LAPD

The American public is distracted, detached and distanced from anything that we vaguely recognize as relevant. And who can blame us? It’s so much easier to talk of the pol who cuts a pizza slice with a knife and fork versus the patented pleated fold. Or seeing Madame Hillary fumble with a NY subway Metrocard to travel two stops in her sudden connection with the masses. We’re a country who knows nothing, feels nothing and appreciates nothing. That involves intellectual heavy lifting. And concern. Alas.

A surveillance video showing Los Angeles police officers shooting and killing a woman was released today by the lawyer for the victim’s family, who is calling for the cops to be criminally charged.
LAPD said Norma Guzman was armed with a knife, which made them fear for their lives.
Guzman, 37, was homeless, mentally ill and a known drug user, according to news reports, but those who knew her said she was harmless and was known to carry around a “bread knife.”

Americans are too busy. Too busy taking pictures of their food and selfies and being self-absorbed and self-focused, bathing in a warm narcissistic glow. And when it comes to getting deep into certain issues, especially those that might be construed as being conspiratorial in nature (translation: true), you might as well change that channel, Sparky. We’re busy. But how we love to bask in the delusion that we’re news junkies, possessed of an elementary understanding of the working parts of multitiered issues analysis. Pshaw! Have a nice day.

Isn’t that a great title? It’s an even better disquisition herein. Some notes follow.

It’s the quiddity of human nature. To think and to dissect and to parse that which is apparent and real and not which is gift-wrapped and force-fed via mythology and folklore. While the world burns, while terrorism infects humanity, while hate and dissension and distance rule the day you can always post some syrupy and saccharine pic about peace and sunsets and bunnies and feel like you’ve done something. Forget historicity, e.g.

Los Angeles Police Department detained and handcuffed a man for filming in public near LAPD’s Mission police station.
The citizen journalist tells the officers in the video you can see below on several occasions, that he is engaged in constitutionally protected activity.
Then, LAPD cops kept questioning him for recording video.
And spoke nothing of reasonable suspicion that Scott would commit a crime.
Because the police would be the only offenders in this video.

Stream of unconsciousness. No précis or proem or prolegomenon or introduction or summary or adumbration or skeleton or outline or pithy phrase or reference can or could possibly describe what this podcast is all about. But Charles Manson comes to mind. “Look down at me and you see a fool, Look up at me and you see a god, Look straight at me and you see yourself.” See?

Fractured.  What appears to remain of the Republican Party as we know it – or knew it – is now being rended by internecine wars, feuds, squabbles, infighting and mutineering cabals. How delicious.

The 2016 Presidential Election

Lionel is in Season Four of “House of Cards.” It’s classy, brilliantly written and possesses one of the most diabolically elegant plot lines ever to grace any screen anywhere. And then it occurred to me – If it actually contained a character portraying the GOP candidate for POTUS who held up his hands and assured the world that his phallus was indeed gargantuan, no one would believe it. It would be too low brow and coarse for fiction! Think about it; this is what we’ve become.
SPOILER ALERT. Behold.