Unfortunately there have been far too many young men shot by police in our area and country.
In the old days our schools used to teach fundamentals of cooking and driving and working on cars. In this day of poor decision making, schools should offer a new class: “Avoiding Police Shootings 101.”
But really kids, you don’t need to take a class. It’s just common sense. Let’s review how to NOT get shot by a police officer:
1). Do not commit crimes. The best way to avoid being shot by an officer is don’t get on police radar by committing a crime. That may seem like a novel approach in this day where the media chastises police for doing their job while ignoring the role of lawbreakers. Yes, I realize you totally feel power holding a gun that doesn’t belong to you – maybe it’s stolen or you got it from Daddy’s closet – but resist showing how “bad” you are by brandishing a weapon among your peers in a park. I know you need attention but this is not the kind of attention that will do you any favors in the long run.
Also, don’t break into apartments and absolutely do not charge officers with a knife. It won’t go well for you. Besides, a homeowner might get to you first.
Oh and here’s another important point I cannot stress enough: If you’re not a thug, don’t hang out with them or ride in their cars. (We’re tired of hearing relatives make excuses for you after you’re dead, like “He was such a good boy who just made a wrong choice.” A bad decision can pre-empt a lifetime of good you may have done.
2). If an officer follows you and lights up your car, pull over – ASAP. You can’t outrun a network that has an army of officers to come after you and with one radio call to track you from the sky. Don’t do it. I know your Hollywood heroes do it in the movies and get away with it but you won’t. You’re no Hollywood hero. Besides, Hollywood is full of stupid people who make stupid movies.
3). For God’s sake, when you do get pulled over, don’t get out with that gun that was just brandished at the park.
Let’s review what you SHOULD do. Pull over, roll down the window, keep your hands in view at all times, do not make any sudden moves like ‘Hey, I think I’ll grab my gun and show those cops who owns them.’ In fact, you should announce that there is a gun in the car (because they’re going to find it anyway), which means you’ll be taken out at gunpoint, which may be embarrassing and scary but is the safest way for you and them. Comply with all orders. You’ll have your day in court later if you think your rights have been violated, but most likely that’s a bogus charge. Contact your attorney from your jail cell.
4). Don’t run on foot unless you enjoy a German Shepherd ripping off your pants off with their knee along with your knee cap.
5). Never – I repeat never – try to ram your car into an officer, either on foot or in his car. Your windshield is not bulletproof.
Alright, now that you’ve listened, go out there and enjoy life and nobody will get hurt. No more needless funerals and a parade of grieving family members on local TV to bash the local police for doing their job.
And one more thing. Pay attention to school. I’m sure that it’s more fun sending inappropriate texts and pictures to girls than how to fill out a resume, but you need to think about how you’re going to get along with life after graduation. Stealing mail or Lotto tickets and selling drugs is a bad career choice.
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When is good news not good news? When you’re an anti-Trumper and good things happen to our country. Why aren’t environmental groups heralding the good news that CO2 levels have fallen in the United States?
Why? Because of fracking and the natural gas boom and leading to the replacement of high-CO2 fuels like coal with far-cleaner natural gas. The Daily Caller reported that the U.S. emitted 15.6 metric tons of CO2 per person in 1950 but after decades of rising, it has declined in recent years to 15.8 metric tons per person in 2017, the lowest measured levels in 67 years. China and India are the trouble makers as far as CO2 emissions.
The news has been downplayed by those who condemned our president for cancelling the jobs-killing Paris Accords.
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The haters on the Left and the party of so-called tolerance have been working overtime lately.
Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) is real. Consider:
• Sept. 9, a man attempted to stab Republican congressional candidate Rudy Peters at the Castro Valley Fall Festival. Peters is running against incumbent Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin). Farzad Fazeli, 35, of Castro Valley, aggressively approached Peters at his booth and made disparaging, profanity-laced remarks about Republicans and President Trump.
• On Aug. 28, College of Southern Nevada Professor Mark Bird shot himself with a .22-caliber handgun to protest President Trump. The college was strangely quiet about the incident, which included Bird taping a $100 bill to a mirror along with a note that said, ‘For the janitor.’ Bird sustained only a flesh wound to his arm.
• The Washington Post editorial board came up with a piece headlined: “Another hurricane is about to batter our coast. Trump is complicit.” That is an amazing stupid statement desiring of ridicule.
One of the symptoms of TDS is you lose any sense of civility. Case in point is how Fresno State Professor Randa Jarrar, tweeted: “Barbara Bush was a generous and smart and amazing racist who, along with her husband raised a war criminal. F--- out of here with your nice words. …I’m happy the witch is dead. Can’t wait for the rest of her family to fall to their demise the way 1.5 million Iraqis have.” When she faced a backlash, she followed up with: “All the hate I’m getting ALMOST made me forget how happy I am that George W. Bush is probably really sad right now.”
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I’m sorry but I just cannot let his hypocrisy go. This sorry excuse for an attorney general in Xavier Becerra needs to be called out for his incredulous stand on this issue. I get to see every press release our appointed pretend attorney general sends out.
As you should know, Becerra is totally against enforcing U.S. immigration law and he’s upset because Trump wants to. In fact, Becerra doesn’t want police in California talking to ICE agents, period. Trump warned sanctuary states that to do so, federal law enforcement dollars will stop flowing to bear pressure on the state leaders who are breaking the law. Becerra and his sorry ilk won’t succumb to any pressure; in fact, they’ll twist it around and say Trump is the bad guy. Becerra has the audacity to say the Trump Administration is unconstitutionally attempting to “commandeer California law enforcement agencies into enforcing federal immigration law by withholding critical funds for public safety.”
Hold on, isn’t it Becerra, Brown and Newsom who are thwarting attempts of U.S. officials to enforce their immigration laws? Hypocrisy much?
Becerra goes on: “Why would the Trump Administration want to make our communities more vulnerable by withholding millions of dollars in critical public safety grants from local police and sheriffs? Our men and women who wear the badge and our communities deserve answers.”
The answer, of course, is that Becerra can’t blame Trump for California thumbing its nose at U.S. immigration policy. California can’t have its cake and eat it too. The state could make the issue go away simply by abandoning its defiant order that police not cooperate with ICE – whose purpose is to find law-breaking immigrants – as it has done for decades before Jan. 20, 2017, the day Trump became president.
Instead of impeaching this law-breaking attorney general, the voters of California will probably stupidly and blindly vote for Becerra because he’s the incumbent and because they are unfamiliar with his antics. (I bet if Gavin Newsom or John Cox walked in the room most Californians couldn’t even identify either. They surely don’t have a clue what Becerra is up to: ushering many into the country, giving them benefits and ultimately voting rights so they can reward Democrats in return and we are stuck paying their bill.
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Why would any Republican bother to show up to a Latino Community Roundtable meeting expecting to get a real shot at an endorsement? It on’t happen and thus GOP candidates don’t waste their time. The LCR might as well be named the Hispanics for Democrats PAC.
Josh Harder and Anna Caballero were endorsed by the local LCR. Of course the LCR had more trouble deciding who to endorse for District Attorney because they don’t come with an “R” or “D” behind their name to guide them.
I do wonder what perplexing dilemma the LCR would find itself in if a Latino Republican were seeking office against a Caucasian Democrat. That would be fun to watch.
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Please don’t get me wrong ... I like Len Shepherd – a lot. He’s a nice guy and is an involved and supportive Ceres resident. He and I think alike on many issues. But I often wonder what he believes he’s accomplishing by venting at City Council meetings how bad drivers in Ceres are. It’s a common complaint, of which I totally get. Drivers have been bad everywhere since driving started over 100 years ago but it seems to have escalated in this “me-first” generation of red light runners, lane hoppers, stop sign ignorers and speeders. Let’s not forget the head-down-in-the-cell-phone driver who drifts into your lane or sits at the red light until the horn blasts jolt them back to a more important task. The council is powerless to affect any change and can only hire so many police to write tickets. In the end it comes down to a society to learn to drive like others matter rather than just themselves, doing the right thing, especially when it means getting to my destination a few seconds or minutes later.
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“You shall know a tree by its fruit.” Straight from Matthew 7.
So when Sleazy Gavin came to Modesto last week to suggest he’ll end homelessness (even though he will offer a continuation of the policies of Jerry Brown which have exacerbated the problem), Josh Harder was there. Apparently Harder endorses the tax-and-spend, hand-out-benefits-like-candy-to-illegals policies of Mr. Newsom.
Ol’ buddy ol’ pal.
The choices this election could not be clearer. A radicalized leftist versus someone who has gone to bat for the Valley and its farmers for some time now.
How do you feel about this? Let Jeff know at jeffb@cerescourier.com
