Before There was George Floyd, There was Alvin Itula

   Before there was George Floyd, there was Alvin Itula. In Utah.
  Place the stories side-by-side, and go ahead and marvel a little at how the stories mirror each other.
   Four officers were involved in both arrests
   In both, an officer placed a foot on the victim's neck.
   In both, the victim pleaded repeatedly that he couldn't breathe.
   In both, the victim then quit moving and was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead.
   Somewhere in heaven, perhaps, George Floyd and this Utah man, Alvin Itula, are comparing notes.
    We can say it couldn't happen in Utah, but it did. We can say Utah officers are trained better than this, but they weren't.
    Floyd's killing is fresh on the nation's mind, and the nation is roiling in outrage and protest. Itula's? Long forgotten and didn't make much of a ripple. Way back in 2006. If there were any public protesting, it is not to be found on an Internet search.
    Tell me, though, would this not be a moment to pay tribute to Alvin Itula? To remember him? To allow him to be added him to the cause for outrage? Often, as we read the signs of protesters here at the Salt Lake City protests, the names of racial victims of police brutality are listed. "Say my name," the signs say, and they list name-after-name without mentioning Alvin Itula, one of Utah's own.
   Justice for George Floyd? I say, let's also have justice for Alvin Itula. Let's demand that police agencies in Utah be cleared of any officers who would use excessive force on people of color or anyone.
 

Three Suggestions to Help End Police Violence

   Three suggestions from my political party, the United Utah Party, to help end the police violence:
   One, Equip every police officer in Utah with a bodycam.
   Two, Require that police officers report every stop. People of color often report that they are being stopped as a form of harassment.
   Three, Require that all police departments have civilian review boards to review complaints against police.
 

To the humble, go the heavens.

Justice for George Floyd Includes Ending Qualified Immunity

   If George Floyd is ever to have justice, that old Supreme Court decision from 1967 has got to go. Back then, the court decided that government officials -- now, that includes police officers -- should be shielded from being sued for "discretionary' actions they take while performing their jobs.
   You know, like doing something that brings death to someone they're arresting. I would guess placing a knee on George Floyd's neck might fit into this.
   The obvious criticism is that the principle, known as qualified immunity, has become a fail-safe way to dismiss police brutality.
   With fortune, the issue might, indeed, be being addressed. The Supreme Court might announce as early as Monday that it is going to consider the issue of qualified immunity for police officers. And, in Congress, there is a bill to end qualified immunity.

If a President Cannot Say Black Lives Matter, it Dishonors the Presidency

   "We need a president to come out and say simply that 'Black Lives Matter.' Just say those three words. But he won't and he can't." -- San Antonio Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich
   I do not know that this is true, that President Trump cannot bring himself to utter the words, Black Lives Matter. But, if it is, that is a problem.
   There is nothing wrong with the sentiment that black lives matter. No person should be ashamed to say. If a person can't bring themselves to say it, then, yes, it does stand as a strong indicator that person is a  racist. Yes, every police officer who cannot bring themselves to earnestly say black lives matter ought to be fired.
   And, if we ought to be firing every officer who cannot say black lives matter, then what of our president? To be honest, the roles of police officers are such that with them having rule over live and death, it is more important that they can say black lives matter than it is that the president can.
   Still, it dishonors the office he holds if he cannot say it. And, it does expose him as a racist.

Lies seek only to win an argument, 

while truth just wants to settle it.

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'All Lives Matter' is like a hospital without triage

  Blood squirting from a bullet hole in his chest, Tim Skurps found himself in a long line that day. The violence across the city and a virus spreading like wildfire combined to overwhelm the city's lone hospital.
   The line stretched far down the hall. Tim was feeling faint, and knew he could succumb at any moment, so he desperately worked his way through the line to the front, where the medics awaited.
   "Sir, I need help," he uttered through weak lips.
   "You'll have to wait," came the answer.
   "Sir, if you don't mind, my life matters," Tim said.
    The medic looked at the person he had just finished with. "Just a cough, son. You can go on home." He looked at the next person in line and asked how he could help.
    "I think I sprained my ankle," the lady said.
     Tim was still standing there. He appealed for help once again. "Sir, please help me. Please, sir. I'm dying. My life matters."
    The medic looked at the long line of patients  and motioned his arm toward them. "See all these people?" he asked. "All lives matter.  And, so I'm going to treat them all equal and take each one in the order they come."
    Tim just stood there in disbelief.
    "Did you hear me?" the medic asked. "Did you hear me? I said all lives matter. Go back and get in line."
    Tim turned and proceeded to return to his spot in the line. As he did, his voice faintly uttered, "But, my life should matter. My life should matter more than this."
   "I heard that!" the medic shouted. And, he mockingly began to chant, "All lives matter, All lives Matter, All lives matter," as his eyes followed Tim returning to his spot. He then laughed a little, and returned to his work by calling the next person in line.