When writing about her coverage of the Portland riots, Nancy Rommelmann made a point that journalists who weren’t on the “trusted” list were told they weren’t allowed to film.

“YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED TO FILM” and its occasional variation, “PHOTOGRAPHY EQUALS DEATH!”

Obviously, this was not the law, which was ironically established largely around filming cops doing their job. But what the law permitted, or didn’t permit, wasn’t really a major concern for rioters. They were more concerned that images or videos of their faces would enable the police to identify them and arrest them for the crimes they committed. Continue reading →

With some notable exceptions, Joe Biden’s foremost argument for his election is the return to normality. And if he can produce, that would be a huge boon to most Americans who want the pandemic behind them, get back to the business of business and return to their ordinary lives. At this point, even quiet desperation seems better than what the Year 2020 has had to offer.

And then RBG had to gum up the works, loading yet another layer of troubles upon what remains of our fragile and beaten social fabric. Will Cocaine Mitch push through a new justice before the election? In the lame duck session after Biden wins? Is that the catastrophe that will finally bring the sky crashing down upon us? Jeffrey Toobin tells us not to fear because he’s got  a scheme. Continue reading →

As a policing strategy, its efficacy was dubious. Did law enforcement focus on petty, quality of life offenses really eradicate the more serious social erosion that gave rise to crime, or did it put cops in poor and minority neighborhoods looking to make their stats on the back of the most trivial offense? Or worse, just invent offenses to make the number? So Broken Windows, the theory and the strategy, came under under fire and fell into disfavor.

And, ironically, because of the strategy of another group.

Last night, while our comrades battled the police in the street, some anarchists targeted multiple Whole Food stores as well as Starbucks in a synchronized attack, just as the clock struck midnight. The cops have made public statements addressing how they are not responding to 911 calls due to their focus on brutally attacking and arresting protesters. Using this to our advantage, we spread out around the city with the intention of sending two messages:

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I just learned of Justice Ginsburg’s passing. It is unquestionably a loss for the legal profession as a whole.

At this time, I am reminded of the day I met she who would later be known as “The Notorious RBG.” It was the day I gained admission to the Supreme Court bar by virtue of the fraternity I joined in law school. The lawyers sponsoring us told us in advance we would meet at least one Justice following our admission, and Justice Ginsburg might come as well. Continue reading →

To their credit, many political pundits waited minutes after the passing of Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to go to war. The hypocrisy and hysteria will be monumental, and the outcome remains to be seen. There will be no resolution to be found in reasons, as there are no reasons that matter more than the outcome of who gets to decide on the next Supreme Court associate justice.

Iowa law prof Andy Grewal’s reaction to the passing of Justice Ginsburg wasn’t to argue one way or another, but to post a picture.

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Yesterday my mean-ass editor reflected on the conditions causing his friend Daniel to flee city life for the joys of the country. Apparently Daniel’s not the only one, and it’s not just Northerners fleeing for the country life. The West Coast is apparently driving former residents to the heart of America.

I can’t say I’m thrilled at this development, personally. Part of the joy in country living is there’s not as many people. Still, as the day progressed, it dawned on me I might be able to help a few of you coming this way to learn the ropes. After all, we’re going to be living near each other, so we might as well be civil. Continue reading →

It’s reminiscent of the days when it was all the rage to make every teacher, doctor and nurse a mandatory reporter of child abuse. It was done with the best of intentions, to remove the subjective component from the mix so that someone who didn’t feel a bruise was so bad as to be worthy of reporting could no longer hide behind personal feelings or experience. Report, or else. Report or you’re guilty too.

The problem of child abuse, it was decided, was sufficiently severe that any hint, any possibility, required an investigation. So what if the investigation was extremely unlikely to show any abuse. So what if the investigation removed a child from home, from family, which was often far more traumatic and dangerous than the slimmest possibility of harm. This was about child abuse. CHILD ABUSE! How could anyone doubt the seriousness of the problem. How could anyone believe that the combination of unlikelihood and trauma mattered more than ferreting out child abuse. Continue reading →

There are murders. There are shootings. They happened after the protests, riots and lootings in Minneapolis following the killing of George Floyd. Paul Cassell calls it the “Minneapolis Effect.”

The homicide spikes began in late May. Before May 28, Chicago had almost the same number of homicides as in 2019. Then, on May 31, 18 people were murdered in Chicago—the city’s most violent day in six decades. Violence continued through the summer. July was Chicago’s most violent month in 28 years. As of Sept. 1, murder is up 52% for the year, according to Chicago Police Department data.

What changed in late May? The antipolice protests that began across the country around May 27 appear to have resulted in a decline in policing directed at gun violence, producing—perhaps unsurprisingly—an increase in shootings.

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You can’t argue your way out of filthy streets. My old pal, Daniel, sent me an email the other day, after I’d written about the 160 business leaders of the Partnership for New York City writing Mayor de Blasio about the status of the City. Daniel thought I was being far too hopeful, that because New York had survived its problems in the past, it would survive again.

I drove around the city all day with my wife, and I believed the “NYC will survive this” since this started but I don’t know how much I believe it now. Certainly won’t turn into Judgment Day level apocalypse but I can’t understand what fixes this shit. Vaccine? Sure, I guess. How long will that take. How do you get people to pay 75/sf in midtown when crime is up. How do you fix crime without more revenues. How do you get more revenues without offering tax breaks? How do you get more breaks without more dollars in? It’s circular.

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It was sold as the usual lie on the twitters, a rosy tale of peaceful fighters for justice and a mean, bad judge.

They surely don’t appear to be rioting in the image, but then, the image was after the arrest. That doesn’t tell the story, any more than how wonderful and brave these warriors for equity may be. Assuming they are, that doesn’t mean they get to riot and destroy any more than miserable and cowardly folks. Continue reading →