Tag: police

3 Premieres and a Re-Run

I’m not much of a TV or entertainment blogger, but thought I would share my thoughts anyway. Here goes.

Madam Secretary: I wanted to like this one right until I started hearing the radio ads describing it as a “new hit series.” Um yeah, think we can just maybe wait until the first episode airs before we start calling it a hit, hmm? I did watch it anyway. Quick synopsis: the Secretary of State is killed in a Freak Plane Accident, so the President calls someone he thinks he can trust — an ex-CIA analyst turned college professor who somehow or another can afford horse property. I think she’s meant to be a more likable Elizabeth Warren. Fast forward past Senate confirmation hearings that have a whole sentence devoted to them later in the episode to a small townhome in DC. In my opinion, the best moment was a scene in which the Secretary hijacks a news cycle, humorously showing how easily our shallow media is manipulated and pointing out the different standards to which a woman in politics is held. There’s unfortunately a plot arc about a shadowy behind the scenes potentially dangerous plot afoot. I guess they think they need a serial killer or something to keep people tuning in. Yawn. I think I may have liked it better than Comrade Misfit did. Solid B, if they turn in a bibliography they might pull it up to a B+.

Gotham: I confess, I like Batman. I’ve liked Batman since I was 5. So of course I had to watch Gotham, it wasn’t optional. Just in case you don’t pay any damn attention to those little letters they put at the beginnings of shows these days, this show is not for kids. Of course, you can’t do a Batman origin story without starting the terrible night that Bruce Wayne witnesses the murder of his parents. And who happens to be the first cop on the scene? Why, it’s none other than newly minted detective Jim Gordon. Oh right, he prefers James now. The 80s vintage Dodge Diplomat unmarked squad driven by Detectives Gordon and Dent (yeah, Harvey Dent) suggests that Gotham’s time line runs pretty close to that of New York City. It’s a gritty place: organized crime, disorganized crime, and a generally corrupt police force that Jim Gordon wants to change from the inside. By the way, implying that this takes place in the 80s would make Bruce around 40 today. I’m not an expert on the Bat-iverse, but I counted no fewer than 4 characters who would evolve into future Batman villains, three of them substantially older than Bruce — but this is James Gordon’s show. I’ll hold my judgement on Barbara and the mysterious girl with the green goggles while the show finds its footing. Solid A- here.

Quick, change channels!

Scorpion: Here we go, the other overhyped new series! It’s supposedly based on a true story. However, it must be very, very loosely based on a true story, perhaps a story told during a night of drinking. Ok, it was exciting! It was entertaining! It got me to laugh a couple times! However, there were plot holes you could drive a hot-wired Ferrari through at top speed. Please note the Boeing colors on the 767; did no airline want to be associated with this? I’m not the only one who found some of the characterizations to be insulting. I’ll give it a C for entertainment, but next time they’d better get a proofreader and a fact checker on board if they want a better grade.

And an old old story: It turns out that many Christians don’t know much about their own religion. Come on guys, all you had to do was read one book! It’s all there! Ok, it’s a long book, but it’s broken down pretty well into mini-books and nice short chapters.

In Closing: my local paper has a knack for the obvious; on our ever growing police state, complete with spying on citizens and no punishment for abusing (or killing) them; Chinese chicken salad; things are tough all over; if sports are so damn profitable, they can damn well pay taxes; dreaming is great, but doing is more important.

Music Monday: Too soon?

No, just too tacky. Urban Outfitters swears that their new vintage style Kent State sweatshirt isn’t meant to look like it’s spattered with blood, merely has “discoloration.” So what do you think: ignorance or bad sense of humor? Which would be worse? Don’t try to order one, they’re sold out.

Lyrics.

In Closing: follow the money, of course; nothing says “unbiased prosecutor” like potentially raising money for a guy who many think should face murder charges; Max on UBI; Aww I didn’t think they cared; interesting. Have a  great week, folks!

Shorties Untold

Appetizers: Let’s start with the NSA poppers, and perhaps a beer flight to wash it down?

Soup or salad: The soup du jour is puree of police violence and race issues with a hint of civil forfeiture, topped with prison visit data. Perhaps the lady would prefer our Cosmo-inspired salad with cranberry vinaigrette?

The main course: Make sure it has enough protein! It’s good for you.

A few quick words about your server: Don’t forget that he or she works for a living.

Can I interest you in dessert?: My local news is excited about a study that says we are relatively safe city compared to, say, any major city in Oklahoma. Among the data collected was crime (both violent and property), cops, and traffic fatalities per capita — seems legit. Also included was the number of sex offenders per capita. A quick look at their data table without breaking out the stats tools would tend to make me think that the number of sex offenders has little to do with much of any other data they collected. It’s as if they put it in because they thought it would be important, or thought it made their data look more complete. What makes several California cities, Scottsdale, Augusta, Mesquite, and Chicago more safe than Tulsa despite having at least ten times the number of sex offenders per capita? Could it be that the risk sex offenders will re-offend is overrated?

Oh, need a doggie bag?: Here you go, tips for dealing with strange dogs.

Music Monday: Life Finds a Way?

The Russians think they have found life. Life, on the outside of the International Space Station. It’s from Earth, all right, they just don’t know how it got there.

 

In Closing: hopefully a few last words on Ferguson, the militarization of our police, the death of the right to peaceably assemble, and the press (but it won’t be the last because of race); a “difficult decision“; hey now, don’t get too skinny!; don’t think I’ve forgotten about the NSA; and children in poverty.

More Ferguson

The ASSociated Press has published a little article which my local news picked up. The first paragraph reads:

The fatal shooting of a black 18-year-old by a white police officer has opened a debate over what level of force is appropriate when law enforcement confronts a citizen perceived to be a threat.

Let’s back up just a moment. The question that should be asked in Ferguson and perhaps elsewhere is this:

What should a police officer consider a threat?

We now know that the young man was in fact running away from the officer when the confrontation began. Is someone running away a “threat”? At the very least, the officer can no longer use the “he was headed straight for me” defense without expecting laughter.

Backing up further, is a “thief” who shoved a store clerk a “threat” (even though everyone agrees that the cop didn’t know about the alleged incident)? Well, since it turned out that the theft was trumped up and the film that supposedly proves the young man was a Very Bad Man actually shows him paying, no.

Are photographers and journalists a threat? How about churches?

I leave you with three more Ferguson thoughts. First, what the press might well report if Ferguson were overseas. Second, Ferguson appears to have a rich heritage of discriminatory legal practices. Finally, the police have all kinds of new crowd control toys. One, Taser brags, can incapacitate anybody who happens to be in a target area. Forgive me for wondering how you make a crowd disperse by incapacitating them.

In Closing: I don’t know, maybe you could try doing things voters like?; on privacy and metadata.

Music Monday: More of the Same as it Ever Was

 

It does look like things are getting a lot more complicated in Ferguson. And that’s before the Fed’s version of the autopsy*, and before any grand jury sees evidence. The Genie’s out of the bottle now.

In Closing: imagine that, mandatory insurance didn’t fix some of the stuff it was supposed to; fake news reinvented; feminism’s benefits for men; cyberweapons.

 

*I’m glad there’s going to be another one, because this last one was done by the guy that testified in the O.J. Simpson trial. Yeah, just what we need is to put a nice controversy icing on this cake of unrest.

Ferguson

So yesterday — long after Anonymous* claimed to have the information — Ferguson Police finally released the name of the officer who shot an unarmed young man, setting off riots. But then they proceeded to dump poison in the well.

Jackson also gave barebones details about a strong-arm robbery at a local convenience store that took place moments before Wilson shot Brown. He did not connect Brown to the robbery during his press conference, but in police documents he released to reporters during the press conference, Brown is named as a suspect. Jackson released dispatch records and video surveillance of the robbery as well.

Ok. So suspected robbery — not even armed robbery — is grounds for immediate death penalty, no trial required? Good to know.

Except that the cop who shot him didn’t even know about the alleged robbery. Oops. Why bring that up at all, I wonder. Apparently then, there’s an immediate death penalty for walking down the street as opposed to the sidewalk. Further, cops may prevent qualified bystanders from performing CPR.

 

Clearly they don’t subscribe to the Obama Doctrine:  Don’t do stupid stuff.

There is one silver lining to this dark cloud, however. Normal Americans are finally talking about issues like the militarization of our police (here is the must read book), freedom to protest even if you aren’t white (non-white protesters seem to consistently be called “looters” regardless of what they’re doing), and manipulation of the supposedly free press. Sure, “be careful what you tweet.”

* I wonder what Anonymous threatened to do if the name wasn’t officially released.

No in closing today. Too disgusted.

A year later, new stuff continues to trickle out

So here we are.

Edward Snowden has been in Russia long enough that his visa has been extended. You can actually buy t-shirts with his face on them. There are people who consider him a traitor and people who consider him a hero. He’s got a huge spread in the current issue of Wired. The list of things we know about the NSA and America’s electronic spy infrastructure thanks to Mr. Snowden just keeps getting longer! Just this week we learned that the NSA has cyberwarfare capabilities and is responsible for a country-wide internet blackout in Syria.

Yet, to paraphrase Yoda, There Is Another. Maybe more than just one other.

And since The Powers That Be can’t seem to stop the obvious violations of what most of us understand to be our rights under the 1st, 4th, and 5th Amendments, no wonder Millennials are not enthusiastic about politics.

How deep does the NSA Rabbit Hole go?

In Closing: Challenging civil forfeiture; yoga can be manly; cartel profits are going to pot; the economy; banks; I hate that he’s right; politics and you; the real consensus turns out to be further along the curve; math is a harsh reality; damned if you work, damned if you don’t; and the cat that rides the bus.

Happy Blogiversary, Judicial Edition

So, I’ve been at this 11 years. My second post was about the new Supreme Court rulings of the day, and as such, it’s only fair to bring you a breath of fresh air from the Supremes: the cops can’t just go browsing through your cell phone, even if you’ve just been arrested. In another surprisingly reasonable ruling from a different Federal court, the No Fly list is unconstitutional because there’s no due process involved.

However, a different court ruled that collecting data on the communications of citizens of the world is just fine (I have to wonder if there’s anything the international courts can do). In the meantime, the NSA debate and the resulting fallout continues vigorously. It’s important to remember that our own government isn’t the only government that thinks suspected criminals (and anyone they may talk to) have limited privacy rights.

Still, the idea that we’re all being spied upon is relatively benign compared to what happens if you are actually suspected of any sort of crime. Yes, I do mean any sort, particularly if you happen to be a person of color. Militarization of our police means more SWAT teams, more no-knock warrants, more wondering if the home invader is government sponsored, and make no mistake it also means more dead cops.

In Closing: girls; your money or your life; modern slavery; prudence; someone got paid to find out that a lot of people have no money saved; logical fallacies; help JP out; and Stay Focused.

Point, Counter-Point

Remember when we were told that only a good guy with a gun could stop a bad guy with a gun?

Last week, a good guy with a grain of common sense but no gun stopped a bad guy with a gun.

Yesterday, a good guy with a concealed carry license was killed by two cop-killing bad guys with guns. Instead of saving the day, he lost his life. Unfortunately this was local news for me. Oh and it’s off topic, but by the way? If you are ever trying to describe a northern section of Las Vegas, do not simply call it North Las Vegas. That’s someplace else.

Now that we’ve debunked that, what’s the real argument for carrying guns everywhere you go?

In Closing: Sure, we can serve up some more fun and interesting NSA, spying, and Snowden, and related links for you; can your smart TV be hacked?; a big leap for genetic engineering; another missive from the Duhpartment of Research; times have changed (or at least prices have); question everything; hope and change; and can anybody explain how these numbers are cost effective?