The United States of #Ferguson

#Ferguson is everywhere #Ferguson is America. pic.twitter.com/vYNsi2JErh
— Black Autonomy (@BlackAutonomy) March 13, 2015

Now that the made for TeeVee  #Selma50 celebration is history (pun intended),  let's get back to the reality of  life in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

 The world saw a magnificent celebration last weekend in Selma, Ala., of the 50th anniversary of the Selma-to-Montgomery marches. The racially mixed crowds were huge, exciting and orderly. More than 120,000 attended the two days of commemorative events.

Foot soldiers mingled with dignitaries from the public and private sectors. President Barack Obama gave one of the most brilliant speeches I have ever heard. More than 100 members of Congress joined him in Selma. Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley attended the ceremonies, along with scores of state and local officials. A host of corporate sponsors toasted this splendid occasion under VIP tents that were erected for the privacy and convenience of privileged guests.

The theatrics and photo opportunities knew no bounds. The cinematography was simply breathtaking. It was a made-for-TV event.

 The Department of Justice (sic) released a scathing report   detailing racism in the Ferguson Police Department and all the apologist saw was vindication of #DarrenWilson.  Huh?

For years, the Ferguson Police Department has humiliated, harassed, profiled, abused and oppressed black people. When Ferguson Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed unarmed black teen Michael Brown, the police left Mike's body laying in the street for hours as if his life had no value. Instead of the prosecutor actually prosecuting the case, he essentially served as counsel for the killer. When the prosecutor announced the grand jury's decision not to indict Darren Wilson, that arrogant prosecutor practically gloated and talked down to the people of Ferguson.

Meanwhile, scores attend the funeral of #TonyRobinson, the latest unarmed, black male, shot, and killed by law enforcement.

The teen was shot by Madison Police Department Officer Matt Kenny on March 6 after a confrontation, police say. NBC News reports that an autopsy report released by the Dane County Medical Examiner's Office Friday said Robinson was shot in the head, torso and upper body.

RedEye tiptoeing away from the computer humming God Bless the United States of Ferguson....

It turns out that nearly everyone in the city is wanted for something. Even internal police department communications found the number of arrest warrants to be "staggering". By December of 2014, "over 16,000 people had outstanding arrest warrants that had beenissued by the court." The report makes clear that this refers to individual people, rather than cases (i.e. people with many cases are not being counted multiple times). However, if we do look at the number of cases, the portrait is even starker. In 2013, 32,975 offenses had associated warrants, so that there were 1.5 offenses for every city resident.
That means that the city of Ferguson quite literally has more crimes than people.

I hate to rain on this lovely parade (Honest I do!) but it seems perfectly clear to me that what went down a half a century ago in Selma, Alabama was merely a sweet little overture for what is coming. Not only has Jim Crow been raised from the dead, he's on a nationwide comeback tour. This is a show that won't be closing any time soon. ~ Tom Degan

So, the #FergusonPD is a bastion of #racism but #DarrenWilson won't face Civil Rights charges.... Oh, OK #DOJ (RedEye Roll)

Justice report: ‘It’s not going to stop nothing’ http://t.co/xJDH4ApPep  pic.twitter.com/EBAUmbvqUx #DarrenWilson #MichaelBrown #FergusonReport
— Red Eye (@RedEyesPage) March 4, 2015

Just like last week's decision not to charge #GeorgeZimmerman in the death of #TrayvonMartin,  the decision not to file Civil Rights Charges against #DarrenWilson in the death of #MikeBrown comes as no surprise.

"In the end no action is ever taken that brings justice to black people."

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere except the United States of America.

#FergusonReport 

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....

Faux News Distorting What You Decide Redux #FergusonGrandJury #SandyMcElroy

Before I type another word, let me express my gratitude to the Smoking Gun for being the media I wish we had instead of the media we have.  Thanks to them we know the #FergusonGrandJury was a farce and a fraud.  Thanks to them we know there were two witnesses who said #MichaelBrown didn't have hands up surrendering. One was not actually there. The other was #DarrenWilson

 Read all about How Fox News Ran with Bogus Testimony Given to the Grand Jury

On December 8, St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch released additional details about the grand jury documents his office made public last month after no charges were brought against Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown. As a result, more details have come to light showing that the testimony of one particular grand jury witness was a sham—testimony that was repeatedly touted by Fox News' Sean Hannity and other pundits who defended Wilson and the grand jury's decision.

It ought to be against the law to give bogus testimony to the Grand Jury.

Oh wait.....

Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States, was impeached by the House of Representatives on two charges, one of perjury and one of obstruction of justice, on December 19, 1998. Two other impeachment articles, a second perjury charge and a charge of abuse of power, failed in the House. He was acquitted of both charges by the Senate on February 12, 1999.^[1]

#ShutItDown 
#ICantBreathe
#NoJusticeNoPeace
#BlackLivesMatter

#BillCosby is a media enabled Weapon of Mass Distraction from #SandyMcElroy

About that #FergusonGrandJury that refused to indict #DarrenWilson in the shooting death of #MikeBrown...


You won't see this on TeeVee, or read about it in the mainstream media because they are too busy talking about ‪#‎BillCosby,‬ but The Smoking Gun exposed  ‪#‎Ferguson‬ "lying" witness number 40 Sandy McElroy as a racist lying liar.

 DECEMBER 15--The grand jury witness who testified that she saw Michael Brown pummel a cop before charging at him “like a football player, head down,” is a troubled, bipolar Missouri woman with a criminal past who has a history of making racist remarks and once insinuated herself into another high-profile St. Louis criminal case with claims that police eventually dismissed as a “complete fabrication,” The Smoking Gun has learned.

There's more:

 You must understand, then, that Sandy McElroy, whose testimony matches that of Darren Wilson's better than any witness who testified, was only called to the grand jury, not once, but twice, and allowed to present concocted physical evidence at that, because she was a neutron bomb for this case. Not ONE PIECE OF EVIDENCE proving that she was there could be found and scores of evidence that she made the entire thing up was presented weeks before she was ever allowed to testify before the grand jury, but it was all deliberately ignored

Oops, more lying liars and the lying liars who tell them

But Maddow wasn’t the last MSNBC host to poke holes in the grand jury’s work that day. Lawrence O’Donnell followed up by poking holes in the testimony of the only witness McCulloch specifically quoted in his press conference, imbued with all the trust he scornfully denied to everyone else.
“There is no real reason to believe officer wilson’s story that Michael Brown was charging at him, but even if you do believe it, there is certainly no reason to believe that Officer Wilson could not have easily avoided being tackled by someone who’s been hit by four of his bullets,” O’Donnell pointed out—which, again, is precisely the sort of thing that a prosecutor’s cross-examination should have made obvious. “You don’t have to be an NFL running back to avoid that tackle.” But then O’Donnell moved on to his main point—was there any credible evidence supporting Wilson’s claim of this most improbable, suicidal charge? “That is one of the most important questions in this case,” he said, and then played a clip from McCulloch’s press conference, “One described his movement toward Officer Wilson as ‘a full charge.’”

The Truth Matters

It ought to be against the law to use the public airways to lie to the public.

#BlackLivesMatter
#ICantBreathe
#EricGarner
#TamirRice
#NoJusticeNoPeace
#JohnCrawford

Bloggers and Comedians are the #MainStreamMedia we wish we had

@Politics_PR @kharyp This cartoon accurately portrays cops nowadays. pic.twitter.com/cGYx729Vxr
— CJ (@WestCoastLib7) December 8, 2014

Why are Bloggers and Comedians informing us more than the Mainstream Media about #Ferguson and Eric Garner?

The mainstream news coverage of Ferguson has been driven by a "balanced approach" that's so balanced -- the cop said this happened, some African-American eyewitnesses disagreed and contradicted each other -- so we can never learn anything about what really happened. This is embodied by a New York Times article that looks at the doubts of a grand jury, and emphasizes ambiguities and contradictions in eyewitness accounts. We can only ponder these unfortunate and puzzling mysteries, the article contends:

If you want proof people have sided with #DarrenWilson based on incomplete information look no further than the comments following this article on al.com and this article too. 

"In the meantime, it's worth looking to comics, bloggers and independent news sites to keep up on what's actually happening."

#DarrenWilson Punk'D ABC News for 500,000 Big Ones!

 "Benefiting from white privilege is automatic. Defending white privilege is a choice." 

 Now we know why ABC news won the bidding war to reward #DarrenWilson for executing an unarmed black male.  Psst George Stephanopoulos, you were Punk'D big time. 

"It Doesn't Add Up" A real lawyer turned TeeVee journalist rips the #FergusonDecision  a new one.

The more things change, the more they don't....

 

And they want us to sing God Bless America?

EYE don't think so....

It's Not a Happy Thanksgiving in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave

There is not a lot to be happy (not to be confused with grateful) about this Thanksgiving.  In case you've been living under a rock the United States of America looks like Syria, or some other place in the Middle East in need of some Free Dumb and Democracy quick, fast and in a hurry.  African Americans are under attack in the USA.  I can't confirm, but I suspect this is a black, I mean back lash because we dared exercise our civic duty and elect an African American President not once, but twice.  I know you are mad we have a black President, but please don't take it out on us.  If I had known white America was going to go this crazy I would have voted for Hillary.  

I don't know why white America is mad because we have an African American President, he's done more for them than he has black folks.  I kind of figured black folks were going to get screwed when candidate Obama threw his long time pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, under the bus so white folks would vote for him.  

My second clue was when President Obama backed down from saying a Boston policeman acted stupidly when they arrested Dr. Henry Louis Gates in his own damn house for being uppity. 

My third clue was when the white, male dominated media made him distance himself for Attorney Eric Holder's "America is a nation of cowards when it comes to discussing matter of race" statement during a Black History Month program at the Justice Department of all places

I could go on and on about my disappointment and disillusionment in America's first half black President, but that's not the topic I want to write about today.  I want to write about Ferguson Burning.

Ferguson burned. The police protected the White side of town while allowing businesses on the Black side to be robbed and burned. At least 12 buildings were on fire. Most protesters, though, were peaceful. At two in the morning the police held a press conference. They blamed protesters for tearing apart “the fabric of the community”.

Now you won't hear about this in the white, male dominated mainstream US  media, because it doesn't fit the media driven racial stereotype of "violent protest" out of control black brutes, angry because they can't have their way, but Mike Brown's fathers church was burned to the ground.

A Ferguson, Mo., church gutted by fire on Monday was targeted by white supremacists because the pastor had publicly called for Police Officer Darren Wilson to be arrested, Rev. Carlton Lee alleged in an interview.
Flood Christian Church was one of more than a dozen buildings and businesses damaged by arsonists in the St. Louis suburb overnight after a grand jury chose not to indict Wilson in the shooting death of a black teen.
Lee was an ever-present fixture next to Michael Brown Sr. in the months after his son, Michael Brown Jr., was killed in a violent confrontation with Wilson on Aug. 9. The elder Brown was even baptized at the church on Sunday.

 Let me put this black folks can't demand equal rights because of black on black crime meme to rest once and for all.  Black folks don't march when black folks kill each other for the same reason white folks don't march when white folks kill each other.  Black folks do not commit the most crimes because they are black, black folks are convicted of committing the most crimes because they are black.

What is wrong with this argument:

1. It is a deflection. The people who make it do not truly care about black-on-black crime.
2. It creates a false choice: Most who are truly concerned with black-on-black crime were upset about the Zimmerman case too.
3. It allows the white press to determine reality, which makes it seem like Zimmerman is an exception while no one is doing anything about black-on-black crime. As it turns out, on average there is a Zimmerman-style shooting (armed security person or vigilante killing an unarmed black person) once every 28 hours. Trayvon Martin is just what made the papers. His case is hardly the worst nor the only one to get protests. Likewise, there is plenty being done about black-on-black crime, like by the Nation of Islam, but the white press is not particularly interested in reporting that either. Even worse, the white press turns a blind eye to the bad policing that leads to a high black crime rate. Yet, somehow, it always seems to find time to show black male suspects on the 11 o’clock news.
4. Crime is mostly intra-racial. That means there will always be way more black-on-black crime than white-on-black crime. While it is true that 94% of black murders are black-on-black, it is just as true that 86% of white murders are white-on-white. In fact, most crime in America is white-on-white – yet for every web page that mentions “white-on-white crime”, there are 25 that mention “black-on-black crime”.
5. It makes the worth of black life conditional. Conditional on good behaviour, like low crime rates. Once blacks get black-on-black crime under control, then they can act as if their lives matter, then they can act as if they should have justice, then they can act as if they are human beings with human rights. Meanwhile the worth of white life is taken seriously, as absolute, as not being conditional. Compare Nicole Simpson to Trayvon Martin:
   • No one belittled the killing of Nicole Simpson by quoting white crime statistics, saying “white people kill each other all the time, what’s the big deal?”
   • No one deflected by talking about white parenting or violence in white films.
   • No one made Nicole Simpson posters for target practice.
   • No one pretended to be a dead Nicole Simpson for laughs.
   • No one questioned Nicole Simpson’s character – or her choice in clothing.

Ferguson is right to resist by any means and all means necessary.   We shall not remain calm while we're being attacked.  We shall Overcome.....

We didn't land on Plymouth Rock Plymouth Rock landed on us.