Go Steelers!
Yesterday in American Sedition: (Not Actually Mentioned in the) Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers & Senators Too Edition
Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke had some interesting thoughts he decided to share on social media yesterday:
It's incredible that our institutions of gov, WH, Congress, DOJ, and big media are corrupt & all we do is bitch. Pitchforks and torches time pic.twitter.com/8G5G0daGVN
— David A. Clarke, Jr. (@SheriffClarke) October 15, 2016
You remember Sheriff Clark, the (sheriffs aren’t actualyl mentioned in the) Constitutional Sheriff and Peace Officers Association Law Enforcer of the Year Award Winner? You know, the tough guy that tried to call in the Wisconsin National Guard about six weeks ago even though he was not the law enforcement officer in charge of what was happening in Milwaukee with demonstrations, protests, and riots? The actual officer in charge would be Milwaukee Chief of Police Edward A Flynn. And he had this to say about Sheriff Clarke:
“Nobody has got more to say about law enforcement and less to do with it,” Flynn said of Clarke, calling him a self-serving man who seeks “celebrity.”
Sheriff Clarke would be the tough guy that had an inmate die of thirst in the jail*, the oversight of which is one of his few actual primary responsibilities, because his subordinates specifically and purposely cut off water to the inmates cell – an inmate who was mentally ill.
So what is it that Sheriff Clarke actually does/is actually supposed to be doing? His actual jurisdiction is running the jail, providing security at municipal facilities, and patrolling the part of the interstate as it runs through Milwaukee County.
“By statute and by practice, the sheriff plays only a limited role as a traditional law enforcement agency,” Abele said in his budget remarks to the County Board on Sept. 29, 2011.
“For example, in 2009 the sheriff reported only 12 crimes to the FBI, compared to 41,000 for the City of Milwaukee and 3,200 for West Allis, and even 242 for the UWM Police Department.”
There are no unincorporated areas in Milwaukee County and each of these incorporated municipalities have their own police departments.
Last year, the administration of Milwaukee County ExecutiveChris Abele released some eyebrow-raising statistics on the Sheriff’s Department, noting that:
- Milwaukee is the state’s only county with no unincorporated area, meaning there are municipal police patrolling every part of the county. Besides Milwaukee, there are 18 suburban police forces in action.
- In 2009, the sheriff reported only 19 crimes to the FBI, compared to 41,375 for the Milwaukee police, 3,288 for West Allis police, 1,908 for Wauwatosa and even 242 for the UW-Milwaukee police. That’s right, the UWM campus police handled 12 times more criminals than the Sheriff’s Department.
- Just 10 percent of Sheriff David Clarke’s requested property tax levy was for police services. As Abele put it, “the sheriff plays only a limited role as a traditional law enforcement agency.”
The deputy sheriffs staff the Milwaukee County Jail and County Correctional Facility South (formerly House of Correction), handle the courthouse’s system of bailiffs, and patrol the freeways.
Earlier in the day he was complaining about how long it took his NICS check to go through so he could buy a new AR pattern rifle. Insinuating that this is not how law enforcement should be treated (because, you know, they’re not just citizens too or something).
Had INSTANT background check today to pick up new AR-15. ATF delayed 6 days for a cop. Third check this year. Last 2 took 3 days. Nice.
— David A. Clarke, Jr. (@SheriffClarke) October 15, 2016
In case anyone was wondering, NICS checks for gun purchases are done by the FBI – law enforcement genius!
Anyone else get in the game yesterday? Why yes, yes indeed. Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, III.
.@SenatorSessions at Trump NH rally: "They are attempting to rig this election." https://t.co/e0QZI8OyI0
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) October 15, 2016
You know, this Senator Sessions.
And thus an uncomfortable light shined once again on a man plainly hidden in the ranks of the Senate for a dozen years now. A man known to be one of the most consistently conservative legislators on Capitol Hill. A man noted for hisobstructionist tendencies. A man with a chequered history linked to America’s racist past. A man, who has been, arguably, waiting for this moment for the last two decades.
Sessions’s first national exposure was, surely, mortifying for the would-be federal judge. It was 1986, and the then-39-year-old US attorney for the Southern District of Alabama was a Reagan nominee to the federal bench. Sessions had good reason to believe he’d be rubber-stamped through to a judgeship – some 200 of the Gipper’s judges had already been heavily sprinkled throughout the federal judicial system. But Sessions stopped up the works. The young lawyer became only the second man in 50 years to be rejected by the Senate judiciary committee.
The reasons for his rejection, as I explained in this 2002 New Republic story had to do with a soupy mix of dubious and arguably racist moves, comments and motivations on the part of the Alabama native that led senator Ted Kennedy to announce it was “inconceivable … that a person of this attitude is qualified to be a US attorney, let alone a United States federal judge.”
And finally a quick update by addition (unintentional omission) from Friday’s Today in Hashtag Violence, Terrorism, and Leaderless Resistance post:
Two Texas men, working in California, have been charged in a brutal assault and battery on Maan Singh Khalsa – a Sikh-American. They first threw something at his car, then followed him and at a stop light pulled him from his car, beat him, ripped off his dastar (turban), and cut/pulled out some of his hair. The attackers have had the hate crime additions added to the charges they face.
Just 24 days (inclusive of today) to go until the election. Stay frosty!
* The Journal-Sentinel did a deep dive into deaths in the Milwaukee County Jail from 2008 to 2014,
Faunasphere: Thank you TripAdvisor! Edition
Some fantastic news, last week, from TripAdvisor:
TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site, today announced its commitment to launch a set of industry-leading actions, including changes to its policy on selling tickets to animal attractions, and the launch of a new education portal to help inform travelers about the standards of care for wild, captive, and endangered species in tourism and their interactions with tourists, and their impact on wildlife conservation.
TripAdvisor and its Viator brand will discontinue selling tickets for specific tourism experiences where travelers come into physical contact with captive wild animals or endangered species, including but not limited to elephant rides, petting tigers, and swim with dolphin attractions.
While some attractions will cease booking through TripAdvisor immediately, the company plans to have both the educational portal and booking policy changes fully-launched and implemented by early 2017.
TripAdvisor is also committing to the development and launch of an education portal linked to every animal attraction listing on TripAdvisor. The portal will provide links and information on animal welfare practices, helping travelers to write more informed reviews about their experience, and to be aware of opinions that exist on the conservation implications and benefits of some tourism attractions. In turn, TripAdvisor believes that better reviews will enable travelers to make more informed booking decisions and improve the standards of animal care in tourism worldwide….
This is truly wonderful news for at least three reasons:
1) Some of the cruel and callous “attractions” will probably go out of business. (Including, hopefully, the scammy Thai “tiger monastery.” ) This, in turn, will lead to…
2) Less animal trafficking, with all its attendant unspeakable ills (brutal kidnappings, families broken up, collateral deaths during shipping, etc.).
And last but definitely not least:
3) It’s a huge step in the ongoing mainstreaming of animal welfare concerns.
I use TripAdvisor a lot to plan our trips, but in the past have always done the actual booking on the hotel and attraction sites. From now on, I’ll book right on the TripAdvisor site so they get their commission, and if this news delights you as much as it delights me, I urge you to do the same.
Related: Katherine Applegate’s Newbery Medal-winning young adult novel The One and Only Ivan is a sensitive and compassionate fictionalization of the story of Ivan, a gorilla who was kept in the cage in a mall for nearly 30 years. It’s a bit early to think of holiday gift giving, but this would be a great one for any animal-loving kid or adult on your list.
Faunasphere: Thank you TripAdvisor! EditionPost + Comments (22)
Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Precious Memories
From faithful garden correspondent (& amazing photographer) Marvel:
You asked for pix from sunnier times, so I scouted a few flowers for you. First up, our early Queen, the young tree peony. Can’t take a bad photo of these wonderful flowers.
The crocus are our earliest Spring flower (I t-h-i-n-k they beat the camelias) — so fragile and fresh, enlivening and otherwise drab understory.
The borage and a scattering of colorful lettuce brighten up a newly-wakened Spring bed.
There are several pieris around the house — I love the bight coral hues and Japanese lantern blooms on these mature plants.
Out front there are some well-established rhodies and azaleas — it’s not a particularly shady out there, but they’ve done well for years and years. It amazes me that their tightly-wound buds can live through the sometimes-freezing temps (and snow) in Winter and still produce yards and yards of fragile blooms come Spring. Tough ones, rhodies.
Finally, being Oregon, we have to find SOMETHING to like about the rain, else we’d go mad! I like it just fine.
What’s going on in your garden(s), this week?
Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Precious MemoriesPost + Comments (49)
Early Morning Eye Roll Open Thread: Trump’s Not on Drugs, He’s Just Lost His Tiny Mind
JUST NOW @realDonaldTrump SAYS @HillaryClinton should take DRUG TEST before final presidential debate #nhpolitics #nh1news pic.twitter.com/cyJICakz6A
— Paul Steinhauser (@steinhauserNH1) October 15, 2016
Hillary Clinton should take Trump up on his pre-debate drug test challenge. Let's see which candidate is on drugs. https://t.co/jR3vM1FC2S
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) October 15, 2016
Was just re-reading an old Agatha Christie mystery where a rich, dishonest businessman is murdered by one of his kids, before he can dissipate the family fortune as a result of suffering from “general paralysis of insanity“. That diagnosis has fallen out of general use, because it’s the result of third-stage syphilis, and (for the moment) we’ve got drugs to forestall its progression. But maybe Trump wasn’t kidding when he referred to his 70s-era sexual predations as “my personal Vietnam”…
Those rumors Trump’s been on uppers for decades? Given his attack that Hillary’s on drugs, nearly full confirmation Mr Projection uses them
— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) October 16, 2016
This was actually really dumb by Trump. Gives Clinton surrogates license to push the sniffling/cocaine line. https://t.co/5veAwWCJje
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) October 15, 2016
"i'll take a drug test if you take an IQ test" — Senator Fritz Hollings to Henry McMaster, 1986 Senate Debate https://t.co/8s96gaLcel
— Wyeth Ruthven (@wyethwire) October 15, 2016
The problem with doing a drug test on Donald Trump is that's probably not his real hair.
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) October 15, 2016
Full bit of Trump suggesting that Hillary Clinton is taking drugs to prep for the next debate: pic.twitter.com/JZuvprd6nS
— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) October 15, 2016
Late Night WATB Open Thread: “RIGGED!”
Hillary Clinton should have been prosecuted and should be in jail. Instead she is running for president in what looks like a rigged election
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 15, 2016
This is the first, Saturday-night-rude version of what will probably be several posts on Lord Smallfinger Shitgibbon’s latest hate-mongering performance skits. Sometimes only a satirist can do justice to the essential meanness (as in: lack of quality or attractiveness; shabbiness) of Donald Trump…
HILLARY: "Rigged." What a joke. You fuckin' coward.
TRUMP: Ya rigged it, Hill!
HILLARY: I rigged your body to paw women for 50 years?
TRUMP:— Owen Ellickson (@onlxn) October 15, 2016
HILLARY: You're a monster and a fraud, but the thing that gets me is the LAZINESS. You don't do the work.
TRUMP: 'Cause of how rigged it is!— Owen Ellickson (@onlxn) October 15, 2016
TRUMP: Just 'cause you're gonna beat me–
HILLARY: I ALREADY beat you, dope. The early voting gap's insurmountable. Know why? My team WORKED— Owen Ellickson (@onlxn) October 15, 2016
TRUMP: Keep it up and I'll say–
HILLARY: You'll say whatever you'll say. The armchair angry boys will squawk & squawk. We workers will work— Owen Ellickson (@onlxn) October 15, 2016
And futhermore…
You can't debunk "rigged" because it doesn't mean anything. Some just mean the media is biased. Some mean nonwhites are voting. https://t.co/WC7DkcSyE0
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) October 15, 2016
Jeff Sessions: “They are attempting to rig this election"
— Holly Bailey (@hollybdc) October 15, 2016
Happy Kitty Open Thread
Remember that kitten who was so wretched during her bath this morning? Here she is all dry, fluffy and happy:
Wow, two cat posts from this dog person in one day! If I could get my dogs to do something besides denting my sofa cushions, they too could amass page views. Oh well.
Open thread!