Saturday Open Thread

Posted on September 19, 2015 by rikyrah

Happy Saturday, Everyone. Enjoy your weekend with friends & Family.

This entry was posted in Current Events, Media, News, Open Thread, Politics and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink.

72 Responses to Saturday Open Thread

  1. rikyrah says:
    September 19, 2015 at 9:45 pm

    Semhar @Semhar
    My President! @POTUS brought it home at #CBCFALC15 reminding us of black women’s value, contribution, leadership in the quest for equality.

    Reply
    • eliihass says:
      September 20, 2015 at 12:59 am

      Sorry Ryk, but I’d like that memo sent to all White House staff –
      Let the White House start treating the first black First Lady who literally sacrificed everything to get her husband elected, like she actually matters.,

      Reply
  6. rikyrah says:
    September 19, 2015 at 9:15 pm

    PragmaticObotsUnite @PragObots
    Blackademics and fauxminists spin PBO’s speech on Black women and girls into a negative in 5…4….3….2…

    Reply
  8. rikyrah says:
    September 19, 2015 at 9:08 pm

    PragmaticObotsUnite @PragObots
    PBO: “We don’t talk about how society treats Black women and girls before they get into prison..”. #CBCFALC15

    Reply
  9. rikyrah says:
    September 19, 2015 at 9:01 pm

    Nerdy Wonka @NerdyWonka
    Pres. Obama: “It makes a mockery of our economy when a Black woman earns 30 cents fewer on the dollar than a white man” #CBCFALC15

    Reply
  13. rikyrah says:
    September 19, 2015 at 8:58 pm

    yes…call them out on Planned Parenthood – threatened shutdown

    Reply
  15. rikyrah says:
    September 19, 2015 at 8:55 pm

    I want Michelle getting paid as some point!

    Reply
  16. rikyrah says:
    September 19, 2015 at 8:50 pm

    PragmaticObotsUnite @PragObots
    None of the cable networks are showing President Obama’s speech at #CBCFALC15

    Reply
  23. yahtzeebutterfly says:
    September 19, 2015 at 6:54 pm

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CPR_u48UEAA5BKA.jpg
    ~photo byHannah Williams ‏@hannahchrystene

    Reply
  24. eliihass says:
    September 19, 2015 at 6:46 pm

    Just watched the West Wing Week video above, as I often do, and I’m going to raise a concern shared by others that’s forced me to pay attention – And please family, feel free to chime in and tell me if I’m wrong..

    But, WTF is going on…? Really…

    Why is FLOTUS literally muted (or ‘blacked-out’ as someone else so aptly described it) and almost non-existent even when those of us who follow closely, know that she’s doing so much more than one comes away with after watching these WWW videos…And even if she wasn’t, why isn’t she even fully acknowledged as has been every First Lady before her, at events with their husband-president, both outside and within the White House, as even Mrs Biden fully is – whether she’s traveling with VP Joe, or hosting events at #1 Observatory Circle…

    Why is Mrs Obama even when present, practically overlooked, as if she were not as is tradition, the Chief Hostess of the White House..?

    Even as she joined her husband to welcome the King and Queen of Spain, Josh Earnest (he’s the voice behind the WWW videos), excludes FLOTUS as he voices that the President – (not even the President *and* First Lady welcomed), hosted the King and Queen – as we watch FLOTUS tag along behind the trio…(starting at 2:15) –

    Among other things, FLOTUS visited Howard Community College in Maryland this week, and even had a wonderfully informative Q and A session with a group of high school seniors, but hardly anybody knows this; but we do now know that Mrs Biden convened a committee meeting at the White House…thanks to the West Wing Week video..

    I went back as far as I could to see, and noticed – especially since Arun Chaudhary the original White House videographer left – that FLOTUS and her events are hardly if ever mentioned, while Jill Biden is always spotlighted on West Wing Week videos…So this is not about a recent cranking up to help set up VP Joe for a presidential run –

    Part of what irks me – besides the fact that our first black FLOTUS has been so disrespected and done such a disservice, is this decision among others, by whoever puts out these West Wing Week videos, to not use this medium to also highlight Mrs Obama’s important efforts – as a strong push-back or counter to the endless malicious narratives of FLOTUS as always ‘vacationing’ and lazily living high on the hog on taxpayer dollars – In much the same the White House uses this and other media to counter falsehoods about the President, and more importantly, to protect, build up, and positively accentuate the President and his image-

    Does the First Lady not deserve to be protected and her image accentuated positively too..? Or is she to continue to swim and fend off the sharks all alone…? Perhaps this explains why she’s absent at many events traditionally co-hosted by the President and First Lady. What’s the point when she’s practically treated as invisible, or as if she’s in the way…

    Even as we battle with the endless mistreatment and violence against us in this country, I can’t help but see this as a glaring example of how poorly this country treats us. Black women continue to be treated as undeserving and unworthy of the dignity, respect and sense of place easily and without question, given to others. It’s a pretty bleak outlook for black girls and black women, when even the first black First Lady of the United States is treated as if she were unworthy and undeserving – and this disrespectfully and shabbily in her own husband’s White House…And nobody even seems to have a problem with it…

    May I just add how much I’ve come to more than ever before, understand the power of the photographer and videographer – especially those officially assigned to cover the President and his White House…The official White House photographer and official White House videographer..

    They capture, select and release the pictures and videos that are for all intents and purposes, used to define this presidency and the many players who comprise it – and the do so on their own terms, and from their own perspectives and biases…And more importantly, pick and choose who gets highlighted, and how well they are presented…

    They’ll end up telling the story of this presidency from those perspectives and from those biases…

    How will our first black First Lady fare in these pictorial remembrances of this presidency as told by those who never did see black women as worthy or deserving of respect, chivalry, or having equal place, to begin with…

    Pete Souza the official White House photographer, also covered Ronald Reagan by the way…There was no doubt that Nancy was treated with the respect and entitled sense of place by her husband’s side without question..

    Reply
  25. rikyrah says:
    September 19, 2015 at 6:33 pm

    WHAT THE FUCK?!?!?!??!

    Georgia opens first prison charter school

    3:55 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015 | Filed in: Politics

    FORSYTH — Behind barbed-wire fences and imposing guard towers, the painstaking work has begun across Georgia on building a new education prison system.

    About 250 educators, administrators and other staffers have been hired to teach prisoners. Nearly 100 inmates have signed up for charter school courses. And 19 high school diplomas have already been awarded in a pilot program.

    But the evolving program is about to face its biggest test. The first of what Gov. Nathan Deal envisions to be a statewide network of prison-based charter schools officially opened Thursday at the Burruss Correctional Training Center in Middle Georgia, and state policymakers and education analysts will carefully chart its progress.

    http://www.ajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/georgia-opens-first-prison-charter-school/nnhJN/

    Reply
  28. rikyrah says:
    September 19, 2015 at 3:23 pm

    Charles Johnson @Green_Footballs
    Yes, it’s incredibly suspicious that Donald Trump would attract Birthers and bigots. #facepalm @MarkHalperin

    Reply
  33. Ametia says:
    September 19, 2015 at 2:50 pm

    SEPTEMBER 18, 2015
    Criminal Justice Reform for Minorities

    Attorney General Loretta Lynch and others delivered remarks on criminal justice reform and policing in minority communities.

    Her remarks were part of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s annual Legislative Conference.

    http://www.c-span.org/video/?328200-1/attorney-general-loretta-lynch-remarks-cbc-annual-legislative-conference

    Reply
    • Liza says:
      September 19, 2015 at 10:19 pm

      Hmmmm. Well, she’s not leaving the safe ground, that’s for sure. The net result is that her speech here is not even slightly inspirational or in any way comforting. I’m totally okay with DOJ “initiatives” and so forth in working toward a long term vision of communities that trust law enforcement no matter how unrealistic that might be. Go for it, DOJ, any steps forward can only be an improvement.

      But where I will not be swayed is in our insistence that the current CRISIS in policing be called out for what it is and treated like the crisis that it is. These DOJ initiatives are not going to address police brutality and the killing and maiming of unarmed civilians or getting rid of the bad, violent, racist cops in our communities.

      If the AG is afraid to even use these words for fear of offending our “guardians” and the corporate media that loves them, then we really have no hope that the federal government will stand between an innocent, unarmed person like Eric Garner and a killer with a badge.

      Such fear gets us nowhere. If the DOJ’s long term “vision” is to win hearts and minds one at a time with all their initiatives and training and trust building and blah blah blah, well, ain’t gonna work. What will work is indicting the killers and bringing them to trial, convicting them, and storing their body in a prison cell for the next 20 years. So, what I would like to hear is that the DOJ is out there recruiting the best civil rights attorneys in the nation and I didn’t hear that. And they need to get a whole lot better at jury selection as well. We need indictments, trials, convictions, and prison sentences right now, not focus groups.

      Reply
  38. rikyrah says:
    September 19, 2015 at 2:46 pm

    twitter truth

    Myland Burke @MylandBurke

    I heard a good and simple observation today. If Carly is such a good leader and CEO, why hasn’t anyone hired her in 10 years? @cspanwj

    Reply
  39. rikyrah says:
    September 19, 2015 at 2:42 pm

    when is enough enough?
    By vcprezofan2

    A poll of Americans today would likely reveal most generally accept as an irrefutable fact that to become president of the United States you campaign for years through a long drawn-out process. The actual governing of a country as vast in space, huge of population and as diverse as is the USA, ought to be a team effort with checks and balances. The Founding Fathers thought so. The Constitution decrees it. Consequently, you would think it is commonly accepted that once the winner has been declared, politicking would pause and, as president, you get the opportunity to work *WITH* the members of each branch of government for the progress of the entire nation. In other words, victory (or defeat) ought to be what pushes the pause button on campaigning and grandstanding, so that the will of the people can be respected and enacted …… at least until the next round of elections. It ought to be commonly accepted, but it is not! Instead, by their actions, Republicans have continuously displayed contempt for the democratic process and it has been heartbreaking to see them stomping all over opportunities for governance, even in areas that previously were relatively straightforward.

    As we all know, when Barack H. Obama (along with Joe Biden) won a decisive victory to lead the USA in November 2008, senior Republicans met secretly less than three months later, to plot a strategy to derail the nation’s legally elected leader, …..

    http://theobamadiary.com/2015/09/19/when-is-enough-enough/

    Reply
  40. rikyrah says:
    September 19, 2015 at 2:41 pm

    Found at TOD:

    GGail
    September 19, 2015 at 3:35 pm

    I just finished reading AG Loretta Lynch’s speech – you should too. Here is an excerpt

    And as painful as it is to watch someone suffering or possibly even dying, the result has been an opening of the discussion in ways that we have not had in significant years. And so the onus is on us to seize this moment. The onus is on us to continue this discussion, to continue this debate. Because now the world knows what we always knew. That people in Ferguson were being taxed for walking down the street and being the wrong color. The world knows what we always knew that young men of color’s interactions with the police are fundamentally different than other children’s. And that as parents, and as siblings, and as family members that we have a responsibility to point this out and talk about it as well as educate our children.

    But we also have to acknowledge more than just the actions, because there’s something that goes on as well, something that’s deeper when we have these situations. We have to acknowledge the anger and the despair, the feelings that develop. You know people they always talk about wanting us to handle things in a certain way, and that’s true and and this country was built on peaceful protest. It is a fundamental right of ours and it can achieve a great deal of change. But we also have to acknowledge the anger and the despair that develops when these concerns that we now see on tape are still pushed aside by so many people as if they don’t exist. You have to acknowledge the kind of pain that develops. You have to acknowledge that feeling… and you know that people say “Well I don’t think it was that bad.” “Well I don’t think they meant it that way.” Or even, “That just didn’t happen.” You know, it just didn’t even happen. And so when that happens to people, to a people, to our people time and time again, you have to have within our community a sense of disconnection and despair that is as dangerous as any bullet or any billy club. It absolutely is.

    http://www.bustle.com/articles/111490-transcript-of-loretta-lynchs-congressional-black-caucus-foundation-speech-is-deeply-moving

    Reply
  41. rikyrah says:
    September 19, 2015 at 2:34 pm

    She went to the same high school as FLOTUS

    …………………..

    She Stumbled Into Tennis, but Strode Into a Top Post
    Katrina Adams Takes Helm of U.S.T.A. After a Long Ascent
    By HARVEY ARATONJAN. 16, 2015

    WHITE PLAINS — In the summer of 1975, during the Wimbledon of Arthur Ashe, 6-year-old Katrina Adams watched her first professional tennis on a small black-and-white screen, newly fascinated by a sport that, with rare exceptions like Ashe, was anything but a stronghold for minorities.

    “I remember saying, you can be on TV doing this?” she said.

    That July, Ashe became the first (and only) black man to win Wimbledon. Adams, the persistent daughter of public school educators on Chicago’s West Side, hit her way into the Martin Luther King Jr. Boys Club summer program for children who were at least three years older.

    She got there by tagging along with her teenage brothers, sitting on the side and pleading for a chance to pick up a racket for the first time.

    “I’m a visual learner, so with hand-eye coordination, I was a natural,” she said.

    Adams did not come to her sport by privilege or design. “I stumbled into tennis,” she said.

    But her ascension to the top of the United States Tennis Association this month as its chairman, chief executive and president is the culmination of a decade-long climb as a U.S.T.A. board volunteer. Adams, who is succeeding Dave Haggerty, is the first African-American and former professional player to lead the association. The top position, which is unpaid, comes with a two-year term.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/16/sports/tennis/katrina-adams-takes-helm-of-usta-after-a-long-ascent.html

    Reply
  42. rikyrah says:
    September 19, 2015 at 2:29 pm

    Ishaan Tharoor ✔ @ishaantharoor
    Why is more attention being paid to that guy’s comments about Obama being Muslim than his desire to “get rid” of all US Muslims?

    Reply
  43. rikyrah says:
    September 19, 2015 at 2:02 pm

    Watched the new Cinderella with Peanut. It was good.

    Reply
  44. rikyrah says:
    September 19, 2015 at 1:54 pm

    Afternoon, Everyone:)

    Reply
  45. Ametia says:
    September 19, 2015 at 12:07 pm

    Trump holding KKK RALLIES. Yes; just no WHITE Hooded sheet-wearing BIGOTS.

    Reply
  46. Ametia says:
    September 19, 2015 at 12:05 pm

    //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

    Reply
  49. Ametia says:
    September 19, 2015 at 11:54 am

    Good Morning, Everyone

    Reply

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