Kenosha

 The events leading up to the shooting of Jacob Blake.

This information was released by the Kenosha Professional Police Association.

The officers were dispatched to the location due to a complaint that Mr. Blake was attempting to steal the caller's keys/vehicle.

Officers were aware of Mr. Blake's open warrant for felony sexual assault (3rd degree) before they arrived on scene. 

Random Thoughts (New)

A couple of comments on the first night democrat virtual convention.

It takes some huge cajones for the DNC to trot out Governor Cuomo and have him speak about how the government (i.e. President Trump) failed regarding Covid-19. While I agree there is blame to be shared, having the dude who put Covid positive folks back into nursing homes lecture us about failure of policy is the height of hypocrisy.

Anyone else find it interesting that Michelle Obama talked about the so-called cages used by the border Patrol but didn't bother mentioning those cages were a result of policies furthered by her husband.

Probably not going watch what happens from here on out. There is only so much BS a person can stand in week, and I had about a month's worth.

To Teach or Not to Teach

As the summer begins to wan, the start of school is starting to come into focus. Many are wondering if school is going to start and whether or not classrooms will be real or virtual. Based on what one reads and sees in the media it appears that for most locations, it will virtual. This raises the question of quality. How good will the instructions be without the backdrop of a brick and mortar schoolhouse? Does the learning environment suffer without the face to face instruction provided at school? When teaching from home, do teachers have the resources they need to fully engage their students?

I think a compromise can be reached. Have the teachers instruct from school, while the students stay at home. Outlined below are some ideas on why this should be done and ideas on how to make it work.

White Subjugation

Found this while perusing a Twitter thread. Found it interesting that, one, people would willingly do this and secondly, people who are protesting against racial injustice would require "white folks" to behave this way.

Take Heed

This was found a month back. Considering all that is going on right now, I thought a post to the old blog was in order. And timely.

We are not protesting social distancing. We are protesting government overreach. We are protesting dad's getting handcuffed for playing at parks with their kids. We are protesting a line fisherman being ticketed for providing food for their families, simply because their boat had a motor. We are protesting the silencing of civilian voices in our democratic process. We are protesting the unnecessary closure that is crippling small, seasonal businesses in our state.

My Thoughts on George Floyd

George Floyd, while not on the straight and narrow, did not deserve to die. Especially in the manner in which his life was taken.

That being said, the whole "Let's burn down a bunch of inner cities" narrative and actions is just beyond stupid. The entire country saw what happened to Mr. Floyd and condemned it with no hesitation or quantifiers. We all knew Floyd was being arrested for committing a crime, but we didn't care about that. His murder was unjustifiable, plain and simple. When the riots and looting happened, all that support dried up. While his murder was completely unjustified, it should not be used as an excuse to loot, piliage, and kill like a bunch of Vikings invading Northumbria.

Random Thoughts

A lot of stuff has been happening over the last several months. To say 2020 has been a dozey would be an understatement.

Jobs lost

Businesses shuttered

100,000+ lives lost to a virus

Downtown areas destroyed and looted

Lives unjustly taken, whether by a cop or by rioters

This post is going to be random thoughts and stuff I've posted on social media.

The following was a snarky response of mine to someone who mentioned how folks look at our Bill of Rights and spout off about them when convenient.

Melanie, So true. It was really amazing to see former anti 2nd Amendment folks suddenly feeling the need to purchase a weapon for home protection, only to find out how the "common sense" gun laws they insist be passed were now interfering with their ability to purchase a gun of their choice.

Next is a comment I made regarding how police in some localities were being quite forceful when dealing with protesters, especially those causing damage.

While I freely admit to not keep up to the minute updates on the goings on with respect to all that has gone on since George Floyd's murder, I haven't seen police violently disperse PEACEFUL protests. Last night a very large group of protesters shut down the Burnside Bridge in Portland. After disrupting traffic for several hours, they were told to go home, which they did, grudgingly, peacefully.

However, in nearly all the incidents I've seen where more forceful means we're used, they was an element of violence going on with in the protest group. Let's call them looters and rioters. Let's not conflate the two.

I know a lot of folks, when forceful methods are discussed, will point to the DC church and Trump. While I am a supporter of Trump, I'm not an apologist. My initial take on take on that event was to shake my head and wonder if somebody overstepped. But once one digs a little deeper, one finds out there is a bit more to the story. The church had been attacked the night before, and after asking the crowd to disperse several times, and being refused with belligerence, matters become more direct. Could it have been handled differently? Very possibly. But how?

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I want my readers, all three of you, to understand that I utterly and completely condone the murder of George Floyd. But in no way do I support the methods being employed by ANTIFA and their surrogates.

Another Facebook Response

I have been debating with a Facebook friend (My Facebook Friend/MFF) over the past couple of days. As you might guess, it is about how our President is handling the Wuhan Virus outbreak in our great country.

This was the original post, along with the graphic.

(MFF) Still a lot of talk from the usual suspects about the pandemic being a hoax. Conspiracy theories are all fun and games until they kill people we love. Who knows where the grand total will end up unless we all start working together.

(Me) The picture you posted makes it seem, to the low info individual, that the only cause of death in the USA is war and covid-19.

Women's World Cup

This post is probably a little late in coming, and can be filed under old news, but I'm cleaning out some old bits and tidbits and thought I'd throw this up here. As you read this please remember, this just an opinion, nothing more.

They didn't move their agenda forward one inch. Those that supported her stance prior, continue to do so. Those that did not support, still don't. I would argue that she might have even done harm. For those who might have been on the fence, or like me, ambivalent, her foul language, in your face attitude, and utter disrespect for those without the same world view might have pushed them in a direction she didn't expect. Speaking strictly for myself, mind you.

Life And Loss

Our Pastor Emeritus sent this out. He is deep into his 80's so this has special meaning to him. I am also transitioning to the stage in life where we start to experience more loss than gains. My sisters and I lost our dad over three years ago. My wife lost her father a couple of years before my dad passed.

Hopefully, the words of a retired pastor can give you some comfort.

For clarification, Pastor did not author this. He passed it along from a friend.

THE WAVES OF LOSS

Alright, here goes. I'm old. What that means is that I've survived (so far) and a lot of people I've known and loved did not. I've lost friends, best friends, acquaintances, co-workers, grandparents, mom, relatives, teachers, mentors, students, neighbors, and a host of other folks. I have no children, and I can't imagine the pain it must be to lose a child. But here's my two cents.