The Assault on our Police
The View from the Middle
Police officers in our country have been under assault rhetorically and literally for the past three months, and most of that criticism has no merit. Abraham Lincoln once said, “if you look for the bad in people, expecting to find it, you surely will” and that mindset is what our law enforcement officers are facing today. They are the target of a relentless attack by the media and by left-leaning politicians that focuses only on negative stories and are often exaggerated or even totally false. As usual, false stories get headlines. Retractions are buried below the obituaries. I’ve never understood the symbolism of that practice until just now.
The Fayetteville City Council, in what can only be described as a politically correct move, voted to kill funding for two additional School Resource Officers and for the 4th District Drug Task Force. They also are working to stop construction of the new Police Headquarters. I can only describe this as short-term, politically correct, reactionary thinking. What the Fayetteville City Council members need is some actual data that tells the real story of what the police really do for the communities they serve.
One piece of data that was shared during their meeting is that young unarmed black men are disproportionately killed by the police. When you stretch that statement to say that they are twice as likely to be killed by police than their white counterparts, that’s when this charge veers into dishonesty. And when they suggest that these kinds of results are “epidemic” they are being hyperbolic.
In 2019, according to the Washington Post database June update, there were 55 shootings of unarmed men in the entire United States that resulted in death. Of that total, 25 were white, 14 were black and 16 were Hispanic or other. So, the truth is that young white men were nearly twice as likely to be shot than blacks. That is just a fact. It is also true, however, that African Americans represent 13% of the country’s population, but in these unarmed shooting deaths they represent 25% of the total. That is nearly twice their “fair share” so to speak. The media also won’t tell you that the trend for these kinds of tragedies have been going down since 2015 when the total tragic, unarmed, shootings of black men was about 40. From 40 to 14 in five years. We would love that to be zero, but you must admit the progress and hope for even more.
Is this an epidemic? People, who want you to think this is a plague, won’t tell you the raw numbers. While 14 young, unarmed black men lost their lives in police shootings, that number pales in comparison to the 8,000 young black men who killed each other in 2019. Now THAT’s an epidemic. And while Blacks represent only 13% of the population, they represent almost half (46%) of all murder victims. And finally, these murders are committed by other African Americans 94% of the time. Of course, this is true for all races. Whites kill whites, Hispanics kill Hispanics and Blacks kill other African Americans.
While there are things that white people can do to help reduce these numbers, even the brilliant economist and philosopher, Thomas Sowell, would suggest there is much that the Black community can and should do to help itself. In his book “Discrimination and Disparities”, Sowell strongly suggests that improved family structure and education are keys to addressing this epidemic. Never in his book did Sowell suggest that a reduction in the size of our police forces was any kind of a solution to this problem.
The other piece that is missing from this discussion is the enormity of the challenge that the police face. The total of 55 unarmed fatal shootings by police has to be put into perspective. Last year, the police had over 50 million interactions with the public and over 10 million arrests. And as you can imagine, the target of these arrests can be belligerent or on drugs or just plain abusive. The reality is, these 55 tragic results represent only .00055% of arrests that end up with this extremely regrettable result.
We need to keep the difficulty of their task in mind. Enforcing the law and having to arrest people who break that law is a difficult job. These are people that we ask to run towards the shooting and violence while the rest of us get to run away. We need to remember that these were the same people who ran towards the Twin Towers where 60 of them lost their lives that day and almost 250 more since from the poisons they inhaled as they did their work. They are the ones that ran towards the Pulse nightclub in Florida when the mass shooter took over 60 lives, and they are the ones that will run towards every school shooting, if our City Council will give them that chance. If the City Council and all of us don’t support our police today, I predict we will regret it in the future.
Are they perfect? No. Are there bad police officers? Sure. But there are bad people in every profession on earth. Are there bad, selfish CEO’s? Sure. Are there bad sales people (that’s what I did)? Yes. Are there bad, narcissistic, dishonest and even evil politicians? Absolutely. In fact, I’m going to suggest that we have a higher percentage of good, solid, admirable police officers than we have politicians of that same character in Washington DC.
Finally, there will be thousands of openings in police departments across this country this year because of the unwarranted abuse that we, the public, have been heaping on them over the last few months. Imagine a “peaceful protester” screaming insults at you just inches from your face. You know what they make. You know how difficult their job is! Are any of you willing to take their place?
Wednesday, August 26, 2020
Monday, August 24, 2020
Divided We Fall
Divided We Fall
The View from the Middle
I’m 68 years old, but believe it or not, I still play basketball a couple days a week, or at least I will when we get passed the coronavirus. My skills are a shadow of what they were 45+ years ago but I’ve been playing so long that I usually know what I’m supposed to do or where I’m supposed to be so that I don’t penalize my team too much. I don’t play because of the amazing athletic feats I can perform any more. I play for the exercise for sure, but I also play because I really enjoy the camaraderie. I actually like the guys I play with. I enjoy the teamwork on the court and the conversations between games.
It dawned on me the other day, however, that our politicians really want me to hate at least half of these very men that I enjoy so much. While we all share the love of the game, our political philosophies range from the far right to the far left, and of course I profess to be right in the middle. When we disagree, we debate the subject, but we don’t lose respect for the person. According to our politicians, however, if I disagree with President Obama on anything, I’m a racist. If I disagree with Nancy Pelosi or AOC, I’m a misogynist. These extreme descriptions are designed to divide us by making us question the motives of anyone with whom we disagree.
Is it possible for a person to be in favor of border security and improved legal immigration laws and not be a xenophobe? From the White House to your house we all build walls and fences to keep people from damaging our property or threatening our lives. Do we as a country want “your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free”? Absolutely! However, does anyone want criminals and terrorists to come to America? No. Can we work together to accomplish both? Of course!
Is it possible for a person to be pro-life and not be a misogynist? Consider that half of the million babies being aborted every year in the United States are female. Realize also that even a successful abortion surgery has a tremendously negative impact on the mothers of these children. Understand that only 50% of women in America are pro-choice. Are the other 50% of our women misogynists? Is that even possible? Can we protect women and the unborn at the same time? Yes, and I believe that’s what most Americans want.
Is it possible for a person who is in favor of charter schools and a voucher system for education not to be a racist? Did you know that members of Congress are four times more likely to send their children to private schools? Is it wrong to give that same choice to every family in America? My children have been out of college for almost 20 years now. I would recognize no personal gain from vouchers or charter schools. I just want more people to have the same choices I had when I sent my girls to private schools all those years ago.
Is it possible for a person who believes in traditional marriage, not to be a homophobe? Do you remember the mass shooting in 2016 that left 49 dead at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando? Do you remember the lines of people waiting to give blood for the victims of that horrible terrorist attack? You must remember that most of these people were heterosexual, because of the restrictions placed on gays for giving blood. We can debate those restrictions later, but the reality is that many “straight” people were giving blood in an attempt to support the gay victims of that tragedy. Are these the “homophobic” people our politicians are talking about?
It sickens me to watch politicians try to turn Americans against each other for political gain. Do you really think that the majority of Americans are misogynistic, racist, xenophobic, homophobic, Islamophobic bigots? I don’t. In fact, I believe that most Americans on both sides of the political spectrums are decent, hard-working, caring people who just want to pass a better America on to their children. But that positive image will not drum up the hatred necessary to divide us into the ideological camps that they think is required to win elections. I think that creating unity in America is a far more powerful political force, and I’ll give some evidence of that in my next article.
Unfortunately, I do not see an actual uniting figure on either side of the political spectrum today. So, if we can’t depend on our politicians to unite us, we’re going to have to do it ourselves. Understanding the true, positive character of the vast majority of the American public will bring us together. Then, unity and tolerance will drive the compromise that is necessary to produce the change and progress needed to really make this country great again. When we hear these extreme descriptions, recognize them for what they are, a selfish attempt to deceive and divide us. We need to punish these selfish, narcissistic, egotistical, smug, vain, pompous, prideful frauds (exaggeration intended) by voting them out of office for they do NOT represent America.
The View from the Middle
I’m 68 years old, but believe it or not, I still play basketball a couple days a week, or at least I will when we get passed the coronavirus. My skills are a shadow of what they were 45+ years ago but I’ve been playing so long that I usually know what I’m supposed to do or where I’m supposed to be so that I don’t penalize my team too much. I don’t play because of the amazing athletic feats I can perform any more. I play for the exercise for sure, but I also play because I really enjoy the camaraderie. I actually like the guys I play with. I enjoy the teamwork on the court and the conversations between games.
It dawned on me the other day, however, that our politicians really want me to hate at least half of these very men that I enjoy so much. While we all share the love of the game, our political philosophies range from the far right to the far left, and of course I profess to be right in the middle. When we disagree, we debate the subject, but we don’t lose respect for the person. According to our politicians, however, if I disagree with President Obama on anything, I’m a racist. If I disagree with Nancy Pelosi or AOC, I’m a misogynist. These extreme descriptions are designed to divide us by making us question the motives of anyone with whom we disagree.
Is it possible for a person to be in favor of border security and improved legal immigration laws and not be a xenophobe? From the White House to your house we all build walls and fences to keep people from damaging our property or threatening our lives. Do we as a country want “your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free”? Absolutely! However, does anyone want criminals and terrorists to come to America? No. Can we work together to accomplish both? Of course!
Is it possible for a person to be pro-life and not be a misogynist? Consider that half of the million babies being aborted every year in the United States are female. Realize also that even a successful abortion surgery has a tremendously negative impact on the mothers of these children. Understand that only 50% of women in America are pro-choice. Are the other 50% of our women misogynists? Is that even possible? Can we protect women and the unborn at the same time? Yes, and I believe that’s what most Americans want.
Is it possible for a person who is in favor of charter schools and a voucher system for education not to be a racist? Did you know that members of Congress are four times more likely to send their children to private schools? Is it wrong to give that same choice to every family in America? My children have been out of college for almost 20 years now. I would recognize no personal gain from vouchers or charter schools. I just want more people to have the same choices I had when I sent my girls to private schools all those years ago.
Is it possible for a person who believes in traditional marriage, not to be a homophobe? Do you remember the mass shooting in 2016 that left 49 dead at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando? Do you remember the lines of people waiting to give blood for the victims of that horrible terrorist attack? You must remember that most of these people were heterosexual, because of the restrictions placed on gays for giving blood. We can debate those restrictions later, but the reality is that many “straight” people were giving blood in an attempt to support the gay victims of that tragedy. Are these the “homophobic” people our politicians are talking about?
It sickens me to watch politicians try to turn Americans against each other for political gain. Do you really think that the majority of Americans are misogynistic, racist, xenophobic, homophobic, Islamophobic bigots? I don’t. In fact, I believe that most Americans on both sides of the political spectrums are decent, hard-working, caring people who just want to pass a better America on to their children. But that positive image will not drum up the hatred necessary to divide us into the ideological camps that they think is required to win elections. I think that creating unity in America is a far more powerful political force, and I’ll give some evidence of that in my next article.
Unfortunately, I do not see an actual uniting figure on either side of the political spectrum today. So, if we can’t depend on our politicians to unite us, we’re going to have to do it ourselves. Understanding the true, positive character of the vast majority of the American public will bring us together. Then, unity and tolerance will drive the compromise that is necessary to produce the change and progress needed to really make this country great again. When we hear these extreme descriptions, recognize them for what they are, a selfish attempt to deceive and divide us. We need to punish these selfish, narcissistic, egotistical, smug, vain, pompous, prideful frauds (exaggeration intended) by voting them out of office for they do NOT represent America.
Wednesday, August 12, 2020
9% of America has Already Died from Covid-19?
9% of America Has Already Died of Covid-19?
The View from the Middle
Would it surprise you if I told you that, according to Gallup, the credibility of all media outlets has been plunging since 2016? As Trump Derangement Syndrome poisons the coverage of the Liberal media, the credibility of the once “north star” of print media (the NY Times) has slipped to just 29% amongst Republicans. CNN and MSNBC have fallen even further as only about one in four (27%) Republicans find them believable. Among all adults, trust in the media has fallen about ten percentage points in just three short years. These are disastrous numbers for an industry whose stock-in-trade is trust. There are two storylines that the media have absolutely blown in 2020 that have only exacerbated their fall from grace – the economy and Covid-19.
Back in May, the media projected that America would lose nine million jobs and that our unemployment rate would go up to 19.0%. Instead, our economy created 2.5 million new jobs and the unemployment rate went down to 13.3%. The media, however, hardly covered these spectacular numbers and totally ignored the massive miss that their projections represented. They missed again in June and you would think they would have learned their lesson, but apparently not. Just recently, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced the July results, and wouldn’t you know it, the media underestimated the strength of our economy again. The US created 300,000 more jobs than predicted and our unemployment rate fell to just 10.2%, a full point lower than the June numbers and half a percent point lower than the projections. These consistent misjudgments are the kinds of things that destroy the media’s reliability and any appearance of objectivity.
Who is telling the story about these amazing jobs results, especially compared to expectations and in light of our attempted self-destruction of our economy. The media is certainly not covering it, so you’ll probably only hear this storyline here at the VFM.
However, in my opinion, the media’s coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic has bordered on journalistic malfeasance. While I have already admitted that this virus is a serious matter for America and the world, the media has reported on this disease in a way that has totally misled the American people. In a July 27th publication, the Covid-19 Opinion Tracker reported that the average American believes that nine percent of the US population has already succumbed to this virus. NINE PERCENT!!! That would represent over 30 MILLION deaths in the US when we have actually lost about 150,000. Now, 150,000 is a lot of deaths, but 30 million is 200 times the reality. The fact that the American public is that confused about the mortality rate of this disease is an indictment of the media’s slanted, sloppy and even dishonest coverage.
The media has convinced the American people that getting the coronavirus is a death sentence, when the truth is that somewhere between 99.5 and 99.9% of the people who actually get infected by this disease will survive. If this had been the storyline from the beginning of this pandemic, our country would have responded very differently and our results would also have been different, maybe better.
And, of course, the media is not even considering the long-term implications of the paranoid behavior they are inspiring. Brenda and I just got back from a week in Florida. Yes, Florida, and we’re still alive. We followed the rules and wore masks when appropriate and sometimes just to be polite to more concerned vacationers, but it was a very pleasant stay. On the way there, however, we saw some very disturbing behavior that will affect our young people for years to come.
At the airport in Northwest Arkansas, there are rules in place for adults and children over 10 to wear masks, and as I suggested earlier, Brenda and I complied with that rule. We did see a family, however, with three children, all under 10, who were all wearing masks, AND goggles AND face shields attached to giant hats to accommodate the face shields. What kind of story do you have to tell three children under 10 to get them to dress up in these “near hazmat” outfits. Certainly not the truth, which is that it is very unlikely for them to transmit this disease and, even according to virologists and pediatricians, it is extremely unlikely for them to suffer serious symptoms. Fatalities are almost non-existent. From February 1st through July 8th only 30 children under age 15 have died of Covid-19 in the entire United States. While this group represents almost 20% of the US population, these 30 deaths represent only .02% (that’s two hundreds of one percent) of coronavirus fatalities. Said another way, children under 15 are a thousand times less likely to die from the coronavirus than the general public.
What media outlet is telling the true story about the mortality rate of this disease, especially in children? What investigative reporter is exploring the long-term emotional, educational and even financial damage being done to our society by short-sighted, unscrupulous politicians and a misguided media, hellbent on panicking everyone in this country? Well, you’ve at least heard about these stories here at the VFM.
The View from the Middle
Would it surprise you if I told you that, according to Gallup, the credibility of all media outlets has been plunging since 2016? As Trump Derangement Syndrome poisons the coverage of the Liberal media, the credibility of the once “north star” of print media (the NY Times) has slipped to just 29% amongst Republicans. CNN and MSNBC have fallen even further as only about one in four (27%) Republicans find them believable. Among all adults, trust in the media has fallen about ten percentage points in just three short years. These are disastrous numbers for an industry whose stock-in-trade is trust. There are two storylines that the media have absolutely blown in 2020 that have only exacerbated their fall from grace – the economy and Covid-19.
Back in May, the media projected that America would lose nine million jobs and that our unemployment rate would go up to 19.0%. Instead, our economy created 2.5 million new jobs and the unemployment rate went down to 13.3%. The media, however, hardly covered these spectacular numbers and totally ignored the massive miss that their projections represented. They missed again in June and you would think they would have learned their lesson, but apparently not. Just recently, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced the July results, and wouldn’t you know it, the media underestimated the strength of our economy again. The US created 300,000 more jobs than predicted and our unemployment rate fell to just 10.2%, a full point lower than the June numbers and half a percent point lower than the projections. These consistent misjudgments are the kinds of things that destroy the media’s reliability and any appearance of objectivity.
Who is telling the story about these amazing jobs results, especially compared to expectations and in light of our attempted self-destruction of our economy. The media is certainly not covering it, so you’ll probably only hear this storyline here at the VFM.
However, in my opinion, the media’s coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic has bordered on journalistic malfeasance. While I have already admitted that this virus is a serious matter for America and the world, the media has reported on this disease in a way that has totally misled the American people. In a July 27th publication, the Covid-19 Opinion Tracker reported that the average American believes that nine percent of the US population has already succumbed to this virus. NINE PERCENT!!! That would represent over 30 MILLION deaths in the US when we have actually lost about 150,000. Now, 150,000 is a lot of deaths, but 30 million is 200 times the reality. The fact that the American public is that confused about the mortality rate of this disease is an indictment of the media’s slanted, sloppy and even dishonest coverage.
The media has convinced the American people that getting the coronavirus is a death sentence, when the truth is that somewhere between 99.5 and 99.9% of the people who actually get infected by this disease will survive. If this had been the storyline from the beginning of this pandemic, our country would have responded very differently and our results would also have been different, maybe better.
And, of course, the media is not even considering the long-term implications of the paranoid behavior they are inspiring. Brenda and I just got back from a week in Florida. Yes, Florida, and we’re still alive. We followed the rules and wore masks when appropriate and sometimes just to be polite to more concerned vacationers, but it was a very pleasant stay. On the way there, however, we saw some very disturbing behavior that will affect our young people for years to come.
At the airport in Northwest Arkansas, there are rules in place for adults and children over 10 to wear masks, and as I suggested earlier, Brenda and I complied with that rule. We did see a family, however, with three children, all under 10, who were all wearing masks, AND goggles AND face shields attached to giant hats to accommodate the face shields. What kind of story do you have to tell three children under 10 to get them to dress up in these “near hazmat” outfits. Certainly not the truth, which is that it is very unlikely for them to transmit this disease and, even according to virologists and pediatricians, it is extremely unlikely for them to suffer serious symptoms. Fatalities are almost non-existent. From February 1st through July 8th only 30 children under age 15 have died of Covid-19 in the entire United States. While this group represents almost 20% of the US population, these 30 deaths represent only .02% (that’s two hundreds of one percent) of coronavirus fatalities. Said another way, children under 15 are a thousand times less likely to die from the coronavirus than the general public.
What media outlet is telling the true story about the mortality rate of this disease, especially in children? What investigative reporter is exploring the long-term emotional, educational and even financial damage being done to our society by short-sighted, unscrupulous politicians and a misguided media, hellbent on panicking everyone in this country? Well, you’ve at least heard about these stories here at the VFM.
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