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Samizdata quote of the day In Los Angeles, as the hunt for another registered Democrat on a killing spree continues, police opened fire on two innocent ladies delivering newspapers from the same kind of truck as the suspect. They seem to have done so without any attempt at identification. They didn’t even shout a warning first.
It seems that those drawn to jobs as the state’s armed enforcers are also among those not to be trusted with weapons. I suggest it’s for the same psychological reasons. As the validated agents of what they see as a superior moral force, they feel justified in their appalling actions, but also sure that if they get it wrong the state will defend them. Reckless and panicky they may be, but having injured two innocents they “protect and serve” they are safe. At least as safe, say, as an NHS mandarin who presided over the deaths of thousands.
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Mr. Linnane’s sentiment quoted above is an example of what insurance people call adverse selection.
another example of weapons-related adverse selection is that people who would best be trusted with weapons would be the ones who turn them in when called upon to do so.
And it wasn’t even “the same type of truck.” Different color and different make. (And, of course, the police were looking for one large black man, not two petite hispanic ladies.) At least neither of them was killed.
The LA police is just another large armed gang. They don’t deserve any more respect or legal deferance than any other criminal gang. But of course these criminal with badges will never receive any punishment.
1. Never drive a pickup truck of any make or model in L.A., but if you must…
2. When you see an LAPD car behind you, pull over, shut off the vehicle, and assume a fetal position on the floor. When the shooting stops, the cops will be out of ammo. You may then safely exit the vehicle and surrender before backup arrives with more ammo.
And those drawn to politics are probably the last people we should trust with political power.
And the members of the LAPD who conducted this skirmish were posted as guards for a senior PD member who was threatened by the accused gunman. They were completely unfamiliar with “newspaper delivery”.
Cheers
What ‘Chip’ said (there are times where I *really* wish samizdata had some sort of “upvote” system)
The words “another registered Democrat” are important.
The media (including supposedly “moderate” ABC news, two years running they have associated the leftist shooter of G. Giffords with the Tea Party movement, Diane Sawyer is as honest as the the man she used to work for – Richard Nixon) have a habit of implying that leftist murderers are Tea Party people.
In this case – the manfesto of this evil man has got out.
Some media leftists (such as Dr Hill on CNN) have praised it (and praised the murderer – “hero”, “Jango Unchained”).
The mask is torn – for those with eyes to see.
I was in the LA area during this period, visiting my daughter’s family and escaping a few weeks of a nasty midwestern winter. The media feeding frenzy was utterly hysterical.
I can’t remember a major criminal situation so badly mishandled as this was. These bizarre shooting incidents were only the tip of the iceberg of confused and futile activities by the various law enforcement groups involved.
I can’t help but believe that the endless political interference in the operations of the police agencies in this area is bearing a very bitter, spoiled fruit indeed, as evidenced by poor management as well as recklessness at the street level.
All together, it was a fiasco from start to finish.