truthtellers often villified, even in fake liberal Berkeley!

I just read about a 65 year old distinguished, career Chicago cop who, in recent years, worked as an investigator of cop shootings. Recently he refused to amend his conclusions that six shootings were unjustified so he was fired for 'not being a team player'.

This man is a hero, exactly the kind of person society needs for investigations of cop behavior. After a 40+ year career of awards, praise and positive evaluations, he was fired for not being willing to lie which the Chicago Police Department considers not being a team player'.

Fuck such attitudes. And thank goddess good cops are out there, altho far too few.

A lot of local Berkeley folks are angry with me just now because I revealed an elitist, all-white group of activists who accepted a suggestion to abandon any advocacy for affordable housing for the poor. This clown group, all white, as I mentioned, accepted a suggestion that t

As a brand new lawyer*, while I job hunted after passing the bar, I taught business law at an under grad university. I had taught the course while still in law school, actually. So a veteran rightly using his VA benefits to get a college degree had a straight A record. He scored a C on his final, a simple, multiple choice test the school made me use. It was scored based on how many answers he got wrong, not on my judgment. I refused to give him the A he demanded. Head of college called me in and demanded I change the A, explaining to me the school wanted that guy's tuition so give him the A, what harm was there in it. He said I would lose my job if I didn't change that grade. I said "You must think this job means more to me than it does if you think I will cheat. Let the guy live with one C and let him work harder instead of letting him coast. You cheat him when you give him phony grades." I was overruled, the veteran got the A he demanded and my contract not renewed. My only regret was I had to complete my contract for one more semester.

A mostly unrelated story except to point out that truthtellers are often suppressed. Our system does not serve good, it serves money.

I grew up in Chicago, half my family still works for the city, I've known many cops and they were ALL on the take. a cop would buy a house and magically pay off the whole thing in six months. That went on in the sixties and seventies, no reason to think it has stopped.

I admire this investigator for his integrity. And I am ashamed of Chicago and the Chicago police department for valuing dirty cops over integrity.

A tale as old as time: villify the truthtellers and reward the crooks, cover the elites' wrongdoing by throwing truthtellers under the bus.

A gang of Berkeley activists have thrown me under the bus for revealing their racist, classist discussions. They are spitting nickels because they declared their meeting was not a secret. Because of my legal experience, if someone asks me to maintain confidentiality, I take it to my grave. The invitation to this all white group, explicitly declared the group was not secret. They convened to pull together all community groups in Berkeley, and of course they want the poor and nonwhite to support their efforts -- just don't ask them to treat the poor and nonwhite as equals, nothing too liberal, eh?! -- are trying to undermine my truthtelling, sending out emails saying I have given misinformation.  The invitation, which lists the all white invitation only invitees and explicitly says 'this is not secret' is the truth. Not my truth, their truth.

Throwing me under the bus will not win them any followers. I did the right thing. I am proud of my actions and painfully disappointed that this group, people I have worked long hours with over the past eight months, has rejected me because I spoke the truth. I thought some of them were friends but learned, painfully, that no friends of mine were at that meeting.

This gang is appalled by our mayor's majority voting block, which does lots of secret deals outside of public scrutiny. Was it Einstein who said you can't solve problems by using the same level of thinking that created the problem? Folks, you can't fight Bates' bullying majority, which completely disregards public input, by being secretive yourselves. I did you a favor. If you are smart, you will get your act together and go truthful.

One member of this group has sent out emails suggesting I gave them misinformation.All I gave them was the invitation to an all white gathering of people who hope to form a citywide coalition. AT the meeting, when I suggested a couple names of nonwhite community leaders, each leader was criticized as 'not seasoned enough'.  I was shocked to find myself at the table. I literally got up and sat in a chair in the corner, away from the table, waiting for my ride home, disengaged from the classism and racism going on.

You can't solve a problem with thinking at the same level that created the problem. And you can't suppress the truth by throwing me under the bus.

*I am not licensed to practice law, by my choice, in CA so I am not technically a lawyer. I don't want anyone accusing me of claiming to be a lawyer.  I could move back to the Midwest, take a few CLE classes and be fully licensed. And my license in the Midwest allows me to practice law for myself and relatives. I could sit for the CA bar. I don't want to be a lawyer but my fine mind can still think like one. Here in CA I am not a lawyer.