Wednesday Thread

Who watched Donald Trump's State of the Union address? What did you think about it?

Donald Trump is a Racist

Today, we are supposed to honor the life and memory of the late great civil rights champion the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Trump defiled this holiday.  Over the holiday weekend, President Trump felt compelled to tell the world that he is not a racist after being exposed for calling Africa and Haiti shitholes. The New York Times reports that Trump made the following statements.

“I’m not a racist,” Mr. Trump said on Sunday night as he arrived at Trump International Golf Club in Florida for dinner with Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the majority leader, who attended the meeting last week and has not spoken publicly about it. “I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed, that I can tell you.”
His comments, while extraordinary coming from a president of the United States, echoed reassurances Mr. Trump has made several times before.

As I read the New York Times article title "I'm not a racist" and as I listened to CNN, I thought, "Yeah right."

In the words of Jay Z, "We don't believe you." "You need more people." Trump's constant racism denials speak volumes. It speaks to his abysmal record on race. He can continue to deny his racism until the end of time, but that will not change reality.  In addition to his racist statements about Africa and Haiti, here are thirteen other examples of Donald Trump making culturally insensitive and/or outright racist statements.

1. Statements About Mexican immigrants
When speaking about Mexican immigrants, Donald Trump said:

"They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists."

2. Statements About Black People Touching His Money and Being Lazy

As reported on Daily Kos citing John R. O'Donell's book Trumped!: The Inside Story of the Real Donald Trump—His Cunning Rise and Spectacular Fall, Donald Trump also stated:

“I hate it. The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys that wear yarmulkes every day. Those are the kind of people I want counting my money. Nobody else. . . . Besides that, I’ve got to tell you something else. I think that the guy is lazy. And it’s probably not his fault because laziness is a trait in blacks. It really is; I believe that. It’s not anything they can control.”

3. Trump Defends White Supremacists in Charlottesville

Following the violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Donald Trump essentially defended the Alt-Right. Donald Trump said that:

"I think there is blame on both sides...You also had people that were very fine people on both sides. You had people in that group that were there to protest the taking down, to them, a very, very important statue and the renaming of a park from Robert E. Lee to another name."



4. Trump Refused to Denounce former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke's endorsement



5. Donald Trump Endorsed Racial Profiling



6. Donald Trump Trump Endorsed Racist and Unconstitutional New York style Stop and Frisk

Despite the fact that a federal court declared it to be unconstitutional, Donald Trump endorsed New York style stop and frisk.



For more information on the court's ruling on New York Stop and Frisk policy. See the video below.




7. Donald Trump Encouraged his White Supporters to Attack Black Protesters

8. Donald Trump Encouraged Police Brutality against Minority Suspects

In the wake of the police killings of Alton Sterling, Terrence Crutcher, Philando Castile, Walter Scott, Sam DuBose and other incidents of police brutality, Donald Trump told police, "Please don't be too nice."




9. Donald Trump Promoted Racist Birtherism against former President Barack Obama

Donald Trump promoted and popularized birtherism, a xenophobic and racist conspiracy theory that questioned the legitimacy of former President Barack Obama, the first African-American president.




10. Donald Trump Describes Black People as "Living in Poverty", "Your Schools are No Good" and "Have No Jobs"




11. Donald Trump Tweets False and Racist Stats About Black Violence

As noted on Politifact, the statistics cited in Trump's tweet are grossly inaccurate. Through that tweet, Trump painted the racist and false narrative of black people as violent, bloodthirsty predators preying on helpless, innocent white victims.

12. Trump Called Elizabeth Warren Pocahontas, a racial slur

While he was supposed to be honoring Native American veterans, Donald Trump used a Native American slur against Senator Elizabeth Warren. Donald Trump said they call her Pocahontas.




13. Donald Trump Calls a Black Supporter My African-American Over There

Donald Trump said, "Look at my African-American over here." Although I understand the context of his statement, his statement reminds me of a white slavemaster talking about his slaves, his property.



No one should be surprised by Donald Trump's insensitive and racist statements. After all, he was sued for housing discrimination.  During his first year in the White House, he has weaponized the DOJ against affirmative action, created a voter commission to suppress so-called minority voters and called into question police consent decrees designed to end discriminatory policing practices. Contrary to his claims, Donald Trump is a racist.

New Possibilities is Back!

It has been a long time since I have written a blog post. I have been suffering from a different type of writer’s block. It is not like there aren't plenty of topics to write about. I could write about Oprah’s Golden Globes speech or the fiasco called the Trump Administration.

Unfortunately, instead of writing, I often go the easy route and post YouTube videos. Initially, I got on YouTube primarily to promote my written blog.  Sadly, I allowed myself to be seduced and consumed by YouTube.  I ended up virtually abandoning my written blog.

On YouTube, I have over 5,000 subscribers. When I post videos, I receive many positive and negative comments and feedback. The dialogue is immediate, engaging, dynamic, rewarding and fulfilling.  Occasionally, I receive a few Ad Sense, PayPal and Superchat dollars for videos. My passion for the subject matter and my sense of being appreciate inspire me to regularly post videos.

On the other hand, when I do written blog posts, I do not receive the same kind of instant gratification and appreciation. Often, I post blog articles and receive zero comments. Sometimes, I feel like that proverbial tree that falls in the forest and no one sees or hears it. In my mind, it like my blog does not exist. It is like a figment of my imagination.  I receive no revenue from this written blog. For those reasons, I just have not been inspired to write.

However, that changes today. Although I will continue to do YouTube videos, I am returning to my foundation. One of my New Year’s resolutions is to write again. That begins today. I plan to substantially expand my audience here. I plan to write at least once a week.  I will let my focus and discipline drive me. 

By the way, I am looking for new contributors who have a passion for writing, social justice and black empowerment. So put the word out. New Possibilities is back in business, baby.

The Trump Administration's War on Black and Poor People

The Trump Administration is"Making America Great Again" by trampling on black and poor people. Trump seeks to:

1.  Suppress black and Latino voters

The Nation reports that:

The (President's voter) commission was set up for one purpose—to spread false information about voter fraud, like Trump’s gigantic lie that millions of people voted illegally, in order to build support for policies that make it more difficult to vote. Kobach and his ilk have long advocated for suppressive policies like strict voter-ID laws, documentary proof of citizenship for voter registration and voter purges, along with weakening landmark voting-rights laws like the Voting Rights Act and National Voter Registration Act.

2.  Escalate the War on Drugs thereby exacerbating the problem of mass incarceration

The Washington Post reports that:

Law enforcement officials say that Sessions and Cook (Stephen H. Cook) are preparing a plan to prosecute more drug and gun cases and pursue mandatory minimum sentences. The two men are eager to bring back the national crime strategy of the 1980s and ’90s from the peak of the drug war, an approach that had fallen out of favor in recent years as minority communities grappled with the effects of mass incarceration.

Crime is near historic lows in the United States, but Sessions says that the spike in homicides in several cities, including Chicago, is a harbinger of a “dangerous new trend” in America that requires a tough response.

3.  Reevaluate and reconsider police consent decrees

At a time when police have a license to kill black people with impunity, the Trump Administration is putting vital police reforms in jeopardy. If Trump has his way, there will be more Philando Castiles, Tamir Rices, Eric Garners, Terrence Crutchers, Michael Browns and Rekia Boyds. The New York Times reports that:

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has ordered a sweeping review of federal agreements with dozens of law enforcement agencies, an examination that reflects President Trump’s emphasis on law and order and could lead to a retreat on consent decrees with troubled police departments nationwide.

In a memorandum dated March 31 and made public Monday, the attorney general directed his staff to look at whether law enforcement programs adhere to principles put forth by the Trump administration, including one declaring that “the individual misdeeds of bad actors should not impugn” the work police officers perform “in keeping American communities safe.”

...The broad review announced Monday could threaten some of those decrees if the Justice Department seeks to change its past stance about systematic police abuses in the affected agencies. But the Justice Department would not be able to unilaterally unwind the agreements without court intervention.

This is not a surprise for a couple of reasons. Prior to his appointment, now U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions expressed his opposition to police consent decrees. Second, during the campaign, Donald Trump stated that he supports racial profiling and New York style unconstitutional stop and frisk programs.

4.  Drastically cut Section 8 and other housing programs

Truth-Out reports that:

The gutting of HUD would take money directly out of the hands of renters in need. The Post story notes, "Under the proposal, direct rental assistance payments -- including Section 8 Housing and housing vouchers for homeless veterans -- would be cut by at least $300 million, to $19.3 billion. Additionally, housing for the elderly -- known as the Section 202 program -- would be cut by $42 million, nearly 10 percent. Section 811 housing for people with disabilities would be cut by $29 million, nearly 20 percent. Money available for Native American housing block grants would fall by $150 million, more than 20 percent."

According to Rice's analysis of the Post report, if the cuts go through, "Housing Choice Vouchers that some 200,000 low-income households currently use to pay their rent would be eliminated in 2018." He explained, "Reducing the availability of this crucial support would increase and prolong homelessness for vulnerable people with disabilities, families with children and others."

These cut will adversely and disproportionately impact African Americans. As stated on Living Cities, "...there is another pernicious outcome of the lack of Section 8 resources for every eligible household. Lack of Section 8 fuels inequality and works a racial injustice. In 2014, one out of every 3.6 black households in metropolitan areas was extremely low income, a rate 2.2 times higher than white households. (Source: 2010-2014 ACS 5-Year Public Use Microdata Sample)"

5.  Substantially cut food assistance for the poor

As reported on Mother Jones,

The budget includes $193 billion in cuts over a decade to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps—25 percent of the program’s budget. About 44 million people benefit from food stamps in the United States, especially poorer states in the Southeast. For example, 1 out of every 5 people in Louisiana receive food stamps in a given month, according to a report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Trump’s proposed cuts to food stamps will by and large hit the states that voted for him the hardest. Louisiana voted overwhelmingly for Trump, as did its Southeast counterparts Mississippi, Alabama, West Virginia, and Georgia. Out of the 10 states with the highest food stamp use by population, seven voted Republican in last year’s presidential election. (See more details in the list below.)

Similar to Section 8 cuts, food stamps cuts will disproportionately impact African Americans. Although African Americans are 13.3% of the U.S. population, we are 25.7 percent of those are on food stamps / SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program).

6.  Eliminate health insurance for 22 million people, many of whom are African American
The Trump Administration health care bill would have caused 22 million to lose their health insurance. According to the New York Times, the Budget Office found:

that next year, 15 million more people would be uninsured compared with current law. Premiums and out-of-pocket expenses could shoot skyward for some low-income people and for people nearing retirement, it said.

Conclusion

The bottom line is this. The Trump Administration has declared war on black and poor people. We must fight back. We must resist. We must lobby Congress and fiercely oppose the Trump Administration's legislative agenda. We must vote out Trump's allies during the mid-term elections. We must do everything in our power to ensure that this is Trump's last term in office.

President Obama Gives His Farewell Address to the American People

Peace and blessings, family. I salute President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for a job well done. You will be greatly missed even by your harshest critics.

When the cynics say that you have done nothing for black people, we know better. We know about how you defended affirmative action in Fisher v. University of Texas. We know about how your Administration defended voting rights in Shelby County v. Holder. We know about how your Administration investigated police brutality and racial profiling around the country and reached settlement agreements in places like Ferguson and Baltimore. Although there were several times when you silent on racial matters, we will never forget when you spoke out boldly about the killing of Trayvon Martin. You said, "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon." We will remember that moment for the rest of our lives. We know about how black unemployment was cut in half under your Administration. We know about your Brother Keeper Program and your White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans. Much respect. Although you are far from perfect, I salute you, Mr. President.

Federal Jury Sentences Dylann Roof to Death

The New York Times reports that:

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Dylann S. Roof, the unrepentant and inscrutable white supremacist who killed nine African-American churchgoers in a brazen racial rampage almost 19 months ago, an outburst of extremist violence that shocked the nation, was condemned to death by a federal jury on Tuesday.

The jury of nine whites and three blacks, who last month found Mr. Roof guilty of 33 counts for the attack at this city’s Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, returned their unanimous verdict after about three hours of deliberations in the penalty phase of a heart-rending and often legally confounding trial.

Mr. Roof, who had said in a closing argument hours earlier that he could ask jurors “to give me a life sentence, but I’m not sure what good that would do,” showed no expression as Judge Richard M. Gergel of Federal District Court announced the verdict.

Melvin Graham, whose sister Cynthia Hurd, 54, a librarian, died in the attack, welcomed the decision.

Here are my thoughts about this development.

Monster Dylann Roof Found Guilty

The New York Times reports that:

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Dylann S. Roof, a self-radicalized young white supremacist who killed nine black parishioners last year when he opened fire during a long-planned assault on Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, was found guilty by a federal jury here on Thursday.

Mr. Roof, 22, stood, his hands at his side and his face emotionless, as a clerk read the verdict aloud in Federal District Court, where he had been charged with 33 counts, including hate crimes resulting in death.

Mr. Roof, whose lawyers conceded his guilt, will face the same jurors when they gather on Jan. 3 to begin a more suspenseful phase of his trial to decide whether he will be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole.

The jury deliberated for only about two hours on Thursday afternoon, and as a clerk began to read the guilty verdicts, one after the next, a few women in the courtroom nodded with satisfaction. After the court adjourned, the two adult survivors of the attack, Felicia Sanders and Polly Sheppard, shared a long embrace.

For all intents and purposes, no one questioned Dylann Roof's guilt. There is video of him entering the church and leaving the church with a gun in his hand.

Also, he confessed. He admitted that he "did it."



Finally, one survivor testified that Dylann Roof was the killer.



Now that the jury has found him guilty, the next step is sentencing. I hope that he is sentenced to death.

Dylann Roof's Chilling and Cold-Hearted Confession

Brothers and sisters, listen to Dylann Roof's chilling and cold-hearted confession. With no emotion, that monster casually describes how and why he shot and killed nine innocent African Americans at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on June 17, 2015. In Roof's eyes, their blackness was a crime. Occasionally, that devil briefly and awkwardly laughs while making his horrific confession. I hope and pray that Dylann Roof is sentenced to DEATH!

Marilyn Mosby On the Freddie Gray Case

Good afternoon. Check out to Marilyn Mosby's interview with the Baltimore Sun News.

#DNC2016: Obama is the Opiate of the People

President Obama is one of today's best orators. Obviously, his speech was excellent as usual. Philosopher Karl Marx said that religion is the opiate of the people. The same can be said of Obama.

With his eloquent and beautiful speeches selling false hopes, fairy tale dreams and childlike optimism, Obama is the opiate of the people.  He is heroin in a spoon bubbling over a flame. His speeches and his mere presence in the White House give our people an illusion of true progress. He temporarily numbs the pain and dulls the senses. Sadly, even noted black activists and scholars nodded off into a silent Obama stuper. Those "leaders" left their watch posts and exchanged their principles for proximity to power.

Even after the killings of Trayvon Martin, Rekia Boyd, Michael Brown, Sam Dubose, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile and others, Obama still speaks of one America. Those brutal killings and the bleak absence of justice remind us that there are still two Americas, Black America and White America. The persistent poverty, high unemployment, failing schools, violence, drugs, mass incarceration and dilapidated buildings remind us that there are still two Americas. The emergence and rise of demagogue Donald Trump is an evil sign of the times as well. America is not, and probably never will be, post-racial.

Post-partisan speeches helped Obama win the election in 2008. Despite of Obama's rhetoric of changing how business is done in Washington, Washington is still bitterly divided and highly partisan, probably more so. Like a pimp running game on a prostitute, Obama sold us a dream that never came true.

Now, Obama expect us to support a woman who used race baiting tactics against him. As noted in the Los Angeles Times and the Huffington Post, Hillary Clinton tried to paint Obama as fundamentally foreign, circulated a photo depicting Obama as a foreign Muslim, attacked Obama's pastor, attempted to link Obama to Minister Louis Farrakhan and blew racial dog whistles for "hard working, white Americans". Obama expects us to support a woman who will "say anything to get elected and change nothing."



Obama expects us to vote for a woman who invoked the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy to justify staying in the 2008 presidential race. Obama expects us to support an untrustworthy woman who supported mass incarceration, welfare reform, Wall Street deregulation, reckless wars and disastrous trade policies.

No thank you, Mr. President.

Civil Rights Victory: Court Strikes Down NC Voter ID Law

Politico reports that:

A federal appeals court has struck down North Carolina’s voter identification law, holding that it was “passed with racially discriminatory intent.”

The ruling also invalidated limits the same state law placed in 2013 on early voting, same-day registration, out-of-precinct voting, and preregistration.

The three judges assigned to the case — all Democratic appointees — were unanimous that the Republican-controlled North Carolina legislature violated the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act three years ago by enacting the measure requiring voters to show certain types of photo ID at the polls.

"The record makes clear that the historical origin of the challenged provisions in this statute is not the innocuous back-and-forth of routine partisan struggle that the State suggests and that the district court accepted," Judge Diana Motz wrote on behalf of Judges James Wynn and Henry Floyd. "Rather, the General Assembly enacted them in the immediate aftermath of unprecedented African American voter participation in a state with a troubled racial history and racially polarized voting. The district court clearly erred in ignoring or dismissing this historical background evidence, all of which supports a finding of discriminatory intent." (Emphasis added)

The court's opinion bluntly described the legislation as a clear effort to suppress the black vote."We cannot ignore the record evidence that, because of race, the legislature enacted one of the largest restrictions of the franchise in modern North Carolina history," Motz added. (Emphasis added)

Congratulations North Carolina State Conference NAACP, Advancement Project and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice. This a major victory for civil rights. Since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act in Shelby County v. Holder thereby nullifying the preclearance provisions, the civil rights community must serve as vigilant guardians. We must monitor, investigate and analyze all voting laws changes, particularly those in previously covered states like North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Texas. We must challenge all discriminatory voting laws in the legislature, in the courts and in the streets. In a democracy, no right is more precious than the right to vote.

Freddie Gray, Another Black Life that Doesn't Matter

The Baltimore Sun reports that:

Prosecutors dropped all charges Wednesday against three Baltimore police officers accused in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray, bringing to an end one of the highest-profile criminal cases in the city's history with zero convictions.

Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby acknowledged the long odds of securing convictions in the remaining cases following the acquittals of three other officers on similar though more serious charges.

In a hearing Wednesday meant to start the trial of Officer Garrett Miller, prosecutors dropped their cases against him, Officer William Porter and Sgt. Alicia White. Circuit Judge Barry G. Williams, who had acquitted the other officers, was expected to preside over the remaining trials as well.

After the most recent acquittal and "a great deal of thought and prayer," Mosby said, she resolved to drop the remaining charges. Mosby stood by her decision to bring the charges, pointing out that the medical examiner's office ruled Gray's death a homicide and that it's her job as the city's top prosecutor to seek justice.

"It's something that I've been grappling with for some time," Mosby said of her decision to end the prosecution, during an interview with The Baltimore Sun. "It's not something that was overnight."

In Baltimore, there was a black mayor, a black judge, black cops, a black prosecutor and a black commissioner. Yet, there was no justice for the black victim, Freddie Gray.  Even with a black President and a black Attorney General, there will be no federal charges filed.

The black cops did nothing to stop white cops from unlawfully arresting Freddie Gray. Black cops and white cops failed to buckle Freddie Gray in, thereby recklessly placing him in a precarious and dangerous position. Black cops ignored Freddie Gray's cries for medical attention. The former police commissioner, who is black, continues to defend the police who were responsible for Freddie Gray's death.

A black prosecutor failed to convince a jury and a black judge to convict the officers responsible for Freddie Gray's death, a death ruled a homicide by the medical examiner. Despite clear evidence of reckless endangerment and misconduct, a black judge decided to let three killers walk free. Consequently, realizing that the remaining cases would go back before the same black judge, the black prosecutor was forced to dismiss the charges against the three remaining officers. When CNN asked about that decision, the black mayor spoke in a detached, non-compassionate and emotionless manner about not being surprised by the decision.

Sadly, the system did not fail Freddie Gray. Even with black administrators, the system was never designed to protect poor black people. It was designed to protect the police and the powerful. The racist criminal justice system does not need white administrators in order to function. Its brutality continues even when the black bourgeois is placed in token positions of power. Black lives never mattered, not even to some black people.

Michelle Obama's Speech and Other Highlights from the #DNC

Here are a few highlights from the Democratic National Convention. According the chatter in the press and on social media, First Lady Michelle Obama delivered a powerful speech during the Democratic National Convention. For those of us who did not watch the speech yet, the video is posted below.



On another note, after many long months of campaigning against Wall Street puppet Hillary Clinton, Senator Bernie Sanders urged his supporters to support Hillary Clinton. At that point in his speech, his own supporters booed.



Sorry, Bernie. If I was at the Democratic National Convention, I would have booed as well. With all due respect, Hillary Clinton will not advance your political revolution. Clinton's decision to select Tim Kaine as her running mate is an omen.



The low light of the Convention was when the crowd booed Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz off of the stage.  The crowd was outraged over the DNC email leak scandal. Those emails revealed how the DNC colluded with the Clinton campaign and the media to defeat Bernie Sanders.



Let me hear from you. What do you think about the DNC email leak scandal? What is your assessment of Michelle Obama's speech and Bernie Sanders' speech?

Jesse Williams Delivers a Powerful Speech at the BET Awards

Last night, actor Jesse Williams received the 2016 BET Humanitarian Award. He gave a powerful and moving acceptance speech. He boldly discussed police brutality, activism, racism and cultural appropriation. In my YouTube video below, I salute the brother for his courage. Check it out.

No Justice for Freddie Gray

The Baltimore Sun reports that:

A Baltimore judge acquitted the police officer facing the most serious charges in the death of Freddie Gray on Thursday, delivering a broad rebuke of a case that he said lacked evidence.

Officer Caesar Goodson Jr., 46, drove the transport van in which Gray sustained fatal injuries. He is the second officer cleared in the high-profile case. Four other officers could still face trial.

After an eight-day bench trial, Circuit Judge Barry Williams found Goodson not guilty on charges that included second-degree depraved-heart murder and three counts of manslaughter.

The acquittal cast doubt on the remaining criminal cases in which the other officers face similar but lesser charges. Legal observers said Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby, who drew widespread praise and also condemnation after charging the officers in May 2015, must now re-evaluate the remaining cases.

Prosecutors alleged Goodson deliberately threw the shackled but unrestrained Gray around the back of the van by giving him a "rough ride." Williams said the state lacked evidence and was asking him to make assumptions.

"As the trier of fact, the court can't simply let things speak for themselves," Williams said.

In my YouTube video below, I express my outrage about this grave miscarriage of justice.

Is Officer Caesar Goodson Going to Get Away with Killing Freddie Gray?

The Baltimore Sun reports that:

Judge Barry G. Williams has denied a motion to acquit Baltimore Police Officer Caesar Goodson Jr., charged in the death of Freddie Gray.

Defense attorneys for Goodson filed the written motion at the conclusion of the state’s case asking Williams to issue a judgment of acquittal, based on the defense claim that prosecutors had not proven Goodson’s guilt to a reasonable degree on the charges against him – including second-degree depraved heart murder.

Such motions are standard at the midway point in trials, after prosecutors have rested their case and before the defense mounts its own.

Williams questioned the state closely, saying the murder charge was a "close call."

The defense will proceed with calling witnesses Thursday.

The prosecution concluded its case Wednesday after calling a police expert witness who testified about so-called rough rides but couldn’t say whether Goodson, the driver of the van in which Gray was injured, gave such a ride to Gray.

Gray, 25, died a week after his arrest in April of last year from a severe spinal cord injury that both sides agree he suffered in the back of the van. They have argued over when and how the injury occurred during Gray’s 45-minute transport in the back of the van.

Goodson, 46, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree depraved heart murder, three counts of manslaughter and related charges. Prosecutors allege that he failed to secure Gray in a seat belt or call a medic for Gray after he had requested one. They also allege that he intentionally drove Gray around in a reckless manner.

Defense attorneys have said Gray’s injuries were a tragic accident.

The state called a total of 21 witnesses over five days. The court has not said how long the defense expects to take in presenting its case.

I am deeply concerned that Officer Goodson make walk away a free man still employed by the Baltimore City Police Department. According to some legal experts, the prosecution did not present any evidence proving that Officer Goodson took Freddie Gray on a "rough ride." Equally as important, the judge admitted the medical examiner's notes into evidence. As reported in the Sun, the notes suggest that the medical examiner initially considered ruling Freddie Gray's death an accident. The notes undermine the medical examiner's court testimony and credibility. Furthermore, it is unclear whether the judge will find that Goodson's failure to secure Freddie Gray in a seat belt rises to the level of deprived heart murder or even manslaughter.

Bernie or Bust: Why I Will Never Vote for Hillary Clinton

Although the Democratic Primary is far from over, the corporate media and its establishment pundits have essentially declared their candidate, Hillary Clinton, the winner. The political establishment is desperately trying to intimidate and bully people into supporting Hillary Clinton by threatening us with the possibility a President Donald Trump presidency or a President Rafael Edward “Ted” Cruz. Through such scare tactics, they have begun to demand that Bernie Sanders’ supporters bow before Hillary Clinton’s throne, kiss her ring and declare unconditional fealty to her. I refuse to do so. I refuse to be intimidated.  We are told that we must vote for the lesser of two evils. To hell with that, I will never vote for Hillary Clinton for several reasons.

As reported in Salon, the Clintons and the Democratic Leadership Council embraced policies that “less tilted toward minorities and welfare” in order to reconnect “the Democratic Party to white working- and middle-class class voters.” For the Clintons, being “tough on crime” and ending welfare were perfect ways to reconnect with white voters. Crime and welfare are racially weaponized issues. Hillary Clinton supported, lobbied for and campaigned for the enactment of the 1994 crime bill, a law that led to the mass incarceration of black people for nonviolent drug offenses. As noted in Michelle Alexander’s masterpiece entitled the New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness,

“Far from resisting the emergence of the new caste system, Clinton escalated the drug war beyond what conservatives had imagined possible a decade. As the Justice Policy Institute has observed, ’the Clinton Administration’s tough on crime polices resulted in the largest increases in federal and state prison inmates of any president in American history.”

Even though there is zero proof that African American use or sale drugs more than whites, a disproportionately large percentage of those inmates were black.  Clinton's War on Drug, Nixon's, targeted black communities.

To lessen or diminish his culpability for mass incarceration, Bill Clinton and his sycophants argue that most people are incarcerated in state prisons, not federal prisons. Such an analysis ignores the fact that the Clinton Administration, like previous Bush Administration, created incentives to encourage states to lock up more and more black people in state prisons. As noted in The New Jim Crow, those incentives were created by transferring “military, equipment, technology and training to local law enforcement, contingent, of course, on the willingness of agencies to prioritize drug-law enforcement and concentrate resources on arrest for illegal drugs.” Michelle Alexander further writes that “the bill…authorized more than $16 billion for state prison grants and expansion of state and local police force.”

With this increased funding, training and technology, those police departments did not target white suburban and rural communities. They targeted black communities. Massive numbers of black people were locked way in America’s concentration camps and forced to become the new slaves. Those who were released from the physical prisons were transferred to a virtual prison of the New Jim Crow. Under such a system, it is legal discriminate against ex-felons in housing, employment and voting rights.

In addition to promoting mass incarceration, the Clintons cut holes in the safety net for poor and vulnerable families, who are disproportionately black. As reported on Alter Net, the Clinton’s 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) “ended the federal guarantee of cash assistance to the poor, limited welfare payments and turned welfare programs over to the states.” It “destroyed the safety net for poor people, increased poverty, lowered income for single mothers, put people into homeless shelters and left states free to eliminate welfare entirely."



Furthermore, Hillary Clinton supported disastrous trade policies like North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (“NAFTA”), Trans-Pacific Partnership and other trade agreements that have sent American jobs overseas. In the long run, such agreements devastated communities dependent on manufacturing jobs for employment and prosperity.

Aside from supporting detrimental trade policies, Hillary Clinton and her husband supported the deregulation of Wall Street which eventually led to the mortgage foreclosure crisis and the recession. Despite that reality and despite her campaign receiving millions of dollars from Wall Street, some fools actually believe that she is going to reign in Wall Street.

Not only does she have an abysmal track record on domestic policy, she supports hawkish militarism and imperialism abroad. As a U.S. Senator, she supported the Iraq War, a war that was based on the lie that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. There were no weapons of mass destruction. Thousands of Iraqis and hundreds of American soldiers died based on a lie. In all actuality, they died so that Halliburton and other American companies could reap huge profits. That ridiculous war destabilized the region and enabled the emergence of ISIS.

 As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton supported the overthrow of Gaddafi in Libya. Now, Libya is a failed state and ISIS has a foothold in that country. Attacks in Brussels, Paris, Benghazi, Sacramento are the fruits of Hillary Clinton’s and many others American politicians’ failed foreign policy. Also, she unconditionally supports Israel’s occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people. She gravels at the feet of AIPAC for support.

In essence, I will never vote for Hillary Clinton because of her failed and disastrous track record of supporting mass incarceration, welfare reform, trade agreements, deregulation of Wall Street and American imperialism.

Those policies are evil. Hillary Clinton is not the lesser evil. In some ways, she is an equivalent evil. The Clinton embraced the shortsighted policies of the “evil” Republicans. In fact, Clintons had a term for this phenomenon, triangulation. With Democrats like that, who needs Republicans. One should not be forced to choose between the devil and Satan, the wolf and the fox. I refuse to vote for any form of evil.

Unfortunately, many of us have accepted and embraced that false dilemma. If Scooby Doo was the Democratic nominee, many African Americans and other Democrats would follow the zombie herd and blindly vote for Scooby Doo. They have adopted a slave mentality.  They are captive voters who will accept any Democratic nominee even if that nominee has a track record of making decisions that have had a devastating impact on our black communities. I reject such group think.

As captive Democratic voters, the black community is expendable. We have very little leverage or influence. The Clintons and other right-wing Democrats have no problem throwing the black community under the bus. The black community is loyal and faithful like a dog to its master. The black community is loyal like a battered woman to her abusive husband. The Democratic will quick cast us aside to secure white conservative voters. When one accepts such abuse, one will continue to be abused. I refuse to be Hillary Clinton’s battered victim. We deserve better.

In addition to her bad track record, Hillary Clinton is not fit to be President. She race baits for votes. During the 2008 President election, she used various race baiting tactics against Barack Obama including releasing a photo of Obama in “African Muslim” attire to fan the flames of birtherism and Islamophobia. During that campaign, she made racial appeals to “hard working white Americans.” Back then, Bill Clinton dismissed Obama by comparing Obama’s South Carolina primary victory to Rev. Jesse Jackson’s South Carolina primary.

After Hillary Clinton secured votes from gullible, uninformed blacks in the South this year, Bill Clinton threw Obama under the bus by describing the Obama's time in office as an “awful legacy.” Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton disrespected Black Lives Matter activists and continue to support Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, a man who covered up the police murder of a young black man, Laquan McDonald. Yet, they have no problem exploiting Trayvon Martin’s mother and Sandra Bland’s mother to get black votes. Hillary Clinton sunk to a new low when she used those grieving mothers to attack Bernie Sanders.



Hillary Clinton is dishonest. She lied about her State Department emails. She lied about coming under sniper fire in Bosnia. She has no integrity or core principles. She will say and do anything to get elected, including using the corpses of dead children killed in Sandy Hook as political footballs.  She has changed positions on immigration, trade policies, same sex marriage and Wall Street. One minute, she is a progressive. The next minute, she is a moderate with conservative roots. She is a chameleon who changes with the political environment and political winds.

As long as the American people continue to vote for mediocre, moderate, corporate, deceptive candidates like Hillary Clinton, there is be no true quantitative and qualitative progress in this country. Enough is enough. On the other hand, Bernie Sanders is the one of the most progressive, mainstream Presidential candidates in American history. For that reason, I support him to the bitter end.

If Bernie Sanders does not win, we do not have to settle for Hillary or the Republicans. Our ancestors and elders did not struggle and die so that we would be forced to vote a candidate who supported policies that are detrimental to our community. To do so would dishonor our ancestors and our elders.

There are many lesser known Democratic candidates running for President. There are Green Party, Socialism and Liberation Party, Peace & Freedom Party, Socialist Workers Party, Workers World Party and other third party candidates running. We must diligently research each candidate and make an informed decision. Contrary to the establishment reasoning, such a vote is not a wasted vote or a vote for the Republican candidate. It is a vote for change. It is vote against the political machine. It is a vote against the power elite, the 1 percenters. One should vote out of hope, not fear. Bernie or Bust.

Tariq Nasheed's Don't Vote Campaign Equals Black Voter Suppression

Ahead of the South Carolina primaries, author and film maker Tariq Nasheed wrote an article entitled Why Black People Should Not Vote In The 2016 Presidential Election. The article promotes an anti-voting campaign called #Don'tVote. His article is misguided, deeply flawed, problematic and irresponsible.

In his article, Nasheed asserts that "many Black Americans are disheartened by president Barack Obama's hateful neglect of issues plaguing the Black society." Nasheed claims that "this has caused many Black people to be disheartened by the election process in general."

President Obama has not "hatefully" neglected the black community. Obama promoted policies and took action that directly benefited the black community. For instance, he launched the Brother's Keeper Program, issued an executive order establishing the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans, passed the Fair Sentencing Act, defended the Voting Rights Act in Shelby County v. Holder, defended affirmative action in Fisher v. the University of Texas, re-energized the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, sued the discriminatory Ferguson Police Department and entered a consent decree with the Cleveland Police Department. Although one can argue that President Obama has not done enough to address the problems plaguing Black America, it is a gross exaggeration to accuse the President of "hateful neglect." Furthermore, Nasheed's analysis fails to consider Republican obstructionism which prevented Obama passing other potentially beneficial legislation like the Jobs Bill.

It is naive for anyone to expect one black man to miraculously solve America's 400 year-old race problem. Instead of waiting on Obama to walk on water, part the Red Sea and raise the dead, the African American community should have put greater pressure on the President. Rather than doing so, many public intellectuals like Michael Eric Dyson and activists like Reverend Al Sharpton sold out for access and proximity to power. As result, we are, at the very last, partially to blame for the President's failure adequately address lingering problems haunting Black America. Our failure to hold elected officials is not a sound basis for deciding not to vote. Instead of merely voting, we must present an agenda, demand support, vote for supportive candidates and hold them accountable.

Tariq Nasheed's second argument emphasizes that "Presidents selected by the Electoral College, not the popular vote." He further claims that participation in electoral process is imperative to prevent the people from rebelling against the power structure.

The mere existence of the Electoral College is not a legitimate reason not to vote. As everyone learns in middle school, the American people indirectly elect the President and Vice President. As noted in the Huffington Post article titled What is the Electoral College? How It Works and Why It Matters, for most states, the Presidential "candidate who wins the majority of votes in a state wins the state's electoral votes." The article notes that "electoral votes are assigned by proportional representation" in Nebraska and Maine. In other words, when we vote, we are "voting for our candidate's electors."

The electors pledge to vote for their parties' nominees. As stated in the Huffington Post article, "twenty-seven states have laws requiring electors to vote for their party's candidate if that candidate get a majority of the state's popular vote." In the other states, it is still "common practice for electors to vote for their party's nominee." As stated on U.S. Electoral College website, "more 99 percent of Electors have voted as pledged." Wikipedia states that "faithless electors have not changed the outcome of any presidential election to date." In sum, through the popular vote in each state, we indirectly elect the President and Vice President. The suggestion that our votes do not matter is just false. The Bush-Gore election of 2000 is a major reminder of how very important our votes are. Again, the existence of the Electoral College is not valid reason not to vote.

Nasheed's third argument against voting is that the Democratic Party and the Republican Party are two faces of the same coin. Essentially, he is implying that the parties are the same. To prove that Democratic Party is just as racist as the Republican Party, Nasheed cites examples of Democratic prosecutors failing to prosecute various police brutality cases. Rather than substantiating his fundamental argument that black should not vote, such examples illustrate how precious and valuable our vote actually is.

Clearly, one should not select a candidate based solely on his or her party affiliation. We must select candidates based on their positions on important issues. In many jurisdictions, prosecutors are elected by the voters. If the citizens voted for other prosecutors who were truly committed to eliminating police brutality, perhaps, there would be different outcomes in the Michael Brown and Tamir Rice cases. Perhaps, a different Chicago prosecutor would have promptly filed charges against the officer who allegedly killed LaQuan McDonald.

Contrary to Nasheed's simple analysis, the two major parties are not essentially the same. Although there are some similarities on some foreign policy issues, the parties have conflicting views on affirmative action, criminal justice reform, police brutality, immigration, abortion, taxes, social programs, Wall Street, voting rights, workers' rights, health care, campaign finance reform and other issues. The difference is further demonstrated by mere fact that Republican leaders and candidates, including Donald Trump, seek to have another staunch conservative justice fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court. They want to appoint more judges and justices like Antonin Scalia, a deceased Supreme Court Justice who said that African Americans should go to "slower track" schools and that maybe the University of Texas should not attempt admit as many African Americans as possible. The Republican want to usurp President Obama's constitutional power and wait for the next President to appoint a new justice.

On the other hand, the Democrats want the President to exercise his constitutional power and appoint a progressive justice. Without doubt, just based on the power to appoint justices and judges, African Americans would be worst off with Trump or any other one of the Republican candidates in the White House. Such judges regularly decide cases that directly determine our constitutional and human rights.

Even if one does not support either major party, one should, at least, vote for a third party candidate. Buried at the end of his article in one sentence, Nasheed writes, "If Black people choose to vote, they should vote independent." That sentence contradicts and dismantles the feeble premise of his entire article.

Nasheed's final argument is that Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders "have not committed to actually doing anything for Black people." Contrary to Nasheed's claim, a simple review of the candidates' websites reveals that both candidates have committed to actually doing things for black people. Sanders' website and Hillary Clinton's website outline their plans for addressing police brutality, voting rights, mass incarceration, racial profiling, education, economic disparities and environmental racism. Apparently, Nasheed failed to conduct any basic research before he wrote his article.

Next, Nasheed basically asserts that black people should not vote for Sanders because Sanders does not support reparations. Reparations is an important issue. We should pressure all candidates and political parties to support H.R. 40. However, upon further reflection, we cannot base our decision solely on that one issue. There is a myriad of other urgent issues, such as police brutality, poverty, unemployment, failing schools, mass incarceration and inner city violence, that must be addressed. Moreover, Nasheed rightfully criticizes the Clinton for policies that led to the black mass incarceration.  If we elected a more progressive President at the time, maybe there would no 1994 crime bill. That is yet another illustration of the importance of voting.

In conclusion, as previously explained, Nasheed's reasons for not voting are weak. His article is irresponsible and reckless. It is one thing to demand that politicians fight to earn our vote. It is quite another thing to support a ridiculous Don't Vote Campaign. When a group withdraws from the political process, the politicians have no incentive to address that group's interests.

The Don't Vote will not empower the black community. It will only empower Donald Trump and the rest of the rabid right wing opposition. Such a campaign promotes the voluntary suppression of the black vote. The extreme Right does not need to implement voter ID laws, eliminateof early voting or purge voters as long as we have misguided people like Tariq Nasheed encouraging gullible black people not to vote. His self-defeating campaign is a slap in the face of the black elders and ancestors who fought, bled and died for our right to vote. Instead of discouraging our people, we need to encourage them.  We must encourage voter education, voter registration and voter participation. There is too much at stake for us to sit on the sidelines waiting for some distant, elusive and imaginary rebellion to occur.

President Obama Delivers His Last SOTU Address

Good Afternoon. Yesterday, President Barack Obama gave his final State of the Union address.

Sandra Bland: Grand Jury Declines to Indict

The New York Times reports that:

CHICAGO — Grand jurors in Texas declined on Monday to indict anyone in connection to the July death of a Chicago-area woman, Sandra Bland, who was found hanged in her cell at the Waller County jail, one of the special prosecutors assigned to the case said.

But Darrell Jordan, the special prosecutor, said that “the case is still open,” and that grand jurors would reconvene next month to discuss other aspects of it.

Many activists have called for charges against Brian Encinia, the Texas state trooper who arrested Ms. Bland after a routine traffic stop in Prairie View, northwest of Houston, turned contentious. Mr. Jordan said Monday’s decision not to indict anyone related only to Ms. Bland’s death and to the conduct of the jail staff.

“It’s all in the way you phrase it,” said Mr. Jordan, one of five special prosecutors in the case. “The case is not over. That’s what I’m stressing right now. The case is not over.”

Ms. Bland, who was 28 and black, had recently moved to Texas from Illinois to accept a job at Prairie View A&M University, her alma mater, when she was pulled over on July 10. Her death days later attracted international attention and added momentum to a national debate over the treatment of black people by white police officers. Her family has publicly disputed the authorities’ findings that she committed suicide.

I do not know if Sandra Bland committed suicide or not. She was a Black Lives Matter activist. As such, I find it difficult to believe that she took her own black life.