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Yik Yak Yik Yak Yik Yak Yik Yak

10/30/2015

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So a couple of days ago I read where some 70+ feminist groups had sent a letter to the Dept of Education, Civil Rights Division (go figure) demanding that universities be given “guidance” concerning Yik Yak.  Apparently, Yik Yak allows anonymous posts that are aggregated around a local setting, such as a university.  Well, some of these posts are disrespectful, some are a bit off-color, some are sexist, some are racist, and most are just inane.  

Feminist groups, however, want Yik Yak policed.  Yes, they want to control, monitor, investigate, and sanction those who post things they deem offensive.  I ALMOST commented about the issue when the letter came out.  It is a good example of how freedom of speech is under attack and how colleges/universities promote victimhood.

And then I received an email from UC’s President:
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Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,

I have read a series of comments that have appeared recently on the anonymous social media platform Yik Yak concerning our students participating in the #Irate8 dialogue. Some of the comments are highly insensitive and racially charged and run counter to UC's commitment to inclusiveness and diversity. I ask everyone in our community to join me in condemning such comments and for all of us to fully embrace civility and respect. Furthermore, I have asked for an immediate investigation into a particularly offensive post and will look after the safety of our students. 
Sincerely, 

Santa J. Ono
President

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This, of course, gets front page coverage, setting off a social media firestorm::

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2015/10/29/ucs-ono-condemns-racist-comments/74799516/


Let me say from the outset that I fully embrace civility--even the type that results in conflict.  We can and should disagree but we should do so in a way that is respectful and not demeaning. Let me also say, again, that while I disagree entirely with BLM and most with the Irate8, they have every right to say what they wish.  Yes, this includes calling cops murderers and chanting “Pigs in a blanket, fry them like bacon” which BLM recently did in New York--one day after a black officer was killed by a black recidivistic thug.  

I personally find the speech deplorable and will say so.  Imagine, however, if we empowered President Ono with the authority to monitor, to regulate, to investigate, and to prosecute speech HE found “insensitive and racially charged.”  What will happen if we give well meaning people the authority to investigate anonymous posts made on a social media app?  Restrictions on free speech are always predicated on some declaration of need.  In this sense, UC “needs” to protect students from nasty anonymous comments made on Yik Yak.  Why also not on bathroom walls?  Why not in the classroom?  Why not at Frat parties?  Why not in newspaper editorials?  Why not at basketball games?  Why not in books?

This is the type of liberal authoritarianism I write about in my book.  It wraps itself in “good intentions,” claims a mandate by aggrieved parties, and justifies its actions as “necessary.”  In the end, however, we all lose because we can no longer speak freely, talk openly, or take solace in our privacy.  

​If you don’t like what is posted on Yik Yak, the solution is to not read it.  

See also, this posting:

​http://www.mindingthecampus.org/2015/10/yik-yak-latest-target-of-the-anti-free-speech-left/  


​JPW
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Heather MacDonald’s Recent Testimony

10/29/2015

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Below is Heather MacDonald’s recent congressional testimony.  For an interesting and cogent analysis of criminal justice issues, give it a look:

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2015/10/heather-macdonald-explodes-criminal-justice-myths.php

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Higher Education = Better Policing?

10/29/2015

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A common assumption is that a college degree makes better cops.  Well, you might be surprised to learn that is not necessarily the case.  In a recent study, scholars found that better educated cops don’t really like their supervisors, don’t like “community  policing,” and don’t really like the job.

Depending on which department you work at, a new recruit may find herself sitting in a patrol car at 3:00am on some lonely corner or he may find himself doing things that are, well, nonsensical.  Why?  Simple: Police departments are quasi-military organizations which simply means there is a rank structure and a chain of command.  A college degree puts you squarely at the same level as someone who was just hired from JimmyJohns.  

Police departments are also, to varying degrees, political.  Some are better insulated from external political forces than are others.  This is sometimes good and sometimes not so good.  I once consulted for a medium size police department.  It had the full support of the local council.  However, the Chief was always...and I mean always....out at the golf course.  This left the management to the mid-level officers and lets just say that they demand absolute loyalty.  No discussion, no dissent, nada.  Iron clad.  A college grad wouldn’t find that place very welcoming or accommodating. 

On the flip side, I’ve watch as the Cincinnati Police Department--a department that was leading the country in tactics and adaptability--has been wrecked by the influence of external politics and the hiring of a chief that was simply disastrous.  I’m sure they can recover because they have excellent officers but it will take years.

​Anyway, policing is NOT what you see on TV and if you are the new person, don’t expect to be the person interviewing the serial killer.  Instead expect to work your shift and prove yourself......and expect to be bored, lonely, upset, and sometimes demoralized.  Chasing the bad guys is the easy part.  Dealing with the internal politics is not.

See below:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150205111619.htm

​
JPW



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Changing Colors.....?

10/29/2015

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I’m experiencing some technical difficulties with the website.  Will fix ASAP.
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Police Shootings:  With Real Data

10/26/2015

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The rhetoric surrounding police shootings has been nothing short of remarkable.  What we have needed are data and someone to stand up and speak about the data.  Well, enter the Washington Post---which is not known for being very friendly to cops.

Below is their recent analysis of 800 police shootings.  They find--wait for it--that the vast majority of police shootings are clearly justifiable.  Yes, justifiable.  The typically occur AFTER the assailant fired or brandished their weapon or after the assailant attacked another person.  In only 5% of the cases did WaPo find the shooting “questionable.”  So much of cops just running around gunning down innocent people.

Read it here:      http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/2015/10/24/on-duty-under-fire/


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KY is a  Beautiful State........... Especially on a Harley Davidson ;) 

10/26/2015

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Picture
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Mass Incarceration = Mass Hysteria

10/26/2015

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So I was reading a news story about Ohio wanting to remove 1,000 prisoners from the DOC by next year.  Ohio has about 50,000 people in prison.  Of course, accompanying this article was the usual language out “mass incarceration.”  Well, I looked at Ohio’s prison data from 1922 until today.  What did I find?  At no time did Ohio’s prison population break .005% number of inmates/population of the state.  Whoooo......wait a minute?  Where is this “mass” of prisoners?  Moreover, when I examined Ohio’s prison population, almost 60% are there for VIOLENT CRIMES, about 20% are recidivistic property offenders, and about 16% are drug offenders (almost all for distribution).   Sorry, it seems that Ohio’s prison population isn’t tipping the scales at “mass” levels just yet and if anything, given my experiences on the streets this year, we might be wise to INCREASE the number of people behind bars.

Today I received this piece from Heather MacDonald.  Heather has a sharp mind and a wickedly clear pen.  She cuts though a lot of the hysteria surrounding “mass incarceration” and provides us with a caution against moving too quickly to arbitrarily reduce our prison populations.  

Please, give this article your time and attention.  Even if you don’t agree with it, I think it serves as an interesting and largely fact based counterpoint to the fanciful thinking that currently surrounds this subject.

JPW



http://www.city-journal.org/2015/25_4_decriminalization.html
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The FBI and the Ferguson Effect.......

10/26/2015

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The director of the FBI, who might know something about cops, went on record recently about the alleged “Ferguson Effect.”  I know my colleagues generally don’t believe in the effect but every piece of anecdotal evidence tells us that cops have pulled back---and in some neighborhoods, have pulled out.  I’m not sure anyone has direct quantitative measures of this....as it is a fairly recent development, but too many cops and varying levels of responsibility are saying it.  I’m going to take their word on it.

​Personally, I think the “Ferguson Effect” is multi-dimensional.  It’s not all about the media publicly lynching cops based on zero facts.  Nor is it about gangs of youth and adults interfering with arrests, nor is it about folks pulling out cell phones and recording every incident.  And I’m certain it has nothing at all to do with the utter betrayal of the police by the DOJ and those in the Civil Rights Division.  

Instead, I think it is ALL OF THE ABOVE.  Cops are humans who engage in the same type of cost-benefit analyses everyone else engages in.  If the costs of making an arrest become too high, that arrest may not happen.  If the cost of policing a neighborhood escalates above some point......it won’t be long before you cannot find a cop in that neighborhood.  I mean seriously, this is not rocket science.

I recently posted comments by the Mayor of Chicago who argued that cops have gone “fetal.”  Well, let’s add to this discussion comments by the director of the FBI.  Give them a read or watch his talk:

http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/26/politics/fbi-comey-crime-police/index.html

  
  JPW
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“A racket monopolized by the academic left."

10/26/2015

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Several studies show that university faculty contribute campaign funds to candidates who are overwhelmingly democrat.  I usually don’t post every analysis I find on the web, in the news, or in a journal.  Let’s just say that faculty are a large and consistent source of revenue for the DNC.  Well, here is one of those stories that caught my attention--not because it shows us anything new but because the reporter actually went out and interviewed the one (1) elite professor that contributed to a republican candidate.  You can read his candid  appraisal here:

​
http://www.campusreform.org/?ID=6920

​
JPW
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Obama-coasters.......

10/21/2015

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Blind loyalty is dangerous, for a variety of reasons.  It can come from the right or the left.  Here is a good example from the left:

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/opinion/guest-column/2015/10/09/obamas-legacy-guns-ban/73682284/
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    John Paul Wright and Matt DeLisi

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