The Big Lie

True Grit in Kentucky

One of the two police officers shot during riots in Louisville, shows up for roll call the next morning, despite being shot in the hip.

I disabled the video because I couldn't turn off autoplay whenever you refreshed/loaded the page. Too annoying.

The Gift of the Magi 2014 (or Adventures in ER Land) Revisited

Editor's Note: Not sure why, but I was thinking of this guy in the early hours the other morning. Although it's been over three years now, it reminded of this verse:

Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

- Matthew 25: 40


For anyone not acquainted with O. Henry's short story, "The Gift of the Magi", stop what you are doing and go straight here, and do not come back until you have finished it. You will not regret it. If are you familiar with it, but haven't read it in a long time, same goes for you. This will still be here when you get back.

I had a precious little gift of my own last week: an all expense paid visit to the ER! I was going to write about it last Friday and then the horrific murder of two policeman changed the focus of what I wanted to say. But, the players remain the same: two of Stockton's finest in blue, ER docs, representative of the evil, non government hospital, in white, a homeless man, and a keen observer of the human condition. (Okay, he was kicked out of the ER for loitering and then it was just up to me to take notes.)

It was the first time I'd been to an ER during the week, when things are relatively quiet. Typically, I'd be there on a weekend, like everybody else, because I didn't have access to my regular physician, and, well, it was an emergency. In fact, I had a great deal of déjà vu in driving myself there. Just before I moved to Ohio, I had driven myself to the very same ER, with a rapidly beating heart and pains in my left arm. The pain in my arm, it turned out, was coincidental to all the packing and moving I was doing, but, because that and my first ever bout with A-fib, I got moved to the front of a very long line of folk in the ER that weekend.

This time, there were may be a dozen people there, and a lot of them were friends and families of those actually needing medical treatment, still, there was a lot of "hurry up and wait". I didn't mind, since I was familiar with how the triage system works and my injuries were far from life threatening this time, so I waited. And waited. USW*

After waiting in one place, they invited me to wait in another, this time on a gurney in the hallway. So, I waited a little more. They had some of those portable curtain screens around, but there wasn't much call for them. Then, a couple of Stockton's finest and a couple of docs escorted this guy with no pants to sit on the gurney closest to mine. I tried not to eavesdrop, but by this time I was ready to read soup labels for entertainment.

It was apparently a homeless guy. Straight out of Central Casting, he had long scraggly hair and a long unkempt beard...and no pants. From what I was able to piece together his story, he'd been brought to the hospital four days before with some kind of seizure. His clothing and meager possessions had been stuffed into a plastic bag, per hospital policy. And now, he wanted to leave. Apparently in no uncertain terms he wanted to leave. My guess is, that he raised some kind of ruckus with the nurses, which explained the presence of the two police officers, who did not bring him in but were called because of the nature and volume of his impending departure.

The police officers both drew their night sticks and beat him mercilessly, shouting racial epithets in rhythm with the blows. Of course not. BTW, I haven't mentioned anyone's race or gender here (besides the homeless guy), and won't. It's irrelevant. The police and the doctors both explained that they could not keep him here against his will, but they were concerned for his well being after he leaves the hospital. It was remarked that he was weak, and could hardly walk, had no residence to return to, but he insisted he wanted to go to a "friend's house".

The police were there to ensure the safety of the staff, in case this gentleman went beyond violent outbursts to violent action. There were also there to see to his well being, and convince him, if they could, to stay under the hospital's care until he was better equipped to handle things on his own.

Let me remind you at this point, that the man was homeless. He had no insurance. He had no money to pay, yet here this money grubbing, non-government hospital who might charge you $20 for a pack of Pampers was offering to let this man, who had been with them for four days, without paying a cent, to stay for an indefinite time longer.

No one has to go without health care in America.

But, he'd made up his mind. In a way, I can't blame him. I'd been there for four hours and pretty much had seen everything I wanted to. He'd been there four days. He determined to go, against doctor's recommendation. His bare feet were stuck in running shoes. "Could we give you a pair of socks?" they asked, and someone went off running to fetch him a pair of socks. This was Winter in California. Maybe forty degrees outside. Not bad by comparison to much of the country, but then, most of the country has some place to go home to.

It was around 11:30 AM. "How about lunch? Can we get you something to eat before you go?" Again,one of the orderlies was dispatched to find the man something to eat, that he could take with him.

So now he had fresh, clean dry socks, lunch, courtesy of the hospital and, did I mention he wasn't wearing pants? In California in the winter time, it doesn't snow through much of the state, but it does rain. We'd been having a number of big rainstorms lately, and when he was brought in, he'd been brought in soaking wet. And his pants? Put into the plastic bag in the condition they were brought in. Wet. They hadn't gotten any drier or cleaner in the last four days. So now, he has clean dry socks, a meal and wet pants to go off walking about in 40 to 50 degree weather.

After a brief discussion of the feasibility of laundering his clothes, it was another command decision: "Can we get him a pair of hospital pants?" And again, someone provided him with, shall we say, less than ideal winter wear...thin and hardly fashionable, but clean and dry. They put the partitions around him to give him a little privacy while he dressed.

"Where does your friend live?" The guy was a little vague. I suspect his elevator doesn't go all the way to the top floor, if you know what I mean. The doctor says, "Let me get you a bus pass. Here's two. I don't want you to have to do a lot of walking."

The elderly gentleman thanked him and they escorted him as far as the parking lot, clutching his meager possessions, his lunch and sporting a snazzy blue pair of pants. A hard life just got a tiny bit easier, for a while, anyway. Thanks in large part to the kind of hospital that Barack Obama would do away with. Thanks in part to a couple of police officers who wanted to make sure that this individual did not harm himself or anyone else.

The next time some hospital bills you $24 for a box of Kleenex you could have picked up at Costco for a buck, just remember that the excess isn't necessarily going towards the head doctor's next Lexus payment. It helps cover the costs of those who pay nothing at all, like our friend here. The gifts of the Magi were clean socks, and a lunch and some crummy blue pants, given in the Spirit of Christmas.

Merry Christmas to all!

Oh, and me? Hurt my arm. Tore something. Very painful, but nothing I can't handle. Will be typing with one hand for the foreseeable future. Thanks for asking! (You know you were!)





* USW: "Um So Weiter", German for "et cetera". See? You didn't think you were going to learn anything today!


Originally published 12/24/14

The "Epidemic" of Blacks Murdered by Cops in America

...according to Mooooove On.

"The murders of Black men & women by police is an epidemic in America that we have failed to address as a country..." -Jo Comerford

An "epidemic"??

adjective
1. affecting many persons at the same time, and spreading from person to person in a locality where the disease is not permanently prevalent.
2. extremely prevalent; widespread.
noun
3.a temporary prevalence of a disease.
4.a rapid spread or increase in the occurrence of something

Many persons...spreading rapidly from person to person...really? You know it's not an epidemic. I know it's not an epidemic. You know who else doesn't think it's an epidemic? Jesse Jackson.. Jesse Jackson was on TV last night reciting all the black people shot by racist cops, and he cites...Trayvon Martin. Trayvon Martin??

Several things wrong with this. One, George Zimmerman was not a cop, he was a civilian. Two, despite press reports trying to portray him as a "white Hispanic", George Zimmerman is not white. Three, it was determined to be self defense. And four, if there is such an epidemic of white cops shooting black men and women, how desperate would you have to be to reach back over four years to get an example? After all, an epidemic affects "many persons". Why not cite one of the 'many' recent examples??

Before we move on, just a little trip down memory lane to the thug the media tried to portray as a 12 year old choirboy:

In October 2011, after a video surveillance camera caught Martin writing graffiti on a door, MDSPD Officer Darryl Dunn searched Martin’s backpack, looking for the marker he had used. Officer Dunn found 12 pieces of women’s jewelry and a man’s watch, along with a flathead screwdriver the officer described as a “burglary tool.” The jewelry and watch, which Martin claimed he had gotten from a friend he refused to name, matched a description of items stolen during the October 2011 burglary of a house on 204th Terrace, about a half-mile from the school. However, because of Chief Hurley’s policy “to lower the arrest rates,” as one MDSPD sergeant said in an internal investigation, the stolen jewerly was instead listed as “found property” and was never reported to Miami-Dade Police who were investigating the burglary.

The school suspended him, but they should have reported him to the police. Had his crimes caught up with him then, maybe he would have been in custody instead of wandering around houses late at night looking for a place to rob on his way to the store to buy Skittles.

Who else is in this parade of blacks shot by white cops? Michael Brown. Yes, that paragon of virtue who robbed a convenience store, roughing up the shopkeeper on his way out the door, moments before he was confronted by police. I happened to see a few minutes of a "very special" edition of 48 Hours on CBS where they showed a beaming Michael Brown in his high school cap and gown. Really? The phrase "Hands up, don't shoot" originated in the aftermath of the Brown shooting, after a witness lied about Brown not resisting arrest.

Physical and forensic evidence in fact contradict claims by witnesses who have maintained that Brown had his hands up, above his waist when Wilson shot him, the Justice Department concluded.

So, "racist cop"? Or "Cop shoots thug attacking him, tried to wrestle his gun away from him"?

Self defense -2, Racist epidemic of white cops shooting blacks - 0 BTW, this part of the "epidemic" took place nearly two years ago.

More recently we have Philando Castile, supposedly shot by another racist white cop, another individual we in the real world call "Hispanic", while his cold blooded girlfriend took video and posted the incident to Facebook. The only video I've seen that she took was after the shooting, and not at all probative in proving guilt or innocence. We do get her (prejudiced) description of what had just happened. Yeah, like Brown's sidekick at the convenience store robbery said that Brown had his hands up saying 'don't shoot'. Color me skeptical.

"I'm going to stop a car," one of the officers calmly begins, according to copies of radio transmissions obtained by KARE-11, an NBC affiliate in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Moments later, the officer reports that his reason to pull the car over was that "the two occupants just look like people that were involved in a robbery."

If the officer suspected the driver of an armed robbery, he would have approached the car with his weapon drawn, regardless of the race of the suspect. The girlfriend stated that Castile told the officer he had a permit for the gun, although no evidence of this has been presented. The weapon was apparently visible on the front seat, which would be a felony if the gun were loaded and Castile did not have a CCW.

My advice to you, regardless of your race, is that if a police officer ever approaches you with his gun drawn, that you move very slowly or not at all if instructed to do so. Castile was a black man, but the evidence of racial motivation in this case has yet to be proven, if at all.

Justified shootings -3, Racist epidemic of white cops shooting blacks - 0

Another "death by cop" that some like to throw into the mix is poor Eric Garner. Garner was an overweight individual (350 lbs.) who was the double victim of liberalism. Garner, you'll remember, was arrested outside a store selling "loosies", single cigarettes, for which he was not dutifully collecting the taxes.

New York City boasts the highest cost for cigarettes in the nation, with a pack ranging anywhere from $12 and up. The city lays its own taxes on top of the state’s, in an effort both to raise revenue and discourage use of tobacco.

Garner was selling individual cigarette to folks who might not be able to afford an entire pack, much less a carton. Garner filled the demand for selling a more affordable product. But, here's where the double victimization comes in: City Hall decided that they needed to make an example of these scofflaws who were denying the city coffers of their taxes, and directed that police step up enforcement of the law prohibiting the sale of "loosies". But it wasn't racial. Eric Garner had "three misdemeanor cases pending in Stapleton Criminal Court. He was free on $2,000 bail."

At the time of his arrest, there was a black policewoman sergeant on the scene overseeing the arrest of Garner. You can argue that the law was unjust, or that the enforcement effort was misplaced, but the proximate cause of Eric Garner's death was Eric Garner resisting arrest. Has he chosen to present his arms for the cuffs and slipped docilely into the back of the squad car or wagon, he would have lived to suck down another Twinkie. I am not unsympathetic to Mr. Garner. He did not expect to die resisting arrest, the men subduing him did not expect to kill him. He may have been outraged for being arrested yet again for trying to make or supplement his living, but it's generally not a good idea to resist arrest. Bad things happen regardless of race.

Another cause célèbre of the racist cops killing blacks is Freddie Gray, a black man who suffered a fatal injury in police custody. He was not shot by police. The man who drove the van that transported him was a black man. And so far, every attempt to criminalize the actions of the officers who arrested and transported Gray has resulted in either an acquittal or a dismissal of charges. No racism proven. Whatsoever.

I haven't mentioned Alton Sterling. On the surface it may look bad, but then, so did most of the cases mentioned above, when described by race baiters with a general disregard of the truth. I will reserve judgement on the Sterling case, and the ultimate resolution of the Castile case, until all the facts have come out and any punishment deserved is meted out, up to and including the death penalty.

But to build a narrative of racial division and hatred, such as has plainly inspired the racially motivated shooting in Dallas is unconscionable. I have often stated that there is a special circle in Hell for those who falsely accuse people of racism. They will have the advantage of looking down on those who sow racial hatred, discord and violence based on nothing but lies.

Non-racially motivated deaths -5, Racist epidemic of white cops shooting blacks - 0.  Jury still out -1.

There were a few other cases I omitted because of the length of the piece. At least one, I believed to be justified, One was based on no evidence whatsoever and a third was inconclusive. But add them all up and take away the benefit of the doubt on all of them and you have maybe ten, twelve deaths over four years? In a country of over three hundred million people, that's hardly an "epidemic".

Maybe tomorrow we'll focus on the "epidemic" of blacks shooting white cops? /sarc

Any Resemblance to Jessica Disu* is Purely Coincidental

*Of "We need to abolish the police.Period." fame.

"We Need to Abolish the Police"

Barking Moonbat on the The Kelly File: "We need to abolish the police.Period."

(not a Photoshop)
"Disarm the police, and we need to come up with community solutions for 'transformative justice'."


She lives in Chicago, where the murder rate, even with police presence, is astronomical. That's why I posted her picture, so no one would mistake her for a normal person.

Update: FYI, this person's name is Jessica Disu. Her momma must be proud!