Ain't a damned thing holy going on in the "Holy City" for Black folk

"...to be a Negro in this country, and to be relatively conscious -- is to be in a rage almost all the time."

James Baldwin

And rage is exactly what I felt as I scrolled through my Blog List late Tuesday night and came upon this headline at the PINAC site:  South Carolina Cop Arrested for Murder After Video Shows Him Shooting Man in Back.  I clicked on the link and when I got to the second paragraph, I was horrified to find -- this had happened in my own hometown (depending on traffic, a mere 10-15 minutes from where I now live)!

Scrolling through to the end as I sat on the couch with the husband in Florida (my plans to go back to The Gambia this Spring having been sidelined by the IRS, I drove down to see him just to recharge after nearly a year in South Carolina), I said, "Man, look at this shit!!!"  He inched closer, and with our mouths agape, we both watched this:



I counted each report of the firearm to myself as Walter Scott ran away from his murderer.  I could not believe I was seeing this -- on video.  Heart racing and body shaking, I unleashed a trail of epithets (too numerous and w-a-ay too vulgar to repeat here, I assure you).  The husband joined in with his own WTFs, as he snaked his arm around me, pulling me into him.  Though I wished I was home to be a part of whatever had to come after this killing, I was glad I was wrapped up "in the temple of my familiar."

He slowly dozed off, but I couldn't sleep.

As I felt his breathing slow (interspersed with a snort here and there indicating the beginning of a snore-fest), thoughts about the homesickness that had drawn me back to Charleston nearly a year ago by mutual agreement, coupled with the June 20 murder of Denzel Curnell by one of those "Blacks in Blue" less than a month after I'd moved in (particularly those "three missing minutes" from the surveillance tape finally released by the Charleston PD) kept pestering me. I went searching for the initial accounts of what had happened, starting with The Post and Courier, the local  paper of record, and found this: Man shot and killed by North Charleston police officer after traffic stop; SLED investigating:

SLED spokesman Thom Berry confirmed that SLED agents interviewed witnesses and gathered evidence at the scene.“We are investigating the shooting incident itself,” Berry said. “That is the normal protocol whenever there is an officer-involved shooting. ... Once we complete that portion of the investigation, the agents will write up the case file and present it to the 9th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, and someone from that office will determine whether charges should be filed in connection with the shooting.”

James Johnson, president of the local chapter of the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, alluded to the officer-involved deaths in Missouri and New York that spurred the “black lives matter” movement when he spoke with reporters at the scene of the violence. He urged the North Charleston community to wait for the conclusion of SLED’s investigation before protesting in the wake of the death.

“I don’t want this to become another Ferguson,” he said, referring to the Aug. 9, 2014 shooting of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black man, by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.

Three things in the piece worried me immediately: SLED, Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson and Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network -- neither of the three worked out for the Curnell family.

Then I followed the link in the PINAC post to another Post and Courier piece: Day after officer’s arrest, video of shooting death sparks protests, more action:

Ed Bryant, president of the North Charleston chapter of the NAACP, said communication between neighborhood leaders and police commanders had improved since Chief Jon Zumalt left the department in early 2013. But the community’s relationship with the department’s rank-and-file members was still strained, he said.

“There has been a good conversation at the top,” Bryant said. “But nothing has changed at the bottom level.”

Gov. Nikki Haley said in a statement late Tuesday that the shooting “is not acceptable” and not indicative of how most officers in the state act.

“This is a sad time for everyone in South Carolina,” she said. “I urge everyone to work together to help our community heal.”

Why do I get the "Massa, we's sick" feeling from the NAACP guy?  Does he honestly believe the problem is solely "at the bottom level?"  And, given Haley's low people in high places performance during the Baby Veronica, child-trafficking-is-good-for-white-folk case, her statement is ludicrous on its face. She obviously could care less about "community healing" -- although, given her use of $9,355.96 of SC taxpayer money to dispatch two deputies and a SLED agent to Oklahoma, she does know a little about how officers in the state act.

And a little further in, we (not unexpectedly, at least to me) we find this:

Two people filed complaints against Slager during his time with the force, including one man who said the policeman shot him with a Taser for no reason in September 2013. Internal investigators exonerated the officer of any wrongdoing, though the suspect in that case was never arrested.

According to this:  "Documents released by the force show there was one complaint in January 2015 involving failure to file a police report was sustained — though it was unclear what disciplinary action Slager faced, if any...Slager was cleared of another complaint regarding use of force. In that case, a man alleged Slager had used his Taser for no reason and slammed him to the ground in September 2013.  The officer was exonerated upon investigation, documents from the North Charleston Police Department show."

See, this is why I believe in Citizens Review Boards -- because  Internal Affairs is nothing but the fox guarding the henhouse!!  The police get to police the police with no real accountability to the citizens they supposedly serve.

Pastor Thomas Dixon, a community activist, said that he is concerned about outsiders coming into the community to incite violence. He said the outcry of anger so often ends up “tearing down our communities,” and emotions should be diverted to something more constructive than violence.

“Good people get caught up with crazy people,” he said. “The smart reaction is to just gather and peacefully let your voice be heard without any foolishness or craziness.” (emphasis mine)

Careful there Pastor, your words eerily echo those used against Dr. King and the SCLC during both the Montgomery Bus Boycott and Selma -- and I'm sure you recall what he had to say to his fellow clergyman like you about that in his, "Letter from a Birmingham Jail."  Read it at your leisure, however,  here's a little bit of it to chew on:

Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds. (emphasis mine)

Unlike Pastor Dixon, I proudly and humbly thank the younguns in the struggle today for their  fire this time -- would that plenty more "outsiders," who really get the soul-crushing inhumanity that has, and continues to happen in Charleston, show up in solidarity as they have all over these alleged United States. Until they do, please listen to my beautiful, young sister, Ms. Lauryn Hill explain the plethora of reasons for those "outcries of anger" with her, Black Rage (sketch) below:



Now comes the Mayor's press conference:



There are many point-by-point thoughts I could make about this press conference, but I won't, because I'm tired and it just feels like, "Y'all just need to shut the hell up.  We've fired him, charged him with murder -- what else do you want?!"

But I will say this, all I see it as, is an opportunity for both the mayor as well as the Chief to totally shut down the Black Lives Matter activists -- as if this problem has not been, and still is, an ongoing, far-reaching, INSTITUTIONALIZED and SYSTEMIC one!!  Well, this Salon piece totally debunks that idea, offering a mere smidgen of what's been going on in Charleston just over the last 15 years!  Please do check it out, Family.

However, it seems Mr. Scott's family was relieved at the mayor's announcement.  But I don't think they've bought it all hook, line and sinker -- and they shouldn't. Take a listen:



I didn't know why, but Bobby Blue Bland's song's been playing non-stop in my head since I started writing this post.  Now I know -- I needed to dedicate it to the Scott family, with my sincerest condolences for the brutal, senseless loss, forced upon them by a white supremacist officer in a racist system.  I hope all of you can find some semblance of peace:



Family, in the words of the late, great Fannie Lou Hamer, "I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired" -- aren't you?

Related:
- Media Were Already Running With Police Fantasy When Video Exploded It
- Bystander who filmed Walter Scott shooting: officer 'made a bad decision'
- Walter Scott Shooting: Councilman Says Support 'Hard-Working' Officer
- Walter Scott: protesters demand justice – and an end to police discrimination
- South Carolina police officer who shot fleeing black man 'looked like he was trying to kill a deer in the woods'
- GoFundMe rejects campaign to support officer in fatal N. Charleston shooting
- Walter Scott: Another Senseless Killing Of A Black By Police

Ruminations: Legal games people play with others' lives

Before delving into that very eye-opening trip back home that I mentioned in the previous post, I thought I'd share some ruminations first. Your two cents are more than welcome!

~#~#~#~

"Now, I don’t think that’s attributable to the fact that it is so much clearer now that we need this. I think it is attributable, very likely attributable, to a phenomenon that is called perpetuation of racial entitlement. It’s been written about. Whenever a society adopts racial entitlements, it is very difficult to get out of them through the normal political processes."

Antonin Scalia

Now see, if the Black Misleadership Class (BMC) had been on their job for all these years they've been supposedly -- leading, Young Ben over at the NAACP wouldn't have been sending out solicitations for cash (which is where I got that Scalia quote from), or petitions at the 13th hour trying to get folk "to stand with the NAACP to say that voting is a right, not an entitlement." I mean it's not like they didn't know this shit was coming before the Supreme Court this year.  Hell, the case is Shelby County, Alabama , Petitioner v. Eric H. Holder, Jr., Attorney General, et al!!  And the et al, wait for it -- includes the damned NAACP!  And I won't even mention the number of amicus briefs filed by CBC members, to include Rep. John Lewis. {smdh}

Do follow the chronology of Shelby Co. v. Holder here, and then tell me why the BMC sat on their damned hands all this time.  Too busy screaming about how racist the Republicans have been treating the poor Changeling I guess (as if any of that's a damned surprise).  Or in the case of Young Ben, too busy "seminar-cruising to Canada and New England" aboard The Nation Magazine's, "floating palace of populism."  His photo's not yet among the rest of the alabaster brethren/sistren -- and neither are any Colored People's (except maybe David Zirin) -- but according to an email I got today, he's already signed on):

That's how Jim Hightower -- a guest on numerous Nation cruises -- once characterized it. Now is the time to book your trip with us on our 16th annual seminar cruise to Canada and New England. And if you book before May 1st we'll give you a $100 discount!

Some of the special guests who have already signed on:

Naomi Klein, Nation Columnist and author of The Shock Doctrine
Laura Flanders, Nation Contributing Writer and host of The Laura Flanders Show
Dave Zirin, The Nation's first sports columnist
Benjamin Jealous, President of the NAACP
Dan Perkins, aka political cartoonist Tom Tomorrow
...with more to come.

Yeah, donate to the NAACP for that shit; based on the above -- "You get what you pay for." {smdh}

As for Scalia, I think Mr. James Baldwin sums up pretty well, how his Sicilian-cum-white background helped perpetuate his own position of "racial entitlement" in On Being White...And Other Lies.

~#~

The White House Joins the Fight:

President Obama made good on the promise of his second Inaugural Address on Thursday by joining the fight to overturn California’s ban on same-sex marriage. Since he declared that marriage equality is part of the road “through Seneca Falls and Selma and Stonewall,” we can’t imagine how he could have sat this one out.

The administration’s brief to the Supreme Court was a legally and symbolically important repudiation of Proposition 8, the 2008 voter referendum that amended California’s Constitution to forbid bestowing the title of marriage on a union between two people of the same sex — a right the California Supreme Court had found to be fundamental under the State Constitution.

Like the arguments made by the lawyers for those who seek to overturn Proposition 8, and by a group of prominent Republicans earlier this week, the government’s brief says any law attempting to ban same-sex marriage must be subjected to heightened scrutiny because it singles out a class of Americans, historically subject to discrimination, for unequal treatment. (emphasis mine)

See how this works Family?  When pressed, he promises you something -- and you get it.  If he's not pressed, he doesn't promise you a damned thing (even though you are "a class of Americans, historically subject to discrimination, for unequal treatment," as in the example directly above ) and that's just what you get -- not a damned thing.

~#~

"Transgender 6 year-old barred from girl's bathroom":

Somebody please explain this to me  (**Noticed the Post deleted its video, so I replaced it with a link to another from KOMO News).  The school said the child could use either the staff bathroom or the one in the nurse's office.  The parents say, "using anything other than the girl's bathroom would stigmatize their child."  The father said, "It just sets her up for bullying and harassment and it's not fair."  I don't get it -- what do they think having the child use the girl's bathroom will do?  Not only to their six year-old child, but to the other six year-old children?  The child is anatomically male!

UPDATE: Saw this today which is to me, similar, but different, to the story above: Transgender Student Sues California Baptist University for Reneging on Acceptance Letter after MTV Appearance -- what say you on either story?

~#~  

DHS releasing illegal immigrants before sequester:

A week before mandatory budget cuts go into effect across the government, the Department of Homeland Security has started releasing illegal immigrants being held in immigration jails across the country, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Tuesday.

Gillian Christensen, an ICE spokeswoman, said ICE has reviewed “several hundred cases” of immigrants being held in jails around the country and released them in the last week. They have been “placed on an appropriate, more cost-effective form of supervised release,” she said.

Christensen said the agency’s “priority for detention remains on serious criminal offenders and other individuals who pose a significant threat to public safety.” She did not say how released immigrants were selected or what jails they were released from.

Tuesday’s announcement of jail releases is the first tangible impact of the looming budget cuts for DHS.

So Chocolate Jesus, with a wave of the hand, anointed "Mosette" Napolitano with the power to, "Let my people go." {smdh}  Family, please stop talking about what the Changeling, can, and cannot do!  He could do more for our Black asses if he chose to -- he just doesn't choose to.  Wake the hell up, please.

This, "all in the game" move didn't have jack to do with "looming budget cuts."  He's screwing with Republican wing-nuts who fear Latinos for a host of reasons (beginning with their numbers), while he screws over Black folk who make up a measly 13% of the population.  Rather than Caribbean Blacks being “placed on an appropriate, more cost-effective form of supervised release,” he and "Mosette" are first, criminalizing THEM,  then shipping them the hell out in droves!

Hell, given our over-representation in the Prison Industrial Complex, you'd think they'd save a ton of money by releasing low-level, "nickel-bag boys" and other Black, non-violent offenders (if this move had something to do with budget cuts, that is).  Haven't heard anything about him doing that shit have you?  Gotta keep those fat-cat,  for-profit, private prisons afloat somehow I guess.  And, not only is the government playing money "games" with them at our expense, so is this prostitute of an "educational institution" {smdh}

~#~

Dog Sniffs Can Establish Probable Cause for a Search; Defendants Must Contest Reliability in the Trial Court:

In a disappointing decision, the United States Supreme Court today enshrined in law a dog’s wide latitude to determine Americans’ constitutional right to be free from unwarranted search and seizure. In siding with the dog in Florida v. Harris (No. 11-817), the Court misses the point. An alert by a “trained” or “certified” drug detection dog by itself should be insufficient to establish probable cause, as the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) argued in its joint amicus curiae brief to the Court in this case. (emphasis mine)

So-o-o, you thought you had the protection of the Fourth Amendment regarding "unreasonable search and seizure" right? You don't. And in this case, even though the first part of the headline is ridiculous as hayell on its face (what if some doggie treats in your car, as I routinely carry for my road-dog, Blanca on cross-country trips, gets the K-9's nose sniffing?), it is the second part that screams loudest about the punitive nature of the decision.  You gotta pay their asses either way!  Damned if you, damned if you don't. Kinda like my confusion over all the hoopla over New York's ruling that "stop-and-frisk" was unconstitutional. Yeah, the Black mis-leadership class (along with those of you who believe they're actually giving a damn about Black folk, in particular, being unconstitutionally profiled and harassed) acted like they'd done some-damned-thing. But Judge Shira Scheindlin (a relation of Judge Judy's? More than likely) put the kabosh on that shit last Tuesday:  NYPD can temporarily continue unconstitutional stop-and-frisks:

Her ruling in early January had been celebrated by civil liberties groups like the NYCLU, who brought the suit against the police over searches carried out during sweeps of “Clean Halls” apartments. Operation Clean Halls, established in the 1991, gives police permission to stop and search individuals in and around New York apartment buildings in high crime areas. In 2011, according to the NYCLU , police stopped 1,137 of the 1,857 “Clean Halls” residents in the Bronx.

On Jan. 8, Scheindlin ruled that numerous searches in the Bronx buildings had violated the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure. She ordered an immediate end to stop-and-frisks in instances when officers have no reasonable suspicion.

Scheindlin agreed to halt immediate enforcement of her earlier ruling to end the stop-and-frisks following a city request. As Bloomberg reported, “the city said that unless its request was granted, the NYPD would be required to take the immediate and burdensome step of having to retrain its police officers.” The city persuaded the judge that it would be both expensive and burdensome to immediately enforce a ruling that could be undone in appeals court. (emphasis mine)

Baby please! There is no intent in these alleged United States -- at all -- to ever treat us like human beings.  "Clean halls" indeed!

Related:
- State Department Will Issue 'Female' Passports to Anatomical Males
- Congress Honors Rosa Parks While the Supreme Court Targets the Voting Rights Act
- John Lewis’ Message To Justice Scalia: Voting Rights Are “What People Died For & Bled For”
- How Private Prisons Game the Immigration System
- Blacks and the Immigration Crisis, Part 1
- Too late for FAU's prison sponsor GEO Group to erase its Wikipedia record

"Burn that m-----f----r down!!"

Like I said before, they had no intention of brining Christopher Dorner in alive:





I suppose this was their idea of a fitting prelude to "Ash Wednesday" {smdh}

Related:
- Is This Fucking Afghanistan?!?!
- The LAPD Got their Man How They Wanted Him: Dead
- LAPD will reopen investigation into 2009 firing of Dorner
- Police seeking Dorner opened fire in a second case of mistaken identity

Does this look like the LAPD is trying to bring Dorner in -- ALIVE?

The photo above is from this article over at Your Black World: Police Shoot 71-Year Old Woman, Mistaking Her Truck for Alleged Cop Killer During Manhunt.

Two women were shot in questionable circumstances after the truck they were driving appeared to be similar to the vehicle driven by a former police officer who is now on the run. One of the women was shot in the hand and the other was shot in the back. The pickup truck they were driving was riddled with bullets as police officers thought the car was being driven by Christopher Dorner, a former LAPD officer who has been on the run from police. (emphasis mine)

Questionable circumstances?? Given that last sentence above, can somebody please tell me what the hell is questionable?  All those shots came from behind the vehicle!  They couldn't even tell who was driving!  These cops plan on murdering Christopher Dorner (and you too if you have a vehicle that kinda, sorta "matches the description") -- and there's no question about that.

In her, "This man (Chris Dorner) needs to be brought in alive and he needs to be heard."- Michael Ruppert, Ruth Hull over at OpEdNews begins with this:

News helicopters have been banned from viewing the chase. This means law enforcement (is it rogue law enforcement?) doesn't want anyone to see what they are doing. To some, that spells plans for a possible extra-judicial killing. (emphasis mine)

And there's nothing questionable about that either.  Los Angeles doesn't intend to make the same mistake they made in Newtown during Sandy Hook -- that'd be having news helicopters showing, up-to-the-minute reports of something altogether different than what the state was feeding to a gullible public.

My sister, Cynthia McKinney also wrote this over at OpEdNews: Chris Dorner:  "The enemy combatants in LA are not the citizens and suspects, it's the police officers."  It contains both Dorner's censored and uncensored manifesto which she categorizes as an "indictment" -- and I agree with her:

I am still digesting. I have read most of his so-called "manifesto" which is posted here. It is not a manifesto. It is an indictment. It makes complete sense to me. I believe all of his allegations and I suspect that Shamar Thomas and Captain Ray Lewis do too. While not condoning, but absolutely understanding his reasoning, I think he is being taken with the utmost seriousness because he can do real damage to institutions and "the s...ystem" as a whole. (emphasis mine)

I'm telling you, I'd take a Cynthia McKinney over a Barack Obama any day of the week!  Why?  Because, just like the LAPD, he takes his orders to kill folk from his puppet masters extremely seriously, as proven by his hubristic "kill lists," drones and warmongering all over the world.  Sister Cynthia on the other hand, has proven  that regardless of the cost to her career, or her very life -- she will stand for something, rather than fall for anything.

Newtown Massacre update -- "Lies, damned lies and statistics"

I was going to add this to the previous post but it's already pretty long, so I thought a separate update would work better.

Like my Grandmama used to say -- "Sumpin' in de milk ain' clean!" -- about these shootings.  Aside from the yet disproven unexamined links between the fathers of the Aurora and Newton "alleged" shooters, the mainstream media have again, played the role of "Useful Idiots," rather than seasoned information-gatherers and professional information-givers, by creating, out of whole cloth, a believable (for some) and functional (for many) narrative of what happened at Newton Elementary.

As I'd said in the previous post, I'd been trying to find out as much as could about this madness, and in doing so, I came across two interesting videos from "Idahopicker" on YouTube, that I'd planned to use in an update.  As it turns out, I wasn't alone.  Prof. James F. Tracy at Global Research was thinking the same thing as my Grandmama and me:  The Newtown School Tragedy: More than One Gunman? --

"When the news media act as willing partners in such acts the public becomes an unwitting accessory in its own psychic imprisonment, lulled into the notion that fair play still exists and public servants remain are intent on service."

I'm posting the two videos I found the other night from "Idahopicker," and two from Prof. Tracy below, but please do read his piece with an open mind.

~#~

From Idahopicker:



ABC, trying to hurry up and adhere to the "If it bleeds, it leads" mentality of the Fourth Estate, initially reported there were "two shooters"  Hell, it's their helicopter providing this aerial footage!

From Prof. Tracy:

"Dispatcher: I have reports that the teacher saw two shadows running past the building, past the gym, which would be rear ([inaudible].
Officer: Yeah. We got him(?).   He's (?) comin' at me down [inaudible]"

Now I know plenty will say those "two shadows" were cops, and I guess that's plausible. But wouldn't the officer have told the dispatcher that?  (I wasn't sure if I heard Responder #2 say, "him," or "'em" or "He's" or  "They" in the tapes, so I put question marks after them).

From Idahopicker:



Say what you want about "Idahopicker's" views on guns, but you cannot dispute what he's pointed out from the readily available dispatch tapes and aerial footage, neither of which the MSM have seen fit to report. Why haven't they? (methinks they've been told to leave that shit alone).

From Prof. Tracy:



Heard anything more about this "second shooter" from CBS News? I know I haven't.  Makes me think the Changeling's alleged, tearful statement, along with his hustling off to Newton, were perfect distractions from what may have really happened at this school.  You can call it a conspiracy theory or whatever you like, but one thing's for certain -- "Sumpin' in dis milk ain' clean!"

Related:
- The Sandy Hook Tragedy: An Inquisitive Visit to Newtown, Connecticut
- A 6-year-old Newtown survivor seeks $100m from Ct.
- The Sandy Hook School Massacre: Unanswered Questions and Missing Information

Zimmerman finally in an orange jumpsuit

George Zimmerman being charged with murder in Trayvon Martin case:

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Amid furious public pressure to make an arrest in the Trayvon Martin slaying, the special prosecutor on the case went for the maximum Wednesday, bringing a second-degree murder charge against the neighborhood watch captain who shot the unarmed black teenager.

George Zimmerman, 28, was jailed in Sanford - the site of the killing Feb. 26 that set off a nationwide debate over racial profiling and self-defense - on charges that could put him in prison for life.

Let the games begin...


UPDATE I:   GAME ON!! -
 


"Calm, Calm, Calm" - Ya'll know what that's about (or you ought to!)

UPDATE II:  In Interview, Zimmerman's Lawyer Says Trial Won't Happen In 2012

NOW what will the new story be ...

...they cleaned him up and fixed his nose in the cruiser, on the way to jail?  {smdh}



My Grandmama used to always say, "Unjust don't prosper!" - we shall see...

A most disingenuous UPDATE:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Can I just say this though? George Blow, Jonathan Capehart, JoyAnn Reid (whom I remember from the radio during my days in Miami - and despite the fact that she's a Changeling supporter) along with Daryl Parks - in this case anyway - give me a tiny glimmer of hope regarding the wholesale assimilation of Black folk. Just sayin...

UPDATE II:  The first line of this post was definitely tongue-in cheek, but apparently it sounded good to Daddy Zimmerman at the 8:27 click in the video here:  Zimmerman’s Father: They May Have Cleaned My Son Up At The Scene.  I'm done with these folks people!!

No Country for young, Black men...

Others have covered the murder of this child (here, here and most simply - here) wa-a-ay better than I possibly could right now because quite frankly, I am just speechless - especially after the FINAL release of the 911 tapes:



WTH??!!



Again - WTH??!!

And I really believe that as long as Zimmerman stays free - this child, will be scared, as well as possibly, forever- scarred, as he sits in his little "gated community" (which appears to have gates for the sole purpose of keeping murderers in - instead of out):



Because I am just undone after listening to these videos - I will leave it to Mr. Baldwin to address the purposeful negligence  of the Sanford PD toward the Martin family in particular, and of police toward Black folk in general:

Let's just change that last bit to - "accessory to my murderer" in Trayvon's case there, Jimmy...*smdh as I wipe away tears*

UPDATE I -  Dr. Boyce: Trayvon Martin’s Death is Just the Tip of the Iceberg:

Getting involved in the Martin case is a good move for President Obama, especially during an election year. At a time when the administration is trying to catch up and apologize for paying very little attention to the black community, the Martin case gives the administration an opportunity to gain some much-needed black political points.(emphasis mine)

This man must've been trottin' around in my damned head!  Since he'd already been selected when Oscar Grant lost his life at the hands of BART cop, Johannes Mehserle - guess no Black political points were needed. Hmmm, wait a minute! The DOJ "investigated" that murder of a young, unarmed and hancuffed, Black man too! Anybody know the findings? Can't seem to put my hand on them right now.

What I do know is, Mehserle was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter - and got two years (Lawd ha' mercy, our lives certainly aren't worth a plug nickel in this damned country!). He was released on parole in June 2011 - after only having served 11 months. {smmfh}

UPDATE II - Sanford Commission Votes “No Confidence” In Police Chief Lee

UPDATE III - Bill Lee, Sanford Police Chief, Steps Down Temporarily Over Trayvon Martin:

Turner Clayton, head of the local NAACP, said he'd been meeting with city officials for more than a week, pushing for Lee's firing or resignation. He said that while Lee's temporary resignation is a good start, ultimately the community wants his permanent removal. "I'm elated that the chief decided to step aside and allow the city to heal," Clayton said, "But it will be a whole lot better if he just goes ahead and resigns permanently. This is just a temporary fix for right now, of course, we're looking for a permanent fix."

In dragging his feet, Clayton said, Bonaparte is putting his own political career in Sanford in jeopardy. While the police chief serves at the pleasure of the city manager, the manager serves at the pleasure of the city commission. "His stubbornness could cost him his job," Clayton said. (emphasis mine)

Now THIS is what I expect from a local NAACP Chapter!  Thank you, Mr. Clayton!  And, since Bonaparte tried playing a waiting game of "politricks" with his feet-draggin', thanks again - for reminding him that the game ain't over! Hats off to you, Sir!

"When animals attack" - civil liberties go straight out the window

Embedding was disabled for the full YouTube video.  CNN bought it from the guy who took it with his phone.  I rarely (and that's with a capital RARE!) watch CNN, but I read the story - US police smash camera for recording killing -  on Al Jazeera English.  The complete video is there and please, do read the story.

I won't comment right now, except to ask two questions:

1. How many bullets does it take to kill an already injured (or dead) man?
2. If they did nothing wrong, why destroy the man's phone, cuff him and take HIM in for questioning?

At last - VINDICATION! - Danziger 7's finally going to jail

When I volunteered in New Orleans with Habitat for Humanity in 2006, I got to sit and talk with a lot of Black New Orleanians who said the shooting on the Danziger Bridge had nothing to do with self-defense.  Their take?  The crooked NOPD was "protecting" the people on the predominantly white, other side of the bridge, scared that the poor and predominantly Black folk were coming to take their shit.

I saved this excellent Matt Taibbi piece among the many I continue to save regarding NOLA, because it was real-time descriptive.  And as I re-read my links for this post, I realized he'd referenced, what I think, was the shooting on the Danziger Bridge:

The very moment we'd arrived, news chimed in over the police radios that cops had shot and killed five looters at a bridge somewhere outside town. The news was met with a high cheer ("That's right, motherfuckers!" was one cry), and the whole crowd was buzzed, like a bar after midnight.

Of course, back then - and until today, everybody and their Mama kept saying they were wrong.  Then, lo and behold!  We hear this:  Former police officer pleads guilty to Danziger Bridge shooting cover-up of stunning breadth.

My Grandmama always said, "Whatever you do in the dark, WILL come to light."  I can't tell you how many times that one little sentence has kept me going.  Today is certainly one of them (She ALSO said, "A guilty conscience needs no accusin'" - but I'm still a little shaky on that one always coming true - despite today's developments.)

Here are a few interesting post-Katrina videos regarding the Danziger Bridge shootings:

Posted January 1, 2007:



This video posted January 3, 2007:



CNN's Sean Callebs exclaimed in the intro:

"But the WAY they turned themselves in really speaks volumes about the way the case is playing out here in New Orleans." (emphasis his)

"As the seven people made their way to the sheriff's office, they were greeted by cheers, applause and chants of NOPD."

It sure does speak volumes, Sean - but not in the way you implied.  The December 5th video below provides a decidedly non-white and rather clear-eyed view of what all that cheering was really about.  And wonder of wonders!  It, and the truths it contains, were out there at least a month before your - "report."  Truth be told, those "truths" were out there much longer - but nobody listened.  Guess it never occurred to you there was a REASON you couldn't get a comment from an NOPD officer huh, Sean?  But I gotta give it to you, Officer Billy Mims (from that other uh-uh unit) spouting the Blue Line meme was a pretty good foil though.

Oh!  And that statement from attorney, Frank DeSalvo about publicity pimp extraordinaire, the Right Rev. Al Sharpton?

"Four of the officers were Black, Rev. Sharpton either can't count or he can't see."

I'll just repeat what I said in my last post on Tiger Woods - "White Americans, and those,"I've-arrived-cuz-I-think-like-them" others - REALLY need to get a grip.  Just because you're Black doesn't mean you do not participate in the White Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy (DeSalvo, listen to some bell hooks why don't you??).  The reverend, also a card-carrying member, was dead-right on this one.  I just think he let go of it because he felt he couldn't get enough media play with that little "four-Black-officers-wrinkle" - not without exposing his WSCP membership, that is.

Posted December 5, 2007



This piece by Laura Maggi of The Times-Picayune ran on August 13, 2008:  Charges rejected against Danziger 7.  The last paragraph is particularly interesting given todays developments:

Madison said U.S. Attorney Jim Letten has said his office doesn't want to take up the case. Letten on Wednesday said his staff continues to monitor the case, along with the Justice Department's civil rights division, but had declined to step into a matter being handled by the Orleans Parish district attorney's office. (emphasis mine)

ProPublica has had an ongoing and exhaustive series of investigative reports about police misconduct in New Orleans post-Katrina.  To get an understanding of why the Feds were finally forced to investigate, please peruse - "Law & Disorder" After Katrina, New Orleans Police Shot Frequently and Asked Few Questions, paying particular attention to the case in the news today - Case Six:  Danziger Bridge.

And sorry Obots, no props to the Changeling or Holder on this one.  However if it turns out they deserve the props, you can bet - in the interest of honesty and fair play - I will give it.  But according to this August 11, 2009 piece - FBI Investigates New Orleans Police For Katrina Killings - the FBI investigation began before they even took their seats: 

Last September, federal officials announced plans to investigate the officers involved in the Sept. 4, 2005, shootings on the Danziger Bridge that killed two men and injured four. A state court judge has thrown out murder and attempted murder charges against seven current and former officers, but the FBI is investigating if civil rights were violated.  (emphasis mine)

If my calculations are correct, that'd put the opening of the investigation somewhere around September of 2008.

Now what I will say is - there is a possibility that the "fear" of what a society-identified Black, Obama Administration might do (or find) could have hastened the FBI's decision.  But so what?  Until you give me some concrete, Holder-fingerprinted evidence that it was he, who actually caused this investigation to go forth - keep holding your beath.

Instead, I prefer to attribute today's developments to what REAL journalism can do. Hat's off - and my own lowly Pulitzer Prize nomination for Investigative Reporting (if I had one) goes to:

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reporters, Laura Maggi and Brendan McCarthy along with their City Editor, Gordon Russell along with ProPublica , reporter A.C. Thompson and Frontline Producer, Tom Jennings.

Sean Callebs and CNN are you paying attention?

Ticketing driver for not speaking English (thx ea!) : Misunderstanding? Or more flexing of racist muscle

UPDATE:  My friend ea brought this to my attention in the comments...



...to which I replied, "I can't see how that "Your name is Toby" shit could be legal! Guests may need you to speak English to get some towels, but your name doesn't have to be "Mary" for you to do it!"

Thoughts?

Sitting here listening to the news last night I heard the teaser, "Driver gets ticket for not speaking English" -   I had to stop what I was doing and look up and listen! Then, I went looking for a more fleshed-out version of the story to make sure I understood what had transpired.  I found this - "Dallas police ticketed 39 drivers in 3 years for not speaking English"  - (along with some interesting comments that followed).

"I was surprised and stunned that that would happen, particularly in the city of Dallas," Kunkle said. "In my world, you would never tell someone not to speak Spanish."

Weren't those 39 cases "in his world" and, since he's the Chief of Police, under his jurisiction?

The case that led to the discovery of all the others occurred Oct. 2, when Ernestina Mondragon was stopped for making an illegal U-turn in the White Rock area. Rookie Officer Gary Bromley cited Mondragon for three violations: disregarding a traffic control device, failure to present a driver's license and "non-English speaking driver."

According to officials, the rookie was confused by a pull-down menu on his in-car computer that listed the charge as an option."  With a veritable "buffet" of  possible charges to choose from, I suppose the young man could get confused.  Guess the experienced, training officer who was with him and signed off on the ticket was confused too.  (emphasis mine)

But then this "non-English speaking driver" got herself a lawyer - seeing as there's no such law in Dallas for private citizens driving in the state - and then...

Dallas police said they will drop all charges against Mondragon, who speaks limited English and does have a Texas driver's license.

 What if she hadn't been able to get a lawyer, as the other 38 in three years obviously couldn't? Certainly speaks to that "power" to materially affect a person's life doesn't it?

Attorney Domingo Garcia said he has been hired to represent the Mondragon family..."The issue has nothing to do with whether people should learn English or not. I believe they should," Garcia said. "It's about not following the law and issuing citations against a law that doesn't exist, against a fairly voiceless and helpless population."

 Couldn't have said it better myself.

"It's the principle of the matter that there are police officers out there representing our city who actually think that it's a crime not to speak English," said Brenda Reyes, a political consultant and member of the League of United Latin American Citizens.

 Sounds like some flexing to me!