.
Some jokes age like wine. Or whine.
Meanwhile, in the Washington Post:
FERGUSON, Mo. — The revolution, or whatever happens here, most certainly will be televised, but until then, every part of the lead-up will be, too. In recent days, shop owners boarding up stores have found themselves giving impromptu news conferences. Media galleries form to listen in on church sermons. Television trucks hum in the parking lot of a tire shop, a front-row seat across from police headquarters…
Many residents, business owners and elected officials have welcomed the increased scrutiny, saying that a media presence helps expose systemic, race-related problems in the police force and the justice system. But others, particularly those who haven’t taken part in the protests, say news organizations have produced a warped portrait of Ferguson, a small city with middle-class homes and a historic shopping district.
They’re worried, too, that reporters are here to document the next round of violence, if there is one, not the underlying problems. “Riot porn” is what Democratic committee member Patricia Bynes called it, referring to images of young black men with their shirts off, using them to guard their faces from tear gas.
Bynes rejected any characterization of Ferguson as a failed community. “You aren’t seeing this city if you think this is a ghetto,” Bynes said. “And you are missing the story, which is that this could happen anywhere, including the suburbs.”
The grand jury, after a weekend pause, could meet again as early as Monday to discuss the case of Darren Wilson, the officer, who has not spoken publicly since the shooting. CNN anchors Don Lemon and Anderson Cooper both revealed Sunday on Twitter that they had met secretly with Wilson to solicit an exclusive interview. Several other networks and channels are in the running, said CNN’s Brian Stelter, who first reported the off-the-record negotiations…
No matter what happens after the grand jury decision, many feel the wall-to-wall coverage has overplayed the extent of misbehavior in the aftermath of the shooting. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted rather pointedly this week that the property damage stands at $5 million — one-24th as much as that from a hailstorm two years ago. The newspaper also referred to The Washington Post’s description of Ferguson as a “burned-out symbol of racial and class divisions in America.” But only one building has burned.
“A lot of the press corps is looking for that kind of [violent] action, and that is contributing to the nonstop narrative of expecting violence,” said Mervyn Marcano, a communications strategist who works for several St. Louis grass-roots organizations. “I think that actually undermines the community-building work people are trying to do here.”…
***********
What else is on the agenda, for the start of a mostly-foreshortened work week?
Poopyman
“Check Engine” light on a car with 300K miles. After diagnosis, gotta determine if/when to pull the plug. I’m glad I don’t have the emotional attachment I have to the cats, but, well, it’s been my ride for 11 years. And it’s still getting over 45 mpg (Jetta diesel).
BillinGlendaleCA
@Poopyman: I know on my Jetta(gas engine and very old) the OXS light(it’s check engine light) comes on every 30k miles.
ETA: The first time it came on, it cause a panic attack. Now I just make sure it’s off before I get the car smoged. There’s a hidden switch to turn it off.
bemused
Sunday CNN reported that multiple news anchors, Lauer, Anderson Cooper, Stephanopoulos, Pelley, Lemon, have met with Darren Wilson trying to get interviews with him.
Mustang Bobby
@Poopyman: It could be anything from a bad injector to a loose gas cap.
My friend Brian had a Golf about ten years ago. When the “Check Engine” light came on he got out, opened the hood, looked inside, closed the hood, got back in the car and said, “Yeah, it’s still there.”
The light went out; apparently slamming the hood shut fixed it.
Bjacques
What if they gave a riot and nobody came?
raven
@BillinGlendaleCA: A piece of black electrical tape strategically placed does wonders too.
JPL
@bemused: And the winner is Sean Hannity? Wilson won’t be able to work as a police officer anymore because he’s toxic. He’ll have to find a new career. Maybe he’ll write a book.
sharl
@bemused: Yeah, WaPo’s media guy Erik Wemple posted on that.
I guess gunning someone down in the street can be the path to rock star-level coddling by the media, if the corpse is of a certain hue and socioeconomic class.
Blech…
BillinGlendaleCA
@raven: Won’t help ya when it get’s smoged.
bemused
@JPL:
I wouldn’t be surprised if Wilson has not already been approached for a book deal.
NotMax
@JPL
Blackwater or Xe or Academi or whatever the heck it’s called now will be more than willing to snap him up.
Baud
“Riot porn” is good term for what the media is doing.
MrSnrub
Got into work at 5:45am to fix something that I couldn’t work on from home because of firewall reasons. First time getting into the office first. My code to turn off the alarm didn’t work. Had a nice chat with the cops.
Today can only get better.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@Poopyman: That’s often a pressure problem. The last time I had that light come on, I had to have the gas cap and a solenoid in the exhaust system replaced.
raven
@BillinGlendaleCA: We don’t play that here.
OzarkHillbilly
@Poopyman: My wife’s Bonneville went 440K plus before she finally traded it in. The engine was as strong and clean as the day she bought it. Same for the tranny and 99.8% of the rest of the car. The .2% that was bad was the wiring. The insulation on every piece of wiring in the entire vehicle was rotting and falling apart. $2,000 minimum to fix. Chances are your Jetta has another 2-300K in it if you just keep it well maintained.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: Riot porn, Is that like S&M?
OzarkHillbilly
@MrSnrub: You had a nice chat with cops? Boy, it really sucks to be white…. ;-)
raven
@OzarkHillbilly: I rewired my 66!
OzarkHillbilly
@raven: Was that your car, your child, or yourself?
JPL
@raven: How’s the weather? Your pictures are beautiful and hopefully you’ll post more.
sharl
Message from the Department of Gluttons for Punishment:
Whocoodanode?
raven
@JPL: It rained like hell all day and it’s still drizzling.It’s supposed to be clearing and I’m hoping to get back into surf fishing later this morning. The boat action is more iffy, fairly windy most of the week so we’ll see. I will keep shooting when it dries out.
MomSense
@sharl:
Yes but Douthat says Obama is totes an Imperial President and the House is requesting Gruber testify on just how stupid the American people are.
OzarkHillbilly
@raven:
That kinda sucks…
JPL
@sharl: Since the Senator from South Carolina disagrees with the findings, it’s no longer news.
raven
@OzarkHillbilly: I’m really torn. Prices are up, $220 for an 8 hour on a six pack. They have put both Amberjack and Red Snapper on the no catch list so there is not much of any size you can keep. Headboats are $80 but the bottom fishing gets vermillion, mingo and maybe trigger. After I lost the big ass red I’m excited to get back in the surf but it beats the shit out of you wading way out, throwing and then dragging your butt back to the beach over and over. I could rent a kayak and hit the bay but I’ve never had a great deal of luck with that.
1st world problem.
Mustang Bobby
@JPL: Yes, I saw how Aunt Pittypat had the vapours over the report. What a hoot.
Baud
@BillinGlendaleCA:
Maybe if more people engaged in S&M, they wouldn’t need these other fetishes.
Southern Beale
We have a Second Amendment hero: a “gun rights” advocate and “responsible gun owner” we’re supposed to “want” to have out there carrying in our parks, in our theaters, in our stadium, when “seconds count” and the police can’t be there. Well guess what, his 3-year-old kid got shot in the mouth by another toddler, because Most Responsible Evah.
Mustang Bobby
@raven: My dad took me fly fishing on the Au Sable River near Grayling, Michigan for my 40th birthday. We rented a john boat and drifted all day. I’d never done it before and learning to cast was fun. I caught a tree, my dad’s hat, and my left thigh. It wasn’t until the last bend of the river that we actually got something … and it was catch and release. But it was a great day with my dad.
Mustang Bobby
@Baud: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but whips and chains excite me.”
Just quoting someone else, of course.
Gene108
@OzarkHillbilly:
@Poopyman:
I feel better now. I drove my 2003 Toyota Corrola with 182K miles on it from NJ to NC, to visit my mom for the week, and I sometimes wonder, if it has too many miles and I should look for a new or newer car.
I now know it is only at middle age, just like me.
Schlemazel
@Mustang Bobby:
Here is the tune you are looking for
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TytGOeiW0aE
Tom Lehrer – The Masochism Tango
Schlemazel
@Gene108:
We have about the same on our Impala & given that it is our only car I worry we may soon have the expense of a different one. We did have to have some engine work a couple years ago when the head gasket went but other than that its been OK. Fingers crossed for all of us dumpster drivers!
OzarkHillbilly
@Gene108: Cars last far longer than they used to. All those electronics that I endlessly curse every time that Dog damned check engine light comes on really reduce the strain on a vehicle. And diesels are the kings of longevity.
Mustang Bobby
@Gene108: My current daily driver, a 2007 Mustang convertible, has 97K on it. Last week when I took it in for the recalled airbag inflator, the dealer gave it the 25-point checkup. All okay except for a caution to replace the serpentine belt sometime in the next couple of months. Other than that, all is well, and the only thing I’ve done is routine oil changes and replacing the battery and tires. Driving a car 100-150K is the same as 50K was forty years ago.
ETA: OzarkHillbilly and I think alike, I see.
Mustang Bobby
Via TPM:
Oh, Karma, thou art a heartless biotch.
MomSense
Now Mitt Romney is a great candidate because he has been right on so many issues?
lolwut??
OzarkHillbilly
@Schlemazel:
Been driving dumpsters all my adult life. Even if they didn’t start out as one they all ended up as one. So much so that for the first time in 56 years I am trying to sell a truck in good clean shape that runs like a striped ass ape, instead of just calling the junk yard.
I’m really feeling kind of lost.
raven
@Mustang Bobby: My only real fly fishing experience was on the Pierre Marquette. I like it but not enough to take it up. The only time I fished with my day, a real salt, was down here in 1996. I figured with all his years on a destroyer in the Pacific he would enjoy it. He fucking hated it, felt sorry for the fish and was miserable. Memories, cloud the corners of our minds. . .
JPL
@MomSense: Huh? Truthfully he was on both sides of several issues so I guess that counts.
Gene108
@OzarkHillbilly:
Yeah. A mechanic told me that with all the electronics there are fewer moving parts to wear out.
So far the biggest hit I took was replacing the catalytic converter in January. The other repairs were getting seals / gaskets replaced that were allowing oil leaks and I once had to get something on the AC fixed a couple of years ago.
I swapped out the dashboard clock because it stopped working and the center console because the springs that held the storage cubbies shut stopped working and they were flopping over, which was annoying. For that I thank YouTube and the DIY video makers.
I also just replaced the gas cap, as it had worn out and the check engine light had come on.
The Pale Scot
Flying a balloon into a cave
OzarkHillbilly
@Mustang Bobby: Been talking to a few of my STL friends. A significant # of Suburban White People ™ up there are certain sure we are about to have a complete breakdown in civilization and the Rule of Law ™ .
Keith G
@Mustang Bobby:Sounds like the pursuit of social justice was not the primary issue the woman was dealing with.
I was hoping that the grand jury decision was going to be announced early last week when the temp in the area was ~ 25 degrees. It would have kept many of the sight-seers and some of the crazies inside and off the streets.
sharl
@Mustang Bobby: At least on Twitter, there is considerable confusion about how that situation with Becca Campbell went down, and its background. There are only about a dozen tweets under the hashtag #BeccaCampbell – one claims to quote a friend of hers saying that BC had owned that gun for two years, i.e., well before Ferguson. Someone else uploaded a photo of her arguing with the police – was she doing that as part of the Ferguson protest, or for some other reason? At least a couple of the protest leaders seemed to think she was sympathetic to their cause.
With everyone so amped up – especially the national media folks – reporters in STL are jumping at speculation and rumors more than the fish in the waters off the Redneck Riviera are going for Raven’s baited hooks.
raven
@sharl: Hmm, it is fishy.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Poopyman: I’ve got an ’04 TDI wagon. It’s been a good car. The crank position sensor has been replaced a couple of times on mine – if yours hasn’t been checked/replaced, it might be worth a look.
I’ve got a ScanGauge II for keeping track of instantaneous mileage, voltage, temperatures, etc. It will [tell you the code and] clear Check Engine lights, also too.
Good luck!
Cheers,
Scott.
Baud
@OzarkHillbilly:
They have probably been certain of that for the last two decades.
sharl
@raven: Yes, yes it is. And tragic, but a sideshow at the moment.
Best wishes for good fishing for you, despite bad weather and limited legal catch options.
(ETA added a word for clarification).
Betty Cracker
@Poopyman: I drove my old Beetle with a check engine light on for about a year before I traded it in. Never found out why it was on, but the engine ran like a top and probably still does (it was the deteriorating clutch and the need for a bigger ride to haul my olds around that prompted me to get rid of it after 10 years).
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: For certain sure.
debbie
@MomSense:
I cannot wait to hear Glenn Beck freak out about that report. He’s been a huge fan of Mike Rogers and I am sure he’ll consider the report to be a stab in the back of freedom.
Raven
@sharl: Aw thanks, it’s wonderful either way!
rikyrah
Pray for the folks of Buffalo. Seven FEET of snow melting fast…this can’t end well :(
dmbeaster
Riot Porn sounds like a punk rock band
dmbeaster
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/23/israeli-cabinet-approves-bill-defining-nation-state-jewish-people?CMP=ema_565
This is pretty out there. I used to think the “Zionism = racism” line was over the top, but apparently Netanyahu and Likud want to make it clear that it is true.
Gene108
@dmbeaster:
Israel does not have a constitution because it could not be a secular constitutional democracy, while declaring it is officially a Jewish state.
Mnemosyne
Interview this afternoon. Wish me luck. It would be a step down in title and a potential pay cut, but into a spot with room to grow.
Matt
I mean, after all, it was only a stunt community explicitly created to use zoning shenanigans after explicit segregation and deed covenants were made illegal.
Most of St. Louis County is remnants of this process – too many cities, all dependent on fines for revenue, all policed by out-of-towners who are racist at best and outright KKK members at worst…
SWMBO
@Mnemosyne: Best of luck. May it be all in your favor…
SWMBO
@Mustang Bobby: Still wiping tears away. Aunt Pittypat. lol
SWMBO
@Poopyman: Most auto parts stores will check for the code. There is a place on the dash (usually near/under the steering wheel) that they plug into and it gives you a code. Write it down and look it up. They can usually reset it so it goes out. If it’s something like the thermostat (which happened on one of my cars) you can decide whether to keep running it (watch the oil/water temps) or getting it fixed immediately. This happened to me when I was driving from FL to STL in the mountains near Chattanooga. Called Spousal Unit and he decided it was probably vapor locking the thermostat on particular day. Drove into STL without a problem and it came back on again on the return trip. Got it replaced when I got home. It could be like my current car, the check engine light comes on when it rains. Says the O2 sensor is faulty. It goes off when it’s dry. I’ll get it checked in more depth when I take it in for service. We keep cars until they turn into Radios In The Driveway or our daughter needs a new car. YMMV (I’ve waited a while to use that…finally)
Another Holocene Human
@Gene108: It’s not a secular state. Ask all the couples who had to run to Cyprus to get married. Or whose local Rabbi refused to marry them because they were the wrong style of Jews from the wrong part of the world.
The fact that Israel is not a secular state is causing enormous internal problems at present. Furthermore, I think it was a separate decision from the racist, ethnic cleansing policy that inaugurated the state of Israel and continues to this day. Though some American observers certainly conflate the two. They don’t have to live with the consequences.