Great Moments in Journalism, Redux

If you're a J-school grad who abandoned the "profession" (and I use that term loosely) for greener pastures, be thankful.  More than likely, you're making more money than a member of the stenographer corps, with your reputation and integrity fully intact.

Don't believe me?  Consider this stellar moments from a current practitioner in the field:

CNN Anchor Brooke Baldwin blames military veterans for Baltimore riots.

That's right.  Ms. Baldwin, best known for her confusion about 4chan, suggested that vets who go into law enforcement are responsible for the violence and destruction on display in Maryland's largest city.  She made the observation yesterday, during an interview with Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings.  From Breitbart:

"In a pathetic suck-up interview with Democrat Congressman Elijah Cummins, Baldwin never once had the moral courage to ask the failed Baltimore City congressman if the left-wing policies ushered in by a half-century of a Democrat monopoly in Baltimore might have something to do with the city’s ills. Instead, she said of young military veterans who become police officers, “I love our nation’s veterans, but some of them are coming back from war, they don’t know the communities, and they are ready to do battle.” 

Pardon my ignorance, but does anyone know what in the hell she is talking about?  Is there any proof that officers involved in recent, high-profile cases of alleged police brutality were crazed vets?  Darren Wilson, the Ferguson, Missouri police officer who was completely exonerated in last year's shooting of a black teenager (who robbed a store and tried to take his gun) never served in the military.  Michael Slager, the North Charleston, South Carolina officer now facing murder charges for shooting an unarmed suspect, Walter Scott, is a veteran of the Coast Guard, but never served in combat. 

Putting it bluntly, there isn't the slightest shred of evidence supporting the theory that military service is making cops shoot black suspects, or those of any other color. But that little inconvenient fact didn't stop Ms. Baldwin from slandering vets who now serve in law enforcement.  In fact, many police departments actively recruit former service members for a variety of reasons, ranging from law enforcement and experience in the military, to their judgment and maturity in stressful situations. 

On the other hand, there is ample proof that street gangs--including those reportedly targeting police officers in Baltimore--have infiltrated the U.S. military.   Four years ago, the FBI reported that gang members have been discovered in all branches of the armed services, with the largest concentrations in the Army, National Guard and Army Reserve.  A better question for Ms. Baldwin might have been: are police worried about gang bangers with armed forces training who might be on the streets of Baltimore, anxious to target officers who are trying to restore order. 

But that goes against the narrative, where various agitators, street thugs and groups like the Nation of Islam are being praised for their efforts in trying to restore calm.  Much easier for a "journalist" like Brooke Baldwin to resurrect stereotypes from the 1970s, and blame cops with military backgrounds for the unrest that tore Ferguson apart, and is once again on display in Baltimore.