Motley Moose – Archive

Another night has passed in Ferguson MO. The press were kept from covering a lot of what happened. More tear gas, more arrests. Peaceful nighttime protests are stymied.

But my “quote of the day” came from Attorney General Eric Holder:

“I realize there is tremendous interest in the facts of the incident that led to Michael Brown’s death, but I ask for the public’s patience as we conduct this investigation. The selective release of sensitive information that we have seen in this case so far is troubling to me. No matter how others pursue their own separate inquiries, the Justice Department is resolved to preserve the integrity of its investigation. This is a critical step in restoring trust between law enforcement and the community, not just in Ferguson, but beyond.

Yes.

We should all be troubled by the bs we see leaking out of Ferguson. Efforts to smear Michael Brown and divert the focus from the pursuit of justice continue.

I kept reading this sentence from the autopsy report of Dr. Michael M. Baden, reported in the New York Times:

One of the bullets shattered Mr. Brown’s right eye, traveled through his face, exited his jaw and re-entered his collarbone. The last two shots in the head would have stopped him in his tracks and were likely the last fired.

I post a weekly diary of historical notes, arts & science items, foreign news (often receiving little notice in the US) and whimsical pieces from the outside world that I often feature in “Cheers & Jeers” … plus a profile of Sly and the Family Stone.

   

OK, you’ve been warned – here is this week’s tomfoolery material that I posted.

Welcome to The Moose Pond! The Welcomings diary series give the Moose, old and new, a place to visit and share words about the weather, life, the world at large and the small parts of Moosylvania that we each inhabit.

   

Heading into the stretch run: a look at the worst (single season) Major League baseball teams of all time, after the jump …..

Across the nation today, people who believe in and demand justice will be gathering.

Groups on the ground in St. Louis are calling for nationwide solidarity actions in support of Justice for Mike Brown and the end of police and extrajudicial killings everywhere. On Saturday at 1pm — one week after the murder of Mike Brown by a Ferguson police officer–we in St. Louis will gather at the location that Mike was shot in the Canfield Apartment buildings. We ask that you gather at the places in your community on Saturday where police and extrajudicial killings have occurred to memorialize lives that have been lost and demand justice by ending systemic violence upon communities of color.

Look for one in your area HERE.

Please share this video.

The President’s Weekly Address post is also an Open News Thread. Feel free to share other news stories in the comments.

From the White House – Weekly Address

In this week’s address, with schools getting ready to open their doors again over the next few weeks, the President talked directly to students and parents about the importance of preparing for an education beyond high school.

In today’s economy, some higher education continues to be the surest ticket to the middle class, but for too many families across the country, paying for higher education is a constant struggle. The President and First Lady know this first hand — they only finished paying off their student loans ten years ago — and that’s why they have made it a priority to help make college more affordable for families. They have taken action to reform student loans, expand grants and college tax credits, help make loan payments more manageable, and have proposed plans to make sure colleges also do their part to bring down costs. And just this week, as part of the President’s Year of Action, the administration announced a new series of commitments to support students who need a little extra academic help getting through college.

Hands in the air, Howard University students show solidarity with the people of Ferguson and the family of Michael Brown.

A few weeks ago I had planned to write a piece about the upcoming anniversary of a case of police brutality that had a slightly different end to it than we have come to expect from the criminal injustice system in America. The unarmed black man assaulted by police didn’t die. Not only did he not die, he went on to sue the NYC and the NYPD and won “the largest police brutality settlement in New York City history”. His primary police assailants were put on trial, and the officer responsible for the sodomizing, Justin Volpe is still incarcerated. Sadly, the others involved are not.

That man was Abner Louima, and the anniversary of his brutal attack, beating and sodomizing while in NYPD custody was on August the 9th, 1997.

But August the 9th is now the anniversary of yet another attack, this time ending in death, of an unarmed young black teenager, at the hands of police. Michael Brown.  

I post a weekly diary of historical notes, arts & science items, foreign news (often receiving little notice in the US) and whimsical pieces from the outside world that I often feature in “Cheers & Jeers”. For example …..

OLDER-YOUNGER BROTHERS? – two political conservatives: singer Pat Boone and former congressman Todd Akin.

   

OK, you’ve been warned – here is this week’s tomfoolery material that I posted.