John Oliver on TV’s Law & Order

TV producer Dick Wolf created the Law & Order franchise in 1990 and, after more than 1,200 episodes, the show is still on the air today. The show’s depiction of the legal process is incredibly inaccurate, explains John Oliver. Just think: on Law & Order, the perpetrator is arrested in every case, and always gets a jury trial. Reality is very different. NYPD closes under a third of all cases (some say 5 percent), and 97 percent of all cases end with plea bargains, not jury trials.

______________
Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-Bed

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

 

Florida Police: To Serve & Infect

Florida’s pro-virus governor Ron DeSantis has invited vaccination-resisting cops fleeing vaccine mandates in other states to come and infect his state’s surviving citizens. He’s offered to pay unvacinated officers a $5,000 signing bonus. 58,933 Floridians have died of COVID while Ron DeSantis has been in office. So far.

This year, the number one cause of police deaths is COVID-19, not firearms.

In other Florida Man news, Florida’s surgeon general nominee won’t share his Covid-19 vaccine status.

More:

“As some police fight vaccine rules, DeSantis says Florida will pay them $5,000 to relocate: ‘We’ll treat you better,’” Andrea Salcedo, Washington Post

“Ron DeSantis Goes All In on Vaccine Skepticism,” Jonathan Chait, New York Magazine

“Covid has killed more active-duty police officers than 9/11 did,” Phillip Bump, Washington Post

________________
Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-xLT

Top image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

 

Felony Failure to Return VHS Rental Tape

“It was an honest mistake from a bygone era, but neglecting to return a Sabrina the Teenage Witch VHS tape rented 22 years ago earned an Oklahoma woman a criminal record for felony embezzlement.

Caron McBride, 52, discovered the charges earlier this month after she got married and applied for a driver’s license under her new last name in Texas.

She was told to call the Cleveland county district attorney’s office in Oklahoma, which told her there was a warrant for her arrest for failing to return the video of the children’s show that records indicate she rented in 1999.

‘I have never watched that show in my entire life, just not my cup of tea,’ McBride told Fox25. ‘Meanwhile, I’m a wanted felon for a VHS tape.’”

— “Unreturned Sabrina the Teenage Witch VHS leads to US woman’s arrest warrant,” Richard Luscombe, The Guardian

More: 

“Overdue VHS Tape From 1999 Leads to Warrant for Embezzlement,” Neil Vigdor, New York Times

“She never returned a VHS copy of ‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch,’ DA’s office said. 20 years later, she faced a felony.” Jaclyn Peiser, Washington Post

“Overdue Sabrina the Teenage Witch VHS Rental Leads to Felony Charge 21 Years Later,” Brian Cronin, CBR

______________

Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-x36

Image by Mike Licht (who knows the shop in question wasn’t a Blockbuster). Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

 Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Trump’s Capitol Mob Waved Pro-Police Flags, Killed Cop

The raging mob that Donald Trump set loose on the U.S. Capitol waved “thin blue line” flags and wore “Blue Lives Matter” T-shirts. They attacked police with lead pipes and mace, injured 60 police officers, and killed Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick.

Reminder: Donald John Trump ran as the Law & Order candidate; instead, he’s unleashed the “American Carnage” he swore to protect us from.

More:

“MAGA Mob Kills Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, Iraq War Veteran Defending Congress From Trump Rioters,” Pilar Melendez, Ana Lucia Murillo, Will Lennon, and Matt Taylor, BuzzFeed News

“Capitol Police Officer Dies From Injuries in Pro-Trump Rampage,” Marc Santora, Megan Specia and Mike Baker, New York Times

“Capitol Police officer’s death investigated as homicide; Trump’s legal exposure questioned,” Kristine Phillips and Kevin Johnson, USA Today

“Bleeding Capitol cop screams for help as he is crushed against a metal door by MAGA mob that stormed police lines and bludgeoned officers with stolen shields,” Snejana Farberov, Daily Mail

“The Mob at the Capitol Proves That Blue Lives Have Never Mattered to Trump Supporters,” Nathalie Baptiste, Mother Jones

“Rioters breached the Capitol as they waved pro-police flags. Police support on the right may be eroding, experts warn.” Marissa J. Lang and Peter Jamison, Washington Post

Updates:

“‘They Got a Officer!’: How a Mob Dragged and Beat Police at the Capitol,” Evan Hill, Arielle Ray and Dahlia Kozlowsky, New York Times

“FBI, NYPD told Capitol Police about possibility of violence before riot, senior officials say,” Ken Dilanian, Tom Winter, Jonathan Dienst and Andrew Blankstein, NBC News

“Video shows Capitol mob dragging police officer down stairs. One rioter beat the officer with a pole flying the U.S. flag.” Katie Shepherd, Washington Post

“New Video Shows Officer Beaten by Trump Insurrectionists,” TMZ

“Guns, Brass Knuckles, Homemade Napalm: Read Some of the Documents From Arrests After the Capitol Riot,” Andrew Beaujon, Washingtonian

“MAGA Mob Assaulted at Least 139 Cops at Capitol: Prosecutors,” Jamie Ross, Daily Beast

Related:

“Decoding the flags and banners seen at the Capitol Hill insurrection,” By Anne Quito and Amanda Shendruk, Quartz

“Decoding the Far-Right Symbols at the Capitol Riot,” Matthew Rosenberg and Ainara Tiefenthäler, New York Times

_________________
Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-wsl

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

The FBI Wants the Public to ID Capitol Insurrectionists. Here’s One.

In a statement shared online, the FBI asks the public to help identify the domestic terrorists who broke into the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday:

“The FBI is seeking information that will assist in identifying individuals who are actively instigating violence in Washington, D.C. The FBI is accepting tips and digital media depicting rioting and violence in the U.S. Capitol Building and surrounding area in Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021.”

They can start with Derrick Evans, a newly-elected Republican member of West Virginia’s House of Delegates. He bragged about the deed, and there are videos.

Since most of the rioters wore no facemasks, it shouldn’t be hard to find other insurrectionists. On Thursday morning, former Obama speechwriter Cody Keenan suggested that questing G-Men should look in the breakfast bar of the Hyatt Regency, two blocks from FBI headquarters. Reporters had been interviewing the seditionists in the Hyatt lobby for days.

Updates:

“US Capitol Building Riot: Justice Dept. Pursues at Least 150 Suspects,” Katie Benner and Adam Goldman, New York Times

“Who were they? Records reveal Trump fans who stormed Capitol,” Michael Biesecker,
Michael Kunzelman, Gillian Flaccus, and Jim Mustian, Associated Press

“‘Trump said I could’: One possible legal defense for accused rioters,” Teri Kanefield and Mark Reichel, Washington Post

More:

“West Virginia delegate records himself storming U.S. Capitol,” Cuneyt Dil, Associated Press

“W.Va. delegate, just sworn in, was among the mob storming U.S. Capitol,” Brad McElhinny, W.Va. MetroNews

“Remove House of Delegates Member Derrick Evans for Terrorism,” Change.org petition

Related:

Online FBI Tip Form

“13 federal criminal laws that the pro-Trump mob may have violated, explained,” Ian Millhiser, Vox

“People at the US Capitol riot are being identified and losing their jobs,” AJ Willingham and Carma Hassan, CNN

Ill-Wind-Blows-Someone-Good Department:

“Trump Supporters Gave D.C. Hotel Business Shot In The Arm Before Capitol Insurrection,” Jon Banister, Bisnow

______________
Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-wrz

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Why U.S. Policemen Look Like Soldiers

Why are the police bringing military assault rifles to political protests? Where did they get them? A Vox video by Madeline Marshall, Adam Freelander, and Dion Lee.

_____________
Shortlink: https://wp.me/p6sb6-v45

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

How Modern Policing Developed

Lewis Waller argues that the modern police force is rooted in Jeremy Bentham’s views on crime and deterrence, and the means of the powerful to protect themselves and their property.

_____________
Shortlink: https://wp.me/p6sb6-v3s

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Fingerprints

The first conviction based on fingerprint evidence was in 1911.But how reliable is fingerprint analysis? Dean Peterson of Vox investigates.

______________

Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-s4Z

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

Border Patrol Hiring Surge

President Trump plans to hire and train 5,000 more Border Patrol agents, 500 in the next year. There’s even a mobile app to recruit them. What could possibly go wrong? John Oliver explains.

More:

“Trump’s plan for Border Patrol, ICE hiring surges face timing, security obstacles,” Caroline Kelly Todd J. Gillman, Dallas Morning News

“The Border Patrol’s Corruption Problem,” Jeremy Raff, The Atlantic

____________
Short link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-qkU

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

FBI Director Comey Seeking New Opportunities

In a stunning act of ingratitude towards the man who made him President, Donald Trump has fired FBI Director James Comey. Maybe it’s a reflex Mr. Trump developed during his reality TV career.

Hey, this couldn’t have anything to do with the ongoing FBI investigation of the Trump Campaign’s Russian ties, could it?