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- Hey, I don't understand the riots in Baltimore or the concept of rioting in general, but I did take note of this yesterday from Martin Luther King, Jr.'s daughter: "My father's quote, 'A riot is the language of the unheard,' in no way supports violence. However, it does implore us to pay attention."
- And a riot does grab a little more attention than, say, a town hall meeting.
- The mayor of Baltimore is catching heat for revealing that on Saturday that she had asked the Baltimore Police Department to “give those who wished to destroy space to do that.” OK, saying that on Saturday was probably stupid. But, you know, if she had said that yesterday after the riots had started and the situation had been assesseed, I might support her. Stay with me here. (Let's all agree the rioters are in the wrong for the sake of this hypothetical.) But let's also assume there are thousands and thousands of rioters and they have the willingness to go into a full scale war mode against the police if things escalate when confronted. I'm not talking about just throwing rocks. I'm talking about attacking police and taking their weapons and going on the offensive and killing police in a manner that we've never seen. (Think of those two ISIS guys in France in the Charlie Hebdo incident multiplied by 4,000). If that had happened in Baltimore yesterday, I'm not sure the rioters wouldn't have won. The police commissioner even said last night the rioters "outnumbered us and outflanked us." The number of dead on both sides would have been staggering. Sure, the cops, with the help of the National Guard or the military. would eventually have taken control, but for one day it could have been insane. To avoid that scenario, I'd give the rioters a place to destroy. It would almost be like setting a backfire to stop a wildfire. I thought that was crazy the first time I heard of that concept, too.
- Edit: I'm getting immediate blowback on that bullet point. I guess the question is this: Would you let your house be destroyed to save 100 homes? What if it would save the life of a policeman? Double Edit: But it does get more complicated when the government makes that decision for you by not offering protection. (And if you want to really trick it up, that decision to allow it by government might be the equivalent of eminent domain where you are entitled to compensation.)
- But, all that being said, she made the statement on Saturday so I won't defend her. (And she didn't help herself by absolutely denying she ever made that admission when there is video of her making the admission.)
- And I'm an expert on all things Baltimore because I watched three seasons of The Wire.
- Changing gears . . .
- The Rangers introduced Josh Hamilton yesterday at a press conference. He might be the dumbest baseball player ever.
- I've never understood the advertising of the sale of house by using the word, "Reduced!" It almost implies, "It has been either overpriced or no one wants it."
- I'll tell you about it when appropriate, but I've spent more time inside a hospital over the last week than I have in my entire life.
- During the storms a couple a couple of nights ago, some local weathermen referred to Rio Vista as RYE-o-vista instead of REE-o-vista. I'll be dang, both could be right. Older residents say RYE-o-vista. I guess it would be like Alvord being pronounced Alvoid back in the day. (Which is admittedly harder to understand.)
- Oral arguments are today at the Supreme Court on same sex marriage. The audio will be released later and I'll probably listen to it.
- We will finally get the video of the Grapevine officer shooting the motorist on May 6th or immediately thereafter.
- You can buy the old Cow Camp Steakhouse north of Decatur at foreclosure.
