And, as usual, you were dead on ballz accurate... :D

I completely agree.. Real reform in the Ghetto Lottery (IE totally getting rid of it) is very much needed..

I mean, seriously.. TRY and ignore emotionalism and hysteria and look at things completely logical..

A male who is high attacks and strong arms a frail shop keeper and robs him. The subject is approached by a cop and ordered to the ground.. Subject brutally attacks the cop, goes for the cops gun and is then shot and killed by the cop..

And the city PAYS the family of the scumbag SOLELY and COMPLETELY because the scumbag is black???

Name-call all you want, AL... But you and I are in complete agreement. A system that does moronic racist crap like that DOES need "reform".. As in TOTAL elimination...

Michale

The hundreds of millions in dollars in settlements with victims of the police is a big indication that real reform is necessary.

It appears that the private efforts to collect data on use of force and abuse shows it is a good way to expose the small percentage of police who are responsible for an outsized proportion of bad behavior... and this data should be collected nationally on a mandatory basis... not what we're doing now.

The possibility of real accountability can prevent some of the injustices that are occurring... if not by the police then at least in court.

At some point, hopefully, this data could force the police unions to accept that some of their colleagues deserve to lose their jobs too.

What do you think?

A

Sorry.
I assumed you would recognize that my last sentence was conclusive.
As in, not finding anything was my acceptance of miserable defeat.

Did you get a chance to read that article?

A

Hay now!! :D

Michale

Hey, I know I'm an amateur at gourd art. But the kid in me still thinks it's great fun to use such a bizarre medium to create a political statement each year!

Thanks to everyone for the compliments on the Jack-0-lanterns, they weren't the best I've ever done, but they weren't the worst, either! Check my Halloween columns from years past to compare quality...

:-)

I have to say the Hillary logo is very easy to carve onto a pumpkin, though. Very geometrical and straight lines everywhere! Woo hoo!

Michale [43] -

Welcome back, get some rest, and get well soon! Things get less lively around here without your contentiousness...

:-)

-CW

To clarify the previous comment, here's Attorney General Lynch's statement after her comments at the conference created a backlash-

"[L]et me be clear: police shootings are not minutiae at all and the department’s position and the administration’s position has consistently been that we need to have national, consistent data. Both on excessive force and on officer involved shootings is vital. The point I was trying to make at that conference related to our overall view of how we deal with police departments as part of our practice of enforcing consent decrees, or working with them and I was trying to make the point that we also have to focus on building community trust which is a very individual – very local – practice. Unfortunately, my comments gave the misperception that we were changing our view in some way about the importance of this data – nothing could be further from the truth. This data is not only vital – we are working closely with law enforcement to develop national consistent standards for collecting this kind of information"

Anyway, the opposition from police for collecting the information on police shootings is why the information wasn't being collected.

It's also why only collecting data on police killings is mandatory and the "use of force" data collection remains voluntary, incomplete and inaccurate.

I'm going to keep looking for a bit and then give up in miserable defeat.

A

This isn't the article I read, but maybe Lynch's position from a year earlier was cited inaccurately by someone.

The Free Thought Project
"US Attorney General To Allow Police Depts To Keep The Number Of Citizens They Kill A Secret"
by Jay Syrmopoulis
10/6/2015

Lynch was initially backing away from Comey and Holder's position-

"The about-face by Lynch reveals an utter contempt for the civil rights of American citizens while pandering to the Fraternal Order of Police’s default position.

“One of the things we are focusing on at the Department of Justice is not trying to reach down from Washington and dictate to every local department how they should handle the minutia of record keeping, but we are stressing to them that these records must be kept,” she said at the Washington Ideas Forum, hosted by AtlanticLIVE and the Aspen Institute.

Lynch’s implication that she is attempting to uphold state’s rights is a completely ridiculous notion that has absolutely no validity in reality. Furthermore, “stressing how records must be kept” is akin to asking really nicely, as the records are given to the Department of Justice, by police agencies, on a completely voluntary basis currently.

Acting as if it is an either/or proposition, Lynch attempts to forward a narrative that improving police-community relations takes precedence over keeping accurate data on police shootings. Her implication seems to be that somehow keeping more accurate data won’t result in better community relations for police.

“The statistics are important, but the real issues are: ‘what steps are we all taking to connect communities … with police and back with government?’” Lynch said.

She then goes on to claim that it could be difficult for some police departments to keep accurate records due to their small size."

Like I said... not the article I was referring to... still unhappy.

A

I'm not used to needing to verify such things.

My memory lets me down all the time.
I'm good with faces, bad with names.
Good with numbers, bad with formulas.
I butcher jokes and movie quotes all the time.

I was reading about the police secrecy law in New York wondering if that's where I erred, but it's different.

I just want to figure it out.

Did you get a chance to read the article?

A

I fully agree with you.
Too many Hillary fans are reluctant to admit she brought this all on herself, so kudus for pointing that out.

A

Thanks.
I was wondering why you called the video a transcript. The previous link was about the same events and got the gist of the matter though.

Anyway...
A mind is a terrible thing.
I hope mine didn't imagine the secret part.
That would be weird and disturbing.

I thought I had read it in an article at The Intercept, but I went back through two months of law enforcement related articles there and couldn't find it. I may not have gone back far enough, I may have read it somewhere else, or my brain farted big time and I conflated the police secrecy laws that prevent the public release of misconduct files and/or the exclusion of the identities of the officers involved from the reporting records.

Whatever the case, I apologize for getting it wrong... or failing to back up the claim (I'm still hoping it's just the latter... well, actually it's better for society if I got it wrong, but I don't want to have Mad Cow disease either).

If you forgive me, and would like to see what the FBI should be doing instead of limiting the mandatory reporting to fatal shootings and just doing voluntary reporting for all the other misconduct, I highly recommend this article-

The Intercept 10/25/16
Open Data Projects Are Fueling The Fight Against Police Misconduct
by Alice Speri

It's a quick read about private efforts beginning to fill the void, and shows what can be done, and the dramatic effects it can have.

I hope you check it out.

A

yes, the republicans wax apoplectic whenever anything vaguely resembling clinton scandal occurs. yes, comey may have been under pressure from them to reveal more than required. and yes, they're trying to work the media to their advantage. but that's where my agreement with krugman ends. comey was not wrong to reveal what he has, when he has. if hillary had made all this available to begin with then it wouldn't be an issue at all.

JL

but, I just noticed I gave you the wrong link. Here's the right one:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/fbi-director-calls-lack-of-data-on-police-shootings-ridiculous-embarrassing/2015/10/07/c0ebaf7a-6d16-11e5-b31c-d80d62b53e28_story.html

I cited it just to show you that no one who is anyone is talking about collecting this kind of data and then keep it secret. That was my only point.

Well, we don't have to imagine how congressional Republicans and Donald Trump will respond to what Comey did do, do we?

Take a moment and read your comment out loud and see if it doesn't strike you as terribly strange that an FBI director would let his actions be essentially dictated by how congressional Republicans might act in response.

Comey may have done the only thing he thinks he could have but that doesn't make it right. And, the undue influence - and, indeed rigging of the system - that congressional republicans have been building up over the years has got to be stopped in its tracks before more damage to your democratic system is done.

Here is a column I'd love to get your take on ... I think Paul Krugman hits the nail on squarely on its head:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/31/opinion/working-the-refs.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-right-region&region=opinion-c-col-right-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-right-region&_r=0

And, let's not forget what Bill Clinton did to put all of this in motion when he stepped up onto the AG's plane just before the FBI weighed in on their investigation into Hillary Clinton and her private email server. What impact did this have on how Director Comey acted in the wake of reaching his conclusions on this investigation?

Comey has quite a lot to answer for because what he did was wrong and unprecedented. Now, I believe that he has acted through this entire affair with only the very best of intentions - but, that makes what he did all the more distressing.

take it easy man. maybe you're right about the election and maybe not, but keeping you and your ticker intact should be priority one.

@alto/balthasar/liz,

page pate explains director comey's situation pretty well. comey had stated to congress that the investigation was closed, so he was in a difficult position now that a new spate of e-mails forced him to re-open it. there still probably won't be any charges against hillary, but imagine comey had said nothing, then it was leaked to congress on november ninth that the investigation had been reopened. congress would scream cover-up, donald's ridiculous "rigged system" complaint would carry weight, and we'd be in a very real constitutional crisis. even if the unthinkable occurs and donald wins the election, i still agree with pate that comey did the right thing.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/30/opinions/dont-blame-comey-for-this-mess-opinion-pate/index.html

JL

Yup.
What about it?

A

Been trying to comment all day. A few hour pre op on weds turnedinto a er visit w 237 over 180 and a heart attack later an extende ed vi is it in iCU.

Was right ll alng

You were either right all along or wrong all along, that is for sure. Maybe it's your meds talking, but did you forget to factor in Pennsylvania? ;) North Carolina? ;)

Now, SERIOUSLY, focus on getting yourself well. :)

Yikes to both of those horror stories! Having tried so many times over the years to carve a large orange squash into anything that looked remotely like a jack-o-lantern, I am truly impressed with your pumpkins. :)

Haven't found the article yet...

But, the DOJ announcement was made by Attorney General Lynch on 10/13/16

Reporting on fatal shootings is mandatory... all other reporting is voluntary.

No mention on the public availability of the data.

The ACLU criticized the voluntary reporting measures, saying previous efforts failed.

I'll keep trying.
A

I thought you needed surgery for a pulled muscle.

Was that a reaction to the meds they gave you or something? Maybe Comey reopening the investigation got your heart racing?

In your honor, here's a quote for ya

"Weed fixes everything.
Jonah broke his elbow... he smoked a bunch of weed, and it's all better.
Well, it still clicks when he moves it"
- Knocked Up

(not a recommendation... horrible main characters, but the supporting cast is great)

A

Get some rest and take good care!!!

But its clear t th at trump I s a goig to be ne ex t potus

Was right ll alng

If I could remember, I'd share.
Cross my heart.

I may have some time later to go digging.

A

All you needed was a qualifier.
For example- "he (probably) still doesn't have anything to indict her with".

As for your more recent claim, the full court press against Comey by the Hillary camp and her supporters in crazy damage control mode... with hit pieces in the media and trotting out Senators and "experts" to criticize Comey, questioning his actions, motivations and integrity...

... rolling over and going back to bed would have been the better approach.

The old "me thinks thou doth protest too much" factor comes into play.

Comey promised to notify Congress if he reopened the investigation, so he did.
If there's nothing to find, there's no reason to freak out about it.
Or, as you put it... not yet.

A

I thought Chris' pumpkins were great until I saw the results of NASA's JPL laboratory pumpkin contest. If you want to see amazing pumpkins, check it out! Chris, this may be too discouraging for you (I found it on Distractify, but I'm sure it's posted in numerous places -- I don't know how to embed links, sorry).

Al[33]: You have no idea what Comey's got, you proclaimed it was nothing, and now you're insisting that until there's an announcement your proclamation remains "true"?

It appears this morning that even Comey doesn't know what he's got, and hasn't even gotten a warrant yet to look. That's what? Nothing yet.

To put it another way, if someone had awakened me this morning and said, "we may have evidence of life on Mars", I would have said, "what evidence?" If the answer came back, "we don't know; we haven't seen it yet, haven't examined it, and there's a good chance that it isn't even new", then I'd have rolled over and said into my pillow, "call me when you actually have something."

Liz [29]: Who do you think he is "appeasing"?

Who knows? Congressional Republicans, Country Club buddies, maybe his wife. Your guess is as good as mine.

My point is, why did he feel compelled to break tradition and protocol and offer his 'opinion' beyond the simple statement that the FBI wasn't recommending charges in the first place? Surely he realized that if he tossed out that bone that Congressional Republicans would gnaw at it. Just three email attachments with vague markings out of 30,000 doesn't constitute any pattern or practice of 'carelessness', but he couldn't resist offering his 'opinion' about it anyway. Why would he do that if not to give Hillary's opponents something to hang their hats on?

The same applies to this latest content-free revelation, which is so poorly timed and unsubstantial as to constitute malpractice and cause for dismissal.

I meant to add that it's not just police shootings that are the problem.

The DOJ report on Baltimore found 10,000 unlawful arrests, and all sorts of other mistreatment.
Shootings are rare by comparison and can't be the sole focus.

A

"May have been"... we seem to be in the same boat.

In any case, collecting data and keeping it secret is ridiculous. Police unions wanting their deeds treated as a national security matter is bunk. Letting them have their way is cowardice.

And it's the easiest among many steps that need to be taken.

If police think that people just knowing the truth generally is too big a step, there is little reason to believe they will support true reform that will improve their actions.
And since they're also insisting on a reform from within approach, it's not looking like any real progress is going to be made any time soon.

All politicians claiming otherwise should be greeted with laughter.

A

That may have been none other than Director Comey.

He is the one pushing the effort to collect that data.

You have no idea what Comey's got, you proclaimed it was nothing, and now you're insisting that until there's an announcement your proclamation remains "true"?

I'm winning millions in next weeks lottery.
Until the numbers are announced, that remains "true"?

I offered you a hand out of that hole...

A

Very important.
We collect data on dog bites, shark attacks, Africanized (killer) bees, lightning strikes, allergic reactions... that we haven't been collecting data on police violence is like ignoring a tumor growing on our face.

The details are a bit sketchy, but I think it may be changing. If I recall correctly, there was an announcement that said something like we're going to start collecting the data, but it will be kept secret.
Pfffft!
But I can't even remember who made the announcement...

Like all establishment politicians, Comey makes the right noises occasionally, but they are betrayed by future statements, his actions... or inaction.
He has maintained the failing status quo.

A

Coincidentally, I happened to catch an interview with Gonzales on NPR this afternoon, and even he can't quite figure out what Comey is up to, and says that Comey has stepped far outside the usual lines of protocol. In retrospect, there may be some payback going on there.

Roberto Gonzales, oh God. I shouldn't say anything about him, I'm not a fan ...

Unless he can't take another seven years of all the crap that goes along with being the director of the FBI.

[27] I never said that Comey didn't have integrity, just that it's easy to look like a boy scout next to those guys. But Comey seems to be appeasing someone, and it's gotten him way outside of his lane. Now he's got this unresolved thing hanging like a fart in the air. He's got to wave his hands or something. That's one thing he's gotten both candidates to actually agree on.

That is hardly the only measure of Comey's integrity.

False.

Can't let that stand. The Bushlet picked him, Obama inherited him.

Well put! I think Chaffetz is actually looking forward to covering this familiar tune from the '90's for the next eight years. Ugh. It's an unusual threat: the equivalent of saying, 'if you elect this woman we'll follow her around with a noisy brass band'.

Liz [18]: [The] assertion that Comey is that type of Republican is very demonstrably false.

Fair point, although having more scruples than Card & Gonzales is a somewhat low bar to get over.

Coincidentally, I happened to catch an interview with Gonzales on NPR this afternoon, and even he can't quite figure out what Comey is up to, and says that Comey has stepped far outside the usual lines of protocol. In retrospect, there may be some payback going on there.

Al [20]: Interesting that you are stating with certainty that which hasn't been decided or reported on though.

That Comey has no basis with which to bring an indictment? Still true until the facts change.

The reporting I've seen suggests that whatever emails to Hillary they found on Huma's laptop were likely already archived on Hillary's server. We've seen alot of Huma's emails lately, and there's no evidence yet that she treats classified information the way her ex treats pictures of his probiscus.

You may be wrong about Director Comey ...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/12/fbi-director-racism-police-james-comey-cultural-inheritance

Do you think it's important that data on police shootings be collected and analyzed?

"i think he's proven over time that he's not the type to base his investigative decisions on politics"

Comey is a revolving door establishment Wall Street coddler.

If you set aside the fact he didn't even take Hillary's false public comments on her emails into account, the double standard where the less powerful doing the same thing would have been prosecuted without some bullspit assessment of intent, the roughly 3,000,000 separate incidences of forged documents bankers submitted in court filings for illegal foreclosures he ignored, the unconstitutional surveillance his organization conducted, his organization misleading judges nationwide on the nature and usage of surveillance technology, his downplaying of the seriousness of police violence, and quite a few other things... he's a stand up guy.

Obama picked him, so he has to be.

A

The way Hillary supporters mischaracterized Comey's remarks while praising his decision (which legally wasn't his to make) to high heaven as vindication was what I remember.

What they're saying now is quite the Immelmann though.

Interesting that you are stating with certainty that which hasn't been decided or reported on though.

Care to share your insider knowledge, or were you just carelessly wording your hunch?

A

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2013/05/30/james-comey-and-the-most-watchable-20-minutes-of-congressional-testimony-maybe-ever/?tid=a_inl

That assertion that Comey is that type of Republican is very demonstrably false.

Do you recall the infamous encounter in the hospital at the bedside of then Attorney General John Ashcroft in 2004 when Roberto Gonzales and Andrew Card attempted to take advantage of a very sick AG and obtain his bedside authorization for a domestic surveillance operation because the acting AG, Jim Comey, would not authorize it as he found no legal basis for the program and was prepared to resign over it?

You may have forgotten the detail of this little episode but it amply shows that the type of Republican Comey is doesn't comport to your descripting, in the least.

I was furious at Comey when he did his press conference to deliver his lecture about Hillary's "carelessness". They chose not to indict because there was nothing indictable. Repubs never came up with a smell of a reason for Clinton doing whatever nefarious thing they wanted her indicted for -- i.e. no criminal intent, no motive for anything other than an IT system that made life difficult for people working at State Dept.

It was just another Clinton witch-hunt and the way Chaffetz jumped all over this piece of nothing is a perfect example of their modus operandi: make a giant accusation and watch the media have hysterics for awhile until the facts are actually unearthed. Rinse, repeat.

Republicans have done worse than work the refs. They have, systematically and over a long period done all they could to discredit functioning government and demonize Democrats. They've been helped by the Comey type of Republican, who wants to say he's a Republican, but can't bring himself to oppose anything his nihilistic dishonest party leadership does/says/supports.

i support hillary and i don't think comey did anything wrong. the timing is unfortunate, but i think he's proven over time that he's not the type to base his investigative decisions on politics. if hillary loses the election over this particular strain of e-mails (which i doubt will happen), there will be plenty of blame to go around, but very little of it will rest with the fbi director.

JL

IMHO, he brought it on himself by inserting extra-legal 'opinions' into what should have been a terse statement in the first place: the FBI could find no basis for an indictment in this matter. period. end of discussion.

Al [14]: If I recall, there was plenty of criticism of Comey because of his extraneous remarks at the aforementioned press conference. That led to further inappropriate characterizations before Congress, and now this mess. He still doesn't have anything to indict her with: that's the bottom line, regardless of how it's spun by his GOP buddies.

Looking forward to the column comparing what Hillary supporters were saying about Comey a few weeks ago to what they're saying now.

Good stuff.
You'd get to type Immelmann again.

A

The dem nightmare is trump wins, gop hold both houses of Congress including 60 senators, trump decides the day after inauguration to retire as president, pence takes over, justice ginsberg gets impeached, gay marriage and abortion rights are overturned with a vengeance.

JL

The stories aren't fair or balanced either.

In the Trump version everybody suffers.
In the Hillary version, Repubs get everything they've wanted except that Hillary is ruling.

Can't say I'm down with you feeding the neo-McCarthyist bull in both stories too.
The faith, as in belief without evidence, that you and too many in the CW gang and Dem party have adopted... swallowing a very convenient electioneering tactic being used to dismiss valid questions about corruption and policy deceptions, and to simultaneously damage Her opponent, should make anybody who believes in science shudder.

A

Awesome pumpkins... very well done.

But this-

"and announces her legacy will be a return to neo-liberalism, and her White House will be "as friendly as can be" to Big Business"

is ridiculous.

Return?

When did we leave?

Misrepresenting our current reality is the truly frightening thing.

It creeps me out when you jump on that bandwagon.

A

Day one after the election, Obama should begin the process of dismissing Comey. It will lead to an ugly wrangle that persist into the next administration, and it may not stick, but the FBI needs to be put in it's proper place....and Comey needs "reassignment" for rotten judgment.

You may very well have been! Last I checked it, I was at 799, then today I looked and it was up to 801...

:-)

Thanks to you and everyone for following me! I still haven't followed anyone, so as not to show any biases whatsoever. Although I was sorely tempted to follow Craig Ferguson (@CraigyFerg) while he was still on the air at night...

LizM -

Thanks, I thought it looked kinda lopsided in the photo. It looks better in 3D, though.

Corrupt? Dunno that I'd use that term, personally. But if I ever shook her hand, I'd be sure to count my fingers and check that my watch was still on my wrist afterwards, if you know what I mean.

:-)

-CW

I knew it was the White House before I read your column, for the record. :)

What I really want to know, though, is do you think Hillary Clinton is corrupt?