Tag: Minneapolis

My Grandfather and the Fort Snelling Bridge

 

This is one of many stories told by my dad many years after his father passed away in the mid-’60s. I was in 3rd grade when he died, so my memories of him are that of a child.  This is a story that I have been unable to confirm but which I am confident my dad believed was true.  You be the judge.  I have tried to fill in some historical details.  It’s a fun story.

Fort Snelling Bridge (MN5) 1909

Minneapolis: Nice No More

 

Congratulations, Minneapolis! You just dodged a bullet – for now. But only for now. What you will eventually learn, the hard way, is that the white-hating, race-obsessed mob can’t be placated, satisfied, or bought off. Its depravity is bottomless and its appetite for destruction knows no bounds. But for now, you bought yourself some time. The mob said “jump” and the jury on the Chauvin case said, “how high?” The mob said “guilty on all charges” and the jury said, “sir, yes sir!”

Look, we already have a juror confirming what we already knew anyway in a post-trial interview: “I did not want to go through rioting and destruction again and I was concerned about people coming to my house if they were not happy with the verdict.”

After a brief, but unavoidable, hiatus in which is computer expired, Dave is back with new gear, and even new software that allows him to video his podcasts, in addition to hosting live stream events.

In this episode, Ricochet Co-Founder and “Cheers” Executive Producer, Rob Long joins Dave for a post mortem on Election 2020 and an assessment on where we go from here. Rob does a respectable job of trying to talk Dave off the political edge before Ricochet member and writer at The Federalist, Jenna Stocker helps to spotlight the possibility and strength of faith, family and hope. This is no small task for Jenna, who lives in Minneapolis, a place Dave described as “Mad Max territory,” after months of riots, arson, a spike in violent crime even as the city works to defund the police.

Join Jim and Greg as they discuss Attorney General Bill Barr stating there is not enough evidence of fraud to overturn the presidential election and the very different opinion many Trump supporters now have of Barr. They also cringe as Minneapolis reports a 537 percent rise in carjackings compared to this time last year following this year’s riots and anti-police attitudes from local politicians. And they get a kick out of Barack Obama telling progressives that “catchy slogans” are not the path to political progress.

This week, Dave welcomes prominent filmmaker, author, and scholar Dinesh D’Souza to the show to discuss Dinesh’s new film, “Trump Card: Beating Socialism, Corruption and the Deep State.” Released less than a week ago, Trump Card is already #1 on Amazon as well as iTunes. Dave and Dinesh begin by discussing the steady erosion of freedom of thought and speech that Dinesh eloquently noted in his 1991 book, “Illiberal Education” and which he spoke about at length in a special Firing Line Debate, hosted by William F. Buckley, Jr., that same year. But the conversation focuses primarily on Mr. D’Souza’s new film and how he takes the viewer with him to research and interview key people in today’s political divide. A popular speaking on College Campuses across the country, Dinesh explains in detail the pathologies and methods of those attempting to remake America.

Then Dave settles in for a fun and informative chat with Ricochet member Jenna Stocker, whose recent article, “America Needs Its Cowboys,” provides a much needed reminder of the sort iconic heroes and role models who helped build a nation, and whose example can illuminate the path out of the anarchy and chaos afflicting so much of the nation today.

The American Meltdown

 

Police confront rioters, South Portland, OR, Aug. 20.

It’s now a common trope to claim that the United States is so deeply racist that massive structural changes are needed in how government and private institutions operate. That dangerous claim has gained exceptional influence at all levels of education—from elementary school to graduate-level programs. But this idea rests on a wholly misguided understanding of the facts on the ground.

It is surely correct to mourn the death of any individual, regardless of cause. But it is also imperative not to make false causal accusations, as protesters have done, by attributing the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other African Americans to entrenched police brutality and institutional racism. It is not just activists who make this claim. It also our governing organizations. The New Jersey Educational Association uses the Black Lives Matter banner to advocate a major reformation of the education system: “It is impossible to see the video of [Floyd] being strangled under the knee of a police officer in broad daylight on a public street and not be disgusted, horrified, angry, [and] sad.”

Join Jim and Greg as they discuss how the RNC was smart to move away from wall-to-wall speeches politicians and showcase how policies are working in the lives of American citizens and how socialist and communist policies have devastated other nations. They also point out that Joe Biden’s belated plea for peaceful protesting fell on deaf ears as rioters ravaged Minneapolis over the false rumor that a murder suspect had been killed by police. And they wonder what the next step will be after NBA players refuse to play in playoff games over the shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin

Hoover Institute Senior Fellow Victor Davis Hanson sits down with our own Dave Carter to explore the similarities of today’s revolutionary zeal which seeks all encompassing power to dictate every phase of life with various events in history. In those who wan to dictate everything from our leisure activities to a newly-minted phraseology, our culture and statues, our approved political beliefs, Professor Hanson finds disturbing commonality with the Jacobin phase of the French Revolution in which culture and people were purged in what became known as the Reign of Terror. For that matter, there’s a whiff of Mao’s Cultural Revolution in the air, and the fear of baseless accusations that came to define the Salem Witch Trials.  It’s a fascinating discussion which culminates in Professor Hanson’s description of what lax immigration laws have done to the home and property of five generations of his family, the home from which Professor Hanson talked with Dave.

Dave also welcomes back onto the program Ricochet Member Jenna Stocker, whose recent piece, “Minneapolis Isn’t Lost – Yet,” describes what life is like among the “smoldering embers” of what she describes as a city, “…once at the threshold of vibrancy and decency and opportunity – now at the edge of the morass.”  The cameras have moved on from Minneapolis, leaving the residents to try and put life back together again. A native of Minneapolis, Jenna Stocker’s perspective is vital to understanding what happens when the platitudes of politicians give way to reality.

Did Derek Chauvin Kill George Floyd?

 

If there is one thing that we all know, it is that, on 25 May, Derek Chauvin of the Minneapolis Police Department killed George Floyd. This is what the newspapers say, and this is what we are told on television news. The only thing that seems to be in question is whether Chauvin is guilty of second- or third-degree murder.

Ordinarily, in the past, journalists took care to distinguish allegations from facts, but not in this case. They stuck to their claim that Chauvin had killed Floyd even when the medical examiner of Hennepin County issued a preliminary coroner’s report indicating that the latter had died of “cardiopulmonary arrest” – which is to say, a heart attack – and not asphyxiation; that he suffered “arteriosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease”; that he was at the time of death hopped up on fentanyl; and that he had recently used methamphetamines. On National Review Online, on 4 June, the LAPD veteran who writes under the name of Jack Dunphy pointed out the obvious implications, but no one in the mainstream media bothered to note that drugs of this sort can cause shortness of breath and cardiac arrest and that Floyd may have died of a drug overdose.

Rob Long is in for Jim again today.  Today, Rob and Greg kick off the 2020 Major League Baseball season by enjoying a parody of how the Washington Nationals are failing to keep up with today’s woke cultural standards.  Then they cheer the U.S. for closing down the Chinese consulate in Houston.  They also chronicle a massive failure in Minneapolis as the effort to replace police there proves rather challenging.  And they roll their eyes as Joe Biden claims President Trump is America’s first racist president for calling the coronavirus the Chinese virus.  They also use the opportunity to bash the most racist president of in American history.

The Future of Our Cities

 

Buildings on Hamilton Avenue, Detroit.

In 1968, in the wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King, a great many American cities were engulfed by riots. In one such city – Detroit – the mayor, a well-meaning liberal Democrat named Jerome Cavanaugh, made a fateful decision to rein in the police and let the riot burn itself out. To his judgment, the state’s governor – George Romney – deferred, and the riots went on for five full days. “Burn, baby, burn,” they said. And burn it did.

Eighteen years before, Detroit had been the richest city in the United States – with a per capita income exceeding that in every other urban area in the country. By 1968, it was no longer so well situated. But it was prosperous. It was vibrant. The architecture was stunning; the churches, beautiful; the picture palaces, a wonder.

Join Jim and Greg as they react to the Minneapolis City Council announcing an end to the police department but only after a year of community discussions. They also react to school officials in three major cities deciding to stop having resource officers in the schools. And they unload on New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio yet again for his personal and professional approaches to the coronavirus.

Join Jim and Greg for one of the craziest Three Martini Lunches we’ve ever had! First, they dissect the ludicrous push to defend and dismantle police departments and react to Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender suggesting crime victims who would normally call the cops need to understand their privilege by not having police come. They also hammer public health “experts” for declaring that the racial justice protests are more important than stopping the coronavirus, but other protests should not go forward, and stay-at-home protests are rooted in white nationalism. And they chronicle the New York Times fully surrendering to the woke mob.

Join Jim and Greg as they cheer a May jobs report that was more than 10 million jobs better than the experts predicted. They also groan as the New York Times leadership continues to grovel to its millennial and Gen Z staffers who remain traumatized that an opinion column they don’t agree with ended up in the paper. And they use pop culture and common sense to explain why the plans of some Minneapolis City Council members to “dismantle” the police are insane and counterproductive.

As the country is rocked by the death of Mr. George Floyd and the resulting civil disorder, Dave hears from two people with crucial front row seats.  First, Ricochet Co-Founder Rob Long calls in from New York City to share what he’s seen downtown and what he sees in the country at large. Then, Ricochet Member Duke Powell calls in from Minneapolis to talk about what happened to George Floyd. Mr. Powell has 36 years of EMS experience, and he retired from the same agency that responded to Mr. Floyd on that awful day. Mr. Powell shares with Dave what protocols should have been followed and where he believes events took a fatal turn.

Finally, if you’re listening to Dave’s show, but you’re not a Ricochet member, there is a way you can get a 30 day free trial membership . Tune in to learn more!

Tweeting vs. Rioting

 

The explosive video of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, a white male, with his knee firmly planted on the neck of local, black resident George Floyd for nearly nine minutes, brings to public attention two forms of immunity from liability.

The first is a police officer’s broad level of qualified immunity. Floyd, who was detained under suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 bill, became non-responsive and died shortly thereafter. Several days later, Office Chauvin was charged with murder on the correct ground that he lost his qualified immunity from prosecution because his actions so manifestly violated established norms of police behavior. That charging decision was met with universal approbation across the political spectrum, but was preceded by widespread acts of violence in Minneapolis and around the nation, bringing massive destruction to the property of innocent residents, which only intensified even after the prosecution was announced.

There are many urgent and cogent calls today to reduce the burdens needed to overcome the qualified immunity for police officers, calls that are long overdue. But just as police officers must be held accountable for the damage they cause, so too must the rioters who have opportunistically used Floyd’s killing to inflict further harm on innocent bystanders. The First Amendment’s right of the people “peaceably to assemble” provides no immunity to such acts of violence.