Monday Stuff On the Way to Other Stuff: Truth, Justice And Other Events

What a mess.





Unless you're living under a rock, Gentle Readers, you've heard the sad story of George Floyd's death after he was pinned by the neck by a police officer's knee. The officer who did it, Derek Chauvin, is in jail, charged with murder. It seems entirely possible there will be more charges, too.

Riots and protests seem to have taken over the country, protesting Floyd's death. It's all happened extremely fast, and the protestors aren't always locals, either. Which is interesting. Where do you go to hire a protestor? ('Must be willing to commit violence...')

Was Mr. Floyd completely clean in this matter? Ummm, well... after a decade-plus of jail time, he moved to Minneapolis for a clean start, it's said. The link just mentioned will even take you to a short message he posted on video, urging the next generation to clean up their act.

    He sounds like a nice guy who was trying.

    But he was also allegedly picked up for passing a counterfeit $20 bill. Not exactly lily-white, there, either.

Even stranger -- Mr. Floyd, and the cop who knelt on his neck, both worked security at the same bar -- but Floyd worked inside, and Chauvin worked outside.  (And I'm supposed to believe they didn't recognize each other??)

The official autopsy says that Floyd's death was due to the "combined effect of Floyd being restrained by the police, his underlying health conditions, and any potential intoxicants in his system  likely contributed to his death." According to the report, Mr. Floyd was 46 and had 'underlying health conditions, including coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease.'

The family wants an independent autopsy done. Absolutely! Why not! Update: Results were released today -- 'asphyxia due to neck and back compression,' cutting off blood flow to the brain. Hmmm...

It's clear the neckhold was a dangerous position to put a person in...especially for more than 8 minutes. But no signs of strangulation? (The autopsy report was clear on that.)  Shaun King, that journalist of dazzling integrity, just released a brief video that shows the police obviously struggling with Floyd inside the cruiser. King argues they're beating him up -- but it seems equally possible that Floyd ended up on the ground because he was fighting with them inside the car. Floyd was not exactly a small man, which probably was a little intimidating.

So where do you go? Yes, there's injustice here. Was Mr. Floyd treated with politeness and courtesy? Well, obviously not. BUT was he responding with same?

    We can't tell, can we? I'm really hoping that all four officers had bodycams on -- because that would answer an awful lot of questions.

Meanwhile, dozens of cities have had violent protestors burning, trashing and painting insults multiple nights, with more expected. Denver included, by the way, though the police managed to back the protestors down the road, using teargas and united movement. (I'll post this before Sunday's news comes out, but hopefully it's calmer nationwide.)

Are anarchist groups organizing the violence and destruction? NYPD cops think so.

Another example, this time from Ground Zero:
Minneapolis protests, done peaceably: fine. Minneapolis looting done under the guise of protesting: sickening.   Even the news outlets are paying for it.

What bothers me are the people ( black, white and whatever) who paid for this when their businesses were looted and burned, and police everywhere (black, white and whatever), who are having to put up with insults, thrown bottles, bricks and abuse -- knowing that if they fight back at all, it will be their actions posted on the internet -- not those who egged them on. Al Sharpton said to feel bad for the black businesspeople who lost out. Apparently the others can just lump it.  (Have to admit it -- I do admire that man for his ability to sprint to the latest soundbite and photo opportunity.)

And who's going to clean up -- and pay -- for the mess?

Kudos to the protestors who really did mean well, marched down the street...then went home. Even more kudos to those brave and kind people who took part of their Sunday morning to help start cleaning up, in cities across the country. Good for them.  And protestors stopping would-be looters?  Wow.

Hopefully the police are rounding up every video and still photograph of the looters, burners and vandalizers they can get their hands on.

I do wonder, though -- what about people like Breonna Taylor? Her case seems much more straightforward -- and worthy of protest. 

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Now, for a Michigan story:

I should have put this update about Michigan's Governor Whitmer on the other post, probably -- but was (un)surprised. After all, she just extended Michigan's 'stay-at-home' order until mid-June. (I could care less, by the way, that she's a registered Democrat, or a possible VP candidate. Really. What I do care about are the well-being, physically and financially, of Michiganders -- including many friends and family members.)

It was just a 'failed attempt at humor,' Governor Whitmer says, about her husband's demand to cut in front of the line for getting his boat in the water, so he could use it for Memorial Day Weekend. Isn't this the same governor who loosened restrictions, then strongly recommended that no one be allowed to travel for the holiday? Uhhh... yes. She and husband have a vacation home near Traverse City -- hours away from Lansing, Michigan's capitol. Even more ironically, she said, just days before:

     "If you don't live in these regions...think long and hard before you take a trip into them. A small spike could put the hospital system in dire straits pretty quickly. That's precisely why we're asking everyone to continue doing their part. Don't descend on...Traverse City from all regions of the state."

    Yep. That joke was real funny.

   No word on whether she actually 'descended' or not during Memorial Day -- but her husband was certainly there.  Maybe this is yet another example of the governor exempting herself from the rules applied to commonfolk... after all, she's a public figure.

    Not that this happens anywhere else in the country, that governors don't follow their own mandates. Nope. Unh - unh.

     Another update:  The Owosso barbershop is CLOSED. (The barber says he'll continue to cut hair, in spite of it. We'll see.)

Update:  Governor Whitmer lifted restrictions a bit more -- no theaters and such, but restaurants can open, provided they limit customers. And yes, hair salons are still closed.

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Meanwhile:

They made it! The Space-X rocket blasted off Saturday afternoon -- the first manned rocket in nine years, and (I believe) the first combination payload/passenger flight in a long, long time.

Frugal plants for black thumb gardeners.  I'd add rosemary, green beans,  kale or chard -- and cherry tomatoes. (From A Frugal Girl)

Want to be extra-confused about facemasks? The World Health Organization, back in late March, recommended NOT wearing them -- unless you have the disease, or are working with patients who have it. This is what we were told while on the cruise ship...but then everyone got facemasks AND gloves when we got off in late April, and were told to keep them on. Go figure.

An interesting revenge for a neighbor who keeps expanding his yard -- onto your property. My folks had this happen with a neighbor who decided to move his yard a good distance onto their adjoining field. Dad quietly put up with it for a while, figuring that the man was somehow mistaken. Then one morning, Dad took his tractor out and carefully plowed around the edges of the field, destroying the extra lawn the neighbor was so carefully cultivating. The man came out, shook his head...and never did it again.
    Why is this important? Because if you do nothing, the neighbor can claim you abandoned the land -- and it's now his, by squatters' rights. It's happened before,  including Boulder, CO. (Here's a longer look at the case, if you're curious.)

The apartment you can get for $500 in Hong Kong.  Looks like our first apartment at the University of Michigan/Ann Arbor. Maybe you should get this, instead:

The Carsule, a pop-up cabin tent that hooks onto the back of your vehicle.
Looks great, but how long would this last in Colorado's winds? About two minutes longer than the three minutes it takes to set up.

Carsule, New York Post store

A boy finds a 3,5000-year-old clay tablet. On a hiking trip in Israel.

The difference color makes, even when you're scraping for money. (From Coffee with Kate)

He really missed his donkey... and based on the donkey's response, he missed him, too!

Are you better off than four years ago? (The 2020 edition -- from Financial Samurai)

Shaun King, my favorite activiist, is in a little bit of trouble. Again. (See above for more of his shenanigans.)

All sorts of restaurant/resort copycat recipes -- from the businesses themselves!  Plus DoubleTree's recipe for its chocolate chip cookies. Mmm... gotta try those.

Queen Elizabeth's chef's scone recipe. Why not have tea one afternoon, instead of supper?

How to make a gender-reveal cake. Great for your next baby shower.  (From Approaching Food)

What to cook during a pandemic. Readers weigh in, courtesy of the Frugalwoods.

"Have you ever lost respect for a family member instantly?" A rather heartbreaking Quora.

The rainbow house - inside and out. Whoo hoo!

Christo died recently, at age 84.  His attempt to wrap the Arkansas River in Colorado was shuttered in 2017,  to sighs of relief from locals and environmental groups. (Of course it was Trump's fault.)


Have a good week. While people are trying to clean up and go on, do us all a favor and don't start announcing that It was All Trump's Fault. Or Nancy Pelosi's. Or Joe Biden's.

Keep the fingers pointed at yourself. And see what you can do to help this situation, rather than contributing to it.

Please.