Archive for June 6th, 2012
The high cost of police officers lying to get arrests and convictions
Posted in Civil Rights, Justice System, Law Enforcement on June 6, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
This decision by a Florida Circuit Court judge regarding what he deemed to be obvious lying by police officers is great reading, even though it’s from way back in January. I just read about it in a blog post by Radley Balko, agitator extraordinaire at his web site.
Having been an editor who has spoken to many people over the years involved in cases where the police involved in an arrest were clearly lying — defense attorneys, judges, defendants — it really fucked up my worldview when I first realized how often it happens.
I have a lot of friends who are honest cops and I don’t think that even most cops are crooked. A little confused at times about whom they are supposed to be protecting and serving, which leads to some on-the-scene excesses by even the best cops. But most of them dishonest? I’d like to think not.
But in my experience, a cop who’s decided to use lies as an end to whatever means can cut a huge swath of damage before (and if) he is caught. For instance, cops used to routinely lie in Boston about how they would brazenly entrap innocent gay men in sex stings at rest stops and in public bathrooms by saying the men touched themselves or the officers when nothing of the sort happened. Either that or they’d use physically beautiful cops as decoys to ensnare men who would not have otherwise been picking anyone up in a public place.
This led to years of mistrust between gays and cops.
Anyway, this judge in Florida, Balko notes, had enough and let the officers know it:
Dishonesty is seldom without consequences for any of us. When the government lies to its citizens, though, the consequences are dire. What of the societal costs included when officers of the law offend law-abiding citizens by lying to them? Or the costs of teaching and encouraging young officers to be dishonest in their work for the sake of enhancing their arrest rates? Or the costs suffered when naturally enthusiastic officers who are taught to be dishonest in one “investigative” realm come to appreciate that dishonesty “works” just as well when it is not legally permitted? When a “white lie” told for legally permissible reasons morphs into the “white lie” told for noble, but illegal, reasons? What are the costs of alienating those growing segments of the community where “knock and talk” sessions are more likely to become a standard practice? Or the costs incurred when police come before the court, time after time, employing deceitful law enforcement practice?
What are the costs of teaching the community that law enforcement officers, whom ideally deserve the trust of the citizen, cannot be trusted to tell the simple truth? That no one is wearing the white hat anymore? That the ends justify the means? That the virtue of honesty is essential in our families and individual lives, but that same virtue is optional for the executive branch of our government in the exercise of its police powers? A nation founded on the notions we find in our Constitution is surely better than this.
You can download the full decision as a PDF here.
Immortality or stupid toe shoes?
Posted in Fashion on June 6, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Personally, I’ve never had a problem with those odd looking toe shoes you see people wearing at the gym. They don’t seem as if they’d give you much support for running, but they seem like they’d rock for aerobics and the like.
Anyway, the guy at xkcd piles on in the strip below, which lives at this link.
And she’s not even blonde
Posted in Humor, Tech on June 6, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Clearly nobody ever told this poor girl that the door is generally the one in the middle.
I’ve had days like this, and I hope they’re never put on YouTube from a security camera.
An “artisnal pencil sharpener” shares his secrets
Posted in Advertising, Consumerism, Tech on June 6, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Ladies and gentlemen, meet David Rees, pencil sharpener extraordinaire and author of the book How To Sharpen Pencils, which you can get on Amazon for a mere $13.57.
At 224 pages, I’m sure he doesn’t give away all of his secrets in the YouTube video below. But if you’re sucker enough to spend that kind of money on the book, you’re probably beyond figuring out that it’s all a put-on.
This will help end the honor killings at KFC
Posted in Food, Religion on June 6, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Well, yes, I suppose in some sense that is true
Posted in Weird on June 6, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Seems about right
Posted in Humor, Love on June 6, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Looks delicious!
Posted in Advertising, Food on June 6, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
It’s OK to draw male flesh as long as it’s nailed to railroad ties and dripping with blood
Posted in Art World, Christianism, Wingnuts on June 6, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Undercover at the Empowered to Prosper Valentine’s Day Christian Singles Cruise
Posted in Pop Culture, Rednecks, Religion, Sexuality, Wingnuts on June 6, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Geez sends a sinner undercover on what was ostensibly supposed to be a Christian singles cruise. Rest of article here.
I had a dust bunny the other day that looked like the Virgin Mary
Posted in Wingnuts on June 6, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
The best part about this is the poll. Read the entire article and vote at this link.
Words To Live By
Posted in Religion, Wingnuts on June 6, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
This is totally me at a party full of strangers
Posted in Animals, Partying on June 6, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
I’ve always related better to animals than humans. I love humans, don’t get me wrong. I think most of them are pretty nice if you give them the chance. But until I get a couple of drinks in me at a party, I’m so anxious and uncomfortable around strangers that I could just spend time with a cat or a dog and a cocktail and wait out my anxieties until the rum and coke kicks in.
