The Republic of T.

Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for November 26th from 11:42 to 11:52:

• Ferguson grand jury decision: between the lines of the St Louis County prosecutor’s announcement – St Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch announced on Monday that Darren Wilson would not be charged for the fatal shooting of teenager Michael Brown. In a remarkable 20-minute tirade, McCulloch lashed out at protesters, as well as the ‘insatiable’ media appetite for information. Here’s the story behind what he said.
• Please Stop Telling Me That All Lives Matter – When I say "Black lives matter," it is because this nation has a tendency to say otherwise. Racial discrimination does affect all minorities but police brutality, at such excessive rates, does not.
• 12 Things White People Can Actually Do After the Ferguson Decision – This cannot simply be about performing change and solidarity; it cannot be about doing without accountability and sacrifice.
• Michael Brown Wasn’t a Superhuman Demon – To his friends, Michael Brown was a “gentle giant”—a “quiet person with a wicked sense of humor.”
• Racial Fearmongering and Ferguson: US Stereotype of “violent” African-American Men as old as Slavery – The public stereotyping of black American males still justifies the use of lethal force against them by authorities at increasingly alarming levels. And as long as racial fear can be used to justify that force, killings like that of Brown will continue.
• Darren Wilson’s Testimony Reads Like Ramblings of a Paranoid White Supremacist – The absurd, unfathomable, and fantastical story which Wilson spun out of the whole cloth in order to justify killing an unarmed black teenager combines the deepest and ugliest white supremacist stereotypes and fantasies about black folks' humanity such as the negro fiend", "black beast", and "giant negro", with white racist paranoiac thinking, and dialogue from blaxploitation movies.
• Thanksgiving #Ferguson – This is a strange year, even an awful one, to celebrate Thanksgiving. A grand jury's refusal to indict Ferguson, Missouri police officer Darren Wilson has crystallized ugly truths. Many Americans feel unsafe in their own neighborhoods, not despite law enforcement but because of it. In some places, the police seem, and act, like an occupying force. If the law does not represent you, but only governs you, you are a subject, not a citizen.
• 8 positive things you can do in response to Ferguson – Monday, a grand jury decision not to indict Darren Wilson for fatally shooting Michael Brown sparked protests across the country.

  There are many things each of us can do to support communities of color and make sure police brutality and violence against black youth no longer go unpunished. Here’s how you can help:

Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for November 25th from 12:57 to 13:12:

• ‘Fanciful and not credible’: CNN legal analyst destroys Darren Wilson’s testimony – CNN legal analyst Sunny Hostin ripped St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch for asking Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson “softball” questions during the cross examination of his testimony, which she called “fanciful and not credible.”
• Taking Note: How Darren Wilson Saw Michael Brown in Ferguson – In his testimony, he said the unarmed teenager “looked like he was almost bulking up to run through the shots.”
• Ferguson and American Racism After the Killer of Michael Brown Goes Free – This is a sad day. The grand jury’s decision is yet another sign that all of America’s sons’ lives are not yet valued equally in the eyes of our courts. All of America’s fathers, mothers and children should stay outraged
• Being Black, the Real Indictment in Ferguson and the USA – Now that the grand jury has returned with their decision on the extrajudicial killing of Michael Brown, we should be reminded that even though Darren Wilson was not indicted, Blackness was certainly indicted by the grand jury. Black Americans have been reminded again that their lives are regarded as of little worth. However, the burden of what needs to be done to change this issue is not a Black problem.
• Most White People in America Are Completely Oblivious – Black people have to learn everything about white people just to stay alive. White people just don't get that.
• A Sad Night for America – Many black families woke up this morning knowing that the lives of their children are worth less than the lives of white children in America. The deep distrust of law enforcement in their own communities that so many African Americans feel just got deeper last night — 108 days since the killing of unarmed teenager Michael Brown — when the prosecuting attorney announced the decision not to subject the police officer who killed Brown to a trial where all the facts could be publicly known and examined.

Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for November 25th from 10:34 to 10:36:

• As a White, Teenage Girl I Experienced a Kind of Privilege Michael Brown Could Never Imagine – Please don't tell me this isn't about race. Of course it's not just about race — it's also about socioeconomic status, it's about the unchecked abuse of power — but it is, definitely and without question, also about race. It is about deeply inherent, institutional racism. It is about a fear of young black men. It is, arguably, about just how dark Michael Brown's skin happened to be.
• Ferguson: No Shortcuts to Justice – Shortcuts almost always end up creating more problems than they solve. St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch took a shortcut through Ferguson. The results have been catastrophic.
• What It Takes To Convict A Killer Cop – More often than not, when an officer kills a person they suspect of committing a crime, it's difficult to get that cop indicted, let alone convicted. Officer-involved killings are hard to track, and if any punishments are meted out, the information often gets "buried in police department bureaucracies," American Civil Liberties Union spokeswoman Alexandra Ringe told The Huffington Post.
• On the Darren Wilson Grand Jury Decision – The grand jury's decision is yet another sign that all of America's sons' lives are not yet valued equally in the eyes of our courts. All of America's fathers, mothers and children should stay outraged and in motion for progress until we are finally what we say we are: One Nation, Under God, Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for All.
• No Indictment for Darren Wilson, No Justice for Black Lives – Protesters in Ferguson should not be calm, as they have been admonished by everyone from the president on down. Michael Brown doesn’t need calm. Black boys and girls who grow up in America need their lives to be respected. They need justice.

Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for November 25th from 10:22 to 10:33:

• St. Louis Blues: An Old Refrain In Grand Jury Decision – St. Louis is a lovely place, but legally it can be a toxic police mixture of the Midwestern love of social order and Border State race-based severity.
• The Ferguson, Mo. Shooting in American History: What to Tell the Children – As the new school year begins, first and foremost on our minds and in our hearts will be the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Teachers may be faced with students’ anger, frustration, sadness, confusion, and questions. Some students will wonder how this could happen in the United States. For others, unfortunately, police brutality and intimidation are all too familiar.
• Ferguson Cop Darren Wilson Is Just the Latest to Go Unprosecuted for a Fatal Shooting – Few police officers who shoot and kill citizens in St. Louis have been investigated by a grand jury, let alone charged by one, according to data from city and county prosecutors.
• Darren Wilson Wasn’t the First: A Short History of Killer Cops Let Off the Hook – The Ferguson grand jury’s decision not to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson for the killing of African-American teenager Michael Brown is heartless but unsurprising. But it is important to place the case in context with the history of police violence investigations and prosecutions in high profile cases—and the systemic and racist police brutality that continues to plague the nation.
• Utah Police Kill More People than Gang Members – Police in Utah have killed more people in the past five years than gang members, drug dealers or child abusers.
• Teaching our sons to be afraid is not the answer to cops who shoot children | Latoya Peterson – Tamir Rice’s mother will have to bury her 12-year-old son. Do I have to tell my son to accept being treated as less than human to preserve his life?
• Is Missouri breaking the law by concealing the names of officers involved in shootings? – Feinberg’s Stone Butch Blues is best understood within the genre of American revolutionary fiction that linked oppressions, forged solidarity and expressed utopian longings.
• Leslie Feinberg: Defiant Radical, Gender Queer Revolutionary – Feinberg’s Stone Butch Blues is best understood within the genre of American revolutionary fiction that linked oppressions, forged solidarity andexpressed utopian longings.
• The Gospel of Rudy Giuliani – Yes. It's almost as if killers tend to murder people who live near them. Moreover, it seems that people actually hold officers operating under the color of law to a different standard. This an incredible set of insights, which taken together offer a revelation so profound, so far-reaching, that it must not be wasted on our shiftless minority populations. The Gospel of Rudy Giuliani must sally forth across the land and challenge a culture that accepts neighborly violence and differing standards of death.
• St. Louis prosecutor McCulloch roasted online for indicting everybody but Darren Wilson – St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch (D) was criticized as much on Monday night for the decision not to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson as for his 20-minute statement leading up to it.

Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for November 21st through November 25th:

• Why It’s Impossible to Indict a Cop – It’s not just Ferguson—here’s how the system protects police.
• Ferguson Decision: No Justice for the Family of Michael Brown – There will be no justice for the family of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.
• No Indictment for Darren Wilson, No Justice for Black Lives – Unrest kept Michael Brown’s memory alive, and unrest is the key to justice.
• The Big Takeaway from the Ferguson Ruling: White Supremacy Is Alive and Well – With "no indictment" announced against Darren Wilson, a perverted natural order of things was affirmed.
• How Darren Wilson avoided criminal charges for killing Michael Brown – The Ferguson police officer was entitled to use deadly force for two reasons, but both contradict eyewitness accounts. So how might have a grand jury decided?
• Still No Justice for Michael Brown – In the coming days, as I and countless others pour over the evidence presented to the grand jury, I will be asking at least two basic questions.
• Chris Hayes: There’s ‘real underlying rage’ – Ari Melber talks to Chris Hayes about the reaction of protesters in Ferguson, MO following the decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson.
• Ferguson, goddamn: No indictment for Darren Wilson is no surprise. This is why we protest – The Missouri grand jury’s decision has sent a message to the world that black lives do not matter. Fists up. The cops still shoot.
• Op-Ed Columnist: Suffer Little Children – Today’s immigrants are the same as our parents and grandparents were. President Obama is doing the decent thing with his immigration initiative.
• Congresswoman-Elect Mia Love: Personification of GOP Hypocrisy on Immigration – As a woman born to immigrants, a group Republicans have been hostile towards for decades, Mia Love’s membership in the Grand Old Party is downright hypocritical.

Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for November 19th from 11:05 to 12:34:

• White Privilege Is a Fact of American Life — And Bill O’Reilly Still Won’t Admit It – We need to confront this dividing line.
• Why You Find President Obama Attractive | Acumen | OZY – What’s not to like? A 6-foot-1-inch basketball player with an athletic build, easy smile and a serious sort of charisma. It’s hard to deny Barack Obama’s a good-looking guy. Unless you’re a Republican.
• Why You Find President Obama Attractive – What’s not to like? A 6-foot-1-inch basketball player with an athletic build, easy smile and a serious sort of charisma. It’s hard to deny Barack Obama’s a good-looking guy.
• ‘Type A’ personalities are overachieving monsters. Get out of my spin class and back to banking | Emma Brockes – Does anyone piss you off more than classist snobs who send back food, yell at the waiter and blame it on their personality? ‘Type A’ isn’t a type – it’s the ultimate humblebrag.
• First Same-Sex Marriage Licenses Issued In South Carolina – A judge has issued the first same-sex marriage licenses in South Carolina, ahead of a planned move by the state's attorney general to block such unions.

Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for November 17th from 14:00 to 14:04:

• Report: South Urgently Needs an ‘Infrastructure of Opportunity’ – Five years after the Great Recession, the American South has emerged as a region divided. The great sweep of territory from the Potomac to the Rio Grande offers stark juxtapositions of bright hopes and deep distress and discontent. The South has both powerhouse cities, growing in jobs and population, and depressed towns and neighborhoods, where people seem stuck without prospect of upward mobility.
• Op-Ed Columnist: When Government Succeeds – There is a lot of good news that Republicans don’t want you to notice.
• Dolly Parton and her ‘lack of judgment’ – The fact that Dolly Parton has become such a beloved entertainer across so wide a spectrum of American audiences is a unique story. She is one of country music's brightest stars, but she is so much more. That big hair floating above her flamboyant outfits straining to contain those epic boobs, Dolly is a talent bursting at the seams. Dolly Parton is loved for many reasons, but most of all she is loved for her authenticity.
• Dropping Out: Why So Many College Kids Never Graduate – A new study reveals a grim future for students who have a stop-and-start college experience.
• The State of LGBT Equality in Africa – Homophobia thrives in most countries in Africa, making the continent an oppressive place to live for countless LGBT people.
• Michigan Claims 300 Same-Sex Marriages ‘Never Existed’ – The Sixth Circuit's decision upholding marriage bans is being cited as reason to ignore 300 same-sex couples who got marriage licenses.
• 3 Things You Can Do the Next Time Someone Says “You Can’t Do That” – You don’t have to take “no” for an answer, just find a way to get started.
• The Power of Empathy – Empathy and sympathy are vastly different. A clear empathic way to help those who are down with depression can make our communities stronger.

Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for November 13th through November 17th:

• The Two Types of “Black Church” and Why I Left the First One – … despite the differences in beliefs, bank statements and interpretations of the bible, all the black churches I encountered during my tenure as a resident musician were either severely disconnected from the political systems that surrounded it, traditionalist to the point of oppressive, devaluing women in the way their leadership structure was organized, obsessed with demonizing and degrading homosexuality or just way to deep and prophetic, speaking more words in tongues than English.
• Every Child is Equal – Do you know by looking at a child who they will turn out to be?
• Gay Marriage Issue Squarely Before High Court – Appeal by lesbian couple from Michigan puts gay marriage issue squarely before high court.
• People Want Flexible Work Hours – In the November/December issue of the Washington Monthly, Judith Warner of the Center for American Progress has a piece on the importance of passing national paid family leave legislation. Parents are more involved in their children's lives than ever but they've never had less time to tend to their families. The resulting stress is reducing female participation in the economy and is now reportedly becoming a big problem for men, as well.
• Op-Ed Columnist: Race, to the Finish – Let’s review how we got to this point where African-Americans vote so overwhelmingly Democratic and are suspicious of Republican motives.

Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for November 13th from 12:28 to 12:42:

• Pew: Republicans Don’t Really Care About “Getting Things Done” in Washington – Here's the latest from Pew. It's offered as a wee course correction for every pundit who somehow thinks the GOP leadership will be more motivated to work with President Obama this year than they were after the 2010 election. Survey says: screw that stuff. Let the eye poking begin.
• Here’s Who You Should Boycott as Long as This Racist Gov Is on Their Payroll – Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour continues making racial slurs. Let’s stop giving money to the clients of his lobby firm.
• The Democrats Lost Big, but Obama Should Double Down – It’ll provoke a giant outcry from the GOP—but that’s part of the point.
• The GOP Senate: Worry! – From blocking nominees to launching pointless investigations to deregulating everything, the new Senate is poised to wreak havoc.
• The Value of Whiteness – A lawsuit is being waged against the “wrongful birth” of a black child.
• Why You Shouldn’t Marry for Money – Conservatives’ silver bullet is a joke.
• Michael Brown’s Parents Plan News Conference To Discuss New Autopsy Details – The parents of Michael Brown have scheduled a news conference for Thursday morning to discuss what they say is new information about a private autopsy performed on their son.
• Imagine Your Water Bill Shooting Up to $4,000: Inside One of Detroit’s Biggest Crises – Ricardo Russell’s monthly water bill averaged around $60 at his home on Detroit's west side. Then in January he opened an envelope from the Detroit Water Department claiming he had used $2,000 worth of water—in one month.
• Reza Aslan shatters GOP beliefs: Jesus from history was “the nightmare of Bill O’Reilly” – At an event, the scholar ponders the way the GOP has made Jesus into their icon.
• Federal contract workers strike for $15 and a union – Workers serving food, cleaning buildings, and working other low-wage jobs under federal contracts in Washington, DC, are striking again Thursday—and they're expanding their fight again.

Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for November 12th from 11:32 to 11:41:

• The 8-Hour Sleep Myth: How I Learned That Everything I Knew About Sleep Was Wrong – Apathy, anger and frustration at the negative tone of the campaigns resulted in the lowest percentage of voter participation since 1942.
• Editorial: The Worst Voter Turnout in 72 Years – Apathy, anger and frustration at the negative tone of the campaigns resulted in the lowest percentage of voter participation since 1942.
• What to Do About American Plutocracy – All is not lost. Change has happened in the past, against severe resistance, three times since the Civil War.
• Taking Note: The Plight of Gay Veterans – They don’t have access to the full array of benefits available to their colleagues.
• Republicans will use their Senate majority to melt the glaciers and flood the coasts – Welcome to the next two years. It'll be like the last four years, but now the Republican obstruction will be on steroids.
• I Was a Conservative Coward: How the Midterms Evoked My Shameful Past of Buying Into the Fox News Spin – Only one party is dedicated to promoting fear. Why the right will ultimately lose.
• More men need to take paternity leave — even if it hurts their careers – Paternity leave helps families and can hurt men's careers. This is exactly why more men need to do it
• Why the Right Keeps Winning and the Left Keeps Losing – Why does the Right keep winning in American politics, sometimes through electoral victories, sometimes by having the Democrats and others on the Left adopt what were traditionally right-wing policies and perspectives?
• Yet another one bites the dust: Judge rules for marriage equality in South Carolina – Marriage equality is coming to South Carolina after a federal district judge struck down the state's same-sex marriage ban.

Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for November 11th from 12:45 to 13:05:

• Republican Gets Electoral Comeuppance for Sleazy Slur on Black Voters – A Texas GOP candidate thought it was cute to suggest that a Democrat's supporters bling out on food stamps. It wasn't.
• California Man Blames Obama After Running Over, Killing Black Man with His Pickup – “Just because we got Obama for a president, these people think they are real special,” defendant said after his arrest.
• Our soldiers are killing themselves: One simple gun control rule could help military suicide problem – The military has a suicide epidemic. This Veterans Day, let's take a real look at how to honor service and solve it
• Exit Polls and the Extrapolation Mistake – But now that the data are coming in, we're seeing just how it was Republicans won. It wasn't because they did such a terrific job of persuading people to support their dynamic agenda for change, it was because their voters came to the polls and the Democrats' voters didn't.
• The Republicans’ Reckoning – The “party of ‘no’ ” has no agreement on what is yes.
• Can black people really stop white people from using the n-word? | Rebecca Carroll – Piers Morgan believes that if rappers cleaned up their language, white people would stop using racial slurs. But black people dont have that kind of power
• Prisons Are Destroying Communities and Making All of Us Less Safe – Isolation does not “rehabilitate” people. Disappearance does not deter harm. And prison does not keep us safe.

Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for November 10th from 14:01 to 14:12:

• Democrats Create An ALEC-Killer – Chastened by the conservative movement’s startling success at using national money to dominate state legislatures, liberal activists this week will ask top donors to support a plan to reverse the precipitous Democratic decline in state governments, where the party was trounced yet again on Tuesday.
• How State-Sponsored Lotteries Steal From the Poor to Give to the Rich – Last year, in the words of “Last Week Tonight” host John Oliver, “Americans basically spent more on the lottery than they spent on America.” And although lottery commercials would have you believe that proceeds go to charitable causes, the truth is a bit more complicated.
• Ferguson police’s other sin: Why grand jury must probe Brown shooting’s aftermath – As we wait to hear the grand jury's decision, one part of the horrific episode is getting way too little attention
• Video games are not making us more violent, study shows – Long-term research into homicide rates and depictions of violence in video games and movies shows no significant relationship
• Empathy Heroes: 5 People Who Changed the World By Taking Compassion to the Extreme – Teresa MacBain helps nontheists build church-like communities with social support and rituals that appeal to many religious adherents.
• Former Christian Minister: Why I Left Christianity and Started an Atheist Church – Teresa MacBain helps nontheists build church-like communities with social support and rituals that appeal to many religious adherents.
• Op-Ed Columnist: The Latest Frivolous Attack on Obamacare – Politics, not legal reasoning, is behind the assault on Obamacare that is now headed to the Supreme Court.
• Op-Ed Columnist: The Obama Opposition – Republicans would erase the accomplishments and the man.
• “It’s symbolic annihilation of history, and it’s done for a purpose. It really enforces white supremacy”: Edward Baptist on the lies we tell about slavery – Edward Baptist on horrifying truth that we memorialize Confederate soldiers and not Americans who died enslaved
• Michael Brown’s parents to testify before UN about Ferguson police violence – Lesley McSpadden and Michael Brown Sr allege in report that their sons killing violated torture rules and Ferguson police systematically target black people

Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for November 5th through November 10th:

• Study: Some aren’t signing up for health insurance because their politics get in the way – With the next Obamacare enrollment period set to open on Saturday, the Obama administration is hoping to get millions of people who sat on the sidelines last time to sign up for coverage through the law's health insurance marketplaces. But, the strong partisan politics surrounding the health-care law will keep some people from joining the markeplaces, new research suggests.
• How The Murder Of My Brother Forced Me To Finally Stand My Ground Against Gun Violence in America – Why does avarice trump the will of the people? Why are dead children not enough to spur action? Why are democrats and republicans unwilling to do the right thing, even as our kids run scared across bloodstained school playgrounds?
• The FBI Finally Ditches Its 80-Year-Old Definition of Rape – For nearly 80 years, U.S. officials have collected crime data from local, federal, and tribal law enforcement agencies in order to paint a statistical portrait of violent and property crimes reported across America. And for nearly 80 years, this Uniform Crime Reporting program has relied on the same old definition of rape: the “carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will.”
• Kellogg’s Tony The Tiger Ad Touting Company’s Pro-Gay Achievements Angers Right Wing Group – Kellogg's sponsorship of Atlanta's Gay Pride March and outspoken support of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community has incensed a national right-wing organization.
• Congrats, GOP: You just won control of Congress with a Democratic president – An open letter to Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, and their crew, from yours truly.
• You Broke It, You Won It – "To prevent Obama from becoming the hero who fixed Washington, McConnell decided to break it. And it worked." That's from Matt Yglesias in a post he published yesterday evening before the scope of the GOP victory became fully clear. This is succinct and it is correct.
• There is no GOP “mandate”: Not even Republicans know what their governing agenda is – Salon.com – So what’s the GOP’s big issue as they head into legislative supremacy? They don’t actually know.