Posted on 12/30/2015 12:23:44 PM PST by Kaslin
On Monday, when he announced that a grand jury had declined to indict two Cleveland police officers in the 2014 shooting death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty said enhanced video of the incident showed the boy was drawing what looked like a gun from his waistband. Although the object was actually an Airsoft pellet pistol, McGinty said, Timothy Loehmann, the officer who killed Tamir within two seconds of arriving at the scene, had no way of knowing that.
Even if we accept this account, it does not explain why Frank Garmback, Loehmann's partner, drove right up to someone he believed was a dangerous gunman, leaving Loehmann just a few feet from Tamir with no cover and no room for error. By ignoring the reckless approach that led to Tamir's death, McGinty managed to absolve the cops while implicitly blaming the boy for accidentally scaring Loehmann.
That exoneration by misdirection rounded out a year of audacious blame shifting. Some other highlights:
Choice of Wars. In February, after waging war on the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria for six months, President Obama asked Congress for its blessing while insisting he did not need it. Obama, who two years earlier had urged Congress to "refine, and ultimately repeal," its 2001 authorization for the use of military force against al-Qaida because otherwise "we may be drawn into more wars we don't need to fight," proved his own point by implausibly citing that grant as license for the war on ISIS. While criticizing legislators for shirking their war powers, Obama has encouraged congressional passivity by acting unilaterally.
Permanent Failure. Last March The New York Times, which is not usually considered part of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy, revealed that Hillary Clinton had relied exclusively on a private server for email while secretary of state, thereby avoiding automatic archiving. Six months later, having kept the issue alive with a series of evasions and misstatements, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee blamed a "drip, drip, drip" of "charges and claims" from Republicans.
Road Rage. Sandra Bland, who died from an apparent suicide in a Texas jail on July 13, never would have been in that cell if Trooper Brian Encinia had kept his temper after pulling her over for a minor traffic violation three days earlier. Video of the stop shows that when Bland declined to extinguish her cigarette, Encinia ordered her out of her car, grabbed her, threatened her with a stun gun, handcuffed her, and tackled her. He said she had only herself to blame for provoking him by failing to display the meek subservience he expected.
Buyer Block. After a gunman murdered nine people at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, last June, President Obama suggested the massacre might have been prevented "if Congress had passed some common-sense gun safety reforms." But the legislation to which he referred, requiring background checks for all gun transfers, could not possibly have stopped the Charleston shooter, who passed a background check. According to the FBI, he shouldn't have, but that failure was due to a bureaucratic error within the executive branch.
Consumer-Friendly Monopoly. Last July, when Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed legislation that would have privatized liquor sales in Pennsylvania, he argued that the state monopoly, which generally charges more than private retailers in neighboring states, is good for consumers because it keeps prices low. The claim was not only economically unsound, but inconsistent with another major argument against privatization: that it increases alcohol abuse by making booze cheaper and easier to obtain.
Cannabis Camera. Last May, a security camera caught cops in Santa Ana, California, munching on what appeared be marijuana edibles after raiding an unlicensed dispensary. The cops blamed the embarrassing episode on the camera, which they thought they had disabled. They argued that internal investigators should not use the video against them because it violated their right to privacy. A judge disagreed.
I live in New York and I didn’t know Pennsylvania Liquor is publicly sold. What do they have their own brand lol. I don’t understand. are there really state-run stores that sell liquor only? Sounds weird
Substance monopolies, like substance bans, can be defended only by embracing contradictory arguments.
One can purchase liquor only in state-owned liquor stores in Oregon, also. There are probably other states with similar situations.
Blame Shifting? Sullum here FAILS at correctly placing the blame where it belongs.
In the Tamir Rice case, blame goes to Rice, his parents, the BLM morons and thug culture in general.
The cops were correctly exonerated.
GREEN - State Control of beer, wine, and spirits
BLUE - State Control of wine and spirits
Light BLUE - State Control of spirits
ORANGE - Other
Wow. I wonder why there are so many in the northeast?
I wonder why it exists?
PA has a lot of blue laws still on the books, and controlling alcohol sales is one of them.
Of course it’s only still around because the licensed distributors have a vested interest and buy the votes to kill any bill to repeal.
It wasn’t until 1980 that you could even order alcohol at a restaurant on Sunday.
It’s the rotting remains of Prohibition, old habits die hard and the monopoly makes a killing.
wow! that’s shocking. I was born in 68 and didn’t know that.
THAT makes sense as to why they are still around.
MD = Rules on alcohol sales are determined at the county level. Each county is different.
Ohio did away with state liquor stores a few years ago.
Utah is one,but they do sell some designer beers.
FMCDH(BITS)
I live in New York and I didn’t know Pennsylvania Liquor is publicly sold. What do they have their own brand lol. I don’t understand. are there really state-run stores that sell liquor only? Sounds weird
I lived in Reading, Pa. in the late 60s, about 100,000 population and as far as I know there only 2 state stores, they were large and always busy. That happens if you have a monopoly.
Charge what you want to charge, be rude to your customers. What are they gonna do? They’ll be back, no matter how you treat them.
By ignoring the reckless approach that led to Tamir's death, McGinty managed to absolve the cops while implicitly blaming the boy for accidentally scaring Loehmann.
This is just what I've been asking. Why drive to within a few feet of this "dangerous thug"?
There's no good answer.
Grey=Freedom
Is funny statement for Illinois
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