As Expected – Sessions Sides With Murderers and Racists in Police Murders of Citizens

AG Jeff Sessions just ordered the DOJ to “play nice” in investigating evidence of Police criminality. Setting up a system of holding Police Departments to a lower level of accountability than your average criminal. Just another racist POS in the Trump debacle.

What Sessions is protecting is the use of the Police as a method to oppress and to deny Civil Rights to minorities, turning the law enforcement and criminal justice system back into just another tool of the New Jim Crow to prevent minority voting, to assure the school to jail pipeline runs smoothly, and to deny equal rights to minorities sunder the law.

Sessions seeks to protect the murderers of the unarmed, police abuses of power, and the overboard, and to establish the Chumph’s Police State.

Sessions Signals A Rollback On Justice Department’s Police Reform Efforts

“Since when did protecting civil rights take the back seat to making sure police officers don’t get their feelings hurt?” a former DOJ official says.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has ordered a wide-ranging review of the Justice Department’s efforts to rein in rogue law enforcement agencies, putting the future of police reform in doubt.

In a March 31 “Memorandum Supporting Federal, State, Local and Tribal Law Enforcement” that was released Monday, Sessions set out several principles for the Justice Department’s posture toward local law enforcement. While local agencies should “protect and respect the civil rights of all members of the public,” the memo states, “local control and local accountability are necessary for effective local policing,” and managing non-federal law enforcement agencies “is not the responsibility of the federal government.”

The memo also stresses that the “misdeeds of individual bad actors should not impugn or undermine the legitimate and honorable work that law enforcement officers and agencies perform in keeping American communities safe.” (Sessions indicated in February that he had not read the Justice Department’s reports on Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore but that he believed they were based on anecdotes and not well supported.)

The Sessions memo orders a review of “existing or contemplated consent decrees” to make sure they comply with the goals laid out in the memo.

Even before his confirmation, Sessions had indicated he was skeptical of the Civil Rights Division’s pattern-and-practice investigations, which focus on widespread constitutional abuses rather than individual incidents. The Trump administration more broadly has sought to portray itself as friendly to law enforcement.

In seeking to comply with Session’s memo, Justice Department lawyers sought Monday to delay a hearing on the ongoing case in Baltimore. They requested time as they evaluate whether the consent decree under consideration in Baltimore would “advance the safety and protection of the public, promote officer safety and morale, protect and respect the civil rights of all members of the public, respect local control of law enforcement, are rooted in timely and reliable statistics on crime and criminals, and do not impede recruitment and training of officers,” as laid out in Sessions’ memo.

Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, called the Justice Department’s request to delay the consent decree progress in Baltimore “truly shocking.”

“Attorney General Jeff Sessions is undermining and obstructing extensive efforts that have been made to promote policing reform in a small set of the most broken police departments in our country,” Clarke said in a statement. “In a 163-page report, the Justice Department laid out extensive evidence of unconstitutional policing practices including unlawful stops, searches, and arrests; racial disparities in the rates of stops, searches and arrests; and use of excessive force. The mayor, the community and the police department all support reform, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions is the obstacle standing in the way. This administration is making clear its intent to delay and obstruct federal civil rights enforcement across our country.”

Sessions’ memo also places a potential consent decree in the city of Chicago in jeopardy. A report on the Chicago Police Department released just before the end of the Obama administration found widespread constitutional abuses that had damaged the relationship between law enforcement and the community in the city, deepening the city’s public safety issues. President Donald Trump frequently brought up Chicago’s violent crime problem on the campaign trail, laying the blame for the city’s issues on former President Barack Obama.

Christy Lopez, who served as deputy chief of the Special Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division and oversaw DOJ’s Ferguson report, told The Huffington Post that sometimes reform isn’t possible without the Justice Department’s involvement.

“These decrees create the space for innovation and reform that just doesn’t happen otherwise. So much good work has been done, and is being done, because of these decrees. It is terrible to think of all the amazing things that won’t happen in policing if the AG gets his way,” Lopez said.

Lopez, the daughter of a police officer, worked on DOJ police investigations in several cities, including Ferguson. She said she’s concerned that Sessions is “second-guessing and undoing the enforcement decisions of career staff” for “explicitly” political reasons.

“Since when did protecting civil rights take the back seat to making sure police officers don’t get their feelings hurt?” she said. “Good police officers everywhere support the work of the Civil Rights Division. They know this is a giant step backwards for our country.”

 

Black Soldier’s Car Vandalized and Painted With Racist Graffiti at Ft Hood

Yet another Trumpazoid hate crime…

Stay here in the Military Sgt. Jonathan Charlot – and help us fight these racist Trump A*holes.

‘Die ni**er!’: Fort Hood soldier’s car vandalized in racist incident

An Army soldier stationed at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas says he feels “unwanted” in his own country after his car was vandalized and spray-painted with racist graffiti.

MySanAntonio.com said on Thursday that on Dec. 23 U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jonathan Charlot was preparing to drive home to Houston for the Christmas holiday when he found his car doused in gasoline with all four tires slashed and the phrase “Die ni**er” spray-painted on the side.

The Fort Hood Criminal Investigation Division (CID) has taken possession of the vehicle for the duration of its investigation of the incident.

The Killeen Daily Herald reported that Charlot’s best friend John Martinez started a GoFundMe page to help pay for the damages.

“My best friend is a soldier in the U.S. Army and has worked extremely hard to protect our freedom,” Martinez wrote. “My best friend is one of the kindest and most generous people you will ever meet.”

“Although racism still exists in this country, I never thought I would realize this kind of hatred personally,” Martinez continued. “I can’t imagine the emotions my best friend is experiencing, but my hope is to raise enough money for him to purchase a new vehicle since his insurance will not cover such an incident.”

“It’s disheartening, if you will,” Charlot said. “It’s an older car and was having some issues, so it had been sitting there for a while.”

Charlot’s 2009 Nissan Sentra was parked in a lot at the 3rd Cavalry Regiment’s headquarters. The incident has left him feeling betrayed by the country he has sworn to protect.

“It makes me feel disgruntled, unwanted — that the America I love isn’t the same anymore,” he said.

 

How the Police Became the Military – “Do Not Resist” Documentary

How the Police became a military force within the US…The US Army cannot operate within American borders unless Martial Law is declared. The National Guard, which reports to the State Governors can be called out in major emergencies by the Governors. Starting in  the mid 90’s the US Army began giving surplus equipment to Police Forces. This included automatic weapons, armored cars and vehicles, Military body armor, electronic surveillance systems , and even grenades and grenade launchers.

The Police in some areas have effectively become the Military, using all  this new weaponry against citizens. The Military’s job isn’t to arrest people. They will tell you quite frankly their job is to “kill people and break things”. Which is why there is so much Police violence.

 

The New Miss USA is More Than Just a Pretty Face

The new Miss USA if from Washington, DC. A stunningly beautiful woman, she showed the audience that there is a lot more to her than just what is needed to fill out a bathing suit.

Deshauna Barber, the new Miss USA, works for the Department of Commerce and is a Captain in the Army and commander of the 988th Quartermaster Detachment at Fort Meade in Maryland.

But when it came to the Q&A portion of the contest, Barber –

“As a woman in the United States Army, I think it was an amazing job by our government to allow women to integrate into every branch of the military. We are just as tough as men. As a commander of my unit, I am powerful, I am dedicated…”

 

 

Oldest American Veteran

This one reminds me of the old Mom’s Mabley Joke about the “Oldest Man in the World”….

Cigar-Smoking, Whiskey-Swigging Oldest Veteran Turns 110

Happy birthday, Richard!

 

Camoflage

This apparently is the Brussels Army version of camouflage uniform. Some of those colors look like a Safety hunting vest…

These are the new versions of the US Army, which make the wearer damn near invisible depending on terrain.

British Army… Hard to see…

American Army…From 100 yards pretty much invisible…

Swiss Army – No hiding that…Anywhere except maybe in fall.

French Army …

Chinese Navy…

Chinese PLA…

India Army…

Just sayin’ it seems weird.

 

The Mythical War on Police

That there is a “War on Police” is a claim fostered and sold to the public by Faux News and other conservative and racist outlets and rags. It is a popular defense when some bad cop accosts and beats some 80 year old black guy who can’t walk without a cane half to death in a fit of racist rage. It is a sign of just how far some folks will go to support criminal police actions as long as it is against minorities. And yeah…It is the cry of an embattled Police Chief in a smaller municipality that realizes that some bozo racist underling has just erased 10 years of hard work building trust and support in his community and given his department a black eye.

But other than the whackjob gun crazies on the right, it isn’t the citizen protester who is walking around with automatic and machine guns, throwing gas grenades and explosives at other Americans…

Or riding around in Tanks last seen on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Perhaps the reason so many people are confused about there being a war …Is the fact that many Police departments now look like the Army.

58% Think There’s A War on Police in America Today

With officers murdered in Texas and Illinois in just the last few days, most voters now believe the police are under attack in America and blame politicians critical of the cops for fanning the flames.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 58% of Likely U.S. Voters think there is a war on police in America today. Just 27% disagree, while 15% are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Sixty percent (60%) believe comments critical of the police by some politicians make it more dangerous for police officers to do their jobs. Only 18% think those comments improve the quality of the police’s performance. Thirteen percent (13%) say the politicians’ comments have no impact.

While there is usually a wide racial difference of opinion on questions related to the police, most black voters (54%) agree with the majority of white (60%) and other minority voters (56%) that there is a war on police underway.

An Amphibious Assault Vehicle, converted to Police use by removing the cannon on top

Blacks (36%) are far less likely than whites (66%) and other minorities (55%), however, to say the comments of some politicians are making it more dangerous for the police. There’s very little belief in any of the groups, though, that the comments are improving police performance.

Protests against the police have been growing since the killing in August 2014 of a black teenager by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, although a grand jury did not indict the officer for any wrongdoing. That incident followed by several similar ones around the country led to the establishment of the “Black Lives Matter” movement to protest perceived racist behavior by many police officers.

Eighty-two percent (82%) of black voters think most black Americans receive unfair treatment from the police. White voters by a 56% to 30% margin disagree. Other minority voters are evenly divided.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it’s in the news, it’s in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on August 31-September 1, 2015 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Seventy-two percent (72%) of Americans have a favorable view of the police in the area where they live. Most (66%) also approve of the tactics used by their local police officers.

Those under 40 believe even more strongly than their elders that there is a war on police going on, but these younger voters are less likely to think politicians critical of the police are making it worse.

Seventy-eight percent (78%) of Republicans think there is a war on police now, compared to 48% of Democrats and 52% of voters not affiliated with either major party.

Once a mainstay of the US Army the M113

Yet another military APC, complete with roof gunner cupola

Twenty-six percent (26%) of Democrats believe political comments critical of the police are improving the officers’ performance, but just 12% of GOP voters and 15% of unaffiliateds agree. Seventy-nine percent (79%) of Republicans and 62% of unaffiliated voters think these comments make it more dangerous for the police to do their jobs, a view shared by only 44% of voters in President Obama’s party.

Seventy-seven percent (77%) of voters who say there is now a war on police believe the critical comments by some politicians make it more dangerous for the cops. Among those who don’t think there is a war on police going on, 35% say the comments improve police performance; 30% say it makes things more dangerous, while 28% think the comments have no impact.

Only 17% of all voters believe politicians raise racial issues to address real problems. Seventy percent (70%) think they talk race just to get elected.

Americans are skeptical of the protests that followed white-on-black police incidents in Fergusonand in Baltimore, Maryland.

Just 13% think most deaths that involve the police are the fault of the policeman. Seventy percent (70%) of voters believe the level of crime in low-income inner city communities is a bigger problem in America today than police discrimination against minorities

Only 19% of black voters think the justice system is fair to blacks and Hispanics, however, compared to 50% of whites and 44% of other minority voters.

Some have countered the “black lives matter” slogan by saying, “all lives matter.” Voters overwhelmingly agree.

Police

Army

 

 

Army Drill Sergeant Sues Army Over Discrimination

The Army’s first woman drill sargeant is suing the Army over racial and sexual discrimination by her two superiors…

Command Sgt. Maj. Teresa King

Army drill sergeant boss Teresa King takes legal action to get job back, alleges racism, sexism

The first woman to command the Army’s drill sergeant training took legal action Monday to reclaim her job, alleging she was improperly suspended last year because of sexism and racism and demanding that two of her superiors be investigated for abuse of their authority.

Command Sgt. Maj. Teresa King still does not know what exactly her superiors were investigating when they suspended her Nov. 29, according to her attorney, James Smith. He said the Army has declined to say specifically what it was looking into, beyond a general statement that it involved her conduct.

Smith on Monday filed a legal complaint with the Army against two of King’s superiors, and wants to have King reinstated to her position. Smith is also asking South Carolina’s two senior members of Congress, Sen. Lindsey Graham and Rep. James Clyburn, for a congressional probe of King’s treatment.

Army officials said they wanted to study the complaint first before commenting.

King, who is black, made headlines in 2009 when the Army named her as the first woman to head the Drill Sergeant School at Fort Jackson, the Army’s largest training installation.

Smith has statements from King’s deputy at the school and an Army colonel who worked with King contending she is a victim of sexism and racism on the part of soldiers who resented her promotion and the national attention it drew.

“It’s abundantly clear that there was nothing to warrant her removal. The Army should reinstate her and restore her honorable name,” Smith said in an interview with The Associated Press.

The attorney said King, 50, has declined to comment on the actions, saying the complaint stands on its own. But in a rebuttal to the Army, King wrote her superiors, “My instincts tell me that if I were a male, that none of this would have happened.”

Smith said he believes the Army is delaying its investigation in order to force King to take retirement when she becomes eligible later this year.

Smith, who has handled military legal cases as an executive officer in the National Guard, said Army regulations require that investigations must be handled “expeditiously” and the one against King has gone on far too long.

After she took charge of the training program, reporters and TV crews descended on King, making much of her background as the daughter of a North Carolina sharecropper who dispensed stern discipline to his 12 children. She was featured on national TV, on newspaper front pages and in women’s magazines, sometimes with photos of her car sporting “noslack” vanity plates. (more)

 

Army Birther Doc Gets Jail

Not sure what this guy was thinking about, other than having a Sarah Palin moment – but the Army Doc who refused deployment early this year unless he was allowed to guage the legitimacy of the President by seeing his birth certificate…

Is no longer in the Army… And is on his way to jail… And will lose his retirement benefits for his service, facing a felony conviction and a Dishonorable Discharge. I don’t know if he keeps his Veteran’s benefits for himself and his family. What a waste of an apparently otherwise Honorable 18 years of service.

Here is an interview by Anderson Cooper earlier this year. Looks to me Col Lakin got sucked in and used by the radical right. Now Col Lakin and his family get to pay the Piper…Alone.

‘Birther’ sentenced to six months in prison, kicked out of Army

Just hours after being found guilty at his court-martial, Army Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin said he was ashamed and remorseful over his decision to refuse deployment to Afghanistan earlier this year, but he hedged on questions about President Barack Obama’s citizenship.

“I don’t want [my career] to end this way,” a tearful Lakin said to military jurors during the sentencing phase of his trial Wednesday afternoon. “I want to continue to serve … It crushed me not to be on deployment. I can be on a plane tomorrow. I’d truly do that.”

Lakin, a 17-year Army physician, was sentenced to six months in prison and dismissal from the service on Thursday after being found guilty of disobeying orders and ignoring his deployment orders. In April, Lakin posted an online video declaring he would not return to Afghanistan with his unit until questions regarding Obama’s birth certificate were answered to his satisfaction. The move made him an instant hero to the birther movement, which helped him raise money for his legal defense.

 

Looking at 3 1/2 Years in Leavenworth – Birther Suddenly Discovers He’s In the Army!

Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin

Disobeying the orders of a superior in the Military is a career limiting, if not prison ending exercise outside of some very narrow circumstances. Disobeying your commander because you don’t think he or she is qualified to be a commander…

Isn’t one of those exculpatory situations.

Faced with 3 1/2 years in the slammer – this “Birther” discovers he’s in the Army!

Army ‘Birther’ Changes Course, Says He’d Deploy

The View at Leavenworth, Which Lt. Col Lakin May Have Bought Himself a Ticket To See... From the Inside

An Army doctor who disobeyed orders to deploy to Afghanistan because he questioned President Barack Obama’s eligibility to be commander in chief told a jury Wednesday he was wrong to do so and would now deploy if he could. Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin of Greeley, Colo. was speaking during a court martial hearing Wednesday at Fort Meade.

He faces up to 3 1/2 years in a military prison and dismissal from the Army after being found guilty of missing a flight that would have gotten him to his eventual deployment and pleading guilty to disobeying orders to meet with a superior and to report to Fort Campbell in Kentucky. He asked the jury to let him remain in the Army when it decides his punishment, and jurors are expected to begin deliberating on his sentence on Thursday.

“I don’t want it to end this way,” said Lakin, a 17-year veteran of the Army. “I want to continue to serve.”

Under questioning by his defense attorney, Neal Puckett, Lakin expressed remorse for disobeying orders. He said he now understands that the Army cannot answer his question about Obama’s eligibility to be president and that it was not the appropriate place to raise the issue.

“I was wrong for trying to push this issue within the Army,” he said.

In videos posted on YouTube earlier this year, Lakin aligned himself with the so-called “birther” movement, which questions whether Obama is a natural-born citizen as the U.S. Constitution requires for presidents. Lakin had said he would “gladly deploy” if Obama’s original birth certificate were released and proved authentic.

On Wednesday, however, Lakin reversed course, saying he would now deploy even with his question unanswered. Puckett asked him why.

“That’s my duty. It’s what I’ve trained for. I’m in the Army,” he replied.

“Are we done disobeying orders, Lt. Col. Lakin?” his attorney asked him.

“Yes,” Lakin replied.

 

 

Yardies, Street Corner “Dans” – 74 Dead in Kingston, Jamaica

To Americans, what is happening in Jamaica may be incomprehensible. I mean – it seems pretty rational that the Police would act to shut down gangs. But this is Jamaica – and what may seem to be one thing on the surface is quite another underneath.

Since the 70’s street gangs have operated closely with Political Parties. Or even the role of the US Government in the fray. In 1984, this led to a virtual Civil War on the streets in the same Kingston neighborhood which is the power base for drug kingpin “Dudus”. 800 people were killed.

What no one wants to talk much about today, is the relationship between Dudus’ gang, and the ruling Party.

As a historical lesson in how Jamaica got to the situation today – this video from 1984 examines the relationships between the drug gangs…

And the political parties.

Current reports vary from 45 to 74 killed so far. It is unclear how many – if any of the dead are gang members. The Jamaican Army has moved in, and gang members have set up snipers even in downtown Kingston – bringing commerce to a complete halt.