Friday, June 05, 2020



When a White Man Can’t Breathe

Cary Aspinwall and Dave Boucher are investigative reporters for The Dallas Morning News. They deserve a Pulitzer Prize for an article written last summer that apparently no one in America has read, which is why I am summarizing it here today. It was about a man named Tony Timpa who cried for help more than 30 times as Dallas police officers pinned his neck to the ground. Before he died, Timpa shouted repeatedly, “You’re gonna kill me!”

And kill him the police officers did. After Timpa became unconscious, the officers who had him cuffed assumed he was asleep. As the minutes passed, the officers joked about waking him up for school and making him waffles for breakfast.

Body camera footage shows first responders waited at least four minutes after Timpa became unresponsive to begin CPR. Even worse, the police officers pinned his handcuffed arms behind his back for nearly 14 minutes and zip-tied his legs together. Shortly after he was loaded onto a gurney and put into an ambulance, Timpa was pronounced dead.

This culminated an incident that began when Timpa called 911 from the parking lot of a Dallas porn store. He told a dispatcher he suffered from schizophrenia and depression and was off his prescription medication. Later, police incident reports falsely claimed Timpa’s behavior that night was aggressive. In stark contradiction, the police video shows Timpa struggling to breathe and asking the officers to stop pinning him down.

In another contradiction, contained in a portion of a custodial death report submitted to the state of Texas in 2016, the department answered "no" to questions about whether Timpa resisted arrest or otherwise behaved aggressively. Indeed, a private security guard had already handcuffed him before police arrived.

Shockingly, footage from the police video shows officers mocking Timpa as he struggled to live. Shortly after one officer ridicules Timpa’s cries for help, an officer observes that he appears to be “out cold.” Nonetheless they joked that he was merely asleep and tried to wake him saying, “It’s time for school. Wake up!” One officer mockingly says, “I don’t want to go to school! Five more minutes, Mom!”

One of the medical responders to the scene falsely claimed, “I was unable to assess the patient due to his combativeness.” However, police video footage shows that the responders attempt to take Timpa’s blood pressure while he is still conscious, about five minutes before administering a powerful sedative.

Timpa died within 20 minutes of police arriving at the scene. An autopsy ruled Timpa's cause of death sudden cardiac death due to "the toxic effects of cocaine and the stress associated with physical restraint." Nonetheless, a criminal case against the police officers that were present never made it to trial.

The three officers -- Kevin Mansell, Danny Vasquez and Dustin Dillard -- were indicted by a grand jury in 2017 on charges of misdemeanor deadly conduct. After two days of testimony, the grand jury's indictment stated that the "officers engaged in reckless conduct that placed Timpa in imminent danger of serious bodily injury." However, in March, Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot dismissed the charges.

The Dallas Police Department's internal affairs investigation resulted in Dillard, Mansell and Vasquez being disciplined for "conduct discrediting" the department. However, those allegations were later dropped. Vasquez and another officer present at Timpa's death also received written reprimands for "discourtesy" and "unprofessionalism." 

Mansell and Vasquez were placed on administrative leave in December 2017. Dillard was also placed on leave in March 2018. But the officers returned to active duty in April after Creuzot dropped the criminal case against them.

The police video shows that Dillard pins Timpa to the ground with his knee in his back for more than 13 minutes. When the officers first arrived at the scene, they told Timpa he would be OK. “We’re going to get you some help, man,” one of the officers tells him. But within 15 minutes, Dillard can be heard saying: “I hope I didn’t kill him.” Finally, Dillard turned to someone before shutting off his camera and said, “Sorry. We tried.”

This is how three police officers presided over the death of Tony Timpa. There were no George Soros funded protests. There were no Antifa riots. He was only 32. And he was only white.

Nonetheless, it is time to re-open this case in the court of public opinion, if not a court of law. Only then will we learn whether current outrage over the death of George Floyd is based upon righteous indignation or political opportunism.

SOURCE 






Bush Condemns Riots but Promotes Myth of Systemic Racism

He calls for unity by capitulating to the "social justice" dogma that America is a racist nation.

George W. Bush released a statement calling for unity and racial justice while expressing solidarity with those currently protesting the unjust death of George Floyd while in police custody. However, rather than question the leftist “social justice” activists’ dubious narrative of “systemic racism” — a charge that has been repeatedly debunked by hard data and a variety of studies — Bush simply echoed the same narrative as Barack Obama. “It remains a shocking failure that many African Americans, especially young African American men, are harassed and threatened in their own country,” Bush lamented. “It is a strength when protesters, protected by responsible law enforcement, march for a better future. This tragedy — in a long series of similar tragedies — raises a long overdue question: How do we end systemic racism in our society?”

The former president added, “The only way to see ourselves in a true light is to listen to the voices of so many who are hurting and grieving. Those who set out to silence those voices do not understand the meaning of America — or how it becomes a better place.” In other words, anyone who dares question the “social justice” dogma of “systemic racism” is condemned as “part of the problem.” Feelings trump facts.

The only means to finding a genuine solution to any problem is to first accurately identify the problem. Unquestioningly accepting a narrative — in this case one that is itself based upon radical racial identitarianism — as the gospel truth will only lead to false solutions that may only exacerbate the genuine problem.

While Bush, like almost every American, is justifiably upset and angered by the callous, indifferent, and deadly actions taken by four Minneapolis police officers, that doesn’t excuse him or anyone else from propagating a false narrative. “Many doubt the justice of our country, and with good reason,” he asserts. “Black people see the repeated violation of their rights without an urgent and adequate response from American institutions.” Is that true? Is it only black Americans today who suffer repeated violations of their rights with no response from American institutions? Not according to the data. Do black Americans suffer repeated violations of their rights at a higher rate than other Americans? Again, not according to the data. Do black Americans feel their rights are violated more often than other Americans? Clearly many do, though thankfully not all, as there is a small but growing number of black Americans who reject this racist narrative — our own Patrick Hampton and Willie Richardson among them. But this subjectivity of feelings is being used as the primary “evidence” of “systemic racism.”

We’ll give Bush credit for speaking out against rioting and violence. “We know that lasting justice will only come by peaceful means. Looting is not liberation, and destruction is not progress,” he wrote. “But” — and there’s always a “but” — “we also know that lasting peace in our communities requires truly equal justice. The rule of law ultimately depends on the fairness and legitimacy of the legal system. And achieving justice for all is the duty of all.”

Recognizing that many people across the country are angry over a crime is understandable. Blaming wholly innocent people for somehow being a cause of the crime is unjust, and Bush should know better. After all, was he not falsely labeled a racist by many on the Left following Hurricane Katrina? Then again, maybe his own bitter experience is why he issued this statement.

SOURCE 






De-platforming in Daily Life

Complaining about censorship ahead of the 2020 elections, President Trump signed an executive order that encourages the Federal Trade Commission to probe whether Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and other social media are biased against conservatives.

Such an order raises questions about de-platforming – excluding those who have the wrong politics on grounds that they are haters – to a new and welcome level. But it is mistake to focus only on companies dealing with information and communications, as is the case now. Yes, the educational system, traditional media, social media, non-profit organizations, and advertisements are problematic. Of course, information has vast importance; but de-platforming has quietly and ominously crept much further and affects much of daily life.

Left-wing organizations (the Southern Poverty Law Center in the United States, Hope Not Hate in the United Kingdom) drive this trend by pressuring businesses to refuse commerce with "haters." (Never mind that SPLC has its own severe problems). And while universities and the social media giants make a show of reaching out to conservatives, that's mere tokenism. In fact, de-platforming overwhelmingly targets those on the right, including social conservatives, limited immigration advocates, anthropogenic climate change skeptics, Islamism critics, and Israel supporters.

Some examples of de-platforming in daily life:

The Red Hen restaurant expelled Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Hospitality providers have jumped into the de-platforming business with gusto. On a micro scale, a restaurant owner expelled a White House official dining in Lexington, Virginia, for political differences. After this incident, Rep. Maxine Waters called on fellow-leftists to "harass" Trump aides: "they're not going to be able to go to a restaurant, they're not going to be able to stop at a gas station, they're not going to be able to shop a department store." The subsequent verbal assault on Tucker Carlson's daughter must have pleased Ms Waters.

On an institutional level, Eventbrite canceled issuing tickets for a talk by Pamela Geller for the New York Young Republican Club. Norwegian Cruise Line dropped Rebel Media after it had booked and advertised a cruise. Hyatt Hotels and Mar-a-Lago canceled events hosted by Act! For America. Airbnb de-platformed Jewish hosts living on the West Bank (while still accepting Palestinian ones). Uber and Lyft expelled Laura Loomer from their car-share services on account of her tweets.

Amazon Smile, a service that designates one-half of one percent of Amazon sales to non-profits, excluded organizations listed by the SPLC as "hate groups." O2, a UK internet provider, essentially blocked access to my website, DanielPipes.org. Internet de-platforming can have direct financial consequences: YouTube demonetized (another neologism: removed the ability to make money) videos presented by Dennis Prager and Tommy Robinson.

Financial institutions joined the movement. Citibank gave the Israel Independence Fund one month to decamp. Capital One dropped Appalachian Gun, a store in rural Georgia. MasterCard and Visa refused to process donations to the David Horowitz Freedom Center. PayPal suspended the accounts of United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) members and donors. Reviewing the role of credit-card companies in what he calls "financial blacklisting," Allum Bokhari of Breitbart concludes that "the encroachment of progressive ideology into the financial industry" poses a "terrifying new threat to freedom" in Western societies.

Add governments to the de-platforming trend. The federal U.S. tax authority improperly denied tax-exempt status to Z Street, a Zionist organization. In a first step toward denying tax-exempt status to 60 organizations that the SPLC deems to be "hate groups," Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives held a hearing in September 2019 on "How The Tax Code Subsidizes Hate." The German government already took this step by withdrawing the tax-exempt status of JournalistenWatch.com, a conservative website. Leading German politicians hope to exclude members for the Alternative für Deutschland party from holding civil service jobs. The British government refused entry to Geert Wilders, as did the Australian to Milo Yiannopoulos.

A unit of the British National Health Service, followed by the whole of England, announced that patients who engage in "racist or sexist language, gestures or behavior ... will be challenged and warned"; then, should the problem continue, treatment will be "withdrawn as soon as is safe." How soon before NHS employees exploit this regulation to deny service to a polite critics of climate change or Islamism?

A restaurant, a ticketing service, ride-share companies, a cruise line, a hotel chain, President Trump's private club, a lodging broker, a retail store, an Internet provider, a video hosting company, banks, credit-card companies, a payment system, governments, and hospitals: the list is long, scary, and constantly expanding.

For conservatives, these deprivations threaten livelihood, dignity, and enfranchisement. They do constitute a "terrifying new threat to freedom" and deserve much more attention, planning, and resources than at present. Resistance must be organized; new, neutral institutions must be established. The time is now, without waiting for government action, and before the walls close in further.

SOURCE 






Are You a White Supremacist?

A chart circulating on social media depicts “overt white supremacy” that is “socially unacceptable” above all the various things that amount to “socially acceptable” “covert white supremacy.”

Clearly, everyone but actual racists would argue that lynching, burning crosses, displaying swastikas, and using the N-word are indeed unacceptable and should have no place in American society.

But that’s where the chart jumps the shark. There are more than 50 other practices, thoughts, or phrases that the “woke” folks peddling the chart say amount to prevalent and accepted white racism. A few of the things are understandably labeled as such — when they’re actually happening. Ironically, though “Make America Great Again” makes the list for white supremacy, “mass incarceration” of blacks was largely brought about by the man who wants to defeat President MAGA, Joe Biden. And Donald Trump has taken concrete steps to rectify the system.

For the most part, however, this list of skin sins is largely the pulp fiction of the Left’s alternate reality. Several of the items are so absurd we’ll admit we had to look them up just to even know what the chart maker meant. (Did anyone else know what the heck “fetishizing BIPOC” means?)

Others are the same tired cultural battles we’ve been fighting for decades. “Celebration of Columbus Day” is not white supremacy. Sports mascots are not racist. (Who names a team after something they want to degrade? Do these yahoos even watch sports?) Exceptionalism is not bigoted. Saying “we’re all one big human family” should be unifying (E pluribus unum, and all that), not evidence of some phantom prejudice.

We could go on but why bother? This is not a thoughtful exercise prompted by those who love our country and want to encourage racial healing. It’s the petty airing of grievances by angry leftists who want to classify every white conservative as a white supremacist and every black conservative an Uncle Tom. It’s political horse pucky, not cultural advancement.

SOURCE 

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Political correctness is most pervasive in universities and colleges but I rarely report the  incidents concerned here as I have a separate blog for educational matters.

American "liberals" often deny being Leftists and say that they are very different from the Communist rulers of  other countries.  The only real difference, however, is how much power they have.  In America, their power is limited by democracy.  To see what they WOULD be like with more power, look at where they ARE already  very powerful: in America's educational system -- particularly in the universities and colleges.  They show there the same respect for free-speech and political diversity that Stalin did:  None.  So look to the colleges to see  what the whole country would be like if "liberals" had their way.  It would be a dictatorship.

For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, GREENIE WATCH,   EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS and  DISSECTING LEFTISM.   My Home Pages are here or   here or   here.  Email me (John Ray) here.  Email me (John Ray) here
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