Variations on a Theme

Yes, I know, you get tired of the same old song, but two items from today's "Some Assembly Required" blog naturally caught my attention. Both of these observations were, I'm sure, prompted by the police circus ongoing in Ferguson, MO, where the suburb of St. Louis is still in turmoil over shooting of an unarmed black teen by a policeman. All indications at this stage are that the shooting was totally unjustified. 

District Nine: Things have gotten so bad in our cities that the Palestinians are giving our citizens tips on how to handle tear gas as they confront militarized robo-cop wannabes with armored cars, automatic weapons and not the faintest idea how to behave. The American police assault on our citizenry is so bad that foreign nations warn their citizens to avoid certain US cities – including St. Louis. Despite the knee-jerk reaction against the militarization of the police, they've got the weapons and they are going to keep them. And keep using them. 

Roll Call: In NM, a sherriff with “misconduct” issues teamed up with his son to pistol-whip a motorist. In Utah, cops gunned down a young man because he couldn't hear them over the music from his headphones. In San Jose, the cops mistook a drill for a gun and killed the woman who was carrying it, and in AZ, they shot a lady who was armed with a hammer. In NY, the Democratic candidate for governor got off easy – he was only arrested for “menacing” police officers with an unloaded umbrella. In San Bernardino. Cops tasered a man to death for riding a bicycle. For two days, cops in NO neglected to admit they'd shot a man in the head during a routine traffic stop. In VA, a sheriff's deputy mistook his daughter for an intruder and shot her. In SC the cops showed exemplary restraint and managed to arrest a woman for swearing in public without shooting, beating, choking or gassing her.