Tag Archives: mark keywords

Michael Brown: A collection of the best reporting to date

Michael Brown spent his last day with his friend Dorian Johnson. Here’s what Johnson saw. – Vox

By Ezra Klein
November 25, 2014

Earlier today, I wrote that Officer Darren Wilson’s newly released account of his altercation with Michael Brown was unbelievable. Which isn’t to say it was wrong. It was just hard to believe that events played out exactly as Wilson described.

But the story Wilson tells makes much more sense if you also read it alongside Dorian Johnson’s testimony — and use the two accounts to balance each other out. Continue reading Michael Brown: A collection of the best reporting to date

Senator Claire McCaskill and Post-Election 2014 Democrats


Blogger’s note:

Whenever I’ve written about Claire McCaskill, I’ve always described her as a neoliberal. The purpose of her posturing on today’s Face the Nation is a reminder to her base of mostly white conservative liberals or ex-moderate Republicans, not to lump her in with a possibly rising progressive tide in the Senate. Continue reading Senator Claire McCaskill and Post-Election 2014 Democrats

Election 2014: Lessons for progressives

It was my hope, a week after the election, that I would hear and read meaningful analyses on the cause, consequences and long-term outlook for Democrats after their losses this midterm election. Very little of what I read this week was “filling,” until I came across William Greider’s  “How the Democratic Party Lost Its Soul” in The Nation. Greider concludes:

The tattered authenticity of the party matters more now because both the country and the world face dangers and disorders that demand a fundamental reordering of the global economic system. This requires bold action, at a time when neither party is confronting the threatening situation. The Republicans are a wholly owned subsidiary of the business-finance machine; the Democrats are rented.

Continue reading Election 2014: Lessons for progressives

Eugene Ellison | Request for DOJ Investigation of Little Rock Police

Eugene Ellison, a 67 year old black male, was shot to death by two police officers who entered his home without a warrant on December 9, 2010. Mr. Ellison was the father of a Little Rock Police Department police officer.

See the  Laux Law Group’s letter (below) to the U.S. Department of Justice requesting an investigation of the Eugene Ellison case.

Continue reading Eugene Ellison | Request for DOJ Investigation of Little Rock Police

Dem Politics: Post-mortem is the new rehab

Former Governor Howard Dean was on Meet The Press today. With the exception of the very last sentence in this clip, I am in full agreement with everything he said.

Tuesday’s defeat was bound to be the catalyst for the kinds of events that happen after, well, all defeats. The victor gloats. Usually, the defeated retreat for a bit to reflect on their loss and how to move on. Continue reading Dem Politics: Post-mortem is the new rehab

Beyond salvation? Democratic party politics on Blog#42

Our system of politics has been breaking for some time. I’ve made numerous public comments on various aspects of our degrading democracy over the last few years.  What I’ve only recently begun to articulate, however, is that the problems we’ve all been focused on in connection to events pertaining to the right, also exist on the left, perhaps to a lesser extent. The rot on the left is my focus here.

Continue reading Beyond salvation? Democratic party politics on Blog#42

Teenager’s mysterious death evokes painful imagery in North Carolina | The Guardian

Police say they have no evidence of foul play in the hanging death of black teenager Lennon Lacy. But in a case with disturbing racial overtones, his family are left with haunting questions. Continue reading Teenager’s mysterious death evokes painful imagery in North Carolina | The Guardian

Rand Paul: Opportunist or Ferguson’s Libertarian Civil Rights Hope?

Senator Rand Paul published an op-ed in Time Magazine and gave a speech this week about Ferguson Missouri and Civil Rights. Given Senator Paul’s long-held views on civil rights, how should we interpret this latest effort? Is it opportunism or a genuine attempt at curing a longstanding social wrong? Let’s examine the record: Continue reading Rand Paul: Opportunist or Ferguson’s Libertarian Civil Rights Hope?

Edward Snowden should have right to legal defence in US, says Hillary Clinton | The Guardian

The former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has said Edward Snowden should have the right to launch a legal and public defence of his decision to leak top-secret documents if he returns to the United States.

“If he wishes to return knowing he would be held accountable and also able to present a defence, that is his decision to make,” Clinton said in a video interview with the Guardian on Friday. Continue reading Edward Snowden should have right to legal defence in US, says Hillary Clinton | The Guardian