Government Forces | Communards |
| 877 killed, 6,454 wounded, and 183 missing | 6,667 confirmed killed and buried; unconfirmed estimates between 10,000 and 20,000 killed |
The key to minimizing casualties will be picking the right moment to end CHAZ, the Capitol Hill Atonomous Zone. Maybe it will disolve on its own. That is the best case scenario. Maybe it will descend into chaos and internal rioting and death. That is a worst case scenario. Maybe the criminal element will step in to restore ordeer, so they can get back to work. That is a more middle way.
I have a Sister-in-Law with a condo very close to CHAZ—a few blocks. She isn't living there at this time, but I would hate to see her investment go up in flames.InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
For John, BLUF: When we can no longer depend on food delivery we will be very unhappy with the revolutionaries, but we will blame "Capitalists". Nothing to see here; just move along.
From The Don Surber Blog, by Himself, 13 June 2020.
Here is the lede plus four:
A poll of truck drivers found more than three-quarters of them won't deliver supplies to cities that defund their police. No one wants to be Reginald Denny.
Remember him?
Time magazine reported that on "April 29, 1992, he had simply loaded up his 18-wheeler and headed down the road, driving for his employer Transit Mixed Concrete. Little did he know that he would drive smack into the middle of an angry mob looking for vengeance.
"As his rig crossed Florence, a group of rioters enraged over the Rodney King verdict rushed toward him, pulled him out of the cab and beat him to within an inch of his life. The attack ended when Damian Monroe Williams took a cinderblock and bashed Denny's skull, fracturing it in 91 places and causing severe brain damage."
I am pretty sure that every holder of a Commercial Driver's License knows the story.
At the end of the day the laws of ecoonomics are immutable. Sooner or later you run out of other people's money and then it becomes a barter economy.
In the end the Criminals will create their own police force, so they can conduct business. We won't like what results.
Regards — Cliff
For John, BLUF: To foment change it is often good to be a chameleon until it is time. Nothing to see here; just move along.
From The Althouse Blog, 10 June 2020.
Here is the Tweet:
Megan McArdle
Antifa is a bogeyman, little more than a figment of overheated right-wing imaginations. Also, they just declared an autonomous zone covering several blocks in Seattle, and are planning to expand their territory.
1,364
8:48 PM - Jun 10, 2020
I don't expect to hear much about the Seattle Commune, as it goes counter to the narrative.
For sure, we will not hear much about Antifa until it is ready to make its move, which Ma be never.
Hat tip to Ann Althouse.
Regards — Cliff
For John, BLUF: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Nothing to see here; just move along.
From CNN, by Reporters Dakin Andone, Christina Maxouris and Josh Campbell, 8 June 2020.
Here is the lede plus two:
Nine members of the Minneapolis City Council on Sunday announced they intend to defund and dismantle the city's police department following the police killing of George Floyd.
"We committed to dismantling policing as we know it in the city of Minneapolis and to rebuild with our community a new model of public safety that actually keeps our community safe," Council President Lisa Bender told CNN.
With nine votes the city council would have a veto-proof supermajority of the council's 13 members, Bender said.
Defunding the police seems like a splendid geopolitical act.
It will turn the United States into Sicily. (MAS, or Make America Sicilian). Of course, organized crime, which depends upon some level of civil control, or policing, will quickly figure out that they need to act. Thus we will have the kind of thing Mexico sees, with the Drug Cartels enforcing the rules. So, we will more or less go back on an even keel, except the voters having a say will be much less direct.
At the same time, like with Sicily, there will be mass emigration. I am guessing masses of people will leave the US for Russia, which is suffering from severe depopulation. Russia will be swamped and we may see efforts to limit immigration.
The Greens and Ultra-Progressives will be thrilled with the reduction in the human footprint. They will double down on the reduced pollution by killing the space program. This will increase emigration of aerospace engineers, who will go to Russia and help them in their race with China, to colonize Mars. America will be happy, what is left of it. Russia, although being swamped with Americans, will be happy. However, China will not be happy.
But, happiest of all will be long haul movers.
I am counting on some California Avocado Rancher to incorporate this into a novel, which will be published, in French, under a pseudonym (Monsieur Mec du Vin), and he will use the profits to keep his Avocado Ranch going, and, with movie rights, fund Small Wars Journal.
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
For John, BLUF: Decades of Federal Government intervention and we are still miles from solving this problem. Nothing to see here; just move along.
From Red State Blog, by Sister Toldjah, 3 June 2020.
Here is the InstaPundit except:
“Now, too many see the protests as the problem. No, the problem is what forced your fellow citizens to take to the streets, persistent, and poisonous, inequities and injustice. And please, show me where it says that protesters are supposed to be polite and peaceful.”
And, of course, the InstaPundit Blogger, Mr Ed Driscoll, obliged, by quoting the First Amendment.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
So Newscaster Christ Cuomo doesn't really know the First Amendment. I am not shocked by that. He seems to be all emotions and little knowledge.
The other place Mr Cuomo falls down is in not acknowledging that this problem of minorities feeling they are not being listened to is decades old and thus falls on his Brother and his Father, with regard to New York State. Why is he not excoriating his own kith and kin?
The death of Mr George Floyd is an example of a failure of local government. Not just the police department, which failed to discharge this officer with over a dozen complaints, but also the local States Attorney, who let him slide on a previous complaint. And she, now Senator Amy Klobuchar, was short-listed for the Democratic Party Vice Presidential nomination. If she had acted decisively back in the day might we not be here today.
The problems we are facing today, the abuse of civil rights, the lack of trust in government on the part of some groups in these United States, is not for lack of laws. It is for lack of good law enforcement. And not just the police. This includes things like building inspectors and folks enforing zoning codes. It is about the education of our children and where the sewer lines are being installed.
If we want to fix this we need to elect local leaders who want to make thing fair. As for legislation, we might consider this tweet:
Jane Coaston @cjane87 · 21h
1. End qualified immunity.
2. Curtail the power of police unions
And here’s the toughest one:
3. We probably need fewer laws, in general.
The InstaPundit himself, Law Professor Green Reynolds, bumped this, because it is true.
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
For John, BLUF: Protest is our right. Riots are an attack on fellow citizens and must be stopped and condemned. Nothing to see here; just move along.
Here is the sub-headline:
Trump Derangement Syndrome Has Reached Pandemic Status
From PJ Media, by Mr Stephen Kruiser, 2 June 2020.
Here is the lede plus five:
President Trump provided the nation a perfect social media snapshot of why so many of us are way beyond being able to seem the American Left as anything but a bunch for raving lunatics. Yeah, I may be a little over the top now but I think I’ve been drowned in so much hyperbole and anti-Trump hysteria AMID THE PANDEMIC that I now feel like responding in kind.
It began when he gave a speech from the Rose Garden addressing the violence of the past few days that expressed some sentiments that are difficult to find fault with:
“All Americans were rightly sickened and revolted by the brutal death of George Floyd,” Trump said, adding that “For George and his family, justice will be served. He will not have died in vain. But we cannot allow the righteous cries of peaceful protesters to be drowned out by an angry mob.
“The biggest victims of the rioting are the peace-loving citizens in our poorest communities. And as their president, I will fight to keep them safe.
“I will fight to protect you. I am your president of law and order and an ally of all peaceful protesters,” Trump said.
Trump then pointed out what has been plain for all to see: there has been a complete failure of leadership in every city where the violence has gotten hand. He was polite and didn’t mention that they were all Democrats running those cities.
I don't think there is much of anything the President can do that won't elicit criticism. But, that is not a promise that he won't win in November.
My take is that it was the right thing to do for the President to walk over to St John's, across Layfette Park from the White House, a church that burned during a riot in DC.
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
For John, BLUF: We know about Mr George Floyd, who died in police custody, in Minneapolis. Should we not known about this man, murdered by a rioter this last weekend Yes, we expect higher standards of those who provide us protection, but that does not mean that rioters are not to be held to a high standard. Nothing to see here; just move along.
From The Federal Times, by Reporter Daisy Nguyen, 1 Jun 2020.
Here is the lede plus one:
A federal law enforcement officer who was shot and killed while providing security at the U.S. courthouse in Oakland, California, during a protest has been identified.
Dave Patrick Underwood, 53, died from gunshot wounds sustained after someone fired shots from an unidentified vehicle Friday night, the FBI said Sunday.
For irony, Mr Underwood was a Black man.
For further irony, he was murdered while providing protection to the Ronald Vernie Dellums Building in Oakland. Representative Ron Dellums was the first Black Member of Congress from Northern California and served thirteen terms. He also served as Mayor of Oakland.
Mr Underwood is survive by a Sister, Angela Underwood Jacobs. Ms Jacobs, earlier this year, ran for the Republican nomination for the US Congress in the California 25th District. The seat was won by Republican Mike Garcia, who replaces disgraced Democratic Representative Katie Hill (resigned November 3, 2019),
Our condolences to Ms Jacobs and other members of Mr Underwood's family. He should not be forgotten.
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
For John, BLUF: I wonder if Reporters, and their editors, are bothered by objective facts on the ground? Nothing to see here; just move along.
From Victory Girls Blog, by Ms Nina Bookout, 12 August 2018.
If you don't equate AntiFAT with the Nazi era Brownshirts you either are not paying attention or your historic understanding is deficient, or both.
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
For John, BLUF: The rest of the Nation will not long tolerate this kind of activity. Nothing to see here; just move along.
Mr Stephen Green, posting at The Instapundit, notes that President Trump Tweeted about the riots (riots, not demonstrations♠) at UC Berkeley. The author of the linked article, at Pajama Media, was Miss Liz Sheld.
At the post at The Instapundit there was this update:
UPDATE (From Glenn): You want more Trump? Because Berkeley is how you get more Trump.
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
♠ Demonstrations is what happened at UC Berkeley in 1964. Yesterday, 1 February 2017, was a riot, with property damage and people injured.
For John, BLUF: Those who said it was about Hitler were right, but focused on the wrong folks. The Brown Shirts are out "protesting" the Conservatives. Nothing to see here; just move along.
From Pajama Media and Mr David P Goldman.
Here is the lede, plus a commend from Mr Ed Driscoll, at The InstaPundit:
One would have thought that a 90-day suspension of immigration from seven countries with minimal economic ties to the United States would be minor news. It has to be the best thing an American president has done since Ronald Reagan told Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall, because all the people I dislike have gone bat-guano crazy.
Heh, indeed.™
That is definitely one way to look at it. People are going crazy. It is beginning to look like the 1930s in Germany, but not from the Trump side, but from the Progressives. Look at what happened at UC Berkeley this evening. Not protests, but rioting, with injuries and property damage over a planned talk by Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos.
Will they ever grow tired of this, or are we going to have four years of this kind of thing?
If Senate Democrats are an example, this could go on a long time. And then there is the danger of reciprocity.
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
For John, BLUF:
Change is needed in Baltimore, both at the Governmental level and by the People themselves. Nothing to see here; just move along.
The Village Voice thinks the rioting (and looting and arson) in Baltimore exposes how our knife laws are antiquated and abused by the Police and Prosecutors with regard to the Black Community. The reporter is Jon Campbell and the dateline is Monday. The article is
"Freddie Gray Arrest Exposes an Antiquated Knife Law Similar to New York's".
Here are a couple of key paragraphs:
But Gray's initial arrest may not have happened if not for an antiquated provision of Baltimore's municipal code, which prohibits the possession of a "switchblade" knife. Gray had allegedly been running from the police, for reasons that still aren't clear, and after a brief chase, officers found the knife clipped to his pocket in a closed position — he was not alleged to have brandished the knife or threatened anyone with it.
The arrest charge recalls an issue we've been covering in New York City for months — the NYPD's enforcement of a half-century old law against so-called "gravity knives." The law was the subject of a lengthy investigation we published last year which found as many as 60,000 questionable arrests in ten years, making the statute one of the top-ten most-prosecuted crimes in New York City.
Switchblades? Reminds me of the 1963 book by David Wilkerson,
The Cross and the Switchblade. And, the fact that I was issued, early on in my Air Force pilot career, a switchblade knife, which also had a U-shaped blade for cutting parachute risers.
This, of course, goes to the issue covered by Law Professor Glenn Harlan Reynolds in his short piece, Ham Sandwich Nation: Due Process When Everything Is a Crime (Columbia Law Review).
The other thing that pops out of this is the rule of thumb that one should never run from the police. It is not that I believe every claim by police that the suspect was running away, but I think the odds favor not running, and as it becomes the rule in a City like Baltimore it will be harder and harder for police to beat up suspects with impunity.
Of course, if the People of Baltimore are not able to pull it together then a more fascist regime may supplant the current democratic regime. It will be fascist even if it self-describes as syndicalism or some such form of organization and overthrow of the current form of government and economic order. Sadly, such a change will lead to (1) less freedom for individuals and (2) a less efficient organization of the economic side of life. Even those Blacks currently feeling oppressed will not the greater oppression.
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
For John, BLUF:
Not a bad initial statement on the riots in Charm City. Nothing to see here; just move along.
Here is what came out on Monday. This is from the brand new Attorney General, Ms
Loretta Lynch. From the DOJ
Office of Public Affairs.
Statement by Attorney General Lynch on the Situation in Baltimore
Attorney General Loretta Lynch released the following statement on the situation in Baltimore, Maryland:
“I condemn the senseless acts of violence by some individuals in Baltimore that have resulted in harm to law enforcement officers, destruction of property and a shattering of the peace in the city of Baltimore. Those who commit violent actions, ostensibly in protest of the death of Freddie Gray, do a disservice to his family, to his loved ones, and to legitimate peaceful protestors who are working to improve their community for all its residents.
“The Department of Justice stands ready to provide any assistance that might be helpful. The Civil Rights Division and the FBI have an ongoing, independent criminal civil rights investigation into the tragic death of Mr. Gray. We will continue our careful and deliberate examination of the facts in the coming days and weeks. The department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services has also been fully engaged in a collaborative review of the Baltimore City Police Department. The department’s Community Relations Service has already been on the ground, and they are sending additional resources as they continue to work with all parties to reduce tensions and promote the safety of the community. And in the coming days, Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division, and Ronald Davis, Director of Community Oriented Policing Services, will be traveling to Baltimore to meet with faith and community leaders, as well as city officials.
“As our investigative process continues, I strongly urge every member of the Baltimore community to adhere to the principles of nonviolence. In the days ahead, I intend to work with leaders throughout Baltimore to ensure that we can protect the security and civil rights of all residents. And I will bring the full resources of the Department of Justice to bear in protecting those under threat, investigating wrongdoing, and securing an end to violence.”
Interestingly, Ms Lynch took over from Attorney General Eric Holder yesterday, Monday, 27 April 2015.
Regards — Cliff
