the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Photo(s) of the day courtesy of Boyd Loving’s facebook page 06/02/2020: Better safe than sorry. Ridgewood Police Department Patrol Officer Zachary Knudsen and Bergen County Sheriff’s Department K9 Officer Patrick Doyle conducting a security sweep along East Ridgewood Avenue on Blackout Tuesday.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood Nj, according to resident Boyd Loving in a Facebook post , “Security Sweep: A walk-by to visually inspect the area to identify unattended packages, briefcases, luggage, unauthorized persons, or other security breaches and determine that all public areas are secure. A procedure commonly completed prior to announced/scheduled gatherings of large groups (events). Examples: concerts, demonstrations, memorial services, parades, protests, speeches. Canines trained in the detection of explosive materials/incendiary devices and/or loaded firearms are routinely deployed.”
Blackout Tuesday is an initiative to go silent on social media, reflect on recent events, and stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.
Editors note this is a shockingly well written editorial by Paul Mulshine
By Paul Mulshine
Columnist, The Star-Ledger
After a couple of years during which Donald Trump has done so much to make the jobs of those of us in the media easier and more entertaining, I am starting to see a pattern.
First the Donald says something of which my fellow members of the media strongly disapprove.
Then they take to their computers and TV screens to declare that “This time he’s really gone too far.”
Much speculation about his replacement by someone less interesting ensues.
And then the Donald mounts a counterattack that deflates the media narrative – until next time, when he will once again go too far and start the cycle over again.
The coverage of this Charlottesville incident offered a classic example.
https://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2017/08/charlottesville_reporters_should_leave_the_opinion.html
photo courtesy of Lisa Durden
Updated on June 20, 2017 at 7:09 AMPosted on June 20, 2017 at 7:00 AM
BY BARRY CARTER
Columnist, The Star-Ledger
On June 8, Lisa Durden, a producer, filmmaker and media commentator, arrived at Essex County College in Newark to teach her speech class.
It was the closing days of the summer session and Durden was already set for the fall semester. She was listed as a returning adjunct professor to teach mass communication and popular culture and two effective speech courses.
Two days before, she had appeared as a political commentator on the Fox News show “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” invited to give her opinion as to why Black Lives Matter organizers held a Memorial Day event in Brooklyn for black people only.
When she arrived on campus June 8, Durden was abruptly suspended. She was told she had to cancel classes and report to the Human Resources Department.
Trump blasts Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel for record-setting 762 homicides and 4,331 shooting victims in 2016 and says he ‘must ask for Federal help’ if he can’t fix Windy City
One of the most violent years in Chicago history ended with a sobering tally: 762 homicides, the most in two decades in the city
‘Chicago murder rate is record setting – 4,331 shooting victims with 762 murders in 2016,’ Donald Trump tweeted on Monday
‘If Mayor [Rahm Emanuel] can’t do it he must ask for Federal help!’
Emanuel and Trump met December 7 in New York City but reportedly talked about illegal-immigrant ‘dreamers,’ not gun violence
The nation’s third largest city also saw 1,100 more shooting incidents last year than it did in 2015
The increase in homicides compared to 2015, when 485 were reported, is the largest spike in 60 years
By David Martosko, Us Political Editor For Dailymail.com and Associated Press
PUBLISHED: 20:39 EST, 1 January 2017 | UPDATED: 18:37 EST, 2 January 2017
JEREMY BEAMAN – UNIVERSITY OF MOBILE •SEPTEMBER 6, 2016
‘A safe space for Black CSLA students …’
California State University Los Angeles recently rolled out segregated housing for black students.
The arrangement comes roughly nine months after the university’s Black Student Union issued a set of demands in response to what its members contend are frequent “racist attacks” on campus, such as “racially insensitive remarks” and “microaggressions” by professors and students. One demand was for a “CSLA housing space delegated for Black students.”
“[It] would provide a cheaper alternative housing solution for Black students. This space would also serve as a safe space for Black CSLA students to congregate, connect, and learn from each other,” the demand letter stated.
photo by Boyd Loving
By Graham Deese / July 20, 2016
MADISON, Wisconsin — Members of Shielded Hearts, a group of wives and loved ones of police officers, spoke out Tuesday about the impact the recent shootings are having on their families.
Tina Colon, a Shielded Hearts member, said her husband, Officer Vidal Colon, was shot in 2009 while on patrol.
The Colons’ 11-year-old daughter discovered her father had been shot when she saw him being carted away on the news. Tina received the phone call telling her what had happened while in the presence of her other children. She lost control and collapsed to the ground.
Witnessing this event traumatized the children and left emotional scars that persist to this day, she said.
“I will never forget their faces. I will never forget that phone call.” Colon said.
Fortunately, Vidal Colon survived the attack.
Tina Colon praises Shielded Hearts for aiding her long, slow process to recovery.
“This organization helped me find the strength I needed,” she said.
Mike Crivello, president of the Milwaukee Police Association, spoke on the impact the increasing violence against police officers is having on families. Goodbye hugs last longer, spouses watch their loved ones leave for work each day and they are increasingly grateful for all contact they receive throughout the day, Crivello said.
Tina Colon also talked about how difficult it was for her and other wives of officers to reassure their children, friends and themselves that their loved ones were coming home each day, “when we can’t guarantee that.”
Teresa Robinson, executive director of Shielded Hearts, argued that amidst all the controversy people forget the human side of officers. “People don’t see the real person behind the badge.” she said.
Crivello echoed this sentiment: “It’s really important that the community knows that those individuals riding out in those squads, wearing those uniforms, are human beings.”
Recent events have made life harder on officers, Robinson said. They wanted to protect and serve the community but instead are hated and persecuted, she argues.
“This is not what our officers signed up for,” Robinson said.
Dana Carpenter, another Shielded Hearts member, argued it wasn’t like this 15 years ago. “They were valued, they were respected, but times have changed,” she said.
The Shielded Hearts members emphasized the need for people to show support for law enforcement officers in their community.
Colon argued that, “any little bit of support and positive gestures towards our law enforcement” can help. While acknowledging there are no simple answers, she urged community members not to underestimate the power of positivity.
“We want the community to stand up and show support.” Robinson said.
file photo by Boyd Loving
July 18,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
“Yes. There seems to be a lot of things fueling this but it is the constant misinformation that is reported by the mainstream media and the 24/7 liberal cable networks that stoke the fires with their political correct reporting, speculation on what happened and their team of has been FBI and political talking heads.” ex-Mayor Keith Killion,and Former Ridgewood Police Captain
Ridgewood NJ, in his comment Killion echoed a sentiment held by many law enforcement officials through out the country . In a recent opinion piece by Heather MacDonald ,”The war on cops: The big lie of the anti-cop left turns lethal”
MacDonald says that in the summer of 2014 a lie overtook significant parts of the country and grew into a kind of mass hysteria. That lie holds that the police pose a mortal threat to black Americans—indeed, that the police are the greatest threat facing black Americans today.
Several subsidiary untruths buttress that central myth: that the criminal-justice system is biased against blacks; that there is no such thing as a black underclass; and that crime rates are comparable between blacks and whites, so that disproportionate police action in minority neighborhoods cannot be explained without reference to racism.
The poisonous effect of these lies manifested itself in the cold-blooded assassination of two NYPD officers in December that year.
MacDonald goes on to assert that the highest reaches of American society promulgated those untruths and participated in the mass hysteria. President Barack Obama, speaking after a grand jury decided not to indict the police officer who fatally shot Michael Brown, declared that blacks were right to believe that the criminal-justice system was often stacked against them. Obama repeated that message as he traveled around the country subsequently.
Thank you to all for your thoughts and prayers for our Baton Rouge Police Department officers and our Baton Rouge community.
Currently, BRPD and our partner law enforcement agencies at the local, state, and federal levels are actively investigating the circumstances surrounding this morning’s shooting, and updates will be forthcoming throughout the day. In the meantime, if you have any tips that may help in this investigation, please contact Greater Baton Rouge Crime Stoppers by calling 344-STOP (7867). You can also text Crime Stoppers by sending “CS225 plus your message” to 274637 (CRIMES).
The following road closures remain in effect:
– Airline Highway, from Interstate 12 to Old Hammond Highway (both directions)
– Old Hammond Highway, from Airline Highway to Tara Boulevard (both directions)
Please share this post and check back regularly – more updates to come from both this page and via our official City of Baton Rouge Twitter account: www.twitter.com/thecityofbr.
By Kate Sheehy
July 11, 2016 | 1:18pm
Dallas’s police chief revealed chilling new details Monday about the bloody showdown with cop-killer Micah Johnson, describing how the city’s streets were turned into a war zone as officers hunted down the madman.
Chief David Brown said 11 officers engaged in a gun battle with the rifle-toting Johnson as protesters and passers-by fled for their lives. Two other officers used explosive devices to try to bring him down, Brown said.
The killer, who fatally shot five cops and wounded seven more officers and two civilians, was eventually blown up by two officers operating a remote-controlled device in a building on the campus of El Centro College, Brown said.
“I just said, ‘Don’t bring the whole building down. You know what I want,’” Brown recalled telling the bomb squad officers.
“They improvised this whole idea in 15 to 20 minutes. It was extraordinary.”
By LISA MARIE PANE
DALLAS (AP) — Police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota were followed by calls from black militant groups and others to seek vengeance against officers. Almost immediately, several officers were attacked, including the five slain by a sniper in Dallas.
Now authorities are investigating whether the Dallas gunman was directed by those groups or merely emboldened by them.
“I think it’s safe to say we’ll leave no stone unturned,” Dallas Deputy Police Chief Scott Walton said.
Police have been tight-lipped about exactly what they’re investigating and what they’ve uncovered so far. Although Micah Johnson was connected to several militant groups on social media, it’s unclear if he was merely a follower or a more active participant.
Similar questions have been raised by international terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State group: How is the network encouraging and directing attacks? Is it a coordinated effort or are the attacks simply a byproduct of hate speech espoused by the groups on social media?
The number of black separatist groups nearly doubled in 2015, mirroring a similar increase among white hate groups that has taken place as police killings make frequent headlines, said Ryan Lenz, online editor and senior writer at the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Still, many people who become radicalized do so without direct ties to any groups. Instead, they surf the web and grow their anger in private, Lenz said.
“In the last couple of years, we’ve seen this violence become an ever-present reality in our lives,” Lenz said. “We are in a polarized political climate right now where the ‘us-versus-them’ mentality has started to reign supreme.”
Johnson followed black militant groups on Facebook, including the African American Defense League, which posted a message that referenced the police shooting of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana: “You and I know what we must do and I don’t mean marching, making a lot of noise, or attending conventions. We must ‘Rally The Troops!’ It is time to visit Louisiana and hold a barbeque.”
Other groups Johnson “liked” included the New Black Panther Party, the Nation of Islam and the Black Riders Liberation Party. The last two are described as hate groups by the law center, which monitors hate crimes and right-wing extremism.
Johnson’s Facebook photo showed him wearing a dashiki and raising his fist over the words “Black Power.” His cover shot carried the red, black and green Pan-African flag.
There’s no evidence such groups have directed violent events, but their rhetoric has served as inspiration, Lenz said.
Law enforcement agencies across the U.S. are on guard for threats after the police killings and the Dallas attack. Protesters view the police slayings as further evidence of the law enforcement abuse that has energized the Black Lives Matter movement, which was fueled by the 2014 killing of Michael Brown by an officer in Ferguson, Missouri.
July 8,2016
by Jason Vigorito
Regarding the latest slate of devastating law enforcement events…
Let me start off by saying whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa. Hold up, folks. Take a deep breath and count to ten, like kids are taught to do. If you’re “feeling the heat”, then stick your head in a deep freezer until you cool off. Put your thinking caps on for a little while, and get ready to hear some calm, cool, and collected adult rational reflection right now, because I sure as heck am seeing intellect rarely employed today. By those of you who are speaking with maturity, thank you for furthering the conversation; for those of you flustering and blustering, have a seat and take a chill pill because you aren’t furthering the conversation…in fact, you’re emulating the murderous villains you’re against. Do I have your attention yet? I hope so.
Time for some civilized discussion. We are, after all, the most advanced and educated civilization on the planet today, correct? Right then…
1. I, as one person, do not speak for you. You, as one person, do not speak for me. A handful of murdering individuals do not speak for 320 million Americans. Logical consistency.
2. We all connect with the victims of these horrific acts, because these acts can happen to us and/or our loved ones anywhere at any moment. We also connect with the victims’ loved ones and friends, because we have all felt the loss of losing someone, expectedly or unexpectedly, no matter how prepared we think we are.
3. Emotions generally do not, and should not, govern policy, whether it is your individual policies toward the world or the federal government’s policies toward we the citizens. Why? Emotion overrides everything. Emotion blinds. Emotion is the lower order. Emotion is animalistic. Emotion is fickle. Remember, we all want cooler heads to prevail.
4. For these events’ perpetrators, the emotion of anger led to the irrationality of hate. Nearly all the posts I’ve viewed from my family and friends today have been deeply emotional negatively. Anger can easily gain control and override your system. Your anger, expressed via vitriol, more widely opens the door to hate. And we all know the slew of evil things hate leads to.
5. Your Facebook page is yours. Do with it as you see fit. Your FB autonomy is absolute. But when you un-friend people, shut-down dialogue, and attempt to shame disagreers, you place yourself in a mental bubble. Guess who else placed such self-imposition on themselves? Yeah, the horrible killers you rage against. They ignored everyone else, and followed an ignorant path that progressively led to such radicalization that they couldn’t contain such extremes anymore, so they took the lid off their pressure cookers by implementing death and destruction.
6. I know each and every one of you. Aside from familial obligation–which is a non-sequitur for me anyway, lol–I admire and respect each and every one of you, because you all enrich the tapestry of my own life with your own priceless uniqueness, in all your strengths and weaknesses. For you to close yourself off from the world–which includes me–in such a way, you only create and/or exacerbate impoverishment in our lives, decreasing the vividness and vitality of our tapestries. Why would you do that to anyone who does not deserve such treatment?
7. Disagreement is not a bad thing. Rational, substantive, civil discussion leads to self-fulfillment and fulfillment for others. Even if one does not come out on top in a debate, one is still strengthened by the experience through self-permission. Why? You do not have all the answers. No one, in and of himself, has all the answers. Together, we find more answers. We gain perspective. We solidify our principles and acquire new ones. We learn how to overcome our weaknesses and build our strengths.
8. Success is a journey. It is a process. It is in the pursuit that we find our life’s happiness and joys. You don’t find success in pumping out a kid or two, you find success and happiness in the pursuit of raising those children into mature and independent adults. Same idea when it comes to dealing with current events: what were the strengths and weaknesses that we need to build upon and overcome, respectively? You can’t do that through shunning the world and shirking your responsibilities as a productive member of a democratic society. That’s what the killers did. ….And how’d that turn out?
9. There is one universal answer that, ironically, eventually solves all of life’s problems. The one exception to the general rule. Results are not necessarily immediate, though some results are immediate. Results may vary in degree, but they all fall into the improvement category. The momentum itself carries you forward more easily with time. Progress is a guarantee. Self-barricading is incompatible. You ready? Love. Love as a noun. Love as a verb. Love is universal because it is the only emotion–from which all other positive ones flow forth, including sadness (for from whence does sadness derive but joy and happiness fulfilled through love)–that spurs the intellect, and therefore civilization, on to betterment. Love of knowledge, love of intangible wealth.
10. Think about it. The most powerful statement of all time, in all of human history: “For God so LOVED the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him shall NOT perish, but have everlasting LIFE.” Whether you are a Christian or not, religious or not, that is the most influential declarative statement of all time. It has determined the course of history like no other sentence ever has. And it’s based on Love. Love. Love manifested. Love manifested to overcome. Love manifested to overcome Hate. Love is found in every Faith. Love is found in every one of us. Love is in our hearts. Love is also in our minds and the energy that composes our souls. It is the impetus from which all intellect foundates.
Keep the faith. We all do it together, and our descendants can only….love us.
Five officers were killed and more wounded amid protests on Thursday
A large crowd of protesters moved to parking lot outside 7-Eleven
Large police presence was at the scene in response to reports of looting
Several men outside the store were filmed making gestures and dancing
By KHALEDA RAHMAN FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 15:41 EST, 8 July 2016 | UPDATED: 15:53 EST, 8 July 2016
A video filmed in the aftermath of a deadly attack on police officers in Dallas appears to show protesters dancing in a parking lot.
Five officers died and several more were wounded when gunfire erupted at a Black Lives Matter protest on Thursday night.
Hundreds of people packed into a 7-Eleven parking lot at Griffin and San Jacinto streets as police pushed the crowd away from the chaos of the crime scene, WFAA reports.
It is the the deadliest attack on U.S. law enforcement since Sept. 11, 2001, NBC News reports
By NBC 5 Staff
Five officers are dead — four Dallas police officers and one Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer — after two snipers ambushed and opened fire on police at the end of a peaceful protest against nationwide officer-involved shootings Thursday night, officials say.
“This is a terrible blow to the city of Dallas. This is a terrible blow to the United States of America,” Rawlings said on the NBC’s “Today” show.
Rawlings said the suspect involved in an overnight standoff with police died after officers used explosives to “blast him out.”
Rawlings said he was not sure how the suspect died or what weapons were found on him. He said police have swept the area where the standoff took place and found no explosives.
by WARNER TODD HUSTON
14 Mar 2016
The protests launched by militant leftists who shut down Donald Trump’s Chicago rally were far more aggressive and destructive than reported, says a Chicago Police officer.
“It seems the [media] aren’t broadcasting footage of the debris being thrown across Harrison by Sanders/Hillary supporters at Trump fans,” the officer wrote shortly after the canceled Trump event.
The officer, who posed anonymously on the Second City Cop blog, also noted the media didn’t report that protesters were running through parking lots and breaking windows of cars with Trump stickers on them, or that the department called out emergency Incident Teams to cope with the anti-Trump riot at the University of Illinois in Chicago.
Later that same day the officer posted a second, much longer post, to detail the failures of the police leaders to plan for and respond to the protests.
The officer insisted there was “pretty much zero in terms of a unified Command Post” for the event, and that officers had no central command to report to or coordinate response from.
