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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Tuesday Evening Open Thread

Tuesday Evening Open Thread

by Anne Laurie|  August 19, 20145:07 pm| 172 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Assholes, Decline and Fall

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Missouri Republican Party executive director says voter registration is "disgusting." pic.twitter.com/5hwoHUT3mo

— Jamison Foser (@jamisonfoser) August 19, 2014

In an ever-changing world, you can always count on the Breitbrats to stay fiercely wedded to their founders’ vision.

Maybe it can be turned into a meme — Register and vote, because it pisses off all the “right” people!

***********
Apart from the ongoing decline of the empire, what’s on the agenda for the evening?

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Previous Post: « Afternoon Open Thread
Next Post: There are some who call her…Daisy »

Reader Interactions

172Comments

  1. 1.

    Southern Beale

    August 19, 2014 at 5:10 pm

    Apparently ISIS just beheaded an American photojournalist and has threatened a freelancer for TIME is next ….

    I know Ferguson MO is important but goddamn is there a reason we can’t cover more than one story at a time in this country?

  2. 2.

    aimai

    August 19, 2014 at 5:15 pm

    Thank god they are doing this. I have been praying that people would begin to register people to vote and turn this around.

  3. 3.

    jimmiraybob

    August 19, 2014 at 5:16 pm

    Oh my goodly didliness! Arming the populous with democracy. That is disgusting. And just miles from my survival bunker.

  4. 4.

    Trollhattan

    August 19, 2014 at 5:18 pm

    @Southern Beale:
    I’ve got just the topic to take our collective noses away from what’s ten inches from our faces.

    Can Earth’s and Society’s Systems Meet the Needs of 10 Billion People?

  5. 5.

    raven

    August 19, 2014 at 5:20 pm

    @Southern Beale: CNN’s website has had this as a headline for over 24 hours:

    The other side of the story

    Support grows for Darren Wilson

  6. 6.

    raven

    August 19, 2014 at 5:20 pm

    dupe

  7. 7.

    lamh36

    August 19, 2014 at 5:23 pm

    @Southern Beale: I’m assuming the news may actually be getting segments together before going on camera

  8. 8.

    Tone In DC

    August 19, 2014 at 5:24 pm

    Apparently ISIS just beheaded an American photojournalist and has threatened a freelancer for TIME is next ….

    I know Ferguson MO is important but goddamn is there a reason we can’t cover more than one story at a time in this country?

    Multitasking is a good thing. I figure most of us here can follow more than one storyline at a time.

    As for ISIS, whocouldaknowed that destroying a secular 2003 Iraq, filled with three or more factions that can’t stand each other, might lead to Islamic fundamentalists trying to fill the power vacuum?

  9. 9.

    raven

    August 19, 2014 at 5:25 pm

    @lamh36: I don’t know who WE are but it’s not on the Guardian or BBC?

  10. 10.

    kindness

    August 19, 2014 at 5:25 pm

    Corrected version:

    Missouri Republican Party executive director says voter registration for blacks is “disgusting.”

  11. 11.

    JPL

    August 19, 2014 at 5:26 pm

    Wow!. I would go door to door and use that statement.

  12. 12.

    Trollhattan

    August 19, 2014 at 5:27 pm

    Nobody sticks the landing quite like the Russians.

  13. 13.

    SpotWeld

    August 19, 2014 at 5:27 pm

    When a conservative wants to annoy a liberal, they outfit their truck with a device that smokes the nearby cars (also turning them into a rolling safety hazard).

    When a liberal wants to annoy a conservative, they register an under representative member of the population?

  14. 14.

    lamh36

    August 19, 2014 at 5:28 pm

    Attorney General Eric Holder posts op-ed for St Louis Dispatch.

    “Attorney General Holder says, ‘Our investigation into this matter will be full, it will be fair, and it will be independent.’

    http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/article_ea8b7358-67a3-5187-af8c-169567f27a0d.html#.U_O8xT4YIgc.twitter

  15. 15.

    Patrick

    August 19, 2014 at 5:28 pm

    @Tone In DC:

    As for ISIS, whocouldaknowed that destroying a secular 2003 Iraq, filled with three or more factions that can’t stand each other, might lead to Islamic fundamentalists trying to fill the power vacuum?

    Most of the world did, except for 2/3 of the American people and its leaders.

  16. 16.

    Southern Beale

    August 19, 2014 at 5:29 pm

    @raven:

    Well, you know .. two sides to every story! Sure the Klan looks bad but do you really know them?

  17. 17.

    JPL

    August 19, 2014 at 5:29 pm

    @Southern Beale: The network news tends to cover multiple issues. I’ll watch tonight and let you know.

  18. 18.

    scav

    August 19, 2014 at 5:32 pm

    So the messages today so far have basically been: “Shut up and do what the cops say. They’re the authorities.” “Stop rioting about it, It’s an inappropriate response.” “Don’t you dare register to vote. It’s a disgusting politicizing response.”

    as always, outreach.
    The non-politicizing tough on crime election ad visuals will be fascinating.

  19. 19.

    Patrick

    August 19, 2014 at 5:32 pm

    So Mr Wills from the GOP think it is disgusting that people are registering to vote. Does he instead prefer them to be looting?

    Furthermore, what could be more American than registering to vote? Isn’t that the very reason we fought the British (taxation without representation and all that)?

  20. 20.

    Iowa Old Lady

    August 19, 2014 at 5:32 pm

    Twitter re James Foley, the executed photojournalist. ISIS apparently posted a You Tube video of the execution. I’m sick.

    https://twitter.com/search?q=%22James%20Foley%22&src=tren

  21. 21.

    TaMara (BHF)

    August 19, 2014 at 5:36 pm

    Well, at least in my house, the parties can come together for a little fun time.

    Bixby is winning them over, one vote at a time.

  22. 22.

    CONGRATULATIONS!

    August 19, 2014 at 5:41 pm

    Furthermore, what could be more American than registering to vote? Isn’t that the very reason we fought the British (taxation without representation and all that)?

    @Patrick: THOSE PEOPLE don’t pay taxes, therefore they don’t deserve representation. Mitt Romney told me so.

  23. 23.

    celcus

    August 19, 2014 at 5:41 pm

    They’re standing up for the Constitution…they are only 3/5 of a real person and really shouldn’t be voting as if they were.

  24. 24.

    lamh36

    August 19, 2014 at 5:41 pm

    @Southern Beale: it seems from twitter there may be a concerted effort for a #ISISMediaBlackout at least for right now and until verification I gues

  25. 25.

    shortstop

    August 19, 2014 at 5:43 pm

    Get a load of this douchebag.

  26. 26.

    kc

    August 19, 2014 at 5:48 pm

    The last thing we need in the wake of tragedy is people exercising their right to vote. SHAMEFUL.

  27. 27.

    SatanicPanic

    August 19, 2014 at 5:48 pm

    @Patrick: We fought the British for low taxes and the right to own guns.

  28. 28.

    WereBear

    August 19, 2014 at 5:49 pm

    @TaMara (BHF): I can see the thought balloon over the cat’s head, He’s not that bad… he likes string.

  29. 29.

    lamh36

    August 19, 2014 at 5:49 pm

    what say the lawyers…

    @MarkJZinn
    #Ferguson office Darren Wilson will be given the opportunity to testify in front of the grand jury. (via @ABC)

  30. 30.

    Steeplejack

    August 19, 2014 at 5:49 pm

    @shortstop:

    Saw that earlier and didn’t have the stomach to get through the whole piece. Ugh.

    I’ve been lagging on staying current with the threads, and I wanted to say that I was sorry to hear about the third baseman’s health problems (and the others in the family). My healing thoughts to you and yours.

  31. 31.

    lamh36

    August 19, 2014 at 5:50 pm

    @Southern Beale: BTW, Seeing more and more MSM links on twitter

  32. 32.

    CONGRATULATIONS!

    August 19, 2014 at 5:51 pm

    Get a load of this douchebag.

    @shortstop: Jesus. Officer TinyDick makes a point, but it’s not the one he thinks he’s making.

    Police State America is here and looking forward to putting a boot on your face. Forever.

  33. 33.

    kc

    August 19, 2014 at 5:52 pm

    @shortstop:

    Even though it might sound harsh and impolitic, here is the bottom line: if you don’t want to get shot, tased, pepper-sprayed, struck with a baton or thrown to the ground, just do what I tell you

    Fuck that shit.

  34. 34.

    Bobby Thomson

    August 19, 2014 at 5:53 pm

    @Southern Beale: I wouldn’t want to give the Ferguson cops any ideas.

  35. 35.

    srv

    August 19, 2014 at 5:54 pm

    Of the two dozen states that rejected the Medicaid expansion, Florida will lose out on the most federal health care money for the poor, according to two nonprofit policy research groups that support the Affordable Care Act.

    A joint report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute projects that, over the next 10 years, the state will leave $66.1 billion in Medicaid funding on the table by not approving the expansion included in the Affordable Care Act to cover individuals with income up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level.

    That will mean more than 1 million uninsured state residents will not qualify for healthcare coverage, the report said.

    Over the next decade, Florida’s hospitals will miss out on $22.6 billion in federal reimbursements, the report projected. During that 10-year time span, a combined $423.6 billion in federal monies will not flow to the two dozen states that declined the expansion.

    For individual states, Texas was second to Florida at $65.6 billion.

    So won’t these states become more habitable sooner if all the olds die quicker?

  36. 36.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    August 19, 2014 at 5:55 pm

    @shortstop: @kc: I wonder what his superiors at the LAPD, and in the mayor’s office, think of this helpful addition to our national dialogue.

  37. 37.

    Hal

    August 19, 2014 at 5:56 pm

    @shortstop: Wow.

    Even though it might sound harsh and impolitic, here is the bottom line: if you don’t want to get shot, tased, pepper-sprayed, struck with a baton or thrown to the ground, just do what I tell you. Don’t argue with me, don’t call me names, don’t tell me that I can’t stop you, don’t say I’m a racist pig, don’t threaten that you’ll sue me and take away my badge. Don’t scream at me that you pay my salary, and don’t even think of aggressively walking towards me. Most field stops are complete in minutes. How difficult is it to cooperate for that long?

    The LAPD is one of the worst police departments in the country, all sorts of racial profiling and police brutality complaints, but hey; just cooperate and everything will be fine, ok? Dutta says nothing about probable cause, nothing about basic rights. He seems to think the police are over lords and can do whatever they want.

  38. 38.

    Mnemosyne

    August 19, 2014 at 5:56 pm

    @kc:

    Even though it might sound harsh and impolitic, here is the bottom line: if you don’t want to get shot, tased, pepper-sprayed, struck with a baton or thrown to the ground, just do what I tell you.

    And if you’re mentally ill, or in diabetic shock, or have a head injury from a car accident and can’t obey my orders, well, have a nice funeral.

  39. 39.

    TooManyJens

    August 19, 2014 at 5:57 pm

    Elon and a few other folks had a harrowing night yesterday, as they reported on police tear gassing a quiet residential neighborhood:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA4IT-rGNDg

    He’ll be on Chris Hayes’ show tonight. (edit: nope, just got bumped)

  40. 40.

    SatanicPanic

    August 19, 2014 at 5:58 pm

    @srv: Medicaid

  41. 41.

    Trollhattan

    August 19, 2014 at 5:58 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: The mayor, at least, will not be pleased.

  42. 42.

    Mnemosyne

    August 19, 2014 at 5:59 pm

    @Hal:

    LAPD shot another mentally ill person last week. But, hey, he didn’t obey the officer’s orders, so he deserved to die, amirite?

  43. 43.

    scav

    August 19, 2014 at 5:59 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Let us not forget his stated employers at Colorado Tech University where he is inculcating his superior view into the next generation of security officers.

  44. 44.

    JPL

    August 19, 2014 at 6:00 pm

    @lamh36: Will he testify before or after they show the video of the convenience store. I don’t know if that is common or not but I did read the prosecutor didn’t have to show the video.

  45. 45.

    Bobby Thomson

    August 19, 2014 at 6:00 pm

    @Hal: No. If you actually read the piece, he says that if your rights have been violated, you should sue afterward but not challenge the cop during the field stop. That’s a position people can disagree with, but be honest about his position.

  46. 46.

    max

    August 19, 2014 at 6:01 pm

    Register and vote, because it pisses off all the “right” people!

    Good. I think, “Get back at the police & the racists; register to vote and then TURN OUT. They HATE that,” might be better.

    (Because you gotta be specific who you’re gettin’ back at. Also, ‘If you can go out and throw rocks in the street, you can register to vote and really stick it to them.’)

    max
    [‘Who is running the registration drive among the protestors?’]

  47. 47.

    scav

    August 19, 2014 at 6:01 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Come on! Shooting people is just an ordinary part of a cop’s job, right? Objecting to it makes cops afraid to do their jobs.

  48. 48.

    Patrick

    August 19, 2014 at 6:05 pm

    @Bobby Thomson:

    The problem is that there is systematic profiling in Ferguson where they consistently stop blacks, but not white.

    Sue afterwards? How would you or this cop feel if they were blacks living in this type of environment where they completely are on their own and the cops are not on your side. Some cops should not be cops.

  49. 49.

    skerry

    August 19, 2014 at 6:06 pm

    Rick Perry just turned himself in. I’m waiting for the mug shot.

  50. 50.

    scav

    August 19, 2014 at 6:10 pm

    @Patrick: Because, the obvious and easy response of the impoverished to the badged guys constantly pulling them over when not shooting them involves a long expensive legal battle.
    What a white man.

  51. 51.

    KG

    August 19, 2014 at 6:12 pm

    @Hal: it gets even better, a couple of paragraphs after saying that, he says this:

    And you don’t have to submit to an illegal stop or search. You can refuse consent to search your car or home if there’s no warrant (though a pat-down is still allowed if there is cause for suspicion). Always ask the officer whether you are under detention or are free to leave. Unless the officer has a legal basis to stop and search you, he or she must let you go. Finally, cops are legally prohibited from using excessive force: The moment a suspect submits and stops resisting, the officers must cease use of force.

    There seems to be a disconnect between “respect mah authoratah” and this part.

    I have a theory about cops and prosecutors, having known more than a few over the years. When you work a job like these where you are often facing bad things and bad people (domestic violence calls, drug dealers, shootings, etc), your view of people is bound to be less than charitable. I get that, it’s human nature. But, we’ve also always been told that respect is a two way street: you have to give it to get it. And one way to make sure you don’t get it is by treating everyone as a suspect and otherwise being an asshole. Sadly, that’s the default for a lot of these guys and it only serves to antagonize people.

  52. 52.

    El Caganer

    August 19, 2014 at 6:16 pm

    @skerry: He turned himself in? So no derp…uh, perp walk.

  53. 53.

    KG

    August 19, 2014 at 6:17 pm

    @scav: this is something of a failure on the part of groups like the ACLU and the NAACP. And it need not be filing a law suit (although I suspect that would probably help the situation). Part of it has to be advocacy on the policy side at a grassroots level. That’s the heavy lifting that needs to be done.

  54. 54.

    shelley

    August 19, 2014 at 6:18 pm

    Finally going thru and tossing most of my VHS tapes. After seeing that most of my favorites are online and accepting that my last way of viewing tapes is a 15 year old TV with a tape player in the base; and which I lost the remote to a while ago…….it’s time. Too bad I can’t donate them.

  55. 55.

    Betty Cracker

    August 19, 2014 at 6:19 pm

    @srv:

    So won’t these states become more habitable sooner if all the olds die quicker?

    Can’t speak for Texas, but the olds actually improve the political climate in Florida rather than making it worse. If not for colonies of olds (and immigrants too), we’d be Alabama.

  56. 56.

    Trollhattan

    August 19, 2014 at 6:19 pm

    @KG:
    Does he cite the “Ro Sham Bo” clause?

  57. 57.

    Mnemosyne

    August 19, 2014 at 6:19 pm

    @Bobby Thomson:

    As I keep saying, my problem with that mindset is what inevitably happens when that cop encounters someone who, for whatever reason, is incapable of behaving the way the cop expects them to (i.e. obeying orders and complying with commands). That writer needs to tell the family of the mentally ill guy who was just killed by LAPD that he should have quietly gone along with what the cops told him to do and then filed a lawsuit later.

    (Edited for pronoun clarity)

    @KG:

    I have a theory (which is not always viable) that Highway Patrol and State Police tend to have fewer problems with abusive behavior than other types of cops because part of their job is to do things like help stranded motorists. They have more frequent “normal” interactions with citizens, so (IMO only) they’re less likely to automatically assume that everyone they encounter is a bad actor.

    (When I had this discussion with my spouse, he pointed out that Highway Patrol/State Police type of cops are more likely to encounter people who are happy to see them because they’ve gotten a flat/gotten into a minor accident/etc. and need assistance. No one is ever happy to see an LAPD officer.)

  58. 58.

    Hal

    August 19, 2014 at 6:19 pm

    @Bobby Thomson:

    No. If you actually read the piece, he says that if your rights have been violated, you should sue afterward but not challenge the cop during the field stop. That’s a position people can disagree with, but be honest about his position.

    You must be white. I did read the article. As others have said, he mentions suing the police, go for it! He talks about how you do not have to submit to a search without probable cause. You can say no. But he makes no mention of illegal searches that happen ever day. He makes no mention of racial profiling. He says people in the community deserve respect, but so do the police. But no talk of people in communities of color constantly mentioning casual brutality and racism they experience. Casually saying someone can just turn down and search and walk away is great in theory, but in practice I find it hard to believe most people, especially minorities, would be allowed to just walk away freely.

  59. 59.

    Trollhattan

    August 19, 2014 at 6:20 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    And low-mileage used Buicks. Don’t forget the Buicks.

  60. 60.

    MattF

    August 19, 2014 at 6:23 pm

    …and the whole thing about ‘injecting race into the conversation.’ Who would ever do that? Certainly no Republican. No, no, no.

  61. 61.

    CONGRATULATIONS!

    August 19, 2014 at 6:25 pm

    No. If you actually read the piece, he says that if your rights have been violated, you should sue afterward but not challenge the cop during the field stop. That’s a position people can disagree with, but be honest about his position.

    @Bobby Thomson: Police are de facto, if not in some jurisdictions de jure, immune from lawsuits, so that advice from Office Roidrage is not exactly helpful.

    I agree that you’d best do what a cop says during a stop these days, because they’ve all gone to the same training academy that seems to have as their motto “shoot first and ask no questions”, but that’s a practical response to a horrific overreach of police powers in this nation. The reality of the situation is this: according to the law, I don’t have to do jack shit if a cop tells me to do something and I am not doing something wrong. I can ignore his gibbering ass and walk away. That things have come to this, where a cop feels it perfectly appropriate to write an article for national distribution warning citizens to obey or die, is sickening beyond belief. That it comes from an LAPD cop is the cherry on the cake.

    Darryl Gates never died. He’s alive and well and healthier than ever.

  62. 62.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    August 19, 2014 at 6:27 pm

    @MattF: Delusional future FoxNews weekend host and O’Reiilly sub when Laura Ingram goes in for fang sharpening Paul Ryan thinks we need to let the police do their job and not insert a “personal political agenda“. Okay. But I wanna know whose agenda he’s talking about. C’mon, Sweet Paulie Blue Eyes. Name names, back it up.

  63. 63.

    Culture of Truth

    August 19, 2014 at 6:30 pm

    Registering to vote is horrible. The only legitimate form of protest is threatening to murder someone.

    If this cop thinks he can avoid an indictment, he may want to testify. If he can’t his lawyer may advise him not to, since he will be under oath and his version of events will be on the record.

    He’ll have more credibility with the GJ than your average crook, but it’s a bit of a risk.

  64. 64.

    kc

    August 19, 2014 at 6:34 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    @shortstop: @kc: I wonder what his superiors at the LAPD, and in the mayor’s office, think of this helpful addition to our national dialogue.

    They can’t be too thrilled.

  65. 65.

    scav

    August 19, 2014 at 6:35 pm

    @KG: Well, see earlier above official howling about registering these same to vote, presumably as a slightly different means to a similar end of govt and police accountability to the community as a whole. ACLU and NAACP? Outside agitators! If it was easy, it would already be done. A universal rule of shutting up and doing what the nice copper says is a Hallmark afternoon special suggestion that won’t accomplish much either, especially in the real world application of ooooo homeland security mindset Strikes me somewhat along the line of a garbage man / sanitation engineer instructing everyone to throw everything out early enough so it never attracts flies and the hour long lecture from the doctor complaining about how you only show up at his office when you’re sick. Modicum of truth surrounded by a squishy covering of why aren’t you making my job as easy and as comfortable as I want.

  66. 66.

    kc

    August 19, 2014 at 6:36 pm

    @JPL:

    I don’t know why they’d show that video at all in a grand jury proceeding.

  67. 67.

    FromFlorissant

    August 19, 2014 at 6:37 pm

    @TooManyJens:
    So glad you linked to this. That being my old stomping grounds, I have been following the live feeds (Argus, Mike Pool of Vice News and others) obsessively from the first day. It is way more horrifying viewing from that angle than the MSM is presenting. I am finding it harder and then some to believe those in charge are truly trying to tamp down the unrest.

  68. 68.

    Goblue72

    August 19, 2014 at 6:38 pm

    @shortstop: That’s gotta be an Onion article, right? Seriously.

  69. 69.

    KG

    August 19, 2014 at 6:38 pm

    @Mnemosyne: there’s definitely some truth to that with respect to Highway Patrol.

    also, there tends to be a difference between cops in urban areas vs the suburbs and the exurbs. It’s 35 miles (give or take) from DTLA to Disneyland, but a world of difference when it comes to an ordinary interaction with police.

  70. 70.

    John N

    August 19, 2014 at 6:40 pm

    The surest sign in life that you’re doing the right thing is when a conservative republican calls you disgusting for doing it!

    I wish liberals loved pissing off conservatives even half as much as conservatives love pissing off liberals. We could be sending them into stroke-inducing fits of rage every day, if we wanted to. I want to. When a conservative republican is outraged, I am happy, because I know that whatever they’re mad about is something that made the world a little more just for someone else.

  71. 71.

    lamh36

    August 19, 2014 at 6:41 pm

    Rick Perry’s mugshot…let the memes begin

    https://twitter.com/evanasmith/status/501860460510339072

  72. 72.

    Goblue72

    August 19, 2014 at 6:42 pm

    @Hal: Don’t make assumptions about BJ commenters race or the BJ police will come after you for bring a jerk face.

    But seriously – that LAPD cop is telling you what anyone who is paying attention knows – there’s two justice systems in this country – one for whites, and one for blacks. But Lady Justice only wears a blindfold in one of them.

  73. 73.

    Citizen_X

    August 19, 2014 at 6:46 pm

    @Hal: The shorter is the old traditional: Nobody moves, nobody gets hurt.

  74. 74.

    KG

    August 19, 2014 at 6:46 pm

    @scav: we’re on the same side on this. and there was an interesting read somewhere yesterday (I forget if I saw it here or maybe at LGF) about how the Missouri felon voting laws have effectively disenfranchised a lot of voters in Ferguson. my point was that getting people active in the political process, particularly at the local level is incredibly important if we want to see the situation improve. because you either fight to make the system better or you fight the system… and I’d rather not see a second American Civil War.

  75. 75.

    Goblue72

    August 19, 2014 at 6:48 pm

    @Iowa Old Lady: Daniel Pearl says hello. And that we’ve been here before – http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Pearl

    Ever wider does the gyre turn.

  76. 76.

    KG

    August 19, 2014 at 6:49 pm

    @John N:

    We could be sending them into stroke-inducing fits of rage every day, if we wanted to.

    but just doing what you’re doing (you know, existing) is enough to do that. it’s no fun if you don’t even have to try.

  77. 77.

    SatanicPanic

    August 19, 2014 at 6:49 pm

    @lamh36: no one’s posed that hard for a mugshot since Mel Gibson

  78. 78.

    Roger Moore

    August 19, 2014 at 6:50 pm

    @SatanicPanic:

    We fought the British for low taxes and the right to own guns blacks.

    The real reason registering Those People to vote is so terrible.

  79. 79.

    Roger Moore

    August 19, 2014 at 6:52 pm

    @srv:

    So won’t these states become more habitable sooner if all the olds die quicker?

    But the olds already have Medicare, so it’s mostly working age people who will be dying from lack of medical care.

  80. 80.

    Mayken

    August 19, 2014 at 6:52 pm

    @KG: Well, the tourist thing has quite a bit to do with that as well. IOW, money matters.

  81. 81.

    Goblue72

    August 19, 2014 at 6:52 pm

    @CONGRATULATIONS!: We live in a developing police state. But even in a police state, a lot of citizens – collaborators – think its a-ok, as long as they are on the right team.

  82. 82.

    scav

    August 19, 2014 at 6:52 pm

    @KG: et al. I sometimes just link to a comment to continue the thought, polish a slightly different facet, not to disagree with it. Am I incorrect in this? I thought of it as a way to dribble the conversational ball further down the field.

  83. 83.

    lamh36

    August 19, 2014 at 6:53 pm

    @SatanicPanic: Well, let’s not forget Tom Delay…

  84. 84.

    Origuy

    August 19, 2014 at 6:53 pm

    @scav:

    What a white man.

    Especially considering that he’s from India.

  85. 85.

    Bubblegum Tate

    August 19, 2014 at 6:54 pm

    @scav:

    as always, outreach.

    Here’s the outreach my favorite wingnut has offered:

    “They are rioting under the flag of “protesting” the alleged bias against black people, while firmly establishing a pretty strong argument for being biased against black people.”

    I particularly enjoy the “It’s all your fault, black people! You’re FORCING me to be racist!” angle.

  86. 86.

    Baud

    August 19, 2014 at 6:54 pm

    @KG:

    We could be sending them into stroke-inducing fits of rage every day, if we wanted to.

    but just doing what you’re doing (you know, existing) is enough to do that. it’s no fun if you don’t even have to try.

    It’s fun for me.

  87. 87.

    scav

    August 19, 2014 at 6:57 pm

    @Origuy: See also Zimmerman.

  88. 88.

    SatanicPanic

    August 19, 2014 at 6:58 pm

    @Roger Moore: Absolutely. I was just trying to parody right wingers, I don’t think they’d admit that slavery was something the Holy Founders had any interest in fighting for. They won’t even admit the South did that

  89. 89.

    KG

    August 19, 2014 at 6:59 pm

    @Mayken: I grew up in Orange County, spent a lot of time in Anaheim outside the Disneyland area, the areas you won’t see on post cards. outside of the touristy parts of Anaheim the cops are still a lot better to deal with then LAPD – even in the touristy areas of the LAPD’s jurisdiction.

    @scav: there’s nothing wrong with how you’re linking to comments. agreeing, disagreeing, or just generally commenting all work. some times somebody will see a response as a disagreement rather than just a further comment, it’s just a matter of interpreting the tone of the writing. our intended tone isn’t always caught.

  90. 90.

    maurinsky

    August 19, 2014 at 6:59 pm

    I guess if this is how cops are trained to think, it’s no wonder that there are a higher percentage of domestic abusers on the police force than in other lines of work. Don’t make me hurt you!

  91. 91.

    Keith G

    August 19, 2014 at 7:00 pm

    Not to let a chance for fundraising to pass by, Battleground Texas just send me a donation request with my governor’s mug shot prominently featured. Good for them. Still, I am not sure that I like the continual push to criminalize political disagreements.

  92. 92.

    Original Lee

    August 19, 2014 at 7:01 pm

    Well, isn’t this just dandy. The governor of Iowa has just reclassified the chief administrative law judge as an at-will employee. Over 300 state employees have been reclassified this way over the last few years.

    So much for judicial independence!

  93. 93.

    lamh36

    August 19, 2014 at 7:06 pm

    Time to brace ourselves… Holder will be in Ferguson tomorrow.

    We already know that the Federal autopsy happened yesterday, and they already have results and Holder has been briefed…let that sink in, the DOJ already has autopys done and yet we STILL don’t know what was in STL county autopsy!

    Add to that the report that Wilson will be allowed to testify at Grand Jury tomorrow and tell me this doesn’t stink to high heaven.

    oh and this:

    “@PresReed
    Prosecutor Bob McCulloch says he will recuse himself if ordered by Governor. #MikeBrown #Ferguson.”

    https://twitter.com/PresReed/status/501851082302439425

    I’ve never been so happy to have to go back to work. I’ve been sick for two days.

  94. 94.

    Elizabelle

    August 19, 2014 at 7:06 pm

    @lamh36:

    Perry’s a handsome man. He should have been a soap opera hero, instead of turning his talents, such as they are, to politickin’.

    Our former governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia’s in the defense portion of his corruption trial this week. Vaguely handsome dude as well. But into transvaginal ultrasounds for his lady constituents. Not good.

    Texas and Virginia. Vying for supremacy in executed inmates and indicted (but photogenic!) guvs. ETA: And none of that libtard expanded Medicaid, or healthcare exchanges.

    [Reaches for cocktail.]

  95. 95.

    Roger Moore

    August 19, 2014 at 7:07 pm

    @KG:

    There seems to be a disconnect between “respect mah authoratah” and this part.

    I think the disconnect is that they’ve lost the distinction between resisting and failing to cooperate. Questioning them, demanding to know if you’re under arrest, refusing a search without a warrant, etc. are all forms of non-cooperation, but they aren’t actual resistance. Resistance would involve violence or flight, not just failure to comply as quickly as the cop wants. A lot of the excessive use of force complaints seem to be about the police treating failure to cooperate as resistance, and the distinction needs to be hammered home in training.

  96. 96.

    Betty Cracker

    August 19, 2014 at 7:08 pm

    @Elizabelle: Perry is too dumb to remember the lines.

  97. 97.

    lamh36

    August 19, 2014 at 7:11 pm

    @Betty Cracker: how dare you Betty, he’s got his “smart guy” glasses, and like Superman, he’s becomes even smarter when he wears them

  98. 98.

    srv

    August 19, 2014 at 7:12 pm

    King Obama

    To Democrats in Congress who have worked with Mr. Obama, the indifference conveyed to Mr. Reid, one of the president’s most indispensable supporters, was frustratingly familiar. In one sense, Mr. Obama’s response was a reminder of what made him such an appealing figure in the first place: his almost innate aversion to the partisan squabbles that have left Americans so jaded and disgruntled with their political system. But nearly six years into his term, with his popularity at the lowest of his presidency, Mr. Obama appears remarkably distant from his own party on Capitol Hill, with his long neglect of would-be allies catching up to him.

    In interviews, nearly two dozen Democratic lawmakers and senior congressional aides suggested that Mr. Obama’s approach has left him with few loyalists to effectively manage the issues erupting abroad and at home and could imperil his efforts to leave a legacy in his final stretch in office.
    …
    Asked to characterize his relationship with the president, Mr. Manchin, a centrist Democrat who has often been a bridge builder in the Senate, said: “It’s fairly nonexistent. There’s not much of a relationship.”
    …
    If there was an opportunity amid the Washington paralysis for Mr. Obama to build relationships, it might have been during his frequent golf games. But only twice in more than 180 rounds has the president invited members of Congress to play with him, and only one Democratic official — Senator Mark Udall of Colorado — has joined a presidential foursome.

  99. 99.

    SatanicPanic

    August 19, 2014 at 7:15 pm

    @lamh36: I did forget about that one. Tom looks almost giddy in that photo. WTF?

  100. 100.

    Steeplejack

    August 19, 2014 at 7:16 pm

    @lamh36:

    Gee, no Brainiac glasses. Too bad.

  101. 101.

    Elizabelle

    August 19, 2014 at 7:16 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    And for that reason, he is governor of one of our largest states. *sigh*

    Rick Perry. Proof positive that Ronald Reagan WAS smarter than you think.

  102. 102.

    Elizabelle

    August 19, 2014 at 7:18 pm

    @srv:

    I’ve been avoiding reading that article.

    They pretty much run it monthly, don’t they?

  103. 103.

    Jeff

    August 19, 2014 at 7:19 pm

    Don’t mourn. Organize.

  104. 104.

    JPL

    August 19, 2014 at 7:22 pm

    @kc: I read that it was up to the prosecutor.

  105. 105.

    srv

    August 19, 2014 at 7:25 pm

    @Elizabelle: I just don’t understand how you play 178 rounds in DC without hitting a Congressman.

  106. 106.

    Davis X. Machina

    August 19, 2014 at 7:28 pm

    @srv: That’s Joe “Nighthorse” Manchin….

  107. 107.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 19, 2014 at 7:28 pm

    @JPL: No prosecutor would show the tape to a grand jury.

  108. 108.

    Suffern ACE

    August 19, 2014 at 7:34 pm

    @srv: who does he golf with?

  109. 109.

    Villago Delenda Est

    August 19, 2014 at 7:35 pm

    @Goblue72: Actually, there are three.

    One for whites of the 1%

    One for whites of the 99%

    One for people of color, regardless of their wealth, because, well, reasons.

  110. 110.

    Baud

    August 19, 2014 at 7:37 pm

    @srv:

    In interviews, nearly two dozen Democratic lawmakers and senior congressional aides

    In other words, two conservative Democrats and about 11 members of each of their staffs.

  111. 111.

    Roger Moore

    August 19, 2014 at 7:39 pm

    @srv:

    I just don’t understand how you play 178 rounds in DC without hitting a Congressman.

    You have the Secret Service making sure that nobody from outside your foursome gets anywhere close to you.

  112. 112.

    shortstop

    August 19, 2014 at 7:39 pm

    @Steeplejack: Thanks for the kind words…much appreciated.

  113. 113.

    JPL

    August 19, 2014 at 7:41 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): Wouldn’t it depend on the prosecutor’s intentions. It was a talking head on CNN who mentioned it.

  114. 114.

    srv

    August 19, 2014 at 7:41 pm

    @Suffern ACE: Wall St. guys, George Soros, Larry David.

  115. 115.

    Villago Delenda Est

    August 19, 2014 at 7:42 pm

    @Baud: I do believe the three reporters bylined for that article were operating from the GOP playbook, in that they had a conclusion drawn up before they went out to confirm it, and were very careful to target specific lawmakers (like Manchin) for their story.

    If the vast majority of Dems have a different experience, well, we’re ignoring that because we’ve got our narrative.

  116. 116.

    Bill Arnold

    August 19, 2014 at 7:43 pm

    @Original Lee:

    The governor of Iowa has just reclassified the chief administrative law judge as an at-will employee.

    One wonders what the position of the Republicans will be on this when there is a Democratic governor.

  117. 117.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 19, 2014 at 7:50 pm

    @JPL: Well, I don’t think that a prosecutor is going to go into a grand jury in order to not get an indictment.

  118. 118.

    Howard Beale IV

    August 19, 2014 at 7:50 pm

    @skerry: Ask and ye shall receive:

  119. 119.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    August 19, 2014 at 7:53 pm

    I caught the tail end of a BookTV event with Christopher Buckley, who was asked if he stood by his vote/endorsement of Obama in ’08, he did, made some conservative but not crazy observations, and then got back to this chestnut about “aloofness”. He was shocked, was the Buckley heir, that Obama had recently played a round of gold with Mike Bloomberg and didn’t ask him one question about governance. Not one. I wished I could’ve been there to point out that the fact that he, Buckley, knew this was a sign that Obama had made the right decision, also, too, that Obama is not running a media conglomerate, so why the fuck would he ask Bloomberg for advice?

  120. 120.

    Hal

    August 19, 2014 at 7:53 pm

    @srv: This is why so many people hate Congress. The constant excuses as to why they can’t get anything done. Republicans won’t even do a basic job like confirming Ambassadors to out over seas embassies, or federal judgeship’s. Harry Reid is pissed that Obama didn’t go all in on McConnell during a discussion on Iraq, but he won’t completely do away with the filibuster. The President’s job should not be to baby sit grown ass men and women, many of whom are millionaires and are making at least a 174 grand a year.

  121. 121.

    burnspbesq

    August 19, 2014 at 7:54 pm

    @KG:

    It’s 35 miles (give or take) from DTLA to Disneyland, but a world of difference when it comes to an ordinary interaction with police.

    If you’re looking for cops without attitude, Anaheim is absolutely the wrong place to look. Santa Ana and Garden Grove are no better. Stay on the 5 until at least Tustin, or maybe Irvine.

  122. 122.

    Jebediah, RBG

    August 19, 2014 at 7:56 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Paul Ryan thinks we need to let the police do their job and not insert a “personal political agenda“.

    Lil’ Paulie should shut the fuck up, since the police “doing their job” is what created, and has exacerbated at almost every turn, the god damn problem.

  123. 123.

    gogol's wife

    August 19, 2014 at 7:58 pm

    @lamh36:

    Mount Rushmore-ready!

  124. 124.

    Citizen_X

    August 19, 2014 at 8:00 pm

    @Baud:

    In other words, two Joe Manchin, another conservative Democrats and about 11 members of each of their staffs.

    Fixtified.

  125. 125.

    TerryC

    August 19, 2014 at 8:02 pm

    @Tone In DC: Me.

  126. 126.

    lamh36

    August 19, 2014 at 8:05 pm

    Is Jay Nixon up for re-election? If so, you can best believe there better be an alternative, cause the Black folk for him…is gone.

    @GovJayNixon, sitting next to me, says he won’t ask McCulloch to recuse right now unless McC asks first. #Ferguson
    https://twitter.com/OldSport/status/501863788216586240

  127. 127.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 19, 2014 at 8:06 pm

    @efgoldman: Okay, let’s assume that the the prosecutors want Wilson to walk…. And I have seen no evidence supporting that. Tanking the case at the grand jury is pretty much guaranteed to blow up in their faces. The prosecution has several eyewitnesses whose stories are consistent. The autopsy results released by the family (probably matching the official one) support the story told by the eyewitnesses. It should be a slam dunk for at least a murder 2 indictment. Messing it up would be too obvious.

  128. 128.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    August 19, 2014 at 8:06 pm

    From the be-batted belfries of NewsMax, this

    Ben Carson Challenges Sharpton to Debate

    I think might actually be fun to watch. I think Sharpton’s at his best debating someone, especially a crank who apparently thinks he might be president someday

  129. 129.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    August 19, 2014 at 8:08 pm

    @lamh36: term limited and I suspect destined for whatever grassy pastures St Louis and/or Kansas City have to offer. He reportedly dreamed of being the next DLC Dem nominee, not realizing that several pages have turned since 1992

  130. 130.

    Roger Moore

    August 19, 2014 at 8:14 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):

    Well, I don’t think that a prosecutor is going to go into a grand jury in order to not get an indictment.

    You’re more optimistic than I am. I can imagine a prosecutor tanking a case to the grand jury if they don’t want to prosecute but feel political pressure. Then they can say that they tried to make the case but the grand jury refused to indict. See, it’s not their fault!

  131. 131.

    Goblue72

    August 19, 2014 at 8:15 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est: Sho nuf.

  132. 132.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 19, 2014 at 8:18 pm

    @Roger Moore: Tanking the case at the grand jury level would pretty much ensure that the feds will be crawling up everyone’s asses in the county for a long time to come. The prosecutor has to be smart enough to know that.

  133. 133.

    srv

    August 19, 2014 at 8:24 pm

    @Hal: If you want to be President, you have to put in time at the Day Care.

  134. 134.

    El Caganer

    August 19, 2014 at 8:26 pm

    @Keith G: There’s a precedent, although it’s a hundred years old, involving a governor named….Ferguson.

  135. 135.

    El Caganer

    August 19, 2014 at 8:34 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: What’s the deal with surgeons, anyway? Dr. Carson is one of the top neurosurgeons in the world and spews wingnut horseshit; Dr. Oz is an excellent heart surgeon who peddles New Age woo. Does one have to be insane and/or a serious grifter to be a talented surgeon?

  136. 136.

    Villago Delenda Est

    August 19, 2014 at 8:37 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Exqueeze me, Obama is supposed to be talking shop with Bloomberg while golfing? I mean, I realize golf is often used to close a deal, or set one up, but Obama may just view it as (I know this is very hard for some to accept) recreation.

  137. 137.

    Mnemosyne

    August 19, 2014 at 8:38 pm

    @srv:

    Just out of curiosity, when Democrats were in charge of the House, did Republicans go running to W to beg him to make Nancy Pelosi behave herself?

  138. 138.

    kc

    August 19, 2014 at 8:40 pm

    @JPL:

    Yeah, I guess the prosecutor can introduce whatever he wants. I just don’t know why a prosecutor would introduce that video, certainly not at the grand jury stage, if he’s trying to get an indictment.

    I’m not a criminal lawyer though, of course, so maybe there’d be some reason I’m not aware of.

  139. 139.

    Villago Delenda Est

    August 19, 2014 at 8:40 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Sharpton will eat Carson alive.

  140. 140.

    kc

    August 19, 2014 at 8:41 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Whatever you think of Al Sharpton, he’d mop the floor with Ben Carson in a debate.

  141. 141.

    kc

    August 19, 2014 at 8:42 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):

    Could the prosecutor indict WITHOUT going to the grand jury, do you know?

  142. 142.

    rikyrah

    August 19, 2014 at 8:45 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):
    You tickle me. What makes you think that he is going to call any of the witnesses that have come forward?

  143. 143.

    rikyrah

    August 19, 2014 at 8:46 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Carson does not understand. Never mess with a Black man who wears a perm in 2014. Your feelings are bound to be hurt.

  144. 144.

    waspuppet

    August 19, 2014 at 8:48 pm

    Hmm. Matt Wills seems to assume that anyone who registers to vote in these circumstances is going to vote Democratic.

    I wonder why he thinks that. It’d be nice if someone asked him.

  145. 145.

    skerry

    August 19, 2014 at 8:50 pm

    @Howard Beale IV: I was hoping for the glasses and a Tom Delay-like smile.

  146. 146.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 19, 2014 at 8:51 pm

    @kc: At the state level, it is frequently possible to file a criminal information and then have a preliminary hearing to assess probable cause. I don’t know MO criminal procedure so I don’t know the specifics there. OTOH the prosecutor is going with a grand jury so it really doesn’t matter.

  147. 147.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 19, 2014 at 8:56 pm

    @rikyrah: I think they will go for an indictment. I think they will get one.

  148. 148.

    Svensker

    August 19, 2014 at 9:02 pm

    @shelley:

    Too bad I can’t donate them.

    Places like Sally Ann and Goodwill are usually eager for VHS tapes. Sell like hotcakes.

  149. 149.

    Chris T.

    August 19, 2014 at 9:23 pm

    @efgoldman: Yes to all that, but also (not necessarily 4th place but I just put it in your sequence), (4), surgeons need not be very smart; the essence of surgical skill is precise hand movement control, the ability to visualize structures in 3 dimensions, and the ability to distinguish between different tissue types during the surgery. (Bodies do not come color-coded or labeled like a Gray’s Anatomy drawing. It’s really hard to tell a nerve fiber from some other less-important bit.)

    In other words, being ignorant and narrow-minded is no bar to being a great surgeon.

  150. 150.

    kc

    August 19, 2014 at 9:26 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):

    Thanks. Was wondering if the grand jury was a way for him to pass the buck.

  151. 151.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    August 19, 2014 at 9:38 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): Indeed that would be a result of a tank at the grand jury. However, I’m not at all certain the DOJ won’t be crawling up county asses in any event, given the scope of this clusterfuck.

  152. 152.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 19, 2014 at 9:46 pm

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): Yeah, that is probably true. From the County Prosecutor’s POV, I would say that pursuing this case vigorously and well deflect some of the attention from his office and onto others. Plus, all it requires is that the attorneys in his office just do their jobs.

  153. 153.

    Mnemosyne

    August 19, 2014 at 9:47 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):

    Plus, all it requires is that the attorneys in his office just do their jobs.

    As we’ve seen over the past week or so, our definition of what those attorneys’ jobs should be could be wildly different from what they see their job being.

  154. 154.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 19, 2014 at 9:51 pm

    @Mnemosyne

    : As we’ve seen over the past week or so, our definition of what those attorneys’ jobs should be could be wildly different from what they see their job being.

    In what way?

  155. 155.

    SiubhanDuinne

    August 19, 2014 at 9:52 pm

    @Hal:

    That just makes me want to throw up. My god.

  156. 156.

    Mnemosyne

    August 19, 2014 at 9:53 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):

    They could potentially see their job as protecting the police rather than seeking justice for Michael Brown.

  157. 157.

    Shortstop

    August 19, 2014 at 9:55 pm

    @rikyrah: Black men who market themselves directly to ignorant white racists always think they’re smarter than normal black people. I’d really like to see that debate.

  158. 158.

    SiubhanDuinne

    August 19, 2014 at 9:57 pm

    @shortstop:

    Working the street, I can’t even count how many times I withstood curses, screaming tantrums, aggressive and menacing encroachments on my safety zone, and outright challenges to my AUTHORITEH.

    Aww, poor baby. My heart, it fuckin bleeds.

  159. 159.

    Hal

    August 19, 2014 at 9:58 pm

    Ben Carson is only running for President because people keep asking him, ok? He’s the perfect black conservative, saying what his mostly older white audience loves to hear. Black people are brainwashed and dependent on government, so that’s why they vote Democrat. But wait, wasn’t Carson’s mother on Welfare?

    No doubt, Mother Carson deserves tremendous credit, but — in the words of a political sound bite from the last presidential election — she didn’t do it alone. Carson, in his book, tells how his grades improved tremendously when a government program provided him with free eyeglasses because he could barely see. Not only that, in “Gifted Hands” we read this nugget: “By the time I reached ninth grade, mother had made such strides that she received nothing but food stamps. She couldn’t have provided for us and kept up the house without that subsidy.”

    Yes, but people were different back then. Then there are his terribly homophobic views, like this gem media matters points out from his book:

    http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/05/19/ben-carson-didnt-expect-anyone-to-be-offended-b/199373

    Prior to my decision to withdraw as commencement speaker, I spoke to some prominent members of the gay community at Johns Hopkins. In doing so I found out two important things: First, bestiality is particularly abhorrent in the gay community and the mention of it evokes a very emotional response. Had I known that, I would have avoided the topic, since the last thing I wanted to do was to cause unnecessary offense and distract from the matters at hand. [Page 19]

    A debate between Carson and Sharpton would just cement Carson’s standing with the people he needs to win an election, because Lord knows he’s not winning much of the black vote.

    Also, why is Sharpton’s head so big compared to his body? He must have gad gastric bypass surgery. He looks like a lollipop.

  160. 160.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 19, 2014 at 9:59 pm

    @Mnemosyne: As I have noted, doing that in this situation is a sure fire way to have the feds all over them. Plus, let’s say you are an ambitious prosecutor; this case is a way to make a name for yourself. Nationwide audience and all that. You aren’t going to want to be Marcia Clark.

  161. 161.

    Mnemosyne

    August 19, 2014 at 10:09 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):

    What if you don’t want a national name? What if you just want to get elected as a law-n-order conservative in Missouri who’s willing to stand by the police when they do what’s necessary to protect their community from a dangerous criminal?

    I’m just saying, given how many ways the authorities in Missouri have already fucked up this situation, I wouldn’t be surprised if the prosecutors manage to come up with a whole new way to fuck things up.

    ETA: Given all of the “nullification” bullshit that conservatives have been spouting, getting the feds all up in their business may be what they want, so they can be martyrs trying to protect the people of their state from the Big Bad Gummint. We’re not talking about rational people here — we’re talking about Republicans.

  162. 162.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    August 19, 2014 at 10:14 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): Yup, vigorously and well will help. I’d still want a Special Prosecutor presenting and trying, for the optics.

    @Mnemosyne:

    As we’ve seen over the past week or so, our definition of what those attorneys’ jobs should be could be wildly different from what they see their job being.

    I have not seen any evidnce that the prosecutors see “protecting the police” as part of their job. And I’ve been a (line) prosecutor in a jurisdiction where police were charged. In almost all cases, a special prosecutor was assigned, usually a prosecutor from a neighboring county. For the judge who’s being tried now, there are 2 criminal defense lawyers serving as special prosecutors.

  163. 163.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 19, 2014 at 10:19 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    We’re not talking about rational people here — we’re talking about Republicans.

    FWIW McCulloch is a Democrat.

    As I have mentioned several times, if the prosecution doesn’t do its job properly, the feds will be all over them.

  164. 164.

    Mnemosyne

    August 19, 2014 at 10:20 pm

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q):

    I would greatly prefer to be wrong, but the events of the past couple of weeks are leading me in a pessimistic direction when it comes to the people in authority in Missouri.

  165. 165.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 19, 2014 at 10:26 pm

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): Hamilton County?

  166. 166.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    August 19, 2014 at 10:28 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): I was with the City.

  167. 167.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 19, 2014 at 10:34 pm

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): Fun.

  168. 168.

    Fred

    August 20, 2014 at 12:48 am

    As that cop (need I say white?) caught on candid camera said: “Bring it, you animals!” Because it’s definitely not about race. Who could ever think such a thing? Judge Roberts said that stuff is all over now.

  169. 169.

    Bobby Thomson

    August 20, 2014 at 1:25 am

    @Bobby Thomson: @Patrick: As I said:

    That’s a position people can disagree with

  170. 170.

    Bobby Thomson

    August 20, 2014 at 1:27 am

    @Hal: I don’t disagree with any of that. Just wanted people to respond to the argument that was actually made rather than some straw man.

  171. 171.

    Chris

    August 20, 2014 at 2:41 am

    @CONGRATULATIONS!:

    I agree that you’d best do what a cop says during a stop these days, because they’ve all gone to the same training academy that seems to have as their motto “shoot first and ask no questions”, but that’s a practical response to a horrific overreach of police powers in this nation.

    This. It’s identical to how black people in the segregated South learned to step aside whenever a white man walked by. It was good advice, but only in a short-term, self-preservation kind of way to deal with an insane abuse of power.

    Plus, as with black people in the South, citizens politely doing everything a cop says isn’t a foolproof way to protect yourself. It decreases the likelihood that the cop/white person will feel like beating the shit out of you, but it doesn’t actually protect you – if the cop/white person decides he’s in the mood to take his personal issues out on you, cooperating isn’t going to get you out of trouble. We just watched a kid get shot in full view of an entire street while screaming that he had his hands up, FFS.

  172. 172.

    Hal

    August 20, 2014 at 7:39 pm

    @Bobby Thomson: Point taken.

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