Woo-hoo - we made the Drudge Report!

[Hawkmoon]

Huh, the fine Section 8 peeps here in Methlandia (that's what I'm calling the shitty apartment complex I'm living at while in school) don't go to work or school. In fact they actively avoid anything legal that involves exertion, labor, or applying themselves. The parking lot stays full of their cars both day and night...

^^^ Quoted for truth. I once worked for a public housing authority. Yes, some of our client tenants did hold jobs ... but the percentage was closer to 5 percent than 95 percent.

[Hawkmoon]

So where's that :barf: smiley when we need it?

I got curious so I decided to see what CNN's view of the world is today. I should have known better ... but I guess it helps to see that there are still brain-dead people in the media, doing their best to spin the facts and control public opinion. Case in point: An article by a woman described as "an activist" (for what?) about the Ferguson shooting and Michael Brown's poor, grieving mother:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/20/opinion/davis-michael-brown-mother/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Now Lesley McSpadden, Michael Brown's mother, has the gruesome, unnatural task of burying her baby boy, a devastating detail often lost amid the aggressive noise surrounding the trauma in Ferguson, Missouri.

Did anyone NOT catch that? Michael Brown was 19 years old, stood 6'-4" and weighed 292 pounds. And this twit described him as a "baby boy." He wasn't a baby.

I have cousins who lost an adult child prematurely (in that case due to cancer, not suicide by cop) and I understand that a mother would grieve the loss of her son. But this son was not a "baby boy," he was an adult, a thug, and a felon. And I can't help but believe that his mother knew that, so my sympathy is tempered by a dose of "Maybe if you hadn't raised a robber your son wouldn't have gotten himself shot by the police."

[zxcvbob]

So where's that :barf: smiley when we need it?

I got curious so I decided to see what CNN's view of the world is today. I should have known better ... but I guess it helps to see that there are still brain-dead people in the media, doing their best to spin the facts and control public opinion. Case in point: An article by a woman described as "an activist" (for what?) about the Ferguson shooting and Michael Brown's poor, grieving mother:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/20/opinion/davis-michael-brown-mother/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Did anyone NOT catch that? Michael Brown was 19 years old, stood 6'-4" and weighed 292 pounds. And this twit described him as a "baby boy." He wasn't a baby.

I have cousins who lost an adult child prematurely (in that case due to cancer, not suicide by cop) and I understand that a mother would grieve the loss of her son. But this son was not a "baby boy," he was an adult, a thug, and a felon. And I can't help but believe that his mother knew that, so my sympathy is tempered by a dose of "Maybe if you hadn't raised a robber your son wouldn't have gotten himself shot by the police."

Today is not the day to blame the mother.  He was still her "baby".  (even if he got what was coming to him)  That may or may not excuse the CNN article; I'm not going to read it just to find out.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

He got shot by the cops, therefore he's innocent.  That's how these things work. 

[Boomhauer]

Today is not the day to blame the mother

Here, I'll go ahead and blame the mother. She's probably a large part of the reason he was a thug.

[vaskidmark]

That thin veneer of civilization - it's been hit with the belt sander again.

http://hopelesslysane.blogspot.com/2014/08/gratitude.html

The locals stopped (as in permanently quit doing it) the "shoes for school" giveaway when they were physically attacked for having generic Converse hightops as opposed to pump-up Air Jordans (or whatever flavor it was that year that could get you killed when someone asked you for your shoes).

I rode the SAnta Train in West Virginia one year in the 60s.  Folks were grateful but ashamed to be needing to accept charity.  Wonder how much that's changed in the last half-century.  (Dear $diety!  Am I that effing old that I'm talking about stuff that happened before your grandparents were born?)

stay safe.

[SADShooter]

That thin veneer of civilization - it's been hit with the belt sander again.

http://hopelesslysane.blogspot.com/2014/08/gratitude.html

The locals stopped (as in permanently quit doing it) the "shoes for school" giveaway when they were physically attacked for having generic Converse hightops as opposed to pump-up Air Jordans (or whatever flavor it was that year that could get you killed when someone asked you for your shoes).

I rode the SAnta Train in West Virginia one year in the 60s.  Folks were grateful but ashamed to be needing to accept charity.  Wonder how much that's changed in the last half-century.  (Dear $diety!  Am I that effing old that I'm talking about stuff that happened before your grandparents were born?)

stay safe.

The entitlement bureaucracy is using our tax dollars to advertise in poor communities with the goal of encouraging people to apply for public assistance, thereby eroding the culture of self-reliance you describe. That pretty much tells the tale.

[wmenorr67]

That thin veneer of civilization - it's been hit with the belt sander again.

http://hopelesslysane.blogspot.com/2014/08/gratitude.html

The locals stopped (as in permanently quit doing it) the "shoes for school" giveaway when they were physically attacked for having generic Converse hightops as opposed to pump-up Air Jordans (or whatever flavor it was that year that could get you killed when someone asked you for your shoes).

I rode the SAnta Train in West Virginia one year in the 60s.  Folks were grateful but ashamed to be needing to accept charity.  Wonder how much that's changed in the last half-century.  (Dear $diety!  Am I that effing old that I'm talking about stuff that happened before your grandparents were born?)

stay safe.

A couple of weekends ago there was a back to school "give-away" thing here in the surrounding area and coats, shoes, food and school supplies were given away.  The free shoes were black Crocs.

[KD5NRH]

I rode the SAnta Train in West Virginia one year in the 60s.  Folks were grateful but ashamed to be needing to accept charity.  Wonder how much that's changed in the last half-century.  (Dear $diety!  Am I that effing old that I'm talking about stuff that happened before your grandparents were born?)

Last time I did the delivery part of a local Methodist church Christmas present charity run was a bit over 20 years ago.  We only delivered after dark, (6PM that time of year) in our own cars, one vehicle and two people per delivery, specifically to save the recipients the embarrassment of having a church van pull up and the entire youth group start unloading presents on their doorstep.  Several of them commented on how much they appreciated the subtlety, compared to some other churches who seemed to want the whole neighborhood to know that the elderly couple raising their grandkids or the family that recently lost their father in a car wreck couldn't afford Christmas presents.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

I helped deliver for angel tree. In south east dc and Anacostia.  It was challenging.  I would get permission from the ruling group before entering

[Scout26]

http://chrishernandezauthor.com/2014/08/24/a-dose-of-reality-for-ferguson-missouri/


I haven't posted my thoughts on this event, however I feel this is the best summation of the events as I believe they happened.  However, should further evidence come out, I will still remain open to changing my opinion.

[roo_ster]

Here, I'll go ahead and blame the mother. She's probably a large part of the reason he was a thug.

Indeed. 

The locals stopped (as in permanently quit doing it) the "shoes for school" giveaway when they were physically attacked for having generic Converse hightops as opposed to pump-up Air Jordans (or whatever flavor it was that year that could get you killed when someone asked you for your shoes).

"Then, Sir, we will give them the bayonet!"
----Thomas Jonathan Jackson

[Ben]

Hey fistful - do you have "the" white privilege? Just asking because it seems to be a regional thing down that way. Hopefully it's not contagious, like the Ebola.

http://twitchy.com/2014/08/28/at-beyondferguson-event-mayor-admits-i-have-the-white-privilege/

[Perd Hapley]

Hey fistful - do you have "the" white privilege? Just asking because it seems to be a regional thing down that way. Hopefully it's not contagious, like the Ebola.

http://twitchy.com/2014/08/28/at-beyondferguson-event-mayor-admits-i-have-the-white-privilege/

 

I have the health insurance, so I'm going to go to the doctor, to get the checkup right away.

[MillCreek]

I have the even-worse middle-aged white male privilege.  I am using a cream for it.

[Perd Hapley]

What is it with the old people, and the unnecessary definite article? I would like to understand that.

[Doggy Daddy]

What is it with the old people, and the unnecessary definite article? I would like to understand that.

You have the fault.  It is not open for the debate.

[Balog]

You have the ebolaids.  It is not open for the debate.

FTFY

[Boomhauer]

The locals stopped (as in permanently quit doing it) the "shoes for school" giveaway when they were physically attacked for having generic Converse hightops as opposed to pump-up Air Jordans (or whatever flavor it was that year that could get you killed when someone asked you for your shoes).

I don't know what the thug culture obsession with shoes is all about, but it's *expletive deleted* weird as hell.

Couple stories...

1) The last release of the Air Jordan line, the *expletive deleted* were rioting over the shoes. I made the mistake of going to the mall in Savannah the day of the release (not knowing about it) and they were litteraly lined up along the long mall second story corridor from the shoe store all the way to the end of it. Despite carrying my pistol I decided that we were leaving before the *expletive deleted* went down, and sure enough we found out later that there were a bunch of people arrested for starting a nice mini-riot.

2) One of my cousins was dating one of these thugs who was a basketball player at her school, then once he graduated his highest aspiration was to work at a nightclub. Of course she wound up getting pregnant and having a kid with the son of a bitch. Why do I call him a son of a bitch? Here's why...once she got pregnant he started treating her like *expletive deleted*. Yet when he got kicked out of his apartment her mother and father were kind enough to put him up in their house, despite their own troubles (going through bankruptcy, her father was stricken with bad cancer, the house was in foreclosure, etc) because he was the father of their granddaughter. He talked *expletive deleted* about them, how much he hated them and all that. I met him while I was up there for a brief visit but I held my tongue (not my monkeys, not my circus).

Then he finally leaves to go back to his hometown in NJ. The next time I went up for a visit, I ended up staying in the room he had occupied.

The *expletive deleted* piece of *expletive deleted* would not contribute a dime to care of the kid or to my aunt and uncle who housed and fed him, etc. Always claiming he didn't have enough money. Yet his room was full, and I mean full, of brand new boxes of expensive shoes. We're talking like there had to be at least 40 pairs. There were also several high dollar suits, shirts, ties, plus street clothing. The room was literally packed with this stuff.

Again, I didn't really say much about it (not my monkeys, not my circus, but I wouldn't shed a tear if an angry patron at the nightclub shanked him)

[vaskidmark]

(NEWSY) While the violence seems to have died down in Ferguson, Missouri, protests calling for civil disobedience continue.
During a peaceful protest march Saturday, organizers shared plans to halt St. Louis traffic on Labor Day.
At the march, organizers asked supporters to drive onto local highways around 4:30 p.m. Monday and stop their cars for four and a half minutes - symbolizing the four and a half hours Michael Brown's body laid in the street after he was killed.

Demonstrators protest outside the Ferguson, Missouri, police department during the National March on Ferguson, August 30, 2014. The protesters demanded justice for Michael Brown, 18, shot dead in a fatal encounter with police in Ferguson, Missouri, a St Louis suburb, on August 9. AFP PHOTO/Michael B. Thomas (Photo credit should read Michael B. Thomas/AFP/Getty Images)
Zaki Baruti, the organizer says, "If some of our demands are not dealt with, you'll see more civil disobedience in the spirit of Dr. King, because we're not just going to sit by and just let injustice be constantly impacting us."
Three weeks ago, unarmed teenager Michael Brown was shot and killed by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. While details about what led up to that shooting are still scarce, the community has been calling for action against the officer and other Ferguson officials ever since.
Protesters are demanding the arrest of Wilson, the resignation of the Ferguson police chief and mayor, and prosecution from an independent prosecutor in the case. They are saying they will not back down until that happens.
Police have not yet responded how they plan to deal with possibly hundred of cars stopping suddenly on the highways.

This could end any support that might exist outside of the professional victim empowerment arena.

I was present (and safely tucked away in a 4th story apartment with a view of Memorial Bridge) when the Yuppies decided to blockade traffic over the Potomac River bridges into DC on May Day 1971.  Many of the bridges were occupied by troops before the Yuppies arrived with the intent to sit in the roadway and shut down The Government.  No troops had been dispatched to Memorial Bridge, but rush hour traffic started as usual at about 5 AM.  By the time the Yuppies made it from George Washijgton, American, and Georgetown Universities to the bridge around 7 AM it was literally taking your life in your hands to step off the sidewalks.  I gave up counting after the 10th or 11th fool was bounced off a hood or clipped by a side-view mirror.

I'm not saying that St. Louisians would even want to emulate federal workers but ....

How many of the "civil disobeyors" are willing to be cuffed and stuffed without offering physical resistance?  How many are willing to get beat about the head and shoulders without offering physical resistance in order to show the fault is with the cops and not their own looting/burning provoking that level of force?

I'm not rooting for a reprisal of Bull Connors' responses, although the use of fire hoses may not be too far out of line if the streets are truely blocked.  But between the various & sundry Islamist groups and these manipulated victims I'm getting tired of folks threatening to "take over".

stay safe.

[vaskidmark]

I keep checking the news feeds and wondering when the TV talking heads ill interrupt my afternoon cartoons with breaking news of the shutdown of all traffic.  So far, no joy.

What happened?

stay safe.

[Perd Hapley]

I keep checking the news feeds and wondering when the TV talking heads ill interrupt my afternoon cartoons with breaking news of the shutdown of all traffic.  So far, no joy.

What happened?

stay safe.

Here in the Midwest, we have something called Central Time. You eastern dandies are always jumping the gun.

[KD5NRH]

I was present (and safely tucked away in a 4th story apartment with a view of Memorial Bridge) when the Yuppies decided to blockade traffic over the Potomac River bridges into DC on May Day 1971.

You know, instead of a lot of that spending on SWAT crap, they could have just taken a hint from the action and sci-fi genres, bought up a crapload of Sikorsky Skycranes, and figured out some sort of a quick-grab mechanism capable of handling cars.  (The giant electromagnet from comics wouldn't work too well on convertibles, among others.  Most likely some sort of large claw-type mechanism that can get securely under the frame.)

Imagine how quickly high-speed chases would become a thing of the past if a few of them ended very visibly like that scene from the second Transformers movie.

Unnecessary traffic jam?  Immediately remove the primary blockage to a safe area where the driver can be reeducated.

[Perd Hapley]

This traffic-stoppage talk is really beginning to damage my calm. I have to drive past West Florissant Ave in about an hour or so, and I will not be happy about yahoos impeding my travel over some random felon who got himself shot.

[KD5NRH]

This traffic-stoppage talk is really beginning to damage my calm. I have to drive past West Florissant Ave in about an hour or so, and I will not be happy about yahoos impeding my travel over some random felon who got himself shot.

I think this should qualify for "classic car" registration now: