A few comments on the Ferguson riots.

- It seems that most of the people interviewed on TV do not understand that homicide is not a federal crime.  With certain exceptions a homicide is entirely within the jurisdiction of the state in which it is committed.  None of the exceptions are applicable in this case.  Therefore the federal government has no jurisdiction in the homicide involved and there is no apparent way that the federal government can seize control of the legal process concerning homicide.  A state grand jury begins to hear evidence today.  In the US a grand jury does not decide guilt or innocence.  It decides if there exists "probable cause" to believe that a crime was committed and if it so believes it indicts the probable culprit and remands him/her for trial on a specific charge.  If the accused is not a flight risk nor dangerous, bail is set and the accused is released until trial.  Because the grand jury does not "try" the case, hearsay evidence is admissable and in this case Wilson will be invited to testify.  This grand jury is said to be "diverse" and a Black assistant prosecutor will present the case.  I have served on two Virginia grand juries and IMO the system functions well.

- Failing that the federal government can prosecute Wilson for depriving Brown of his constitutional rights by killing him without sufficient justifcation BECAUSE he was Black.  This would be under the Civil rights Act of 1968.  To do that they, will have to convince a grand jury (in this case a local federal grand jury) and then get a conviction in federal court in St. Louis.  That might be difficult.  Federal law requires trial on a federal charge by a federal court in the state in which the deed was done and as close as possible to the scene. 

- The federal government (DoJ) can also launch a proceeding against the entire Ferguson city government including the police department for a "pattern" of behavior prejudicial to the constitutional rights of African Americans.  With that method they can seek a judgment from a federal judge that places a reorganization of the of the city government under federal control.

- The Obama Administration faces a difficult congressional election in November.  Aggressive intrusion into this local matter involving race is a risky thing for them to do. 

- Based on last night, the level of violence seems to be declining in the town.  If this continues that will make use of the "Insurrection Act" more difficult for the Obama Administration. 

- AG Holder has publicly declared that "the DoJ stands with the people of this community."  We probably know which community he is talking about and it is unlikely to be Missouri as a whole. 

- It is disappointing that the TV media are clearly siding with the mob and IMO are encouraging disorder.  A Black TV anchor today interviewed the Black mayor of an adjoining town and asked him what would satisfy "the people."  The mayor responded "arrest, trial and conviction."  The anchor responded with "excellent."

- As in the case of the mayor cited above, the Back lawyers, Black state legislators , and Black people interviewed on the steets,  it seems clear that many Black people do not want "justice" in this matter.  What they want is vengeance, and they are quick to say that what is implied is vengeance against all.  That is sad and it echoes exactly what happened in the Zimmerman case.  pl

Comments

[Cee]

Tyler,

I'm not the one whining for segregation and sounding like victim. That would be you and it's obvious that you have no luck and less of much else.
You're dismissed.

[Cee]

Col. Lang,

I was providing him a source of news more to his liking. Everything else is racist, liberal blather.

[Cee]

Col. Lang,

The story spread by one of the police defenders here was that he had an orbital fracture. That isn't true. All of the witnesses do say that he tried to pull Brown into the car and they struggled. The officers face may have been red ( nobody noticed that the time) so I want photos of what he looked like three days ago to see how badly he was hurt. STILL, this doesn't justify this shooting. He doesn't seem tempermentally suited for the job now, IF he ever was.

[turcopolier]

Cee

"That isn't true" How do you know that? Is this an assertion? It seems that you have a dog in this fight. pl

[turcopolier]

Cee

"You're dismissed." You don't "dismiss" people here. I do that. pl

[Edward Amame]

Tyler

Projection. Arguing on emotion and conjecture is your stock in trade.

[mistah charley, ph.d.]

In reply to fanto

"this kind of people are necessary to maintain order in any society"

I am reminded of the concert at which the German band Scorpions performed their perestroika ballad "Wind of Change" - in Moscow at a celebration of Security Services Day.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/sitemap/free/2007/12/article/scorpions-give-spies-a-perestroika-ballad/192123.html

When I first heard of this concert, I was initially surprised that KGB guys would want to hear this song, but as our host Colonel Lang has pointed out, it's all done with people, and people are complicated. The guys you saw on the Metro, and the cops on the street, and the TSA, and the drone pilots bombing what turn out to be wedding parties on the other side of the world - all are doing what they feel they should, or they must, or is called for by the situation.

On the other hand, sometimes people gain a new perspective which affects how they think and feel and act from that point onward. In extreme cases, this could be called "conversion". United States Marine Corps Major General and two time Medal of Honor recipient Smedley D. Butler wrote his book "War is a Racket", for example.

As individuals and in larger associations we can try to be good citizens, as we understand it, and part of this involves engaging others in discourse about what is happening and what could and should be done about it - hence this Committee of Correspondence. If we are not in a position to influence others by bribes or threats, this can be frustrating. In the final analysis, the part of the world that we have the best chance of controlling is ourselves - and this is a lifelong challenge.

[turcopolier]

fanto

So, you are a German immigrant to the US. No, you don't live in East St. Louis. you live in Belleville, Illinois just to the south of East St. Louis. I was trying to be be polite. Be advised that if you continue your passive aggressive tone toward me you will lose your place here. pl

[Matthew]

Fred & Tyler: In "The Divide" author Matt Taibbi has entire chapters devoted to the ridiculousness of Holder's "prosecution" of banks." Holder has mainly targeted the weak banks or foreign banks. The fines on BofA and GS and SAC Capital are a minute fraction of the damage they caused--or of the profits they made.

And the BofA is paying most for the sins of its acquisition, Merrill Lynch.

Until Holder starts clawing back banker bonuses, it's all smoke and mirrors.

[Tyler]

EA,

This is amazing considering you have yet to post one factual comment that wasn't bitchy sniping or "Views from a Gated Community".

Acting as if arguing sans any emotion is the highest goal doesn't make you sound like a Stoic, it makes you sound autistic.

[Tyler]

Cee,

LOL typical lib. Can't face reality.

Here's the reports you dork.

http://nypost.com/2014/08/19/cop-involved-in-ferguson-shooting-has-fractured-eye-socket-report/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/08/21/darren-wilson-had-an-eye-bone-fracture-after-scuffle-with-michael-brown-family-friend-says/

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/08/20/missouri-cop-was-badly-beaten-before-shooting-michael-brown-says-source/

Is Soros paying for trolls to confuse the issue now, taking a page from the Hasbara handbook? I'm seeing you guys on all blogs across the internet with the exact same "Talking points". Must be good work, if you can get it.

[turcopolier]

Tyler

"Is Soros paying for trolls to confuse the issue now, taking a page from the Hasbara handbook? I'm seeing you guys on all blogs across the internet with the exact same "Talking points". " It is quite obvious that some here are trolls of one type or another. They sometimes lie in wait for extended periods hoping to build credibility but my Trolldar is well develople by now. Charles Bird has hifdden both his IP address and e-mail address. He has been warned. pl pl

[optimax]

Stephanie

Attacking a policeman and bum rushing him is a good sign Brown was going off the rails. Also some of his rap lyrics are violent. This could be considered artistic license, I find it to be a self-destructive mentality.

Eyewitness accounts have been proven statistically to be unreliable. DNA evidence has freed many convicts from jail who were convicted on mostly eyewitness evidence. Most of the pro-Brown witnesses have lawyered up and gone on tv. How much money and how many emotional strokes do they get for that? I find their testimony suspect. Those that counter the group-think sanctioned narrative would be pariahs in their community and are wise to not talk to the cameras. Rumor--and so much is rumor in Ferguson-- has it that the police have interviewed many that confirm the officer's side of the story. We will have to wait for the grand jury to see.

The idea that Officer Wilson tried to pull Michael Brown into the patrol car is beyond absurd. The most dangerous place to fight is in a confined space like a car. No trained policeman would attempt such a thing and calls into question of objectivity of the witness.

[fanto]

Mistah Charely, phD - thank for your comment. Another person who made the 'conversion' was Howard Zinn, who used to bomb Vietcong from 10,000 feet and later in life he saw it differently. There are countless former worriors, who make this conversion and later on do not talk much about the war experience, this 'phenomenon' has been commented on in this blog before; mostly the armchair worriors like to tell stories from the war.

[fanto]

Colonel, Sir - I was not being passive aggressive, but a little miffed by your overtly aggressive and ironic tone "..the hell you did not." "i see marxist." etc. I will therefore quit commenting in this forum, even if most of the time it is worth reading.

[mistah charley, ph.d.]

In reply to fanto

Zinn was a bombardier in World War II, actually. He went back to some of the places he bombed to see what actually happened. See Wikipedia for further details.

[Tyler]

Sir,

Great minds, they think alike.

[Tyler]

Kyle,

Actually no, its not.

Here's the Arizona redistricting plan.

http://verdenews.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&ArticleID=45367

http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2014/03/31/politics-surround-az-redistricting-process/

But yeah its all those evil Rethuglicans and Faux News. Tell me more about how its those "other progressives" demanding abortions on demand and us to go to war with Russia because of LBGTBBQWTF "Rights".

[Tyler]

Kao,

Tejanos are a different breed entirely. Some of them have owned land in the family since Texas was part of Mexico and have relatives that fought in the Texas War of Independence. I've known abuelas that don't think the Irish are really "American", and look at the recent illegals as peasants who need to "Stay on their side of the river".

Asians are simply grabbing up as much of the racial spoils system as possible, since the Republicans have ceded the field because they're terrified of being called rayciss. Right now the Democratic caucus is held together by "Hate Whitey" glue, which is why we see these insane incidents getting stirred up by the media every election year.

When there ain't enough gimmedats to go around, the knives will come out in the Democratic Party. We saw what happened in Koreatown during the riots when things get wacky among the ethnic coalition.

[Tyler]

Cee,

I'm not the one insisting that John Coffey din do nuffins when he was shot attacking a police officer.

Show me the black run city that whites are just flocking to get into, as opposed to the usual blacks following whites like locusts where ever they go.

[Fred]

Meanwhile in Texas a police officer is shot and killed during a traffic stop. Lets see the MSM and the AG call for justice:
http://news.yahoo.com/texas-police-chief-shot-dead-during-traffic-stop-041459378.html

[Kyle Pearson]

The number of Latinos who vote Democratic in Texas is nearly twice the number of Latinos who vote Republican.

Largely, the difference is attributable to ancestral backround (European vs. indigenous/mestizo) and economic background (land owners vs. peasants). That is: the same difference as one will find anywhere else in the US.

Tyler is wrong, however, about Tejanos "being a breed apart." All of the features he ascribes to "Tejanos" hold just as true for Latinos throughout the South West and on up into N. California.

The truth is that Tejanos "are a breed apart" because Texas has historically been quite more brutal and vicious about stealing their land and murdering them. This behavior carried up on into the middle of the last century.

[Kyle Pearson]

In reply to Tyler:

A) Progressives have largely rejected the current direction of anti-Russian rhetoric. Clinton and her clique are not part of the Progressive caucus.

B) Yes: 60% to 70% of Faux News has been shown to be outright, demonstrable falsehood. That's not "news," and that's certainly something it can - and should - be faulted for. Anyone who watches that trash and uncritically offers it up as a source of information is being irresponsible, and - frankly - needs to have his or her head examined.

C) I'm not sure what you mean by "abortion on demand." What i am certain of, however, is that i wouldn't want someone like you anywhere near my daughter, sister, mother, or lover -- and certainly not wielding any kind of veto power, whether doctor, nurse, or whatever - when she is considering the need for an abortion.