We continue our Denzel week.
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Black Girls Rock!
Flickr Photos
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Potus Takes Oath of Office
Flotus & Daughters at Great Wall of China
My Brothers Keeper
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AFRO PUFFS
Most Adorable Shoe Stealer
Six Little Babies
Fatherhood
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Even though 3Chics Politico is written and curated by three women: Ametia, Rikyrah, and SouthernGirl2, I must nominate this as one of the most engaging blogs I've found. Devoted to politics and culture, these three shine a light on contemporary life with humor and spirit.
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Presidential hug
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Rand Paul ‘clarifies’ remarks about disabled
By Greg Sargent January 23 at 2:57 PM
The other day, Rand Paul stirred controversy when he had this to say about the looming debate over what to do about funding shortfalls in the Social Security Disability Insurance program, which is set to become a major flashpoint in the weeks ahead:
“If you look like me and you hop out of your truck, you shouldn’t be getting a disability check. Over half of the people on disability are either anxious or their back hurts — join the club. Who doesn’t get a little anxious for work and their back hurts? Everybody over 40 has a back pain. And I am not saying that there are not legitimately people who are disabled. But the people who are the malingerers are the ones taking the money away from the people who are paraplegic, quadriplegic.”
Now Senator Paul’s office has offered a new clarification of what he meant. But it appears to only dig the Senator in deeper.
Glenn Kessler has a great piece today laying out the broader set of facts in this debate. Kessler gives Paul’s comments Three Pinocchios, but also notes that they highlight “an important issue that will have a central role in the political debates this year as the program faces a serious funding crunch.”
But there is a nugget in there that is worth a look. A Paul spokesman offered Kessler the following explanation of the Senator’s comment:
Paul spokesman Brian Darling pointed to two data points — 27.7 percent of disabled beneficiaries are diagnosed as having ailments related to “Musculoskeletal system and connective tissue” and that 14 percent have “mood disorders.” That adds up to 42 percent, he noted.
In other words, when Paul said folks getting disability are merely “anxious,” he was talking about a specific category of people — those with “mood disorders.” But as Kessler notes, it turns out that, according to Social Security Administration spokesman William Jarrett, in the SSDI’s classification of beneficaries, those with “mood disorders” include the following:
Jarret noted that the “mood disorders” category includes conditions like bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, and dysthymia (persistent depressive disorder).
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, which has tracked the debate over Paul’s initial comments, this actually makes them more serious, because his office has confirmed that his reference to those who are “anxious” but seemingly undeserving of benefits applied to actual categories of people with serious medical conditions.
“It was bad enough, frankly, when he seemed to trivialize anxiety disorders,” Ron Honberg, the legal and policy director for NAMI, told me. “But if he was referring to mood disorders, we know they can be very disabling. Unfortunately these kinds of comments really do trivialize very serious conditions, and perpetuate the stigmas and misinformation that oftentimes serve as barriers to people seeking help when they need it. It is very disturbing.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2015/01/23/rand-paul-clarifies-remarks-about-disabled/
Ernie Banks dies at age 83
Updated: January 23, 2015, 11:38 PM ET
ESPN.com news services
The Chicago Cubs’ beloved “Mr. Cub,” Ernie Banks, has died at 83, the club confirmed.
“There’s sunshine, fresh air, and the team’s behind us,” Ernie Banks said during his Hall of Fame induction speed in 1977. “Let’s play two!”
“Words cannot express how important Ernie Banks will always be to the Chicago Cubs, the city of Chicago and Major League Baseball. He was one of the greatest players of all time,” Tom Ricketts, chairman of the Cubs, said in a statement released by the team. “He was a pioneer in the major leagues. And more importantly, he was the warmest and most sincere person I’ve ever known.
“Approachable, ever optimistic and kind hearted, Ernie Banks is and always will be Mr. Cub. My family and I grieve the loss of such a great and good-hearted man, but we look forward to celebrating Ernie’s life in the days ahead.”
A 19-year-old Banks debuted for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro leagues in 1950. After a two-year stint in the Army, Banks returned to the Monarchs, who sold his contract to the Chicago Cubs in 1953.
http://espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/story/_/id/12219755/ernie-banks-former-chicago-cubs-great-dies-age-83
He has a name – Jerame Reid.
Cop Tells New Jersey Man to Show Hands and Not Move, Then Shoots Him
A new dashcam video opens up questions about the shooting of Jerame Reid.
By Zaid Jilani / AlterNet
January 21, 2015
A newly released dashcam video of a police shooting has emerged from Bridgeton, New Jersey, adding to concerns that police used unneccessary and avoidable violence in the shooting death of Jerame Reid on December 30. The video, which was released on Tuesday, was taken at 9:20pm on December 30 and shows the shooting as well as the audible reactions of onlookers in the neighborhood.
In the video, officers Braheme Days and Roger Worley can be seen pulling over the car Reid and driver Leroy Tutt are in, apparently because Tutt ran a stop sign. Suddenly, Days pulls out his weapon and tells the two men to show their hands and not move. Days informs his partner that he found a gun in the glove compartment.
Days repeatedly tells Reid not to move and to put his hands up. He starts to yell at Reid. “You’re gonna be f****** dead! I’m telling you! if you reach for something you’re gonna be f****** dead! I’m telling you! I’m telling you! Keep your f****** hands right there! Uh uh, Jerame, if you reach for something you’re gonna be f****** dead! He’s reaching! He’s reaching! Show me your f****** hands!”
Reid gets out of the car with one hand raised, and after he takes a step toward Days, the officer opens fire. His partner Worley opens fire, and six shots can be heard.
One witness says Reid had nothing in his hands. “He had his hands up trying to get out of the car, one on the door was getting out like this and he just started shooting him,” Tahli Dawkins told NBC10.
Both officers have been placed on leave, and Reid’s widow Lawanda Reid has hired lawyers to try to figure out what happened. “We just want answers,” she said. “No one deserves to die like that.”
Protests have been ongoing since the shooting, demanding an investigation, which is currently being led by Cumberland County First Assistant Prosecutor Harold Shapiro.
Derrick Thomas, 36, from Bridgeton, is one of the protesters. “It has gone on too long,” he said. “Black men like myself want to stand up for what’s right, not only for police brutality, but violence in general.”
http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/cop-tells-new-jersey-man-show-hands-and-not-move-then-shoots-him
https://twitter.com/ShaunKing/status/558029437514813442
https://twitter.com/NBCLA/status/558677826887753728/photo/1
this is a hilarious story that I found on POU
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Queen Elizabeth II once terrorized King Abdullah — by driving him around
Updated by Amanda Taub on January 23, 2015, 11:10 a.m. ET
Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles was given a private audience with the Queen when he was appointed Ambassador to Saudi Arabia in 2003. At the time, Abdullah was technically still the crown prince, though he’d been de facto ruler for several years. During their meeting, she gleefully recounted the story of Abdullah’s first visit to Balmoral, her castle in Scotland. It all started innocently enough, with an offer to tour the estate:
After lunch, the Queen had asked her royal guest whether he would like a tour of the estate. Prompted by his foreign minister the urbane Prince Saud, an initially hesitant Abdullah had agreed. The royal Land Rovers were drawn up in front of the castle. As instructed, the Crown Prince climbed into the front seat of the front Land Rover, his interpreter in the seat behind.
But then, a surprising twist! The Queen herself was Abdullah’s driver:
To his surprise, the Queen climbed into the driving seat, turned the ignition and drove off. Women are not — yet — allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia, and Abdullah was not used to being driven by a woman, let alone a queen.
And she wasn’t just driving, she was DRIVING, leaving Abdullah a quivering wreck:
His nervousness only increased as the Queen, an Army driver in wartime, accelerated the Land Rover along the narrow Scottish estate roads, talking all the time. Through his interpreter, the Crown Prince implored the Queen to slow down and concentrate on the road ahead.
http://www.vox.com/2015/1/23/7877243/king-abdullah-queen-drive
This makes me think of the lyrics from the Beach Boys “Little Old Lady from Pasadena” :
Rationale for anti-ACA case continues to unravel
01/23/15 03:42 PM
By Steve Benen
The last remaining legal hurdle for the Affordable Care Act, the King v. Burwell case, isn’t as complicated as it may seem. The entire controversy boils down to this: was the Affordable Care Act designed specifically to subsidize insurance for consumers nationwide, or only consumers who enroll through state exchanges?
Absolutely everyone involved in the process knows the truth: of course the system was designed to help all American consumers, including those who bought insurance through healthcare.gov. The alternative is a little insane – the architects of the law wouldn’t have any reason to undermine the efficacy of their own system.
But the King v. Burwell lawsuit, which Republicans pretend to believe, is predicated on a genuinely ridiculous assumption: Democrats, on purpose, designed “Obamacare” in such a way as to deny help to every consumer who relied on healthcare.gov. They did this deliberately, the argument goes, in order to entice states to create their own exchange marketplaces.
It’s painfully obvious that this is absurd and that the lawsuit is a joke, and very recently, evidence has emerged that even Republicans who claim to support the case, in reality, don’t genuinely believe their own side’s argument. Consider this latest catch from Ian Millhiser:
The Affordable Care Act gives states a choice. They can either set up their own health exchanges where individuals may buy subsidized health plans, or they can elect to have the federal government set up such an exchange for them. Individuals who purchase insurance on an exchange may receive tax credits to help them pay for that insurance if they qualify on the basis of income.
In his brief, which was filed in a lawsuit called King v. Burwell, [Republican Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch] claims that the law “provides that premium subsidies are available only through an exchange established by a State” – i.e. not in an exchange that is operated by the federal government.
But five years ago, before Hatch knew the King v. Burwell case was coming, he accidentally told the truth: he wrote in an op-ed that said state exchanges “are not a condition” for subsidies. The Republican senator understood reality in 2010, but is pretending to support a contradictory reality now in the hopes of tearing down the system.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/rationale-anti-aca-case-continues-unravel
https://twitter.com/EricWolfson/status/558603857220370432/photo/1
Teacher says students in alleged sex abuse should have kept ‘stupid mouths shut’
Los Angeles Times
Veronica Rocha 10 hrs ago
LOS ANGELES — A high school art teacher who allegedly posted Facebook comments condoning sexual relations between teachers and students has been put on paid leave.
Teacher Sean Kane works at the same school — South Hills High in West Covina — where two female educators were arrested on suspicion of having sex with students.
Kane’s profile may have been taken down on the social media site; a recent search of Facebook did not turn up a profile for the teacher. But a school district official confirmed this wording: Students should have kept their “stupid mouths shut and enjoyed it.”
Kane was working up until Wednesday. But when the district became aware of the post, they put him on paid administrative leave so they could investigate, said Michelle Van Der Linden, spokeswoman for the Covina Valley Unified School District.
She said Kane’s alleged comments were unbecoming of a teacher, adding that it was inappropriate of him to condone the teachers’ behavior.
Melody Lippert, 38, and Michelle Ghirelli, 30, were arrested Saturday, accused of arranging an overnight camping trip to a San Clemente beach, where they had sex with students, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. The overnight beach trip was not a school-sponsored event.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/teacher-says-students-in-alleged-sex-abuse-should-have-kept-stupid-mouths-shut/ar-AA8uFPs?ocid=HPCDHP
Public Safety & Justice
How Mayors Can Mend Police’s Public Relations
The nation’s mayors released a report highlighting ways cities can rebuild the broken trust between police officers and citizens.
by Liz Farmer | January 22, 2015
In the wake of another deadly police shooting controversy involving a black victim, the nation’s mayors have released a report highlighting key areas where cities can rebuild the broken trust between police departments and residents.
The report on community policing was released Thursday at the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ winter meeting in Washington, D.C. The analysis concluded that, despite reduced crime rates, mistrust between officers and citizens persists. Among its recommendations were that officers should spend more time getting to know the community they patrol, that independent investigations occur when an officer kills someone and that police departments needed to reduce the fear and prejudice many have toward cooperating with cops.
http://www.governing.com/topics/public-justice-safety/gov-community-policing-mayors.html
Here are some of the recommendations:
Excerpts from http://usmayors.org/83rdWinterMeeting/media/012215-report-policing.pdf
Police departments need to review recruiting and hiring practices to ensure they are reflective of the community they serve.
Departments may need to use non-traditional means to attract recruits who are representative of the diversity in the community.
At the same time, departments need to perform thorough background checks on all applicants to help ensure that those who are accepted will become good police officers.
Training should cover more than the procedures of policing. It should help police officers understand their role in a democratic society – how to engage in constitutional policing.
Training must concentrate on preventing unwarranted use of force, offer officers alternatives to the use of lethal weapons, and clarify when use of lethal weapons is appropriate.
Training also must concentrate on community engagement and must reinforce the importance of treating residents with dignity and respect.
Officers must be trained in how to defuse incidents.
Police officer training also must include methods for handling individuals exhibiting mental illness.
People from outside of the department, including the clergy, should provide at least some of the training.
Body-worn cameras can be an important tool, and funding to assist in purchasing cameras, providing training in and standards for their use, and appropriately storing data collected via cameras is essential if more departments are to be camera-equipped.
To increase public confidence, police departments should call on independent or outside investigators and agencies when a death occurs during an encounter with an officer.
Reducing community frustration with and distrust of the police and other governmental institutions requires a complex set of actions (some of which are specified elsewhere in this document). This cannot be fully accomplished, however, unless the nation adequately addresses the problems and inequality experienced primarily by young men and boys of color and undertakes a conscious effort to reduce racism and discrimination.
Utilize techniques such as study circles, community dialogues, and town hall
meetings to hear from community residents, engage them in police department and other city activities, and build trust between them and institutions of government;
Ensure that local human rights and human relations commissions are functioning in communities and are focused in part on police-community relations;
Denzel….60 never looked so good on a Black man.
Tamir Rice was such a beautiful child. The word “tragic” does not even come close to describing his brutal murder. There is no word.
https://twitter.com/jadore_jamar/status/558605107705966592
Lord have Mercy, it’s hard, but we have to keep Tamir’s face front & center. Somebody’s going to pay, and pay dearly for murdering this CHILD.
In Tamir Rice Case, Many Errors by Cleveland Police, Then a Fatal One
By SHAILA DEWAN and RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.
January 22, 2015
CLEVELAND — It began with a swap: one boy’s cellphone for another’s replica of a Colt pistol.
One of the boys went to play in a nearby park, striking poses with the lifelike, airsoft-style gun, which fired plastic pellets. He threw a snowball, settled down at a picnic table and flopped his head onto his arms in a perfect assertion of preteen ennui, a grainy security video shows.
Then, with the gun tucked away, he walked to the edge of the gazebo. He might have been wandering aimlessly, or he might have been attracted by the sight of a squad car barreling across the lawn.
Seconds later, the boy lay dying from a police officer’s bullet. “Shots fired, male down,” one of the officers in the car called across his radio. “Black male, maybe 20, black revolver, black handgun by him. Send E.M.S. this way, and a roadblock.”
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/01/23/us/in-tamir-rice-shooting-in-cleveland-many-errors-by-police-then-a-fatal-one.html?referrer=&_r=0
“Now, with the county sheriff’s office reviewing the shooting, interviews and recently released video and police records show how a series of miscommunications, tactical errors and institutional failures by the Cleveland police cascaded into one irreversible mistake.”
This is my fear, that everyone is responsible therefore no one is responsible. That attitude is becoming pervasive and does absolutely nothing to solve problems. It’s good to know that “institutional failures” are being analyzed. But in the interim, there are bad cops on the street and they are killing people who they have no legitimate reason to kill.
If these bureaucrats keep looking at series of events that culminate in the murder of a child and then blame “institutional failures”, then the bad cops can breathe easy because they know they will never be held accountable for their actions, no matter how egregious, no matter how criminal, no matter how inhumane, because it is the institution, the system, that failed the murdered child.
Bottom line: Fix the failed system and indict killer cops. Do both.
He looks like a baby
He does, he still had a child’s face, such beautiful and expressive eyes.
Why Liberals Should Embrace Romney the Progressive Champion
By David Corn
It is time for liberals to cheer Mitt Romney.
Not because his possible entry into the 2016 Republican presidential contest could cause chaos for the GOP. But because Romney, apparently seeing the error of his “severely conservative” ways, has become a progressive crusader. Initial news reports noted that Romney was telling Republicans privately that should he mount a third presidential bid he would run to the right of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, an all-but-announced contender. Yet in public remarks, Romney has been sounding like a born-again lefty. At an investment management conference in Utah this week, Romney told the crowd that a new-and-improved candidate Romney would focus on climate change, poverty, and education
http://convio.motherjones.com/site/R?i=31SFhbl9klRtU8BQM0fhvg
Yeah, everyone should believe whatever Romney says now and forget what he has already said. Romney will prove that a leopard really can change his spots.
Major SIDE-EYE to David Corn & Mother Jones for this nonsensical piece.
Happy Fry-day, Everyone. :-)
Good Morning Ametia and Everyone :)
Bob Moses was born on this day in 1935. From Wikipedia:
Robert Parris Moses (born January 23, 1935 in Harlem, New York, usually known as Bob Moses) is an American educator and civil rights activist, known for his work as a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee on voter education and registration in Mississippi during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. He was a graduate of Hamilton College and completed a master’s in philosophy at Harvard University.
Moses began working with civil rights activists in 1960, becoming field secretary for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). As director of the SNCC’s Mississippi Project in 1961, Moses traveled to Pike County and Amite County to try to register black voters.
Moses faced nearly relentless violence and official intimidation, and was beaten and arrested in Amite County.
By 1964 Moses had become Co-Director of the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO), an umbrella organization for the major civil rights groups working in Mississippi. A major leader with SNCC, he was the main organizer of COFO’s Freedom Summer project, which was intended to achieve widespread voter registration of blacks in Mississippi, and ultimately, end racial disfranchisement.
They planned education and organizing, and a simplified registration system, to demonstrate African-American desire to vote. Moses was one of the calm leaders who kept the group focused.
” Robert Moses: Freedom Summer – Part 1″
http://youtu.be/ttaS4OTxBU0&rel=0
Good Morning, yahtzee. Thanks for this!