Baltimore ablaze
There’s anarchy in Baltimore, and the leaders of the city don’t seem to have a clue what to do about it.
Many articles here. See also this.
The major had a message that sounded bizarre:
So, the city government “gave those who wished to destroy space to do that.” I guess that’s an excellent description of what actually happened; the missing piece is: why? Was it fear of cops hurting someone else and creating further disturbance and riots? Or was it some sort of misplaced respect for rioting criminals, and reluctance to impose any sort of order at all? Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s seeming lack of urgency or force in terms of her demeanor is extremely odd as well, given what’s going on in her city.
Fortunately, just a few hours ago the mayor said something quite different, and called out the National Guard, although her affect was still oddly passive:
What was the delay about? Did the authorities really think that giving people space to “destroy” would satisfy them? They certainly were given a great deal of space, and by now a great deal of destruction has already occurred.
NOTE: I just watched an interview with the mayor where she said she never indicated she would give people space to destroy, and that anyone who said so is twisting her words. This seemed very odd to me, as well, because I couldn’t see any other possible interpretation, of her words. But then suddenly I had a “Eureka!” moment. Here’s the full quote:
I’ve made it very clear that I work with the police, and instructed them to do everything that they could to make sure that the protesters could exercise their right to free speech. It’s a very delicate balancing act because while we tried to make sure they were protected from the cars and the other things that were going on, we also gave those who wished to destroy space to do that, as well. And we worked very hard to keep that balance and to put ourselves in the best position to deescalate. And that’s what you saw.
I think what she meant to say was something like this: “It’s a very delicate balancing act because while we tried to make sure [those peacefully exercising their rights of free speech protests] were protected from the cars and the other things that were going on, we also [inadvertantly and unintentionally] gave those who wished to destroy space to do that, as well.”
The mayor was too passive in the face of riots and anarchy, and has shown impressively and remarkably poor judgment, but I do not think she knowingly stood back with the goal of allowing the city to be destroyed. However, no one’s twisting her words; she twisted them herself. A public official has to be very very careful to say what he/she means and to mean what he/she says.
Her words wouldn’t have mattered as much, though, if her actions had been the correct ones. It’s also not clear who is most responsible for the failure of the Baltimore police to act in a timely fashion, Rawlings-Blake or the police commissioner. Or both.
[ADDENDUM: I’m seeing footage of the National Guard arriving in the city. I also just heard an interview with Rawlings-Blake that basically agrees with what I wrote above about what she had actually been trying to say when she made the “space to destroy” remark. However, she is defending herself by saying she had made it completely clear in her original statement. About that, she is quite mistaken.]
Pardon me, but is it not the case that Martin O’Malley just stepped down from the Governor’s chair of Maryland?
January 21, 2015….
Are we actually seeing OfA troopers inaction?
My hunch would be: YES.
Ayatollah Soetoro has more fronts than the KGB or AQ.
&&&&&&&&
I hope that we’re not seeing Twelve Armies of the Monkees.
IIRC, that film had its locus in Baltimore.
Some sort of nut house, IIRC.
Call Bruce Willis, put him in charge!
Well, there are some eyewitness accounts that said that the police, even when citizens under attacked yelled for their help, just stood back and let the savages go wild.
The orders given by Bill de Bolshevik, enforced at my neighborhood gym just two weeks ago in an incident with a violent black customer there (he trashed the sales racks and threw change in the face of the young female cashier, along with a volley of profanity and obscenity) have had the same results. The two police in that incident took 20 minutes to arrive, and when they did, they told the manager they weren’t even allowed to ask for the guy’s ID, nor to put a hand on him to “urge” him toward the elevator.
They were reduced, by department orders, to Asking him Nicely if he would Consent to leave.
We are so ______ed.
Watching the police’s passivity and the across-the-board retreat in the face of the rioting savages is a pretty good indication that the mayor did indeed give the thugs “space to destroy.”
Hey, she’s not going to have to pay for those burned down cars and businesses: John Q. Taxpayer will.
The first duty of government is to protect the citizens and their property. Some might say that’s their only duty.
Either way, they’re failing.
Personally, I don’t apportion much blame to mayor Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. I place the blame squarely on the President of the USA, on his Attorney General, Holder, and on the revolutionary leftists who are fully supported by the so called mainstream media.
As the mayor pointed out, the local community will suffer for years from the aftereffects of the property destruction. But hey, the more suffering, the better it is for the Democrats and the left in general since they can not exist unless there is human misery for them to exploit.
This is Obama’s policy, though it may be happening a bit earlier than he planned.
For radical revolutionaries, the worse it gets, the better it gets.
And that’s all you need to know.
The War on America, begun in January 2009 is merely approaching its intended conclusion, though it has not yet reached its apogee.
Just a taste of things to come.
Did you notice that the rioters are called outsiders? Same as in ferguson. Did anyone see them taking busses into Baltimore? Is there a town nearby full of rioters? This is the gang element that fills every American city. They are the dominant force on most inner cities. In places like Chicago
They own the political system. No black mayor can admit this
@Beverly
What do you expect? You have been lynching police last months. So now they´re acting in a logical way: they´re avoiding conflicts.
What´s happening in America is just the logical outcome of incentives: if there’s far more downsides than profits in marrying, men won’t marry. If doing your job can get you fired, police won’t do their job.
Pure logic.
Of course, you can try to undo that. But there’s a problem: once a person reaches the point where he’s burnt out and doesn’t care, it’s very difficult to bring him back.
You have reached the point where many police officers won’t give a shit about shops being looted or people being attacked.
God luck with that. You reap what you sow.
The explanation makes perfect sense (“we tried A and inadvertently wound up enabling B”).
I watched the mayor’s evening press conference and had to turn it off. I am too old to cringe that much, it hurts my muscles.
Blaming others for misinterpreting her confused remarks fits perfectly with my impression of her.
Police behavior generally and Baltimore rioters behavior are two separate issues, each deserving continued criticism as warranted.
The unfortunate reality is that in 2015 many, many more “average Americans” are less likely to give the police the benefit of the doubt and more likely to understand anger and frustration toward police while condemning rioters and looters. Adults can do each simultaneously.
Listening to the non-violent protestors (who condemned the rioters and looters) their complaints sounded true. They were talking not just about the death of Gray, but moreso about planting of evidence, arrogance, unjustified use of force, etc.
Respect for police (so necessary) is going to have to be preceded by police respect for citizens.
“Respect for police (so necessary) is going to have to be preceded by police respect for citizens.”
Which requires an educated and respectful general population.
Does anyone reading this think that those that grow up in the inner-city have any role models other than drug dealers, hip-hop idiots or sports players? And the public school system in Baltimore? What a joke!
How many parents think it is their responsibility to control their kids? Why is this Mother’s action the exception rather than the norm?
“At least one young man paid the price for his participation, when his mother turned up to spank him home. Before running cameras, she slapped him in the head again and again, driving him away from the crowd, as she cursed.”
All I can say, is Thanks to the Mother. I wish the political hacks had this much sense.
http://wtvr.com/2015/04/28/baltimore-mother-praised-for-smacking-rioting-son/
INSANE. The world turned upside down.
On Bret Bair’s news last night he talked with the Sheriff of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and that was worth 5-outta-5 stars!! Black, tough, straight talking and zero tolerance for Lefty Bullshit and mobs pillaging in Baltimore. God, what a refreshing few minutes of No-PC Crap from a muscular black law officer.
This Mayor is clearly in over her head. Anyone can operate under ideal conditions, it is adversity that sets the great ones apart.
The Obama / leftist rioters will only riot where citizens do not have guns. That is why Obama and leftists want to take guns out of citizens’ hands.
I guess they need more money for education, rent subsidy, and food stamps.
How long will it take the crazies to realize they don’t have stores in the neighborhood.?
I see frequent references to “parents.” Shouldn’t that be “parent”?
Moynihan was right.
Short of something akin to Napoleon’s whiff of grapeshot, it’s hard to end a full blown riot.
Why do I blame the media over this past day?
Because not one reporter, not one news analyst, not one commentator has approached Mayor Blake to ask her the following question:
“Mayor Blake, how is it that the media has misconstrued what YOU said about ‘giving space to those who wished to destroy'”?
The media has simply reported what this BIMBO said.
And now she blames the media for essentially putting words in her mouth.
So——it should be the media’s responsibility to remain diligent in merely repeating what this pathetic political leader said.
If she has not the ability to articulate or communicate with clarity, then she should be accountable for that.
And the media should not retreat from this follow-up question:
“Mayor, if you did not intend to “give space to those who would destroy” property in Baltimore, why is it, Mayor, that the police retreated last night as Baltimore burned?
A CVS was burned with no police intervention.
A newly constructed building intended for senior citizens was burned with no police intervention.
Cars were burned with no intervention.
It appears to the rational individual that with police retreating as was seen last night—-they were merely following orders on “giving space” to those who wished to destroy.
No?
Mayor Blake is a BLACK woman.
Police Chief, DeSouza, is a BLACK man.
The president of the Baltimore City Council is a BLACK man.
Baltimore “leadership”. All happen to be black Americans. And all are at the center of the controversy and the mishandling of the protests in Baltimore.
The president of the United States is a BLACK man. Where is his leadership over this issue?
The Top Cop, head of the Department of Justice, is a BLACK woman (replacing a BLACK man). Where is her voice, her leadership in this issue?
The two police in that incident took 20 minutes to arrive, and when they did, they told the manager they weren’t even allowed to ask for the guy’s ID, nor to put a hand on him to “urge” him toward the elevator.
Punch back twice as hard. Make them hurt. If the lawyers and police unions won’t enforce the law, then it is time for people to enforce their own security. Necessity breeds ingenuity.
Baltimore political policy is of the Democrat Party design. For years and years and years.
Political leadership in Baltimore is represented by Democrats.
What do they have to say for themselves in the failures within Baltimore, which have apparently been in place for years and years and years.
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Democrats and MSM were LOUD and persistent in blaming GW Bush for a natural disaster, Hurricane Katrina, and its impact on New Orleans and Louisiana.
The Mayor of New Orleans (at the time), Mayor Ray Nagin, is a Democrat. He’s now serving prison time for federal crimes.
The governor of Louisiana (at the time), Kathleen Blanco, is a Democrat.
Neither one of those local leaders were brought to account, nor blamed for the malfeasance and mismanagement which they were responsible for in the local mishandling of the lack-of-preparedness for Hurricane Katrina.
To this day, Democrats refer to GW Bush as being responsible for Katrina’s wrath on Louisiana—–entirely ignoring that Democrats were in power and in control over events which brought about madness and mayhem in that area.
FACT.
Every one of those rioters was conceived by a man and a woman. Times past in America, and in many countries to this day, men and women produced children in order that they might be taken care of when they became old and feeble. They had a very personal stake in making sure that they raised their children, from a very young age, to recognize that they had an obligation to their parents and family, and to be good workers, in order to fulfill that obligation. Parents had a stake in raising their kids right, because they would suffer if they didn’t.
That paradigm shifted in the 1930’s.
I suspect that the rioters and the persons who produced them mostly all get their money from the government. The argument could be made that from now on, if the hoodlum you raise inflicts costs on society by breaking the law, the money comes out of the pocket of the parent. That would bring back the rule that worked in the past, i.e., if you raise rotten kids, you will suffer.
Adults can do each simultaneously.
When both are violating the law and waging war on the Race, the human race, why not execute by hanging all of them? Is that not fair and equal, or do aristocrats and Democrat slaves obtain superior protections than normal American patriots?
You have reached the point where many police officers won’t give a shit about shops being looted or people being attacked.
God luck with that. You reap what you sow.
Incorrect. The police are cowards and won’t protect the citizens because they are hypocrites, weaklings, and cowards. They cannot protect other people when they are too afraid to even ensure their own protection.
At Columbine, SWAT was there, but refused to engage and enter the building. That makes little sense given that they will assault into an armed Florida or Georgia resident’s home, while getting shot in the face and killed, for a simple drug bust. That is because they were ORDERED to do so in both cases.
The police are obeying their orders. They have been told not to interfere with their union thug “allies”. Just as they were told to terrorize the Wisconsin Walker pro families.
OK, now I have been fascinated with watching this mayor.
It is very tempting to say flat out she is dumb. She does not sound like someone who has a tendency (as we all do) to misspeak. She sounds like someone whose mental processes are dull.
Her flat-ish affect is certainly weird.
She reminds me of the mayor of Buffalo, Byron Brown (you only need to watch half a minute to get it):
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=youtube+byron+brown&qpvt=you+tube+byron+brown&form=VDRE&first=1#view=detail&mid=CA59FA82F4778878EFC3CA59FA82F4778878EFC3
There is a pronounced over-compensation in the speaking style. It comes off sounding robotic.
The mechanical articulation (imo) comes at the expense of emotional naturalness and strict logical formulation (assuming the ability is there). The brain’s resources are too invested in (what sounds like) the deliberate style.
The more I watch the Baltimore mayor’s controversial statement, the more it seems ambiguous to me. She could very well be making the outrageous statement it seemed at first or she could be making the more sensible statement. I lean toward the latter.
Her use of “delicate balance” is ridiculous in either case, and reflects the throwaway nature of offices like mayor of a major American city.
http://www.acolumbinesite.com/swat.html
They don’t give a shit? Obviously they didn’t give a shit about you, since some odd years ago.
The mayor is a liberal Democrat who went to Oberlin. What could possibly go wrong?
The fruits of The Great Society; absentee fathers; and subsidized illegitimacy are finally ripening. How do we undo results of decades long failed social policy?
Once again——-where is some alert media individual (reporter) to approach Mayor Blake with this one very clear, very pointed question:
“How did the media misconstrue (as she alleges) what you said on Saturday?”
“In what way were your words misrepresented?”
_______________________________________
Where is the media to defend itself over the allegations/accusations leveled by this dumbshit mayor and her pathetic effort to blame the media on putting words in her mouth.
All it takes is some diligent reporter to ask the question I’ve put forward. An effort to allow her to explain what she means by alleging that the media misrepresents what she said. Her accusations are not insignificant. They should not be allowed to hang out there without some reporter demanding that she account for it.
Clarityseeker made my point exactly.
What a sense of irony I felt when Baltimore’s Mayor and Police Chief finally appeared before the cameras. Why, they were not white oppressors of black people at all; in fact they were not even white. Then I read that the majority of Baltimore’s police department are not white.
Then, as we know, the Federal power structure is not white.
So, how can white people be so oppressive to blacks in Baltimore and other locales that are essentially governed by blacks?
In other news. Protestors were out in Ferguson, Mo yesterday in solidarity with Baltimore. The LAPD is on alert for retaliatory attacks on cops.
Now, the Baltimore tourist and convention industry are worried. You think? Major League baseball may have some concerns as well. It is not a good thing when your patrons are locked in a stadium for their safety, nor when games are cancelled because of rioting in the streets.
Next, we will hear of the lamentable flight of essential businesses; e.g., pharmacies and grocery stores from certain areas of Baltimore.
Oh, Jesse Jackson blames the problem on lack of “opportunity” for young blacks. They have no recourse but to loot and burn.
Jesse Jackson does not take note that his President is allowing, even encouraging, hoards of aliens to cross into the U.S.; and that those hoards are gobbling up the available jobs for unskilled or uneducated workers.
As an addendum to my post above; I do not know, but would bet a buck or two that the Baltimore school system is not run by white people.
Neoneocon:
Even you make an effort to correct the mayor, to excuse what she said. Even you try to help her out in smoothing over her narrative:
“I think what she meant to say was something like this:…”
_______________________________________
I have heard many people opine that the mayor may have misspoken.
I heard a woman this morning say that the mayor “made a Freudian slip”.
To each of these individuals, and to neoneocon, I say, “Who are you to excuse what the mayor said? Let her speak for herself. Allow her to clarify—–but first—–demand that she account for the exact words she spoke. She does not need others to excuse her. It should NOT be the case that others SPECULATE what she should have said, what she meant to say, what she really tried to communicate.
To you who are speculating and guessing and essentially smoothing over the intentions of the mayors articulations, I say this:
“She is an educated woman. She was elected to a leadership position in one of America’s largest cities. She should be able to speak and defend herself in what she is on record saying. And what she meant by her very own words.”
Pardon me, but I have witnessed SIX years of apologists for president Obama in glossing over many of the things he’s said. There are myriad examples of people who’ve been interviewed in trying to make sense over the senselessness and nonsense and irrational crap espoused by Barack Obama. Many examples of people speaking to Obama’s words, “I think what the president was saying was…”.
“The president meant to say….”
“What the president was trying to say…”
Jay Carney regularly started his answers to reporters questions with comments like the above.
Josh Ernest has been heard to refer to the presidents comments very much this way.
Explaining away.
Smoothing over.
Speaking for the president.
It promotes laziness.
It excuses mismanagement and malfeasance and irresponsible behavior.
It circumvents accountability.
FACT.
She spouted some radical social theory. It sounded bad because it is. Then she denied saying it and is trying to backtrack after the downtown business sector (conventions, hotels, restaurants, etc) told her up close and personal that if they go down so does she. Being the mayor of a burned out hole is not conducive to a political future. The Republican governor turned the knife when he said she wouldn’t return his phone calls (nor would her flunkies) since Saturday and wouldn’t ask for help until it was too late. Those are not inadvertent mistakes either.
Detroit, a city long-mismanaged by Liberals, Progressives, Democrats. They dragged it down into bankruptcy. There are places in Africa and other third-world countries that look better than Detroit.
***Kwami Kilpatrick (D), leader of that city and it’s protracted demise, imprisoned for 28 years.
***Ray Nagin (D), mayor of New Orleans, before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina floated over his city. The leader of a Police Department that saw officers leave their posts during that incident. The leader of the Transportation Department which witnessed bus drivers who refused to operate busses, during that time, to evacuate citizens of the area. Ray Nagin, serving 10 years in Federal prison for federal crimes.
***Sheila Dixon (D) former mayor of Baltimore, forced to resign after her conviction on charges of corruption in Baltimore. Complicit in the “oppression” of her fellow black citizens of Baltimore.
***Tony Mack (D), former mayor of Trenton, N.J. imprisoned for corruption charges. Trenton—-obviously a city where his fellow blacks are “oppressed” by democrats. Trenton, a veritable hellhole of malfeasance and corruption.
***Mayor Marion Barry (D) Washington, D.C. Another Liberal architect of black “oppression” in one of America’s major cities.
***Larry Langford (D), former mayor of Birmingham, Al sentenced in 2010 to 15 years in prison on felony charges of corruption. Another black man overseeing the “oppression” of blacks in a major city.
***Walter Tucker (D) former mayor of Compton, CA, federal prison for over 2 years for demanding and accepting bribes. Another black man overseeing a city where blacks are “oppressed”.
Many more examples exist.
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President Barack Obama, presiding over 6 years in the white house during this “oppressive” time when unemployment among young blacks in America remains over 20% and during this time when the annual income of blacks has fallen precipitously.
A very curious thing…
Baltimore hasn’t had a Republican mayor in nearly 50 years. It’s a one party democracy. Given the current demographics and immigration patterns, Baltimore today is America tomorrow.
I called them Democrat fiefdoms, these cities, before. Whether people understood or not, doesn’t matter. They will, when the Left’s boot stomps them on the head. As it happens even now, it seems.
clarityseeker:
I have no interest in excusing the mayor. You completely misunderstand me if you think I have any interest in that, and I’m surprised you would think I would.
However, I was initially puzzled by what she said because it didn’t make sense and didn’t square with other statements of hers. And when in my puzzlement I looked back and studied her actual words and their context, I realized that it was not just possible but probable that she meant what I then realized she probably meant.
I repeat: I couldn’t care less about exonerating this woman. I am interested in what appears to be the truth. After I figured out what I thought she actually meant, I heard her give the very same explanation (see this for the mayor’s clarification, which I only heard after I had offered mine, and which is essentially the same explanation).
Her real problem (and the things for which I strongly criticize her) is that she did the following:
(1) Said something so very unclear that almost anyone would misinterpret it, and then failed to admit she was tremendously unclear but became defensive instead
(2) In addition (and I’m not sure what this is about) her affect was way too flat considering the circumstances.
(3) But far FAR more importantly, she failed to respond to the impending riots in a timely and appropriate fashion by calling out the Guard, etc. This was similar to the reaction in Ferguson, and I believe it comes from a failure of will and courage, and a thought that things will blow over in short order. But that failure of will and courage (and judgment) that she exhibited doesn’t mean she would have said she wanted the city destroyed.
As I was watching the joyriders drive the cars they had stolen into the flames, I was thinking of the Muslim rioters in France who periodically do the same thing. I never thought it would arrive here so fast. I think this is just the beginning.
Janetoo:
I actually was thinking of something different—the looting that went on in Baghdad after the invasion, when the US looked the other way. I was initially stunned that the US didn’t try to establish more order at that time. It was a bad sign that the aftermath of the invasion could easily get out of control.
clarityseeker:
You say the media didn’t ask her for clarification. Actually they did and she issued one (this; I saw a clip on TV of her explanation as well, but at the moment I don’t have time to find the clip online). It seems you missed it.
Speaking of “Mayor inserting foot into mouth disease,” I am reminded of what Hizzonah Da Mayor Daley I of Chicago said during the riots at the Democratic Convention in 1968:
It may be that she put her foot in her mouth out of lack of practice with dealing with non-lefty-Democrat people. Prog platitudes don’t sound so good to wingnuts.
Elliott, good summary. I hope the governor pushes the legislature to pass the proposed gun law change:
http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2015/03/12/md-lawmakers-pushing-for-gun-law-change/
The mayor’s original words and her actions are entirely consistent with someone who agrees with the rioters.
The great majority of blacks in this country have fully bought into the Left’s lie that they are living in an inherently racist society in which they can never succeed. This viewpoint is especially entrenched in the young who have grown up hearing these lies repeatedly reinforced at home, among friends and acquaintances and in the schools and media.
They see themselves as victims and any attempt to assert that they themselves are responsible for their plight is immediately declared to be a case of “blaming the victim”.
The Obama administration is fomenting racial strife with the goal of laying the conditions for a coming push to nationalize all local police departments and organizations. Holder’s DOJ has been forcing federal ‘guidelines’ for policing upon big city police departments. We’re in for another long, hot summer.
GB, I agree. I don’t see any reason to give the mayor the benefit of the doubt. Her actions are consistent with the original interpretation of her words. The police did not respond to calls for help. The mayor failed to call for support from the national guard in a timely manner. Her clarification is self-serving.
This is going to only get worse. The great gentrification of the cities is soon going to reverse.
NCS: I, too, caught the interview last night on Bret Baier with the very tough, straight talking, obviously conservative black Sherriff of Milwaukee. A barn burner(Ooops..!)of much needed clarity from a Real Man.
neoneocon,
1.) agreed
2.) agreed
3.) agreed
I tried my best to explain that I observe, all too often, people who make efforts to explain what others have said.
It is Josh Earnest’s job to do so.
Jay Carney did it every time he stood in front of a camera.
I can’t speak for everyone’s motivation. That said, I believe I have confidence in your desire to understand what this Mayor Bimbo said.
I do hope you understand that far too many are let off the hook as others end up smoothing over their missteps (misspeak).
If the rumors are true and the protesters initially refused to invite in Jackson and Sharpton, then obviously the unions and thugs got pissed that they didn’t get their cut. So they activated their agent provocateurs and brought in some gang bangers, the Cripes, who aren’t known to control much of anything in Baltimore, to “spice things up”.
What a lovely city you got there, would be a shame if anything happened to it due to you rejecting our gracious offer to host a rally for the Sharpton Rainbow coalition.
According to this report, social media analysis has revealed links between rioters in Ferguson and Baltimore. Meaning the same anarchists and/or “professional protesters” appear to be instrumental in both riots:
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2015/04/28/social-media-analysis-suggests-links-between-baltimore-and-ferguson-violence/
If the cops did step back and let the thugs have at it I don’t blame them.
They have been so severely trash by the news media and the likes of Sharpton and even most leftist politicians that they must feel like no matter what they do it is wrong.
You can only beat up on someone telling him that he is doing it all wrong before he gives up trying all together.
And it just isn’t worth risking your own life for a neighborhood that doesn’t want you there anyway.
Let it burn, and let those responsible live with the consequences. Grievances do not give anyone a license for mayhem, death, and destruction. Step back, let it burn. Cannibals will be cannibals.
There is a parallel, or even, related concept to “the space to destroy” found in our general political liberty doctrines (which is) also present in our free speech doctrines.
The Mayor doesn’t draw out these teachings as she attempts to explain the consequences of her poor public order (riot control) policy — unfortunately (and possibly — we permit ourselves the tacit conjecture — because she may not be aware of them) — yet they are very important.
The license Americans were traditionally used to according liberty of speech means at its root the production of speech which is analogous to the “space to destroy”. Heresy, for instance, is welcomed in principle.
So with our other liberties. The Founders well understood that liberty means not merely the liberty to do right, but the liberty to do wrong (without prior restraint).
Why? Maybe because no-one was believed to have a perfect hold on the distinction between right and wrong; that the arguments over these fundamental moral categories are the very basis of political action, i.e. disagreement. Hence the necessity as Madison understood it, of the firm adherence to what nowadays is called process. Remove the checks in process (impeachment, for a particular instance) and we reap tyranny.
And it just isn’t worth risking your own life for a neighborhood that doesn’t want you there anyway.
Which goes against the grain when it comes to people hre and elsewhere telling people to obey police authority. An organization that has given up its so called reason for existence, has no need of obedience either, and can give no legitimate orders.
“Officers Saying Baltimore Mayor Told Police To Stand Down!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uldD-41Llk4
“Valerie Jarrett in ‘Regular Contact’ With Baltimore Mayor” https://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/valerie-jarrett-regular-contact-baltimore-mayor_933680.html
emphasis mine
Thomas Lifson asks, “Is Valerie Jarrett the mastermind behind the reported order to Baltimore cops to “stand down”? The mayor’s announced policy to allow a “space to destroy”? Did she counsel Mayor Rawlings Blake to avoid calling up the National Guard after Saturday’s disturbances? Did she urge the city to let the students gathering Monday after school remain uncontrolled as they looted a mall?”
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2015/04/valerie_jarrett_in_regular_contact_with_baltimore_mayor_over_handling_the_riots.html#ixzz3Yi5wZkml
We can’t know what Jarrett said but it’s not hard to imagine that Jarrett acted as a conduit for Obama’s wishes and, riots serve his agenda of federalizing local police.
What is fascinating about this whole episode is watching last night the city government (majority black and has been for years), the local community leaders, the MD senate majority leader (female, black), all try desperately to somehow play the race card. They can’t, they know it, they own it. It was particularly nauseating to watch the majority leader try to blame everything on the media cameras and when they pushed back she then tried to blame the “outside factors”. They just cannot own up that this is leftist on leftist violence. Not a Republican/conservative to be seen for miles and years.
CV…
The odds are well neigh overwhelming that OfA funding is behind these hyper-mobile ‘community organizers.’
They are moving to establish predicate conditions for Barry’s “civilian force” equal to and as powerful as the DoD.
This is an idea that Barry pitched way back in 2008 — on camera.
&&&&&
Stalin coerced his society by high profile political trials.
Barry is coercing all American police departments by high profile ex-post facto scourgings after Black riots — that his crew enflamed.
Lest any reader forget: Barry has raised millions, upon millions, and none of those dollars has gone to the Democrat National Committee or any other traditional party account.
ALL of his fund raising is for HELL RAISING.
If you though the Clinton foundation was opaque — try figuring out where Barry’s shakedown stash has gone.
[ Of all of Barry’s money raising — it can’t pass without notice that most of the ‘contributors’ dare NOT ‘contribute.’ They are wholly within his economic grasp — and really ought to be given their own section within the ‘Plum Book.’ ]
[ For those unaware, there is an official ‘Plum Book’ which details ALL of the government plum jobs that are assigned entirely upon the president’s pleasure. As you might imagine, these are ALL of the control positions within government. It is through these plum slots that any president controls the show — and enforces his policies. In Barry’s case, he’s even gotten (nominal) civil servants to perform purely political functions. (Lerner at IRS, all of the EPA elites, et. al.)]