This is getting beyond ridiculous and is frankly becoming saddening and maddening. Sen. and Sec. Of State Hillary Rodham Clinton should have been given the coronation she deserves, which I hope is still probable given the recent Quinnipiac poll indicating Mrs. Clinton leading all possible Republican Presidential contenders. Here is the big problem: not only are the Republican and Independent candidates piling up, so are the Democrats.
Earlier today, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley threw his hat into the ring as another candidate running to the left of Sen. Clinton. A proposition which is impossible given Sec. Of State Clinton is the most liberal candidate running in decades. None the less, the clown car seems to be adding Democrats to the field when there should not be any other Democrats. This includes President Barack Obama whom we know plans on running for a third term. And to add another person, Sen. Lincoln Chafee who was initially a Republican that lost his senate seat to a Democrat (Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse) and two years ago became himself a registered Democrat; Sen. Chafee is also running for President.
Holy shit. Why cannot the political world and much of the real world accept the fact that for the last 23 years, we needed the Clinton family running us all? When is it ever going to get to these opponents' head that nobody in any political and social ideal can ever return to a 1992 or earlier world mindset? The 1980s era has ended. The era where anyone that was not a conservative would be fucked over is never coming back. What Ron Silver said during President Bill Clinton's inauguration ceremonies is true then as it true now. The White House now belongs to us, the oppressed. Look; people my age were never supposed to live this long. If President Ronald Reagan and his people had their way; the world would have ended by 1983 or 1984 due to nuclear war. Those that survived would be living in a Mad Max society, where people would ask "Who Killed The World?"
President Clinton was able to end this madness if only a short while. Sad to say, these last 15 years have been bad for the world and for us all. We need Sen. Clinton to reclaim the throne and become the President she needs to be. And yet, there is this sinking feeling that we will not be getting a Clinton return. For anyone that relishes in the idea of sabotaging the much needed coronation; you should be shutting up before your problems get revealed. I know I have mentioned Michael Rivero recently; the person who just will not get over his life being "ruined" in the aftermath of Vincent Foster's death. To this I say to him: the check did not clear 22 years ago. What makes you think you will get it now?
For those not aware, when someone doth protest much, there is usually a hidden reason why. If I am complaining about something that I might be doing in private; do not be surprised if when my secrets are revealed, I am looked down upon regarding my hypocrisy. I may have more to say on this; though I do not think it is necessary.
In any event, having too many candidates running for one office will negate the relevancy of being a President. This may not end well.
And just like the era of 80s excess has ended, the era of sitcom paint-by-numbers has ended.
Talk to you soon,
Robert
PS. As I was finishing this essay, word came that Beau Biden, Delaware Attorney General and a potential Gubernatorial nominee, has died of brain cancer. This is a very shocking event that I did not see coming. My condolences to the Biden family and his loved ones.
This past Memorial Day Weekend, I became aware of a verdict in a case stretching back 3 years ago. For those not aware, On November 1, 2012, 43 year old African American Timothy Russell of Cleveland, Ohio and his girlfriend, 30 year old African American Malissa Williams; were involved in a high-speed chase by Cleveland Police Department cops over a matter which remains unclear to this day. One thing that is clear; the couple was unarmed. This did not stop 13 different police officers firing there guns at the couple, fatally shooting them 137 times! One of the officers, Michael Brelo who is currently 31 and a white male, jumped on the roof of their car and shot the couple 13 times in the head. Sadly, both Mr. Russell and Ms. Williams were likely dead already when the shots were fired.
This resulted in Mr. Brelo being charged with voluntary manslaughter in the couple's deaths. It only took 3 years to reach trial and a verdict; because, as I and you know, the halls of justice are as slow as molasses. None the less, it was thought that perhaps with the subsequent cases of police brutality becoming well known to us all; justice for the Russell and Williams families would prevail. Alas; we should have guessed differently. Using the now widely discredited "I was in fear for my life from these crazy people" excuse, which for some reason still holds water to low-information people; Mr. Brelo was found not guilty on all charges. Accordingly, outrage, protests, arrests and calls for police reform have ensued. We can only hope that Mr. Brelo, along with the other 12 cops, get sued in civil courts and be held liable for damages at the least.
I initially had little to no plans on remarking on this verdict; you fellow readers know where I stand on these issues pertaining to police brutality. None the less, two things irked me to respond. First, this verdict was a judge's verdict; not decided by a jury of one's peers. For a case such as this, a jury trial verdict is needed. The second and more upsetting for me issue was Pat D'Angelo, Mr. Brelo's defense attorney, having an impromptu press conference which I feel was insulting and racist. Insulting in that Mr. D'Angelo's remarks were of the "cops can do no wrong" variety. Racist due to the implied words of perceived entitlement that should come to people like Mr. Brelo just because one thinks so. Here is the press conference for you to decide.
Now I understand Mr. D'Angelo was doing his job and did it with a decision benefiting him and his client. Yet, he is wrong; completely wrong in his opinions. Mr. Brelo as far as I am concerned does not show law abiding tendencies due in no small part to jumping on the roof of a car and shooting off 13 rounds on his gun in killing a couple! Were I to do that; you would not be reading this blog. I am also deeply troubled by the implied statements that because Mr. Russell and Ms. Williams had mental health difficulties, that everything related to the incident was their fault. May I remind Mr. D'Angelo this important distinction: I do have Asperger's Syndrome. Living with Asperger's, indeed living with any mental health problem, is the equivalent of having a full time job. From my experience, it is well known that any person deemed with having a mental health problem is prone to effectively being marginalized because of our differences.
This is, once again, a mockery of what needs to be deemed appropriate and correct justice. I know many will think differently. Yet, it is time to stop this incessant need to defend police officers even in times when defending them is asinine. Again, I ask you: if you or someone you knew and loved were doing even the minutest of actions Michael Brelo did or any of the cops in this case; would You be walking away scot clean? Would You be getting a pass because one said so? I know I certainly would not.
I know in the last couple weeks or thereabouts I was not posting as much on a daily basis. It seems more like an every 6 days or so basis. Rest assured, I am not ending this blog any time soon; as well, I should be soon back to posting on a daily or almost daily basis.
So what has been the hold-up? Well, earlier this month I was involved with my third acting play from the Drama Program division of the Town of Oyster Bay Group Activities Programs for the Disabled. This took quite a good deal of weekly rehearsals; including three dress rehearsals the week of the play before the performance on the night of May 8th. I would show video footage to you on this weblog; we did a sort of truncated Footloose that had me play Chris Penn's character Willard. However, I am not sure how to embed a Facebook video. If any of you like or subscribe to my Facebook page; you can be able to see it. We expect another DVD copy of the play within a month or so.
Secondly, this being Memorial Day Weekend, quite a few different meetings and events have been taking place. In particular, last Friday I went to see for the second time Mad Max: Fury Road. This action film is awesomely amazing! Hopefully by tomorrow, I will be able to post an essay on my thoughts in fuller detail regarding this movie. In short, you need to see this!
I will also be posting on the recent Cleveland, Ohio not guilty verdicts handed out to some 13 police officers having killed 2 unarmed African-Americans in 202 by shooting 143 (!) bullets into their car. Needless to say, I am completely against the outcome of judgment in this effective sham of a judicial process. When is it going to go to people's heads that being a cop does not equal being absolved of all guilt and consequences?
I will have more to discuss with you in a short time from now. I should point out that I was wrong on my Mad Men ending prediction. It ended up more in tune (so to speak) with a more satisfying outcome implying the creation of an ad you might remember.
I do wonder if a follow-up will be made concerning the most recent 45 years. We shall see.
Amazing, is it not, that only three years ago (2012) winning American Idol or even being a finalist was cause for celebration. Yet, since Philip Phillips won and arguably became the third most successful Idol winner after Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood; the past three seasons have been at best tepid shadows of its former glory. At worst, the populace has realized that the emperor is not wearing any clothes. As I type this, The 2015 Billboard Music Awards are on; nowhere in the MGM Grand are to be found the last three Idol winners. That is because at this time none of them has had a hit record or album on the charts.
So what happened to a series that was once such a juggernaut that now few people give the time of day to? What has made American Idol a series that has now a stop date next year? I can think of a number of reasons this has come to be this way. Much of them appear obvious when all is said and done.
First and foremost, the need for a fledgling singer to go on American Idol to make it big became a bit redundant. As I mentioned yesterday, Kanye West, Arcade Fire and LCD Sound system broke through when Idol began; and I can certainly tell you not one of those artists would have even made the semi-finalist round of any season. Do you know who else would not have worked well on Idol?
Lady Gaga
Rihanna
The National
Lorde
Animal Collective
Blake Shelton
Pharrell Williams
Hozier
Florence Welch
Katy Perry
Iggy Azalea
John Legend
Sam Smith
Paramore
Nicki Minaj
MGMT
The Black Keys
Ray LaMontagne
Charli XCX
Mackelmore & Ryan Lewis
All of these artists have become substantial figures in the music scene these last 12-13 years. And not one of them also needed an Idol or like minded singing reality show to get famous. The music buying public are, I think, more in tune with authenticity and uniqueness as listed above. You rarely find it nowadays on a show where getting a recording contract is considered entertainment.
Here is another thing that made the show lose its credibility. As the years went on, it seemed to me that Ryan Seacrest wanted American Idol to be more like American Bandstand. In particular, the results show and the Idol Gives Back show would be more interested in established artists performing live than promoting the results of the votes for who would stay and who would be kicked out. In a roundabout matter, the introduction of the judges' save and the occasional weeks in which no one left I think cheapened the voting process and altered the idea of the best singer winning. You might remember the idea floating a few years ago to vote for the worst. I was totally against that idea, and still am.
What else has made American Idol lose it all? So darn much.
The Voice; not exactly a success in finding the great new artists; but the more honest and reasonable approach to finding a winner.
The X Factor; did not do too well in America; yet it has completely supplanted the Idol format in most other countries.
Got Talent; much more varied and interesting, due in large part to not discriminating upon age.
Simon Cowell leaving Idol.
Paula Abdul leaving Idol.
Randy Jackson leaving Idol.
That one season where it seemed more people cared about the animosity between Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj than who was auditioning.
19 Entertainment and Fremantle Media altering the show noticeably every year after Simon left.
Not one celebrity judge willing to go negative on a contestant.
The proliferation of country music artists getting more votes than most other genres; not a bad thing in and of itself. Yet not everyone likes modern country.
Walt Disney World ending The American Idol Experience some two years ago.
Ryan Seacrest effectively phoning it in these last couple of seasons.
The Coca-Cola Company ending its sponsorship; not to mention PepsiCo neglecting to pick up the contract.
The rejects weeks effectively ending; replaced with showcasing every Idol contestant that came from hardship and doing what it took to go to Hollywood.
Many past Idol winners and finalists not even bothering to mention American Idol as their springboard to superstardom.
And my personal pet peeve: not once did Idol ever utilize Pink Floyd! Yes, it pisses me off that Pink Floyd has not had one of their songs covered by a singer on the show. Not even something more accessible like Wish You Were Here. By the way, it is the same feeling I have regarding the Songwriters Hall Of Fame: where the heck is Roger Waters, David Gilmour and Richard Wright at least in their hallowed halls?
Honestly three straight seasons of American Idol being the patron saint of mediocrities is enough to negate the first 11 seasons as mere flukes. I guess in the end, it mattered and yet it did not matter. There is one more season to go; we shall see if Nigel Lythgoe, Simon Fuller, Ryan Seacrest and others will be willing to go out on top and not on a languishing whimper. A word of caution though: do not hold your breath for that to happen.
Talk to you all later with more interesting observations,
Robert
PS. Dick Whitman is Don Draper is DB Cooper. We will find out if this theory holds in a few minutes from now.
I remember the day 13 years ago like it was yesterday. A high school friend of mine, Danny Kean, was being interviewed on Fox and Friends in an early June day in 2002. The previous May, Danny was in Hollywood auditioning as one of some 40 semi-finalists for a show on Fox premiering that night named American Idol. Now, I knew Danny was pretty darn good at the craft, having written his own songs and being able to play the piano and sing quite well. Of course, being interviewed in New York City where he resides to this day meant that he did not make it to the live finalist telecasts to be voted on by a viewing audience. Fortunately, Danny Kean has done well for himself ever since.
So that night, I watched the premier of American Idol in the hopes that Danny would be featured. He was not, either that week or the next week. What was featured were for the most part rejects that first week. They were being looked at by three record industry bigwigs, for which two I knew about (Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson) and one I had become aware of his reputation and his track record (Simon Cowell). It was hosted by two Los Angeles radio and/or stand up guys that I had no idea whom they were; although one of them looked uncannily like MTV personality Rikki Rachtman. In any case, the rejects were the highlight of the show.
There was the one female that was clueless of her rejection that she came back.
The kid named Derek that looked dejected and was told that he sucked by Simon and other people at the New York audition.
The one guy that wanted desperately to make it into the business; to as he put it "be somebody's product."
The African-American female that when rejected told off Simon.
The one guy who auditioned by singing Silent Night and forgetting the lyrics (Silent Night; I said a Silent Night)
The one young man that deadpanned American Pie that made Simon mention that the music (as it were) just died.
To their credit, it got serious as the weeks went on. Indeed, numerous celebrities became fans of the show; enough to fill the Dolby Theater for the season finale. More importantly, it was on Idol Season 1 that we were introduced to an artist that I think is perhaps the successor to Linda Ronstadt in her varied talents. That of course would be Kelly Clarkson; who has done extremely well in the 13 years since winning the first American Idol.
It was Season 2 which began in January 2003 and ended that May when American Idol hit its stride. That year, the rejected weeks were extended and were possibly even funnier than the year before. I mean, who could ever forget that one woman who tried to sing Unchained Melody as the seasons went by?:). More notably, it was the first year that I felt torn between who should win, as did many fans. Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken and Kimberly Locke were the top three that year; and any one of them could have won and there would not be an outcry. In the end, all three got recording contracts, and Ruben Studdard won the title of American Idol. This was also the first year when the non winners, namely Clay Aiken, made a greater impact than the winners. In fact, it happened again the next year. Fantasia won, and deservedly so. Yet, Jennifer Hudson became the Oscar winning singer and actress that shined brightest.
One year after that, American Idol introduced us to a highly successful artist in Country Music. Arguably, Carrie Underwood has had along with Kelly Clarkson the greatest success of any Idol winner. To do that while basically sticking to a field of music true to her core was and still is rather ballsy and brave. That was in 2005. 2006 was I think the start of things getting rotten. While that year brought artists such as Katherine McPhee and Daughtry to the forefront; the winner that year was Taylor Hicks. Hicks basically copied Joe Cocker move for move; an idea which I was not personally interested in. Taylor Hicks also became the first Idol winner to not entirely have that great of a success as the years went by.
The next year, Jordin Sparks took home the title of Idol; and for that year, she was the best. In 2008, American Idol had one of its best seasons; David Cook won that year in one of the more closely watched seasons for finalists. I think 6 of the top 10 went on to get recording contracts and enjoy comparative success. Personally, I felt David Archuleta was more deserving; yet I have no complaints.
2009 I think was the last great year for American Idol. I along with many others became impressed and instant fans of Adam Lambert; definitely one of the best performers and showmen to grace the stage of the series. Much of the top 12 were pretty darn good themselves. And while I was not too impressed with Kris Allen; he did alright for himself. Sadly, I do not think much of America were ready to accept Adam Lambert's lifestyle and theatrics at the time. That of course has since changed. This was also the year Paula Abdul left. That was quite a loss; I had like the banter Paula, Simon, Randy and Ryan Seacrest had going at that point.
I was not impressed with the following year. Many of the finalists seemed mediocre compared to past years. Though I really liked Crystal Bowersox and had hoped she would win. That of course did not happen. Lee DeWyze was the winner that year; a good singer who has done okay, yet it could have been a lot better. I knew Lee DeWyze would not live up to past winners when his ending signature song was a cover of the U2 anthem Beautiful Day. More importantly, Simon Cowell left after that year to focus more attention on The X Factor; as well as developing an American equivalent, producing the Got Talent series, leading his production company Syco, and becoming an innovative and on demand producer and talent manager. Artists like One Direction, Cher Lloyd, Susan Boyle, Leona Lewis, Jackie Evancho and Fifth Harmony got their starts from these Simon Cowell produced shows.
Not only did Simon leave, so too did Kara Dioguardi; who I thought made a damn good fourth judge. As well, Ellen DeGeneres left American Idol so as to not exhaust herself from her other programs. When that happened, American Idol changed. Probably not for the better.
The next year felt more like American Country Music Idol than anything else towards the end. Not a bad thing; I do like Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery, the latter of whom won that year. Indeed, McCreery has become I think the successor to George Strait in the new traditionalist mold. However, I am not much of a country music fan nowadays. You all know how much I loathe bro-country, so I will leave it at that. 2012 though was better; the year we were introduced to the rather interesting singer songwriter Phillip Phillips. He has done well for himself; indeed I think he was the first Idol winner to have his ending signature song be one he wrote, Home. Much of the time then and now, Phillip Phillips reminds me quite a bit of Dave Matthews. Yet, he is unique. That year though saw the departure of Randy Jackson. It was that departure that sank Idol into the abyss, I think.
So, the first 11 Idol winners and the many runners-up are well known. Since 2013; admittedly, who the heck cares. Not many in my family, myself included, were satisfied with Candace Glover winning. Caleb Johnson has done virtually nothing. And only time will tell if Nick Fradiani stands the test of time. Which brings us to now. Next year will be the 15th and last season of American Idol. So much has happened particularly since 2012 that has caused Idol to end, to say nothing of losing its relevance. This of course will need to require another weblog essay just to analyze why it is now ending.
The follow-up will come by tomorrow, I hope. Let me though say one thing: Kanye West and Arcade Fire, to name two different artists, broke through also around 2002-2003. They did not need American Idol to become amongst the best artists of their time. Heck, neither did this band.
And they sold out Madison Square Garden for their final concert before breaking up!
It has taken me a weekend to fully digest the new outlook in the political scene in the United Kingdom. I can remember in 1993 when our neighbors to the north, Canada, went through a significant federal election which saw the near dismantling of the Conservative Party under the premierships of Brian Mulroney and Kim Campbell; subsequently, the Liberal Party under the tutelage of Jean Chretien became the governing leaders in Canada. Yet, for about 4 years until 1997, the opposition party was not one based on ideology, but regional autonomy. That would be Bloc Quebecois; a burgeoning party that won 78 seats in the House of Commons in 1993 and nearly were successful in breaking away from English-speaking Canada to form a separate Quebec nation.
Some 10 years ago, the Liberal Party premiership of Paul Martin collapsed under its own weight; bringing forth the current Conservative government led by Stephen Harper. Adding insult to injury, the Liberal Party and Bloc Quebecois lost in the 2011 federal election to such an extant that neither party is amongst the official opposition. That now belongs to the New Democratic Party (NDP), and indeed today Bloc Quebecois only has two MPs and not one member in the Canadian Senate.
I mention this because the 2015 UK General Elections, which until last week was expected to result in a Labor government and an ousting of Conservatives not seen since 1997, turned out far differently than expected. For one thing, voter fraud was widespread, resulting in Conservative and Independent gains in constituencies that tended to be more leftward. MP George Galloway of the Peace Party was for the second time in 28 years defeated in an election; interestingly MP Galloway lost to a Labor MP that is more in tune with the Tony Blair New Labor movement than anything. I expect there to be a recount, and maybe even a by-election in which MP Galloway will once again reclaim his seat, I hope.
This year saw the emergence of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) at least at a level in which voters nationwide elected to choose rightist nationalist populism over any other political ideal. It resulted in only 1 MP from UKIP elected, Douglas Carswell. Not even UKIP's leader Nigel Farage was elected. However, UKIP received 13% of the overall vote, some 4 million votes. By comparison, the Liberal Democrats under Nick Clegg went from having nearly 60 MPs to now only having 8, including Mr. Clegg. Thus, the Lib Dems no longer are the leading third party in the UK.
That distinction now belongs to two different organizations. UKIP is the choice based on total votes. However, based on MPs elected, it is the Scottish National Party. Since the Scottish Independence referendum vote of 2014 which resulted in Scotland staying in the United Kingdom, membership in the SNP has reached well over 100,000. In addition, the SNP is completely opposed to austerity and is committed to obtaining full autonomy and economic independence from both the UK and the European Union in full. This has attracted the renewal for Scottish Identity and autonomy. Out of 59 Scottish constituencies contested last week, the SNP won 56 out of 59. Interestingly, this does not include MSP Nicola Sturgeon, who chose not to run for the House of Commons. This does however include MP Mhairi Black, who at age 20 is the youngest MP to be elected since 1667; also having defeated Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander.
As I mentioned before, the United Kingdom has a first-past-the-post system for elections. There are no primaries where voters choose their own candidates, and if in theory 10 people are running for an election; one could win with, say, 17% of the vote. That potential MP could be Conservative and the rest would be more left leaning. Honestly, it does not favor a more binary and ideological structure.
I suppose what many of us observers wanted was for UKIP to gain over 60-80 odd seats against Conservatives. Were that to happen, Labor would have been given the plurality and likely would have formed a coalition government with the Lib Dems and the SNP. However, that was not to be. Britain is now stuck at the moment with a rejuvenated David Cameron premiership which does not need to form any coalition. And this does not bode well for the UK and the world at large. In short, the arrival of the SNP as the third party in the UK may very well one day produce a process for referendum of independence similar to Bloc Quebecois 20 years ago which may trigger an unprecedented political crisis.
There are of course numerous ways this could happen. Yet I will leave you with one idea. One day, Prince William and Princess Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, will become King and Queen. Maybe not in our lifetimes, but it will happen. When that happens, and if Scottish Independence is fomenting; what might the new leadership of the Royal Family House of Windsor do if they feel it is needed to keep Scotland in the United Kingdom? Might there be a suspension of elected governance and a return to monarchic rule absolutely? Could it be Scotland might face a reborn Longshanks?
I realize the answers may seem odd. After all, in my entire life Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh have been on the throne for the last 63 years. I believe only Queen Victoria had a longer reign. But one day, that will change. And with a world population willing to trade political self governance with a return to one person, one rule status; the answers may not be pleasing to all.
Talk to you again about this and other issues soon (though not Jared Leto soon; honest!),
Here in the United States, May 7 is for many just a day. However, halfway across the world in the United Kingdom, this is the day elections take place. It encompasses Local Elections for Mayors, Town Council members and the like; along with General Elections, those being elected to the House of Commons from 630 constituencies.
Now why is this important? Well, in the UK, there have been a multitude of different political parties all jockeying to receive a plurality in Parliament. In addition, those elected to the House of Commons effectively run the day-to-day governmental affairs of the country in a Westminster-like hierarchical format. This effectively means that voters will go to the polls today voting mainly for party and not so much the MP.
This year has the potential to change the leadership in Great Britain from a rather fragile Conservative/Liberal Democrats coalition to one that may still be a minority government; only this time it could be one lead by the Labor Party. This year may likely see the potential for the UK Independence Party (UKIP) to gain somewhere up to 100 or so seats in Parliament; this may include its leader Nigel Farage. UKIP, for those not aware, are effectively the most right wing of parties to emerge in the world the past 30 years. And while this political organization has charisma and an economic populist message; their social and international policies are not pleasing to many.
My preference for this year's General Election is the Labor Party; and subsequently for its leader, Ed Milliband, to become Prime Minister. It appears that Labor is starting to tap into their commoner legacy that had gotten Labor into majority leadership in the first place. I mention this because during the Premiership of Tony Blair, and to a lesser extant Gordon Brown, Labor acted little in difference from that of the US Republican Party; especially in foreign policy matters. Mind you, Labor has far to go in reviving its Atlee and Wilson premierships, but a Milliband leadership will certainly help in changing matters.
Later on tonight or tomorrow, once the election results come in, I will explain my reactions to any result that comes in. As well, what the changes in leadership might mean for the rest of the world will be looked at. As of now, I cannot predict which party will gain the plurality in the House of Commons; mainly due to a first-past-the-post system that eschews primaries. We will learn more as the day goes on. None the less, this is an important to vote.
I first heard this latter day Woody Guthrie gem at the end of Tim Robbins' rather prophetic political satire Bob Roberts. The message still matters today as it did in Mr. Guthrie's lifetime.
In view of the recent killings and charges brought forth by police officers; a wide array of people are wondering what can be done to ensure protection and justice are measured out evenly. Personally, I am not too certain. We are now reaching a threshold in which African-Americans will privately and publically state an axiom that is similar to one used by right wing people when discussing purported terrorism.
"Not all cops are murderers, but all murderers are cops."
What can be stated as a mere opinion today may well turn out to be a fact tomorrow. In short, the burden of change and reform is and has always been on the side of the police. They are clearly not helping matters with their obstinate behaviors we have been seeing.
A few days ago, in the midst of the Baltimore riots, Sen. and Sec. Of State Hillary Rodham Clinton gave a speech at Columbia University as the keynote for a conference on racial matters under the guidance of Mayor David Dinkins. Sen. Clinton, who I believe needs to be President of the United States post haste, brought forth a great deal of wisdom and truth on these police issues. Sadly though, after her initial comments, all the news networks, including C-Span, stopped showing the rest of Sec. Of State Clinton's speech. I consider this a very shameful act on the part of the media; a media too busy to work in concert with others in ending Sen. Clinton's ascension to the Presidency before it even begins. Here on this weblog, though, is the full speech Sen. Clinton made. Heed these words wisely.
I would like to go one step further in saying I agree with what other commentators are saying in that the hierarchy of the police departments need to change. For that to happen, I would like to see the police nationalized and under the leadership of the federal government. Only then can centralization come into place that will let cops know who they need to report to. I would also like for most cops to not carry a gun during their patrol hours. As we all know, though we tend to not acknowledge it, when one carries a gun; that person could lose all control of rationality if not careful enough. In the end, the gun becomes an extension of the end; not unlike James Woods at the end of Videodrome.
You know, it does not even matter that three of the six cops charged in the killing of Freddie Gray happen to be black. They were taking their orders from white superiors; still making this a racial issue. And one further thing; stop the canard of "I was in fear of my life"! It rings hollow for me when one grouping of people have multiple weapons and another does not; yet the more armed section claims they are in danger. It makes no sense and is patently wrong.
Once again, the onus is on the cops to change and alter their approach. It is on their end to be less violent and collectively be more tolerant of others.
Talk to you again shortly,
Robert
PS. To Michael Rivero: Sen. and Sec. Of State Hillary Rodham Clinton did not ruin your life. You ruined Your life. I will explain more later.
