Re my Feb. 3 essay on the Tyre Nichols Killing, GG writes: 

“One thing I suspect we might see in the investigation of the Memphis killing is that the cops were used as tax collectors.

“That sounds crazy, but a Dept. of Justice report on Ferguson showed that a lot of the mistrust in the community that turned into riots after the police shooting of Michael Brown stemmed from using the cops as heavily armed tax collectors. There’s even a section in the report called FERGUSON LAW ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS ARE FOCUSED ON GENERATING REVENUE.

“Basically, the local politicos spent too much money and used the cops to generate revenue to cover their deficits. Predictably, this mostly hurt poor people, and a lot of the poor people there are Black.

“This is obviously stupid. Cops have much better things to do than make money for overspending politicians. And using the cops this way erodes the relationship with police and citizens.

“Anyhow, it wouldn’t surprise me if this ‘Scorpion Unit’ in Memphis had a mandate to make the city money by harassing citizens. That’s one very plausible explanation for why an ‘elite unit’ would concern themselves with something as piddly as reckless driving. They pull Tyre over, give him a bunch of tickets, and Tyre owes the city a few hundred bucks. Wash and repeat. They can make the city a couple thousand a night.

“I bet it also leads to bad behavior in cops. I doubt anyone joined the force to act as a shakedown agent for the state.

“I’m waiting to see some reporting in this direction.

“Here’s the Ferguson DOJ report.”

A request for my thoughts on Ron DeSantis, from BG: 

“I look forward to reading you every week. Please comment on your Gov. DeSantis. Oh, and congrats on getting the wedding gigs going at Paradise Palms. It’s beautiful and amazing what you’ve accomplished!”

My Response: Thanks for the note.

I’m glad you are reading my blog. I am especially pleased to know you are reading it because, as one of my favorite leftist friends, it warms my heart to know that you push yourself to read my stuff. I know it must be difficult at times.

It also saves us time. I expect all my friends and family members to read the blog religiously. If they ever ask me a question that I’ve covered, I tell them that I am severely disappointed that they felt the need to ask me something I’ve already written about, and I direct them to the index.

About DeSantis… I haven’t written about him yet, but I’ve been thinking of doing so.

Let’s see. What do I think?

Off the top of my head, I think he has proven himself right by keeping Florida open during most of the last three years, while California and NYC went into a major delusional panic and shut down their economies.

I like that he’s standing up to the gender and race ideological nonsense that is destroying the mental competence of my left-leaning friends.

I love what he’s doing with Disney.

But most importantly, I’m happy that he has kept Florida the land of the free and the home of the brave by:

* Maintaining Florida as a no-income-tax state

* Not raising other taxes

* Preserving Florida as an inexpensive and a safe place to live (Unlike California and NY)

Gee, now that you mention it, I love the guy! I feel lucky to have him as our governor.

Not just that, but he’s good looking and articulate too!

P.S. I hope he doesn’t run for president, because America as a country is too ruined to save. Florida will have to erect borders to keep out the liberals.

Re my review of The Banshees of Inisherin 

From AS: 

“In your review, you said, ‘The main plot point: I just couldn’t believe the premise. That after years of friendship, one friend would turn so suddenly and completely away from the other.’

“I thought the movie made it more than clear. He was suffering profound depression.

“You didn’t see that?”

My Response: I understood that was the purported explanation. But his scripted behavior wasn’t even remotely believable.

When people are depressed, they don’t shut themselves away from just one person. They shut themselves away from everyone. A severely depressed person would have stayed home. He would not have gone to the pub at night to enjoy the company of so many people but exclude only one.

That, to me, is entirely invented and artificial behavior. On the level of young women tiptoeing down to the basement after hearing scary noises down there.

From FJ: 

“I couldn’t stay with ‘Banshees.’ I made it through for about 15 minutes. I appreciated it but moved on. But your description of Colin Farrell’s casting and acting was spot on. Like myself, he is cursed with good looks and an intelligent demeanor.” – FJ

Re the availability of my books: 

SD wrote in to ask how she could buy copies of Words That Work and Making the Most of Your Time. Unlike most of my books, they are not available on Amazon. But we do have some copies in storage. If you’d like a copy of any of my books that are not available on Amazon:

Send a check for $10 (for each book) to cover shipping and postage.

Make the check payable to Cap & Bells Press, LLC. (No cash, please.)

Include your name and mailing address and mail it to:

Cap & Bells Press

Attn: GKoo

235 NE 4th Ave., Suite 101

Delray Beach, FL 33483