Holder to Boston: #%^* you.

We run a civilized city here: only 33% of Bostonians want the imprisoned Bomber Brother to be killed for his crime.

You'd think Holder would respect the wishes of the very people that were the target of the attack, right? But, no, gotta kill. Probably afraid of the mean things Fox "News" would say otherwise.

Feh. I'm in a really foul mood tonight.

Here's why I've given up on voting:

Oh #%^* you, of course I vote, all the time. OK, I missed 2000 because of an emergency that had me on a plane all day, but somehow Gore managed to win Massachusetts without me.

Know what? Every other Liberal I know votes enthusiastically in every election. We may not be enthusiastic about the Third Way nudniks that are on the ballot, but we're enthusiastic about making sure the Republicans lose.

Know what else? There is a group that sits out elections when they've been screwed over by the people they voted for: Study after study shows that independents sit it out when they get abused, but Liberals go back for more. (But our time is coming... and soon!)

So can we please stop the bizarre yammering about Liberals needing to #%^*ing vote this time? We vote every #%^*ing time. Go tell the Independents to get out there and vote!

Better yet, tell elected Democrats to actually do stuff that will make Independents *want* to vote for us. After all, two-thirds of Americans hold the Liberal position on virtually any subject you can name - unions, free trade, minimum wage, military budgets, Social Security, Medicare-for-All... you name it. It's not hard to make America ecstatic, they just need to pull their heads out of Wall Street's fundamental orifice and vote for traditional Democratic stuff. Really easy.

"We must adjust our expectations downwards, rather than fight to win."*

That's my one-line takeaway from last night's SOTU.

I respond to that message by channeling a great American, General Anthony McAuliffe. Surrounded with his 101st Airborne Division during the Battle of the Bulge, massively outnumbered, McAuliffe received a letter from the German Commander demanding surrender in exchange for allowing the Americans to live. His letter of response:

Elizabeth Warren: Raising The Minimum Wage Is 'The Least We Can Do'

FDR's 1941 State of the Union (The Four Freedoms)

The Four Freedoms section starts at 5:25

What's *your* guess (re: Warren and Sanders)

Why do you think that Elizabeth and Bernie voted for the infernal Farm Bill that cuts food stamps.

So... cuts to unemployment aid and food stamps

With three unemployed Americans for every one job opening.

What sort of sick savagery is this?

Tonight, our leaders enjoy sumptuous meals washed down with delightful wines, earned by doing favors for their Predator-Class patrons, while more American children than ever before are homeless and hungry.

This is not reasonable compromise. It is barbarism. It must end. And the people who did this, they ain't gonna end it.

Debating Republicans is like playing chess with a pigeon...

Ah, jeez, that damned woman will be the death of the Democratic Party

A tribute to *good* cops: Massachusetts

I posted last night about three monsters in blue who beat a homeless, nonthreatening, mentally-ill man to death for 10 minutes as he screamed apologies and begged for his daddy.

Now I just read about some more insane cops who terrorized a fellow for giving 75 cents to a homeless person. Seems like these scumbag cop stories come across the transom almost daily.

A lot of sick stuff going on with cops these days.

But I want to be clear: cops don't have to be awful. Specifically, I'd like to take a moment to pay tribute to some good police, the ones here in Massachusetts.

I've lived in our Commonwealth since graduating college, and have never been nervous during an interaction with any of our state or local cops. "But Manny! You're white, middle-class, and now middle-aged! Of course you have no problems."

Those who know me might find this hard to believe, but I can be an asshole to authority at times. I have zero doubt that in most parts of America I'd have gotten pulled into a cell overnight to get taught a lesson, but here I get told to STFU and go home.

In December, a report was released that ranked states on the likelihood of getting busted for marijuana possession. Of the 51 places ranked (all states plus Washington DC), Massachusetts was dead last at 18 busts per 100,000 residents. The next-lowest, Hawaii, was at more than five-times higher at 106. Getting busted for possession in Massachusetts is virtually impossible. In New York State, folks are 25 times more likely to get busted than us Massholes. Why? I've heard police and police chiefs speak publicly on this - they don't want to ruin lives by arresting people for stupid stuff unless they really have to. And I'm guessing that pot possession is not primarily a crime committed by white, middle-class, and now middle-aged men. And we have a helluva lot of college students here, if you catch my drift...

Remember when the Bomber Brothers ran amuck in Boston and Watertown last year? A funny thing happened after our cops nabbed the younger @#$%er (alive, of course - we don't do battlefield justice in these parts). The country had seen pictures like this:



Many DUers wrote "Damn, your cops are millitarized crazies!". But every Mass DUer I know said "Uh... no. They're cool. Relax. Officer Bradley here is more like more typical..."


Remember Occupy? Remember all the crazy cop bullshit all over the country? In Boston, as far as I could tell when I visited the Occupation, the cops were reasonably cool. If I recall correctly, Occupy Boston was the only Occupy that decamped peacefully after negotiations, instead of the cops descending to bust things up. That's what we expect here.

Until I saw the pot-bust stats, I was awfully puzzled by why everyone else in the country thought we should be terrified of our cops. Now I realize - most Americans are used to cops on power trips. We Bay Staters are unbelievably lucky to have police who, for the most part, are way more interested in getting milk for infants than in busting (and busting up) people for sick thrills.

Anyway, I guess I've boasted a bit, although I've had no part in creating our good cops. I just showed up here at the right time, many other good people made our police what they are. And our cops aren't perfect - I've gotten two bull#$%^ tickets over the years, both from Staties. And rarely, really bad stuff does happen.

But hearing all of the bad cop stories, I just wanted everyone to know that good cops also exist, I'm sure in many places besides Mass. And if your cops suck, know that, come the revolution (which will happen in the next few years, for better or worse), there's a chance to make things better. It can be better. Demand it!