Irony defined: who enforces the enforcers?

I could be wrong, because I'm no attorney, but...

There doesn't appear to be an exception in the city's parking ordinance for non-emergency vehicles. And I've never heard an emergency overtime parking call go out over the police radio.

To top this off, the parking enforcement vehicle is parked under the 8th Street viaduct at the police parking office, where there were empty spaces available for parking enforcement vehicles a few feet away at the time this photo was taken.

The reason for no-parking zones is always for public safety. Where they're placed nearly always improves sight lines, making motoring safer in general. But restricting parking isn't just for cars. As the Federal Highway Administration points out, parking creates a visual barrier between motor vehicle traffic and crossing pedestrians, especially children and people using wheelchairs.

A "consensual stop" in West Des Moines, Iowa

A video posted under the channel name Frank Meadows shows police being scolded for stopping a man walking along a city street. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRjUt3n7Rh0)

The man, apparently walking to a Walmart in West Des Moines, Iowa, was flagged down by 2 police officers passing by in a marked patrol car. They were joined by another pair of officers shortly thereafter.

Officers Brian Ascheman and Jacob Sutton identified themselves when asked. The other two officers, Greg Warren and Clint Ray, appeared to remain silent when asked their names. Ray is the police officer who arrested Keilon Hill for harassment on October 29, 2018 while canvassing. (https://www.youtube.com/edit?video_id=Ox6qoW3sEFM)

In the video entitled "Harassed by West Des Moines police for walking" Meadows entered this description: "Walking out of hotel and instantly targeted by police. Thir attitude changed into smug condescension when I askef to talk to a superior officer. Smug, smug assholes."

"I didn't stop you. I asked you if you were okay," Ashman said. "Why don't you just get your sergeant here?" Meadows asked.

Meadows was openly videotaping the encounter and said he'd "kick it straight over to Vimeo as soon as we're done." At one point Ascheman ordered Meadows: "Don't put your hands in your pockets!" Meadows then offered to let the officers pat him down for weapons so they'd be "absolutely sure that you are not in any danger or fear for your life." After the pat-down Ascheman told Meadows, "Put your hands where ever you'd like."

While it's not clear how long the encounter lasted, the 2-minute, 45-second video presents a quandary: was Meadows detained by the actions of police officers? He was flagged down by police, was surrounded by 4 officers at one point, and was told not to put his hands in his pockets. On the other hand, Ascheman told Meadows repeatedly that this was a consensual encounter, was not detained, and was free to leave at any time.

When invited to leave, Meadows told the officers, "Actually I'm going to file a complaint because this is some kind of shakedown and it's bullshit." "I asked you a question, if you were okay, and you said 'yes,'" Ascheman explained. "And then you started asking me question which you had no business asking," said Meadows. "Can I not ask somebody walking down the street questions?"

"This one is going on YouTube and a couple of others," Meadows exclaimed. At the end of the video Meadows told the group of officers, "Pleasure doing business with you." "Have a good day" Officer Ascheman said.

Police Officer Brian Ascheman #229
5 years
2018 salary: $69,056.46

Police Officer Jacob Sutton #261
1 year
2018 salary: $18,871.20

Reserve Officer Greg Warren #16
11 years
2018 salary: $1 (Reserve Officers are volunteers)

Police Officer Clint Ray #234
4 years
2018 salary: $63,576.07

Sandy and the federal government's response

James Madison called and wants to know why people of the 21st century are having a partison debate on which of two presidents did a better job cleaning up after natural disasters when neither possessed the authority to do so. I hope it's OK that I told him he left us with a government that routinely exceeds its authority, with the consent of the least informed citizens.

It's interesting to watch this debate on the quality of the federal government's post-disaster cleanup in the affected states following Hurricane Sandy.

Isn't there something objectively wrong in expecting presidents to exercise authority of medieval kings?

On the floor of the US House of Representatives James Madison said he could not undertake to lay his finger on that article in the Federal Constitution which granted a right of Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.  (See the Annals of Congress, House of Representatives, 3rd Congress, 1st Session, page 170.)

Those objects of benevolence Madison refers to are compulsory levies imposed on the people with no other authority than the claim of prerogative -- authority we typically attribute to medieval kings, not a US President who is supposed to be constrained by a charter that traditionally limits government powers to the general welfare, of all the people.

Would we be having this conversation if government didn't routinely exceed its authority, with the consent of the least informed citizens?

In our society we have elected and civic leaders that fully expect the citizens to graciously accept their representations of the laws of the universe without question.  The people are well to let others do the important thinking, like judging the validity of evidence.  Critical thinking is not encouraged.

In science, well-founded ideas are advanced if they are open to scrutiny and are peer-reviewable.  But ideas of politicians requires a measure of faith and trust in their character.

The First and Second Amendments are there precisely because government is not to be trusted, but watched and held accountable by the people and their press -- with arms, if necessary.

Reynolds seeks to train predators

Credit: Hearst Entertainment
& Syndication

Punishing all decent people for the sins of predators is injustice for all and an exercise in futility for those who need to be stopped.

To think imposing sensitivity training on grown-ass men will prevent sexual harassment is to pretend we don't see and understand the modus-operandi of sexual predators, whom often openly devise identifiable traps for their prey.

KCCI 8 News' Eric Hanson and Elizabeth Klinge interviewed Acting-Governor Kim Reynolds on its local Sunday show "Close Up." They asked her what she felt her role is with respect to sexual harassment allegations at the statehouse.

On this issue I don't want to just beat up on Reynolds because she's the usual punching bag; her tactics and viewpoint are shared across ideological lines. But does anyone think sexual harassment is something decent men wouldn't understand without the state's highest elected official "setting the tone" and imposing training? That's theater.

I submit to you that we can't train away sexual harassment, that all of us have to expose it and remove the offenders, and grownups need to recognize and eliminate the traps predators devise to lure their victims.

I wouldn't waste one second trying to explain expectations to someone whom otherwise would engage in sexual harassment, or assault, or bullying. Leaders need to remove the veils and create an open and transparent environment that enables and encourages our best selves, individually and as a collective, to be on full display.

Ringless voicemail coming to a phone near you

It’s not enough that the race to the White House is a billion-dollar industry unto itself, if business & political interests have a say (and they always do) you'll soon be inundated by a sea of unblockable voicemails aimed at leveraging cash & votes for all manner of elected office -- under purported free speech guise, no less.

A political party wants to circumvent long standing telco conventions, the "do not call" list, U.S. law, spam filters, and frankly common decency, in order to foist marketing robo-call voicemails, en masse, into your phone, without it even ringing. It’s called “ringless voicemail” and this isn’t the first time it’s come up.

Get this. They’re saying it’s not disruptive because there’s no ring.

The tactic is of course being sought to raise money for their election campaigns and to placate business interests. Politicians have conveniently written themselves legal exceptions to rules others have to follow, and they’re suggesting the FCC carve out a ruling that clears the way for this new way to quietly force themselves into your life.

It’s yet another example of the privileged class putting their own interests above all others, at the expense, and to the dismay of the people who elected them.

You might have thought you had a right to be left alone, but the commercialized political machine is performing some clever acrobatics with the Bill of Rights and logic & reason by threatening the FCC with this bizarre rationale: “The Commission should tread carefully so as not to burden constitutionally protected political speech without a compelling interest."

Sadly for marketers voicemail is on the decline as a common mode of messaging, and forced stealth voicemail will likely speed up its extinction. People who actually know one another are increasingly more likely to use SMS or social media to reach out to each other.

https://www.recode.net/2017/5/23/15681158/political-campaign-robocall-ringless-voicemail-without-ringing-cellphone-republican

Convenience store robbery

Police say a small black handgun was displayed during a robbery Monday night. The Quick Star convenience store at 2701 Ingersoll Avenue was robbed Monday around 6:00 PM. Witnesses say a small brown vehicle was used by the perpetrator, which fled north on 28th Street. Officers patrolled the area looking for the vehicle. It's thought that a Chevrolet Cavalier that was reported stolen earlier in the day, spray painted gold could have been the suspect vehicle in the robbery. Case# 10791.

Speeding trooper versus citizen activist

Florence, TX -- Phillip "The Battousai" Turner observes Texas State Trooper Jim Kellert speeding. The following conversation ensues.

Trooper Jim Kellert (walking out of c-store, beverage in hand)

Hi, how are ya?

Mr. Turner, The Battousai

Hi. Can I talk to you for a second?

Trooper Kellert

I don't have much time, to be honest, okay? I'm in a little bit of a hurry, alright?

The Battousai

I just need to get your name and badge number.

Trooper Kellert

Why's that?

The Battousai

Just asking for it.

Trooper Kellert

For what reason?

The Battousai

Because I saw you speeding and I was just asking.

Trooper Kellert

Oh, you did? Um. Really? Oh, well, that's, uh. You're on foot here and I didn't see you along the road anywhere I was driving. Are you sure you got the right vehicle?

The Battousai

I'm sure.

Trooper Kellert

Hmm. And which vehicle is yours?

The Battousai

What's that?

Trooper Kellert

What's your name, sir?

The Battousai

I don't have to give you that. I'm just asking for your name and badge number.

Trooper Kellert

Well then I don't have to provide you with the information you're asking for.

The Battousai

You're really not going to give me your name and badge number?

(The trooper get's in his cruiser, shuts the door and starts the engine.)

(Phillip walks to the front of the car and captures the front tag, #06549.)

Trooper Kellert (stepping from his car, engine running.)

It's right here, sir. Come here. Now what are you driving?

The Battousai

I'm just asking for your name and badge number.

Trooper Kellert

And why is that? You didn't give me, uh, uh, a legitimate reason.

The Battousai

I said you were speeding and I'm just asking for your name and badge number ... so I can file a complaint, now.

Trooper Kellert

Oh. Very good.

The Battousai

You got a busines card?

Trooper Kellert

Yeah, whatever. I know which group you're with. And I'm also recording you.

The Battousai

You know which what I'm with?

(The trooper re-enters his vehicle and drives off.)

Watch the entire encounter on YouTube.

Chops, green beans and pasta attempt #2!

Last week I tried my hand at fettuccine after watching Jamie Oliver teach a class how it's done. It all looked so easy!

I failed. My dough was too dry, and therefore too tough to knead properly. I also didn't own a pasta machine, so my handcrafted results were thick, rubbery noodles.

Enter the Marcato Atlas 150 and another attempt at the dough and...

Ah ha! Fettuccine is perfected!
100g AP flour
1 lg egg + olive oil = 60 ml
+ 1 T water to 74 ml

Mixing this almost killed my $20, 10-year-old food processor, I managed it and it made the kneading fast & easy! Still, I'm putting the Cuisinart on my Christmas list.

Now the one-minute sauce: diced tomatoes (Fareway hydroponics, even), olive oil, butter, Italian seasoning, garlic, salt & pepper, cayenne.

I tossed a handful of fettuccine in boiling salted water. Then I added the oil & garlic to a hot pan. Next the diced tomatoes and seasoning by the seat of my pants. After cooking for what couldn't have been 2 minutes I dumped the noodles into the sauce. Some fancy chef type pan flipping and 30 seconds later I was sliding the colorful appetizer onto a plate. Tasty!

Next I cut open the seasoned butterfly chop & green beans that had been in the sous vide bath at 155° F for the past 3 hours, just hanging out & waiting patiently for me to finish my pasta. I seared the chop for a minute in olive oil and garlic, then plated along with my buttered green beans. The pork was tender and juicy, and with a pull of horseradish mustard I was back in my hometown.  lovin' life!

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.