Intended Consequences

[Long Run]

So Holder sticks his nose where it doesn't belong to politicize a media created frenzy (Media: white cop in evil police force shoots unarmed black man who was trying to surrender. Real story: cop is attacked by a large criminal who just committed a crime, and shoots the criminal to defend himself). Then to save face, Holder has his department come up with a report that -- even though this case that Holder sensationalized is not an example of it -- condemns the police department for racism (i.e., a report that could be written on 100s of police departments, no doubt). So, pour kerosene on a dry pile of kindling, then throw a match on it. And then express surprise (ala Casablanca police re gambling) and condemn the very thing that was 100% predictable based on his actions. Can we get this guy out of office yet?

Two officers shot outside Ferguson police Headquarters

By Kate Munsch

FERGUSON, Mo. (Reuters) - Two police officers in Ferguson, Missouri, were shot and wounded in what officials called an ambush early on Thursday, the latest spasm of violence arising from months of tension between African-Americans and the city's mostly white police force.

The officers were treated and released from hospital, St Louis County Police said. Police Chief Jon Belmar earlier said a manhunt was under way for a suspect or suspects.

A 41-year-old officer from the St. Louis County Police was struck in the shoulder and a 32-year-old officer from the nearby Webster Groves Police Department had a bullet lodged near his ear after it passed through his cheek, Belmar said.

"This is really an ambush, is what it is," Belmar said. "You can't see it coming. You don't understand that it's going to happen."

The shots rang out as a rally in front of the city's police headquarters was dispersing hours after the local police chief resigned. After months of criticism, Police Chief Tom Jackson quit in the wake of a scathing U.S. Justice Department report finding his force was rife with racial bias.

The St. Louis suburb was thrown into turmoil in August by the killing of an unarmed black teenager by a white policeman, thrusting it into the center of an intense national debate over law enforcement's use of deadly force against minorities.

Thursday's shootings were "inexcusable and repugnant," U.S Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement. "Such senseless acts of violence threaten the very reforms that nonviolent protesters in Ferguson and around the country have been working towards."

[Lord Jim]

The interesting thing about this is that this was a gathering that was ostensibly supposed to be a "celebration" of the police chief resigning; it wasn't supposed to be an "angry" demonstration...

I think Holder's intent in releasing that report, and playing it up as much as he did, was to try and "soften the blow" and try to diffuse possible additional violence that could take place as a result of the other report that the DOJ released; that there would be no prosecution of Wilson for civil rights violations.

It was very obvious to anyone familiar with the evidence released by the DA last year that there was no way that there was sufficient grounds for such a prosecution, but it was also reasonable to assume that there would be those in the community who be angry about it nevertheless. (I think it's pretty obvious that it was no accident that the report on the Ferguson Police department was released the day before the report about the Wilson investigation.)

[dgs49]

The DOJ report reeks of sour grapes. They wanted desperately to find a felony they could successfully prosecute, and failing that they settled for slandering the city, it's population, and the PD.

The statistics cited are not only unremarkable, they are absolutely predictable, based on the disparity in criminality of the so - called "black" community in Ferguson. In NYC, blacks are arrested at a 30% higher rate than their portion of the population (55% vs. 25%). Why isn't Sharptown picketing city hall?

[rubato]

What they uncovered was a government which was based on the systematic exploitation of primarily black people and further proof that it was an expression of racism were the emailed comments including those from command-level officers. A justice system perverted into a system to keep black people poor and in jail.

Slavery, sharecropping, Jim Crow and now Ferguson (and many other communities, apparently).

Wake up.

yrs,
rubato

[rubato]

Holder was investigating EXACTLY what the US AG should be investigating and his INTENT was to reveal the problem.

If we have even a tiny interest in justice we will demand that the AGs of every state investigate their cities to eradicate this in all of the places where it now flourishes. And we will demand that the US AG do the same to keep the State AGs honest.

Ferguson is not the only or even the worst that we know of; other cities around there are far worse. Some of them have been shown to extract up to 50% of their city budgets by exploiting (mostly) black people by perverted manipulation of the justice system.


yrs,
rubato

[MajGenl.Meade]

So the headline might be.... Off the Shoulder, Holder Bolder?

[dgs49]

Yes, yes, yes. Every PD in a municipality having a significant "black" population should be investigated for signs of ACTUAL racism, and it should be addressed definitively. Heads should roll where serious civil rights violations are found.

However.

Finding that "Blacks" are arrested or incarcerated at a rate higher than their proportion of the population is evidence of exactly NOTHING. Every reliable study done in the past fifty years indicates that the "minority community" commits a disproportionate share of the felonies and violent crimes in essentially every community where they reside in large numbers. Not surprising, considering the illegitimacy rate, dropout rate, and so on.

"Blacks" comprise 13% of the U.S. population and 75% of NBA rosters. Further, a large portion of the "white" players are European.

Therefore, NBA owners are discriminating against American ofays. The bastards.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Leaving aside the awful use of the English language:

[rubato]

Yes, yes, yes. Every PD in a municipality having a significant "black" population should be investigated for signs of ACTUAL racism, and it should be addressed definitively. Heads should roll where serious civil rights violations are found.

However.

Finding that "Blacks" are arrested or incarcerated at a rate higher than their proportion of the population is evidence of exactly NOTHING. Every reliable study done in the past fifty years indicates that the "minority community" commits a disproportionate share of the felonies and violent crimes in essentially every community where they reside in large numbers. Not surprising, considering the illegitimacy rate, dropout rate, .... ".

You have not read any of the articles about what was happening in Ferguson or you would not spew such utter knee- jerk canned bullshit.



You continue to prove the causative link between ignorance and racism.



Yrs,
Rubato

[rubato]

Leaving aside the awful use of the English language:

Another favorite tactic of racists; when you cannot address the facts, change the subject. The ferguson police chief even used that one.


Address the facts. What was the recently resigned judge doing? What were the effects of his actions? What percentage of the municipal budget came from fines and court-ordered fees? What percentage would it be if the administration of justice was based on justice and not revenue enhancement? What is the effect on someone living in poverty or having to pay hundreds of dollars? What happens to them if they cannot pay before the fines multiply with late fees?




Yrs,
Rubato

[Lord Jim]

Another favorite tactic of racists; when you cannot address the facts, change the subject. The ferguson police chief even used that one.

The idea that Meade is a racist is almost as preposterous as the idea that you're an inventor....

[rubato]

Another favorite tactic of racists; when you cannot address the facts, change the subject. The ferguson police chief even used that one.

The idea that Meade is a racist is almost as preposterous as the idea that you're an inventor....

Start by looking up the facts about Ferguson. You ignorant moron.

Meade is as big a racist as you, or DGS. Cheap-shit tactics like changing the subject only work with stupid people, like you.

Go and read about how Ferguson was actually governed. And stop spewing hopeless crap.

I told you at the beginning to ask "why are they so angry"? You are still too stupid and too racist to answer it.

yrs,
rubato

[Lord Jim]

You hittin' the bottle again rube?

[Joe Guy]

Jim,

Don't change the subject. Instead you should call people names and tell them they are stupid.

yrs,

Tourette-ato

[rubato]

You hittin' the bottle again rube?

You hittin' the "ignore the facts" bottle again?

yes, that is what you are doing.

stop being an asshole and go read the facts. Moron. Why are they so angry?

Start with the facts, asshole.


yrs,
rubato

[Lord Jim]

Jim,

Don't change the subject. Instead you should call people names and tell them they are stupid.

yrs,

Tourette-ato

And racist...

[MajGenl.Meade]

Yeah I kinda noticed that. Must be a sad life.

[Lord Jim]

Buried deep in all the bile and disgusting smears, rube actually did have a legitimate point to make...

What he was too dense to realize is that he and Dave were talking past each other...

Dave was talking about the part of the report that dealt with differences between population numbers and arrest rates, (which by themselves don't really tell you anything conclusive; you have to look at a number of additional factors) while rube was referring to the portion of the report that revealed a fairly odious pattern of using court imposed fines and fees on poor people to raise a substantial percentage of the city budget...

The city of Ferguson accepted this, and the Mayor immediately announced a series of changes to curb this practice. You can argue that the changes haven't gone far enough, but no one involved in an authority position has denied that this was taking place, or tried to defend it.

But when you shit all over whatever legitimate points you may have with insults and smear attacks, (as rube does regularly, and did once again in this case) you should hardly be surprised when you don't see people wanting to respond to the points you made.

[Lord Jim]

Another thing rube doesn't understand, is that no one has any obligation to respond to him.

Meade made a perfectly legitimate point related to the general topic, (the point being, as I understand it, that black police officers killed in the line of duty are receiving nowhere near the kind of publicity or community out rage that has been given to cases like Michael Brown.)

But because he dared to not respond to rube's bile laced posts directed at Dave, and instead chose to make a different point, rube thought the appropriate thing to do was to attack him with a completely unprovoked smear, and call him a racist...

[MajGenl.Meade]

I thought he was upset because he couldn't figure out what was wrong with "Lives were killed"