I don’t know if you’ve been following the corruption trial in Baltimore, but it’s been an eye opener.
This is the system that Mosby has been up against.
This isn’t one or two ‘ rotten apples’.
This is SYSTEMATIC.
In Baltimore, Brazen Officers Took Every Chance to Rob and Cheat
By TIMOTHY WILLIAMS
FEB. 6, 2018
BALTIMORE — Stacks of bills, $100,000 in all, taken from a safe.
Garbage bags full of stolen prescription drugs dumped on the black market.
A motorist robbed of $25,000.
The crimes were not carried out by civilian criminals, but by Baltimore police officers. They are among the dozens of bombshells in one of the most startling police corruption scandals in a generation. In a trial in Baltimore federal court, witnesses and even the officers themselves have described an elite squad gone rogue, taking every opportunity to rob those they were supposed to be policing or protecting, and barely bothering to cover up their deeds.
The daily disclosures of dangerous, embarrassing and shameless acts come at a particularly bad time for the Baltimore Police Department, which is battling a runaway crime problem in an environment already poisoned by deep mistrust in the police.
The department was in fact under investigation by the federal government for systemic civil rights violations while the officers carried out many of their crimes — which included selling seized guns and drugs back onto the streets, sending innocent people to jail, recruiting civilians to rob drug dealers and using GPS devices to track and rob the innocent.
Six officers have pleaded guilty; four are testifying against the two who are now on trial.
The case fits a pattern of corruption scandals involving anti-crime units that rack up arrests and praise, but do not have enough supervision, said Peter Moskos, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York and a former Baltimore police officer who went to the police academy with one of the accused officers. But this one is far worse, he said: “It’s shocking what they’ve done and how long they’ve been doing it.”
With Mark Warner conspiracy theory, Trump goes 0-for-3
02/09/18 09:22 AM—UPDATED 02/09/18 09:48 AM
By Steve Benen
Donald Trump was very excited about the Republicans’ “Nunes memo,” though the stunt clearly didn’t work out well. The president was nearly as excited about a GOP report this week that suggested Barack Obama may have intervened in the FBI’s Hillary Clinton probe, before the story was completely discredited.
But the guy who championed Birtherism for several years isn’t the type to give up on the search for exciting new conspiracy theories. And so, Trump published this missive last night about Sen. Mark Warner (R-Va.), the ranking member on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating the Russia scandal:
The president – who ostensibly has access to a vast, multi-billion-dollar intelligence apparatus, providing him with almost limitless amounts of vetted information – was apparently relying on something he saw on Fox News.
And that’s a shame, because Trump’s latest bombshell is also a dud. As the HuffPost explained overnight:
John Kelly adheres to the Code of Silence unless you’re a POC or a woman and then he can pop off like a crazed racist and misogynist.
— meta (@metaquest) February 9, 2018
UH HUH
White House is responding to the opioid crisis by cutting budgets, sidelining D+R experts in favor of an ad hoc group of political operatives w/no organizational capacity, no expertise in opioids, no experience in public management. I don’t understand any of this. https://t.co/L298I2zOgc
— Harold Pollack (@haroldpollack) February 6, 2018
Because they want people to exclusively blame immigrants and people of color for a crisis driven by criminalized addiction, American demand for hard drugs, and big pharma’s gleeful enabling of prescription abuse. https://t.co/FxojD3E1Ac
— Zeddy (@Zeddary) February 6, 2018
Exclusive: Trump administration may target immigrants who use food aid, other benefits
Yeganeh Torbati
THE LAST WORD WITH LAWRENCE O’DONNELL 2/8/18
Rewrite: Abuse survivors speak
In response to Rob Porter’s ex-wife Jennifer Willoughby’s moving blog post about why she stayed in her marriage, viewers shared their own stories of abuse with Lawrence O’Donnell on Twitter, some using #AndSoIStayed. Lawrence shares their stories in the Rewrite.
THIS BITCH NEEDS TO BE GONE
Trump skips president’s written intelligence report and relies on oral briefing, breaking tradition with his past seven predecessors
For much of the past year, President Trump rarely if ever read the President’s Daily Brief, a document that lays out the most pressing information collected by U.S. intelligence agencies from hot spots around the world, according to three people familiar with his briefings.
The arrangement underscores Trump’s impatience with exhaustive classified documents that go to the commander in chief — material that he has said he prefers condensed as much as possible.
But by not reading the daily briefing material — which uses information provided by U.S. spies, satellites and surveillance technology, as well as news sources and foreign intelligence agencies — the president could hamper his ability to respond to crises in the most effective manner, intelligence experts warned.
Read more » https://s2.washingtonpost.com/3edc67/5a7db97bfe1ff634eb14866f/YXdhcmVvZjQxMUBnbWFpbC5jb20%3D/2/10/3a569220054ddfca9b49a25bb24a75b5
Amelia, I am glad I had time to watch this video today. It is outstanding!
Queens school rejects student’s bid to add his name Malcolm X on senior sweater, then mocks him
What’s in a name?
Christ the King High School student Malcolm Xavier Combs says he found out when a tone-deaf assistant principal spiked his request to get the name “Malcolm X” on the back of his senior sweater.
School official Veronica Arbitello “told me … that’s someone I don’t want to be associated with,” the National Honor Society member said in reference to the slain ’60s black activist.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/queens-student-malcolm-x-senior-sweater-article-1.3806658?utm_content=buffereffb4&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=NYDailyNewsTw
He pretends to be out of the loop, because he knows if trump’s impeached, he’d inherit the oval. But we know the truth about pence, and that won’t happen. He’ll go down in history as nothing more than an unimportant accomplice, and nobody will remember much about him.
— @joboomr44 (@joboomr44) February 8, 2018
John Kelly is unfit to serve as @whitehouse chief of staff. There can be no quarter for spousal abusers or their enablers and defenders. Mr Kelly should focus on trying to salvage what shreds of dignity he still has and resign, immediately.
— VoteVets (@votevets) February 8, 2018
That #45 WH is full of
Author Octavia Butler leaves a lasting legacy of strong black women in sci-fi novels
The daughter of black servants, Octavia Butler made history in 1995 as the first science fiction writer to ever be awarded a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, often called the “genius grant.”
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/author-octavia-butler-legacy-strong-black-women-sci-fi-article-1.3803622?utm_content=buffera4a8a&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=NYDailyNewsTw
There are several of her books that I would love to be turned into movies or mini-series.
I would love to see them as movies, too!
Every one of her books is fabulous!
One of a gazillion reasons why I.LOVE.GREYS
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YjNgYoJ4txc
Defense Secretary reportedly ignored Trump request for Iran options
02/09/18 08:41 AM
By Steve Benen
When Donald Trump’s presidency was just getting started, the new president seemed eager to receive advice from James Mattis, the retired general who now serves as the Defense secretary. That did not, however, last very long.
Mattis urged the president not to move the U.S. embassy in Israel, and Trump ignored him. Mattis explained to the president that the international nuclear agreement with Iran was the basis for regional stability, and Trump ignored him again. Mattis spent weeks lobbying behind the scenes to help shape the president’s June address to NATO leaders, and Trump “deleted” the language the Pentagon chief helped write.
But as it turns out, the Defense secretary occasionally ignores the White House, too. The Washington Post published an interesting profile on Mattis this week, which included an amazing anecdote.
“In the weeks that followed,” the article added, “the options never arrived.”
In other words, if this anecdote is accurate, the sitting president of the United States – the commander in chief of the nation’s armed forces – sought a plan from the Pentagon; the Defense secretary thought the president’s request was misguided; and so the cabinet secretary balked.
And the president’s request went unmet.
Remember that as Speaker Pelosi only marshaled the members this way when she knew she had the votes. A good leader like this knows her troops and how far and fast she can march them. https://t.co/Js3xdQIQIu
— Al Giordano (@AlGiordano) February 8, 2018
What’s the definition of a person who voted for a $1.5 trillion tax cut and is now complaining about deficits? https://t.co/v5su3pGk22
— Michael Cohen (@speechboy71) February 8, 2018
EEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKK!!!!!
Monday at 10 a.m. ET, we’ll share a live broadcast of the portrait unveiling for President @BarackObama & Mrs. @MichelleObama at our @NPG.
A history of the museum’s presidential portraits: https://t.co/lDjFnTuvY7 #ObamaPortraits #myNPG pic.twitter.com/IyCl8Djlvr
— Smithsonian (@smithsonian) February 9, 2018
Democratic counter to Nunes memo expected for Friday release
Rachel Maddow notes that the timing of the vote on the Democratic rebuttal to the Nunes memo, and expectations that Donald Trump will allow its release mean that it could be public as early as Friday – a very busy Friday.
Feb.08.2018
House GOP covering for Trump admin scandals
Rep. Gerry Connolly talks with Rachel Maddow about Congressional Republican unwillingness to properly investigate Trump administration scandals, including Rob Porter’s continued employment as staff secretary despite failing the background check.
Feb.08.2018
Porter access to secrets raises legal issue
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, former staff secretary to President Clinton, talks with Rachel Maddow about the access of the staff secretary to highly confidential information, and the Trump administration’s surprising lack of action despite knowing Porter’s issues.
Feb.08.2018
Trump vetting failures seen in scandals, firings, security lapses
Rachel Maddow points out that the high turnover of top officials in the Donald Trump administration is a symptom of the poor job Donald Trump is doing vetting the people he hires to work for the American people.
Feb.08.2018
found on another blog:
@chrislhayes
9h9 hours ago
More
One thought about Porter: this was known to a number of people in the White House for **13 months***. We’re just finding out now. What other secrets are there in that White House we don’t yet know…
LarryO is not letting this go
Lawrence: Why John Kelly is hiding from the American people
http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/lawrence-why-john-kelly-is-hiding-from-the-american-people-1157432387705
Ha! Who this water-carrying, House negro?
Kelly had not become “fully” aware prior to statements this week by both of his wivee?
Countdown Clock:
Seven Days Until WAKANDA😎😎🙆🙌👏
Good Morning, Everyone 😄😄😄
TGIF, Everyone!
The B-More criminal justice system is brimming with CRIMINALS.
They are brazen thugs & criminals.