Barbara Malmet@B52Malmet
Speaking with my friend, an anesthesiologist at a major hospital in #NYC today he said “You know, the CDC, the FDA, they were the gold standard in the WORLD. Every country turned to us for public health facts. We had the data. We had the science. Trump has wrecked all of it.”

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
One notable football-related bit from RBs coach Brown: While the RBBC carry allocation will in a lot of ways depend on performance and scheme, some guys will have specific role. Describes Malcom Brown as a “one-cut, downhill” guy who will be huge in power run/short yard/3D

situations. Coach Brown does expect there to at some point be a “lead back” within the committee, but adds that he believes this competition will be ongoing through the season.

STL Woody

I am black and a federal law enforcement and I get pulled over quite often. Unfortunately I have had horrible experiences only to be identified as a senior special agent. What baffles me is officers never seem to have a legitimate answer for stopping me. Every time I call my field office so that everything on my end is recorded, and I ask for the officers sergeant to respond to our location. 15 years of this. What if I didn’t have the badge. This is so real. This is not something people of color make up.

The problem is people that are not minorities don’t understand black peoples reaction to cops because the experience isn’t the same. I had my first negative experience with the police at 12 years old. I was on my way to football practice. My dad and grandfather were both cops so I knew the guy was wrong, and I had someone to talk to about it.

Imagine being harassed all of the time. You get sick and tired of being pushed around for just living. Criminals are criminals and they deserve to be treated as such. But not everyone is. And even if criminal deserves the proper use of force.

My favorite instructor told us on day one. Your job is not to teach some one a lesson, nor make a example of some one. You are held to a higher standard take pride in that. In short it’s up to Leos to hold each other accountable, and understanding that the relationship is already fractured. Prove the stereotype wrong.

In Jefferson City MO the officers took a knee to protestors and passed out bottled water. In Baltimore a group of black men were protesting. When a few jerks got out of hand the men turned towards the crowd to protect the police line and handled the jerks themselves. For a few reasons. First so that a cop wouldn’t over react to that small group, second so that they didn’t take away from the weight of the peaceful protest, number three so that criminals who ruin peaceful protest are sent a quick message that it won’t be tolerated.

Too many officers have NO business with a badge and firearm. That is the issue. Because you wear a uniform does NOT give you the right to pick on, disrespect nor mistreat people.

You don’t hear about federal agents/officers nor state troopers/ highway patrol displaying this behavior. There are two reasons for this. Number one Federal and state agencies hold their people accountable. They simply don’t put up with misconduct. Number two the local police unions have way to much political power. Feds have to be A political so that is not a option.

If federal law enforcement can do it why can’t local?]

Personally I don’t think it’s a training issue, but a selection process issue. Every academy from Security Guards to Federal agents have a use of force model. The problem is use of force is a judgement called based on a officers perception, training, and experience. Every officer gets the same training. My issue is the only officers that continue to misuse, miscalculate, and over react are white males to black males. Not one female of any race has used deadly force that way within the scope of her employment. No other race is a victim nor violator to the same extent.

In my humble opinion it’s not a training issue it’s a perception issue that is deeper then training. It’s thought process and personal perception. Some townships make their recruits do a period of time in jails or court before they can hit the street. This does two things. Scares off cowards who can’t handle tough situations, and helps recruits learn conflict resolution without the ability to got to a gun first (no guns in jail or prison).

Being in Law Enforcement means have thick skin and showing the highest level of restraint. You have to trust your ability and training. Cops who over react make it more dangerous for those of us who know how to do things.

from Hurricane Laura topples Confederate monument town had voted to keep
A Louisiana city voted this month to keep the controversial statue standing. Hurricane Laura had other plans.

https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/diversity-inclusion/513973-hurricane-laura-topples-confederate-monument?fbclid=IwAR21xTBpN_D-q8Brv9ZVCODqkFIPXgz7cQA7xwWW4OTh6oEY0MlThG2WSeU

Just two weeks after the city of Lake Charles, La., voted to keep a Confederate monument standing, Hurricane Laura brought it down on Thursday with 150 mph winds as it made landfall along the state’s coast.

10 Observations from the Rams’ Aug. 27 training camp practice

Stu Jackson

https://www.therams.com/news/10-observations-aug-27-training-camp-practice

1) Following the team’s stretching period, Rams head coach Sean McVay paused practice to address the team about continuing to have important conversations regarding social justice and give players a chance to say what’s on their mind. While McVay wanted to keep the specifics “in-house,” he said after practice that those types of conversations are “always about being able to connect with our guys, make sure we understand their perspectives and really be able to figure out a way to put some tangible things in place to try and move the needle in the right direction.”

2) Rams players wore helmets but no pads today, though this was likely by design. While the current contact integration period that began Aug. 18 encompasses 20 calendar days, the modified Collective Bargaining Agreement stipulates a maximum of 14 practices in pads.

3) Safety Taylor Rapp (helmet) and running back Darrell Henderson (no helmet) were once again doing work off to the side.

4) Left tackle Andrew Whitworth and cornerback Jalen Ramsey each had a veteran’s day off, per McVay. This naturally created more opportunities for younger offensive linemen and defensive backs, especially during 1-on-1 and 11-on-11 work.

5) With Whitworth getting a veteran’s day off, rookie offensive lineman Tremayne Anchrum Jr. saw some reps with the first team offensive line during 11-on-11 drills.

6) As for the defensive backs, cornerback Dont’e Deayon, rookie safety Terrell Burgess and cornerback Darious Williams each had some nice moments during 1-on-1 drills. Deayon had a pass breakup against rookie wide receiver Van Jefferson, Williams against wide receiver Robert Woods and Burgess against wide receiver Nsimba Webster.

7) Toe-drag/tap swag. For as much as these observations have discussed Jefferson’s separation and footwork, we can’t forget about fourth-year wide receiver Cooper Kupp’s, either. During 1-on-1 redzone work, Kupp hauled in an over-the-shoulder touchdown catch in the back corner of the endzone on a pass from quarterback Jared Goff. Kupp displayed his footwork again during 7-on-7 drills by getting both feet in for a tight back-of-the-endzone touchdown catch on another Goff pass.

8) John Wolford keeps looking sharp. The second-year reserve quarterback had touchdown passes to Webster, Jefferson and rookie wide receiver J.J. Koski during 7-on-7 drills.

9) Lots of near-interceptions. Deayon nearly picked off Goff during 11-on-11 work, and rookie safety Jordan Fuller nearly jumped in front of a Wolford pass for rookie wide receiver Trishton Jackson during the same period. In 7-on-7 work, inside linebacker Micah Kiser nearly intercepted a Goff pass that turned into a touchdown to tight end Gerald Everett. In fairness to the offense, this anticipation from the defense shouldn’t be surprising since they’ve been going against the same offense for two weeks. Meanwhile, the offense is practicing against a new defense after seeing the same one in practice for three years.

10) Kickers Austin MacGinnis and Lirim Hajrullahu both got work during the 11-on-11 portion of practice, with each attempting a pair field goals from about 49 yards. MacGinnis went 1 for 2, while Hajrullahu converted both.

A witness who saw Kenosha police shoot Jacob Blake says he was checking on his 3 kids when he went back to the car

https://news.yahoo.com/witness-saw-kenosha-police-shoot-210339919.html

Witnesses who saw a Kenosha, Wisconsin, police officer shoot Jacob Blake on Sunday told Insider what they saw happen.

One man said he thought Blake was going back to the vehicle to check on his three young sons in the back seat.

While that man now says he thinks the officer was justified in shooting Blake, several other neighbors who witnessed the shooting disagree and say police used unnecessary force.

Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Witnesses who saw a Kenosha, Wisconsin, police officer shoot Jacob Blake on Sunday speculated that the 29-year-old father was checking on his three young sons when he opened the driver’s side door of his SUV seconds before getting shot.

“Knowing Jacob, that’s what he was doing. His kids are his priority. He wanted to make his kids safe,” Dan Stone, who lives across the street from Blake and was there when he was shot, told Insider.

Stone, 68, said he has known Blake for about five years and referred to him as a “family man” who “took care of his family.”

“The kids were screaming in the back seat, like any normal little kids would be. They sense that,” Stone, who has lived in the neighborhood for 21 years, said.

Another longtime resident, Annie Louise Hurst, 80, was sitting in a chair in front of her home when the shooting happened. Her house is diagonal to Blake’s, and she said she screamed when she saw an officer shoot him.

“He was just walking and opening the car door and trying to get in. He wasn’t aggressive or nothing,” Hurst told Insider, adding that she didn’t know Blake very well but they would greet each other in passing.

Hurst, who’s lived in her home since 1967, said she believed Blake and his sons were celebrating one of the boy’s birthdays on Sunday. A man who said he was Blake’s friend told a local news reporter the same.

A graphic video circulating on social media shows Blake walking away from police officers and attempting to get in his vehicle when an officer grabs his shirt and shoots him from behind. Seven shots can be heard.

Arlene Archilla, who lives two doors down from Hurst, had come home right before the shooting. Afterward, she said, the children were distraught.

“I [saw] one of the children laying down in the grass and [having] a panic attack,” Archilla, 44, told Insider.

The shooting left Blake with a severed spinal cord that has paralyzed him from the waist down, according to civil-rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing Blake’s family in this case.

The Kenosha Police Department said in a statement that it was responding to a “domestic incident,” which Blake’s neighbors said he was trying to de-escalate.

“Jacob was breaking up a fight between two girls,” Stone said.

When Insider spoke with Stone, a former Chicago police officer, on Tuesday, he said the “police shouldn’t have shot” Blake, adding, “They should’ve brought him down to the ground. Scrapes and cuts are a lot better than getting shot.”

The Kenosha Police Department hasn’t released the name of the officer involved in the shooting. Initially, Stone said he thought the officer may have been a “rookie who didn’t know what he was doing,” suggesting that new police-academy graduates should “wait at least a year” before getting a weapon.

But on Wednesday, Stone expressed a different opinion.

“Thought he was a rookie, and he wasn’t and has been on the force for a long time,” Stone said. “He got nervous, that’s all. Just like any other cop would get nervous.”

In the video of the shooting, it’s difficult to hear whether the police told Blake to stop before shooting him, but Stone said they did and Blake didn’t listen.

“If a police officer wants you to stop, stop. They’re there to do a job. Don’t get rowdy with them. Don’t get smart with them. Just stop and listen to what they’ve got to say. Bottom line. That goes for me also,” Stone told Insider on Wednesday.

But Hurst and the other witnesses Insider spoke with said they thought the Kenosha police officers responded excessively.

“They could’ve apprehended him better than that. They didn’t have to shoot, in my opinion, that little man,” she said, suggesting that officers could’ve tackled him to the ground.

Archilla, like Hurst, referenced Blake’s small stature, calling him “skinny,” and said the officers’ response didn’t make sense given what was happening.

“He didn’t have to shoot him seven times. Not even once,” Archilla said.

Arlene Archilla said she witnessed the shooting. <p class=”copyright”>Aisha I. Jefferson</p>
Arlene Archilla said she witnessed the shooting.
Aisha I. Jefferson

They all said they didn’t see Blake carrying any type of weapon in his hands during the confrontation.

“Jacob didn’t have nothing in his hands,” Stone said. “He didn’t have a knife in his hands. He didn’t have a gun in his hands. He had his hands in his hands. And he was just trying to save his kids, probably.”

Since Blake’s shooting, protesters have gathered in Kenosha each night to denounce racism and police brutality.

Three people were shot, two fatally, during clashes between protesters and armed civilians late Tuesday night despite the city being under a mandatory 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew. A 17-year-old was arrested Wednesday and charged with first-degree murder in those shootings.

Several businesses and government buildings have been vandalized, prompting a small group of armed people to defend private and public property around the city. Wisconsin is an open-carry state.

“Because these officers made a bad decision, everybody has to pay for it,” Archilla said.

Originally posted by Jack in a different thread.

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from https://www.si.com/nfl/rams/news/la-rams-terrell-lewis-out-to-prove-he-belongs

Terrell Lewis

Lewis…provides versatility because of how the Crimson Tide distributed his playing snaps.

“At Alabama they used me everywhere along the front seven and I was 10 pounds lighter,” Lewis said. “So even me putting on this weight, my mindset was, I want to be able to be a guy where a coach can say, ‘I can put him at stacked linebacker, I could put him at a three-tech — I could put him anywhere across the front seven — because he’s athletic enough to drop in space and move around and play in space, but then he’s also athletic enough and strong enough and powerful enough to play anywhere along the front line.’”

After Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson, the St. Louis Police union petitioned the NFL to have Rams players suspended for making a protest gesture entering the field. Six years later, players cancelled a slate of NBA playoff games to protest police brutality.

— Full Dissident (@hbryant42) August 26, 2020