Send Better Arguments

Ta Nehesi-Coates has a terrific headline - "Blue Lives Matter" but he strikes a false note here in discussing the politics of police reform in the aftermath of the execution of two NYPD officers:

It was only a matter of time before some criminal shot a police officer in New York. If that's all it takes to turn Americans away from police reform, the efforts were likely doomed from the start.

"Only a matter of time"? Per the NY Times, the last officer killed in the line of duty was three years ago. The last officers assassinated for political reason were back in the early 70's when the Black Liberation Army gunned down two officers in 1971 and another two in 1972.

The idea that what happened this weekend in NY was in some sense "a matter of time" is certainly accurate in a mathematical sense; probability theory tells us that with enough opportunities the improbable becomes inevitable, but this quickly? Or if the argument is that Garner/Brown demonstrations in New York were clearly going to lead to this sort of violence in the near future (And it's hard to believe Mr. Nehesi-Coates meant that), then the failure of our notional leaders to dial back their rhetoric is even more stark.

But speaking of rhetoric, Conor Friedersdorf explains that it has all ben responsibe anyway, and that criticism of deBlasio, Holder and Obama is just meant to "squelch legitimate political debate by irrationally associating it with the deeds of a suicidal murderer."

And Howard Safir, a former NYPD commissioner, wrote this in Time: "When Ismaaiyl Abdulah Brinsley brutally executed Officers Ramos and Liu he did so in an atmosphere of permissiveness and anti-police rhetoric unlike any that I have seen in 45 years in law enforcement. The rhetoric this time is not from the usual suspects, but from the Mayor of New York City, the Attorney General of the United States, and even the President. It emboldens criminals and sends a message that every encounter a black person has with a police officer is one to be feared."

Notably, none of these intellectually dishonest statements quote or link to any actual rhetoric spoken by Mayor de Blasio, Eric Holder, or President Obama. That is because none of them has uttered so much as a single word that even hints that violently attacking a police officer, let alone murdering one, would be justified. Suggesting that their words are responsible for this murder is discrediting. Even the weaker claim that their words "embolden criminals" is absurd, both as a matter of logic and as a statement made amid historically low crime rates.

With regard to the particular crime of killing police officers, "the number of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty—that is, killed with felonious intent by a suspected criminal—plummeted to 27 in 2013, its lowest level in decades." That is the Obama/Holder record on this issue. We needn't speculate about whether their rhetoric has proved dangerous for police. We know that it has not.

So assaults on officers were low in 2013 and that proves that the post-Ferguson rhetoric of 2014 has not incited violence against the police? Let me write that down.

As to the notion that no professional politician has specifically called on his followers to gun down police officers, no kidding. But do our leaders have any impact at all on creating an atmosphere of distrust for the police? Here, for example, is Obama speaking to Black Entertainment Television, as summarized at the White House website:

While reiterating that the vast majority of America's law enforcement officers are doing their jobs well, the President also noted that some officers have received poor training, are in departments that tolerate sloppy police work, and have a subconscious fear of people that look different. All of this, he said, contributes to "a national problem that's going to require a national solution."

Now isn't the time for rhetoric, he said, but rather to figure out what works as far as police training, equipment, accountability measures, review systems, and prosecution practices. He also underlined the importance of changing people's hearts and minds, but noted that hearts and minds will catch up with the laws:

"Dr. King once said, when he was asked about anti-lynching legislation -- somebody said, "Well, you know, you can't change what's in the hearts and minds of the white folks in the South. You can't legislate what's in their hearts." He says, "Well, you can't legislate what's in their hearts, but I tell you what: If you can just stop them from lynching me, that's progress. That's a pretty good thing." And over time, hearts and minds catch up with laws. That's been the history of progress in this country."

Hmm. Normally quoting Dr. King is a safe play, but what is Obama saying here - that the police are the KKK and want to lynch black men? Or that even though some police will go on hating blacks, maybe we can prevent them from shooting blacks? Is that really helpful?

And if the police are the KKK, or hate blacks and want to kill them, is it really unreasonable for a black thug to engage in a bit of pre-emptive self-defense?

Conor Friedersdorf is a reasonable guy and would not hear Obama's words that way. But there is a known violent fringe on the radical left, so we ask - how do they hear these words?

Mr. Friedersdorf acknowldeges the existence of that fringe but may underestimate the reach of their message:

While the taboo against violent attacks on police officers is shared by literally every pundit I've come across, literally every elected official who has spoken on this subject, and the overwhelming majority of people who've taken to the streets to protest the killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, there are, in fact, documented examples of a tiny minority rejecting that norm, including the folks who took up the chant, "What do we want? Dead cops! When do we want it? Now!"

There's almost no chance that the chants in this unrepresentative protest motivated a killer from a different city to kill cops in New York. 

Uh huh. And what is the betting line on whether the "Hands Up" rap video by Uncle Murda, which called for the execution of cops and surely reached Philadelphia, also made it by way of the internet all the way to Baltimore? Or from a different angle, just why did the shooter seem to think people might care or approve his plan to kill some cops in revenge for Garner and Brown? Was that really just the pure, independent creation of a sick mind?

And what inspired this guy?

Federal prosecutors have charged a Kirkland man with making interstate threats against the life of former Ferguson, Mo., police officer Darren Wilson and his family.

Jaleel Tariq Abdul-Jabbaar, 46, is identified as a convicted felon with drug and firearms-related convictions who is accused to trying to purchase a firearm over Facebook, telling the seller that he was “going to Ferguson. Can you just sit back and do nothing. White motha (expletive) killing us like our lives ain’t (expletive).”

He was arrested Tuesday morning at his home, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle.

All too often when our friends on the left stage a protest it turns violent. At which point, we hear explanations about how it was hijacked by a radical fringe and we are all supposed to be surprised.

Maybe one day these leaders on the left will achieve a better understanding of their base.

MORE: Collective guilt - in MediaWorld it's only for conservatives! Meanwhile, the left is all about group identity and group politics until there is blame to be assigned.

Comments

[RickB]

Henry,

This Morgan Stanley chart may have been the basis for Schilling's remarks re oil production costs. I don't see anything extraordinary on the chart at all. Venezuela and Norway will be hit hard and Brazil,although it's not on the chart, will have real difficulty in keeping on plan for increased production.

I find the focus on production a bit silly. The disaster side of the equation are the hilariously idiotic demand projections based upon the notoriously over optimistic growth projections by the IMF/World Bank consortium of thieves.

[Miss Marple]

Jim Miller,

Many of the reporters are young and get caught up in the fake "villains and heroes" thing the Left pushes. They often seem to me to not understand that stories which are in print or aired on TV have consequences, especially with unstable people.

This entire thing has to stop. DeBlasio and his pals have unleashed the mob, and it isn't easy to get it under control once it's on the prowl.

Because if the blue line fails, the ones who will be hurt the most are the black communities.

[Soylent Red]

Hey you bakers...

I'm making pfeffernusse for the first time tonight and instead of getting cookies that come out like hard acorn-sized balls, they flatten and I get soft ginger snap looking things. Anyone have an idea on how to keep these things from flattening?

[Bori]

Here is another link, though it is older it also pegs RSA's cost at under 10$.

Hopefully this will satisfy.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/07/28/oil-cost-factbox-idUSLS12407420090728

[Miss Marple]

Soylent Red,

Did you use baking powder instead of baking soda?

Are your amounts for flour correct?

Did you use too much shortening?

Those are my 3 ideas.

[DrJ]

On the Pfeffernuesse: MrsJ says that you probably have too much fat (butter or shortening) to flour. (You are not using oil, are you?) So add some flour.

An alternative is to put them in the refrigerator for a half hour or so (until the dough is firm) and then put them directly into the oven.

I'm assured that if the spices are right, they'll taste OK even if misshapen.

[Bori]

Soylent Red,

I'll add to MM's list is the temperature correct?

And finally, you did not open the oven to peak before the allotted time?

[Soylent Red]

MM:

This is an old recipe from my grandmother, fraught with vagueries and translated from the original German into broken Kansas English, so there are a lot of places I could have botched it.

Recipe called for half butter half "lard." Rather than substitute Crisco, I used all butter.

Recipe called for "add flower until mixture is well dough." Whatever the hell that means. SO I added flour until the mixture stiffened up like cookie dough. But, when you try to roll up balls, it's about the consistency of peanut butter.

Put in soda, not powder.

[Miss Marple]

Soylent Red,

My theory is not enough flour, since at the point where you need a description of the consistency it's rather vague.

When I make Mexican wedding cakes (same shape only different flavor) the dough has to be REALLY stiff. Otherwise, instead of getting balls, you get flattened cookies.

I suggest taking a portion of the remaining dough (if you still have some) and adding flour until the dough is very stiff. Use that as a test case and see if it works.

[matt]

In the supermarket line today I saw a headline in one of those trashy magazines about how Barack and Michelle talk to their daughters about race. It really made me ill.

We live in a day and age when we are safer than at almost any time in our past and the stats scream out the truth. If you're dealing dope or assaulting people or killing them you are very likely to go to jail or worse.

If you are a Wall Street banker the Feds have figured out how to extract billions and hammer the banks, but most likely the crooks will walk because of case complexity.

Crime pays less and less. Next step should be the crooks bonuses but of course those same crooks were the biggest donors to both parties.

It is not about the stories, MM. It is about a culture that is morally bankrupt. On the streets anything goes until they get caught, which is why we have the largest prison population in the world. Animals; white, black, Latino, whatever. They are de-humanized.

Our penitentiaries are warehouses for the criminals and the mentally ill, and there is a lot of overlap. The LA County Jail is said to be the world's largest mental institution.

But when we tolerate thug life and give it a place to breed and take hold, these are the consequences.

But we also have a surveillance state where the cops have an us vs them mentality. After 9/11 we were all in it together. Now, the left has torn that fabric apart. They must be held responsible.

Di Blasio, Kamala Harris, Durban, Reid, Pelosi, Obama, Holder and all of the others who have led us to this point must be held accountable. Enough is enough.

Witch hunts for political opponents, IRS investigations, John Doe investigations are all a part of the tapestry of of thuggish behavior that Jefferson himself tapped into and was promulgated by the suppression of the best in our spirits by the Democrats.

Slavery? Jim Crow? Joe Kennedy and his accomplices stole the 1960 election.LB Johnson turned his back, as did the Left, on Moynihan's work, which was proven to be correct in the 50 years since 1965.

Enough is enough. I will stand with any man, but I will not stand for thuggish behavior.

[DrJ]

Soylent, not enough flour. You should be able to pull off a walnut-sized ball, roll it in your hands, and place it on a cookie sheet without it sticking to your hands.

[sbw]

Soylent, I agree with MM. Too high fat:flour ratio. it's about the consistency of peanut butter is too soft.

[DrJ]

In an irony of the tech world, I have a hard time typing "flour." I work with "fluors" (or fluorophores) a lot, and the typo for these, "flours," I read in proposals a lot.

[Soylent Red]

Aha. Thanks all!

[Bori]

Soylent,

I concur.

[Bori]

Break point for Saudi oil is $60. If it goes to 20...oh well.
With a $750 billion cash reserve they can only pump for 5 years.
Oh well.
Posted by: Ben

Funny how facts have a way of shutting-off some people.

[Miss Marple]

Heading to bed.

Nytol!

[Jim Miller]

DrJ - There are some of us (me, for instance) who, on seeing "fluophores", would just have to look up the word.

So, now that I sort of know what they are, can you tell us how you use them?

(PS - You are right about those tendencies. I sometimes think that "fluorescent" is spelled "flourescent", as often as not. And I have noticed that many of us get caught on Sharyl Attkisson, turning her first name into "Cheryl" and her last name into "Atkinson".)

[DrJ]

JimM,

I use fluors primarily to identify proteins. Fluorescence is a very sensitive method, and has a large linear range. It is used as a more sensitive alternative to absorbance.

So we use it for electrophoresis gels, both 1D (namely, SDS-PAGE) and 2D (DIGE), to identify proteins. We also use it for a basic characterization of our various and sundry gizmos.

More generally, they are used to label features within cells, and cells themselves (as a prelude to flow cytometry).

I don't know if this helps much.

[sbw]

JimM, I was going to say the same thing but DrJ beat me to it.

[exdemocrat]

Iggy - i really admire your capacity for special ed

[DrJ]

Jim,

I didn't mention that fluors can be attached to many things through well-known chemistries. So you stick them where you want them, and use that to see how much of whatever you have.

[RickB]

Bori,

I don't know if you follow Peaker babble but I've seen the Peaker nutters using the price necessary to sustain current budget expenditures used as the "cost floor" for producing nations. It's stupidity squared but that's never been any impediment to the Peakers.

[clarice]

Sorry, DoT. One disadvantage of living to a ripe age is all the people we have loved who leave us behind.

NK, I think Pepe's coal fired pizza is the best in the world, and I am a pizza lover. If you post a picture of it, I'll find you wherever you are and break your camera.

[Jim Miller]

DrJ - Thanks much. That did help.

Fluophores sound like nifty little tools

[clarice]

Soylent--here's the best pfeffernusse recipe I could find online--you might want to compare the ratios etc of yours with this one:http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/German-Spice-Cookies

[Threadkiller]

http://www.birtherreport.com/2014/12/update-federal-court-conducts-hearing.html?m=1

[Iggy]

--but I've seen the Peaker nutters using the price necessary to sustain current budget expenditures used as the "cost floor" for producing nations--

That's what I took the Saudi $60 break to mean, Rick.

On the $20 possibility, Gary Schilling may or may not be right but he's far from anyone's dummy.

[Dave (in MA)]

.

[Threadkiller]

Clarice, please break Dave's camera.

[clarice]

Consider it done, tk--He'll never shoot film in this town again.

[Threadkiller]

:-)

[Dave (in MA)]

That was posted to my hometown Facebook group with the caption, "Please share this picture for no other reason than to piss off North Korea".

[Danube on iPad]

Very sorry to say it, but I am hugely underwhelmed by Dr. Ben Carson.

[Threadkiller]

Being the resident nutcase I'd like to present this theory.

Obama already knew of the damming "racist" emails parked on Sony's servers thanks to his pals at the NSA. He seized the opportunity created by the little dictator complaining about a Seth Rogan piece of garbage film.

The real reason for the hack was to get Sony into negotiations with Sharpton/Obama and we are stuck with the cover story that the Norks with their Univac era computer pulled of the greatest hack of all time.

Now, some intrepid 21 century hackers have decided to peak into the NK grid and see if they really were culpable in a caper that was inconceivable. Obama then shuts down the NK internet to keep the truth a secret.

If for no other reason, he let Sony know that it isn't just the ears that are off limits.

[Threadkiller]

I'm with you, Danube.

[clarice]

He's a nice man-I hope Dr Carson is made Surgeon General of head of NIH or something like that.

[RickB]

Iggy,

IMO - the very best experts in macroeconomics in the world are on the payrolls of the oil companies and the KSA has a number of them. I understand all the flaccid power arguments being promulgated but there is a much better than even chance the Saudi economists are using maximization models based upon probable demand in the real world rather than the IMF/World Bank fantasy. They aren't kidding about holding share being the driver and the flaccid power drivel is whistling past the graveyard.

The really nice thing about an absolute monarchy is the flexibility in changing the budget when income drops. That and using the state headchopper to mitigate social unrest.

[daddy]

Where's 'Dandy' Don Meredith when you need him?

"Turn Out The Lights...The Parties over..."

Peyton throws his 3rd interception.

[Iggy]

Kim Jong-hun

[daddy]

If Oil drops to $20 a Barrel, Anchorage might just as well "Turn Out The Lights...The Parties over..."

[Iggy]

--They aren't kidding about holding share being the driver and the flaccid power drivel is whistling past the graveyard.--

Maybe but I bet they're not having a sad that Iran, Iraq and Russia are hurting.

--The really nice thing about an absolute monarchy is the flexibility in changing the budget when income drops.--

Tom Friedman concurs. :)

[Another bob]

Way too many moving parts TK.

I still like the NorKs with Chinese help, but with the Chinese thinking enough is enough, unplugging them and telling them it's bedtime.

[Bori]

Iggy,

You forgot Venezuela.

BTW, was that Sonny's and Cher's "son"!

[jimmyk]

DoT, sorry for your loss.

This apparently is a true exchange from Facebook:

[Threadkiller]

How many moving parts did the Petraeus email smear have?

This is their paygrade.

[DrJ]

How many moving parts did ... Petraeus ... have?

One, as best I can tell.

[clarice]

A few months ago as we learned that the brain cancer which eventually took my nephew's life had returned, we learned that his sister was pregnant. I've been on tenterhooks because the baby was a few days overdue..She just gave birth to a boy--my joy is overwhelming. She and her parents suffered so this year and now it ends in a joyfour , much awaited and longed for new child!

[Threadkiller]

Congratulations, Clarice!!

[daddy]

When we have Obama and DiBlasio subtly accusing the Police of Racism toward Blacks, as in the following 2 quotes I'll post, it's worth remembering that none other than Jessie Jackson said this: (November 1993 to Operation Push) "There is nothing more painful to me at this stage in my life than to walk down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery. Then look around and see somebody white and feel relieved.... After all we have been through. Just to think we can't walk down our own streets, how humiliating."

President Obama: (Sept 2014) “Too many young men of color feel targeted by law enforcement — guilty of walking while black or driving while black, judged by stereotypes that fuel fear and resentment and hopelessness.”

Mayor DiBlasio: (7 Dec 2014) "It's different for a white child. That's just the reality in this country. And with Dante, very early on with my son, we said, look, if a police officer stops you, do everything he tells you to do, don't move suddenly, don't reach for your cell phone, because we knew, sadly, there's a greater chance it might be misinterpreted if it was a young man of color.
What we're striving for is a day when every child can be told equally, not only are the police there to protect you, but they're going to assume that the young person is an innocent, law-abiding young person. That just is not always the reality today."

Maybe the first guy they ought to point the finger at to find out the reason why that isn't "the reality today", is at Civil Rights Leaders like Jesse Jackson, not the NYPD. Either Jesse Jackson harbors Racism against Black youth, or Jesse Jackson has some legitimate reason to fear them.

Which is it?

[Threadkiller]

LOL, DrJ

[daddy]

Yay, Clarice!

What's his name? Hit needs to get him on the list.

[clarice]

Don't know his name yet..but my happiness for hie grandparents and parents is beyond description.

[Bori]

Felicidades Clarice, Dios lo Bendiga!

[clarice]

Nite.

[GUS]

I just watched Megyn and some LIBTARD WEASEL named "Dante". Vomit-o-rama. I'm done playing nice with pathetic lib weasels.

[Dave (in MA)]

I'm done playing nice with pathetic lib weasels.

When was that?

[GUS]

No logic nor reason will change the RACE BAITERS minds. Most urban black peeps have been told from birth, that they are the victims of WHITE PEOPLE. No different than KKK members being told that blacks are bad. They have lived a bullshit narrative their entire lives. When NYPD knocked murders and violent crime down 75 plus percent, WHO BENEFITED. Who lived and who was protected. We CANNOT argue vs a false narrative without completely challenging the narrative and calling it the BULL SHIT that it is. LIBTARD/PROGS eagerly spread the bullshit manure that they have been INDOCTRINATED and lie with impunity. They are NOT morally superior to anyone.

[daddy]

Hey, here's another guy charged with felonies for assaulting NYPD Officers on the Brooklyn Bridge last week. He's not an add-junk Perfessor like that other guy, but he's got a resume' that sure fits:

Robert Murray, a six-figure-earning organizer for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), "is reportedly on unpaid leave after being charged with two felony counts of assaulting a police officer during protests on the Brooklyn Bridge last weekend."

Mr. Murray was named as “male suspect No. 3” in the attack on police, which also led to the arrest of Baruch College Professor Eric Linsker, who was charged with assault in the second degree, and Brooklyn resident Maria Garcia, who was charged with resisting arrest, among other charges. Police are still searching for four other suspects connected to the Dec. 13 assault.

Book 'em, Danno!

[GUS]

Dave, I knew I was asking for that.

[GUS]

Daddy the stench of Bill Ayers ET AL is all over America right now. Community RABBLE rousing, EDU-ELITE-WANNABEES trying to earn their BONES and bonifides. And the Commies that these pathetic losers look up to, STOKE THE FLAMES.

[Jack is Back (on his iPad)]

Finally, restful sleep of 10 hours for all 3 of us last night. Stayed up to watch Chelsea win against Stoke City. Frederick seems to be back to normal.

Then Drudge tells me this morning that a few protesters showed up to heckle cops at the Ramos-Liu memorial. The payback will not be pretty.

[Jack is Back (on his iPad)]

Here is a poll of most admired and most disliked Conservatives that I find interesting in that it seems to fit with most of the profiling seen here.

http://rightwingnews.com/john-hawkins/7th-annual-poll-conservative-websites-admired-people-right/

Good to see what they also think of the Chamber especially.

[anonamom]

Good morning JiB.
Busy at the hospital yesterday as people got somewhat elective surgeries in before the year ends. Today too, then quiet hopefully for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

I have been heartbroken over the execution of the NYPD officers,
but I was heartened yesterday when one of our nurses reported that her college freshman son had decided on a major--criminal justice. She said he told her he wants to be "part of the solution" and for kids who "look like him" to have police who "look like them." Yes, she's black--as is her husband, who is the father of her children and lives with his family.
So bourgeoise, I know.

[anonamom]

Out of a field of 85, SCOTT WALKER is voted most admired by the
72 respondents of some 230 blogs surveyed.

Tied with Thomas Sowell and Clarence Thomas.

http://rightwingnews.com/john-hawkins/7th-annual-poll-conservative-websites-admired-people-right/

I stand with Scott Walker!
Now we know who Rove will be targeting.

[Jack is Back (Again)!]

anonamom,

Interesting the thinking that went into the top three, IMO.

No. 1 you get the acknowledge intellectual force behind modern American conservatism

No. 2 you get the guy most allied with originalist constittutional thinking, a hallmark of modern American conservatism, and

No. 3 you get the guy who has demonstrated leadership at the local level - both stages of it - in exercising that thinking of 2 and 3 above.

Like those Russian nesting dolls:)

[Jack is Back (Again)!]

I see where BYU and Memphis decided to end their bowl game like all good hockey teams do and have a riot. Hockey? Sorry, I mean't college football.

BYU, being the countries largest most prestigious Mormon school must be humiliated and I don't see those players staying there long.

[matt]

Congratulations, clarice. Many blessings to all.

[NKonIPad8.1]

Gus@12:43 - wait, are we going to get gus UNPLUGGED now?

DaveinMa's photo? You are avery bad man dave.

Clarice -- so I stayed on the train all the way to new haven to get Joe Pepe's for Iggy, pepperoni onion. I couldn't email it to Iggy so I ate it myself. Delicious.

[NKonIPad8.1]

Clarice-- congratulations for the great blessing of a new member of the family. Heath and happiness to all concerned.

[Marlene]

Good Morning!
clarice,congratulations!

[Dublindave]

The only example of the left inciting violence against police in this entire thread is a rapper called uncle murda, who it turns out is actually a registered Republican.

I laughed my ass off when I read that last night.

[Marlene]

Local news reported last night that Maine State Troopers were sent to Brunswick on Saturday to pick up Justin Ramos at the college.They transported him to the former Pease Air Force Base in Portsmouth (NH) so that a helicopter could fly him home.

[NKonAd8.1]

'What do we want, dead pigs, when do we want it, now''. Accompanied by heaving a 40 lb garbage can aimed at cops 20+ feet below. 2 indictments for just that one incident. Even Mayor Bane and the other commie bastards are ordering the anarchists to shut up. You re and effin' idiot dave.

[NKonIpAd8.1]

Racialism and cop hatred has been massively repudiated.... By the Progs. Dave hasn t gotten a check yet to toe that line, so he s behind the curve.

[docweasel]

I'd be interested in reading TNCoates defense of Sarah Palin when the leftist media unfairly tied her and other conservatives to the shooting of Gabby Giffords.

[Miss Marple]

http://www.steynonline.com/6720/it-not-an-either-or-question

All perps seem to be labeled mantally ill, rather than Muslim.

[Miss Marple]

Mentally ill.

Need more coffee.

[NKvirusedand back]

3 Islamist attacks in France injures 20. Froggies say they are 'unrelated' but 'worrying.' I swear this is Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings playing out. In our lifetime it will be war; either the post-christian frogs kick out the muzzies, or Sharia rules la belle france. TBD.

[James D.]

MM, thanks for linking the Steyn piece. This especially rings true for me:

But you can already discern the contours of the American future: A chichi Green Zone within which the consequences of identity-group politics are confined mainly to sudden vapors over microagressions and nanoaggressions, and the plump prosperous power-brokers of "social justice" live lives comfortably undisturbed by the passions they foment when they jet forth with ever larger entourages to toss some red meat to the mob in Ferguson or Staten Island. And beyond the Green Zone a land of minimal economic opportunity fracturing into ever fiercer tribal resentments that find ever more violent expression.

That's exactly what the left wants. That's why there can't be any compromise or even reasoned discussion with them, and there's no point in trying anymore.

[Extraneus]

Oh brother.

POLITICO:

De Blasio’s nightmare

New York’s mayor has lost the police — and maybe much more than that.

Guess where I stopped reading.

Bill de Blasio, like his progressive political idol Barack Obama, is finding out that you can’t do the New Politics if you don’t pay attention to the old politics. In Obama’s case, it was a failure to recognize the threat posed to him by Republicans who didn’t buy into his calls for a post-partisan partnership with Congress. For New York’s ambitious liberal mayor, it was an inability to keep long-simmering tensions with the city’s traditionally powerful police department from boiling over in the last few days.

http://donotlink.com/http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/bill-de-blasio-113755.html">http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/bill-de-blasio-113755.html">http://donotlink.com/http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/bill-de-blasio-113755.html

[Extraneus]

Here's the correct donotlink link:

POLITICO, without giving them a hit

[NKvirusedand back]

Ext-- I hope the Progs everywhere continue their denial about the failure that is Obummer, Mayor Bane and Guv Brown. The longer their denial, the bigger the Prog collapse will be. In NYC that will hurt business, but it is needed so that NYC doesn't become Detroit with some tall buildings.

[NKvirusedand back]

Send this to your LIV friends, this is what 'singlepayer' healthcare looks like: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2884271/The-queue-shames-Britain-7-11am-desperate-patients-wait-cold-dark-outside-surgery-just-seen-GP.html

[NKvirusedand back]

Well I'll have to read this report, and see if my friend of 35 years was a villain or too weak to become a whistleblower: http://dailycaller.com/2014/12/22/bombshell-report-irs-targeted-icky-conservative-groups/#!

[Miss Marple]

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/feds-aim-to-redistribute-quality-teachers-113753.html?hp=r1_3

I wonder how the Teachers' Unions will feel about this.

[Ben]

NK; Found that phantom link to Saudi production costs yet?

[Miss Marple]

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Saudi+Arabia+-+Crude+Oil+Production+Costs.-a0269037825

63 cents per barrel in the 1990's.

[Extraneus]

George W. Bush Dresses Up as Santa to Give out Gifts to Kid's Laid Up in Hospital

Secret Service dressed as elves.

[Miss Marple]

Extraneus,

The best part of that is that no one would have known about it if one of the moms hadn't taken a photo and posted it on Twitter.

No media present, at all.

[Captain Hate]

BYU, being the countries largest most prestigious Mormon school must be humiliated and I don't see those players staying there long.

Memphis has been a haven for trash for a long time; without any hard evidence to the contrary, they're always to blame.

For any NBA fans, despite all the deserved hoopla about how the West teams are playing, the Atlanta Hawks have flown under the radar to become one of the better teams in the league. When they curb stomped the Cavs last week, I thought the bigger story was how well they played versus the Cavs playing poorly. They beat the Mavs in Dallas last night so I think it's time for the small portion of the world who cares about the NBA to pay attention.

[NKvirusedand back]

Those are variable costs MissM. Variable costs (according to authoritative estimates--- the House of Saud doesn't have to disclose nuthin' to nobody)now are $2-4/b, and Fixed costs are $4-6/b, all in, KSA production costs are below $10/b. The House of Saud's market share fight puts the lie to peak oil propaganda. The Saudi reserves remain vast, they have the lowest production costs and they are in for the long haul, they worry about market share, not current pricing.Besides, with the Dollar up and strengthening (likewise the Yuan), their price/b hit is not as large as the absolute numbers.

[Ben]

Thanks MM. My original point is assisted by that.

A $750 B cash reserve puts the House of Sods in the catbird seat.

Of course in the 90's the oil price ranged around 20 bucks so they are even better equipped to sustain a glut on the market.

9 million barrels a day production doesn't even touch that reserve significantly for years.

[Threadkiller]

The "most admired/most disliked" list appears to be opinions on a preselected list.

[Old Lurker]

Go away.

New Threads.

[Ben]

Let's see how this plays out in the NEW and improved Congress resolving to actually do something.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/evanmcsan/rand-paul-will-bring-up-the-senate-debate-over-police-milita#.neW9qePK2

[Extraneus]

Interesting piece on how David Gregory lost his MTP job. In the ensuing history, there's a description of how Comcast got the feds to ok the deal to acquire NBC from GE, with a special mention of how Al Sharpton got his own TV show...

In 2009, it announced it would sell a controlling stake in NBC Universal to Comcast, the Philadelphia-based cable behemoth. NBC was struggling at the time: The network had dropped to fourth place in the ratings overall, behind CBS, ABC, and even Fox. But Comcast CEO Brian Roberts believed that to succeed in the 21st-century media landscape, the cable company needed to do more than control the distribution of TV—it needed to control the making of the content, too. Comcast already owned E!, the Style network, and a couple of cable sports stations. NBC was to be its biggest prize yet.

Before that could happen, there was a hurdle to clear: Washington.

The Comcast/NBC deal faced intense scrutiny from lawmakers and regulators who worried that this kind of industry consolidation and vertical integration would squelch competition. Minority advocates weren’t thrilled about the idea, either. They were concerned the merger might reduce diversity throughout the industry.

...

To rally political support for the merger, Comcast’s political-action committee handed out campaign cash, and Cohen worked to head off the concerns over diversity. Between 2008 and 2010, Comcast’s corporate foundation donated more than $3 million to 39 minority groups that wrote letters to federal regulators in support of the NBC deal. Comcast and NBC Universal also worked out an agreement with advocacy groups guaranteeing increased “minority participation in news and public affairs programming”—so long as the deal went through. And in 2009 and 2010, Comcast gave $155,000 to an organization founded by the Reverend Al Sharpton, who ended up endorsing the merger.

The campaign paid off. In January 2011, Washington approved the deal. One week later, NBC signed Cohen’s old boss, Ed Rendell, to an on-air contract. At MSNBC, which Comcast also owns, Sharpton landed a talk show. A spokeswoman for Comcast says the company is a “long-standing supporter” of minority groups and had nothing to do with Sharpton’s hiring. She also says Cohen played “little to no role” in securing Rendell’s contract.

http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/how-david-gregory-lost-his-job/index.php

[Fail Burton]

It was Sarah Palin's Cross-Hairs map.

[clarice]

Thanks you all--Asher--all 6 lbs, 6 oz of him seems a bit bewildered to be in this new place.

[tim johnson]

Two things can be true at once:
There is a thug culture in our society, concentrated among young black men but including may others, tied to music and general "stick-it-to-the-man" mentality divorced from traditional mores.
There also is a culture of militarized police which includes small cities in rural America having big SWAT squads with big toys often donated from the military. This culture includes too many "no-knock" warrants and raids on homes as part of the misbegotten 'war on drugs.'
I hold no brief for those who want to burn down our cities, kill cops on principle and on sight.
But I also remind you that police generally, across history and the globe, are forces for repression at least as often as for order and many times have been on the wrong side of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
The death of Eric Garner was a cock up by cops, it seems.