The Gary Baumgarten Report

Will the economy decide the election?

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Baumgarten) — Fri, 17 May 2024 07:46:00 -0400

(Hyperlinks aren't working so links are footnoted).

It was James Carville who famously uttered the words, "It's the economy, stupid!"`1 And, in fact, there's a pretty common belief that, all other issues that sway voters aside, our pocketbooks are what drives our votes.

It probably doesn't much matter whether the president really has that much influence on how the economy is going. After all, economic fluctuations are global. When we are dealing with inflation and high interest rates, so is much of the rest of the world. If we are in a recession or, worse, a depression, we are generally not alone. But that doesn't matter to voters who are frustrated by the cost of gasoline. Or eggs. Or bread.

Well, if it's the economy, stupid, then President Biden ought to be sitting pretty going into this election. After all, the Dow's just hit new heights.2 Whether he deserves it or not, he's taken credit for it. That should win him votes. A lot of votes. Right?

But there are other factors at play here. As mentioned above, the cost of consumer goods. Something to which the American public is adjusting. The Commerce Department reported this week that spending has been down.3 A sign of uncertainty despite the successes on Wall Street.

The latest Fox News poll4 shows that the economy is a top concern of voters. A "deal breaker." So if the argument that the economy is thriving isn't resonating, that's got to be a concern for the Biden reelection team.

Maybe the most prudent thing to do is to analyze the economic plans of both President Biden and former President Trump. I, for one, am not qualified to do so. But fortunately for us, Business Insider has taken a stab at it.5

1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_the_economy,_stupid#:~:text=%22The%20economy%2C%20stupid%22%20is,election%20against%20incumbent%20George%20H.%20W

2 https://www.npr.org/2024/05/16/1251789724/dow-jones-40000-rally-stocks-inflation-economy-recession-ai

3 https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/15/economy/us-retail-sales-april/index.html

4 https://www.foxnews.com/official-polls/fox-news-poll-abortion-economy-border-security-top-deal-breakers

5 https://www.businessinsider.com/what-us-economy-would-look-like-with-trump-biden-presidency-2024-5

Who will win the debates and does it matter?

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Baumgarten) — Thu, 16 May 2024 07:48:00 -0400

The gauntlet's just been dropped and picked up and already people are anticipating the two expected debates between the current president and the former president who wishes to unseat him. It's speculative, of course, but the question on everyone's mind is: who stands to win and who stands to win and who stands to lose when President Biden and former President Trump face off?

This will be their first time meeting since the last time they debated because, as you will recall, Trump boycotted Biden's inauguration. And there's a lot of drama already because we all sense that this is going to be personal. These two men don't like one another. And have little respect for each other.

We can't predict, of course, who will win the debates. But there will be winners. I'm referring to news organizations. Since there's essentially no race for either party's nomination, this will provide the kind of drama we in the news business thrive on during presidential elections. And, of course, the TV pundits can't wait for their opportunity to analyze the performances of each candidate.

There will, of course, be risks for both sides. This will be the first time Trump will debate this election cycle because he sat out Republican primary debates. Trump will also be a bit out of his element and that presents a certain risk. There will be no audience for him to play to. And his microphone will be muted when it's Biden's turn to talk. Biden's will be muted, too, when it's Trump's turn. But it was Trump who, during the debates four years ago, kept interrupting Biden. Both of these are conditions the president demanded this go around.

The main risk Biden faces is how he comes off. Will he appear slower to the verbal punch than he did in 2020? According to reporters who have spoken with them, members of Trump's team are hoping, of course, that the answer to that question is "yes."

The last time these two men met, Trump was the incumbent and Biden jabbed away at his record. This time, of course, the roles have flipped. Does this favor Trump? The role of challenger seemed to work advantageously for Biden during the 2020 debates.

One side note: Where does RFK Jr. fit into all of this? He is accusing Biden and Trump of colluding to exclude him. If true, that would be exciting news. We'd actually have Biden and Trump agreeing on something. Stop the presses!

But the fact is that as he stands now, based on criteria established by CNN, Kennedy lacks the polling numbers to qualify for the first debate. So his latest conspiracy theory, even if true, is moot.

Is Trump responsible for threats on judges?

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Baumgarten) — Wed, 15 May 2024 09:09:00 -0400

It's sort of like January 6. We all know what happened that day. But depending on our perspective, we may, or we may not, blame former President Trump for the insurrection/riot/disturbance/protest that took place.

We've all seen and heard Trump's bombastic commentary directed at the judiciary. And we've seen documentation of an increase in threats against judges.

There are those who would argue there's no cause and effect here. And that Trump is simply exercising his First Amendment rights to be critical of the judiciary.

But there are others who believe his words serve as a dog whistle to some of his more ardent supporters. Who interpret his rhetoric as a directive, of sorts, to threaten judges.

Most of his comments have been directed, of course, at the Manhattan judge overseeing his hush money trial. And it's that judge who's received the brunt of the threats. But he's not the only one.

Other judges who have received threats have been those overseeing the January 6 cases. So many threats have been flung at them that one judge is calling the volume of intimidating messages "unprecedented."

Some judges are relatively stoic about such things. They believe threats are just a byproduct of the job these days. But it's gotten so bad that the American Bar Association is calling on judges who are targeted to speak out.

The problem is severe enough for Congress to take note. A bipartisan bill has been introduced in the Senate designed to protect state court judges from escalating threats. According to the National Center for State Courts, the number of annual threats against jurists in this nation now numbers in the thousands.

Are campus protests a precursor to Democratic Convention demonstrations?

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Baumgarten) — Tue, 14 May 2024 07:50:00 -0400

It's now evident that the anti-Israeli campus demonstrations were well organized, probably well funded and that some of the protests outside the Democratic Convention in Chicago are likely to be organized by some of the same elements behind the campus disruptions. Clearly, the Democratic Party is cognoscente of this and wants to minimize any major disturbances that may divert focus from the convention itself. But it appears the party is concerned that it may not get the kind of preventative support it expects from City Hall, because Chicago's new mayor seems sympathetic to those challenging the system.

Their concerns are apparently not without basis. Homeland Security says there have been a plethora of threats against both the Democratic Convention and the Republican Convention in nearby Milwaukee. Going so far as to describe conditions as a ''tinderbox."

To deal with this, the Dems want to limit protests during the convention. Of course, it's a time-honored tradition for people representing a wide-range of ideas to descend on political convention venues to exercise their First Amendment rights and air their grievances before the gathered cameras and microphones. Many groups expected to protest are pushing back on the idea of limiting their access. Already, more than 70 organizations have joined a coalition which calls itself "March on the DNC."

Meanwhile the Secret Service and other federal agencies are coordinating training with local police departments and are establishing a security plan that covers a host of contingencies. This training and planning is ongoing, with or without the tacit support of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.

SHOULD MAYORKAS BE IMPEACHED?

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Baumgarten) — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 04:37:00 -0500

House Republicans take the first step

House Republicans this morning moved forward toward the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

A House panel voted to advance articles of impeachment against him. They charge that he has failed to secure the southern border. The articles charge Mayorkas with a “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law.”

Go ahead, I don't care

For his part, the secretary seems nonplussed. Prior to the vote he fired off a letter to committee chair Mark Green, proclaiming that what he terms, "false allegations" don't "rattle" him. In the letter he notes that he has testified before the committee seven times and stands ready to testify again.

Who is responsible for the border crisis?

In the minds of many, perhaps most, Americans, there's no question that the border is not secure. What Democrats and Republicans can't agree on is, is who is to blame.

Republicans, of course, blame the administration. Democrats increasingly say, the failures are owned by the Republicans for not passing a comprehensive border/Ukraine/Israel appropriations bill. Arguing you can't expect the administration to button up the border without proper funding.

Fueling all this is that it's an election year. So we have to toss in the allegation that former President Trump is pressuring Republicans to not pass a bill until after November so Biden takes full responsibility for a porous border when voters cast their ballots.

Until now, Trump, who promised before he became president to build a big beautiful wall along the border, has been the champion of border security and President Biden has taken the heat for the number of migrants streaming across. But of late, the president has attempted to position himself as the guy trying to halt the flow. Saying, if given the authority, he'll shut down the border.

So now what?

Now the full House has to be convinced that Mayorkas' actions fit the definition of high crimes and misdemeanors. Impeachments are political processes. That means it's up to the members to interpret that question based on their own understandings of the facts.

Only one presidential Cabinet member has ever been impeached in U.S. history. You can read about President Grant's Secretary of War William Belknap's impeachment trial in 1876 here.

USING ISRAEL AS AN EXCUSE FOR ANTISEMITISM

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Baumgarten) — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 03:17:00 -0500

How the term 'you all' is a dead giveaway

On Monday I had a conversation with a U.S. born Muslim woman about the situation in the Middle East. Something we have been able to discuss in the past with respect for one another's positions.

During the conversation, and repeated in a subsequent text message, she used the term "you all." At first I wondered, what does she mean by "you all." But then I got it.

She is unable to express her criticism of Israeli policy without attacking Jewish people.

Any government, including mine and Israel, is subject to critique, of course. If one disagrees with Israel's prosecution of the war against Hamas, that person is not necessarily exposing themselves as a Jew hater.

But when she says "you all" and she is directing the comment toward me, an American Jew who has no say or influence over Israeli policy, then she is revealing her bias.

This is her text message verbatim:

U all are already convicted of genocide in Gaza and can't even fight a 2% minority of hummus let alone all of you obsessed with fighting Iran just to make Iran destabilized and make it like Iraq an Afghanistan

She is, of course, incorrect in her assertion that Israel was convicted of genocide. And I'm sure she meant Hamas, not hummus (probably a comical error created by iPhone's "incorrect" feature). But why would she say "U all...?"

The ADL's Center on Extremism says incidents of antisemitism skyrocketed following the Hamas terrorist attack:

As the deadly assaults on Israel continue, extremists, antisemites and conspiracy theorists are flocking to online spaces to cheer for Hamas, threaten further violence against Israel and Jewish people worldwide and float absurd, often anti-Semitic conspiracies about the “real” perpetrators or cause of the terror attacks.

And that was written before Israel's retaliation.

Real life consequences

Surging public expressions of Jew hatred has real life consequences. The ADL reports an unprecedented rise in antisemitism since October 7. And it's not just happening in the United States. It's happening all around the world.

The problem is particularly pervasive on college campuses, where 73 percent of Jewish students say they have witnessed or been targeted by Jew hatred.

'No one makes anyone act in an anti-Semitic way'

How do we quantify whether these Jew haters have always been anti-Semites or if their hostility is newly developed as a result of Israel's response to the October 7 attacks?

David Feldman, the director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism at the University of London may have the answer to that question. Feldman, in an interview with the New Yorker said, "no one makes anyone act in an anti-Semitic way."

If one is to subscribe to Feldman's perspective, we are talking about people who were Jew haters before the Israeli declaration of war. Israel's response, then, is just an excuse to come out of the woodwork.

Responding to antisemitism

All this brings us to the question of how to deal with someone who espouses antisemitism.

The American Jewish Committee says it's our responsibility, all of ours, to call out antisemitism whenever it occurs. That's a good strategy on two fronts. It alerts people to the growing problem so those not attuned to it can become more aware. And it can serve as a check to a person who may say something that is anti-Semitic but may not realize it.

For example, many of those who are protesting and are chanting "from the river to the sea" have no idea what that means.

Dov Waxman, director of the Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies at UCLA put it this way in an interview with NPR's All Things Considered. "We need to kind of point this out, without shaming that person, without responding to them as if they're an anti-Semite," he said.

That seems like a fine strategy when dealing with someone who is simply unaware. But what if the person is inherently anti-Semitic and is using the current conflict to express her views? How will using logic fundimentally change her?

I fear trying to get through to such a person is a waste of effort. We can only hope to counter these kinds of lies with the truth. Not to win the haters over. But to that mitigate their efforts to indoctrinate well intentioned and concerned people with their hateful rhetoric.

SHOULD THE UNITED STATES ATTACK IRAN DIRECTLY?

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Baumgarten) — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 07:03:00 -0500

We all know that Iran is behind scores of terrorist attacks in the Middle East.

Iranian-backed terrorists attacked Israel on October 7.

Iranian-backed terrorists have been attacking shipping in the Red Sea.

Iranian-backed terrorists have been attacking Israel from Lebanon.

And Iranian-backed terrorists have been attacking U.S. Army bases - the latest - in Jordan - where three of our servicemembers are dead and dozens more are wounded from a drone strike.

The U.S. military has been responding quickly to attacks and President Biden is promising a military response to the latest attack in Jordan (although Iran is denying it had anything to do with it).

But now, some Republicans on Capitol Hill are suggesting that the United States attack Iran directly. Perhaps the strongest suggestion comes from Texas Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, who writes on an X post "Target Tehran."

Of course, there are those who are concerned that a direct conflict with Iran could lead to a regional conflict impeding the shipment of oil through the Strait of Hormuz and putting U.S. troops in the Middle East in even greater jeopardy. Some even fear it could be a precursor to World War III. However there are those who feel that not standing up to Iran could lead to another world war.

There are also those in Congress, from both sides of the aisle, who are criticizing the White House for authorizing retaliatory attacks without congressional approval.

One thing's for certain. The region's become quite the powder keg. And it's not just about the Israeli-Hamas war.

I visited the real 'Mayberry'

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Baumgarten) — Thu, 18 Jan 2024 21:46:00 -0500

1 Comment

Does reporting civilian casualties require an asterisk?

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Baumgarten) — Wed, 3 Jan 2024 23:14:00 -0500

My friend Avi Perry wrote this piece for Israel National News.

What do you think?

Yes, they are ‘civilians’, but they are neither innocent nor uninvolved

When encountering Palestinian Arabs in Gaza, surveys show an 80%+ likelihood that they are terrorists, supporters, or sympathizers.Op-ed.

Dr. Avi Perry

Jan 3, 2024, 8:06 AM (GMT+2)

Dr. Avi PerryCourtesy

The international community, encompassing the global media, social media, political figures, and even supporters of Israel, tends to criticize the Jewish state's defensive war for causing harm and casualties among "innocent" civilians in Gaza, rather than holding Hamas accountable. There is often a disregard for the reality that eliminating Hamas involves unavoidable collateral damage, given their use of civilians, hospitals, schools, private homes, mosques, and other civilian infrastructure for military purposes.

However, there is more. Contrary to the narrative portraying these civilians as innocent victims, a survey by the Arab World for Research and Development (AWRAD) among Palestinian Arabs in Gaza and the 'West Bank' reveals widespread support for terrorism, rejection of peace, and ingratitude towards supporting countries. “…the results indicate that an overwhelming percentage of Palestinian Arabs support the October 7 massacre (75%), reject coexistence with Israel (85.9%), are committed to the restoration of 'historical Palestine' as a final resolution (71.1%), and support the creation of a Palestinian state 'from the river to the sea' (74.7%) as the end of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict…”

This challenges the notion of the majority of these civilians being truly innocent. Consequently, when encountering Palestinian Arabs in these regions, there is a significant likelihood—over 80%—that they are either terrorists, active supporters, or sympathizers, contributing to negative perceptions and suspicions.

Regrettably, this majority, exceeding 80%, tarnished the reputation of the remainder. When faced with individuals from these areas, there is a natural inclination to harbor fear, suspicion, and generalizations, as there is a high probability—more than 80%—that these sentiments are accurate. While some may label it as Islamophobia, it differs from antisemitism, which stems from bigotry. Islamophobia is grounded in fear and suspicion, and equating the two is nothing but a display of profound ignorance.

Unfortunately, these characterizations extend to women and children as well. Alarmingly, children are indoctrinated from an early age to dehumanize and harbor hatred and hostility toward Jewish individuals, making them likely to grow into terrorists, terrorist supporters, or sympathizers. They cannot be deemed innocent in this context.

In fact, children were filmed beating with sticks a young hostage who was crying for his mother. Hordes of violent, looting civilians invaded Israel in the wake of the Hamas breach of the border on October 7 and others cheered, spit at and cursed hostages who were paraded through the streets, even violatng dead bodies..Civilians, including a doctor and UNRWA teacher, harbored hostages under inhumane conditions and when hostages were freed under the temporary pause in fighting, lined the streets to jeer at them.

Additionally, Hamas strategically employs the Gazan population as human shields, anticipating that if civilians are harmed, Israel will be blamed by the international community. This tactic, coupled with Israel's commitment to trying to avoid civilian casualties, creates a challenging situation in dealing with Hamas effectively while attempting to avoid civilian casualties.

But notwithstanding the unintentional killing of Gazan civilians forced on the IDF by the Hamas’ human shield strategy, we can still draw glaring parallels to historical conflicts, such as World War II, where American forces intentionally targeted and killed many thousands of German civilians, as seen in the destruction of cities like Dresden. This strategy aimed to demoralize the enemy and expedite the path to victory. The use of atomic bombs on Japan also targeted civilians and ultimately led to the transformation of both Germany and Japan into allies of the United States.

Despite these actions causing intentional and significant civilian casualties, Presidents Roosevelt and Truman were not viewed as war criminals; instead, they were considered great leaders. The Nazis, along with many Germans and Japanese civilians, were perceived as being brainwashed by propaganda during WWII. Once the U.S. achieved their unconditional surrender, the subsequent baby boom generation enjoyed a period of prosperity.

Eradicating evil comes at a high cost, requiring a choice between bad and worse. In the current context, Israel faces a similar dilemma, and opting for a worse choice that leaves Hamas in power will result in more significant consequences for present and future generations.

Dr. Avi Perry, talk show host at Paltalk News Network (PNN), is the author of "Fundamentals of Voice Quality Engineering in Wireless Networks,"and "72 Virgins," a thriller about the covert war on Islamic terror. He was a VP at NMS Communications, a Bell Laboratories - distinguished staff member and manager, as well as a delegate of the US and Lucent Technologies to the ITU—the UN International Standards body in Geneva, a professor at Northwestern University and Intelligence expert for the Israeli Government. He may be reached through his web site www.aviperry.org

Helping Someone Or Going Viral?

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Baumgarten) — Thu, 20 May 2021 02:14:00 -0400

By now you’ve probably seen the latest video. If not, here it is:

cristianjesus @cristjdiaz

@AsianPatDixon @censoreddottv @HeWasntJogging Look at all the bleeps stand around and do NOTHING. This animal deserves to be in a cage the rest of her pathetic life.

Notice as one woman savagely beats another in a Georgia pizza shop, people are quick to pull out their cameras and videotape the shocking attack. But no one moves in to stop the assault.

It’s not, of course, the first time.

We seem to be conditioning ourselves as a society to value our videos going viral over everything else. How else to explain people taking to YouTube to do stupid things on camera that get them injured or even killed?

Several years ago a pedestrian was hit by a car on a Detroit freeway. Other drivers stopped but they didn’t jump out of their cars with their smart phones in hand with the intention of helping the injured person. State police say just one person, a nurse, gave the victim first aid. And she had to implored the others to stop using their phones to videotape long enough to phone 911.

In 2019 police on New York’s Long Island reported that a group of teens witnessed a 16-year-old getting beaten in a parking lot. But instead of calling for help, they videotaped his death.

In 2015 in Beaverton Oregon a group of people stood around videotaping a woman trapped inside a burning car. A teenager who saw that none of them were helping the woman rushed up and pulled her through a window. Fortunately the woman lived. But how could the others not help?

Smartphone cameras are getting better and better and I include myself as among those who have used mine to take and publish photographs. But we’re sadly becoming a narcissistic society where many people publish their lives online. Gracing social media with selfies and photos of the latest meal or drink they’ve ordered or prepared. This self-involved attitude extends to the need to be recognized for the videos we take and post. And this compulsion sometimes overrides another human trait - to be compassionate and to come to the aid of our fellow human beings.

I don’t pretend to be an expert in psychology or neuroscience. But I don’t think we need to be experts to observe that our brains can adapt to technology and the instant gratification one gets from going viral. It could be becoming a desire that overrides compassion, which Dr. Emma Seppala, a psychologist and science director of Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education called “our first instinct” in a 2013 Psychology Today article. But can that first instinct change?

Some scientists think the answer to that question is ‘‘yes.” In 2017, a pair of biology professors published a paper in the journal Science in which they conclude that instincts evolve from learning. Which raises the question; are we training ourselves to be instinctively less compassionate?

Clearly all this deserves greater study and public discourse. Not just because of the impact on individuals who suffer a “going viral syndrome.” But because of its implications on society as a whole.

Jewish Man’s Throat Slashed At Protest But What Happened After Is Even More Shocking

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Baumgarten) — Fri, 14 May 2021 17:22:00 -0400

It’s been happening all across New York City.

The Israeli-Hamas war leading to confrontations between pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian demonstrators. Sometimes they shout at one another. Sometimes they shove each other. Sometimes it gets violent.

A video making the rounds on social media shows a particularly disturbing incident at Bryant Park, which abuts the main New York Public Library in Midtown Manhattan. It shows a Jewish man bleeding from the neck. It looks like the wound is superficial but there’s a lot of blood for sure.

A cop, one wearing a white shirt so he’s a command officer, can be seen leading the wounded man by the arm and running away from an angry crowd of pro-Palestinian demonstrators who seemed intent on at the very least further intimidating the wounded man, at the worst, wanting to do him more harm. Some are shouting at him. Others are videotaping.

The officer opens the door to a store across the street from the park and shoves the guy inside and then closes the door. Then he and other officers turn to face the crowd. And here’s the part that is even more disconcerting.

The crowd shoves the cops, seemingly wanting to break through the tenuous and hastily assembled police line to get to the bleeding man inside. One of the pro-Palestinian demonstrators can be heard shouting “break the window.”

Police shove back and then so does the crowd. Profanities are thrown. One of the pro-Palestinian demonstrators tells a cop to “stop fucking touching me,” as he advances toward an officer again.

The officers appear to be holding their ground. And then the video ends. So we don’t see if anyone got their asses kicked by the police (although certainly had that happened the video would have surfaced by now to condemn the cops). And we don’t know if anyone was arrested.

But here’s my point.

Emotions are high over those who support one side and condemn the other over what’s happening between Israel and Gaza. Folks are going to demonstrate. And sometimes there will be counter demonstrations. We can almost expect that the two sides will confront one another. And sometimes there may even be violent interactions.

That’s why the NYPD shows up. To keep the peace. In this case, officers were also doing their duty by protecting an injured man.

What is happening in our society when people attack police officers rendering aid to a man bleeding from the neck? It shows a disregard for policing. And that’s a disregard for public order. It also puts all of us at risk.

I’d like to say this is an isolated incident. But it’s not. Citizens have been posting anecdotal descriptions of police not making arrests where clearly arrests are warranted. Their concerns are even supported by police officers. I try to chat cops up about this issue whenever the opportunity arises. And what I hear from them is that they are reluctant to take enforcement action. Because there’s an anti-cop bias permeating society. And they correctly assume there’s always a camera that might capture them in a moment where they may make a split-second decision they will later regret.

Of course we don’t want cops indiscriminately beating people or violating their civil rights. But do we really want them flying the white flag? And do we really want to develop a society where people feel they can actually attack with imunity police officers who are protecting injured citizens?

I understand the outrage over police overreach especially in the black community. It certainly came to a head with the killing of George Floyd. But Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted in Floyd’s murder, has the support of no cops I’ve ever spoken with. They find what he did deplorable, sickening and inexcusable. Just like the rest of us.

Now there are calls to defund the police. That sometimes translates into defund, disrespect and disobey lawful orders of peace officers.

Even the most ardent blanket opponents of the police depend on them whether they want to admit it or not. An example:

In another recent video, protesters decided to express their disapproval of police by demonstrating outside a Bank of America in Lower Manhattan. One of the demonstrators scaled the side of the building like Spiderman spray paint in hand and began defacing the side of the building. D-E-F he spray painted while his cohorts on the sidewalk chanted anti-cop slogans. But then, the daredevil protester lost his grip and tumbled to the sidewalk cracking his head open. There was a LOT of blood. He was definitely seriously hurt.

One of his fellow protesters ran to his side and cried out to onlookers to help. And guess what the first words were out of her mouth?

“Somebody call 911!”

Funny how she had so much disrespect for the police. Until she needed their help.

The New York City Crime Watch Never Stops

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Baumgarten) — Thu, 13 May 2021 03:16:00 -0400

When I was growing up in Detroit in the 50s and 60s I, like everyone else across the nation, was well aware of the soaring crime in New York City. Detroit was no paradise either. In fact, crime comparisons between the two cities were often made.

In the ensuing years crime showed a marked decline in the Big Apple. But no longer. In fact, violent crime now occurs with regularity in neighborhoods like the Upper West Side and Times Square where it had been rare.

This was underscored by the shootings of three people, one of them 4-year-old girl, at Times Square.

Today I reported on yet another Asian woman being attacked in New York City. She and a friend were walking through Hell’s Kitchen in Manhattan when, police say, a homeless woman confronted them and struck the victim over the head with a hammer. Police have arrested the suspect and are investigating it as a hate crime.

The 31-year-old victim, who came here to study, says she’s had it and she’s returning to Taiwan until New York is safe again. But when will that be?

Any local news site gives the impression that New York City isn’t very safe these days. Just now, as I write this, on the Fox 5 New York website, I see these stories prominently displayed:

“Man Stabbed in Gang Attack in Bronx Bodega”

“Arrest After Two Men Viciously Attacked, Robbed in Queens Road Rage Incident”

“4 Violent Attacks in 4 Hours in NYC Subway”

Not yet reported on the website was the shooting tonight of a police officer in Brooklyn.

I have colleagues who used to routinely take the subway. They say they won’t any longer. They don’t feel safe underground.

I used to walk the mile each day to work from Penn Station. And the mile back. A bit of exercise each work day that I thought was good for my health. But it no longer is. Because what was once a safe stroll is now dangerous because of all the violent crimes taking place in midtown Manhattan.

If New York City wants to ‘‘come back” from the pandemic, it needs to be safe for tourists. It’s great that Broadway plans to reopen in September. But Broadway won’t stay open very long if people are afraid to come. And without a vibrant tourism industry, the city will continue to suffer.

What Went Wrong In Brooklyn Center

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Baumgarten) — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 01:14:00 -0400

A retired police chief and I had a conversation about the events leading to the shooting death of Daunte Wright by Kim Potter, a Brooklyn Center Minnesota police veteran who has now resigned. He had some interesting observations that I’d like to share.

The chief, who wishes to not be put in the spotlight so I’m not identifying him, says the genesis for the tragedy can be clearly seen on the body cam video. He says Wright should have been quickly handcuffed and not in front of an open car door which, he says, was an invitation for him to ‘‘jack rabbit.”

The door, he says, should have been kicked closed. He should have been taken to the rear of the car and put in a position that made it unlikely that he could have run. Or made to lay on the ground with his ankles crossed so he could be handcuffed without fear that he’d take off on them.

In other words, he says, the situation should never have escalated to the point where Potter pulled a weapon.

But when it did get to that unfortunate point, the officer and her partners still had opportunity to prevent it becoming a lethal incident.

He says cops are supposed to carry their guns near their dominant hand. Tasers are supposed to be holstered near their passive hand. This is to prevent an officer from pulling their gun by mistake.

Then, he points out, Tasers are colored differently than guns. They grip differently. They weigh differently. All by design to avoid tragedies like this one.

Finally he wonders why her partners didn’t catch her mistake before she pulled the trigger. One of them, he says, should have stopped her from shooting by telling her she had a gun in her hand, not a Taser.

I’ve talked here before about police training. I’ve interviewed training reform advocates. Most recently a retired NYPD cop who says officers should be trained in martial arts so suspects can be restrained without permanent damage. The chief agrees, suggesting that if the cops were unsure about how to quickly handcuff Wright, they could have grabbed his wrist and gone for a pressure point which would have caused him some pain but would have made him passive with no lasting injuries.

It’s good that these ex-officers are speaking out about training reform. But active police officials need to lend their voices, too. If they don’t, there won’t be meaningful change.

Mistakenly shooting someone with a gun while going for a Taser occurs about once a year. But other tragedies take place on a much more regular basis.

Just today there are these stories that are overshadowed by the Brooklyn Center killing. But they are no less tragic.

A white police officer from Wisconsin who was investigated and cleared for shooting and injuring a black man during a domestic dispute has returned to duty.
Cops say a 16-yr-old shot and killed by police in Maryland was armed with an air gun and a knife.
The family of a 13-year-old who was fatally shot by Chicago police have been shown video of the killing. But it's not being released to the public, at least not yet.
The DA says in another police-involved fatal shooting that took place in California last week the guy the cops shot was holding a fake gun.

Will George Floyd's Death Prompt Police Reform?

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Baumgarten) — Fri, 9 Apr 2021 03:33:00 -0400

Every time there’s a well publicized controversial killing of a black man by a white police officer there are calls for police reform. But each time the focus on these pleas for change fades away with time. Will the killing of George Floyd be any different?

It’s a question that, admittedly, can’t be answered. But I sense attitudes are changing because of Floyd’s death.

Everyone by now has seen the killing of Floyd at the knee of then-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. It seems to me, those images have moved a lot of people who previously were quick to blanketly defend police into taking a new look at policing in America.

A friend of mine, a conservative police supporter, has always been quick to suggest mitigating circumstances in many of these cases. So his comments to me this week were unexpected and jarring.

“Everyone saw what that cop did to George Floyd,” he said. “It was murder, pure and simple.

“I’d like to be the one to flip the switch on the electric chair. In fact, I’d then like to give him a lethal dose just to be sure he’s dead.” (The death penalty was abolished in Minnesota in 1911).

Other people who are typical defenders of the police have made similar comments to me. Perhaps more importantly, so have a number of my police officer friends. They argue, not only were Chauvin’s actions unacceptable but embarrassing to their chosen profession.

“Whenever a cop acts stupid like this it reflects on me and makes it harder for me to do my job,” one NYPD officer commented.

A retired police chief I know also suggested that Chauvin be given the maximum penalty under the law. And says no cop should be defending his actions.

Of course, these kinds of emotive reactions to Floyd’s death are not particularly unusual. But I find the source of the comments interesting. And that’s what leads me to speculate that there may be a growing intolerance to poor police training and supervision, not only from folks who typically defend the cops, but from within their own ranks.

In the end, that’s really where the change must take place. We can discuss and improve training all we want, and we should. But unless the cops on the beat are on board with an attitudinal change we’re not going to get anywhere with this.

I know a lot of cops, both current and retired. And I’m proud to call many of them my friends. The cops I know well abhor excessive behavior by other officers. But all too often their voices are muted. Sometimes because of a culture that suggests that, because their profession is under assault they have to defend their fellow officers no matter what.

Perhaps these anecdotal conversations I’ve shared indicate that attitude is starting to change.

A Call To Remove Farrakhan From Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Baumgarten) — Thu, 8 Apr 2021 02:13:00 -0400

A call to kick Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan off of Twitter following the killing of a Capitol police officer.

In this interview, Dov Hikind, founder of Americans Against Antisemitism, says Noah Green posted a vile video of Farrakhan on Facebook weeks before the attack that claimed the life of officer Billy Evans.

Farrakhan has been off Facebook since 2020 when he was kicked off. Hikind says even though Green posted it on Facebook, Farrakhan should be deplatformed from other social media sites - like Twitter - because his rhetoric is dangerous.

Facebook Bans Firearms Sales So Why Can I Buy A Gun On The Platform?

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Baumgarten) — Wed, 7 Apr 2021 02:50:00 -0400

Facebook prohibits the sales of firearms, ammunition or firearm accessories. Yet, as retired Detroit police sergeant David Malhalab tells us in this interview, people regularly get around the social media giant’s restrictions.

A Call To Reduce The Size Of The Washington DC Police

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Baumgarten) — Thu, 1 Apr 2021 17:54:00 -0400

Washington DC. Our nation’s capitol. And one of the most dangerous cities in the United States.

Neighborhood Scout rates DC’s crime index at 3 percent. With 100 percent being the nation’s safest city. This means Washington DC is safer than just 3 percent of the cities in the United States.

Yet today there’s another call to cut the size of the police department.

This comes just one day after five people were shot, two fatally, in a DC neighborhood.

One might argue that police patrols really can’t prevent shootings. But consider that police resources are stretched whenever there is a major crime scene such as this. And that affects response to other emergency calls.

The call to cut the number of officers on the streets is in sharp contrast with the tactic the department took in 2013. When, in response to complaints about slow police response time in DC, the department actually hired 310 cops.

Today’s recommendations call for social workers, not armed cops, to respond to certain 911 calls in Washington DC. This is not unlike similar thinking in other cities. New York City, for example, is running a pilot social worker response program.

But as any cop can tell you, oftentimes emotionally disturbed people can become violent. And with the number of guns and other weapons so readily available, it’s likely that if police aren’t dispatched after the initial 911 call they will be after social workers are confronted by armed and unstable people.

In fact, many social workers aren’t so keen about the prospect of going into dangerous situations without police backup.

The call for reforming policing has been loud, clear and well supported in this country. Especially after the tragedy in Minneapolis where George Floyd died after a police officer put his knee to Floyd’s neck for about nine and a half minutes. The number of police shootings of young black men in the United States is also obvious cause for concern. According to the National Academy of Sciences, “Police violence is a leading cause of death for young men in the United States. Over the life course, about 1 in every 1,000 black men can expect to be killed by police.” But is cutting the number of police officers the answer?

Some police departments are taking a different approach. In Toronto, for example, officers are trained to deescalate conflicts.

Gary Moskowitz is a former NYPD officer and police reform advocate. He agrees with those who say police officers are too quick to pull out their guns or become physical. The martial arts and police tactics instructor says that’s because officers are ill-trained to begin with.

“Cops have to be better trained in non-lethal restraint tactics but more importantly in what I call ‘psycho-jitsu.’” he says. Moskowitz says that’s learning how to diffuse situations by redirecting people’s anger and anxieties without resorting to physical contact.

“It’s a lot cheaper to train officers in these kind of tactics than to pay astronomical legal damages stemming from police actions,” he argues.

Moskowitz contends it’s wrong to direct blame at individual officers for their actions when they haven’t been properly trained. He holds police brass and city officials responsible for not giving officers the training they need to properly do their jobs.

He says getting physical with people should only be used as a last resort. And if it becomes necessary, officers need to know how to restrain people without hurting them.

But sending social workers to dangerous scenes? Moskowitz says that only puts people who aren’t trained to protect themselves at unnecessary risk.

As I Enter Politics Should I Go For The Honeypot Or The Book Deal?

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Baumgarten) — Thu, 1 Apr 2021 02:59:00 -0400

I can’t quite decide which political office to run for. But before I make up my mind, I know I have to consider what perks I can get from the job.

Before I delve any further into this enthralling subject I’ll point out that I’m writing about an hour into April first. So please take with a grain of salt anything I say.

But if I were to run for office, it seems to me I’d have to choose carefully. Do I want to run for Congress and increase my chances of being befriended by an attractive Chinese spy? Or do I want to run for governor and increase my chances of signing a $4 million book deal?

The first option is, of course, the one from which California Congressman Eric Swalwell benefited. And apparently he was not the only California politician to be so tempted.

The second option is a reference to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo who reportedly was offered $4 million for his book deal.

Remember the circa 1980s American Express ad campaign, “Membership has its privileges?” It seems it applies to politicians as well. But should it?

Politicians are supposed to be public servants. But it seems that many elected officials focus first on personal privilege.

In his 1970 essay, “The Servant As Leader” Robert K. Greenleaf wrote, “A servant-leader focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong.“ This obviously contrasts with the concept of a leader embracing the privilege of his or her position. If the public is helped along the way well, that’s a welcome but perhaps unexpected outcome.

In my decades of reporting I have found a handful of politicians who really represented Greenleaf’s concept. One who often comes to mind is Thomas J. Coogan, who was first elected as mayor of Melvindale Michigan in 1977 and then re-elected in 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991 and 1993.

What was the secret to his success? Coogan was a public servant in every sense of the word. He owned a barbershop in town so everyone knew the best way to get the mayor’s ear was to just walk into his shop and talk to him.

One day when I stopped by to interview Coogan, a man walked in while he was cutting a customer’s hair. Coogan excused himself and turned to his constituent who complained, if recollection serves, that his garbage had not been picked up on schedule that day. Coogan asked the man to wait and then reached for a phone that had no dial on it. It was his direct line to his secretary at City Hall.

Coogan told the secretary to call the person responsible for garbage collection and make sure a truck is immediately dispatched to the man’s house. He then told the guy that if his garbage wasn’t picked up within the hour to call him back. And finally, he apologized that it had not been collected.

Not only was Coogan motivated to actually serve his community, he possessed the kind of humility that allowed for him to do it without his pride or his ego getting in the way of the job. And the citizens rewarded him by electing him to office nine times in a row!

But today, when we talk about politicians, it’s not the Tom Coogan’s who come to mind. Instead it’s people like Swalwell and Cuomo who are perceived as using their positions to their personal advantage.

As for me, I was leaning toward running for Congress because the Chinese government would try to influence me by sending me women. I’d never have to ask a woman out on a date again!

But then a female colleague suggested I should run for governor because if that leads to a $4 million dollar book deal I’ll have women asking me out. And I’d also have all that money to play with.

Another Attack On Asian Americans

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Baumgarten) — Tue, 30 Mar 2021 00:22:00 -0400

I was speaking over the weekend to a friend in Vietnam and I told her that someday I’d like to visit southeast Asia. I asked her about life in Vietnam.

“I hate it here,” she said. “We don’t have freedom of speech like you do.”

So, naturally, I asked her if she’d move to the United States if given the chance.

“I’d never go to the United States,” she declared. “It’s not safe there for Asians.”

Without question attacks on Asians in the United States are way up. By 150 percent by one estimate. Many people in the Asian community believe the actual number is higher.

“Many of us don’t like to complain to the police when we are harassed,” says Dr. Julie Kwon Evans who is active in efforts to combat hate crimes against Asians in Michigan.

Evans says she has been harassed several times since the start of the pandemic. At first she reported the incidents to the police but seemingly nothing was done. So now she just ignores them and goes on with her life.

Of course, fortunately for Evans, she’s remained unscathed. The same can’t be said for an Asian American man on a Brooklyn subway.

The NYPD released a video of the attack, hoping someone can identify the assailant.

The video shows the guy beating and choking the Asian man. He choked him until he passed out.

Other passengers did nothing to intervene. Although several yelled at the guy to stop.

I participate a lot on social media and I have opportunity to speak to people around the world. It’s evident to me that so many in the Asian world, like my friend in Vietnam, are so aware of these attacks in the United States. The last time I can recall such interest in treatment of Asians in the United States was when Vincent Chin was killed outside a strip club in Highland Park Michigan.

Chin, who was born in China, had just gotten engaged. His friends had taken him to the club to throw a bachelor party for him.

Two white guys, Ronald Ebens, a Chrysler plant supervisor, and his stepson Michael Nitz, a laid off autoworker were there. At the time, in 1982, there was a lot of rage directed at the Japanese auto industry for outperforming Detroit’s Big Three. If you drove a car made by a Japanese auto manufacturer you weren’t allowed to park it in many of the UAW union hall lots. And Japanese cars were vandalized in and around Detroit on a regular basis.

It was apparent Ebens and Nitz, who were found guilty of manslaughter, thought Chin was Japanese. The three got into a confrontation inside the Fancy Pants strip club and it continued outside and then inside a nearby McDonald’s restaurant where Chin was beaten to death with a baseball bat. Many in the Asian American community thought the duo got off easy with the manslaughter conviction.

I covered the story and it got a lot of play in the United States. But I had no idea how much attention it was receiving in the Asian world. Not until several years later when I met Nobi Shigemoto, a Japanese photographer assigned by Asahi Graphics Magazine to document crime in the United States. We became acquainted at Detroit police headquarters where he was looking for permission to ride along with the cops. When that was denied, he asked me if I would acquaint him with the streets of Detroit.

We were driving on Woodward Avenue through Highland Park, which is a Detroit enclave, when he suddenly asked me to stop the car. He wanted to photograph the Fancy Pants, which was familiar to him as the place where Vincent Chin had been attacked.

“You recognize the Fancy Pants?” I asked him,

“Everyone in Japan knows about the Fancy Pants bar,” he responded.

So it comes as little surprise that my Vietnamese friend is aware of all the attacks on Asians in the United States. This latest attack in Brooklyn makes it unlikely that she will change her mind and put the United States on her bucket list of places to visit.

Who Is Really To Blame For The Border Surge?

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Baumgarten) — Sat, 27 Mar 2021 02:59:00 -0400

The surge of migrants at our southern border is the latest fuel feeding the blame game in the United States.

Republicans blame President Biden. Arguing this wasn’t a problem when Donald Trump was president.

Biden blames Trump. He says his administration is inheriting a mess that began before he took office.

But if we push both of those propositions aside for a moment we may be able to focus on two “animals” that are actually responsible for what’s happening on the border. Coyotes and Russian bears.

Coyotes are people who other people pay to smuggle them across our border. The Russian bear, of course, refers to Moscow.

The coyotes dupe people in Central America into believing our boundary with Mexico is open and the Russians are engaging in a disinformation campaign designed to discredit the United States and to create more confusion about the Biden administration’s immigration policies.

Our government is now fighting back with a marketing campaign of its own. The government has bought 17,000 radio ads telling Central Americans to not start the arduous journey north because the border is not open.

Of course for the thousands who have already made the trip, this message is too late.

“We were tricked,” one mother who traveled from Guatemala to the Mexican border with the United States told NPR.

At least that woman made it safely to the border. According to the International Organization for Migration, desperate refugees are at danger of being trafficked or forced into slave labor. (This is a global problem not limited to those seeking asylum in the United States).

And a U.S. Justice Department report says human traffickers “transport undocumented migrants into the U.S. for work in licit, semi-illicit and illicit industries.“ The report calls this a “growing problem.”

Republicans are correct that President Biden was slow to acknowledge how serious the problem is at our southern border. Now his approval rating is starting to slip.

But now that the election is over it’s time for us to recognize the best way to solve our major issues - whether it’s the pandemic, mass shootings or an overwhelmed border control system - is to put the partisan pointing fingers down and work together to resolve them.

In this case, Democrats and Republicans should stop wasting energy accusing one another. Rather they should come together to try to retard the work of the coyotes and vigorously fight the same Russian propaganda machine that so effectively divided us during the last two presidential elections.

If Gary Hart Had Andrew Cuomo's Tenacity He Might Have Become President

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Baumgarten) — Thu, 25 Mar 2021 00:36:00 -0400

Gary Hart was the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for president when his affair with actress Donna Rice was revealed.

Just days later, he pulled the plug on his presidential campaign. The scandal bringing to an end his political aspirations.

But imagine if, when challenged, Hart employed the same tactic as New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and simply said, “I’m not going anywhere darling.”

Unlike Hart, Cuomo isn’t under fire for one scandal. But now, three.

In addition to claims of sexual harassment and criticism of his permitting COVID patients to be transferred from hospitals to nursing homes, Cuomo is now being accused of directing state officials to give preferential COVID testing treatment in the early days of the pandemic to his family members. Including his brother, Chris, who is an anchor on CNN.

Cuomo administration officials are denying that any kin of the governor received preferential treatment. But to someone with less resolve, like Hart, any one of the three scandals would be enough to derail one’s political career.

To be sure, Cuomo’s not the first governor to push back on calls to resign. In 2019 Virginia’s Ralph Northam successfully resisted calls for him to step down after acknowledging that a photo in a medical school yearbook of a student in blackface and another of a student in a KKK hood were, indeed, pictures of him.

But this latest allegation can’t possibly be viewed by Cuomo as welcome news. All three scandals serve as distractions as he faces some important decisions.

Among them, whether to further relieve COVID restrictions.

New York City is in dire need of a return of entertainment and tourism. But caution flags are up. Raised by Mayor Bill de Blasio and others. Who are worried that new variants may result in another surge.

And the ink is just now drying on legislation that’s been put on Cuomo’s desk. It repeals immunity granted to hospitals and nursing homes during the peak of the pandemic. It cleared the state Senate 63-0. Now we wait to see if Cuomo will sign it into law. John Dalli, co-chair of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association’s Nursing Home Committee is among those urging Cuomo to quickly add his signature. “If a nursing home cannot be held responsible for being negligent, resident’s lives are at risk,” he argues.

Its enactment, of course, won’t bring back the estimated 15,000 nursing home patients who died of the COVID in New York state. But it’s perhaps a timely reminder that the nursing home deaths should overshadow the other accusations that are dogging Cuomo.

How I Gained Weight Because Of NY's Homelessness

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Baumgarten) — Wed, 24 Mar 2021 01:42:00 -0400

The streets of New York feel different since the pandemic struck. And it’s not just the number of closed businesses.

Homeless people are far more noticeable. People who used to flock to the city to work are now toiling from home. Broadway is dark and tourism is practically non-existent. That means, our homeless population is not only more apparent. There are fewer people for the homeless to ask for handouts.

Also, many people living on the streets aren’t just homeless. They’re also emotionally disturbed.

All of this is contributing to a dangerous situation.

Every morning in the predawn hours I make my way to Penn Station for the train ride home to New Jersey. At that hour, there are far more homeless people in the station than there are passengers waiting for their trains to be called. And many of them are obviously mentally ill.

Many stalk the corridors muttering to themselves. Others shout, either at real people or people imagined.

Some are violent. I’ve seen fights between homeless people. And homeless folks ‘‘boxing” someone only they can see.

Sometimes I see homeless people pounding their fists on the walls.

Not all are aggressive. But many are. Both in Penn Station and on the sidewalks of the streets and avenues that border the train station. My colleagues who take the bus to work say their experience at the Port Authority bus terminal mirrors mine at Penn Station.

Those of us who wait for our trains to be called every morning are used to it. But people who are there for the first time since the pandemic, many of them to catch a convenient train ride to Newark Airport, are often frightened.

There are two police departments with bases inside Penn Station. The MTA’s on guard on the north half of the station served by the Long Island Railroad. Amtrak police are responsible for the south section where Amtrak and New Jersey Transit trains stop. There’s an obvious difference in the number of officers assigned. MTA cops are seemingly omnipresent. Amtrak cops are on the constant move in order to keep up with the problem. They make homeless people sleeping on stairs move. And those who are particularly disruptive are escorted out a door where they potentially become a problem for the NYPD. But it’s a cat and mouse game because there just aren’t enough Amtrak cops assigned to the station to deal with the overwhelming problem.

I’ve been thinking for months about our society’s seeming inability to address mental illness. But I finally decided to write about it after the shooting massacre in Boulder.

We always try to search for a motive when something like this happens. Then there are the inevitable arguments about gun control. But no matter the motive, it’s pretty clear that anyone who would take the lives of so many innocent people is mentally ill.

So how does all this contribute to my gaining weight?

It’s a one-mile walk from Penn Station to work. I used to walk to work and back to the train every day. Two miles of brisk walking may not seem like much. But it kept my waistline in check.

But now, I’m afraid to walk that mile. I was never concerned before the pandemic. But now the chance that I might be accosted by someone who is down, out and desperate is a real concern.

Assaults in Midtown Manhattan, once pretty rare, are now commonplace. People use fists. Bottles. Knives. And sometimes guns. Just the other day, at Sixth Avenue and 45th Street, someone was hit by a stray bullet. That intersection is along my route to and from work.

So instead, I Uber between Penn Station and work. And when I go to Penn Station in the morning, I always have some fruit or some protein bars so I have something to offer anyone who asks for money. In most cases, the gesture is gratefully accepted. Sometimes a person will demand money instead. That causes me to speculate about what they’d do with the money had I given it to them.

A colleague used to give money when asked. Until a man he offered a dollar rejected it and demanded five.

I recognize homelessness and mental health are national issues. But there are things local governments can do to mitigate the problem. It seems those efforts are falling short in New York City.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio’s wife was put in charge of a program to help the city’s mentally ill. She’s been accused of wasting the money she’d been budgeted. A staggering $1.8 billion.

I, of course, can’t speak to how other communities are dealing with these twin and intertwined issues. But when it comes to New York, well, de Blasio is termed out and an election to replace him will be held this fall. The new mayor will be facing seemingly insurmountable problems. He or she will have to deal with rising crime, a fleeing population, closed businesses, a tourism industry on the ropes, declining tax revenues and the probability of having to cut services to make ends meet.

But the conjoined problems of homelessness and mental illness need to be addressed too. If they are not, the quality of life for all of us will be permanently ill affected. More importantly these unfortunate souls will be forced to continue to aimlessly wander our streets, subways and train and bus stations. If that happens, history will judge us poorly.

Why My Friend Left Facebook

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Baumgarten) — Tue, 23 Mar 2021 04:04:00 -0400

Apparently my recent posting about social media bullying really resonated with a lot of people. Several have commented about how they’ve been victimized. Including a friend who is a medical professional.

My friend, who I will call Warren, happens to be an ardent Trump supporter. But he can’t believe the way other people who also voted for Trump are treating him because of what he’s shared on Facebook.

Throughout the pandemic, Warren has been generous with sharing his knowledge of the virus and how it works. He works in a hospital that was - at the peak of the pandemic - overwhelmed with patients. And the number of hospitalizations is growing again, thanks, he says, to the advent of two new variants that are taking hold in a number of states.

There are those, including his fellow conservatives, who have made a political issue out of the virus. Who argue that the social distancing and mask mandates are political in nature. They argue the COVID pandemic’s was overblown last year to drive Donald Trump from office. And believe restrictions remain in place as an excuse to wrench away our freedoms.

Warren has been patiently explaining to several Facebook groups the science behind the restrictions. He’s been pointing out that social distancing, wearing masks and washing hands are prudent preventative measures. He notes that he has been giving direct treatment to COVID patients for more than a year now. And that the precautions that we are told to follow, “are the same precautions we use in the hospital.”

But unfortunately for Warren, many people who read him feel his comments are politically - not scientifically - based. And he’s come under attack on Facebook. He’s been called vile names. Has been labeled a liberal. He must be, he’s been told, (heaven forbid!) a Democrat!

Some of the comments have been so vitriolic to be viewed by Warren as threatening.

He’s worried about his safety and that of his family. And I, his longtime friend, am appalled by what’s being said about him.

I’ve known Warren for decades. We privately discuss our political beliefs and I know that not only did he vote for Trump but he’s very much a conservative. Perhaps if he voted Democratic he’d shrug the attacks off. But its upsetting to him because they are coming from people who supposedly support his political views.

“It’s like people have set their intellect aside,” he says. “They’re on the internet making claims that can easily be checked out in just seconds but they don’t.”

With that I told him about a debate I had just been involved in on social media that illustrates his point.

Some folks were raising the alarm that in Oregon, they plan to make temporary mask mandates permanent.

“What are they going to make people do, wear masks after the pandemic ends?” one participant in the discussion remarked.

It took me just a few seconds to check out the veracity of the claim. Factually it’s correct. The legislature is poised to make the temporary mask mandate permanent. But the conclusion the folks engaged in the conversation so alarmingly made is wrong.

The state website explains, “Although the rule must be adopted as a permanent rule because the law does not allow a temporary rule to be extended, Oregon OSHA expects to repeal the permanent rule once it is no longer needed to address the coronavirus pandemic.”

Of course the many changing pandemic regulations lead to confusion and raise questions. And perhaps some of that can be the fault of public officials who don’t always adequately explain their thinking and why it is modified as the pandemic progresses.

But blame also rests on those of us who don’t take the time to research before sounding the alarm. And on those who attack others with whom they disagree.

Warren’s voice is important because he is willing to share with us the current thinking in the medical community so the rest of us can make informed decisions. I’m saddened that he’s been so pressured that his voice has been silenced by online bullies.

Is Civility Even Possible On The Internet?

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Baumgarten) — Mon, 22 Mar 2021 01:21:00 -0400

I was pursuing the local news today and I saw an article on CBS New York about a surge in COVID cases in Monmouth County New Jersey. Because I live in Monmouth County the story caught my eye. So I decided to share it to the Facebook group that was established for those of us who live and work in Middletown New Jersey.

I thought I was potentially helping my neighbors by posting the article, which quoted the county health department reminding us to continue maintaining social distancing and to be vigilant about wearing masks. But it turned into a heated debate on the 28,000 member page about the veracity of such information.

People argued about whether or not the COVID is really as serious as we are being told by public health officials and the news media. And whether it was made up by Democrats to scare us to vote against Donald Trump.

It went on and on and on. To suggest that it became vitriolic would be a nice way of describing things.

It wasn’t until tonight that I logged back on to read the comments. Frankly I found what people said and how they addressed one another to be unhelpful and hurtful. Somehow the article’s posting served as an emotional trigger for many people. So I added a comment apologizing for sharing the article because it spurred so many personal attacks.

We know this kind of behavior isn’t particularly unusual on the internet. I was recently invited to join the “newest next best thing” in social media, Clubhouse. Clubhouse is trying its best to discourage trolling.

Clubhouse is an audio only platform where moderators have control of their rooms or auditoriums (I’m so new to it I’m not quite sure how they label these gatherings). More importantly they make it clear in their FAQs how important it is to the platform for discourse to be polite and respectful.

It’s a slow rollout and so far, it seems to be attracting folks who agree with this goal. But even on Clubhouse there can be issues.

I popped into a room where Asian people had gathered to discuss the hatred toward their community. And someone tried to shame a Caucasian woman who adopted an Asian child because she’d broken down crying on the microphone. She was basically accused of appropriating Asian American fears in the wake of attacks on the community.

I used to work for the granddaddy of group chat programs. Paltalk was formed in 1998 and I joined not long afterward. For a time I was Paltalk’s ombudsman and I regularly fielded complaints about trolls.

I saw families broken up. Marriages destroyed. Jobs lost. All because someone thought it would be ‘‘fun’’ to send “information” they’d gathered about users to their families or bosses.

It’s a big problem on the internet. Recently Meghan Markel was attacked by internet trolls. On Saturday former NBA star Charles Barkley came to the defense of an Ohio State basketball player who’d received death threats on the internet. And an increasing number of women journalists are coming forward to report they’ve been harassed online.

Some governments are taking notice, too. A British minister is proposing the Online Safety Bill that would fine social media companies should they not take action to stop trolls.

But ultimately it’s really up to us, the users, to self regulate, grow up and show some restraint. It’s also incumbent on those who accept the role of moderator to be more vigilant.

A vibrant debate over issues is a good thing. But one that shames one’s opponent should be universally condemned.

Atlanta A Hate Crime But Not Necessarily Against Asians

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Baumgarten) — Fri, 19 Mar 2021 23:20:00 -0400

The debate continues.

Were the massage parlor attacks racially motivated?

Some folks argue, yes, because six of eight people who died were Asian.

Others say, no, because two of those who died are white. And cops say the man they arrested, Robert Aaron Long, told them it wasn’t. That he has a sex addiction. That he’d frequent massage parlors because of it. And that when he ended the lives of eight people he was lashing back at his addiction.

But there’s another take on the ‘hate crime argument that’s worthy of consideration. My friend author, radio commentator and sex worker rights advocate Tracy Quan, writes in the LA Times that it was a hate crime. A hate crime directed at sex workers.

It’s an aspect of this story that’s right in front of us. Yet we don’t necessarily see it.

Violence against sex workers isn’t just limited to the United States. It’s a global problem. The World Health Organization even defines it as a health issue.

And the National Institutes of Health, citing dozens of studies, says it’s a problem deserving of greater research.

When sex workers are assaulted it seems they often have little recourse. New York’s Urban Justice Center says it’s not unusual for sex workers who are victims of violence to get little or no assistance from the police.

The horrific mass shooting in Georgia is forcing a long overdue look at violence targeting Asian Americans. But as Tracy Quan reminds us, it should trigger attention on the vulnerability that sex workers face, too.