Black Lives Matter
June 3, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
Are black lives in danger due to “systemic racism” in American policing? Are “black and brown bodies” under systematic assault by white racists? The numbers from recent years suggest that the answer to both questions is “no.” There are few instances in which unarmed blacks are killed by white police officers. To the extent that, in these instances, the police officer acted wrongfully, the officer must be held fully accountable.
»
June 2, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
Heather Mac Donald writes about the pandemic of violence that spread across America after the killing of George Floyd. Her excellent article includes this statistic: Between 2012 and 2015, blacks committed 85.5 percent of all black-white interracial violent victimizations (excluding interracial homicide, which is also disproportionately black-on-white). That works out to 540,360 felonious assaults on whites. Whites committed 14.4 percent of all interracial violent victimization, or 91,470 felonious assaults on
»
December 22, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
Last week, I wrote about a case in which the Fifth Circuit, in a unanimous decision, ruled that a suit could proceed against a Black Lives Matter activist for violence he didn’t commit or encourage. The police officer who brought the suit was hit in the head by a rock thrown during a BLM protest. However, he did not claim that the individual he sued, DeRay McKesson, threw the rock,
»
December 15, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
A police officer who was hit in the head by a rock thrown at a 2016 demonstration in Louisiana sued DeRay Mckesson, the prominent Black Lives Matter provocateur who organized the demonstration. The officer did not allege that Mckesson threw the rock, that he called on anyone to throw rocks, or that he called on anyone to commit any act of violence. Yet, he sought to hold Mckesson liable for
»
December 5, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
John wrote below about Democrats gone wild. Let’s file the following story under left-wing Democrats gone wild. Pete Buttigieg hasn’t been able to garner significant support from blacks. One reason is said to be his disagreements with black activists over policing in South Bend, Indiana, where Buttigieg is mayor. I doubt that this is Buttigieg’s main problem with black voters, but I’m sure it doesn’t help him. In any case,
»
May 21, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
There’s a disconnect between how leftists view the treatment of African-Americans by our criminal justice system and how they seem to want African-American athletes who have brushes with the law to be treated. Consider the case of Reuben Foster. Foster, a linebacker who starred at the University of Alabama, was drafted in the first round by the San Francisco 49ers a few years ago. As a pro, he has had
»
September 10, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
The NFL kicked off its 2018 season last Thursday with a game between Philadelphia and Atlanta. Despite the attractiveness of the matchup, television ratings were down 8 percent from last year’s opening Thursday night game. And last year’s rating were down 12 percent from the previous year’s. This prompted President Trump to tweet: Wow, NFL first game ratings are way down over an already really bad last year comparison. Viewership
»
December 9, 2017 — Paul Mirengoff
Most regular Power Line readers know that I don’t criticize the police lightly. I think I understand the dangers officers face when they confront suspects and need to make instant assessments of their intentions. That understanding makes me loath to condemn officers whose split second decisions produce tragic results. However, the case of former Mesa, Arizona police officer Philip Brailsford is different. His killing of Daniel Shaver warrants condemnation, though
»
October 17, 2017 — Paul Mirengoff
Hoping to bring an end to kneeling during the National Anthem, NFL owners are meeting with the players’ union. To smooth the way, the League has endorsed legislation that would mean lighter sentencing for drug felons. It’s unlikely that the NFL’s endorsement counts for much at this juncture. For one thing, it’s widely understood that Roger Goodell has enough trouble managing his own business without branching off into the nation’s.
»
October 4, 2017 — Paul Mirengoff
As Steve discusses in the post just below, students affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement shut down a presentation at the College of William & Mary. They rushed the stage and prevented the invited guest from speaking. The invited guest was Claire Gastañaga of the American Civil Liberties Union. Gastañaga, a William & Mary alum, had intended to speak about “Students and the First Amendment.” She never got that
»
September 28, 2017 — Paul Mirengoff
While poorly educated athletes, egged on by leftist commentators, indulge in Black Lives Matter based protests against their country, evidence pours in that black-on-black crime is the real threat to black lives and that attacks on policing are causing an increase in such crime. Heather Mac Donald has the details. She points out that nearly 900 additional blacks were killed in 2016 compared with 2015, bringing the black homicide-victim total
»
September 12, 2017 — Steven Hayward
Ta-Nehesi Coates has a new essay out about Trump that is generating a lot of buzz, entitled “The First White President.” Here are a couple of excerpts about what he has to say about Trump: He is preeminently the white man’s President, entirely devoted to the welfare of white men. He is ready and willing at any time during the first year of his administration to deny, postpone, and sacrifice
»
July 21, 2017 — Scott Johnson
As I say — and do forgive me for repeating myself — the shooting of the unarmed and pajama clad spiritual healer Justine Damond by Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor opens a window onto the sick culture that reigns in Minneapolis. No sooner had idiot Minneapolis mayor Betsy Hodges fired number 22 World Leader and Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteau than Hodges sought to expound on her deep thoughts for
»
June 21, 2017 — Paul Mirengoff
Last August, Dominique Heaggan-Brown, an African-American police officer in Milwaukee, shot and killed Sylville Smith, an African-American suspect with a lengthy record who was armed and fleeing the police. Anti-police rioting ensued. Four officers were injured. It was clear from the beginning that the African-American policeman did not shoot Smith for reasons having anything to do with race. But this didn’t matter to the local rioters or to Black Lives
»
April 16, 2017 — Scott Johnson
Elliot Kaufman is a Stanford junior who writes with great intelligence from inside the asylum. National Review has posted his several pieces for the site here, but he saved his best yet for the Wall Street Journal in “For a Stanford applicant, perseveration pays off” (behind the Journal’s subscription paywall). Following in the footsteps of the late John Updike, Kaufman makes good use of the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. Kaufman
»
April 6, 2017 — John Hinderaker
Heather Mac Donald is the nation’s leading expert on policing and race. Her book The War On Cops is a classic of social science. In December my think tank, Center of the American Experiment, hosted Heather for a speech in Minneapolis that was attended by more than 400, including over 150 law enforcement officers. That was a great crowd. But when Heather spoke at UCLA last night, at the invitation
»
April 5, 2017 — Scott Johnson
The Minnesota House of Representatives has passed a bill with a provision increasing the penalties on protesters who shut down highways or block access to the airport. Among others, that would be the Black Lives Matter crowd. The Democrats hauled out their big guns to oppose the provision, one of whom was newly elected Rep. Ilhan Omar. Omar is not a compelling public speaker. Her speech opposing the provision droned
»
