President Barack Obama famously said in 2012 that if he had a son, he would look like Trayvon Martin, the unarmed black teen who was killed in Florida by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman in February of that year. This week, after a white New York City police officer wasn’t indicted in the death of Eric Garner,… … [Read more...] about More Diversity In Politics Puts Police Killings In The Spotlight
Should Democrats be more like Republicans?
[icopyright one button toolbar] Marc Ambinder on The Week and Michael Tomasky on The New York Review of Books consider the question. In the latest New York Review of Books, Michael Tomasky offers an answer that has a real ring of truth to it: Republican voters think about politics differently. They see politics as an enduring contest, not a series of discrete events. They … [Read more...] about Should Democrats be more like Republicans?
Never Scared aka “F–k Paranoia and Fear”
[icopyright one button toolbar] Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Tamir Rice are firmly flowing through the media: traditional and social. Police brutality is the game and the stack of chips are growing larger and larger. Because of the deaths of these three black males, there is a tidal wave of black thoughts, black activism, and black anger. But behind all of that (and a … [Read more...] about Never Scared aka “F–k Paranoia and Fear”
(Updated) Body Cameras for Cops, Eyes for Grand Jury Members
[icopyright one button toolbar] Added: Using satire, popular author and comedian Andy Borowitz explains below why police body cameras alone will not solve the grand jury problem we have on our hands. But others -- like Matthew Pratt Guterl at the New Republic -- contend that, in real life, while there are hundreds of videos similar to the one of Eric Gatner on You … [Read more...] about (Updated) Body Cameras for Cops, Eyes for Grand Jury Members
Obama-Putin clash: Ringing alarm bells
[icopyright one button toolbar] Alarm bells should be ringing in Washington because of two significant events in Europe today likely to speed up processes already underway to weaken the transatlantic economic partnership. President Barack Obama has been pushing Europe strongly towards economic and political clashes with Russia’s Vladimir Putin because of Moscow’s … [Read more...] about Obama-Putin clash: Ringing alarm bells
Killings By Police Officers Are Far Too Common In The United States
[icopyright one button toolbar] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1ka4oKu1jo The injustice at Ferguson remains fresh in our minds as yet another case of a police officer who killed a black is not going to trial. The grand jury has decided against an indictment in the killing of Eric Garner in an illegal chokehold. The New York Times reports: A Staten Island grand jury … [Read more...] about Killings By Police Officers Are Far Too Common In The United States
French Failure to Deliver Mistrals to Russia ‘Impolitic and Masochistic’ (Marianne, France)
Is France damaging its own interests by buckling under pressure from the U.S. and NATO to halt delivery to Russia of two Mistral amphibious assault/helicopter carriers? Olivier Zajec of the French Institute of Strategy and Conflict insists that by not delivering the ships, Paris is damaging its credibility, undermining efforts to subdue the Islamic State, and rendering it … [Read more...] about French Failure to Deliver Mistrals to Russia ‘Impolitic and Masochistic’ (Marianne, France)
Right and Left Largely Unite Against New York Chokehold Decision
[icopyright one button toolbar] Yes, there can be unity in American politics. This doesn't mean every single person on a given side agrees -- but there can be enough unity so there is clearly a consensus. And the emerging consensus over a New York grand jury not to prosecute a New York policeman widely seen on videotape as choking an African-American to death in a case … [Read more...] about Right and Left Largely Unite Against New York Chokehold Decision
The Eric Garner case’s sickening outcome
WASHINGTON -- I can't breathe. Those were Eric Garner's last words, and today they apply to me. The decision by a Staten Island grand jury to not indict the police officer who killed him takes my breath away. In the depressing reality series that should be called "No Country for Black Men," this sick plot twist was shocking beyond belief. There should have been … [Read more...] about The Eric Garner case’s sickening outcome
Officer Darren Wilson Isn’t the Point
Officer Darren Wilson Isn't the Point By Tina Dupuy The officer shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri last August has rallied Americans to their camps: The pro-Officer Darren Wilson vs. pro-unarmed black teenager. In the wake of the grand jury's decision not to indict the officer, each side is now digging in their heels. It's personal, it's … [Read more...] about Officer Darren Wilson Isn’t the Point
St. Louis bar switches allegiance to Chiefs after Rams players’ ‘hands up’ protest
The "hands up" gesture by five Rams players on Sunday has caused one St. Louis bar to switch allegiances to the Chiefs. The Time Out Sports Bar & Grill on Monday posted on Facebook that it would no longer support the Rams by having happy hour during games or using Rams pictures and signs for decorations.… … [Read more...] about St. Louis bar switches allegiance to Chiefs after Rams players’ ‘hands up’ protest
GOP Panic Over Ebola, ISIS, and Putin?
Andrew Sullivan notes how panic over Ebola, ISIS and Putin has receded after the mid-terms on The Daily Dish. Cast your mind back, if you can bear it, to the frenetic last days of the campaign in the mid-terms. The world, the GOP kept insisting, was coming undone – and everything was Obama’s fault. Somehow, Obama had fumbled the response to Ebola, letting infected people into … [Read more...] about GOP Panic Over Ebola, ISIS, and Putin?
Justice Department to Launch Investigation into Eric Garner Chokehold Case
Attorney General Eric Holder said the Department of Justice will launch an civil rights investigation into the Eric Garner chokehold death after a Staten Island grand jury cleared NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo. Holder said the probe into Eric Garner's death will be "independent, thorough, fair and expeditious." President Barack Obama hinted earlier Wednesday at the … [Read more...] about Justice Department to Launch Investigation into Eric Garner Chokehold Case
Cartoon: National Conversation about Race
See great cartoons by all the top political cartoonists at http://cagle.com. To license this cartoon for your own site, visit http://politicalcartoons.com … [Read more...] about Cartoon: National Conversation about Race
Thousands of New Yorkers Protest Eric Garner Grand Jury Choking Death Decision: Policeman Not Charged
Dozens of protesters staged a "die-in," lying on the floor of Grand Central Station, and thousands of other marchers took to the streets. The protesters came out against a decision not to charge Pantaleo in the death of Eric Garner in July. Pantaleo is alleged to have placed Garner in a chokehold whilst trying to arrest… … [Read more...] about Thousands of New Yorkers Protest Eric Garner Grand Jury Choking Death Decision: Policeman Not Charged
Froomkin on Senate Torture Report
Dan Froomkin says what to look for in the Senate Intelligence Committee's torture report in First Look. 1) You’re not actually reading the torture report. You’re just reading an executive summary. 2) The CIA got to cut out parts. The summary has been redacted – ostensibly by the White House, but in practice by officials of the CIA, which, lest we forget, is the agency that … [Read more...] about Froomkin on Senate Torture Report
Ignore Chuck Schumer–The Democrats Were Right To Pass Obamacare
Charlie Cook is usually an astute political observer but he is making a mistake in paying too much attention to what Chuck Schumer said about Obamacare hurting the Democrats. The argument, which many have brought up, is that the Democrats made a political mistake by concentrating on health care as opposed to the economy. There are many problems with this theory to explain the … [Read more...] about Ignore Chuck Schumer–The Democrats Were Right To Pass Obamacare
Mitch McConnell’s Perpetual Perplexity
[icopyright one button toolbar] Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) not only looks perplexed, he is perplexed -- perpetually perplexed. He admits so himself. Most recently, at The Wall Street Journal CEO Council annual meeting, McConnell admitted that he was “perplexed” because the President of the United States, elected by the people to serve a full, productive, four-year … [Read more...] about Mitch McConnell’s Perpetual Perplexity
Lame Duck Government
Since the election, pundits have been talking about our lame duck president and our lame duck Congress. In truth, we have had a lame duck government in place for at least the last four years. It is hard for a lame duck to get anything done and this description certainly fits our last two sessions of Congress which have been among the least productive in American history. … [Read more...] about Lame Duck Government
The Implosion of Bill Cosby
[icopyright one button toolbar] The world is watching the career and reputation of comedian Bill Cosby disintegrate virtually overnight in a humiliating, seemingly-daily, public miniseries involving a flood of allegations, many decades old -- but increasingly believable. Because there's now a pattern. A reported 17 women have (so far) come forward to allege he … [Read more...] about The Implosion of Bill Cosby