SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE

THIS JUST IN:  I wanted to be sure you saw this first.  Be alert.  Don't be embarrassed.   From FOX:    The Twitter account for the Associated Press apologized for a recent tweet suggesting that "the French" was a "dehumanizing" term, acknowledging that it "caused unintended offense."  The AP official account tweeted Friday morning, "The use of ‘the French’ in this tweet by @AP was inappropriate and has caused unintended offense. An updated tweet is upcoming."
The original tweet that put the AP in hot water with social media users came from the @APStylebook account on Thursday. It suggested doing away with "dehumanizing ‘the’ labels," including "the poor" and, inexplicably, "the French."  It read, "We recommend avoiding general and often dehumanizing ‘the’ labels such as the poor, the mentally ill, the French, the disabled, the college-educated. Instead, use wording such as people with mental illnesses. And use these descriptions only when clearly relevant."  This latest bit of language policing backfired on social media. Many users trashed the AP, with some of them noting that the stylebook’s post had insulted French people despite its intention to respect them.  Video game designer Jordan Mechner commented, "I wonder what people with French nationality, I mean, people who are from France and live there, or who live somewhere else but still identify with France, will make of this?"  I'm just relieved the AP ran this apology.  I had visions of a crisis between the United States and France.  As I understand it, Paris had already asked that the Statue of Liberty be returned.  Once again, as in yesteryear, the term "French fries" was threatened.  I hope this is now all behind us.

OH DEAR, OH DEAR.  AS FACTS COME IN, THE STORY CHANGES.  I'D BEEN WONDERING WHY NO ONE WAS QUESTIONING THE POLICE CHIEF:  From the New York Post:   The chief of police in Memphis in charge of the five officers who fatally beat and tasered motorist Tyre Nichols was fired from a previous law enforcement job after a botched probe.  Cerelyn “CJ” Davis became the first female police chief in Memphis’s history in 2021 and is currently in the international spotlight after five cops brutally beat Tyre Nichols.  She was fired from the Atlanta police department in 2008 for her alleged involvement in a sex crimes investigation into the husband of an Atlanta police sergeant, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.  Two detectives accused Davis of telling them not to investigate Terrill Marion Crane, who was married to sergeant Tonya Crane after the police department obtained photos of him with underage girls.  A federal grand jury later indicted Terrill Crane on child pornography. He pleaded guilty to one count of child pornography in 2009, the newspaper reported.  This doesn't mean that Chief Davis is guilty of anything now, but it's important to know the backgrounds of those who play a major role in news stories.  As Memphis chief of police, she is directly responsible for the policies and training of the department.

January 29, 2023