Anti Federalist
05-19-2012, 02:04 PM
For those that had been following this, the owner of the fantastic Injustice Everywhere (http://www.injusticeeverywhere.com/) website, Dave Packman, had decided earlier this year to give the project up due to lack of time.
He had solicited inquires from people and organizations that would be willing to take the project over.
I had thrown my name in that hat as well, albeit too late, and then there was a ridiculous troll campaign in the voting that SNAFUed the whole works.
Now, the other day he wrote a farewell notice and indicates that he has decided to turn the project over to the CATO Institute.
While I have my differences with CATO, I think in this case they will do a good job and even expand the site, which was performing a vital function: compiling accounts of police abuse, that, as far as I know, and in spite of a Congressional mandate requiring it be done by government, no one has been doing except him.
He has done an outstanding job, I think, and deserves a round of "internet applause".
Farewell
May 17th, 2012
http://www.injusticeeverywhere.com/?p=5331
Until recently I was somewhat undecided about whether or not to post a final message to everyone given the strong emotions so many of our readers had to my decision to hand over this project to someone else and how that went askew. However, I do feel the need to talk about a few things before I say goodbye to everyone.
My wife and I were talking the other day about a few police misconduct incidents she had read about recently and she expressed frustration at how it seemed like nothing could ever be done about the problem and she asked if there would ever be anyone who could fix it. I explained that the public has to want to fix it before it can even have a hope of getting any better and that the primary impediment to this was that the people who desire change are vastly disorganized in comparison to the well-organized police unions and other law enforcement organizations. Those organizations are focused, control all of the information, have a vast amount of political influence, and are very well funded… the rest of us aren’t.
I started this project with this problem in mind; I desired to examine the issue of police misconduct rationally and fairly, to take the angry rhetoric that made the public uncomfortable about discussing the issue out of the equation, and to give the people access to information, vital information that the people had a right to have, but that had been denied to them up until now. This project had to be as unbiased and as honest as I could possibly make it, and for it to continue in any way that could possibly be effective, it has to remain that way.
Initially, I sought to let the readers have a say in how best to continue this project, but unfortunately many people with a political agenda that had nothing to do with this project and who had no interest in the spirit behind this project, sought to influence where this project would go from here. Ultimately, I couldn’t let that happen and I made a decision based on what I felt was the most sustainable way to continue this project with that spirit intact.
After consulting with some of my very first supporters, people I deeply respected, and examining the issue carefully, I decided to hand the project over to Cato. They have a solid reputation, are well funded, and understand the spirit behind this project. They have teams of people who will contribute and who understand the need to keep this project free of angry rhetoric and bias. They really do offer the best chance for this project to continue in a more sustainable way and to grow even better than I could have made it.
While I made this decision quite some time ago, some technical issues with the site and the transfer of ownership have delayed the restart, I do apologize for that and I assure you the will be starting it back up soon. However, I do need people to understand that the statistical data gathered so far for this year was already useless. The reason I had to give up this project was because I no longer had the time to invest in it, and the time I did have was growing less each day. This lack of time meant that I missed many reports each day, half of what I normally covered, so the statistics would have been unreliable by the time I finally did hand it over anyway.
Believe me, it’s very painful for me to step away from this project that I created and worked so hard to give to all of you. So much sacrifice and effort went into it, not just from me but also from my family who supported what I did. I lost many friends, missed out on many opportunities, suffered a lot of grief, and did my best to keep it going when I probably shouldn’t have. However, I felt strongly that it was something that someone needed to do and I know that I leave it in good hands… and I hope that it can ultimately help make a difference someday, even if it does so without me.
I wish the new owners all the success in the world, and I wish all of you all the best.
…and remember, stay safe out there.
He had solicited inquires from people and organizations that would be willing to take the project over.
I had thrown my name in that hat as well, albeit too late, and then there was a ridiculous troll campaign in the voting that SNAFUed the whole works.
Now, the other day he wrote a farewell notice and indicates that he has decided to turn the project over to the CATO Institute.
While I have my differences with CATO, I think in this case they will do a good job and even expand the site, which was performing a vital function: compiling accounts of police abuse, that, as far as I know, and in spite of a Congressional mandate requiring it be done by government, no one has been doing except him.
He has done an outstanding job, I think, and deserves a round of "internet applause".
Farewell
May 17th, 2012
http://www.injusticeeverywhere.com/?p=5331
Until recently I was somewhat undecided about whether or not to post a final message to everyone given the strong emotions so many of our readers had to my decision to hand over this project to someone else and how that went askew. However, I do feel the need to talk about a few things before I say goodbye to everyone.
My wife and I were talking the other day about a few police misconduct incidents she had read about recently and she expressed frustration at how it seemed like nothing could ever be done about the problem and she asked if there would ever be anyone who could fix it. I explained that the public has to want to fix it before it can even have a hope of getting any better and that the primary impediment to this was that the people who desire change are vastly disorganized in comparison to the well-organized police unions and other law enforcement organizations. Those organizations are focused, control all of the information, have a vast amount of political influence, and are very well funded… the rest of us aren’t.
I started this project with this problem in mind; I desired to examine the issue of police misconduct rationally and fairly, to take the angry rhetoric that made the public uncomfortable about discussing the issue out of the equation, and to give the people access to information, vital information that the people had a right to have, but that had been denied to them up until now. This project had to be as unbiased and as honest as I could possibly make it, and for it to continue in any way that could possibly be effective, it has to remain that way.
Initially, I sought to let the readers have a say in how best to continue this project, but unfortunately many people with a political agenda that had nothing to do with this project and who had no interest in the spirit behind this project, sought to influence where this project would go from here. Ultimately, I couldn’t let that happen and I made a decision based on what I felt was the most sustainable way to continue this project with that spirit intact.
After consulting with some of my very first supporters, people I deeply respected, and examining the issue carefully, I decided to hand the project over to Cato. They have a solid reputation, are well funded, and understand the spirit behind this project. They have teams of people who will contribute and who understand the need to keep this project free of angry rhetoric and bias. They really do offer the best chance for this project to continue in a more sustainable way and to grow even better than I could have made it.
While I made this decision quite some time ago, some technical issues with the site and the transfer of ownership have delayed the restart, I do apologize for that and I assure you the will be starting it back up soon. However, I do need people to understand that the statistical data gathered so far for this year was already useless. The reason I had to give up this project was because I no longer had the time to invest in it, and the time I did have was growing less each day. This lack of time meant that I missed many reports each day, half of what I normally covered, so the statistics would have been unreliable by the time I finally did hand it over anyway.
Believe me, it’s very painful for me to step away from this project that I created and worked so hard to give to all of you. So much sacrifice and effort went into it, not just from me but also from my family who supported what I did. I lost many friends, missed out on many opportunities, suffered a lot of grief, and did my best to keep it going when I probably shouldn’t have. However, I felt strongly that it was something that someone needed to do and I know that I leave it in good hands… and I hope that it can ultimately help make a difference someday, even if it does so without me.
I wish the new owners all the success in the world, and I wish all of you all the best.
…and remember, stay safe out there.