Archives for May 2012

As I was approaching the ramp to get onto I-59 in Birmingham Wednesday, I noticed in my rearview mirror that there was a police car behind me. I don’t know about you, but I start worrying a bit while they’re behind me. Is it past time to renew my tag? Do I have a tail light out? What’s the speed limit on this little road?

I was hoping he wasn’t turning onto the interstate, so I was watching his turn signal in my mirror to see if it came on. It never did — but he turned behind me anyway. Part of the way down the ramp, the asphalt widens, but the lane for the interstate hasn’t started, so you’re supposed to stay on the ramp. He didn’t. Part of the way down the ramp, he floored his engine and went around me, going through the striped lines you’re supposed to stay away from.

In the time I could still see him, he impatiently tailgated a car and then passed it way too close to a car in the other lane. He lost me after that, but it doesn’t really matter what he did. He has a gun and a badge, so he can do whatever he wants.

Have you ever noticed how flagrantly many police officers violate the traffic rules we’re supposed to obey? I routinely see them speeding (without emergency lights), tailgating and failing to use turn signals. There’s one set of rules for us, and there’s another set for them. Is there any wonder that more and more people are losing respect for police?

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Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker committed a mortal political sin Sunday. He dared to tell the truth when that truth didn’t reflect well on his own political party. Predictably, the party establishment was not pleased.

In case you don’t know what the story was about, it’s really fairly simple, but you’ll need a bit of background. There are investment companies called private equity firms which raise money from investors and then spend the money to either invest in early-stage private companies or else find struggling firms to turn around. They place big bets on companies they believe have potential, some new firms and some old firms. When they buy or invest in older companies, though, they’re generally struggling companies that would otherwise go out of business, so their job as investors is to provide investment money and insist that management (usually new management) restructure the business to return to profitability.

It’s not especially complicated and it’s fairly mundane in the business world. Many startups couldn’t happen without investment from this kind of company, and many poorly managed failing businesses would simply go out of business if this kind of company weren’t there to invest and restructure. Normally, nobody talks about these companies other than people in the business world. It’s different this year, though, because Mitt Romney was a long-time partner in a major private equity firm called Bain Capital — and Democrats have decided to make that a campaign issue.

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As you scared of the police? If you’re a white middle-class suburbanite, probably not. If you live in certain lower-income parts of the country, though, you’re probably terrified at times. If you’re not scared, you should be.

The New York Post published video Monday that shows a New York City police sergeant threatening a group of men in Brooklyn. (You can watch the video below.) He tries to intimidate them with his gun, but he makes it clear that he doesn’t mind a little bit of criminal activity.

“You guys are hustling or whatever, I ain’t got no problem with that. Listen . . . do your thing,” he said. “But when I come around and I speak, you f–king listen. Tell your boys.”

The video of Sgt. Lesly Charles was recorded by a man in the group, apparently on a smartphone. The city’s Civilian Complaint Review Board is investigating the video, but if this is like most instances of police misconduct, it will result in a slap on the wrist, if anything. After all, they’ll say, he had good intentions. He was trying to protect us.

At one point, Charles makes it clear that he considers himself above having to follow rules. He tells a man in the street near a car, “This is my street. All right? If you got to play tough, that’s your problem. … I do whatever the f–k I want.”

Inside a restaurant, the officer got tougher and more graphic.

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