14 April 2021

It's Time Again for A Look at the Day's Headlines, April Edition

That's a gun on the left and a taser on the right.

Since July, I have occasionally been posting headlines from various news sources and writing comments about them that are either pithy, snarky, wise or brilliantly on point (or a combination thereof). The response has been so overwhelming (thank you, Gadzooks McCoy of Ketchum, Idaho) that I have made this a regular feature -- to enthusiastic acclaim. Here then is the latest edition of this much beloved  monthly feature.

From the New York Times:

Police Officer Who Shot and Killed Daunte Wright Was Training Others

Okay so if he was training them in how to fill out reimbursement forms that's probably fine, but if he was training them on the difference between a gun and taser....Seriously, this ass clown couldn't tell that he'd pulled out his gun and not his taser? A man is dead because of his incompetence? I'm more inclined to think that he knew what he was doing and is just another racist cop not averse to killing black people.

As Michigan G.O.P. Plans Voting Limits, Top Corporations Fire a Warning Shot

Imagine that, corporations being the good guys. That's how low today's Republican Party has sunk.

N.C.A.A. Responds, Tentatively, to Transgender Athlete Bans

What goes through the mind of the neanderthals that want to ban transgender athletes? How hateful do you have to be? How much do you have to pervert whatever religion you follow? The NCAA is no bastion of enlightenment but it appears they can be persuaded to defy those states who propose banning transgender athletes. Let's hope.

From CNN:

Women detail drug use, sex and payments after late-night parties with Gaetz and others

Matt Gaetz is a sleaze bag, pass it on.

What Black drivers are doing to protect themselves during traffic stops

I read this story and it is terribly depressing. Driving while black sounds like a nerve-wracking experience. It's been documented that African American drivers are pulled over at a far greater rate that whites and are, of course, infinitely more likely to be arrested on bogus charges, man handled or even shot. In the 21st century in the United States. I swear that it in the 1970s I was not alone in naively thinking that racism was on the wane. Jim Crow seemed a sad part of the country's history. Maybe some day.

Las Vegas is set to come out of Covid-19 better than ever

If I had the power to choose who would come out of the pandemic unscathed I can guarantee you that Las Vegas and its casinos would be near the bottom of my list. As it is, the Vegas community will continue to reap obscene profits. I say: double their taxes!

From the BBC:

Daunte Wright shooting: How can you mistake a gun for a Taser?

(See photo above.) You could be a complete idiot. You could be an infant. You could be drunk and tripping on acid. You could be from a tribe that has forever been isolated from civilization. You could be a racist cop. Other than that, I don't know.

Afghanistan: Biden to call for end to 'America's longest war'

Listen buddy, it's way, way, way past time. This has been a disaster in so many different ways. For example, the cost in resources to the U.S., the cost in deaths, maimings and PTSD to U.S. soldiers, the manner in which it has spawned more terrorism. I would hope that this country would learn its lessons, but when it comes for foreign policy, the U.S. never seems to learn. It's always the bull in the china shop approach.

Why 'stay-at-home parent' is a job title

I was a a stay-at-home dad for a year with my oldest daughter and it was one of the best years of my life. I wouldn't trade that experience for anything. I don't know that I'd consider it a job so much as a great pleasure.

From The Washington Post:

Trial resumes with judge denying defense’s motion for former officer’s acquittal in death of George Floyd

Those m-----f-----s had the nerve to ask for acquittal after everyone heard the prosecution's case? The unmitigated gall, the temerity, the effrontery, the nerve, the audaciousness of white people, sometimes. My God.

How White fears of ‘Negro domination’ kept D.C. disenfranchised for decades

That's right, D.C.'s failure to have representation in the Senate is a legacy of Jim Crow, just as the electoral college is a legacy of slavery. We've got to dismantle these racist institutions and policies if we are ever going forward. You cannot tell me that Wyoming (population under 600,000) deserves two senators and Washington D.C. (population of close to 700,000) doesn't.  If you try, you're a racist.

Senate poised to advance rare bipartisan measure aimed at hate crimes against Asian Americans

That's right, in addition to the daily discrimination African Americans are subject to in the United States, Asian-Americans are subject to an ever-increasing number of hate crimes. Yes, and people still extoll this as "the greatest country in the world." As if.

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