Defund the Police?
I have 3 topics this time, all suggested by listeners.
First, a description of how the pandemic has affected one listener.
Second, an email wonders what “defunding the police” will do to taxes; will they go down or will the government find somewhere else to spend the money?
And third, another email alerted me to a group on the Left that is planning to react to any election shenanigans of violence from the Right over the election. At least, that’s what they claim.
Mentioned links:
Minneapolis officials said they would defund the police. Some now regret that pledge.
The Left Is Setting The Stage For A Coup If Trump Wins
The Left Secretly Preps for MAGA Violence After Election Day
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Show transcript
First off, I have a message from listener Linda who commented on the post where I asked what you’d learned or enjoyed or missed or lost during this pandemic. Here’s her take.
Thankfully I was able to work from home for a month before returning to the office. Also, I was asked to move offices last October and my new one happens to be in a quiet part of the building and has its own bathroom. I have felt quite safe at work.
I have missed the ease of just being out and about eating and shopping, but, I have a bit more in my savings acct. now.
My church was able to reopen, w/precautions, in late June. I am grateful for this, but, miss physically hugging my friends. Because Sunday School was cancelled and still is not able to be done, I record 1-2 Bible studies in both English and Spanish, for my church, each week. It has been a great outlet for me.
As an introvert, being alone isn’t as bad as it has been for others, and I am well aware of this.
I am getting ready to fly up to my aunt’s memorial service in a couple weeks. Because my parents and aunts and uncles are all in their 80’s I am self physical distancing even more, for the 2 weeks before heading there; just as a precaution.
Oh, and … masks are hot and fog my glasses! But, I now have some cute masks; even one with a picture of my family, and another with my favorite game board.
The picture she attached to the comment showed one with her extended family, and one with part of the board for the game Clue. (That’s “Cluedo” for those of you who speak British English.)
I’ve heard folks who don’t like the phrase “social distancing” because it sounds like you can’t or won’t be social. They prefer the phrase “physical distancing”. I do too, but when you hear “social distancing” over and over, it’s a tough habit to break. And Linda, you certainly won’t be social distancing at the memorial service; just physical distancing I’m sure.
And I completely understand the desire to hug your friends. I have a feeling that when that time comes, it’ll be like a bottle of water after crossing the desert; for a little while we won’t be able to get enough.
Thanks, Linda, for leaving that comment. And if you have any thoughts about your time during the pandemic, feel free to do the same.
Listener Brad had a few questions about the whole “defund the police” thing that seems to be going around. He wrote to considerthis@ctpodcasting.com with his thoughts.
Thanks for an always informative and entertaining podcast. I wanted to get your thoughts on the defund the police movement. Specifically, my town recently cut the police budget by a third! The claim is that this funding is going to other services such as social workers who can better respond to the types of crimes that warrant that type of response (which I assume is most crimes). However, I’ve seen no indication that this is, in fact, the case.
My thought is that, as with most liberal policies, this movement is about more control, not less: defund the police now while it has some kind of support, use that money to grow new or existing government services, wait until crime is bad enough in the future to raise taxes in order to better fund the police… because who can argue with that???
Has there ever been an instance where a city has defunded the police only to give that money back to the citizens (or rather lower the tax rates)? I think not. Let’s wait a few years and see if these same liberal cities defunding the police now will have liberal politicians running on a platform of funding the police and raising taxes in the future.
Keep up the good work! Best of luck on the podcast awards!
Thanks Brad! He wrote this before the award ceremony, so thanks for the well wishes. And by the way, thanks to all of you who nominated my show, but the judges awarded the trophy to the show “True Crime DEADLINE”. Wait ‘til next year!
In any event, there’s a link in the show notes to a story where a significant number of supporters of defunding the police on the Minneapolis City Council are backing off and essentially want a do-over. Think of it as “voter’s remorse”. One councilor says he meant the words only “in spirit”, not by the letter. What does that even mean? You wanted to virtue signal but not actually do anything? When asked if this created uncertainty in the city, the City Council president paused for 16 seconds before saying, “I think our pledge created confusion in the community and in our wards.” Ya’ think?
Let’s wait a few years and see if, in some places, the police even got defunded or if this was just more useless virtue signaling.
Listener Barb alerted me to a group that calls themselves the Transition Integrity Project, referring to the election transition. So many articles have been written wargaming about how the Right could get violent and Trump might stage a coup if Biden wins. Or perhaps Trump might file lawsuits in various states contesting the vote count.
Yet it’s Hillary Clinton that told Biden to not concede the night of the election “under any circumstances” It was Biden himself who said that if he won that “the United States government is perfectly capable of escorting trespassers out of the White House.” Liberals have setup what they are calling the “Democracy Defense Nerve Center” so they can plan for all sorts of contingencies. They are the ones looking to hold us in stasis for days or weeks. They are allegedly worried about right-wing violence, but y’know the only violence I’ve seen on a medium or large scale for years has been left-wing violence. And so my thought is that, while this is ostensibly a defensive maneuver against what Trump might do if he loses, it is actually prep for what they plan to do if Trump wins in enough of a close election that they think they can use these tactics themselves. It will be the ultimate expression of #Resist.
Get to the polls and vote. If they lose big, they can’t litigate.
The post Episode 303: Listener Contributions; Pandemic, Police, and Election Prep appeared first on Consider This!.