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gag order against all parties involved, including prosecutors and defense attorneys and their clients, has also been rescinded.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.

"Judge. Jury. Executioner. That's what the police are in too many of our communities. " #AltonSterling

Stop The Modern Day Legal Lynchings

#SayTheirNames

#KendrickJohnson

#TrayvonMartin

#FreddieGray

#DarriusStewart

#LaquanMcDonald

#SandraBland

#EricGarner

#TamirRice

#JohnCrawford

#WalterScott

#MichaelBrown

Antwun “Ronnie” Shumpert

#BlueLivesMatter. 

#BlackLivesMatter ........not so much.

H/T GoldieTaylor

Edited~My Tribute to #Prince Rodgers Nelson June 7, 1958 - April, 21, 2016

EYE have been in deep mourning every since EYE leaned of the sudden death of the award winning artist known simply as Prince.  This is a hard one.  Prince was more than a musician, he was an explicitly political artist in how he presented himself, his music and his quest for creative independence. 

Prince, despite seeming racially and sexually ambiguous, was always very clear and political in his love for black lives. He released the tribute song “S.S.T.” in September 2005 to raise funds for Hurricane Katrina victims. It went to No. 1 on the then-fledgling iTunes charts. Most recently, Prince was active both publicly and privately in the Black Lives Matter movement. He worked with the Rev. Al Sharpton, donated money to Trayvon Martin’s family and legal fund, and threw a concert in Baltimore whose proceeds went to youth groups. He also wrote and performed the song “Baltimore,” decrying the police violence and systematic racism in the city. And finally, to make it a Black Lives Matter trifecta, he said this at the Grammys: “Like books and black lives, albums still matter.”

Everyone has their favorite Prince recording, mine is one of his less popular recordings, Sometimes it snows in April.   EYE find it ironic Prince made his transition from labor to reward in April, and yes, it's cold and snowy in my heart.  



Rest in eternal peace, power, and Purple Rain Sweet #Prince.  

Update~ Free Your Mind Friday, Facing an "Inconvenient Truth" #BlackHistoryMonth2016

As Super Tuesday draws near EYE have to face an inconvenient truth. Regular readers know EYE am conflicted about which democratic candidate will get my vote in the primary.  To be honest, at one time EYE considered not voting in the primary and supporting the winner in the general.  But that would be the cowardly thing to do.  EYE can't ask our elected officials and others to be brave when EYE am not willing to do the same.  So, EYE am facing my fears and voting with my gut. Despite some (not to be confused with all) of his supporters, EYE will vote for Bernie Sanders.

Who/What helped me come to this decision? The actions of a brave young activist named Ashley Williams 



And the tragic death of an activist named Viola Liuzzo.



Ironically EYE made this decision on the anniversary of the murder of Trayvon Martin.  The reason police shoot first and ask questions later is because they see black men/women/children as Predators/Thugs.  The 1996 Crime Prevention Bill created the environment of today.

“She said that ‘We need to bring them to heel.'” Williams said. “And in this quote she is pathologizing and demonizing and also criminalizing black youth and other youth of color in terms of how they participate in criminal activity or how they are involved in criminal activity. I found these comments really racist and inappropriate. And also untrue.

Let me be clear, my decision to vote for Bernie Sanders is not a vote against Hillary Clinton. EYE trust her, and if she is the democratic nominee I will support her %100, but on Tuesday, EYE must stand with the young people who are our HOPE for a FUTURE we can believe in.

"So all these folks now want to apologize for the role they played in making us the most criminalized population on earth. "

 The new generation of civil rights activists never accepted "trickle-down economics" from conservatives. Today they are rejecting "trickle-down justice" from the liberals" .~Van Jones on CNN

Ashley Williams demonstrated the power, not only of Black Lives Matter, but also individual acts of courage. With social media, a single voice can trigger an avalanche.

RedEye

It's time for America to stop being "a nation of cowards" and discuss race/racism in America.

It just is.

“Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot,” Holder said in a speech given during Black History Month in 2009, “in things racial we have always been and I believe continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards.”

An no, ignoring the subject won't make it go away, old racist aren't dying, they are multiplying. And therein lies the problem. 

White people do not think in terms of we. White people have the privilege to interact with the social and political structures of our society as individuals. You are “you,” I am “one of them.” Whites are often not directly affected by racial oppression even in their own community, so what does not affect them locally has little chance of affecting them regionally or nationally. They have no need, nor often any real desire, to think in terms of a group. They are supported by the system, and so are mostly unaffected by it.

EYE recently read blog by an African American mother who wrote a powerful, provocative, and persuasive post entitled It's time for parents to talk to their children about race.  She also provided valuable tools and resources to facilitate an honest and open discussion, but it's not just black parents who need to talk to their children about race/racism, it's white parents.    

Given the dominant conceptualization of racism as individual acts of cruelty, it follows that only terrible people who don’t like people of color can commit it. While this conceptualization is misinformed, it functions beautifully to protect racism by making it impossible to engage in the necessary dialogue and self-reflection that can lead to change.

EYE have to ask, what are white parents are teaching their children about race/racism?

It appears there is a confluence of events and circumstances, with the first Black president, and a nation that is becoming increasingly Black and Brown, particularly because Black and Brown people are soon to be a majority. Things were not supposed to be this way, as the idealized, homogeneous America of the 1950s when Black folks were invisible, except when cleaning white folks’ homes or hanging from a tree, is gone.

 Parents are the first teachers.

EYE understand the fear #AYearWithoutTamir #JordanDavis #EricGarner #MikeBrown #JFK

Timothy Loehman, who immediately killed #TamirRice on first sight, was never arrested or charged. #YearWithoutTamir pic.twitter.com/5rZmdQakL8

— Ava DuVernay (@AVAETC) November 22, 2015

EYE was in the second grade on 11.22.1963 when the principal announced over the intercom President Kennedy had been shot. I didn't find out he died until I got home. The days that followed were very sad, I remember feeling sorry for Carolyn, John John, and Jackie Kennedy. I also remember being  afraid for the leaders who tried to help African Americans. Sure enough, then came the assassinations of Martin Luther King,Jr, and Robert Kennedy . 

My ancestors lived through 400 years of torture/slavery, my generation lived through domestic terrorism/Jim Crow, my children are living through Trayvon Martin, Sean Bell, Oscar Grant, Jordan Russell Davis,Renisha McBride and other victims of senseless violence.

Just saying #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/2wDOnFJlwL

— Anon Trip (@Anontrip) November 23, 2015

First Donald Trump came for the Muslims

The GOP is at a crossroads that will define its party for years. They can nominate Trump, a man who has demonized American minority groups, or choose someone who truly embraces American values. But if Trump is the Republican presidential nominee in 2016, they will have made it clear to America that the Grand Old Party is no longer the party of Lincoln, but the party of hate.

You think? 

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.

Is #Racism Over Yet?

Eye Report.



You Decide.

"This is my country, Land of my birth"

How can society expect black boys to become men when parents have to give them a disempowering narrative like this?

"Thisis my country! Grandest on earth!"

If Trayvon Martin had been white and George Zimmerman were black. If you don't understand how deeply and viciously racist has been the official and right-wing reaction to the murder of Trayvon Martin, all you have to do is consider what would have been the official and right-wing reaction had the races of Martin and his killer been reversed. 

 I pledge thee my allegiance, America, the bold,
For this is my country to have and to hold.

What diff'rence if I hail from North or South
Or from the East or West?
My heart is filled with love for all of these.
I only know I swell with pride and deep within my breast
I thrill to see Old Glory paint the breeze.

With hand upon heart I thank the Lord For this my native land,
For all I love is here within her gates.
My sould is rooted deeply in the soil on which I stand,
For these are mine own United States.

This is my country! Land of my choice!
This is my country! Hear my proud voice!
I pledge thee my allegiance, America, the bold,
For this is my country! To have and to hold.

Eye Weep for My Country.

"Real Talk" about what to do if you're stopped by the police in black and white

The Talk for Black Americans

Artist Michael D’ Antuono created a powerful painting portraying what many African-American parents experience when trying to explain to their sons the gross injustice surrounding the killings of Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown, Tamir Rice or the many other young black men killed by the hands of law enforcement.

The Talk for White Americans

 

• Don’t get into an argument with the police.
• Never bad-mouth a police officer.
• Remember, anything you say or do can be used against you.
• Keep your hands where the police can see them.
• Don’t run.
• Don’t touch any police officer.
• Don’t resist even if you believe you are innocent.
• If you complain at the scene, or tell the police they’re wrong, do so in a non-confrontational way that will not intensify the scene.
• Do not make any statements regarding the incident.
• If you are arrested, ask for a lawyer immediately.
• Remember officers’ badge numbers, patrol car numbers and physical descriptions.
• Write down everything you remember ASAP.
• Try to find witnesses and their names and phone numbers.
• If you are injured, take photos of the injuries as soon as possible, but make sure you get medical attention first. Ask for copies of your medical treatment files.

Must Reads:

When White Parents Have to Have  "The Talk" with their black sons

Police Brutality in black and white

Real-time photo evidence of a cop planting evidence on a victim
What NOT to do if you are black and stopped by the police.

Eye will close with some misinformation and faulty logic from the designated African American black attacker on Fox.

COOPER: In the black community, we need to have a conversation that’s unemcumbered by the radical left and progressives’ agenda that tries to use government coercion to address some problems. Here’s the reality: black Americans, like myself, we have an elevated risk of death that will come – not from law enforcement but that will come from other black Americans.
…According to the CDC, the second most likely contributor to that disparity is homicide. There is no other ethnic group that homicide ranks as high and the statistics actually show it’s black people killing other black people. …If no other ethnic group faces this risk, it is a sign that there’s a disparate amount of criminality happening in this one group.

Sound familiar?  Faux News.  All spin, all the time, unfair and unbalanced, distorting what you decide.  Just say NO to Faux News.

RedEye

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 

"I would not hurt a fly but everyday I get out of my apartment, I know I am at risk of being killed by a racist because of my skin and the system will do everything to justify why I had to be killed."

In America race is an issue because it is an issue

If George Zimmerman had stayed in his car like he was instructed to do by the 911 dispatcher maybe Trayvon Martin would be celebrating his 20th birthday, and we wouldn't be observing the injustice of the century.  I said maybe because police could have killed Trayvon Martin  for being black in America.

By the way, although George Zimmerman is not incarcerated, he will never be free. For the rest of his rotten life, he will be known as the real thug who followed and killed an unarmed African American teenager based on a false and racist assumption. In fact, given George Zimmerman frequent acts of violence and run in with the law, it is only a matter of time before he kills or hurts someone else.

"Sadly, the blood will be on  jurors' hands.

 : a jury of six women, five of them white and none of them Black, found Zimmerman not guilty, sparking national outrage and protests. Seemingly unaware of the furor invoked by the decision, Juror B-37—who wished to remain anonymous but nonetheless conducted a public interview and signed (then canceled) a book deal—stated, “All of us thought race did not play a role.” This was the same juror who, during jury selection, referred to Trayvon Martin as a “boy of color” whose murder was “an unfortunate incident.”

Who can blame them for remaining anonymous?

The identities of potential jurors in the Florida trial of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer accused of murdering teenager Trayvon Martin, will be kept confidential, the presiding judge ruled Wednesday.
Zimmerman is pleading not guilty to second-degree murder charges, contending he acted in self-defense.
Circuit Judge Debra Nelson also ruled that the potential jurors won’t be sequestered, and that during the selection process -- which is scheduled to get underway on Monday -- members of the jury pool will be referred to by numbers, not names.
"This is to be done in order to protect the prospective jurors from harassment and pressure from the public at large," Nelson wrote, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

"The blood will be on the American criminal injustice system filthy hands." 

A verdict that could have provided accountability, vindication, and healing did not happen. But we are a nation of laws. The outcome would have to be accepted if the trial was fair. The community would have to just move on if Zimmerman’s acquittal was based on the evidence at trial.
But that was not the case. Because the same suspicions and unexamined biases that Zimmerman harbored in one way or another coursed through the significant players in that courtroom: the defense attorneys, prosecutors, judge, and jury.

Know Truth.  Know Justice.  No Truth.  No Justice.

And we dare not rise up and protest because Riots.

Three years ago, Trayvon Martin left home for the store and never returned. We will never forget. You are our reason for being.

 Rest in power sweet child.

"They hate us for our Freedom" #RememberTrayvon #NoJusticeNoPeace #BlackLivesMatter

We've found "insufficient evidence" that America values black lives enough to hold vigilantes or police accountable for taking them.
— The Dream Defenders  (@Dreamdefenders) February 24, 2015

TRAVESTY, BREAKING NEWS: Today, the US Department of Justice has failed yet again to uphold its mission to ensure justice and public safety for ALL Americans. The DOJ announced it will NOT file charges against the known racist, violent vigilante George Zimmerman for killing 17-year-old Trayvon Martin on the night of Feb 26, 2012.
As we near the eve of the anniversary of Trayvon's death, we hold in our hearts and minds the devastating pain and suffering, and injustice that Black mothers and fathers, Black children and families have had to endure for generations and the all to familiar reality that we as Black people have no choice but to fight for our lives every single day.

This tragic event has sparked a movement that will not die, and birthed a new generation of young Black leaders who have filled the streets of America, demanding justice and shifting the consciousness of people across the nation.
Let us turn our rightful frustration into action, and grow a movement to hold the criminal justice system accountable. ‪#‎RememberTrayvon‬

We can blame the Roberts Court for gutting the civil rights laws.

Federal law surrounding racially motivated police shootings is unaccountably convoluted and hopelessly muddled. But one thing is clear: In their current form, our federal civil rights laws let cops pull the trigger with near-total impunity.

It wasn’t always that way. The law under which Holder could theoretically charge Wilson, now called Section 242, was passed in 1870 to secure robust legal protections for newly freed blacks in the South. Congress had recently passed amendments guaranteeing former slaves citizenship, equal protection of the laws, due process, and voting rights, which the states (including several under Reconstruction in the South) then ratified. But a number of viciously racist groups, including the newly formed Ku Klux Klan, had effectively negated these new rights, terrorizing black communities through arson, beatings, and lynching.

Congress had already passed laws requiring Southern states to recognize their black citizens’ newfound freedoms. But violent groups like the KKK were often aided if not led by local governments and law enforcement. Blacks suddenly had a vastly expanded roster of rights, yet racist officials and crooked cops were colluding to ensure that they couldn’t exercise any of them. So Congress passed the Enforcement Act of 1870, part of which survives today as Section 242. As its title suggests, the act enforced the new amendments by making it a federal crime to deprive any person of his constitutional rights while acting “under color of any law.”

We can blame ourselves.

Truth first then justice.
We’re the ones that failed. Not us specifically, but the people who knew and understood the truth and common sense and had the format to speak out about it. We let another narrative take place so we can avoid calling what we are seeing what it really is.
For example:
We let the media tell us that GZ said the word punk instead of calling them racist for trying to clean something up that was so damn obviously racist.

And we dare not rise up.

For some reason African Americans are supposed to accept the decision of the secret grand jury without question.

 Even as verdict after verdict continues to excuse White authority figures of their wrongdoing, the Black community is expected to understand that police officers have a very hard job. The Black community is expected to understand that approximately 150 police officers are killed in the line of duty each year, the Black community is expected to understand that police officers are human too, the Black community is expected to understand that police officers are just doing their job and the Black community is expected to understand that even if a police officer is in the wrong, you are supposed to remain submissive and never talk back.

For some reason when African Americans peacefully assemble to voice their outrage, or, to plead for justice, it's called a riot.

  During questioning, she referred multiple times to "riots" in Sanford after Trayvon Martin was killed. "I knew there was rioting, but I guess [the authorities] had it pretty well organized," she says at one point. In fact, despite a great deal of salivating anticipation by the media both before and after the trial, there were no riots in Sanford, Florida.

 Trayvon belongs to all America and until you see him as your child too, we all remain in bondage.

#TrayvonMartin #RestInPeace #NoJusticeNoPeace #BlackLivesMatter #J4TM

@CivilRights Remembering #TrayvonMartin on what shd've been his 20th Birthday today #Trayvon #J4TM 02.05.95-02.26.12 pic.twitter.com/MAKpdcZLGm
— StarCreative (@StarCreativeI) February 5, 2015

RedEye's RoundUp

Before I type another word, I want to thank all of my followers, readers, lurkers, and contributors.  Your support continues to humble and amaze me.  If anyone is interested in becoming a contributor,  submit a righting sample to redeyeblog.Alabama@yahoo.com.  All points of view are NOT welcome.  Meaning, red, republican, right wing contributors need not apply.  This is a blue, hard left, progressive, liberal blog.  Truth, and nothing but the truth is spoken here.  The purpose of the blog is to be a voice for voiceless and to inform the public.  If you want to promote right wing talking points and misinformation do it on your own blog.  There is no Fairness Doctrine, remember?
Now on to the Roundup:

Black On Black Crime my Donkey!

Ongoing protests against police brutality have revealed how distorted the American discourse on crime is. The biggest myth animating this discourse is black criminality: the notion that black people commit more crime, and therefore deserve more heavy-handed policing

How about some Black on Black Justice?

 A Black People’s Grand Jury in St. Louis, Missouri, this weekend delivered a “true bill of indictment” for first degree murder against former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the death of Black teenager Michael Brown. Black people “can and must take matters into our own hands,” said Omali Yeshitela, one of four prosecutors that presented evidence, not only of Wilson’s personal guilt, but the institutional culpability of the entire regional criminal justice system in the murder and subsequent whitewash of the crime.

I HOPE George Zimmerman's attorney turned CNN legal analysist, the jury, the prosecutors, the judge and the media are happy now.

You won't hear it on TeeVee or the so called mainstream media because it doesn't fit the media driven narrative, but Common's acceptance speech for winning a Golden Globe award for best original song was as the young people say, "Off the Chain".

Speaking of the mainstream media, would someone tell them they are the only ones' gushing over Christ Christi, Jeb Bush, and Mitt Romney?  Real people, not so much....

The House will vote Thursday on what Republicans are calling the "Save American Workers Act," a proposal that would make it easier for employers to cut their workers' hours and paychecks and eliminate their benefits. It's a "fix" to Obamacare that would change the definition of full-time work from 30 hours per week to 40. As the law stands, employers with 50 or more workers have to either provide insurance to 95 percent of their full-time employees or pay a fine. Republicans say that their proposal will create more full-time jobs.

Sometimes a loss is a victory

 While the Republicans continue to fight among themselves over who can do more to obstruct progress in this Country, the President continues to lead this country and carry out the will of the American people, and proves once again that there isn't a conservative in America who has ever read the Constitution.

Got popcorn?

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.

Obama, Obama, why have you forsaken us? #BlackLivesMatter

Ferguson rapper Tef Poe: Obama has forsaken us...please, don't forget about Ferguson: http://t.co/nwAFJWvql9 via @TIMEIdeas
— Red Eye (@RedEyesPage) September 18, 2014

During this time I’ve pulled children out of clouds of tear gas. I’ve witnessed white women who are members of the clergy collectively praying in front of tanks and armored vehicles. One of these women was mercilessly shot with a rubber bullet by the police while praying for peace. Our neighborhood was occupied by the police as if they were an invading army laying siege to their enemy and pillaging the remains. Our basic civil rights were stripped away as we were treated like cattle in the name of a sick, sadistic experiment in martial law. We assumed that our beloved, black president would come to our defense and speak about the perils of police brutality, racial profiling, and Mike Brown’s unfortunate demise. Instead we felt as if he co-signed this unfair treatment and endorsed the brutal show of force the police displayed towards us. We are our only allies. No one in the world will stand up with us against such tyranny.

 This is the moment I asked myself, “Why did I vote for Barack Obama twice? Why are we being treated like this simply for demanding justice for our fallen brother?” I decided it is possible I’ll never vote for another American president for as long as I live. We live in America but we are clearly not included as Americans. Americans don’t unleash a completely militarized force upon other Americans. Americans don’t tear gas other Americans. Americans don’t drive tanks over the front yards of other Americans. By classical definition we are still poor black people who reside in America, but we are not considered equal to fellow American citizens and lawmakers. Our hopes and dreams are not valued or respected. Our worries and concerns often fall upon deaf ears.

 Let's talk about  NFL players so we won't have to talk about the real crisis in America.

When will America declare a WAR on Racism???   #Trayvon #MikeBrown #EricGarner #JohnCrawford #EzellFord #JonathanFerrell #LeonFord

I do not want to hear another word about what Alvin Holmes said. Not one.

State Rep. Alvin Holmes, D-Montgomery

It is not my intention, in this post, either to defend what state Rep. Alvin Holmes (D) said, or to praise what state Rep. Alvin Holmes said.  It is my intention to defend Rep. Alvin Holmes right (pun intended) to say what he said.

Once upon a time, a black man would never raise his voice at a white man. Once upon a time, when a white man told a black man to do something, the black man would say, "Yes sir boss." Those days are gone.
Even nowadays, many black politicians are afraid to be perceived as "the angry black man" or "the angry black woman".  Many lower their voices and moderate their speech patterns, expressions and mannerisms to appease hyper-sensitive white voters.

Thank goodness state Rep. Alvin Holmes is not that kind of black elected official.  I commend Rep. Holmes for speaking out for the rights of all Alabama women to choose to have a safe, legal, abortion.  Because make no mistake, this bill will not prevent any women with means from having access to an abortion, this bill adversely and disproportionately affects black/brown/poor Alabama women and children who are already born.  Children republicans don't want to have access to quality affordable health care, access to a quality public education, or even  food.

If you want to know who and what the Alabama GOP panders too,  all you have to do is read some of the comments on  Al.com.  See what I mean below:

 Actually, Holmes can bait for race or race for bait....whites have grown totally indifferent to the whining, crying and moaning of the black underclass. For anyone who could possibly be concerned, consider the source.

 Mr. Holmes is just angry because he knows the days of race baiting by black politicians is coming to an end. The black vote has been bought and paid for by the Democrat party and the party has moved on to the new kid in town....illegal aliens.

 Alvin Holmes is a race baiter. He always plays the race card to get the uninformed voters to vote for him. He does nothing but stir up hate, He is what wrong with Alabama now.

State Rep. Alvin Holmes, D-Montgomery is dumbing down those who vote for him. Vote him out before everyone is owned by the Government.

I don't agree with the point of view expressed above, but I defend their right to express their point of view without being vilified/castigated. Racism is not about what was said,  it's about what is done.

I am sick and tired of some (not to be confused with all) white people telling grown a$$ black folks what they can or cannot say, how loud they can play their music, what they can wear , or, when they can protest about the way they are being treated. It is condescending at best, racist/racism at worst.

Enough!

"It is apparent that Mr Holmes was decrying the blatant hypocrisy of most of the legislature members. They bring to the forum legislation written by outside sources such as ALEC that is divisive, unnecessary, and counter to existing law. A thinking person wonders why his words would bring the ire of so many. The answer for me is that they know he is speaking the truth and cannot deal with it."

 It's not about what Alvin Holmes said, it was about what house republicans did.