Former LAPD officer Christopher Dorner: Hero or Villain?

I will admit that when former LAPD officer Christopher Dorner uploaded his manifesto and decided the only means to clear his "good" name was to take to the streets of Los Angeles and enact revenge, I really didn't care to follow. People snap for various reasons and take vengeance out in any manner they see fit; unfortunately. As I read the various websites I routinely look at this morning, I saw on www.nbcnews.com (http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/17/16990419-protesters-call-for-clearing-fired-lapd-officer-christopher-dorners-name?lite) that about 200 protesters went to LAPD headquarters yesterday to show support for former LAPD officer Christopher Dorner.

The protest raised my curiosity as to why might a pocket of our population take time of their day to advocate for a man that just terrorized and killed people in California. The NBC news article quoted one protester:

"We're protesting some of the police brutality -- not just LAPD, but all over the nation," said protester and Lomita resident Vincent Namm, a former Marine. "With Chris Dorner, habeas corpus just got thrown out the window.''


The article prompted me to search and see what else may be said in support of former LAPD officer Chris Dorner. In a CNN article a professor of English at Columbia University is quoted as (http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/13/us/lapd-dorner-fans) :

"But when you read his manifesto, when you read the message he left, he wasn't entirely crazy. He had a plan and mission here, and many people aren't rooting for him to kill innocent people, they're rooting for somebody who was wronged to get a kind of revenge against the system." Hill added. "It is almost like watching 'Django Unchained' in real life."

Django Unchained! Before I continue here is a link to the manifesto in the event you haven't read it: http://christopher-dorner.com/christopher-dorners-manifesto-full-unedited-copy/ . Okay, former LAPD officer Chris Dorner is being compared to Jamie Foxx's character in Django Unchained? Now I have not seen the movie, yet it is on a long list of ones to see, but my understanding of the movie is a freed slave seeks to rescue his wife from a slave owner. How does this equate?

Not to digress to far, but what makes a manifesto sane or crazy? I mean if one reads the Communist Manifesto written by Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels one will see that both men had a plan and mission. That being said does it wash away the tyranny and death that Marxist thought brought to Russia all okay? Dorner reflects, in his manifesto, of an altercation with Jim Armstrong on the playground at the Norwalk Christain elementary school as his first encounter with racism:

My first recollection of racism was in the first grade at Norwalk Christian elementary school in Norwalk, CA. A fellow student, Jim Armstrong if I can recall, called me a nigger on the playground. My response was swift and non-lethal. I struck him fast and hard with a punch an kick. He cried and reported it to a teacher. The teacher reported it to the principal. The principal swatted Jim for using a derogatory word toward me. He then for some unknown reason swatted me for striking Jim in response to him calling me a nigger. He stated as good Christians we are to turn the other cheek as Jesus did. Problem is, I’m not a fucking Christian and that old book, made of fiction and limited non-fiction, called the bible, never once stated Jesus was called a nigger.

Now the word "nigger" is a very powerful word. As with any word the definition of the word is dependent on the use of it. I agree with Dorner that Armstrong should not be using derogatory language and that Dorner should let it be known that usage of such language ought not to be tolerated. Equally intolerant to the derogatory language is the use of violence to illustrates one objection to intolerant language. Regardless of ones religious dogma to resort to violence as a primary mode of defense or objection is not acceptable in a free society.

Personally, I do hope that journalists take note of items within Dorner's Manifesto for if he is telling the truth of events that took place as far back as 2009 then it should be known. Everyone understands that the LAPD does not have a stellar track record in relations with the public regardless of ones race, sex or other cultural divisions. Was this a cover up? Time will tell.

Although I am not one for conspiracy theories, I do find it a bit odd that Dorner would take his own life when he wrote:

If possible, I want my brain preserved for science/research to study the effects of severe depression on an individual’s brain. Since 6/26/08 when I was relieved of duty and 1/2/09 when I was terminated I have been afflicted with severe depression. I’ve had two CT scans during my lifetime that are in my medical record at Kaiser Permanente. Both are from concussions resulting from playing football. The first one was in high school, 10/96. The second was in college and occurred in 10/99. Both were conducted at Kaiser Permanente hospitals in LA/Orange county. These two CT scans should give a good baseline for my brain activity before severe depression began in late 2008.

If Dorner hoped for his brain to be studied then why shot yourself in the head? At the end of the day, society needs to address the lack of accountability, respect and candor that exists in our society today. There are numerous angles and topics of discussion to be had from this, but let's not make this guy a hero or a martyr just yet. Nor do we make the LAPD the bogey man just yet either regardless of the track record. For if we solely go on track record then to Dorner's own admission "Unfortunately I was swatted multiple times for the same exact reason up until junior high" then Dorner is a bully.

Fry Cook a Career?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/29/nyregion/drive-to-unionize-fast-food-workers-opens-in-ny.html?ref=nyregion

When I saw this article yesterday in the New York Times my first thought was - WHAT! One of the workers at McDonald's quoted in the article said she is getting paid $8 hour but feels she deserves $15 hour. Really? Now I know that it is expensive to live in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and other major metropolitan areas but are we to this point as a society that being a fry cook or a cashier at McDonald's, or any fast food establishment, is a career.

Don't get me wrong, working for McDonald's is a great place to learn business, develop client service skills and test one's ability to multi-task. Not to mention that one can move from Fry Cook or Cashier to an owner of a franchise as well. Instead of complaining about the $8 hour wage, why not try to obtain more skills to move up the food chain at McDonald's or with another company.

I am okay with private Unionization of workers but we need some common sense to take place here. If Fry Cooks and Cashiers start making $15 a hour we will either have a value menu at $5 an item or the portion sizes with be even smaller than they are today. And as the one owner in the article states, if the wage does go up then that means fewer jobs. McDonald's has a great educational reimbursement program for the workers, why isn't the $8 hour Cashier trying to take advantage of that so she can move up in McDonald's or find gainful employment elsewhere?

Vikings success could raise your taxes

I know that Viking fans has longed for the day that their beloved team would be good enough to hoist the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the season but it may have come at the worst possible time for Minnesota taxpayers. With the economy still running near the cliff of insanity, unemployment high, and a mounting debt in Washington D.C., taxpayers – not just in Minnesota – ought to be worried. The 9-1 start by the Vikings is the best in recent memory and they do look like a team that can compete for the NFC title. Along with that is the fact that the lease the Viking has with the Metrodome runs out at the end of the 2011 season. Zigi Wilf and his associates have already made it clear that staying the Dome, as is, is not an option.

While Zigi may say he wants to keep the Vikings in Minnesota, let's face it, Zigi is a business man first. Right now there is a group in Los Angeles that is courting the NFL for a franchise. At last look the mock up the proposed stadium had Vikings colors. I am not saying; rather just saying. Anyone that has owned a business near a stadium will attest that having a professional sports team nearby boost the bottom line. In a time where people are struggling, I can see some Minnesota Legislators making that argument when proposing a new stadium for the Vikings. At the same time, Zigi will play the move card at some point during the discussion. Actually, I think he already has without even saying it by saying that a lease extension is a non-starter.

Are taxpayers ready for a Legislative session that discusses raising of taxes to provide funds for a new Vikings stadium? Let's face it Favre cannot play quarterback forever and soon the Vikings will be turned back over to T-Jack. What then? Will Viking fans continue to support the team with sellouts if the team stumbles in a couple of years? I doubt it. Don't get me wrong, the notion of the Vikings playing in any other state is insane. Then again I do identify more with the Los Angeles Lakers than their former home in Minnesota. Now if the Vikings go on to win the Super Bowl imagine the leverage it will give Zigi and the organization to strap the Minnesotan taxpayer over the barrel.

Or is there another way to fund a stadium? Does the State Legislature have the guts to take on a powerful lobby group and risk the loss of a key political donor to keep the Vikings in Minnesota? The donor and lobby group I refer to is the Native American lobby. The notion of a Racino has been floated around for several years and each year it gets voted down. Now, if the proceeds were to save the Vikings – what warm-blooded Minnesota State Legislature would vote against that? Especially if Favre delivers the Lombardi trophy. Or will the taxpayers of Minnesota be saddled with another heavy handed tax to provide another wealthy businessman a place to house his pet project?

Obama 'Joker': Art or "Dangerous"??

A poster posted around Los Angeles challenges acceptance of our freedoms as citizens of the United States while the artist remains a mystery. I came across the article in the Chicago Tribune this morning. In doing a search on the topic it appears that The Drudge Report was the lead viral catalyst to the story. The poster is of President Obama in the likeness of Health Ledger’s role as the Joker in “The Dark Knight” (see below for poster).

Earl Hutchinson, Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable President, stated the “Depicting the president as demonic and a socialist goes beyond political spoofery. It is mean-spirited and dangerous.” Not sure how it is dangerous. The response by Mr. Hutchinson does reflect an undercurrent of a thin skinned American society. To add to the poster the word “Socialism” is listed below the picture.

As Noel Sheppard points out in his article, (Obama Joker Poster Stirs Outrage, Bush Joker Poster Not So Much)”Yet, when Vanity Fairs Politics & Power blog published a somewhat similar visual representation of George W. Bush last July, nobody seemed to complain.” Is political satire a one-way street? A big reason why people flock to the United States is because of freedom of speech.

Saul Relative comments (Obama Joke Poster: A Contradiction) that the artist attempt to paint President Obama as an “evil trickster, a jesting madman, a person in disguise” missed the mark and “...the image falls apart in its effectiveness. Because anyone who knows anything about the Joker, it is that there is nothing about him that is concerned about the common good. In other words, there isn’t a socialistic bone in his body. The joker steals for the power of it, the fun of it, and the disruptive force of it.” All elements that appear to contradict the Joker Obama and the assertion of “Socialism”, perhaps the artist was bringing satire to the famous Hope poster that followed Sen. Obama during the presidential campaign.

While the artist’s intention of the poster may be in line with Thomas Lifson interpretation (President Obama ‘Joker’ poster asks ‘why so socialist?’) of “Open mockery of Barack Obama, as disillusionment sets in with the man, his policies, and the phony image of a race-healing, brilliant, scholarly, middle-of-the-roader”, the real question is if the depiction steps too far over that satirical line or is it free speech?

Circus at Staples; RIP Michael Jackson

No matter how old you are there is probably at least one song of Michael Jackson that moves you. Whether you remember Michael Jackson as the “King of Pop” or the alleged child molester, one undeniable truth exists; Americans love their celebrities. Where else can one have their memorial ceremony, than in American society, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California? The financially strapped city is using valuable resources to host a public memorial today for Michael Jackson. Estimates are that it will cost the city roughly $2M.

For some reason the Jackson family did not want to hold the memorial at the Neverland Ranch. Why might that be? Janet Jackson said at the BET award last week that he was “family”. If that is really what it is about than why not have a private ceremony for close friends and family? Why make it a circus event and put a financially strapped city on the hook for it? Greed. Pure and simple. The Jacksons have been in and out of the limelight for the past ten years.

Michael Jackson is in financial ruin and was on the verge of a major concert tour that according to some experts was to rake in over $400M. Rumors are still circulating as to the cause of death and what exactly happened. Perhaps we may never really know. I suspect that after today’s circus in Los Angeles the family will ask for the media to leave Michael rest in peace. There are bigger things going on in the world right now. America is embroiled in a war against terror, huge budget deficits, increasing unemployment, plummeting housing market, and a President that didn’t have “complete information” when jamming through the Stimulus bill. I sure hope he gets complete information for the Cap and Trade and Health Care reform otherwise America can kiss the “American Dream” goodbye.

The media won’t report that though for multiple reasons. Michael Jackson’s death is unfortunate and I feel for the family’s lose but I know that Rahm Emanuel is seeing the media coverage as cover to advance his cause; bankrupting America.