Family dispute

Some think the mayor of Seattle handled the inner city problem about the same way a social worker would handle a domestic disturbance. Do they operate on the premise that being nice to you means that you will be nice to me? Many police officers claim that dealing with a family fight is one of the more dangerous situations they face.

Police and teachers

One of the reason why people want to see changes in the Minneapolis Police is that the police are asked to do jobs that have nothing to do with providing safety for the public. Police are asked to solve the problems associated with homelessness, mental illness and poverty. Police officers are not trained to be social workers. The same thing is happening in schools. Teacher are asked to do the jobs that parents are supposed to do. Often times one child who doesn't understand respect for authority will upset an entire classroom and many times the teacher must spend valuable teaching time working with this student. Many of the problems that young men have in dealing with the authority of the police officer are the same young men who had trouble dealing with the authority of the teacher. Refusing to listen to instructions which leads to refusing to follow instructions are similar to both groups.

Banned books

Many people are concerned about the number of words which are no longer considered proper in regular conversation and even more concerned about who is determining what goes on the list. Why is one group allowed to determine what words another group uses? This idea of what is OK is now spreading to statues, structures and even street names. One of the standard books for high school students is Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird and now that is being banned along with old favorites like The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn. To illustrate how quickly things are changing Harper Lee's book was judged the number one book of the 20th century.

Mask

Today Joe Biden suggested that wearing a mask should be mandatory and this quickly became a political point saying that Biden was pro mask and Trump was anti mask. I have an idea for Trump following the abortion argument. Trump should declare he is pro choice on mask

Beck rally

I had always wanted to attend one of the rallies at the National Mall and ten years ago I took the bus to join Glenn Beck and 100,000 others in something Beck called Restoring Honor Rally. I met a lot of people on the bus and at the rally. My take is that they were the remnants of the silent majority with many of the Reagan democrats thrown in. They were mostly blue collar types with a few professional and they were all white. These people morphed into the Tea Party. When I left there one thing that stuck in my mind was how everyone cleaned up the place. All the trash was piled up in special places designated for trash. Years later I watched groups like Occupy Wall Street and witnessed the mess they left. In addition there was no looting and vandalism with the Tea Party. Rioting and causing property damage mostly hurts the cause.

Insiders

The concern over the alleged culture problems within various police departments warrants investigation but there is another area with a suspect culture that needs looking into and that is the Washington bureaucracy. These life time employees are there through different administrations and over the years have developed little fiefdoms where they covet their power and influence. Many presidential candidates have promised to ring in the power of these cliques but once elected nothing gets done but that all changed with Trump and the Washington insiders do not like this. The result is that every group is opposed to Trump. This includes the Washington press, entrenched politicians like Athe never Trumpers, lobbyist and the bureaucrats. The power structure feels threatened and are reacting like a cornered animal. The insiders may survive because the country is divided and half the people want to go back to the way things were before Trump.

Police stops

In response to the strained relationships between the Black community and the police, several prominent Black leaders have revealed conversations they had with their teenage sons, advising them on how to handle encounters with the police. My hope is that they advised their sons to be civil and not to resist. I have had a number of interactions with police in my life. Recently, I was walking early in the morning and the police stopped me and asked my name, my birth date and home address. I inquired as to why I was stopped and the officer said he was responding to a complaint that a person was throwing sticks at passing cars. Another time I was riding my bicycle home from work and was stopped and asked for ID and I provided it and the officer said they were looking for a robbery suspect. I was stopped for driving too slow on a busy road in Tempe and the officer was quite rude. He suggested that if I couldn't drive faster I should stay off the highway. Once in Arkansas I passed a car on the right shoulder and was stopped. I got a lecture about the number of accidents that this behavior causes and I all cases I was polite and answered all questions.

Free speech

One of the founding principals of liberalism was the protection of free speech. In recent years as liberals morphed into progressive free speech has come under attack. It started with words and phrases that were considered unacceptable, words like illegal immigrants, radical Islam, states rights, traditional values, inner city and thug. People who misspoke were publicly ridiculed and called insensitive. Soon it spread to colleges where certain speakers were shouted down or canceled. Progressives want to bring back the Fairness Doctrine in order to close down conservative talk radio. Progressives are circulating petitions to remove Fox News from cable TV. Other progressives are asking twitter to stop Trump from tweeting. In a society that believes in free speech the way to discourage what are considered troublesome or dangerous ideas is to come up with better ideas. Freedom of speech was put in the constitution to free speech that is not popular or considered insensitive.

Flu stats

People are anxiously awaiting the new flu vaccine but in the 2017/2018 flu season with the vaccine 80,000 still died from the flu. CDC estimates that influenza was associated with more than 48.8 million illnesses, more than 22.7 million medical visits, 959,000 hospitalizations, and 79,400 deaths during the 2017–2018 influenza season even though 40% of Americans or 120 million people received flu shots. Most of the deaths were in the over 65 group with the 50 to 65 group second and children third.

Churchill statue

The Big Three of WW 2, Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt have become suspect. During the 50's statues of Stalin came down in the Soviet Union and this week pressure groups demanded that the statue of Churchill come down as he is considered a war criminal. Will FDR be next?

Police actions

As I sat in the safety of my living room and passed judgment on the cop who shot the Black man in Atlanta, my thoughts drifted to the newscaster who said you never shoot a man who is running away. I wonder what the phrase stop or I'll shot meant. In the Atlanta case they said there was no need to shoot since they had his car and they could get him the next day. Let's suppose that is what happened. Then the police find out that the car was stolen so they have no idea who he was. After several witnesses looked at the suspect files he was identified as an escaped murderer and the next day he rob a bank. A police officer on the seen watched the suspect killed a bank guard and escape. He gave chase and yelled stop or I'll shoot but the robber kept on running and was faster than the officer so he got away. When the officer was asked why he did not shoot he responded saying he didn't think it appropriate to shoot a man who was running away. The point is there are all sorts of scenarios that could surround any police action and often times these only become clear after the fact.

LA riots

In regards to the disturbance in down town Seattle several commentators have stated that sending in federal troops would not be appropriate. About 20 years ago a black man was assaulted by several white police officers and it was caught on tape. When the officers were acquitted riots followed. Within hours of the acquittals, the 1992 Los Angeles riots began, lasting six days. African-Americans were outraged by the verdicts and began rioting in the streets along with the Latino communities. By the time law enforcement, the California Army National Guard, the United States Army, and the United States Marine Corps restored order, the riots had resulted in 63 deaths, 2,383 injuries, more than 7,000 fires, damage to 3,100 businesses, and nearly $1 billion in financial losses. Smaller riots occurred in other U.S. cities such as San Francisco, Las Vegas in neighboring Nevada (see West Las Vegas riots), Seattle in Washington state, and as far east as Atlanta in Georgia and New York City. A minor riot erupted on Yonge Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as a result of the acquittals.

Bad cops

There are bad cops. There are bad people in every profession. Every effort should be made to weed out the bad guys. The blue wall that protects police should be taken down as should the secrecy surrounding incompetent physicians. Blacks should be concerned about actions of certain police but there is another area that rates equal concern and some maintain is more important and that is the schools. The gap in achievement between Blacks and Whites is widening and is reaching the breaking point. Experts are always telling us that the road out of poverty is education but Black students are not on that road. In all aspects including grades, test scores, graduation rates, discipline and suspensions Blacks are falling behind.

Virus Trump

On Morning Joe today Joe and Mika discussed the fact that the president walked slowly down the ramp leading from the speakers platform at the military academy and that he used his left hand to steady his right hand when he drank some water and this could mean he has the virus. On CNN they suggested that Trump was not aware of the significance of the date June 19 when his rally in Tulsa was scheduled.

20 years ago, in an attempt to raise test scores and close the achievement gap the federal government enacted the No Child Left Behind Act and fives ago it was replaced with Every Student Succeeds Act. Teachers universally disliked these Acts as they tried to make schools from different cities and neighborhoods end up with the same test scores. This is the result of one standard set out around the country from Washington. Today there is pressure to have the federal government set up guidelines for police departments around the country not taking into account the differences in cities and neighborhoods. The education plan failed to solve the problems in schools and many say the plan to bring better results to police departments will suffer the same result. The Feds are under pressure to do something and the something they can do is passed new laws.

Statues

It seems that some Americans are set on cleaning the skeletons out of the historical closet so they best be ready to shake up the country. 12 Presidents owned slaves with Washington leading the pack with 600 followed by Jefferson with 200. 25 of the founding fathers owned slaves, some of the more well known being, John Henry, Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry and Samuel Chase. For example there are 151 places and institutions named after Ben Franklin. The Franklin memorial in Philadelphia contains a 20 foot tall statue of Ben. Memorials for these slave owners can be found around the country and each one that is torn down will be traumatic to some degree. Before people embark upon this journey, they should be aware of where it ends. It is somewhat easier to pick out those men who were part of the confederacy than those who were instrumental in founding the country.

Mpls police

Minneapolis police are being criticized for mistreatment of blacks and much of this is based on statistics which show that blacks are dis proportionally arrested and charged. Some say this shows a prejudice. If that is the case there may be a similar prejudice in the schools because students of color accounted for 66 percent of all suspensions and expulsions in 2015-16 even though they represent only 31 percent of the state’s students. Others say it shows that blacks find it difficult to deal with authority figures which more often than not are white. Still others say it goes back to the home where children are not taught respect for authority. Some say that bringing these things up represents a prejudicial view which causes many not to discuss these stats. Others say that talking about the issue is the first step to problem solving. Round and round they go and the result is: Minnesota’s 2016-17 graduation rates for African American and Hispanic students placed us 50th among the 50 states.

Culture

Terms like systemic racism are sometimes difficult to decipher. Many feel it has to do with culture and a good example are the attempts to change the past. Recall for years how sports team names were challenged, names like Washington Red Skins. There are demands to remove Confederate Flags and more recently things have moved toward removing statues and a statue of Robert E Lee was taken down in New Orleans because he was a slave owner. Should this same standard apply to George Washington and Thomas Jefferson? Some suggest reparations to Native Americans and descendants of slaves. The culture also has non racial concerns. The crosses on the graves in Arlington National Crematory are a sore spot to those who believe in separation of church and state. There have long been calls to remove references to God which appear on government buildings and on the currency. Should congress continue to open with a prayer? Should Christmas be changed to Winter Solstice? There are many questions about gender identity that challenge past behavior. The list goes on.

Police department

I have suggested in the past that the Washington bureaucracy has become a forth branch of government and it has been gaining in power over the past 40 plus years. Today's news has brought similar problem in focus on the municipal level and that involves the police departments. It starts with the police union which is strong enough to influence the election of local district attorneys. These officers of the court then become indebted to the police and it makes it difficult to convict police of crimes. It also makes it very difficult to discharge police for improper actions. This is similar to other public unions such as the teachers union. The police departments in many cities have grown into powerful forces which the city officials find complicated and difficult work with. This may be an area to reform by having the DA appointed by the mayor.

Cut programs

Whenever republicans suggest cutting social programs the democrats quickly point out the need for police and fire protection thus hoping the thwart any cuts. Now the democrats are proposing cuts to police.

Cut sooner

When solutions are found to problems people can always ask why wasn't it done sooner. Trump solutions to the virus are subject to this criticism. Today on the news Nancy Pelosi said that the race problems in America started with slavery and continue to this day. She then announced a new law containing six main changes that will start to solve this problem. The six changes could have been made anytime and she has been in congress for 35 years. So the question arises, why didn't she do this sooner?

Furgeson

Most of the news shows today started out with the exclamation, ten days of protest, as if that were a world record. As a reminder recall the last time we had a racially activated protest. The unrest that happened after Michael Brown, a black man, was killed by white officer in Ferguson, MO went on in stages. Date First wave: August 9, 2014 – August 25, 2014[1] Second wave: November 24, 2014[2] – December 2, 2014[3] Third wave: August 9, 2015 – August 11, 2015 Even the first wave lasted 16 days.

Police training

As a result of the recent slaying of a black man by Minneapolis Police certain reforms are recommended. These include bias training for police, more federal oversight, appointment of special prosecutors for police crimes, police should avoid actions that escalate the problem, hold officers accountable, incentives for officers to change and better pay for police. Governor Cuomo of New York says these things are needed. He has been governor since 2011.

Viet Nam

As the protest enter the ninth day, most of the press covering the current protest/riots are not familiar with the activities that went on for almost fifteen years during the Viet Nam War. People were in the streets on a regular basis over this time period with crowds often exceeding 100,000. One of the more serious incidences occurred at Kent State when four student protesters were shot and killed by National Guard Troops.

Riots are gone

When the riots subside and disappear into the trash heap of yesterdays news, when the celebrities who decry injustice go back to their gated homes and when the politicians who use these events to get reelected, when the news people see the ratings drop and move to the next big disaster, the poor people who live in low income areas like the Phillips district in Minneapolis will look around and not believe what they see. Neighborhoods which are already referred to as food deserts will see their stores and businesses destroyed and their jobs gone. In every riot the poorest end up losing the most and after the next election they will be forgotten.

Riots

There are two terrible unrelated events that keep reoccurring and they have some important similarities. First is the periodic riots over while police officers killing black civilians and the second is mass school shootings. At the end of each episode experts come on TV and tell us what they are going to do to prevent this from ever happening again. After a couple of weeks things die down and nothing much happens until the next incidence.