President Biden: The NEW one and only politics thread

There were 708,001 U.S. law enforcement officers in 2022, up from 660,288 in 2021.

U.S. law enforcement officers 2022 | Statista

 

No. but the idea that they’re being forced to work with one hand tied behind their backs is ridiculous.

 

I just know in my metro area we've lost about 200 full-time police.

 

Who's saying that?

 

Policing is a difficult job, especially if the officer tries to do it well. It in general has excellent pension benefits. There's a huge and less stressful private security industry in the private sector. There's unemployment under four perccent and wages are rising. All these factors contribute to police leaving their jobs. The ones who say it's because of BLM and such are mostly just seeking a reason for leaving that suits their political priors rather than just, "well, it's a logical thing to do."

 

@Smallpotatoes

Shaquille O'Neal was a sworn reserve officer and committed some terrible crimes from the free-throw line. So there is that.

 

You’re fired.

 

Even though most of the ethics I learned in journalism school have been beaten out of me by the working world, “objectively” still hangs on as an ideal in my personal life. I say “ideal” because pure objectivity is likely unattainable. Still, operating free of undue bias or influence should be my goal.

Because of that I question from time to time my lack of regard for Trump. My wife, who lived in New York in the late 80s and tends to be pro-immigrant partially because she lived in Spain for seven years, hates Trump with a passion I usually reserve for people who block grocery aisles with their carts, stopping traffic in both directions. I get my news from what I consider fairly neutral sources (NPA, Washington Post, New York Times, PBS), but I realize that I’m rarely seek sources that would be more likely be favorable to Trump.

On the other hand, I’ve grown a bit weary of the “This ( insert latest outrageous quote or incident here) will be the end of Trump!” or “If Trump is re-elected, you’d better start stockpiling cigarettes to trade for food in the gulag!” screeds.

The usual sort-of-sane political debates are more difficult because the Republican Party has abandoned many of its longstanding platform planks (international strength, keeping the Soviet Union/Russia in check, support for law and order, etc.), while the Democrats, hampered by their usual disarray on the federal level, have switched to championing some of those issues.

The GOP seems to have adopted “Whatever Trump wants” as their principle and I might be further negatively swayed by some of the GOP leaders in my state attempts to be mini Trumps. The Democrats sometimes grow dangerously close to making “Stop Trump” as their only issue.

When I weigh established facts, such as Jan. 6, Trump’s self-centered life, Trump’s hypocrisy, Trump’s outrageous speech against others, I know I couldn’t cast a vote for him. But I’m less certain the extent of damage that a Trump second term might bring. I like to think that the long-established U.S. representative republic is strong enough to endure. I’m trying to decide if my even pondering that there might be irreversible damage might be the result of the sorts of facts and opinions I tend to encounter. But, then again, when assessed from a more “objective” stance, I think it’s likely there’s danger there.

 

Which has what to do with anything?Look, I’m just fucking sick of the talking points. Fentanyl had nothing to do with George Floyd’s death. Chauvin’s knee had everything to do with it.
Floyd already served his time for assathe pregnant woman so that was irrelevant to why Chauvin killed him.
A jury listening all the evidence and determined Chauvin was guilty. They didn’t reach that decision because they feared for their lives and the lives of their families. That never happens. The world does not work that way. Anyone who says it does isn’t “street smart” They’re fucking idiots who have no clue how the world works.
I am so fucking sick of listening to this nonsense and just having to shrug my shoulders and say “Oh well, I guess Tucker Carlson has a lot of influence in this world.”

 

I was just trying to lighten things a little. Geez. Chauvin is in prison and deservedly so.

 

Glad we’re in agreement about that.

Why do so many “street smart” people think the jury convicted him because they feared for their lives and their families’ lives?
That’s not how the world works.

 

I don't know that either.
Why do some people still think the 2020 election was stolen and were so convinced of that they joined an insurrection?