Mannix is an American television detective series that ran from 1967 to 1975 on CBS. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller, the title character, Joe Mannix, is a private investigator. He is played by Mike Connors. Mannix was the last series produced by Desilu Productions.
During the first season of the series Joe Mannix worked for a large Los Angeles detective agency called Intertect, which was the planned original title of the show.[1] His superior was Lew Wickersham, played by Joseph Campanella with the agency featuring the use of computers to help solve crimes. As opposed to the other employees who must wear dark suits and sit in rows of desks with only one piece of paper allowed to be on their desk at one time, Mannix belongs to the classic American detective archetype and thus usually ignores the computers’ solutions, disobeys his boss’s orders and sets out to do things his own way. He wears plaid sport coats and has his own office that he keeps sloppy between his assignments. Lew has cameras in all the rooms of Intertect monitoring the performance of his employees and providing instant feedback through intercoms in the room. Unlike the other Intertect operatives, Mannix attempts to block the camera with a coat rack and insults Lew, comparing him to Big Brother.
To improve the ratings of the show, Desilu head Lucille Ball and the producer Bruce Geller brought in some changes[2] making the show similar to other private eye shows. Lucille Ball thought the computers were too high tech and beyond comprehension for the average viewer of the time and had them removed.[3]
From the second season on, Mannix worked on his own with the assistance of his loyal secretary Peggy Fair, a police officer’s widow played by Gail Fisher – one of the first African-American actresses to have a regular series role. He also has assistance from the L.A. police department, the two most prominent officers being Lieutenant Art Malcolm (portrayed by Ward Wood) and Lieutenant Adam Tobias (portrayed by Robert Reed). Other police contacts were Lieutenant George Kramer (Larry Linville), who had been the partner of Peggy’s late husband,[4] and Lieutenant Dan Ives (Jack Ging).
LOL
Misty Copeland, Ashley Murphy & Ebony Williams Cover ‘Pointe,’ Proving Black Ballerinas Rock
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/02/black-ballerinas-misty-copeland-pointe-magazine-june-july-2014_n_5255148.html?utm_hp_ref=black-voices
simply beautiful
Beautiful.
Yes; they are, and they are accomplished ballerina’s. Now what reason would they not be given lead roles in their dance companies?
Belle’ star Gugu Mbatha-Raw proud of film’s diversity behind the scenes
by Carrie Healey | May 2, 2014 at 1:40 PM
Belle star Gugu Mbatha-Raw sat down with theGrio and said that she was surprised last year’s Cheerios commercial featuring an interracial couple and their biracial daughter sparked backlash online.
Cheerios commercial featuring interracial couple receives racist backlash
The young actress said she was surprised that people found the commercial to be controversial.
“I thought that that was somewhat outdated,” said Mbatha-Raw in regards to the backlash that was generated. “But perhaps not, and perhaps that’s why we need to continue telling those stories.”
Mbatha-Raw also explained the many components of the film that make it so relatable, even to her personally. She said she relates to it especially since director Amma Asante, writer Misan Sagay and herself as the lead are all women of color.
The 30-year-old stars as Dido Belle Lindsay, a young woman who was born illegitimately to a Royal Navy Admiral, Captain Sir John Lindsay (Matthew Goode).
http://thegrio.com/2014/05/02/belle-women-color-director-writer-lead/
Stop calling Clarence Thomas an ‘Uncle Tom’
By Jonathan Capehart
May 2 at 11:53 am
If you want to get under my skin, I mean, really just go there with me, call me or any other African American man an “Uncle Tom.” As Dexter Mullins wrote in a piece for The Grio a few years ago, “Short of dropping the n-bomb on someone, there are few things more insulting to many African Americans than being called an ‘Uncle Tom.’”
Sure, the n-bomb is a kick in the groin. But being called a “Tom” is a kick in the stomach. Every black man you know, at one time or another, has been branded an “Uncle Tom.” I can’t speak for them, but when it has been hurled at me, it’s devastating because the numbskull hurling the epithet is calling you a traitor to your race and to yourself. As if all African Americans are still enslaved, but into one way of thinking or a uniform way of looking at the world.
Which brings me to Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) As Buzzfeed first reported, the 10-term congressman called Justice Clarence Thomas, the Supreme Court’s only African American member, an “Uncle Tom.” Maybe he was playing to his audience since he made the disparaging remark on New Nation of Islam radio. This cousin to the Nation of Islam led by Louis Farrakhan is helmed by someone who calls himself The Son of Man.
Then, when confronted by what he said
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2014/05/02/stop-calling-clarence-thomas-an-uncle-tom/?hpid=z2
As a Black Person, it has not been my experience that Black people do not throw around terms like
Uncle Tom
Sambo
Slave Catching Coon
Unless said Black person has proven themselves over the years to be a:
Uncle Tom
Sambo
Slave Catching Coon
Unca Clarence Thomas fits in this category.
There are fundamental things that most Black people believe.
There, of course, can be a few variations, here and there, but the fundamentals are the fundamentals. Despite income level, despite education level, there are things we believe.
When you have a man on the Supreme Court, no less, that votes against everything that the Black Community supports..
YOU ARE A FUCKING UNCLE TOM SLAVE CATCHING SAMBO.
That’s what Clarence Thomas is.
And, Jonathan Capehart can unclutch his pearls.
We have now, despite all the proof that we had BEFORE Clarence Thomas was put on the Supreme Court, that he was nothing but a bootlicking, ass kissing Uncle Tom..
we have EVERY OPINION that he’s put his vote behind since joining the Supreme Court.
Capehart can’t put together a list of FIVE opinions that the general Black community would say:
I agree with Clarence Thomas.
NOT FUCKING FIVE.
I have often written that the one story that told me everything I EVER needed to know about Clarence Thomas was when I heard that his Black Bootlicking Ass went before a bunch of his White Masters and denigrated his sister for going on welfare – NOT EXPLAINING WHY she was on welfare. [ she was on welfare because she was taking care of an elderly family member. After all, Clarence couldn’t be bothered to help with said family member – he was too busy kissing White folks ass]
So, there he was, holding his sister up as some object of scorn for those White Muthafucking Racists, knowing damn well WHY his sister was on welfare.
That’s all I EVER needed to know about Clarence Thomas and the lack of content of his character. Everything since then has just confirmed it.
Don’t wanna be known as an Uncle Tom?
Then don’t fucking act like one.
It really IS that simple.
Black people know that Unca Clarence is coming from a strong position of self-hate.
And though sad, and pitiful, Black folks usually don’t give a shyt if you are full of self-hate. We shrug our shoulders and wait for the day that you get the Paul Mooney ‘ Nigger Wakeup Call’, but honestly, nobody gets into a tizzy when they come upon self-loathers.
The reason why Unca Clarence gathers such ire is because he uses that position from the Supreme Court to punish the rest of Black folk for HIS self-hate.
Best Magazine covers EVER with Clarence Thomas:
http://archives.jrn.columbia.edu/nyrm/2001/features/images/auntclarence.jpg
https://howard53545.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/cartoon.jpg
Stop it, Jonathan!
What, RIKYRAH SAID
Don’t start none, won’t be none, got that Capehart?
State Calls Out Waco ISD for Disciplining Black Students Unfairly
http://www.texasobserver.org/waco-isd-reprimanded-tougher-discipline-black-students/
A few years ago, Waco ISD had a serious discipline problem. More specifically, it had a problem with dispensing discipline. School police were giving out far too many tickets—in 2006-07, the district of fewer than 17,000 students handed out 1,070 tickets—principals were booting too many kids into alternative classes or suspending them, and African-American students were more harshly punished.
In 2012, the district won a $600,000 grant from the governor’s office to create a model program that could turn those trends around. Texas Watchdog‘s Curt Olson featured the “Suspending Kids to School” initiative in a story that year:
Under Suspend Kids to School, teachers receive training to better manage their classrooms, and leaders among students receive training in peer mediation and campus teen courts. The district also has a Saturday course to help parents address student behavior.
In the program’s first year, the district sharply reduced its ticketing, and principals started sending far fewer students into the alternative classroom. The timing coincided with the Legislature’s realization that school discipline was turning draconian all over Texas, funneling too many kids into a school-to-prison pipeline. Last year, the Legislature barred school police from ticketing students for minor misdemeanors. Waco ISD, as Texas Watchdog put it, became “ground zero for Texas student discipline reform.”
In a reminder, maybe, of just how long that reform can take, Waco ISD’s board heard recently that the district had been flagged by state regulators for some troubling discipline practices in the last school year. As the Waco Tribune-Herald reported:
Benghazi my ARSE!
Just sent this list of embassy/consulate attacks to Issa.
Jan. 22, ’02 U.S. Consulate at Kolkata, 5 killed
June 14, ’02 U.S Consulate at Karachi, 12 killed
Feb. 28, ’03 U.S. Embassy at Islamabad, 2 killed
June 30, ’04 U.S. Embassy at Tashkent, 2 killed
Dec. 6, ’04 U.S. Compound at Saudia Arabia, 9 killed
March 2, ’06 U.S. Consulate at Karachi, 2 killed
Sept. 12, ’06 U.S. Embassy at Syria, 4 killed
March 18, ’08 U.S. Embassy at Yemen, 2 killed
July 9, ’08 U.S. Consulate at Istanbul, 6 killed
Sept. 17, ’08 U.S. Embassy at Yemern, 16 killed
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251362238
From Lupita’s People cover to Pharrell’s ‘Marilyn Monroe’: Dark skinned beauty fad sparks backlash
by Luvvie | April 24, 2014 at 2:12 PM
Pharrell’s “Marilyn Monroe” cover is visually stunning. The chocolate face against that fire engine red was striking and super fierce. Plus, the model herself is gorgeous.
Then I saw the cover of People magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful” issue with Lupita Nyong’o, and my soul did the running man because: YES!!!
She has taken the world by storm, and she stays giving me black velvet moonlight tea for my fever. Lupita is perpetually looking like she’s unable to flaw.
So why are people upset at both Pharrell and People magazine right now? Because they feel like both parties are pandering to disgruntled dark girls, and they think it’s cheap and condescending. I understand one more than the other.
…………………
Now, as for the folks who are throwing hateration in Lupita’s dancerie for being on the cover of People, I want them to please tuck in their salty. It boggles my mind that some people are really questioning her presence on that cover and whether it’s some sort of pity move by the magazine’s team. It reminds me of when she won the Academy Award for her role as Patsey in 12 Years a Slave and folks were upset because she won for playing a slave.
Why can’t we celebrate this moment with the purest motives and joy? I want us to be able to lay these burdens down even for a hot millisecond, because we carry this complex so close to the chest that it gives me heartburn.
Do we think we’re not good enough that when we land on a major magazine cover we need to be cynical about how we got there? I know beauty is subjective, but it is undeniable that Lupita has been shutting down red carpets for the past six months with her style, and she belongs on that list and on that cover. This isn’t some pandering move.
http://thegrio.com/2014/04/24/from-lupitas-people-cover-to-pharrells-marilyn-monroe-dark-skinned-beauty-fad-sparks-backlash/
Co-SIGNING 100%
And LOL @ “Now, as for the folks who are throwing hateration in Lupita’s dancerie for being on the cover of People, I want them to please tuck in their salty.”
Tuck all the way in, folks!
Queen Latifah to star as Bessie Smith in new HBO biopic
by Lilly Workneh | May 2, 2014 at 12:09 PM
Queen Latifah will reportedly star as famous Blues singer Bessie Smith in an upcoming biopic.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the film will air on HBO and focus on how the iconic artist overcame a “tempestuous personal life,” to become known as “The Empress of the Blues.”
Smith rose to fame in the 1920s and 30s after her soulful voice serenaded crowds and quickly established herself among the most successful black performing artists of her time.
http://thegrio.com/2014/05/02/queen-latifah-bessie-smith-biopic-hbo/
The Queen’s an excellent choice. I’m looking forward to this film.
Militia Leader Who Wants To Have Harry Reid’s ‘Balls Ripped Off’ Lives On Gov. Disability Money
Via FreakOutNation. By: FreakOutNation.com, Thursday, May 01, 2014 1:31:41 PM
Mike Vanderbeogh, leader of the militia group Three Percenters, spoke to militia members still gathered at Cliven Bundy’s ranch in Nevada last week to warn that the country is “staring a civil war in its bloody face and that Harry Reid will have his “balls ripped off.”
Democratic Underground user Kpete recalled a story in the Washington Post where it mentions Vanderboegh’s disability checks, while in the next breath, the militia leader speaks against what he perceives as President Obama’s ‘collectivism.’
Vanderboegh said he once worked as a warehouse manager but now lives on government disability checks. He said he receives $1,300 a month because of his congestive heart failure, diabetes and hypertension. He has private health insurance through his wife, who works for a company that sells forklift products.
http://www.alan.com/2014/05/02/militia-leader-who-wants-to-have-harry-reids-balls-ripped-off-lives-on-gov-disability-money/
https://twitter.com/AYEKEN_/status/409357832858128384/photo/1
LMBAO I’ can’t breathe……………………………..
LOL!
https://twitter.com/ReachHigher/status/462273079008174080/photo/1
https://twitter.com/danbucatinsky/status/462262649796186112/photo/1
James! Is he visiting for the weekend’s WHCD events or what?
https://twitter.com/ReachHigher/status/462278999775784960/photo/1
I can’t with these fake Christians, who attempt to sully TRUE Christian values.
Neighbors: Boy died protecting his sister
Posted: Friday, May 2, 2014 10:12 am | Updated: 11:41 am, Fri May 2, 2014.
Frank Green Richmond Times-Dispatch
RICHMOND — Neighbors today praised the bravery of a little boy who they said died trying to protect his older sister from an attacker on Thursday.
“To have the courage to defend his sister as if he was a grown man,” neighbor Sudan Aunu, said this morning. “His sister is alive today because of him.”
The boy, whose minister said he was nine, died at the scene in the 200 block of Brandon Road Thursday, police said. The other child was taken to a hospital.
Police said they’ve identified and located a teen-age boy who is being medically evaluated and plan to charge him in connection with the homicide and assault on the girl.
“This whole neighborhood is shook up,” said Aunu. “We can’t believe that happened this close.”
Pastor Dr. Theodore L. Hughey of the Abundant Life church said they boy known as “Little Martin” and his sister were inseperable and “always in and out” of the church. He said the boy was nine and the girl is 12.
http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/latest-news/neighbors-boy-died-protecting-his-sister/article_f126ebb1-9c1f-506c-a74b-67a4701889df.html
This Town Needs a Better Class of Racist
It’s easy for polite American society to condemn Cliven Bundy and banish Donald Sterling while turning away from the elegant, monstrous racism that remains.
Ta-Nehisi CoatesMay 1 2014, 11:30 AM ET
The question Cliven Bundy put to his audience last week—Was the black family better off as property?—is as immoral as it unoriginal. As both Adam Serwer and Jamelle Bouie point out, the roster of conservative theorists who imply that black people were better off being whipped, worked, and raped are legion. Their ranks include economists Walter Williams and Thomas Sowell, former congressman Allen West, sitting Representative Trent Franks, singer Ted Nugent, and presidential aspirants Rick Santorum and Michele Bachmann.
A fair-minded reader will note that each of these conservatives is careful to not praise slavery and to note his or her disgust at the practice. This is neither distinction nor difference. Cliven Bundy’s disquisition begins with a similar hedge: “We’ve progressed quite a bit from that day until now and we sure don’t want to go back.” With so little substantive difference between Bundy and other conservatives, it becomes tough to understand last week’s backpedaling in any intellectually coherent way.
But style is the hero. Cliven Bundy is old, white, and male. He likes to wave an American flag while spurning the American government and pals around with the militia movement. He does not so much use the word “Negro”—which would be bad enough—but “nigra,” in the manner of villain from Mississippi Burning or A Time to Kill. In short, Cliven Bundy looks, and sounds, much like what white people take racism to be.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/05/This-Town-Needs-A-Better-Class-Of-Racist/361443/
Spot on, Coates. RACISM is VIELED IN MONEY & POWER
Are White Republicans More Racist Than White Democrats?
By Nate Silver and Allison McCann
The comments made by Cliven Bundy and Donald Sterling this month demonstrate that the U.S. is far from a colorblind society. And the reaction to their comments has drawn further attention to the fraught relationship between racism and partisan politics. When racist statements by high-profile figures are made public, some news commentators become preoccupied with trying to discern the speaker’s political affiliation.
We were curious about the long-term trends in racial attitudes as expressed by Americans in polls. Are Republicans more likely to give arguably racist responses in surveys than Democrats? Have the patterns changed since President Obama took office in 2009?
Like The New York Times’ Amanda Cox, we looked at a variety of questions on racial attitudes in the General Social Survey, which has been conducted periodically since 1972. The difference is that we looked at the numbers for white Democrats and white Republicans specifically, based on the way Americans identified themselves in the survey.1 Our focus was only on racial attitudes as expressed by white Americans toward black Americans (of course, racism can also exist between and among other racial groups).
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/are-white-republicans-more-racist-than-white-democrats/
I didn’t have to read this piece of tripe. RACISM IS RACISM, no need to quantify it, folks!
Watch Live: Janet Napolitano Delivers Northeastern University’s Commencement Address.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/janet-napolitano-northeastern-university-commencement-address-live-stream-19290189
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Meanwhile In Kansas…
Another week, another Republican governor under investigation for corruption and abuses of power. This time it’s Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, who is in a heap of trouble with the FBI over funneling business to his former chief of staff’s lobbying company to profit handsomely from the state’s Medicaid privatization scam.
So yeah, looks like in exchange for privatizing Medicaid for the state, Brownback’s former staffers made big, big money doing it. What did Brownback get in return, you have to wonder? How about total control of the state?
http://zandarvts.blogspot.com/2014/05/meanwhile-in-kansas.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMYt6tlYwz0
btw, Loved Isaiah’s return last night on Grey’s.
Morning Plum: Obamacare enrollment spikes in states with tough Senate races
By Greg Sargent
May 2 at 9:16 am
The Republican strategy for 2014 rests heavily on a mass effort to pretend the millions of people benefitting from the Affordable Care Act simply don’t exist — or at least that those who are benefitting from the law’s “free stuff” are vastly outnumbered by ordinary hard-working Americans who have been victimized by job crushing big government and Obama-mandate-crazed tyranny.
But that illusion is getting harder and harder to sustain — and this may prove increasingly true even in red states. In the wake of the announcement of eight million Obamacare enrollments, Elise Vieback has a terrific piece this morning explaining that enrollments have beat administration expectations in the majority of states with competitive Senate races:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2014/05/02/morning-plum-obamacare-enrollment-spikes-in-states-with-tough-senate-races/
from TOD:
Nerdy Wonka
May 2, 2014 at 9:10 am
Michael Grunwald for the motherfreaking WIN. Ezra Klein’s wife tried to report the jobs numbers as bad and he called her out in a sublime manner
Michael Grunwald ✔ @MikeGrunwald
Follow
It’s especially bad if you don’t count the last five. RT @AnnieLowrey We still have about zero net job growth over the past seven years.
7:45 AM – 2 May 2014
Michael Grunwald ✔ @MikeGrunwald
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I think more people with jobs and health insurance and less people getting killed in wars overseas is good. But that’s just an opinion.
7:54 AM – 2 May 2014
Nerdy Wonka @NerdyWonka
Follow
#ObamaCare Exchanges: 8M with insurance. Medicaid: 4.8M. Parents Plans: 3M. 288K jobs added.
This is what the @
Nerdy Wonka @NerdyWonka
Follow
#ObamasFault: April is +288K. February revised from +197k to +222k. March from +192k to +203k. Three months in a row of over 200K job growth
7:39 AM – 2 May 2014
Exclusive: Putin Imposes Secret Sanctions on Pro-Gay Obama Campaign Donors
The Kremlin has expanded a secret list of Americans banned from entry to Russia, and campaign bundlers tied to the LGBT community are on it.
The Kremlin has expanded its secret “black list” of Americans banned from Russia to include Obama campaign fundraisers tied to the LGBT community and senior Congressmen, diplomatic sources tell The Daily Beast. Moscow’s list, these sources say, was expanded in retaliation to the Obama administration’s attack on the assets of key business associates of Vladimir Putin last month.
The Russian government has been working for months to expand the list in response to the three rounds of sanctions against Russian officials, businessmen, and institutions. But unlike the United States, which made all three rounds of sanctions public, the Russian government only publicly revealed one list of sanctioned Americans, which included top Senators and White House officials. The contents of the subsequent additions to the Russian list, however, remain officially undisclosed.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/02/exclusive-putin-secretly-sanctioned-top-obama-campaign-donors.html
Janice Hahn Walks Out Of Event After James Dobson Calls Obama The ‘Abortion President’
Posted: 05/01/2014 5:17 pm EDT Updated: 05/01/2014 5:59 pm EDT
Print Article
Rep. Janice Hahn (D-Calif.) walked out of the National Day of Prayer event at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, saying she was “outraged” after James Dobson, founder of the conservative Christian advocacy group Focus on the Family, called President Barack Obama the “abortion president.”
“President Obama, before he was elected, made it very clear that he wanted to be the abortion president. He didn’t make any bones about it,” Dobson, whose organization recently won a temporary injunction against the Affordable Care Act’s employer contraception mandate, said on Thursday. “This is something that he really was going to promote and support, and he has done that, and in a sense he is the abortion president.”
In an interview with The Huffington Post on Thursday, Hahn called the speech deeply “inappropriate” and a violation of the event’s symbol as a nonpartisan day of unity.
“He goes on about health care and … providing abortions, and at that point I stood up and I pointed my finger at Dr. Dobson and I said, ‘This is inappropriate!’ and walked out,” Hahn told HuffPost.
“Dobson just blew a hole into this idea of being a nonpartisan National Day of Prayer. It was very disturbing to me … and really a shame,” Hahn, the co-chair of the weekly congressional prayer breakfast, added. “James Dobson hijacked the National Day of Prayer — this nonpartisan, nonpolitical National Day of Prayer — to promote his own distorted political agenda.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/01/janice-hahn-james-dobson-national-day-of-prayer_n_5248819.html?utm_hp_ref=tw
Rogelio Lemori @BilboBagman
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Lawmaker Storms Out Of Event After Speaker Calls Obama The ‘Abortion President’ #GOPRacist #tcot #p2 http://huff.to/1ktLuZJ
7:56 AM – 2 May 2014
David Plouffe @davidplouffe
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Fox and talk radio will not be covering jobs report. Frenzied Benghazi overdrive. One hour You Didn’t Build It special for old time sake.
7:40 AM – 2 May 2014
..And another hour for Lois Lerner and IRS scandal too, for old time sake!
igorvolsky @igorvolsky
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RT @thinkprogress: BREAKING: The economy gained 288k jobs in April, unemployment down to 6.3%
7:32 AM – 2 May 2014
The U.S. economy added 288,000 jobs in April, according to a Labor Department report released Friday morning. The nation’s unemployment rate dropped to 6.3 percent.
Analysts expected the report to show that the country had added 218,000 jobs last month, and that the unemployment rate would tick down to 6.6 percent.
Read more at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Damn you, PBO, it’s all your FAULT!
https://twitter.com/amk4obama/status/462207507255939073/photo/1
LOL
https://twitter.com/nycjim/status/462189326625800192/photo/1
last 15 seconds…WOW!
https://twitter.com/amk4obama/status/462204670539087873/photo/1
rolandsmartin ✔ @rolandsmartin
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BREAKING NEWS: On @TJMShow, Nigerian reporter @alexis_ok says the Nigerian military says the missing girls is now above 300.
6:23 AM – 2 May 2014
U.S. offers to help Nigeria in hunt for abducted girls
WASHINGTON Thu May 1, 2014 6:55pm EDT
(Reuters) – The United States said on Thursday it had offered to help Nigeria in its search for around 200 girls abducted by Islamist militants from a school in the northeast of the West African country.
“We have been engaged with the Nigerian government in discussions on what we might do to help support their efforts to find and free these young women,” State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told a daily briefing. “We will continue to have those discussions and help in any way we can.”
Gunmen suspected to be from the radical Islamist movement Boko Haram on April 14 stormed an all-girls secondary school in the village of Chibok, in Borno state, packed the teenagers onto trucks and disappeared into a remote area along the border with Cameroon.
The kidnapping occurred the same day a bomb blast, also blamed on Boko Haram, killed 75 people on the edge of the capital, Abuja, and it marked the first attack on the capital in two years.
But the brutality of the school attack has shocked Nigerians long accustomed to hearing about atrocities in an increasingly bloody five-year-old Islamist insurgency in the north. Boko Haram is now seen as the main security threat to Africa’s leading energy producer.
Harf did not elaborate on the kind of assistance Washington is offering, but said: “We know Boko Haram is active in the area and we have worked very closely with the Nigerian government to build their capacity to fight this threat.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/01/us-nigeria-violence-usa-idUSBREA400XZ20140501
Happy to hear we’re stepping in to assist. Hundreds of black girls kidnapped and abused for $$$, it’s beyond the pale.
Joe Scarborough Loses His Mind On Air And Bullies Guest Over Benghazi
By: Justin Baragona
Thursday, May, 1st, 2014, 11:06 am
During Thursday’s broadcast of Morning Joe, host Joe Scarborough lashed out at a guest and caused one of the more shameful and embarrassing moments to be seen on cable news in recent history, and that is saying a lot. The panel was discussing emails that were released recently by the White House, which the right has pointed to as a smoking gun when it comes to Benghazi. For Republicans that have been trying to make this supposed scandal stick, one particular email apparently shows complete and total proof that the White House tried to cover-up the truth about Benghazi. Of course, the email in question is actually one that discusses the administration’s overall foreign policy as it relates to the Middle East and was not a directive to get then-UN Ambassador Susan Rice to mislead the public on the truth about Benghazi, but that hasn’t stopped the media from running with it lately.
Anyway, Scarborough took charge during the discussion and was in full outrage form. After playing a clip of ABC’s Jonathan Karl peppering White House Press Secretary Jay Carney with questions on Wednesday about the email and how it proves that the White House was trying to cover-up what happened in Benghazi for political reasons, Scarborough then went into full-on crazy wingnut mode, claiming that the White House is using ‘doublespeak’ when saying that this email wasn’t about Benghazi as much as it was about the discussion of foreign policy at the time.
http://www.politicususa.com/2014/05/01/joe-scarborough-loses-mind-air-bullies-guest-benghazi.html
Small Health Insurance Co-Ops Seeing Early Success
by Eric Whitney
April 02, 2014 3:53 AM ET
Many of us know the names of some of the big U.S. health insurance companies — like Blue Cross, Aetna and Wellpoint. But what about CoOportunity Health, or Health Republic Insurance of New York? These are among 23 new companies started under the Affordable Care Act. They’re all nonprofit, member-owned insurance cooperatives that were begun, in part, to create more competition and drive prices down.
The co-ops’ rollout was funded almost entirely by federal government loans. Initial enrollment numbers for many look pretty good — but that may not be enough to make co-ops successful.
Karl Sutton, for one, says he’s stoked about being able to buy health insurance through a co-op. Sutton lives in a scenic region of Montana just south of Glacier National Park, where tall, dark forests and taller mountains are blanketed white in early March.
Inside the wamth of his mobile greenhouse near Glacier National Park, Karl Sutton’s spinach plants thrive despite the lingering winter chill.
During my visit, there’s about 2 feet of snow on the ground, and it’s zero degrees Fahrenheit outside. But it’s warm inside Sutton’s mobile greenhouse, and green plants are emerging from the dark earth. He grows vegetables to sell at nearby markets in Missoula and Kalispell.
“This is just spinach we overwintered,” he says, pointing to a row of small, leafy plants. “We’re just eating it ourselves.”
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/04/02/293327561/small-health-insurance-co-ops-seeing-early-success
Sean Hannity Defends Vicious Killer; Is He Trying To Create A New Conservative Folk Hero?
By: Justin Baragona
Thursday, May, 1st, 2014, 7:42 pm
On Wednesday night’s episode of Fox News’ Hannity, host Sean Hannity held a panel discussion on Byron Smith, the Minnesota retiree who was convicted of 1st degree murder earlier this week. Smith killed two teenagers that broke into his house. After having his house burglarized before, and believing it was a neighbor, Smith set a trap in order to lure the burglar back to be killed. Smith moved his truck to make it appear that he wasn’t home. He then waited in his basement, armed and ready for a break-in. He even set up recording devices in the house to capture the event.
Smith ended up killing two teenagers that broke into his home. He shot the first one twice, injuring the young man before telling him ‘You’re dead’ and shooting him in the face. After wrapping the body in a tarp and moving it, he shot the boy’s accomplice, who came downstairs looking for him. The young woman fell down the stairs after being shot. At that point, Smith told her ‘You’re dying’ and then he shot her under the chin. He waited a day before telling his neighbor about the shooting and then informing the police.
The recordings of the event show a much grizzlier affair than Smith’s defense tried to spin to the jury. It paints a picture of a disturbed man who wanted to find a way to justify killing somebody by setting up a scenario where his house could potentially be broken into. He not only waited in the basement, but he was armed and ready to stay up all night, as he had bottled water, a book to read and energy bars. The jury was able to see that the man was trying to fulfill a sick fantasy and find a way to make it legal.
http://www.politicususa.com/2014/05/01/sean-hannity-defends-vicious-killer-create-conservative-folk-hero.html
David Barton Invents Reasons Founding Fathers Did Not Grant Women the Vote
By: Hrafnkell Haraldsson
Friday, May, 2nd, 2014, 6:48 am
So our old friend David Barton is back, pretending once again to be a historian. Appearing on WallBuilders Live he gave us all a dose of true Bartonesque theater of the absurd when he explained why women weren’t allowed to vote by the Founding Fathers. Having proven he knows nothing at all about Thomas Jefferson, he is apparently eager to demonstrate a matching ignorance of colonial history. According to Barton, the reasoning was 100 percent biblically based and it was all designed to keep the family together.
http://www.politicususa.com/2014/05/02/david-barton-invents-reasons-founding-fathers-grant-women-vote.html
Wanker of the Day: Hans von Spakovsky
by BooMan
Thu May 1st, 2014 at 05:41:02 PM EST
You many not remember Hans Von Spakovsky, but he served in George W. Bush’s Justice Department before being recess-appointed (over Democratic objections) to serve on the Federal Election Commission. Here is a refresher on why the Democrats didn’t want him overseeing federal elections:
Okay, so that is about as bad a record as someone can create working in the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department. More than anyone else, von Spakovsky is responsible for inventing the issue of voter fraud and instigating a nationwide effort to pass laws that are designed to disenfranchise disproportionally Democratic voters (usually racial minorities).
http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2014/5/1/17412/01065
Rush Limbaugh’s Ratings Are In a State Of Complete Collapse
By: Jason Easley
Thursday, May, 1st, 2014, 6:23 pm
Bad ratings news is rolling in for Rush Limbaugh as his show has fallen to 22nd in New York and 37th in Los Angeles. Limbaugh’s ratings are in a state of major decline.
Rush Limbaugh’s claim to radio fame has always been that he is a right wing talker who brings big ratings to major markets in blue states, but this isn’t the case anymore. Since he moved to Clear Channel his ratings in the nation’s two largest markets have nosedived. Rush Limbaugh went from having the number one talk show in Los Angeles to falling down to 37th place in the ratings. In New York, Limbaugh has dropped from fifth in the city to 22nd. His audience is now so small in both markets that he is being outdrawn by Spanish language stations and NPR.
It’s amazing that radio stations are paying this man who can’t draw an audience any more millions of dollars to carry his program. Limbaugh’s ratings collapse has been building for a long time. His comments about Sandra Fluke tarnished him within the radio industry, but the real problem has been a lingering boycott that has caused Fortune 500 advertisers to avoid Rush like the plague.
http://www.politicususa.com/2014/05/01/rush-limbaughs-ratings-state-complete-collapse.html
National Stroke Association Launches Minorities and Stroke Campaign
By The Admin | May 1, 2014 –
Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. and a leading cause of adult disability. Women, Hispanics and African-Americans in the U.S. have higher stroke risks and lower recognition of stroke warning signs compared to other populations.
This May, during National Stroke Awareness Month, National Stroke Association’s Minorities and Stroke video infographic, available in English and Spanish, is designed to creatively educate the public about the risk of stroke and the need to act FAST, especially for women, Hispanics and African-Americans.
“It’s important that at-risk populations understand how to lower their risk for stroke,” said Sharon Januchowski, Executive Vice President at National Stroke Association. “Women, Hispanics and African-Americans need to be aware of the stroke warning signs and actively manage controllable risk factors.”
The Minorities and Stroke campaign also features a webpage with additional stats about stroke and minorities, and a list of resources. Our awareness e-kit has been also updated and contains downloadable materials designed to help people spread the word about stroke.
The e-kit is available at http://www.stroke.org/awareness.
About Stroke
A stroke is a brain attack that occurs when a blood clot blocks an artery or a blood vessel breaks, interrupting blood flow to an area of the brain. The first step to prevention is identifying if you have any controllable and uncontrollable risk factors and begin to manage them.
Stroke is an emergency. Treatment may be available if a person reaches the hospital in time. Recognizing warning signs can be easy if you remember to think FAST:
F=Face Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?
A=Arms Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
S=Speech Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Does the speech sound slurred or strange?
T=Time If you observe any of these signs, then it’s time to call 9-1-1.
– See more at: http://blackpoliticsontheweb.com/2014/05/01/national-stroke-association-launches-minorities-and-stroke-campaign/#sthash.zMbWeASf.dpuf
this man was rehabilitated. he was a productive member of society. either you believe in redemption or just say that you don’t.
but, nothing good can come of locking this man up.
……………………..
Man jailed 13 years after sentence asks family to ‘keep praying; keep hope’
by Laura T. Coffey, TODAY | May 1, 2014 at 1:11 PM
Cornealious “Mike” Anderson has plenty of time to think. He spends most of his day locked in a cell in Missouri’s Southeast Correctional Center, pining for his family and wishing he could wake up from what feels like a nightmare.
“It’s — it’s like my life is wasting away,” Anderson, 37, told NBC News’ Kate Snow in an exclusive interview that aired on TODAY on Thursday.
“I think about my wife, my children … all my family … and I just try and stay positive, you know. ‘Cause it is depressing.”
Anderson’s case has garnered national media attention because its circumstances are so unusual. Back in 1999, Anderson helped rob a Burger King assistant manager in St. Charles, Mo., with what turned out to be a BB gun. In May 2000 he got convicted of armed robbery and sentenced to 13 years in prison — but because of a clerical error, he never did the time.
http://thegrio.com/2014/05/01/man-jailed-13-years-after-sentence-asks-family-to-keep-praying-keep-hope/
https://twitter.com/TheObamaDiary/status/462026221627662336
https://twitter.com/msdebbieallen/status/461959708308303874/photo/1
https://twitter.com/BestEarthPix/status/461450186473340928/photo/1
So very sweet!
Wonderful comment at POU:
http://pragmaticobotsunite.com/thursday-afternoon-thread-the-temptations-week/#comment-1365255383
THIS: “To pretend that Mr Sterling is an anomaly, or to see any of these high profile folks who’ve selectively inserted themselves into the Sterling fray as anything other than cowardly, self-serving opportunists, would be a grave mistake.”
Nannie Helen Burroughs was born on this day in 1878. From Wikipedia:
ATTORNEY: 3RD PARTY LEAKED RECORDING OF STERLING
By TAMI ABDOLLAH
— May. 1, 2014 9:39 PM EDT
LOS ANGELES (AP) — An attorney representing the woman Donald Sterling was talking to when he made racist remarks said Thursday that the hour-long conversation was taped by mutual agreement last September and provided to a friend for safekeeping, who then leaked it to TMZ.
V. Stiviano sent two snippets of the conversation, recorded in her Los Angeles duplex, to a friend who released them without her permission, lawyer Siamak Nehoray said. He would not identify the friend.
Nehoray said she sent snippets of the conversation recorded on her phone electronically to her friend for safekeeping in case anything happened, but only two went through, Nehoray said.
He wouldn’t elaborate on what prompted her to send the recordings.
Nehoray said Stiviano, 31, only learned they would become public after TMZ contacted her. She was devastated, he said.
“She’s a young girl thrown in the middle of this thing, unwillingly,” Nehoray said. “She didn’t release the tape. She gave it to somebody for safe keeping. It was unfortunate that it was released. It’s a lot to deal with.”
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/attorney-3rd-party-leaked-recording-sterling?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=cheatsheet_morning&cid=newsletter%3Bemail%3Bcheatsheet_morning&utm_term=Cheat%20Sheet
Waseca teen accused in school shooting plot had been planning for months
Article by: PAT PHEIFER , Star Tribune Updated: May 2, 2014 – 6:10 AM
WASECA, MINN. – John David LaDue had it all figured out. He would kill his mother, father and sister and then create a diversion to keep first responders busy while he went to Waseca Junior/Senior High School to wreak havoc.
There, the 17-year-old planned to set off pressure-cooker bombs full of nails and metal ball bearings in the cafeteria. Students who weren’t maimed or killed would be gunned down in the halls, he told police.
After his arrest Tuesday, the high school junior said he intended to kill “as many students as he could,” before he was killed by the SWAT team, according to charging documents filed in Waseca County District Court.
LaDue was charged Thursday with four counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree damage to property and six counts of possession of a bomb by someone under 18.
Parents throughout the town were shaken and shocked as they began to hear details of LaDue’s plot.
“It’s just too scary to put in words,” said a parent who has kids in Waseca’s middle school and high school but asked that her name not be used. “Everybody in town feels sick to their stomach. Scared. There were tears today.”
http://elink.thedailybeast.com/4e555ee3e018bee76c3458201k66p.588/U2ONYOYQNL6J1Ka0B5891
Good morning, everyone!
Happy FRY-day! *waves @ Ametia*
I loved watching the beautiful Gail Fisher on Mannix. She was one of the first African American actresses to have a regular series role.
Happy FRY-day, SG2 & Everyone! :-))))
Love, Loved, LOVED, Mannix and Ms Gail Fisher gave me LIFE each week. She held it down with Mannix.
Good Morning, SG2, Ametia, and everyone :)
Good Morning, Everyone :)
LOVED this series this week.
Mannix was THE SHOW!
Gail Fisher was on the Pioneers of Television from this past week.