Why Baltimore Police Have 'Stopped Noticing Crime' | Trending

Why Baltimore Police Have 'Stopped Noticing Crime' | Trending
"An interesting news story ran in Thursday’s USA Today. “Baltimore police stopped noticing crime after Freddie Gray's death,” read the headline. 
“A wave of killings followed.”
What I found most interesting about it, though, was not the facts that were reported but rather that anyone should have found them surprising. 
“Just before a wave of violence turned Baltimore into the nation’s deadliest big city,” the story begins, “a curious thing happened to its police force: officers suddenly seemed to stop noticing crime.”
The story goes on to describe how Baltimore’s police officers reported seeing fewer drug dealers out and about, fewer traffic violators, fewer people with arrest warrants, fewer of any type of person who previously would have attracted their attention. 
Note that the story does not say there were fewer of these lawbreakers, only that the police did not report seeing as many.
Surely if the officers were being candid, they would say they saw just as many as ever, but that they made the decision not to do anything about them.
And who can blame them?...
Read on.

Immune from consequences?-----US government loses nuclear stocks of plutonium, uranium | Idaho Statesman

US government loses nuclear stocks of plutonium, uranium | Idaho Statesman:
"Two security experts from the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory drove to San Antonio, Texas, in March 2017 with a sensitive mission: to retrieve dangerous nuclear materials from a nonprofit research lab there.

Their task was to ensure that the radioactive materials did not fall into the wrong hands on the way back to Idaho, where the government maintains a stockpile of nuclear explosive materials for the military and others.
To ensure they got the right items, the specialists from Idaho brought radiation detectors and small samples of dangerous materials to calibrate them: specifically, a plastic-covered disk of plutonium, a material that can be used to fuel nuclear weapons, and another of cesium, a highly radioactive isotope that could potentially be used in a so-called “dirty” radioactive bomb.
But when they stopped at a Marriott hotel just off Highway 410, in a high-crime neighborhood filled with temp agencies and ranch homes, they left those sensors on the back seat of their rented Ford Expedition. 
When they awoke the next morning, the window had been smashed and the special valises holding these sensors and nuclear materials had vanished."

#1 This day 1969-----Zager and Evans - In The Year 2525

America has a nobility problem that lets leaders escape consequences

America has a nobility problem that lets leaders escape consequences:
"Politicians and bureaucrats are America's ruling class and they should start paying a price for failure. Accountability isn't just for little guys.
...After all, nobody’s squiring about the United States, sporting titles like Duke of Pennsylvania or Earl of Internal Revenue.
But now I’m wondering if we don’t have a problem. 
...in practice, America absolutely does have a ruling class, and a permanent political class, and they seem to be increasingly one and the same. 
(As Angelo Codevilla writes:  “Never has there been so little diversity within America’s upper crust.”) 
And like any ruling class, they claim, and possess, privileges and immunities not available to ordinary citizens.
...this privilege extends not only to the titled, but to their retainers, in this case police and other government bureaucrats.
In America, if you misunderstand the law, or simply are ignorant of it, you will nonetheless be liable to go to jail or be sued — if you are an ordinary citizen. 
If you are a government official, you can generally avoid liability in a lawsuit by pleading “qualified immunity,” meaning, in essence, that you misunderstood the law or were ignorant of it, but acted in good faith, a defense that is not available to ordinary citizens...
...And government officials almost never face criminal prosecution for their official acts, and on the rare occasions that they do, they are almost never convicted.

• When the EPA poisoned the Animas River in Colorado, it rejected claims for damages, and nobody from the EPA went to jail.  

A private company under similar circumstances would have faced ruinous losses, and the executives would have risked criminal prosecution. 
Then-EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy skated.
Accountability is for the little people

• When the IRS’s Lois Lerner deliberately targeted conservative groups — something the IRS admitted and apologized for — she retired with her pension and faced no charges. 
• When Chinese hackers stole a vast database of secret military and intelligence personnel information, a blow some experts called a “cyber-Pearl Harbor,” nobody lost their job or went to jail. Accountability, it seems, is for the rest of us, the little people.

As a character in the movie "The Verdict" said, “You guys... you guys are all the same! The doctors at the hospital, you... it's always what I'm going to do for you. And then you screw up, and it's, ‘Ah, we did the best that we could, I'm dreadfully sorry.’ And people like us live with your mistakes the rest of our lives.”
Freedom from consequences:  
It’s the defining consequence of our modern titles of nobility..."
Read all.

You ought to know!

Illegal Immigrant BEHEADS 13-Year-Old Special Needs Girl, Murders Grandmother, Officials Say | Daily Wire

Illegal Immigrant BEHEADS 13-Year-Old Special Needs Girl, Murders Grandmother, Officials Say | Daily Wire:

Alabama law enforcement officials say that an illegal immigrant and an immigrant in the United States on a green card are responsible for the brutal murders of a grandmother and her 13-year-old special needs granddaughter in what investigators say is violence related to Mexican drug cartels.

Basically, they all want more free stuff-----Why the Kids are Socialists | Intellectual Takeout

Why the Kids are Socialists | Intellectual Takeout:
"By now you've most likely seen the polls reporting that roughly half of Millennials have a favorable view of Socialism and you're probably wondering how in the world that is possible.
Didn't America win the Cold War?
Well, yes, we did win the Cold War, but we're losing the culture war.
As I was discussing the rising Socialist leanings of city councils with a reader of Intellectual Takeout, I made the point that what is happening now is the result of what was done over many decades.
Americans didn't just become Socialists all of a sudden; no, the way was prepared for its rising popularity.
Now, not a few conservatives or libertarians will comfort themselves with the knowledge that many Millennials who view Socialism favorably can't actually define it.
Politically, though, that doesn't matter.
What matters is how the typical Millennial perceives Socialism, as that will dictate how he votes at election time.
If I have a favorable view of Socialism, then I'm quite likely to vote for the Socialist -- no matter that I can't define the ideology.
And how is Socialism perceived? 
As a system of governance that is fair, makes sure everyone is materially secure, gives purpose to life, and increases happiness.
Here are five reasons that such a system appeals so well to younger Americans:..."
Read it!

AM Fruitcake

History for July 17

History for July 17 - On-This-Day.com
James Cagney 1899, Art Linkletter 1912, Phyllis Diller 1917 - Comedian


Lucie Arnaz 1951 - Actress, David Hasselhoff 1952 Actor ("Knight Rider," "Baywatch"), singer, Angela Merkel 1954 - German Chancellor


1212 - The Moslems were crushed in the Spanish crusade.


1453 - France defeated England at Castillon, France, which ended the 100 Years' War.


1917 - The British royal family adopted the Windsor name.


1945 - U.S. President Truman, Soviet leader Josef Stalin and British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill began meeting at Potsdam in the final Allied summit of World War II. During the meeting Stalin made the comment that "Hitler had escaped."


1950 - The television show "The Colgate Comedy Hour" debuted featuring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.


1955 - Disneyland opened in Anaheim, CA.


1975 - An Apollo spaceship docked with a Soyuz spacecraft in orbit. It was the first link up between the U.S. and Soviet Union.


1997 - After 117 years, the Woolworth Corp. closed its last 400 stores.

Pirro on 'Unapologetic' Peter Strzok: He's the 'Personification of the Deep State' | Fox News Insider

Pirro on 'Unapologetic' Peter Strzok: He's the 'Personification of the Deep State' | Fox News Insider:

"Peter Strzok, the personification of the righteous left ... was a composite of pompous, arrogant, indignant, sarcastic, smug, condescending, defiant and unapologetic," Pirro said of his hearing.
Pirro also said that Strzok is "also the personification of the deep state itself, where fascism rules."
Strzok's hearing was stunning, Judge Jeanine said, adding that the text exchanges Strzok had with attorney Lisa Page betray his denial of bias.

The way we were-----The Beach Boys - I Get Around

Boob-tube-----Bill Clinton LOSES It Over Monica Lewinsky, #MeToo On Live TV

Glenn K. Beaton: Plastic straw feel-goodery | AspenTimes.com

Glenn K. Beaton: Plastic straw feel-goodery | AspenTimes.com
"Teachers here recently put children up to sending a letter to this newspaper proclaiming that "plastic straws are toxic and are destroying our planet" because they wind up in the oceans.
The letter asked Aspen to ban them.
Not that I really care about straws.
I don't like straws — or vegetables or little umbrellas — in my scotch anyway.
But notice that the kids weren't asked to make any real sacrifice.
...Aspen Skiing Co. also has jumped on the plastic bandwagon.
Always on the lookout for a cheap gesture to signal its virtuous (or is it virtual?) greenness, their marketing gurus boast of banning plastic straws in their restaurants.
They evidently think this little plastic straw ban buys them green indulgences to consume gigawatts of electricity generated by burning fossil fuels (elsewhere of course) to haul people up snowy hills so that they can slide back down on plastic skis, over and over, till they get cold and sit by a fossil fuel fireplace before burning barrels of fossil fuel to fly home.
OK, before someone pries my plastic keyboard out of my cold dead hands, let's look at some facts.
The average American uses about 300 pounds of plastic a year, or nearly a pound a day.
According to the most extreme estimates of plastic straw usage, that includes 1.6 plastic straws a day. (That sounds high, but I'll go with it.)
One plastic straw weighs about 1/67 of an ounce.
Do the math.
Plastic straws account for about 0.15 percent of the average American's use of plastic..."
Read on.

Thunder StrzokThe American Spectator

Thunder StrzokThe American Spectator
"The creepiest witness to ever grace a Congressional hearing, minced in his seat and evaded questions for hours on end Thursday. 
His name? 
Peter Strzok (pronounced “Struck” for the Democrats on the committee who kept mispronouncing it). 
The general impression from his testimony? 
What a complete weirdo. 
It is astonishing that someone so strange, supercilious and seemingly evil reached so high a position in law enforcement...

Some video of weirdness: (click link to view)

Robert Morgan@chunga1958

 · 12 Jul

Replying to @Hollybowie

Is this actually real or has it been manipulated in some way?

Holly Bowie@Hollybowie

Completely real. I personally recorded it from my tv. I was so shocked when I saw it and played it back. I only cut the first part of the arguing. This is the full recording I captured. I couldn’t believe it. pic.twitter.com/fL3Ji16qP1

8:53 PM - Jul 12, 2018

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Photo credit: Screenshot by Conservative Treehouse

Peter Strzok’s arrogance is the product of a corrupt FBI

Peter Strzok’s arrogance is the product of a corrupt FBI:

Gradually, though, anger gave way to amazement as Strzok grew increasingly combative and condescending. Given his predicament, the sneering and smirking were stupid, and yet he persisted.
Who is this jerk, I wondered, and how in the hell did he get to be a big shot at the FBI? And why are taxpayers still paying for the privilege of his malignant presence on the FBI payroll?
My answers can be summarized in four names: James Comey, Jeff Sessions, Rod Rosenstein and Christopher Wray. They are chief culprits in the death of public trust in the Department of Justice.

How they "think"-----Should Neil Gorsuch be removed from the Supreme Court? | MLive.com

Should Neil Gorsuch be removed from the Supreme Court? | MLive.com
Should Neil Gorsuch be removed from the Supreme Court?

Supreme Court justices have lifetime appointments, but the U.S. Constitution leaves open the possibility of impeachment. 

Many believe Neil Gorsuch should be removed from the Supreme Court. 

He's occupying Merrick Garland's stolen seat and was appointed by someone who many on the left see as an illegitimate president. 

But even critics of Gorsuch argue talks of impeachment are crazy. 

Not only will it never happen, it would set a wildly dangerous precedent that Congress can impeach justices it does not like. 

What do you think?

PERSPECTIVES

...The U.S. Constitution guarantees Supreme Court justices "shall hold their Offices during good Behavior," but what exactly constitutes bad behavior?

As one Daily Kos commenter put it: why not try? 
Republicans used ruthless, unethical methods to keep Merrick Garland from joining the Supreme Court. 

Why shouldn't Democrats retaliate if they take back Congress in 2018?...

Read on.