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Any time a police officer shoots someone and it’s captured on video, the people of the internet debate whether or not the shooting was justified. Some automatically give law enforcement the benefit of the doubt, citing the split second decisions they have to make in potentially dangerous situations. Others point out that it’s not a police officer’s job to serve as judge, jury, and hangman, citing the due process of law that forms the basis of our judicial system. The reality is that, according to the law, police are allowed to use deadly force under certain circumstances. The problem is, few of us have the background to intelligently weigh in on what actually constitutes a justifiable use of deadly force.

Monday morning quarterbacking is a problem…unless you’re actually a quarterback, of course. There are people who do have the background to comment on police shootings—people who have served as police officers themselves.

Former police officers are weighing in on the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man shot seven times in the back by a police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin this week.

Josh Hicks, a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Kentucky and former police officer, kicked off a Twitter thread by stating, “As a former police officer I can tell you that shooting someone in the back seven times is not the right use of force for an unarmed man walking away from you. I can’t believe I have to say that.”

The tweet resulted in a flood of responses from other former law enforcement officers agreeing with his statement.

“As a former officer I agree,” wrote Paula Gaca, “and do not understand these officers who pull their weapons out because a subject did not immediately comply with the their order. I truly feel that many young police officers today have not experienced life in general and how to talk with people!”

Former Georgia Deputy Sheriff Dawn Johnson wrote that she has to tell people the same thing. “Deadly force has now become the response to someone walking away from police. Failing to comply isn’t the same as resisting.”

She and another former officer explained that shooting someone in the back just isn’t done, unless there is an immediate deadly threat the person is engaged in.

And another former officer described how they had worked in a high crime area arresting people who for sure were armed and committing felonies, and didn’t have to fire their weapon.

Rick Gibbs, a 40-year law enforcement veteran, asked if it was an issue of training. “I too am confused as to what is happening within our police agencies all across the nation. Has training become a joke? Is a militarized force, where citizens are considered enemies, more important than community policing of neighbors, family & friends?”

Others concurred.

Meanwhile, a current police officer shared the Kenosha police department’s own use-of-force guidelines, showing that the department’s own policy doesn’t allow deadly force for someone who is resisting. (It’s worth noting here that simply resisting arrest is a misdemeanor in most states, unless there is active violence coming from the subject which ups it to a felony. Non-compliance in and of itself never warrants a death sentence.)

“Brosephus” and another former officer pointed out that since Blake was outnumbered and unarmed, the officers should have physically taken him down if he really needed to be stopped.

Speaking of WWE, professional wrestler Mustafa Ali (Adeel Alam) who worked as a cop near Chicago for four years, weighed in.

Not only did former law enforcement share their thoughts, but so did military veterans. Aric Reddington pointed out that police officers have less stringent rules about engagement and use-of-force than soldiers in a war zone.

Retired Marine D.J. Lutz, added, “As a retired Marine, when I see someone shoot more than twice, or shoot at someone not posing a threat, I see someone who has rage and or fear along with a lack of trigger discipline. More training or better entrance screening needed!”

Undoubtedly, there are officers and former officers who will say Blake’s shooting was justified for various reasons. But even if he had a rap sheet a mile long, even if he was resisting arrest, even if the officer was afraid he was going for a gun in his car, until there was an actual deadly threat present, what was the justification for shooting him? Some people seem to think that cops are free to shoot people simply for disobeying their orders. (Yet many of these same folks purposefully disobey legal public health orders issued by the authority of the state and would consider it tyranny if agents of the state shot them for non-compliance.) Blake wasn’t even the subject in the original police call that brought the officers to the scene in the first place. And his children were just a few feet away in the car, watching the whole thing. If they needed to arrest him, there were ways to do that without resorting to deadly force.

My opinion doesn’t mean much, of course. But the opinions of experienced law enforcement officers certainly do.

Four Roses is one of the biggest names in the bourbon world for a reason. The distillery cranks out high-quality whiskey after high-quality whiskey. This September will be no different. The Lawrenceburg, Kentucky distillery is going to drop its 2020 Limited Edition Small Batch. The eagerly awaited 2020 version is 111.4 proof, non-chill filtered, and is made up of four different hand-picked bourbon batches. The youngest is 12-years-old and the oldest is 19-years-old, making this a highly nuanced, unique bourbon.

This barrel-strength bourbon is about to become one of the most sought-after bottles of the fall. This is mostly because of limited availability. On a yet-to-be-determined date in September, Four Roses will release only 14,040 hand-numbered bottles to retailers. On top of that, bourbon fans will be able to go to the Four Roses Visitor Center to get their hands on a bottle. But sadly (and smartly these days), you can’t just stroll in and grab a bottle. They’ll only be available in that location to those who sign up for a lottery before September 9 (you can do so on the brand’s website). If you win, you’ll be lucky enough to purchase a bottle for the expected retail price of $150. But, if don’t get one in the lottery or find one at your local liquor store, you’ll likely end up paying a lot more to get one. Last year’s offering is selling on aftermarket sites for upwards of $300.

We were lucky enough to snag our own bottle and this is what we thought.

Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon

ABV: 55.7%
Distillery: Four Roses Distillery, Lawrenceburg, KY
Price: $150

The Whiskey:

Every fall, master distiller Brent Elliot handpicks four barrels from the brand’s ten different bourbon recipes (yes, you read that right) to be married together to make that year’s Limited-Edition Small Batch. Each one is barrel strength and non-chill filtered. They are to be enjoyed as if you were lucky enough to walk through the barrel house with Elliot, enjoying whiskeys he plucked directly from barrels using a whiskey thief. But you’re not walking around with the master distiller, smelling the aromas that usually only the angels share. You’re doing the next best thing and sipping on this eagerly awaited expression.

Tasting Notes:

Like all well-made whiskeys, the experience begins with the nose. Scents of ripe cherries, sweet cream, butterscotch, toasted oak, and just a hint of cinnamon will immediately fill your nostrils. The first sip is full of caramel sweetness, rich vanilla, and Christmas spices. It’s followed by rich honey and sticky toffee pudding. The finish is long, dry, and very warm with a subtle kick of pleasing peppery spice right at the end. This is a highly complex whiskey that will require partaking in a few glasses before you open up all of the various flavors.

Bottom Line:

This bourbon is limited-edition. This means that once it’s released, it’s not going to stay on shelves for long. Get your hands on a bottle and sip on it slowly with a single ice cube. Make it last because soon you won’t be able to find it again.

Since video of police in Kenosha, Wisconsin shooting Jacob Blake in the back seven times emerged on Monday night, NBA players have spoken out, not just in continued calls for justice but in questioning whether they need to do more and go further with their actions after the latest shooting of an unarmed Black man.

George Hill of the Bucks wondered aloud if it was a mistake coming to the Bubble and playing basketball, allowing for a distraction from the continued focus on police violence against Black Americans. The Raptors and Celtics had a number of players speak on that same issue as well, floating the possibility of a boycott as their second round series is scheduled to begin on Thursday.

Then, on Wednesday, the Bucks made a major statement when they refused to emerge from their locker room for Game 5 of their first round series with the Magic, boycotting the game in protest. What that led to was a surreal scene, in which the Magic walked off the floor just before the horn sounded for warmups to end, and by the time tipoff was set to begin, it was only the four referees standing by the scorers table in an otherwise empty arena.

NBA TV handled it all tremendously, with Sam Mitchell and Jim Jackson in particular speaking powerfully about what this moment means and applauding the Bucks for taking this stand. On Twitter, NBA stars also voiced their support for what the Bucks did, and the Rockets and Thunder followed suit in choosing to boycott their Game 5 later in the day — the Lakers and Blazers are reportedly leaning towards doing the same.

LeBron James didn’t mince words with where his frustration level is with the state of police brutality and racism in American, and Jamal Murray and Donovan Mitchell, who have starred in a tremendous on-court duel in the Nuggets-Jazz series, echoing each other and standing together in support of justice.

Former Buck John Henson, who had the police called on him in an incident of racial profiling while he was at a jewelry store during his tenure in Milwaukee, was proud to see what his former team was doing, as were so many others in the league.

Bucks senior VP Alex Lasry also issued a statement supporting the team’s decision.

ASAP Rocky and Rihanna trade cute questions and responses in a new pair of videos from GQ and Vogue. The two stars have been rumored to be in a romantic relationship since early this year, but they’ve been friends even longer than that. Rocky opened for Rihanna during her Diamonds world tour, while she appeared in his music video for “Fashion Killa,” and the the two collaborated on a remix of Rihanna’s song “Cockiness.”

The videos may have poured some fuel to the rumors, as the two are clearly comfy and flirtatious as they answer questions about their respective skincare routines, their opinions on the beauty industry, their collaboration on Rihanna’s new skincare line, Fenty Skin, their favorite curse words, and their favorite looks from each other’s repertoire.

Definitely watch the Vogue video up top first, as Rocky allows Rihanna space to elaborate on her answers, then in the GQ video, Rihanna asks him about foods he wouldn’t eat under any circumstances (chit’lin’s — and he’s absolutely 100 percent correct about this. Stop eating them, my people. They’re not worth stinking up the house for two days). Then, Riri gets the upper hand, throwing in an extra three questions and inducing some ayptically bashful responses from the normally boastful rapper. The videos have a lot of overlap but each gets a chance to shine, so it’s worth watching both.

Watch Rihanna and ASAP Rocky interview each other above.

“Tom Cruise is the wildest guy I have ever met on planet Earth,” Jake Johnson of New Girl fame tells Justin Long on his podcast, Life is Short, segueing into a 10-minute conversation about the Mission: Impossible actor, which begins with Johnson expressing interest in doing The Mummy.

As Johnson tells it, when he got the offer, he read the script and saw that it’s 30-pages of scenes with him and Tom Cruise, who famously does all his own stunts. “I think, ‘Nah. I know what this is going to be,” Johnson says on the podcast. He realizes that Cruise not only does his own stunts, but he’s going to want Johnson to do his, too. That’s not how Johnson prefers it. “There’s one thing I love in this business, and that is when they say, ‘Bring in the stunt people.’”

Basically, what happens to Johnson is that he agrees to do The Mummy with Tom Cruise before he reads the script, and after reading it, Johnson has a change of heart and realizes he no longer wants to do it. “Too scary,” he says. “Am I a coward? You bet your ass I am.” If the offer had come along before New Girl, Johnson says, “blow my ass to Mars. Put a bottle rocket in my butt cheeks. I need to eat.” But at this point in his career, Johnson had a steady job, so he let the powers that be know, “I think I’m out.”

However, Tom Cruise had already gotten excited about having Jake Johnson on board, and he’d started planning the movie with Johnson in mind. So, they told Johnson that if he wanted to pass on the movie, he’d have to go meet Tom Cruise and tell him in person. In London.

So, Johnson takes a day off of New Girl and flies 12 hours out to London to tell Tom Cruise that he can’t do The Mummy. However, by the time he lands in London, he’s exhausted. “I’ve been watching a bunch of weird sh*t and I had so much to drink,” Johnson says. He says he was also suffering from allergies, and he refused to go to the bathroom on the plane, so he had to pee.

The car service picks him up, and instead of taking him to the hotel to shower and reset, the driver takes him straight to the stage, per Cruise’s request. “I’m in cargo shorts, flip flops, with the airplane socks,” Johnson says. “I have like three sweatshirts on for no reason, and we go straight to the soundstage and I meet Tom. We have a meeting that lasts, like, hours.”

During that conversation, Cruise basically teases Johnson about being scared to do his own stunts, but in a generous way. “He’s a super funny guy, and he starts doing a lot of bits, and he’s like, ‘Are you comfortable sitting on a couch. Or do you need a stunt person for that?’ Mind you, I still have to go to the bathroom pretty intensely.”

What happened, according to Johnson, is that he tried to be “respectful and cool,” but “about 45 minutes in, I realize that I really like him, and I turned myself into a fan” and started asking him about all of his movies. “And the funny thing about Tom Cruise is, he’s been Tom Cruise for so long, he understands that people sort of need to do this.”

Anyway, Johnson eventually warms up to the idea of doing The Mummy because of how much he likes Cruise, although he does say to him, “I heard about you strapping yourself to the side of a plane for Mission: Impossible. I don’t want to do that. I don’t want this to be a story of, like, ‘Tom Cruise and fellow actor fall off a building and their heads get smashed.’ Because in Sweden, there’s going to be a big photo of you. But there’s not going to be a big photo of the fat guy from New Girl next to you.”

“I gotta say, though,” Johnson continues. “I’m glad I did it, because he really was a joy to work with, and he’s a really wild guy. And part of the fun in our business is that you get to work with really wild people.” Johnson explains more about why Cruise is so “wild” on Long’s podcast, including some of the stunt work they did together on The Mummy.

Source: Life is Short with Justin Long

If nothing below suits your sensibilities, check out our guide to What You Should Watch On Streaming Right Now.

The Republican National Convention 2020 (Everywhere on TV, 9:00 p.m.) — The 2020 Republican National Convention is officially underway while taking over the networks and plenty of cable coverage as well. Tonight’s speakers include Mike and Karen Pence, Kellyanne Conway, Marsha Blackburn, Dan Crenshaw, and Lara Trump.

Sounds like a real zoo theme going on tonight…

The Hunt for Escobar’s Hippos (Smithsonian Channel, 8:00 p.m.) — Did you know that Pablo Escobar was kind-of the Hippo KIng? His exotic (and illegal) private zoo in Colombia (for which the drug lord uprooted them from their only natural home in Africa) also housed kangaroos and emus, but the hippos went rogue after his death, and here’s the story of the hunt to save human lives.

Million Dollar Beach House (Netflix) — If you’re searching for glossier escapism, look no further than the cutthroat adventures of the Hampton real-estate market. Things are sure to get dramatic while brokers hustle and compete and steal each other’s clients. Please let someone throw a drink. Or several of them.

Late Show With Stephen Colbert: Nancy Pelosi

The Late Late Show With James Corden Madison Beer

In the days since police in Kenosha, Wisconsin repeated shot Jacob Blake in the back, NBA players have called into question whether being in the Bubble and continuing to play games is the right thing to do while police violence towards Black Americans continues in spite of protests and calls for reform.

Players on the Raptors and Celtics noted the possibility of a boycott taking place, with the two teams discussing the matter together ahead of their second round series that is scheduled to tip off on Thursday night. The Milwaukee Bucks also had discussions internally about sitting out a game in protest, as Mike Budenholzer noted the team had conversations about what actions they can take, given the shooting took place about 35 miles from their home arena in Milwaukee.

On Wednesday, the Bucks never emerged from their locker room ahead of Game 5 as the Magic warmed up, and as the clock counted down to tipoff, Orlando’s team walked off the floor and returned to their locker room as well. When the horn sounded for the game to begin, it was only the four referees on the court, as both teams stayed in their locker rooms and NBA executives were huddled outside of the Milwaukee locker room.

On the NBA TV broadcast, Sam Mitchell applauded players for taking such a strong stand, telling his own personal story of being impacted by police brutality, talking about a friend who was killed by police. Rebecca Haarlow explained that there was no word coming out of the Bucks locker room, from players, coaches, or team PR, but that the message was clear as tipoff time came and went without the Bucks ever stepping foot on the court.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Bucks players made the decision together pregame to boycott the game and not play.

George Hill issued a brief statement to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated explaining the Bucks decision.

According to Charania, the Bucks worked while they were in their locker room to contact their state’s attorney general.

During his speech at the Republican National Convention on Monday, Donald Trump ,Jr. quickly became a trending topic thanks to the sweaty face, gritted teeth, and squinty eyes that made it look a whole lot like he was blasted out of his mind on cocaine. However, while stopping by Fox & Friends on Wednesday morning, the President’s son denied pulling a Scarface for his RNC speech after being asked about his “glassy eyes” by host Steve Doocy. Trump, Jr. also couldn’t help but take a jab at Hunter Biden, the son of Democratic candidate Joe Biden, who has openly spoken about his years struggling with drug addiction.

“I guess there must have been something with the lighting,” Trump Jr. said about his odd appearance. “But they started doing this trending thing, ‘Donald Trump Jr.’s on cocaine’ and all that. I said, ‘Oh no, you have me confused with Hunter Biden.’”

You can watch the video below:

After Trump, Jr.’s alleged cocaine use dominated social media, it didn’t take long for late-night hosts to get in on the act. During its live coverage of the RNC, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert managed to take aim at both Trump, Jr. and his girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, whose manic speech also became a viral moment earlier in the night. Colbert referred to her as a “vengeful banshee” that was simply here to “scream a message of hope.” Although, her delivery might have taken its toll on Trump, Jr.

“It was his keynote address, in that he looked like he had snorted a key,” Colbert joked. “So before I tell you what he said, can we zoom in on Junior’s sweaty face and wet, bloodshot eyes? Either he’s high or that’s what happens when you live in the splash zone of Screamin’ Guilfoyle. Just bring a poncho!”

(Via The Daily Beast)

Donald Trump’s presidency has exposed some remarkable hypocrisy within the evangelical Christian movement.

The group, which once claimed to be the backbone of America’s “moral majority” made up of “family values” voters, have given their full support to a crass and cruel man whose narcissism has absolutely nothing to do with the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Astonishingly , he’s gained their support without showing any real understanding of Christianity or The Bible. Who can forget the time he was unable to name a single verse from his “favorite book” of The Bible?

Trump unable to name one verse from “favorite book” The Bible

www.youtube.com

Despite this, 72% of white evangelical Christians support the president, according to a poll conducted by Pew Research,

Franklin Graham, evangelist and son of the man who essentially founded the movement, Billy Graham, believes Donald Trump’s election was divine intervention.

“I think God was behind the last election,” Graham told conservative news site The Western Journal.

Evangelicals praise the president for appointing conservative judges and aggressively supporting the pro-life movement while turning a blind eye to his many failings as a politician and a man.

Would Jesus separate children from families at the border? Would the king of kings tolerate Trump’s pathological lying? Would Christ support Trump’s hostility towards women and people of color? Should Trump be forgiven for his unquenchable greed?

So why have evangelicals seemingly abandoned their beliefs to support Trump? A Stanford study found that people’s political beliefs tend to be more firmly held than their religious faith. So when they come into conflict, people will follow their political beliefs, then they rationalize the rejection of their religious side.

An indeed, many evangelicals have rationalized their support for Trump by calling him an unlikely vessel or “someone God has chosen for an important historical purpose, despite not looking like — or having the religious character of — an obvious man of God.”

Which is why it makes it all the more remarkable that Billy Graham’s granddaughter, Jerushah Duford, has called out evangelical hypocrisy in a powerful USA Today ope-ed, entitled: “I’m Billy Graham’s granddaughter. Evangelical support of Donald Trump spits on his legacy.”

In the article, she calls for evangelical women to stop criticizing Trump in hushed tones and to raise their voiced against him in the run up to the election. She also says it’s necessary for the church to reject Trump to regain a shred of credibility.

Duford says Trump’s election made her feel “homeless” and “disoriented” as she watched her church turn “its eyes away from everything it teaches.” What first began as a gentle tug at her spirit, grew to become a feeling she could no longer stomach.

“The gentle tug became an aggressive yank, for me, earlier this year, when our country experienced division in the form of riots, incited in great part by this president’s divisive rhetoric. I watched our president walk through Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C., after the tear gassing of peaceful protesters for a photo op,” Duford writes.

“He held a Bible, something so sacred to all of us, yet he treated that Bible with a callousness that would offend anyone intimately familiar with the words inside it,” she continued. “He believed that action would honor him and only him. However, the church, designed to honor God, said nothing.”

She also spoke of the damage that the church’s support for the president has caused its reputation.

“It seems that the only evangelical leaders to speak up praised the president, with no mention of his behavior that is antithetical to the Jesus we serve. The entire world has watched the term ‘evangelical” become synonymous with hypocrisy and disingenuousness,” she writes.

“My faith and my church have become a laughing stock, and any attempt by its members to defend the actions of Trump at this time sound hollow and insincere,” she writes.

Duford called for fellow evangelicals to get their priorities straight by putting God before politics and believes that doing so would be empowering to women in the faith.

“The God we serve empowers us as women to represent Him before our churches. We represent God before we represented any political party or leader,” She writes. “When we fail to remember this, we are minimizing the role He created for us to fill.”

“Jesus loved women; He served women; He valued women. We need to give ourselves permission to stand up to do the same,” she continued.

Duford’s op-ed is a bold and brave statement for an influential figure in a movement that has become synonymous with the Republican Party to nake. But, according to Duford, that type of bravery is what’s demanded of her by her faith.

“I chose to listen to my spirit to speak out. Not because doing so feels comfortable, but because it feels like the right way to leverage the voice God has empowered me with,” she writes.

“Now I am asking all of you who feel as I do, to embrace your inner tug, and allow it to lead you to use the power of your God-given voice and not allow Trump to lead this country for another four years,” the piece concludes.

Lil Tecca has had fun with his recent visuals. February’s Cole Bennett-directed video for “IDK” saw him take over a school dance, and in June, he played Cupid in his heart-filled “Out Of Love” visual. Now the 18-year-old rapper back with another delightful new clip, this time for “Royal Rumble.”

As the title suggests, Tecca is the star of a flashy WWE-style wrestling promotion. The action starts with him in a locker room, championship belt over his shoulder and waiting to enter the royal rumble. Tecca is significantly slimmer than his muscle-laden competitors, so he takes his licks during the event. Still, he manages to pull off a last-second victory and secure another belt.

The clip ends with a little skit, where the excited official approaches Tecca in the bowels of the arena, asking for the secrets to his success. Tecca acknowledges his enthusiasm in informs the ref that he can’t stick around because he has some chicken nuggets waiting for him, and he’s not interested in letting them get cold.

“Royal Rumble” is the latest track that will presumably appear on Virgo World, the rapper’s upcoming debut album and the follow-up to his 2019 mixtape We Love You Tecca.

Watch the “Royal Rumble” video above.