07 June 2010

GRAB BAG


Increasingly, law enforcement agencies are viewing cameras as a threat. With support from legislatures and judges, it is now illegal in many jurisdictions to photograph or video an officer while on duty. This does not compute. Dashboard-mounted cameras have documented countless crimes, and shown countless officers performing their duty by the book. It only makes sense that an officer with nothing to hide would welcome added visibility to use as evidence. The only conclusion I can draw is that many individual officers and their departments indulge in behavior that is illegal -- abusing suspects, for instance. As one jurisdiction in Pennsylvania has done, all states should pass laws explicitly affirming the right to video in public places. Police paranoia over being photographed is a sure sign that thing are amiss, and the civil rights of everyone are at risk.


Creative minds mimic schizophrenia. When you read why, it makes perfect sense. This ties in with the musical virtuosity among many autistic people.

The scariest job chart just got even scarier. The ripples of consequence from the Reagan-Bush-Bush administrations will be with us for years to come. It is laughable that so many people are whining about Obama's taking so long to reverse a depressive economy which has had decades to take on a momentum of its own. And it is depressing that there remain those who defend the selfish, honorless economic code which landed us here in the first place. Deregulation and the free market are four-letter words in my book.

In the Gulf, it was unclear who was in charge, before, during and after the oil rig explosion -- and continuing to this day during containment and cleanup efforts. Everyone focuses on BP, which was only one of a string of players. The whole agonizing spectacle reminds me of the circus act where 28 clowns emerge endlessly from an impossibly tiny car. Our clowns are still emerging.

Get them while they're young: an idea toward creating an anti-prejudice future. As always, The Angry Black Woman has her act together. The importance of breaking the generational cycle of bigotry cannot be overstated.

No comments:

Post a Comment