Members Anderton Posted July 31, 2009 Members Share Posted July 31, 2009 If I'd been Crowley or Gates, I would have said to the other... "Look, the press can see us, but not hear us. Let's mess with their minds! We could do a round of 'paper, scissors, stone,' that would definitely make them go nuts! Or we could do Tai Chi moves for 15 minutes. Better yet, what if one of us kissed Joe Biden? Yeah, that's the ticket!" Instead, they blew their chance. Creativity in terms of pwning the entire media is sorely lacking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Beck Posted July 31, 2009 Members Share Posted July 31, 2009 These are great ideas. It Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members halfnote Posted July 31, 2009 Members Share Posted July 31, 2009 Besides this being a missed opportunity for BO to take a stand & tell critics that, "No I'm right, it was a stupid thing for the Cambridge police to do but it was also a stupid thing for HLG to play into their hands, however only one of those parties had the power to un-necessarily hassle the other.", it was also a missed opportunity for brewers all over the country to get some free ad time by offering their best products for their Peace Provoking Powers. Whadda we wind up with ? Blue Moon, Sam Adams Light (wait, what happened to the Red Stripe !), Buckler non-alcoholic & Bud Lite. If the Pres wanted badly to show his shared tastes with the USA public that he was willing to drink a Bud Lite, he shoulda gone all the way & had that hippest of hip trash brew, Natty Ice! Since it was obvious from the get-go (tho' not the Git-go) that there was going to be only one serving to each party at this non-party, I was most interested in what would become of the extras from each six-pack but that problem was solved by using some drafts...maybe that explains the lack of Red Stripe. One can only wonder at the sadness that Hunter Thompson didn't stick around to see this remarkable Gonzo political moment. I'm sure we can, however, look forward to some great ads during next Super Bowl! ABC coverage/ dig the camera work, I think we can see who had the extra couple bevvies! http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=14831725&ch=4226716&src=news Online report/ note the text mid-way : "This is a breaking news update!" http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090730/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_harvard_scholar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meccajay Posted July 31, 2009 Members Share Posted July 31, 2009 Did they even sip? I saw full glasses in every shot. Must of been that awful american brew...stands to reason. Barack, next time go with - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pink floyd cramer Posted July 31, 2009 Members Share Posted July 31, 2009 I knew that this thing was a farce from the moment it was disclosed that Sgt. Crowley was not going to bring his mother along for the meeting. Didn't Professor Gates say to Crowley, "I'll talk to yo mama?" Why was his wish not honored? But I agree it was a lost opportunity for badly-needed humor. Dave Chappelle will have a field day with this, I predict. BTW, my favorite title for this (non)event: The Audacity of Hops Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted July 31, 2009 Members Share Posted July 31, 2009 " Besides this being a missed opportunity for BO to take a stand & tell critics that, "No I'm right, it was a stupid thing for the Cambridge police to do but it was also a stupid thing for HLG to play into their hands, however only one of those parties had the power to un-necessarily hassle the other" All the cop did was check things "By the book" I'm sure police departments dont advertise to bad guys what those by the "By the book" measures are and it would be stupid to tell them what they are. Even when someone has an ID, they need multiple verifications. Who knows if the actual owner of a wallet is dead in a back room. Good cops follow these policies fill out reports and cover their position. If someone said they lived there like and ex husband or something, and the place is robbed, the cop wouldnt have a job the next day. Theres absolutely nothing stupid about it besides the Ahole going off on the deep end and the president inflaming the entire police force of the US. All he had to do is answer the questions and the cop who was there to protect his house would have been outta there. One thing I can tell you, If someone was caught breaking into my home and studio, I want the cop to hassel the hell out of them till I get there and verify who the hell they are. Seems like cops get blamed if they do their job or not by idiots. I think secret service guys with shot guns standing around the table would have said it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Philter Posted July 31, 2009 Members Share Posted July 31, 2009 Blue Moon, Sam Adams Light (wait, what happened to the Red Stripe !), Buckler non-alcoholic & Bud Lite. Apparently a Congressman from MA lobbied Gates to switch from Red Stripe to Sam Adams since it's made in MA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mudcat007 Posted July 31, 2009 Members Share Posted July 31, 2009 Can't believe Obama invited Biden to an event where he would be allowed to consume alcohol. No telling what he might blurt out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members girevik Posted July 31, 2009 Members Share Posted July 31, 2009 XKCD's take: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jeff da Weasel Posted July 31, 2009 Members Share Posted July 31, 2009 Great cartoon. Whatever on the beer thing. I agree with Craig. Coulda been a cool moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kurdy Posted July 31, 2009 Members Share Posted July 31, 2009 All the cop did was check things "By the book" I'm sure police departments dont advertise to bad guys what those by the "By the book" measures are and it would be stupid to tell them what they are. Even when someone has an ID, they need multiple verifications. Who knows if the actual owner of a wallet is dead in a back room. Good cops follow these policies fill out reports and cover their position. If someone said they lived there like and ex husband or something, and the place is robbed, the cop wouldnt have a job the next day. Theres absolutely nothing stupid about it besides the Ahole going off on the deep end and the president inflaming the entire police force of the US. All he had to do is answer the questions and the cop who was there to protect his house would have been outta there. I do think it was an over-reaction on Gates' part, but I wouldn't necessarily judge him too harshly. It's a rather widely-held notion among black people in America that cops can't be trusted, and many have had first-hand experiences which re-inforce these beliefs. I'm sure Gates was carrying around some anger about past experiences that he may have wrongly directed at this particular cop. Doesn't really justify it, but I kinda understand why he reacted that way. Not to mention the added insult of being arrested in his own house, which I think would be enough to piss anybody off. I think it was just an unfortunate misunderstanding that got blown way out of proportion, in part thanks to Obama. I'm still trying to figure out what possessed the president to make that comment at that particular moment. The final comment of a press conference on health care--it was so horribly timed. He could've just easily just said "I'll wait to comment until I know all the facts." Call me overly cynical, but I wonder if it was planned. Perhaps he knew his health care reform bill was in trouble, so this was a strategy of "hey--look over there." And presto--health care reform gets buried in the news cycle, while the media shifts their focus to speculation of what brew of beer they're going to have. If so, brilliant move on Obama's part. Sucks for the rest of us, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members veracohr Posted July 31, 2009 Members Share Posted July 31, 2009 Barack, next time go with - Why replace an awful American brew with an awful Dutch brew? Go with a good American one: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members girevik Posted July 31, 2009 Members Share Posted July 31, 2009 Trader Joe's started carrying Oranjeboom - another Dutch beer - about $6 a six pack. Try that as an alternative to Heineken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted July 31, 2009 Members Share Posted July 31, 2009 "Call me overly cynical, but I wonder if it was planned. Perhaps he knew his health care reform bill was in trouble, so this was a strategy of "hey--look over there." And presto--health care reform gets buried in the news cycle, while the media shifts their focus to speculation of what brew of beer they're going to have. If so, brilliant move on Obama's part. Sucks for the rest of us, though". True the back pedal, double dodge routine is getting old. I'll be glad when they're all on vacation. I get sick of hearing their big yaps all over the place. Next thing we have to look forward to is the economy crater when they get back like last year. I kind of missed out on last years. I spent 10 days in the dark with no power after last years Hurricane. Just finished doing repairs a few weeks ago, just in time for this years season. Its amazing though. With all the damage done, I didnt see a single dime of bailout offered, (nor would I take it). All I got was a nice property tax increase and a company wise %5 decrease in pay. They're all Bastards. I guess they wont be happy till we're all living in tents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members halfnote Posted July 31, 2009 Members Share Posted July 31, 2009 Re: the below, I'll not try to turn this into a wrangle that should be on the Political Forum but anyone who's dealt with an angry homeowner on their own property or with a manipulative cop knows the what/why/how of this. I notice that you seemed not to appreciate that I blamed both the cop & Gates for taking things too far; also that you seem to have something going for police (maybe a family member?) cause you zipped right past the humor in my post...in any case, that's OK. Many police do a terrific job that most of us wouldn't/couldn't but to deny the facts when they go off the rails is wrong.Contact me by PM if you wish to discuss further, OK ? Maybe we can get together for some cheap beer ? Back to the theme, WTF's Bucklers ? " Besides this being a missed opportunity for BO to take a stand & tell critics that, "No I'm right, it was a stupid thing for the Cambridge police to do but it was also a stupid thing for HLG to play into their hands, however only one of those parties had the power to un-necessarily hassle the other"All the cop did was check things "By the book" I'm sure police departments dont advertise to bad guys what those by the "By the book" measures are and it would be stupid to tell them what they are. Even when someone has an ID, they need multiple verifications. Who knows if the actual owner of a wallet is dead in a back room.Good cops follow these policies fill out reports and cover their position. If someone said they lived there like and ex husband or something, and the place is robbed, the cop wouldnt have a job the next day. Theres absolutely nothing stupid about it besides the Ahole going off on the deep end and the president inflaming the entire police force of the US. All he had to do is answer the questions and the cop who was there to protect his house would have been outta there. One thing I can tell you, If someone was caught breaking into my home and studio, I want the cop to hassel the hell out of them till I get there and verify who the hell they are. Seems like cops get blamed if they do their job or not by idiots.I think secret service guys with shot guns standing around the table would have said it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Billster Posted July 31, 2009 Members Share Posted July 31, 2009 Back to the theme, WTF's Bucklers ? "Buckler's" is Heineken's brand of non-alcoholic near-beer. Hopefully that's what they gave Biden EDIT: Wikipedia is your friend Buckler was the choice of beverage by US Vice President Joe Biden for the "White House Rose Garden beer-drinking session" or "Beer Summit" with Henry Louis Gates, Joe Crowley and President Obama. The event was the result of the controversial arrest of Henry Louis Gates, which gained national attention regarding law enforcement racial profiling.[6] Biden acknowledged his choice of beer was "mostly ironic". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members halfnote Posted July 31, 2009 Members Share Posted July 31, 2009 Thanks, Bill! Yep, that's what they gave the VP; guess he had to drive the train home that day or something. [ BTW, I was just using the question rhetorically, so as to return to the humorous part of the table.] Personally, I'm still ...(well, I'll go ahead & say it) aghast that HL Gates hadda give up Red Stripe, apparently to satisfy some MA lobbyists (see Philter above). If he was a real radical he'd've opted for an Olde English 40 & stood his ground ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Anderton Posted July 31, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 31, 2009 Many police do a terrific job that most of us wouldn't/couldn't but to deny the facts when they go off the rails is wrong. And of course, you never see a headline like: "Police Have Normal Day, Help a Few People and Arrest a Few People." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members girevik Posted July 31, 2009 Members Share Posted July 31, 2009 Another comedic take: http://www.indecisionforever.com/2009/07/31/jon-stewart-and-wyatt-cenac-simulate-the-white-house-beer-summit/ I love the look on Chris Wallace's face, it practically says "Man, I have to work with THESE people???" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlueStrat Posted July 31, 2009 Members Share Posted July 31, 2009 Sheesh, Gates had it easy. Around here (as in many places) police will put you in handcuffs and set you down for their safety while they conduct their investigation. I understand black men being gunshy about police. But Gates should have been more hep to what the cop was trying to do. I heard a commentator (former police officer) the other day make these points: He asked Gates to step outside for a simple reason. How did the cop know if there wasn't someone inside holding a gun on him? Or Gates' wife/kids/anyone else? Sure, Gates could say "it's okay, I live here'. What if the cop took his word for it and said, 'Oh, okay', and drove away and then a worse tragedy occurred? I've been harrassed by some douchebag cops, so I know they exist. But I don't get the sense that this guy was one of them, according to eyewitness accounts. Anyway, I'm glad it's over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members halfnote Posted July 31, 2009 Members Share Posted July 31, 2009 Gates had already proven his ID & that he was in his own home, so the idea that there was some question hanging is a mistake. Usually this would've had a "Sorry to bother you" / "I understand officer" ending.However it happened exactly---prolly a mix of exasperation, cocktails on the plane & manipulation by the officer (it's an old trick)--- the fact that HLG followed the cop outside is what provided the excuse to arrest him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlueStrat Posted July 31, 2009 Members Share Posted July 31, 2009 Gates had already proven his ID & that he was in his own home, so the idea that there was some question hanging is a mistake. None of that proves that there weren't other dangerous possibilities that had to be checked out. I don;'t know about Massachussetts, but in a lot of places out west here, refusing a request by a police officer is grounds for arrest in itself. It's called obstructing an investigation. Crowley cut Gates more slack than I would have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Beck Posted July 31, 2009 Members Share Posted July 31, 2009 It Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Philter Posted July 31, 2009 Members Share Posted July 31, 2009 None of that proves that there weren't other dangerous possibilities that had to be checked out. I don;'t know about Massachussetts, but in a lot of places out west here, refusing a request by a police officer is grounds for arrest in itself. It's called obstructing an investigation. Crowley cut Gates more slack than I would have. Common practice is not the same as constitutional rights. Americans are basically expected to roll over and play dead for the police even though it's well within our rights to do otherwise. Gates was not under arrest and was in his own home. He produced ID. Crowley arrested him for a bogus charge just to be an asshole. Could Gates have avoided that outcome? Yes. Did he do anything illegal? No. The cop handled the situation wrong and the fact that he finally arrested him on a bogus charge is the proof. Finally it's a little disturbing that this cop didn't even recognize him. What rock has he been living under? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted July 31, 2009 Members Share Posted July 31, 2009 ""I notice that you seemed not to appreciate that I blamed both the cop & Gates for taking things too far; also that you seem to have something going for police (maybe a family member?)"" No not at all. I just think the only one that was truely stupid in this case was the President. The cop was doing his job and the homeowner cries like a littel girl that he's been profiled or race something. He knew he wasnt. He's a pro at playing the race profile game and knew he'd get away with it. At the same time its put him in national spotlight where he wanted to be. Everyones probibly been hasseld by cops at one time or another. They used to follow my band around every party I played at growing up. They'd harrass us because their phone was ringing off hthe hook with complaints of us playing too loud. We were too young to play clubs and there werent too many places we could play live so outside summer jams were it. Cops were a regular nusence. Some were alot cooler than others. For this guy to go off on the cop like he did makes me suspicious. Maybe the guy was doing illegal things and didnt want the cop nosing around? Either way this white vs black crap gets real old. If its valid Hang the cops out to dry, If its a false acusation hang the homeowner out to dry. Both are equally evil offensives.As far as the president goes, he needs his mouth washed out with soap. Its not the first time he has accused whites as being racist and I resent that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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