The Crowhill Journal

… about the mess in Minneapolis, based on past experience.

“The system” will err on the side of protecting the cops.

We’ll discover that there’s another side to this story. Early reports are always so one-sided in cases like this. (“Judge in haste, repent at leisure.”)

Nevertheless, the video seems so damning, it’s hard to imagine a situation where the officer’s behavior was justified.

When I see that video, I keep asking myself what I would have done. It’s tempting to think that you’d rush forward and push the cop off George Floyd. But … you’d probably be shot doing it.

Mrs. Crowhill and I have been watching Timeless, which is a fun TV show you can see on Hulu. (I was going to call it “decent,” but that word has connotations that don’t apply.)

In episode 24, “The Day Reagan Was Shot,” a young Denise Christopher is arguing with Lucy Preston and Jiya Marri about marriage. Preston and Marri ask if Christopher loves her betrothed. (They’re trying to talk her out of the match.) Christopher — a Hindu from India — says that in Indian culture, marriage comes first, then love.

The thoroughly American Preston and Marri object to this, and Christopher replies, “what’s the divorce rate in America?” India has a very low divorce rate.

Correlation does not imply causation, and the low divorce rate in India is probably more the result of their poverty than their assumptions about love and marriage.

Still … it’s interesting to think about.

The boys drink and review Sierra Nevada’s 40th Anniversary Ale, then talk about the Moon.

Why do we always see the man in the moon? Doesn’t the moon spit on its axis? If so, why do we always see the same side?

The boys discuss this and other interesting features about the moon and the solar system. And where did the moon come from?

Did the Branch Davidians deserve ATF’s attack on their home in Waco?

The boys drink and review Hoffbrau’s Maibock, then discuss the Branch Davidians, the ATF assault, and David Koresh.

How should we understand these sincere believers who are a little nutty and often quite wicked? Are they simply fakes, or is it more complicated than that?

What did the folk in Waco do to deserve this no-knock, armed raid? Any if the Davidians were expecting and preparing for an armed conflict with the government, why in the heck would the ATF fulfill that prophecy for them?

Did the government go too far? And who was at fault for the fire that destroyed the compound?

From time to time I see articles about how some organization or other has made a decision “after carefully reviewing the science.”

I call BS.

What they mean is, “we’re scared to death of making a decision that will anger Karen.”

“COVID-19 is a new disease and we are still learning about how it spreads,” says the CDC’s recently updated guidelines. (Source: The CDC says coronavirus ‘does not spread easily’ on surfaces or objects. Here’s what we know.

Or, IOW, “the science” is all over the map and nobody’s really sure.

Does sanitizing surfaces and wearing gloves do any good? Yes, no, maybe, we’re not sure. Ask again next week.

Does wearing a mask help? No, then yes, then … wait a week and it will be no again.

Responding to this mess is a very complicated dance. Obviously we want to listen to the experts, but that bugle’s been making an indistinct sound. Sometimes it sounds like charge, sometimes retreat, and sometimes taps.

Decisions are (and should be) made politically, not scientifically.