Holiday cheer.

There were more weather related deaths over the weekend in the South than the amount of people killed in the San Bernardino terrorist attack.

That said, I have to wonder if right-wingnuts now still believe that it's a joke to think about climate change as a serious threat to the country.

Something else happened over the weekend that has me wondering why Rham Emanuel still has a job.

"Family members of two people killed by Chicago police during a weekend shooting joined activists Sunday to call for sweeping changes in the way officers interact with the city’s black residents.
“Police are supposed to serve us and protect us, and instead they kill us,” said Janet Cooksey, whose 19-year-old son, Quintonio LeGrier, was shot and killed early Saturday when police were called to his house for a domestic disturbance. “What’s wrong with this picture?”

Bettie Jones, 55, who lived downstairs from LeGrier, also was shot and killed. The officers were responding to a report of a man carrying a bat, and opened fire after LeGrier became combative, Chicago police said in a statement. Jones was shot by accident, authorities said.
The deaths were the first fatal police-involved shootings in Chicago since the release last month of a video showing the 2014 police shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. The video’s release led to a series of demonstrations in the city, including Christmas Eve protests on Michigan Avenue.  

City and church leaders responded to the latest shootings at a news conference and vigil Sunday. They criticized Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s response to police shootings and pushed for changes to the way officers treat residents and are trained to respond to volatile situations." [Source]

The good Mayor has been ignoring  his police department for years and he has failed to take steps to correct their behavior on prior occasions. Frankly, I am surprised that the people of Chicago allowed the problem to fester for this long.

And, with all due respect to Dr. Ben, race does play a role in these poor police decisions.

Finally, another incident over the holidays has me wondering how our Christian brothers and sisters can celebrate the spirit of Christmas by burning the house of worship of members of another  religion.

"A fire caused major damage at a Texas mosque on Friday afternoon, and authorities are calling it somewhat suspicious.

Firefighters shortly arrived on the scene, followed by arson investigators. There was major damage to the inside of the mosque and there were apparently multiple points of origin, suggesting it was arson and not an accident."

I am still waiting on some of the GOP front runners to condemn this act of hate. Because, let's be honest, if this was a Christian church (the exception being a black Christian church of course) burned by people who we suspect to be Muslims, the pontification and condemnation would be endless.

I hope you all will enjoy what's left of your holidays.


*Pic from wnem.com





  




 

The "new Iraq."

"Tupac back, I'm 2 glocks strapped
Rolling down in Philly this the new IraqSoon as I hit the the hood they screaming who got wacked It's a recession on the work, I'm screaming who got crack.."

Sorry Meek Mill, I have to start this post by saying that we have another "new Iraq" here in America. (16 kids under 15 murdered so far this year?!! WTF??!!) It is no longer my hometown of Killadelphia. We have 189 murders so far this year, and in the "new Iraq they have over 255 and counting. Young men are being slaughtered in the streets of America's second largest city, and it is about time some of us start giving a damn. (President Obama this means you as well.) Murders are up 38% so far this year and Mayor Rham Emanuel has no answers.

"More beat officers are now on the streets and staying in specific areas, replacing the large, specialized units that would temporarily drop into crime-ridden areas. Emanuel and McCarthy said they have no plans to change that strategy, and the mayor announced Monday that he's devoting another $4 million to tear down vacant buildings where gang members live and store guns and drugs.

The old tactic of flooding high-crime areas with teams of hundreds of officers for a short period of time, then moving the teams to other areas, was "like putting a band-aid on a gunshot wound," McCarthy said. "We're not repairing anything by doing that."

Emanuel, who has made attacking the city's street gangs a cornerstone of his administration, was equally dismissive of the effectiveness of those citywide units.

"I don't think coming in, swatting something down and letting it come back in two weeks is strengthening a community," he said. "What it does is build up cynicism."

Honestly, I really don't give a damn about the cynicism or the feelings of the people in certain communities. Kids are dying.

The silence of the black press and some of our leaders on this issue has been shameful. With the exception of a few online news outlets, (shout out to Politic 365) no one seems to want to talk about this issue or how we can tackle it.
And, if I am going to be honest, I don't have much room to point fingers. Here in my hometown more kids have Glocks than bicycles and they are killing each other at an alarming rate as well.

I could give you some ideas on how I think we could tackle this problem, but I suspect that it wouldn't do any good. The parents of these urban terrorist are the ones who have to be called out, but some smart mouth lawyer on a blog from Philly isn't going to make them listen. The people they elected to lead them better start stepping up to the plate and being accountable to the people they serve. If it means telling them some uncomfortable truths about themselves and passing some tough laws along the way, well then so be it.

Some other folks who have to face some tough and uncomfortable truths today are the people up in "white hat" nation.  Now that we know that a Catholic church style cover up took place up in "Happy Valley" for at least the past fourteen years, it's time for the folks who worshiped at the altar of Joe Pa to take a serious look at themselves and an even more serious look at the icon who they worshiped for all these years.

Let this be a lesson to all those people who value the power of institutions and money over real people: The truth always comes out in the end.

Finally, I am sure that the main stream media will leave this story alone, but it looks like our guy Flipper might have some splaining to do:

"Republican candidate Mitt Romney was listed as the chairman and CEO of Bain Capital on government documents years after he says he gave up control of the private equity firm, The Boston Globe revealed Thursday in a report that intensified a war of words between the rival campaigns.

Romney has said he left the firm in February 1999 to take charge of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and has repeatedly used that as a defense when asked about bankruptcies and worker layoffs at Bain-controlled companies after that date.

The Globe, however, said it found nine SEC filings that describe Romney as running the company after that point. The report said some indicate he had control of five Bain Capital entities formed in January 2002.

In addition, the newspaper said Massachusetts disclosure forms indicate that Romney made at least $100,000 as a Bain “executive” in 2001 and 2002, apart from his investment earnings. They also show he was paid as a Bain executive while he was directing the Olympics, the Globe reported." [Source]

Move along folks, there is nothing to see here. Just another politician who likes to play fast and loose with the truth on his way to "Etch A Sketching" his way to 1600 Pennsylvania, Avenue.