Is police work dangerous?

We've discussed the relative safety of being a cop as a backdrop to the constitutionality of cops in general, using the narrative of Roger Roots' piece Are Cops Constitutional? from the nineties.

Here's a more recent piece by Huffington Post: 9 Things You Need to Know About the Dangers of Being a Cop.

Must. Say. "Radical Islam"

Does "radical Islam" refer only to an extremist faction of Islam, or are we talking about all who identify with the Islamic faith? If there's any debate whether it means the latter, then I think it lacks diplomacy and tact and maturity, and a person occupying the Oval Office is justified in avoiding such inflammatory labels.

Context does matter. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) says the president should use the words, but Manchin himself isn't generalizing; he's speaking of acts of ISIS and some who evoke the extremist group, not the whole of the Muslim community.

Regardless of whether Islamic doctrine calls for violence, there are those within the community who strongly believe Islam is inherently a peaceful belief system. It'll be a fruitless endeavor to school people on their own beliefs, and in attempting to do so will undoubtedly ensure nothing useful is achieved in the campaign to end violence.

Maher turns on Bernie

Holy moly, when did Bill Maher turn into an apologist for RIAA, the healthcare complex and the entire edu-capitalist-rats?

Look, Napster didn't become the music industry's poster child equivalent of dining-and-dashing, but it did an effective job of revealing what an antiquated music distribution system we had. And it showed how to build one that made it easy for music fans to get what they want. And then Apple capitalized on it in a way that got artists paid for their works.

Free college? It doesn't have to be free, but how about NOT locking all the formally accredited knowledge of the universe behind a gigantic paywall? We're still waiting for Khan Academy to disrupt the corrupt university scams and show how inexpensive and efficient a 21st education can be.

Finally, healthcare cost, in case you've been living in a rich-man's bubble, is consuming the earnings of the working man … BEFORE HE EVEN GETS SICK! So while we're holding out for a Steve Jobs-style disruption to get us access to first-aid and disease treatment that leaves bankers at the curb, we’re going to lean on the government a little, if you don’t mind.