Thursday, December 29, 2016

Good Cops and Bad Cops: "Lying on the Ground"

This was originally posted on another blog on August 30, 2015. And now it's here.

Seventeen year old Laquan McDonald had a juvenile record but was trying to turn his life around. He got a job and enrolled at a local high school in Chicago. On the evening of 20 October 2014, though, something went wrong. He took PCP and went out to steal from vehicles at a trucking yard.

The police responded to a call at 9:45 PM. They ordered Laquan to drop the knife he was using to slash tires. He ignored their orders and walked away. The police followed him through a Burger King parking lot and out onto a busy street waiting for a taser to arrive.

According to the official account a second patrol car showed up and Laquan again refused to drop his knife. The police tried using their cars to box him in against a construction fence but he punctured a tire, damaged a windshield, and escaped back out onto the street.


The police now got out of their vehicles, Laquan lunged at them, and one of the officers was forced to shoot him in the chest. He was pronounced dead at 10:42 PM.

This police version of events was simple and believable. NBC called it a "clear-cut case of self-defense. From the beginning though, eyewitness accounts contradicted the police version of events.

Alma Benitez said the police had the situation under control and had no need to shoot Laquan. Another witness said Laquan was "shying away" from police when he was shot, not lunging toward them. One witness described the shooting as an execution.

After the shooting police officers visited the nearby Burger King and examined the security video. When the Independent Police Review Authority tried to view this video the next day they found it erased.

***

[This looks like a book I will enjoy reading. If you beat me to it please send me a review I can publish here at AnythingSmart.

If you want to support "Anything Smart" just click on book links like the one below to buy your books. "Anything Smart" will receive a commission. Thanks!]


***

The medical examiner's report raised more questions. The police said Laquan was shot in the chest. The Medical Examiner said he died of multiple gun shot wounds. When the autopsy report was finally released four months later the public learned that Laquan had been shot 16 times. Nine of these 16 shots struck Laquan from behind and nine had a downward trajectory, suggesting Laquan was on the ground when at least those were fired.

The dash cam video from the fatal night has not been released but it was finally viewed by attorney's for the family in February 2015. Their description of the video differs markedly from the police story.

According to them the officer who shot Laquan opened fire moments after arriving on the scene. Laquan spun and fell into a fetal position with the first shot. After that, the officer just kept shooting. Family attorney Michael Robbins says "You can see in the video as he is lying on the ground, that he is being shot."

The video allegedly shows the shots fired from 12-15 feet away. Contrary to the police story the video does not show Laquan "lunging" toward officers but rather walking away at the time he was shot.

This description seems to be supported by the fact that, after reviewing the video, the City Council unanimously agreed to pay the family $5,000,000 to avoid a Federal lawsuit. One of the conditions of the settlement is that lawyers for the family are not allowed to release the video to the public.

The officer who shot Laquan is Jason Van Dyke. In the past he has been accused of using racial epithets, manhandling suspects, and pointing a gun at a suspect without justification. Van Dyke said he feared for his life that night, but none of the other five officers present fired.

The currently available evidence seems adequate to conclude that Van Dyke is a bad cop who shot too soon and too often.

For more information click on the links below.

Copyright © 2016 by Joseph Wayne Gadway

203

Monday, December 26, 2016

The North Pole Heats Up

According to this article (https://wwa.climatecentral.org/analyses/north-pole-nov-dec-2016/) the north pole was 23 degrees F warmer than average in November 2016. One of the charts in the article shows that arctic ice is down about 25% since 1978.

I think the critical questions about global warming are these:
  1. Is it really happening or not?
  2. Is it caused by human activities or not?
  3. Can we stop it or not?
  4. If we can stop it, how do we do that?
  5. If we can't stop it, how do we prepare for the new and warmer world which will include massive relocations of populations away from current coastlines, more overcrowding of interior living spaces, more violent weather, more infectious disease, breakdown of agricultural economies near the equator, etc?

Many people are still grappling with (or stuck on) questions 1 and 2, including some of our new government officials here in the United States.

Most people have probably, by now, advanced to questions 3 and 4.

I am very much concerned we might actually be getting close to a point where it's too late to worry about questions 1-4 and we need to get to work on question 5.

***

[This looks like a good book on global warming. If you read it before me please send a review I can publish here at AnythingSmart.

If you want to support AnythingSmart just click on book links like the one below to buy your books. AnythingSmart will receive a commission. Thanks!]

***

Copyright © 2016 by Joseph Wayne Gadway

Saturday, December 24, 2016

How to Deal With Biased Sources

Time is the great enemy of many things, including critical thinking. We just don't have time to think deeply about everything that crosses our path.

When it comes to the news, my opinion is that we should look at sources from the left, the right, and the center. If they all basically agree on a particular story you can be pretty confident of that information.

If they disagree on an issue that is NOT that important to you, then save your time, just accept there is a disagreement, and let it go.

If they disagree on an issue that IS important to you then GET TO WORK:

  1. Analyze the articles line-by-line.
  2. Where you find insults and jokes ignore them. They have no intellectual value unless they imply an argument in which case see below on arguments.
  3. Where you find opinions accept them as examples of freedom of speech and move on. Opinions also have little intellectual value unless they imply an argument in which case see below on arguments.
  4. Where you find factual statements verify them. Is there some authoritative source you can check? Can you check multiple sources and reach a conclusion that way? Facts are things you DO NOT argue about, facts are things you LOOK UP.
  5. Where you find arguments analyze them. What are the premises? Are they true? What is the conclusion? Does the conclusion logically follow from the premises? If yes explain why the argument is sound. If not then then expose the error in the argument. If you think you have a counter-argument construct it and share it to see if anyone can shoot it down.

What you should never, never, never do when you encounter something you disagree with is call it biased and ignore it. That is lazy and ignorant. It ensures you will not learn anything yourself and you will not help anyone else learn anything.

Thinking is important. Let's do it!

***

[Here is an excellent book on critical thinking. I hope you will buy it and hone your skills.

If you want to support "Anything Smart" just click on book links like the one below to buy your books. "Anything Smart" will receive a commission. Thanks!]

Copyright © 2016 by Joseph Wayne Gadway

Friday, December 23, 2016

Good Cops and Bad Cops: "Please be alive...."

This story was originally posted on another blog on 1-August-2015. And now it's here.

It happened in the pre-dawn hours of a southern Saturday morning. Corporal Adam Willis, a 10 year veteran of the Mount Pleasant, South Carolina police department, was out on patrol. He got a call about a car engulfed in flames near Vickery's Bar and Grill on Shrimp Boat Lane and immediately accelerated in that direction to help.

As Willis pulled into the parking lot his dash cam captured the burning car, the whole front end covered in fire. He came to a stop, grabbed his fire extinguisher, and ran toward the burning vehicle. He later said he was thinking "please be alive, don't be dead." In a subsequent interview with Fox and Friends Willis said he didn't really think about the danger, he just focused on the job.

As Willis approached the car the flames were so intense that he couldn't see inside. He used the extinguisher to drive the fire back and then saw an arm gripping the steering wheel. Willis later explained to an interviewer: "When you're in those kind of situations, there's really not much time to have emotion or to think about too much. Like I said, I went in there with a mindset that I was going to make sure there was no one in the vehicle. Once there was somebody, my mindset then went to: I gotta get him out of the vehicle."

[This looks like a great book about good cops catching bad cops. If you read it before I do please send me a review I can publish here at AnythingSmart.

If you want to support AnythingSmart just click on book links like the one below to buy your books. AnythingSmart will receive a commission. Thanks!]

The 27 year old in the driver's seat was unconscious. Fortunately, the door was ajar so Willis pulled it open and grabbed the occupant by the arm yelling "Get out!, Get out!" The man regained consciousness and, with Willis's help, got out of the car and ran for safety.

When firefighters arrived they told Willis that if he had been just one or two minutes later the story might have had a very different – and tragic – end.

The young man was heavily intoxicated and was taken to a hospital as a precaution. He was released an hour later.

Willis summed up what he did in a later interview: "There was nothing else going through my mind. Our training... you have these critical incidents that require just a bunch of adrenaline. It's more of a reactionary thing and that's exactly what I went through," and "That's part of loving the job – is being able to help people."

Corporal Adam Willis did a great job. He saw a dangerous situation and ran straight into it. When he realized someone needed help, he was there to provide that help. Adam Willis is one of our good cops.

For more information – and for video of the fiery rescue - click on the links below.

Copyright © 2016 by Joseph Wayne Gadway

188

Monday, December 19, 2016

Dealing With Our Irrational Minds – What's Your REAL Reason?

Some people seem to be irrational almost ALL of the time. Even people who are EXTREMELY rational SOME of the time are still irrational MUCH of the time.

I am no exception. I have to admit I often buy groceries based on which packaging appeals to me more. I'll buy something with a picture of a tiger on it, or a tree; before something with a kitten, or a flower. That's not very rational but that's what I do in the absence of other, overriding information.

In a way we have to do this. We don't have time in life to think hard and deep and do detailed research and analysis every time we make a decision.

So on minor decisions, go ahead and revel in your irrationality and go with your instincts or feelings and do what you want and don't worry about it.

Most people would agree, though, that on very serious decisions, with potentially serious consequences, we should be more careful in our decision making; we should be more rational.

A presidential election is very serious and certainly if we ever need to be rational it is when deciding who to vote into the White House. But how do we know if we are being rational? Maybe I don't like Trump because he wears his ties too long, or because his hair is... well... like THAT, or because a teacher criticized me in 2nd grade and Trump's nose reminds me of that teacher. Maybe one of these possibilities is the REAL reason I dislike Trump and maybe all my rational sounding explanations and arguments are just excuses and covers for that REAL reason.

Now first I want to say that I am being very serious here. I am not making up ridiculous examples. I think many important decisions in life are based on subtle, almost subconscious, reasons just like these.

I have noticed many times that if someone says I believe in A because of reason X and then you disprove X the person will say oh wait, the real reason I believe in A is because of Y, and then if you disprove Y the person will say oh wait, the real reason I believe in A is because of Z.... And so on.

The truth is they may not even know WHY they believe in A. They just believe in A for SOME reason but all the stated reasons are not the real reason, they are excuses or covers for the real reason.

A person might say they have three reasons any one of which justifies belief in A. That's fine. But if we disprove all three of those reasons and then they shift to other reasons we are in the same position we described in the preceding paragraph. It seems the person we are talking to is not giving us REAL reasons.

Sometimes these people may actually know the real reason they believe in A and not want to say it. Maybe it is embarrassing or socially unacceptable in some way. But at other times I think these people really DO NOT KNOW why they believe A. They just do.

I do not criticize this second group of people. They are following subconscious urges, as we all do, and trying to provide rational justification for their beliefs and actions, as we all do. They are just failing to get at the REAL reason, or even an ADEQUATE reason.

Now we get to the point of this little essay. I oppose Trump very strongly. It is POSSIBLE that my REAL reasons are buried deep within my subconscious and I don't even know what they are. It is POSSIBLE that something about Trump, maybe some gesture he makes, reminds me of the 4th grade teacher who infuriated me by making me stand in the corner.

If this is true, if my real opposition to Trump is based on one or more long-buried memories in my subconscious then I may NEVER know the REAL reason I oppose Trump. That is a possibility I have to accept.

But we still have to make decisions in life and in serious cases we need to be rational so what can we do?

Even if there are cases where we cannot be sure what the REAL reason is for our beliefs and actions we can still make sure we have an ADEQUATE reason.

An adequate reason is one that is strong enough to explain our belief or action, and that rationally justifies our belief or action, even if the REAL reason is something different that we don't even know or understand.

An adequate reason is also one that we are willing to apply to everyone, no matter who they are or what party they belong to or what our instincts and feelings tell us about them.

Here is an example. Why do I oppose Trump? I will answer in the form of a syllogism:
No one without government experience should be president.
Trump has no government experience.
Therefore, Trump should not be president.

And here is a second argument:
No one who praises dictators should be president.
Trump praises dictators.
Therefore, Trump should not be president.

If I say that these are the reasons I oppose Trump then if someone can disprove them I should stop opposing Trump. If these arguments are disproved and I stop supporting Trump then I can argue that my position is rational even if I don't know the REAL or subconscious motivations behind it.

If someone disproves these reasons and I continue to oppose Trump then either I am not being rational or, at very least, I have so far failed to prove my rationality.

One last point – the first line in each of my arguments is actually a value judgment rather than a statement of fact. Value judgments cannot be proven either true or false so maybe this is just another trick to support my irrational choice and prevent anyone from exposing my irrationality?

In the case of arguments involving value judgments we can demonstrate we are being rational by using the same standard to judge everyone. For example, if the Democrats nominate someone in 2020 and that person has no government experience or praises dictators and if I, nevertheless, support them, then you will know that my stated reasons for opposing Trump were neither REAL nor ADEQUATE.

If, on the other hand, I oppose that nominee in 2020 then that will provide support for the conclusion that my reasons are both rational and ADEQUATE, whether or not they are REAL which, perhaps only years of psychotherapy could determine.

***

[Here is an excellent book on critical thinking. I hope you will buy it and hone your skills.

If you want to support "Anything Smart" just click on book links like the one below to buy your books. "Anything Smart" will receive a commission. Thanks!]

Copyright © 2016 by Joseph Wayne Gadway

Saturday, December 17, 2016

LSS: What is Lean?

Lean is one of the most powerful business improvement methods ever created.
If you use Lean correctly your business is going to improve and you are going to be more successful.
If you don't use Lean correctly, and your opponents do, they are going to beat you and put you out of business.

^^^

So, what is Lean?

The simplest explanation of Lean is this: it is a method for eliminating waste from your business.

A Lean business is one that is continually striving to eliminate waste, continually striving to attain that perfect state where there is no waste at all.

^^^

So, what is waste?

Lean businesses remember the one fundamental rule of success: there is nothing more important than serving your customers. If you serve customers better than your competitors than you will succeed. If your competitors serve customers better than you then THEY will succeed and you will NOT.


If we remember that serving customers is the supreme goal of the business then remembering what waste is will be easy: waste is anything that does not serve the customer!

^^^

So, what is the result of doing Lean correctly?

If you serve customers with single-minded devotion, and you do it better than any of your competitors, than you will end up with more orders from existing customers, your customers will be more satisfied, more delighted, and more loyal, and you will have more new customers.

If you combine these customer advantages with having less waste than your competitors then you will be using less money and less time and fewer other resources than they do, which means you will be more profitable.

Therefore, the ultimate result of doing Lean correctly is higher long-term profits than your competitors.

^^^

So, based on all of the above, this is the definition of Lean I use:
Lean is a method for achieving higher long-term profits than your competitors by radically focusing on your customer's needs and eliminating all waste from your organization.

Many people refer to the proccess of implementing Lean in a business as a "journey" because it takes time. There is work involved and attitudes to change and many things to learn that may seem far from intuitive. But if you think the destination is worth the journey, and if you are willing to make the trip, then at least there is no doubt what the road is: the road is called Lean.

[If you want to start a Lean journey this book will help.

If you want to support "Anything Smart" just click on book links like the one below to buy your books. "Anything Smart" will receive a commission. Thanks!]

Copyright © 2016 by Joseph Wayne Gadway

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Good Cops and Bad Cops: "Who is supposed to help?"

This was first published on 18-July-2015 on another blog. And now it's here.

On 26 January 2015 Charlena Michelle Cooks – 8 months pregnant – was trying to get her 2nd grade daughter to school on time in Barstow, California. According to a school employee who honked at her, Crooks was driving too fast in the parking lot. The employee said Cooks responded by screaming and punching the employee's car.

A responding officer told her that, with no damage to her car, no crime had been committed. He said he would talk to the other lady and get her name, though he never asked the employee for her name.

After a short conversation with Cooks the officer asked for her name and she refused to give it. She took out her phone to call her boyfriend to find out if had to give her name or not. The officer told Cooks, "I have every right to ask you for your name."

The officer said he would give Cooks two minutes to finish her phone call. He must have changed his mind because within 30 seconds he grabbed Cooks, pushed her down onto the ground, and, with his partner's help, handcuffed her.
As the police grabbed Cooks she cried out, "Don't touch me!" As they pushed her onto the ground, on her stomach, Cooks screamed, "Please! I'm pregnant. Please stop this."

One officer asks her, "Why are you resisting?" and I can hear Cooks say on the video, "Because you're stupid." Actually that's a pretty good answer. According to an attorney from the ACLU, "Even if an officer is conducting an investigation, in California, unlike some other states, he can't just require a person to provide ID for no reason."

Coincidentally, the Barstow Police Department was just settling a case where they had arrested two brothers for refusing to identify themselves. The Department had to make a cash payment and do retraining which included instructing officers that people are almost never required to provide ID unless they are driving a vehicle.

When Cooks was charged, it was only with resisting arrest. If you get arrested, and the only charge is resisting arrest, something is obviously wrong. Somebody must have realized that Cooks did not have to provide ID and therefore could not be charged with that, after all. When she went before a judge even the resisting arrest charge was thrown out.

[This looks like a book I will enjoy reading. If you beat me to it please send me a review I can publish here at AnythingSmart.

If you want to support "Anything Smart" just click on book links like the one below to buy your books. "Anything Smart" will receive a commission. Thanks!]


So it would seem the arresting officer WAS stupid. Stupid enough to win a place in our bad cops category. He didn't understand the law, he didn't understand (or was not aware) of the retraining his department was forced to conduct, once the arrest was made he couldn't come up with anything illegal Cooks had done before the arrest, and, finally, what he did charge her with, was thrown out by the judge.

Later Cooks said, "I don't think I've ever been that terrified in my life.... I told him I was pregnant so he could proceed with caution. That didn't happen and the first thing I thought was I didn't want to fall to the ground. I felt the pressure on my stomach from falling and I was calling for help. But these guys are supposed to help me. But who is supposed to help me when they are attacking me?"

Cooks gave birth to a daughter on 30 March. The baby seems healthy but will be monitored to ensure she did not suffer any injury during her pre-natal encounter with the Barstow police department.

For more information click on the links below.

Copyright © 2016 by Joseph Wayne Gadway

137

Sunday, December 11, 2016

Comrade Trump: The Russian Candidate

Is it possible the Russians are finally getting what they have always wanted since the end of World War II, seventy-one years ago? A friendly tool, a "useful idiot," in the White House of the United States of America? Let's look at the evidence.

Russia Interfered in the US Election

According to Factcheck.org 16 U.S. Intelligence agencies and at least three private security firms have all concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election by releasing hacked information.

This conclusion was based on the methods, techniques, and software used by the hackers.

By October 7, 2015 U.S. intelligence agencies were sufficiently confident of their conclusions to release the following statement:

"The U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC) is confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations. The recent disclosures of alleged hacked e-mails on sites like DCLeaks.com and WikiLeaks and by the Guccifer 2.0 online persona are consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts. These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process. Such activity is not new to Moscow—the Russians have used similar tactics and techniques across Europe and Eurasia, for example, to influence public opinion there. We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia’s senior-most officials could have authorized these activities."


The Russians Wanted Trump to Win

If the Russians were just interfering in a U.S. election to cause confusion and demoralization that would be bad enough. But now we learn the CIA believes the Russians were specifically trying to swing the election for Trump and that is an order of magnitude worse.

Evidence for this conclusion includes the fact that hackers only released information on the Democrats and no information on the Republicans although it now appears they had both.


Trump Wants to Do Favors for Russia

These conclusions are not 100% certain. Intelligence assessments almost never are. But if we find corroborating or supporting evidence these intelligence conclusions become much more believable.

Did trump ever say anything during the campaign that would make the Russians want him to be president? In fact he did, several times.

[Unless something very unusual happens with the electoral college Donald Trump is about to become President. We better learn all we can about him so here is his first book.

If you want to support "Anything Smart" just click on book links like the one below to buy your books. "Anything Smart" will receive a commission. Thanks!]


He strongly hinted that he would be willing to consider dropping the sanctions against Russia put in place after they invaded the Crimea in 2014.

He suggested the U.S. might not defend some NATO allies.

He suggested we should give the Russians a free hand in Syria.

At one point Trump even asked the Russians to release Hillary's emails if they had them, suggesting he would not be too upset about Russian hacks if they were advantageous to him. He later said he was just being sarcastic when he made this statement.

He praised Putin repeatedly, at least once calling him a better leader than Obama.

All of these points can be quickly verified with an internet search. For a couple of them see:

Trump Wants to Make Money from Russia

But why would Trump want to help Russia? Is their some reason why Trump would do favors for Russia?

In 2007 Trump said "Russia is one of the hottest places in the world for investment," and that he planned to "be in Moscow at some point."

In 2008 Donald Trump, Jr. Said "In terms of high-end product influx into the U.S., Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets," he said at a conference that year, according to news reports. "We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia."

There is documentation of numerous Trump efforts to launch real estate projects in Russia which seems to be a longstanding goal of his.


Is it too Late to Stop the Russian Candidate?

None of this constitutes certain proof but we almost never have certain proof in life. We even convict people of capital crimes and execute with less than certain proof. For most things in life we only require a "preponderance of evidence" – a showing that something is more likely true than not.

So now let's put together the pieces of the Trump-Russia puzzle:

Trump has made a lot of money from Russia and he would like to make a lot more.

As president, Trump will be in a position to do favors to Russia to get support for his money-making schemes. As shown above Trump has even told us, and Russia, publicly, what some of those favors are likely to be.

Russia seems to have noticed Trump's offer of a deal. They responded to Trump's statements by supporting him and releasing hacked documents that would help him get elected.

So now, finally, the Russians have what they want. After working against U.S. interests all over the world for a lifetime they have finally found a "useful idiot," a man so obsessed with making money that he will close his eyes to the danger Russia poses and give then a free hand to do what they will.

This is a reason American voters should have rejected Trump at the polls in every state back on election day.

This is a reason the presidential electors should still consider carefully before they vote on December 19.

Copyright © 2016 by Joseph Wayne Gadway

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Trump is the Bull in the China Shop

Trump is not sworn in yet and he has already started disrupting world peace. So far as I know we still promise to protect Taiwan if China should attack but, to keep peace with mainland China we officially recognize them as the government of all of China including Taiwan.

Since 1979 the U.S. and Taiwan have been very careful to maintain ONLY unofficial relations with each other to avoid antagonizing China. As part of that "unofficialness" there has not been any publicized phone call between the Presidents of the US and Taiwan in 37 years.

Trump appears to be reversing that long-standing policy by having a phone conversation with the President of Taiwan. If China interprets this as an insult to its sovereignty that could put Taiwan at risk. It could also put US armed forces at risk if they are called upon to protect Taiwan from Chinese aggression.

Certainly we can hope that calm will be restored and nothing terrible will happen but it really would have been better, and smarter, for Trump not to take this call.

I am afraid there will be other incidents like this. I do not see Trump as a careful or subtle person, more like a bull in a china shop.

Found more details on Trump's latest embarrassment in this article:

[Unless something very unusual happens with the electoral college Donald Trump is about to become President. We better learn all we can about him so here is his first book.

If you want to support "Anything Smart" just click on book links like the one below to buy your books. "Anything Smart" will receive a commission. Thanks!]

Copyright © 2016 by Joseph Wayne Gadway

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Good Cops and Bad Cops, "Straight Into Danger"

This post was originally published on another blog on 12 July 2015. And now it's here.

On the evening of 3 May 2015 the American Freedom Defense Initiative, or AFDI – listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an anti-Muslim group - held a "Draw Muhammad" contest in the Dallas suburb of Garland, Texas. The event was located at a local school arena called the Curtis Culwell Center.

The contest offered a $10,000 prize for the "best" cartoon depicting Muhammad. These drawings are considered blasphemous by many Muslims. Underlining the AFDI's intent to be offensive, one of the speakers at the event was the anti-Muslim Dutch politician Geert Wilders. Because of the controversial nature of the event the AFDI reportedly spent $10,000 on extra security. There were private security guards, 40 police officers, and representatives of state and federal law enforcement agencies at the scene.

Regrettably, two men from North Phoenix, Arizona did decide to attack the event and drove 1100 miles to do so. Their car was loaded with three assault rifles, three pistols, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. FBI investigators later learned these men had prepared and practiced for this attack for months before it took place.

The attack occurred at 7:00 PM local time. The shooters drove up to a barricade in a dark-colored car, got out wearing body armor and carrying assault rifles, and opened fire on a security guard and a police officer standing next to a police car. The guard, Bruce Joiner, was quickly wounded in the ankle.

[Sadly, not all cops are good. If you read this book before I do please send me a review I can publish here at AnythingSmart.]

[If you want to support AnythingSmart just click on book links like the one here to buy your books. AnythingSmart will receive a commission. Thanks!]

The police officer, who was later reported to be a traffic officer, 60 years old, with 30 years of experience on the force, returned fire with his Glock duty pistol and was able to at least wound both of the men shooting at him. According to later analysis of photographs it appears the officer fired about a dozen rounds while steadily advancing on the shooters, starting about 20 yards out and ending up within 10 yards of where the attackers died.

An eyewitness named Cynthia Belisle said dozens of cops sprang into action. The heroic traffic officer was quickly supported by a 4-member SWAT team that fired dozens of additional rounds until it was obvious the attackers were dead next to their car.

Police spokesman Joe Harn spoke about the first officer to respond, "He did what he was trained to do. Under the fire that he was put under, he did a very good job. And probably saved lives.... His reaction, and his shooting with a pistol, he did a good job."

Several days after the attack the police chief praised all the officers involved "who put their own lives at great risk."

The anonymous traffic officer hero of Garland deserves our respect and thanks. Sadly, security concerns in our dangerous world, have prevented his name from being released. Even though we don't know this officer's name we can still recognize his great courage and service. When the security guard next to him went down, and the bullets were flying, and he was alone for those first few deadly seconds - he returned accurate fire, and apparently advanced streadily straight into danger until the attackers were down and the hundreds of people people counting on him were safe.

This traffic officer in Garland, Texas is a good cop.

For more information click on the links below:

Copyright © 2016 by Joseph Wayne Gadway

11

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Good Cops and Bad Cops: The NYPD Tapes, "They Came and Got Me"

[This was originally posted on another blog on 30 June 2015. And now it's here.]

What if you knew that senior police officials were breaking the law? What if you gathered evidence against them by recording their conversations? What if they found out what you were doing, then showed up at your apartment, arrested you, and had you locked up in a mental hospital?

That's what happened to New York City Police Officer Adrian Schoolcraft in 2009. And that's the story told in Graham A. Rayman's book: The NYPD Tapes: A Shocking Story of Cops, Cover-ups, and Courage.

[If you want to support "Anything Smart" just click on book links like the one here to buy your books. "Anything Smart" will receive a commission. Thanks!]

Schoolcraft started his police career in 2002 and did pretty well until Steven Mauriello took over the 81st Precinct in October 2006. Mauriello used a "...hands-on, numbers- and productivity-focused approach that was favored by ambitious commanders in the era of CompStat." CompStat was the NYPD's computerized system for tracking the crime rate in every precinct, and the "activity" of every police officer, in the city.

Naturally, if Precinct Commanders are judged by CompStat, they are going to do everything possible to keep police "activity" up and crime down – or at least give the appearance this is happening. Schoolcraft's ratings started to suffer as he resisted the pressure to increase "activity" by arresting innocent people and "reduce" crime by falsifying reports.

One technique used to increase "activity" in the 81st Precinct was called a "Mauriello Special" – find people loitering on street corners and arrest them all. Even if no crime had been committed these arrestees would be held for a few hours and then released. This counted for police "activity" in CompStat and would look good on Mauriello's job reviews.

To keep crime down cops were pressured to deliberately falsify reports. When a man named Timothy Covel was attacked and robbed the police wrote it up as "lost property." This same type of corruption was happening not just in Schoolcraft's 81st Precinct but also all over the city. Rayman provides numerous examples from other precincts.

One of the most horrifying cases was exposed by a retired Detective First Grade Harold Hernandez who arrested a sexual predator named Daryl Thomas in 2002. Hernandez discovered that many of Thomas's earlier crimes had been falsely reported as misdemeanors. This hid the pattern of what was really going on, delayed Thomas's arrest, and caused more women to suffer attacks – all to keep the "official" crime rate down in CompStat so Precinct Commanders would look good.

It was in this corrupt environment that Adrian Schoolcraft collected 1000 hours of recorded conversations documenting the crimes being committed against the people of New York by the very police department sworn to protect them. When the department finally became aware what Schoolcraft was up to they tried various means to pressure or discredit him. Most frighteningly, on 31 October 2009, they arrested him in his apartment and then had him held in a mental hospital for six days against his will.

One morning while he was there a doctor asked Schoolcraft, "Do you feel they are coming after you?" and he answered, "Well, they did. They came and got me."

This book could have been better edited; there are occasional errors that should have been caught and corrected before publication. The story is dramatic enough however, and important enough, to over-ride these small problems. This is a very important book about how a large police department can become corrupt and turn into the enemy of the people it was meant to serve. This is a book that should be read by every citizen of the United States.

Copyright © 2016 by Joseph Wayne Gadway

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Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Trump's Biggest Con

Yesterday was an incredible day in political news. There were at least five amazing stories all coming out at the same time!

First, after hinting at various ways he might avoid conflicts of interest in recent weeks Trump suddenly seemed to dismiss all concerns with his business dealings by saying the president CANNOT have a conflict of interest!

Of course, that is ridiculous. It may not be illegal for the president to be involved in business, but that involvement CAN produce actual conflicts of interest and those conflicts CAN actually be harmful to the nation.

As far as we can tell now, Trump is not going to worry about that anymore.

Second, in a bombshell story, it appears the Trump Foundation is admitting, on a federal filing, to self-dealing: giving money from the foundation to someone, perhaps Trump himself though we don't know for sure, who was NOT supposed to get it. This is one of the things "crooked Hillary" was supposedly guilty of and one of the reasons we were told it was so important to keep her out of the White House. There never was any proof that Hillary misused Clinton Foundation funds but now it appears we are getting very strong evidence that the Trump foundation has done exactly that.

Maybe even more amazing, just two weeks after the popular vote, Trump seems to be backing away from some of his most famous campaign promises.

During the campaign he vowed to bring back waterboarding, "and worse." Now, after a chat with General Mattis, he seems to be deciding that the use of torture is not such a good idea after all. I will certainly be happy if the US does not start torturing people again but this was a pretty firm campaign promise Trump seems to be breaking now.

Also, after denying the reality of global warming in past years and calling it "mostly a hoax" during the campaign, Trump has suddenly decided there is "some connectivity" between human action and global warming and he has an "open mind" about adhering to the Paris climate accords which he recently said he would not adhere to. This is another big shift for Trump, from more anti-climate change to more pro-climate change.

[Unless something very unusual happens with the electoral college Donald Trump is about to become President. We better learn all we can about him so here is his first book.

If you want to support "Anything Smart" just click on book links like the one below to buy your books. "Anything Smart" will receive a commission. Thanks!]

But perhaps most dramatic of all, Trump is backing away from his stern and scary campaign promise to put Hillary in jail. Now he seems to think the Clintons have suffered enough. Personally, I am happy to see Trump drop this threat against Hillary but how will his followers feel about it?

Now we all KNEW, or at least any open-minded person who wanted to know, KNEW, that Trump lied often about factual matters during his campaign. This was made clear by EVERY fact checking web site on the internet. What we did not know for sure, until now, is that Trump was also lying about his promises to the American people, specifically about the promises he made to persuade and energize his base.

Naturally, some Trump supporters are angry about these broken promises. The conservative organization Judicial Watch, for example, called his softened stance on Hillary "a betrayal of his promise to the American people."

But it's not just Trump's supporters who should be angry, his opponents should be angry too. With his lies Trump got people to vote for him who might NOT have voted for him had they known the truth. But looking at that from the other direction it is also likely that Trump's lies got people to vote AGAINST him who might have voted FOR him had they only known the truth. Trump bombarded the American people with false information and false promises and by doing that he polluted the decision making process for every single voter in the country - because every single voter in the country had to make decisions in an atmosphere of lies, without knowing the TRUTH.

If you get money by telling people lies that is a crime called fraud. If you get votes, and win an election, by telling people lies that is far worse – that is a betrayal of the entire country, and of the most vital democratic and electoral principles upon which the country was founded.

We can all hope Trump will do good things as president. We should all condemn the way he deprived the American people of the truth that would have enabled them to make an informed decision in the election.

For more on these amazing developments check out these links:

Copyright © 2016 by Joseph Wayne Gadway

Sunday, November 20, 2016

Trump Insults the Play "Hamilton"

Last Friday night Vice President elect Mike Pence attended a performance of "Hamilton" in New York City with his daughter and a nephew.

As Pence entered the theater some members of the audience acted appropriately - exercising their constitutional right to express themselves by cheering, while others exercised their constitutional right to express themselves by booing.

Mike Pence also acted appropriately by telling his young companions, "This is what freedom sounds like."

At the end of the show actor Brandon Dixon acted appropriately by asking Pence to listen to a few remarks which included a request that the new administration "uphold our inalienable rights and work on behalf of all of us." Then he thanked the soon-to-be Vice President for listening.

Once again Mike Pence acted appropriately by staying long enough to hear the actor out.

During a later interview Pence acted appropriately yet again when he said he was not offended by what happened at the performance, by calling the show "an incredible production," and encouraging others to see it. He also took the opportunity to reassure Americans that the new administration will indeed work for everyone.

In fact, the only person who did not act appropriately in this whole incident was Trump himself. He launched a series of tweets insulting the cast of "Hamilton" and demanding an apology for what he called harassment and insulting behavior. He insulted the actors by saying they could not memorize their lines and called the play "overrated." As he has done in the past Trump displayed his instability and immaturity by tweeting suddenly and rashly and then by deleting at least one of his own tweets as he apparently, and temporarily, regained enough self-control to realize he was embarrassing himself.

With his tweets Trump never even bothered to respond to the comment Brandon Dixon made. He never even bothered, as Pence did, to give reassurances that he will work for all Americans. Apparently insulting people for exercising their constitutional rights is more important to Trump than responding to legitimate concerns voiced by citizens.

Oh, and the Executive Director of the ACLU also acted appropriately when he said: "President-elect Trump needs a refresher on his high school civics class. Americans don't apologize — not even to presidents or vice presidents — for the lawful and proper exercise of their constitutional rights."

Copyright © 2016 by Joseph Wayne Gadway


[This great biography of Hamilton is the one the current Broadway hit is based on. If you read it please send me a review I can publish here.

If you want to support "Anything Smart" just click on book links like the one below to buy your books. "Anything Smart" will receive a commission. Thanks!]



Friday, November 18, 2016

Good Cops and Bad Cops: "My back was hurting bad"

This was originally posted on another blog on June 25, 2015. And now it's here.

On Friday, 5 June 2015, a pool party in Mckinney, Texas, got out of control. Uninvited guests showed up who climbed over a fence to get into the party and then refused to leave. A security guard called police who showed up about 7:15 PM.

The police response started out fine. Video shows a police officer speaking politely to young people at the scene. He advises them not to run when police show up and thanks them for returning a flashlight one of the officers had dropped. Then Corporal Eric Casebolt arrives - patrol supervisor, and 10-year veteran on the force – and the situation goes from calm and professional to violent and outrageous. As Police Chief Greg Conley later said of Casebolt, "He came into the call out of control, and as the video shows, was out of control during the incident."

Casebolt shouted, cursed, threw a teenage girl in a bikini down onto concrete, then threw her down again on a lawn and kneeled on her back. He pulled his gun when teenagers rushed forward to protest his abuse of the girl.

Her name was Dajerria Becton and she said, "He grabbed me, twisted my arm on my back and shoved me in the grass and started pulling the back of my braids." Adding: "I was telling him to get off me because my back was hurting bad."

Casebolt had to go quite far to get Becton and drag her back, since she was already leaving the scene as ordered. According to the teenager who took the video, Brandon Brooks, "I think she was 'running her mouth,' and she has freedom of speech, and that was very uncalled for him to throw her to the ground."

[This provocativally titled book looks like a good one. If you get to it before I do please send me a review I can publish here.

If you want to support "Anything Smart" just click on book links like the one below to buy your books. "Anything Smart" will receive a commission. Thanks!]



Becton was detained briefly and then released to her parents with no charges against her. Only one person was ultimately arrested and the charges against him were later dropped. By Tuesday morning, four days after the incident, the video of Casebolt going berserk had been viewed 9,000,000 times on the internet. That same evening his resignation was announced.

Police Chief Greg Conley spoke on Tuesday. He made no effort to defend Casebolt, instead describing his actions as "indefensible." "Our policies, our training, our practice, do not support his actions," the Chief said, and, "I had 12 officers on the scene, and 11 of them performed according to their training. They did an excellent job."

Casebolt's lawyer, Jane Bishkin, spoke on Wednesday when she said Casebolt had been stressed by earlier calls that day, especially two suicide cases. She said Casebolt "allowed his emotions to get the better of him." On his behalf, she apologized to all involved. Casebolt has received death threats since the incident and has hidden in an undisclosed location.

We can all sympathize with Casebolt for having a stressful day. We cannot condone his later abuse and violence against innocent people as a result of that stress. We can all condemn the death threats against Casebolt. We can also say that, on that Friday night in Texas, at that pool party police were called to, at that time and place where professionalism was needed, Eric Casebolt was a bad cop!

For more information click on the links below:

Copyright © 2016 by Joseph Wayne Gadway

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Monday, November 14, 2016

Trump's Victory Speech

In the early morning hours of November 9, 2016 the new President-elect, Donald Trump, gave his victory speech. Like most such speeches there were a lot of inspiring generalities and not much detail, but this was our first glimpse of Trump after he realized he was going to become the President of the United States and that makes these words especially important, so let's take a close look at them.

The most surprising thing about this speech was that Trump talked about "Secretary Clinton" rather than "Crooked Hillary" and instead of threatening to put his opponent in jail he praised Hillary for a "very hard-fought campaign" and said "very sincerely" that we "owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country."

This was a radically different tone from what we heard during the campaign. There is always some shift in emphasis after an election - we campaign in poetry but govern in prose as New York governor Mario Cuomo once said. Nevertheless, the shift in Trump's speech is pretty extreme: from "lock her up" during the campaign to "debt of gratitude" after the election. The name calling and legal threats during the campaign may have been just emotional appeals to whip up the enthusiasm of his base supporters. If that is true, we have to wonder how these people will react when they realize they were just being "played" in the same way they feel they have been played by every other politician. Maybe we'll find out.

With millions of other Americans I believe there was good evidence to call Trump the most dangerous presidential candidate of our lifetimes. We believe he is a clear threat to freedom and democracy and the fact that he has now been elected provides no new evidence to counter that belief. Even so, just as we should not mindlessly support a candidate, neither should we mindlessly oppose a president. I looked for good things in Trump's victory speech, things I can support while still keeping my eyes open for potential dangers, and here is what I found:

1. Bind the wounds:
In a common phrase from victory speeches Trump said: "Now it is time for America to bind the wounds of division.... To all Republicans and Democrats and independents across this nation, I say it is time for us to come together as one united people."

I can support bringing people together. We will have to watch and see how Trump intends to do this. Will it be done with give and take and compromises between opposing views, or will it be done by forcing people to go along with the views of the new president and his followers?

2. President for all:
In another good sign for the future Trump said, "I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be President for all of Americans, and this is so important to me. For those who have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people, I'm reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so that we can work together and unify our great country."

I can support efforts to be the president of all the people and reaching out even to former opponents for help. Time will tell if Trump can live up to these noble sentiments or if they are just the typical political rhetoric of victory speeches.

3. Working people:
Trump reiterated that his supporters form a movement, not just a campaign. "As I've said from the beginning, ours was not a campaign but rather an incredible and great movement, made up of millions of hard-working men and women who love their country and want a better, brighter future for themselves and for their family."

I certainly support building a better future for American workers. We will have to see the details of Trump's policies and examine whether they actually help workers or not.

4. Opportunity:
In his speech Trump promised that "Every single American will have the opportunity to realize his or her fullest potential" and "the forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer."

Of course I support greater opportunity for all and leaving no one behind but, here again, we will have to see the policy details and find out if they result in the intended consequences.

5. Veterans:
Trump promises that "We will also finally take care of our great veterans who have been so loyal...."

Certainly we can all support Trump on caring for our veterans and wish for success in achieving this goal. Let's watch what he does here and make sure his policies provide real benefits and are not just for show.

[Unless something very unusual happens with the electoral college Donald Trump is about to become President. We better learn all we can about him so here is his first book.

If you want to support "Anything Smart" just click on book links like the one below to buy your books. "Anything Smart" will receive a commission. Thanks!]

6. Economic Growth:
The President-elect says "We have a great economic plan. We will double our growth and have the strongest economy anywhere in the world."

I support efforts to increase economic growth that will benefit all Americans. Many people doubt that we will see growth much greater than what we have seen in recent years but economic growth is certainly a good thing so if Trump can do this without causing other problems, like inflation, we could all be better off than we are now.

7. America First:
The new President says "I want to tell the world community that while we will always put America's interests first, we will deal fairly with everyone...."

I have no objection, in principle, to putting America first IF we really are fair to others so we can hope for Trump's success here while also watching to make sure we don't cause harm to others in the world community.

8. Common Ground:
In a very good line Trump says, "We will seek common ground, not hostility; partnership, not conflict."

I wholeheartedly support common ground and partnership. Admittedly, during Trump's campaign there seemed to be very little of this kind of thinking but we can certainly hope he will attempt to govern differently than he campaigned.

9. Pride:
Trump also looks forward to a time when "hopefully you will be so proud of your President."

I support working to make people proud of you. If Trump is driven to do good things to make people proud of him then we can all benefit together.

10. Infrastructure:
In my opinion one of the best things Trump said in his victory speech was "We are going to fix our inner cities and rebuild our highways, bridges, tunnels, airports, schools, hospitals. We're going to rebuild our infrastructure, which will become, by the way, second to none. And we will put millions of our people to work as we rebuild it."

I support rebuilding our infrastructure. If done right this can provide jobs, put money into local economies where it is most needed, and provide capital resources to drive further economic growth. Typically, Republicans are loath to support this kind of public spending so let's hope Trump can persuade them to go along with this plan.

One of the doubtful claims made in Trump's victory speech was this: "It is a movement comprised of Americans from all races, religions, backgrounds, and beliefs, who want and expect our government to serve the people -- and serve the people it will." Does Trump really believe that his "movement" is supported by people from all races and religions? Polls and voting results seem to contradict this idea pretty soundly. And here is the danger: If Trump really believes that he has the support of all then maybe he will feel no need to reach out and win people over. That could be bad.

In conclusion I want to be very clear, Trump said terrible and dangerous and un-American things during his campaign. He promised to bring back torture and kill civilians, he promised to ban immigrants based on religion and to lock up his political opponent. He longed for more power to sue newspapers who criticize him and repeatedly indulged himself in childish and vulgar insults of anyone who hurt his feelings. He also boasted about groping women. Anyone who argues that we should forget these things and start with a "clean slate" is being irresponsible. The campaign Trump waged tells us a lot about who he is and we should never forget what we have learned about him.

On the other hand, we can HOPE there is more to Trump than we have seen thus far. We MUST hope that his administration will be better than his campaign. It is time now to live by the old saying about PREPARING for the worst, while still, nevertheless, HOPING for the best.

Copyright © 2016 by Joseph Wayne Gadway

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

A Determined Loyal Opposition

November 9, 2016
A Better World #1: A Determined Loyal Opposition

I worked hard to get Hillary elected. I spent hundreds of hours doing research so I could write blog posts and Facebook posts and send tweets and talk and argue. I even wrote a book, the first of my life, called Top 25 Reasons to Dump Trump. But Hillary didn't get elected. The American people spoke, and they chose Trump.

This morning votes are still being counted but one website shows Trump with 276 electoral votes to 218 for Hillary. The popular vote right now is razor close: 58,689,136 for Trump compared to 58,535,664 for Hillary. That's a lead, for now, of just 153,472 votes.

It's always painful to lose but for those of us who supported Hillary this is no time for depression or tears. This is a time to redouble our efforts to work together for a better country. This is a time to form a DETERMINED LOYAL OPPOSITION.

We have to be LOYAL by supporting anything that is good for America no matter where it comes from. If Trump proposes something that is good for our country we should give him credit and support efforts to get it passed.

We have to be OPPOSITION by watching the new president closely to see if he really tries to do the terrible things he has said he will do. If he does, we have to stop him if we can. If we can't stop him from doing bad things we have to try hard to blunt them - force modifications - to make them less bad than they would have been without our efforts.

And we have to be DETERMINED to understand why more than 58 million Americans voted for Trump and how we have to change our Democratic Party and our Democratic message to get at least several million of those people to come over to us in 2020.

The United States of America is a great country. Now is the time to work harder than ever before to KEEP it great and keep it moving in the right direction.

Let's get to work!

[Take a look at my book "Top 25 Reasons to Dump Trump." I wrote this book to persuade people to dump Trump. Now we can use it to remind us of the terrible things he said he would do if elected. Now we can use it as a checklist of dangers to watch for. If you find it useful please leave a review.

If you want to support "Anything Smart" just click on book links like the one below to buy your books. "Anything Smart" will receive a commission. Thanks!]


Monday, October 17, 2016

Is Trump a Winner? Or Just a Whiner?

Trump whining about "totally" rigged elections disqualifies him from being president in two ways.

First, he's lying. The election is not "totally" rigged. Is there some cheating, some of the time? Certainly. Is the system totally rigged? No , that's ridiculous.

And if it WERE rigged - a real, respectable presidential candidate would expose it in detail, with evidence, and proposed reforms, not start mumbling about conspiracies against him as Trump is doing.

Second, beyond the lie, is that we expect presidents to WIN, not make excuses about why they can't win.

Trump had every opportunity to present himself as a thoughtful, considerate man who would serve all Americans instead of using divisive rhetoric. Trump had every opportunity to win over the press instead of condemning them and threatening them. Trump had every opportunity to unite his party behind him, but by refusing to compromise, by refusing to even be polite, he ripped it apart instead. Trump had every opportunity to present carefully thought out policies instead of vague slogans. Trump had every opportunity to prepare as hard as Hillary for the debates, but he didn't. Trump had every opportunity to sincerely and deeply apologize for things he said in the past, but he didn't. Trump had every opportunity to stay positive and on message instead of attacking everyone he thinks is criticizing him. But he didn't.

Trump has committed blunder after blunder after blunder and we have seen this with our own eyes and his own campaign has confirmed it. If Trump does end up losing it will be because he threw the election away, not because it was rigged.

We need a president who knows how to win. So far all that Trump has proven is that knows how to whine.

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[Take a look at my book "Top 25 Reasons to Dump Trump." If you find it useful in persuading other people to reject Trump please leave a review.

If you want to support "Anything Smart" just click on book links like the one below to buy your books. "Anything Smart" will receive a commission. Thanks!]


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Saturday, October 15, 2016

Trump an "unprecedented threat" to Freedom of the Press

I have never been really worried about an election before in my life. Back in May I decided this one was different and I started working against Trump. Since then he has grown steadily worse and more dangerous.

Now, in the closing days, he grows ever more menacing. The Committee to Protect Journalists has now named Trump an "unprecedented threat" to freedom of the press.

How is this logic: If Trump is an enemy of freedom of the press than he is an enemy of the Constitution. If Trump is an enemy of the Constitution then he is an enemy of America. If Trump is an enemy of America then he is an enemy of all of us!

25 days left. Just enough time to DUMP TRUMP!

https://www.yahoo.com/news/committee-to-protect-journalists-brands-trump-an-unprecedented-threat-to-press-freedom-150620132.html

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[Take a look at my book "Top 25 Reasons to Dump Trump." If you find it useful in persuading other people to reject Trump please leave a review.

If you want to support "Anything Smart" just click on book links like the one below to buy your books. "Anything Smart" will receive a commission. Thanks!]


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