Patterico's Pontifications

6/4/2015

Cheering Too Loudly Results In Charges Being Pressed Against Graduate’s Supporters

Filed under: General — Dana @ 5:56 pm



[guest post by Dana]

At Mississippi’s Senatobia High School graduation exercises last month and in attempt to ensure that all the graduates’ families could hear their loved one’s name being announced, Superintendent Jay Foster asked the audience to politely refrain from cheering and clapping until the end of the ceremony. After all, it was an event to recognize the graduates and their accomplishments:

Foster said one of the students who was walking across the stage during the disturbance actually flinched and looked upset when the cheering broke the silence.

“The look on her face when she was coming across the stage just reminded me, this is about the kids,” he said. “So many things these days, if I had to sum it up in a few words, it’s all about me. But this is not. This is about the graduates.”

When four people began to loudly cheer and scream for their graduate, they were asked to leave the ceremony. Because they disrupted the event, Foster also opted to press charges against the four adults:

“I did go and sign papers on them for disturbing the peace,” he said. “My point is not to have somebody have to pay money, but I want them to know there are consequences for their behavior, and I want us to have a dignified service.”

From Ursula Miller, one of the four charged:

“I can understand they can escort me out of the graduation, but to say they are going to put me in jail for it,” Miller said to WREG. “What else are they allowed to do?”

Foster explained his decision to press charges:

Foster said he didn’t think just removing them from the service would make the point. He said some of them were actually moving toward the door as they made noise. In addition, Foster said, it seemed as if they did it in defiance of the requests for respect as opposed to simply wanting to celebrate their graduates.

“I can never judge what’s in somebody’s heart. All I can act on is their actions,” he said. But that’s been said to me, that it looked like they did it on purpose.”

The four could face fines of up to $500 each and a sentence of up to six months in jail.

Ursula Miller is expected in court Tuesday.

–Dana

UPDATE BY PATTERICO: Not everything has to be a crime.

Poll: More Americans Envious of Others Despite Their Own Improved Standard of Living

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:37 am



New York Times:

Americans are broadly concerned about inequality of wealth and income despite an economy that has improved by most measures, a sentiment that is already driving the 2016 presidential contest, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll.

The poll found that a strong majority say that wealth should be more evenly divided and that it is a problem that should be addressed urgently. Nearly six in 10 Americans said government should do more to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor, but they split sharply along partisan lines. Only one-third of Republicans supported a more active government role, versus eight in 10 of Democrats.

Polls and studies have also shown marked increases among Americans in wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, and gluttony.

U.S. Cuts Out Middleman in Delivering Weapons to ISIS

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:21 am



Before we get to today’s story, let’s have a quick review from three days ago, shall we?

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi told state TV on Sunday that Iraq’s government lost 2,300 Humvee vehicles when Islamic State insurgents seized the city of Mosul in June 2014.

The Islamic State, also known as ISIS, took over Iraq’s second-largest city following the staggering collapse of the Iraqi military in the region. Faced with the militants’ advance, the Iraqi troops defending the city fled so hastily that some soldiers reportedly stripped off their uniforms and left behind the equipment they carried.

Capturing Mosul gave ISIS a major base for operations in Iraq — and, as Abadi’s announcement proves, an enormous cache of weapons and vehicles, much of it provided by the U.S.

And now, today:

For the first time last week, U.S. troops distributed weapons directly to Iraqi fighting units instead of going through the government of Iraq, a major shift in policy.

Sunni tribes and U.S.-trained Iraqi forces complained for months they had received inferior weaponry or, in the case of the Sunni tribes, no weapons at all, while advanced guns and vehicles went to Shiite forces fighting the Islamic State in Tikrit and elsewhere.

Previous U.S. policy had been that all weapons would be delivered to Baghdad’s Shiite-dominated central government, which would then take the lead in distributing them.

After several setbacks in the Anbar province, which is Sunni-dominated, the U.S. increased pressure to distribute weapons directly to the Iraqi troops and tribes.

You see, it was too circuitous to deliver the weapons first to the government, which would give them to Iraqi forces, which would leave them for ISIS. Now we have cut out a middleman (one of them), and will be turning over weapons directly to Iraqi forces, which will then leave them for ISIS.

Once we start giving the weapons to ISIS directly, we will have attained peak efficiency.

Hillary Clinton: My Speech Will Be My Interview

Filed under: General — Dana @ 6:12 am



[guest post by Dana]

Hillary imperiously says no to the press, yet again. Nora Desmond of the campaign trail: “My speech is my interview.”

Huh?

Clinton campaign spokesman Nick Merrill claims the campaign did not approve the language on the notice released by the university – the university that seeks to shield a woman who wants to be president of the United States from facing tough questions about those sticky wickets she’d rather continue avoiding. Because transparency is clearly not in her best interest. And isn’t that who all of this is about in the first place? Certainly not the voters.

On the upside, from the university:

“There will be wifi and restrooms available.

So the press has that going for them.

In comparison, in just a mere two days of being a declared candidate, Martin O’Malley has taken 70 uncensored questions from the press.

Anyway, if this nomination thing doesn’t work out for Hillary, Bernie Sanders would like her to consider being his vice-president.

–Dana


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