It's not wise to point guns at cops....if you are black

“@Bipartisanism: Not only did these white men point rifles at police without consequence but their... #AntoinoMartin pic.twitter.com/c72rvnY54y”
— EnigmaticallyAwesome (@ChinaDoll_LIBRA) December 24, 2014

So I guess you've heard about the latest cop on black killing in Berkley, Mo. about two miles from Ferguson Mo. where #MichaelBrown was killed.  Police claim 18 year old #AntionoMartin pulled a gun on him and they had no choice.  I said "police claim" because it's not like we can believe everything anonymous police sources leak to the media, and it's not like the media is going to do any actual investigating on their own because that would be too much like right.  Pun intended.

My thing is, why would an 18 year old black teen pull a gun on police?  I mean, really?    On social media, not to be confused with the white, male dominated, mainstream media, conflicting accounts have surfaced.

We should be RTing this nonstop. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. OF. US. #AntonioMartin #Ferguson pic.twitter.com/E682UDwuKi
— Anonymous (@AnonymousCenter) December 24, 2014

 If police officers are afraid of black people maybe they shouldn't be police officers.

The latest case of cops behaving badly comes to us from South Carolina. *cue in Inner Circle music here: Bad boys, bad boys, what you gonna do?...*
"A South Carolina woman has filed a complaint with the Greenville City Police Department after officers Tasered and then arrested her autistic 34-year-old son on Christmas Eve after he attempted to avoid them, reports WYFF.
According to Carolyn Anderson, her son, Tario, has a severe form of autism rendering him almost incapable of speaking.
“Tario can say yes or no, he might ask for a thing or two, but just verbal, no,” Carolyn Anderson explained.

In all fairness, with all the new republican enacted #OpenCarry gun laws police can't distinguish between the GOOD IDIOTS with guns from the BAD IDIOTS with them, so they assume all black people are the BAD IDIOTS, and shoot first and ask questions later.

I'm just saying....

I'm trying to figure out how #BlackLivesMatter morphed into #PoliceLivesMatter?

such a powerful protest sign, still looking for who to credit this to if anyone knows pic.twitter.com/zYcmswBV3E
— Roald Daal (@ElSangito) December 27, 2014

"Once again after a mentally ill person guns two people down NO ONE is talking about gun control'

While Obama calls for Prayer and Peace, Rudy Giuliani fires up the Right-Wing base with his lies & propaganda. #NYPD pic.twitter.com/Cl4u0Dzwa6
— Benny (@BRios82) December 22, 2014

For those who don't know, a mentally ill African American male with a history of arrests  gunned down two NYPD officers after shooting and critically wounding his ex-girlfriend.  Righty's and others are using this as an opportunity to blame Peaceful Protesters, President Obama, Eric Holder, Al Sharpton, and New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio, because a mentally ill person with a gun killed people.   I don't know weather to laugh or cry.  So I'll just chant USA!  USA!  USA!

Shamming and blaming is a lot easier than addressing legitimate issues.

Those who are trying to connect the murders of the officers with the thousands of articulate and peaceful protestors across America are being deliberately misleading in a cynical and selfish effort to turn public sentiment against the protestors. This is the same strategy used when trying to lump in the violence and looting with the legitimate protestors, who have disavowed that behavior. They hope to misdirect public attention and emotion in order to stop the protests and the progressive changes that have already resulted. Shaming and blaming is a lot easier than addressing legitimate claims.

For those of you who just don't understand why African Americans don't trust some (not to be confused with all) Police,  we are not anti ALL police, we are anti police who abuse their power.  The main ones complaining about painting cops with a broad bush are the same ones painting protestors and African Americans with a broad brush. The Police union blaming the Mayor and supporters of the Brown and Garner families is like blaming all police for their deaths! No thoughtful person does that. ‪

"Violence Threatened is Violence Enacted"

In other news, the Ferguson Prosecutor doesn't mind that witnesses lied before the grand jury,  and YorkThe New York Times is calling for Bush and Company to be investigated and prosecuted for torture.

The Struggle: Achievements and Principles

I wanted to make this pic my cover photo over at Facebook, but the text on the left side wouldn't be visible beneath my personal photo (well, that's not really me, of course, as I'm not a canine, though some of my best friends are). But since that wouldn't work out, and since I'll be guest blogging over here awhile by Redeye's special request, I wanted the pic of our accomplished President Obama to be my debut post. I know you're going to miss Redeye's style (with which I know I can't compete!) but I hope you'll give me a chance - because Redeye did!
I've never understood some people's angst for our President, and I've had to conclude that sadly, the rumors of him being black are true. Well, to be more accurate, he is actually of mixed races: he's Oreo, black and white, so to call him black just because he looks black is inaccurate.
I had always hoped that it was far more than race that made him despised by some. He is accomplished, coming out of rather humble beginnings, and yet, through his own striving and perseverance and making and taking every opportunity, he beat the odds of being a poor, undereducated, incarcerated black boy. That is, after all, too often the cultural stereotype, isn't it?
President Obama is a role model not only for young black males, but for us all. I am so glad that he has the personal demeanor that he does, and I am so ashamed and outraged at the likes of Georgia's Tea Partyian Rep. Joe Wilson for his "You lie!" stunts during the State of the Union (for which he recieved a formal rebuke from the House of Representatives). Notably, Sarah Palin recently revived the lyin' line, even dusting off the birthers' conspiracy theory for good measure. Some folks say anything for attention, especially if they can dress it up with what they call fighting for "principles."
I was reminded of principles while watching Melissa Harris Perry's segment today on NYPD's "stop and frisk" policy, which set quotas for police officers as "productivity goals." Apparently the principle of the police officers' work ethic is supposed to be stronger than our American principles of the 4th and 14th constitutional amendments. Never mind that 88% of all NYPD stops end without an arrest, and actually promote crime by leaving "entire neighborhoods demoralized and suspicious of police."
So young men in New York are routinely subjected to constitutional violations, even as our President demonstrates that color is no bar to achievement. He achieved and is a superb role model for us all, especially for youthful black men who again have another distinguished black man as an example and as a leader. And yet, there are those who attack President Obama not for his living our American principles, but for their own perversion of them.
We still have a long way to go to fulfill Rev. Martin Luther King's dream of "a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." Or, as Melissa Harris Perry's father signed her birthday cards, "The struggle continues. Love, Daddy."

What I'm reading today

Pippa Abston Blog

I don’t want to occupy Wall Street. I want to evict it from places it has no business being, namely our government. We need to Occupy Government—not by marching on it but by restoring it to what it was intended to be, a representative republic of the People. No matter what Mitt Romney says, corporations are not and never will be people.

BobNBama: They wonder why we don't like them?

We all have a choice. Don’t let yourself be treated like a sheep to be sheared. Don’t do business with companies that don’t value you as a customer.

Why poor, white voters vote against their self interest

It boggles the mind. But then again, people, especially poor people, have a long history of voting against their own self-interest because they believe that if they work hard enough, they too can be rich.

The Bribery Brothers

Exactly, how many palms have the Koch Brothers greased with moolah and how much money is it? Think about how lately progressive blogs have been flooded with trolls left and right cheer leading for the GOP trying to intimidate and harass folks to vote for a Republican candidate.

Occupy Fox News

The real protesting, however, will be going on outside the meeting as the Occupy Los Angeles crowd migrates over from their base in Downtown L.A. to give Fox a taste of what it’s like to be occupied. They will be joined by FreePress, Change to Win, Common Cause LA, Brave New Films, and others.

In Reality the Fake Center Cannot Hold

As the nation stumbles toward what could become an epic replay of the 1968 presidential election, many in the Washington political media are hunting for cover. At least that's a charitable explanation for the fad of sentimental bipartisanship among the nation's deepest-thinking pundits.

Libyan Government warns NYPD to Exercise Restraint

TRIPOLI (The Borowitz Report) – As arrests mounted in the Occupy Wall Street protest in New York City, Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC) issued a stern statement today warning the NYPD to exercise restraint.

“The Libyan transitional government regards any attempt to infringe upon the American protesters’ right to express themselves as a violation of international standards of free speech and liberty,” the Libyan statement read. “We will not sit idly by and watch this happen.”

What you are reading today

Update; The sad, sorry state of public education in Huntsville, Alabama

What Obama doesn't understand about the Professional Left

RedEye's Week in Review

Craven is as Craven does

Always the help never an equal

Read On. Read often.