Mr. Bradford’s funeral was today. Rev. Jesse Jackson gave the eulogy.
Apparently I’m out of touch on this one. Of course I knew of the fried chicken stereotype, and the idea of black people being trashy and poor and criminals, but I was not aware that the rest of these particular items were associated with black stereotypes.
Seems Newport cigs were highly marketed to and embraced by African Americans. Steel Reserve is a cheap liquor that was sold primarily “in the hood.” Not finding much on Funyuns or Takis, but the latter are spicy corn chip rolls, and so is probably related to the stereotypical love of hot sauce among black people. And there are also “flaming hot” varieties of Funyuns.
The twisted logic necessary to argue that civil forfeiture is not an excessive fine is sadly far too common.
Yeah, Newport cigarettes are pretty known for being associated with black people. But it doesn’t explain why white people would decorate a tree with that.
In the late 1980’s I paid more than double that in California for making an illegal left turn on a deserted* street at 1 am.
(* - almost deserted. There was a cop car in the far distance that sped into service as a crime-fighter.)
Montana is famous for its libertarian, rational laws regarding driving. For awhile, they had no posted speed limits at all on certain highways. I believe they have succumbed to more typical enforcement and fines.
My dad was driving the family west across Montana shortly after the national 55 speed limit was set. I don’t know how fast he was going, but he got a $5 ‘energy waster’ ticket for his trouble.
It’s also worth noting that going 120 down an entirely empty, entirely flat Montana interstate is entirely different than going 120 almost anywhere else.
Sure, and that’s the point. A reasonable, safe speed depends on all sorts of factors - number of cars on the road, number of lanes, daylight, weather, topography, curves, etc… Reducing it to a number on a sign that applies all of the time is silly.
Thank you!
It should be noted, though, that in Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, basically parts of all of the large, western states, there are stretches of freeway where you will not see a ramp for twenty miles. Blazing along at absurd speeds may be forgivable. But if you look at I-70 in Lafayette County MO, the ramps are a mile or two apart, which implies heavier traffic than in the wide open states.
Yet, a system that seeks to arbitrarily aggregate punishment does not benefit anyone. I could see taking away the right to drive, and forcing a person to sell their car, for that kind of bad behavior, but the justice system should be designed to work with people to improve their and everyone’s lives, not to foment resentment and needlessly turn people into criminals.
Another example of a cop keeping us safe by beating a restrained, and unarmed person. Great job.
Because they’re racists.
… the beating of a naked, unarmed and possibly mentally ill woman inside an emergency room triage unit …
What?
But how does being racist lead to that? Would they decorate a tree in their own house like that because they are racist?
Of course not. A few people see the tree in your own house. Would you burn a cross in your own back yard, where no one would see it?
I wouldn’t burn a cross, period 
But the only people to see the tree would be other officers. Like I asked before, white cops decorated the tree there in order to antagonize black officers? If they wanted to do that, wouldn’t Confederacy ornaments and such be better?
I just don’t get it. Of course, I’m not racist so maybe that’s why I don’t.
Not being wholly unencumbered by reflexive bias, that is not a statement I am comfortable making – especially when I hear used in a thou doth protest too much kind of way by people who are obviously racists (of which I am not accusing you). Being fair skinned and blond, though, I have come to reject “white” as a description of myself, because that word gets used almost exclusively by people who I want no part of.