Paula beats out Dr. King.

I have a lot of friends who live in the Atlanta area. It's a nice city with some good people. But then you think about the state that it is in and you have to step back a little bit. Not the Pistolvania is much better, but as bad as some of the folks are here, I am pretty sure that you would not have the following kind of poll numbers in the Keystone state:

"Paula Deen may have lost support from her sponsors, the Food Network, and much of the public but, according to a recent poll, there’s one area in which she’s still going strong: among Georgia Republicans.

According to Public Policy Polling, the embattled Southern cooking mogul has a whopping 73% favorability rating with Georgia Republicans, even following her recent and well-publicized “fall from grace” involving her past use of racist language.

Deen previously admitted to using the “n-word” during a suit filed by a former employee alleging “violent, sexist, and racist” behavior from both the chef and her brother “Bubba.” She also received strong criticism for her expressed desire to have a “Southern plantation-style” theme wedding for her brother complete with all-black waitstaff, apparently harkening back to the days of slavery in the American South. Following this admission, and the ensuing controversy, the Food Network (which airs her show Paula’s Home Cooking) and numerous other businesses have ceased relations with the chef.

The real kicker here is that, according to the PPP, her favorability is markedly higher than another famous southerner –Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He garnered 59% favorability among self-identified Republicans in the state." [Source]

Hmmm, 73% for the racist Queen of fried chicken and 59% for Dr. King. Kind of why I am keeping as far away from that republican tent as possible. No wonder their minority outreach isn't going too well.

Finally, I am glad to see Eric Holder's Justice Department reviewing the Ramarley Graham case up in New York. What happened to that young man was just wrong. Shot in his own home by a New York police officer who claims that he feared for his own life. Of course the young man was unarmed, and the officers kicked in his door and initiated the confrontation.

A Judge in New York dismissed manslaughter charges against the officer and he is now free to go back to the streets and do his thing.

"There was something haunting about the moment in the Bronx courtroom when the decision was announced regarding the charges against the police officer who shot and killed Ramarley Graham. As the judge dismissed the manslaughter charges against the officer, Constance Malcolm, the mother of the dead 18-year-old, shrieked in grief and shouted so heatedly at the judge that she was removed from the courtroom.

“I am angry and cannot express my feelings alone,” she said, speaking to reporters afterward. “I am ready to take it to the streets and the highest of the highest. Please be prepared for a major protest.” She was later hospitalized after the emotion of the experience.

Acting Justice Steven Barrett, of the State Supreme Court of New York, said in his ruling that the prosecution failed to give precise instructions to the grand jury that indicted Richard Haste, the police officer who faced manslaughter charges.

The judge further explained that the members of the grand jury were not provided sufficient information that Haste had been told that the teenage Graham might have been carrying a weapon. “With not great pleasure, I’m obliged in this case to dismiss the charges.”

There remains a huge problem here. An 18-year-old young man is now dead, killed by an overzealous police officer who soon discovered that Graham was unarmed. With the justice’s decision, no one has yet been held accountable for the death of this young man." [Source]

Sound familiar?