July 20, 2017

At the Succulent Café...

P1140097

... you can talk about whatever you want.

(And please consider doing you Amazon shopping through The Althouse Portal.)

37 comments:

Ralph L said...

Where's the cat?

These plants are a little scary.

Jael (Gone Windwalking) said...

“R & R does more than Milton can, to justify God’s ways to - someone.”

Rob said...

Annals of the eponymous: Lena Dunham to join "American Horror Story."

Jon Ericson said...

https://youtu.be/yDpGsFI3WNg
A Musical Interlude from 1965.

sunsong said...

“That lovely things exist is a lovely thought.”
~ Robert Walser,

Seeing Red said...

Via Insty from Ace of Spades:

Under Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch, the Department of Justice pushed the states to pass new laws.

(3) The goal was to make it impossible to hold repeat offenders in jail before trial. Why?

(4) Because so many repeat offenders are black.

(5) The first step was to reclassify violent felonies as nonviolent misdemeanors. Look at California.

(6) Assault with a deadly weapon, harming a crime victim or witness, resisting arrest that injures a police officer...

(7) Violent elder or child abuse, arson with injury, and manslaughter are now nonviolent felonies.

(8 ) Proposition 47--passed in 2014--reclassified certain "nonviolent felonies" as misdemeanors.

(9) Therefore prisoners convicted of violent elder abuse were released because now their former violent felony was a misdemeanor.

(10) So the Democrats first changed violent felonies to misdemeanors. Then they changed the laws for bail.

(11) Washington DC Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier resigned because criminals were being arrested, released, and arrested again the same day.

(12)

(13) Federal authorities decide who stays in jail in DC. Under pressure from Holder and Lynch, they were releasing everyone.

(14) The crime rate spiked dramatically. The Democrats are pushing for "community rehabilitation programs" instead of prison.

(15) The most repulsive member of congress--@tedlieu, the guy who trolls Trump--has introduced a doozy of a bill.

(16) Lieu wants to ELIMINATE bail in the entire country.

(17) They point to the "success" of New Jersey, which eliminated bail earlier this year.

(18 ) In New Jersey, a person is evaluated with an eight-question form. Prior offenses are not taken into consideration.

(19) As a result almost nobody is held over until trial. Almost everyone is released.

(20) The state had to hire new staff and create new computer systems to manage the new system.......

Gahrie said...

It's a pretty interesting final table at the WSOP this year. A Trump type is the chip leader.

Etienne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ralph L said...

Seeing Red, there is no number 6 times 2!

FullMoon said...

"The city of Baltimore has launched an investigation after body cam footage from a city police officer appearing to plant drugs at an arrest location.

The video, from a January arrest, is from the body camera of Baltimore Police Officer Richard Pinheiro, who is seen planting a bag of pills in a tin can while two other officers look on. The footage was evidence in a case that was scheduled for last week, but prosecutors wound up droping the case after being contacted by a public defender who was reviewing the footage in preparation for court."

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/07/20/baltimore-police-officer-mistakenly-records-himself-with-body-cam-planting-drugs-at-crime-scene.html

David Baker said...

The Minneapolis police chief finally returns from vacation:

CBS reports:: Though she defended Noor's training, [MPD Chief] Harteau says the shooting "did not have to happen" and that Noor's actions "go against who we are in the department."

(What precisely goes “against who we are”? Has Noor confessed his allegiance to Islam and Sharia?)

"Justine didn't have to die. Based on the BCA information, this should not have happened. We're talking about the actions of one individual," Harteau said.

The police chief was told by Damond's fiance that people are scared to call 911 following the deadly incident, CBS News' Jamie Yuccas reports.

(They better be scared, because Officer Noor still has a gun – even though he’s “not who they are”)

FullMoon said...

The police chief was told by Damond's fiance that people are scared to call 911 following the deadly incident, CBS News' Jamie Yuccas reports.

Several past couple of years in SF Bay Area where family called for help for mentally disturbed family member, and cops shoot the person.

Seeing Red said...

Link at Insty and didn't post it all.

MaxedOutMama said...

Ralph, I believe Ida's people came back from vacation.

The plants don't shed nearly as much!!!

MaxedOutMama said...

David Baker - I don't know why people keep implying that Islam has something to do with this - the guy was scared and overreacted. Lethally. Poor lady didn't know how dangerous American cops can be. Now she's dead.

Of course, cops are still getting ambushed. There's a reason why they are afraid.

It should be a lesson for us all - treat every cop as if he/she is terrified and dangerous. Because some of them are.

Kevin said...

treat every cop as if he/she is terrified and dangerous. Because some of them are.

And the police are also treating the citizens as if they are terrified and dangerous. Because some of them are.

BLM and our political figures talking about how the cops are racist and trigger-happy did nothing but inflame the situation.

Kevin said...

Powerline asks "the question which will not be asked":

Second and related, a question that I am sure the mainstream media will not ask, and the Minneapolis political class will suppress if asked in any case, is whether officer Noor was qualified to be a police officer as part of an affirmative action push to get a Somali officer on the force. It would be interesting to see his test scores and training evaluations from whatever police academy he went through. Is there evidence of political pressure to qualify Noor for active duty? Normally I wait for more facts to emerge before engaging in speculation on stories like this, except that this is one question that, as I say, is certain to be suppressed.

David Baker said...

MaxedOutMama - Based on the police chief's statement, it appears she has a pretty good idea about what happened. Two things she said are especially telling: First; Noor's actions "go against who we are in the department." Second; "We're talking about the actions of one individual..."

These statements certainly indicate that Noor went far beyond department protocol in his actions. The statements also confirm that the shooting was completely unjustified, meaning that there was no reason for the shooting, not the presence of loud noises, not the scenario about a perceived ambush, not the fear of imminent danger. We may also conclude that the chief's statements were based on the words of Noor's partner, the only person who we're sure witnessed the entire incident - and who also stated early on that he was "stunned" by Noor's actions.

What the police chief didn't specifically talk about was Noor's motive. But even here we're not left completely in the dark, based on the chief's statements - that Noor's actions were unilateral and arbitrary - that he acted alone and apart from all perceptible reason, and that his actions were therefore inexplicable.

Without realizing it, the chief is saying that Noor operated under his own rules, rules that were outside the department. This tells me that the chief and her department already knew that Noor was a Sharia-indoctrinated rogue based on his brief MPD history. Particularly regarding women, as outlined in citizen complaints filed against him. In this, Officer Noor had established a pattern.

Now we have a motive; women. From this we may also surmise the origin of his motive; Islam.

But why "Islam?" Because Islam also has a pattern, a very well known pattern when it comes to the treatment of women, particularly infidel women. That the slightest thing will set Muslim males off, often on a murderous rampage - including "honor killing" their own wives and daughters - essentially any woman who violates the Sharia code of dress and/or conduct.

It is my contention that that code of Sharia conduct was violated when Justine Ruszczyk attempted to interact with Noor and his partner. We already know that Ruszczyk was frustrated, she called 911 twice to ask where in the world the police were. And it's likely she expressed that frustration when Noor and his partner finally arrived - only to sit in their patrol car with the lights off as if they had nothing better to do. At which point Ruszczyk left her house - in her pajamas - to ask them what the heck they were doing. Which turned out to be a fatal, yet unforeseen mistake - as indicated by Noor's "stunned" partner.

Robert Cook said...

David Baker: Ludicrous!

Robert Cook said...

"And the police are also treating the citizens as if they are terrified and dangerous. Because some of them are."

Citizens have more to fear from the police than the police do from citizens.

Kevin said...

Citizens have more to fear from the police than the police do from citizens.

I'm sure that's comforting to the widows and children of the dead cops in Dallas.

Paco Wové said...

"This tells me that the chief and her department already knew that Noor was a Sharia-indoctrinated rogue"

Personally, I'm going with the "panicked diversity hire who should never have been on the force" theory, like the one that shot Philandro Castile. At least until more information comes out.

Curious George said...

"MaxedOutMama said...
David Baker - I don't know why people keep implying that Islam has something to do with this - the guy was scared and overreacted. Lethally. Poor lady didn't know how dangerous American cops can be. Now she's dead."

Yep. And Nidal "Allahu Akbar!" Hasan suffered from PTSD. Nothing to do with Islam.

Robert Cook said...

"I'm sure that's comforting to the widows and children of the dead cops in Dallas."

It's less comforting to the widows and children of citizens murdered by the police.

Robert Cook said...

And fiancées.

rhhardin said...

The son of Cecil the lion has been shot, the news says.

rhhardin said...

Another dentist strikes.

Sebastian said...

"Citizens have more to fear from the police than the police do from citizens." Which is why no one reaches for a gun when told not to, and no one will walk toward an officer when told to stop, and no one refuses to submit to arrest when told to do so.

Of course, when an officer just shoots, from the passenger seat of his patrol car, past his buddy's body, toward an unidentified target, then you are out of luck. Then BLMers and feminists and other leftists will rise up in anger and shut down highways, as they are now doing in Minneapolis, and the police chief will throw the officer to the wolves, and editorialists will renounce police brutality -- oh, wait.

Hagar said...

The two cops proceeded to drive down a poorly lit alleyway in the dark with the cruiser's lights off looking for a potentially dangerous intruder and at least officer Noor had his gun out and resting in his lap. (This does not sound like good procedure.) There then was a loud bang of some sort that they may have taken for someone shooting at them, and a human figure rushed up to the cruiser on the driver's side, and officer Noor fired - whether intentionally or because he had his finger on the trigger when he shouldn't.
It may also be that the figure rushing up and the bang happened simultaneously. It is common that the initial reports of an event are not very accurate, and in this one the woman is dead and the cops have been told to zip it.

The police chief's statements are premature at best and out of line.

Hagar said...

This morning's Journal has a front page article about a Federal meals for the elderly program that specifies that if the local authority allow the oldsters to add salt or any other condiments to the food, or drinks coffee with the meal, the local agency's participation in the program will be shut down.

Michelle strikes from the past?

Kevin said...

It's less comforting to the widows and children of citizens murdered by the police.

I acknowledged both sides. You minimized one to focus on the other.

All lives matter.

David Baker said...

You may recall Instapundit's recurring references to "over policing," which I believe represents the root of anti-police sentiment.

In large part, police in this country are no more than highwaymen, revenuers acting under the color of law, shaking down motorists for minor, made-up, revenue-driven infractions. And at times, shooting violators for the least provocation.

So I ask, what kind of grown man would hide behind trees just to harass their neighbors? Not as a one-off like a prankster teenager, but as a career.

I also ask, what kind of man would choke an overweight diabetic to death over a misdemeanor? What kind of man would calmly shoot a feebly fleeing subject in the back - like he was at the shooting range? What kind of police department allows 61 police cars to chase an unarmed, non-threatening suspect and his girlfriend through the streets of Cleveland, and then summarily execute them? And what kind of "man" rips women from cars and terrifies their children?

To me this doesn't sound like a bad apple, but the whole rotten barrel.

FullMoon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jon Ericson said...

David Baker looks normal.

Big Mike said...

@Althouse, it strikes me that two posts on O. J. Simpson are two more than the man deserves.

Freeman Hunt said...

"Cecil the lion"

Maybe I should start naming the squirrels people occasionally run over in my neighborhood.

"Somebody killed Simon!"

CuznDon said...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KDMDda5DNg&index=1&list=RD-KDMDda5DNg
Another obscure David Bowie/PatMetheny tune.