The playoffs have not been good to us. Our Saints are out. Our Packers are out. San Francisco is still standing. On the other hand, San Diego is gone, which means an end to the stupid “San Diego is destined to win the Super Bowl because they played Philadelphia in the opening game” meme. And our Patriots are still standing.
But enough about us. After the jump, this week’s TMQ…
Neal Barrett, Jr., one of the great Texas SF writers.
Madeline Arakawa Gins, of Arakawa and Gins fame.
Gins was 72. Arakawa passed away in 2010 at the age of 73.
Edited to add: the Statesman published an obituary for Mr. Barrett. Bad news: it is behind the paywall and thus unlinkable.
Donavan Raynold Hunt, aka “Tanka 2”, is in custody.
Mr. Hunt was involved in an incident last November at a place called the “Quantum Lounge”. (The Statesman does not note if there are any cats in the Quantum Lounge, nor does it mention the living or dead status of said cats, nor does it give a position for said establishment. I think we can safely assume it has zero momentum.)
Anyway, Mr. Hunt was performing with his musical group, “Da Young Outlawz”, when they got into a dispute with some other folks.
“hit in the butt”? Are the Statesman writers and editors ten year olds? Couldn’t they have found a better word than “butt”? Perhaps “upper part of the thigh” as a homage to Robert B. Parker
But “in the butt”, Bob? Really?
Since I’ve started thinking seriously (as a grown-up adult, not a child) about criminal justice issues, I’ve maintained certain positions.
One of those positions is that the verdict of a jury deserves a certain amount of deference. Yes, I may disagree with the verdict the jury returns. But: they were there in the courtroom. I was not. They watched all the testimony in person. I did not. They were able to see subtle cues of tone and inflection. I was not. At best, what I am basing my judgment on is what I read in the newspaper or saw on TV. These things are subject to conscious and unconscious bias, as well as errors and omissions. How can I question the verdict a jury returns without all the information they had access to? George Zimmerman or OJ Simpson, I’ve always thought the jury should be respected.
But I’m having trouble reconciling that with the acquittals of Manuel Ramos and Jay Cicinelli in the beating death of Kelly Thomas. (Previously. Also previously and graphic image warning.)
How does a jury return a verdict that says hitting a man in the face twenty times with a Taser is okay? How does a jury return a verdict that says telling a man “See these fists? They’re getting ready to [expletive] you up.” and then beating him until he can’t breathe and his blood is pooling on the sidewalk is not, at the very least, involuntary manslaughter? What evidence did they see that we did not?
And is it a compromise of my principles that I’m hoping the Justice Department indicts Ramos and Cicinelli?
Fiat justitia ruat caelum. But what is justice in this case?
In some haste, because I’m out and about. But: as previously announced, and as everyone expected, Robert “Ratso” Rizzo, former city manager of Bell, has pled guilty to “filing a false tax return and conspiring to file a false tax return”.
Also as expected, Rizzo has agreed to “cooperate with federal authorities”, which is generally being interpreted to mean he’s going to roll on his former subordinate, Angela Spaccia, once she’s actually charged. (Tax charges against her are expected, but have not been filed yet.)
Also as previously discussed, it is expected that Rizzo’s sentence (which could be “up to eight years in federal prison and a $500,000 fine on the tax case”, though I am not a lawyer and am not clear if that’s within the federal sentencing guidelines) will be served concurrently with the twelve years he’s already serving on the other corruption charges he’s pled to. I’d like to see him serve more time, but this is still better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
Various news sources are reporting that the local cedar pollen count was 16,785 grains per cubic meter yesterday, and 13,340 today. For the record, these numbers are. (Records, that is.) This would explain why my skin feels like it is trying to crawl off of my body.
(“Why don’t you take some Benadryl, or a good anti-histamine?” Well, I don’t have any Benadryl, and I wouldn’t want to take it unless I was about to go to bed. I have an entire box of the good Zyrtec that I haven’t even opened yet, because, as scratchy as I am, getting the good stuff is such a hassle that I want to wait until I really, really need to use it before opening the box. Meanwhile, the Mexicans are purchasing pseudoephedrine in bulk and turning out high quality meth. Thanks, Obama!)
A Mr. Richard Feder of Fort Lee, New Jersey writes….
Lawrence made what I thought was a profound observation at dinner last night: every now and then, the NYT publishes a story that seems to be crafted in such a way as to make you hate not just the subjects, and not just the writers, but the entire population of New York City.
Let me interrupt here: where did the name “Henley Vaporium” come from?
They should have named it “Henway”. What’s a “Henway”? About three pounds, give or take a few ounces. But I digress. Jumping back to where we were…
“Vapologist”?
…the title was actually stitched on the breast of each lab coat…
Their parents must be so proud.
By a strange coincidence, “creamy banana” was also the flavor of the bubblegum cigars I used to chew when I was five years old.
You know, I try not to be judgmental about what people put into their bodies. And it does seem like e-cigarettes are less harmful for you than regular ones; if this is what gets you through the night, God bless you. But the “vape” culture that seems to be springing up around what is a replacement for smoking is starting to try my last nerve.
The city of Scranton, Pennsylvania has a problem.
How much?
The city already has a 5% tax on “live entertainment”, is discussing a 10% “drink tax”, and has jacked up parking rates. That’s going to help a lot:
I imagine a lot of those folks are going downtown and drinking in the downtown bars. Both of them. There’s only two left: all the others have gone out of business.
How bad is it? Many of the city residents quoted in the LAT would welcome a municipal bankruptcy.
Why not indeed?
Ah, the promise of the new year. Ah, the promise of Gregg Easterbrook’s first column of the year. Ah, the promise of the playoffs.
After the jump, this week’s TMQ…
This by way of a rather cryptic tweet from Popehat:
Fucking Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, how do they work? http://t.co/IoWI22Dsgw
— Popehat (@Popehat) January 8, 2014
(Sorry, Mom.)
Not being a lawyer, I’m not sure what Popehat is referring to here as far as the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, though I’m hoping it wasn’t just a play on ICP’s most famous quote and we’ll get a fuller explanation later. As a guess, I want to say that Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope may not have standing to sue, as it isn’t clear to me that they have actually been damaged directly by the government’s actions.
My mother sent the kids an email this morning:
No more gun shows, big Velvetta shortage. Makes me want to get a gun and the big box of Velvetta.
And I said, “Whaaaaaaaaaat?” I wasn’t aware there was a gun show issue. As a matter of fact, I’d checked the Saxet Shows schedule just the other night (while dining with Lawrence) and they have shows scheduled through December 2014. So I figured we were done with the bolshie bushwa. Right?
Wrong.
Here’s a report from yesterday. Basically, the county commissioners couldn’t agree on what to do:
Oh, look. By way of KLBJ, here’s a non-paywalled Statesman link.
And since licensed dealers at gun shows are already required to do background checks, that will accomplish…nothing. Except drive Saxet out of Austin and into someplace like Round Rock or Cedar Park, and reduce Expo Center revenue. Private sales between individuals are still going to take place, gun show or no show.
Perhaps some of my readers might wish to give Judge Biscoe and the other members of the Commissioner’s Court who aren’t Gerald Daugherty a call. I’d recommend being polite and professional. Judge Biscoe has nothing to lose, since he’s retiring this year. So perhaps you should also make a note on your calender for election time…
Jeff Ireland out as general manager in Miami, on the heels of the Mike Sherman firing. This is being spun as “by mutual agreement”:
106 individuals charged in a massive, multi-decade long Social Security disability fraud scheme. Included in the indictments are 72 former NYC police officers and eight former NYC firefighters.
More to come. I’m getting a slow start this morning, but I do plan a gun show post as soon as I’m able to get one up. Assuming Lawrence doesn’t beat me to it.
This story started breaking this morning, but I wanted to wait for the official word before posting anything.
Sheriff Baca and his department have been a frequent subject of coverage here, most recently as the result of 18 of his deputies being indicted on federal charges. But that’s just part of the story; Baca’s department has a long history of issues, including deputies beating the crap out of each other at the Christmas party, questionable hiring decisions, and questionable tactics. Browse the “California Uber Alles” category for more.
I have the feeling that this is another one of those “pass the popcorn” moments, and I look forward to finding out what happens next.