Deprecated: Constant FILTER_SANITIZE_STRIPPED is deprecated in /data/6/4/82/79/4408405/user/5139387/htdocs/home/wp-content/plugins/tinymce-comment-field/controller/class-titan-controller.php on line 41

Deprecated: Constant FILTER_SANITIZE_STRIPPED is deprecated in /data/6/4/82/79/4408405/user/5139387/htdocs/home/wp-content/plugins/tinymce-comment-field/controller/class-editor-controller.php on line 130
Charlotte Erupts – Trail Mix

Deprecated: file_exists(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($filename) of type string is deprecated in /data/6/4/82/79/4408405/user/5139387/htdocs/home/wp-includes/comment-template.php on line 1628

79 thoughts on “Charlotte Erupts”

  1. Is this the Obama legacy?

    Maybe Donald Trump is correct and the despair in these cities is much greater than anyone would like to admit.  What are the facts over the last eight years in which have been dominated by the Democratic Party and the policies of the left? Maybe President Obama can come down and sit down and have a beer!

    It’s really hard to watch and see this happening to our country and know that we have so many resources and so much potential that has just not been achieved.

    Why?

    Change is due!

  2. Craig, excuse me, and I’ll drop a quarter in the box.

    Ping you are a (deleted).

    what is going on in Charlotte has squat to do with Obama or any other national figure. It is a purely local matter and if you aren’t local then you are clueless.

     

    Jack

  3. I was at a meeting with our local Police chief. I told him how much I thought the police department had improved. then I told him that at one time I viewed the policed department as just another gang in my community He said to me “You are right we were” Which is a rather amazing thing for any police officer to admit.

    After listening to him talk I have hope for this town. He talked about backing off  and being less confrontational  There are police departments that are trying to make a change. But as the Bernie Bros learned, if you want to start a riot in this town he is not afraid to use the pepper spray. And I support him.

     

    Jack

  4. Hi Ping Pong,

    Good to hear from you.

    Whskyjack,

    Great comment(s) from the last thread.

    I was thinking while driving to work today that there is a relatively small group at Trail Mix. New people visit but few stick around (GrannyMumantoog being an exception: Thank You.) Maybe encouraging everyone to write a Post now & then might help; the very act encourages inclusiveness & interaction. Any other ideas or suggestions?

  6. Nah, I’ve worked many an overnight shift so bedtime is whenever. Used to work 9PM Christmas night through to 7am of the 26th. I’d be leaving as the mass of humanity would be flooding in. Wonderful.

  7. Why did Baltimore explode last year on the Freddie Grey murder, and not this year after another man was shot?  Why do some cities explode and others come together?  I was in Charlotte for one day earlier this year and thought it a nice place, but far too short a time to see the other side.  Obviously, there was something building up.  Would a different governor and legislature have changed the mix and Charlotte not explode? How much interaction did the police and communities have?  What has happened other than the killing of the man?

    I have a lot of questions.  Most of those start at the local level and slowly rise to the state government.  Then I look at the federal components.

    But, when a community burns, I question the police first.

  8. oops, posted this and the following on last thread before seeing the new one:

     

    this is a good start. looks like some are beginning to look at the substantive stuff.

    cbs: Where does Hillary Clinton stand?

    What would Hillary Clinton do should she win the White House? She said when she announced her candidacy that “Everyday Americans need a champion,” and told voters she wanted to be that champion. That is largely borne out in her platform, which has placed a high emphasis on college affordability, income inequality, green energy, criminal justice reform, gun policy and the economic concerns of the middle class.

    [….]

    With that in mind, read on, to see where Hillary Clinton stands on some of the major issues of the campaign.

    Foreign policy
    Education
    Gun control
    Terrorism

  9. yes, the presidency is catching the golden ring on the carousel, but what good does it do if the congress continues to malfunction, the carousel itself breaks down?  we are perilously close to the country falling apart and spinning off into chaos. hopefully an increased and motivated get-out-the-vote effort will be the fix and we can happily go round and round again on ascending and descending painted donkeys and gilded elephants.

  10. speaking of the critters in critterville, rand has some buddies from across the aisle to help with his latest effort:

    startribune: Sen. Franken joins Sen. Rand Paul in pushing to halt Saudi arms sales
    At issue, Franken said on the Senate floor, is the Saudi-backed civil war in Yemen where thousands of civilians have been killed or wounded. In the last decade, the U.S. has sold $100 billion in arms to Saudi Arabia. The Obama administration plans another $1.15 billion in tanks, armor and ammunition to sell to the Saudis.

     

    The measure, which failed Wednesday 71 to 27, was a resolution of disapproval of the Saudi arms sale. Along with Franken, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and a handful of libertarian-minded Republicans, including former GOP presidential hopeful Paul, and liberal Democrats backed the resolution.
    “The fact that we are even voting on it today sends a really important message in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” Franken said. “It is … we are watching you closely, the U.S. is not going to turn a blind eye to the indiscriminate killing.”

  12. “But, when a community burns, I question the police first.”

    bbronc, in this case with a black chief and a black policeman shooting one also has to expand the inquiry to identify the specific instigators of the looting as opposed to the protesters whether peaceful or the rowdy.

  13. craig, which media are you talking about in your last comments from the ODC post?  The Faux news variety?  The online?  Those on the plane with HRC?  The ones trump has barred from his rallies and faux press conferences?  Investigative journalists (all two of them)?  Really, the media is not one at all…help me with the confusion, please.  wiki-leaks? joe and mika?

    I have posted that I think Clinton had done some self-harm and her campaign is not the way I would have run it…but she has my vote and is not trying to get it anymore…she is attempting to get as many votes from sane repugs, middle of the road Americans…trump is pushing ‘rust belt brexit.’  Fear and bigger fear and as Obama stated, making the US a divided crime scene thanks to SOME media.  We just need to see that more often…call foul on trump instead of gushing or giggling.

  15. pp race baiting is an old political tactic.  this is so messed-up to believe that Obama and the last eight years are responsible for the problems in the old US of AA.   Ignore history…slavery comes to mind, women not be able to vote and we have been able to mature and correct our past sins as a nation.  trump mocks political correctness…tells ‘it’ like a bigot does…he is old school Joe McCarthy…he learned from McCarthy’s lawyer who was the trump family lawyer, too.  Drag us back to the 1950s.   They will never take me alive, if this is the case…I will resist trump to the end.

  16. usa today:

    “Toby, C.J., Josh, Charlie, Will and Kate (a.k.a., actors Richard Schiff, Allison Janney, Bradley Whitford, Dulé Hill, Joshua Malina and Mary McCormack) will participate in grassroots organizing events across Ohio,” the Clinton campaign said in statement “The actors will discuss why they are supporting Clinton and urge Ohioans to register to vote.”

    Cleveland, Toledo, Sandusky, Dayton and Columbus are among the cities to be visited by the former fictional White House staffers.

    Martin Sheen —who played the liberal President Bartlet on the TV show that aired its last episode 10 years ago — is noticeably absent from the list. He is, however, in a decidedly anti-Trump get-out-the-vote ad in which he says, “We cannot pretend both sides are equally unfavorable.”

  18. excerpt from garrison Keillor oped at wapo: What every New Yorker knows about Donald Trump

    A week ago, a panhandler in Times Square sat holding a sign reading, “Give me a dollar or I’ll vote for Trump,” and people laughed and reached into their pockets. His bucket overflowed. He stuffed the bills into his jacket, and other panhandlers looked at him with admiration. The man could’ve sold franchises and retired to Palm Beach.

    The panhandler knows what every New Yorker knows, which is that the biggest con job since the Trojan horse is taking place in our midst.

  19. SJWNY, yes I’ve been pleased that so many have written posts, would welcome more. I’ve always wished more lurkers would post comments. For some reason, and this has always been the case here, only a small fraction of visitors to the site post comments. Some I’ve heard from by email over the years have said they enjoy reading our comments but are intimidated about writing their own.

  20. To Ping’s point, Obama really hasn’t done anything dramatic for inner city job creation since the stimulus program, which has come and gone, and wasn’t enough money to make a huge difference. Black leaders do grumble, mostly in private, that he disappointed them.

  21. What have Republicans done for inner cities jobs or anything else except block or end programs

     

  22. KGC, something I’m hopeful about it with Hillary is that she surely can do a better job than Obama in corralling Congress. He put forth so little effort in that department, think she would throw herself into the fray behind the scenes, LBJ style.

  23. West Wing is the equivalent of fingernails on a blackboard to me, but if the cast from Deadwood started politicking I might take notice of what they said. Will give props to Bradley Whitford as Hubert Humphrey in All The Way though.

    Mr Crawford, are people intimidated about writing or intimidated by the possibility of being attacked or ridiculed for what they wrote? I plead guilty for being less than civil at times & am sorry if this causes potential Trail Mix members to not share their thoughts, not share their voice. I wonder at times if this scares people away.

  24. Which TV Show Cast would A) help a Candidate by publicly supporting her/him B) hurt said Candidate by showing support. So many to choose from, so little time.

  25. WEll I’m not sure even LBJ would have done well with the current congress especially if they had vowed to make sure he didn’t get anything done

  26. SJ, the sense I get is that it’s high level of writing that gives some pause about joining comments, because I’ve always only heard compliments about he unusual civility of the place.

    I’d like to see the VEEP cast on the road for HRC, Julia is no fan of Trump

  27. Interesting blurb scrolling across the bottom of my TV screen…

    Time Warner News reports that the FBI is questioning Erie County (NY) Democratic Committee members in regards to a probe involving former State Senator Marc Panepinto’s 2014 State Senate run & accusations that groups connected with NYC Mayor Bill DeBlasio’s campaign were getting around finance limits by funneling money through county committees.

    ***

    Also, charges coming down against those involved with Andrew Cuomo’s vaunted Buffalo Billion initiative. Bid rigging supposedly included & one of WNY’s biggest builders is involved; execs to be indicted.

    Welcome to Albany, folks.

  29. Anyone who thinks any of this confrontation between police and minority communities is anything new, needs to hit the history books.  The only difference I can see is military level uniform & fire power on the police, number of guns available to the general public, huge increase in population, and political movements that make response and rioting in response to events more likely.

    When Watts happened, I was newly married living in Northern CA having just recently left lifetime residence in Los Angeles.  My comment at the time shocked many, “I don’t know why it didn’t happen a whole lot sooner”.

    Most people happily watching Casablanca and listening to Dooley Wilson sing, “Shine” don’t realize that it is about the 1900 race riots in New York City.

    When any group is treated as “different”  and suspect rather than as individuals who are part of a community whether good or bad, then at some point you are going to get an explosion.

     

     

  30. You need to know the background to get the satire and bite in the song, but either way it’s still great music particularly when Ella sings

  32. Anyone who thinks any of this confrontation between police and minority communities is anything new, needs to hit the history books.

    Jamie…. that bears repeating…

    As I’ve mentioned before I read another blog (Dagblog) daily.  I’ve never posted there.  The reason…  I swear everyone posting there has their PhD and I am intimidated.  No one need be intimidated here…  we don’t take off points for spelling or grammatical errors.  We will debate your point of view…  but if that intimidates anyone…  IMO, they don’t belong on a blog about politics.

  35. Renee you are both smart and creative. I’ll take you over any Ph.D that spends most days staring at the diploma on her wall.

  36. “Civilian Review Boards”

     

    That’s a reactive response, proactive solutions like police-culture shifts, enhanced training, and taking guns off of most cops are needed.

    Yeah, I know, “when pigs fly”. Watch our cities burn while we wait.

  37. When people agitated for civilian review boards here, the cops and pols opposed them. Eventually we got them, and the mayors promptly stuffed the boards with relatives of cops. Civilian review has not made a bit of difference in the TCs.

    Minneapolis has an especially bad record for police brutality and cover ups. However, the last incident wasn’t covered up; it was a matter of he said vs she said.

  38. When I was a teenager, and I was a teenager in Florissant, Missouri, most of the cops looked like Ward Cleaver.  Today a lot of them look like Dick the Bruiser!  Muscled up shaved head ex-military.  I’m not trying to draw to a conclusion, but merely make an observation.

    Police departments also didn’t have military personnel carriers and urban assault vehicles.

  39. Bink – those things too

    The crony issue is a problem but in the end in partnership with other changes – civilian oversight and an established procedure for every officer involved shooting will go along way.   I’m sure there is a better way but the only things I have seen be successful is when there is sunlight and civilian involvement.

  40. A huge part of the Flying Pigs Problem is police culture shifts. Unless you fire the entire force, you’re unlikely to be able to construct a new culture. If you fire the entire force, you lose everyone who has experience.

    So, how does one keep the valuable lessons of experience while building a force that follows Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr, or the Dalai Lama ?

    I have no answers, and can only ask. sigh

  41. Trump:  There is no right to engage in violent disruption.

    Me:  Guess you would have moved to Canada in 1776

    Response on Twitter from someone named Christopher:  How is this protest comparable to 1776?? Monkeys are on the lose in Charlotte assaulting innocent businesses and whites.

    Anybody have any questions about causes?

  42. {{{{{{{Flatus}}}}}}!

    DV…  my nephew wanted to become a small town cop once upon a time.  He was told that if he joined the military he’d be moved to head of the line for consideration.  With city and town budgets being tight nowadays, it costs less to train someone for police work if they already know how to handle a gun.  The problem is that military people are trained to view others as enemies.  Cops are supposed to be trained to view people as citizens that need protection…  even from themselves.

    After getting out of the national guard, he went on to get his MBA…  he now works for an international corporation.  He says he’s made the right choice…  now he’s having fun and making money.

  43. “A huge part of the Flying Pigs Problem”

     

    Yup, would take a generation to get there.  Better start now.

  44. Yes, Ms Cracker !

    Sunlight is imperative ! And body cameras help with that. They are making a difference.

    After the urban riots of the late ’60s the country militarized police. Most towns train police to shoot first and maybe apologize later, maybe. Being quick on the trigger is probably not the best way to police.

  45. Bink,

    One generation seems unduly optimistic to me. And yes, better start now.

    However, I admit that I am a sourpuss.

  47. We need a little relief from the stress of the current climate. Beirut used to be a wonderful place. Here, Ibrahim Maalouf plays a wonderful creation using his four valve trumpet that allows him to play quarter tones. Perfect for jazz.

  49. Well, from the bottom of the barrel to the extraterrestrial – this is really interesting to me.  And while your are  keeping your mouth shut about politics Poobah, I think these astronomical articles are something you might feel you can comment on.

    The findings can help astronomers understand how galaxies form and evolve. Researchers believe the two galaxies at the center of the Lyman-alpha blob are in their earlier stages of development, spitting out at least 100 sun-size stars per year.  Eventually, they’ll probably merge into a single, elliptical galaxy.

    Note that because this blob is 11.5 billion light years away, all this stuff already happened; we just haven’t seen it yet because the light has to travel such a long distance to get to us.

    Interesting – the blob image is 11.5 Billion years old by the time we see it.  Talk about watching an old movie!

  50. wannabe thread contributors are halfway there for just the wanting.  craig is very kind to add to, edit, and pretty up the leanest offerings  and as renee noted no one here makes fun of the form, just the content… if poking holes count.

  51.  

    Oversight Committee holds Clinton IT aide in contempt of Congress

    The House Oversight Committee on Thursday morning voted on party lines to hold former State Department IT technician Bryan Pagliano in contempt of Congress. 

    this old joke apropos to above:
    “A House committee is now recommending that Attorney General Eric Holder be cited for contempt of Congress. Now, don’t confuse that for what you and I have. That’s contempt FOR Congress.” –Jay Leno

     

  53. nbc news:

    Mexican ranchera music icon Vicente Fernández announced his endorsement of Hillary Clinton — through a corrido.

    The acclaimed musician has lent his voice and his melodies to the campaign in a video released Wednesday.

    Before he begins singing, Fernández tells Latinos their voice is their vote and that “together we can.” The video then shows clips of Clinton campaigning with Latinos across the country with Fernández singing in the background.

    “Hillary, we are with you,” he says in the corrido. “With our vote you can count on. You are going to be our voice once you are in the presidency.”

    At one point, Fernández – who came out of retirement to compose the corrido for Clinton – makes a reference to Donald Trump‘s insults to Mexican immigrants but doesn’t mention the Republican presidential nominee by name.

    After he finishes the corrido, Fernández delivers a message to Clinton: “Mrs. Clinton, I’m here to ask you that when you get to the presidency, do not forget about my Mexican and Latin American brothers.”

  55. Well, WaPo makes it easy for us by posting an election fact check summary for Hillary and drumpf.  Threshold is their respective averages – Hillary 2.2, drumpf 3.4.  The distribution of lie levels for each looks nothing like the other’s.  Hillary’s looks sorta like a bell curve with a tail for 0 Pinnocchios.  drumpf’s on the other hand looks more like a rising vector at a very steep angle. It is beyond me how drumpf has successfully created the fiction that he is the straight shooter and she is the liar, all evidence to the contrary.  I guess if you say something like it’s true, no matter how false it is, a lot of people will believe it.  That probably explains the relative parity of the polls, drumpf winning the pugn nomination and the certainty of a large chunk of his sycophants that Obama is a foreign born Muslim socialist.

  60. Craig

    To Ping’s point, Obama really hasn’t done anything dramatic for inner city job creation since the stimulus program, which has come and gone, and wasn’t enough money to make a huge difference. Black leaders do grumble, mostly in private, that he disappointed them.

     

    Hell, we couldn’t even get the proper amount of money in the ARRA in 2009 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Recovery_and_Reinvestment_Act_of_2009
    to save us from financial collapse!! I’m sure Congress and Republicans would have given Obama what he requested to help inner city joblessness, rubbish.

    I thought you were done criticizing President Obama months ago when you made a post saying so??????? AH, yes, you were just backing up the Republican point of view, ok. Oh and by the way after reading yesterday’s BULLSHIT post i’m not surprised at all..

    “Default supporter”, i as a gay man find that insulting.. Without Democrats like Obama and Clinton along with many more, equal rights would still be available in a fucking CLOSET!

    Hello, there’s an election coming up in weeks. Oh yah, it’s more important not to be considered a cheerleader for Democrats at this time, wtf….

  64. Always sad to see communities in upheaval but as Jamie pointed out, this is not really new. I’d like to add that it’s not likely to end any time soon no matter who is President! Anyone with a tV in the late 50s and throughout the 60s saw scenes like those we’ve witnessed recently, and worse, almost every night. Black people being fire hosed, beaten with clubs, attacked by vicious dogs, buildings on fire. We have a lot of work to do for this country to really live up to it’s own expectations of itself. Recent years have brought racism and sexism back into the forefront of our attention. Playing the blame game will never solve the problem. As long as hate is allowed to dominate the media the voices of reason with realistic solutions won’t be heard. It just makes me sad that we keep doing this to ourselves.

    Craig: I liked your point about Hillary jumping into the fray like LBJ! I know she’s made some mistakes (let he who is without sin…) but given half a chance I think she may be able to make some changes for the better in this country. I only hope she has a more favorable legislative branch to work with what President Obama had.

    On a completely different note: I just watched the new show called Designated Survivor. I always watch shows the next day because TV shows conflict with my baseball watching LOL! Did anyone else see it? I actually didn’t expect to like it and I’m not much of a Kiefer Sutherland fan but, wow! The premise of the show certainly makes me want to pay attention to everyone in the line of succession in Washington. To anyone who is or was in the know in Washington…Is Designated Survivor a real thing????????????? Anyway I recommend that everyone watch at least the first episode.

  66. Granny Mumantoog

    If you would like to combine a whole lot of issues, pick up a copy of The Man

    In it the Designated Survivor becomes the First Black President

  68. Just having a flyover of several military planes, at least they did not kick in the afterburners.  Hopefully they are part of the African-American Museum opening.

    There is so much different between today and 1965 Watts riots which fed into East Coast riots which then fed into the Mid-America riots (including Detroit, which I saw up close and personal).  Yet, there are many living in slums, but not like 1965.  Care has changed, inspite of the republicans.  What is haappening today is more of we know what is happening due to technology.

    Cellphones make the difference.  Everybody is a reporter.  And, each day more feel empowered to take the pictures.

    As the parent of  cop, I do have the tummy squeeze whenever I hear that a cop is shot or killed.  In his city he is in better shape than others.  The city spends a huge amount of time working with the city and various communities to make everyone know each other.

    What do other cities do?

  69. who was the man shown yelling or more accurately pleading in those riot scenes “this is not how we rise. this is not how we succeed” about 7 seconds in on this vid at cbs this morning‘s eye opener?

    such passion.

  70. patd

    There was a group of pastors walking up and down the line between the police and the marchers to keep them apart and encouraging no confrontation.

  71. Watching the BBC (UK feed) news report of the US issues, riots and campaigns, all I can do is hang my head.  Yes, things are horrible in the Middle East. Things are horrible in Africa.  But, the U.S. used to at least try to help those in need. Now we have NGO’s and they are being killed trying to deliver aide.

    I am ready for the end of the campaign season.  At least it is around the corner.

  72. Greetings from the desert. After much consideration about yesterday’s Our Default Candidate, I am of the opinion that the 2016 election will go down in history as not only the most unusual for the obvious reasons that propelled Donald Trump to lead the Republican Party and the wife of a former president to lead the Democrats but because it will be the first all digital, 24/7 election, more than two years in the making, with everyone with a cell phone and a Facebook and Twitter account involved all the time. It will mark the end of the brief history of a monolithic free press with only the messages of the two parties.  There are no more great journalists whose words were almost from on high and the voters sought out for guidance.  They have been drowned out. No one candidate or journalist or newspaper (or blogger) can get a complete rendering of their viewpoint into the public domain before it is completely dissected and turned into a bumper sticker by those with a digital device. Criminations and recriminations are broadcast in a matter of minutes if not seconds. Here in the Information Age, Americans, in a perverse understanding of democracy, may have too much information and disinformation to want to chose only one candidate or another because they will seem much too flawed. Maybe, it is time for the third American Republic, this time as a parliamentary system where our one leader is chosen indirectly through the elected representatives elected to a national parliament.

  73. Hi eProf2

    If I thought we might get a parliamentary system out of it, I might stump for a second Constitutional Convention.  Since that would open way too many cans of worms, how about encouraging states to enact local versions similar to Nebraska and Maine?

     

  74. Just watched Designated Survivor pilot on Demand.  Really liked it and I hated Bauer and 24.  We will see if they maintain a good level of conspiracy without drifting off into nauseating prime time soap opera land.

    For cute somewhat different comedy premises, check out ‘The Good Place” and “Speechless”

     

     

  75. Jamie, I would be worried, too, about things like the first, fifth, and fourteenth amendments being trashed and civil rights being dismissed and overturned. The idea of similar systems to Maine and Nebraska is enticing but way too slow to change the fundamental problem of selecting a national leader. We need a national discussion on how we can select our president in the future in the digital age.

  76. I can’t express how much I liked the posts regarding the “Default Choice” by Craig, but can’t help but love Tony for his 3:24 pm post. Tony, you are the best!

  77. Legacy part two and response to my Crawford friends as provided by http://www.jamestharris.com/latest/327-the-legacy-rant-goes-viral

    So well said

    change is coming

     

Comments are closed.