Where are all of the Constitution Thumpers when African Americans constitutional rights are violated?

EYE should be celebrating a joyous and historic  time,  but EYE find myself Pi$$ed Off instead. 

After parading the Mothers of the Movement on stage at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia PA, and a reintroduction by her spouse  and former President Bill Clinton,  Hillary Clinton made history to became the first women to be nominated as President of the United States of America by a major party.

Eight years ago, Hillary Clinton famously said her first White House bid had put“about 18 million cracks” in the glass ceiling, one for each voter who’d cast a ballot for her in the 2008 primary.
On Tuesday, that glass ceiling finally came down.
Clinton was formally named the Democratic nominee for president at her party’s convention in Philadelphia, making her the first woman ever to top a major party’s ticket for the White House.
More than 200 other women have sought the presidency since 1872, but none have come this far. The female Democratic leaders gathered in Philadelphia this week have waited their entire lives to see one of their own reach this point, just a step away from the Oval Office. To them, Clinton’s nomination represents the culmination of decades of work devoted to tearing down the barriers women have faced seeking high office in America.

Despite having a black judge,prosecutor, and mayor all charges were dropped against all six of the police officers in the death of #Freddie Grey.  

Prosecutors in Baltimore dropped all charges against the three remaining Baltimore police officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray despite holding firm in their belief that Gray's death was a homicide.
“We do not believe that Gray killed himself. We stand by the medical examiner's determination that Freddie Gray’s death was a homicide," Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby told reporters this morning, delivering a strong defense for her decision to prosecute six officers involved in Gray's death.

At the motion’s hearing for State v Garrett Miller this morning, prosecutors announced they would not pursue the remaining cases related to the arrest and death of Gray, bringing to an end one of the most closely watched police prosecutions in the country. The gag order against all parties involved, including prosecutors and defense attorneys and their clients, has also been rescinded.

Then EYE find out Republican Presidential nominee,  Donald Trump is calling on the Russia to help him take down his political opponent.  Uh, isn't that like Treason...

We The Peeps dare not unite,  organize, rise up,  and exercise the First Amendment , because our Government will label the protest(ers) violent and roll out their tax payer funded, government  issued weapons of mass destruction and kill up a bunch of us.

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

EYE will wait.

Update: "Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History" and "Well Done Protest is Always Inappropriate" #BlackHistoryMonth2016

Update:  Clinton apologizes for 1996 remarks on 'super-predators' after encounter with activist.

In case you haven't heard, the woman who is attempting the break the already cracked glass ceiling to  become the first female President of the United States of America was confronted by a young, black, female activist at a private, $500.00 per person fundraiser in Charleston, SC last night.  Yes, the interruption was rude and disruptive, but so was Hillary's response.

For those who have been living under a rock, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are in a fight to the finish for the black vote.  Both of them, as my Daddy used to say, are N-wording up.

With the Democratic candidates’ first test in the South approaching, a battle of high-profile surrogates is intensifying as Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Sanders vie for the support of African-American voters, who are expected to make up more than half of the primary electorate in the Palmetto State.

As Super Tuesday draws near EYE am still undecided which democratic candidate EYE will vote for.  Just when EYE think my mind is made up, one of the candidates, or their supporters, do or say something that brings me right back to being undecided.

 

EYE don't know who is advising Hillary, but EYE HOPE it's not the same people who advised President Obama and others to pander to those who might vote for them at the expense of those who did, and will vote for them.  It was  not a good look to be campaigning with the Mothers of victims of gun and police violence one day and marginalize their daughters the next day.  

Listen up Bernie and Hillary, the young people are sick and tired of photo ops and lip service.

Pulley said Thursday she was not interested in being a part of what she called "a photo opportunity and a 90-second sound bite for the president."
"I was under the impression that a meeting was being organized to facilitate a genuine exchange on the matters facing millions of Black and Brown people in the United States," Pulley wrote in an op-ed piece. "I could not, with any integrity, participate in such a sham that would only serve to legitimize the false narrative that the government is working to end police brutality and the institutional racism that fuels it. For the increasing number of families fighting for justice and dignity for their kin slain by police, I refuse to give its perpetrators and enablers political cover by making an appearance among them."

The young people aren't the only ones who are sick and tired of being sick and tired. If either of you really want to understand the fear, yes EYE said fear, of being black in America, and the significance of the Black Lives Matter Movement, yes, EYE said Movement, as in the Civil Rights Movement both of you like to use as props, watch last nights' episode of black-ish, then go out and earn the Black vote.

We want our HOPE for Change we can Believe in Back.

#BlackHistoryMonth2016

In honor of Black History Month and since South Carolina is Ground Zero for the battle for the hearts and minds of Black voters, here an excerpt from a previous post reminding us about the history of South Carolina.

So now it's on to the racist, I mean conservative, Christian, red, republican, Confederate, slave state of South Carolina. Which may explain why Willard starting slinging red meat in his victory speech,accusing President Obama of not knowing what it means to be an American, who wants to turn America into a European-style entitlement society. Code for birth certificate, welfare, food stamps. 

Here are some facts about the conservative state of South Carolina, which according to the Talking TeeVee Pundit Heads, is known for it's bare knuckles politics.

South Carolina is the home of The Orangeburg Massacre at South Carolina State University where three black students were shot and killed by police during a peaceful protest. 

South Carolina is the home of former republican U.S. Senator Strom Thurmon, racist by day, hypocrite by night. 

South Carolina is the home of current republican U.S Senator Jim "Waterloo" Demint. 

South Carolina is the home of U.S. Congressman Joe "You Lie" Wilson. Speaking of Congressman Joe "You Lie" Wilson, he will address a group of defense and military leaders at a $1,000.00 per person luncheon in Huntsville, AL today. Dale "voter suppression with the state seal of approvall" Jackson will introduce Congressman Mo "I will do anything short of shooting them" Brooks who I'm assuming will introduce Wilson. What's up with out of state/city Congress Critters raising money in North Alabama? 

South Carolina is the state vowing to sue the United States Department of Justice, to enact a state voter ID law, which they have already said punishes black voters.
South Carolina is the state where republican Governor Nikki Haley rejects the NAACP push to remove the Confederate Flag from atop the Statehouse. 

I can't wait to see which candidate will emerge victorious in the Battle for South Carolina.

RedEye

Note:  The quotes in the title are by  Laurel Thatcher Ulrich and Matthew Williams

When are the American people going to say this is not OK?

Fist Dap jobsanger: Shameful

EYE Understand the Fear

Alabama is number one, y'all. Gov. Bentley was the first to step up and declare our great state the last place on earth the Syrian refugees are welcome.

Uh, would someone please tell these elected *cough cough* officials the Federal Government is the largest employer in the state of Alabama, and,  Sweet Home Alabama get's more FEDERAL dollars than any state in the UNION?  EYE mean, really, what are they thinking? Talking about biting off your nose to spite your face.

Congress should use the power of the purse to prevent the president from pursuing his plan to resettle Syrian refugees in the United States, Alabama's two Republican senators said Tuesday.

Maybe there is a method to their madness, but don't say anything when the President of the United States of America uses his executive power and his veto pen as the big payback. 

EYE understand the politics of fear and loathing. 

Really EYE do.

 EYE... live with it every day of my life.

Welcome to  my

 World

We are seeing black people killed everyday now.

Five Righteous RedEye Rants on #IndigenousPeoplesDay

EYE am pi$$ed about so many things on this day that EYE don't know where to start.  Warning, this rant is going to make some of you uncomfortable, and for that EYE offer no apologies.  If the rant fits, deal with it. If it doesn't apply to you, shrug.

RedEyeRant #1   Outside Investigators say the shooting of Tamir Rice not criminal because police officer Tim Loehmann acted properly within the constraints of his training.  You want to know how EYE know this is some straight up Bull Crap?  Because Dylan Storm Roof… the suspected killer of the Charleston Nine… was apprehended safely, given a bullet proof vest, and flown back to South Carolina on a private jet.  If law enforcement officers are trained to roll up on black men/women/children, shoot first and ask questions later that is a, strike that, the problem.

RedEyeRant #2  Cops Taser kneeling black councilman in Texas Town where Sandra Bland was arrested, and, it just happened to be the same cop that was involved in the arrest of Sandra Bland.  Coincidence, or a pattern of behavior?  See, this is what happens when you give some high school losers a gun,  a badge, and some authority.

RedEyeRant #3  Here we go again. A  Mississippi family wants answers after man dies in holding cell. EYE am sure they will get the answers they are looking for after the police investigate themselves. Snark

RedEyeRant #4  You didn't see it on TeeVee, or read about it in the mainstream press because it didn't involve a bunch of anti Obama, gun toting, Confederate Flag waving Tea Party people, or government issued, taxpayer funded military weapons, or Donald Trump, but Thousands of people peacefully assembled in Washington D.C. on the 20th Anniversary of the Million Man March to demand #JusticeOrElse or #NotOneDime will we spend. This is what happens when we dare complain about

RedEyeRant #5  The white, male, dominated media is responsible for this sad, sorry, state of affairs. Yes,  EYE said it.  When they can't make us look bad they don't show us at all.  They coddled, enabled, and mainstreamed the racism with their media driven racial stereotypes, now they are wringing their hands and trying to figure out how to put the Genie back into the bottle.  It's the media that are cowards when it comes to discussions about race.  IMHO it all started when the media forced President Obama to renounce, reject, and repudiate Reverend Jeremiah Wright and Louis Farrakhan. The white male dominated media  refuses to allow to have an honest and open discussion about race because that would be too much like right.  If the media were liberal we wouldn't be in this mess.  

RedEye Rant Over and Out.  For now.

Marissa Janae Johnson Speaks: #BLM, Sanders & White Progressives™ | #TWIBnation

Listen and learn about what really happened at the Bernie Sanders rally in Seattle.  The Black Lives Matter Seattle Activist are under a vicious and sustained, media enabled attack.  EYE stand with them and for what they stand for.

And how much more “devoted to ‘order'” can we be than to lecture Black people about what direct actions are and are not “hurting your cause”? (Notably, this language I’ve seen from countless White folks shows that we do not see the cause of racial justice as OUR cause – it’s that cause over there that we will tolerate so long as it doesn’t disrupt our Bernie rally.)

"The reaction to these protesters shed light on the hidden Seattle that most black people know well — the Seattle that prefers politeness to true progress, the Seattle that is more offended by raised voices than by systemic oppression, the Seattle that prioritizes the comfort of middle-class white liberals over justice for people of color."

Was blind but now I see

On this, nearly the one year anniversary of the ruthless murder of Mike Brown, we honor Black lives lost by doing the unthinkable, the unapologetic, and the unrespectable. Out of radical love for our Black brothers and sisters, we put our lives and our bodies on the line to testify to their persecution and resilience. We join together in Black love to #SayHerName and declare that #BlackLivesMatter, understanding that our love will disrupt the complicity and corruption of our anti-Black society; GOP, Democrat, and otherwise.

There is no business as usual while Black lives are lost. We will ensure this by any means necessary.

With the strength of our ancestors and for the future of our children,

Black Lives Matter Seattle Co-Founders

Marissa Johnson and Mara Willaford

#BowDownBernie
#SayHerName
#IfIDieInPoliceCustody
‪#‎NotOneMoreDeportation‬
‪#‎FreePalestine‬
‪#‎MikeBrown‬
#BlackLivesMatter

"Our tactics have ALWAYS been questioned. Our voices...our humanity is more important than rules, convenience, and political correctness".~Black Lives Matter Also-BIRMINGHAM

"A friend of mine who was a police officer has told me many times that it virtually impossible to drive from one place to another and not commit an offense that could get you pulled over."

And therein lies the problem.  If true, this comment by Brian explains why police officers think it's their right to be the judge, jury and the executioner. Today's law enforcement officers are behaving more like a well regualted Militia , treating black citizens like enemy forces and adversaries.  Ask a question, shot. Hands up, shot. Failure to use a turn signal, arrested.  No front license plate, murdered.  Police are waging war against black citizens, and it's getting fed from the top down.

Someone needs to inform police officers this is not a police state and we have this little thingy called the 4th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America that protects ALL citizens from unreasonable search and seizure by the government.   Police can't stop, search, and arrest citizens just because they have a badge and a gun, they must have probable cause.  And No, driving, walking, shopping, playing, while black is not probable cause, that's racial profiling. 

Police also need an education regarding the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, the amendment that abolished slavery.  We be Free, but today's Police act like they are a modern day Slave Patrol.


It's not young, black males  who need to the lessons.  It's the police who need to be educated.

Sandra Bland Video Confirms She Yielded For Officer in Pursuit

This video confirms what Sandra said when she was stopped by Officer Brian Encinia: that she pulled over to yield to an officer in pursuit.

Democrats can't afford to turn off African American Voters if they want to win in 2016

Bernie Sanders stops Chuck Todd cold when he... by ewillies

#FeelTheBern

Key words:  If they want to win.  Sometimes EYE think Democrats don't won't to win because it will mean they have to address the institutional racism plaguing the African American community. Don't get me wrong, democrats talk a good game, but talk without actions is just talk.  Democrats like to talk about a rising tide lifting all boats, but if one end of the boat is full of holes the boat will sink faster than the Titanic.  

A glaring example of the democrats wanting the black vote, but not black voters is the Alabama Democratic Party's selection of an African American Independent turned Democratic, pro life, minister as the challenger to Mo "Anything short of shooting illegals" Brooks.  EYE guess they think African American voters vote for candidates based on the color of their skin or something. Why they thought this EYE have no idea, the Artur Davis experiment should have taught them something. You would think they would have learned by now African American Voters vote based on the content and character of the candidates agenda/platform/political philosophy.  But noooo,  They insist on believing we are stupid because we are well.... black.

There is a history of black communities voting Democrat — that is, when we are actually allowed to vote, as we were historically targeted for explicitly racist disenfranchisement in the 20th century and felon disenfranchisement in the 21st century. During the 20th century, the Democratic Party was well known for instituting anti-black policies in the South such as Jim Crow, poll taxes and literacy tests. Since then, the Democratic Party has shifted its image to racial indifference, while the Republican Party picked up its racially hostile characteristics.
Today black communities continue to be betrayed by both sides of the aisle in this toxic political system, which prioritizes exuberant campaign spending over protecting human rights. Both Ferguson and Baltimore saw uprisings in the face of police terror in the last year. And each city watched Democratic city and state politicians lead violent militarized occupation in response to protests, including the National Guard, tear gas, rubber bullets and riot police. The fact is that neither political party is “for black people,” but white liberal and moderate voters continually impose upon black communities the candidates they feel are most sympathetic to black experiences.

The only Democrat presidential candidate who is willing to address the stark reality facing the traditional democratic base (minorities, women, LBGT, labor) is Senator Bernie Sanders.  If the democratic nominee  fails to energize it's base , we might as well hand the keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to President Trump/Huckabee/Cruz/Bush/Rubio/Carson/Jihndal/Kasich/Cason/Fiorina/Graham/Patakie/Christi/Perry/Paul/Santorum/Walker/Pataki

EYE Am Just Saying...

#SandraBland

The system that killed #SandraBland manifests itself in social media posts like this every day: pic.twitter.com/u11rfyIXEQ

— Broderick Greer (@BroderickGreer) July 27, 2015

"SO WHY DON'T WE STOP AND FRISK GUYS LIKE THIS EVERY TIME THEY LEAVE THE HOUSE?"

No More Mister Nice Blog: SO WHY DON'T WE STOP AND FRISK GUYS LIKE THIS EVERY TIME THEY LEAVE THE HOUSE? (updated)

When John Russell “Rusty” Houser was evicted from [his] quiet corner house in March 2014, sheriffs said, he trashed the place, dousing it in paint and gasoline and stuffing concrete down its pipes.
When the new home-owners decided to renovate, they had to call the fire department twice in one day after booby-trapped doors burst into flames.
“There was some tampering with the gas line that ran into the fireplaces,” said Russell County Sheriff Heath Taylor. Tracie Chancey, who has lived on 32nd Street with her husband and children since 2007, feared that the arson could have been much worse. “It shook us up when we found out what he did to that home.”And even after that he was walking around free and with access to guns. What a country.

 Probably because Homeland In-Security is too busy surveying the Black Lives Matter Movement

As if to echo the FBI surveillance of the civil rights movement and Black liberation organizations in the 1960s, The Intercept has learned through a Freedom of Information Act request that the Department of Homeland Security has been monitoring the Black Lives Matter movement since its formation in the protests of Ferguson.
“The reports confirm social media surveillance of the protest movement and ostensibly related events in the cities of Ferguson, Baltimore, Washington, DC, and New York. They also show the department watching over gatherings that seem benign and even mundane. For example, DHS circulated information on a nationwide series of silent vigils and a DHS-funded agency planned to monitor a funk music parade and a walk to end breast cancer in the nation’s capital,” according to George Joseph in the Intercept report.
Joseph also raises the question as to whether DHS, which was formed largely to combat terrorism, has engaged in mission creep as its budget has exceeded $60 billion. 

Louisiana Shooting Suspect Obtained Gun Legally, Had Extensive Criminal History In Georgia http://t.co/w3J3lNtYlv How is this ok, America?

— Propane Jane (@docrocktex26) July 27, 2015

How indeed.

The fear of blacks with guns was one of the reasons behind the Supreme Court’s notorious decision in the Dred Scott case. Chief Justice Roger Taney’s opinion insisted that blacks could not be citizens because, if they were, they’d have all the protections of the Bill of Rights, including the right to “full liberty of speech... to hold public meetings on political affairs, and to keep and carry arms wherever they went.”
America’s most horrific racist organization, the Ku Klux Klan, began with gun control at the very top of its agenda. Before the Civil War, blacks in the South had never been allowed to possess guns. During the war, however, blacks obtained guns for the first time. Some served as soldiers in black units in the Union Army, which allowed its men, black and white, to take their guns home with them as partial payment of past due wages.

  Fear of the Black Gun Owner, white gun owners not so much. 

Stop Cop's Rage: "I will light you up!"

It was a rather ordinary, quiet evening for me. I tuned into MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell to watch Sandra Bland's sister, Sharon, and the family attorney. Then it all went to hell when the attorney said that Waller County wanted Sandra's body returned to Texas for another autopsy because the first one was "defective." Emotionally now, I am struggling between outrage and the numbness of shock. Again. No. Not again. AGAIN!

Lawrence O'Donnell read the text wording, saying: (They) "need to have the body available for future examination by qualified experts."

From Texas, Sandra's body was released to her family, who flew her home to Chicago for her funeral today.

It's Saturday now, as I write again, and Sandra's grieving family and friends are gathering for Sandra's funeral, while the Texas authorities demanded continued access to her body as evidence. How that will, or has, played out, I just don't know. Even in death, Sandra is being denied human dignity, just as Texas trooper, Brian Encinia, denied her professional courtesy during a routine traffic stop for improper lane changing.

Already there is speculation that Sandra died by lynching, rather than suicide, as the jail authorities assert, despite the pledge of Elton Mathis, the District Attorney in Waller County, that her death will not be swept under the rug.

Not surprisingly, the District Attorney's statement includes a statement that a video of the hallway adjacent to Sandra's cell doesn't show anyone going into her cell to do her any harm.

On the one hand, authorities allege that Sandra told them she had previously been depressed, but at the time of the booking, she said she was not depressed, despite now being charged with a third degree felony. But, they also admit to neglecting to do visual "walkaround" checks of Sandra's safety while in their custody.

"The Texas Commission on Jail Standards criticized the Waller County Jail for insufficient training and for failing to check on inmates face-to-face every hour, and ordered it to come into compliance. The Waller County Sheriff's Office said its jailers had received mental health training, though not in the past year. The office acknowledged that guards used the intercom to check in on Bland rather than an in-person inspection as required. But the sheriff's office said it has no reason to believe either of these deficiencies contributed to Bland's death."

Ah, yes, the old "we didn't do our job, but we assure you that doesn't matter" defense. Perhaps if a correctional officer had actually observed Sandra, spoken with her, sympathized with her about her situation, given her hope that she would be released soon, today's situation might be different.

Of course, not if the swirling rumors that she was actually lynched are true. That speculation is based on a long list of various factors. The photos below are part of the speculation that she was murdered by suggesting that they were taken while Sandra was prone on the jail floor, and that the photo on the right was photoshopped to show her as alive.

This "conspiracy theory" would have much less credibility if Sandra's booking photo was of the quality that would allow for her identification. Odd that its such poor quality that she is not recognizable, isn't it?

There are other anomalies in Sandra's booking documents. On page 2, the jail's screening officer, Elsa Magnus, answers "No" to the following questions:

"16. Does the individual seem confused, pre-occupied, sad, paranoid, etc.?"

"17. Is the person's speech rapid, hard to understand, hesitant, or childlike?"

"18. Observed to be under the influence of: Alcohol? Drugs? Withdrawals?"

"19. Observed to have physical signs of harm (i.e., cuts on arms, etc.):"

"20. Does the screener suspect mental illness/mental retardation?"

Yet, Warren Diepraam, a Waller County Texas prosecutor, reported that Sandra had approximately 30 "cut marks" on her left wrist which were in a state of healing.

Also unusual is Prosecutor Diepraam's statement that Sandra had marijuana in her system at the time of her death, despite the screening officer's observations that she wasn't under the influence (presumably that means she got the marijuana in jail) and without wrist cuts.

Page 15 of the booking documents shows that Sandra had no money. A woman drives from Illinois to Texas without money? I suppose it's possible, but it does sound improbable.

These are just a few of the inconsistencies, but the question remains: was Sandra treated professionally and appropriately by the arresting officer? Had she been, she wouldn't be dead today.