11/30/20: The True Heirs of Clousteau are in the Paris Police Force

We can only wish it were a comedy.

Last week, three Paris police officers spent several minutes beating up a Black music producer, Michael Zecler, outside a basement studio at his home.

A fourth officer thought he would help out by tossing a tear-gas grenade into the tiny anteroom of the studio where the others were scuffling, presumably hoping to drive everyone outdoors.

It was all caught on full-color CCTV.

The video quickly spread on social media. The rest of France had questions, largely variations on "WTF?"

There were protests against police violence across the nation on both Friday and Saturday, and France's president, Emmanuel Macron, said the video had shamed the country. Even the police officers' defense lawyer says that he thought "Have they all gone crazy?"

The three police officers said that Zecler was resisting arrest and maintained that they had not made racial insults, although a witness affirmed that they had. Zecler’s lawyer said that the police officers “are lying at every level.”

Those officers remain in custody this week, the government prosecutor said, so that they couldn't talk to each other. The fourth officer is suspended and "under judicial control," according to a Huffpo article.

We can't help but notice that the Parisian justice system took the incident much more seriously than we usually see for police brutality investigations in the United States.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/paris-police-michel-zecler-beating_n_5fc3f905c5b68ca87f8537b1?fbclid=IwAR3yCmwJw4LJuKxk9AhpsfgpXf9gBaqNiVLsfuFQEcQHSg4QuXAk3QW45fA

11/30/20 Dear America: Stay Home, Eat Leftovers, and Don't Die

The expected post-Thanksgiving COVID-19 surge is happening right on pace.

The Los Angeles County Health Department has imposed a three-week stay-home order starting Monday. Officials confirmed almost 890,000 positive cases, with 7,604 deaths. The seven-day positivity rate was 6.9%.

The whole smoking hot mess is making life even harder for the nation's public schools. Forget about Biden's slipping while he plays with his dog. The real slipping (and shifting, and bobbing and weaving) is happening among dozens of levels of administrators who have to comply with shifting requirements and make the changes work with families who may speak a dozen languages per district.

New York City's public schools are reopening for face-to-face classes in a week, but only in the pre-kindergarten through fifth grades -- the kids who have the toughest time with remote learning. The schools are still thrashing out details for the older kids.

Chicago is planning to reopen schools for the young students and for special education students. The Teacher's Union there is screaming bloody murder, with teachers fearing that the upcoming murders might be theirs, from COVID.

Even before Los Angeles's stay-home order, the state allowed the school's 80 districts to have a max of 10 percent of students on campus at one time. What now? All we know is that administrators will be tearing their hair out for much of this week.

In Houston, all students are working remotely even when they're at school in the flesh. Teachers who are doing so from a classroom wear masks AND face shields.

Wait -- what?

Precisely.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/29/us/nyc-schools-reopening-december-trnd/index.html?fbclid=IwAR3Ut7PY-t4ToZNDT9ylPGyJOWrvXkAtbi1lXPJ0LAApVUQ1Tp0Mj2

11/28/20: The Top US Voting-System Expert Has a Few Words About Reality

Christopher Krebs is a straightforward guy. After more than three years directing the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, he thought it was time to reassure American voters that the 2020 election was secure -- "The most secure in American history," he wrote in a public statement. 

In boldface, he noted, "There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised."

You don't work for Trump if your reality isn't the same as his. Trump fired Krebs a few days later. Krebs was so rudely tossed out on the pavement that he didn't have a chance to wave goodbye to his team.

The apparently imperturbable Krebs added to his remarks on the vote in an interview slated for “60 Minutes” this Sunday.

Sidney Powell, the lawyer who was too wild-eyed even for Trump's election-attack team, has said that Hugo Chavez (who died in 2013) somehow messed up the technology of Dominion Voting Systems. (What, he came back?!)

Powell and Giuliani said that communist-bloc countries had installed an algorithm in the election machines that made them vote for Biden. And that's just the foam at the top of the pilsner.

Krebs told the interviewer, “We can go on and on with all the farcical claims...but the proof is in the ballots.”

He also said, “The recounts are consistent with the initial count, and to me, that's further evidence, that's confirmation that the systems used in the 2020 election performed as expected, and the American people should have 100 percent confidence in their vote.”

You could say that what's bad for Trump is good for “60 Minutes.” To repeat: It's this Sunday.

Do you think Trump's fans will even watch the interview on Sunday? Would you like to see Krebs in Biden's cabinet? Would you read a book on Krebs's experience if he wrote one?

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/527795-krebs-says-allegations-of-foreign-interference-in-2020-election?fbclid=IwAR1OcHm5a00-Zy1ghmHPsnABtJ4vCeO6SMhOXCUVY6tRp8BE7urqthb6P6M

Run Over But Alive, an ex-Police Detective Sues the Deputy Who Hurt Him

Lionel Womack was driving back from a business trip this August when a police vehicle behind him signaled him to pull over. Kansas's Kiowa County Deputy Jeremy Rodriguez was at the wheel. 

Womack didn't know why he was being pulled over. Nor did he know that Rodriguez had radioed for help from police in two other counties. After Womack pulled over on a dirt road and was talking to Rodriguez, he saw two other patrol vehicles racing towards them. 

Womack had thorough experience with police department mores. His wife and mother work in law enforcement in Kansas. His stepfather is a retired police sergeant. Two of Womack's aunts work dispatch. Womack himself had quit his job as a police detective to start his own security firm. 

Womack's wife filed a federal lawsuit last year alleging “rampant racism and sexism” in her own police department. 

In short, Womack was scared. He panicked and ran across a field with the officers in vehicular pursuit. When Rodriguez caught up with Womack, he ran Womack over, causing extensive, painful injuries to his back, pelvis, and legs. The police vehicles' dash cams recorded the incident, including Womack's arms and legs flailing after the vehicle rolled over him. 

Four months later, guess who's in jail? 

That's right -- Womack. He had a warrant stemming from another traffic stop in Oklahoma. He's facing felony charges of attempting to elude a law enforcement officer by engaging in reckless driving and interference with a law enforcement officer. 

Rodriguez is living and working undisturbed despite Womack's requests to the Kiowa County Sheriff to fire him. 

On Friday, Womack filed suit against Rodriguez for excessive force and for depriving him of his rights under the 4th and 14th amendments. 

Considering what happened to Womack and the experience of his family in law enforcement, we're highly skeptical that a minority member can expect even-handed policing in Kansas. It sounds as if Womack expected to be lynched. Sometime soon, we'll find out if he will be represented fairly in a Kansas court of law. 

Given the wording of the lawsuit, which references federal civil rights, we suspect that the lawsuit will also move on to the federal courts later, if not sooner. 

What would Justice look like in this case? 

Is it possible that Lionel Womack deserved to be pulled over repeatedly, or is he being stopped for Driving While Black? 

Do you think it was reasonable for Womack to panic and run? 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kansas-deputy-intentionally-runs-over-black-man-lionel-womack/?fbclid=IwAR2pA04YK_figz1j2gDQjFLGtQfV-04jHE2BNs-ciW5khLvmIE__yOXdtiM

Trump's Latest Tantrum Bashes Supreme Court. Will Santa Be Next?

"The Supreme Court really let us down. No Wisdom, No Courage!"

That was the Friday-night tweet from our soon-to-be-ex President Trump. Predictably, he was lashing out after the justices decided not to decide a lawsuit aiming to disenfranchise four "battleground" states that voted for Joe Biden. It couldn't have helped that Trump had appointed three of the seven judges who voted to boot the suit.

Ken Paxton, the scandal-challenged Attorney General of the State of Texas, who brought the suit, called the result "unfortunate." Rudy Giuliani, Trump's colorful personal lawyer, called it "a terrible, terrible mistake." Both lawyers added rousing statements about integrity; neither died of irony, nor were there lightning bolts.

One might think that's the end of the road for Trump's whirlwind of lawsuits challenging the election results, but Rudy Giuliani said he intended to go back to the lower courts and try -- again. A lot of those cases have already been thrown out of the lower courts, sometimes with caustic commentary.

And now? Doubtless both Trump and Giuliani have their arms shoulder-deep in Santa's bag, looking for good surprises. But they and Roger Stone will probably just wind up using their lumps of coal to put fire under the fannies of Trump's little troopers.

The more noise, the merrier.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-supreme-court-texas-lawsuit-election/?fbclid=IwAR2hsftbJmYBUQJ8Li-aeFXlyQa-qZJmAMi56WzSrfxFXiBqi_4TgHG_KNw

2020 Wasn't ALL Bad

Anyone scanning Facebook these days has seen the Christmas ornaments for 2020: The mask drawing labeled Year of the Mask; the Mask Angel (made of two used masks); the "2020, Meh," by a star of Shitt's Creek; and last and worst, the silhouette of a dog who is divesting itself of an object labeled "2020." 

So: Was it really that bad? 

Yes. Yes it was. But there were still some good developments in the world. The Huffpost article below gets the ball rolling. 

-- With everyone staying home instead of commuting, global greenhouse gas emissions fell by about 2.4 billion tons this year -- the largest decline on record. Yep, breathe that in. 

-- 45 rhinos have been saved from poachers with a program using trained dogs. In addition, a program involving cameras hidden around a South African wildlife park has enabled rangers to hop in a helicopter and stop poaching just before it happens. 

-- Dogs and cats are happy; they've had their favorite people at home most of the year, and more animals have been sprung from shelters to "forever" homes than ever before. A Nielsen survey found that pet adoptions more than quadrupled over the same three-month period in 2019. 

-- Police are having to take the civil rights of Black people more seriously than ever before. It took several deaths, an ocean of tears -- and thousands of protestors persevering under tear gas and violent attacks from extra-legal thugs. It was a start toward justice. 

-- Many Americans got to spend time with family and build on their relationships. 

-- You didn't have to spend time with ALL your family. 

-- A foreign-language film won the Oscar for Best Picture. 

-- DACA was upheld by the Supreme Court. Trump's attempt to bully his way back into office was smacked down by the Supreme Court -- and countless other courts, from federal on down to local.

-- Crayola now has 40 "flesh-colored" shades of crayon! 

-- Scotland decided to provide menstrual supplies (tampons and pads) free to all who need them. They also oppose Brexit. Who knows? Maybe, for the first time since Bonnie Prince Charlie, Scotland will pull itself together and become independent again. Is that a good thing, or no? 

Can you think of any other good things that happened in 2020? Don't leave yourself out! How is YOUR health? How is YOUR livelihood? How are the people in YOUR family? 

And a Happy New Year to us all! 

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/good-things-happened-2020_l_5feb660fc5b6ff7479847494

huffpost.com

18 Actually Good Things That Happened in 2020

In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a surprising amount of positive news to celebrate this past year.

...And the REAL One is at Macy's on 34th Street

The days when Jesus had blue eyes and blond hair are gone. But Santa Claus...?! Some people still insist Santa is white and male. It's in a book someone read to them when they were children.

So when Chris Kennedy of North Little Rock put an inflatable Black Santa Claus on his lawn, the color was enough to inflame the finer sensibilities of some guy who didn't like it.

A letter came to Kennedy in the U.S. Mail, saying: "Please remove your negro Santa Claus yard decoration. You should not try to deceive children into believing that I am a negro. I am a caucasian (white man, to you) and have been for the past 600 years ..." The letter finished with a suggestion that Kennedy "move out to a neighborhood out east with the rest of your racist kind. Yours truly, Santa Claus."

The return address was a graphic taped on the envelope that looked like the local Property Owner's Association's (POA’s) logo. Kennedy, who looks as kind as Santa himself (but without the beard), bought his big Black Santa the year his daughter was born.

On receiving the letter, he read it live on Facetime, then notified the Post Office and the local police about the harassment.

Fortunately, Kennedy’s neighbors took his side. The executive director of the POA dropped by, furious, when he heard about the letter, and the POA gave the Kennedys a free membership. Black Santas started popping up on lawns all over the neighborhood.

"Some [neighbors] have brought us over cookies and other treats," Kennedy said. "One even brought us a yard sign that says 'Love your neighbors Y’all.' We have gotten gifts of Black Santa yard flags and a Merry Christmas flag with a Black Santa on it. Our neighbors have been absolutely amazing."

If this were a game, it would be Racist, 0; Neighbors, countless.

https://www.today.com/news/he-put-black-santa-his-lawn-when-he-got-racist-t201678 https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/28/us/black-santa-decoration-racist-letter-trnd/index.html