1.) There are studies being published that say that if you have Type A Blood, you have a higher chance of getting seriously ill from Covid19. The B negative blood types are breathing a small sigh of relief. I have no idea how the O’s are reacting. In any case, keep wearing those masks. The WHO says that pre-symptomatic people are significant spreaders of their disease. And if it turns out that B and O blood types get milder cases, we have to be even more careful of our A friends.
2.) I have no idea what helpful thing Trump could possibly say about race and police issues but this much I know is true. Trump never does anything if he doesn’t think it will help him personally. Trump is all about winning. So, how does he think he can win this?
Well, there’s a lot of unity right now. Lots of people are supportive of the protests and are horrified by police brutality that they have been witnessing.
Unity is bad for Trump. It’s not a winning formula. So, I’m going to guess that he’s going to zero in on the whole “defund the police” idea. I see that Biden has already distanced himself from it.
So, Democrats, let’s change this to “demilitarize the police”. There are all kinds of reasons to do this and the money saved from buying and maintaining paramilitary equipment, and paying out huge settlements for a paramilitary cop feeling his Cheerios, will have a lot of downstream benefits to the budget and from down regulating the domination attitude.
The good thing about changing the words is that you don’t scare the bejesus out of sensitive Americans who may be easily frightened by Fox News video loop of dead white women, child abductions and rioting.
Just a suggestion.
Filed under: General |
The Confluence 
Stephen Walt in Foreign Policy: “The World’s Weakest Strongman”
I have to say “Defund the Police” scares me, mainly because I don’t know what the hell that means. No police, fewer police, unarmed police, untrained police???? Now, “Demilitarize the Police” is something i understand and wholeheartedly support. Always thought the Patriot Act was overreach. Thanks, RD. I wish there was a rule that said, “Before you do anything stupid, check RD’s blog first.”
Or “Re-imagine the Police”?
“Demilitarize the Police.” That’s the ticket, riverdaughter. Tho it’s a lot of syllables for the average tongue-tied, inarticuate American gen pop. Also hedline writers hate long words. On the other hand, “Defund Political Consultants” makes a lot of sense.
I agree.
How about: “De-Militarize the Police”
That would make it visually more comprehensive.
And by all means, “De-Fund Political Consultants”.
Trump sees an opportunity, and wants to grab it before it is lost. So he will start with saying that Floyd’s killing was terrible, and that he feels very bad about it. After he finishes that, he will say that the radical Democrats want to defund the police; that if they win, there will be no more police, and law-abiding citizens will be at the mercy of vicious thugs. And that he will fight for law and order and keeping the streets safe from violent criminals, so that everyone can exercise their Second Amendment rights.
And some stupid TV commentators will praise him for a moderate tone, and say that he recaptured the strong ground, that people do not want their towns to have no police. I wholly agree that “Defund the police” is a terrible slogan. There is some evidence that it was started by Russians and right-wingers. Paint Democrats as radicals who want lawlessness and anarchy, and this has often been a winning approach for them, starting back in the 1890’s. And the people on the Far Left, which includes BLM, do not care if the Democrats win or not; they want something else, including their own sense of political power and in some cases, the end of the Democratic Party. “Demilitarize the police” is more reasonable, but what does it mean precisely? It has to be explained, and nuanced, which unfortunately puts one on the defense. I do not think that you win a national election by generally running against the police. What you do, is win the election, then appoint a good AG, and have him try to work with governors and mayors to implement some helpful policies in this important area..Running around yelling and spraypainting “Defund the police” may gratify some people, but it is a gift to fascists, who always promise to provide law and order.
In 1968, the Democrats were having to run with a disaster around their necks, the Vietnam War.
This time, the Russopublicans are running saddled with the disaster of the botched COVID-19 response and the resulting economic nosedive and the fact that the non-reactionary, non-authoritarian majority of Americans finally have had the last straw with the neo-Confederate minority, whose ideology has metastasized well beyond the original Confederacy.
The smarter Russopublican rats are looking to leave the doomed ISS Trump.
(Note: “ISS” is not a typo, but a Mirror Universe reference.)
Fornicate Tha Constabulary! 😉
Well, yes, I agree that the defund mantra is not helpful to win over moderates. I think it was yesterday when that lovely older black female congressperson was interviewed on MSNBC about a number of things, but was pointedly asked (with a clear message to her that it was definitely ok to oppose Biden) about Biden’s statement that did not support “defund” in a wholesale fashion. She did not take the bait. She politely stated that she agreed with Biden, that relevant reform could be had with targeted funding and regulatory directives. That is what we need. Indeed, reappropriation of funds to education, social work, and housing is very appropriate, but not to the point of alienating those in fear of anarchy. The risk to losing in November is too great. Legislation can go forward now and into the future, but that mantra is too risky.
Yes, lililam, you are right.