Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Mistake and some other thoughts

First off I made a mistake in my post yesterday regarding the exchange between Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert and the Rev. Jesse Jackson.  In short, someone posed as Gilbert and proclaimed that he would win the NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award before Jackson.  I've made a correction in the original posting.

There is a chance that the oil leak could be stopped.  They are doing integrity tests as we speak. I think they should conduct integrity tests for the CEO's of BP and the other major oil companies, but that's just me.

Finally if you don't know about Oscar Grant, today is a good day to find out.  Google his name and you will found out that he was killed by police officer Johannes Mehserle.  Even though Grant was handcuffed, face down on the ground, Mehserle shot him at close range.  Mehserle went on trial for 2nd degree murder and was convicted of involuntary manslaugher.  People are outraged as well they should be.  It is possible that Mehserle could receive probation without jail time. If you have seen the video (I haven't posted a link because I try to refrain from linking to extremely violent videos.) than you've seen that there is no shred of a legitmate reason for shooting Grant.  The claim that the officer did it by accident is the basis for the light sentence.  Now if I shot someone, at close range, on videotape, and claimed it was on accident does anyone think I would be given the benefit of the doubt?  That's why people are pissed off. As with the case of of the officers who killed Sean Bell and Amadou Diallo, the light conviction of Johannes Mehserle stands as another example of the unique set of standards for violent police officers.


Coincidentally, the decision in the case came down the same day as Lebron James "Decision". Columnist LZ Granderson from ESPN wrote an interesting article connecting the two events. 

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