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Kenosha, Wisconsin, is burning. More cities are likely going to burn throughout the week and possible for a while. It’s very similar to what happened following video release of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis. And just like the riots that followed Floyd’s death, the riots that follow the police shooting of Jacob Blake are not justifiable.
A viral video of his shooting appears to show law enforcement shooting Blake in the back following an altercation. On the surface, this looks bad for police. But the reality is we do not know enough details to answer the singular important question. He was reportedly tased by police, unwilling to follow commands, and attempting to resist arrest. None of these are justification for him being shot. What we do not know is what happened when he got inside his vehicle. Was he reaching for a weapon? If so, then we have a better understanding of the answer to the singular important question.
What is that question? Whenever law enforcement is involved in a shooting, it comes down to whether or not the shooting was justified. If he was reaching for a weapon, then it doesn’t matter whether or not he was shot in the back. I know there will be those who argue that any time someone is shot in the back that it’s not justified, but that’s simply not true. In this situation, police do not have to wait until he swivels around with a gun in his hand. They are not required to wait until he shoots at them or others. He had already demonstrated, according to both initial reports as well as what we can tell from the video, that he intended harm. If he’s reaching for a weapon, then it’s proper police procedure to take him down whether his back is to them or not.
Some will note that he was shot multiple times and that it was unnecessary. Again, this is simply not true. If a situation demands police are to take the shot, they must do so with full intent to kill. That may be unpopular to those who claim law enforcement should shoot people in the leg or that a single gunshot wound to the torso is sufficient, but those same people who make that argument clearly do not understand what can happen when an armed assailant is wounded. If they are deemed to be a threat, then it is law enforcement’s responsibility to take the assailant down. No half-measures.
This is all about justification. When we get the bodycam video and/or eyewitness accounts about whether Blake was getting a weapon from his vehicle, we will know if the shooting was justified. From what we can see in the video, this is as black and white as it comes (and no, not in the racial sense). If he went for a weapon, his shooting is justified. If he wasn’t, then the shooting was not justified. But there’s another aspect of justification that we need to cover. Are rioters justified in burning their cities or, as is often the case with Black Lives Matter, burning other people’s cities as out-of-town “protesters”? Regardless of what details come out from Blake’s shooting, the answer to this question is an unambiguous “no.”
I’m a huge fan of using non-compliance as a means to initiate and/or perpetuate necessary changes. It usually applies to government, but not always. The proper methods of non-compliance are opposition, protests, lawsuits, and civil disobedience. Rioting, looting, attacking police, attacking anyone, burning, and wanton destruction are NOT righteous methods of non-compliance. These are not “mostly peaceful protesters” burning buildings and attack law enforcement. They are domestic terrorists, and that is never an acceptable way to bring about change UNLESS it is done so as prelude to a righteous civil war. We are not at the point as a nation to where we need civil war.
This is unacceptable:
All Republicans have to do to win in November is to play this video on loop every opportunity they get. https://t.co/bnau3RwL0h
— Errol Webber For Congress (CA-37) (@ErrolWebber) August 24, 2020
Up close look at an entire car dealership set ablaze by BLM arsonists in Kenosha, Wisconsin overnight. pic.twitter.com/w6kz717VAG
Video via @livesmattershow
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) August 24, 2020
The aftermath of BLM rioters vandalism of a public library here in #kenosha Wisconsin pic.twitter.com/CRNwoHAN23
— Drew Hernandez (@livesmattershow) August 24, 2020
Kenosha was up in flames last night
More rioting planned tonight in cities across Wisconsin
This kind of criminal behavior has become the natural reaction to police involved shootings
54 people were shot (not by police) in nearby Chicago this weekendpic.twitter.com/L6zP9JaF6n
— ELIJAH RIOT (@ElijahSchaffer) August 24, 2020
Black Lives Matter terrorists in #Kenosha are destroying everything as usual. pic.twitter.com/40C12oCcnN
— Mark Dice (@MarkDice) August 24, 2020
In the latest episode of Conservative News Briefs, I discuss this all further.
Domestic terrorism is unacceptable as a means for bringing about change. Black Lives Matter, the overarching organization, sees this as a revolution, a prelude to civil war that will tear down this nation. There is nothing righteous in these attacks.
Coronavirus lockdowns put the future of independent news at risk
Reports indicate rising traffic but drastically lower revenues for mid-sized independent news outlets.
The economic downturn from COVID-19 lockdowns has hit many industries in the gut. One industry that doesn’t get nearly enough attention is journalism. The corporate conglomerates controlling mainstream media outlets are able to weather the storm, but independent news outlets have seen revenues plummet to the point that many are considering shutting down. We know. We’ve had to consider the possibility ourselves.
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We’ve always run a very tight ship, keeping expenses to a minimum by limiting travel and technology expenditures. This has proven to be beneficial during the economic crisis, but we would not have made it this far if not for our generous donors. I cannot appropriately express my appreciation to those who have helped us raise nearly $4,000 since we started asking for assistance. It has been a true blessing and has inspired us to work harder to bring the truth to light that mainstream media tries to hide.
As I note below, traffic is through the roof. The appetite for honest news reporting, conservative opinion writing, and right-leaning podcasts is high. Every day we pick up new readers and subscribers; it’s another blessing we do not take for granted. But despite the increases in traffic and viewership, revenues have continued to plummet. We have maxed out on the number of ads we run, and that’s definitely not by choice. Ideally, we would run minimal ads or no ads at all, but this isn’t a hobby. This is a business, the only one that supports my family, so I’ve chosen to do what I hate doing by having plenty of ads on the site. Even with more ads, revenues are not what they were before the coronavirus lockdowns. This is why we’re still desperately asking for help.
The best way NOQ Report readers can help is to donate. Our Giving Fuel page makes it easy to donate one-time or monthly. Alternatively, you can donate through PayPal as well. Our initial estimate of $11,500 to stay afloat through the end of the year was understated. Just as revenues have gone down, so too have expenses risen. We need to pick up quite a bit more than expected; I won’t even venture a guess anymore. At this point, literally everything we receive helps us keep the dream of being a truth-centered news outlet alive.
The second way to help is to become a partner. We’ve strongly considered seeking angel investors in the past but because we were paying the bills, it didn’t seem necessary. Now, we’re struggling to pay the bills. This shouldn’t be the case as our traffic the last year has been going up dramatically. June, 2018, we had 11,678 visitors. A year later in June, 2019, we were up to 116,194. In June, 2020, we had 614,192. We’re heading in the right direction and we believe we’re ready to talk to patriotic investors who want to not only “get in on the action” but more importantly who want to help America hear the truth. Interested investors should contact me directly with the contact button above.
Election year or not, coronavirus lockdowns or not, anarchic riots or not, the need for truthful journalism endures. In these times, we need as many conservative media voices as possible. Please help keep NOQ Report going.
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