Yearly Archives: 2013

How Soon We Forget: Bush’s Ratings Rise

"Americans’ views of former president George W. Bush have improved, with 49% now viewing him favorably and 46% unfavorably. That is the first time since 2005 that opinions of him have been more positive than negative. The recovery in Bush’s image is not unexpected, given that Americans generally view former presidents positively. Gallup’s favorable ratings for Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton all exceeded 60% when last measured." Continue reading →

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How Responsible Is Obama for the Oklahoma Killing?

"If Obama's son would have looked like Trayvon, he would have also looked like James Edwards and Chancey Luna, both charged with first-degree murder in Lane's death. Although south central Oklahoma would seem to be a long way from south central LA, the national media have created a dysfunctional culture accessible to all disaffected youths everywhere, even the occasional white kid like getaway driver Michael Jones. These young thugs apparently pulled their language, their vices, their aspirations, and their prejudices-- '90% of white ppl are nasty. #HATE THEM'-from what was broadcast their way." Continue reading →

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Dead Souls of a Cultural Revolution

"What can be said for an NAACP that was lately demanding a Justice Department investigation of a rodeo clown running around a bull ring in rural Missouri in an Obama mask, but cannot find its voice to address a black-on-white atrocity in Middle America? When Trayvon Martin was shot to death in a murky incident in Sanford, Fla., Jesse Jackson rushed there to declare: 'Blacks are under attack. … Killing us is big business.' Trayvon was 'shot down in cold blood by a vigilante … murdered and martyred.' After Chris Lane’s cold-blooded murder, Jesse tweeted: This sort of thing is to be 'frowned upon.' Can the president not find his voice to speak to the parents of Chris Lane?" Continue reading →

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“Public Service” Is Among the Safest “Work,” Alas

"CNN Money presents 'America’s Most Dangerous Jobs' – and surprise, surprise: cops are nowhere to be found on the list. Indeed, notable for their absence are all 'public servants' other than 'sanitation workers.' And many of the latters’ injuries occur because their employer (and no doubt their unions) order them to gather garbage when streets are clogged with 'impatient drivers try[ing] to squeeze past their stopped trucks.' Contrast innovations in the most dangerous private job, log-cutting, and their dramatic reductions in casualties, with municipalities’ stodgy insistence on collecting trash during times that often coincide with rush-hours." Continue reading →

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World’s Nicest Traffic Cop Has Issued 25,000 Tickets With Zero Complaints

"53-year-old Elton Simmons has been a Sheriff's Deputy for Los Angeles County for just over 20 years. In that time Simmons has made more than 25,000 traffic stops and surprisingly, has not received a single complaint. Simmons says his motto is 'Do good, be good, treat people good', and receiving a ticket from him might actually make your day." Continue reading →

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100+ complaints and only a demotion: What does it take to fire a bad cop?

"Sergeant Patrick 'K.C.' Saulet is a sergeant with the King County Sheriff’s Department in Washington. Throughout his years of service he has managed to rack up an outstanding 120 complaints against him for use of force, conduct unbecoming an officer and not treating people with courtesy. In comparison, the sergeant with the second most complaints has 23. Even though 20 allegations have proven true, it was finally an incident from December 2012 that got him demoted. A family mistakenly drove into an off limits area of a Seattle bus terminal while following their GPS. Saulet threatened the 2 adults with arrest and that he 'could take away your daughter' as well." Continue reading →

Continue Reading100+ complaints and only a demotion: What does it take to fire a bad cop?

Gun Crime ‘Out of Control’ Despite Strict Australia Laws

"As former Australian politician Tim Fischer turns the shooting of Christopher Lane into an opportunity to push a travel boycott until the U.S. changes its gun laws, police in Sydney launched 'a new plan to tackle out-of-control gun violence' there. Australia implemented a massive purge of guns in 1996, which included bans on 'assault weapons' and other semi-automatic rifles and shotguns. Yet 17 years after the implementation of gun control schemes that are very similar in many ways to those being pushed by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Joe Manchin (D-WV), and Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the NSW police department is launching a new operation to rein in gun violence." Continue reading →

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School District Ends Policy Of Forcing Students To Kneel Down For Dismissal

"School district officials in San Bernardino County say they will discontinue a policy that required elementary school students to kneel down before being dismissed to class. Principal Dana Carter at Calimesa Elementary School had reportedly instituted the policy, which called for students at various times of the school day to kneel down on one knee and wait for the principal or another administrator to dismiss them, as a safety measure. Yucaipa Calimesa Unified School District Superintendent Cali Binks told KCAL9 the policy – which was described as 'positive behavior intervention' – will no longer be enforced at Calimesa Elementary after several parents spoke out against the practice." Continue reading →

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Striking teachers block access to Mexico City airport

"Thousands of teachers severely disrupted access to Mexico City’s international airport, forcing some travelers to abandon cars and roll suitcases on foot during a protest against education reform. President Enrique Pena Nieto pushed through Congress changes to the constitution in December in order to put education, which was in the hands of powerful unions, back under government control and require teachers to undergo mandatory performance appraisals. More than 70,000 teachers went on strike in southern Mexico, leaving more than one million children without classes at the start of the school year this week." Continue reading →

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100 Outgunned Mexican Women Join Self-Defense League

"More than 100 women in the southern Mexican town of Xaltianguis have taken up arms to protect their community from organized crime groups, a local self-defense force official said Monday. The women signed up over the past four days with the Union of Peoples and Organizations of Guerrero State, or UPOEG, Xaltianguis community self-defense force commander Miguel Angel Jimenez told reporters. 'We have an average of nine groups' of community police, with each one made up of 12 women who will work in the daytime in the neighborhoods of Xaltianguis, located about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the resort city of Acapulco, Jimenez said." Continue reading →

Continue Reading100 Outgunned Mexican Women Join Self-Defense League