This is today’s only article. I sleep poorly last night, because I was feeling unhappy, and I can’t catch up now, because I’m waiting for my grocery delivery. Please everyone… do not make donations for me to go to do volunteer work with my guys in prison. The issue is more the physical challenges that overnight travel on public transit than it is finances. Even if I have the money, I do not have the stamina to make such a trip more than once every other month. Thanks for caring.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 2:29 (average 4:40). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From The New Yorker: With an official announcement on his campaign Web site, Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) has joined a crowded field of people who will never be elected President in their lifetimes.
While Paul and Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) are the only officially announced Republican candidates with a zero-per-cent chance of ever winning the Presidency, a burgeoning roster of totally pointless candidacies is waiting in the wings.
Former Texas Governor Rick Perry, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, and neurosurgeon Ben Carson are just a few of the men thought to be considering squandering time and money pursuing an office that they will never occupy in a billion years.
From Andy’s mouth to God’s ear.
From NY Times: A white police officer in North Charleston, S.C., was charged with murder on Tuesday after a video surfaced showing him shooting in the back and killing an apparently unarmed black man while the man ran away.
The officer, Michael T. Slager, 33, said he had feared for his life because the man had taken his stun gun in a scuffle after a traffic stop on Saturday. A video, however, shows the officer firing eight times as the man, Walter L. Scott, 50, fled. The North Charleston mayor announced the state charges at a news conference Tuesday evening.
The shooting came on the heels of high-profile instances of police officers’ using lethal force in New York, Cleveland, Ferguson, Mo., and elsewhere. The deaths have set off a national debate over whether the police are too quick to use force, particularly in cases involving black men.
For once it looks like the cop won’t get away with Republican police methods.
From Unworthy: John Oliver flew 10 hours to Russia to interview Edward Snowden and get him on record.
This a 30 minute video, but it’s well worth the time to watch it. Due to an error in YouTube’s embed script, I can’t embed it for you here, but you can click through and watch it there. He treats a serious subject with humor, but crystal clarity. It is especially revealing about the incompetence of US voters.
Cartoon:
28 Responses to “Open Thread–4/8/2015”
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There have been 209 incidents of police shooting at citizens the past five years in South Carolina. They were all "investigate" and ALL were ruled "justified". I'm having some MAJOR doubts.
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/04/07/3644189/everything-police-said-walter-scotts-death-video-showed-really-happened/
You can clearly see that at ~ the 1:00 minute mark the cop goes back and picks up some object (Taser?) from where the incident started. And at ~ the 1:30 minute mark he drops it by the deceased Mr. Scott.
My advice to Mr. Slager would be to get used to solitary confinement, because any cop in general – and this cop in particular – would not have an easy time in the general prison population. And, yeah, I think he'll be convicted. (But I've been wrong before.)
I agree. He'll have to PC up.
4:02 average still 4:40. Another one that's harder than it looks.
New Yorker – From Andy's mouth (or pen or whatever he uses) to God's ear (or eye) indeed. Great minds indeed – Tom Tomorrow did a cartoon about what it would take for Ted Cruz to become President. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/03/30/1373752/-Cartoon-Cruz-s-path-to-the-White-nbsp-House
NY Times – What's really shocking is that when I read this yesterday I was more shocked by the charge being filed than I was by the shooting. What does THAT say about us – or. more accurately, about our faith in the justice system?
Upworthy – You know, this is exactly like the drought and watering lawns. No matter how serius or dangerous or major it is, people won't care until and unless it's personal. Years ago I did a little work matching people to their best colors (with the Color Me Beautiful TM system). One woman kept coming up a spring (yellow undertones) when all her preferences were for summer (purple undertones) colors. Turns out her mother AND her doctor had been telling her for years she needed to take iron. She never started for them, but she did for me. Go figure.
Cartoon – Darned good thing too. I'll bet Republicans hated it.
BTW – I added this to the 4/4 article on turnout, but it's worth repeating.
I am writing this afternoon with tears in my eyes, but, for Ferguson, they are tears of joy:
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"High voter turnout in Ferguson adds two black council members, for three total"
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/high-voter-turnout-in-ferguson-adds-two
Daily Kos: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/04/08/1376307/-Ferguson-MO-City-Council
Now, for Chicago, not so much. Sigh.
I used up my three links in my original comment. But there are a couple of issues I feel I need to address, and since this is an open thread…
We've been talking about Iran and polling on Harry Reid, which brings up Chuck Schumer. Robert Naiman of Public Citizen (boy, what a name-dropper! Sorry!) just uploaded this:
http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/30113-democrats-blast-sen-chuck-schumer-s-threat-to-kill-iran-deal
And the corresponding petition to Schumer is at http://act.credoaction.com/sign/schumer_iran
Also, on March 24, 2015, SOA Watch joined with thousands in El Salvador to honor Archbishop Oscar Romero on the 35th anniversary of his assassination (which I remember as if it were yesterday). 35 years since SOA graduate Roberto D'Aubuisson planned and ordered his death and a sharpshooter shot an explosive bullet directly into Romero as he celebrated Mass. 35 years since Romero stood up for the poor and marginalized and called on the US to stop funding the Salvadoran military as it massacred and murdered the population.
Given the limited water in El Salvador and the enormous poisoning and use of water that mining represents, El Salvador has declared a moratorium on mining. Yet, a secretive World Bank tribunal located in Washington DC could force El Salvador to allow gold mining or have to pay $301 million to Oceana Gold, the multinational mining corporation suing El Salvador for not allowing it to mine. This is WITHOUT the TPP or the TTIP, which we are justly afraid of. You can send an email to Oceana Gold urging the multinational mining company to drop its $301 million lawsuit against El Salvador in a secretive World Bank tribunal at
http://org.salsalabs.com/o/727/p/dia/action3/common/public/
Thanks, Joanne, I signed both of these.
Chuckie is one of my /senators and I've signed the petition addressed to him and called his office. I am outraged.
I also signed the petition about the lawsuit.
Smart linkage!!
Thanks JD. Signed all 3 petitions.
Perhaps Elizabeth Warren would take on Senate leader of the Democrats since Schumer, the seeming heir apparent is courting the wrong ideals over Iran. What a misguided schmuck!
2:42 Beautiful water lily, but at best Puddy Tat salad!
3:00 ~ I think he sees the fishies hiding under th lily pads.
Ate the frog!
I don't think so . . . no burp! . . . and frogs are guaranteed to make you burp on top of indigestion!
So sorry, TC, I wasn't trying to make you feel bad about finances. We just want to help.
The New Yorker: I certainly hope Andy is right. Please ask him to add Paul Ryan to the list.
NY Times: We all can be grateful for those phones everyone carries for having proof of the cold blooded way the man was killed. The days of killing an unarmed person and getting away with it by lies are long gone. Glad Charleston fired the policeman. I will be surprised, though, if he is convicted.
Upworthy: I didn't watch the video, I read the "gistify" and that was enough. I do know who Snowden is and have signed numerous petitions to end the Patriot Act and to rein in the NSA. I am afraid the bear is out of the den, though, and we will never be rid of either.
Cartoon: The WPA helped end the depression, creating jobs where none had been. We got bridges, roads and schools built, many of those schools are still in use in the south. We need the WPA again to repair our infrastructure and to put people back to work.
No problem, Edie. I knew your intent. I just wanted to let you know that money isn't the answer to this problem. 🙂
Thanks, TC.
I was glad to hear that there was a kind man who saw a man being killed in cold blood and had the the viedo to prove it. ( I watched the viedo) saw the cop trying to cover (knowing what he did was wrong)
Puzzle — 2:42 Beautiful water lily, but at best Puddy Tat salad!
The New Yorker — "From Andy’s mouth to God’s ear." Amen! Let us hope that Andy's satire becomes news reporting in this case.
NY Times — I saw the video and the officer doesn't have a chance at skipping on this one. The city fired him but are keeping his medical up because his wife is 8 months pregnant. At the birth it ends.
Upworthy — Is that a typo "unworthy"? I will watch later. I have no sound so have to do the closed captioning thing. I'm too tired for that right now. But one thing I saw, the Patriot act is up for reauthorisation this summer. I wonder if the Republicanus/Teabaggerum will sit on this one or be all gungho?
Cartoon — Oh for the days of a jobs bill that could help stimulate the economy. But not on the Republicanus/Teabaggerum watch!
A question . . .
Am I correct that the Iran deal is not a bill as such, but rather a "treaty" in loose terms? If it is a "treaty" then the Congress has to ratify it, right? If the Congress fails to ratify it, can Obama override the Congress' vote? I know if it were a bill, then Obama could veto the bill and in essence screw the nimrod Republicanus/Teabaggerum.
The deal is only the framework for a deal. The countries involved have until June 30 to hash out the final details. From Time ~ "In the U.S., Republicans, with some support from Democrats, have lined up a bill that will effectively require Congressional approval for a nuclear deal by giving legislators the power to reject lifting sanctions on Iran. The White House opposes the perceived interference from Congress and has said it would veto such a bill. “If Congress kills this deal, not based on expert analysis, and without offering any reasonable alternative, then it’s the United States that will be blamed for the failure of diplomacy, international unity will collapse, and the path to conflict will widen,” Obama said."
Talks resume on April 13. There are ways to get "The Deal" without Congress' approval. Read on for your edification. http://www.nti.org/gsn/article/how-obama-can-bypass-congress-and-ease-sanctions-iran/
You're correct that if this WERE a "treaty" it would have to be ratified by a 2/3 vote of the Senate. (The House plays no role in treaties.)
But the administration says this is structured as an executive agreement – and so the Senate will not have a say. But that doesn't mean the Senate won't try to inject themselves in to the process. (Especially if the Likud/Rethuglican Party doesn't get the war they and Bibi are itching for.)
http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/12/politics/iran-nuclear-deal-treaty-obama-administration/
http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2015/04/07/398115927/how-congress-can-stop-a-nuclear-deal-with-iran
Nameless hit the nail on the head by calling it an executive agreement.
Well, I'm glad they decided not to make his wife more of a victim than she probably already is.
I'm sure Patty's explanation is a lot more comprehensive, but the agreement is not between the United States and Iran, but between the United Nations and Iran. Without going into all the details like P5 + 1 as opposed to P5 – I'm not sure that what our Congress does can have much affect on a UN agreement.
Thanks for the info guys!
TY TC – sorry you are unhappy – but when you feel a bit better I hope you will realise that you do more for others than most fit people, never mind someone fighting the health problems that you have!
God bless and protect the person who videoed that police shooting – that looked like outright murder.
You have a lot to be sad about, Tom. I won't shower you with useless platitudes. I only offer porayers for you and your friends.
New Yorker ~ May Andy once again prove to be prophetic. Rand Paul made a few mistakes with his campaign launch. He violated copyright rules by using a song without permission so YouTube yanked his video and they spelled Education wrong on their website.
NY Times ~ Thankfully, he has been charged with Murder and has been fired by the Police Department. Will he be convicted? Only time will tell.
Upworthy ~ John Oliver's new show is great. It usually lasts 30 minutes but this week was 45 minutes because he wanted to show the entire Runnian bit. I could hardly believe the stupidity of the average person. Ask them about American Idol, the Voice, any sports team, etc and they could give all the details. Ask them about current affairs and you get a blank stare. Thank you, GW, for the dumbing down of America.
Cartoon ~ Pres. Obama wanted to fix our infrastructure in much the same way. What did our Congress want? They wanted him to fail.
Thanks all, for your thoughts, good wishes, and prayers.
Explains why I was asked who, instead of Schumer, should replace Reid.
I also was glad for Ferguson.
Apparently there also was video footage from a camera on the cop's car. Convicted law enforcement are usually sent to another state's prison for protection.
I wish the cop no more harm than what honest justice can mete out to him. But I have strong doubts that news of the injustice that HE so willfully meted out to Mr. Scott stops at the South Carolina border.