🇺🇸 Memphis Mourning

Plus, redheads aren’t going extinct.

January 31, 2023

The Flag

POWERED BY

Good morning, and happy Tuesday! A young singer who lives in Florida has drawn national attention for her powerful performance of The Star-Spangled Banner. Take a listen.

Plus, do you think space and time are just “illusions”? Well, you’re not alone.

Also, today’s sponsor, Guardia, wants to be your financial concierge. Get research. Ask questions. Get help navigating the financial forest. Join the Waitlist

FLAG POLLS

📉 Monday, January 30: President Biden Job Approval: Approve 45, Disapprove 48 (Marist)

📉 Monday, January 30: President Biden Job Approval: Approve 42, Disapprove 54 (Rasmussen Reports)

📉 Monday, January 30: Direction of Country: Right Direction 28, Wrong Track 66 (Rasmussen Reports)

📉 Sunday, January 29: President Biden Job Approval: Approve 44, Disapprove 56 (CBS News)

TRENDING

Left: 2024 Looks Very Dark for Senate Democrats Ed Kilgore, New York Magazine

Right: What Did Election Integrity Laws Achieve In 2022? Victoria Marshall, The Federalist

POWERED BY GUARDIA

Your Guide Through the Financial Forest

Guardia is the category-defining financial concierge service designed for the world of "democratized" finance. Guardia offers a human-first suite of resources, financial coaching, research, education and concierge services to help you take action, ask the right questions, make sharper decisions, and connect with the right service providers.

Backed by AI and a team with experience at places such as JP Morgan, Barclays, Google, and Verizon, Guardia has built a human-led service that integrates with your ever-changing financial ecosystem.

Guardia is the ultimate overlay for self-managing investors and those that want to take ownership of their financial future.

Join the Waitlist for early access and receive access to our daily 1-minute newsletter and Telegram channel.

QUICK CLICKS

Stormy Daniels Surprise, Migrants Won't Move, Another Cop Canned

US: Surprise New York grand jury reportedly to mull Trump hush money payments (The Guardian)UK: Boris Johnson says Putin threatened him with missile strike (BBC)

US: Illegal migrants refuse to leave NYC hotel for Brooklyn migrant relief center, sleep in the street (Fox News)

World: China Urges Kevin McCarthy Not to Repeat Pelosi Visit to Taiwan (Bloomberg)

Business: Ford's slashing Mustang Mach-E prices in latest volley in EV price wars (The Verge)

US: Alec Baldwin to be formally charged Tuesday in Halyna Hutchins’ death (NY Post)

US: A 6th Memphis officer is off the force as new details emerge from the deadly police beating of Tyre Nichols (CNN)

World: Pakistan mosque suicide bomber kills 59, wounds over 150 (AP)

POLICING

Memphis Mourning

Earlier this month in Memphis, Tennessee, 29-year-old Tyre Nichols was allegedly beaten to death by members of the city’s police department. This followed a traffic stop. Body cam footage was released this past Friday, sparking protests and further outrage.

From The Flag: Five members of the Memphis PD, who all happen to be Black, have been charged with the murder of Nichols, himself a Black man. Over two years after George Floyd's death, the incident has renewed calls to reform the police. Here’s more from both sides.

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Following Tyre Nichols, There’s a Sense of Betrayal and Loss Hope

  • Given modern policing is both in need of major reform and connected to slavery, it’s especially devastating that these cops are Black.

  • So-called elite police units, like SCORPION in Memphis, make it harder for law enforcement to truly connect with the community.

  • Officials perform a sleight of hand every time they refer to “improper policing,” as opposed to pursuing reforms.

“Why police reform utterly failed to protect Tyre Nichols” Sonia Pruitt, CNN Opinion: “Based on my 28 years of experience as a former police officer and captain, it was clear to me that the officers lacked supervision, showed little professional maturity and escalated a situation into what would eventually become a deadly encounter through gross negligence and a complete disregard for human life. The damage is even more traumatic for the Black community, given that the five officers who were charged with murder, are all Black. Members of the Black community often expect Black officers to be their vanguard. To see Black officers embracing brutality and aligning themselves with a police subculture that calls for loyalty to even the most heinous of police behaviors… is beyond devastating, especially since modern day policing in this country can be traced back to slave patrols, and abuses within the criminal justice system continue to result in the over-policing and death of Black people.”

“Tyre Nichols’ Death Proves Yet Again That 'Elite' Police Units Are a Disaster” Radley Balko, New York Times Opinion: “In 2021, as homicides in (Memphis) soared, the city announced the formation of the Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods, or SCORPION. … We now know that it was members of the SCORPION unit that were accused of beating and killing Tyre Nichols… ​​The police can’t investigate crime unless people in the community are willing to talk to them or to flag problems in the first place. That’s one reason there’s such a strong correlation between cities with persistently high rates of violent crime — cities like Chicago, Baltimore, St. Louis, Cleveland and New Orleans — and cities with persistent, well-documented histories of police abuse. … Programs like SCORPION are a big part of the problem. … These units tend to attract aggressive, rules-skirting officers who then bring in like-minded colleagues to join them.”

One more opinion piece from the Left: The killing of Tyre Nichols was heinous and shocking. It was also not an aberration Simon Balto, The Guardian Opinion

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Nichols’ Death Is a Horrific Tragedy and Bad Cops Do Face Consequences

  • The police officers involved are rightly being held accountable, but blanket calls to defund and weaken the police hurt US cities.

  • Rather than looking to tear everything down, like after George Floyd’s death, let’s push police departments to weed out bad cops.

  • The silver lining in Nichols’ senseless death is that justice prevailed: the cops were immediately fired and charged.

“The Death of Tyre Nichols” Editorial Board, Wall Street Journal: “The bodycam video is infuriating… Whatever justice is meted out won’t make up for the loss of an apparently innocent young man’s life, but the cops are being held accountable. The case will bring back the issue of police training and how extensive such abuse is. The officers were part of a special unit called Scorpion formed in 2021 to reduce violence in high-crime areas… The police disbanded the Scorpion unit this weekend… no doubt a response to public anger, but it won’t serve the city if this leads to a new burst of crime. The urge to blame all police for the excesses of a few took hold after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. … But the attacks on police in general led to cuts in funding and other limits on law enforcement that produced a surge in crime and homicides in many big cities.”

“Let justice prevail for Tyre Nichols, not disorder” Editorial Board, New York Post: “This tragedy will goose the anti-cop/Defund the Police movement, leading to less policing and more crime, which takes the greatest toll on minorities: A Heritage study last year found blacks were 54% of murder victims nationwide yet just 13% of the population. George Floyd proved it: Following the riots, cities, including New York, cut police resources — and violent crime soared. Why repeat that mistake? Rather, let justice play out: Five of the Nichols cops were already fired and slapped with murder and other charges. If guilty, they’ll likely spend years behind bars, as they should. Police departments also need to redouble efforts to properly train cops and weed out the bad few. What was abundantly clear to anyone who watched the horrific videos was how bad these young cops were. They were pumped up, overly aggressive and repeatedly failed to restrain a compliant Tyre Nichols despite five of them on him.”

One more opinion piece from the Right: There is a silver lining in aftermath of Tyre Nichols death Lawrence Jones, Fox News

FLAG THIS

Half of All US Adults Feel Policing Needs To Change

Polling conducted last summer found 50% of US adults say major changes are needed to make policing better. Just 11% feel no changes are needed, while 39% indicate minor changes would be appropriate.

Black Americans are more likely to say major reform is needed (72%) in comparison to White respondents (44%).

Close to 9 in 10 say at least minor reforms are needed, when polling Black, Hispanic, and White respondents (Gallup).

Do you feel as though policing in the US needs major reforms?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

FLAG FINDS

Future-Proof Your Finances, (More) No-Nonsense News, Let Your Best Friend Feast

🏛️ Invest in your financial future with Guardia, the innovative financial concierge service. Their human-led, AI-backed approach offers everything needed to help you make smarter financial decisions. Take back control of your finances with Guardia. Join the waitlist today.

🗞️ If you wish all news could be as no-nonsense as this, you'll want to check out a newsletter loved by millions, called 1440. It's a daily digest of all the most important info in culture, science, sports, politics, business, and everything in between—and better yet, it's the fastest way to an informed and impartial point-of-view. Join 1440 for free today.

​​🐶 Food that looks like food. Why settle for less for your best friend? Nom Nom’s made-to-order meals are tailored to your pet's specific needs. Plus, they look (and taste) like a feast. How do we know? Don’t ask. Just try it for yourself—and get 50% off plus free shipping when you order through our link.

WATERCOOLER

H-Bomb Enters the Picture, Cats Wearing Socks, Redheads Aren’t Going Extinct

Truman announces Japan's surrender, August 14, 1945.

On January 31, 1950, U.S. President Harry S. Truman publicly announces his decision to support the development of the hydrogen bomb, a weapon theorized to be hundreds of times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Japan during World War II.

Today I Learned the pre-game military fly-overs conducted while the Star Spangled Banner plays at pro sports events is actually a planned training run for flight teams. It doesn't cost extra, as many speculate – it is already factored into the annual training budget.

Reply

or to participate.