Happy Monday, Everyone. this week’s featured artist are incomparable BLUES SINGERS from back in the day. These artist didn’t get much credit artistically or financially for their creative efforts. Often white artists would replicate their songs and thereby getting credit for it’s originality on white radio stations.
Music: White men sing the blues
Muddy Waters gave them their name. They stole riffs from Chuck Berry. And as for Jagger’s funky chicken dance… The Rolling Stones wouldn’t be were they are today without black music.
“Baltimore Unveils Freddie Gray Mural”
http://ban.jo/News/US-Canada/20150509/Baltimore-Unveils-Freddie-Gray-Mural-Baltimore/
https://www.yahoo.com/news/recording-deputy-gave-man-less-2-seconds-drop-184852576.html
Look at this crap.
Finally! Tuskegee University has posted the full 32 minute power and truth speech from the fearless, the incomparable, the inimitable, the unsurpassable First Lady of the United States, Mrs Michelle Obama:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIDL3r0hxWY
p.s: Allan West does not approve. He’s trying to re-op his hustle by telling white right-wingers and all those uncomfortable with the powerful truth Mrs Obama shared, that she was wrong. Lol..
Thank you so MUCH,eliihass! I posted the video on a seperate thread too. We can never ssee and hear our FLOTUS enough.
yeah!!
thanks for this!
Hang in there until around 2:00.
Nothing to describe what this Congressman does other than call it ETHER!
ETHER!!
https://youtu.be/Y-gREFiCRsU
well, tv news from CBS
………………….
CBS Renews Person of Interest, NCIS, Five-0, Good Wife and 11 More Shows
Nearly all the remaining question marks in TVLine’s 2015 Renewal Scorecard have just been answered, courtesy of CBS.
The Eye network on Monday renewed 15 series for the 2015-16 season, including established bubble dramas Person of Interest, Hawaii Five-0 and Elementary, as well as freshman entries CSI: Cyber and The Odd Couple.
Also scoring pickups were NCIS, Blue Bloods, NCIS: Los Angeles, Criminal Minds, The Good Wife, Survivor, Undercover Boss, The Amazing Race, 60 Minutes and 48 Hours.
They join previously renewed Eye programs Madam Secretary, NCIS: New Orleans, Scorpion, The Big Bang Theory, Mike & Molly, Mom and 2 Broke Girls.
With the recent cancellations of Battle Creek, Stalker and The McCarthys, that leaves CSI as the only remaining CBS series in limbo. According to reports, the network is finalizing plans to bring the long-running procedural back for an abbreviated final season.
http://tvline.com/2015/05/11/cbs-renewals-2014-shows-renewed-person-of-interest-hawaii-five-0/#more-612106
I only watch “the Good Wife.”
https://twitter.com/ABCPolitics/status/597850498201432065
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/28/1087135/-PRICELESS-Colbert-Rips-David-Koch-to-His-Face-at-TIME-Magazine-Gala
Colbert giving it to the Kochs. I love Colbert!
DALAYYYY @TheToast2015
Zimmerman beat wife, beat his father in law, beat his girlfriend & been involved in numerous gun incidents, but Trayvon was the menace. #OK
Man!
Pope Frankie breaking it all the way down REAL!!
http://www.ansa.it/english/news/vatican/2015/05/11/pope-says-many-powerful-dont-want-peace_be1929fb-80a1-4f31-a099-7f24443e3928.html
Jeb Bush endorses his brother’s Iraq invasion
05/11/15 12:45 PM—UPDATED 05/11/15 01:36 PM
facebook twitter save share group 11
By Steve Benen
At some point in recent months, members of Jeb Bush’s campaign staff probably sent him a strategy memo, encouraging him not to embrace his brother too closely. Given recent events perhaps the former governor missed the word “not.”
The Washington Post reported yesterday on the Florida Republican’s latest effort to connect his unannounced candidacy to some of his brother’s most striking failures.
Former Florida governor Jeb Bush would have authorized the 2003 invasion of Iraq, as his brother and then-president George W. Bush did, he told Fox News’ Megyn Kelly in an interview to be aired Monday.
“I would have [authorized the invasion], and so would have Hillary Clinton, just to remind everybody. And so would almost everybody that was confronted with the intelligence they got,” the likely 2016 presidential contender said.
To top this off, the unannounced presidential candidate added, “[S]o just for the news flash to the world, if they’re trying to find places where there’s big space between me and my brother, this might not be one of those.”
[Update: Bush was specifically asked ”Knowing what we know now, would you have authorized the invasion?” He replied, “I would have.”]
Note the evolution in Jeb Bush’s approach to the issue. Just three months ago, asked about the disastrous war in Iraq, the Florida Republican told reporters, “I won’t talk about the past…. If I’m in the process of considering the possibility of running, it’s not about re-litigating anything in the past.” Soon after, Jeb Bush was willing to concede “mistakes were made,” but he wouldn’t say who made the mistakes or how he would have done anything different.
By last month, the GOP candidate was willing to say his brother’s policies are “not really relevant” in the 2016 campaign, as if we weren’t still dealing with the consequences of Bush/Cheney-era decisions.
But now, Bush is throwing caution to the wind, declaring on national television that there’s no “big space between” him and his brother when it comes to launching a disastrous war in Iraq for reasons that weren’t true.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/jeb-bush-endorses-his-brothers-iraq-invasion
from TOD:
http://theobamadiary.com/2015/05/11/a-word-from-eric-five/
THIS …”just like the right wingers”
https://twitter.com/Lib_Librarian/status/597817334548430848
May 11, 2015 1:01 PM
The Conservative Path Not Taken
By Ed Kilgore
When you point out to Republicans that most conservative parties in other countries in the developed world manage to keep their souls while accepting things like legalized abortion, same-sex marriage, modest limits on gun rights, and universal health coverage, they just intone “American exceptionalism” and change the subject. But playing off David Cameron’s smashing electoral victory last week, David Frum makes the more nuanced point that parties of the Right elsewhere are pretty damn conservative when it comes to some other issue-areas:
…………………
In other words, U.S. conservatives don’t have to give up their nativist and neo-con tendencies or even the Islamophobic portion of their culture-war portfolio, to move along into the 21st century—but they do have to give up some other things:
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2015_05/the_conservative_path_not_take055489.php
https://twitter.com/danajayFOX35/status/597815154361896962
So much for learning his lesson. The poster boy for guns rights proves, again, that a fun just isn’t right for everyone. He is going to kill someone else and hide behind I was scared for my life. The ugly precedent set by his case and the cases of police brutality is that intelligence and common sense are not requirements for gun ownership only knowing the phrase, I was scared for my life, is all that is needed to take a human life.
Sorry, gun not fun
MON MAY 11, 2015 AT 08:48 AM PDT
“Let’s be clear: The brutal death of Natasha McKenna was not an accident”,/strong>
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/05/11/1383983/-Let-s-be-clear-The-brutal-death-of-Natasha-McKenna-was-not-an-accident
Tim Wise May 5th article:
“The Crime of Innocence: White Denial, Black Rebellion and the Cost of American Obliviousness”
http://www.timwise.org/2015/05/the-crime-of-innocence-white-denial-black-rebellion-and-the-cost-of-american-obliviousness/
the man who only became President because of the SUPREME COURT…
his election harkens back to a ‘simpler time’.
GET DA PHUQ OUTTA HERE.
https://twitter.com/alexburnsNYT/status/597789319722627072
Get fuck ALL THE WAY OUTTA HERE
WOW JUST WOW! The DENIAL RUNS DEPER THAN EGYPT.
Ladies, your thoughts?
COMFORTABLE AND STYLISH
I like them too. My one treat for summer!
Fabulous! Just fabulous!
Wow! So many great articles and comments to read here. Thanks everyone!
Thanks for bringing us Muddy Waters today to launch your classic Blues week, Ametia!
Hi yahtzee. YVW. Muddy’s the MAN.
He sure is, Ametia! I am listening to him as I read here. :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGvQqw40qCg
My experience as a nurse, is that Black folks were def treated differently when it came to pain med prescriptions. They, and myself included had to fight tooth and nail to get adequate pain relief.
SERIOUSLY, unless this issue & TRUTH is mentioned in this policy FORUM, it ain’t worth shit
Chronic Pain, and the Denial of Care for Black Women
by Alexandra Moffett-Bateau
March 4, 2014 – 12:12 pm
have spent the better part of this millennia in and out of hospitals with consistent and unexplainable kidney infections, fevers, and severe joint pain. While I was in college, doctor after doctor shrugged their shoulders and sent me home without a diagnosis and occasionally a day’s worth of pills for pain management. Regardless of who I saw, doctors eyed my frequent emergency room visits with suspicion, and I was referred to a therapist and/or psychiatrist on more than one occasion.
When I was in graduate school in Chicago, I was diagnosed with lupus. While lupus is a notoriously difficult diagnosis, there is quite a bit of evidence that women are generally taken less seriously, and even treated with suspicion, when they show up in the emergency room with pain as a primary symptom.
http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2014/03/04/chronic-pain-denial-care-black-women/
Great series of videos here:
Systemic Racism: Videos and Readings Storify
https://www.raceforward.org/videos/systemic-racism
Fabulous page! I listened to all the videos.
Thanks for posting the link, Ametia.
I will pass it on to others.
‘Empire’ Season 2 Gets 18 Episode Order Split Into 2 Halves + Cast Concerts This Summer + Ne-Yo & Timberland to Write Music
By Tambay A. Obenson | Shadow and Act
May 11, 2015 at 9:59AM
Fox executives revealed via a conference call with reporters today that season 2 of “Empire” will unfold over 18 episodes (the first season had 12), split into 2 halves, premiering in the fall this time (instead of as a mid-season replacement, which was the case during its first season), with the second half in the winter of 2016.
Also revealed, in an effort to maintain fan engagement until the fall, the cast of the hit series will be doing concerts this summer, in addition to other promotional efforts that kick off in June.
Fox says fans should expect even more “big-time” guest stars for next season, although they didn’t offer any specific names.
And finally, Ne-Yo and Timberland will write songs for season 2.
http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/empire-season-2-gets-18-episode-order-split-into-2-halves-cast-concerts-this-summer-ne-yo-timberland-to-write-music-20150511
Perry identifies the top issue of the 2016 race
05/11/15 10:40 AM
By Steve Benen
It’s easy to rattle off some of the top campaign issues of the 2016 race, largely because candidates talk about them every day. The economy, national security, the climate crisis, immigration, the future of health security, and access to a quality education will all dominate the public discourse for much of the next year and a half.
But over at Bloomberg Politics, Sahil Kapur reported over the weekend on a South Carolina event, where former Gov. Rick Perry (R) highlighted a central national issue that doesn’t generally get as much attention.
“Something I want you all to think about is that the next president of the United States, whoever that individual may be, could choose up to three, maybe even four members of the Supreme Court,” he said. “Now this isn’t about who’s going to be the president of the United States for just the next four years. This could be about individuals who have an impact on you, your children, and even our grandchildren. That’s the weight of what this election is really about.”
“That, I will suggest to you, is the real question we need to be asking ourselves,” he continued. “What would those justices look like if, let’s be theoretical here and say, if it were Hillary Clinton versus Rick Perry? And if that won’t make you go work, if I do decide to get into the race, then I don’t know what will.”
Whatever one might think of Perry or his skills as a potential president, that’s actually an excellent summary of an underappreciated issue. ThinkProgress’ Ian Millhiser, whom I wouldn’t describe as a Perry proponent, said the Texas Republican made “last week’s single most incisive statement about the 2016 election.”
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/perry-identifies-the-top-issue-the-2016-race
Fox Unveils Fall Primetime Schedule: Moves ‘Sleepy Hollow’ to ‘Scandal’ Time Slot, More
By Tambay A. Obenson | Shadow and Act
May 11, 2015 at 10:37AM
I have a feeling there’ll be lots of TV-related news this week, as networks shore-up and reveal their final line-ups for the 2015-2016 season, after a flurry of activity last week (series cancellations, renewals, pilots ordered to series, etc).
Here’s more from Fox, following my post just below this one about “Empire” season 2…
The network unveiled its fall season primetime schedule this morning, and, of note, they moved “Sleepy Hollow” (a series I thought would actually be canceled, for reasons I previously gave here) to Thursday nights at 9PM, putting it against “Scandal” on ABC, which I’d argue certainly doesn’t help, and I would say may be a death sentence for the series. As we all know well, Thursday primetime belong to Shonda Rhimes; she owns all 3 timeslots – “Grey’s Anatomy” at 8pm; “Scandal” at 9pm; and “How to Get Away with Murder” at 10pm. If fox’s hope is that moving the already ratings-troubled “Sleepy Hollow” to Thursday night will positively-affect the supernatural drama’s ratings/audience draw, I would argue the opposite.
http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/fox-unveils-fall-primetime-schedule-moves-sleepy-hollow-to-scandal-time-slot-more-20150511
So the whole world is discussing FLOTUS’ speech. Conversations are being started, and polls are asking black women in England for instance, if they can relate..
And back here at home, the right-wingers are mad as hell. Throwing hissy fits and ‘outraged’ at just how ‘ungrateful’ The Obamas are, even as they immediately validate FLOTUS’ observations by attacking her in the most racist and vilest of ways…
Right-wingers completely lack self-awareness.
https://embed.theguardian.com/embed/video/us-news/video/2015/may/11/michelle-obama-on-being-first-african-american-first-lady-video
Meanwhile the Georgia ‘Principal’ — no words. Ignorant and dumb as a rock – and sadly completely unaware of how stupid she comes across. And this is who is running a school? God help us all!
See ALSO TOO, FLOTUS commencement thread!
For all those folks who took offense to FLOTUS’ commencement address
She might like some cheese with that white whine.
Don’t worry. The devil made her do it, and that should be enough to absolve the principal of her words and actions. And maybe the devil made the rest of the rwnj spew their hate and continue to show their face to the rest of the world. And the devil assuredly made sure that the rest of the world remained blissfully ignorant to the rampant and horrifically transparent racism that occurs in this country. I will say this, it is only GOD, that prevents us from losing our shit and really looting and rioting in this country, cuz we all know that the devil of white supremacy has long been in control.
15 Black Films From the 1970’s You Must See
By Sergio | Shadow and Act
May 8, 2015 at 11:04AM
Initially planning to make a list of just 10 films, it was easy at first, but then I quickly realized that the 70’s were a great time for black films and there was such a wide diversity of films, that I couldn’t just list 10 blaxploitation flicks, but instead, expanded the list to include other films from that period that would not easily fit into the blaxploitation genre. Keep in mind that this is my list and not the last, definite word on the subject. Feel free to add, subtract or argue with my choices. We still have freedom of speech.
1) “Three The Hard Way” – (1974 dir. Gordon Parks Jr.) The great Gordon Parks’ son had quite a ride in the 70’s cranking out films actively, with this film, as well as “Super Fly,” and another one we’ll get into later. But for my money this is da’ bomb. A low rent, low budget (though at the time, with it’s $1.5 million budget, it was considered the most expensive black film) James Bond rip-off about three friends who get together to stop a white supremacist organization from killing all black people by poisoning the water supply, giving them all sickle cell. Now c’mon, who today would make a film about 3 brothers saving the entire black race? Yeah, I thought so. And you couldn’t even do a remake of this today. Name me 3 super-macho black actors today who could play the parts. Idris Elba? Michael Jai White? Who else can you think of? (Available on Warner Home Video DVD).
http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/15-black-films-from-the-1970s-you-must-see-20150508
Watch Wesley Snipes & Damon Gupton in First Trailer for NBC’s ‘Endgame’ (Set for Thursday Nights at 10pm)
By Tambay A. Obenson | Shadow and Act
May 10, 2015 at 12:38PM
NBC has ordered to series a thriller now called “The Player” (it was initially titled “Endgame”) which hails from the producers of “Leverage” and “The Blacklist, and stars Philip Winchester and Wesley Snipes in what the network calls an action-packed Las Vegas thriller about a former military operative turned security expert (Winchester) who is drawn into a high-stakes game where an organization of wealthy individuals gamble on his ability to stop some of the biggest crimes imaginable from playing out.
Snipes plays the highly intelligent, analytical, and unflappable “pit boss” of the game that Winchester’s character is caught up in.
http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/watch-wesley-snipes-damon-gupton-in-first-trailer-for-nbcs-endgame-set-for-thursday-nights-at-10pm-20150510
I love Tom & Lorenzo’s Mad Men posts
…………..
Mad Style: Lost Horizon
Posted on May 06, 2015
Lots of ground to cover, so let’s put on our shades, light our cigs and get to work.
Could the visual metaphor be any more obvious? Don is being squeezed into a box – literally. That is the face of a man in hell.
Note that he’s the only man in blue on the elevator, which makes him stand out some from all the other men. He’s also the only one carrying a hat because men simply weren’t wearing them anymore. Have you noticed how many scenes this season depicted him holding that hat? Especially those scenes of him standing in the middle of his empty apartment or outside it after the place was sold – a man out of time with nowhere to live and no one who wants him. Literally, hat in hand.
Most of Don’s costuming in his McCann scenes served to illustrate how badly he fits into the place.
http://tomandlorenzo.com/2015/05/mad-style-lost-horizon/
I’m on season 5 of Mad Men, so not reading the recaps. SMH @Don Draper.
Thruma Bakhowt, Esq. @eclecticbrotha
The people who’ve spent the last eight years throwing rocks at the Obama family are very upset Michelle won’t let them hide their hands.
tee hee hee I could post this all day, every day, until January 2017!
https://twitter.com/ThePlumLineGS/status/597748074279215104
https://twitter.com/BuzzFeed/status/597753310255456256
Good Bye Idol; HELLO SANITY.
Business Insider ✔ @businessinsider
New York’s nail salon industry is getting overhauled after damning investigative reports http://read.bi/1H9zSYn
‘I don’t have to defend everything that I’ve ever done’
05/11/15 09:20 AM
By Steve Benen
Last week, Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee was pressed on the dubious use of his massive mailing list – the former Arkansas governor has routinely cashed in, peddling ridiculous goods and services by renting out his list to sketchy business partners. Huckabee tried to defend his enterprise, though it didn’t go well.
But when it comes to his “hucksterism” problem, the issue goes beyond the Republican candidate’s mailing list. On “Face the Nation” yesterday, CBS’s Bob Schieffer brought up a recent informercial in which Huckabee hawked an “amazing” treatment that can “reverse” Type 2 diabetes.
SCHIEFFER: Well, Governor, I have diabetes, and I agree with you, and most doctors will tell you, you have to lose weight. You have to have a nutritious diet. But you were also selling pills of some sort, were you not?
HUCKABEE: No. No. There was not – that’s a misnomer. One of the elements of the plan was dietary supplements but it is not the fundamental thing. The fundamental thing is always as you and I both know, it’s exercise it’s good eating habits, it’s maintaining sugar levels, it’s not eating a bunch of junk food, processed food, lots of carbs, sugar those type of things.
Note how Huckabee insisted quickly that he wasn’t selling pills of some sort, only to quickly follow that up by saying the pills he wasn’t selling were part of the dubious diabetes treatment he was pushing.
He neglected to mention, of course, that in the same infomercial, Huckabee also specifically suggested diabetes patients shouldn’t trust the advice of medical professionals: “They’re only going to keep you a loyal, pill-popping, finger-pricking, insulin-shooting customer so Big Pharma and the mainstream medical community can rake in over $100 billion a year annually.”
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/i-dont-have-defend-everything-ive-ever-done
House GOP readies new abortion ban, states go even further
05/11/15 10:00 AM
By Steve Benen
As the new Congress got underway in January, the massive House Republican majority was eager to impress the social conservatives who make up so much of the party’s base. In fact, one of the first priorities tackled by GOP lawmakers this year was a bill to ban abortions after 20-weeks of pregnancy.
The proposal had deep substantive flaws, and the House knew it wouldn’t become law, but Republican leaders put it near the top of the to-do list anyway – even vowing to pass it before the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade and the “March for Life.”
The plan failed miserably when GOP House members couldn’t agree among themselves about the specific provision. As we discussed at the time, the ban was willing to exempt rape victims, for example, but only if they reported the rape to police – a condition that many believed would discourage victims from seeking assistance. The whole plan unraveled.
Roll Call reports, however, that this week, it’s back.
Republicans are aiming to reconsider this week the so-called “pain capable” abortion bill, which would prohibit abortions, in most cases, after 20 weeks of pregnancy. […]
Leaders haven’t released the final language of the bill, but they seemingly have worked out the issues – though it wouldn’t exactly be the first time they’ve miscalculated where the conference is on the issue.
Remember, for House Republican leaders, this is about passing an abortion ban just to pass an abortion ban. The chamber has real work to do, but it’s investing time in a measure that everyone involved already realizes won’t become law. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) nevertheless considers this a priority, despite the serious problems surrounding 20-week bans in general.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/house-gop-readies-new-abortion-ban-states-go-even-further
May 10, 2015 12:45 PM
Ron Fournier is Confused About President Obama’s Clemency Initiative
By Nancy LeTourneau
In the aftermath of Baltimore, Ron Fournier came up with an interesting critique of the President.
I’ve been closely following President Obama’s Clemency Initiative, so – of course – that peaked my interest. Fournier is reacting to this recent article by Gregory Korte in USA Today and provides this quote to back up his contention that the President “hasn’t done his part” when it comes to providing executive clemency.
As his argument progresses, it becomes clear that Fournier is confusing the statistics above (which have to do with the number of “pardons” presidents have granted) with the focus of President Obama’s Clemency Initiative (which is the “commutation” of a sentence). Typically pardons are granted as forgiveness of a crime after the sentence has been served while commutation is an early release for those currently in prison.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2015_05/ron_fournier_is_confused_about055469.php
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bEEs5UVW3g
I can’t with these MOFOs
ICYMI
BIG SPENDER
Christie Blew $300k on Food and Booze
The vast majority of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s expense account budget went to food and alcohol, according to an analysis of his ledger records by monitoring group New Jersey Watchdog. Records show shopping sprees averaging nearly $1,500 at Wegmans supermarkets, and $82,594 paid to the operator of a concession stand at MetLife Stadium. Christie gets $95,000 annually for expenses, on top of a $175,000 salary. He’s spent roughly $360,000 from that expense budget, with $300,000 going to food, drinks, and desserts.
http://elink.thedailybeast.com/4e555ee3e018bee76c3458202l9wu.347b/VVCjHEmOPQm-WT6TB88ff
So much for Christie’s DIET!
D = DID
I = I
E = EAT
T = THAT
?
You are so naughty Ametia…
Hope you, SG2, Rikyrah and all the lovely ladies here had a wonderful mothers day..
LMBAO While folks are still reeling from Sandy& Bridgegate, this Krispy Kreme-eating MOFOs, gorging on funds needed to rebuild.
Sure, this tub of LARD’s gonna be POTUS one day, right…
It’s true that excess and gluttony appear to be 2 vices he struggles with.
Dang! Using $300,000 in public funds to get fat! And to think that people unfairly complain about the people in need on food stamps!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_606w/WashingtonPost/Content/Blogs/comic-riffs/StandingArt/christiebenson.jpg?uuid=dpzo9upPEeCY4ZgI_eIwGA
The Cast of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” in Vanity Fair Magazine
Posted on May 08, 2015
Fanboy and Fangirl salivating may now commence. Drink it all in, nerds
http://tomandlorenzo.com/2015/05/the-cast-of-star-wars-the-force-awakens-in-vanity-fair-magazine/
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Last Call For The Paranoid Style
Posted by Zandar
Leonard Pitts has had enough of the modern Confederacy in our midst.
And yet, we tolerate the GOP doing this. Most of us roll our eyes and look the other way, you can’t stop people from being ignorant by choice. And attacking them for that purposeful ignorance has only made them more stubborn.
If they can’t have “Their” America back, then they will burn it all down. That was always the plan, and has been since at least 1992, frankly.
http://zandarvts.blogspot.com/2015/05/last-call-for-paranoid-style.html
Saturday, May 9, 2015
What It Means to be a Pragmatic Progressive
I tend to be uncomfortable with labels. But when I need a short-hand version of where I fit on the political spectrum, “pragmatic progressive” works pretty well.
The word “progressive” means that I align myself with progressive goals. For example, I wouldn’t disagree with much of anything on this list of Senator Bernie Sanders’ positions (although I definitely think that marijuana should be legalized and I’d add some things to his priorities – like criminal justice reform and gun control).
But the word “pragmatic” indicates that I think the process we use to reach those goals is as important as identifying what they are. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “So I have tried to make it clear that it is wrong to use immoral means to attain moral ends.” I am not going to assume that I know what Dr. King would describe as “immoral means,” but I’ll give you some ideas about my own thoughts.
One way that plays out is in “not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good.” To illustrate, I share Sen. Sanders’ belief that single payer health insurance is the ideal. But it was Sanders himself who pointed out that, at the time Obamacare was passed, there were perhaps 8 votes in favor of single payer in the Senate. Meanwhile, people were literally dying for lack of health insurance and medical bills were the single most frequent contributor to bankruptcy. To wait until there were 60 votes in the Senate for single payer would have been to ignore the very real and present needs of people in this country. Crafting Obamacare and getting the 60 votes it needed to pass was the pragmatic thing to do precisely because it was doable and a significant improvement on the status quo. That’s why, in the end, Senator Sanders voted for it.
http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2015/05/what-it-means-to-be-pragmatic.html
https://twitter.com/TraceeEllisRoss/status/597607114018824193/photo/1
UNCANNY
Good morning 3Chics,
If there’s a cure for this… I don’t want it.
Tyren, still so naughty…lol.
I see you, young man. LOL
https://twitter.com/crooksandliars/status/596930249981472768
Eeeew…so gross and evil!
deray mckesson @deray
And @MarilynMosbyEsq and her husband are seated on the stage. Prince brought them out on center stage and everyone cheered.
TEE HEE HEE
BALTIMORE (AP) —
Prince has taken the stage in Baltimore before thousands of fans who were dressed in gray in tribute to a man whose death in police custody prompted riots and drew international attention.
The pop star announced Sunday’s “Rally 4 Peace” concert at the Royal Farms Arena Baltimore after weeks of protests over the death of Freddie Gray. During the show, Prince debuted a song he wrote for the city in the wake Gray’s death.
“For those who have lost loved ones, we’re here for you tonight,” Prince told the crowd before launching a set that included his most famous hits.
Prince also called on the city’s youth to fix a “broken system.”
<b.At one point, Prince invited onstage Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby, who has charged six officers in Gray's death.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2015/05/11/prince-baltimore-rally/27106667/
Prince had announced he would come to town to play live. Audio from the concert was streamed free via the digital live music service TIDAL.
Mosby on stage
In addition to “Baltimore,” Prince played many of his hits, opening with “Let’s go Crazy.” But he hatched a surprise when he invited State’s Attorney for Baltimore City Marilyn Mosby to join him on stage, the Baltimore Sun reported.
Mosby is heading the prosecution in the Gray case and has lodged charges against six police officers. The officers’ attorneys have filed a motion to have Mosby’s office taken off the case.
They claim she has a conflict of interests, which she has denied.
The concert tickets were a Mother’s Day gift from Mosby’s husband, Councilman Nick Mosby, the Sun reported.
Curfew jab
Early on, Prince took aim at recent curfews that followed the rioting.
“To those who have lost loved one, we are your servants tonight, we’re here for you. They said there wasn’t no curfew, so I don’t know how this is gonna go,” Prince said.
He played several encores into the night.
Cell phones off, on
Injustice has few contemporary foes more formidable than the cell phone camera. And the device took center stage before Prince did — and got kicked straight off.
http://www.wcvb.com/national/prince-and-politics-in-baltimore-concert/32927136
Will this be one more perceived sin to be used by the FOP to argue for her to recuse herself…?
In my mind ALL police departments should be recused from investigating their own.
Sa Mosby has every right to attend this event with her family.
Exactly, Ametia!
I am tired of hearing all the negative stuff from Mosley’s detractors.
No way should Marilyn Mosley even consider recusing herself. We need her on this case!
They think she’s going to go in hiding. Don’t want her actually out there among the good folks of B-More, filling her brain with all that TRUTH.
Yes. She’s got this one!
And besides, she represents Mr. Gray, not the cops, so I really see no conflict of interest. Now if she was representing the cops I could see that. Whatever to the naysayers. They can kick rocks!!
Big appetite: Christie buys $300K of food & booze with NJ expense account
Christie Spent $82K on Food at Football Games
May 11, 2015
Chris Christie’s expense account tells a story of appetite and ambition, one that pits government waste versus the New Jersey governor’s waistline.
Christie spent $360,000 from his state allowance during his five years in office. More than 80 percent of that money, or $300,000, was used to buy food, alcohol and desserts, according to a New Jersey Watchdog analysis of records released by the governor’s office.
[…]
Gov. Chris Christie’s “most notable spending spree occurred during the 2010 and 2011 NFL football seasons at MetLife Stadium, where the New York’s Giants and Jets play their home games. New Jersey’s governor traditionally enjoys free use of luxury boxes for games and other events at the government-owned venue, but food and beverages cost extra,” according to New Jersey Watchdog.
“On 58 occasions, Christie used a debit card to pay a total of $82,594 to Delaware North Sportservice, which operates the concessions at MetLife. The governor’s office did not provide any receipts, business reasons or names of individuals entertained, but defended the expense.”
http://watchdog.org/217942/christie-nj-expense-account/
Must be nice. As the people he’s supposed to serve still haven’t recovered from Sandy! What a pompous, disgusting, jerk he is.
How Racism Doomed Baltimore
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD
MAY 9, 2015
The Baltimore riots threw a spotlight on the poverty and isolation of the African-American community where the unrest began last month. The problems were underscored on Friday when the Justice Department, in response to Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s request, started an investigation of the Police Department, which has an egregious history of brutality and misconduct.
Other cities are plagued by the same difficulties, but they have proved especially intractable in Baltimore. A new study from Harvard offers evidence that Baltimore is perhaps the worst large city in the country when measured by a child’s chances of escaping poverty.
The city’s racially segregated, deeply poor neighborhoods cast an especially long shadow over the lives of low-income boys. For example, those who grew up in recent decades in Baltimore earn 28 percent less at age 26 than otherwise similar kids who grew up in an average county in the United States.
As shocking as they are, these facts make perfect sense in the context of the century-long assault that Baltimore’s blacks have endured at the hands of local, state and federal policy makers, all of whom worked to quarantine black residents in ghettos, making it difficult even for people of means to move into integrated areas that offered better jobs, schools and lives for their children. This happened in cities all over the country, but the segregationist impulse in Maryland generally was particularly virulent and well-documented in Baltimore, which is now 63 percent black.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/10/opinion/sunday/how-racism-doomed-baltimore.html?_r=0
A friend of mine shard this video he found on Daily Kos on Facebook. It features a self proclaimed “redneck” who used to be a racist and he challenges white people to take responsibility for the racism that permeates the culture. Powerful stuff (warning – includes quite a few f bombs):
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/04/10/1376881/–Redneck-s-viral-video-calls-for-other-whites-to-post-their-own-white-racial-responsility-videos?detail=facebook_sf#
May 08, 2015 9:47 AM
No, Scott Walker Hasn’t Peaked Too Soon
By Ed Kilgore
Having tried carefully a few times recently to glean significant material from early GOP presidential polls, I’d now like to offer a reminder of the kind of excesses in journalistic malpractice that can occur from dwelling on the less significant material. Here’s a sample of breathless horse-race madness from The Hill’s Jonathan Easley:
Easley goes on in this vein for graph after graph, suggesting Walker’s loss of a few points in this or that poll shows he’s falling like a stone, having somehow failed to preempt the potential appeal of every candidate to the right of Jeb Bush. And there’s the usual hysteria from Iowa where it’s never too early to declare total victory or total defeat:
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2015_05/no_scott_walker_hasnt_peaked_t055446.php
man, he was good looking.
https://twitter.com/BostonGlobe/status/597627357919387648/photo/1
A movie catchphrase is not a foreign policy
05/11/15 08:40 AM—UPDATED 05/11/15 08:50 AM
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By Steve Benen
About a dozen Republican presidential hopefuls appeared in South Carolina over the weekend at the “Freedom Summit,” a showcase sponsored by Citizens United, and most of the rhetoric was consistent with expectations. But as msnbc’s Benjy Sarlin reported, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) delivered one line that stood out.
Rubio told the audience he would model his approach to terrorism on Liam Neeson’s catchphrase in the film “Taken”:
“We will look for you, we will find you and we will kill you.”
If you haven’t seen the movie, here’s a handy clip of Neeson delivering the line.
This wasn’t some offhand comment that the far-right senator mentioned in an interview; this was in the prepared text. Indeed, Rubio’s campaign operation followed up on the speech by celebrating the line on social media. It’s also worth appreciating the efficacy of the rhetoric – it was met, by some accounts, with “thunderous applause.”
I should note for context that the Florida Republican didn’t just take the line and present it as his own – he’s not Rand Paul – but rather, he credited the film directly. “On our strategy on global jihadists and terrorists, I refer them to the movie Taken,” Rubio said on Saturday. “Have you seen the movie Taken? Liam Neeson. He had a line, and this is what our strategy should be: ‘We will look for you, we will find you, and we will kill you.’”
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/movie-catchphrase-not-foreign-policy
Jeb Bush fails to impress at Falwell’s Liberty U
05/11/15 08:00 AM
By Steve Benen
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) seems to understand how much work he has to do to impress social conservative voters, many of whom are deeply skeptical of his unannounced presidential campaign. The weekend offered a unique opportunity: the Republican was the commencement speaker at the late Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University in Virginia.
As msnbc’s Jane C. Timm explained, Bush didn’t exactly wow his evangelical audience.
The former Florida governor struggled to impress the evangelical audience at the university founded by Southern Baptist pastor Jerry Falwell. That could signal trouble for Bush, who, as seen in recent polls, is already struggling to woo evangelical and far-right conservatives. Saturday’s address did nothing to change that, as the governor delivered a speech about faith and religious persecution to a subdued audience that didn’t always acknowledge applause lines. […]
[I]n a handful of instances, [Bush] talked through cheers or waited for applause that never came.
Bush’s super PAC – which, at least for now, is effectively his national campaign operation – published a transcript of his remarks over the weekend, and in a striking departure from expectations, the Florida Republican neglected to even mention the issue of marriage rights, which is one of the highest priorities for the religious right movement.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/jeb-bush-fails-impress-falwells-liberty-u
Good Morning, Everyone :)
Good Morning, Everyone! :-)
How is everyone this morning?