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."

Rest in Power

"Standing Their Ground" --> #BlackLivesMatter #p2 pic.twitter.com/aYVqG2EagZ
— Eric Wolfson (@EricWolfson) December 7, 2014

Saturday Must Reads: On Racial Demonization and Political Demonization

#ICantBreathe In Black & White --> (Cartoon by @AnnTelnaes) #EricGarner #p2 pic.twitter.com/mn9n7Iu75r
— Eric Wolfson (@EricWolfson) December 6, 2014

No More Mister Nice Blog

 I've long felt that, since the days of Reagan, conservatives have
thrived by modifying the "Southern strategy" demonization of blacks --
the demons now include Democrats, liberals, college professors,
Hollywood stars, feminists, gay people, immigrants, and other groups.
The rhetoric frequently circles back to race, of course -- especially,
needless to say, while we have a black president -- but the same basic
anger is stoked when the top Democrat is Bill Clinton or Nancy Pelosi.

When White Supremacy is respectable again.

So, now we're at the point where beginning to see signs that openly
racist messaging is on the verge of becoming respectable again. When
right-wing politicians start justifying the murder of black citizens by
white police officers regardless of the specifics of the case, we're one
step below the level of just calling for a system that acknowledges
white supremacy as the natural and "correct" order of things. We're just
one step away from openly saying that equality before the law is not
the goal, and never should be. Recent remarks by Rep. Peter King and Rudy Giuliani, plus the openly-expressed sentiments of countless white citizens, indicates that
we're dangerously close to a situation where white supremacy is just one
side of the political argument...again. And we have the Conservative Movement to thank for that.

 The information age is actually a media age. We have war by media; censorship by media; demonology by media.

In 2003, I filmed an interview in Washington with
Charles Lewis, the distinguished American investigative journalist.  We
discussed the invasion of Iraq a few months earlier.  I asked him, “What
if the freest media in the world had seriously challenged George Bush
and Donald Rumsfeld and investigated their claims, instead of channeling
what turned out to be crude propaganda?”

He replied that if we journalists had done our job “there is a very, very good chance we would have not gone to war in Iraq.”

It's the Media.  They think we are stupid.

#CrimingWhileWhite # "Dear White People I'm Tired "

Remember how law enforcement officials cut and ran when confronted by an armed posse when Bundy refused to pay his taxes?

Remember all the tanks & tear gas & choke holds used at the Bundy Ranch standoff? Me neither. pic.twitter.com/Dxcjw9RJWR
— TheKitchenWitch (@kitchenwitch62) December 4, 2014

Compare and contrast law enforcement officials reaction to American's protesting killing unarmed black people.

223 arrested as protesters and police clash in New York City: http://t.co/H9iN41JsTp pic.twitter.com/oG1NNI6Hug
— ABC News (@ABC) December 5, 2014

Dear White People:  I'm tired

I direct this specifically at white privilege. It wraps you in arrogance and blinds you to how utterly un-inclusive the world you’ve made around you really is. People of color literally fear for their lives around a white person and a gun and we have good reason, especially when we’re unarmed. White people I am tired that you sometimes fail to live in reality. That you continuously prop yourself up and hold the moral high ground as long as you’re better off materially than another group of people. All social markers of superiority and success are in your favor and equality threatens that superiority.

Maybe if there weren't so many guns on the streets Cops wouldn't be afraid they weren't going to get to go home to their family at night.

I'm just saying....

#TTownforMikeBrown #BlackLivesMatter: Roll Tide!

#BlackLivesMatter scenes from peaceful demonstration at #UA #TTownForMikeBrown pic.twitter.com/iKkaTBxuYf
— Leigh Garner (@reporterleighg) December 4, 2014

As a win or lose Auburn Tigers fan I never thought the words Roll Tide would roll off my lips, but I have to give credit, honor, and praise, when credit, honor, and praise, are due.  While UAB students are protesting the demise of their football program, University of Alabama students staged a silent protest of Michael Browns grand jury decision.

 TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- University of Alabama students organized a silent protest Wednesday of the grand jury decision in the fatal police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson. 

Student newspaper The Crimson White reported nearly 300 students took part in the protest and sit-in at the Ferguson Center, a hub of campus activity. 

Participants wore all black clothing, with many carrying signs and utilizing social media hashtags like #TTownforMikeBrown and #BlackLivesMatter to share photos of the protest. 

Some chose to lie down to represent the four hours Brown's body lay in the street on Aug. 9.

Wouldn't it be great if students from Auburn University and the University of Alabama  joined  forces with students from Alabama State University and Alabama A&M University in a massive march with the DREAM one day their children will live in a country where the content of their character is not judged by the color of their skin?  I'm looking sideways at Y-O-U Joe Scarborough, Charles Barkley, Rudy Giuliani, and Casey Wardynski.

Best hour of my life!! Be the change you want to see...#letsdowork #TTownForMikeBrown
— NearaP.is.She (@ItzMe_NearaP) December 3, 2014

Eye "believe the children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way"