Hoodies for sale, and is there justice for women and children in Florida?

A-merry-cans are such a loving bunch, and they are also very creative.

"A shooting range target of a person in a hoodie with cross hairs on the chest, a bag of Skittles tucked in a pocket and a hand holding a can resembling iced tea was pulled from an online sales site, a Florida TV news station reports, but not before raising concerns of its connection with teen shooting victim Trayvon Martin.

Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder charges. He initially told investigators he shot Martin in self-defense.

WKMG Local 6's story said in an email exchange with reporter Mike DeForest that the unidentified seller wrote, "My main motivation was to make money off the controversy." The seller did not disclose how many paper targets were made, but said in an email, "The response is overwhelming. I sold out in 2 days."

Some of those targets were sold to two Florida gun dealers, according to the seller.

According to an advertisement for the targets posted on a popular firearms auction website, the sellers stated they "support Zimmerman and believe he is innocent and that he shot a thug," [Source]

I hope that these Neanderthals don't think that they are actually helping their boy's case.

"This is the highest level of disgust and the lowest level of civility," Zimmerman's attorney Mark O'Mara said in the news piece. "It's this type of hatred—that's what this is, it's hate-mongering—that's going to make it more difficult to try this case."

The attorney is also concerned the targets will further inflame the community."

Yes my sheet loving friends, you might want to wait until after the trial to show your ignorance.

I really have to wonder what is going on down there in Florida. A woman is about to get 20 years for standing her ground against an abusive husband, and if you are the parent of a black child...well

"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: M. Henry, 704-***-****

libertyjustice2012@gmail.com

FLORIDA’S APPEAL COURT UPHOLDS CRIMINAL CONVICTION OF 13 YEAR OLD BLACK CHILD FOR NOT TELLING A WHITE OFFICER HER NAME

Orlando, Florida May 4, 2012. The salient facts of M.H-R’s case are outlined in the attached Petition for Writ of Certiorari, filed in the Supreme Court of the United States on April 26, 2012. The Supreme Court is this child’s last hope to find the Justice that has eluded her for 2 ½ years. This announcement is intended to bring public scrutiny to her unlawful arrest, prosecution and violations of her First, Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights as guaranteed to every American. Every person who values the principles of democracy and protections of the American Constitution is urged to support our petition that Florida Statute § 843.02 is unconstitutional. M.H-R was charged with "obstruction" for not providing her name when she was stopped by police for intelligence gathering.

The State’s actions were not based on Constitutional privilege, legal precedent or statutory authority. Rather, these actions were clearly biased and intended to intimidate, harass, and deny her due process under the law. The government of Florida used its considerable power and vast resources to divest M.H-R of her civil rights and to deny her what every American is entitled to as a matter of law—freedom from unreasonable searches, seizure, and to be treated fairly and impartially in the administration of justice. There is no legal or moral justification for the State’s actions.

The adverse consequences of bullying a child are well established. Whether a child is bullied by other children or at the hands of the government, the consequences are devastating. She has been grievously injured as a result of her arrest, prosecution and conviction. She endured significant punishment, fear, and intimidation for asserting her rights. When she was arrested on Halloween 2009, she had committed no crime under any Florida law. The ramifications of the State’s interaction with this child should be equally troubling and repulsive to all Americans.

This child and her family yearns for the wisdom, peace and understanding to know what was legal, just or proper about the State’s actions and its consequences. The consequences of Florida’s actions include:

• A significant amount of money wasted in seeking Justice that never came

• An illegal arrest which caused physical and psychological injuries to a child

• An illegal sentence that was harsh and improper for a 13 year old child

• Harassment from the Department of Juvenile Justice occurred at her small Christian private school, wherein she was removed from class during final exams for questioning

• Unprecedented legal proceedings against her, causing excessive absences from school resulting in the child falling behind in her studies

• Denied the opportunity to leave the state of Florida and when her grandfather died on her birthday she was not able to attend his funeral

• Arrested, transported in shackles, handcuffs and detained for more than 21 days without an adjudicatory hearing

• Appearance in Court proceedings in an orange jail jumpsuit

• A criminal conviction despite no legal, statutory or Constitutional authority"

Thank you Marie, I hope you don't mind me posting your Writ.

Please keep me informed.

A sad day for child stars and bullies.

This is truly a sad day for the kid. Now I know what little kids feel like when they are told that there is no Santa Claus. Most of you who have been following me for awhile now know that I have a thing for a certain former child star. In fact, one of the reasons for this blog was to try and blow up enough so that she would take notice of me and reach out so that a brotha could put a major check off on his "bucket list".

Anywhoo, tonight I was slapped in the face by very cruel guy called reality. Lark, I am officially calling off my quest to find you. (You guys can lay off me on twitter now.) I know that pictures sometimes lie, but sorry Lark, I cannot turn a blind eye to the facts any longer: you are just not who you used to be.

Finally, I am not surprised to read that Flipper was a bully back in the day. Flipper said he just did some "dumb things". I guess none of his victims went out and killed themselves, so Mitt will probably take that as a win.

"WASHINGTON -- Mitt Romney made a surprise appearance on Fox host Brian Kilmeade's radio show Thursday morning to respond to a lengthy Washington Post story on his time as a prep-school prankster and occasional bully of closeted gay students.

"They talk about the fact that I played a lot of pranks in high school," Romney said. "And they describe some that you just say to yourself, back in high school I just did some dumb things and if anybody was hurt by that or offended by it, obviously I apologize."

“I participated in a lot of hijinks and pranks during high school and some might have gone too far and for that, I apologize," he added.

It's never quite clear whether a politician's high school years are fair game for political attacks. Romney suggested during the interview that the acts he was apologizing for were merely youthful indiscretions; the Post described him pinning a closeted gay classmate to the ground and cutting his long hair, for example. But with the story suggesting latent homophobia in an adolescent Romney and with President Barack Obama having endorsed same-sex marriage on Wednesday, the piece reverberated." [Source]

As it should have. Honestly, the more you hear about this guy is the scarier he seems.

The family dog on the roof? No big deal. Bully Gay classmate? No big deal. Make fun of disabled teacher? No big deal. Callously fire people from their jobs? No big deal. And on and on it goes.

"Asked if he has any doubt that what Romney did could be considered bullying, Maxwell responded, “Oh my god, are you kidding?… I castigated myself regularly for not having intervened. I would have felt a lot better about myself had I said hey, enough.”

“When I saw the look on his (Lauber’s) face, it was a look I’ll never forget,” said Maxwell. “When you see a victim, the sense of trust betrayed in this boy who was perfectly innocent for being different.”
“This was bullying supreme,” he said." [Source]

"I did some stupid things when I was in high school."

No Flipper bullying someone who is different is not just a "stupid thing." Playing drinking games is "stupid". This kind of thing causes young people to take their own lives. It's a little more than just "stupid".

Flipper, I am glad you apologized. Sadly, the kid you bullied in high school will not hear your apology; he died in 2004.









    

This "race war" will not be televised.

"Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace"
~Dalai Lama~

Years from now a new generation of Americans will look at this age we are living in as one of the most regressive and backwards time in our history. Yes I know we elected an African American to be our president, (albeit a half one) but that might have been the catalyst that is helping to take us back to the dark ages.

Yesterday in North Carolina the citizens of that state voted for an amendment to their state's constitution declaring that marriage should be between a man and a woman. ---Yes, because marriage between a man and a woman in those Southern states have been working out so beautifully. Not!

Of course these types of events should come as no surprise to us. Not when almost half of republican voters in one state believe that Loving V. Virginia was decided the wrong way.  I suspect that these are the same types of people who keep preparing for the coming race war. (Great, a brotha can't even go to Disney World anymore without having to worry about  some Deliverance type dude with an AK-47 trying to split his wig. BTW, FOX calls them a "civil rights" group.)

In a way, it has already started. Most of you just don't know it yet. But the folks who control the narrative in this country certainly do, and they use it to play on the fears of the naive and innocent without them even knowing it. (h/t Tia)
And don't expect so called scholars and journalist to call it out. Most of them have already chosen which side they are on.

So anyway, with all of this as a backdrop, it was nice to see O come out in support of marriage equality. ---Better late than never I guess-- Although we all know that this was part political calculation and part conscience. He says he is "evolving." That's fine. Whatever it takes to get you there, O. At least you are there now. The folks on the other side will have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21 Century. It could be awhile. Look how long it took them to recognize us black folks as citizens.

“I have the same view on marriage that I had when I was governor and that I expressed many times. I believe marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman,” Romney told reporters and about 30 supporters at an appearance with Republican Gov. Mary Fallin...Romney called same-sex marriage a “tender and sensitive topic,” and he acknowledged that not everyone agrees with him. Decisions about hospital-visitation rights and other benefits should be determined by the states, he said. “But my view is that marriage itself is a relationship between a man and a woman.”

"Should be determined by the states"? Hmmm, where have I heard that before?


   

   



        

Putting the brakes on obesity, and catching the world's fastest man.

I wonder if my right wing friends who make fun of Michelle Obama (Rush even called her a "big fat hypocrite") for pushing a an anti obesity message realize that we could save a lot of money in health care costs if A-merry-cans would just push away that extra slice of pizza, and get off the damn sofa?

"Even if the skyrocketing rates of obesity level off, 42 percent of Americans will be obese and 11 percent will be severely obese by the year 2030, a new report predicts.

That means 32 million more people will be tipping the scales in the wrong direction, costing the country billions, according to the study, appearing online May 7 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

The (slightly) good news is that the number of people becoming obese may not be increasing as much as previously thought.

"There's some evidence that the curves of increase in obesity may have changed and, at best, may be a plateau," Dr. William Dietz, director of the division of nutrition, physical activity and obesity at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a Monday news conference. "[But] we still have a very serious problem."

The computer model devised by report author Eric Finkelstein and his colleagues also predicted that the prevalence of severe obesity would more than double from 5 percent to 11 percent.

If these new estimates prove true, obesity will cost the country some $550 billion, the report stated. [Source]

Weight Watchers supposedly wants to pay Jessica Simpson millions to get with their program. Maybe they could do us all a favor and pitch a deal to
Rush as well. I am sure that he would try to set a good example to all of his followers if the price was right.

Finally, I love my man Usain Bolt, he seems like good people, and I know for a fact that he is doing some good things on the rock.

But yawdie yu pun yu own wit dis ya one ya.

"His arm around her waist, sprinter Usain Bolt and his latest girlfriend are the picture of togetherness.
The world’s fastest man has been dating fashion designer Lubica Slovak for six months and the relationship is described as ‘very serious’.
A friend of 28-year-old Miss Slovak declared: ‘Love has no race – it’s a heart to heart connection.

But 25-year-old Bolt has come in for criticism from fellow black Jamaicans unhappy that he has chosen a white partner. " tipping slowly away* [Source]


 

"Incontinent Speeches", and those racist anonymous trolls.

I have been reading and hearing about these empty seats at Obama's kick- off in Ohio, recently. George Will had a snarky remark about O's ego and why there were empty seats at the event. Trudy Rubin wrote about it in her daily Romney Talking Points section, and wingnut radio hosts like Hugh Hewitt cant stop chirping about how his Oness is in trouble because of his poor start.

Anyway, I keep looking at that picture of Flipper's stadium debut, and I can't help but wonder what type of gas they put in the ventilation system in conservative homes. Whatever it is must have them seeing into some type of  parallel universe. Because, unless I am missing something, that bad boy is EMPTY!

Can you imagine if O had opened to a crowd like that?

The sad thing is that the national press is playing right along. I guess they will do anything to not appear to be in the tank for O. In sports we call this a make up call.

Still, if I was a wingnut I wouldn't start measuring the curtains at 1600 Pennsylvania, Avenue just yet. To stay with the sports metaphor: we are just in the first quarter. There is a lot of playing left to do.

Finally, I read an interesting article by Latoya Livingston and Kenneth Mallory from the online MMTC news letter.

They talk about something that we know all too well about on this blog, and what drives it.*

"It happens all too often: We read an interesting article and feel compelled to add our two cents about the topic, so we scroll down to the comments section only to be faced with a barrage of hate. Arguably, most people who write articles would love for their work to be a catalyst for discussion and learning. Unfortunately, many journalists have found the opposite, their words being a springboard for racists and Internet trolls to graffiti their work with odium.

According to digital scholar Vint Cerf, "The Internet is a reflection of our society and that mirror is going to be reflecting what we see. If we do not like what we see in that mirror the problem is not to fix the mirror, we have to fix society." But is this true? Are the vile words of so many on the Internet true representations of American society? And what effect does that have on minority broadband adoption and their desire to allow access to this type of expression into their home?

Several online events seem to call into question Cerf's remarks by forcing many to ask whether the Internet can engender racism not seen during day to day "real world" interactions.

Many have expressed outrage and shock at what they contend are racist comments made online regarding minorities portrayed in and producing popular media. These expressions of hate, from tweets to comments, which would never have been voiced in public or "mixed-company," thrive on the Internet"..[More]

Yes, "But if a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around to hear it, did it really make a sound?" Look, I know they are out there, but I actually think that the racist and ignorant among us do more damage in the real world than they do on the Internet.  

Now once they start acting on their Internet urges we might have a problem.

Still, at least the Internet lets us know that they are out there, and that things aren't always what they seem. 

* Pic from MMTC Broadband&SocialJustice.org   

   

Mr. Grenell's reality check.

I remember back in the day when I was a youngster trying to work my way into the A-merry-can political scene. I wasn't so much of an ideologue back then. My mind was pretty much still open to new ideas and ways of doing things politically.

So when a friend of mine, who happens to be one of those rare black republicans, (Shout out to GG!) asked me if I wanted to go to their convention in New Orleans, I hesitated at first but still went for it.

Folks, I am here to tell you that there is a reason why the republican tent is so small. Trust me when I tell you that they kind of like it that way. I will give you that this was the late eighties, but still, if looks could kill I wouldn't be here today. I don't care how much progress wingnuts claim they have made, you will never catch my black ass at such an event again. Ever!

Anyway I gave you that little vignette because I want to talk about  Richard Grenell for a minute. Mr. Grenell is one of these guys who believes that he can fit into that republican tent even though he is openly Gay. Sadly for Richard, he is under the illusion that just because he thinks like they do the [right] wingnuts will accept him. They will not. I saw that up close and personal as a black man walking around the Louisiana Superdome in 1988.

"Richard Grenell, whom Mitt Romney chose last month as his presidential campaign’s national security and foreign policy spokesman, stepped down from his post Tuesday, suggesting that the conservative backlash over his sexuality prevented him from being effective in his role.

In a statement provided to The Washington Post, Grenell, who is openly gay, said: “While I welcomed the challenge to confront President Obama’s foreign policy failures and weak leadership on the world stage, my ability to speak clearly and forcefully on the issues has been greatly diminished by the hyper-partisan discussion of personal issues that sometimes comes from a presidential campaign.” He added: “I want to thank Governor Romney for his belief in me and my abilities and his clear message to me that being openly gay was a non-issue for him and his team.” [Source]

Richard, don't blame the fact that you are getting the business for being Gay from your wingnut friends on the "presidential campaign". You might want to take a look at the people who are attacking you, personally. They are not liberals or democrats; they are your ideological soul-mates who are right there under the tent with you, and they want you out.

Remember that old joke that us black folks like to tell about a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders? Well you belong with us chickens.





         

   

The other team in town was once called the "Niggerbockers".

So, let me see if I get this straight, you go on a racist rant, and you defend your idiotic comments by saying that the person you ranted about is a misogynist and a racist himself.
OK Mr.Mushnick, I get that you are with the New York Post, which automatically doesn't make you too bright in my book. But you don't address a problem by showing the world that you are on the wrong side of a larger one.

"NY Post sportswriter Phil Mushnick is firing back at critics after he suggested that the Nets should be renamed “The New York N—–s” in honor of co-owner Jay-Z.

Why the Brooklyn Nets when they can be the New York N——s? The cheerleaders could be the Brooklyn B—-hes or Hoes. Team logo? A 9 mm with hollow-tip shell casings strewn beneath. Wanna be Jay-Z hip? Then go all the way!

After Twitter blew up over the piece, including comments from high profile figures like Questlove of The Roots, Mushnick did not back down. He claimed his work was “mischaracterized,” and that he was not supporting the racist language, but criticizing Jay-Z for profiting “from the worst and most sustaining self-enslaving stereotypes of black-American culture.” [Source]

The sad thing about this is that Mushnick would actually have a point worthy of discussion if he didn't go about making it in this way. There are elements surrounding rap and Hip Hop that needs to be checked and called out.
I just don't think that this is how we do it.  

But this is where we are in A-merry-ca these days, it's actually kind of chic in some circles (yes wingnuts, I am talking to you) to show your ignorance and lack of sensitivity by dropping the N word for effect. This will actually make you a hero in some circles. (Watch, Mr. Mushnick will be all over the news network for dummies really soon.)

We might also want to keep in mind that Jay- Z is an entertainer. Yes, entertainers make movies, and they sing songs with racy and controversial lyrics. And, of course, entertainers also make money, which allows them to buy an interest in sports teams.

Honestly, I suspect that Mr. Mushnick's problem is with the fact that a young black man from the projects of New York can actually have a major ownership stake in a sports team. This clown is a sportswriter who is probably not even making six figures, and he makes his living in a culture where team ownership is at the very top of the pecking order.

Yes Mr. Mushnick, I know that you are not supporting "the racist language", you are just using it to make a point.

Well I think that I speak for most black people in A-merry-ca when I say that we got your point loud and clear. (h/t to Paula for hipping me to this story.)

Mitt reaches for a new low, and the charter hustle

I am trying to remember if there was ever a slimier and more contemptible poli-trickster who ran for the highest office in the land than Flipper. Honestly, the guy might be worse than Dick Nixon.

He actually thought that it was necessary to try to exploit the situation with that blind dissident in China to score political points.

Just a couple of days ago Flipper said the following:

"If these reports are true, this is a dark day for freedom and it's a day of shame for the Obama administration.... We are a place of freedom, here and around the world, and we should stand up and defend freedom wherever it is under attack." [Source]

Flipper said this while the United States was feverishly trying to negotiate an agreement with the Chinese for the man's exit to the West. Now, as it turns out, all might be well that ends well.  

By running off at the mouth, Flipper and his friends might have caused this man and his family their lives. But the life of some poor blind guy in China who likes to call out his own government is worth nothing to these people. The only thing that matters is power and money, and they will do whatever it takes to get it.

I bet that even poor Chen Guangcheng could see that.

Finally, more evidence that republicans care more about dollars than the lives of the citizens they are supposed to be looking out for. (h/t to Jose Vilson for reminding me to blog about this story)

Here in Pistolvania we are having an educational crisis thanks to the charter school system that has been bought and paid for by special interest groups in Harrisburg. And, in case you were wondering, I am not letting his Oness  and his peeps off the hook, either. Because, they too, seem to be somewhat complicit in this charter school scam that is being perpetrated on the citizens of my state.  

The for profit private charter schools that our governor has been promoting to educate our children have been...wait for it....wait for it... no different, and in some cases, worse than the public schools that they are supposed to be replacing. Having these schools have had a devastating effect on poorer school districts, and because of all the money and influence involved there is no end in sight.

But here is the elephant in the room, and the dirty little secret that no one will talk about: Until we address the real problem with failing schools, which is not the teachers and the school house, but the homes and environment that these little rugrats are coming from; nothing will really change.

I suspect that these hustlers promoting charter schools know this, but sadly, to them, this is just another way to make a dollar. Let's call it the charter hustle.

  



   





 

Yasin Harvey is also dead.

It looks like the wingnut neo-Nazis are going to have one less soldier for the looming race war.

Thankfully, Jason Todd Ready can now join the rest of his pals in hell.

Anyway, I am pretty sure that most of you reading this have never heard of Yasin Harvey. That's understandable because unlike you know who, he wasn't killed by some Hispanic or white dude profiling him because of his race. Sadly, I am pretty sure that Yasin Harvey was shot and killed last night by someone who looks just like he does.

The thing is, the person who shot and killed Yasin Harvey deserves our wagging fingers, righteous anger, and all the public indignation as well. Yasin harvey's life was just as precious as you know who, and his death is every bit as tragic.

"Police say an innocent teenage boy died Thursday morning after being shot in what police say could be a case of mistaken identity.

The shooting happened shortly after 9 Wednesday night at the intersection of 62nd and Callowhill Streets.

Yasin Harvey, 16, and some friends were running an errand for a sick family member and walking out a corner store when a car pulled up and fired numerous shots, police said.

The University City High School freshman was struck four times. He was taken in critical condition to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He died Thursday morning at the hospital, police said.

Investigators say the shooting was likely a case of mistaken identity -- that Harvey wasn't the target." [Source]  

It wasn't a case of "mistaken identity". The shooter took aim at a young man and took his life. It doesn't matter if he wanted to kill Yasin Harvey or some person he was "beefing" with. Another mother has lost her child. The fact that the shooter was "mistaken" won't bring him back.

Finally, I want to share a story with you from my local paper and I want to know your opinion. Here goes:

"He dreams often of suffocating, choking as he wakes, unable to catch his breath. He keeps a knife tucked into his waistband almost always, a desperate defense against horrors he can easily imagine because he says he has lived them. He hesitates to get into anyone’s car, unwilling to surrender control to the person behind the wheel. He has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and paranoia.

Although five years have passed since the incident that changed his life, his torment doesn’t end because his tormentor is still out there.
In uniform.

Although Philadelphia Police Officer Michael Paige was arrested and fired in 2007 for allegedly forcing Harris to perform oral sex on him in his police cruiser in Fairmount Park, Paige is back on the force, patrolling the streets of West Philadelphia. Paige dodged conviction, despite DNA evidence proving that a sexual encounter had occurred, because the judge accused Harris of playing the victim after consensual sex.

Harris remains haunted by his past. But he hopes he’ll begin to see relief next week. After filing a federal civil-rights lawsuit against Paige and the city in 2008, his case goes to trial Monday.

“I just want somebody to just simply say this disease did what he did,” said Harris, 34, of North Philadelphia. “If I were a young white girl, he would have been hammered, nailed to the cross. Because I’m a young black male and he’s a cop, they believed him.”

Brian Puricelli, the attorney representing Paige, declined to comment Wednesday, saying he didn’t want to try his case in the press. Paige, 45, a National Guard drill sergeant who was reached Wednesday while on military leave from the Police Department, defended his actions that night as “explainable” but also declined to comment specifically, saying: “I believe you would better learn [the details] by coming to the trial.”

The saga started in the early hours of March 16, 2007, when Harris went with a friend to the Belmont Plateau, where they parked to smoke marijuana and hang out after a late-season snowstorm.

About 2 a.m., Paige pulled up in his marked police cruiser.
Things immediately got weird, Harris said.

Harris said that Paige directed him to sit in the front passenger seat of his cruiser while he looked over his vehicle paperwork and questioned him about his sexual preferences, Harris said. He then told Harris to take his friend home and return to the park, withholding Harris’ car registration and insurance papers to ensure his complicity, according to Harris and detectives who later investigated the incident. Back at the park, Harris said, Paige directed him back into the front passenger seat of his cruiser and then drove past a locked gate deep into the wooded park.

He parked, scooched down his pants and underwear and then turned to Harris, pushing Harris’ head down to his exposed crotch, Harris said. He then forced unprotected oral sex on Harris three times, according to Harris and court paperwork.

“The whole time, I just felt like I wanted to die. I still feel that way,” Harris said this week.

After a while, the cop climbed out of the cruiser and walked a short distance to urinate, leaving the keys in the ignition and his gun on the seat, Harris said.
Harris was sorely tempted to escape. But he didn’t. Fear paralyzed him.
“I knew he’s crazy. Only a crazy person could do what he’s done. I just knew he gonna do what he want to. He gonna kill me,” Harris said.

Instead, Harris said, the officer returned to the cruiser and then delivered Harris back to his car. As Harris pulled away from the park, nausea set in. He grabbed a cup leftover from a recent meal and spat into it as he sped home. He reported the incident to authorities the next morning.

An internal-affairs investigation ensued, and DNA tests linked the cup’s contents to Paige. Detectives determined “nonconsensual sexual activity” occurred, and Commissioner Sylvester Johnson fired Paige in May 2007.

By the end of the year, the case was in criminal court. But Judge Anthony DeFino acquitted Paige of kidnapping, indecent sexual contact and related offenses. Paige never took the stand, and the judge said he believed the encounter was consensual.

“The victim was treated like a criminal. This was a miscarriage of justice. If these were two civilians, there would have been a different verdict,” said Harris’ attorney, Brian Humble." [More]

Serious analysis, please.

   

Those dangerous super soakers and wingnut propagandist.

I know that folks think that I go out and look for stuff to use in order to pick on my wingnut friends, but I really don't. Sometimes this stuff just comes to me. All I have to do is pick up the paper and read.

"In the politically-charged and likely protest-filled streets of Tampa, Fla., during the Republican National Convention in August, water guns will be strictly prohibited. Concealed handguns, on the other hand, will be perfectly legal.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott said this week that banning handguns from downtown Tampa during the convention, as the city's Mayor Bob Buckhorn requested, "would surely violate the Second Amendment."

"It is unclear how disarming law-abiding citizens would better protect them from the dangers and threats posed by those who would flout the law," Scott said in a letter to Buckhorn Tuesday, emphasizing the words "law-abiding." "It is at just such times that the constitutional right of self defense is most precious and must be protected from government overreach."

Buckhorn said today that he was "disappointed" by Scott's decision, but that the city will "plan and train accordingly."

Tampa officials are expecting thousands of protesters to descend on the Florida metropolis for the GOP convention. While no handguns will be allowed inside the convention, which is being protected by the Secret Service, concealed carry license-holders will be able to carry their weapons in the streets surrounding the convention.

They will not, however, be able to have "super soaker" water guns, sticks, poles, portable shields or glass bottles.

Buckhorn said last month that the state law, which prohibits the city from temporarily banning handguns, makes the city "look silly" because officials can prohibit water guns but not real ones.." [Source]

I guess that to my wingnuts friends, a little water can be a dangerous thing.

Finally, you can thank a wingnut blogger named Matt Drudge for the non- stories you will be hearing about O over the next few months leading up to the 2012 elections. (Dude looks like he should be registered as a sex offender. Don't sue me Matt. You will lose.) In case you were wondering, Mr. Drudge is a hack for the Romney campaign and he feeds FOX NEWS and the rest of the GOP their talking points every day. The sad thing is that Mr. Drudge has a knack for making a mountain out of a molehill. And, in some cases, creating the illusion of a mountain where there really is none.

This latest story is a perfect example:

"Above is a screen-shot of DrudgeReport.com earlier today, *see insert* linking to a story about President Obama’s past. Pretty exciting stuff: “Obama Admits Fabricating Girlfriend in Memoir.”

Those who jumped on that link reached a Politico story with this headline: “Obama: ‘New York girlfriend’ was composite.” That piece was a work of aggregation, based on the new Vanity Fair book excerpt of David Maraniss’s “Barack Obama: The Story.”

The excerpt plumbs Obama’s romance with Genevieve Cook, a woman he’d met at a party in 1983. Maraniss goes deep into the relationship, with some able assistance from Cook’s journal entries. One of them reads:

Today, for the first time, Barack sat on the edge of the bed — dressed — blue jeans and luscious ladies on his chest [a comfy T-shirt depicting buxom women], the end of the front section of the Sunday Times in his hand, looking out the window, and the quality of light reflected from his eyes, windows of the soul, heart, and mind, was so clear, so unmasked, his eyes narrower than he usually holds them looking out the window, usually too aware of me.

Though Obama references this relationship in his memoir “Dreams From My Father,” he doesn’t name Cook. Maraniss addresses this omission in the Vanity Fair excerpt:

Decades later, during an interview in the Oval Office, Obama acknowledged that, while Genevieve was his New York girlfriend, the description in his memoir was a “compression” of girlfriends, including one who followed Genevieve when he lived in Chicago.

Politico hopped on the matter, with media reporter Dylan Byers writing, in part: “But Obama has now told biographer David Maraniss that the ‘New York girlfriend’ was actually a composite character, based off of multiple girlfriends he had both in New York City and in Chicago.”

Keep reading.

"Okay, but way back Obama told the whole world that characters in that book were composites. From the introduction to “Dreams From My Father”: “For the sake of compression, some of the characters that appear are composites of people I’ve known, and some events appear out of precise chronology. With the exception of my family and a handful of public figures, the names of most characters have been changed for the sake of privacy.”

In other words, there’s nothing at all surprising about this composite thing.
Byers defends the value of his post: “The news that the ‘New York girlfriend’ is a composite character is new. Though Obama acknowledges the use of composite characters in his introduction, he does not specify which characters he is referring to. It thus seemed like a relevant item.” An update and correction to the post clarify that it initially overplayed the story by leaving out a critical detail:

UPDATE: In the reissue of “Dreams from My Father,” Obama writes in the introduction that “some of the characters that appear are composites of people I’ve known.”

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this blog post stated that Obama had acknowledged using composite characters in the reissue. In fact, Obama acknowledged the use of composite characters in the first edition of the book...

Obama’s shortcut of constructing composites was a lame and lazy way to put together a memoir. But if you signal to the reader that it’s the route you’re taking, it’s no lie. If recent history is any guide, however, we’ll be hearing the echo from this Politico-to-Drudge handoff for years to come." [Source]

You forgot one Mr. Wemple: "Politico-to- Drudge"-to Fox News.

Now that's more like it.




     

A secret trip to Afghanistan and a not so secret trip to Negromerica.

O made a secret -and surprise- trip to Afghanistan and gave a "win one for the Gipper" speech to the troops.  (That sound you hear is wingnut heads exploding. I think he is "spiking the football" in the end zone. )"I could not be prouder of you...there is a light on the horizon because of the sacrifice you have made". Good for you, O. The troops needed a pep talk from their CIC.

Unfortunately, it looks like we will be in Afghanistan for at least two more years. That is not what I wanted to hear. One more day in Afghanistan is one day too much as far as I am concerned, so I will have to jump off the O train when it comes to his Afghan policy.

But enough of all this foreign policy talk. Let's talk about a little national politics.

Did you know that President Obama won the election because he is black?

 "He was a historic figure. He’s our first African-American president. The country voted for him because of that. It made us feel good about [our]self. I’ve said it before, it helped that John McCain was about 142 years old. It helped that the economy was tanking. A lot of these things helped. But he never would have gotten there without his historic nature. " [Source]

Yes, because God forbid a black man actually got something on merit.

I love these comments:

" Never happened to the good old days when being black wasn't so cool? I bet they miss slavery, Jim Crowe, the 50's...Good times...Good times...

· 95% of blacks voted AGAINST Jessie Jackson, Al Sharpton, Alan Keyes, Shirley Chisolm, Lenora Fulani, in favor of Carter, Mondale, Kerry, and Gore. Those are the facts....

· So Obama won because he was black ? Is it safe to assume that the 43 white president won because they weren't ?

· I'd rather be elected because I was black; than be elected because I lied about being a dead-beat dad.

· Boehner was only elected speaker of the house because he's orange.

· thought Clinton was the first black President. Obama is the first white black President.

· We elected 1 black guy because he's black ? Why did we elect 43 white men in a row ?

Yes, because every other Black person who's run for President has been extremely successful!

We all fondly look back on the Presidencies of Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Alan Keyes, Carol Moseley Braun, Cynthia McKinney, and Herman Cain, right?

I mean that's all you need to be is Black, right?

Black folks vote for Black folks right? Who cares if John Kerry got 90% of the Black vote in 2004? That must mean he's a secret Black!"

Oh yes, there is that "dead beat" thing. Isn't this the guy who owes his wife over $117,000.00 for child support? Owed field. He settled with her.

Well that explains it. No wonder he is chirping off about O's race. There is nothing like clearing up those child support issues to help you get your voice back.

Anywhoo, I took a trip to Negromerica today, and I have some thoughts:

First, you Negroes need to stop sending your children off to school with soda pop and potato chips. That is not a "breakfast of champions". No wonder your kids can't learn in school.

Second, it's called a child safety seat for a reason. If you have a damn toddler in your car they should be strapped into a child safety seat. Their little bodies need all the protection they can get in case of a sudden impact. This device really doesn't cost that much. I see some of you with handbags that are worth twice as much. Invest a little of that money into your child's safety.

Third, why are there so many satellite dishes? It seems like every other house in Negromerica has a satellite dish. That cannot be a good thing.  

Finally, if I ever get elected to city council, the first bill I will introduce will be one limiting the amount of churches and liquor stores within certain areas.

Why? Because driving through Negromerica you would think that all Negroes do is drink and pray.