This press release from “Level the Playing Field” argues that at least seven of the seventeen Presidential Debates Commissioners have conflicts of interest, and gives details. …read more
Matt Bai is a politics columnist for Yahoo! News and a former chief political writer for New York Times Magazine. His column about the upcoming presidential primary debates says, “Polls have no business in the debate process.”
All of the recent controversy around the Republican presidential debates will be useful in opening up the general election presidential debates. If a consensus seems to be building that it is wrong to exclude Republicans who are at least at 1% in polls, there is no logic that says 15% in the polls is a proper cutoff for general election debates. …read more
Miami, FL — A Miami police officer gunned down a homeless man in close proximity to a group of children Thursday morning, according to eyewitnesses. Up to 60 people witnessed the killing.
Fritz Severe, 46, was approached by officers responding to a call reporting a violent dispute, according to Miami Police Chief Rodolfo Llanes. Witnesses say he was confronted by two officers, one of whom unloaded five bullets into the man after her did not drop a metal stick he was known to carry around with him. One woman told Local 10,
“He was a homeless man, wasn’t bothering nobody…The man walks …read more
Most people in the United States have similar values. We want to care for our family. We want to be good neighbors. We have compassion and empathy and don’t seek out positions where we can control other people.
Many police officers share these values. The problem is that the institution of government law enforcement as a whole, does not.
First, law enforcement is inherently put into a position of power over ordinary citizens. They can pull drivers over and write tickets. They’re empowered to arrest people, and to decide if a law-breaker should go to jail or be let off. If they …read more
The New York Times has this letter from former Connecticut Republican Congressman Christopher Shays, in support of expanding who can be included in the general election presidential debates. Shays was in Congress for 22 years. …read more
In what can only be described as one of the most honest breakdowns of modern systems of control, legendary comedian George Carlin pulls no punches in this spot on monologue about America’s “real owners.”
“There’s a reason education SUCKS, and it’s the same reason that it will never, ever, ever be fixed. It’s never going to get any better, don’t look for it, be happy with what you’ve got. Because the owners of this country don’t want that. I’m talking about the REAL owners, now. The REAL owners, the BIG WEALTHY business interests that control things and make all the important …read more
Broken Arrow, OK — Brian Massingale called the police after his home was burglarized earlier this week. Days later, he’s the one in jail, not the burglars.
On Monday, the family came home and found that their back door had been kicked in, and multiple iPads, jewelry, and guns were missing. One of the iPads was a special one for Brian’s daughter who has Cerebral Palsy. The iPad has special programs installed for her therapy and communication skills.
After tracking the iPad, police were notified of the location but took no action.
“They refused to go,” Mary Massingale, Brian’s mother said. “They said, …read more
According to this story, the Idaho Constitution Party will have a presidential primary next year. The focus of the story is Rev. Scott A. Copeland, who is seeking the party’s presidential nomination and who is campaigning around the nation. He lives in Texas. …read more
DownsizeDC.org is part of a coalition of 26 organizations that send a letter to House leaders calling on them to support the Massie-Lofgren Amendment to the Defense Appropriations Act.
Massie-Lofgren address two concerns…
First, private information of innocent people was swept up under Section 702 of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. The amendment defunds warrantless government searches of that database
Second, American companies are under pressure to build security vulnerabilities into their products so that the federal government can use them for surveillance. Lofgren-Massie would prohibit the use of funds to require or request this.
You can read the letter here.
New York City, NY — Last week, the set of a rap music video featuring French Montana, Busta Rhymes, and Ja Rule was raided by police, who made five arrests for nonviolent crimes. According to The New York Post, nosy neighbors with nothing better to do called the cops. They saw a number of people on the video set using drugs, and also noticed that a small number of the 200 people on the set were armed.
There was no violence taking place, no person was being harmed, and no property was being damaged; it was just a group of artists …read more
