President Barack Obama waves as he is introduced at Copernicus Community Center in Chicago to speak on immigration reform
****
****
The President’s remarks on Ferguson
I need to begin by saying a few words about what’s happened over the past day, not just in Ferguson, Missouri, our neighbor to the south, but all across America.
As many of you know, a verdict came down - or a grand jury made a decision yesterday that upset a lot of people. And as I said last night, the frustrations that we’ve seen are not just about a particular incident. They have deep roots in many communities of color who have a sense that our laws are not always being enforced uniformly or fairly. That may not be true everywhere, and it’s certainly not true for the vast majority of law enforcement officials, but that’s an impression that folks have and it’s not just made up. It’s rooted in realities that have existed in this country for a long time.
Now, as I said last night, there are productive ways of responding and expressing those frustrations, and there are destructive ways of responding. Burning buildings, torching cars, destroying property, putting people at risk - that’s destructive and there’s no excuse for it. Those are criminal acts, and people should be prosecuted if they engage in criminal acts.
But what we also saw - although it didn’t get as much attention in the media - was people gathering in overwhelmingly peaceful protest - here in Chicago, in New York, in Los Angeles, other cities.
We’ve seen young people who were organizing, and people beginning to have real conversations about how do we change the situation so that there’s more trust between law enforcement and some of these communities. And those are necessary conversations to have.
We’re here to talk about immigration, but part of what makes America this remarkable place is being American doesn’t mean you have to look a certain way or have a certain last name or come from a certain place; it has to do with a commitment to ideals, a belief in certain values. And if any part of the American community doesn’t feel welcomed or treated fairly, that’s something that puts all of us at risk and we all have to be concerned about it.
So my message to those people who are constructively moving forward, trying to organize, mobilize, and ask hard, important questions about how we improve the situation - I want all those folks to know that their President is going to work with them. Separate and apart from the particular circumstances in Ferguson, which I am careful not to speak to because it’s not my job as President to comment on ongoing investigations and specific cases, but the frustrations people have generally - those are rooted in some hard truths that have to be addressed.
And so those who are prepared to work constructively, your President will work with you. And a lot of folks, I believe, in law enforcement and a lot of folks in city halls and governor’s offices across the country want to work with you as well.
So as part of that, I’ve instructed Attorney General Eric Holder not just to investigate what happened in Ferguson, but also identify specific steps we can take together to set up a series of regional meetings focused on building trust in our communities. And next week, we’ll bring together state and local officials, and law enforcement, and community leaders and faith leaders to start identifying very specific steps that we can take to make sure that law enforcement is fair and is being applied equally to every person in this country.
And we know certain things work. We know that if we train police properly, that that improves policing and makes people feel that the system is fair. We know that when we have a police force that is representative of the communities it’s serving that makes a difference. And we know that when there’s clear accountability and transparency when something happens that makes a difference.
So there are specific things we can do, and the key now is for us to lift up the best practices and work, city by city, state by state, county by county, all across this country, because the problem is not just a Ferguson problem, it is an American problem. And we’ve got to make sure that we are actually bringing about change.
The bottom line is, nothing of significance, nothing of benefit results from destructive acts. I’ve never seen a civil rights law, or a health care bill, or an immigration bill result because a car got burned. It happened because people vote. It happened because people mobilize. It happened because people organize. It happens because people look at what are the best policies to solve the problem. That’s how you actually move something forward.
So don’t take the short-term, easy route and just engage in destructive behavior. Take the long-term, hard but lasting route of working with me and governors and state officials to bring about some real change.
And to those who think that what happened in Ferguson is an excuse for violence, I do not have any sympathy for that. I have no sympathy at all for destroying your own communities.
But for the overwhelming majority of people who just feel frustrated and pain because they get a sense that maybe some communities aren’t treated fairly, or some individuals aren’t seen as worthy as others, I understand that. And I want to work with you and I want to move forward with you.
Your President will be right there with you.
Rest of transcript from today’s speech here
****
President Barack Obama discusses immigration reform with community leaders
****
President Barack Obama with Billy Lawless who introduced him
****
President Obama addresses three hecklers who rudely interrupted him while he was speaking about immigration reform
****
White House.gov
Fucking Hecklers! Why don’t the heckle Bhoener or McConnell?
Ya know. Just shut up and listen.
Yuuuuup
They are probably hired agents to disrupt and humiliate the President.
And OF COURSE that was the headline that greeted me on my home page this morning. NOT what he talked about, but that he was heckled.
Something is up. I can’t help but believe these people are paid to do this from the opposing party.
Or the MSM/Kochs/Telecoms. They are one and the same. See my tweet downthread.
libertarians have been trying to co-opt so many recent protests, and i see the “anonymous” groups and charlatans (out of nowhere) such as shaun king have been following the pattern with ferguson protesting. their rallying cry is “all politicians suck!!!” and of course they equate president obama, nancy pelosi, and so many other good democrats into this as if they are in on “the game.” their eventual answer always leads to ron paul/libertarianism.
we cannot let them get away with this cynical game that they play. must keep calling them on their b.s. as chips did to shaun recently.
Any time there is a movement - there will be agitators trying to co-opt or get attention for themselves. But for the most part, the protests are mostly about Mike Brown and the miscarriage of justice, while allowing this killer cop to go free.
Thank you Canada. It is the right thing to do.
❤ -> Nerdy <- ❤
Thank you, Legend.
That’s our Nerdy Wonka. On the case. Exemplary coverage at warp speed. Nobody does it better.
Thanks, LadyHawke.
Thanks so much, Chiparoooooo.
Thank *you* Miss Schalke 0 - 5 Chelsea. #Lucky.
M’am? It’s not luck. It’s CHELSEA GREATNESS.
Fear it.
Wayne says: “Meh. I am legion.”
Thank you so very much for the heartfelt posts…thank you for your awesome tweets….thank you …just thank you….you are indeed Legendary as Ms Chipss has said
Thank you so much, PF.
THE LAST WORD 11/25/14
Experts react to Darren Wilson’s testimony
—————————-
Lawrence discusses the story told by Officer Darren Wilson about Michael Brown’s death with law enforcement analyst Jim Cavanaugh and legal analyst Lisa Bloom.
——————————-
http://on.msnbc.com/11Xdz8d
Lol, this tool who is planning on running for President only got 8 retweets in 11 hours. Nerdy gets that many in 11 seconds.
Thank you, NW, for yet another fine summary of all our President accomplished today.
And, also ….
“the ONLY person responsible for salvaging America despite YOUR & @GOP’s incessant OBSTRUCTION is President Obama.”
Bobfr - You are always on point.
Thank you, nospin. We try ….
Bobfr, Webb is another DINO. We have enough already in the party.
*reinforce the values that have sustained us, many of which have fallen by the wayside in the nasty debates of the last several years*
I guess Webb means the “values” of only having white men in the White House, eh?
Go ahead and speak the TRUTH, DR.!
Thanks, Bob.
Great tweets!
Pasty white Conservadem. Feel the excitement.
lol!
tingle time …. :D :D :D :D :D
A terrible photo for a politician; looking slouchy and a bit smug. Webb reminds me of William Macy’s car dealer character in Fargo. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5gwc4UizUc
:)
Someone need to tell Webb that he does not have the personality for President.
Nor the intelligence
Jim Webb: Women Can’t Fight
“Your mission remains fixed, determined, inviolable—it is to win wars,” Douglas MacArthur told the 1962 West Point class. In this story, a Naval Academy graduate, a combat veteran of Vietnam, says the country’s fighting mission is being corrupted, with grave consequences to the national defense. One of the main problems, he says, is women.
By James Webb
From the November 1979 Washingtonian
We would go months without bathing, except when we could stand naked among each other next to a village well or in a stream or in the muddy water of a bomb crater. It was nothing to begin walking at midnight, laden with packs and weapons and ammunition and supplies, seventy pounds or more of gear, and still be walking when the sun broke over mud-slick paddies that had sucked our boots all night. We carried our own gear and when we took casualties we carried the weapons of those who had been hit….
more at tweet link
go Alycee
Just reading about all the protests taking place across the country in support of Mike Brown. THIS is America. This is the America which is being born, and which scares the shit out of the Nixons and McCullochs and Wilsons. And. It. Cannot. Be. Stopped. Not unless you want civil war. Not unless you want genocide. And the other side talks a good game, but it doesn’t have the stomach for it.
“Just reading about all the protests taking place across the country in support of Mike Brown. THIS is America. ”
and that is why I still hold on to hope.
NYC is shaking tonight with outrage and determination. I hear similar and bigger and better demonstrations are planned for the next few nights. Hope is alive, nospin. Being severely tested, but alive.
Our President welcomed all those who are protesting constructively to join him in making sure that all Americans are treated justly and respectfully by local, state and federal governments.
McCulloch screwed the justice system worse than has the SCOTUS. A grand jury DOES NOT hear from the perpetrator - they hear from the prosecution and the wittnesses to what happened. This prosecutor became the public defender
Lisa Bloom rocks.
Excellent question and we all know this was nothing but a farce.
damn shame putting a victim on trial for his own murder.
And speaking of tools, here’s a local one. However, surprisingly enough he is supporting the President, even apologizing for the hecklers, instead of his usual carping and whining about something POTUS isn’t doing for him.
I am not sure what to make of this but it is startling—-to say the least.
Chris Hayes just went through the list of NYC sites shut down by protest tonight. He gave it about 5 seconds and then right back to Ferguson.
Evidently the media has agreed to cover the MAMMOTH events in NYC as skimpily as possible. Must be terrified.
Again, protests have shut down passage in and out of Manhattan by tunnel to New Jersey and by bridges to Brooklyn and Queens. Highways on the east side and the west side of the largest city in USA and in the center at Times Square. And that is just what I am aware of. Must be a few I’ve missed.
From the United Nations Office
FERGUSON: ZEID URGES RESTRAINT AND EFFORT TO ROOT OUT INSTITUTIONALIZED DISCRIMINATION IN WAKE OF VERDICT
http://www.unog.ch/unog/website/news_media.nsf/%28httpNewsByYear_en%29/1F5E42CF93EF71ACC1257D9B00531519?OpenDocument
Thanks for posting this nospin. I’m still incredulous that this UN statement is about the United States of America in 2014.
To Bill R. (on last thread):
I took the liberty of tweeting your comment about Bishop Michael Hanley to Valerie Jarrett and Josh Ernst.
Will send separate tweet to Eric Schultz (ran out of room to include him in this tweet).
AG Holder is apparently not on Twitter — is there anyone else I should tweet to? Who is AG Holder’s communications director?
Thank you much for that recognition and passing on the word. It’s helpful to know that many denominations recognize this injustice and express the desire to do something.
Just sickening. SWAT standing for special weapons and tactics. For unarmed protesters.
McCulloch gives the Grand Jury a MO law to read that says cop has the RIGHT to shoot at a fleeing suspected felon. Problem is that law was proved to be unconstitutional in 1985. After McCulloch gave them the wrong law, he gave them the correct law. This was another instance that confused the Grand Jury.
McCulloch should be held accountable and all his prior cases evaluated for similar cases of biases.
Absolutely nospin. I also think that Governor Jay Nixon and Senator Clair McCaskill should be scorned for not removing or at the very least make known that they had no confidence in McCulloch. I believe I read that of 5 cops who have unarmed citizens McCulloch has not prosecuted one. As far as I’m concerned he didn’t prosecute Wilson either. He was Wilson’s defense attorney.
Rerun from tail end of last thread.
I get that the Ferguson KKK military units (forget calling them police) got out of control this past summer on the first night of protest, too anxious to show and use all their weapons they purchased from the Pentagon. But I thought SURELY the state and the federal authorities would have made it absolutely clear to them after the first time they did that they cannot EVER AGAIN have snipers and military weapons and tanks used to intimidate unarmed protesters. This can’t really be America.
In Philly, Houston, Boston, Oakland, New York, Dallas, Miami, etc
It Huge……People, particularly YOUNG People are saying: Enough.
Oh, thank you. I was just wondering if there were some cumulative tabulation of all the cities involved. I think it will grow.
I just saw that Chuck Schummer is stating that Dems make mistake passing ACA. Anyone seen that? He must be up for re-election in 16.
If PBO had NOT tried to get the ACA done immediately it would have never gotten done at all. Is that what Schummer would rather have? No ACA?
#DontBurnBLOCK
typo corrected
#DontBurnBLOCK
#DontBurnBLOCK …. awaiting moderation patiently since our dear moderators are, hopefully, getting some much deserved hours of sleep.
After the horror of the last 24 hours, I’m feeling a twinge of optimism that maybe-just maybe-the message will finally get through to those in power that the racism in this country simply has to be addressed. We cannot continue to kill our young people at the whim of various police officers. If only some good could come from this……
Again tonight, I am in agreement with you. I’m still in a bit of despair, but I’m trying to regain my own footing and keep a spark of optimism alive. For selfish reasons, I don’t want to hide under the covers, distraught, because I want to be paying attention when something good happens out of all this. We all need that. If that makes sense.
:-)
:-) Hallelujah
bless him/her/whoever
OMG, I love the tweet of God. He’s so on it. lol
Thank you, God! Mahalo Chips~
:-D :-D :-D
Thank you NW for posting transcript of the #Ferguson portion of PBO’s speech today.
I feel like I’m in an alternate universe because I cannot find a single mention of this portion of PBO’s important, timely and urgent comments on any of national newsites that I’ve checked, and with the exception of an oblique reference by @MarkKnoller, saw no mention any Twitter feed of MSM (obviously I haven’t checked all sites and twitter feeds, but even the local newspaper, the Chicago Tribune makes no mention of next week’s meeting — and crickets from @nytimes and @latimes).
What’s particularly galling is that sites like the “liberal” @newyorker and @guardian.co.uk are into full-on #ObamaBashing now without mentioning that PBO is doing his best to call attention to the underlying problems across the US, that have surfaced in #Ferguson.
I have never witnessed such Orwellian manipulation by the news media in my life. They suppress actual news in favor of promoting their agenda, which is #RaceWar and themselves.
Once again:
Law enforcement needs a “Royal Commission” for that to happen - don’t know what your equivalent of same is - but I’m sure you have one.
From Wiki
“A Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia. A Royal Commission is similar in function to a Commission of Enquiry (or Inquiry) found in other countries such as Ireland, South Africa, and Hong Kong.
A Royal Commissioner has considerable powers, generally greater even than those of a judge but restricted to the terms of reference of the Commission. The Commission is created by the Head of State (the Sovereign, or his/her representative in the form of a Governor-General or Governor) on the advice of the Government and formally appointed by Letters Patent. In practice—unlike lesser forms of inquiry—once a Commission has started the government cannot stop it. Consequently governments are usually very careful about framing the Terms of Reference and generally include in them a date by which the commission must finish.”
i think i first heard of ms. mvula here in the comments (dudette, maybe?), and then purchased her album. literally cannot get enough plays out of it. thought this might be good for tonight:
it was Dudette. I got hooked on Mvula as well and listen to her often.
Oh my goodness, 4m44 and nospin! I don’t know why the heck I’m still up, but I thought I’d go find a good piece of music to post here for my TOD Family before I hit the sack — and guess who’s music I was just looking at? Wow! Must be destiny then. :-)
I’m so glad to know you like Laura as I do. Her music is such a feast for the senses.
Enjoy!
I am so hopeful about these young people across the country and their continued protests. The kids in my son’s high school are planning a sit-in tomorrow. Proud of him for wanting to take part. Maybe this time there will be change.
What people around the world are saying about Ferguson
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/141124/heres-what-the-world-saying-about-ferguson
Well said.
for all these republicans defending bundy ranch yet defending ferguson/st. louis PD, how the f- you “fiscal conservatives” justify the costs of having all these national guard and added police FOR WEEKS in ferguson?!? anyone doing a cost estimate on this added “protection” time???
all taxpayer money, so republicans should be concerned, correct? and why this kind of equipment never deployed at bundy ranch since you have no problem spending the cash to do that now?
It’s like war - money is always available for War - and this is a civil war - where one side has the guns and the other side has the truth.
Next week the cost of traffic fines will treble in Ferguson.
what is also funny 4morefor44, are the folks who are strong gun advocates but then turn and blame the 12 year old for his own death by playing at the play ground with a toy gun. They claim the police officer was in the right and that the child’s parents was a fault because they did not teach the child how to respond to police…all this in a state that has open and carry laws.
The logic — open carry is for 18 year olds and over. That law is not for children who should know better than to play with toy guns.
smdh! They are not even trying anymore…
Nerdy - you are an inspiration - a wonderful summary for today in the life of PBO
Thanks, 99ts.
The beautiful groups of young people are so moving to me. These young people give me so much hope, and I do believe that President Barack Obama has given them hope that is worth working hard to make change for the better. These are exciting times to see the young people come alongside of the elders to rise up in these times of trouble. Such a bold move for justice to be witnessing . I have always felt that the young people would rise up and let their voices be heard. I feel that PBO is the right person to be leading our nation at this time, and our wonderful Attorney General, Eric Holder is the right AG for our nation at this time.
I am so grateful to be alive during this time. These young people are going to be the instruments for the change that is needed during this time. I know for sure that PBO will continue to work with these young people after he completes his term in 2017. These young people will remember his work, his words, and his actions to allow them to exercise their rights and be the change that they want. Change has come to America.
I am very hopeful for the next generations because of the work that we accomplished in 2008 and 2012. And I am most grateful for our beautiful Chips who gives us this beautiful space to come to with great support for our president. Also I am grateful for Nerdy W., and all of the brilliant contributors here at TOD. Hugs to our Amk. So good to see him back in the family. We have so much to be grateful for in this family.
I love our great president, and I will continue to support him as long as I have breath of life. Good Nite, TOD family. I love you all so dearly.HZ
“I am very hopeful for the next generations because of the work that we accomplished in 2008 and 2012. And I am most grateful for our beautiful Chips who gives us this beautiful space to come to with great support for our president. Also I am grateful for Nerdy W., and all of the brilliant contributors here at TOD. Hugs to our Amk. So good to see him back in the family. We have so much to be grateful for in this family.”
Couldn’t depart, tonight, without thanking you, HZ, for your uplifting, generous spirit. Thank you!
Thank you, once again, NW!
Thank you, Alycee!
Add Providence RI to the protest list…
via bbc
Motley crew
In Atlanta, “black college students, white urban hipsters in skinny jeans, middle-aged socialists and black militants in berets gathered for a raucous rally to vent their anger at the events in Ferguson”, CNN reports
offensive stereotyping of all people by teann in a single sentence.
the upside is that they are exposing their stupidity and that means they are failing.
this whining is probably a result of hearing protesters yelling F*ck CNN for 10 seconds on air. hahahahaha
Just finished work and peeking in.
This is a beautiful summary of today Nerdy. It is good to read PBO’s words after hearing the speech earlier today. They seem more powerful.
I just have to comment about Michael Brown’s killer commenting that Brown “looked like a demon” and how he was frightened (Wilson was the one with a gun and he was frightened). With those words he is blatantly admitting his racism. He didn’t see this teenager as human. That is the fault of his own warped and racist thinking. The fact that the fear of black skin can be used as an excuse for murder is what the MSM SHOULD be discussing.
Guys like Darren Wilson look like demons to me; can I shoot them because of my (to me justifiable) fear? I was taught never to pull over for a cop if I am by myself and no one is around. My mom told me to drive very slowly to a well-lighted place with people around. There are cops out there who pray on women and get away with it. Can I shoot first because of my fear?
A big hug to everyone at TOD. I am uplifted seeing all of the solidarity protests and reading the President’s words.
Love and light to all.
Thanks, MadameSoph.
Thought provoking commentary.
“My mom told me to drive very slowly to a well-lighted place with people around. There are cops out there who pray on women and get away with it. ”
Wow. That is sobering. I never thought about having to do that. I just drove to Chicago by myself and the most I worried about was my tire pressure. thanks for sharing that.
And then I’m thinking - one guy couldn’t stay in his truck and the other couldn’t stay in his car. Why is the better solution to kill a teenager - why not accept that they have a right to live and JUST STAY IN YOUR DAMN VEHICLE
99ts, I think the part “accept that they have a right to live” is what people like Darren Wilson have a problem with.
If they have no idea as to when to “let it go” they have no right to be law enforcement. I have no doubt Darren Wilson wanted a fight - premeditated killing under any other circumstances.
Totally agree 99ts. I think police departments like Darren Wilson’s are filled with right wing white supremacists. The media and groups on the far right have been encouraging their followers to prepare for a coming “race war” so afraid are they of a black President and the changing demographics of the country. I have thought since I first saw all of those tanks and military gear on the Ferguson PD that they are not defending against but instigating conflict.
” I think police departments like Darren Wilson’s are filled with right wing white supremacists. The media and groups on the far right have been encouraging their followers to prepare for a coming “race war”
it won’t end well….for them.
tonight’s musical interlude…
By the way, 99ts
I saw your pics of PBO flying over and nearly over your house on his Australia trip. How exciting! So cool that you got a photo!
Ah - that was fun - seems like it was weeks ago - glad you liked them - couldn’t miss MarineOne because of the noise - we knew AF1 would be taking off shortly thereafter so hung about outside chatting to the neighbors until it appeared. :)
#BackBarack
good night TOD
And even sadder is not just that it’s the USA reality, but for so many countries and continents across the globe, with slightly different takes on the same theme. Has been for centuries (some, like us, are still in the midst of it, of course).
True, Jacqueline.
My message to President Obama’s trusted adviser is that if they want to encourage conversation about the root cause of Ferguson, and the entirety of the impoverished soul of America, they’d best focus on the fact that until Americans make full restitution to those whose land and resources we exploited, largely using slave labor (not just African, but also Asian), we will NEVER be exceptional - except as vicious, racist colonialists.
Bobfr you are exactly right.
Sadly, most Americans do not know their history because the history books are filled with bullshit that do not tell or blatantly twists the truth.
Education is critical and the need for a quality education based on facts was clear to me as I read through comments on blogs yesterday that were filled with such venom regarding people of color. These people were equating blacks with animals, calling them and our POTUS the (n) word, stating that if any blacks do not like the system they should go back to Africa not recognizing that they are immigrants too as America (regardless of the spin) belongs to brown people (Native Americans) who were kind enough to share what they had with the same people who wiped them out with their diseases and those same immigrants turned around and oppressed their hosts all while celebrating Thanksgiving to this day. smdh!!!
These commenters were loud and proud in their beliefs that minorities have not created anything of value or contributed anything to society outside of music and football which clearly showcases their ignorance as they are unable to wrap their minds around minority inventions and contributions in the field of medicine and science, astronomy, math, technology, manufacturing, and other areas that are still used to this day. They do not recognize that when they write such garbage it reflects poorly on their intellect.
It is always laughable to me when I hear quotes of black on black crime as a reason why minorities should not benefit from equal rights under the law while these same folks stay silent on white on white crime but expect whites should be represented because it is their Constitutional right. Folks are quick to throw percentages at an issue to support the case that minorities are the root of everything wrong with the country….. as if 9 out of 10 (90%) blacks is a greater problem than say 500 out of 1000 (50%) whites. The willful ignorance of this small group and the media that promote these misconceptions is absolutely astounding.
The upside is that I do not assume these people or their ignorant beliefs represent the views of the entire white community.
……and then I logged into TOD and here you are calling out the facts.
go Bobfr.
correction
I just realized I needed to clarify one of my comments. Regarding percentages based on certain statistics around issues.
I meant - to support the meme of minorities being the root cause of everything wrong… statistics are usually tweaked to support the case of any argument. i.e. Example, 1000 participants being evaluated on a particular issue. 10 participants are minorities and the rest not… but somehow the results would be reported as 9 out of 10 (90%) and not 9 out of 1000.
Case and point… my kids school had a demographic make up of 98.5% white and the school used to provide parents annual school performance assessments which included metrics based on areas of conduct. The areas of conduct (suspensions etc.) always showed minorities received the highest number of suspensions. So it would show 58% African American or 36% Hispanic …. It was at the point where some parents were very comfortable stating out loud that minorities were the cause of XXXX happening at the school.
After hearing the comments from parents one time too many I printed the performance results and took it to the school office and asked the principal to show me the math around the metrics and after a very uncomfortable conversation she confirmed what I suspected. The school presented the data in a way that allowed parents to believe minorities received the most suspensions or were the recipients of the most disciplinary actions etc.. Which was odd given the fact that there were maybe 13 black kids and maybe 8 Hispanic kids in the school of over 1200 students at the time.
Anyway, after the discussions, they did make adjustments and the numbers and the perception shifted dramatically for the next two years. After seeing the actual results in context….NO parent ever made comments blaming minorities for ______ (fill in the blanks) again because the numbers in context proved otherwise.
The conversation then became … collectively as parents what can we do to support our kids and the school to get the best education possible and to resolve all potential areas of concern.
Very grateful you took the actions that you did, nospin. And, thank you for your insights and the recognition that education is critical to moving the conversation from flagrantly inaccurate characterizations to developing a shared purpose of solving problems.
Just saw an interesting article posted by a FB friend. Sorry I do not know how to repost it here. Maybe someone else can. The article is titled Why Darren Wilson wasn’t charged for killing Michael Brown-Vox. It is dated We’d., Nov. 26, 2014 at vox.com
Here ya go …..
Why Darren Wilson wasn’t charged for killing Michael Brown
http://www.vox.com/2014/11/24/7175967/darren-wilson-charges-michael-brown-ferguson
[I’m so perturbed by yesterday’s & the continuity of ugly bombardment, 6 years+. I had to go inside myself, and wrote “Who Are We?”:
Who Are You?
When you reached that pinnacle of your own success,
And perhaps looked back at the ladders’ rungs beneath,
Upon which you crawled,
Which you gladly razored so others
Didn’t dare follow in your wake,
Who Are You?
You wrap yourself in your very narrow existence.
Are you The Chosen Oblivious?
Or a creature birthed
Between those rungs, and doomed to be willingly
Without humanity’s anchor?
And then, in giving you credence at our head table,
Who Are We?
THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
good morning everyone!
good morning globalcitizenlinda
What in the world is wrong with Harry Reid?????????
Congress Poised To Eliminate Key Tax Breaks For Middle Class, Provide Permanent Tax Breaks For Corporations
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has reached a compromise with House Republicans on a package of tax breaks that would permanently extend relief for big multinational corporations without providing breaks for middle or lower-income families, individuals with knowledge of the deal tell ThinkProgress.
Under the terms of the $444 billion agreement, lawmakers would phase out all tax breaks for clean energy and wind energy but would maintain fossil fuel subsidies. Expanded eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit would also end in 2017, even though the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that allowing the provisions to expire would push “16 million people in low-income working families, including 8 million children into — or deeper into — poverty.” The proposal would help students pay for college by making permanent the American Permanent Opportunity Tax Credit, a Democratic priority.
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/11/25/3596971/congress-to-end-tax-breaks-for-middle-class-provide-permanent-relief-to-large-corporations/
D*** good question!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PBO said he will veto.
Morning!
http://theobamadiary.com/2014/11/26/early-bird-chat-423/