White Supremacists clash with protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia. Update!

Courtesy of HuffPo: 

Once again, white supremacists and the aggressive fringe groups that show up to meet them took over an American city that never wanted them in the first place, enveloping the area in violence. 

On Saturday, thousands of “alt right” members, white supremacists and other fringe groups took to the streets in Charlottesville for what the supremacists called a “Unite the Right” rally that drew notorious far-right figures including Richard Spencer ― a white nationalist perhaps best known for being punched in the face after President Donald Trump’s inauguration ― alongside thousands of counter-protesters. 

The supremacists were met by counter protestors Antifa, a fringe left radical group that often wears black to disguise themselves. Violence was met on both sides, causing a declaration of a “local emergency” by the Charlottesville Police Department.

By the way I don't know who these Antifa douchebags think they are but I will eat my hat if their politics align in anyway with the progressives.

In my opinion they are anarchists out to start trouble, and nothing more.

And clearly trouble is what everybody got last night, and this morning.

You heard that right. They're chanting "Fuck you faggots." 2017. #Charlottesville pic.twitter.com/pMwbSXZ3wW

— Christopher Mathias (@letsgomathias) August 12, 2017

These guys are so young #charlottesville pic.twitter.com/ucMt8E0Vrt

— Andy Campbell (@AndyBCampbell) August 12, 2017

Protesters with torches surrounding anti fascists protesters on the University of Virginia campus #DefendCville #antifa #unitetheright pic.twitter.com/Y1pPxlh98y

— daniel shular (@xshularx) August 12, 2017

This apparently is Donald Trump's America now.

Update: Jesus this thing got even uglier!

#BREAKING : Video of the car running over protestors at the counter rally in #Charlottesville
Many reported injured ! pic.twitter.com/dbLvROZFra

— Zain Khan (@ZKhanOfficial) August 12, 2017

Courtesy of the New York Daily News: 

Several people have been injured after a car plowed into a crowd of counter-protesters marching against a “pro-white” rally Saturday in Charlottesville, Va., witnesses said. 

Video of the terrifying moment shows at least one person being tossed into the air as the silver Dodge Charger mowed into the crowd. 

“Yeah, it was intentional,” said witness Dan Miller. “About 40 miles an hour, hit about 15-20 people, crashed into the two cars in front of it, and then backed up and sped away while cops were standing on the side of the road and didn’t do anything.”

Yeah, Make America Great Again, good fucking job with that.

Update 2: Trump should appreciate this reminder.

Why look! It's David Duke reminding @realDonaldTrump that white supremacist nazis put him in the White House. #Charlottesville pic.twitter.com/nxneYJrhLg

— Cornelia (@PaladinCornelia) August 12, 2017

Have to admit, he has a point.

President Obama makes the historic Stonewall Inn a national monument.

Courtesy of the New York Daily News: 

President Obama has declared the Stonewall Inn a national monument, making the iconic West Village bar the first national monument of the LGBT rights movement. 

"Stonewall will be our first national monument to tell the story for the struggle for LGBT rights," Obama announced in a video released Friday. 

The President honored the Stonewall patrons who fought back against a police raid on June 28, 1969, igniting the national gay rights movement 47 years ago. 

"They stood up and spoke out. The riots became protests. The protests became a movement. The movement ultimately became an integral part of America," he said.

I remember the first time I heard about Stonewall.

I was in my early 20's working at a car dealership, and my direct supervisor was an out of the closet gay man.

The guy was hysterical, always cracking jokes. Many at his own expense.

But one day while we were talking he got dead serious and started to tell me about his experiences during something called the Stonewall riots. I swear it was almost like hearing a veteran talking about Nam.

By the end of the conversation he was literally shaking with emotion.

I think that was the first time I really understood how much hatred there was toward the LGBT community.

President Obama has a lot to be proud of, many accomplishments under his belt, but what he has done to protect and inspire LGBT folks in this country is completely unprecedented.
 

Bernie Sanders supporters have violent meltdown at Nevada conventions forcing security to shut it down.

Convention ended w/security shutting it down, Bernie folks rushed stage, yelling obscenities, throwing chairs. Unity Now! On to Philly 2/2

— Jon Ralston (@RalstonReports) May 15, 2016

Courtesy of MSNBC:  

On the surface, the results from the state Democratic convention in Nevada may not seem especially noteworthy. Hillary Clinton defeated Bernie Sanders in the state’s caucuses in February, and her supporters prevailed at Saturday’s party gathering where delegates to the national convention were chosen. None of this has much of an effect on the overall race. 

At least, that’s the way it may look on paper. When activists gathered in Las Vegas on Saturday, however, Sanders supporters hoped to take advantage of Nevada’s complex process to give him the statewide edge in the delegate count, despite coming in second in February balloting. 

The Washington Post explains what led up to the explosion of anger:


Prior to the state convention, some Sanders supporters began an effort to shift the convention rules in a way that they viewed as more favorable to their candidate. One of those changes, the Las Vegas Sun reported, was a process for verifying voice votes; another took issue with the state party chairwoman, Roberta Lange, heading up the convention. Supporters at the event circulated petitions to the same end. The scene was set. 

The first report from the credentials committee on Saturday morning indicated that Clinton had a slight edge in delegates. Sanders fans voted against that report, per Jon Ralston, and then demanded a recount – but this was simply a preliminary figure…. That was when the vote to approve the rules as written – Roberta’s Rules versus Robert’s Rules, as some Sanders backers dubbed them – was conducted by voice vote. The motion, seconded by a Sanders supporter, passed – which is when the room, in Ralston’s phrasing, “erupts.” 

You can see that eruption for yourself right here.

And things actually got worse from there:

Some Sanders supporters upset with Saturday's proceedings protested against state party chairwoman, Roberta Lange, outside the Nevada State Democratic Party headquarters on Sunday. Her cellphone number was posted on social media and officials said Lange had received hundreds of phone calls and text messages, including death threats.

Some Sanders' supporters are now talking about a third party emerging to challenge the Democrats:  

A third party will emerge from the anger, frustration, and animosity felt by millions of Bernie Sanders supporters, who believe Bernie stands for ideals, while Clinton represents the vapid allure of political power.It’s impossible for establishment Democrats to understand the level of emotion involved in helping elect Bernie Sanders in 2016. 

Battling a political machine that earns millions in speaking fees from Wall Street and lobbyist ties, Vermont’s Senator has raised enough money to compete and win. Also, the groundwork for a new political party is rooted in the manner establishment Democrats have treated loyal constituents.

So essentially everything we gleefully predicted might happen to the Republican party if they nominated Donald Trump is instead happening within the Democratic party.

I have little doubt that the GOP convention will come off relatively smoothly.

As for the Democratic convention......well has anybody seen the beginning of "Saving Private Ryan?"

This should be our time. The Republicans have one of the most deeply flawed candidates in history, while the Democrats are on the cusp of nominating one of the most qualified individuals ever to run for office.

But instead once again Democrats are on the verge of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Does everybody finally understand why I have been calling for Bernie Sanders to drop out of this race? Is it finally getting through?

He cannot win, period.

But he can, and IS, creating the kind of chaos and mayhem that destroys political parties and their candidates. Both at the top of the ticket, and down ballot.

Damn those Baltimore riots are so inconvenient! Especially for Bristol Palin.

Courtesy of TMZ: 

Bristol Palin's house sale would be a done deal if not for the riots in Baltimore. Wait, what? 

So get this ... Palin put her 3 bedroom, 3.5 bath, 3,200 sq ft. Alaskan home on the market last month and it sold in three days at the asking price of $549,000. Needless to say, Bristol was ecstatic. 

Fast forward to this week when the final sale docs were supposed to be delivered ... and they've been delayed. What caused the delay? Yup, the riots. 

Bummer!

Apparently Fed-Ex sent her this message:  

"As a result of local restrictions in the Baltimore, Maryland metro area, unavoidable service delays are anticipated." 

Aww, why does everything bad happen to Bristol?

And who is the hell contacts TMZ to complain about it?

Well this does answer the question that we all had as to whether Bristol sold that house or not. It looks like she did.

Hey, hey, hey do you know what's really behind the riots in Baltimore? Gay marriage.

Texas Rep. Bill Flores

Courtesy of Raw Story:  

Republican U.S. House Representative Bill Flores of Texas argued this week that violence in Baltimore could be linked to the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States. 

On the Wednesday edition of the Family Research Council’s Washington Watch radio program, Flores told FRC President Tony Perkins that crowds of conservatives were showing up at the U.S. Supreme Court to urge justices to support the “rights of tradition marriage.” 

Perkins suggested that the government was just creating more problems for itself as courts throughout the nation continued to rule that LGBT people should have equal marriage rights. 

“A lot of these problems are created by the breakdown of the family, which the redefinition of would only accelerate,” Perkins opined. 

“You’re exactly right, Tony,” Flores agreed. “Let’s talk about poverty for instance… The single best indicator of whether or not a child is going to be in poverty or not is whether or not they were raised by a two-parent household or a single-parent household. And so the breakdown of the family has contributed to poverty.” 

“You look at what’s going on in Baltimore today, you know, you see issues that are raised there,” the congressman continued. “And healthy marriages are the ones between a man and a woman because they can have a healthy family and they can raise children in the way that’s best for their future, not only socially but psychologically, economically, from a health perspective.”

Makes perfect sense.

The only good kind of parenting is the parenting done by a man and a woman, married during a Christian ceremony in an honest to goodness church, who are raising their child to be a God fearing clone of themselves.

Anything else leads to rioting, the rejection of Creationism, and "gasp" homosexuality. (And not the good kind with just two ladies either.)

So clearly the problems with police brutality, and minorities being arrested in far larger numbers than their white counterparts, has nothing to do with racial injustice, and is only the byproduct of single parent families, and not enough Jesus in their lives. 

It must be incredibly comforting to always see every problem as black and white, and to believe that through some divine intervention you happened to have been born in a place that allowed you to have been indoctrinated into the right religion.

CNN's Wolf Blitzer gets the tables turned on him during interview with Baltimore community organizer about riots.

Courtesy of Crooks and Liars:   "You want peaceful protests, right?" Blitzer began his interview by asking McKesson. 

"Yes," McKesson replied, after being momentarily taken aback by obvious nature of the question. "Remember, the people that have been violent since August have been the police. When you think about the 300 people that have been killed this year alone. Like that is violence." 

McKesson agreed that the property damage in Baltimore on Monday night had been unfortunate, but he urged Blitzer to remember that there had been "many days of peaceful protests here in Baltimore City and places all around the country." 

"But at least 15 police officers have been hurt, 200 arrests, 144 vehicle fires -- these are statistics," Blitzer countered, robotically reading a police press release. "There's no excuse for that kind of violence, right?" 

"Yeah, and there's no excuse for the seven people that the Baltimore City Police Department has killed in the last year either, right?" McKesson shot back. "We're not making comparisons," Blitzer stuttered. "Obviously, we don't want anybody hurt. But I just want to hear you say that there should be peaceful protests, not violent protests in the tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King." 

"Yeah, there's should be peaceful protests," the community organizer replied. "And I don't have to condone it to understand it, right? The pain that people feel is real." 

"And you are making a comparison," McKesson added. "You are suggesting this idea that broken windows are worse than broken spines, right?"

Gee Blitzer could you work a little harder to hide the fact that you are a completely out of touch white dude working for a giant corporation that is terrified of incidents like this?

As it turned out last night was quite calm, in comparison to the night before and even CNN only had this to report:Police arrested two people for looting and one for disorderly conduct, Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said. But most of the 10 arrests made after the 10 p.m. curfew were for curfew violation.

The local residents also came out to take back control of their streets before the curfew went into affect,  some even taking up positions to act as a buffer between potential troublemakers and the police.

In fact today Hillary Clinton came out to express her own frustration with what is taking place on the streets of America and to call for mandatory police cameras.

Courtesy of CNN: 

"As a citizen, a human being, my heart breaks for these young men and their families," Clinton said, listing a number of incidents in the last year that have found black men killed at the hands of law enforcement. "We have to come to terms with some hard truths about race and justice in America." 

She continued: "We have allowed our criminal justice system to get out of balance and these recent tragedies should galvanize us to come together as a nation to find out balance against." 

......

"We should make sure that every police department in the country has body cameras to record interaction between offices on patrol and suspects, that will improve transparency and accountability it will help protect good people on both sides of the lens," Clinton said, calling for body cameras to be the "norm everywhere."

I think that is the right message for this time, and I imagine several GOP presidential contenders will join her. Though to be fair Rand Paul is already there.

Baltimore City riots. The day after.

Courtesy of CNN: 

Charred cars and buildings. Hospitalized police officers. Looted and damaged businesses. No school, because it might not be safe for children to go outside. 

That was the stark reality Tuesday after a night of riots, fires and heartbreak in Baltimore, parts of which looked more like a war zone than a place where people live, work and play. 

"Too many people have spent generations building up this city for it to be destroyed by thugs who -- in a very senseless way -- are trying to tear down what so many have fought for," Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said. 

At least 15 officers were wounded in the unrest, six of them seriously, the city's police commissioner said. Getting them healthier is the first goal. Another is making sure that they're not joined in local hospitals by others -- be they more law enforcement officers or civilians -- in further unrest. 

There were nearly 200 arrests, 144 vehicle fires and 15 structure fires in Baltimore during the unrest that began Monday, said Howard Libit, the city's director of strategic planning and policy. 

More than 500 National Guard members are in Baltimore on Tuesday morning with "hundreds more on the way," the Maryland National Guard reports.

The finger pointing and blame has already started with conservatives mostly blaming the mayor and liberals talking about police injustice and a community that feels desperate and enraged over the death, and the lack of information about the death, of Freddie Gray.

The violence and property destruction got so bad that even the Crips and Bloods got together to call for an end to the riot.

The riots actually erupted on the day that newly confirmed AG Loretta Lynch was sworn in, which means she has to hit the ground running it seems.

Her first response to the violence will of course be closely scrutinized by her conservative detractors:

Lynch met Monday evening with President Barack Obama to discuss the riots in Baltimore. The meeting was not called specifically as a result of the situation in Baltimore, the White House said, but Lynch told Obama she'd be monitoring the situation there. 

"As our investigative process continues, I strongly urge every member of the Baltimore community to adhere to the principles of nonviolence," Lynch said in a statement. "In the days ahead, I intend to work with leaders throughout Baltimore to ensure that we can protect the security and civil rights of all residents. And I will bring the full resources of the Department of Justice to bear in protecting those under threat, investigating wrongdoing, and securing an end to violence."

Today the President had this to say:

"There's no excuse for the kind of violence that we saw yesterday. It is counterproductive," Obama said at a press conference from the White House. "When individuals get crowbars and start prying open doors to loot, they're not protesting. They're not making a statement. They're stealing. When they burn down a building, they're committing arson. And they're destroying and undermining businesses and opportunities in their own communities. That robs jobs and opportunity from people in that area." 

My feeling at this point is if the investigation into the death of Freddy Gray does not end with indictments of at least some police officers, that we will see more violence like this in the near future.

I think MLK said it best.

By the way here are some photos of white people rioting over really important things like sports.

Baltimore riots. Happening now.

Courtesy of MSN: 

Seven Baltimore police officers were injured on Monday as rioters threw bricks, broke windows, looted businesses and burned patrol cars in violent protests following the funeral of a black man who died after he was injured in police custody. 

The riots broke out just a few blocks from the site of the funeral of 25-year-old Freddie Gray in northwest Baltimore and then spread through other parts of the city in the most violent demonstrations since looting in Ferguson, Missouri, last year. 

Television images showed mobs of rioters jumping on top of a police car, destroying a taxi and setting two other patrol cars on fire after teenaged crowds ignored calls to disperse and clashed with lines of hundreds of police. Gangs had threatened to target police officers, local law enforcement said.

I have been watching this unfold for the last hour or so now, and it is really frustrating to see these young people reinforce everything that the conservatives want Americans to believe about this community.

They have been destroying property, burning police cars, and robbing stores like common thugs. 

From what I am hearing these rioters are quite young, 14, 15, and 16 years old and they are clearly very angry. So angry in fact that they are refusing to listen to more mature voices asking them to stop.

Baltimore police car up in flames http://t.co/LFAXsCzovc #TheLead @AthenaCNN reports from #BaltimoreRiots pic.twitter.com/9MXc9rRzMw
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) April 27, 2015

Smile for the camera, idiots! #BaltimoreRiots pic.twitter.com/22OgYTKIfb
— 6 Time Champ ☠  (@NotJimmieJ) April 27, 2015

And of course you knew this was coming.

Mark Levin ''I don't know where Obama is but he's sitting back waiting for a chance to exploit the situation.'' #BaltimoreRiots
— toni smith (@palmaceiahome1) April 27, 2015

Now they just set the local CVS on fire.

"It's just getting worse, if that's possible..a very serious situation" -@miguelmarquez on the ground #BaltimoreRiots pic.twitter.com/fjHdtSccyf

— The Situation Room (@CNNSitRoom) April 27, 2015

It looks to me that there are now some older people showing up and trying to quell the riot before things get too far out of control.

Are there more Bill O'Reilly lies to uncover? Why yes there are.

"Wait, another one?"

Courtesy of the Guardian:  

Former colleagues of Bill O’Reilly, the Fox News host whose tales of past reporting exploits are facing renewed scrutiny, have disputed his account of surviving a bombardment of bricks and rocks while covering the 1992 riots in Los Angeles. 

Six people who covered the riots with O’Reilly in California for Inside Edition told the Guardian they did not recall an incident in which, as O’Reilly has claimed, “concrete was raining down on us” and “we were attacked by protesters”. 

Several members of the team suggested that O’Reilly may instead be overstating a fracas involving one disgruntled Los Angeles resident, who smashed one of their cameras with a piece of rubble.

Here is what O'Reilly's former co-workers had to report on the incident:

Inside Edition colleagues from the time who were in Los Angeles with O’Reilly – reporters Bonnie Strauss, Tony Cox and Rick Kirkham, and crew members Theresa McKeown, Bob McCall and Neil Antin – told the Guardian that they did not recall such an incident. 

Kirkham, the show’s lead reporter on the riots, was adamant that it did not take place. “It didn’t happen,” he said. “If it did, how come none of the rest of us remember it?” 

Tonya Freeman, the head of the show’s library at the time, said: “I honestly don’t recall watching or hearing about that. I believe I probably would have remembered something like that.” Another librarian from the time also said she did not recall the incident. A spokeswoman for Inside Edition declined to comment. 

Several other senior Inside Edition staffers from the time declined to comment when asked if they recalled O’Reilly’s version of events. Several members of the team, however, recalled that one afternoon in the days following the peak of the riots, which began on 29 April, the angry resident attacked a camera while O’Reilly was being filmed near the intersection of Fairfax Avenue and Pico Boulevard. “It was one person with one rock,” said McCall, the sound man. “Nobody was hit.” 

“A man came out of his home,” said Antin, who was operating the camera that was struck. “He picked up a chunk of concrete, and threw it at the camera.” Told of O’Reilly’s description of a bombardment, Antin said: “I don’t think that’s really … No, I mean no, not where we were.” 

“There was no concrete,” said McKeown. “There was a single brick”. Kirkham’s response was: “Oh my God. That is a completely fictitious story. Nothing ever rained down on us”. 

Here is my favorite part of this article:  

O’Reilly is said to have shouted at the man and asked him: “Don’t you know who I am?

Gee who does that sound like?

Okay let's see if we have this straight now.

Bill O'Reilly was NOT actually on the ground covering the Falklands War.

He never saw any nuns get shot in the back of the head in El Salvador.

He was NOT standing outside the door when George de Mohrenschildt committed suicide.

And now he did not even have concrete thrown at him while covering riots in 1992.

Is that finally enough for Fox News to be embarrassed enough by his bullshit to send him packing?

Perspective.

In America white folks don't riot for justice.

But let their favorite sports team win? Well then it's clearly time to set some cars on fire and kick in a few storefront windows.

Michael Brown autopsy released, National Guard ordered to Ferguson.

Courtesy of the New York Times: 

Michael Brown, the unarmed black teenager who was killed by a police officer, sparking protests around the nation, was shot at least six times, including twice in the head, a preliminary private autopsy performed on Sunday found. 

One of the bullets entered the top of Mr. Brown’s skull, suggesting his head was bent forward when it struck him and caused a fatal injury, according to Dr. Michael M. Baden, the former chief medical examiner for the City of New York, who flew to Missouri on Sunday at the family’s request to conduct the separate autopsy. It was likely the last of bullets to hit him, he said. 

Mr. Brown, 18, was also shot four times in the right arm, he said, adding that all the bullets were fired into his front. 

The bullets did not appear to have been shot from very close range because no gunpowder was present on his body. However, that determination could change if it turns out that there is gunshot residue on Mr. Brown’s clothing, to which Dr. Baden did not have access.

Six times? Twice in the head?

This fits in disturbingly well with the eyewitness account provided to the FBI by Michael Brown's friend:

A key witness — Brown’s friend Dorian Johnson — has told the FBI that he thought the robbery was a “prank,” said Johnson’s attorney. In an interview with federal agents, Johnson has said Brown was hit by one bullet, then — as Brown pleaded for his life — Wilson fired “five or six” more times. 

And when the shooting stopped, Johnson and his legal team have told investigators, the police officer who pulled the trigger did nothing to save the man he’d just shot. “The officer doesn’t attempt to resuscitate,” Johnson’s attorney, former St. Louis mayor Freeman Bosley Jr., said in an interview Saturday. “He does not call for medical help. The officer didn’t call it in that someone had been shot.” 

It is pretty clear that this preliminary autopsy report is going to do nothing to dissuade people in Ferguson from believing that this young man was executed.

Which was clear last night as protestors turned violent forcing the Missouri Governor to call in the National Guard: 

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon signed an executive order this morning deploying the Missouri National Guard to Ferguson after a night of continued clashes between police and protesters in reaction to the police shooting death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown. 

"Tonight, a day of hope, prayers, and peaceful protests was marred by the violent criminal acts of an organized and growing number of individuals, many from outside the community and state, whose actions are putting the residents and businesses of Ferguson at risk," Nixon said in a statement. 

"These violent acts are a disservice to the family of Michael Brown and his memory, and to the people of this community who yearn for justice to be served, and to feel safe in their own homes." 

The executive order comes after police used tear gas to clear protesters off the streets of the St. Louis suburb, action that police say was necessary because of shooting, looting and vandalism.

This is very unfortunate as it is clear the people of Ferguson have a legitimate reason to be angry and mistrustful of the police, however others who are using the opportunity to vandalize and loot are undermining the purpose of the protests and inviting outsiders to criticize the citizens as thugs.

It is troubling that after criticizing the police for hitting the streets using armored vehicles while dressed in military gear and wielding assault weapons at the beginning of these protests, that now we are seeing the actual military called out to do essentially the same thing.