Category Archives: Social Commentary

Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Social Commentary

Only The Police Can Be Trusted With Guns

13 Comments

And here’s the proof:

…when the smoky haze — caused by rapid fire of nearly 140 bullets in less than 30 seconds — dissipated, it soon became clear that more than a dozen officers had been firing at one another across a middle school parking lot in East Cleveland.

Soon after the shooting stopped, one officer rushed to check the two occupants of the 1979 Chevrolet Malibu that the cadre of Cleveland cruisers had followed into the lot.

Officer Wilfredo Diaz, a former city EMS worker, had fired the first shots at the Malibu after bailing out of his car.

He felt for passenger Malissa Williams’ pulse.

There wasn’t one.

Diaz moved Williams’ leg slightly to look for a gun.

Again, there wasn’t one.

Dead next to Williams in the driver’s seat was Timothy Russell, 43.

No officers were injured.

Speaking of which, should we be more disturbed that the LAPD is shooting at so many innocent people in their search for Dorner, or that they’re such lousy shots?

Humor, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Satire, Social Commentary

No, Suzi Parker

Sarah Palin is not going to work for Al Jazeera.

Too good to fact check, I guess.

[Update a couple minutes later]

More scoops for Suzi. Heh.

Hopefully, her humiliation is just beginning.

[Update a few minutes later]
#suziparkerscoops

Iowahawk: “There are times when we should cease the cruel humiliation of a fellow human being. This is not one of those times. #suziparkerscoops”

Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Social Commentary, Technology and Society

Gun Control, Mental Health And Public Safety

6 Comments

A requested letter to Ted Cruz:

The United States is at something of a crossroads here: we can remain focused on gun control, or we can look at the root cause of not only the random acts of mass murder, but many other serious social maladies. The deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill has played a destructive role not only with respect to crime, but also with the degradation of urban life, and with the barbarous degradation of mentally ill people, who are a large fraction of the homeless in our country.[11]

Deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill is the root cause of most of these shocking acts of mass murder, and the much more common but less publicized murders that happen every day in America, which very seldom involve high-capacity magazines or scary looking black rifles.

Pretending that gun control is going to have much of an impact on this is like putting a Band-Aid on an arm with a severed artery. It is only a short-term solution, because it covers up a deeper problem. It is time to recognize and solve the root problem.

Gun control isn’t about guns, or public safety. It’s about control.

[Update later morning]

Randy Barnett has a letter for Ted, too, as does Dave Kopel.

Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Social Commentary, Technology and Society

Thoughts On Gun Control

Too much common sense from Robert Levy, so the politicians won’t pay any attention.

[Update a couple minutes later]

The public disapproves of Obama’s gun policies by 54-42%. Actually, they seem to disapprove of almost all of his policies. Think in particular about the 2-1 opposition to his deficit policy as he spouts his lies tonight. There was no majority who voted for Barack Obama. Those who put him over the top were voting against the demon Romney, per the Obama campaign strategy.

[Update a few minutes later]

This seems related: the war on drugs, overcriminalization and militarized police raids.