rookie NYPD cop while walking down a stairwell should.

Gurley did nothing wrong other than decide that he shouldn’t wait for a slow elevator. Gurley was gunned down by an inexperienced cop who had an itchy trigger finger.

Even the NYPD admits that was an accidental shooting within hours of the event.

But will an indictment be forthcoming in that case? I wouldn’t hold my breath either.

And the union wont necessarily go to bat for a rookie in the way that they might for someone who has a few years on the force. It’s the nature of the union too.

In some ways, the union already did go to bat for him. In the first few articles about the incident, the only quotes were from a union spokesperson, who emphasized Gurley’s arrest record and I believe, supplied the mugshot they used with the initial articles.

84 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 12:33:38pm

re: #83 BeachDem

In some ways, the union already did go to bat for him. In the first few articles about the incident, the only quotes were from a union spokesperson, who emphasized Gurley’s arrest record and I believe, supplied the mugshot they used with the initial articles.

They really love to use the arrest record as “proof” that someone deserves to die don’t they? So sick of that shit. Whoever downstairs pointed to the Lee Cobb character from 12 Angry Men had it right. There’s too much hatred of the “other” and no real empathy.

85 Backwoods_Sleuth  Dec 3, 2014 12:35:17pm

re: #79 Targetpractice

It’s the tribal mentality on display, “Us” vs. “Them.” If you’re not part of the tribe, then all they want is your respect. If they can’t get that, then they’ll gladly take your fear instead.

Actually, I believe too many people think fear = respect.
Pretty much indicates that they have no idea of the real meaning of “respect”.

86 Charles Johnson  Dec 3, 2014 12:35:31pm

Yup, there he goes.

87 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 12:36:10pm

re: #86 Charles Johnson

Yup, there he goes.

[Embedded content]

Here’s the truth Chuckles, you’re a pathetic fucker who hasn’t met a murdered black man he doesn’t enjoy smearing.

88 Targetpractice  Dec 3, 2014 12:36:19pm

re: #86 Charles Johnson

Yup, there he goes.

[Embedded content]

Yes, he’ll get the “truth” to us as soon as he’s finished filing off the Wiki serial numbers.

89 Romantic Heretic  Dec 3, 2014 12:36:20pm

re: #18 Charles Johnson

[Embedded content]

LOL! They have got to be fucking kidding me.

90 Charles Johnson  Dec 3, 2014 12:36:54pm
91 Aunty Entity Dragon  Dec 3, 2014 12:38:14pm
92 Ace-o-aces  Dec 3, 2014 12:38:26pm

Can’t even keep his delusions straight.

93 Shiplord Kirel  Dec 3, 2014 12:39:09pm

It was very very different 35 years ago, when my fellow deputies and I used a combination of quick wits, quick feet, mutual respect, and the prestige of our department to police the dark roads and darker shanty towns of the California desert. On the rare occasions when none of that worked, our super-quality six shooters (Colt Python .357) encouraged good marksmanship and fire discipline instead of “spray and pray.”

94 Ace-o-aces  Dec 3, 2014 12:40:36pm
95 Aunty Entity Dragon  Dec 3, 2014 12:41:27pm

re: #93 Shiplord Kirel

It was very very different 35 years ago, when my fellow deputies and I used a combination of quick wits, quick feet, mutual respect, and the prestige of our department to police the dark roads and darker shanty towns of the California desert. On the rare occasions when none of that worked, our super-quality six shooters (Colt Python .357) encouraged good marksmanship and fire discipline instead of “spray and pray.”

But that was back when I was interested in being a cop. I went all the way through the process for San Bernardino County sheriff until getting cut at the very last minute.

The attitude then was nothing like it is now.

96 ipsos  Dec 3, 2014 12:41:31pm

I’m sitting here listening to Bob Dylan singing today’s headlines (“Only a Pawn in Their Game”) on an album that he recorded half a century ago, before I was even born. And nothing’s fucking changed. In my entire lifetime.

A south politician preaches to the poor white man
“You got more than the blacks, don’t complain
You’re better than them
You been born with white skin,” they explain

And the negro’s name is used, it is plain
For the politician’s gain as he rises to fame
And the poor white remains on the caboose of the train
But it ain’t him to blame, he’s only a pawn in their game

Too early for whiskey?

97 Kragar  Dec 3, 2014 12:42:35pm
98 No Country For Old Haters  Dec 3, 2014 12:42:58pm
99 Targetpractice  Dec 3, 2014 12:43:00pm

On the one hand, you’ve got Ben Shapiro and Freepers who are incredulous that these cops avoided indictment even when there is video evidence.

On the other, you’ve got Chucky trying to justify Garner’s death.

Even amongst his peers, the man is reprehensible.

100 Romantic Heretic  Dec 3, 2014 12:43:09pm

re: #28 Charles Johnson

Police officers are basically allowed to be judge, jury, and executioner at any minute, with or without reason.

We’re living in Judge Dredd’s world.

Without the training the Judges receive.

101 No Country For Old Haters  Dec 3, 2014 12:43:57pm

re: #99 Targetpractice

On the one hand, you’ve got Ben Shapiro and Freepers who are incredulous that these cops avoided indictment even when there is video evidence.

On the other, you’ve got Chucky trying to justify Garner’s death.

Even amongst his peers, the man is reprehensible.

Yep, he’s terrible even for a wingnut. Only exceeded by older, more experienced wingnut grifters.

102 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Dec 3, 2014 12:44:14pm

re: #48 Charles Johnson

I’m sure Chuck C. Johnson is already digging for Eric Garner’s criminal record, and his children’s addresses.

I bet those weren’t all his kids…

/

103 Franklin  Dec 3, 2014 12:46:01pm

Probably the most astute tweet you will read today (this year?):

104 Backwoods_Sleuth  Dec 3, 2014 12:47:34pm

those people are soooo ungrateful…

105 makeitstop  Dec 3, 2014 12:48:33pm

re: #104 Backwoods_Sleuth

those people are soooo ungrateful…

[Embedded content]

Terrorist sympathizer says what?

106 Targetpractice  Dec 3, 2014 12:48:34pm

re: #104 Backwoods_Sleuth

those people are soooo ungrateful…

[Embedded content]

Hey Pete:

107 Franklin  Dec 3, 2014 12:49:27pm
108 Skip Intro  Dec 3, 2014 12:50:36pm

re: #104 Backwoods_Sleuth

Peter King - R (IRA) says what?

109 #FergusonFireside  Dec 3, 2014 12:50:56pm

re: #62 leftynyc

Oh shit - that’s where I’m headed at 5.

Make a sign. A good one.

110 lawhawk  Dec 3, 2014 12:50:58pm

re: #104 Backwoods_Sleuth

He’s taking the Rudy Giuliani approach. How dare you complain about the NYPD killing black people; don’t you know how many lives we’ve saved through stop and frisk and aggressive policing (even though the crime statistics were already showing improvement even before Rudy took office, stop and frisk may not have a causative effect on crime rates dropping - given that in the past year, stop and frisk has essentially come to an end, but crime rates keep dropping, etc.)

It’s not surprising either. It’s pandering to the same subset of voters all while ignoring the plaintive cries of an entire community that continues to face discrimination on a daily basis.

111 Aunty Entity Dragon  Dec 3, 2014 12:51:23pm

re: #103 Franklin

Probably the most astute tweet you will read today (this year?):

[Embedded content]

I have been curious about that…

Why in the hell are so many Americans eager to sell other Americans down the proverbial river for going to another country and helping sick people, or being poor, or being a different color or whatever?? The sheer hatred for American doctors and nurses and Christian missionaries (!) in Africa utterly floored me.

We used to have some sort of common American identity, and we no longer seem to have one.

That does not bode well for our continued exsistance as a nation over the next century IMHO.

If we hate each other this much…why bother being a country in the first place?

112 allegro  Dec 3, 2014 12:51:59pm

re: #104 Backwoods_Sleuth

those people are soooo ungrateful…

[Embedded content]

Nope. No one should respect or accept this level of corruption because that’s exactly what it is. That anyone in a position of authority even suggests such a thing show how complicit he is in that corruption.

113 Jenner7  Dec 3, 2014 12:52:39pm

We got another “but why don’t they riot over black on black crime” on CNN.

Sigh…

114 Targetpractice  Dec 3, 2014 12:53:26pm

I was about to say it was Rodney King all over again, but at least that ended up going to trial. This didn’t even get that far. How fucked is it that, in just over 20 years time, we’ve regressed that much?

115 lawhawk  Dec 3, 2014 12:53:47pm
116 Franklin  Dec 3, 2014 12:54:03pm

re: #111 Aunty Entity Dragon

I have been curious about that…

Why in the hell are so many Americans eager to sell other Americans down the proverbial river for going to another country and helping sick people, or being poor, or being a different color or whatever?? The sheer hatred for American doctors and nurses and Christian missionaries (!) in Africa utterly floored me.

We used to have some sort of common American identity, and we no longer seem to have one.

That does not bode well for our continued exsistance as a nation over the next century IMHO.

If we hate each other this much…why bother being a country in the first place?

I’m only 40’ish so I only have a limited perspective, perhaps it’s always been this bad. I don’t now, but it’s scary as shit.

117 Aunty Entity Dragon  Dec 3, 2014 12:54:50pm

re: #114 Targetpractice

I was about to say it was Rodney King all over again, but at least that ended up going to trial. This didn’t even got that far. How fucked is it that, in just over 20 years time, we’ve regressed that much?

Yes.

The Rodney King federal case was an anomaly. The LAPD aggressive CAMP raid style of policing has spread like a cancer, and this is what we are getting now.

118 leftynyc  Dec 3, 2014 12:55:17pm

re: #109 #FergusonFireside

Make a sign. A good one.

I don’t have the supplies for that and honestly every time I see a sign like “Black Lives Matter”, I want to weep. But I will have my camera phone ready and just hope my hands aren’t shaking in anger (and despair - I honestly don’t remember ever feeling like this before).

119 darthstar  Dec 3, 2014 12:55:35pm

I was at the gym and they had the take-down on infinite loop on TV. While I think the grand jury again failed in its duty, I was relieved to hear a statement from the officer in question expressing condolences to the family of the man he killed, unlike Darren Wilson who said he’d do the same thing again.

120 lawhawk  Dec 3, 2014 12:56:07pm

Kicker (insult added to injury).

The man who videotaped the Garner death was indicted for weapons possession:

121 allegro  Dec 3, 2014 12:56:12pm

re: #116 Franklin

I’m only 40’ish so I only have a limited perspective, perhaps it’s always been this bad. I don’t now, but it’s scary as shit.

I would like to say that it hasn’t always been like this but that would likely be my privilege speaking. It’s very possible it’s just that we didn’t hear about it in our lily white homes.

122 leftynyc  Dec 3, 2014 12:57:41pm

re: #120 lawhawk

Kicker (insult added to injury).

The man who videotaped the Garner death was indicted for weapons possession:

[Embedded content]

This just gets more sickening every fucking minute.

123 Jenner7  Dec 3, 2014 12:57:48pm
124 blueraven  Dec 3, 2014 12:58:54pm
125 Backwoods_Sleuth  Dec 3, 2014 12:59:23pm
126 Aunty Entity Dragon  Dec 3, 2014 1:00:16pm

re: #120 lawhawk

Kicker (insult added to injury).

The man who videotaped the Garner death was indicted for weapons possession:

[Embedded content]

The guy who filmed the San Bernardino deputy shooting a veteran in the back was also arrested for a bs charge.

127 lawhawk  Dec 3, 2014 1:01:24pm

Who do you believe, Fox News, or your lying eyes? /

128 Charles Johnson  Dec 3, 2014 1:02:49pm

re: #47 Indy GOP Refugee

Well hang on a second. Where would we be if there were no video at all? Gotta take those fixes as separate necessities. Change policy, get the cameras. Either way ‘round.

Nobody serious calls cameras perfect or a panacea. But they do result is a very significant reduction in use of force by police. Edit-And gives us the tools and evidence to demand change when the system fails.

Not saying body cams are useless — but I think people need to lower their expectations of what they’ll achieve.

129 Targetpractice  Dec 3, 2014 1:04:37pm

re: #128 Charles Johnson

Not saying body cams are useless — but I think people need to lower their expectations of what they’ll achieve.

I think it’s a bit much to expect they’ll lead to cops actually being held accountable for their actions, but more videos like this do help to deflate the myth that it’s a “few bad apples” who are responsible.

130 Fourth Football of the Apocalypse  Dec 3, 2014 1:08:22pm

re:
#127

Wait, Fox News got someone on to say the GJ decision was totally cool because no choke?

My shocked face is getting worn out. //

131 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 1:08:35pm

re: #125 Backwoods_Sleuth

[Embedded content]

I so want her to run for president. Please run Kirsten.

132 BeachDem  Dec 3, 2014 1:09:06pm

re: #86 Charles Johnson

Yup, there he goes.

[Embedded content]

A. The police sources who are looking into upchuck’s Ferguson information must be the same ones who were supplying classified information to the pissant Fresno blogger all along—i.e. they only exist in upchuck’s fevered imagination.

and

B. I’m sure Eric Garner is trembling in his boots about upchuck’s pending info release about him. Oh, wait—no he’s not because he’s fucking dead.

Dancing on the graves of the murdered since 2014—GoatNews

I think he’s gone beyond delusions of grandeur to psychosis.

133 #FergusonFireside  Dec 3, 2014 1:10:15pm
134 Higgs Boson's Mate  Dec 3, 2014 1:10:39pm

re: #132 BeachDem

I think he’s gone beyond delusions of grandeur to psychosis.

That had to be one short trip.

135 Romantic Heretic  Dec 3, 2014 1:10:56pm

re: #111 Aunty Entity Dragon

I have been curious about that…

Why in the hell are so many Americans eager to sell other Americans down the proverbial river for going to another country and helping sick people, or being poor, or being a different color or whatever?? The sheer hatred for American doctors and nurses and Christian missionaries (!) in Africa utterly floored me.

We used to have some sort of common American identity, and we no longer seem to have one.

That does not bode well for our continued exsistance as a nation over the next century IMHO.

If we hate each other this much…why bother being a country in the first place?

As my favourite author once noted:

America is…a profoundly divided nation destined for permanent civil war.

This is an inescapable result of building a nation on the enslavement of one part by another. Those who think of society as a living organism cannot help seeing mass slavery as a self-inflicted wound which can never heal. The larger and stronger the body grows, the more it will feel pain and bleed. Humans learn to live with agony and violence. We are a species as adaptable as rats. But the violence of america must be in some way the inheritance of its economic creation.

Also:

America is…several completely different countries unified by only two mechanisms: an internal market gigantic, varied and rich enough to make foreign markets of little importance; and a mythology so pure and brilliant it can never interfere with real life.

From The Doubter’s Companion.

136 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 1:11:03pm

re: #133 #FergusonFireside

[Embedded content]

Sad but true.

137 leftynyc  Dec 3, 2014 1:11:45pm

re: #131 HappyWarrior

I so want her to run for president. Please run Kirsten.

I love her too. She’s young - she’ll be around for a while and NYers love her.

138 Charles Johnson  Dec 3, 2014 1:11:47pm
139 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Dec 3, 2014 1:11:54pm

re: #129 Targetpractice

I think it’s a bit much to expect they’ll lead to cops actually being held accountable for their actions, but more videos like this do help to deflate the myth that it’s a “few bad apples” who are responsible.

Ferguson has shown that the rot is systemic and leads right to the top and beyond.

140 Backwoods_Sleuth  Dec 3, 2014 1:12:43pm
141 Fourth Football of the Apocalypse  Dec 3, 2014 1:13:09pm

This just in: St. Louis PD demands apology on behalf of cops/GJ criticized in Eric Garner case.

///

142 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 1:13:35pm

re: #137 leftynyc

I love her too. She’s young - she’ll be around for a while and NYers love her.

I think from the outside looking in that she’s been a much better senator for you all than Hillary was. I really admire her courage- she was one of the first senators to come out in favor of SSM and she’s been a strong voice. I really hope she’s someone that moves up the ranks. And yeah she is young.

143 unproven innocence  Dec 3, 2014 1:13:57pm

re: #120 lawhawk

Kicker (insult added to injury).

The man who videotaped the Garner death was indicted for weapons possession:

[Embedded content]

From your link, “He said no fingerprints were found on the gun.”

144 Targetpractice  Dec 3, 2014 1:14:35pm

re: #140 Backwoods_Sleuth

[Embedded content]

While I’m vehemently opposed to the results of this GJ, I do have to commend the NYPD for showing a great deal more respect for the civil rights of protestors than the STLCPD and FPD ever have.

145 Backwoods_Sleuth  Dec 3, 2014 1:15:02pm
146 Franklin  Dec 3, 2014 1:15:24pm

Truth

147 Eclectic Cyborg  Dec 3, 2014 1:15:32pm

Will the Oath Keepers show up in NY now?

148 Backwoods_Sleuth  Dec 3, 2014 1:15:33pm

re: #144 Targetpractice

Yep. Regular uniforms, no riot gear.

149 leftynyc  Dec 3, 2014 1:15:55pm

re: #142 HappyWarrior

I think from the outside looking in that she’s been a much better senator for you all than Hillary was. I really admire her courage- she was one of the first senators to come out in favor of SSM and she’s been a strong voice. I really hope she’s someone that moves up the ranks. And yeah she is young.

Hillary was also a good senator. Kept her head down and did her job. We all knew she wanted to run for President. We didn’t care when Bobby Kennedy did it and we didn’t care when Hillary did it. We’re weird.

150 Tigger2  Dec 3, 2014 1:16:12pm

re: #86 Charles Johnson

Yup, there he goes.

[Embedded content]

Charles C go fuck yourself you racist cocksucker. (sorry for my language but I’m mad.)

151 Fourth Football of the Apocalypse  Dec 3, 2014 1:16:14pm

re:
#142

I really admire her courage- she was one of the first senators to come out in favor of SSM and she’s been a strong voice.

Yeah she done good there.

152 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 1:16:18pm

Pretty crare: #146 Franklin

Truth

[Embedded content]

Constantly being quoted by white people to put down black people.

153 Aunty Entity Dragon  Dec 3, 2014 1:17:11pm

re: #135 Romantic Heretic

I put it on my amazon list. Thanks.

154 Fourth Football of the Apocalypse  Dec 3, 2014 1:17:18pm

re:
#142

Led effort to end DADT in military I believe, as well, or perhaps that was what you were referring to.

155 klystron  Dec 3, 2014 1:17:19pm

At this point, I believe that the only thing that would get an officer indicted for killing someone on the job would be if they intentionally shot another police officer in front of five other officers as witnesses.

Assuming those other five officers didn’t like the shooter and liked the victim.

156 Backwoods_Sleuth  Dec 3, 2014 1:17:29pm
157 lawhawk  Dec 3, 2014 1:17:30pm

The spin is in. Cameras don’t matter.

Really? Cameras don’t matter so long as prosecutors and GJs refuse to indict despite sufficient evidence to indict.

This isn’t about beyond a reasonable doubt. The ME said Garner’s death was a homicide. The video shows a chokehold in clear violation of NYPD policy. Choke holds are barred for years, and the video is indisputable proof of a choke hold.

Those two factors alone should have been sufficient for an indictment. Heck, they would have been sufficient for reckless endangerment.

But add to those the fact that several NYPD were offered immunity by the prosecutor to testify against the officer, and they still returned no indictment. That speaks to the GJ’s refusal to indict a cop.

It’s pathetic, and things have to change.

158 Skip Intro  Dec 3, 2014 1:17:31pm

re: #111 Aunty Entity Dragon

I have been curious about that…

Why in the hell are so many Americans eager to sell other Americans down the proverbial river for going to another country and helping sick people, or being poor, or being a different color or whatever?? The sheer hatred for American doctors and nurses and Christian missionaries (!) in Africa utterly floored me.

We used to have some sort of common American identity, and we no longer seem to have one.

That does not bode well for our continued exsistance as a nation over the next century IMHO.

If we hate each other this much…why bother being a country in the first place?

I’ve said this here before, but I credit the 20+ years of pure hate and venom spewed by Rush Limbaugh for bringing the country to where it is today. He made it safe to hate, and hate big. His complete control over the GOP has turned what was once a right of center political party into the raving, fear and hate consumed party the GOP is today.

159 leftynyc  Dec 3, 2014 1:17:42pm

re: #151 Fourth Football of the Apocalypse

re:
#142

Yeah she done good there.

She’s also come out strongly about sexual assault in the military. We’re lucky to have her and it was certainly the best thing Gov Patterson did while Governor.

160 Kragar  Dec 3, 2014 1:18:03pm
161 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 1:19:24pm

re: #158 Skip Intro

I’ve said this here before, but I credit the 20+ years of pure hate and venom spewed by Rush Limbaugh for bringing the country to where it is today. He made it safe to hate, and hate big. His complete control over the GOP has turned what was once a right of center political party into the raving, fear and hate consumed party the GOP is today.

I definitely do blame Limbaugh for creating a culture of hatred and I blame the GOP politicians even more who were too cowardly to call out the fucking bigot for what he is on it. Instead of being almost universally being seen as a bigoted demagogue, Rush is seen as influential and important in conservative circles.

162 sagehen  Dec 3, 2014 1:19:49pm

re: #116 Franklin

I’m only 40’ish so I only have a limited perspective, perhaps it’s always been this bad. I don’t now, but it’s scary as shit.

Until the mid-60’s, black people and white people were legally required to live not very close to each other…. it was really easy for white people to have NO IDEA AT ALL. Well-meaning, but oblivious.

That’s why the video of firehoses and dogs had such a startling, shaming effect — when that was on network news, it really was NEWS to most of the audience.

163 lawhawk  Dec 3, 2014 1:19:55pm
164 ObserverArt  Dec 3, 2014 1:20:06pm

Well hell! Another day I can say with firm conviction that I am not proud to be an American.

We better hear some damn politicians start to talk about this being a freaking problem. We better hear Police Departments all over this country going over all their procedures and meeting with the community to explain how this will not happen.

But sadly, this will be glossed over with time, just like gun control regarding Sandy Hook.

I said it after the Ferguson GJ findings…I sure hope enough people of ALL colors are getting real pissed off. We all need to be, and we need to let all of the people responsible for change know it.

165 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 1:20:09pm

re: #159 leftynyc

She’s also come out strongly about sexual assault in the military. We’re lucky to have her and it was certainly the best thing Gov Patterson did while Governor.

That’s right. She was very outspoken on that issue. Again hats off to her. She’s one of the good guys.

166 Fourth Football of the Apocalypse  Dec 3, 2014 1:20:17pm

re:
#160

What happened to award-winning journalist Chuck c Johnson’s media journalist campaign against Ashton Kutcher being appointed SOD? Doesn’t he care that some dopey actor is going to be leading the Pentagon?

/

167 unproven innocence  Dec 3, 2014 1:20:18pm

re: #148 Backwoods_Sleuth

Yep. Regular uniforms, no riot gear.

And I’ll speculate here that they are displaying name tags. [edit] — or at least badges with ID#s.

168 darthstar  Dec 3, 2014 1:22:16pm
169 Feline Fearless Leader  Dec 3, 2014 1:22:16pm

re: #166 Fourth Football of the Apocalypse

re:
#160

What happened to award-winning journalist Chuck c Johnson’s media journalist campaign against Ashton Kutcher being appointed SOD? Doesn’t he care that some dopey actor is going to be leading the Pentagon?

/

Obama caused a distraction by having the GJ not indict in Staten Island.
///

170 Kragar  Dec 3, 2014 1:22:35pm

CCJs says Ferguson PD loves the Oathkeepers

donotlink.com

gotnews.com’s Ferguson police sources are confirming that they are grateful for the support of a libertarian militia group.

“I was wondering when volunteer militia would finally show up,” said a well-placed law enforcement source.

“The Oathkeepers started standing watch from Ferguson rooftops on Tuesday since Governor Nixon abdicated his duties Monday.”

The officers describe being overwhelmed by the mob and under-supported by state and federal authorities.

“Thank God for them.”

171 stpaulbear  Dec 3, 2014 1:22:53pm

re: #156 Backwoods_Sleuth

SOURCE: Police at #GrandCentral will be “hands off” any protesters unless they impede trains or get rowdy.

..or try to sell cigarettes.

172 leftynyc  Dec 3, 2014 1:23:33pm

re: #163 lawhawk

[Embedded content]

“Specific information”? Anything that makes Garner look like a crazed killer is more like it.

173 Targetpractice  Dec 3, 2014 1:23:38pm

re: #168 darthstar

[Embedded content]

But still, he was hired on and trusted with a firearm. In a sane world, those responsible for hiring him would be sacked for not taking note of such remarks in his file or failing to look at his file before hiring him in the first place.

174 Backwoods_Sleuth  Dec 3, 2014 1:23:40pm
175 Targetpractice  Dec 3, 2014 1:24:38pm

re: #170 Kragar

CCJs says Ferguson PD loves the Oathkeepers

donotlink.com

If there’s any truth to that, then that department’s rotten to the core.

176 Eclectic Cyborg  Dec 3, 2014 1:24:45pm

re: #168 darthstar

But I’m sure he was awesome at Call of Duty.

177 makeitstop  Dec 3, 2014 1:24:51pm

re: #163 lawhawk

SI DA:”I applied for a court order….seeking authorization to publicly release specific information..” re: grand jury probe

Following the McCulloch model, I see.

Well, about to be poisoned.

178 ObserverArt  Dec 3, 2014 1:24:55pm

I haven’t read through today’s thread, so pardon me if this has been mentioned and linked. Just heard about it on Alex Wagner.

Wall Street Journal - Hundreds of Police Killings Are Uncounted in Federal Stats

WASHINGTON—When 24-year-old Albert Jermaine Payton wielded a knife in front of the police in this city’s southeast corner, officers opened fire and killed him.

Yet according to national statistics intended to track police killings, Mr. Payton’s death in August 2012 never happened. It is one of hundreds of homicides by law-enforcement agencies between 2007 and 2012 that aren’t included in records kept by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

A Wall Street Journal analysis of the latest data from 105 of the country’s largest police agencies found more than 550 police killings during those years were missing from the national tally or, in a few dozen cases, not attributed to the agency involved. The result: It is nearly impossible to determine how many people are killed by the police each year.

179 #FergusonFireside  Dec 3, 2014 1:26:43pm

re: #174 Backwoods_Sleuth

[Embedded content]

180 Mike Lamb  Dec 3, 2014 1:26:55pm

re: #76 HappyWarrior

Nice to know that these are the people supposed to be “protecting” us. Agh. Fuckers will defend any of their own that kill any civilian.

Policeone sickens me far more than any Freeper, Redstate, whatever site. If Anonymous wanted to do something good, they’d identify the policemen making those posts, and send their identifying info to whatever police force is employing them.

181 Kragar  Dec 3, 2014 1:27:01pm

re: #175 Targetpractice

If there’s any truth to that, then that department’s rotten to the core.

Tear it down.

182 blueraven  Dec 3, 2014 1:27:05pm

xcop on CNN…He was a LARGE man!

fuck this shit.

183 freetoken  Dec 3, 2014 1:27:49pm

re: #182 blueraven

xcop on CNN…He was a LARGE black man!

184 Backwoods_Sleuth  Dec 3, 2014 1:29:05pm
185 Kragar  Dec 3, 2014 1:29:57pm
186 BeachDem  Dec 3, 2014 1:30:37pm

re: #159 leftynyc

She’s also come out strongly about sexual assault in the military. We’re lucky to have her and it was certainly the best thing Gov Patterson did while Governor.

I have to say, her House time as a Blue Dog had me really skeptical about how she would be in the Senate. She has now become one of my favorites.

I guess when you can get out of a super conservative district like she was in and represent the entire state, you can let your real convictions shine and not have to couch everything you say or do.

And that’s a criticism of gerrymandered districts and right-wing insanity, NOT of Senator Gillibrand!

187 leftynyc  Dec 3, 2014 1:31:38pm

Well, we’re already pissed off so I’m posting this to drive the point home. That DA in Ferguson indicted a black police officer for hitting the hand of a commuter - so I guess they will indict a cop - he/she just has to be black:

ie.askmen.com

188 unproven innocence  Dec 3, 2014 1:31:46pm

re: #184 Backwoods_Sleuth

[Embedded content]

A deficit of breathing room is often a problem.

189 Higgs Boson's Mate  Dec 3, 2014 1:32:34pm

re: #170 Kragar

That must’ve hurt when CCJ pulled it out of his ass. Not one of the grateful cops has a name. And, since when is being supported by the St. Louis County PD - complete with armored vehicles - plus more than 700 members of the National Guard equivalent to being abandoned?

Add “lying” to the list of things at which the lad is startlingly inept.

190 Targetpractice  Dec 3, 2014 1:32:40pm

Well shit, if we’re going to quote Dr. King, then lets do it right:

I’m absolutely convinced that a riot merely intensifies the fears of the white community while relieving the guilt. And I feel that we must always work with an effective, powerful weapon and method that brings about tangible results. But it is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the negro poor has worsened over the last twelve or fifteen years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice and humanity.

191 Backwoods_Sleuth  Dec 3, 2014 1:33:21pm
192 Feline Fearless Leader  Dec 3, 2014 1:33:24pm
The Oat Keepers are watching you!
193 EPR-radar  Dec 3, 2014 1:34:16pm

re: #161 HappyWarrior

I definitely do blame Limbaugh for creating a culture of hatred and I blame the GOP politicians even more who were too cowardly to call out the fucking bigot for what he is on it. Instead of being almost universally being seen as a bigoted demagogue, Rush is seen as influential and important in conservative circles.

Limbaugh is important in GOP/conservative circles because they are as hateful and bigoted as Limbaugh. It really is that simple.

194 Backwoods_Sleuth  Dec 3, 2014 1:34:32pm
195 Charles Johnson  Dec 3, 2014 1:35:29pm
196 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 1:35:39pm

re: #194 Backwoods_Sleuth

[Embedded content]

Lol I’m an idiot. I read Chuck Schumer as Erick Erickson. What’s wrong with me?

197 makeitstop  Dec 3, 2014 1:35:40pm

re: #189 Higgs Boson’s Mate

That must’ve hurt when CCJ pulled it out of his ass. Not one of the grateful cops has a name. And, since when is being supported by the St. Louis County PD - complete with armored vehicles - plus more than 700 members of the National Guard equivalent to being abandoned?

Add “lying” to the list of things at which the lad is startlingly inept.

The second night of demonstrations after the non-indictment, there were over 2000 National Guard in Ferguson.

198 leftynyc  Dec 3, 2014 1:36:07pm

re: #191 Backwoods_Sleuth

[Embedded content]

They’re going to try and disrupt the tree lighting. Many, many tourists will get caught up in that.

199 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 1:36:19pm

re: #195 Charles Johnson

[Embedded content]

Yep. That’s his “journalism” having his pathetic lackeys do his work for him and then posting it calling it “investigative journalism.”

200 leftynyc  Dec 3, 2014 1:36:34pm

re: #194 Backwoods_Sleuth

[Embedded content]

That’s both NY Senators asking the feds to get involved.

201 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 1:36:40pm

re: #180 Mike Lamb

Policeone sickens me far more than any Freeper, Redstate, whatever site. If Anonymous wanted to do something good, they’d identify the policemen making those posts, and send their identifying info to whatever police force is employing them.

Agreed.

202 Kragar  Dec 3, 2014 1:37:30pm
203 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 1:37:56pm

re: #202 Kragar

[Embedded content]

I’d like to see that fucker call me “libtard” to my face and see what happens.

204 BeachDem  Dec 3, 2014 1:38:24pm

re: #170 Kragar

CCJs says Ferguson PD loves the Oathkeepers

donotlink.com

In what parallel universe would even a lowlife Ferguson police source risk providing anything to an inconsequential blogger from Fresno?

“a well-placed law enforcement source” Um hmmm—no bout adoubt it.

205 Ace-o-aces  Dec 3, 2014 1:38:51pm

I’m beginning to suspect his IQ may not actually be 150.

206 darthstar  Dec 3, 2014 1:39:41pm

re: #195 Charles Johnson

So tempted to try to find a white guy named Eric Garner with a criminal record and send it to Chuckles so he can have his scoop.

207 Backwoods_Sleuth  Dec 3, 2014 1:39:48pm

re: #205 Ace-o-aces

[Embedded content]

I’m beginning to suspect his IQ may not actually be 150.

Apparently, he took too many rockets to the head when he was six years old…

208 Kragar  Dec 3, 2014 1:40:00pm

re: #205 Ace-o-aces

[Embedded content]

I’m beginning to suspect his IQ may not actually be 150.

Misplaced decimals get you every time.

209 #FergusonFireside  Dec 3, 2014 1:40:06pm
210 lawhawk  Dec 3, 2014 1:40:07pm

re: #205 Ace-o-aces

The decimal place has been altered a bit.

211 darthstar  Dec 3, 2014 1:40:10pm

re: #205 Ace-o-aces

[Embedded content]

I’m beginning to suspect his IQ may not actually be 150.

It is in dog years.

212 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 1:40:17pm

re: #205 Ace-o-aces

[Embedded content]

I’m beginning to suspect his IQ may not actually be 150.

Perhaps he read 15.0 as 150.

213 lawhawk  Dec 3, 2014 1:40:21pm

re: #208 Kragar

Damn it!

214 Charles Johnson  Dec 3, 2014 1:40:26pm
215 Mike Lamb  Dec 3, 2014 1:40:36pm

re: #170 Kragar

CCJs says Ferguson PD loves the Oathkeepers

donotlink.com

<cough> complete and utter bull shit <cough>

216 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 1:40:50pm

re: #208 Kragar

Misplaced decimals get you every time.

re: #210 lawhawk

The decimal place has been altered a bit.

Okay, okay damn it you guys. I thought I had an original one there.

217 ObserverArt  Dec 3, 2014 1:40:54pm

re: #69 Shiplord Kirel

We may be looking at a complete collapse of police authority in this country. Freeper racists still support any cop who kills a black person but there is also substantial dissent and criticism of the police even there. The killer cops are quickly losing all credibility, with elements of the political right as well as the left.

This has been a long time coming. Many years ago, Daryl Gates and the advocates of steroid pumped “aggressive policing” decided they could maintain control of society by brute force and intimidation alone, with no need for the approval and support of the “sheeple” who give them their power and who pay their salaries. “Sheeple” who still supported their local police, as the NRA used to advise, were laughed at as ass kissers and sycophants, behind their backs, and often to their faces.
This created a culture of arrogance whose adherents did not understand that in fact they still needed community support for the simple reason that the cops themselves and their few supporters and cronies in the legal system are neither strong enough nor numerous enough to maintain control by themselves.
Now their support is eroding away to nothing, and they are finding out that gunplay, ninja suits, and huge biceps alone will not cow the entire world.

I think we also need to add in to your comment that when 9/11 occurred, everyone was told to let the police know they are heroes.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but my bar for determining a hero is pretty high and takes more than putting on a badge and a uniform. It takes heroic actions and deeds.

I guess what I am saying is, by calling ALL cops heroes, have they taken to the hero moniker and it, like your reference to steroids, is another drug that bolsters their behavior and gives them a right to do whatever.

After all, in myth, a hero can do no wrong.

218 darthstar  Dec 3, 2014 1:41:30pm

re: #216 HappyWarrior

Okay, okay damn it you guys. I thought I had an original one there.

Hey, at least I used the dog-years conversion.

219 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 1:41:51pm

re: #218 darthstar

Hey, at least I used the dog-years conversion.

Wish I had thought of that one heh.

220 Higgs Boson's Mate  Dec 3, 2014 1:41:56pm
221 allegro  Dec 3, 2014 1:42:03pm

re: #191 Backwoods_Sleuth

[Embedded content]

I noticed that the Rockefeller event is going to be televised at 7pm here on NBC. I was gonna watch Arrow but now I may find that event more interesting.

222 darthstar  Dec 3, 2014 1:43:12pm

Funny…I never see his tweets in my time line. I forgot I blocked his predictably boring ass months ago.

223 Ace-o-aces  Dec 3, 2014 1:43:12pm

re: #206 darthstar

So tempted to try to find a white guy named Eric Garner with a criminal record and send it to Chuckles so he can have his scoop.

Hey, I tweeted him where to find it. Too bad he blocked me.

224 Tigger2  Dec 3, 2014 1:43:57pm

re: #205 Ace-o-aces

[Embedded content]

I’m beginning to suspect his IQ may not actually be 150.

I was thinking more like 15.

225 Charles Johnson  Dec 3, 2014 1:44:03pm
226 bubba zanetti  Dec 3, 2014 1:44:30pm
227 Fourth Football of the Apocalypse  Dec 3, 2014 1:45:18pm

re:
#194

The Justice Department must launch a Federal investigation into Eric Garner’s death as soon as possible. -cs
— Chuck Schumer

Hurr hurr libs want investigation of Eric Garner death but not BENGHAZI FOUR!!!! Are Heroes…NEVER 4get!!!

228 #FergusonFireside  Dec 3, 2014 1:45:56pm

In Ferguson

229 Dr. Matt  Dec 3, 2014 1:46:10pm
230 Backwoods_Sleuth  Dec 3, 2014 1:47:11pm

Guess the Medical Examiner doesn’t know as much science as Upchuck does.

231 Backwoods_Sleuth  Dec 3, 2014 1:48:14pm
232 darthstar  Dec 3, 2014 1:49:04pm

Well, there’s some good news at least…

233 Justanotherhuman  Dec 3, 2014 1:49:28pm

This is just infuckingcredible.

So, I guess this is wide-open season for LE.

I expect that if you dig deeply enough, white racial attitudes in Staten Island aren’t really too far from those in MO, since there is a class component in both cases.

234 Bubblehead II  Dec 3, 2014 1:49:56pm

re: #205 Ace-o-aces

[Embedded content]

I’m beginning to suspect his IQ may not actually be 150.

What was your first clue?

//

235 Jenner7  Dec 3, 2014 1:50:58pm

———> guilty as charged

This is why I really like Oliver….

236 EPR-radar  Dec 3, 2014 1:51:02pm

re: #231 Backwoods_Sleuth

I can actually agree with the first half of one of these comments, provided that “thug” is interpreted to refer to out of control cops.

238 Tigger2  Dec 3, 2014 1:51:12pm

re: #231 Backwoods_Sleuth

[Embedded content]

I have no faith in cops anymore, it’s super bad for the AA but the poor catch hell from the cops too.

239 EPR-radar  Dec 3, 2014 1:52:30pm

re: #238 Tigger2

I have no faith in cops anymore, it’s super bad for Blacks but the poor catch hell from the cops to.

This is bad. If the police completely degenerate into mere enforcers for the oligarchs, fascism is a lot closer than I thought it was.

240 Fourth Football of the Apocalypse  Dec 3, 2014 1:52:34pm

re:
#223

Hey, I tweeted him where to find it. Too bad he blocked me.

No journalism revolution for you, then. You’ll be left behind.

//

241 Jenner7  Dec 3, 2014 1:52:56pm

Haha. After hearing NY Senators come out strongly for this, I thought of the silence or luke warm comments from MO Senators and right now on MSNBC, McCaskill is being called out.

242 Ace-o-aces  Dec 3, 2014 1:53:00pm

re: #230 Backwoods_Sleuth

I hear they have science in other countries too.

243 Fourth Football of the Apocalypse  Dec 3, 2014 1:53:39pm

re:
#237

WAR on Christmas!!!!!11

244 Tigger2  Dec 3, 2014 1:54:23pm

re: #239 EPR-radar

This is bad. If the police completely degenerate into mere enforcers for the oligarchs, fascism is a lot closer than I thought it was.

Just thinking about that kind of makes me glad I’m a gun toting liberal and have been for 55 yrs.

245 Mike Lamb  Dec 3, 2014 1:55:26pm

re: #231 Backwoods_Sleuth

Sure seemed like the guy with the gun and the guy applying the “carotid restriction” (or whatever they’d like us to call it) controlled the destiny in both cases…

246 Backwoods_Sleuth  Dec 3, 2014 1:55:57pm

re: #242 Ace-o-aces

I hear they have science in other countries too.

Those would be the mooslum heathen countries that invented backwards stuff like algebra…

/////

247 Justanotherhuman  Dec 3, 2014 1:58:11pm

President Obama on Eric Garner case: ‘It’s incumbent on all of us as Americans, that we recognize that this is an American problem’ - @jbendery
end of alert

248 ObserverArt  Dec 3, 2014 1:58:25pm

re: #150 Tigger2

Charles C go fuck yourself you racist cocksucker. (sorry for my language but I’m mad.)

I’m right there with you.

I am now advancing my desire that Chuck C. lips off to the wrong person or group and gets sued.

Hell at this point it would not surprise me if he gets beat up by somebody for being a jackass and getting his nose into something that has real world repercussions. I don’t want to see it happen, but sometimes bad shit happens to naive journalist with big egos and no street smarts.

249 Justanotherhuman  Dec 3, 2014 1:59:10pm

President Obama says he just spoke with Attorney General Eric Holder, who he said will have more to say on Eric Garner case - @MajorCBS
end of alert

250 Backwoods_Sleuth  Dec 3, 2014 2:00:43pm

There’s maybe a couple of dozen protesters there and they aren’t impeding anything.

251 Ace-o-aces  Dec 3, 2014 2:01:10pm

I mean, I know it’s your website and all, but a little credit.

252 BeachDem  Dec 3, 2014 2:01:17pm

re: #230 Backwoods_Sleuth

Guess the Medical Examiner doesn’t know as much science as Upchuck does.

[Embedded content]

And I also never knew that science was exclusively American. Ah, the things we can learn from upchuck.

(and apparently we “do” science much as upchuck “does” journalism.)

253 Bubblehead II  Dec 3, 2014 2:02:00pm
254 Dr. Matt  Dec 3, 2014 2:02:38pm
255 Justanotherhuman  Dec 3, 2014 2:03:17pm

re: #253 Bubblehead II

[Embedded content]

And you can get your RWNJ, gun-totin’ friends to aim at Federal agents and not suffer any consequences—if you’re white.

256 stpaulbear  Dec 3, 2014 2:05:29pm

re: #248 ObserverArt

I’m right there with you.

I am now advancing my desire that Chuck C. lips off to the wrong person or group and gets sued.

Hell at this point it would not surprise me if he gets beat up by somebody for being a jackass and getting his nose into something that has real world repercussions. I don’t want to see it happen, but sometimes bad shit happens to naive journalist with big egos and no street smarts.

I have to say that I’d really enjoy seeing a video like this one with Chuck on the receiving end. Sometimes seeing someone get what they deserve just feels good.

257 Bubblehead II  Dec 3, 2014 2:05:41pm
258 ObserverArt  Dec 3, 2014 2:06:14pm

re: #212 HappyWarrior

Perhaps he read 15.0 as 150.

I’m thinking it is .150.

259 Justanotherhuman  Dec 3, 2014 2:08:44pm

Heavy police presence for 30 people? Come on, already. Now you’re being ridiculous.

260 Charles Johnson  Dec 3, 2014 2:09:04pm

re: #251 Ace-o-aces

[Embedded content]

I mean, I know it’s your website and all, but a little credit.

Oops! I honestly didn’t see your comment when I tweeted that, but you did indeed mention that before me.

261 Dr. Matt  Dec 3, 2014 2:10:56pm
262 Lidane  Dec 3, 2014 2:11:52pm

I’m at work and can’t rant. I’ll let Tony Stark give my first reaction:

263 ObserverArt  Dec 3, 2014 2:15:00pm

re: #256 stpaulbear

I have to say that I’d really enjoy seeing a video like this one with Chuck on the receiving end. Sometimes seeing someone get what they deserve just feels good.

I never saw or heard of that happening. That is a great example of not having any street smarts. It is pretty apparent that Buzz was getting more and more pissed. And then dumbass goes and says you are no hero. Wham!

Well deserved.

264 Eventual Carrion  Dec 3, 2014 2:17:39pm

re: #230 Backwoods_Sleuth

Guess the Medical Examiner doesn’t know as much science as Upchuck does.

[Embedded content]

It does seem that Upchuck might have been deprived of oxygen for an extended period sometime in his young life. Probably while playing spaceman with the plastic bags his model rockets came in.

265 Backwoods_Sleuth  Dec 3, 2014 2:20:15pm

And he’s not finished yet…going for fat shaming now:

266 lostlakehiker  Dec 3, 2014 2:21:09pm

re: #12 Kragar

[Embedded content]

That’s a rebuttal but not a refutation. At least we know what happened with Garner. None of this dueling banjoes stuff where everybody picks their own facts because the facts are disputed with witnesses all over the map.

How in the world could they not have brought an indictment?

Didn’t have to be a murder charge. It would have been hard to prove that the officer intended Brown to die. On camera. But it’s reckless to persist in restraints that are banned already, when the guy’s complaining he can’t breath. So you do have a prosecutable manslaughter charge.

Now, for starters, the PD needs to be pushed to fire the lot of them. At the barest minimum, the officers disregarded policy banning choke holds. Next, the use of choke holds needs to be just plain outlawed. That, plus cameras, would serve to make further incidents like this one much less likely. And that would hardly be the end of it. But when trying to fix the world, comprehensive fixes tend to go awry. The War To End Wars got renamed “world war 1” just 20-some years later. Piecemeal fixes can fix a piece of the problem, and they can add up. Doable, real progress is worth something.

267 Backwoods_Sleuth  Dec 3, 2014 2:22:30pm
268 Charles Johnson  Dec 3, 2014 2:24:54pm
269 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 2:25:22pm

re: #267 Backwoods_Sleuth

[Embedded content]

I’d love to see these guys get exposed for who they actually are.

270 BeachDem  Dec 3, 2014 2:26:05pm

re: #237 Dr. Matt

NOT The Onion: Fox Reacts To Inconvenient Eric Garner Decision: “We’ve Got The Tree Lighting Ceremony Tonight”

Ah, Gretchen Carlson, fighting the war on xmas, one outrage at a time. Last year it was the Festivus Pole…

For me, during the Christmas season, I don’t want to take my kids around in the car to see all the crèches in the town where I live in and hear them say, ‘Mom, where are they? I don’t see them anymore.

This year, it’s those annoying people concerned about the murder of black people.

WHY WON’T FOLKS JUST RESPECT GRETCHEN’S GOD-GIVEN RIGHT TO ENJOY THE HOLIDAY SEASON!!!

271 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 2:26:19pm

re: #268 Charles Johnson

[Embedded content]

Fucker’s desperate to justify this. I wish I could be shocked but he’s a particularly vile son of a bitch. Makes sense that he spent his formative years listening to Rush with his grandmother.

272 Fourth Football of the Apocalypse  Dec 3, 2014 2:30:07pm

re:
#254

In summation, “pro-life” conservatives support state-sanctioned murder for people selling smokes on the street.

Also unquestioningly support Law Enforcement although they want to overthrow a twice-elected government.

273 Bubblehead II  Dec 3, 2014 2:30:45pm

Mayer De Blasio Presser starting

274 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 2:30:50pm

re: #270 BeachDem

Ah, Gretchen Carlson, fighting the war on xmas, one outrage at a time. Last year it was the Festivus Pole…

For me, during the Christmas season, I don’t want to take my kids around in the car to see all the crèches in the town where I live in and hear them say, ‘Mom, where are they? I don’t see them anymore.

This year, it’s those annoying people concerned about the murder of black people.

WHY WON’T FOLKS JUST RESPECT GRETCHEN’S GOD-GIVEN RIGHT TO ENJOY THE HOLIDAY SEASON!!!

I think it’s disgusting that Gretchen is using her children to hide the fact that she and her network could care less about police brutality.

275 Jenner7  Dec 3, 2014 2:31:12pm
276 ObserverArt  Dec 3, 2014 2:31:42pm

re: #273 Bubblehead II

Mayer De Blasio Presser starting

Watching too.

277 Fourth Football of the Apocalypse  Dec 3, 2014 2:32:21pm

re:
#268

“Organized crime”? What, the Gambino crime family employed Garner to sell cigarettes on the street?

//

278 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 2:33:42pm

re: #275 Jenner7

[Embedded content]

Isn’t Lemon the same hack that suggested that the women that were allegedly raped by Bill Cosby should just bite his penis? That guy really shouldn’t be a reporter. Race is going to be brought up when white police officers can’t even get indicted for killing black civilians but armedwhite mass murderers can do get caught alive.

279 Feline Fearless Leader  Dec 3, 2014 2:34:42pm

re: #277 Fourth Football of the Apocalypse

re:
#268

“Organized crime”? What, the Gambino crime family employed Garner to sell cigarettes on the street?

//

Once again the narrative is going to ignore that fact that the police should *not* have killed the man. Selling non-taxed cigarettes, shoplifting, etc. is not grounds or even the beginning of justification for taking away someone’s life.

280 TedStriker  Dec 3, 2014 2:35:39pm

re: #104 Backwoods_Sleuth

those people are soooo ungrateful…

[Embedded content]

WTF did I just read?

281 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 2:38:00pm

re: #279 Feline Fearless Leader

Once again the narrative is going to ignore that fact that the police should *not* have killed the man. Selling non-taxed cigarettes, shoplifting, etc. is not grounds or even the beginning of justification for taking away someone’s life.

They’re petty misdemeanors like the one that got the staffer who chastised the Obama daughters arrested but it’s different somehow because you know she’s white and conservative.

282 Kragar  Dec 3, 2014 2:38:06pm
283 HappyWarrior  Dec 3, 2014 2:38:43pm

re: #280 TedStriker

WTF did I just read?

People’s Exhibit Z on the GOP establishment being just as shitty as the TP lunatics.

284 Justanotherhuman  Dec 3, 2014 2:39:24pm

I’m not trying to generalize here, but historically, most LE officers have leaned right, politically. While there has been some progress in changing attitudes toward certain groups, we still see the working class paying the highest price for “bad behavior”.

And the working class is traditionally where LE recruits the most successfully, so it’s also a matter of turning on your own class for a paycheck. And when I say “working class”, I include those who consider themselves “middle class” but still struggle from paycheck to paycheck, with no relief in sight, as the economy waxes and wanes, and people move up and down.

Yes, Virginia, the US does have a class system, and it’s getting worse, esp because so many base “worth” on our wallets.

Any country which judges people by the amount of money they have and elevates them, and bases policies on them, is on the wrong path. The rest of us are just screwed if we’re just a paycheck away from homelessness.

285 Bubblehead II  Dec 3, 2014 2:39:29pm

Whoa! De Blasio just said that he and his wife had to teach their kid to be wary of the NYPD because of his family history. That’s not going to win him any fans in the NYPD.

286 darthstar  Dec 3, 2014 2:42:13pm
287 darthstar  Dec 3, 2014 2:44:22pm

re: #280 TedStriker

WTF did I just read?

“during this tense time”…just wait a few weeks and it’ll blow over - then we can continue doing what we do with impunity.

288 Jenner7  Dec 3, 2014 2:44:33pm
289 darthstar  Dec 3, 2014 2:45:11pm

Obviously part of the Texas Board of Education.

290 Bubblehead II  Dec 3, 2014 2:46:54pm

Here comes the MLK qoute.

291 makeitstop  Dec 3, 2014 2:46:59pm

re: #278 HappyWarrior

Isn’t Lemon the same hack that suggested that the women that were allegedly raped by Bill Cosby should just bite his penis?

And the guy who went live in Ferguson and the first thing out of his mouth was ‘Obviously, the smell of marijuana smoke is in the air.’

I vote that we take cable news’ classification of ‘profession’ away, because they’ve been hiring rank amateurs for years.

292 Justanotherhuman  Dec 3, 2014 2:48:33pm

Live video: Protests in New York after a grand jury declines to indict a police officer in the chokehold death of Eric Garner - YouTube’s Stringwire
see original on youtube.com

293 Rightwingconspirator  Dec 3, 2014 2:48:49pm

re: #291 makeitstop

And the guy who went live in Ferguson and the first thing out of his mouth was ‘Obviously, the smell of marijuana smoke is in the air.’

I vote that we take cable news’ classification of ‘profession’ away, because they’ve been hiring rank amateurs for years.

Pffft. Take away the “News” part of the description.

294 TedStriker  Dec 3, 2014 2:49:03pm

re: #128 Charles Johnson

Not saying body cams are useless — but I think people need to lower their expectations of what they’ll achieve.

Because, as we’ve just seen with Eric Garner, all the crystal-clear video of police wrongdoing and brutality doesn’t matter one damn bit if a prosecutor doesn’t want a cop indicted.

This is so much bullshit.

295 Justanotherhuman  Dec 3, 2014 2:49:53pm

re: #294 TedStriker

Because, as we’ve just seen with Eric Garner, all the crystal-clear video of police wrongdoing and brutality doesn’t matter one damn bit if a prosecutor doesn’t want a cop indicted.

This is so much bullshit.

It seems the prosecutors know their audience: grand juries.

296 allegro  Dec 3, 2014 2:50:47pm

re: #289 darthstar

Obviously part of the Texas Board of Education.

[Embedded content]

I suspect at least one of them found its way into my Cajun next door neighbor’s cooking pot. He’s cooking something terribly stinky. Ghastly fragrance wafting into my open windows. LOL

297 Bubblehead II  Dec 3, 2014 2:53:02pm

My opinion of the De Blasio presser.

File charges regardless of the gj decision. It is within the AG’s powers to do so.

298 Jenner7  Dec 3, 2014 2:53:41pm

re: #297 Bubblehead II

Sick of talk, this country needs action. ASAP.

299 Dr. Matt  Dec 3, 2014 2:54:07pm

It has finally hit -1000 ( -1,011 to be exact): walkingdeadhead

300 unproven innocence  Dec 3, 2014 2:55:58pm

School board said “Teacher acted improperly”
The Resident: Teacher disciplined for informing kids of 5th amendment rights
Youtube Video

Not entirely off-topic, since tobacco use was on the questionaire/survey.

301 Tigger2  Dec 3, 2014 2:57:19pm

re: #289 darthstar

Obviously part of the Texas Board of Education.

[Embedded content]

re: #299 Dr. Matt

It has finally hit -1000 ( -1,011 to be exact): walkingdeadhead

Wow that’s some total for 46 comments. lol

302 Targetpractice  Dec 3, 2014 2:57:42pm

re: #289 darthstar

Obviously part of the Texas Board of Education.

[Embedded content]

Wanted For Questioning
303 Justanotherhuman  Dec 3, 2014 2:58:21pm

re: #300 unproven innocence

School board said “Teacher acted improperly”
The Resident: Teacher disciplined for informing kids of 5th amendment rights
[Embedded content]

Video

Not entirely off-topic, since tobacco use was on the questionaire/survey.

Had to laugh that it’s RT—in Russia, there is no 5th Amendment, for anyone.

304 allegro  Dec 3, 2014 2:59:41pm

re: #302 Targetpractice

[Embedded content]

Marty Feldmen gets an instant upding. Loved that guy.

305 Bubblehead II  Dec 3, 2014 3:01:21pm

re: #289 darthstar

Obviously part of the Texas Board of Education.

[Embedded content]

How many of them were named Abi Normal?

306 Kragar  Dec 3, 2014 3:02:22pm

re: #305 Bubblehead II

How many of them were named Abi Normal?

What about her friend? Anne Nonymous?

307 makeitstop  Dec 3, 2014 3:02:24pm

I’m getting very tired of the notion that no matter where you are or what you’re doing, you should acquiesce to the whims of cops on the beat.

They’re supposed to be protecting us. The sentiment that you should simply obey so as not to get hurt or killed veers sharply into threat territory.

308 Shiplord Kirel  Dec 3, 2014 3:03:30pm

re: #289 darthstar

Obviously part of the Texas Board of Education.

[Embedded content]

Dare we hope that zombie Sam Houston has risen from the grave and made his way to Austin to slap some sense into the Perry/Abbott cabal?

309 Sionainn  Dec 3, 2014 3:04:43pm

re: #307 makeitstop

I’m getting very tired of the notion that no matter where you are or what you’re doing, you should acquiesce to the whims of cops on the beat.

They’re supposed to be protecting us. The sentiment that you should simply obey so as not to get hurt or killed veers sharply into threat territory.

That’s exactly how I feel about it, too. I haven’t had any particularly bad dealings with cops, but my husband did as a teen when a cop beat him up and left him in the gutter. I want to teach my girls that the police should be trusted, but I simply cannot do that. I will have to teach them how to react around police so they don’t end up dead (and I have white kids!). I can’t imagine how much worse it is for parents of black kids.

310 darthstar  Dec 3, 2014 3:05:13pm
311 darthstar  Dec 3, 2014 3:05:46pm

re: #308 Shiplord Kirel

Dare we hope that zombie Sam Houston has risen from the grave and made his way to Austin to slap some sense into the Perry/Abbott cabal?

Texas is a lost cause.

312 Ace-o-aces  Dec 3, 2014 3:06:14pm

re: #268 Charles Johnson

His “source” is one John Cardillo, a former NYPD officer and current wingnut writer fro “The Blaze”, who has “connections” to the NYPD. So second hand information about something that has been known for months.

313 unproven innocence  Dec 3, 2014 3:07:51pm

re: #303 Justanotherhuman

Had to laugh that it’s RT—in Russia, there is no 5th Amendment, for anyone.

Didn’t even notice. Personally, I think RT America is doing a better job than many other news services. Some may call it propaganda, or hypocracy, but I don’t think that should matter to us.

314 Justanotherhuman  Dec 3, 2014 3:08:45pm

re: #307 makeitstop

I’m getting very tired of the notion that no matter where you are or what you’re doing, you should acquiesce to the whims of cops on the beat.

They’re supposed to be protecting us. The sentiment that you should simply obey so as not to get hurt or killed veers sharply into threat territory.

I know sometimes cops have a hard job, but their job isn’t to beat up on slightly built 13 yr old boys, either, as the (white) Philly cops did my son, slamming him repeatedly against their cruiser, circa 1972. I think he weighed about 100 lbs at the time and might have been around 5’2”, if that, and he was just a kid.

He never has forgotten that, either.

315 jaunte  Dec 3, 2014 3:09:23pm

re: #289 darthstar

100 human brains are missing from a lab in Texas

Surprisingly few.

316 Charles Johnson  Dec 3, 2014 3:10:02pm
317 Justanotherhuman  Dec 3, 2014 3:11:13pm

Justice Department opens civil rights probe into death of Eric Garner in New York police custody, officials tell @CNN, @nprpolitics
see original on twitter.com

318 urbanmeemaw  Dec 3, 2014 3:11:45pm

re: #158 Skip Intro

I’ve said this here before, but I credit the 20+ years of pure hate and venom spewed by Rush Limbaugh for bringing the country to where it is today. He made it safe to hate, and hate big. His complete control over the GOP has turned what was once a right of center political party into the raving, fear and hate consumed party the GOP is today.

And I blame the so called mainstream media for treating him with respect because he’s “successful” and “talented”. We’ve always had hate mongers and they’ve always had an audience. But acceptance for hatred has become acceptable to a wider audience.

319 Justanotherhuman  Dec 3, 2014 3:12:19pm

re: #317 Justanotherhuman

Justice Department opens civil rights probe into death of Eric Garner in New York police custody, officials tell @CNN, @nprpolitics
see original on twitter.com

320 Bubblehead II  Dec 3, 2014 3:12:43pm

re: #298 Jenner7

Sick of talk, this country needs action. ASAP.

Not going to happen very soon. It’s too deeply entrenched. Doesn’t matter if it’s the deep south or Mountain West. Hell, in my little corner of the world, they want cops to have body cams to, wait for it, justify shooting a dog. To hell with it justifying killing another human being.

321 Backwoods_Sleuth  Dec 3, 2014 3:13:15pm

And he doesn’t know the difference between a grand jury and “trial by jury”:

322 Justanotherhuman  Dec 3, 2014 3:14:17pm

re: #321 Backwoods_Sleuth

And he doesn’t know the difference between a grand jury and “trial by jury”:

[Embedded content]

Chuckles is a totally slothful ignoramus.

323 unproven innocence  Dec 3, 2014 3:15:58pm

re: #321 Backwoods_Sleuth

And he doesn’t know the difference between a grand jury and “trial by jury”:

[Embedded content]

This not going to look good on his record. —TheInternet

324 allegro  Dec 3, 2014 3:17:29pm

re: #321 Backwoods_Sleuth

And he doesn’t know the difference between a grand jury and “trial by jury”:

[Embedded content]

Expecting a killer cop’s trial by jury these days is rather like believing in Santa Claus. One can hope he’ll show up but it’s monumentally unlikely.

325 darthstar  Dec 3, 2014 3:20:10pm

Speaking of Texas and school boards…

326 Eventual Carrion  Dec 3, 2014 3:20:46pm

re: #289 darthstar

Obviously part of the Texas Board of Education.

[Embedded content]

And being Texas you know at least one is labeled Ab Normal.

327 Justanotherhuman  Dec 3, 2014 3:22:18pm

re: #325 darthstar

Speaking of Texas and school boards…

[Embedded content]

Being Texas, the rest of the Board will probably just say, “Boys will be boys.”

He should be fired.

328 TedStriker  Dec 3, 2014 3:24:21pm

re: #184 Backwoods_Sleuth

[Embedded content]

I’m sure that it sounds better in the original German….

329 Justanotherhuman  Dec 3, 2014 3:28:50pm
330 jaunte  Dec 3, 2014 3:29:28pm

How Would the U.S. Media Cover the Eric Garner Case If It Happened in Another Country?

NEW YORK CITY, United States—The heavily armed security forces in this large and highly militarized country have long walked the streets with impunity, rarely if ever held accountable for violence committed against civilians. In recent weeks, however, several such incidents have ignited public anger and threatened to open new fault lines in a nation with a long and tragic history of sectarian violence.

In America’s largest city, the judicial branch declined to pursue charges against a security officer who was videotaped in broad daylight choking a man to death. This came less than two weeks after courts in the nation’s often overlooked central region reached a similar decision in the shooting of an unarmed teenager. Both victims were members of the country’s largest minority group, and the killings have set off nationwide protests that have often escalated into clashes between dissidents and the security forces.
slate.com

331 ObserverArt  Dec 3, 2014 3:30:39pm

re: #321 Backwoods_Sleuth

And he doesn’t know the difference between a grand jury and “trial by jury”:

[Embedded content]

He probably meant to say that. You know, to capture everyone’s rapt attention and then he can slip in the real great award winning journalism when they aren’t looking.

332 Floral Giraffe  Dec 3, 2014 3:30:42pm

re: #36 lawhawk

Well, it took the DOJ YEARS to clean up the LAPD. NYC may have to go the same route….

333 Jenner7  Dec 3, 2014 3:31:20pm
334 Backwoods_Sleuth  Dec 3, 2014 3:34:05pm
335 CuriousLurker  Dec 3, 2014 3:34:34pm

Right-wing heads begin exploding in 5..4..3…

President Obama statement on Grand Jury decision in Eric Garner case (C-SPAN)

Youtube Video

336 Justanotherhuman  Dec 3, 2014 3:34:39pm

Video: New York police set up barriers to block crowds protesting grand jury decision on death of Eric Garner in New York’s Rockefeller Center - @SybilePenhirin
see original on vine.co

337 Floral Giraffe  Dec 3, 2014 3:35:23pm

re: #128 Charles Johnson

Not saying body cams are useless — but I think people need to lower their expectations of what they’ll achieve.

^THIS ^ It’s just another layer….

338 Floral Giraffe  Dec 3, 2014 3:37:00pm

re: #158 Skip Intro

I’ve said this here before, but I credit the 20+ years of pure hate and venom spewed by Rush Limbaugh for bringing the country to where it is today. He made it safe to hate, and hate big. His complete control over the GOP has turned what was once a right of center political party into the raving, fear and hate consumed party the GOP is today.

I think you give that bloviated blowhard too much credit. What he is feeding already existed.

339 Ace-o-aces  Dec 3, 2014 3:37:24pm
340 Ace-o-aces  Dec 3, 2014 3:38:49pm
341 Eventual Carrion  Dec 3, 2014 3:39:10pm

re: #338 Floral Giraffe

I think you give that bloviated blowhard too much credit. What he is feeding already existed.

For years uncounted it has. We are all just animals after all.

342 Justanotherhuman  Dec 3, 2014 3:40:02pm

re: #335 CuriousLurker

Right-wing heads begin exploding in 5..4..3…

President Obama statement on Grand Jury decision in Eric Garner case (C-SPAN)

[Embedded content]

Video

I think he knows that most cops don’t care about Black communities or Black people, period, except to crack heads and make arrests.

But I can hear the “upppity n-clang!” remarks about him from them as I type this.

I despair.

343 Backwoods_Sleuth  Dec 3, 2014 3:41:11pm
344 Justanotherhuman  Dec 3, 2014 3:43:07pm

Video: Demonstrators protesting Eric Garner grand jury decision shut down 15th Street near White House in Washington, DC - @ryanjreilly
see original on vine.co

345 GlutenFreeJesus  Dec 3, 2014 3:44:36pm

re: #307 makeitstop

“Just do as I say.” - says the guy with a gun, badge, bulletproof vest, and backup with the same.

346 ObserverArt  Dec 3, 2014 3:44:47pm

re: #336 Justanotherhuman

Video: New York police set up barriers to block crowds protesting grand jury decision on death of Eric Garner in New York’s Rockefeller Center - @SybilePenhirin
see original on vine.co

Can’t get into the way of that great Christian celebration of Christmas. You know, good tidings to men and peace on earth!

/// Spit.

347 TedStriker  Dec 3, 2014 3:45:31pm

re: #258 ObserverArt

I’m thinking it is .150.

No, that’s his “resting” blood alcohol content.

///

348 Skip Intro  Dec 3, 2014 3:46:53pm
349 GlutenFreeJesus  Dec 3, 2014 3:47:39pm

re: #330 jaunte

And we’d have McCain demanding we invade.

350 Feline Fearless Leader  Dec 3, 2014 3:49:17pm

re: #349 GlutenFreeJesus

And we’d have McCain demanding we invade.

Or bomb NYC and then wall it off to use as a maximum security prison.
//

351 TedStriker  Dec 3, 2014 3:51:20pm

re: #274 HappyWarrior

I think it’s disgusting that Gretchen is using her children to hide the fact that she and her network could care less about police brutality.

Could care less? Fuck, she and Fox News, along with most other media outlets in this country, thrives on the results and aftermaths of police brutality, because it’s eyeballs on the screen and money in the bank.

Just remember the old journalistic axiom, “If it bleeds, it leads.”

352 unproven innocence  Dec 3, 2014 3:51:24pm

re: #348 Skip Intro

[Embedded content]

“Mam, you’re under arrest for blocking a sidewalk and for wearing a mask in public. You have a right to remain silent…”

And of coarse, a weapons charge.

353 b_sharp  Dec 3, 2014 3:52:32pm

The people claiming being choked to death requires damage to the carotid artery or the trachea are being disingenuous. Too many people die of auto erotic asphyxiation simply by stopping the flow of blood to the brain for a few minutes. There is no need to physically damage the artery or the jugular vein to reduce or stop the flow of blood.

If it can knock the person out it can kill.

354 Blind Frog Belly White  Dec 3, 2014 3:52:41pm

re: #338 Floral Giraffe

I think you give that bloviated blowhard too much credit. What he is feeding already existed.

Yes, it already existed. But it’s the ‘making it safe to hate’ thing that is key to understanding the corrosive effect. A wingnut once told me about the first time he ever heard Limbaugh - “He was saying the same things Id always thought!”

Sure, the hate and insanity existed, but largely it was isolated and disorganized, and to some extent marginalized. Limbaugh provided an articulate voice for these people, so they realized they weren’t alone. Then along came the internet, and they all found each other, and began a cycle of feedforward stimulation - not only are their crazy hateful thoughts ACCEPTED, but the crazier and more hateful they are the MORE accepted they are!

I saw this happen on the Bowsite, where once Obama was elected, it was like there was a competition to come up with the most demeaning names for him. And the prize was that you got more respect, the less respectful you were to him.

355 Justanotherhuman  Dec 3, 2014 3:54:43pm

re: #350 Feline Fearless Leader

Or bomb NYC and then wall it off to use as a maximum security prison.
//

Escape!

356 Patricia Kayden  Dec 3, 2014 3:55:12pm

re: #7 Kragar

[Embedded content]

And the dude who threw fake blood is facing decades of prison time if convicted. Some “justice” system.

357 b_sharp  Dec 3, 2014 3:55:21pm

re: #354 Blind Frog Belly White

Yes, it already existed. But it’s the ‘making it safe to hate’ thing that is key to understanding the corrosive effect. A wingnut once told me about the first time he ever heard Limbaugh - “He was saying the same things Id always thought!”

Sure, the hate and insanity existed, but largely it was isolated and disorganized, and to some extent marginalized. Limbaugh provided an articulate voice for these people, so they realized they weren’t alone. Then along came the internet, and they all found each other, and began a cycle of feedforward stimulation - not only are their crazy hateful thoughts ACCEPTED, but the crazier and more hateful they are the MORE accepted they are!

I saw this happen on the Bowsite, where once Obama was elected, it was like there was a competition to come up with the most demeaning names for him. And the prize was that you got more respect, the less respectful you were to him.

Despite our vaunted intellect, we are still emotional beings. In my opinion that’s why cognitive science is so important. It will give us knowledge and tools to help us overcome our stupid side.

358 Backwoods_Sleuth  Dec 3, 2014 3:55:33pm

O M G

359 Skip Intro  Dec 3, 2014 3:56:46pm

re: #354 Blind Frog Belly White

Yes, it already existed. But it’s the ‘making it safe to hate’ thing that is key to understanding the corrosive effect. A wingnut once told me about the first time he ever heard Limbaugh - “He was saying the same things Id always thought!”

Exactly right. Limbaugh getting away with, and making big bucks from once respected advertisers doing it ,stripped away all the inhibitions from showing their inner asshole and being proud of it.

360 Backwoods_Sleuth  Dec 3, 2014 3:57:09pm

Funding Hamas, one untaxed cigarette at a time…

::head::desk::

361 b_sharp  Dec 3, 2014 3:57:50pm

re: #358 Backwoods_Sleuth

O M G

[Embedded content]

Guilt by association? And this guy claims a superior intellect.

I have old worn insoles with more intellect than him.

362 Blind Frog Belly White  Dec 3, 2014 3:57:53pm

re: #353 b_sharp

The people claiming being choked to death requires damage to the carotid artery or the trachea are being ingenuousness. Too many people die of auto erotic asphyxiation simply by stopping the flow of blood to the brain for a few minutes. There is no need to physically damage the artery or the jugular vein to reduce or stop the flow of blood.

Presumably you meant DISingenuous? Otherwise, yes. And that’s being exceptionally nice to them. They’re defining ‘choking’ so rigorously that unless the cop garotted Garner he didn’t choke him to death.

363 ObserverArt  Dec 3, 2014 3:58:18pm

I hope Chuck goes to New York and becomes very public about his findings.

Very very public.

Out in the open public.

Where people can get up and close public.

364 b_sharp  Dec 3, 2014 3:58:35pm

re: #360 Backwoods_Sleuth

Funding Hamas, one untaxed cigarette at a time…

::head::desk::

Which class are you referencing?

365 Skip Intro  Dec 3, 2014 3:59:19pm

re: #358 Backwoods_Sleuth

O M G

[Embedded content]

Notice UpChuck’s progression. From “alleged” to “terrorist supporters” in three tweets.

366 The Vicious Babushka  Dec 3, 2014 3:59:53pm

Is this a parody account or an actual threat on POTUS?

367 b_sharp  Dec 3, 2014 4:00:21pm

re: #362 Blind Frog Belly White

Presumably you meant DISingenuous? Otherwise, yes. And that’s being exceptionally nice to them. They’re defining ‘choking’ so rigorously that unless the cop garotted Garner he didn’t choke him to death.

I thought that is what I wrote.

Did you change it?

Are you controlling my ‘puter?

Spell check needs to be supervised.

368 Justanotherhuman  Dec 3, 2014 4:00:37pm

re: #357 b_sharp

Despite our vaunted intellect, we are still emotional beings. In my opinion that’s why cognitive science is so important. It will give us knowledge and tools to help us overcome our stupid side.

I think you’re a bit too hopeful, that everyone will engage in that.

I mean, it’s already the 21st century and it’s as though we’re just beginning to walk, considering how long we’ve been a species.

Give us another million years, and maybe it will happen…

369 Blind Frog Belly White  Dec 3, 2014 4:01:43pm

re: #367 b_sharp

I thought that is what I wrote.

Did you change it?

Are you controlling my ‘puter?

Spell check needs to be supervised.

Do not attempt to adjust your set. We control the vertical. We control the horizontal.

370 Skip Intro  Dec 3, 2014 4:01:57pm

re: #366 The Vicious Fergushka

It’s a talk radio host, so I don’t think it’s a parody. Anyway, isn’t parody supposed to be funny.

371 b_sharp  Dec 3, 2014 4:02:32pm

re: #368 Justanotherhuman

I think you’re a bit too hopeful, that everyone will engage in that.

I mean, it’s already the 21st century and it’s as though we’re just beginning to walk, considering how long we’ve been a species.

Give us another million years, and maybe it will happen…

I’m not expecting anyone over school age to use this information as a rule, but I’m hoping the few of us who try to will teach our kids/grandkids to pay attention to science of all disciplines.

372 Ace-o-aces  Dec 3, 2014 4:02:41pm
373 Blind Frog Belly White  Dec 3, 2014 4:03:09pm

re: #366 The Vicious Fergushka

Is this a parody account or an actual threat on POTUS?

[Embedded content]

Maybe he means white cops who kill black people with impunity. That’s pretty tyrannical. Somebody should ask him.

374 Rightwingconspirator  Dec 3, 2014 4:03:53pm

re: #348 Skip Intro

Dude, wow great catch.

375 b_sharp  Dec 3, 2014 4:04:05pm

re: #369 Blind Frog Belly White

Do not attempt to adjust your set. We control the vertical. We control the horizontal.

Well past Twilight here. Working on just surviving the night.

376 The Vicious Babushka  Dec 3, 2014 4:05:30pm

CountyCaptain 4Romney is Standing Her Ground

377 Blind Frog Belly White  Dec 3, 2014 4:07:53pm

re: #368 Justanotherhuman

I think you’re a bit too hopeful, that everyone will engage in that.

I mean, it’s already the 21st century and it’s as though we’re just beginning to walk, considering how long we’ve been a species.

Give us another million years, and maybe it will happen…

Back when I used to try to talk myself into Christianity, I thought this was the basic message of the NT - that we’re really animals, but we have the ability to stop acting like animals.

Then I realized you don’t need a deity for that argument to make sense, especially since so many believers tried to tell me we’re NOT animals, but then they used that as an excuse to act like animals.

378 ObserverArt  Dec 3, 2014 4:09:03pm

re: #376 The Vicious Fergushka

CountyCaptain 4Romney is Standing Her Ground

[Embedded content]

I like how these people have such ready heartless excuses. If their loved ones had this happen to them they’d be screaming about Jack booted thugs controlled by Satan Obama and his henchman Eric Holder.

379 Blind Frog Belly White  Dec 3, 2014 4:09:22pm

re: #376 The Vicious Fergushka

CountyCaptain 4Romney is Standing Her Ground

[Embedded content]

“Guns don’t kill people. Massive tissue damage and uncontrolled bleeding kill people”
//

380 Skip Intro  Dec 3, 2014 4:09:36pm

And people call it a do-nothing Congress.

The House on Wednesday voted 378-46 to approve a one-year extension of $45 billion in tax breaks, mostly for businesses, after bipartisan efforts on a longer-term extension fell apart as an end-of-the-year deadline approaches.

What deficit?

latimes.com

381 Blind Frog Belly White  Dec 3, 2014 4:10:58pm

re: #380 Skip Intro

And people call it a do-nothing Congress.

The House on Wednesday voted 378-46 to approve a one-year extension of $45 billion in tax breaks, mostly for businesses, after bipartisan efforts on a longer-term extension fell apart as an end-of-the-year deadline approaches.

What deficit?

latimes.com

If only they could abolish ALL the taxes, revenues would go to infinity!
///

382 CuriousLurker  Dec 3, 2014 4:10:59pm

re: #368 Justanotherhuman

I think you’re a bit too hopeful, that everyone will engage in that.

I mean, it’s already the 21st century and it’s as though we’re just beginning to walk, considering how long we’ve been a species.

Give us another million years, and maybe it will happen…

THIS. I’ve been binge watching Vikings for the past week or so. Granted it’s fictional drama and I’m sure there was artistic license taken, but it was based on Viking legends. I’ve been following it up with learning more about the Vikings and sheesh… Not just them either, all of Europe was a frigging nightmare.

383 Justanotherhuman  Dec 3, 2014 4:11:41pm

re: #366 The Vicious Fergushka

Is this a parody account or an actual threat on POTUS?

[Embedded content]

Probably an actual threat. He sounds sort of like a Christian Identity type (at “Homeland Security Radio” on “Genesis Communications Network”). No need to link.

www2.gcnlive.com

His LinkedIn: linkedin.com

Organizations Roger supports:
Conservative political and Christian

384 CuriousLurker  Dec 3, 2014 4:12:42pm

I need a fresh cup of coffee. In the meantime, little mental health break for anyone who needs it, heh:

385 Feline Fearless Leader  Dec 3, 2014 4:13:32pm

re: #384 CuriousLurker

I need a fresh cup of coffee. In the meantime, little mental health break for anyone who needs it, heh:

[Embedded content]

Better hope the feline overlords don’t decide that raccoons make better staff.
O_O

386 ObserverArt  Dec 3, 2014 4:14:32pm

re: #384 CuriousLurker

I need a fresh cup of coffee. In the meantime, little mental health break for anyone who needs it, heh:

[Embedded content]

It’s almost as if the raccoon is saying “I found this kitty outside, is it yours, or can I keep it?”

387 Justanotherhuman  Dec 3, 2014 4:14:57pm

Well, damn it. What happened to freedom of assembly and free speech?

New York police arrest demonstrators protesting Eric Garner grand jury decision near Rockefeller Center - @AndrewKirell
end of alert

388 CuriousLurker  Dec 3, 2014 4:15:35pm

re: #385 Feline Fearless Leader

Better hope the feline overlords don’t decide that raccoons make better staff.
O_O

re: #386 ObserverArt

It’s almost as if the raccoon is saying “I found this kitty outside, is it yours, or can I keep it?”

I can’t believe the cat let it pick him/her up!

389 GlutenFreeJesus  Dec 3, 2014 4:15:40pm

re: #385 Feline Fearless Leader

Raccoons aren’t that gullible…………

390 b_sharp  Dec 3, 2014 4:16:56pm

re: #379 Blind Frog Belly White

“Guns don’t kill people. Massive tissue damage and uncontrolled bleeding kill people”
//

“Guns aren’t designed to kill, they’re designed to expel a chunk of metal at high speed and accuracy from a pipe.”

391 ObserverArt  Dec 3, 2014 4:17:21pm

re: #388 CuriousLurker

I can’t believe the cat let it pick him/her up!

They may just be friends. And, partners in neighborhood crime.

392 Higgs Boson's Mate  Dec 3, 2014 4:17:30pm

re: #380 Skip Intro

And people call it a do-nothing Congress.

The House on Wednesday voted 378-46 to approve a one-year extension of $45 billion in tax breaks, mostly for businesses, after bipartisan efforts on a longer-term extension fell apart as an end-of-the-year deadline approaches.

What deficit?

latimes.com

Not to worry: they’ll offset it with cuts to education and food stamps.

393 GlutenFreeJesus  Dec 3, 2014 4:17:36pm

re: #380 Skip Intro

I’d like to know what businesses “encouraged” members of the House to vote a certain way.

394 Jenner7  Dec 3, 2014 4:17:59pm

Everybody run from your TV’s, Rand Paul is going to be on Hardball.

395 b_sharp  Dec 3, 2014 4:18:28pm

re: #388 CuriousLurker

I can’t believe the cat let it pick him/her up!

Shopped.

396 ObserverArt  Dec 3, 2014 4:19:16pm

re: #394 Jenner7

Everybody run from your TV’s, Rand Paul is going to be on Hardball.

I kind of want to see how he is going to pander tonight.

///

397 CuriousLurker  Dec 3, 2014 4:19:37pm

re: #395 b_sharp

Shopped.

Could be—you never know these days. I want to believe it’s real though (so it is).

398 Decatur Deb  Dec 3, 2014 4:20:16pm

re: #366 The Vicious Fergushka

Is this a parody account or an actual threat on POTUS?

[Embedded content]

The ‘S’ in ‘USSS’ doesn’t stand for ‘satire’.

399 b_sharp  Dec 3, 2014 4:20:27pm

re: #397 CuriousLurker

Could be—you never know these days. I want to believe it’s real though (so it is).

Good answer.

400 b_sharp  Dec 3, 2014 4:20:44pm

re: #398 Decatur Deb

The ‘S’ in ‘USSS’ doesn’t stand for ‘satire’.

Shit?

401 Decatur Deb  Dec 3, 2014 4:21:28pm

re: #400 b_sharp

Shit?

One hopes they are excellent bringers of shit.

402 ObserverArt  Dec 3, 2014 4:21:40pm

re: #397 CuriousLurker

Could be—you never know these days. I want to believe it’s real though (so it is).

I agree.

There is not much real going on politically, so why not have some fun with pixels for a few smiles.

403 TedStriker  Dec 3, 2014 4:21:56pm

re: #343 Backwoods_Sleuth

[Embedded content]

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Unfortunately.

404 The Vicious Babushka  Dec 3, 2014 4:22:01pm

re: #378 ObserverArt

I like how these people have such ready heartless excuses. If their loved ones had this happen to them they’d be screaming about Jack booted thugs controlled by Satan Obama and his henchman Eric Holder.

CountyCaptain 4Romney believes a Grand Jury decision is the same as a SCOTUS verdict:

405 RealityBasedSteve  Dec 3, 2014 4:23:17pm

re: #385 Feline Fearless Leader

Better hope the feline overlords don’t decide that raccoons make better staff.
O_O

Raccoons do have opposable thumbs don’t they? I think we may be in trouble.

RBS

406 Justanotherhuman  Dec 3, 2014 4:23:20pm

re: #392 Higgs Boson’s Mate

Not to worry: they’ll offset it with cuts to education and food stamps.

That’s Paul Ryan’s baby; he’s head of the Ways & Means Committee.

And he ran for Prez? And was picked by Romney as VP? Just an example of what’s in store if Rs win in 2016.

407 b_sharp  Dec 3, 2014 4:23:29pm

re: #397 CuriousLurker

Could be—you never know these days. I want to believe it’s real though (so it is).

OT.

How do you debug your PHP?

I installed Xdebug because it looks like it gives me the same kind of control I had with my C IDEs. Have you tried it?

408 TedStriker  Dec 3, 2014 4:23:53pm

re: #350 Feline Fearless Leader

Or bomb NYC and then wall it off to use as a maximum security prison.
//

Where’s Snake Plissken when you need him?

///

409 Higgs Boson's Mate  Dec 3, 2014 4:24:28pm

re: #395 b_sharp

Shopped.

If it is then they’re a hell of a lot better at masking than I am.

410 Patricia Kayden  Dec 3, 2014 4:24:40pm

re: #404 The Vicious Fergushka

Or she doesn’t give a damn about cops killing Blacks. I’m sure every time a White person kills a Black person, she’ll find a reason to justify the killing. Look how so many White people rallied around Zimmerman.

411 Decatur Deb  Dec 3, 2014 4:24:45pm

re: #406 Justanotherhuman

That’s Paul Ryan’s baby; he’s head of the Ways & Means Committee.

And he ran for Prez? And was picked by Romney as VP? Just an example of what’s in store if Rs win in 2016.

And if anyone has a spare dime or a spare hour they need to be getting in the way of that shit.

412 Decatur Deb  Dec 3, 2014 4:25:04pm

re: #408 TedStriker

Where’s Snake Plissken when you need him?

///

I heard he was dead.

413 Blind Frog Belly White  Dec 3, 2014 4:25:15pm

re: #405 RealityBasedSteve

Raccoons do have opposable thumbs don’t they? I think we may be in trouble.

RBS

Nah, we’re safe. Raccoons are too smart to take on the responsibility for providing garbage.

414 b_sharp  Dec 3, 2014 4:25:53pm

We just received a postcard my son sent us from NYC.

He was back in Vancouver a couple of days ago. He’s still hyped by the win.

415 Justanotherhuman  Dec 3, 2014 4:26:46pm
416 b_sharp  Dec 3, 2014 4:27:47pm

re: #409 Higgs Boson’s Mate

If it is then they’re a hell of a lot better at masking than I am.

I’m going by relative size between the cat and the raccoon.

Unless that raccoon is Rocket.

417 Justanotherhuman  Dec 3, 2014 4:28:57pm

Disposed of how?

Update: University of Texas issues statement saying approximately 100 brains reported missing by professors were actually disposed of by university’s environmental health and safety officials in 2002 - @nytimes
read more on nytimes.com

418 TedStriker  Dec 3, 2014 4:29:46pm

re: #363 ObserverArt

I hope Chuck goes to New York and becomes very public about his findings.

Very very public.

Out in the open public.

Where people can get up and close public.

With a racist sandwich board in the middle of Harlem, just like John McClane was made to do in Die Hard with a Vengeance.

419 Decatur Deb  Dec 3, 2014 4:31:20pm

re: #353 b_sharp

The people claiming being choked to death requires damage to the carotid artery or the trachea are being disingenuous. Too many people die of auto erotic asphyxiation simply by stopping the flow of blood to the brain for a few minutes. There is no need to physically damage the artery or the jugular vein to reduce or stop the flow of blood.

If it can knock the person out it can kill.

Erotic aspicsiation:

Image: IMG_1323.JPG

420 ObserverArt  Dec 3, 2014 4:31:53pm

re: #409 Higgs Boson’s Mate

If it is then they’re a hell of a lot better at masking than I am.

Masking. Pffft. You need to create paths. And there are some tricks how that can be accomplished!

Paths are your friend.

: )

421 lawhawk  Dec 3, 2014 4:31:59pm

re: #321 Backwoods_Sleuth

No. No he doesn’t. But that gets at something the Mrs. (also a lawyer) said - that the grand jurors may be treating this not as a determine whether there’s evidence to go forward with a jury trial, but are acting as the trial jurors themselves.

It’s a miscarriage of justice if the prosecutors are letting that happen too - and that’s exactly the intent of McCullough in Ferguson in dumping all the information on the jury.

422 Decatur Deb  Dec 3, 2014 4:32:10pm

re: #417 Justanotherhuman

Disposed of how?

Update: University of Texas issues statement saying approximately 100 brains reported missing by professors were actually disposed of by university’s environmental health and safety officials in 2002 - @nytimes
read more on nytimes.com

Texas doesn’t have brains to burn.

423 GlutenFreeJesus  Dec 3, 2014 4:32:17pm

re: #417 Justanotherhuman

Look for daily specials at the UT campus cafeteria.

424 Skip Intro  Dec 3, 2014 4:33:10pm

re: #417 Justanotherhuman

Disposed of how?

Update: University of Texas issues statement saying approximately 100 brains reported missing by professors were actually disposed of by university’s environmental health and safety officials in 2002 - @nytimes
read more on nytimes.com

Hmm. When did Ted Cruz, Steve Stockman, and Louie Gohmert appear on the scene?

425 makeitstop  Dec 3, 2014 4:33:25pm

re: #412 Decatur Deb

I heard he was dead.

Yeah, you and everybody else.

426 BeachDem  Dec 3, 2014 4:33:58pm

re: #394 Jenner7

Everybody run from your TV’s, Rand Paul is going to be on Hardball.

4:57…4:58…4:59…

In their fundamental political souls, the Pauls are oligarchs. The only kind of “government regulation” they truly oppose, and the only kind for which they truly will go to the mattresses, is any attempt by the government that would prevent the rich from getting richer, or that would protect the rest of us from the political depredations of the corporate class. Everything else is a wink and a nod and a fake.

Heed the rule, America. Please.

esquire.com

427 Feline Fearless Leader  Dec 3, 2014 4:36:23pm

re: #417 Justanotherhuman

Disposed of how?

Update: University of Texas issues statement saying approximately 100 brains reported missing by professors were actually disposed of by university’s environmental health and safety officials in 2002 - @nytimes
read more on nytimes.com

Installed in the Texas SBOE apparently.
//

428 lawhawk  Dec 3, 2014 4:39:20pm
429 b_sharp  Dec 3, 2014 4:40:47pm

re: #419 Decatur Deb

Erotic aspicsiation:

Image: IMG_1323.JPG

That’s about the size of it.

430 Belafon  Dec 3, 2014 4:43:31pm

re: #362 Blind Frog Belly White

Would something lodged in your throat that killed you cause any kind of damage?

431 Justanotherhuman  Dec 3, 2014 4:43:41pm
432 ObserverArt  Dec 3, 2014 4:44:29pm

The raccoon image made me remember I always wondered if a raccoon could be a pet. I thought I’ve heard of it being done, but knowing about the crafty and sometimes nasty little buggers in the wild made me doubt it.

So a little Google and I found this paragraph:

Raccoons are not pets in the way that cats and dogs are, no matter how many generations have been bred in captivity. At best, they can be considered a companion friend. At worst, a liability insurance nightmare! They live by one set of rules - theirs. And they change the rules whenever it suits them. They will melt your heart with their loving face. And shed your blood (any anything else you may value) with their razor sharp teeth and claws. If you keep a raccoon caged, all you will have is a caged wild animal, not a pet. If you let it have the run of your house, then it will be the raccoon keeping you as a pet as it does what it pleases to the house and you. And an adult raccoon is quite capable of causing a great amount of damage, to both you and your possessions, in a very short amount of time! I believe wild animals belong in the wild when at all possible.

Found at this ‘classic’ web site:Raccoon World

433 Justanotherhuman  Dec 3, 2014 4:46:07pm

Attorney General Eric Holder urges demonstrators to be peaceful during protests over Eric Garner grand jury decision; says he understands people are disappointed and it is their right to protests - @nprpolitics
end of alert

4m
Attorney General Eric Holder: ‘This is not a New York issue or a Ferguson issue alone’ - live video
end of alert

6m
Attorney General Eric Holder confirms Justice Department will open federal civil rights probe into Eric Garner case - live video
end of alert

434 Decatur Deb  Dec 3, 2014 4:46:39pm

re: #432 ObserverArt

The raccoon image made me remember I always wondered if a raccoon could be a pet. I thought I’ve heard of it being done, but knowing about the crafty and sometimes nasty little buggers in the wild made me doubt it.

So a little Google and I found this paragraph:

Found at this ‘classic’ web site:Raccoon World

A neighbor in Kentucky shot a mother raccoon for the table. He gave the 2 kits to his kids to raise for a year or so. Then they killed and ate them. It was a tough time in a tough town.

435 ObserverArt  Dec 3, 2014 4:48:09pm

re: #434 Decatur Deb

A neighbor in Kentucky shot a mother raccoon for the table. He gave the 2 kits to his kids to raise for a year or so. Then they killed and ate them. It was a tough time in a tough town.

Do they taste like Kentucky Fried Chicken?

///

436 Justanotherhuman  Dec 3, 2014 4:48:34pm

re: #434 Decatur Deb

A neighbor in Kentucky shot a mother raccoon for the table. He gave the 2 kits to his kids to raise for a year or so. Then they killed and ate them. It was a tough time in a tough town.

Backwoods Bound: Raccoon recipes

backwoodsbound.com

437 Decatur Deb  Dec 3, 2014 4:48:37pm

re: #435 ObserverArt

Do they taste like Kentucky Fried Chicken?

///

‘Pends on the herbs and spices.

438 Backwoods_Sleuth  Dec 3, 2014 4:57:04pm
439 Justanotherhuman  Dec 3, 2014 5:00:13pm

Keep calm and carry on, Lizards!

And remember, in the long run, it’s the “vested interests” over the rest of us, as we see in #438, for instance.

Later. : )

440 Kragar  Dec 3, 2014 5:00:55pm
441 CuriousLurker  Dec 3, 2014 5:03:26pm

re: #407 b_sharp

OT.

How do you debug your PHP?

I installed Xdebug because it looks like it gives me the same kind of control I had with my C IDEs. Have you tried it?

Sorry, I was distracted by my new acrylic paints… COLORS!

I don’t have any formal debugging process. When I’m writing the code I turn most errors on, so by the time I’m done (i.e. no more errors) everything usually works okay. Until my boss or a client gets hold of it and tries to use it in some weird way I never thought of.

Also, we have a guy that does pen testing, so we usually get him to check and make sure things are secure.

442 BeachDem  Dec 3, 2014 5:05:11pm

And speaking of idiots…

You keep using the word “word” Ben. I do not think it means what you think it means.

“See, what you were doing is allowing words to affect you more than listening to what was actually being said,” Carson insisted.

rawstory.com

443 b_sharp  Dec 3, 2014 5:05:23pm

re: #441 CuriousLurker

Sorry, I was distracted by my new acrylic paints… COLORS!

I don’t have any formal debugging process. When I’m writing the code I turn most errors on, so by the time I’m done (i.e. no more errors) everything usually works okay. Until my boss or a client gets hold of it and tries to use it in some weird way I never thought of.

Also, we have a guy that does pen testing, so we usually get him to check and make sure things are secure.

Isn’t it amazing how users can find weird and wonderful ways of breaking things?

444 allegro  Dec 3, 2014 5:06:43pm

re: #432 ObserverArt

The raccoon image made me remember I always wondered if a raccoon could be a pet. I thought I’ve heard of it being done, but knowing about the crafty and sometimes nasty little buggers in the wild made me doubt it.

So a little Google and I found this paragraph:

Found at this ‘classic’ web site:Raccoon World

I’ve raised and rehabilitated numerous baby raccoons. When they’re young, they’re affectionate, smart, too adorable and appear to be the perfect pets. When they reach sexual maturity all bets are off. They become the wild critters they were born to be and are very, very dangerous.

They can be successfully rehabilitated to the wild pretty easily once they’re old enough to go for it. It’s mostly just a matter of letting them go in an appropriate environment while providing them with a home base until they’re ready to be independent. They will often return to visit on occasion and even bring their mates and offspring with them to say “hey.”

Have I mentioned that I’m a big fan of raccoons? Fascinating critters.

445 The War TARDIS  Dec 3, 2014 5:08:25pm

re: #366 The Vicious Fergushka

Reported to Twitter.

446 CuriousLurker  Dec 3, 2014 5:08:30pm

re: #432 ObserverArt

The raccoon image made me remember I always wondered if a raccoon could be a pet. I thought I’ve heard of it being done, but knowing about the crafty and sometimes nasty little buggers in the wild made me doubt it.

So a little Google and I found this paragraph:

Found at this ‘classic’ web site:Raccoon World

My older half brother got a raccoon for a pet when I was a kid (I can’t remember how he ended up with it or what happened to the mom). It was okay when it was little, but when it got older it got mean and had to be given away. Plus, it’s damned difficult to keep them in a cage because of their hands—they can open just about anything. No idea where they took it…

447 Backwoods_Sleuth  Dec 3, 2014 5:09:51pm

re: #446 CuriousLurker

My older half brother got a raccoon for a pet when I was a kid (I can’t remember how he ended up with it or what happened to the mom). It was okay when it was little, but when it got older it got mean and had to be given away. Plus, it’s damned difficult to keep them in a cage because of their hands—they can open just about anything. No idea where they took it…

The parental units always say “it’s living happily out on a farm now!”

448 Decatur Deb  Dec 3, 2014 5:10:34pm

re: #447 Backwoods_Sleuth

The parental units always say “it’s living happily out on a farm now!”

Raccoon—white or red?

449 The Vicious Babushka  Dec 3, 2014 5:10:35pm

CountyCaptain 4Romney piling on the racism

450 Feline Fearless Leader  Dec 3, 2014 5:12:40pm

re: #447 Backwoods_Sleuth

The parental units always say “it’s living happily out on a farm now!”

The one my brother trapped* was taken by my sister-in-law and sold to the owners of a Chinese grocery.

* - Was being a general pain attempting to raid chicken coop and trying to get into the wood shed to eat the cats’ food.

451 William Barnett-Lewis  Dec 3, 2014 5:12:43pm

re: #366 The Vicious Fergushka

Is this a parody account or an actual threat on POTUS?

[Embedded content]

In a really free country morons like him are in a mental health facility.

452 CuriousLurker  Dec 3, 2014 5:16:31pm

re: #444 allegro

Heh, when my ex and I lived in Queens he used to barbecue whenever the weather permitted. There was a whole family of raccoons that hung around the back yard and we’d hear them coming every time we started cooking. They loved being tossed pieces of fruit and eating the leftover meat or chicken.

453 lostlakehiker  Dec 3, 2014 5:17:23pm

re: #284 Justanotherhuman

I’m not trying to generalize here, but historically, most LE officers have leaned right, politically. While there has been some progress in changing attitudes toward certain groups, we still see the working class paying the highest price for “bad behavior”.

And the working class is traditionally where LE recruits the most successfully, so it’s also a matter of turning on your own class for a paycheck. And when I say “working class”, I include those who consider themselves “middle class” but still struggle from paycheck to paycheck, with no relief in sight, as the economy waxes and wanes, and people move up and down.

Yes, Virginia, the US does have a class system, and it’s getting worse, esp because so many base “worth” on our wallets.

Any country which judges people by the amount of money they have and elevates them, and bases policies on them, is on the wrong path. The rest of us are just screwed if we’re just a paycheck away from homelessness.

LE isn’t easy. And recruits now tend to have some college; often, a college degree. And policing and getting it right isn’t turning on the middle class or the working class, it’s protecting them.

A rich person can shrug off the loss of just about any material possession. Those who are riding the edge cannot so easily shrug off the loss of a car, or even a bicycle. Theft is no small matter. Personal injuries resulting from assault are both more frequently the lot of the poor, and more damaging in their economic and health effects. More damaging to health because it’s harder to afford good treatment, and more damaging economically because lost income is needed then and there, and not all employers can or will keep a worker on the rolls who won’t be available for months.

Someone I know volunteered for some role-playing training scenarios for the Austin PD. Trainees were supposed to distinguish between innocent civilians and dangerous criminals. The sweet young thang has a devious streak and played her role to the hilt, [rubber] knifing more than one trainee who paid more attention to the loudmouth guy who talked back but complied to the letter with every order than to the smiling, body-language complaint, disobedient Jezebel who was working in for the kill.

Other trainees were having none of it, and watched her closely. One, going outside what had been envisioned by the scenario designers though not the rules of the game, instead of [rubber] gunning her down as she closed with her rubber knife, [real] judo-flipped her to the ground. Knocking the wind out of her temporarily but with no other harm. She was impressed. Breathless.

Trainees had to run the gantlet of a series of scenarios, each deadlier than the last, but mixed in with an occasional harmless civilians scenario where nothing at all was supposed to happen other than how-ya-doing, did you realize you failed to fully stop at the sign? stuff.

Poor trainee had been killed out two or three times in a row. Not this time. He just up and [rubber gun] shot the driver. It was the harmless scenario.

And so the Austin PD tries to sift through its recruits for the ones who don’t ignore real threats and focus on irrelevancies, and who can remain mindful amid the stress that there’s a bunch of nice-enough types out there and not every sudden move or pregnant pause is the start of an attack. The washout rate was very high. The ones who pass are good men and women, as far as can be detected by this kind of vetting, the ones who keep an even keel and size things up quickly and more accurately than the others.

Cops aren’t scumbags. Cities that hire them aren’t looking for goons. But in any deck of cards there’s a joker or two. The winnowing and sifting during training doesn’t highlight all of them.

454 William Barnett-Lewis  Dec 3, 2014 5:17:37pm

re: #438 Backwoods_Sleuth

[Embedded content]

The police exist for the 1%. As the needs of the middle class get further away from the needs of the 1% the less police protection they will see and have.

455 CuriousLurker  Dec 3, 2014 5:17:59pm

re: #447 Backwoods_Sleuth

The parental units always say “it’s living happily out on a farm now!”

LOL, true that.

456 CuriousLurker  Dec 3, 2014 5:18:40pm

re: #448 Decatur Deb

Raccoon—white or red?

Stop that!

457 lostlakehiker  Dec 3, 2014 5:19:34pm

re: #422 Decatur Deb

Texas doesn’t have brains to burn.

Decatur does?

458 Decatur Deb  Dec 3, 2014 5:22:24pm

re: #457 lostlakehiker

Decatur does?

Confused me for a minute—ping my nic.

459 RealityBasedSteve  Dec 3, 2014 5:24:28pm

re: #444 allegro

I’ve raised and rehabilitated numerous baby raccoons. When they’re young, they’re affectionate, smart, too adorable and appear to be the perfect pets. When they reach sexual maturity all bets are off. They become the wild critters they were born to be and are very, very dangerous.

They can be successfully rehabilitated to the wild pretty easily once they’re old enough to go for it. It’s mostly just a matter of letting them go in an appropriate environment while providing them with a home base until they’re ready to be independent. They will often return to visit on occasion and even bring their mates and offspring with them to say “hey.”

Have I mentioned that I’m a big fan of raccoons? Fascinating critters.

That sounds a lot like the scenario with Chimpanzees. That once they hit sexual maturity they can become very dangerous. The best description I’ve heard is that you have an animal with the strength of a NFL linebacker and the emotional and impulse control of a 5 year old.

Domesticated animals are just that… domesticated. There have been 1000’s of generations of breeding to reinforce the traits that make them what they are today. (with the exception of cats… cat’s have probably been controlling us to make a good servant class)

This is a pet peeve of mine (pardon the pun).

RBS

460 CuriousLurker  Dec 3, 2014 5:26:25pm

Okay, I’m gonna go play with my new paints. Later, lizards.

461 No Country For Old Haters  Dec 3, 2014 5:34:11pm

re: #366 The Vicious Fergushka

Is this a parody account or an actual threat on POTUS?

[Embedded content]

He’s a wannabe-grifter who thinks he’s building a wingnut media empire. His followers count suggests that his future is not bright

462 Higgs Boson's Mate  Dec 3, 2014 5:43:47pm

re: #447 Backwoods_Sleuth

The parental units always say “it’s living happily out on a farm now!”

If it’s a goldfish then “It’s in the ocean, happily swimming around with all of the other goldfish.”

463 Bubblehead II  Dec 3, 2014 6:04:41pm

Night Lizards

464 Eventual Carrion  Dec 3, 2014 6:05:31pm

re: #405 RealityBasedSteve

Raccoons do have opposable thumbs don’t they? I think we may be in trouble.

RBS

Yeah, they could probably be taught to run a can opener or use the little pop open rings on the cans. But I bet they would balk at cleaning the litter box.

465 Eventual Carrion  Dec 3, 2014 6:13:34pm

re: #443 b_sharp

Isn’t it amazing how users can find weird and wonderful ways of breaking things?

A programmers job is to make idiot proof programs,
Mother nature’s job is to make better idiots.
So far, Mother nature is winning.
- Don’t remember where I heard/read that

466 Khal Wimpo  Dec 3, 2014 7:08:04pm

re: #408 TedStriker

Where’s Snake Plissken when you need him?

“Snake Plissken? I thought you were dead…”

467 Khal Wimpo  Dec 3, 2014 7:15:34pm

re: #453 lostlakehiker

Well said. It takes a lot of time and energy to get a good crop of recruits properly trained to exercise peace officer powers.

It takes even more to MAINTAIN those recruits, particularly as the demands of the job as a cop start to grind away at them. This is where the “cut taxes to the bone” crowd really fail. You cannot skimp on resources for monitoring and retraining cops on regular intervals. Not without having a few guys who used to be good cops start to slowly drive into the ditch, like a car where the driver is dozing off behind the wheel.

You can lose whole departments that way. We learned that with Rampart.

468 lostlakehiker  Dec 4, 2014 7:39:19am

re: #36 lawhawk

When people comment about need to fix the justice system, it’s because the system IS fixed - to protect cops against indictments for homicide. This has to change, and this is where reform must start.

That there’s no indictment in death of #EricGarner despite video shows impossibly high bar in prosecuting cops for excessive force.

[Embedded content]

As others are pointing out, you have guys who are able to flaunt federal authority for refusing to pay grazing fees and openly target law enforcement with high powered rifles, and the law enforcement doesn’t even blink.

A black man is allegedly caught selling untaxed cigarettes, and is put in an illegal chokehold and is killed by an officer. Not only is that wrong, but that there isn’t an indictment for reckless endangerment shows just how broken fixed the system is.

This is why so many in the black community are angry. It’s why there are protests. It’s why they are struggling to be heard and why they don’t see any point in trusting the justice system or cops generally - the system is a stacked deck against them, even when the wrongdoing is staring you in the face.

News accounts pm TV have reported that the choke hold was against department policy, but not illegal. Do you have a source for saying that it is illegal in NY? I too thought it was illegal, but those news reports have me wondering.

469 ssnbbr  Dec 4, 2014 10:39:37am

Officer involved in death of Eric Garner: “It is never [I can’t breathe] my intention [I can’t breathe] to harm [I can’t breathe] anyone [I can’t breathe] and I feel very bad” [I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe, I can’t br…]


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