Kung fu
The following is an excerpt from OpinionJournal’s “Best of the Web” at WSJ written by the editor, James Taranto.
Question and Answer
- “Is Iran Really a Partner?”—headline, GatestoneInstitute .org, May 7
- “A First: China, Iran Partner to Co-Produce Kung Fu Film”—headline, Yibada website, April 29
Bottom Story of the Day
“Helicopter Not Needed for Delaware Township Accident Victim”—headline, Hunterdon County Democrat (Raritan Township, N.J.), May 7
Rep. Cummings’s Oversight
“Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) on Wednesday rejected the idea that Democratic political leaders were responsible for problems in Baltimore,” the Hill reports:
“Chris, come on Chris,” he told CNN’s Chris Cuomo on “New Day.” “You know, it’s not about personalities, it’s about policy. And you know, and I know, that a lot of the policies coming down from Washington, coming down from the state, actually, too, but coming from Washington are not necessarily kind to urban areas, but particularly lately.”
Some conservatives have suggested that Baltimore, where riots broke out last week over police mistreatment of minorities, is the result of failed liberal policies. Baltimore last had a Republican mayor in 1967.
Compare with this story, also from the Hill:
Baltimore’s mayor announced Wednesday that she has asked the Department of Justice to investigate whether the city’s police department had engaged in discrimination.
“Throughout my administration, we have taken a number of steps to change the culture and practices of the Baltimore Police Department,” Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (D) said. . . .
“I’m asking the Department of Justice to investigate if our police department has engaged in a pattern or practice of stops, searches or arrests that violate the Fourth Amendment,” she added. “I am asking that they investigate what systemic challenges exist within our police department that can contribute to excessive force and discriminatory policing.”
Putting aside the complicated debate over whether liberal policies have failed (or whose fault it is if they have), can’t we at least agree that politicians have failed when they are unable to conduct basic oversight of the agencies they administer?
For more “Best of the Web” click here and look for the “Best of the Web Today” link in the middle column below “Today’s Columnists.”
