Maybe you weren't addressing me directly, but the story I linked is about an incident that happened 2 years ago and is completely settled.
If I was living in fear of being shot by cops, those statistics might calm me down. But I am concerned about cops being held accountable for their actions and being better trained about when it is appropriate to draw their weapon, use deadly force, etc. Statistics are irrelevant there - even one case is too many, you don't wait for an epidemic to do something about it. The system in place is meant to work, and if it doesn't work, fix it. And it's like with cockroaches - you see one and wonder how many are out there hidden.
I expect for his last act, on his last day, he will decriminalize marijuana. I'd love to see the whole drug mess come down, but baby steps. Portugal and Holland decriminalized hard substances, opting instead for rehabilitation programs and their heroin usage, violent crime, rape, and incarcerated numbers all dropped. Why can't we have that here? Funny enough this guy I sort of know overdosed on shitty heroin the day before yesterday. Ehhhh, it's an issue, dude. Even taking per capita numbers into consideration.
Here's the insane part: this was in 2003-a good 4 years before the crash. Who were the architects of the crash? Paulson (head of Goldman-Sachs), Summers (a noted economist that whose name was floated by Obama as Fed Chairman about a year ago, and Greenspan (Chairman of Fed). They all testified in support of the repeal of Glass-Stegall (under the Clinton Administration) and further testified that the derivative market should not be regulated because the financial houses would internally police the market. All avowed Reaganites. I keep coming back to that, but 1980 is the most important year in American history if you want to know why the US is the way it is today. But don't take my word for it, do some research on these guys. How in the world Paulson became Secretary of the Treasury is mind boggling. How Obama (a supposed 'liberal') even thought of nominating Summers is astonishing. The reverence paid to Greenspan is also baffling. But as I said, dig around yourselves.
Some of Obama's appointees are bi-partisan in a bad way. The FCC dude in particular was the biggest corporate shill I've ever seen. He didn't even try to fake it. If he didn't get that epic internet enema over the variable rate speed/fees we would have been screwed. I don't know what Obama was thinking, possibly trying to give the republicans some concessions to ensure an easy appointment because they blocked virtually everyone else the guy tried to appoint. I hate this idea that government has to be 100% for the majority party. Our system does not work like that. It's setup to balance each faction, each branch. There are 300 million people to represent, not just the 50 million who voted *your* way.
With respect to the cops and the problems with them, what I find to be very interesting is how different country's police forces interact and deal with people. I torrent a lot of New Zealand, Australian, and UK cop shows, and for the most part, they are all very polite and respectful of people. Even the booking process is amazingly humane and understanding. The whole process really deescalates any confrontation, to the point that for most of the process the "perps" aren't even handcuffed. With the US, it's all yelling and shouting and guns drawn and "get down on the ground!" and handcuffs and tazers, it seems. Now I'm sure part of that is the fact that only the juiciest of clips makes the show, but still, it's a hugely different attitude and mentality on how to approach the citizenship.
Sounds pretty fucking awesome. What really gets me is the part where so many Americans still think this kind of policy making is the best answer. This is even after Greenspan pretty much admitted they didn't work and were at best misunderstood by the people pushing them.
I don't disagree with Bernie Sanders on the banking cartel and how the supposed masters of the universe really screwed America. I guess the thing I find interesting is that Bernie Sanders appeals to only a certain strata of liberals while, Ron Paul, who also espoused almost the exact same beliefs regarding markets and the overall financial system only appealed to a certain strata of conservatives. At the same time, I doubt Ron Paul supporters would support Bernie Sanders and vice versa, I'm sure Bernie Sanders supporters didn't support Ron Paul. Now, I realize that aside from the financial markets issue; Bernie Sanders takes a communitarian approach to government and Ron Paul (By extension Rand Paul) takes a libertarian approach to government, which in the big scheme of things are diametrically opposed. The reality though is, in my opinion, if you understand the issues this country faces, these two people agree on what is the most important subject for America in both the short and long term which is the economic viability of this country moving forward. The remaining candidates from both sides appear to be the same: Same foreign policy, same economic policy, just minor tweaks to social reform or other issues that the media convinces people are important while ignoring the countries economic health.
It reminds me of the Obama Romney debates last year. They actually agreed on almost everything so instead of a debate they just cherry picked old quotes. It was really boring and kind of immature. Hillary will do much the same. She'll talk about the war on women or some other bullshit that doesn't exist in an attempt to differentiate herself. I'm at work now and don't have time but Bernie and Ron Paul have very different politics. Not at all the same thing.
This is a brilliant idea. Out of Memphis, no less. http://www.wmcactionnews5.com/story/29569117/father-urges-safe-interactions-with-police-officers Maybe something like this should be implemented nationwide.
Wow. From the article: He played up your stupid narrative, and you're still crying about it because he said all lives matter? I really don't have the words for how much these people suck. Also, fuck you idiots for only caring about relatively unimportant issues that you think are only going to affect you. Fuck you.
I worked for a large telecom company and the amount of retards they hired is mind boggling. Want to know how much they paid us? Assuming we worked Sundays we topped out at $78K per year, plus 401K and benefits with only a high school education. This is at a straight 40 hours a week. Before I quit they were even giving us free classes to do our CCNA which we would have topped out at around $125K per year. I quit that job though because the work was absolutely soul crushing and I had zero life due to the fucked up schedule changing every week. Now at my new job I'm making up to $2K a week, drinking tequila with the boss on the clock and I'm not even using my degree here either. In fact I'm the only person here with a degree. You would be surprised at how many well paying jobs there are out there that don't require a degree.
. Phoenix (CNN)Democratic presidential candidate Martin O'Malley apologized on Saturday for saying "All lives matter" while discussing police violence against African-Americans with liberal demonstrators. http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/18/politics/martin-omalley-all-lives-matter/index.html It's a very sick, twisted world we live in when you have to apologize for saying "All lives matter."
That is why he won't make it far. He apologized. He showed weakness. Stick to your guns (HAH) when campaigning because every word will be used against you. He should have shot (HAH) right back, doubled down on his comments. Because he was right. I really believe the republicans are going to have a devastating loss if things keep going this way. Trump is going to divide their vote big time. The wing nuts and idiots love him, but come election time the people actually voting for president will not. They will go third party or stay home. That is, if Trump doesn't go third party like many suspect. Either way the right wing vote gets divided significantly. Even if they keep Jeb, he is going to get sodomized in the debates. They need a moderate candidate, but funny enough, Hillary is more of a moderate republican than any of these people. This is a circus and the entire world is laughing at us.
I'm shocked that people aren't realizing that Trump is a troll. He's not going to come into arms reach of the republican nomination and he's not starting a third party. At this point it's either going to Chris Christie or John Kasich. Bush won't get it because his last name is Bush. Bachman won't get it because she's nuts. Cruz won't get it because he looks Oscar the Grouch. I don't know what's more alarming, the fact that there isn't a clear front runner on the Republican side, or that the Democrats are just letting Clinton assume the nomination without vetting any actual alternatives other than wingnuts like Bernie Sanders or Fake Indian Warren.
This Trump media Circus can't last, it will burn out in time. Honestly, isn't just a little refreshing, just a little, that every line out of his mouth sounds like it's off the top of his head and not forged in the back of a dimly lit focus group? He's insanely unelectable and shouldn't be elected. Maybe some good will come out of it and other will speak their mind with more honesty. Probably not. Sucks because outside of democrat polling it seems Clinton has virtually no enthusiasm behind her. I'd like to see Cruz debate her as I think he'd crush her in the debates. He is a bit too polarizing though as well as Walker. I think Rand Paul could draw enough moderates and the libertarian crowd. I don't know where you are getting limp wrist Kasich or Christie as the top 2.
Here is, I believe, the context why people are upset when people respond with "all lives matter" to the #black lives matter movement. The #blacklivesmatter movement arose out of a very specific, yet HUGE issue, that of black individuals getting shot and killed by police with seemingly no consequences for the officers. It is reflective of an overall sense in much of the black community that the police have unfairly targeted and harassed them, and no one seems to care. After Michael Brown, Tamir Riceand Eric Garner, people not just in the black community but throughout all communities have said enough is enough. That is the context of #blacklivesmatter. So when O'Malley and others respond with "all lives matter," it removes the context and undercuts the actual cause that these protesters are fighting for. And it doesn't mean anything, "all lives matter." Of course all lives matter and murdering anyone, black or white, is a bad thing. But it has nothing to do with what many feel is the systematic injustice being done to the black community by many police officers/departments, and the lack of a response from institutions that are supposed to protect citizens from such injustice. When people respond with "all lives matter," it is essentially saying to the #blacklivesmatter movement that your cause isn't worthwhile. It dismisses the problem. The idea that "all lives matter" is an obvious part of society. It's a given. The #blacklivesmatter movement is saying, the basic premise of all lives matter doesn't seem to apply to black lives, hence the need for #blacklivesmatter. Having said all that, I don't think this means people like O'Malley are racist or don't believe that the issue is important. I just think they are a bit ignorant of what it really means by saying "all lives matter."
I think the feeling of breathing fresh air is what is drawing people to Trump. I for one am tired of target audience focused messaging and muted mannerism....it's all bullshit. Both parties are full of shit, they are both funded by the same organizations, look no further than where candidates campaign contributions come from (Big Insurance, Big Finance, Big Pharma, Big Defense, etc.). Everyone should realize at this point that whether a democrat or republican wins in 2016, Goldman Sachs and the like will always win.
More of my top 2 rather than the top 2. I don't know enough about Ted Cruz except for when some Mexican journalist criticized him for looking white when his last name is Cruz. Let's be realistic. It's not a movement, it's something people like to #hashtag on social media.
Ive seen a much more concerted effort nation wide with actual street protest with this than your average slacktivism movement.