Bucknackt's Sordid Tawdry Blog: police extrajudicial killings

30 May 2021

Sign the petition: Pass the George Floyd Act 30MAI21

IT is a disgrace the Senate fascist republican's are threatening a filibuster to defeat this legislation. This is confirmation they condone and endorse the racist, bigoted, hateful rhetoric of the former drumpf / trump-pence administration and is a declaration by the gop/greed-over-people republican party that only white lives matter to them and their neo-nazi, fascist base. Please sign this petition by Demand Progress calling on Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice In Policing Act and take the time to e mail your representative and senators and tell them to eliminate the filibuster rule in the U.S. Senate or at the least amend it and then pass the George Floyd Act.

Will you add your name and tell Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act?

One year ago, George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. He should still be alive today -- and so should countless other people killed by police, like Daunte Wright, Breonna Taylor, Charleena Lyles, Tamir Rice, and Michael Brown.

President Biden set a deadline of May 25 -- the one year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd-- for Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Congress has failed to meet it.¹ In fact, Democrats are even considering watering down the bill, allowing police to get away with similar crimes.²

Police continue to show us that they can't be trusted to reform their own behaviors. The House passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in March to hold police accountable and make sweeping changes. But it's stuck in the Senate, where the Democratic majority is wasting time negotiating with Republicans. It's time to act.

Sign the petition: Tell Congress to end the filibuster and pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act!

ADD YOUR NAME

Police are often protected from prosecution when they kill civilians like George Floyd, thanks to a legal doctrine known as "qualified immunity."

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act would restrict qualified immunity that police officers use to shield themselves from accountability when they kill.

Republicans oppose that provision and insist it be removed. Some Democrats are considering caving to those demands, despite polls that show 59% of all Americans agree on ending qualified immunity.³ But they don't have to -- especially if they abolish the filibuster and thus remove any need to win Republican votes.

The filibuster was created to uphold white supremacy and slavery, and over the last 190 years has been used to uphold Jim Crow and other forms of racial segregation and oppression. Now it's being used to uphold police violence.

The House already passed the George Floyd Act, but Republicans can use the filibuster to block the George Floyd Act in the Senate. Instead of holding police accountable when they kill people, Republicans in the Senate will use a procedural roadblock to make sure no real reforms can pass.

That's why it's absolutely critical that you speak up and speak loudly -- and do so right now.

Sign the petition: Tell Congress to end the filibuster and pass the George Floyd Act!

Thanks for taking action,

Robert and the team at Demand Progress

DONATE

Sources:
1. CNBC, "Congress is set to miss Biden’s deadline to pass police reform bill as talks move forward," May 24, 2021.
2. The Hill, "Clyburn says he's willing to compromise on qualified immunity in policing bill," May 9, 2021.
3. The Hill, "Police reform fight hinges on qualified immunity," May 25, 2021.

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03 May 2021

Today Is World Press Freedom Day. Here Are Three Ways to Strengthen and Support It, New York Indian Point Nuclear Plant Shuts Down, Ending an Era, Cities' climate conundrum: How to shift from gas to electric?, Newsmax issues retraction and apology for 2020 election coverage, The GOP's latest talking point on DC statehood is just so…lame, Why body cameras can still fail to hold police accountable, New Polls: It Turns Out Americans Like a Normal, Boring President 3MAI21

May 3, 2021

As the United States emerges from its yearlong slumber, I've found the awakening to be bittersweet. Things are going back to normal—but they'll never really be the same.

New York City's subways will start running 24/7 again on May 17, and the tri-state area, once an early coronavirus epicenter, will let many businesses fully reopen by the end of the month. But even as vaccination rates climb, COVID will likely never completely go away. The vestiges of the pandemic, from seasonal mask-wearing to occasional outbreaks, will linger. The people and places we lost aren't coming back. And the virus continues to surge in countries with less vaccine supply than the United States—notably India, which reported 3,417 COVID deaths on Monday, a likely undercount.

But that doesn't mean that those of us who are fully vaccinated can't enjoy our newfound freedoms. My greatest post-vax pleasure? Sitting down at a bar for a burger and a beer.

—Abigail Weinberg

SOME GOOD NEWS, FOR ONCE

Today Is World Press Freedom Day. Here Are Three Ways to Strengthen and Support It.

The press, where it’s free, is a central nervous system. It sends and receives signals, zaps and regulates information until the pathways are pinched by the malignant forces of misinformation or bad actors, or both.

But there’s good news on World Press Freedom Day, now in its third decade. This year’s theme is “information as a public good,” underscoring what the chief of UNESCO, which founded the day, calls “the indisputable importance of verified and reliable information” secured by journalists accountable to you. Mark the day three ways:

1. Join Nelufar Hedayat’s #DearWorldLive conversation about solutions to the jailing and repression of journalists around the world and the deepening divide between powerful politicians and reporters investigating them. Her guests are Syrian journalist Kholoud Helmi, who co-founded the nonprofit newspaper Enab Baladi, and Maria Salazar Ferro, the Committee to Protect Journalists’ emergencies director.

2. See the strides made by 250,000 petitioners seeking the release of jailed journalists, and thousands more supporting Free Turkey Media, a campaign launched four years ago by Amnesty International and other human rights groups.

3. Forward this Recharge to one person you know. Ask if they’ll sign up for the Mother Jones Daily newsletter if they haven’t. Whether it’s ours or another independent newsroom’s, keep the nervous system, and availability of information, protected.

—Daniel King