Can We Talk About Our Police Problem?

This has been going on for year, but nothing seems to be changing.  Every week brings a new incident of brutality or death of a civilian at the hands of police.  In some cases, it seems to be due to an intentional policy nationwide to escalate rather than deescalate any situation.  In others, it seems to derive from the hiring of sadistic racists.  And no matter how egregious, the local police unions will always produce an automatic defense of every one of these crimes, and attacks on anyone who questions them.

This cannot continue.  It may be that law enforcement will recognize the cliff it is heading over and implement better policies.  Or outside forces may inflict change upon them.  If they're smart, they will lead and retain some control over the changes.

These Problems Always Seem to Crop Up In the Same Geographical Region...

To complement the earlier post about public defenders in Mississippi, here is another from Louisiana.  When Republicans mismanage states, ordinary people always end up paying the price.

In a Just World...

...these clowns would be on trial or already on their way to prison.

Who Was Obama Talking To Last Night?

Here's a nice take by Charles Pierce on the President's speech last night.  Basically, he points out that his carefully reasoned points were wasted on vast swaths of the country that seem to think Donald Trump or Ben Carson (or Rubio, Cruz, Bush, etc.) are perfectly respectable candidates for the highest office in the land.

As he noted:
He seemed to be talking to a country that would never fall for the snake-oil being peddled across the landscape by Donald Trump, to a country where the architects of the current disaster would be in jail, and not unveiling statues of themselves in the nation's Capitol, and to a country that knows something about history and the way the world actually operates.  I would like to live in that country some day.  (emphasis added)

What more can you say?

Do Not Get Arrested In Mississippi (Unless You Can Afford Your Own Lawyer)

Here's a fairly shocking interview with a judge in Mississippi who considers anyone under arrest to be "a criminal," and does not see a problem with extended incarceration before granting access to public defenders.

Perfect

This post on LGM, quoting Siva Vaidhyanathan, perfectly captures the feeling rational people had during the weeks and months after 9/11.  Neither the attacks themselves, nor the insanity afterwards, had to happen.  Ultimately, much of the blame has to go to the five Supreme Court justices who decided that Bush should be given the Presidency.
But of course, being right seems to be of little value these days.  The morally corrupt people whose ineptitude allowed 9/11 to happen and who spearheaded the remarkably disastrous responses are still given a featured role on cable news, while the few brave voices who questioned the insanity remain marginalized to this day.

Accessories After the Fact

Every time police kill someone in custody (usually a black male), the local Policemen's Benevolent Association or Fraternal Order of Police vigorously defends the cops in question.  From this I infer that cops are not interested in prosecuting murderers.