Tuesday Open Thread [4.28.15]

Tuesday Open Thread [4.28.15]

13 Comments
“National Guard troops fanned out through Baltimore, shield-bearing police officers blocked the streets and firefighters doused still-simmering blazes early Tuesday after riots, looting and violent unrest engulfed swaths of the city Monday,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The unrest came just hours after thousands of people attended a funeral for Freddie Gray , a 25-year-old black man who died in police custody earlier this month. Fifteen officers were injured, and at least 27 people were arrested as Baltimore became the latest national flash point for race relations and law enforcement.” The Baltimore Sun, of course, has the best coverage, as local news always does. And yes, the "Purge" rumor was/is real. And in case you are confused over my stance on this issue: I believe the riots are justified. The Baltimore Police Department is a thug operation with a long history of past crimes and abuses perpetrated on the community it is supposed to protect, and it should be cleaned out:
Over the past four years, more than 100 people have won court judgments or settlements related to allegations of brutality and civil rights violations [by the Baltimore police department]. Victims include a 15-year-old boy riding a dirt bike, a 26-year-old pregnant accountant who had witnessed a beating, a 50-year-old woman selling church raffle tickets, a 65-year-old church deacon rolling a cigarette and an 87-year-old grandmother aiding her wounded grandson.
That is the backdrop and the spark. Riots don't start in a vacuum by bad people. If that were the case, there would be riots everyday. No, you need community involvement to start it. You need a community that is fed up and that has had enough. This has been building up for a long, long time in Baltimore and around the country. There have been decades of systemic inequality, bad policing, a war on drugs and a biased criminal justice system. This country is damned lucky we don't have more riots in more cities. But if we don't fix this country now, that is where we are headed.
General Assembly Pre-Game Show: April 28-30, 2015

General Assembly Pre-Game Show: April 28-30, 2015

46 Comments
OK. Let's put a stop to the idiocy that was the rumor that Gov. Markell would cut some kind of deal with the Rethugs on 'Right to Work For Less'.  It never made sense. Why? Because the bills won't pass the General Assembly, and will not get a single D vote. Plus, the governor has little influence over the General Assembly any more. He would have zero if he made that move.  'Multiple legislators', Nancy? I call bullshit. Any legislator who would float that rumor should recognize that doing so makes it less likely, not more likely, that HB 50 would pass. Yes, Monsignor Lavelle's SB 54 is scheduled for 'consideration' in Wednesday's Senate Labor & Industrial Relations Committee. Now, before you conspiracy theorists get your collective knickers in a bunch, here is the membership of that committee:
Chairman: Marshall Members: Cloutier Hocker McBride Peterson Poore
4 D's, 2 R's, one of the R's generally votes with labor.  Now, do you really suppose that Jack Markell asked Marshall for a 'solid', and that Marshall agreed?  Markell emasculated Marshall's last minimum wage bill, and tried to privatize the Port of Wilmington over his objections.  Use your heads, pipples. You're better than this.