July 20, 2016

THERE WAS SOMETHING FUNNY ABOUT SCOTT BAIO’S R.N.C. SPEECH

Almost every fortune cookie becomes more amusing when you add “in bed” at the end. And almost every sentence in Scott Baio’s speech at the Republican National Convention on Monday nightbecomes more amusing when you add “like my career” at the end. Here are some favorite examples.
But for you first-time voters, it’s important for you to know what it means to be an American. It doesn’t mean getting free stuff . . . like my career.

It means sacrificing. Winning. Losing. Failing . . . like my career.

And sometimes doing the things you don’t want to do . . . like my career.

But, folks, our country right now is in a very bad spot . . . like my career.

There’s no stability . . . like my career.

Nothing seems right . . . like my career


http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/07/scott-baio-rnc-speech

July 18, 2016

The Myth of the Hero Cop

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/05/the_myth_of_the_hero_cop_police_unions_have_spread_a_dangerous_message_about.html


Police officers earn more than you think for a job that’s less dangerous than you imagine.

It’s hard to prosecute cops. There are two main reasons for this: The first is the special deference that jurors, judges, and prosecutors show officers thanks to the widespread perception that they are heroic public figures valiantly trying to protect us. The second is the bevy of special laws around the country that are designed to shield police officers from the very tactics the police regularly use on ordinary suspects. For example, in most states, law enforcement officers cannot be questioned until they have been given a few days to get their stories straight. And many states have passed laws—such as Section 50-a of New York’s Civil Rights Law—that are specifically designed to make it almost impossible to obtain or use at trial records of a police officer’s prior brutality or misconduct. These two factors can make convicting police officers extremely difficult, and it is no accident; it is the direct result of the sustained effort by police unions to protect officers from even the most deserved discipline or prosecution.

… While the rules that unfairly protect the police must be changed, it is also high time to re-examine the foundation of these policies: the public perception—lovingly curated by police unions—of the very nature of police work.
For the last three decades, police unions have managed to portray their members as indispensable heroes in a deadly and dangerous war. Fallen officers, like Benjamin Deen and Liquori Tate, who were shot in Mississippi on May 9, or Brian Moore, whose funeral in New York was a few days earlier, are uniformly described as heroes. One need only listen to the fife and drums, witness the squadron of NYPD helicopters flying the missing man formation, or gaze at the image of tens of thousands of white-gloved officers standing at attention to understand the profound nature of their particular brand of heroism.
But as we read the heartrending newspaper coverage and weep at the pomp that attends a line-of-duty death, we can become a party to a false and dangerous narrative that does more to rend our society asunder than heal our legitimately broken hearts. That’s because the story of the hero cop is also used to legitimize brutality as necessary, justify policies that favor the police, and punish anyone who dares to question police tactics or oppose the unions’ agendas. Quite simply, in the years since the Sept. 11 attacks, the story of the hero cop has become so powerful and pervasive that even questioning police behavior is decried as disloyal, un-American, and dangerous.




"Moreover, we pay our police officers handsomely in New York City. It costs taxpayers more than $8.5 billion a year to pay for the NYPD, and between salary, overtime, and the value of their benefits, the average beat cop costs the taxpayers more than $150,000 per year. That is not an argument for paying police officers less, just that we already pay these civil servants a lot more money than most people realize to do a job that is a lot less dangerous than most people imagine.

We should appreciate the value and sacrifice of those who choose to serve and protect. But that appreciation should not constitute a get-out-of-jail-free card for the vast army of 800,000 people granted general arrest powers and increasingly armed with automatic weapons and armored vehicles.

There are real-world harms that follow from the myths perpetuated by police unions. Arguments about the dangerous nature of police work drive the increasing militarization of police departments. The life-and-death nature of the job is used to push for extremely generous medical leave, overtime, and pay packages. Most insidious of all, the exaggerated danger and trumped-up heroism drives an us-versus-them mentality that suffuses contemporary big-city policing and bleeds into the criminal justice system, causing systemic imbalances that chronically favor the police over citizens.

Too many cop apologists keep turning to this line of heroism to exonerate cops who kill or to stifle discussion.
I can't think of any group I've had to tip toe around more when discussing a negative issue.




They complain incessantly about painting all cops with a broad brush while painting themselves with the broad brush of heroism or having such a difficult job. Lots of people have difficult jobs, and they are truly underappreciated (teachers for instance) UNLIKE cops who are shown as heroes at every media opportunity including the MSM movie, TV show. I don't believe I've ever witnessed people form any other chosen career complain about their jobs so much.
There isn't a speech given that doesn't include how they supposedly put their lives on the line for us every day... and that's a bunch of baloney that does nothing but help criminal cops keep their jobs.


Its time to stop with the continued myth they are heroes valiantly putting their lives on the line for little or no pay, crappy hours and no thanks. Because it's a lie that they use to continue to engage in misconduct with impunity. It is dragged out every time there is a media scrutinized shooting whether it was one of their many victims or an officer .

June 22, 2016

For your dining pleasure

Trump Roast, served with rice and gravy!

June 7, 2016

People need to see the folks Hillary has helped to understand

who Hillary is...and why she is so revered by so many.

I love this video.

&index=4&list=PLt9jO9QkAAocHqyifNQaGPR-9jipern-b

May 13, 2016

What do you like or not like about the TPP?

I don't mean the supposed "secrecy" while negotiating.

I would like to hear people's thoughts on actual pieces of the agreement or why you may or may not want any trade agreements at all.
Thanks



Text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership
https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/about-us/who-we-are/treaty-making-process/trans-pacific-partnership-tpp/text-of-the-trans-pacific-partnership

Summary from US Gov
https://ustr.gov/tpp/#facts

Pros and Cons
http://useconomy.about.com/od/Trade-Agreements/fl/What-Is-the-Trans-Pacific-Partnership.htm