Aug 29
2022
Monday Morning Read
- Share on
Subscribe to WeeklyPost and you’ll get Jim Heaney’s recommended reading – and more – a day early.
Well, I suppose we should talk about Matt Araiza, the so-called Punt God drafted, signed and given a roster spot by our Buffalo Bills. It turns out he’s also an accused rapist. And, as a result, a former Bill, as of Saturday night.
The obvious questions are when did the Bills find out about the accusation and how could they have allowed the situation to get as far as it did? Team officials initially claimed they did a thorough investigation, but the accuser’s lawyer said the team never contacted him or his client, even though he made himself available a month ago.
This is not a good look for the team. They’ve diffused the situation by releasing Araiza, but some stain will rightfully remain because of the team’s earlier handling of the matter.
Next time you read about the nation’s crime rate, keep in mind that nearly 40 percent of police agencies don’t report their statistics to federal authorities. Buffalo does, but it’s in the minority in New York, where only 79 out of 593 law enforcement agencies submitted data to the FBI last year.
Limiting job searches for police commissioner to in-house candidates is raising concerns from a federal prosecutor in Massachusetts, who called the practice “problematic” and “ridiculous.” I’ll note that Mayor Byron Brown has hired his last three police commissioners without any indication his administration conducted a job search outside the department. The key to getting the job: Be a deputy commissioner, that way the mayor doesn’t have to look too far. Contributing to his campaigns doesn’t hurt, either.
Presidential wannabe Ron DeSantis is trying to place all sorts of restrictions on reporters who cover his campaign appearances. Sounds like a guy who likes the Second Amendment a lot more than he does the First. (Speaking of DeSantis, he’s up for election this fall and has his hands full in Democratic opponent Charlie Crist.)
Ronald Reagan once famously asked Americans if they were better off than they were four years earlier. Washington Monthly has reprised the question.
It seems Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett hangs with a crowd that thinks differently than most Americans.
The New York Times Magazine has done a deep drive on the law firm that’s been an architect of the nation’s lurch to the right.
Bob Dylan is 81 and back on the road on his “Never Ending Tour.” His website says tickets are on sale for shows through 2024. You go, Bob!
