The Daily Dose/May 28, 2020
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
HERE WE GO AGAIN: George Floyd, a black man who lived in Minnesota, is still dead, his life taken by a white police officer who wouldn’t remove his knee from Floyd’s neck until it was too late. This despite the fact Floyd was handcuffed and lying face down on the ground, doing nothing more violent than pleading for his life.
Lights…Camera…Action: Video coverage a few minutes before Floyd’s death shows Floyd in handcuffs sitting on a sidewalk and while he isn’t altogether pleased to be in custody, he is hardly resisting. He is then led across the street where he ends up on the ground near the right rear tire of a police vehicle, a knee to his throat and in addition to Floyd’s whining, you can hear citizens in the background also wondering what in the hell is going on.
Another officer is standing right next to this, too, doing nothing. The knee is removed from Floyd’s neck only immediately before he is rolled onto a gurney. He is lifeless and will be pronounced dead later at a hospital. Video of the incident is not difficult to find and do yourself a favor and go look at it. It is poignant and tragic as it is compelling.
Dry, Technical Matter: Floyd was arrested and later killed because he was suspected of having had the nerve to pass a bad check.
Book ‘Em, Dano: The calls to have the officers responsible criminally prosecuted have, of course, already started. As they should. These were not the actions of well-trained, professional police officers. Heck, we have significant private security experience and these weren’t even the actions of a halfwit mall cop. It was the criminal taking of a life.
Fly In The Ointment: Be careful, though, because it’s important prosecutors bring charges that they have a chance of getting a conviction on. We’ve chronicled in this space what happens when police officers are charged with Murder 1 in these situations. Murder 1 involves intent, premeditation and malice aforethought and those are difficult to prove when the perp knew the victim only a few minutes.
Please Pass The Dry, Technical Matter: A complete review of Minnesota state law is, thankfully, beyond the scope of this feature, but a cursory check shows the action probably doesn’t even merit a 3rd-degree murder charge, much less a 1st-degree charge. In fact, based on what the video shows and what Minnesota state law specifies, manslaughter in the second degree might be the most accurate charge.
The Bottom Line: So be careful. Let’s not go throwing the whole book at them. Let’s make sure there are charges that can get a conviction.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody: Sparrow has a tough life. Today’s Diary.
And, as long as yours truly is whining, I still haven’t found the thing to mix pancake batter in that I’ve been looking for…I remember growing up Pa Sparrow had this very useful rubber yellow pitcher that you could pour the batter out of after mixing it and I’ve been on the lookout for something like it, but neither the retailer in town nor the one in the next county have one, so I might have to try one of the hoity-toity places in town or, now that I think about, one of the thrift stores in the next county.
Backstairs at the Monte Carlo: Friends, it gives us a great deal of pleasure to report that coming June 1 we will be offering a new way to read this classic: it will run as daily posts, just like it reads in the ebook and just like the daily entries in The Diary of a Nobody.
The fun starts this Monday with the first entry and the memoir covers approximately 15 months in the life of a graveyard security officer on the Vegas Strip. It is, honestly, as funny a book as you will ever read. If you’ve already purchased The Diary of a Nobody – or if you do so before June 7 – you’ll get access to Backstairs at the Monte Carlo, too. After June 7, you’ll have to purchase it separately, so act now.
Click here get in on the laffs: Sparrow, The Bottom Ten, the funniest books you’ve ever read. We offer 4Ever and Ever access, or cheapskates can purchase books and columns individually.
On This Date
History’s long march to today
In 1999 – The Last Supper, a painting by Leonardo DaVinci, is unveiled after two-decade-long restoration. Housed in the refectory (dining hall) of a monastery in Milan, the painting was unable to be moved and was restored where it was. The restoration was not met with universal acclaim, as some parts were deemed to be unrestorable and were merely repainted with watercolors to show it was not original work. The painting, which portrays the disciple’s reaction to Jesus saying one of them will betray him, was finished in 1498 and History reports that Leonardo used local residents as models for the disciples.
In 1995 – The Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers establish a new major league record for most home runs in a game in a 14-12 win by the White Sox. The teams combined for twelve home runs, seven by the Tigers, and broke the record of eleven that had been done four other times and the same two teams tied the record in 2002. The record is now 13 done by the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Philadelphia Phillies last season.
In 1983 – Flashdance…What a Feeling by Irene Cara is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the first of six consecutive weeks. It was the third of six Top 40 hits for Cara and remains her only #1 song. The song went to #1 in eleven other countries, including Norway, Australia and Portugal and peaked at #2 in Great Britain. It was Billboard’s third-biggest song of the year, the sixth biggest of the decade and ranked 34th on their 60th Anniversary Hot 100 in 2018. The song won Cara the Oscar for Best Original Song (shared with co-writers Giorgio Moroder and Keith Forsey) and the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
Quotebook
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
There must have been something more those men struggled for…something that held out great promise to all the people of the world for all time to come. – Abraham Lincoln, speech to New Jersey legislature, February 1861
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
It’s not who you know, but what you know.
Let’s Stay Together by Al Green spent nine weeks at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart in 1972, the most of any song.
Today’s Stumper
Cheaper than Trivia Night at the bar.
What is the major league record for most home runs in a game by one team? – Answer next time!
