There is war in the streets of America tonight

[Darren]

"Mitch McConnell’s big victory for his home state hemp industry may have made it easier for people busted for marijuana to get off the hook.

Last year, McConnell pushed to get a provision legalizing hemp into the farm bill. His goal was to spur hemp farming across the country and boost farmers in his home state of Kentucky who have been battered by a loss in federal tobacco subsidies.

But here’s the catch: Hemp and marijuana products both come from the same plant, cannabis, which makes it nearly impossible for the average cop to tell the difference. As states rushed to change their hemp laws to capitalize on the federal changes, many municipalities are giving up on small-time pot busts because of a lack of reliable testing. Under federal and most state laws, hemp can’t be more than 0.3 percent THC, the psychoactive compound that triggers a high. Before hemp was legal, police only had tests that could detect the presence of THC, not how much.

Now that cannabis with less than 0.3 percent THC is legal, a growing number of prosecutors are requiring lab tests to bring charges. The mere presence of THC is no longer enough.

For example, in Texas, prosecutors were shocked by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s embrace of a hemp bill in June, said Paul Fortenberry, the narcotics division chief in the Harris County district attorney’s office. The new law led to several district attorney’s offices to set policies requiring lab testing in marijuana cases. Hundreds of people across the state happily had their cases dismissed.

Prosecutors in Florida, Ohio, Georgia and elsewhere have announced similar policies following hemp legalization laws. Five states legalized hemp this year and others expanded existing hemp programs because of the farm bill."

[MajGenl.Meade]

So is this hemp noose?

[Darren]

"In both 1992 and 2003, the National Assessment of Adult Literacy found that most college graduates fell below proficiency in verbal and quantitative literacy. That meant that they could not "reliably answer questions that require the comparison of viewpoints in two different editorials, or compute the cost per ounce of food items.

The results were conformed by the American Institutes for Research in 2006. The grim results were also consistent with Collegiate Learning Assessment Plus, which as previously noted found that 40 percent of students who graduate from college and universities lack complex reasoning skills, This includes an inability to "read a scatterplot, construct a cohesive argument or identify a logical fallacy.

In 2015, the Educational Testing Service released a large scale study that concluded US millennials with a four-year bachelor's degree scored below their counterparts in nineteen of the twenty-one participating countries. The ETS tried to sound an alarm: "A decade ago, the skill level of American adults was judged 'mediocre.' Now it is below even that.""

[Darren]

Keith Ellison has a problem. Why did he go to murder 2?

Did he know about the policy?

Did he set the trial up for an acquittal?

"2/27/2017 5-300 Use of Force - City of Minneapolis

5-301 PURPOSE (10/16/02) (08/17/07) (07/28/16)

A. Sanctity of life and the protection of the public shall be the cornerstones of the MPD's use of force policy.

B. The purpose of this chapter is to provide all sworn MPD employees with clear and consistent policies and procedures regarding the use of force while engaged in the discharge of their official duties. (Note: MPD Training Unit Lesson Plans - Use of Force, are used as a reference throughout this chapter."

https://www.sanfranciscopolice.org/site ... policy.pdf

[Scooter]

[BoSoxGal]

"In both 1992 and 2003, the National Assessment of Adult Literacy found that most college graduates fell below proficiency in verbal and quantitative literacy. That meant that they could not "reliably answer questions that require the comparison of viewpoints in two different editorials, or compute the cost per ounce of food items.

The results were conformed by the American Institutes for Research in 2006. The grim results were also consistent with Collegiate Learning Assessment Plus, which as previously noted found that 40 percent of students who graduate from college and universities lack complex reasoning skills, This includes an inability to "read a scatterplot, construct a cohesive argument or identify a logical fallacy.

In 2015, the Educational Testing Service released a large scale study that concluded US millennials with a four-year bachelor's degree scored below their counterparts in nineteen of the twenty-one participating countries. The ETS tried to sound an alarm: "A decade ago, the skill level of American adults was judged 'mediocre.' Now it is below even that.""

I can believe this! Just look at the quality of debate on most social media.

Besides I taught college writing (once called ‘freshman composition’ before that title became un-PC) at a state university, so I’ve seen firsthand the caliber of reader and writer that is average incoming at most universities. It’s impossible to undo a lifetime of bad habits in only 15 weeks, though we try. If you’re not a reader, you’ll never be a good writer. It’s hard to cultivate a love for reading that late in life - though not impossible. People like to laugh at English majors, but the vast majority of college majors don’t require much writing at all, or they allow and reward really bad writing. Some of the most awful writing I’ve seen has been in engineering (I used to tutor science majors, even graduate students) and, sadly, from lawyers.

[RayThom]

"New year, new face scrub? President Obama has signed into law the Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015, which bans microbeads, a common ingredient in personal care products. Tiny microbeads have turned out to be a big problem. Here's what you need to know."

Darren has apparently gone bug-fuggin' crazy.

Darren knows he has become totally irrelevant in here.

He's posting shit now -- with "Doc's" permission, of course -- just to be irritating and disruptive.

His posts are almost always "cut and paste" with nothing more to add, no thoughts, no opinion.

I read his screed, if only to find what he's posting with no links nor attribution, and move on.

[Econoline]

His posts are almost always "cut and paste" with nothing more to add, no thoughts, no opinion.

And no connection to the topic of the thread in which he posts,

[Darren]

His posts are almost always "cut and paste" with nothing more to add, no thoughts, no opinion.

And no connection to the topic of the thread in which he posts,

That's what I've been thinking. No cogent thoughts, no opinions, no lit light bulbs and most importantly no "drinking" once led to the water.

When knowledge can only be gained by pigeonholing how do you know you haven't missed something? When it's only black and white and anything else is ignored, implicit bias rules.

[RayThom]

... That's what I've been thinking. No cogent thoughts, no opinions, no lit light bulbs and most importantly no "drinking" once led to the water.

When knowledge can only be gained by pigeonholing how do you know you haven't missed something? When it's only black and white and anything else is ignored, implicit bias rules.

Exactly, Darren.

[Econoline]

Right on.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Power to the pupil!

[Darren]

"(JTA) — A fountain dedicated to Holocaust survivors that also was used for ritual hand-washing inside a California cemetery was toppled and smashed.

Police are investigating the incident at Santa Rosa Memorial Park to determine if it was a hate crime, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported. The vandalism occurred on Sunday night or Monday morning.

A maintenance trailer at the other end of the cemetery also was damaged, though nothing was reported stolen. Santa Rosa Police told the newspaper that it was unclear if the two vandalism acts are connected.

The fountain was part of a memorial created for the late Lillian Judd and her husband, Emil, local Holocaust survivors. Lillian Judd regularly spoke to Sonoma County students about the Holocaust. A mosaic erected behind the fountain lists the names of 12 family members who were killed during the Holocaust."

[Big RR]

Attacking Jewish cemetaries--where have I heard this before (hint, it wasn't BLM protestors).

[RayThom]

"(JTA) — A fountain dedicated to Holocaust survivors that also was used for ritual hand-washing inside a California cemetery was toppled and smashed.Police are investigating the incident at Santa Rosa Memorial Park to determine if it was a hate crime, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported. The vandalism occurred on Sunday night or Monday morning.A maintenance trailer at the other end of the cemetery also was damaged, though nothing was reported stolen. Santa Rosa Police told the newspaper that it was unclear if the two vandalism acts are connected.The fountain was part of a memorial created for the late Lillian Judd and her husband, Emil, local Holocaust survivors.Lillian Judd regularly spoke to Sonoma County students about the Holocaust. A mosaic erected behind the fountain lists the names of 12 family members who were killed during the Holocaust."

Darren, you and "Doc" are not suggesting that this is related to BLM, are you? That would really be ignorant and stupid. More likely it's disgruntled white nationalists, maybe NASCAR fans, pushing back about the removal of their precious symbols from public display.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Yeah well . . . I suppose Darren's point (the other one) is that given "war in the streets", there's not just one side involved in societal destruction. In this case, anti-Semitic vandals (or just plain vandals) who feel released from minimal mental constraints (they usually almost adhere to) by the atmosphere of the times.

Tipping things over for the fun of it, whether it be mythical cows in Nebraska or famously balanced rock formations in National Parks, is a known predilection of young white boors.

[Darren]

"In Madison, statues of Wisconsin's motto "Forward" and of Col. Hans Christian Heg were dragged away from their spots guarding the statehouse. Heg was an anti-slavery activist who fought and died for the Union during the U.S. Civil War. His nearly 100-year-old sculpture was decapitated and thrown into a Madison lake by protesters.

The original Forward statue was first placed in front of the Wisconsin State Capitol in 1895. Protesters tore down a replica that was commissioned in the 1990s."

[Big RR]

Well, the problem with outrage is that it does not always make logical sense; people who have been ignored/marginalized/disenfranchised for a long period of time will sometimes act impulsively. It's not a defense to the action, but it is a reason; add to that mob psychology, and the tearing down of a statue that does not fit the racist/civil war general/etc. "profile" is hardly surprising. But it also does not demean the reasons behind the anger and outrage.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Not forgetting that the same people attacked Wisconsin's openly gay senator and left him battered. Sometimes I think opening fire is the only thing these animals will understand

[Big RR]

I think someone said that at Kent State.