Good Cops, Bad Cops And Grand Juries

How could a New York grand jury have gotten it so wrong considering the turmoil  following the one in Ferguson getting it right?

In watching the Ferguson mess I felt, from information available on TV news and the papers, that the grand jury made the right decision knowing there would be outrage fomented by racist agendas. I felt the officer got a raw deal and no where nearly enough support from his peers., the public and the media.

Along with that I've heard the pundits who are also lawyers praising grand juries as a vital piece of our justice system and that evidence counts. So what do I think now?  While I agree with the decision in Ferguson it has become clear that the justice system has become politicized with media compliance.  We pretty much know how things played out.  Little was made of Michael Brown's true character nor of Darren Wilson's. Did justice prevail?  Certainly not from the officer's point of view where he has lost his career for having done his job as he had been trained to do.

Fast forward to New York where another grand jury has decided not to indict officer Daniel Pantaleo for the choke hold that lead to the death of Eric Garner who's crime was peddling untaxed cigarettes on the street and arguing with police when he was confronted. Okay.  Using choke holds in New York is illegal.  Period.  The video shows that Pantaleo used one to subdue the giant of a man. He died.  As in Ferguson the cop, along with those who helped him, were white, the perpetrator black. That's where the similarity ends.

That's according to video.  What we don't know is what this grand jury heard as evidence.  I'd like it to be made public just as was Ferguson's.  Why was the decision the same when evidence of both incidents as reported by the news is so vastly different?

It's no wonder people are outraged. The President and his surrogates should stay out of it because at this point nothing more can be seen than their color and perceived bias. White cops are now targets for every hot head on the streets looking to settle a score.  Blacks who will revert to violence will only harm their cause to an even greater degree and the rest of us are pretty much on our own!

There are cool heads on both sides but both seem to be having trouble making themselves heard. Until the decision of this grand jury is fully explained the outrage will continue.  Perhaps even after since it follows so closely on the heels of Ferguson.  My guess is that it has set race relations back decades because of misguided actions of the Farrakhans and Sharptons, football players and even members of Congress.  Misguided in some cases.  No more than ill will in others. There is no trust on either side.  It won't be easy to re-establish.

It's Christmas season.  Peace and good will toward men. If you think it was lost to the frenzy of commercialism, it's even more lost to the frenzy of self interests and lack of leadership on both sides.  The networks need to reign in the race baiters, black and white, and for once dig into a story and tell the truth of it.  Is that even possible any more?

Hiatus

I disappear from my blog for days on end quite often.  Mostly just to get away from it.  I'm taking some time off now for an entirely different reason.  My Facebook post from yesterday sums it up.  I hope it will suffice:

Thanksgiving will be special this year. So very special. Mike hadn't been feeling well for awhile and being typically male refused to go to the doctor until it got so bad along with something akin to a pulled muscle in his back that he could no longer stand it.

Dr's. appt. Tuesday. Blood work and all the usual stuff. Friday a call to get him to the hospital stat. He was down 2 quarts of blood. Two quarts. Sunday he went through the drill ahead of what was to be a colonoscopy plus a stomach scan.

This morning I drop him off for that. I'm called back. The Dr. wants to talk with both of us. Panic. Big time.

As I write this he's in surgery having 10" of colon removed along with an orange sized tumor. The Doctor says he's going to be fine. It appears to be contained though I'll remain caustiously optimistic until all post surgery testing is done. For now I'm breathing more easily. Forty five years of marriage have been passing before my eyes these past couple of days.

For those of you who know him, don't tell him I wrote this. He'd kill me. Mr. Macho and all that.

But it helps rid some of my anxiety by having done so. Thanksgiving, even foregoing the turkey, couldn't be more timely. Plus I won't have to agonize over Christmas. The shopping is done. When it's cooked doesn't really matter so much.

Funny. He asked me just the other day what I wanted for Christmas and I told him a healthy husband. You don't have to worry about that, he said. I'll take that on good faith.

Immigration - More Questions than Answers

Well, Obama did one thing last night.  He created the expected fire storm. What struck me about his dictates is how oblivious they are to what will be both expected and unexpected consequences.

Just a few things that struck me in particular.  How everything is slanted toward Hispanics.  They are not the only illegals we have to contend with. what about our northern borders and coasts?

How are they going to verify just how long someone has been here illegally?  Take their word for it?  Do they really expect these people are going to come out from the shadows to fess up and pay a fine?  Especially if their "legalization" is for such a limited amount of time? And knowing that the next President can rescind the order?

Forgetting that the Congress couldn't get their act together over whether a comprehensive or piece meal bills should be passed, we have Harry Reid to thank that some piece meal legislation was ignored by the Senate.  No debate.  No compromise. Stamp your foot.  Dictate.

Also ignored is a pot full of needs that businesses wanted to have addressed. While this may sound nice to the Hispanics and those beating their breasts for anything that would pass, it is choke full of ambiguities, undeliverable promises and problems that if handled as it should have been would have been avoided.

We should all know that massive comprehensive legislation is doomed to failure.  All we have to do is look at Obamacare.  Even more of concern, however, are those in power who think they know best and act with self given impunity.

Obama has done nothing to mend the rift in the country nor the government.  What he has done is lessen his standing even further with  those of us worried about our democracy not to mention world leaders. Except for those who applaud his dictatorial  methods.  Those would be the ones who act in the same manner.  We call them enemies.  I don't know what he calls them.

We Need A Lemon Law For Don Lemon

I think it may be time for CNN to tell Don Lemon his services are no longer wanted.  He has gone way beyond the bounds of propriety by insinuating himself into the Ferguson situation.  As a "reporter" it was not his place to do so on air.  Whether or not he was reprimanded I don't know.  I haven't heard that he was.

But now.  His line of questioning with a woman who claims she was assaulted by Bill Cosby went even further beyond the pale.  Whether or not her accusations were true who knows.  She claims she was stoned at the time she was forced to preform oral sex. That was bad enough

Lemon then went on to ask why she didn't bite him. Such a  line of questioning has nothing to do with "news".  It is purely salacious and no reporter has any reason to go there.

Does he think he can get away with such actions because he is black and gay? Doe he think it gives him entitlement thinking no one will touch him because of who he is?  I certainly hope not because neither applies.  No more than if Mr. Cosby gets a pass because because of his celebrity.  Bad behavior is just that.

With the news of the day as bad as it is, we don't need a smart aleck reporter adding to it.  If that is his bent let him join trash television.  There is enough of it out there.  We deserve better from CNN.

What Manner Of Men

The world has always had its share of the criminally insane.  Many have escaped unscathed because they were rulers or part of the inner circles of such leaders.

Some, as with IS, couch their brutality in the shadow of their so called religion.  I haven't read the Koran so I cannot interpret it, but even those who have seem to be in disagreement as to exactly what it champions.

I have trouble believing the interpretation IS gives it could possibly be true.  If it is, theirs is the only Deity I know of that preaches hatred and cruelty over love and kindness. Actually, it doesn't really matter what it says in reality, but rather their interpretation that has become no more than a license to kill.

In my world those who are insane surface and commit horrendous crimes against their fellow man.  In my world they are usually lone wolves who have imagined grievances that compel them to strike out.  Most often they are captured and dealt with.  What I didn't realize is that in my world there reside scores of those looking for an opportunity but savvy enough to want to surround themselves with the like minded for protection and in some warped way, acceptance.

They watch well produced propaganda on social media and flock to the middle east to join their brothers.  It scares me that so many can be so horrifically cruel and celebrate it for the world to see.  Who knew they existed in such numbers?  If we knew we refused to see it because of it's horrific nature until their band grew in numbers where it had to be taken seriously.

Now they are running rampant throughout Iraq and Syria adding ground to their "caliphate" on a daily basis by executing anyone who stands in their way. I can't help but wonder if a great number of those men could care less about the religious aspect of their organization but have played the game in order to satisfy their blood lust by killing.  Just for the sake of killing.

There is also another manner of men I wonder about.  It's those who are in positions of leadership who could band together to annihilate this movement. Do they not think that the more successful IS is the more in danger of falling victim they become? Especially those who are neighbors in the vicinity.

Then there are those in the west who as of now have only been affected from a distance, not on their home ground, at least not to the scale we see playing out.  But again, the more ground IS gains the more their capabilities improve.

With that, why do we merely tinker around the edges?  Containing them, which we aren't yet doing well, will not stop them.  They must be eliminated in order to send the message that such behavior will not be tolerated in a civilized world.  It doesn't matter where they are.  It matters what they are. It doesn't matter, either, who stops them as long as they are stopped.  If it falls to us that let's do it.

For those with the ability to stop them who choose not to do so by trying to shift the responsibility are not facing reality.  I have to ask about them too, what manner of men are they? In many ways, no better.  Maybe even worse because they appear cowardly. Cowardly leadership does not win wars. They merely hide or quit.