Memphis Police Beating: Tragedy and Distraction?

    There are a few professions among the thousands that Americans make a living at, where those in that profession will tell you that it is more than a job, it is a calling. Law Enforcement has always been one of those. We hold those who put their lives on the line every day to protect us, our families, and our possessions, in the highest regard. For the most part, those who wear the uniform hold themselves to a higher standard. They are disappointed in themselves long before we are disappointed in them. That’s not what happened recently in Memphis. Five police officers, those who swore an oath to protect and serve, did anything but. Tyre Nichols was pulled over on his way home, thrown to the ground, and essentially beaten to death, for what the officers claim was reckless driving. The whole mind-boggling incident recorded on police bodycam and nearby surveillance cameras.

     As the video of the beating was released to the public, out came legitimate protesters, and non-legitimate protesters in the form of the usual race grifters. Even President Joe Biden made a statement about the incident. Fortunately, the riots and destruction that took place around the nation in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd did not occur this time. What will occur, will be discussions on police reform. And it is the cops themselves that might be the first ones to say that yes, anyway they can tweak things, and make improvements that will enable them to do their jobs better, they are all for. Something went horribly wrong in the Memphis police department and trying to figure out what that is and how to fix it so nothing like this ever happens again will be the focus of many discussions for the weeks and months to come, as well they should be. The media will see to that. But while that happens, let’s be honest. What information, other vital information that Americans need to know about, will the media shove off the front pages, and off news and information websites that well, might be inconvenient for those they champion. Because while we talk about Memphis, which is important, it is also important to note what we are not talking about too.

     One thing we are not talking about now, just how compromised is President Joe Biden because of shady business dealings with his son Hunter that he claimed to know nothing about, and other members of his family? Having troves of classified documents that clearly came into his possession while he was Vice President, and therefore had no authority to classify or declassify those documents is problem enough. But an email recently surfaced written by Hunter Biden in 2014 to his business partner Devon Archer, reads like a point-by-point State Department document that according to a New York Post interview with Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) “resembles documents the State Department gives members of the Senate when they travel overseas.”   

     Hunter appeared to try to pass off the extremely lengthy and highly detailed email as just some “random thoughts” he had while accompanying brother Beau Biden to a cancer checkup in Houston. Those random thoughts turned into a 22-point memo that included phrases such as, “If it doesn’t, the Russians will continue to escalate there [sic] destabilization campaign, which could lead to a full-scale takeover of the eastern region most critically Donetsk. The strategic value is to create a land bridge for [RU]ssia to Crimea.” This email went out to Archer about the time that both he and Hunter Biden were trying to get on the board of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma. Could Hunter Biden come up with all these geo-political conclusions on his own, or was it because he was living in the same house, for $50,000 a month, where documents were being kept in the garage that he would have had ready access to?

     And while we are on, or not on depending on who controls information, the subject of Ukraine, Joe Biden gave a late Christmas gift of 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine last week. State of the art equipment that some Ukrainian military officials will travel to the U.S. to learn how to operate and maintain, and then take that knowledge back home with them. But also, some Americans will have to travel to Ukraine for training as well. Is this in the vein of Vietnam-esque “advisers?” Not sure, but it sounds vaguely like Americans in Ukraine. Add to that, last week’s comment by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock when she said while giving a speech that, “We (other European nations) are fighting a war against Russia, not against each other.” Really? Germany also has sent tanks to Ukraine, but has there been a declaration of war by Germany against Russia that we somehow missed? In an interview with NewsWeek, government professor at Clairmont McKenna College Hilary Appel said that Baerbock “misspoke.” Could be, but if you are Vladimir Putin, even though your military might not be as outfitted as the Soviets once were, when do you begin to see all this “assistance” to Ukraine as aggression?

     All this is not to say that things like what happened in Memphis aren’t important. But knowing whether the sitting President is compromised and can be easily blackmailed and/or manipulated by foreign states that clearly are not our friends, or that America seems to be getting embroiled further and further into a war to assist a nation that is far from a democracy, and does not seem to have any clear American interests, is not something that we should give the media a pass on talking about because they think they have found a distraction from all the other stories that make their favorite team look bad. There will be a lot of talk of accountability from the media in the coming weeks. It would be nice if we could hold them accountable as well.