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"It is incumbent upon Sergeant Crowley and me to utilize the great opportunity that fate has given us to foster greater sympathy among the American public for the daily perils of policing on the one hand, and for the genuine fears of racial profiling on the other hand," Gates said in a statement on his Web site, The Root. "Let me say that I thank God that (I) live in a country in which police officers put their lives at risk to protect us every day, and, more than ever, I've come to understand and appreciate their daily sacrifices on our behalf. I'm also grateful that we live in a country where freedom of speech is a sacrosanct value and I hope that one day we can get to know each other better, as we began to do at the White House this afternoon over beers with President Obama," he said. iReport.com: Police, public share views on racial profiling "At this point, I am hopeful that we can all move on, and that this experience will prove an occasion for education, not recrimination. I know that Sergeant Crowley shares this goal. Both of us are eager to go back to work tomorrow."

The BEST thing you can do is to understand the requirements of the position you're seeking to fill. You're looking for either experience doing that job, or basic skills that will translate into the ability to do that job quickly. Let the candidate talk. Prompt him/her if you need to. Don't let THEM take control of the conversation. THEY want to sell you on how great they are. YOU want to get a feel for their skills and "fit" into your environment. So talk about yourself and the company enough to make them feel comfortable but don't let that take up the bulk of the time. As a web app developer I am sure you've had the opportunity to sit down with clients (internal or external) to elicit the info you need to do your job. This isn't very different. Don't ask about kids, religion, marital state, etc etc. Also it's ok to ask about gaps in employment but...be careful about going too deeply. If an offer's going to be made then the past employer can fill you in. I usually ask: 1) Tell me about yourself? The correct response would be to state qualifications for the job, not to blab about their life history. The way they respond to this tells me how much they prepared and how well they understand the job requirements. 2) Why do you want this job? 3) How would approach your first 30 days in this position? The BEST questions are situational / results: 1) Give me an example of a challenge you faced when you were wtih [past company] and what you did to meet it? Results? 2) Tell me about a time when you disagreed with a co-worker and how you resolved it? etc And lastly - ask them what questions they have of and make careful note of them. If they ask about money and vacation - that's not really appropriate. Again, you'll know how well they prepared and what matters to them by what they ask. To be honest - if someone has the basic skills and experience, good references and that intangible "fit", they're often a better hire than someone who meets every job requirement but who is hard to warm up to. "Fit" is hard to describe, but you know it. It's better to take a chance on someone who is willing and able to learn - and good to work with, at least IMHO. Good luck!

I usually take the cops' side because they have a really tough job. In particular the paperwork part of the job is a pain in the ass ... but clearly it's quite important. Now everyone knows why and I bet that many cops will start to take more care with their paperwork. In any event - out of this may come something good. We shall see.

So if the caller didn't say they were black guys...then why did the police report say two black guys with backpacks? The dispatcher didn't say that. It's hard to fathom, unless there was someone else on the scene (not yet mentioned) who gave the officer that information. Cripes. Well, tomorrow is the beer summit at the WH. Let's see how it goes.

Kinda like it was the GOP who pushed thru Presidential term limits because if FDR hadn't died in office, he might still be President. And darn it, if it didn't come back to haunt them when Saint Ronnie was in office. It was fun then to hear them bemoan term limits.

Don't take offense but...anyone who expects an "informed, factual, reasoned point" should NOT be expecting to find it HERE.

Don't laugh about double-sided copying. It can truly save a TON of money. Printing and copying represent huge costs, and consumables aren't cheap. Even if the equipment and its management are outsourced it's expensive...the margins run around 40%. It would probably be cheaper to hand out Kindles and then download the documents as needed instead of the print enough copies to sink a small ship and then toss them anyway. Seriously.

I would suggest that instead of "Anyone who thinks the police in the USA (and particularly in New England) are completely color blind in their demeanor with the public and enforcement, is living in a fantasy world." this statement should have read "Anyone who thinks the people in the USA (and particularly in New England) are completely color blind is living in a fantasy world." And "people" means people of ALL colors. All people have prejudices whether they realize it or not, no matter how hard they try not to. Some are racial, some are gender-related...shoot, some people have prejudices about names, hair color, etc. That's human. I do wish Obama hadn't weighed in...I have a bet with myself that there are nights when he gets into bed and Michelle hits him with "what the HELL were you thinking when you said XYZ..." and that was probably one of those nights. However, the bell has been rung and I hope that some good can come out of it. White guys really can't understand what discrimination means, no matter how hard they try. Minorities - including women - have experienced it and understand it. Many days you just shrug it off but apparently on that day, that black man decided to be outraged and I think I might do the same thing. I wonder when everyone's going to turn on the person who called 911 in the first place.

hahahaha - just don't jump into yer nayber's yard to ree-treeve your kid's baseball or nuthing cause you might get yo'sef a face fulla buckshot...

In Texas you can shoot the rat basset if he's in your yard goin thru yer trash.

Thank you, Howard Cosell.

I don't like it either. If my phone rings when I'm driving, I ignore it. Over a year ago 5 girls in the Rochester area were killed just after high school graduation in a terrible fiery crash. Turns out there was texting going on. My point is, all this is a big DUH. Anything that distracts a driver is dangerous. A car is dangerous. If people are to f-ing stupid to leave the phone in their pocket, then I hope they only kill themselves. You can't chew gum and walk at the same time either, so why you'd think you could drive and talk to a 1-900-chickline without missing an exist is beyond me.

Talking on cellphones. Changing radio stations. Putting in a new CD or tape. Yelling at the kids. Trying to see what the GPS screen says. Programming the GPS. Reading mapquest printed directions. Driving with the dog on your lap. Eating a big Mac. Drinking .... anything. Smoking a cigarette. Looking for the cigarette butt you threw out the window which you think flew BACK into the car thru the back window. Putting on makeup. Texting. Rubbernecking at the brokedown slowdown. Drooling at the blonde in the convertible. Swatting the bug that just flew in the window. Looking in the glovebox for something...anything. All this stuff distracts drivers and causes accidents. Cellphones may currently be the worst. But it'll be something else eventually. The fact is that smart people realize that talking on the phone is distracting and dangerous, and don't do it. My first cellphone was a hands-free system built into my car. Later, when I worked for a wireless company, I RARELY talked on the phone when driving, and ALWAYS using hands free. I'd dial into my conference call or whatever, set the phone on "speaker", and then I'd get on the road (usually on mute as well to avoid the road noise). I agree with laws against cellphone use in the car, unless they're used hands-free. I think it is a behavior that can be changed - like wearing seatbelts. Is it too late? Nope, but it'll be an uphill battle. Until the "next" thing comes along. I predict it'll be web surfing on those lovely big nav screens that are in the dash in newer cars....you just wait.

Uh, the same reason why we can build them.

So?

BY HER OWN STATE.

Fun Photo! According to CNN, the three stooges (Palin, Romney and Huckabee) are locked in a battle for the 2012 GOP nomination. It is to laugh.

What I didn't realize was all this fuss over the firefighter lawsuit - which I actually think ended up the right way, meaning I think Sotomayor's ruling was wrong - one of the guys involved is actually dsylexic and used that "disability" to get preferential treatment. You really can't have it both ways, guy.... I did my EMT training with a guy like that. He was SO skilled...but he was either dyslexic or just plain out had panic attacks when faced with a written test. He aced all the practicals of course but flunked the written. So it was agreed that he would be allowed to take the test verbally. So - was that fair to the rest of us? Maybe, maybe not. The fact is that failing this guy would have been a loss to the community because he was good. BUT arguably it's easier to pass a test when you can discuss your answers and clarify them. It's never black or white.

I disagree with a proposed ban on smoking in the military...those people have enough to deal with and if smoking gives them some solace and comfort they should do it. Obviously it's not good for their health but...it should be up to each individual as to when and if they quit.

Smirkish grin? Ah poor Palin. All this publicity will probably hurt the sale of the book she's going to write. I'm sure it would be so much better to PAY a PR firm to get her into the headlines right? Read the Hunting of the President pally and then whine about the politics of personal destruction. I personally would prefer that Palin be left alone to disappear because I don't think she's newsworthy. But, alas, the GOP is now being served with its own sauce.

Whose defense? This place is pretty much everyman for himself. Or herself, as the case may be. I cannot see defending anyone who incorporates "maniac" into their username. That kind of speaks for itself. Actually I appreciate that truth in labeling, because it makes it easy to sort out the absolute nutjobs from the borderline cases and normal people.

He's mellowed a bit in his old age. I used to have to block him. Now I only block select individuals from north of the Mason-Dixon line. Far north, shall we say :-)

I believe you heard that. This is lose-lose. Either the club is disgustingly racist OR the people from the daycare are so pissed at having their plans messed up that they are disgustingly deceiving. I don't know which is which. I do know that racism exists and there really is no border at which it stops. Here's the sum total of the website (which yesterday had a landing page but had removed links to all content): "The Valley Club is deeply troubled by the recent allegations of racism which are completely untrue. We had originally agreed to invite the camps to use our facility, knowing full well that the children from the camps were from multi-ethnic backgrounds. Unfortunately, we quickly learned that we underestimated the capacity of our facilities and realized that we could not accommodate the number of children from these camps. All funds were returned to the camps and we will re-evaluate the issue at a later date to determine whether it can be feasible in the future. Our Valley Club deplores discrimination in any form, as is evidenced by our multi-ethnic and diverse membership. Whatever comments may or may not have been made by an individual member is an opinion not shared by The Valley Club Board."

Are you including SSI in "welfare"? That's probably MORE abused, and I'd love to know the demographic.

Hello? That's how GWB survived - lower the bar enough and you look like a rocket scientist when you can step over it.