The Common Ills: 2024-12-15

Monday, December 16, 2024

Iraq snapshot

Monday, December 16, 2024. Satan Trump makes clear he will not be the president of all Americans in his second effort to destroy the United States of America.

Let's start with Joseph William's latest at THE CHICAGO DEFENDER:

Four years ago, a white man suffocated George Floyd, a Black man, to death on a gritty Minneapolis street corner as bystanders begged for mercy. That brutal killing of an unarmed Floyd — caught on camera — turbocharged the Black Lives Matter movement, put the phrase “white privilege” into the national lexicon and inspired philanthropists to throw bushels of money at social justice nonprofits.

A year later, Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis police officer whose job included training rookies, was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 22 years and 6 months in prison — a rare instance of accountability and introspection in America’s long history of racist, systemic violence.

Monday brought us yet another reminder of how fleeting that reckoning truly was when a white man was found not guilty of suffocating Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old Black man, to death on the floor of a grimy New York subway train as bystanders called for mercy.

The acquittal of Daniel Penny — already a vigilante hero among the far right — comes just weeks after Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris for the presidency in a racist campaign, Walmart became the biggest U.S. employer to shut down its DEI program, and social justice nonprofits realized philanthropists are closing their checkbooks to avoid Trump’s enemies list.

The Manhattan jury trying the second-degree murder case unanimously agreed with Penny: Neely, a homeless man dealing with mental illness and substance abuse, was a threat to others on the subway car that day, and Penny, a former Marine with a lethal chokehold, should not be held criminally responsible for killing him.

“What are we going to do, people? What’s going to happen to us now? I’ve had enough of this. The system is rigged.”

– Andre Zachary Neely’s father

Never mind that the killing happened in broad daylight, in front of many eyewitnesses, and was also recorded on a cellphone camera. Or that when Penny attacked him, Neely hadn’t committed an actual crime or put hands on anyone. Or that Neely was unarmed, that no lives were in danger, that passengers pleaded for Penny to let Neely go, that Penny kept McNeely in a chokehold for nearly five full minutes, maintaining it long after McNeely stopped struggling.

The jury saw and heard and processed all that evidence and — following roughly 17 hours of deliberation, including deadlocking over a lesser charge — collectively shrugged.

Satan Trump will never be the president of all Americans and that's a result of his choices and actions.

Penny killed McNeely.

We can argue many things but that is not in dispute. But for Penny being on the subway that day, McNeely would be alive.

This quickly became an issue with FOX "NEWS" and the others on the fright-wing insisting Black man got what was coming to him and White man a savior. That is how they played it and don't pretend otherwise. McNeely was Black and so, in their eyes, he had it coming. As Amercian history shows, decade over decade, killing people of color always results in less consequences than killing a White person.

I don't know Daniel Penny and I wouldn't want to at this point. When the verdict was delivered, I had nothing against Penny. He clearly killed Jordan Neely. Did he mean to? Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. I had no idea. Terrible things happen especially in a country where if a person of color is disruptive, a White person is encouraged to attack the person of color. Racism is not just ingrained into the American culture, it is encouraged and taught.

In his mind, Penny might be trying to address his own actions. Serious actions because he killed Jordan Neely.

He might be.

I've shared before about being a child and being kidnapped from school and taken off and raped. I was a kid, a very young kid. And as soon as the kidnapper went to sleep, I grabbed a sharp object (I pretended to be asleep before that) and drove it repeatedly into the man's leg over and over, blood everywhere and then ran out screaming calling for the cops. Did I kill him? Because he's dead. And he was dead by the time the authorities were there. I would guess I did kill him. (Guess? The police were outraged by what had taken place. From time to time, it was suggested over the years that the man was denied medical assistance.)

That man terrorized me and raped me.

And I'm glad he's dead. I can't imagine going through life with him being alive -- I'm being honest here. But there are times when I think about that and think about taking someone's life.

Grasp that I was less than ten years old. Grasp that he intentionally sought me out. Grasp that he beat and then he raped me.

And then there's Penny. Who clearly killed Jordan Neely.

The verdict comes down and he goes to the bar to 'celebrate' with his attorneys. Not a good look. And then, days after, this.

Daniel Penny joins Trump and JD Vance at the Army Navy game.

[image or embed]
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yasharali.bsky.social) December 14, 2024 at 4:07 PM

Days after the verdict, he's a guest of Satan and JD Vance at a football game?

You killed a man. You may have gotten off without prison time, but you still killed a man. Someone who did you know physical harm is dead because of you.

And you're out having fun and celebrating? What? Getting away with murder, that's what.

Horrible mistakes happen every day. And Penny's actions with Neely could have been a horrible mistake.

But not when you turn that into political cash. For FOX "NEWS" and the fright-wing, this was always about Big White man killed man of color. It was always a racist attack. And that's why they rushed to defend Penny from the start.

And that's why he got celebrated and treated like a hero instead of either a killer or a very unfortunate person.

He's given up the right, in the court of public opinion, to be seen as a very unfortunate person.

When he should have been home contemplating the life he took, he was instead out in public with racist Trump and racist JD. He chose where he wanted to be.

And Satan and JD chose where they wanted him to be.

He got away with killing Jordan Neely. That's what Penny, Satan and JD were celebrating, in front of the whole world.

This wasn't some kid who'd won a science fair, this wasn't some athlete who'd delivered an amazing performance. This was a killer who beat the rap for murdering a Black man.

At COMMON DREAMS, Ralph Nader writes:

Now is the time to prepare anticipatory strategies against what the vengeful, avaricious, lawless Trump and his Trumpsters have boasted out loud about daily. Don’t wait until Trump’s inauguration. A short list of suggestions follows:

No link to trash.

Now is the time?

Now, Ralph?

No the time to prepare was ahead of the presidential election -- you know, back when you were attacking Kamala Harris week after week while you

Ralph is a lot like Daniel Penny.

His actions in 2000? The Iraq War is something he helped create. Millions are dead as a result. But, week after week, on air and in print, he can never express remorse for his actions or take accountability for his part in starting the Iraq War.

. Back on December 6th, I noted:

The Supreme Court is probably going to deliver a severe attack on trans rights. They heard the case this week. We've noted many videos here about it -- and no one laid it out better than Danielle Moodie -- that's why we included her video in yesterday's snapshot.

I haven't written about this case here (but did two pieces for community newsletters) and the reason is, I just can't. I don't know if it's a scene from a film I'm recalling or something from news footage that's blurred in my mind long ago. But it's black and white when I dream and it's a child and they identify as female so some hateful thugs -- adults, not peers -- shaves her hair and beats her up. And it was popping up in dreams and I've not been able to sleep and now carry it over to waking moments. This isn't a topic I can address right now myself.

Today, John Russell (LGBTQ NATION) reports:

The ACLU of Florida is suing the state’s Department of Corrections over a new anti-transgender policy that will restrict trans prisoners’ access to gender-affirming medical care as well as their ability to express their gender identity.

According to a report from The Marshall Project and the Tampa Bay Times, a federal judge in Tallahassee held a preliminary hearing in the case on December 9. The ACLU of Florida has asked the judge to block enforcement of the policy, calling it an unconstitutional ban on gender-affirming care. A ruling is expected in the weeks ahead.

[. . .]

In court filings and interviews, incarcerated trans women in Florida prisons also reported being subjected to breast examinations to determine whether or not they would still be allowed access to bras.

“It felt like I was being treated less than human,” Josie Takach, a trans inmate at a Florida men’s facility, said of the examination. Takach said her undergarments, now considered contraband, were confiscated. “I feel like I’m 12 years old again, sneaking around wearing a bra.”

Sara Maatsch, who is also incarcerated in a Florida men’s prison, said that her gender dysphoria diagnosis was now considered a serious psychiatric illness. She was told she would have to be moved to a more restrictive facility with fewer work and programming opportunities to continue receiving treatment.

Mariko Sundwall told The Marshall Project that after spending 10 days in solitary confinement for refusing to cut her hair, a prison barber buzzed her hair short while she was handcuffed.

“I’m very sad and depressed. I feel like they’re taking away my identity,” Jada Edwards, another trans inmate, said of the buzz cut she was forced to receive.

Let's wind down with this from Senator Elizabeth Warren's office:

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) reintroduced the BUY GREEN Act, legislation to establish $1.5 trillion in federal procurement commitments for our clean energy future. The funds would be used to purchase American-made clean, renewable, and emission-free energy products for federal, state, and local use and to establish grant funding for U.S. companies to invest in clean energy manufacturing.

The federal government spends $500 billion annually to purchase goods and services. Many of these products have significant environmental impacts, including transportation equipment, building infrastructure, and electronics.

“America needs to invest in clean energy like our future depends on it,” said Senator Warren. “This bill will help grow our green economy and establish America as a world leader in clean energy.”

"As we face the urgent challenges of the climate crisis, I'm proud to introduce a bill that represents a transformative step toward a cleaner, more sustainable future," said Representative Huffman. "By investing in supporting American-made clean energy products, we are not only driving the transition to renewable and emission-free energy but also creating opportunities for innovation and good-paying jobs here at home."

A 2021 poll showed that 59% of voters support this bill. This strong bipartisan support suggests that our country is ready for us to make big investments to save our planet and build back greener.

Specifically, the bill would:

Establish a "Clean Energy Fund" at the Department of Energy (DOE) for green procurement by authorizing the DOE to provide funding to federal agencies for clean energy purchases and creating a competitive federal grant program for state, local, and tribal governments to purchase clean energy products.
Reduce carbon pollution by providing enough funds to electrify the entire federal fleet, including postal service vehicles; providing enough funds to electrify all public transit and school buses; and providing funds to design, build, and retrofit buildings, including federal, childcare, educational, and manufacturing facilities, to be more energy efficient.
Boost the green economy and clean energy sector by establishing a grant program for U.S. companies to invest in clean energy manufacturing by retrofitting or building facilities that produce covered products and bolstering our ability to create clean energy products that can then be exported globally to make the U.S. a leader in green innovation.
Support workers and frontline communities by including strong labor provisions to ensure jobs provide strong wages, benefits, and worker protections by and directing 40% of state, local, and tribal grant funding to purchases that benefit frontline, disadvantaged, and vulnerable communities that have been environmentally neglected.
Protect taxpayer funds from fraud, waste, and abuse by forming a Green Procurement Oversight Advisory Board that will ensure the use of funds is compliant with clean energy and labor provisions and by directing the U.S. Comptroller General to conduct oversight of the use of funds and to publicly report on program efficacy each year.

In the Senate, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) cosponsored this legislation.

The BUY GREEN Act has been endorsed by Sunrise Movement, MoveOn, GreenLatinos, Sierra Club, Green New Deal Network, Center for Progressive Reform, League of Conservation Voters, Earthjustice, Friends of the Earth, New Consensus, Public Citizen, Climate Hawks Vote, and Zero Hour.

Senator Warren has long worked to protect taxpayer money and ensure strong implementation of climate policy:

In November 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren reintroduced the Housing Survivors of Major Disasters Act. The bill proposes streamlining the process for people in communities affected by natural disasters seeking housing assistance.
In November 2024, Senator Warren and Representative Jared Huffman reintroduced the National Institutes of Clean Energy Act (NICE), legislation that would invest $400 billion over the next decade to establish and operate a new system of clean energy institutes at the Department of Energy (DOE) focused on research and development of advanced clean energy technologies.
In September 2024, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Angus King, along with Representatives Ro Khanna, Alma Adams, Pramila Jayapal, and Jan Schakowsky, wrote to the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), urging the agencies to develop strong guardrails for the 45Q tax credit, which is designed to encourage carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects.
In June 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Sean Casten led a letter to the Federal Reserve Board (Fed), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), urging regulators to stop their obstruction of global financial regulators’ work to tackle climate-related financial risks. The lawmakers also called out the weaknesses revealed by the Fed’s 2023 “pilot scenario analysis” exploring six major banks’ resilience to climate-related financial risks.
In May 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Congressman Robert Garcia reintroduced the BUILD GREEN Infrastructure and Jobs Act, which would authorize the U.S. Department of Transportation to distribute $500 billion over ten years to electrify and modernize public vehicles and rail and build new electric transportation infrastructure across the country. The bill would also create 1 million new jobs, save $100 billion annually in health damages, and prevent 4,200 deaths per year from air pollution.
In April 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representatives Sean Casten and Veronica Escobar, urged the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council, composed of the Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), to finalize the Federal Supplier Climate Risks and Resilience Rule as quickly as possible.
In March 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren, released a statement describing the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) finalized climate risk disclosure rule as “the bare minimum.”
In September 2023, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Martin Heinrich, Ed Markey, Sheldon Whitehouse, and Jeff Merkley called on the Treasury Department to take key actions pertaining to climate and climate-related financial risk to avert the impending environmental and economic crises.
In September 2023, at a hearing of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Senator Elizabeth Warren urged Chair Gensler to quickly finalize a strong climate risk disclosure rule, reminding him that he has a mandate to protect investors and strong public support.
In March 2023, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Sheldon Whitehouse, and Representatives Dan Goldman and Jamie Raskin and 47 of their colleagues sent a letter to SEC Chair Gary Gensler, urging him to protect investors and finalize a strong climate disclosure rule without further delay.
In September 2022, at a hearing of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Senator Elizabeth Warren called on SEC Chair Gary Gensler to protect investors and stand up to fossil fuel lobbying by issuing a strong climate risk disclosure rule quickly.
In June 2022, Senator Elizabeth Warren led a comment letter with Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Brian Schatz on the SEC’s mandatory climate disclosure rule, highlighting several areas for improvement and key elements that the SEC should preserve in its final rule, including strong Scope 3 emissions disclosure requirements.
In March 2022, Senator Elizabeth Warren led a letter with Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Brian Schatz urging the SEC to require disclosure of anti-climate lobbying activities in the Commission’s rule.
In May 2021, Senator Elizabeth Warren and then-Congressman Andy Levin introduced the Buy Green Act to use the enormous breadth of U.S. federal procurement to help fight the climate crisis, spur innovation, and boost demand for American-made clean energy products at home and in the rapidly-growing markets for green products abroad.
In May 2021, Senator Elizabeth Warren and then-Congressman Andy Levin introduced the National Institutes of Clean Energy Act of 2021, legislation that would invest $400 billion over the next ten years to establish and operate a new system of institutes at the Department of Energy dedicated to research and development (R&D) of advanced clean energy technologies.
In April 2021, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Sean Casten reintroduced the Climate Risk Disclosure Act of 2021 which would reduce the chances of environmental and financial catastrophe by requiring public companies to disclose more information about their exposure to climate-related risks.
In March 2021, Senator Elizabeth Warren unveiled the BUILD GREEN Infrastructure and Jobs Act which would invest $500 billion over ten years in state, local, and tribal projects to jumpstart the transition to all electric public vehicles and rail and help modernize the nation's crumbling infrastructure.

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The following sites updated:

Key Issues the Black Community Must Address Immediately

Jasmine Crockett Discusses Trump Celebrating Daniel Penny As Guest Of Honor

Top 10 SNL Impressions That the Real Person HATED

Farmer ADMITS Trump would DESTROY HIS BUSINESS…but still SUPPORTS HIM

McConnell TEARS RFK Jr To SHREDS After Doing The Unthinkable

Sunday, December 15, 2024

Zendaya & Nicole Kidman | Actors on Actors

So much blame to share

Pete Hegseth is this century's Dan Quayle. Old White men think he's attractive. When Poppy Bush named Dan as his running, old White men in the GOP -- all presumably and hopefully now dead -- insisted that Dan would bring women's support to the ticket because he was so good looking. He looked like a stick of butter on the verge of melting. Pete can't even claim that with his bad haircut, bad greasy hair, bad oily skin -- pimples and all -- and that gut. It's interesting, think of celebrities, a Black man, to be considered good looking by the mainstream media, has to be drop dead gorgeous -- Larenz Tate, Morris Chestnut, Blair Underwood, etc -- but a Ken Olin -- plain ass looking man -- qualifies as attractive to the White media. They always grade on a curve that benefits White skin.

The immensely unqualified Pete Hegseth remains in the news. Alex Bollinger (LGBTQ NATION) reports:

Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense, former Fox host Pete Hegseth, flipped his position on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal without explanation, telling reporters “yes” when asked whether he supports allowing gay people to serve in the military.

Hegseth is facing an uphill battle for confirmation in the Senate due to accusations of sexual assault and extreme drunkenness. His opposition to women serving in combat roles in the military and his previous tirades against LGBTQ+ people serving in the military haven’t helped either.

For example, he said on The Ben Shapiro Show earlier this year that repealing “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” the law that banned gay and bi people from serving openly in the military, was part of a shift from the “tough looking, go get ’em army” to “the absurdity of ‘I have two mommies and I’m so proud to show them that I can wear a uniform too.'”

He said that “Marxists and leftists” allowed queer people to serve in the military, and in his book The War on Warriors he said that this was a “gateway” and a “camouflage” for broad cultural changes that harmed the military.

An estimated 6.1% of current military personnel identify as LGBTQ+, according to a 2022 study, a percentage that accounts for approximately 126,827 people. Trump is also expected to ban transgender people from serving in the military, which could result in over 10,000 people being discharged from the military at a time when the military faces difficulty in recruiting enough servicemembers.

Hegseth has also been hostile to the idea that women can serve in combat roles.

“We shouldn’t be having military sexual assault. Everybody understands that. We need to be taking care of it,” he said in 2016. “You think you bring women into infantry, different units, you might exacerbate that a little bit? I’m not saying that’s anybody’s fault, but that’s an unintended consequence of that priority also.”

So for those scoring, he's plain and stupid. Which makes him a perfect match for Trump.

Gerren Keith Gaynor (GRIO) reports:

“Donald Trump is not a god,” Thompson told theGrio during a recent interview, reacting to Trump’s unsupported claims that the congressman, along with other committee members like vice chair and former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, destroyed evidence throughout the investigation.

“He can’t prove it, nor has there been any other proof offered, which tells me that he really doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” said the 76-year-old lawmaker, who maintained that he and the bipartisan Jan. 6 Select Committee – which referred Trump for criminal prosecution – were exercising their constitutional and legislative duties.

“When someone disagrees with you, that doesn’t make it illegal; that doesn’t even make it wrong,” he maintained. “The greatness of this country is that everyone can have their own opinion about any subject, and so for an incoming president who disagrees with the work of Congress to say ‘because I disagree, I want them jailed,’ is absolutely unbelievable.”

U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., is not intimidated by President-elect Donald Trump, who, during an interview on “Meet the Press,” called for the congressman to be jailed for his role as chairman of the special congressional committee investigating Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021 mob attack on the U.S. Capitol.

When asked by theGrio if he is concerned about his physical safety amid continued public ridicule from Trump, whose supporters have already proven to be violent (re: Jan. 6), Rep. Thompson said, “I think every member of Congress here has to have some degree of concern, because you just never know.”

And for any really young readers, no, it's not normal for an incoming president to mean lawmakers have to fear they'll be targeted -- not in a democracy. And it's not just the ones Satan doesn't like, even Republicans in the Senate have to fear now as his supporters openly threaten the Senators with blackmail -- they're investigating senators who may not support Satan's nominee with the intent to find something that they can use to blackmail the same senators into voting for the nominee.

Dropping back to the December 12th snapshot:

Speaking of trash, how is this considered ethical or, for that matter, legal:

MAGA Republicans often threaten members of their party with primary challenges if they stand up to the president-elect. And far-right MAGA attorney Mike Davis, during an interview for Politico's Playbook column, threatened non-compliant Senate Republicans with another tactic: hiring private investigators to probe their backgrounds.

Politico's Adam Wren, in a Playbook column published on December 8, reports that Davis is "mobilizing his Article III Project to become the tip of the spear in building pressure from the base on Republican senators to confirm" former Fox News host Pete Hegseth (Trump's pick for defense secretary).

You are going to research someone? No problem there. But you're going to use the information to blackmail -- and that is the term -- a sitting member of Congress to vote the way you want them to vote?

That would be blackmail.

Which is a crime and the MAGA nut has confessed publicly to his intent.

That is blackmail. And the media just goes along with it. Provides a summary of it like it's some event at a club. Supposed journalists have a story about an attempt to blackmail members of the US Senate and they miss that aspect of the story -- or that an officer of the court, Mike Davis is openly plotting to blackmail US lawmakers.

Can you imagine that taking place even ten years ago? And the media's non-reaction, can you imagine that?

David McAfee (RAW STORY) reports on the attorney Mike Davis but manages to not mention the threat of blackmail. That threat needs to be in every article about Mike Davis. That public threat of blackmail -- forget following through on it, just that he floated it could get him disbarred. And, quite honestly, just floating should get him disbarred. But that's not going to happen if we let the crazy man make his threat and then all look the other way.

Satan is lawless and he's coming back to the White House. It's past time that lawlessness was called out but instead we get people looking the other way with regards to Mike Davis. That does not instill confidence in the media.

And the media silence harms us all.

I'm reminded of that reading Joseph William's latest at THE CHICAGO DEFENDER:

“What are we going to do, people? What’s going to happen to us now? I’ve had enough of this. The system is rigged.”

– Andre Zachary Neely’s father

The jury saw and heard and processed all that evidence and — following roughly 17 hours of deliberation, including deadlocking over a lesser charge — collectively shrugged.

For a few moments, Black Lives Matter mattered. And then All Things Media Big and Small moved on. It's no surprise that racism and sexism targeted Kamala or that the media either looked the other way or joined in with attacks.

"I'm speaking." Remember the angry reaction from the Gaza Freaks. (Late to the party, Gaza Freaks are idiots who refused to actually support Palestinians and instead trashed Kamala while talking up Jill Stein and Donald Trump.) They attacked her with anger.

She was speaking. It was her public speech and her campaign event. And a heckler tries to take over the event.

And many a male politicians has said similar.

But HOW DARE A WOMAN!!!! HOW DARE SHE!!! HOW DARE A BLACK WOMAN!!!

That's what it was over and over.

They weren't going to be called out by the Black woman, oh, hell no. They weren't going to listen to her. Who the hell did that Black woman think she was?

That was the attitude and it was soaked in sexism and racism.

Gaza Freaks need to be kicked out of the left. They've doomed Palestinians and they're racist and sexist and, if in Dearborn and Hamtramck, they're also homophobe holding hands with right-wingers.

They're not left.

We ignore way too much on a daily basis and that's what gives an attorney -- who should know the law -- like Mike Davis the notion that he can go public with his plan to blackmail senators into voting the way he wants them to.

The following sites updated: