The Human Dissentipede - The Daily Show - Video Clip | Comedy Central
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Monday, June 29, 2015
NYPD ‘Livid’ Over Proposed Reforms That Include Consent For Searches, Punishing Use Of Chokeholds
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the proposed NYPD police reforms are merely common sense. In a statement made available via Russia Today, the ACLU called on the city council to pass the proposed reforms.
NYPD ‘Livid’ Over Proposed Reforms That Include Consent For Searches, Punishing Use Of Chokeholds“Too often, New Yorkers are subjected to police encounters in which they are provided no information about the person stopping them or the basis for the interaction. New Yorkers have often misunderstood the extent of their privacy rights during a consensual search, and police officers exploit that misunderstanding.”
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Charleston exposes ugliest truth of our time: Our society places little value on black life - Salon.com
"Then as now, it was easier to blame a deranged individual than to craft a response that might address racial inequality or gun violence. Hours before King’s death, the Senate Judiciary Committee finally voted on a gun-control bill that had been pending before it for three years. The bill was initially proposed by Sen. Thomas Dodd of Connecticut, and supported by Lyndon Johnson. James Eastland, the longtime segregationist from Mississippi, chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee. The committee defeated a proposal to ban interstate gun sales. The committee then considered a proposal to combine gun control legislation with a safe streets bill. It failed to approve this measure, then adjourned for the evening. An hour later, James Earl Ray aimed his rifle at the balcony of the Lorraine Motel and murdered Martin Luther King Jr."
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Friday, June 26, 2015
Scalia, Thomas & Alito have totally lost it: The complete and utter incoherence of the conservative Supreme Court justices
"Regarding the dissenting justices: Um, what the hell? Aren't hard-line paleo-conservatives supposed to be against frivolous lawsuits? Of course they are. And of course the King v Burwell case was absolutely a frivolous lawsuit. The entire law could have potentially collapsed over a lawsuit that disputed the existence of seven words in an otherwise massive piece of legislation. Those seven words: "through an exchange established by the state." That was the basis of the whole thing. The plaintiffs argued that based on those words, the federal government could only provide subsidies for lower income Americans who purchased insurance through a state-run exchange."
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Monday, June 22, 2015
Nikki Haley calls for removal of Confederate flag - CNNPolitics.com
"(CNN)South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on Monday called for the removal of the Confederate flag from the grounds of the State House.
"Today we are here in a moment of unity in our state without ill will to say it is time to remove the flag from our capitol grounds," said Haley, a Republican and the state's first non-white governor, while flanked by a diverse group of South Carolina politicians.
"This flag, while an integral part of our past, does not represent the future of our great state," she said."
White supremacist donated to GOP presidential candidates - KLTV.com-Tyler, Longview, Jacksonville, Texas | ETX News
The paper reported that one of the candidates, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, will return the $8,500 he received from Earl Holt, leader of the Council of Conservative Citizens. An online manifesto purportedly written by Roof, the suspect in last week's murder of nine blacks at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, said he learned about "brutal black on white murders" from the Council of Conservative Citizens website.
The Guardian also reported that Holt donated to presidential candidates Rand Paul and Rick Santorum. A spokesman for Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, told the paper that Santorum doesn't condone racist or hateful comments; Paul's campaign didn't respond to a request for comment from the newspaper.
White supremacist donated to GOP presidential candidates - KLTV.com-Tyler, Longview, Jacksonville, Texas | ETX News
Sunday, June 21, 2015
We must call him a terrorist: Dylann Roof, Fox News and the truth about why language matters
"How we talk about the truth matters. What happened in Charleston, S.C. was a lot of things – a crime, a tragedy, a massacre, a butchery, and, above all, an act of terror. President Obama referred to the South Carolina shootings as “senseless murders.” That was a terrible mistake; it’s not just wrong – it’s dangerous and misleading.
Language can obscure as much as it reveals. It’s important, now more than ever, to be clear, to call things by their proper name; to do otherwise is to risk confusion where none exists. What happened in Charleston was terrorism. Period."
Florida police murder black computer engineer as he listens to music; attempted cover-up exposed
"Now, nearly two year later, it turns out the police told multiple lies in attempt to cover up their killing of McBean. Below we will expose each of the lies they told."
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Recommended read from Salon.com: Black faith is under attack: How to make sense of white supremacy's Charleston crimes
"Roof’s targeting of a place of worship is an attempt to compromise the safety and sanctity of the black church. Before Wednesday night, the black church seemed to be one of the few places left where black folk could assemble in public and feel seen, recognized, heard, loved and welcome. (We know from the not-so-distant past that those spaces are not the private communities in which we live, not store parking lots, not Walmart stores, not public parks,not street corners, not swimming pools, not even our homes.)"
Friday, June 19, 2015
Monday, June 15, 2015
Sunday, June 14, 2015
It’s Not Just About Bad Choices - NYTimes.com
"Too often, I believe, liberals deny that poverty is linked to bad choices. As Phillips and many other poor people acknowledge, of course, it is.
Self-destructive behaviors — dropping out of school, joining a gang, taking drugs, bearing children when one isn’t ready — compound poverty. Researchers have often found that very poor families worldwide spend more of their income on alcohol than on educating their children. And, in central Kenya, a government study published a few years ago found that men there, on average, spent more of their salaries on alcohol than on food.
Yet scholars are also learning to understand the roots of these behaviors, and they’re far more complicated than the conservative narrative of human weakness.
For starters, there is growing evidence that poverty and mental health problems are linked in complex, reinforcing ways. In the United States, a Gallup poll a few years ago found that people living in poverty were twice as likely to have been diagnosed with depression as other Americans. One study in 2010 found that 55 percent of American babies living in poverty in 2001 were raised by mothers showing signs of depression.
The journal JAMA Psychiatry last year estimated that millions of low-income Americans suffer from parasitic infections such as toxocariasis and toxoplasmosis that, in turn, are associated with cognitive impairment or mental health disorders.
“I estimate 12 million Americans living in poverty suffer from at least one neglected parasitic or tropical disease,” says Dr. Peter Hotez, the author of that study. “The media places so much emphasis on imaginary infectious disease threats, when millions of people in poverty, mostly people of color, have neglected infections that are almost completely ignored.”
Saturday, June 13, 2015
White panic, white denial: The racial prehistory of the McKinney pool party that white America can’t let go - Salon.com
"It is whites far more than blacks who cannot break free of the poisonous attitudes of the past, and facing that truth can help us understand the peculiar state of American race relations in the 21st century, so painfully distilled in that video clip of a white police officer and a bikini-clad African-American teenager."
Recommended read from Salon.com: White panic, white denial: The racial prehistory of the McKinney pool party that white America can't let go
"It is whites far more than blacks who cannot break free of the poisonous attitudes of the past, and facing that truth can help us understand the peculiar state of American race relations in the 21st century, so painfully distilled in that video clip of a white police officer and a bikini-clad African-American teenager."
Thursday, June 11, 2015
NYTimes: Cleveland Judge Finds Probable Cause to Charge Officers in Tamir Rice Death
"A judge in Cleveland ruled Thursday that probable cause existed to charge two Cleveland police officers in the death of a 12-year-old boy, Tamir Rice, but also said he did not have the power to order the arrests without a complaint being filed by a prosecutor."
Black America is so very tired of explaining and debating - Salon.com
Racial Battle Fatigue is real: We live with police thuggery, political indifference, media lies. Some empathy?
Black America is so very tired of explaining and debating - Salon.com
6 ways white supremacy takes its toll on Black people’s mental health - Salon.com
Whether you're a teen at a pool party or a parent just trying to make ends meet, America is a hostile place to live
6 ways white supremacy takes its toll on Black people’s mental health - Salon.com
America’s war on Black girls: Why McKinney police violence isn’t about “one bad apple” - Salon.com
Many have been quick to dismiss or make excuses for the shocking video out of Texas. Here's the truth of the matter
America’s war on Black girls: Why McKinney police violence isn’t about “one bad apple” - Salon.com
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Tuesday, June 09, 2015
Monday, June 08, 2015
Sunday, June 07, 2015
Full Video Released In Utah Police Killing Of Dillon Taylor
20-year-old Dillon Taylor was shot and killed by Salt Lake City Police August 11, for failing to comply with orders. The department initially refused to release body cam footage of the incident, then released only a spinet showing everything leading up to the killing.
Dillon Taylor
Now, a full version of that disturbing and graphic footage shows an unarmed Taylor being shot before an officer handcuffs his lifeless body as it bleeds out on the pavement.
Full Video Released In Utah Police Killing Of Dillon Taylor
A Boy At School Snapped Her Bra. What She Did Next Is Gold. | Stuff Happens
I’m an Emergency Room nurse and we’re not allowed to have our phones on us; they’re to be kept in our lockers. A call comes into hospital reception on a private line for me.
Phone: “This is [Teacher] from [School]. There’s been an incident involving [Daughter]. We need you to come in.”
Me: “Is she ill or injured? Can it wait until my shift is over in two hours?”
Phone: “[Daughter] has struck another student. We’ve been trying to call you for 45 minutes. It really is very serious.”
I go to the school and am ushered into the Principal’s office. I see my daughter, her advisor, a male teacher, the principal, a boy with blood around his nose and a red face, and his parents.
Principal: “Mrs. [My Name], how kind of you to FINALLY join us!”
Me: “Yeah, things get busy in the ER. I’ve spent the last hour administering over 40 stitches to a seven-year-old who was beaten by his mother with a metal ladle and then I had to deal with the police regarding the matter. Sorry for the inconvenience.”
(After watching him try to not act embarrassed, he tells me what has happened. The boy had snapped my daughter’s bra and she had punched him in the face… twice. I got the impression they were more angry with my daughter than the boy.)
Me: “Oh. And you want to know if I’m going to press charges against him for sexually assaulting my daughter and against the school for allowing him to do it?”
(They all get jittery when I mention sexual assault and start speaking at once.)
Teacher: “I don’t think it was that serious.”
Advisor: “Let’s not over-react.”
Principal: “I think you’re missing the point.”
(The boy’s mother then starts crying. I turn to my daughter to find out what happened.)
Daughter: “He kept snapping my bra. I asked him to stop but he didn’t, so I told Mr. [Teacher]. He told me to ‘ignore it.’ [Boy] did it again and undid my bra so I hit him. Then he stopped.”
(I turn to the teacher.)
Me: “You let him do this? Why didn’t you stop him? Come over here and let me touch the front of your trousers.”
Teacher: “What?! No!”
Me: “Does that seem inappropriate to you? Why don’t you go and pull on Mrs. [Advisor]’s bra right now. See how fun it is for her. Or on that boy’s mother’s bra. Or mine. You think just because they’re kids it’s fun?”
Principal: “Mrs. [My Name]. With all due respect, [Daughter] still beat another child.”
Me: “No. She defended herself against a sexual attack from another pupil. Look at them; he’s nearly 6 feet and 160 pounds. She’s 5 feet and 84 pounds. He’s a foot taller than her and twice as heavy. How many times should she have let him touch her? If the person who was supposed to help and protect her in a classroom couldn’t be bothered, what should she have done? He pulled her bra so hard it came undone.”
(The boy’s mom is still crying and his dad looks both angry and embarrassed. The teacher won’t make eye contact with me. I look at the principal.)
Me: “I’m taking her home. I think the boy has learned his lesson. And I hope nothing like this ever happens again, not only to [Daughter], but to any other girl at this school. You wouldn’t let him do it to a member of staff so what makes you think he can do it to a girl of 15 is beyond me. I will be reporting this to the school administrators. And if you—” *turning to the boy* “—EVER touch my daughter again I WILL have you arrested for sexual assault. Do you understand me?”
I was so angry, I gathered my daughter’s things and left. I reported it to the School Board, several of whom I know, and was assured it would be strongly dealt with.
My daughter was put into a different class for that subject, away from the teacher and the boy.
A Boy At School Snapped Her Bra. What She Did Next Is Gold. | Stuff Happens
California Prosecutors Barred from Death Penalty Case for Misconduct | Equal Justice Initiative
A California judge disqualified Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas and his entire office from prosecuting a death penalty case after finding that prosecutors and police had engaged in misconduct.
Evidence in the case of Scott Dekraii showed that, after Mr. Dekraii had asked for a lawyer, Orange County Sheriff's Department deputies deliberately placed him near a repeat jailhouse informant who had been instructed to elicit a confession from him.
This practice is illegal because the Constitution bars police from attempting to obtain a confession from a defendant after he has invoked his right to counsel. Jailhouse informants can be used only when defendants voluntarily make statements to cellmates, not when they are orchestrated and recorded by jailhouse officials, which makes the interaction effectively a police interrogation by proxy.
Further investigation revealed that this illegal use of informants has been standard practice in Orange County for decades -- so standard it has been meticulously tracked in a massive database called TRED. The sheriff's department and prosecutors have gone to great lengths, including testifying falsely in court, to keep TRED's very existence a secret. As the judge wrote in his order: "[A] wealth of potentially relevant discovery material--an entire computerized data base built and maintained by the Orange County Sheriff over the course of many years which is a repository for information related directly to the very issues that this court was examining as a result of the defendant's motion--remained secret, despite numerous specific discovery orders issued by this court..."
California Prosecutors Barred from Death Penalty Case for Misconduct | Equal Justice Initiative
Crime and Confusion in a Safer New York City - NYTimes.com
Any prolonged increase in violence is worrying, and shootings have been climbing for two years.
But Mr. de Blasio has a ready response, which he repeated on Friday. It’s that serious crime overall is still down — way down — from historic highs. That the shooting problem is largely confined to a few precincts in Brooklyn and the Bronx, where gangs and drugs hold sway. (Police Commissioner William Bratton said it’s “career criminals, killing and shooting other career criminals.”) And that he and Mr. Bratton have got this, through programs, with names like Summer All Out and Operation Impact, that will focus attention and officers on crime-plagued neighborhoods.
Crime and Confusion in a Safer New York City - NYTimes.com
Monday, June 01, 2015
NYPD accused of race bias, sued for allegedly denying promotion to 3 black workers - Black Politics on the Web
"Three African American civilian employees of the NYPD sued the department and their supervisors Thursday claiming that brass discriminate against minorities by denying them promotions to better paying jobs in the motor fleet division.
David Binyard of Queens and two Brooklyn residents, Ricky Davis and Tyrone Taylor, say in court papers that they had extensive experience before being hired by the city about a decade ago as auto service workers in the NYPD’s Maspeth facility. (New York Daily News)"
- See more at: http://blackpoliticsontheweb.com/2015/05/29/nypd-accused-of-race-bias-sued-for-allegedly-denying-promotion-to-3-black-workers/#.dpuf
Terence Blanchard on pushing for social change The sounds of jazz trumpeter Terence Blanchard have provided the sonic backdrop to nearly thirty years of American cinema. He joins Melissa Harris-Perry to discuss how his social consciousness informs his art and gives a special performance of his song...
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