[source]
Wednesday, December 23, 2020
Midweek Reading
The Gadfly of American Plutocracy
How Compass Became the Bane of Real Estate
How One of the Reddest States Became the Nation’s Hottest Weed MarketWisconsin Supreme Court upholds Biden's win, rejects Trump lawsuitThe Election is Over. Wisconsin Turns to Redistricting.A new California bill would require a 4-year degree to become a copEverything We’ve Learned About Modern Economic Theory Is Wrong
How Compass Became the Bane of Real Estate
How One of the Reddest States Became the Nation’s Hottest Weed MarketWisconsin Supreme Court upholds Biden's win, rejects Trump lawsuitThe Election is Over. Wisconsin Turns to Redistricting.A new California bill would require a 4-year degree to become a copEverything We’ve Learned About Modern Economic Theory Is Wrong
Saturday, December 12, 2020
Best Metal Music Of 2020
Anaal Nathrakh - Endarkenment
VoidCeremony - Entropic Reflections Continuum: Dimensional Unravel
Rebel Wizard - Magickal Mystical Indifference
Midnight - Rebirth By Blasphemy
Enslaved - Utgard
Sepultura - Quadra
King Diamond - The Institute
Protest The Hero - Palimpsest
The Ocean - Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic
Intronaut - Fluid Existential Inversions
Igorr - Spirituality And Distortion
Warbringer - Weapons of Tomorrow
Cryptic Shift - Visitations From Enceladus
Lamb of God - Lamb of God
Umbra Vitae – Shadow of LifeVader – Solitude in Madness
Cirith Ungol – Forever BlackUlcerate – Stare Into Death and Be Still
Lucifer – Lucifer IIISylosis – Cycle Of Suffering
Plague - Portraits of MindVoidCeremony - Entropic Reflections Continuum: Dimensional Unravel
August Burns Red - Guardians
Inferi - Of Sunless Realms
Spirit Adrift - Enlightened In Eternity
Carcass - Despicable
Pallbearer - Forgotten Days
Hellripper - The Affair of the Poisons
Uada - Djinn
Harakiri for the Sky - I, PallbearerNecrot - Mortal
Antichrist Demoncore - Satan Is King
Adzes - No On Wants To Speak About It
Gulch - Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress
Satan's Fall - Final Day
Testament - Titans of Creation
Buzzwords Are Not Public Policy or We've Heard Enough From So-Called Business Experts
More cliched economic jargon from error-prone businessmen.
Biden Needs Some Business ExpertsThere is so much wrong here, it's hard to know where to begin. There are so many regurgitated conservative falsehoods in this right-wing word salad, it really does make the mind spin. For someone who can occasionally make reasonable sounding arguments, John Torinus, more often, just parrots typical Republican talking-points.
Biden has been working for the citizens his entire adult life. He's plenty familiar with job creation. Republicans are the party that has left this country in recession after recession over the past few decades. And, it has been the Democrats who enacted targeted policies to help pull the country out. Biden was Vice President during the Obama Administration, in case Mr. Torinus has forgotten that fact.
Seems like they know something about job creation, reinventing the economy and helping the private sector be vibrant.
And this "dynamism in the private sector" and "turning entrepreneurs loose" are, as Joe Biden would say, a bunch of malarkey. This country has been cutting taxes and deregulating the past 40 years. If the private sector entrepreneurs are so damn dynamic, why does the economy keep falling back into recession when we allow Republicans control of the government?
It's long overdue for the private sector knows it all, government needs to get out of the way-gang to go away. The public sector employs over 20 millions people. The public sector accounts for nearly half of the entire economy. This idea, pushed by Republicans for decades, that government is inept and wasteful is wrong. If anything, the private sector is the wasteful and inefficient actor. Not to mention the fact that the private sector is also selfish and greedy.
Private retirement account fees are drastically higher than public pension fees or Social Security fees. Much of the medical advancements we see are due to university research and the National Institutes of Health. Study after study has shown that public infrastrucutre projects are cheaper when done by unionized public workers, rather than being bid out to private corporations.
So, please, Republicans, conservatives, dynamic private sector know-it-alls, please step aside and let the adults in the Democratic party save the country from your destructive and misguided ramblings once again.
Skills To Pay The Bills
More proof there is no skills gap or skills shortage.
6 of the top 10 most in demand jobs in Wisconsin through 2026 require a high school diploma, or job-specific training, at most.
[source]
Friday, December 4, 2020
Weekend Reading
How Ronald Reagan’s Racism Helped Pave the Way for Donald Trump’sIn Case You Missed It, Reagan Was A ScumbagHome Prices Are In a Bubble. Full Stop.Milwaukee paid $40M+ in police brutality casesAfter NY Gov. Cuomo Accuses SC of Partisanship, Cardinal Dolan Hails Decision to Block COVID Church RestrictionsThe Wisconsin Legislature is a gerrymandered swamp run by self-serving RepublicansRepublican Senator Faces Insider-Trading Accusations Ahead of Georgia RunoffMichael Flynn calls for Trump to suspend the constitution and declare martial law to re-run electionIowa Is What Happens When Government Does Nothing
Friday, November 13, 2020
2020 Takes Alex Trebek But Leaves Mitch McConnell
Fox 6 anchor Ted Perry apologizes for joking about the death of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
If Lou Dobbs, Sean Hannity, Brian Kilmeade, Steve Doocy, Laura Ingrahm, Tucker Carlson, et al, can pretend they are serious journalists bringing their viewers an honest take on the stories of the day, why can't a local news reporter express his view about a vile man, with a humorous quip, on his private Twitter account?
For context, Mitch McConnell is a piece of shit. He's a power-hungry, know-nothing that has done all he can to steal elections, take away health care, and generally make the lives of Americans more difficult.
Does anyone really think Ted Perry wants McConnell dead? Again, he's just using some humor to drive home the point that we're stuck with some very shitty people, while some of the good ones have passed away. Someone, anyone, argue that Mitch McConnell has done anything good for anyone but himself over his entire political career.
So, for those who can't deal in metaphors, maybe McConnell doesn't need to actually die. But he does need to be voted out of office. He's a terrible public servant. He's a miserable human being. Fuck Mitch McConnell! And fuck anyone that would defend that pile of garbage!
A Message To Trump Supporters Dealing With The Loss Of Their Dear Leader
So here's the deal for all the anti-science, racist, misogynistic, road-blocking, gun-totting, know-nothing, taunting, harassing, hate-spewing, douchebag Trump supporters and voters ... go fuck yourselves!
Now, to live up to all the bullshit you emit into the world, to uphold your anti-socialism blather, your anti-government rhetoric:stop relying on police and fire fightersrefuse Medicare and Social Securitystop driving on the roadsstop using trains and airportspull your children out of public schoolsstop collecting your farm subsidiesstop using food stampsdon't you dare set foot in a public museum, a public park or a zooplow your own roadsclear your own sewagelight your own streets(to name a few)
But most of all, and I repeat, go fuck yourselves!!!
Weekend Reading
How risky is air travel in the pandemic? Here’s what the science says.Democrats Have a Much Bigger Problem Than the Senate or the Electoral CollegeRepublicans claim Wisconsin clerks illegally altered absentee ballots, but they were following election guidanceBiden Could Roll Back Trump Agenda With Blitz of Executive ActionsProgressive Rep. Rashida Tlaib Fires Back At Centrist Democrats: ‘I Can’t Be Silent’Ron Johnson is more loyal to Donald Trump than democracy
Tuesday, November 3, 2020
Midweek Reading
Changes that Would Make a Difference in the Biden AdministrationThe stock market is overvalued, according to almost every measure dating to 1950The stock market’s strength tells us less about the true state of the economy than at almost any other time over the last five decadesIf Wisconsin's Legislature were a business, Republicans would've already been firedTRUMP IS TERRIFIED ABOUT GOING TO PRISON AFTER LOSING THE ELECTION, AS HE SHOULD BEData show these US industries have the most recession proof jobsThe NFL rewards men who put their hands on womenRepublican senator ‘personally benefited from tax change he sought’ (Ron Johnson is a piece of shit)Science Denial and COVID Conspiracy Theories
Thursday, October 15, 2020
Weekend Reading
Yes, Wisconsin legislators haven’t passed a bill in 6 monthsFace masks: what the data sayWe Must Save Democracy From ConspiraciesDonald Trump: Biden Better Take COVID-19 More Seriously or He Might Get It and Infect a Bunch of People
Why Wisconsin's largest business group endorses mask-wearing campaign while opposing Evers' mandate (because they're assholes)
Convention Center Expansion Approved
Hundreds of millions for another boondoggle.
There are many better ways to spend this money.
Amendments
Pelosi introduces bill under 25th Amendment for commission to evaluate fitness of future presidents
While the Democrats are introducing new Amendments, how about a few of these:
- Abolish the Electoral College
- Make the number of Senators a state has dependent on the state's population
- Make elections free and fair
- Correct gerrymandered districts, bi-partisanly establish how districts are to be drawn
- Set term limits for the Supreme Court
Thursday, October 8, 2020
Weekend Reading
Should Sheriff’s Budget Be Cut?Conservative Group Seeks Immediate Stop To Wisconsin Mask MandateThe truth about violent crime in American cities, explained in 11 chartsBlack people were 8 times more likely to be pulled over by Milwaukee police in 2019 than white people, new report saysIdaho pastor who encouraged congregants to go maskless is in intensive care unit after contracting coronavirusA Disgusting Night for DemocracyCovid-19’s stunningly unequal death toll in America, in one chartThe Decline of Wisconsin’s Republican PartyTrumpworld delighted in cruelty. Now that Trump has COVID, it demands empathy.‘A Symbol Of Your Own Failures’: Jake Tapper Takes It To TrumpWhy Should Court End Mask Mandate, Judge Asks
Friday, September 25, 2020
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
Wednesday, September 16, 2020
A Much Bigger Income Shift To Top 1% Than Anyone Thought
Landmark Study: A Much Bigger Income Shift To Top 1% Than Anyone Thought
A new analysis by the RAND Corporation examines what rising inequality has cost Americans in lost income—and the results are even bigger than expected.
Midweek Reading
Blue States are Not Wrong to Want to Restore the Deduction for State and Local Taxes
Trump calls for Fox News journalist to be fired for report on war dead scandal
How Dangerous Is Police Work?
Science Magazine Editor Pens Scathing Critique Of Trump’s ‘Shameful’ COVID-19 Lies
Trump claims crime is up in US cities. The truth is more complicated.
58% of Key Great Lakes Wetlands Unprotected50 years later, Milton Friedman’s shareholder doctrine is dead
Monday, September 7, 2020
More Holiday Reading
Norquist Says City Not ‘Most Racist’
Trump Compares Police Shooting Of Jacob Blake To Golfer Who ‘Chokes’ During Putt
Bill Ackman on saving capitalism: Every child in the U.S. could be given enough money at birth to become millionaires by retirement
Kenosha destroyed Tucker Carlson’s narrative
From QAnon to Kyle Rittenhouse, the Right is Sinking Deeper Into an Alternate Reality
Kyle Rittenhouse, Kenosha, and the Sheepdog Mentality
Trump's Presidency in Seven Metrics
White supremacists and militias have infiltrated police across US, report says
How the Myth of a Liberal North Erases a Long History of White Violence
Trump Compares Police Shooting Of Jacob Blake To Golfer Who ‘Chokes’ During Putt
Bill Ackman on saving capitalism: Every child in the U.S. could be given enough money at birth to become millionaires by retirement
Kenosha destroyed Tucker Carlson’s narrative
From QAnon to Kyle Rittenhouse, the Right is Sinking Deeper Into an Alternate Reality
Kyle Rittenhouse, Kenosha, and the Sheepdog Mentality
Trump's Presidency in Seven Metrics
White supremacists and militias have infiltrated police across US, report says
How the Myth of a Liberal North Erases a Long History of White Violence
Why police encouraged a teenager with a gun to patrol Kenosha’s streets
Central bankers need to overhaul outdated thinking on labor markets
Writing is the best way to discover what you think
Central bankers need to overhaul outdated thinking on labor markets
Holiday Reading
The Fed has a new approach to inflation: What it means for your savings, credit-card debt — and your mortgage rate
U.S. Debt Is Set to Exceed Size of the Economy Next Year, a First Since World War II
Black-Scholes Option Pricing is Wrong
10 Crucial Things That Result From Einstein’s Theories of Relativity
U.S. Debt Is Set to Exceed Size of the Economy Next Year, a First Since World War II
Black-Scholes Option Pricing is Wrong
10 Crucial Things That Result From Einstein’s Theories of Relativity
Do Your Fucking Job!!!
Vos Task Force Deflects Actual Action. Speaker refuses to convene legislature to address policing and racial disparities.
Robin Vos is a piece of shit.
Sorry, maybe that's unfair to feces.
Robin Vos is a selfish, know-nothing, do-nothing, waste of space.
Friday, August 28, 2020
Weekend Reading
Jacob Blake's mother calls for prayers, end to violent protests in Kenosha
CEO Pay Has Risen 1,167% Since 1978
The MyPillow Guy, explained by someone who read his memoir
The age of endarkenment
Record $926 million flows into controversial Chicago TIF districts, more than a third of city property taxes
CEO Pay Has Risen 1,167% Since 1978
The MyPillow Guy, explained by someone who read his memoir
The age of endarkenment
Record $926 million flows into controversial Chicago TIF districts, more than a third of city property taxes
The City Planners' Case for Defunding the Police
Daniel Dale On Convention Lies: 'It's Hard For Me To Know Where To Start'
Crooks & Liars Staffers Remember The Wonderful Values Of Ronald Reagan
Daniel Dale On Convention Lies: 'It's Hard For Me To Know Where To Start'
Thursday, August 27, 2020
Friday, July 31, 2020
Weekend Reading
Barr Condemned For Spreading Misinformation On Vote By Mail
150,000 Americans have died from Covid-19. Here's why that staggering loss of life can't be ignored
It’s Going to Be a Long and Harsh Recession: NYT Warns of Skills Gap
A Milwaukee pastor compared mask mandates to the Holocaust at a Brookfield Common Council meeting
Why Vos and Fitzgerald Fear Fair Maps
Most Americans Are Buying Into President Trump’s False Arguments About Crime Conservative Legal Expert: Trump Election Tweets Are Grounds For Impeachment
150,000 Americans have died from Covid-19. Here's why that staggering loss of life can't be ignored
It’s Going to Be a Long and Harsh Recession: NYT Warns of Skills Gap
A Milwaukee pastor compared mask mandates to the Holocaust at a Brookfield Common Council meeting
Why Vos and Fitzgerald Fear Fair Maps
Most Americans Are Buying Into President Trump’s False Arguments About Crime Conservative Legal Expert: Trump Election Tweets Are Grounds For Impeachment
Thursday, July 30, 2020
Midweek Reading
A New Understanding of Herd Immunity
Financial challenges will force conversation about cutting Milwaukee police budget
Inside Trump’s Failure: The Rush to Abandon Leadership Role on the Virus
Ohio House Speaker Arrested In Connection With $60 Million Bribery Scheme
Obama Built Most of Trump’s Good Economy
Financial challenges will force conversation about cutting Milwaukee police budget
Inside Trump’s Failure: The Rush to Abandon Leadership Role on the Virus
Ohio House Speaker Arrested In Connection With $60 Million Bribery Scheme
Obama Built Most of Trump’s Good Economy
Saturday, July 18, 2020
Friday, July 17, 2020
Wednesday, July 15, 2020
Midweek Reading
Lincoln Project’s new ad brutally smacks down GOP cowardice
It’s Going to Be a Long and Harsh Recession: NYT Warns of Skills Gap
75 Years of American Finance: 1861-1935
The leveraging of America: how companies became addicted to debt
Is your dog younger (relative to human years) than you think? Study debunks 7 years claim
County Parks Lost Funding to Bucks Arena
Paul Krugman Sinks Donald Trump With A Titanic Analogy About His Coronavirus Failings
Roger Stone Still A ‘Convicted Felon,’ And ‘Rightly So,’ Says Robert Mueller In Angry Op-Ed
The murder that inspired Twin Peaks is the subject of a new documentary
The leveraging of America: how companies became addicted to debt
Wednesday, July 8, 2020
Republican Business As Usual: Do As They Say, Not As They Do
Legislators Who Opposed Pandemic Aid Grab Grants
Robin Vos and three other Republicans who opposed federal grants got at least $150,000.McConnell's Wife's Family Business Appears on Trump Admin's List of Companies That Received Most PPP Money
A shipping business started by Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao's family received at least $350,000 in loans set aside for companies struggling as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to data published Monday by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Tuesday, July 7, 2020
Midweek Reading
The real cost of Amazon
How Many Fewer Cops With A 10% Cut?
Republicans fought for local control over virus restrictions, now they’re fighting that local control
Why venture capital doesn’t build the things we really need
Oil And Gas Pipelines Look Like Increasingly Risky Bets
Beloit billionaire Diane Hendricks’ controversial charter school McConnell's Wife's Family Business Appears on Trump Admin's List of Companies That Received Most PPP Money The Study That Debunks Most Anti-Abortion Arguments
How Many Fewer Cops With A 10% Cut?
Republicans fought for local control over virus restrictions, now they’re fighting that local control
Why venture capital doesn’t build the things we really need
Oil And Gas Pipelines Look Like Increasingly Risky Bets
Beloit billionaire Diane Hendricks’ controversial charter school McConnell's Wife's Family Business Appears on Trump Admin's List of Companies That Received Most PPP Money The Study That Debunks Most Anti-Abortion Arguments
Monday, June 29, 2020
Thursday, June 18, 2020
Wednesday, June 17, 2020
Midweek Reading
Wisconsin Police Have $45 Million Surplus In Military Equipment
Protests against police put $454 million in military gear under spotlight
Coronavirus Cases Surge In Alabama, South Carolina And Oklahoma
One of America’s worst acts of racial violence was in Tulsa. Now, it’s the site of Trump’s first rally in months.
Protests against police put $454 million in military gear under spotlight
Coronavirus Cases Surge In Alabama, South Carolina And Oklahoma
One of America’s worst acts of racial violence was in Tulsa. Now, it’s the site of Trump’s first rally in months.
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
Tuesday, June 9, 2020
Too Many Cops
The national average is just under 28 per 10,000.
[source]
We must also remember that the current average of 28 per 10,000 population is the average in our current over-policed nation. It's plausible and probably preferable that the average be closer to 20, 15 or even 10 per 10,000 population. This further drives home the point that we have too many police.
Midweek Reading
A federal judge who accused Barr of ‘distorting’ the Mueller report has read an unredacted version — and now he’s demanding some answers
Minneapolis may be the first city to dismantle the police
Alex Vitale, author of The End of Policing, on why cops are being so brutal and what should be done with them
America’s Civil War
10 Steps States Should Take to End Corporate Giveaways
Milwaukee now in phase 3 of reopening: Here's what that means Trump Has Imprisoned Himself in the White House Police unions dig in as calls for reform grow
Minneapolis may be the first city to dismantle the police
Alex Vitale, author of The End of Policing, on why cops are being so brutal and what should be done with them
America’s Civil War
10 Steps States Should Take to End Corporate Giveaways
Milwaukee now in phase 3 of reopening: Here's what that means Trump Has Imprisoned Himself in the White House Police unions dig in as calls for reform grow
Monday, June 8, 2020
Saturday, June 6, 2020
Bad Cops & The Insufferably Woke
Times are tough. Really tough. Donald Trump is our so-called leader. A pandemic is sweeping the globe. Unemployment has exploded. America's inability to address racism and inequality is, again, on display.
Social media has been full of hashtags and finger-pointing. The righteous woke folk, cohorts of the cancel culture, are again calling for purity among the herd, while virtue-signaling their own superiority.
Most recently, in Milwaukee, the dust-up has been over Mayor Tom Barrett, on a Thursday, announcing that bars and restaurants could open to 25% capacity, on a Friday.
Complaints of this announcement ranged from a lack of notice, being a distraction, being political, to ... well, things really just went off the rails. This seems typical of liberals - the urge to eat their own. The immediate issue here would seem to be racism and/or police brutality. Yet somehow this has veered off into when and how restaurants should open up, how they're notified about such, the guidelines, how the mayor is a meanie, being a distraction or not, and so many other rabbit holes.
It became clear this was, again, another case of the self-superior types (and they all seem to be white) patting themselves on the back while, in essence, going after what would appear to be their allies because of a perceived lack of purity.
Lack of Notice
Many complaints were about the lack of notice regarding the reopening and their inability, thus, to prepare for such. But nothing said your bar or restaurant has to reopen right now. The mayor just gave notice that bars and restaurants could open at 25% capacity. After being closed for over two months (or just having curbside pick-up) one would think this would be good news for struggling bars and restaurants.
And, what exactly would have been the right amount of notice? How should this notice have been given? Is it a week? Two weeks? Was the mayor supposed to call each and every bar and restaurant owner to notify and or discuss.
If you don't want to open, don't. But know that you can when you want to and you are ready.
Guidelines
Another complaint was a perceived lack of guidelines for reopening. Yet guidelines for how we all interact during the pandemic have been spelled out, repeatedly, by the CDC, the WHO, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, the Wisconsin Department of Health and the City of Milwaukee Health Department, to name a few. Wear a mask, stay 6 feet apart, wash your hands a lot, disinfect surfaces a lot, etc.
Milwaukee Releases Five Criteria To Open Up
5 Issues that Should Be Part of Efforts to Reform Policing in Local Communities
U.S. Police Shootings: Blacks Disproportionately Affected
Social media has been full of hashtags and finger-pointing. The righteous woke folk, cohorts of the cancel culture, are again calling for purity among the herd, while virtue-signaling their own superiority.
Most recently, in Milwaukee, the dust-up has been over Mayor Tom Barrett, on a Thursday, announcing that bars and restaurants could open to 25% capacity, on a Friday.
Complaints of this announcement ranged from a lack of notice, being a distraction, being political, to ... well, things really just went off the rails. This seems typical of liberals - the urge to eat their own. The immediate issue here would seem to be racism and/or police brutality. Yet somehow this has veered off into when and how restaurants should open up, how they're notified about such, the guidelines, how the mayor is a meanie, being a distraction or not, and so many other rabbit holes.
It became clear this was, again, another case of the self-superior types (and they all seem to be white) patting themselves on the back while, in essence, going after what would appear to be their allies because of a perceived lack of purity.
Lack of Notice
Many complaints were about the lack of notice regarding the reopening and their inability, thus, to prepare for such. But nothing said your bar or restaurant has to reopen right now. The mayor just gave notice that bars and restaurants could open at 25% capacity. After being closed for over two months (or just having curbside pick-up) one would think this would be good news for struggling bars and restaurants.
And, what exactly would have been the right amount of notice? How should this notice have been given? Is it a week? Two weeks? Was the mayor supposed to call each and every bar and restaurant owner to notify and or discuss.
If you don't want to open, don't. But know that you can when you want to and you are ready.
Guidelines
Another complaint was a perceived lack of guidelines for reopening. Yet guidelines for how we all interact during the pandemic have been spelled out, repeatedly, by the CDC, the WHO, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, the Wisconsin Department of Health and the City of Milwaukee Health Department, to name a few. Wear a mask, stay 6 feet apart, wash your hands a lot, disinfect surfaces a lot, etc.
Milwaukee Releases Five Criteria To Open Up
Milwaukee outlines plan to re-open city
Distraction
Others complained this was a distraction - to allow bars and restaurants to open up now - during a time of protest for racial justice and police accountability. So, my question here is, are businesses to stay closed until we have complete racial harmony? What is the time frame?
Do some think people don't have the ability to walk and chew gum? People can't be focused on societal improvement ... and occasionally go out to eat?
So, let me get this straight, the George Floyd murder, at the hands of a piece of shit cop (and his shitty accomplices), has inflamed our better senses, but if we can suddenly dine out again, we'll forget about that? If that's the case, you're not as righteous, woke, or enlightened as you think you are.
Pushing for people to concentrate on one thought, or being able to only hold one idea at a time, doesn't make you a woke warrior, it makes you a baby. People can do more than one thing. If the fact that the mayor announcing a 25% capacity reopening for bars and restaurants has distracted you from the fact that America is, and has been, extremely racist and has a lot of work do, you're not woke, you're not an adult, you're just a squirrel distracted by any sudden noise or light.
And, it appears most of the recent distraction and other complaints about reopening are coming from white people. Which begs the question, where have you been? There's a long history of racism, oppression, segregation and inequality in America. It didn't just start in May 2020.
If you're so woke, let's look through all of your Twitter, Instagram and Facebook posts over the years and see how much time and effort you put forth in seeking racial equality and justice. Some of these same people were complaining of the lockdown not too long ago. Being closed, or being deemed non-essential, not being able to operate, that was un-American. The government, in trying to manage the pandemic, was overreaching and putting businesses at risk.
Seems to be a lot of bandwagon-jumpers with slogans and hashtags, pretending they've been part of the solution all along, and then criticizing, what would appear to be, their allies for not being as perfect as them, in their little fictionalized, sanitized, revisionist world.
The Mayor
A lot of vitriol has been throw at Mayor Barrett. He may not be perfect, but he sure as hell just seems to be trying to do the right thing. But let me get this straight, he alone is supposed to run a major city, try to manage the pandemic and solve racism?
Further, the mayor is not the police. Tom Barrett doesn't make the call for tear gas, rubber bullets or the use of force. Tom Barrett has called for officers to be fired and he has marched with the protesters. Tom Barrett took a pipe beating at State Fair to protect a baby and her grandmother. He is not some insensitive, racist, political apparatchik. He's doing his best to try to keep the city safe while trying to figure out how to move forward and right the wrongs. But there are no guidelines for this (at least not as many clear and concise guidelines as there are for operating your business during a pandemic); sometimes you have to figure it out as you go.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett joins protesters in Wisconsin against police killing of George Floyd
The Police
I've long complained about the police. Not that they are all bad or that it's not a tough job. But their budgets take way too much money from municipalities, which could be used for economic development, training, education, small business loans, etc. Which could go a long way toward helping poverty and inequality.
Yet, there are a lot of bad police doing bad things and costing their municipalities millions of dollars for their criminality. They need better vetting, training and accountability. Our country needs a paradigm shift in how we look at and operate our policing and law enforcement.
Also, we just have too many police in too many communities. We need to focus on police serving and protecting rather than simply enforcing the law. Because their emphasis seems to be on the force part of enforcement.
In Closing
This country has a long way to go toward racial justice, fair pay, equal opportunity, health care as a right, giving voice to the voiceless, and numerous other issues where we sadly lag behind. So, by all means, peacefully protest, run for office, vote for candidates that will actually do something, join an advocacy or lobbying organization, or start a local group to focus on a particular issue. Focus on the issue(s), know your true enemy and don't cut off your nose to spite your face.
Proactive, Productive Ways to Help
Milwaukee Urban League using community roundtables to identify solutions to end injustice
4 Ideas That Could Begin to Reform the Criminal Justice System and Improve Police-Community RelationsDistraction
Others complained this was a distraction - to allow bars and restaurants to open up now - during a time of protest for racial justice and police accountability. So, my question here is, are businesses to stay closed until we have complete racial harmony? What is the time frame?
Do some think people don't have the ability to walk and chew gum? People can't be focused on societal improvement ... and occasionally go out to eat?
So, let me get this straight, the George Floyd murder, at the hands of a piece of shit cop (and his shitty accomplices), has inflamed our better senses, but if we can suddenly dine out again, we'll forget about that? If that's the case, you're not as righteous, woke, or enlightened as you think you are.
Pushing for people to concentrate on one thought, or being able to only hold one idea at a time, doesn't make you a woke warrior, it makes you a baby. People can do more than one thing. If the fact that the mayor announcing a 25% capacity reopening for bars and restaurants has distracted you from the fact that America is, and has been, extremely racist and has a lot of work do, you're not woke, you're not an adult, you're just a squirrel distracted by any sudden noise or light.
And, it appears most of the recent distraction and other complaints about reopening are coming from white people. Which begs the question, where have you been? There's a long history of racism, oppression, segregation and inequality in America. It didn't just start in May 2020.
If you're so woke, let's look through all of your Twitter, Instagram and Facebook posts over the years and see how much time and effort you put forth in seeking racial equality and justice. Some of these same people were complaining of the lockdown not too long ago. Being closed, or being deemed non-essential, not being able to operate, that was un-American. The government, in trying to manage the pandemic, was overreaching and putting businesses at risk.
Seems to be a lot of bandwagon-jumpers with slogans and hashtags, pretending they've been part of the solution all along, and then criticizing, what would appear to be, their allies for not being as perfect as them, in their little fictionalized, sanitized, revisionist world.
The Mayor
A lot of vitriol has been throw at Mayor Barrett. He may not be perfect, but he sure as hell just seems to be trying to do the right thing. But let me get this straight, he alone is supposed to run a major city, try to manage the pandemic and solve racism?
Further, the mayor is not the police. Tom Barrett doesn't make the call for tear gas, rubber bullets or the use of force. Tom Barrett has called for officers to be fired and he has marched with the protesters. Tom Barrett took a pipe beating at State Fair to protect a baby and her grandmother. He is not some insensitive, racist, political apparatchik. He's doing his best to try to keep the city safe while trying to figure out how to move forward and right the wrongs. But there are no guidelines for this (at least not as many clear and concise guidelines as there are for operating your business during a pandemic); sometimes you have to figure it out as you go.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett joins protesters in Wisconsin against police killing of George Floyd
The Police
I've long complained about the police. Not that they are all bad or that it's not a tough job. But their budgets take way too much money from municipalities, which could be used for economic development, training, education, small business loans, etc. Which could go a long way toward helping poverty and inequality.
Yet, there are a lot of bad police doing bad things and costing their municipalities millions of dollars for their criminality. They need better vetting, training and accountability. Our country needs a paradigm shift in how we look at and operate our policing and law enforcement.
Also, we just have too many police in too many communities. We need to focus on police serving and protecting rather than simply enforcing the law. Because their emphasis seems to be on the force part of enforcement.
In Closing
This country has a long way to go toward racial justice, fair pay, equal opportunity, health care as a right, giving voice to the voiceless, and numerous other issues where we sadly lag behind. So, by all means, peacefully protest, run for office, vote for candidates that will actually do something, join an advocacy or lobbying organization, or start a local group to focus on a particular issue. Focus on the issue(s), know your true enemy and don't cut off your nose to spite your face.
Proactive, Productive Ways to Help
Milwaukee Urban League using community roundtables to identify solutions to end injustice
5 Issues that Should Be Part of Efforts to Reform Policing in Local Communities