The Riggins Report

I am black, I'm a frequent Starbucks customer and NO, I am NOT going to boycott Starbucks

2018-04-29T13:31:00.001-05:00

Full disclosure is necessary right off the top. I am not a paid spokesperson for Starbucks nor am I compensated by Starbucks in any way. I’m simply a loyal Starbucks customer. I am for several reasons. I enjoy their drinks and their food selections. In fact, if you haven’t tried the Salted Caramel White Mocha with one of those absolutely divine peanut butter cookies with creamy chocolate filling, you have truly missed one of life’s simpler

Salted Caramel White Chocolate Mocha and peanut butter cookie
Photo by Craig Riggins

pleasures. However, the menu at Starbucks is not what has motivated this piece. The misplaced and misguided talk by many in the African-American community is what will be discussed.

I am black, I'm a frequent Starbucks customer and NO, I am NOT going to boycott Starbucks. Unless you have been in suspended animation since April 12, you have by now certainly heard of the arrest of Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson at Starbucks in Philadelphia. Their crime? They were two black men who hadn’t placed an order while awaiting the arrival of a business associate who was white, were asked to leave and when they refused, the police were called and they were arrested for trespassing. A very unfortunate incident wrought with racism and bigotry that is far too common in society today. (Vox: Two black men were arrested in a Philadelphia Starbucks for doing nothing) In a very insightful piece by Jamelle Bouie of Slate, “White Spaces”, the factors behind this particular unfortunate incident were outlined.

“The Philadelphia Starbucks where two black men were arrested last Thursday, however, is located in a zip code that is 79 percent white and just 6 percent black. In all likelihood, most of the clientele there is white, which, to borrow from sociologist Elijah Anderson, makes this particular location a ‘white space’, or an area whose ‘most visible and distinctive feature is [the] overwhelming presence of white people and [the] absence of black people.’”

Jamelle Bouie, Slate Magazine

The outcry from the African-American community was predictable. Calls for boycotting Starbucks was the Flavor of the Month. I get being offended and upset about what happened to those men in Philadelphia. I was as offended as anyone. I’m a PROTESTER. Between 1988 and 1998, I was arrested too many times to recall for demonstrating and protesting when I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area. As much as anyone, I get what that is about. On this one, though, I’m not in. There has been NO company in America and, arguably, the world that has been more committed to addressing the racial, social and economic polarization in America than Starbucks.

In the aftermath of Mike Brown,Jr. getting shot and killed by former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in August 2014, Howard Schultz, the Executive Chairman of Starbucks, came to Ferguson to survey the physical and, most importantly, the psychological damage brought on by the civil unrest. He walked the neighborhoods of Ferguson and talked with the people of Ferguson. It was during that visit Howard Schulz made the decision to open Starbucks in Ferguson on West Florissant Avenue – the same street the majority of the civil unrest took place and was broadcast around the globe. The store was staffed with partners who lived within the immediate area.

Natalie Clay
Photo by Craig Riggins

Starbucks also partnered with Natalie Clay, owner of Natalie’s Cakes and More Clay, then Natalie DuBose, whose store was looted during the unrest, can proudly boast her cakes are sold in 30 St. Louis area Starbucks locations. In addition to the Ferguson store, Starbucks has opened 14 other stores in low income neighborhoods across the country with the sole purpose of providing jobs as well as opportunities for Starbucks partners to continue their education. Starbucks will also partner with minority owned businesses and like minded non-profits in those targeted communities. (Investing in Diverse Communities across the U.S.) In a piece in Forbes “Starbucks Hopes 15 New Stores Will make It Part of the ‘DNA’of Low-Income Communities of Color”, Alisha Damodaran, Senior Manager, Global Corporate Communications for Starbucks, said Starbucks will measure the success of those stores by how well they are “performing financially as well as how (they are) contributing to the local economic development through job creation. We look for engagement with local women and minority-owned vendors and suppliers and collaboration with like-minded nonprofits to support in-store training opportunities. It’s not just about the bottom line, but how the store is uniquely engaging with and supporting the community.”

Starbucks in Ferguson storefront
Photo by Craig Riggins

Starbucks has partnered with Arizona State University online and many of the partners in low-income communities can now enroll in college and receive full tuition reimbursement while doing so (ASU and Starbucks Partner to Make College Affordable). Through the company’s Opportunity Youth initiative, Starbucks has committed to hiring 10, 000 out of school and unemployed youths by 2020. Do you see where this is going?

In 2015, Starbucks initiated a conversation about race relations with “Race Together”. The idea was to write “Race Together” on the cups drinks were served in as a way to initiate conversations about race relations. Although it was quickly abandoned due to tremendous resistance from their non-black customers, they TRIED it.

There is more than one interesting twist to this “Boycott Starbucks” craze. For starters, I have heard people I directly know don’t go to Starbucks be the loudest barkers. Huh? HOW can you boycott a business where you never spent money in the first place? Another interesting twist about the protest barkers is how LITTLE many of them know about the details of what actually happened in that store in Philadelphia. I’ve asked some of them directly what they knew about what happened and it always seemingly morphs into “THEY said”. Huh? WHO in the hell are THEY? THEY sure do appear in a lot of discussions that are independently fact FREE. It seems this boycott talk is Soup Du Jour among a large swath of black people. Goodness KNOWS we black people have a lot of reasons TO protest these days. An act of ignorance and racism in a coffee shop sure ain’t one of ‘em. For those who insist on protesting Starbucks, I have a question: How often do you vote? That’s where you can REALLY protest: the ballot box. For those of you who recite that “My vote don’t matter” nonsense, which far too many black people use as an excuse for not voting, here’s a question: Why do you think conservative politicians and their backers spend TENS of MILLIONS of dollars making it harder and inconvenient to vote while at the same time making it virtually impossible for some black people to vote if your vote really DOESN'T matter? Protest about voter suppression, not an act of ignorance in a coffee shop.

Here’s another question for the Boycott Starbucks crowd. Are you aware that only 45% of black high school students graduate with their class? Were you also aware that a large majority of the black students who DO graduate are functionally ILLITERATE? If you want to protest something, organize ongoing protests on how public education is FAILING our kids in record numbers. THAT is REALLY something to protest, not an act of ignorance in a coffee shop.

I would be curious to know how many in the Boycott Starbucks crowd buy Angel Soft toilet paper, Mardi Gras napkins, Quilted Northern toilet paper, Soft N Gentle facial tissue or Sparkle paper towels. I would bet several do. Each of those products are produced by Koch Industries, the multi billion dollar global enterprise headed up Charles and David Koch, two of the most extreme right wing wealthy people around. The Koch Brothers finance politicians and think tanks with the sole purpose of turning America into a plutocracy. They are literally BUYING legislation through FUNDING Republican politicians. Now those are DEFINITELY products to boycott, right? Right?

What happened in that Starbucks in Philadelphia was reprehensible. Howard Schultz said as much in an interview with Gayle King on CBS This Morning. Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson traveled to Philadelphia and met with Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson and apologized directly. By the way, in October 2017, Starbucks hired a black woman, Rosalind Brewer, as its Chief Operating Officer and Group President. BOOM!

Rosalind Brewer

I’m hopeful by now that considering its commitment and actions to impact low-income and marginalized minorities through employment and higher education opportunities, it is realized that Starbucks should not be boycotted because of the incident in Philadelphia. The company has quite a track record that can’t be ignored. The boycott craze is misguided and misplaced.

I am black, I’m a frequent Starbucks customer and NO, I am NOT going to boycott Starbucks.

Peace, peace.

Craig Riggins

Email: therigginsreport517@gmail.com

Facebook: The Riggins Report

Twitter: @CraigRiggins

Will acts of racism NOW receive the same public outrage as sexual misconduct?

2017-12-02T20:09:00.000-06:00

Recently, there has been a rash of sexual harassment allegations, charges and settlements within politics, the entertainment and news industries. Some prominent and powerful men have been forced to walk the professional plank. Roger Ailes, Bill O'Reilly, Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Mark Halperin , Charlie Rose and now Matt Lauer have all had their reputations tarnished and have lost multimillion dollar a year salaries as a result of their transgressions. Shame on them and they all deserve the consequences that have resulted from their despicable behavior. They certainly aren't alone. The list is long and seemingly grows daily (Since Weinstein, here's a growing list of men charged with sexual misconduct). There is another prominent case of sexual deviancy in the news and that is the sordid tale of Roy Moore. Moore has credibly been exposed as being a PEDOPHILE which is the WORST of the WORSE. The others mentioned would be categorized as scoundrels. Roy Moore deserves a category all his own. He is a REPULSIVE scoundrel. The actions taken against all except Moore have been swift, sudden and public. Which leads to an important question. Will allegations of RACISM and BIGOTRY now be found credible and result in swift, sudden and public action taken against the racists and bigots? Will acts of racism NOW receive the same public outrage as sexual misconduct?

RACISM is America's BIGGEST denial (Racism: America's BIGGEST denial). It encompasses most, if not all, of American life from employment, housing, finance, education, public transportation and law enforcement. Just as these prominent cases of sexual misconduct have spanned politics, entertainment and news is there ANYONE who believes that racism and bigotry doesn't run rampant in those industries as well? Well? Is there anyone?

Despite the abundance of science available that proves racism is alive and well in America, there is a large swath of Americans who either don't believe it OR participate in it. Some of the very people who quickly condemned the accused sexual predators are some of the SAME people who vehemently deny that racism exists. In fact, in a recent piece in The Huffington Post the majority of white Americans feel THEY are the target of racism. (Majority of White Americans Believe White People Face Discrimination). Fancy that. One quote in particular stood out:

“If you apply for a job, they seem to give the blacks the first crack at it,” Ohio resident Tim Hershman, 68, a poll respondent, told NPR. “If you want any help from the government, if you’re white, you don’t get it. If you’re black, you get it.”

“It’s been going on for decades, and it’s been getting worse for whites,” Hershman added.

You've heard of "Weird Science"? Well this is NONSENSE science. Considering that African-Americans are the least employed, have the least wealth, have the largest percentage of children living in poverty and suffer from inadequate public education more than any demographic in the country, you certainly have to question the source of where the guy quoted in HuffPo's piece got his information from. Sadly, 55% of white Americans DO believe THEY are the victims of discrimination. The current occupant of the White House - whose name I refuse to write - rode the wave of CONTRIVED and MISGUIDED white anger and resentment in the 2016 election. "Others" were blamed for ALL that ails America in the 2016 election. As in, if not for "others" taking advantage of the system and living off the government there would be more available for "hard working" Americans. Never mind the fact those "hard working" Americans consistently vote against their own personal interests and elect candidates to office who are solely bought and paid for by the donor class and top 1%.

In my state, Missouri, the Republican controlled state legislature passed Missouri Senate Bill 43, which makes it more difficult to prove discrimination in the workplace. Plaintiffs in discrimination cases will have to show documented proof they have been discriminated against. Good luck with that. Proving discrimination in the workplace was burdensome enough and now it has become virtually impossible to prove in Missouri. The NAACP announced a travel advisory on Missouri as a result of SB 43 (Missouri Law That Prompted NAACP’s Travel Advisory Sponsored by Legislator Who Faces Suit). The governor who signed the bill into law hopes this becomes a national template. Sigh. At the rate the Missouri state legislature is going, any day now an amendment will introduced to rename the state North Mississippi. That's another topic for another day and time.

So ... HOW did we get here, America? How is it that sexual misconduct and allegations of pedophilia are deemed credible where, in some cases, the allegations are from actions taking place 40 years ago while at the same time allegations of racial discrimination from long ago to today are MARGINALIZED? Considering the tremendous burden of proving racial animus has become even more burdensome, a case could be made that when racial discrimination IS proven the penalties should be sudden, swift and public REGARDLESS of the industry or who the guilty party turns out to be.

So I ask again: WILL acts of racism NOW receive the same public outrage as sexual misconduct?
Stay tuned.

Peace, peace in the Middle East.

Craig Riggins

Email: therigginsreport517@gmail.com
Facebook: The Riggins Report
Twitter: @CraigRiggins

Elizabeth Warren will be the next President of the United States if she wants to be

2015-01-23T00:41:00.000-06:00

When Elizabeth Warren took to the Senate floor last Friday to voice her opposition to

Senator Elizabeth Warren

the deal reached between Democrats and Republicans to keep the government funded and running, she pretty much delivered her speech announcing her candidacy for the presidential nomination for the Democratic Party in 2016. Elizabeth Warren will be the next President of the United States if she wants to. Her speech not only galvanized the Progressive wing of the Democratic Party, it galvanized working class people, the unemployed, the underemployed and, YES, members of the T.E.A. Party. That development alone goes to show that politics AND reality does indeed make strange bedfellows. Let’s look and listen to Senator Warren on the Senate floor last Friday:

She had ME at “Hello”. Apparently, I wasn’t the ONLY one smitten by Senator Warren on Friday. Conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham waxed poetically about Senator Warren’s speech and the impact it will have on the American people and what it will mean going into the 2016 presidential election. In the following link you will hear Laura Ingraham pretty much hear her compliment Senator Warren’s strategy and most importantly, you will hear Laura Ingraham pretty much launch Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign and how Elizabeth Warren could win. (Mediaite:Laura Ingraham Really Likes What She’s Hearing from Elizabeth Warren) The fact that Laura Ingraham is lauding Elizabeth Warren at all is stunning within itself, but the fact that Ingraham mocks the GOP’s budget Messiah and 2012 Republican Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan is remarkable and shows that one of the most impactful conservatives in America both FEARS and RESPECTS Elizabeth Warren. Again, politics does INDEED make strange bedfellows.

That was not the first time Elizabeth Warren captivated a crowd and the country with her passionate oratory skills. She electrified a small crowd and the country and pretty much launched her 2016 presidential campaign in this Hellfire and Brimstone delivery:

Once AGAIN, she had me at “Hello”. If you’re a working stiff in America barely getting by on wages that have been stagnate for the last 5 or 6 years while the company you work for BRAGS about and PUBLICIZES record profits. HOW can you NOT support this woman? She speaks for YOU. I continue to be amazed by the voters in America who work every day for stagnate wages who vote Republican. The Republicans have not officially taken over the Senate yet and they have already put their cards on the table and shown the American people who they represent. Republicans moved to allow banks and investment firms to make risky investments with the knowledge of knowing those risks would be covered by the American taxpayers. Right. The Republicans want the American people to be put in a position once again to bail out the banks and investment firms when risky and reckless investments go belly up. The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 aka “The Bailout” cost American taxpayers $700 BILLION. Seven. Hundred. Billion. Dollars. That is $700,000,000,000.00. As a result of this record bailout, Congress passed the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in 2010 that basically takes taxpayers off the hook for bailing out the banks in case they decide to participate in financial chicanery and come up short. In the CRomnibus that was passed on Saturday, the Republicans put the American taxpayer back in the guillotine. The Republicans also added a riders that slashed public employee unions and rolled back campaign finance laws. These are the people you entrusted with the legislative keys to the kingdom, America. You WANTED them and you GOT them. So far, they don’t appear to have addressed what you elected them to do. That is, if you’re NOT a player on Wall Street.

Those riders didn’t sit too well with Elizabeth Warren. She informed the American people the riders to strip away Dodd-Frank protection were written by Citibank lobbyists and that Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan Chase, was actively calling members of Congress in both parties and personally lobbied them to vote for the Cromnibus as it was written. That’s the same Jamie Dimon who settled a federal government civil investigation to the tune of $13 billion as a result of the sales of faulty mortgage backed securities in 2008 (Bloomberg Business Week: JPMorgan's $13 Billion Settlement: Jamie Dimon Is a Colossus No More) This guy should be banned from visiting Washington, D.C., let alone having the latitude to contact members of Congress. Yet, he made those phone calls and wielded his influence. The bill passed in the House on Friday. Senator Warren let her disgust with the appointments of Citgroup alumni to important positions in the financial scenery be known. She called them all out. Progressives, Blue Dog Democrats, RINOs and members of the T.E.A. Party fell in love with her in unison. That makes her dangerous to Republicans and many in her own party.

Republicans both FEAR and RESPECT Elizabeth Warren. They blocked her appointment to the position of Director of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In a classic case of “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em”, she ran for the Senate seat in Massachusetts and won. She became the Senior Senator from Massachusetts when John Kerry resigned from the Senate in order to become Secretary of State. Republicans don’t attack Senator Warren the way they do Hillary Clinton, Harry Reid or President Obama. It’s as if they don’t want to anger her to the point where she will announce her candidacy for the White House in 2016. Republicans like their chances against presumptive Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016 in the run for the White House. When they consider having to face Elizabeth Warren in a general election, with her ability to speak the language of working stiffs, they are terrified.

Republicans aren’t the only party that fears Elizabeth Warren. Democrats, too, fear Elizabeth Warren. ESPECIALLY those Democrats who support Hillary Clinton’s bid for the White House in 2016. It is all but assumed that Hillary Clinton will have a cakewalk to the nomination in 2016. Her not making a formal announcement yet, has some Democrats on hold who are considering a run. Hillary Clinton has even managed to put the sitting Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, on the defensive as far as considering his run for the White House. It is the polar opposite in the Clinton camp when it comes to Elizabeth Warren. The Clinton camp defers to Senator Warren as often as necessary because they, too, are loathe to anger her into running for the White House. Even with the massive amount of money Hillary Clinton will have in her campaign war chest, she would have more than she could handle in a race against Warren. Personally, I don’t see a way Hillary could stop Warren’s march to the nomination. Many agree with me. Barack Obama beat Hillary Clinton in 2008 because of her support in the unpopular war in Iraq. Elizabeth Warren would beat Hillary in 2016 because of the close ties both Clintons have to Wall Street.

Elizabeth Warren drew a line in the sand last Friday. She wasn’t able to stop the bill with those harmful riders from making its way to President Obama’s desk. However, in LOSING she actually WON. She now is the voice for America’s middle class – those clinging to remain in the middle class and those aspiring to reach the middle class. Elizabeth Warren is the one TRUE bipartisan politician in America. Have you noticed there have been NO attacks from Republicans against her since her speech on the Senate floor? Not ONE. Republicans CAN’T attack her and neither could Democrats in a presidential primary. If she runs in 2016, she wins. It’s just that simple. The support for her is there.

Elizabeth Warren will be the next President of the United States if she wants to be.

Peace, peace.

Craig Riggins

Email: therigginsreport517@gmail.com

Facebook: The Riggins Report

Twitter: @CraigRiggins

President Obama to Republicans: Turn down for WHAT?

2015-01-22T19:18:00.000-06:00

Prior to President Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night, in an

President Barack Obama

unprecedented move, the White House released the president’s prepared address to the Congress and the nation about 10 minutes in advance of his real time delivery. (Remarks of President Barack Obama – As Prepared for Delivery State of the Union Address)

I actually glanced at the speech as I’m sure several Americans did. I wanted to hear it in real time so I didn’t jump the gun and read ahead of the actual delivery. However, considering the president’s tone, substance and buoyancy, the White House could have saved us all some time and simply released this video instead of the entire prepared address:

“Turn Down for What” is a triple platinum hip hop track released by Lil Jon and DJ Snake that basically plays on the pop culture phrase, “turning down”. Before the meaning of “turning down” can be explored, it will be necessary to explain what “turnt up” or “turning up” means. Urban Dictionary defines “turnt” as:

A state of altered consciousness induced by alcohol or narcotics; also being happy and excited and energetic!

Therefore, “turn down” is defined as sobering up, coming back to Earth or in pure party terms – the party is OVER.

After watching President Obama deliver the State of the Union address on Tuesday night, it is safe to say the president has no intention of “Turning Down”. In fact, he turned UP the heat on Congressional Republicans with his address to the nation. After 6 years of relentless obstruction, the Republicans won 9 seats in the November 2014 midterm elections to take control of the Senate and added 5 seats in the House to bolster their majority in the lower chamber of Congress. They were FIRMLY in charge of the legislative branch and they were poised to reduce Barack Obama, the nation’s FIRST African-American president, to not just LAME duck status but FROZEN duck status in the final two years of his presidency. Mitch McConnell, obstructionist emeritus, was eager to launch a conservative legislative agenda as Senate Majority Leader in advance of the 2016 presidential election. The Republicans DESPERATELY want to win the White House in 2016 and McConnell wants to cement his political legacy by being the Republican Senate Majority Leader who, through a conservative legislative agenda in the final two years of the Obama Administration, ushered a Republican into the Oval Office in 2016. Now that he was in charge of the Senate, McConnell believed he had Obama on the ropes.

Apparently NO ONE told President Obama that he was supposed concede the legislative agenda to the Republicans and play out the string of his historic presidency. Since the 2014 midterm elections, instead of licking his wounds and lamenting the fact he would be faced with Republicans in charge of the House and the Senate in his last two years in office, Barack Obama has gone on offense BIG TIME. Just two weeks after the midterm elections, President Obama expanded the population eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) by Executive Order. With the stroke of his presidential pen, the president deferred deportation with conditions for up to 5 million illegal immigrants; the majority of which were Hispanic. (Executive Actions on Immigration) The Republicans were in total disbelief. They expected the President of the United States to kiss THEIR rings and seek permission from them to carry out his agenda unilaterally. The resulting Republican CONNIPTION was both fully expected and thoroughly ignored. The Republicans compared the president's Executive Order to Armageddon. They promised full retribution. It was all smoke and mirrors, though. They have done nothing because they know President Obama delivered the Hispanic vote to Democrats in 2016 and Republican strategists recognized the best thing was to avoid further alienating the Hispanic community. The score: Obama 1, Republicans ZERO. The second power move the president made after the midterm elections was to move to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba. This particular move was radioactive to hard line Republicans who wanted to continue to isolate Cuba with sanctions and no diplomatic recognition as a means of toppling the Castro regime. After fifty years, the Castro regime is STILL in charge. The president's strategy in restoring diplomatic relations with Cuba is simple: the more Cubans are exposed to democracy in the United States change in the regime in Cuba will happen internally. The Cuban people have received this news with great joy and on Wednesday, most of the major networks broadcast their evening news from Havana as American diplomats visited the country and began the process of rebuilding diplomatic relations. The score: Obama 2, Republicans ZERO.

During the State of the Union address, President Obama laid out a very progressive agenda: closing tax loopholes on the top 1%; subsidizing child care for middle class families; offering free junior college tuition for Americans who wanted to pursue degrees in order to qualify for the jobs of the future in America; proposing a middle class tax cut and asking the Republican led Congress to vote for an increase in the federal minimum wage. He firmly put the Republicans in a political bind. The early candidates for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 have all espoused a populist tone by showing concern for the middle class and talking about income inequality. That's quite a twist from the party of "rugged individualism" and "personal responsibility" to now be concerned with income inequality. Even the BIGGEST political CHARLATAN of this generation, two time presidential loser Mitt Romney, has now developed a sense of concern for those in poverty. Wow. He sure has come a long way from being THIS guy:

Barack Obama has FORCED the Republicans into actually talking about populist issues. He has MOVED their needle. The Republicans thought he would come to THEM. They have now moved in HIS direction. They will, of course, deny this and try to convince the American people they really don't see what they obviously DO see. The FINAL score: GAME, SET, MATCH, CHAPIONSHIP to Obama.

The president even had a little fun with the Republicans when they got out of line with him and attempted to be sarcastic. When he mentioned that he had no more campaigns to run, some Republicans clapped audibly and his response was classic:

That was CLASSIC! He could have dropped the mic at that instant.

The Republicans grossly miscalculated the power they would wield in the last two years of the Obama Administration. They envisioned President Obama playing defense, not them. As was predicted in this space prior to the midterm elections (GOP control of the Senate would be great for President Obama), the president is FREE. He is totally unencumbered. He doesn't have to concern himself with Republicans and recalcitrant members of his own party. The Republicans are in a bind because they HAVE TO govern in order to have ANY chance of winning the White House in 2016. It will be interesting to see how they react to a President Obama who fully intends to push his agenda regardless. While Mitch McConnell tries to come up with a plan, the president will view him and his minions in the rear view mirror.

Turn down for WHAT?

Peace, peace.

Craig Riggins

Email: therigginsreport517@gmail.com

Facebook: The Riggins Report

Twitter: @CraigRiggins

The Usual Suspects of personal responsibility advocacy now blame others for the murders of New York police officers

2014-12-26T12:10:00.000-06:00

Ismaaiyi Brinsley

On November 18, 1978. 918 members of the People’s Temple – a religious cult led by Jim Jones – committed suicide mostly by drinking cyanide laced Kool-Aid. Among the 918 people who committed suicide, 276 of them were children. This massive suicide took place at Jonestown, Guyana – a settlement on the north coast of South America the cult relocated to from San Francisco. The mass suicide was ordered by Jim Jones after members of the cult’s security force killed

Jim Jones

California Congressman Leo Ryan and four other members in his congregation. Congressman Ryan made the trip to Jonestown in order to conduct a fact finding mission to the settlement amid accusations of human rights violations and cult members being held against their will in the settlement. Realizing the jig was up on his promise of living in Utopia in Jonestown and the realization that he would be arrested once the news of Congressman Ryan’s death was known to authorities, Jones ordered the suicide. To this day, it remains one of the most bizarre stories of the twentieth century. Other than the 276 children who died, 642 adults made the CHOICE to commit suicide. These 642 adults were responsible for their OWN actions when it was all said and done. The decision to drink poisonous Kool-Aid was their personal responsibility.

On March 26, 1997 in the upscale enclave of Rancho Santa Fe – a suburb of San Diego – authorities discovered the bodies of 39 members of the religious cult Heaven’s Gate in a gated community mansion. According to authorities, the suicides took place over a three day period. All of the suicide victims were dressed in identical attire, had their faces and torsos covered by identical purple cloths, and 37 of them had their heads wrapped in plastic bags and all had one five dollar bill and three quarters in their pockets. Members of this cult believed the Earth was going to be sterilized by having all living organisms killed off and that the only way to survive was to leave the Earth. Their method of travel was to be a space ship trailing the Comet-Hale Bopp. The space ship was to descend to Earth, swoop up the “Hale Boppers” and be on their merry way.

Marshall Applewhite,
Heaven's Gate cult leader

These suicide victims killed themselves by eating poisoned laced apple sauce and washing that down with vodka. All of the victims were adults and they all CHOSE to eat poison laced apple sauce and wash it down with vodka. Those adults were responsible for their OWN actions. The decision to commit suicide was their personal responsibility.

Last Saturday in Brooklyn, 28 year old Ismaaiyl Brinsley approached a marked New York Police Department squad car and without warning or provocation shot and killed police officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu while they sat in their squad car. According to authorities, Brinsley had fled to New York from Baltimore where he allegedly shot his former girlfriend, Shaneka Thompson, (The Root: NYPDCop Killer’s Girlfriend Pleaded for Life) before traveling to New York. Brinsley, who had a long criminal record, made the concerted decision to shoot his ex-girlfriend in Baltimore, flee to New York and the walk up to a NYPD squad car and execute two NYPD officers sitting in the car. He CHOSE to do these things and it was HIS personal responsibility whether to make those choices or not.

Patrick Lynch, the President of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association (NYPD’s union) was the first runner out the block in the blame game race.

To say the blood of two police officers who were executed is on the mayor’s hands is not only wrong, it is irresponsible. To encourage the police officers of the city to turn their backs on the mayor of the city – their boss – as he walked into the hospital where the slain officers were taken, is not only wrong but is also irresponsible. At the time when the city needs to come together the most, the president of the police union is going out of his way to drive a wedge between the city, the police officers and the mayor.

The second troll to come forth was former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani didn't waste any time or mince any words as he went in for the kill. He blamed President Obama. The president, according to Giuliani, has been on a four month, anti-police propaganda campaign. He all but accused President Obama of pulling the trigger on the gun used to kill those police officers. Mind you, this is the architect of New York City’s controversial “Stop & Frisk” law enforcement strategy.

If one didn’t know better, it would be easy to believe that – according to Giuliani – President Obama personally called Ismaaiyi Brinsley and personally encouraged him to shoot his ex-girlfriend in Baltimore and then make his way to New York and execute the first two NYPD officers he saw. That is just plain INSANE and so is Rudy Giuliani.

The next troll was former New York governor George Pataki. Pataki blamed both Attorney General Eric Holder and Bill De Blasio. To say Pataki’s specious allegations were politically motivated wouldn’t take much imagination. He’s a Republican and bashing Barack Obama and Eric Holder is as common and expected as breathing. The fact that Pataki and De Blasio have been going at it ever since De Blasio was elected has a political twang to it as well. (Mediaite: Fmr. Governor Pataki: Blame Holder, deBlasio for NYPD Murders)

Another set of Usual Suspects – namely Fox News and The National Review – did not miss the opportunity to pile on. Never mind that both President Obama and Mayor Di Blasio have condemned the murders of officers Ramos and Liu as well as any violence against law enforcement anywhere. Both of the aforementioned media outlets didn’t bother to mention those denouncements. For some inexplicable reason, they reported “convenient” news instead of the whole story. WHY is that NOT surprising? (Media Mattersfor America: Right-Wing Media Hide Obama and De Blasio Statements to Blame Themfor Violence against Police)

Of course, one of the most BLOVIATED right wing BLOVIATORS, Bill O’Reilly, couldn’t pass up the opportunity to insert himself into the debate. Although he was on vacation and his show on Fox was anchored by a guest host on Monday night, O’Reilly called in to his OWN show in order to enlighten the world with his thoughts on the murders and to call for Bill De Blasio’s resignation as mayor of New York. O’Reilly declared that De Blasio had “lost control of the city” and the he “associated with “provocateurs and he has disgraced the office of mayor of New York City.” (Salon: “He associated withprovocateurs”: Bill O’Reilly calls for NY Mayor Bill de Blasio’s resignation) When it comes to polarization, NO ONE out polarizes Bill O’Reilly. NO one.

Some on the right have even blamed Mayor De Blasio for the murders because he publicly stated that he has told his son, who is biracial, that the rules of engagement would be different for him when engaged with police than they would if he were white. What De Blasio told his son is TRUE. He told his son what any responsible father of a dark skinned son would tell his son. Wasn’t that his personal responsibility as a father?

Ismaaiyi Brinsley had an extensive criminal record spanning two states. He had been arrested 15 times in Georgia on charges ranging from misdemeanor assault, shoplifting, grand larceny and gun possession. He also spent two years in prison in Georgia on a criminal possession of a weapon conviction. He had been arrested four times in Ohio for robbery and misdemeanor theft. According to Brinsley’s mother, whose identity has not been made public, he had a “very troubled childhood” and had attempted to kill himself in the past. According to authorities, Brinsley’s own mother was afraid of him. “The mother expressed fear of him, and she said she hasn’t seen him in one month,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said. “Brinsley attempted suicide in the past and attempted to hang himself a year ago.” (New York Daily News: Cop killer Ismaaiyl Brinsley had a longcriminal record, was violent and suicidal, and frightened his mom: police) His mother also inferred that he had some mental issues. When you consider all of his alleged actions this past Saturday – shooting his ex-girlfriend, his posts on Instagram that indicated that he was about to do something out of the ordinary and the murder of those two police officers – it wouldn’t take much convincing to buy in to that theory. Perhaps a case could be made that Brinsley was failed by the healthcare/mental health system. However, if all reports about this case are accurate, then it is clear that Brinsley predetermined his actions and that he was FULLY aware of what he had done and ultimately did last Saturday. He acted on his own free will and HE is RESPONSIBLE for what he did. That appears to be indisputable.

There has been no shortage of finger pointing in the case of those two New York police officers being murdered. The blame game has been originated from the conservative media and conservative politicians for the most part. This is the crowd who preaches the personal responsibility gospel. However, they are determined to blame other people for what one guy CHOSE to do on his own.

That is why it is more than ironic the Usual Suspects of personal responsibility advocacy now blame others for the murders of New York police officers.

Peace, peace.

Craig Riggins

Email: therigginsreport517@gmail.com

Facebook: The Riggins Report

Twitter: @CraigRiggins

Will OTHER “white collar crime” suspects be treated in the fashion Eric Garner was?

2014-12-12T14:39:00.000-06:00

Eric Garner

Eric Garner was suspected of selling single cigarettes near the Staten Island Ferry Terminal on July 17, 2014. The state of New York has instituted a whopping $5.67 per pack tax on a cigarettes, so in addition to not being the healthiest habit someone can have, it is a very expensive habit in New York. It would make sense for some smokers in New York to purchase single cigarettes as opposed to buying a pack. Selling single cigarettes in New York is called “Butt-legging” – not exactly a term of endearment but a term that is clearly understood. Selling single cigarettes - “Loosies” - or “Butt-legging” in New York is basically tax evasion because the seller keeps the profits and does not give the state its share of the proceeds. Tax evasion is a crime, no doubt, but it is a white collar crime. White collar crimes typically don’t involve the risk of the physical safety of suspects, innocent bystanders or law enforcement personnel. More often than not, white collar crime suspects are afforded the option of turning themselves in when indicted, posting bond and going about their merry way until having to go to trial. Eric Garner was a white collar crime suspect on that July day that, tragically, turned out to be the last day of his life. Take a look at how police in Staten Island decided to take a white collar crime suspect into custody:

There is no need to dissect what was seen on the video. What took place is clear and we all know what the end result was for Eric Garner. We also know that no one – not Daniel Panteleo, who applied a banned choke hold on Eric Garner that resulted in his death - or the others that comprised the mini squadron of police officers who were in on wrestling Eric Garner to the ground or the derelict EMS crew that neglected to treat Eric Garner while he was lying on the sidewalk in what appears to be a state of unconsciousness. They ALL were complicit and they ALL are scot free for now. The Department of Justice has launched an investigation into what we all have seen on video and it is likely there will be a different outcome for all of those involved in the death of Eric Garner. Stay tuned.

Since the turn of the millennium, there has been a number of egregious white collar crimes committed by some infamous suspects and some with a strong appearance of committed crimes where the government decided NOT to indict suspects in light of overwhelming evidence that indicated that crimes were indeed committed. So, of course, a larger question comes to mind. Will OTHER “white collar crime” suspects be treated in the fashion Eric Garner was?

There are so many cases of high profile white collar crimes committed since 2000 that it would seemingly take a series of Encyclopedia Britannica to chronicle them all. Some are so obvious and had such an impact on personal economies and the nation’s economy, there is no WAY they can be ignored. Let’s take a look at some.

Bernie Madoff, bilked investors out of $65 billion dollars in the biggest case of

Bernie Madoff

financial fraud in U.S. history. He was awarded his day in court and was sentenced to 150 years in prison. He was NOT choked to death on the sidewalk. What an apropos last name. He REALLY made off with a lot of money that belonged to OTHER people.

(Business Insider: How Bernie Madoff's Ponzi Scheme Worked)

Kenneth Lay, the former CEO of Enron Corporation, was indicted on 11 counts of

Kenneth Lay

securities and wire fraud in a $40 billion scandal. This game of "Three-card Monte" forced Enron into bankruptcy that cost 20,000 people their jobs as well as every DIME they accrued in the company's retirement fund. Kenneth Lay was awarded his day in court and was convicted on all 11 charges. However, prior to being sentenced, Lay mysteriously died of a heart attack. I am not one prone to subscribe to conspiracy theories (I do believe there was more than one shooter in the JFK assassination), but I don't believe that he died of heart attack. I believe he fell on his own sword rather than spend the rest of his natural life incarcerated. Whatever the circumstances of his death were, one thing we ALL know: He was NOT choked to death on the sidewalk.

(The Economist: Enron: The real scandal)

Merrill Lynch was accused of helping Enron cook the books during the Enron scandal. Four of

its former executives - Robert S. Furst, Schuyler M. Tilney, Daniel H. Bayly and Thomas W. Davis - were all charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for aiding and abetting Enron. Bayly and Furst, along with two other Merrill Lynch executives other than Davis and Tilney, were later convicted. They since had their conviction overturned in 2006 by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. They were indicted, arrested, tried, convicted and ultimately had their convictions overturned through the judicial system. They were NOT choked to death on the sidewalk.

(The New York Times: 4 at Merrill Accused Of an Enron Fraud)

Angelo Mozilo, Founder and CEO of Countrywide Home Loans, the largest originator

Angelo Mozilo

of subprime mortgage loans, has the distinction of being named by Time Magazine as one of the 25 people to blame for the financial crisis (Time: 25 People to Blame for the Financial Crisis). Under Mozilo, Countrywide created Stated Income Loans, where mortgage loan applicants were allowed to "state" their income without having to produce any documentation that verified those "stated" incomes. Borrowers were then given mortgage loans they CLEARLY could not afford that came with extremely high interests rates, an overabundance of fees - including origination points (the cost of borrowing the money) and other trumped up, unnecessary fees. Borrowers who did produce income documents were pushed into subprime loans when they actually qualified for prime mortgage loans with lower interest rates and lower fees. These practices ultimately led to a record number of Countrywide borrowers losing their homes in foreclosure. Countrywide was not the only subprime mortgage lender in the country, true, but it was the ring leader in these creative financing schemes. The most damaging loan product from the Countrywide umbrella was the Pay Option Mortgage ARM, which allowed borrowers to choose what their mortgage payments would be from month to month. This, basically, was a sucker loan. The borrowers never paid a dime toward the principle balance. The interest was deferred which caused many homeowners to be upside down - owing more than the home was worth - and ultimately led to foreclosure. Angelo Mozilo was subjected to a federal investigation and right before the hammer of justice fell, he settled with the government for $67.5 million and was NOT required to admit to any criminal wrong doing. On top of the estimated $500 million he made while running Countrywide, he also made off with an additional $115 million when Bank of America acquired Countywide and assumed all of its liabilities. In what has to be one of the most severe cases of denial in the history of mankind, Mozilo insists to this day that he and Countrywide did no wrong (USA Today: Mazilo says he and Countrywide did nothing wrong). Maybe he should ask the hundreds of thousands of Countrywide bowers who lost their homes if they would agree with his assessment. Angelo Mozilo has YET to be choked to death on the sidewalk. (Fortune: How the roof fell in on Countrywide)

That’s quite an impressive list of white collar criminals, white collar crimes and actions that have a strong appearance of being white collar crimes that did not result in criminal charges. Each of the aforementioned examples involved BILLIONS of dollars and ruined tens of thousands of lives. Some of them contributed to the crash of the nation’s economy the nearly catapulted the United States into the Great Depression 3.0. Yet, none of the individuals responsible – not ONE – were treated in the fashion in which Eric Garner was, who simply was SUSPECTED of selling single cigarettes for a paltry 50 CENTS per cigarette, thus making him a suspect of committing tax evasion which is a white collar crime. Comparing the crime of what Eric Garner was SUSPECTED of committing and the crimes some of the aforementioned DID commit and probably SHOULD HAVE been charged with, it is clear there was over the top excessive force in one case (Eric Garner) and what could best be described as tepid force in the others. In the grand scheme of things, the police wasted their time and wound up killing a guy because he was SUSPECTED of selling single cigarettes. At most, he should have received a citation and had any loose cigarettes found on his person confiscated. If there were any suspects of white collar crimes that deserved to be roughed up, it would be those involving BILLIONS of dollars – not one suspected of pushing cigarettes for 50 cents.

On a daily basis, white collar crimes and white collar crime suspects are identified. There seemingly is no shortage of them. Most of the suspects lawyer up, turn themselves in, post bond and go about their lives. They certainly aren’t slammed to the ground and choked to death. Considering what happened to a man near the Staten Island Ferry Terminal on July 19, 2014 who was SUSPECTED of being a tax evader, it will be interesting to see how other white collar crime suspects in the future are handled by law enforcement.

Will OTHER “white collar crime” suspects be treated in the fashion Eric Garner was?

Peace, peace.

Craig Riggins

Email: therigginsreport517@gmail.com

Facebook: The Riggins Report

Twitter: @CraigRiggins

With Mike Brown, Jr.’s last breath, the decision to not indict the cop who killed him was inevitable

2014-12-02T16:08:00.000-06:00

Family Dollar Store
Photo by Craig Riggins

It has been eight days since St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch in a prime time press conference that was broadcast globally read the St. Louis County Grand Jury’s decision as to whether to charge now former Ferguson Police officer Darren Wilson with a crime for shooting and killing unarmed 18 year old Mike Brown on August 9, 2014. The decision was not to charge Darren Wilson. The Grand Jury’s decision to not charge Darren Wilson was widely expected for many reasons. There had been leaks throughout the proceedings that dropped hints as to which direction the Grand Jury was leaning. Those who wanted to see Darren Wilson indicted caught on to the not so subliminal message the leaks of the proceedings were intended to send. The main reason the decision was no surprise to many was the prosecutor in the case. Once the decision was read, I immediately started writing the draft for this piece. However, I could not finish the draft for this piece. I was not at all surprised by the decision but I did leave some room for a surprise indictment. That did not happen. I didn’t have it in me emotionally. The Riggins Report was dark for a week. Besides, the night the decision was made public, Ferguson burned. The streets were not safe. Neighborhoods in and near Ferguson were not necessarily safe, either. I live approximately half a football field from the Ferguson city line. A gas

Photo by Craig Riggins

station/convenience store just steps from where I live was looted. Looters were parking cars in the middle of the street I live on and running to the convenience store, grabbing what they could and then took off at break neck speed down the street I live on. Some looters took the liberty of running across the front yard, between the house and behind the house I reside in. I even heard a couple of looters outside the front door of the house I reside in. I even saw a car pull into the next door neighbor’s drive way and four guys jumped out, went into the trunk and all grabbed guns from the trunk. It was utter CHAOS on my street. I was up until 5 am Tuesday morning fully prepared to protect myself and my family from any unwelcomed visitors. It was a long night. After about three hours of sleep, I went out to survey the damages in the daylight. Within a two block radius of where I live, there had been significant destruction. A Family Dollar store had been burned to the ground and in the strip mall near my house there had been significant destruction as a result of looting. Ferguson had been BURNED Monday night/Tuesday morning. It has taken until now to regain the energy to write for this space. The decision and the reaction to the decision was inevitable. With Mike Brown’s last breath, the decision to not indict the cop who killed him was inevitable.

It was inevitable. It was inevitable the instant the last round discharged from Darren Wilson’s service weapon and struck Mike Brown, Jr. in the crown of his head, killing him instantly. It was inevitable when Mike Brown, Jr.’s dead body was left in the street uncovered in the spot where he fell dead in the sweltering August heat for four and a half hours. It was inevitable when Mike Brown’s body was taken away in an unmarked SUV instead of a St. Louis County Medical Examiner’s vehicle. It was inevitable when the Ferguson Police Department released a video that alleges that Mike Brown, Jr. was stealing a box of Swisher cigars. It was inevitable when the character of the first witnesses to go public was immediately attacked and dissected ad nausea by supporters of Darren Wilson and some media outlets. It was inevitable when the focus of the shooting death of Mike Brown, Jr. was on the looting and the torching of a gas station/convenience store that took place the day after his death. It

Armored vehicle and police sniper in Ferguson

was inevitable the moment the world saw the militarized police state complete with armored vehicles and snipers on West Florissant Avenue. It was inevitable when St. Louis County Police were emboldened enough to fire tear gas on members of the Al-Jazeera America’s news crew and disassembled the broadcasting crew’s equipment and moments later, arrest members of the media who were in McDonald’s charging their devices for no reason other than being members of the media. It was inevitable when the world saw an out of control St. Ann, Missouri police officer aim an assault rifle at a crowd of peaceful demonstrators and threatening to kill them. It was inevitable when St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCullough decided not to recuse himself from this case and when Missouri Governor Jay Nixon refused to remove McCullough from the trial and assign a special prosecutor. It was inevitable when the aforementioned prosecutor convened a Grand Jury that operates in strict secrecy to hear the case instead of presenting evidence of probable cause in a preliminary hearing. A cynic would say it was inevitable when Mike Brown, Jr. was born black and was raised in the SIXTH most segregated city in America.

As I have documented in this space more than once, I was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. I have lived here for 36 of my 54 years on Earth. In my lifetime I have never, EVER seen the black community be as galvanized about an issue as I have in the case of the shooting death of Mike Brown, Jr. Protests have not only taken place in Ferguson, but in areas of the St. Louis Metro where black people visit with great reticence, let alone protests. Protestors shut down The Galleria in Richmond Heights; disrupted shoppers at West County Center in Des Peres and attempted to deny motorists access to I-270, a vital thoroughfare adjacent to West County Center. All done on Black Friday, no less. On Wednesday of last week, Darren Wilson granted George Stephanopoulos of ABC News an exclusive interview. In a carefully crafted and rehearsed fashion, Wilson explained that he HAD to shoot and kill Mike Brown because he “looked as if he were bulking up” after he had been shot four times and that when he grabbed at Mike Brown at the beginning it seemed like “a 5 year old grabbing Hulk Hogan”. Right – he once again DEHUMANIZED Mike Brown. Which many feel is exactly what he did when he shot and killed Mike Brown. That, of course, plays into a familiar narrative when it comes to black men. (MSNBC: African Americans and 'superhumanization bias') Wilson did have the wherewithal to ask himself if he could “legally shoot this guy” – which would seem to indicate there was aforethought in his decision to kill Mike Brown - while in the midst of being in fear of his life. Wilson took the time during the interview to share an element of the story that NO witness – whether they were deemed credible or not – had mentioned in public or testified to in front of the Grand Jury. Wilson said that Mike Brown had reached into his waistband AFTER being hit at least three times. This, of course, added to the element of him being afraid of being killed by this big, black menacing 18 year old. These theories were carefully scripted because Wilson and his attorneys had the luxury of hearing the public statements witnesses to the shooting and were able to craft his testimony to the Grand Jury that fit his narrative and went to discredit the witnesses. This made him escaping criminal charges inevitable. The fact that one of the assistant prosecutors passed out a Missouri statute that was had been ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court that had previously allowed law enforcement officers in Missouri shoot fleeing suspects just because they were fleeing. (Vox: Report: Prosecutors may have misled the Ferguson grand jury about the law for two months) Yet another reason of the inevitable decision. The fact that at least six witnesses who had gone public saying Mike Brown had his hands up when he was killed were discredited contributed to the inevitability. Bob McCulloch, Wilson’s de facto defense attorney during the announcement, explained away the credibility of those witnesses. In short, he accused all of the eye witnesses with accounts that varied from Darren Wilson’s of lying. He said their accounts of the shooting were “inconsistent”. Apparently, those witnesses were expected to give the same testimony verbatim to the accounts they had gone public with. The CORE reason Darren Wilson was not indicted was because the prosecutor did not WANT to indict him. That should be clear to ALL by now.

Ferguson burning was inevitable, too. Civic leaders – the mayor of the city of St. Louis, the St. Louis County Executive – and law enforcement officials had met with protest leaders in advance of the decision and reportedly had set “ground rules” for the anticipated demonstrations. The agreement was that protestors would be allowed to peacefully protest as long as there were no acts of violence. It was more than NAÏVE to think there would be no violence. The criminal element, lying in the wings and anticipating a no indictment decision, immediately took advantage of a highly charged and emotional situation. They did what criminals DO: commit CRIMES. The governor of Missouri, who basically has seen his political career end due to his sheer

Missouri governor Jay Nixon

incompetence and ineptitude throughout this case, had declared a state of emergency in and around St. Louis prior to the decision and had ordered the Missouri National Guard to be on standby. Seven hundred National Guardsmen were called to duty and on the night the decision was made public, they were nowhere NEAR Ferguson, which of course, was the eye of the hurricane. It is not clear WHERE they WERE last Monday, but it is CRYSTAL CLEAR where they were NOT. Looting and destruction was inevitable.

Fear within neighborhoods in and around Ferguson was inevitable. Law enforcement could not be everywhere. Quiet, tree lined subdivisions became bases of operations and escape routes from law enforcement by looters. People were in fear in the comfort of their homes throughout the night. Gunfire was rampant in those subdivisions – mine included – and maintaining safety was a minute by minute proposition. Of all the planning and strategizing in advance of the unrest to prevent mayhem, that failed miserably, there was no mention of providing safety within the neighborhoods. Citizens were on their own. It was incompetent planning. It was HORRIFYING. It was inevitable.

It was a long week for Ferguson, the St. Louis metro, law enforcement and myself personally. Unrest was bound to happen, it did happen and, for the foreseeable future, will continue to happen. Those of us in and around Ferguson wound up in a very predictable place. A very DANGEROUS place, let me add. For so many reasons, it was predictable and inevitable. So was the reason that has ignited this massive and ongoing civil unrest.

With Mike Brown’s last breath, the decision to not indict the cop who killed him was inevitable.

Peace, peace.

Craig Riggins

Email: therigginsreport517@gmail.com

Facebook: The Riggins Report

Twitter: @CraigRiggins

Congress SHOULD HAVE voted on the American Jobs Act instead of Keystone XL

2014-11-19T23:26:00.000-06:00

The Keystone XL Pipeline

On Tuesday in the Lame-duck session of Congress, the Keystone XL Pipeline project was debated and put to a vote in the Senate floor. The Republican led House passed the bill last week. The vote fell short in the Senate and therefore will not reach President Obama’s desk for his signature. There has been rampant speculation the president would have vetoed the legislation had it reached his desk. The Republicans are have a CANNIPTION. They just can’t seem to understand WHY they were unable to get the 60 votes they needed to avoid the bill being filibustered. While the minority party in the Senate, the filibuster became the Weapon of Mass OBSTRUCTION in the hands of the Republicans. They’re not handling being the OBSTRUCTEE very well. Republicans are sure to take another vote on Keystone once the new Congress is convened and they will be the majority in the Senate and in the House. From all indications, President Obama will veto the bill should it reach his desk. You have to wonder why so many Republicans favor Keystone. Their support CAN’T be about jobs. The project would only NET 35 new jobs upon completion. Conversely, the American Jobs Act was proposed in 2011 and it was buried under an avalanche in the House under the stewardship of Speaker of the House John Boehner. That bill’s foundation was

Speaker of the House John Boehner

infrastructure upgrades and new infrastructure projects and would have created 1.9 MILLION jobs. Why so much attention and urgency given to a bill that would create 35 permanent jobs over a bill that would create 1.9 MILLION jobs? Congress SHOULD HAVE voted on the American Jobs Act instead of Keystone XL.

As a dedicated progressive, I am suspect of ANY legislation proposed by Republicans. Their legislation typically is not diversity friendly and it geared to benefit a “select few” as opposed to the masses. Their base has let it be known THEY want THEIR country back. The country belongs to THEM and the rest of us are “takers” and interlopers. Republicans opposed ANY regulations whatsoever – EXCEPT when it comes to a woman’s reproductive rights and in that area, they seemingly don’t RUN OUT of regulations. They oppose raising the minimum wage, national healthcare, equal pay for equal work, organized labor, extended unemployment benefits and have given birth to voter suppression efforts in many states around the country. Basically, their politics are MEAN SPIRITED. So it is easy to see why most progressives are suspect of any legislation Republicans propose. Keystone XL is no different. They’re all IN for a project that will benefit only 35 people long term. President Obama discussed some salient facts about Keystone XL:

By the way, none of the points President Obama raised has been disputed. Not ONE. Yet, Congress wasted time voting on a bill that had no chance of becoming law, even if it HAD reached the president’s desk. Conversely, John Boehner would not even let a vote on the American Jobs Act to come to the House floor. Not only that, Boehner denied President Obama’s request to deliver the proposal to Congress on the day he asked for because a Republican debate was at the same time and that “more time was needed” to secure the House for the president’s visit. This was unprecedented. (The blatant disrespect President Obama has received during his tenure is outright repulsive) Never mind the fact it would create 1.9 MILLION jobs. Never mind the fact it would mean upgrades to the country’s aging and crumbling infrastructure. America’s highways and bridges are in disrepair. According to a report in The Atlantic’s City Lab (U.S. Cities Face a Looming Bridge Crisis), there are 70,000 deficient bridges in America. SEVENTY THOUSAND. In the American Society of Civil Engineers infrastructure report (2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure – Drinking Water), it was revealed there are 240,000 water main breaks a year in America. The quality of America’s drinking water graded out at a D. Our country’s infrastructure is dilapidated and hanging on by a thread. Repairing and upgrading it should be Washington’s highest priority. The American Jobs Act certainly be a good beginning. Here are some of the components of the bill:

Cutting and suspending $245 billion worth of payroll taxes for qualifying employers and 160 million medium to low income employees.

Spending $62 billion for a Pathways Back to Work Program for expanding opportunities for low-income youth and adults.

1. $49 billion - Extending unemployment benefits for up to 6 million long-term beneficiaries.

2. $8 billion - Jobs tax credit for the long term unemployed.

3. $5 billion - Pathways back to work fund.

Spending $50 billion on both new & pre-existing infrastructure projects.

Spending $35 billion in additional funding to protect the jobs of teachers, police officers, and firefighters

Spending $30 billion to modernize at least 35,000 public schools and community colleges.

Spending $15 billion on a program that would hire construction workers to help rehabilitate and refurbishing hundreds of thousands of foreclosed homes and businesses.

Creating the National Infrastructure Bank (capitalized with $10 billion), originally proposed in 2007, to help fund infrastructure via private and public capital.

Creating a nationwide, interoperable wireless network for public safety, while expanding accessibility to high-speed wireless services.

Prohibiting discrimination in hiring against persons who are unemployed because of their status as unemployed persons.

Loosening regulations on small businesses that wish to raise capital, including through crowdfunding, while retaining investor protections.

As you can see, the bill was both citizen and business friendly. If the Republicans were committed to creating jobs for the American people, WHAT was there NOT to like in this bill? Simple answer: It was Barack Obama’s idea and it was proposed in 2001 – one year before the 2012 Presidential election and they were not about to gift wrap Obama a winning piece of legislation he could hang his hat on. They were determined to defeat Barack Obama even if it meant sabotaging the economy, compromising the safety of those driving on faulty bridges and roadways and inflicting pain upon the unemployed. Again, MEAN SPIRITED politics. What this really is for Republicans is a chance to strong arm President Obama into signing a bill into law he clearly does not favor and, equally important to them, to hand environmentalist who oppose Keystone a humiliating defeat.

Environmentalist strongly oppose Keystone XL and for good reason. They fear the escalation of greenhouse emissions because the oil would be extracted from oil sands instead of conventional oil extraction. The primary fear is an oil spill or oil leakage into the Ogallala Aquifer that spans eight states and supplies drinking water to 2 million people. A massive spill, leakage or the unthinkable – a CATACLYSMIC accident along the lines the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Remember this scene:

Eleven people were killed when the oil rig exploded and 4.9 million barrels of crude oil leaked into the waters of the Gulf. There WAS and IS no WAY to clean up all the oil that spewed into the Gulf. The effect that accident had on the ecology in general, wildlife, the economy and the people in and around the Gulf is incalculable. No reasonable person can blame environmentalist for resisting Keystone XL. The risk it would have on the drinking water alone would be enough for concern let alone the risk of an accident due to human error. Environmentalists KNOW Republicans staunchly oppose regulations of any kind and they would undoubtedly become unglued at the mention of regulating Keystone. Several environmental groups have filed suit to block Keystone. The Center for Biological Diversity, the Western Nebraska Resources Council and Friends of the Earth have all filed suit in federal court in Nebraska.

(Reuters: Green groups sue U.S. over Keystone pipeline project)

There have been several lawsuits filed since against Keystone. Native Americans – the people who already WERE in North America before it was “discovered” by a genocidal sadist by the name of Christopher Columbus – have also been vehemently opposed to Keystone XL. One tribe, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, went so far to say Keystone’s approval by Congress was “an act of war”. (As Sioux Tribe Calls Keystone XL an "Act of War", TransCanada Hires PR Firm to Probe Critics) To say Keystone XL has a lot of detractors and has been polarizing would be GROSS understatements. To say Keystone XL has a lot of detractors and has been polarizing would be GROSS understatements.

The battle for Keystone is far from over. The Republicans will reload with the majority in the new Congress in January 2015 and will try to pass it through the Senate. Should it pass, it will almost certainly be vetoed by President Obama. That is when the real political games will begin. The Republicans will then attach Keystone to spending bills the president has to sign in order to keep the country operating. News flash to Republicans: Barack Obama has NOTHING … ZERO … to lose. He is now liberated to enact HIS agenda for the last two years of his administration. If you Republicans want something done you will have to move in HIS direction. I know many conservatives cringe at that very thought BUT it is very TRUE. Why would he sign off on a project that will only net 35 permanent jobs when it is completed when you Republicans have ignored HIS bill that would create 1.9 million jobs and that’s been on the table for three years? Like it or not, President Obama is in the driver’s seat on this one.

Congress SHOULD HAVE voted on the American Jobs Act instead of Keystone XL.

Peace, peace.

Craig Riggins

Email: therigginsreport517@gmail.com

Facebook: The Riggins Report

Twitter: @CraigRiggins

When it comes to OBSTRUCTION, the Republicans can dish it out but CAN'T take it

2014-11-17T03:32:00.000-06:00

By now, you’ve heard about the MASSIVE and PATHETIC Pity Party the Republicans held in a Washington, D.C. steakhouse on January 20, 2009 – the same evening Barack and Michelle Obama made the rounds as The First Couple on Inauguration Night to celebrate him being sworn in as the 44th President of the United States and the FIRST African-American to be elected to the office in the history of the nation. There was an estimated 2 million people in Washington, D.C. on Inauguration Day who personally witnessed the swearing in to office of the nation’s first black president. Not everyone in Washington was in a festive mood Inauguration Night 2009. Especially those attending the Mother of ALL Pity Parties. The party of alienation and regressive politics just couldn’t understand WHY they didn’t win the White House in 2008. I wonder how much thought they gave to the fact their nominee in 2008, John McCain, chose the biggest empty suit in politics and a complete IMBECILE as his running mate (Sarah Palin). There were enough sensible voters to know that he obviously had lost velocity off his political fastball when he chose that NITWIT as a running mate. In a piece I wrote back in September (Will the obstruction plot Republicans hatched on January 20, 2009 pay off in the 2014 midterm elections?), I mentioned ALL the WHINERS who attended the Pity Party. These whiners made the decision to NULLIFY a national election by obstructing the newly inaugurated president at every turn. Democrats had the White House, the majority in the Senate and the House. The electorate decided it wanted to follow a progressive agenda. The WHINERS didn’t care. They hedged their bets on obstruction paying off. They were successful. In the 2010 midterms, the Republicans became the majority in the House and picked up seats in the Senate. In 2012, they thought they had placed Barack Obama on the ropes going into the general election. Where they crossed themselves up was nominating the biggest political CHARLATAN to come along (Mitt Romney) since Conrad Bean, Robert De Niro’s sleazy character in the movie “Wag the Dog”. Romney didn’t come close. They held a national pity party, only this time it was public. Reince Priebus, RNC Chair, went public with his party’s self-assessment. He talked about being more inclusive. That was laughable. The Republican base is made up of older, frustrated (in many way), angry and scared white men. That demographic is not about to welcome anyone else into their clique. THEY want THEIR county back. It belongs to THEM and them ONLY. The rest of us are INTERLOPERS. On November 4, the obstruction FINALLY paid off for Republicans. They gained even more seats in the House and also gained control of the Senate. It took 6 years of obstruction to do it. They told their base they would STOP Obama if they would put them in charge. Their base, being the low information, hate filled, racist bunch they proudly are, at that stuff up and put them in charge. Now that they control the legislative agenda, they want to “work” with President Obama and want to find “common ground”. Never mind they had no intention of doing so for the first six years of the Obama Administration. President Obama, to his credit and finally free of having to protect Democrats in the Senate in red states, has let it be known that HE is STILL the President of the United States and that office comes with the power of the pen. Now Republicans are crying about the president actually using the powers of his office (how DARE he?) to forward HIS agenda. They (Republicans) can’t BELIEVE the president won’t capitulate to THEM. The whining has already started. When it comes to OBSTRUCTION, the Republicans can dish it out but CAN’T take it.

Mitch McConnell will become Senate Majority Leader when the new Congress convenes in January 2015. In his post-Election Day news conference, McConnell waxed poetically about his desire to work with President Obama and to his forthcoming efforts to “seek common ground” where the Republican led Senate could work with the president. These ambitious goals were sandwiched between his obsessive goal to “repeal Obamacare (The AffordableCare Act) by root and branch”.

The guy in the preceding video sure did sound different from the guy in the following video:

After watching the latter video, it would be hard to blame anyone for being skeptical of the guy in the former video. The guy in the latter video has basically been Obstructionist-In-Chief for the first six years of the Obama Administration. From the health care bill; to Cabinet and judicial appointments; a jobs bill focused on upgrading infrastructure and everything in between, Mitch McConnell has been the Grinch Who Stole Progress. Members of his party in the House and Senate have eagerly followed his obstructionist lead over the last six years. The Republicans in the Senate have used the filibuster often to block legislation from passing in the Senate. This parliamentary move that was relatively unheard of before Barack Obama became president, required any legislation in the Senate to have 60 votes to pass. It was abused to the point where outgoing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid instituted the Nuclear Option that neutralized the filibuster on Cabinet and judicial appointments. The Republicans had a conniption. They couldn’t seem to come to grips that Harry Reid had the audacity to rob them of the ability to obstruct EVERYTHING. How DARE Harry Reid actually want to get something done in the Senate. The Republicans forgot that Harry Reid was not at the Pity Party on January 20, 2009 and didn’t get the memo that obstruction was the Republicans sole legislative strategy.

Which is why it is more than disingenuous the Republicans are now accusing President Obama of defying the will of the voters in light of the president indicating that he will act unilaterally on immigration reform and is committed to enacting HIS agenda in the last two years of his presidency. The party that has used blatant, baseless and senseless obstruction as a legislative strategy is now pointing fingers in the direction of the President of the United States and blaming HIM of obstruction. My father would often tell me the person to WATCH is the person pointing the finger. Because when that person has ONE finger pointed at YOU, that person has THREE fingers pointing back in his or her direction. Makes sense and in this case, it is TOO true. Republican Congressman Tim Huelskamp from Kansas, who happens to be one of the leading Birthers in Congress, chimed in on the president's plan to move unilaterally on immigration reform (All In with Chris Hayes: White House: Legal status soon for up to 5 million).

There is a laundry list of legislation that would have benefitted the country the Republicans either obstructed outright or made sure the effects of the legislation would be minimized. For instance, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“The Stimulus”). In his effort to reach bipartisan legislation during the first two years of his administration, President Obama altered the structure of The Stimulus in order to get Republicans on board with it. Republicans insisted the bulk of The Stimulus be comprised of 40% tax cuts instead of that money being allocated to shovel ready public works projects. When the president compromised, not a single Republican voted for The Stimulus. Not ONE - even after a compromise. The next piece of legislation on the Republicans “Road to Perdition” was the Affordable Care Act. We all recall the vitriolic Town Hall meetings during the summer of 2009. I continue to be amazed at the number of Americans who WERE are still ARE outraged over the fact that OTHER Americans would be in a position to receive access to affordable and quality healthcare – many for the first time in their lives. Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling a key component of the law is constitutional; despite President Obama being re-elected in 2012 and despite over 50 failed votes in the House to repeal the law, Republicans still believe they can repeal the law. They believe this DESPITE the need for President Obama to sign any law that repeals his signature legislative accomplishment. Yeah, right. Apparently, the Republicans idea of “working with the president” means the president MUST capitulate to all their demands.

Unlike the day after the 2010 midterm elections when President Obama said Democrats got “shellacked”, the day after these midterm elections President Obama appeared relieved and sent a message to the Republicans that he was STILL President of the United States. He served notice that he would act unilaterally, if necessary, on immigration reform before the end of the year. The president had promised to do just that in the summer of 2014 but acquiesced in delaying taking any action until after the 2014 midterms in order to give Senate Democrats in red states a chance to maintain their seats. Every Senate Democrat in a red state lost their re-election bid. As could be predicted and on cue, Republicans threw a hissy fit. Speaker of the House John Boehner had stern words for President Obama:

Mitch McConnell delivered an equally defiant message by guaranteeing the Keystone XL Pipeline project would be approved by Republicans in both the House and the Senate and would be delivered to the president’s desk for his signature. McConnell, emboldened by his elevated status as majority leader, seemed to have forgotten the President of the United States has the power of the pen. President Obama has not been an advocate of Keystone XL because of the environmental risks and the questionable impact it would have on job creation. The Republicans CLAIM the project would create tens of thousands of good paying American jobs. The CBO resoundingly disputes those claims. Yes, there would be a spike in immediate job creation. According to PolitiFact.com, the project would net a grand total of THIRTY FIVE full time jobs. Once again, Keystone XL would create THIRTY FIVE full time jobs. (Pundit Fact: CNN's Van Jones says Keystone pipeline only creates 35 permanent jobs) Once again, the Republicans have missed the mark. They are eager to get Keystone XL passed instead of passing the American Jobs Act, a law that proposed work on existing infrastructure projects as well as new infrastructure projects and would have provided $35 BILLION in funding to protect the jobs of teachers, police officers and firefighters. This bill was introduced in 2011 and would have created 1.9 MILLION jobs. Once again, 1.9 MILLION jobs. Republicans blocked that bill in 2011 (Senate blocks $60 billion infrastructure plan, another part of Obama jobs bill) because it was a year before the 2012 election and they were not about to give the president a legislative victory when they thought they had a chance to defeat him in 2012. Now, the Republicans want to hang their hats on Keystone XL that will create a grand total of 35 PERMANENT jobs instead of President Obama’s jobs bill that would create 1.9 million jobs. Which one would YOU prefer?

The Republicans have stalled or blocked extending unemployment insurance benefits for the long term unemployed; an increase of the federal minimum wage; access to affordable health care in states with Republican governors; a jobs bill and student loan reform. Yet, their base came out in droves in the 2014 midterm elections and empowered them even further. The Democrats discouraged their base by being ashamed of all they accomplished on behalf of the American middle class. Barack Obama has decided that HE will not cave and capitulate to the Republicans in the last two years of his administration. As I predicted in this space (GOP control of the Senate would be great for President Obama), Republicans taking control of the senate would be the best break Barack Obama could get. In order to get anything done and position their party to win the White House in 2016 the Republicans have to GOVERN instead of OBSTRUCT and that means they have to move in President Obama’s direction instead of him having to reach out to him. How ironic it is the very people who were OBSESSED with obstructing his agenda as much as possible in the first 6 years of his presidency will be the very people who will help him solidify his legacy in the last two years of his administration. THAT is a BEAUTIFUL thing. They’ll whine and cry as they have already started doing but in the end, the Republicans will have no CHOICE but to move in the president’s direction. It is entertaining to see them WHINE and CRY about obstruction.

When it comes to OBSTRUCTION, the Republicans can dish it out but CAN’T take it.

Peace, peace.

Craig Riggins

Email: therigginsreport517@gmail.com

Facebook: The Riggins Report

Twitter: @CraigRiggins

While the black community in Ferguson awaits, Missouri’s governor and the KKK lay OUT and lay DOWN the gauntlet

2014-11-14T15:48:00.000-06:00

In spite of his bizarre performance at the 2012 Republican Convention, I remain a huge Clint Eastwood fan. I have known for quite some time that Eastwood was a Republican – he was once elected mayor of Carmel, California – but I gave him a pass because I very much enjoyed his movies. One movie he made where he basically was a big city equivalent of Barney Fife – the bumbling, stumbling, one bullet carrying and clueless deputy sheriff in The Andy Griffith Show – was “The Gauntlet”. Eastwood’s character was sent on a suicide mission by a corrupt police commander and it was not until halfway through his assignment that he was able to figure out that he was no more than a sacrificial lamb. He literally had to drive through a gauntlet of law enforcement officers with orders to kill him on sight to deliver the witness he was assigned to bring in. That movie had quite a finish. On Tuesday, Missouri governor Jay Nixon held a news conference at the regional headquarters of the Missouri Highway Patrol to assure citizens in and around Ferguson that law enforcement agencies have been “working around the clock” to protect their homes and businesses in the event the St. Louis County Grand Jury decides to NOT indict Ferguson Police officer Darren Wilson for shooting and killing 18 year old Mike Brown who was unarmed. The governor let it be known that looting and rioting would not be tolerated and that if necessary, the Missouri National Guard will called in to maintain order in Ferguson. Never mind the public was told the Grand Jury was STILL hearing testimony and reviewing evidence in the case. While the black community in Ferguson awaits, Missouri’s governor and the KKK lay OUT and lay DOWN the gauntlet.

Jay Nixon’s message is CRYSTAL clear: looting and rioting will NOT be tolerated. PERIOD. He had all the principles at his side when he demonstrably delivered his message to the people of Ferguson, potential looters and rioters and people in and around the St. Louis Metro – Dan Isom, newly appointed by Governor Nixon as the Director of Public Safety for the state of Missouri and former chief of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department; St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar; Sam Dodson, Chief of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and Captain Ronald Johnson with the Missouri Highway Patrol. This was the brain trust behind the law enforcement efforts in Ferguson. These men and their respective agencies have worked well together for the most part since the beginning of the unrest in Ferguson. Despite some questionable policing strategies, some out of control cops and violent protesters, there has been ZERO loss of life in Ferguson as a result of the Mike Brown shooting. That is nothing short of miraculous. Still, keeping a lid on an unruly and angry crowd will be a tall order indeed. With that realization, another internationally known organization has offered to assist law enforcement in crowd control. Frank Ancona, Imperial Wizard and President of the Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan has volunteered the services of his distinguished organization in helping law enforcement with crowd control in Ferguson. Ancona and his crew have been proactive in their efforts to assist law enforcement in and around Ferguson by passing out this flyer:

How altruistic of the KKK. They really need to be commended for their concern about the wellbeing of the people in and around Ferguson. Ancona even took to the airwaves to explain why his organization feels obligated to pitch in and help police.

See, Ancona and his group are acting within the interests of ALL residents of North St. Louis County REGARDLESS of race. He issued a stern warning to the “terrorists” who take to the streets should the St. Louis County Grand Jury decides to not indict Darren Wilson for shooting and killing Mike Brown. In the video, Ancona inferred that he had been in direct contact with law enforcement and when pressed to be specific, he amended his contact to “hearing from friends of police officers”. He went further in showing his disgust for the “terrorists” by informing them they had “awakened a sleeping giant” and promising to “use lethal force” to stop the protesters – make that “terrorists”. He basically has anointed his organization as the quasi security force for the POLICE. Ancona is concerned for the police who, in his words, have endured threats of having their wives raped, their children harmed and their own lives threatened. Frank Ancona has reached the end of his rope and he and his organization are NOT going to stand idly by and let “terrorists” have a run of the place. He feels it is his civic and patriotic duty to do what he can to neutralize the “terrorists”. The impact he and his organization could have has the potential to be monumental. REALLY monumental.

What better way to neutralize an emotional, predominantly African-American crowd angry about a racially charged killing of an unarmed black teenager by a white cop who may be exonerated for killing the kid than to insert the Ku Klux Klan – arguably one of the most RACIST, MURDEROUS and POLARIZING organizations in the history of mankind – smack dab in the middle of crowd control? Are you OVERWHELMED with the endless possibilities of peaceful resolutions by the Klan showing up in their regalia in the middle of an angry crowd of black people? I mean that can ONLY have a positive outcome, right? When I think about such a scenario, I keep hearing “Ebony and Ivory” playing in the background. It is reasonable to suspect that Ancona’s organization has managed to whip some gun rights zealots into a frenzy and with Missouri’s “Open Carry” law on the books, his intentions very well may have found a receptive audience. If this delusional clown and his minions in those garish costumes show up in Ferguson in the aftermath of Darren Wilson avoiding criminal charges for killing Mike Brown, the MOTHER of all race riots will be ONE wrong move from jumping off. Governor Nixon MUST take steps to avoid this from happening at all costs.

What is interesting about this entire theme is the ASSUMPTION the Grand Jury will decide that Darren Wilson was justified in killing Mike Brown. Considering how the St. Louis County Prosecutor, Bob McCullough, has gone out of his way to make sure Darren Wilson avoids facing criminal charges and recent leaks about the Grand Jury’s deliberation, Wilson walking does seem like a foregone conclusion. The fact that Dr. Michael Baden, one of the top forensic pathologists in the WORLD who performed an

Dr. Michael Baden

independent autopsy on Mike Brown at the request of his family, was just called to testify on Thursday after nearly three months of deliberations. Had the prosecutor been serious about pursuing criminal charges, this witness should have been among the first witnesses called. According to multiple reports, it was the Grand Jury, not the prosecutor, who called Baden in to testify. It DOES seem like a foregone conclusion and all parties – law enforcement, elected officials and those who support Mike Brown – have resigned themselves to the fact that Wilson will walk. Even protest groups such as the Don’t Shoot Coalition and Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment are training people on HOW TO protest. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Organizers have a non-violentvision, hold training for potential protesters) Personally, I would be very surprised if Darren Wilson DOESN’T walk. The process from the beginning has been designed to allow him to avoid criminal charges.

Bob McCullough assured the public a decision will be made by mid to late November. We’re smack dab in the middle of November. The decision watch is now on an “any day now” clock. For maximum public safety consideration, the decision will more than likely be made public on a weekend. Whatever the Grand Jury decides, a lengthy healing process will have to take place. Hopefully, that process will be honest and painful for ALL parties and that will be a good thing. Before we can get there, a volatile situation looms large. How volatile is anyone’s guess. There has been training by various organizations for various reasons with the hope of varying results. We’ll see. Lines have been drawn in the sand. The entire St. Louis Metro is waiting.

While the black community in Ferguson waits, Missouri’s governor and the KKK lay OUT and lay DOWN the gauntlet.

Peace, peace.

Craig Riggins

Email: therigginsreport517@gmail.com

Facebook: The Riggins Report

Twitter: @CraigRiggins

Could St. Louis Country Grand Jury help Mary Landrieu keep her Senate seat?

2014-11-12T01:24:00.000-06:00

Mary Landrieu

The Republicans CREAMED the Democrats in the midterm elections. They won seven Senate seats, gained seats in the House and even won governor’s races in two deep blue states – Massachusetts and Maryland. As a result, the Republicans have a majority in the Senate for the first time since 2006. There is one Senate seat that still hangs in the balance. Mary Landrieu, the incumbent Democrat Senator from Louisiana, faces a runoff against Bill Cassidy on December 6 because neither candidate garnered 50% of the vote. Pundits give Landrieu NO chance to prevail in the runoff and based on the results from last Tuesday, those predictions may not be so farfetched. In fact, the more one read’s the punditry tea leaves, the more it becomes apparent that Mary Landrieu needs a miracle or an Earth shattering event to keep her Senate seat. She may be kept wanting on the miracle but an Earth shattering event taking place between now and December 6 has a good probability of coming to fruition. The St. Louis County Grand Jury is expected to rule any day now if Ferguson Police officer Darren Wilson will face criminal charges or not for shooting and killing Mike Brown on August 9. It is widely expected in St. Louis the Grand Jury will NOT charge Darren Wilson for unjustly killing Mike Brown. That rendering, of course, will not be well received by the African-American community not just in St. Louis, but around the country. African-Americans will be OUTRAGED and GALVANIZED at Defcon-1 levels and will definitely take their grievances to the streets. There will certainly be calls for African-Americans to become more politically active wherever they may live. In a macabre way, the St. Louis County Grand Jury could help Mary Landrieu keep her Senate seat.

One of the MANY reasons the Republicans rode a wave into power on Election Day was the low voter turnout in the Democratic base – ESPECIALLY among African-Americans. Democrats had gone out of their way to distance themselves from President Obama and in the process, distanced themselves from their base. A third of the base was demoralized, another third sat out the election and the final third voted. Democrats traditionally don’t put as much emphasis on midterm elections as they do presidential elections and that fact in addition to the Democrats down playing the president and his accomplishments contributed to the Republican rout. They just were not motivated to make it to the polls. African-Americans, especially. A lot of African-Americans were angry at Democrats who they felt minimized President Obama. The African-American community felt no loyalty toward those candidates and no obligation to vote for them. The results on Election Day speak for themselves.

St. Louis County Grand Jury room

However, the St. Louis County Grand Jury can change all of that. This Grand Jury, since being assigned to hear the Mike Brown case, has moved at a snail’s pace. In normal Grand Jury proceedings, limited evidence and witnesses are presented and a decision is rendered within a week. As the WORLD knows, this case is anything BUT normal. The fact this case was assigned to the Grand Jury at all was the first sign this case would not be normal. The controversial prosecutor made the strategic move of dumping all of the evidence in the case in the laps of the jurors with the idea of letting the JURORS figure out what happened on August 9 AND determine what specific charges, if any, should be filed against Darren Wilson. The jury is expected to make these monumental decisions all by themselves. The entire St. Louis Metro is on edge in anticipating the jury’s decision to not indict and let Darren Wilson walk scot-free. Several school districts in and around Ferguson have taken a proactive approach and asked Prosecutor Bob McCullough to delay making the jury’s decision public until the weekend. This was done with the safety of their students in mind. Businesses along the West Florissant corridor that were looted back in August have decided to leave their respective storefronts boarded up in anticipation of further unrest. The Ferguson Police Department, in conjunction with the St. Louis County Police Department as well as the Missouri Highway Patrol and other law enforcement agencies have already put strategies in place in anticipation of the Grand Jury setting Darren Wilson free. St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar has made it clear that all methods at the

St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar

disposal of law enforcement are in play as far as maintaining law and order and crowd control – including the use of tear gas, stun grenades and armored vehicles. There has been no further loss of life in Ferguson since Mike Brown was killed and, frankly, I have been both surprised and grateful that has been the case. Should Darren Wilson not be indicted, I won’t be too confident that will remain the case. If it is possible for emotions to be rawer than what we’ve previously seen out of Ferguson, it will be on full display. THAT is what concerns me. There will be many young black men within Mike Brown’s demographic (18-25) who will have NO fear of law enforcement at all. From their purview, THEY are and could have BEEN Mike Brown. To them, law enforcement is not there to serve and protect them. They have seen time and time again where law enforcement can kill unarmed black men under suspect circumstances with impunity. They have been denigrated, marginalized and disenfranchised and they have NOTHING to lose. They’ve been programmed, unfortunately, to have a short life span expectation and challenging law enforcement in a volatile situation would be as effortless as breathing. It could get UGLY. For the sake of humanity, I hope with every fiber of my being that I am severely off base. I do NOT want to see not one more life lost in Ferguson.

Should the jury decide to NOT indict Darren Wilson, the jury would be successful in doing what the Democrats were unable to do in last week’s election – GALVANIZE black voters all across the country. Black voters will have a CAUSE. In addition to an overwhelming sense of humiliation within the African-American community throughout the country, a social and political movement will be born like we haven’t seen in 50 years. Black people will register to vote, young and dynamic African-Americans will run for office and Republicans will be in trouble. The first political assassination, in a voting sense, will be Bill Cassidy, Mary Landrieu’s opponent in the runoff. Black people, infuriated with a system they feel is institutionally rigged against them, will FLOCK to Louisiana from all over to work in Mary Landrieu’s campaign. They will phone bank, walk precincts, visit homes, hang door hangers – ANY and EVERY thing it will take to defeat Bill Cassidy. Bill Cassidy will have the unfortunate distinction of being the first conservative to feel the wrath of an infuriated and determined black electorate. That is what conservatives fear the most – an infuriated and determined black electorate. Those voter suppression laws that have sprung up all over the country were hatched for that very reason. “If you can’t BEAT ‘em, CHEAT ‘em” is the Republican mantra for neutralizing African-American participation at the ballot box. The most stringent voter suppression laws imaginable will not stop the black community in Louisiana from using a U.S. Senate runoff race in a midterm election – in normal times a race that would be the focus of Louisianans solely – as an OUTRAGE vote and come out in record numbers to support Mary Landrieu should Darren Wilson walk. I normally don’t subscribe to conspiracy theories (I do believe there was more than ONE shooter in the JFK assassination) but I wouldn’t at all be surprised in the Republican National Committee contacted St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCullough to delay announcing the Grand Jury’s decision until AFTER the December 6 runoff in Louisiana. I wouldn’t put it past either the RNC or Bob McCullough if some chicanery like that was hatched and executed.

Never in a thousand years would Mary Landrieu would have even let it cross her mind that the murder of an unarmed 18 year old black male in the small city of Ferguson, Missouri could either SUSTAIN or END her political career. Neither would I have let it cross my mind; neither would ANYONE. But that very well be the case. HOW ironic would THAT be?

It is more than ironic the St. Louis County Grand Jury could help Mary Landrieu keep her Senate seat.

Peace, peace.

Craig Riggins

Email: therigginsreport517@gmail.com

Facebook: The Riggins Report

Twitter: @CraigRiggins

A popular morning radio show in St. Louis highlights the need for greater African-American media access

2014-11-08T13:18:00.001-06:00

I am a radio kid. I was raised on radio. Especially morning radio. I grew up in the 1960s and morning radio was the only media to get local news, weather, traffic and sports information. My mother was an avid weekday morning drive radio listener and more often than not, KMOX 1120 AM was the station of choice. KMOX is a 50,000 watt radio station that goes clear channel every evening at 6 pm and at that time can be heard in 44 states and 4 countries (Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Cuba). KMOX was and still is a CBS O & O (owned and operated) station and was run by the legendary Robert Hyland. Mr. Hyland was an innovator, a risk taker a skilled negotiator and knew radio. His greatest attribute was his knack for

recognizing and developing talent. KMOX was the birthplace of the call-in talk show format and that was Mr. Hyland’s idea. Some of the most influential and prominent broadcasters in history have worked at KMOX – Harry Caray, Jack Buck, Joe Garagiola, Bill White, Bob Costas, Dan Kelly, Gary Bender, Dan Dierdorf and Russ Mitchell just to name some national names. However, names that may not be nationally known but were known locally and regionally were no less talented. Jack Carney, Bob Hardy, Bill Wilkerson (the first professional broadcast partner of Bob Costas and the guy who jump started my radio career), Mike Shannon, Jim White, Anne Keefe and Carol Daniel. This is the cream of the crop in radio. I’m certainly leaving some names out. But the point is made – KMOX was and still is an influential radio station and the late Robert Hyland built this radio empire. I did an internship in the KMOX Sports Department back in the day and spent a lot of time there. I got the chance to get to know Robert Hyland a little, which was not easy to do. Mr. Hyland regularly checked into his office at 3 am EVERY morning and the best time for outsiders to meet with him was between 3:30 and 4:00 am. He was as focused on his work as anyone I have ever met in my life. He was, without a doubt, one of the most influential radio executives in history.

I’m not so sure how Mr. Hyland would feel about his surrogate child these days. On second thought, I am sure. He would be disgusted. Although it is still owned and operated by the CBS Radio Network, the station has become as conservative slanted as the Fox News Channel where the majority of the hosts are conservative hacks and sycophants. Rush Limbaugh’s show is carried on KMOX and Robert Hyland would have NEVER allowed such a polarizing radio show on the KMOX airwaves. NEVER. The audience has always been conservative but it was never allowed or encouraged to spew such one sided vitriol and bigoted comments on the air as it is allowed and encouraged to do these days. It is safe to assume the majority of the broadcasters from its Golden Era were just as conservative, if not more so, than current broadcasters but listeners never knew it. Those broadcasters were as OBJECTIVE as they were needed and expected to be. These days, the majority of the talk show hosts and programmers are conservative hacks and are proud of it. Robert Hyland must be turning in his grave. All this week (November 3-November 7), the morning talk show that airs from 8:30 – 11:00 am Monday through Friday has broadcast live from businesses in Ferguson in an effort to highlight and support businesses that have been affected by the unrest in Ferguson since Mike Brown was killed. The host of the show has expressed his disgust with the protests and protesters because of the impact their actions have had on businesses in Ferguson since the beginning of the unrest. He apparently convinced the powers that be at the station to allow him to take his show on the road and prop up businesses he felt were unfairly taking financial hits because of the protests he personally has become disgusted with. It must be nice to have such influence. The problem I have with this radio sojourn and liberation is that it has taken place in the “safe” area of Ferguson – on the Florissant Road corridor within close proximity of the Ferguson Police Department. Where the REAL financial hits businesses in Ferguson have taken are the businesses on the West Florissant Avenue corridor. This host has not bothered to mention any of those businesses, let alone broadcast from one or more of them. If he had a TRUE concern for the most effected businesses in Ferguson, at least one of his shows would have originated from one of the many businesses on the West Florissant Avenue corridor. The impact those broadcasts would have on those businesses would have gone a long way toward their bottom lines. A popular radio show in St. Louis highlights the need for greater African-American media access.

Bernie Hayes

In his book “The Death of Black Radio”, St. Louis based media icon Bernie Hayes outlines the woes of black radio in particular and black media in general. Mr. Hayes, a 60 year media veteran whose career has included stints in radio, television, newspaper, the recording industry and academia, is more than qualified to dissect this issue. Mr. Hayes has also been known to take a phone call or two from a guy named Craig Riggins seeking advice on career moves and life moves. In his book, Bernie Hayes discusses the importance to and impact on the African-American community radio historically has enjoyed. Black people got entertainment, information and spiritual outreach via radio and those components remain to this day. He also talks about how black announcers have been silenced by losing their jobs because of having tremendous influence over their audience. He also discusses how few radio outlets in particular and media outlets in general are owned by black people. He also discusses the responsibilities the radio outlets that are black owned have to the black community and how some prominent black announcers on the radio today are squandering the opportunities they have to forward the black listening audience. As is the case in many influential professions, African-Americans in the media have basically been frozen out of the mix. The percentage of African-American ownership in media is miniscule. Very few radio, television and major newspapers are black owned. There are several well run black owned and operated weekly news

Bob Maynard

publications in the country. In fact, there is one in my neck of the woods – the St. Louis American. What African-Americans could really benefit is from a strong DAILY newspaper. The late Bob Maynard purchased the Oakland Tribune – a mainstream publication, no doubt – where as Publisher, he set the editorial tone for the paper. There were also several award winning African-American reporters and columnists on the staff of the Oakland Tribune which added much needed diversity in reporting and points of view. When Bob Maynard passed away Bay Area News Group bought the paper.

Cathy Hughes

Whenever this subject comes up in conversation, Radio One is often referenced. That company is a black owned radio conglomerate founded by Cathy Hughes. Her personal story is inspirational. She was a single mother when she bought her first station, WOL-AM, in Washington, D.C. back in 1980. She and her young son, Alfred Liggins, actually lived in the radio station. She didn’t just wear several hats at the station. She wore ALL of the hats. She sold time, she hosted shows, she programmed the station – again, she wore ALL the hats. Radio One once owned 77 radio properties across the country. It has downsized to 55 properties. As successful as the company has been, when checking the formats of the stations under its umbrella, there is not ONE exclusive news/talk station. Others will point to African-American celebrity announcers. Tom Joyner, Steve Harvey, Rickey Smiley and Michael Baisden come to mind. Now ALL of these hosts are wealthier than I and they obviously have been successful in monetizing their talents. However, they offer up a variety show type formats with an emphasis on buffoonery that emphasizes laughing as often as they can and as loud and uncontrollably as possible. Michael Baisden, to a degree, doesn’t lean too heavily on buffoonery as the others but he is short on substance, too. Some will say African-Americans don’t WANT substance based talk radio and prefer radio buffoonery. That is absolute POPPYCOCK. Black radio listeners want substance based news/talk radio formats. If there were a nationally syndicated news/talk/political format radio show with credible black announcers who could book the newsmakers of the day as guests, black people would be all over that. The problem is there appears to be NO such radio program on the horizon. The REAL solution is for blacks to OWN more radio stations. Black ownership would have control of the content and the talent. One obstacle would be to find advertisers COURAGEOUS enough to sponsor substance based black information radio. All it would take is one courageous advertiser and the rest would follow. Black people spend between $500-$600 BILLION each and every year and there would be competition between advertisers in gobbling up all available advertising inventory on a radio show like that. All it takes is ONE and many would follow in a hurry.

What the KMOX host did this past week was good public service and that is not only a fundamental obligation of radio and television stations, it is what the FCC requires them to do. In fairness to the host, the final show of the week was broadcast from a black owned restaurant in Ferguson. My issue is KMOX missed the opportunity to broadcast from businesses that were REALLY effected by the unrest in Ferguson – the businesses along the West Florissant Avenue corridor that are mostly minority owned. Is it reasonable to expect a CBS Radio Network owned and operated station with an older, whiter, conservative audience to show real concern for the solvency of minority businesses in Ferguson? Probably not. That would be the responsibility of a BLACK owned and operated radio station with a BLACK audience. Black people need to OWN radio stations that can and will empower black people. It’s just that simple. Or is it?

A popular morning radio show in St. Louis highlights the need for greater African-American media access.

Peace, peace.

Craig Riggins

Email: therigginsreport517@gmail.com

Facebook: The Riggins Report

Twitter: @CraigRiggins

Progressives got what they deserved: Republican control of the Senate

2014-11-05T16:45:00.000-06:00

The Democrats were ROUTED on Election Night. They DESERVED it and they NEEDED it. Progressives everywhere – myself included – got the government we DESERVE. Mitch McConnell will be the Senate Majority Leader beginning in January 2015. The guy who has been Obstructionist-In-Chief since the beginning of the Obama Administration will now control the strings in the Upper Chamber of the United States Congress. The guy who shut down any governing at all in Washington for the last 6 years and THEN blamed President Obama for not getting things done was rewarded for those efforts. Kudos to Mitch McConnell and the Republican Party. They were focused, stayed on message and were able to nationalize these midterm elections. It was a text book successful political strategy. Progressives should be outraged over the fact that concerted obstruction was rewarded in these midterm elections. They only have THEMSELVES to blame. In what was a signature election of this young century, progressives FUMBLED the football. Progressives got what they deserved: Republican control of the Senate.

I am a DEDICATED progressive. I believe in income equality, a single payer national healthcare plan, equal opportunity for ALL Americans, a woman’s right to choose and make her own reproductive decisions, organized labor and quality public education. I also believe that corporations, millionaires and billionaires should pay their fair share of taxes and that corporations should be regulated and not have free reign to do whatever they choose to do in order to drive profits. I am outraged by rampant voter suppression legislation that has swept throughout the country in recent years and will only worsen due to the Supreme Court gutting the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Speaking of the SCOTUS, I am repulsed by an activist Supreme Court as well as the unlimited money corporations and the wealthy can contribute to political campaigns without having to disclose their identities. All of the things I and MILLIONS of other dedicated progressives support and believe in were on the ballot in some form or another this Election Day. So WHY did the Republicans win? Because Democrats and progressives were too AFRAID to win. From top to bottom – INCLUDING President Obama – Democrats and progressives played not to LOSE instead of playing to WIN. Too many Democrats avoided the president as if he had contracted Ebola. Democrats basically DEMORALIZED their base. By disowning the president, they sent the signal to their base they no longer believed in and/or supported President Obama. The progressive voting bloc is just as complicit, if not more so. For some inexplicable reason, progressives have the self-destructive habit of acute voter apathy in not only midterm elections, but in local and state elections, too. The message has not been received that ALL elections count. This election should prove to hammer that point home.

Question to progressives: How did it feel to see those Republican victory speeches? How did it make you feel to hear all those people celebrate the fact they now have the opportunity to enact a REGRESSIVE agenda? Did it make you sick to your stomach? Republicans certainly didn’t win because of their mass appeal or because of new ideas. They won because all of their candidates ran against President Obama – from local races on up. Midterm elections are base elections and the Republicans campaigned to their base. They obviously were successful. The Democrat’s base stayed HOME. With so much at stake, a significant number of progressives threw up their hands and sat this one out. It makes you wonder.

President Barack Obama

Despite overt obstruction, President Obama has racked up some legislative and policy victories in the six years he’s been in office. In the first months of his administration the workforce was losing 800,000 jobs a month and unemployment was above 10%. Since then, there has been FIFTY FIVE straight months of positive job growth and the unemployment rate is currently 5.9%. The Dow Jones was listing in 2008 and now is at record levels. The automobile industry, on the brink of distinction in 2008, is now thriving. Homeowners all over America were losing their homes to foreclosure in record numbers with no end in sight. Today the housing market is in the middle of a renaissance. Last but certainly not least, 40 million Americans who once didn’t have access to affordable healthcare now do as a result of the Affordable Care Act. The country was engaged in two wars in the Middle East - Iraq and Afghanistan – and those military campaigns have either come to an end (Iraq) or scaled back considerably (Afghanistan). The most wanted man in the world since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Osama Bin Laden, was tracked down and killed in a raid by Navy Seal Team 6 on his compound in Pakistan. President Obama ordered the CIA and the Secretary of Defense to find Bin Laden and develop a plan to capture or kill him. They delivered. Despite all that success, Democrat candidates distanced themselves from the president. It was the political equivalent of pulling the pin on a hand grenade and instead of throwing it, placing it squarely in your front pocket. Not only did a couple of the Democrats who ran for the Senate refused to say they even voted for the president, they failed to realize their opponents were going to attach them to President Obama at every turn ANYWAY. It was abhorrent political naiveté. The president doesn’t have clean hands, either. His decision to delay using an Executive Action on immigration reform until AFTER these midterm elections backfired. It alienated the Latino community. Now as a result of Republican gains in the Senate and the House on Election Day, that option may not be politically available. President Obama left bullets in the gun. In an election so critical to the final two years of his administration, the president was passive in this election. In speaking with some pundits immediately after the Republicans won enough seats to control the Senate, more than one inferred that President Obama WANTED the Republicans to control the Senate in his final two years. I can see where that can be an advantage for the president (GOP control of the Senate would be great for President Obama) but I don’t buy it at all that he wanted his party to lose control of the Senate.

Mitch McConnell delivering victory speech on Election Night

Fret none not, progressives. It is not all gloom and doom. History was not on the side of the Democrats, either. Midterm elections historically are not favorable to the party who controls the White House. The Republicans may have won the battle, but they have a long way to go to win the war – the WAR being winning the White House in 2016. In his victory speech, Mitch McConnell took the position of a statesman. He indicated that he was willing to and wants to work with the president and Democrats in order to get things done in Washington. Considering he has spent the last six years halting legislation, cabinet appointments and judicial appointments by obstruction, it would be hard to blame President Obama and the Democrats if they’re just a tad suspect of McConnell. We’ll see. Mitch McConnell’s REAL battle will be within his own chamber of Congress. There will be at least three Republican Senators who will immediately start running for president (Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio) and one (Rob Portman) who is rumored to be considering a run. They will all have their personal agendas and McConnell will be tasked with both trying to appease those agendas and at the same time corralling those agendas. Ted Cruz is absolutely toxic and he will be the biggest challenge. McConnell obstructed everything in sight in order to become the majority leader and it will be more than ironic if his OWN agenda is obstructed by someone of his own party who also happens to be in the Senate. For the next two years the Senate will be Must See TV.

Mitch McConnell knows if he can’t control the Senate for the next two years, his tenure as Senate Majority Leader will be short lived. He also knows that if he can’t control the Senate, his party has NO chance of winning the White House in 2016. This outreach the Republicans are now espousing – reaching across the aisle, making an effort to appeal to African-Americans, Latinos and women … “expanding their tent” – is BALDERDASH. They have no intention at all of doing those things. They couldn’t do those things if they WANTED to because their base won’t let them. Their base is angry, aggrieved and scared at the sight of the browning of America. Their base is not about inclusion and diversity. They want THEIR country BACK. The country belongs to THEM and the rest of us are INTERLOPERS.

Democrats and progressives were AFRAID to win. Their actions – in this case, their INACTION – demonstrated as much. They rolled over. Whatever harsh legislation the Republicans enact will strictly be on progressives.

Progressives got what they deserved: Republican control of the Senate.

Peace, peace.

Craig Riggins

Email: therigginsreport517@gmail.com
Facebook: The Riggins Report
Twitter: @CraigRiggins

Pravda style media tactics were used in Ferguson to prevent media access

2014-11-04T14:43:00.001-06:00

Front page of Pravda

When the Bolsheviks pulled off their successful October Revolution in Russia in 1917, the newly formed Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (U.S.S.R. or the Soviet Union) needed a propaganda arm to sell the virtues of Communism to the people. Pravda became the official publication Soviet Communist Party. The Reds (not the ones from Cincinnati) had a newspaper to spread their communist gospel. The Soviets controlled the message and the people with Pravda. It was as thorough of message and media control as one could imagine. Apparently, the St. Louis County Police Department studied and grew to admire Pravda based on multiple reports that have disclosed the agency’s attempt to control the media during the unrest in Ferguson. Pravda style media tactics were used in Ferguson to prevent media access.

By now, you’re fully aware that an unarmed black teenager named Mike Brown was shot and killed by a white police officer on the Ferguson Police Department named Darren Wilson. In case you’re not familiar, check out the following link: The shooting of Mike Brown. When Mike Brown was killed, the African-American community in the St. Louis Metropolitan area was OUTRAGED and that set off looting, rioting, protests and demonstrations like these parts had never seen before. Not only national, but international media converged on the city of Ferguson. Several networks sent their evening news anchors to Ferguson. The unrest in Ferguson was one of the biggest international news stories of 2014. For three weeks, the eyes and ears of the WORLD were in Ferguson. Apparently, the St. Louis County Police Department was media SHY. Someone, obviously, in a command position at the department asked the FAA to enact a 37 square mike “No-Fly Zone” over Ferguson. The justification for the request, according to reports, were for “safety reasons”. The FAA acquiesced. Considering the air space over Ferguson is a direct flight path to and from Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, it is more than interesting the FAA even considered granting the request. (Disclaimer: Lambert-St. Louis International Airport’s name is misleading. There are no direct flights from St. Louis to any destination outside the United States, although the airport does have a customs check point) However, the “No Fly Zone” exempted all commercial flights. The airspace ban was requested in order to ban all MEDIA aircraft. In audio tapes of phone calls obtained by the Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act, (AP: No-Fly Zone In Ferguson Meant To Keep Media Out) a manager with the FAA was quoted saying the following:

"They finally admitted it really was to keep the media out”, said one FAA manager about the St. Louis County Police in a series of recorded telephone conversations. “But they were a little concerned of, obviously, anything else that could be going on."

The St. Louis County Police Department basically CENSORED what information emanating from Ferguson was to be made available to the world via media helicopters. That action basically eschewed the First Amendment and the right of Americans to know and have access to what their government was or was not doing. The PEOPLE have the RIGHT to KNOW. For the life of me, I can’t imagine WHAT an upstanding law enforcement agency such as the St. Louis County Police Department would have to hide. Hmm. Could it be images like THIS?

Or perhaps it was images of heavy handed police officers shooting tear gas in the direction of foreign media and then trying to disable their television camera.

Or perhaps it was the video of cops arresting journalists inside a McDonald’s for committing the simple crime of doing their jobs.

Or maybe it was images like this one where an out of control cop shoved a CNN reporter into a crowd.

Unbeknownst to the general public, this same out of control St. Louis County police officer had actually starred in ANOTHER video prior to shoving that CNN reporter into a crowd.

Or maybe, just MAYBE it was images like THIS they wanted to hide.

So, AGAIN, I ask: WHAT would an upstanding law enforcement agency like the St. Louis County Police Department possible have to HIDE? According to a story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the CBS affiliate in St. Louis, KMOV-TV, was prepared to legally challenge the “No-Fly Zone” over Ferguson but backed off when the station was advised it COULD fly over Ferguson after all as long as the aircraft stayed above 3,000. Good luck on getting good pictures of civil unrest from 3,000 feet. The other television stations in the St. Louis market were not advised of the lesser restrictions and in the competitive television news industry, KMOV was not about to inform the competition they could fly over Ferguson. Plus, it was not the job of KMOV to advise the other television stations. That was the responsibility of both the St. Louis County Police Department and the FAA. Both agencies get an “F”.

Of course, the Chief of the St. Louis County Police Department, Jon Belmar, went into full damage control mode and denied, denied and denied some more the agency asked the FAA for airspace restrictions over Ferguson. My first question to the Chief is WHO placed the call to the FAA and under whose direction?

(KSDK-TV video: Police respond to Ferguson no-fly zone report)

This should not be swept under the rug. An investigation should be launched immediately. Considering the PURE adherence to the Constitution many conservatives live and breathe for, you would think there would be MASS outrage from the right about this gross circumvention of the First Amendment. Not a peep. Which is not at all surprising. Many conservatives support the guy who killed Mike Brown and have denigrated and dehumanize any and all protestors and protests in Ferguson. That particular ilk subscribes to the theory the rights of the Constitution apply exclusively to THEM and those who believe what they believe. The miscreants and menaces to society – THEIR society – are neither WORTHY or ENTITLED to the same rights under the law as they are. Besides, they’re caught in the crosshairs. On one hand, a law enforcement agency, which we all know how they DEIFY law enforcement agencies, was complicit in violating the First Amendment of the Constitution. They CAN’T attack law enforcement in this incident. They could but YOU know and I know they WON’T. On the other hand, there is a government agency complicit as well and we all KNOW how much and to what degree conservative LOATHE any and everything about government. It would be incredible for conservatives to call the FAA out and not address law enforcement’s participation. I would not at all put it past someone within their cult to try it, though. At the end of the day “County Brown”, as some of the natives refer to the St. Louis County Police Department, was caught with not just their hands in the cookie jar, but with a trail of crumbs they left behind that leads directly to cookies they have in hand and around their mouths. That is a good thing.

Pravda was successful because it ONLY disseminated information the government in control wanted the people to have access to. Sure is a lot easier to CONTROL the message when you can CHOOSE the message. Pravda was an effective propaganda machine for a long time. It, like the Soviet Union whose propaganda it sold, has since collapsed. It was a case study in controlling the message and apparently someone in the command structure of the St. Louis County Police Department was so impressed with its Modus operandi, the decision was made to COPY the Modus operandi. It’s a shame, too.

We all now know that Pravda style media tactics were used in Ferguson to prevent media access.

Peace, peace.

Craig Riggins

Email: therigginsreport517@gmail.com

Facebook: The Riggins Report

Twitter: @CraigRiggins

GOP control of the Senate would be great for President Obama

2014-11-02T21:05:00.000-06:00

President Obama, Mitch McConnell and John Boehner

I am a DEDICATED progressive and I not only make no bones about it, I am PROUD of it. I would be pleased to see Democrats maintain control of the Senate on Election Day. It would just be criminal to see the Republicans take control of the Senate and be rewarded for their perverted obstruction to President Obama’s agenda. We all know about the pity party some prominent members of the GOP held in a Washington. D.C. steakhouse on January 20, 2009 – Inauguration Night for Barack Obama – where they made the decision to obstruct ANY and EVERY piece of legislation that President Obama supported. Their obstruction has been relentless and has damaged the country. They even DEMONIZED the very healthcare plan THEY supported in the past in order to damage President Obama. The Affordable Care Act became law but not a SINGLE Republican in the House or Senate voted for it. Mitch McConnell, who is poised to become Senate Majority Leader should the GOP take control of the Senate, was not at all bashful about what the goal of the Republican Party was.

McConnell said it was THE NUMBER ONE LEGISLATIVE PRIORITY to make President Obama a one term president. Not creating jobs; not improving infrastructure; not raising the minimum wage to a livable wage; not guaranteeing women equal pay for equal work – no legislation that would directly benefit the American people. McConnell and the GOP focused on obstruction. As far as making sure President Obama was a one term president, McConnell and the GOP failed MISERABLY. President Obama was handily re-elected in 2012. The Republicans have obstructed him at every turn – from cabinet appointments, to judicial appointments … on EVERYTHING. Now the Republicans are asking voters to put them in control of the Senate and thereby giving them control of the country’s legislative agenda since they already are the majority party in the House. Mitch McConnell will realize his lifelong political dream in becoming Senate Majority Leader and the Republicans and their base will be satisfied because they are and have been absolutely OBSESSED with obstructing President Obama. To many in the GOP base, it will be the ultimate political ORGASM. Their mission will be accomplished. Or WILL it? Barack Obama still is the President of the United States and he holds the POWER of the PEN. In order to forward their agenda the Republicans will HAVE TO negotiate with President Obama. GOP control of the Senate would be great for President Obama.

Once in charge in both chambers of Congress, the Republicans will have to GOVERN instead of OBSTRUCT and the jury is still out on how effective the Republicans can be on governing. The elephant in the room – pun intended because the elephant is the GOP logo – will be the Tea Party wing of both the House and Senate. They are not interested at all in governing. The Tea Party HATES government. They want to blow up government.
Getting a bill through the House that is not loaded with extreme far right fringe pleasers will be a challenge for Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. The main obstacle will be the Tea Party’s RAW hatred of the president. Boehner has failed MISERABLY when it has come to controlling his caucus. The Tea Party wing of the House is not INTERESTED at all in compromising with Democrats and especially President Obama. If a bill manages to pass in the House, the Tea Party wing of the Senate will drink from the trough marked “Obstruction”, too. The main renegade will be the Canadian born junior Senator from Texas, Ted Cruz. Cruz has demonstrated that he has greater control of House Republicans than John Boehner does. He led and convinced Tea Party members in the House to shut the government down in September 2013. The Republican establishment was LIVID with Cruz and his minions. Since Cruz and Libertarian/Republican Rand Paul will both be candidates for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, there will be major jockeying for position in the Senate as those two fight to see who will be the favorite in the nomination chase in the Senate. To use street parlance, there will be some major “muscle measuring” between those two. What will be lost in all the grandstanding will be the interest and NEED for Republicans to prove they can GOVERN. Many in the Republican establishment have acknowledged they will have to prove they can govern if their party is to have ANY chance of capturing the White House in 2016. Another factor is the Senate map in 2016 will be more favorable to Democrats because there will be (number) of Republican Senate seats up for grabs in blue states and voter turnout will be much higher in the presidential election year. Republican control of the Senate will be on a short 2 year leash. Again, they have to GOVERN and not OBSTRUCT. It will be interesting to see how the elephant chips will fall in the GOP caucus.

Meanwhile, President Obama is squarely in the driver’s seat now. Instead of him reaching out to Republicans, the Republicans will be in the position where they have to come to HIM. To the chagrin of many progressives, the president went out of his way in his first term to get Republicans to work with him when they had NO interest in doing so. McConnell will attach riders to legislation that is headed to the president’s desk the president won’t favor in an effort to force President Obama’s hand in either signing the bill or veto the bill which could lead to a government shutdown.

(McConnell’s plan to shut down Obama)

It won’t work. Barack Obama will not run another campaign. He has nothing to lose by standing firm now. He can top off his legacy by making Republicans jump through hoops to meet HIS demands. The Republicans certainly won’t be in a position to CRY about obstruction; considering they obstructed for six YEARS. They won’t be able to campaign against how ineffective Democrats are because THEY – the Republicans – will control the legislative agenda. To win the White House in 2016, they need some accomplishments to hang their hats on. I imagine President Obama is licking his chops.

The Republicans decided to obstruct at every turn on January 20, 2009 and they did just that. They wanted to weaken the president with the hope of defeating him in 2012. They FAILED. They obstructed and blamed the president for not getting anything done and rode that obstruction into gaining control of the House in the 2010 midterm elections. They were rewarded. Conservatives will gloat about taking control of the Senate without really telling voters what they WOULD do. Their 2014 midterm strategy was “we’re not Obama”. Privately, reasonable conservatives will view taking control of the Senate as a huge RESPONSIBILITY, not a reward. They will be in the position where they will have to deliver the goods. They also know the Tea Party wing of their party is out of control and has only demonstrated they are good at gumming up the works. It is a classic case of be careful what you ask for because you just may get it.

GOP control of the Senate would be great for President Obama.

Peace, peace.

Craig Riggins

Email: therigginsreport517@gmail.com

Facebook: The Riggins Report

Twitter: @CraigRiggins

The battle for livable wages pits working Americans vs. working Americans

2014-11-01T01:10:00.002-05:00

Fast food workers marching

Income inequality has been the third rail of American politics and social discussions for some time now. It is far more than talking points. It is REAL. The “1%” that has become a large part of the political lexicon in America owns a STAGGERING 37% of ALL the wealth in America. (Bloomberg: The 1% May Be Richer Than You Think, Research Shows) According to the Forbes List, 40 of the wealthiest 100 people in the world live in America. One family on particular, the Walton Family – the heirs of the Walmart fortune - has a combined wealth that exceeds the cumulative wealth of 43% of the lowest earning Americans. Process that for a moment. One FAMILY – ONE family – has a combined wealth greater than approximately 126,000,000 Americans (Just how wealthy is the Wal-Mart Walton Family). We know how successful Walmart is. We also know how the Waltons are not in love with paying their employees a livable wage. A significant number of Walmart employees are eligible for some form of public assistance - be it Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) commonly referred to as welfare, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (food stamps), Medicaid or federal housing subsidies (Section 8). In fact, Walmart employees ALONE cost tax payers $6.2 billion a year in public assistance. (Forbes: Walmart Workers Cost Taxpayers $6.2 billion in Public Assistance) Question: Which welfare queen does more damage to the country – someone working a minimum wage job while continuing to receive public assistance or a company with a gross annual income of $475 billion but pays its employees so poorly they need public assistance to make it? (From the Daily Kos – Walmart: America’s real Welfare Queen) There is something wrong when the family that is worth more than nearly 126,000,000 Americans runs a company where such a large number of the people who work for them qualify for public assistance. That is simply IMMORAL.

Conservatives, of course, see nothing wrong with that scenario at all. They believe the “free market” should dictate financial worth. That hard work is the simple cure for income inequality. Never mind the fact there are 10 million Americans who work for a living and yet live below the poverty line. (Washington Post: Here’s why 10.4 million American workers are still in poverty) Conservatives use buzz terms like “redistribution of wealth” and “socialism” to discourage any discussion about leveling the playing field when it comes to Americans who DO work and still live in poverty. They will tell you those working poor should just work harder and they, too, will reach the “1%” status. That is the biggest lie told since kids in my generation (I was born in 1960) were told we could run FASTER and jump HIGHER if we only had a pair of PF FLYERS. That is MIND INTERCOURSING of the highest order. If only becoming wealthy WERE that simple. President Obama has introduced legislation that would raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 an hour. The Republicans, despite the fact an overwhelming number of Americans favored raising the minimum wage, wouldn’t even consider the legislation. President Obama did raise the minimum wage for government contract workers to $10.10 by Executive Order. Some states have taken it upon themselves to raise the minimum wage and the city of Seattle has raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Again, most Americans agree the minimum wage should be raised and therefore should demand their representatives on all levels – local, state and federal – make that become reality. As united Americans are on this issue, the debate is what the MINIMUM wage should be as opposed to what a LIVIABLE wage should be. There is where Americans who work for a living DON’’T agree. The battle for livable wages pits working Americans vs. working Americans.

Over the last 12 months or so, we’ve seen fast food restaurant workers go on one day

strikes and demonstrate in front of fast food restaurants all over the country. These workers are demanding the FEDERAL minimum wage be raised to a LIVABLE wage of $15 an hour. Those workers, who definitely work hard, say they can’t support themselves and their families on $7.25 an hour, which comes to $15,080 a year. Broken down further, that is a gross monthly income of $1,256. Wage earners on this scale would be in the 25% tax bracket, approximately, which would leave them with an approximate net income of $942.50. In whatever part of the country you live in, it is highly improbable that you can pay rent or a mortgage, pay utilities, buy food, pay life and medical insurance premiums, pay for and maintain an automobile, save at least 10% of your net income and then have some discretionary income left after you take care of all that. In fact, it is IMPOSSIBLE to do. These workers are asking to be paid at least $15 an hour - $31, 200 annual gross income. Those wages would put those wage earners in the 30-35% tax bracket and at best, that comes out to a net monthly income of $1,820. Not exactly living in the lap of luxury, mind you, but a lot more realistic to live off of. Makes sense, right? Not so fast. Republicans and a majority of the business community oppose a $15 an hour minimum wage, of course, but the bulk of the opposition is coming from OTHER American workers. Right. Working stiffs. Working stiffs who seemingly are INSULTED because other Americans holding jobs they deem menial – “burger flippers” and “order takers” – have the nerve and AUDACITY to want to make more money so they can take care of themselves and their families. A gross misnomer is that only teenagers and young adults between 20 and 22 years of age work in fast food restaurants. Nothing could be further from the truth. Another gross misnomer is that fast food workers are the ONLY Americans who work for the current minimum wage. Again, nothing could be further from the truth. A large part of the resistance comes from Americans who make more than the minimum wage but less than $15 an hour. In a strange and contorted way of thinking, those wage earners consider themselves in a different “class” than those minimum wage earners. For them, it is matter of maintaining their “prestige’ over the “”burger flippers” and “order takers”. Never mind many of them qualify for some form of public assistance, too. The real fear within those narrow minded circles is that if the “burger flippers” and “order takers” were successful, they would then be forced to either ask THEIR employers for a pay raise or look for another job that pay more. The obvious by product is missed completely. Guess what? If fast food workers and other Americans who work for the minimum wage are successful, then other Americans will flock to those employers seeking jobs because the pay is better than where they currently work. Study after study has shown that fast food consumers would pay an extra 25 cents to offset the pay increases. That pretty much kills the argument that restaurants would go out of business if they were forced to pay $15 an hour. Working Americans in opposition of raising the minimum wage would be forced to take a stand and be shaken out of their complacency. They may even realize THEY and their families would benefit, too. For some, that is much too risky. The “burger flippers” and “order takers” would have more discretionary income and that alone would stimulate the economy. It is a simple formula. More money would be circulating within the economy. More importantly, employers would then be in a position where they would have to COMPETE for employees, thus forcing an across the board pay raise for 37% of the lowest paid Americans. The competition for employees would appear to satisfy the “free market” mantra of the conservatives. They’re all about working hard and competing, right? In addition to stimulating the economy and creating demand – and thus creating jobs – for goods and services in general, a $15 an hour minimum wage would reduce the number of working Americans qualifying and receiving various forms of public assistance; therefore freeing up money to fund public education, infrastructure projects and enhanced public safety. This is your basic “cause and effect” formula.

As simple as it would seem to be, there will still be resistance from working Americans. Those working Americans who will be in opposition will say those “burger flippers” and “order takers” should get a better education and/or look for another job. That’s a fair point. The perception will be those underclass workers would have an advantage they wouldn’t have and that is simply unfair. Never mind that fast food restaurants are making record profits and certainly can afford to pay higher wages. In fact, American companies in general are sitting on $3 TRILLION in profits and can afford to pay higher wages. They don’t because they don’t HAVE to. Most American workers are content to make a way off the crumbs disguised as wages while the CEO and shareholders make off with the whole LOAF. That is text book divide and conquer of the American workforce. Position wage earners to be resentful of OTHER wage earners while the big shots make off with the REAL money. Sigh. WHEN will we LEARN?

The politicians who oppose a minimum wage increase can be dealt with on Election Day this coming Tuesday (November 4). Your displeasure with them can be settled at the ballot box. The Republicans have to sell people on the premise they will be better OFF if they had LESS of everything – less income, less healthcare, less public education, less regulations, less public safety and less sound infrastructure as in roads and bridges. Of course, that only pertains to the bulk of Americans – the “takers”. The “makers” … the “1%” are ENTITLED to all they can get. Since most Americans agree the minimum wage should be raised, the Republicans should be held accountable for their dogged resistance to putting more money in the pockets of working Americans. After all, they are the party that constantly tells the American people there is dignity in work. Correction: there is dignity in work that allows one to support themselves. THAT is the dignity in work. Where there needs to be a meeting of the minds is within the circle of working Americans.

If the MINIMUM wage becomes a LIVABLE wage, that would be a good thing for America. The discord between working Americans on this issue is misplaced and regressive. The discord is shameful.

Sadly, the battle for livable wages pits working Americans vs. working Americans.

Peace, peace.

Craig Riggins

Email: therigginsreport517@gmail.com

Facebook: The Riggins Report

Twitter: @CraigRiggins

In St. Louis, the death of a particular 22 year old has both stunned and galvanized the city while the death of a particular 18 year old has polarized the city

2014-10-29T00:18:00.001-05:00

Oscar Taveras

I was surfing the web and enjoying a pre-World Series Game 5 snack Sunday evening after watching football since 8:30 am when I got a Tweet (Twitter vernacular) from Bleacher Report with some shocking and stunning news. Oscar Taveras, the prize prospect in the St. Louis Cardinals organization had been killed in an automobile accident in his native Dominican Republic. For an instant, I thought this was some sick and perverted hoax that commonly makes the rounds in social media. This could NOT be true. This was Oscar Taveras who played for the Cardinals – MY Cardinals – and those of us who UNABASHEDLY love the Cardinals were counting on him to not just play on our team but to become a SUPERSTAR in the game for the next 10 years or so. We Cardinal fans NEEDED Oscar Taveras. Just weeks after winning the 2011 World Series, the Cardinals allowed Albert Pujols - the player who in his first 10 years in the major leagues compiled the most dominant offensive statistics in the history of baseball - to leave the team in free agency for the greener pastures of Southern California and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The pastures were MUCH greener moneywise. Pujols signed a 10 year, $240 million free agent contract with the Angels. The Cardinals have yet to replace Pujols on their team and were willing to let him walk because they would have the flexibility to sign several of the players on the roster already with the money it would have taken to sign Pujols and because they had Oscar Taveras, who was one of the top hitting prospects in all of baseball, waiting in the wings. Oscar Taveras was the Chosen One, the Golden Child. HE was going to be the face of the Cardinals. We Cardinal fans got a sample of the goods, too, on May 31 of this year. In his second at bat in his first major league game, Taveras hit a majestic homerun into the right field stands at Busch Stadium with the sweetest left handed swing I have seen since Darryl Strawberry’s swing. It could not have ben scripted better. The Cardinals even made a big trade in the middle of the season to clear the way for Taveras to play right field every day. He had some challenges as an everyday player but his overall potential too enormous to ignore. Taveras was the next great Cardinal. Those lofty expectations came to a tragic end on Sunday in the Dominican Republic when, according to reports, Taveras lost control of his Camaro and struck a tree – killing him and his 18 year old girlfriend, Yedelia Arvelos. St. Louis was absolutely STUNNED. As soon as the news made the rounds in St. Louis, fans flocked to Busch Stadium Sunday evening and started a makeshift memorial in front of the statue of the most celebrated Cardinal of all – Stan “Stan the Man” Musial. Cardinal Nation is STUNNED, STAGGERED and WOUNDED. The tragic death of Oscar Taveras has dominated media outlets in St. Louis. It has dominated news broadcasts, the local papers, radio talks shows – topical and sports talk shows – the office … EVERYWHERE. Tributes have poured in from all over baseball from the Commissioner’s office on down. Juan Perez, who plays for the San Francisco Giants and was a very close friend to the late Oscar Taveras, learned of the tragedy in the middle of Game 5 of the World Series where he was in the starting lineup. After breaking down and crying uncontrollably in the Giants’ clubhouse, he went back out on the field and got the biggest hit in his career – a bases clearing double that scored 2 runs for the Giants en route to their 5-0 victory in Game 5 against the Kansas City Royals. Callers and texters on local radio talk shows have expressed their feelings about this tragedy and have offered condolences to the Cardinals organization, the Taveras family, the family of his girlfriend and to all those who love and follow the Cardinals. The host of a very popular midmorning sports radio talk show here in St. Louis – a guy I worked with at another radio station in town and call a friend; a guy who is a multiple Emmy Award winning journalists and a guy who is as hip as the clueless white cop on who was a semi-regular cast member of the Sanford & Son sitcom – was so overcome with emotion on Monday when he saw a picture of Oscar Taveras taken in the morgue that he had to go to a sudden and unscheduled commercial break. For those who don’t know, the Cardinals are more than a baseball team in this town. They are MUCH more. To many people in this town, the Cardinals are the Alpha AND the Omega. People here will forgo going on vacations in the summer in order to pony up the money for their Cardinals season tickets. Baseball is talked about 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in this town. Anyone player wearing the Birds on the Bat (the prominent Cardinals logo) can have the run of the town whether he plays every day or once a week. That’s just how it is. Cardinal Nation, which is clearly one of the most DIVERSE fan bases in all of sports, paid homage and offered condolences in the wake of the tragic loss of Oscar Taveras. It is only fitting and proper considering the Cardinals have a rich tradition in baseball excellence. Their 11 World Series championships are second only to the New York Yankees (27 World Series championships). That rich tradition speaks for itself. The TRADITION is KING.

Another seemingly rich tradition in St. Louis is SEGREGATION and RACIAL POLARIZATION. In a 2013 Business Insider survey (The 25 Most Segregated Cities In America), St. Louis was ranked the SIXTH most segregated city in America. Just look about 15 miles north of Busch Stadium to Ferguson for a thorough sample size. Mike Brown was shot dead by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson on August 9. Mike Brown was unarmed and. according to several witnesses. had his hands up when he was fatally shot. To boot, his dead body was left in the street for 4 hours in the oppressive August heat St. Louis is known for. In the aftermath there have been protests, demonstrations, looting and the international spotlight aimed directly on St. Louis. Mike Brown’s parents, friends and the African-American community in St. Louis simply asked for transparency in this case – from the investigation to determine what really happened on August 9 and from the Prosecuting Attorney in St. Louis County. So far, there has been little to no transparency. Darren Wilson’s name wasn’t made public until the Sunshine Law forced it to be: St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCullough, armed with enough probable cause and eye witness accounts of the shooting to charge Darren Wilson criminally which would have made the proceedings available to the public, instead chose to present the case to the Grand Jury that operates, IDEALLY, in secrecy (I emphasized IDEALLY because there have been several leaks from the Grand Jury proceedings recently that would seem to indicate there won’t be any criminal charges filed against Darren Wilson); and Darren Wilson was allowed to testify before the Grand Jury which was definitely rare and irregular in Grand Jury protocol. This Grand Jury proceeding has been anything BUT normal. Normally there is a prosecutor assigned to present evidence and the testimony of a limited number of investigators testify and charges are filed. In this case, the evidence has been dumped on the jury for the jury to sort out and determine what charges, if any, should be filed. The potential defendant testifying before a Grand Jury in the midst of deciding whether to charge the potential defendant is as rare as a sighting of Halley’s Comet. It just isn’t done. It has been done in this case. This case is a mess.

Mike Brown

What has been absolutely fascinating is the contrast in behavior of the community at large regarding these two tragic deaths. As much homage, condolences and respect that has been paid to Oscar Taveras, his family, the family of his girlfriend, the Cardinals and anyone remotely associated with him, there has been no such regard for Mike Brown, his family, the African-American community or anyone remotely associated with him. It has been the POLAR opposite. Talk radio and a large number of the white community in St. Louis has been brutal toward Mike Brown. If I had a dime for EVERY time Mike Brown has been called a “thug”, I would make the Forbes List. Before I go further, I want to declare that “thug” is the substitution for “NIGGER”. It is said with so much raw passion and contempt when directed at black people – ESPECIALLY black males – that it can’t be denied. Back to the subject at hand. There has been no respect or deference paid to Mike Brown’s parents. No compassion for the loss of their son. Absolutely ZERO consideration given to the fact that Darren Wilson EXECUTED Mike Brown. No consideration given to the potential of what Mike Brown’s life could have been. No mention of the lost opportunity of seeing what a young black man who was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth pull himself up NOT by the bootstraps of boots he didn’t HAVE, but by the sheer WILL of WANTING to be successful. Mike Brown was MARGINALIZED and DISPARAGED. Not because he had an extensive criminal record; he actually had NO criminal record. He was marginalized and disparaged based on a videotape of him in that convenience store that was recorded just minutes before he was shot to death. Prior to August 9, 2014, Mike Brown was just another young black male born and raised in the sixth most segregated city in the United States. After HE was shot and KILLED (I have to stress that point because if you didn’t know differently you would think HE shot and killed DARREN WILSON instead of the other way around), he became an international symbol of racism, inequality, police brutality, civil rights, freedom of speech and civil unrest. Mike Brown in death had an impact on the WORLD. In his hometown, the SIXTH most segregated city in the United States, he simply became a THUG who deserved what happened to him.

To say the reaction in St. Louis to the tragic deaths of Oscar Taveras and Mike Brown has been a STARK contrast would be a gross understatement. One has been basically DEIFIED and HONORED for who he was and what his profession was and the impact his performance could have on an entire region. The other has been VILLIFIED and DISHONORED for what a significant number of people ASSUMED he was and his death, by some, has been celebrated. St. Louis has been in national and international news lately and for not so flattering reasons. Being a native St. Louisan, I can say that my hometown has done all it can to live up to the ranking that Business Insider has bestowed upon it. There are some who actually PROUD of that infamous distinction. Some of us are DISGUSTED by it. It has been quite a dichotomy to observe when comparing these two tragic deaths.

In St. Louis, the death of a particular 22 year old has both stunned and galvanized the city while the death of a particular 18 year old has polarized the city.

Peace, peace.

Craig Riggins
Email: therigginsreport517@gmail.com
Facebook: The Riggins Report
Twitter: @CraigRiggins

To many African-Americans “Soulsville” is where they REALLY live

2014-10-21T00:38:00.001-05:00

"Shaft" soundtrack cover

The motion picture “Shaft” was released in 1971 and was historical on many fronts. It was the first time a major studio (MGM) invested in a movie that featured an African-American hero, who was not a criminal, who matched wits with organized crime and won. It also showed an African-American who was self-employed, who earned a good living, who carried a badge and a gun LEGALLY and had a working relationship with police. A movie with such a plot would be cutting edge in 2014 but in 1971 it was avant-garde to portray an African-American in a positive light; ESPECIALLY considering a major studio produced the movie. As groundbreaking and impactful as the movie’s plot was, the movie’s soundtrack was historical in its own right. Isaac Hayes, who was later dubbed “Black Moses” after the LP he released after “Shaft” in 1971, wrote and produced the soundtrack. This, too, was unprecedented. The soundtrack was done in typical Isaac Hayes style. There were those masterful “whah whah” guitar riffs, there was some jazz, there was some seduction and there was some action. It was a very nicely done soundtrack that sold millions of units. Isaac Hayes won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for “The Theme from Shaft” and was nominated for Best Original Dramatic Score for the project. I have owned this soundtrack in many forms over the years: LP, 8-track, cassette and compact disc. Of all the tracks on the soundtrack. “Soulsville” has always been one that stood out to me. As funky as the musical arrangement is on that track, the LYRICS are just plain brilliant. They tell the raw truth of life in a significant number of African-American communities in America in 1971 and, unfortunately, in 2014. I know – the MORE things CHANGE, the more they REMAIN the SAME. In fact, I would suggest that anyone who was unaware of the black experience and/or truly had an INTEREST in the black experience in America watch the video and CLOSELY listen to the lyrics. The song addresses social and political stereotyping, living conditions, lack of employment opportunities, poverty, crime, drugs and the religious influence in the black community. This track has it all covered. These components are worth looking at individually and collectively. We’ll do that. However, check out the video and the opening lyrics and THEN take a virtual walk with me.

Black man, born free

At least that's the way it's supposed to be

Chains that binds him are hard to see

Unless you take this walk with me

Place where he lives got plenty of names

Slums, ghetto and black belt, they are one and the same

And I call it Soulsville

Living conditions – The first thing you notice in the video is the absolute SQUALOR that you see black people living in. How many reading this would WANT to live in any of the places featured in the video? Again, the operative word is “want”. I know that I would not WANT to. I am going to go out on a limb and say that no one reading this would want to, either. I’ll also say that 99.9% of the people who live in putrid conditions don’t want to. They do so because they HAVE to. Why does it seem that a significant number of black people live in sub-standard conditions? Are they stuck? Are they conditioned to accept sub-standard living conditions? Are they WORTHY of better? Those with an opposing viewpoint will undoubtedly point to the various subsidized housing programs; Section 8 being the one many point to. Section 8 does help millions keep a roof, sure, but it has limits. First off, landlords and apartment complexes are not required to accept Section 8 vouchers. Additionally, the monetary value of the voucher is capped. Those two stipulations alone limit access to nicer apartment and townhouse complexes and communities where there are better school districts and lower crime. Housing discrimination plays a large role, too. Some landlords and complexes simply don’t want to rent to African-Americans. They are too smart to openly admit they discriminate. That is why the state of California's Department of Fair Employment & Housing have under cover units acting as prospective renters complete rental applications at suspect properties and complexes. These crews are made up of bi-racial couples, gay and lesbian couples, Latinos, African-Americans, those with handicaps – basically a cross section of America. There are a fair number of property owners who are caught breaking the law every year and they are dealt with accordingly. Yet, the question remains: WHY is there a significant number of African-Americans living in sub-standard conditions?

Social and political stereotyping – When you SEE or HEAR the word “ghetto”, what demographic immediately comes to mind? What is the ACTUAL definition of “ghetto”?

ghetto

[get-oh] /ˈgɛt oʊ/ Spell Syllables

noun, plural ghettos, ghettoes.

a section of a city, especially a thickly populated slum area, inhabited predominantly by members of an ethnic or other minority group, often as a result of social or economic restrictions, pressures, or hardships.

(formerly, in most European countries) a section of a city in which all Jews were required to live.

a section predominantly inhabited by Jews.

any mode of living, working, etc., that results from stereotyping or biased treatment: job ghettos for women; ghettos for the elderly.

adjective

5. pertaining to or characteristic of life in a ghetto or the people who live there:

ghetto culture.

6. Slang: Often Disparaging and Offensive. noting something that is considered to be unrefined, low-class, cheap, or inferior

As you can see, "ghetto" has many definitions and connotations. Other not so flattering nouns and adjectives used to describe less than desirable African-American neighborhoods are “the Hood”, “slums”, “killing zones” – there are too many to list. Who among you readers would want to live in “the Hood”, a “slum” or “the killing zone”? How many would want to open a business there? Own and maintain property there? Frequent and visit on a regular basis? How many of those adjectives sound inviting or encouraging? How many of them illicit pride? The media – all forms – only uses the bully pulpit as a bellow that stoles the raging inferno that is fear, resentment, misunderstanding and ignorance. People living in those areas are to be objectified, dehumanized, disenfranchised and resented. The southeastern section of Ferguson, Missouri has been described as such. Only “animals” would live in the “ghetto” or “the Hood”, right?

Lack of employment opportunities – Although the overall unemployment rate in America is down to 5.9%, the lowest since 2008, unemployment in the African-American community remains in double digits (10.7%) WHY is that? I asked that question in this space three years ago (Why are nearly 16% of African-Americans unemployed?) when unemployment in the African-American community was a staggering 16%. Some will point to self-imposed barriers that many in the African-American impose upon themselves. There is some degree of truth to that theory. I also addressed those self-imposed barriers in the previously referenced piece. That would hardly explain the exorbitantly high percentage of unemployed African-Americans. Another mythical theory as to why the unemployment rate is higher in the African-American community is that African-Americans are LAZY and only want – all together now – HAND OUTS. I challenge anyone who subscribes to that misplaced theory to drive through just about any area with a large black population on weekday mornings and take note of the number of black people waiting to take public transportation to their jobs. This is the case in less than pristine weather conditions, too. In addition to a higher UNEMPLOYMENT rate, there is also an UNDER employment rate within the black community. This is not just about racial inequality. It is also about INCOME inequality.

Poverty – Having little to no money is both mentally and physically unhealthy. Financial destitution can be devastating. A staggering 4,000,800 African-American children (39%) live in poverty. (KIDS COUNT DATA CENTER: CHILDREN IN POVERTY BY RACE AND ETNICITY) The percentage of African-American children living in poverty is IMMORAL. It is a human rights issue. Why is this so acceptable? The United States sends food to impoverished nations all over the world and that is applauded. Yet, when the focus shifts on feeding impoverished citizens of the United States, it becomes political and polarizing. That is just wrong.

Crime – The CRIME rate is almost always related to the POVERTY rate. To be clear, no criminal act should be condoned. Desperate times occasionally lead to desperate measures. When there is no food on the table, when the electricity and gas is turned off due to nonpayment, when you’ve received an eviction notice and face a real possibility of being homeless, OPTIMISM doesn’t always reign supreme. Patience is not a virtue. Some will advocate personal responsibility. That would be accurate. One’s personal responsibility is to SURVIVE. Unfortunately for law abiding citizens and victims of crime, criminals view their unlawful and nefarious acts as a means of survival. If you live in the “ghetto” or “the Hood”, either witnessing, being a victim of or knowing someone who is a victim of crime is a way of life. As natural a breathing.

Drugs – Sociologist and other mental health professionals often refer to “coping strategies”, which are pretty much self-explanatory. In the “ghetto” a most common and easily accessible coping strategy is chemical dependency. In addition to there being a liquor store on seemingly every other corner, illegal drugs run rampant through impoverished black communities. Everyone knows who the drug dealers are, including the police, and yet the drug trade flourishes with little to no interference from law enforcement or concerned citizens. In a lot of cases, the most prominent people in impoverished black communities are the criminals – ESPECIALLY the drug dealers. They have the accoutrements of success – money, clothes, cars, women and fine dining. SELLING drugs can be as addictive as USING drugs, if not more so.

Religious influence – Churches in the black community are in every available space. There are congregations, large, small and miniscule. With all the madness and despair that goes on in impoverished neighborhoods, people flock to the nearest sanctuary in order to receive the spiritual nourishment and spiritual reinforcement that a lot of people NEED in order to maintain their sanity. You would be hard pressed to visit a house in “Soulsville” and not find a Bible and God fearing residents. Religious influence is as big of a coping strategy that can be found in impoverished black communities.

“Soulsville” is not exactly Utopia. It is a truly a place where only the strong survive. The BIG ones eat up the LITTLE ones. “Soulsville” is also a place where generations of successful African-Americans have been born and bred within solid family structures. Those African-Americans – the successful ones – are more the EXCEPTION than the RULE. The United States of America is better than that. The government goes on humanitarian missions all over the globe and invests BILLIONS of dollars a year in these efforts. Yet, we neglect investing in DOMESTIC humanitarian missions. Since this is America in 2014, most social issues are drawn along racial lines. Racial polarization in America is a BLOOD SPORT that is alive and well. To deny that would simply be FOOLISH. Unfortunately, there are a lot of foolish people in America when it comes to issues of race. Meanwhile, third world conditions within our borders continue to manifest. Hopelessness, despair, depression, disenfranchisement and marginalization are accepted and tolerated by the mainstream. This is IMMORAL and it is WRONG. These elements are pervasive in “Soulsville”. Question: WHAT did you learn on your walk through "Soulsville"?

To many African-Americans, “Soulsville” is where they REALLY live.

Peace, peace.

Craig Riggins

Email: therigginsreport517@gmail.com

Facebook: The Riggins Report

Twitter: @CraigRiggins

Having friends of a different race does not make America race neutral

2014-10-17T19:39:00.000-05:00

How many times have you heard “I have friends who are black” or “I have friends who are white” whenever there is an attempt to have a discussion about race in America? TOO many times. The response is so predictable and it always happens in the initial stages of the conversation. When it comes to talking about race, the initial stage of the conversation is more often than not the END of the conversation. The discussion SELDOM gets past that stage. Should a conversation get past that stage, it becomes a point-point, finger pointing, YOU are a larger asshole than ME conversation. In other words, NOTHING gets accomplished. That is both sad and true. I wrote a piece in this space a little while ago (Racism: America’s BIGGEST denial) and the majority of the email I received from white people a) DENIED being racist, thus proving my point and b) accused ME of being racist because I had the nerve to broach the subject. I heard about the countless interaction with black co-workers or vice versa and how the lunch hour has become the most integrated and diverse hour in America. Which is interesting. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said the most SEGREGATED hour in America was Sunday morning between 10 am and 11 am. That, of course, is the time most people are at their respective places of worship. That’s powerful. Memo to ALL: Having friends of a different race doesn’t make America race neutral.

The place of employment would be a good place to start. In the interest of fairness, I’ll use a personal experience as an example. In 2007, I was hired by Nielsen Media Research (Nielsen TV Ratings) as a Membership Recruiter. My job was to travel to

Diversity in the workplace

various markets in the country to recruit households to participate in the Nielsen sample which would determine television ratings. Please don’t ask me how the ratings are collected. Although I no longer work for Nielsen, I am still under a non-disclosure cause. Anyway, I had to spend a month in Tampa at the Nielsen world headquarters for training. We were put up in this nice corporate apartment complex. There were two trainees per apartment. My roommate for that month was a 27 year old white kid from Boston. I was 47 years old at the time. So there was an age gap and the obvious racial component. We hit it off immediately. Although we had our own bedrooms with televisions, we would watch sports together on the television in the living room. We would study together. We kept spirits in the temporary abode because there was a nice liquor warehouse about three blocks from our complex. We went to Sonny’s Barbeque every Tuesday night for the all-you-can-eat ribs and salad bar special. We would grocery shop together. We also stayed in our lanes. He was a full blown swashbuckler when it came to the femme fatales and I was a more refined, selective swashbuckler. I didn’t hang with him when he went to clubs and he didn’t hang with me when I was out looking for every jazz club in Tampa. I went to grocery store a bought a gang of catfish and fried it to perfection for him since he, being from Boston, had NEVER eaten catfish. I fell in love with that kid and he in turn fell in love with me and we’re still good friends to this very day. The one thing we never DID then or have EVER done is talk about race. We were having such a good time that we both, consciously or not, decided that we didn’t want to ruin things by talking about race. We’re not the only ones who have made that decision. How many of you who have forged a bond of some capacity with someone of a different race brought up the subject of race? Not many. That is my point. We may hang out with different people and enjoy their company and they may feel the same about us but race NEVER is discussed. Those are missed opportunities. If we are unwilling to have a conversation about race with those we’re comfortable with and like, how could we POSSIBLY have a substance based conversation about race we have no connection with and who have no connection with us?

DENIAL is a river in Egypt

I spend at least four hours a day listening to talk radio. I know. I have issues. Half of that time is topical radio and the other half is sports talk. I listen to a mid-morning topical talk show on the CBS Radio owned and operated station in St. Louis weekday mornings. The Mike Brown case and the demonstrations and protests that have resulted are white hot issues in St. Louis talk radio. What amazes me is that I hear some of the most racist, bigoted, evil, ignorant comments imaginable about black people and more often than not most of those comments are prefaced with “I’m not racist” or “my neighbors are black”. It is DENIAL in the rawest form. Being a RACIST is not race SPECIFIC, of course. But it sure does seem as if white people deny being racist far more than black people. It’s the equivalent of a criminal being caught red handed committing a crime and then goes into court and pleads not guilty. We will never be able to have a substantive conversation about race without first acknowledging there is a problem. Racism is an ADDICTION and like all addictions, you must admit you have a problem. I hear white callers say they were not responsible for slavery and discrimination while at the same time making stereotypical and racist comments about black people. That is when the conversation about race turns into one-upmanship instead of actively listening and processing grievances and differing opinions. This is not race specific, EITHER.

The way authority is viewed almost always fall along racial lines. When a significant number of whites see police detaining and or questioning black men – especially young black men – they see the authorities shaking down “thugs” and “criminals”. By the way, “thug” is the generic substitution for “nigger”. I say that because I hear that word articulated with such raw passion on talk radio and I never hear that word directed at white people who are suspected of committing crimes or have been convicted of committing crimes. Can we just be honest about that? When a significant numbers of black people see authorities shaking down black men – especially young black men – they see racial profiling and harassment. The disconnect is simple. It is cultural. White people, for the most part, are taught to respect authority; authority will be friendly and helpful. There is an innate trust factor. Do what cops tell you to do because they are in charge and they are always right. Conversely, a significant number of black people are taught to be suspect of authority; authority is not always friendly. In fact, authority can be DEADLY. That includes the judicial system as well. There is not a large sample size of a track record where authority has championed the interests of black people. Again, and before I get bombarded with mail, I have offered disclaimers such as “a significant number” and “some”. These examples are not presented as absolute facts. As the more learned would categorize them, they are “suppositions” or “concepts”. Check out this video:

Now, I am in no way saying this driver acted appropriately. However, after having the windshield violently bashed out by a cop using a nightstick and having her children terrorized by cops, can anyone blame this lady for not believing those cops were acting within her best interests? She did the only thing she could think of to do at the time. She drove off. Her driving off caused those out of control cops to break the law themselves. They SHOT at the lady’s car while it was moving and that is against the law in the state of New Mexico. By the way, the reason she was pulled over in the first place was she was speeding. Is SPEEDING in New Mexico worthy of receiving the death penalty? Check out this video:

This guy in the video was shot because he was COMPLYING with the state trooper. The guy had stopped his truck, was getting out and the state trooper rolled up on him. Prior to confronting the guy who was shot, the trooper had pulled off the gas station lot and the doubled back on to the lot because the driver wasn’t wearing a seat belt. Memo to the state trooper: I don’t wear my seat belt, EITHER, after I have stopped my car, turned off the engine and step out of the vehicle. After seeing these two videos, is there any reasonable person who can blame some black people for not trusting authority?

To many white people in the country, the mother lode of reasons the United States is race neutral is that we now have a black man as President of the United States. A TWICE elected black man, to boot. Those who share that ideology also point to the fact the Attorney General of the United States is a black man as well, although he was appointed instead of elected. A strong argument can be made those are the two most DISRESPECTED, DEHUMANIZED, MARGINALIZED and DESCRIMINATED against black men in America. I have never in my lifetime seen the office of the President of the United States, let alone the person holding the office, viewed with such utter contempt and disrespect as I have since Barack Obama has been in office. A significant number of white people, including the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, have MIND SEXED themselves into believing that if we don’t think about or talk about race, that racism will magically disappear. That is just plain STUPID.

We need to have a serious conversation in this country about race. As Attorney General Eric Holder said in 2009, “We are a nation of cowards” when it comes to discussing and tackling race relations in America. We don’t see ourselves as racist because we have identified a few people from different races that we have established a comfort level with and we actually act human around them. Granted, that is good beginning and is commendable. The idea is to establish a comfort level with different races, period. Therein lies the rub. Therein lies the challenge. If we can cure racism, the cure for cancer, hunger and poverty can’t be far behind. As with any journey, it begins with the first step. The first step is to shake a great myth.

Having friends of a different race does not make America race neutral.

Peace, peace.

Craig Riggins

Email: therigginsreport517@gmail.com

Facebook: The Riggins Report

Twitter: @CraigRiggins

The long lit fuse of mistrust and injustice in St. Louis is about to set off a massive social and racial explosion

2014-10-15T16:44:00.000-05:00

Vonderitt Myers, Jr.

On Wednesday night (October 8) in the Shaw Neighborhood of St. Louis, 18 year old Vonderrit D. Myers Jr. – a black male – was shot and killed by an off-duty officer with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. The unidentified officer WAS in uniform at the time of the shooting. The next day, Thursday, October 9, marked the second month to the day that Mike Brown, ANOTHER 18 year old black male, was shot and killed by Darren Wilson, an officer with the Ferguson Police Department. There obviously are some striking similarities in these two case. Both shooting victims were 18 year old black males and both were shot to death by law enforcement officers in uniform. In both cases, witnesses have given different accounts of the shootings compared to the accounts given by the law enforcement agencies involved. Both of their unfortunate deaths set off civil unrest in the respective areas they were killed in. Both killings have put St. Louis in the national spot light and has attracted national media attention. Both killings have once again ignited the racial divide in the St. Louis Metropolitan area and in particular, the estrangement between the African-American community and law enforcement in the Metro area. The distrust that exists between the African-American community and law enforcement is as wide as the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Not exactly a startling revelation, but the chasm has never been this high octane in my lifetime. It is a weapon of mass destruction – a bomb with a long fuse that was ignited a long time ago. The long lit fuse of injustice in St. Louis is about to set off a massive social and racial explosion.

As much as these two cases have in common on the surface, there are some stark contrasts as well. Some VERY stark contrasts. Mike Brown was UNARMED when Darren Wilson shot and killed him in broad daylight in the Canfield Green apartment complex. If you believe the accounts of all the witnesses who have gone public and if you believe the autopsy reports are credible, then it won’t be difficult for you to believe that Mike Brown was shot with his hands up while posing no imminent threat to Darren Wilson. In other words, Darren Wilson EXECUTED Mike Brown. Mike Brown had no prior contact with law enforcement and had no pending cases in any courts in the area – criminal or otherwise. Mike Brown had graduated from Normandy High School (my alma mater) and was scheduled to start attending college just two days after he was shot and killed.

Conversely, and according to SLMPD, Vonderitt D. Myers, Jr. WAS armed when he was shot and killed by the unnamed and in uniform off duty officer with SLMPD. The official police report released says that Myers was not only armed, but that he shot three rounds at the unnamed officer and attempted to fire additional rounds at the officer but was unable to because the weapon he had on him jammed. The officer, fearing for his life, returned fire by shooting 17 rounds from his service weapon and struck Myers 7 times. Myers, like Mike Brown, was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting. A weapon was recovered that Vonderitt Myers allegedly used to shoot at the unnamed officer. St. Louis police have also recovered spent ammunition from the gun Myers allegedly used and other forensic evidence. Myers was awaiting trial after being charged with unlawful use of a weapon and resisting arrest in June 2014. Unlike Mike Brown, Myers had not graduated from high school. As an objective, uninterested party and considering the pending trial that Myers faced, one could reasonably accept the police department’s account of the events that led to the shooting death of Vonderitt Myers, Jr. on Wednesday night. However, his family and supporters offer up a different account of the events of Wednesday night and paint a far less menacing personal profile of Vonderitt Myers, Jr. According to his family, Myers was armed with a turkey sandwich he purchased from a deli just 10 minutes before he was shot and killed. In an interview on NBC Nightly News, his parents point to video footage from the deli he purchased the sandwich as a way of proving their son was unarmed.
(Protests turn violent in St. Louis after fatal shooting)

The African-American community in St. Louis once again took their grievances to the streets.

In their eyes, another black teenager was shot and killed by a law enforcement officer who chose to use unjustifiable deadly force. Whether the evidence gathered supports that belief or not, that is their belief and their position. A significant number of people in the African-American community in St. Louis simply does NOT trust the police. Since Mike Brown was shot and killed in Ferguson, there have been TWO African-American males shot and killed in the city of St. Louis by law enforcement officers. On August 19, Kajieme Powell was shot and killed by SLMPD officers.

The officers justified deadly force alleging Kajieme Powell rushed toward them while he was holding a knife. I have lost count of the number of times I've watched this video and I still haven't seen where he charges the officers. What do YOU see? To the credit of Sam Dotson, Chief of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, who personally went to the scene of the shooting immediately, the department gave the officer's account of the incident and promised full transparency.

So far, that promise has been a hollow ring. There really has been no progress report on the investigation in the Kajieme Powell shooting. The officers involved in the shooting still have not been identified and as far as the public knows, both are still on administrative leave. In this case, the public actually has MORE information in the Mike Brown case; which isn’t saying much. SLMPD has created the appearance of being transparent but there has been no developments of substance. The city of St. Louis, in making every effort to avoid the mistakes of Ferguson, has attempted to be proactive in an outreach effort to the African-American community. To this point the city has failed MISERABLY.

Apparently the outreach memo didn’t reach the officers of SLMPD by the time they confronted protesters in the Vonderitt Myers, Jr. case. SLMPD officers showed up in riot gear and armored vehicles - basically mirroring what was on display in Ferguson. SLMPD added its own splash of controversy to boot. SLMPD officers were seen pounding nightsticks on the ground while approaching a crowd of peaceful demonstrators. They also shot protesters with pepper spray and arrested 17 people. So much for good will and holiday cheer.

If this is the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department's example of community outreach, I sure would hate to see what action they would take if they had no intention of reaching out to the community. Initial reports were SLMPD reacted to rocks being throw at officers. Those reports were amended by saying a SINGLE rock was thrown from the crowd AFTER the crowd was shot with pepper spray.

The promise of full transparency in the Myers case has been kept, although it has come in delayed action. The day after the shooting, results from the autopsy performed on Vonderitt Myers, Jr. were released and it was disclosed the fatal shot was a shot to the cheek (Teen in Shaw shooting died from gunshotto the right cheek, medical examiner says). On Tuesday (October 14) SLMPD released the forensics report that proves that Vonderitt Myers, Jr. did indeed fire a weapon at the unnamed officer. Police also released a picture of Myers that was allegedly posted on social media that shows Myers holding a gun that resembles the gun recovered from the scene that Myers allegedly used in the incident (Forensic evidence shows teen shot at St. Louis officer, police say). At this point, the shooting appears to be justified.

The African-American community will not easily accept these findings. The true grievance the African-American community has is larger than the unfortunate death of 18 year old Vonderitt Myers, Jr. Since the unnamed officer was not on duty and working as a security officer for a private firm, the question many have is why did the officer focus attention on Myers and his friends at all. There were four of them and when they saw the cop, they allegedly took off running. If they had not committed a crime while the off duty cop was watching and they took off running, WHAT was the crime they committed? The answer to that question is the real crux of the matter. These young black men who had committed no crime up to that point were targeted and deemed suspicious WHY? Vonderitt Myers, Jr.’s family and the public at large need an answer to that question. Again, SLMPD should get credit for at least TRYING to do the right thing, which is more than can be said about Ferguson.

Ferguson was a DISASTER on many fronts. There was looting; there was the police showing up in armored plated vehicles and riot gear; there was tear gas; there were members of the media arrested for nothing more than doing their jobs; there were shots fired; there were arrests; there was a cop aiming an assault rifle at a crowd of peaceful demonstrators and threatening to kill them; there were notable black leaders; there was the Attorney General of the United States; there were FBI agents; there was a controversial Prosecuting Attorney; there was a governor who didn’t bother to visit Ground Zero of the unrest in Ferguson; there was no effort to be transparent

by the Ferguson Police Department; there was an incompetent police chief; there was a CLUELESS mayor of Ferguson who said there was no race problem in Ferguson;   there was Mike Brown’s funeral; there was utter CHAOS.  There was ONE shining light and a much needed and effective calming force that emanated from the utter chaos in Ferguson: Missouri Highway Patrol Captain Ronald Johnson.

As calming a force that Captain Johnson proved to be, even he couldn’t eradicate the core issue at hand in Ferguson and now St. Louis: TRUST or lack thereof the African-American community in the St. Louis Metro has for law enforcement. If you go to traffic court in just about any municipality in St. Louis County, you would leave there thinking that African-Americans are the WORSE drivers in town. On any given day, the defendants in those courts are 85% black, minimum. If defendants can’t pay, warrants for their arrest are issued and thus a vicious cycle commences. It is the modern day equivalent of a debtor’s court.

To continue to disenfranchise, marginalize, neglect, disrespect and, in some cases, dehumanize a significant demographic and have an expectation the demographic well indefinitely accept such treatment is ludicrous. As we full well see, that treatment has run its course. This has been going on for so long that a lot of people seamlessly integrated it into their lives or have buried their heads in the sand or in the lower extremity of the human anatomy. This Molotov cocktail was crafted generations ago and the only Bomb Squad that can defuse it is CHANGE. In St. Louis, change is about as welcomed as Ebola. Something HAS to change. Things MUST change.  If not, the combustible residue will ignite.

The long lit fuse of mistrust and injustice in St. Louis is about to set off a massive social and racial explosion.

Peace, peace.

Craig Riggins

Email: therigginsreport517@gmail.com
Facebook: The Riggins Report
Twitter: @CraigRiggins

In the eyes of many BLACK St. Louisans, the continued unrest in Ferguson is a STRANGER in the house

2014-10-11T12:29:00.000-05:00

(Stranger In My House - Tamia)

Protesters in Ferguson, Missouri

I was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. Except for the 18 and a half years I lived in California (14 years in the San Francisco Bay Area and 4 and a half years in Los Angeles), I have lived the remaining of my 54 years in St. Louis. I have always felt a sense of disappointment of how few professional opportunities that were available to the African-American community in St. Louis. As is the case in most of America where professional opportunities are few and far between for African-Americans, there sure is a laundry list of reasons as to why that has been and continues to be the case. I have addressed some of those reasons ad nausea and will continue to address some of those reasons ad nausea. However, I won’t do so in this piece. I will take a look squarely in an internal direction. I will look at the African-American community in St. Louis. There are some housekeeping issues we African-Americans in St. Louis, and elsewhere, surely need to address. One major issue – make that THEE major issue – is a sense of unity. There are many African-Americans in St. Louis who absolutely DETEST the protests in Ferguson that have arisen as a result of a white Ferguson police officer named Darren Wilson shooting and killing an UNARMED black teenager named Mike Brown on August 9, 2014. In the eyes of many BLACK St. Louisans, the continued unrest in Ferguson is a STRANGER in the house.

I was born in 1960 and in the mid-1960s, downtown St. Louis underwent a renaissance. The Gateway Arch and Civic CenterBusch Memorial Stadium (the formal name of thenew stadium then) were two dynamic construction projects that jump started that renaissance. The city of St. Louis – downtown in particular - WAS and

The Gateway Arch and Busch Stadium under construction

still IS the epicenter of the St. Louis Metropolitan area, which encompasses several counties of Southern Illinois as well. With the population within the city’s borders at 775,000 people, St. Louis was the 10^th largest city in America - a MAJOR city – instead of the mid-level TOWN it is now. It was an exciting time in St. Louis then. I could feel it, too, even as a 5 year old black kid. As the Arch was being constructed, one of the things I looked forward to on most Saturdays was my dad taking me to the riverfront so I could see the progress of the construction of the Arch first hand. (See … I have ALWAYS been a GEEK and a NERD) I was fascinated with the safety net strewn between the legs of the Arch that was supposed to catch construction workers in case of a fall as the structure rose. Surprisingly and thankfully, there were no deaths to any construction workers building the Arch.

As altruistic as I was as a 5 year old about the Arch, not all in the African-American community in St. Louis felt the same way. As large of construction projects the Arch and Busch Stadium II were, there were NO black contractors or black construction workers hired to work on either project. The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) took note of this and began organizing protests on the Arch construction site (insert picture). The Civil Rights Act of 1964 had just been signed into law and apparently no one had informed MacDonald Construction Company, the general contractor on the Arch project. After meeting with the construction company and demanding the

Percy Green and Richard Daly on the leg of the Arch

company hire some blacks and having those demands go unmet, something drastic had to happen. Percy Green, 29 years old at the time and chairman of the employment
committee with C.O.R.E., and Richard Daly, a 26 year old white college student from Minnesota, climbed 125 feet up the north leg of Arch as a means of protest. This was as bold a move as could be imagined – ESPECIALLY for someone black in 1960s St. Louis. Green and Daly eventually came down and were arrested. A month later, Green was “laid off” from his job at McDonnell-Douglas (now Boeing), although the company ran newspaper ads recruiting new hires for the position he once held. Percy Green went on to a long career in activism in St. Louis. At 78, he is still active in St. Louis. (Percy Green II recalls his historic 1964 protest with Richard Daly)

Bill Clay

There were other notable black activists and protests in St.

Lacy Clay

Louis. Before he was a Congressman in the First District of Missouri in the U.S. House of Representatives, William L. (Bill) Clay, Sr. was an activist as well. In August 1963, C.O.R.E. was at it again. This time the target was Jefferson Bank, located just west of downtown St. Louis. The bank only had 2 black employees at the time and C.O.R.E. demanded the bank hire at least 4 more African-Americans. These protests went on until March 1964, by which time Jefferson Bank had hired 6 more African-Americans. The protests had cost Bill Clay 105 days in jail for his activism. The demonstrations worked and Bill Clay parlayed that success into an illustrious 32 year career in the U.S. House of Representatives. His son, William L.(Lacy) Clay, Jr., succeeded him in Congress in 2000.

As a result of the actions of Percy Green, Bill Clay and others, professional opportunities previously unavailable to black people in St. Louis started to become available. More black people were starting to get good paying jobs that catapulted some into a middle class lifestyle. Things were progressing so rapidly in the 1960s for black people in St. Louis that a group of investors founded Gateway Bank – a full service financial institution owned and controlled by black investors. Things were getting better for the African-American community in St. Louis. It was a direct result of what Percy Green and Bill Clay laid the foundation for.

The trip down memory lane was necessary in order to paint the picture of what conditions were for black people in St. Louis THEN compared to what they are NOW. As much good work the activists of the 1960s did, if there was one area I would say they fell short in was identifying and grooming a successor of my generation. Those pioneers are in their 80s and mid to late 70s now, but there WAS no one in the generation after them to carry the torch. My generation enjoyed the accoutrements of the opportunities the previous generation provided. That was both good and bad. It was good for obvious reasons. Where it was bad was that my generation got intoxicated with the perceived upward mobility and became COMPLACENT and SELFISH. My generation was unwilling to outwardly and collectively stand up to the oppression that was still prevalent in St. Louis. We were unwilling to demand a seat at the table where the dish of change was served. We were able to get mortgages, buy nice cars, get credit cards and live in nice neighborhoods. It was not conducive to job security to let the boss know you didn’t appreciate his racist jokes or to complain about a hostile work environment. Nor was it a good idea to complain about being passed over for jobs within the company that we were more than qualified for - only to see less qualified white co-workers get them instead. The choice was simple: Keep your DIGNITY or keep your JOB. We were bought and paid for. It WAS and IS slavery 3.0. Many black St. Louisans of my generation WERE and ARE more than happy to be docile. They’re proud of it. Some even brag about it. What happened in Ferguson has shed a light on this complacency and selfishness.

Because of the unrest in Ferguson, a lot of black people in St. Louis are uncomfortable. A lot of black people in St. Louis want the protestors to fade into the sunset. A lot of black people in St. Louis question what the protestors are doing; what they’re hoping to accomplish. See, to those black people, the change the unrest in Ferguson has brought to the St. Louis Metro is uncomfortable. It causes them to have to answer uncomfortable questions they get from white co-workers who detest the protests and demonstrations, too. It puts them in the uncomfortable position of listening to their white co-workers refer to other black people as “animals” and “thugs” and knowing they can’t disclose to those white co-workers how uncomfortable they are hearing those outrageous and racially insensitive comments. They also know that as a result of the unrest in Ferguson, their bosses and co-workers look at THEM differently now. A lot of black people feel the NEED to prove over and over to many people they are not like “them” – with “them” being the protestors in Ferguson seen on the nightly news.

The protests and demonstrations have spread to other parts of the Metro. On Saturday night, this was the scene at Powell Symphony Hall:

The fact this protest has moved to the symphony – not exactly a venue known to attract many black people – will certainly become the talk of the town. This latest move will once again put the onus on a lot of uncomfortable black people. The protestors have shown up at Ferguson City Council meetings; the St. Louis County Courthouse where the Grand Jury is hearing testimony and reviewing evidence and deciding if criminal charges will be filed against Darren Wilson; they’ve attempted to shut down major highways in the Metro during weekday rush hour; and they’ve have a constant presence across the street from Ferguson P.D. headquarters. Critics are upset because the protests have disrupted the natural and regular order of things. HELLO!!! That is the purpose of a protest – to disrupt the natural and regular order of things. As a result of the protests, approximately 4,000 people have registered to vote. Most importantly, a new power generation of activists in the St. Louis African-American community has been born. They’re young, energetic, dedicated, relentless and FEARLESS. They have NOTHING to lose and everything to GAIN. They have yet to be influenced by material gain. They are seeking a gain of EQUALITY while at the same time developing and sustaining DIGNITY. From my purview, EQUALITY and DIGNITY are far more valuable than material gain. I wish them luck and I admire them for their courage and for taking a stand and advancing their cause. I also have a message from actor/rapper/entrepreneur Ludacris for the DOCILE African-Americans in St. Louis:

An argument can be made that St. Louis has REGRESSED in many ways in the last 40 years – population wise, socially and along racial lines. Since 1970, the population within the city’s borders has shrunken from 800, 000 people to 325, 000 people. The racial DIVIDE has morphed into a racial CANYON. Black people have no more stake in the city than they did 40 years ago.

In a study released in the Business Insider in November 2013, St. Louis was ranked the SIXTH most segregated city in America. (Business Insider: The 25 Most Segregated Cities in America) That's quite a distinction considering the southern cities St. Louis was ranked ahead of. The powers that be in St. Louis have been accustomed to black people in St. Louis making a little noise when they have grievances and then quietly fading into the sunset. Unfortunately, there is a significant number of BLACK people in St. Louis who have come to expect that same, docile reaction to grievances – make some noise, give a few speeches and then get lost. Those black people are starting to realize this cause is different and there is no real end in sight. This is strange and uncharted territory for those black people. They’re more uncomfortable than white people in St. Louis are. That’s on them.

In the eyes of many BLACK St. Louisans, the continued unrest in Ferguson is indeed a STRANGER in the house.

Peace, peace.

Craig Riggins

Email: therigginsreport517@gmail.com
Facebook: The Riggins Report
Twitter: @CraigRiggins

If Americans were required to learn and understand CIVICS, the country would be in better shape

2014-10-09T17:14:00.000-05:00

Are you sick and tired of the seemingly never ending political ads on radio and television? Will you be glad when Election Day has come and gone so the commercials will stop? How much of the content in those political ads do you believe? In order, my answers are yes, yes and little to none. In order, what are YOUR answers? I graduated from high school in 1977 and at that time in Missouri, my home state, taking and passing civics was a requirement in order to graduate from high school. Here’s a pop quiz: Can you name the member of the House of Representatives that represents your district? Can you name both of the U.S. Senators from your state? Can you name the governor of your state? The mayor of the city you live in? The members of your city council? What is your direct knowledge of civics? What is the progression of replacing the President of the United States beyond the Vice President of the United States? If Americans were required to learn and understand CIVICS, the country would be in better shape.

Let’s face it: No matter what political party you support, political ads are 98% untrue. They just are. WHY is that the case? Because they don’t have to be. Political parties and campaigns know the majority of the voters in their respective bases are low information voters. That may sound insulting. Please don’t receive it that way. What that means is the parties know the majority of their supporters have no idea how the government works and how the three separate branches of our government are connected to each other. They know most of their voters have no concept of CIVICS – how the government works. Politicians make promises and claims they can’t possibly keep and voters let them get away with it with impunity. The voters don’t know better and they vote with a blindfold on and with the ignorance of civics.

I live in St. Louis and in my media market, we get commercials for Missouri and Illinois politics. There is one candidate running for a Congressional seat in Southern Illinois whose commercials are MARINATED in lies. He is running against an incumbent and he is all but promising to walk on water. He claims the HE will balance the federal budget; that HE will stop the out of control federal spending; and that HE will repeal the Affordable Care Act – aka “Obamacare” – and that HE will create jobs. HE can’t deliver on ANY of those promises. Yet, there is a large number of voters who will hear those hollow promises and receive them as being Gospel and vote for someone who outright lied to them in order to secure their support. For someone who has studied and understands civics, political commercials are hilarious. Governing in the United States is a process – civics – and no one in Washington, INCLUDING the president, can get much of anything done without working within that process.

civ·ics

noun plural but singular or plural in construction \ˈsi-viks\

: the study of the rights and duties of citizens and of how government works

The three branches of government

There are three branches of our government – the Executive Branch (the president and his or her cabinet), the Legislative Branch (Congress which encompasses the Senate and the House of Representatives) and the Judicial Branch (the Supreme Court and the Department of Justice). Outside of Executive Orders, the President of the United States basically has no power to act unilaterally. The president can propose a wish list of legislation but that in no way means it will became law. That is up to Congress (Legislative Branch) to initiate laws through the process. The Senate then gives it a good look over before voting on it and passing it on to the president to sign into law. Sigh … if only Washington really WERE that simple. Unfortunately, it is NOT. On the night Barack Obama was sworn into office on January 20, 2009, several prominent Republicans held a pity party in a Washington steakhouse and arbitrarily decided to NULLIFY a national election by obstructing ANY and EVERY thing President Obama proposed – regardless if it was something they previously supported. (Will the obstruction plot the Republicans hatched on January 29, 2009 pay off in the 2014 midterm election?) The Republicans basically decided to work AGAINST the best interest of the country in order to politically damage Barack Obama. The Republicans have used a Senate procedure rarely used prior to the Obama Administration to obstruct just about everything – the filibuster. In order to pass a bill in the Senate these days, a bill needs 60 votes in order to pass. Since there are currently 53 Democrats in the Senate who support the president, a bill would need 7 Republicans to join the Democrats. It is CRYSTAL CLEAR to see why bills rarely make it through the Senate. The Republicans have blocked a jobs bill that would have created 1.6 million jobs; they oppose raising the minimum wage; they have opposed closing loop tax loop holes that corporations, billionaires and millionaires use to skate paying taxes at the same rate the majority of us do all by using the filibuster. A president needs 60 members of his or her party in the Senate and for his or her party to control the House in order to push his or her agenda and not have it obstructed by a filibuster. Since the majority wins in our democracy, the majority of Americans would like to see the president they elected enact his or her agenda.

A president also appoints members to his or her Cabinet. Those nominated to Cabinet positions need Senate approval. Getting these positions filled is very important to any president. For instance, the position of Surgeon General is a Cabinet position and with an outbreak of Ebola, the country NEEDS a doctor in the Executive Branch strategizing on how to combat the deadly disease. The Republicans have blocked the confirmation of Dr.Vivek Murthy to the position of Surgeon General. To be more specific, Republicans in the Senate are blocking his confirmation on the orders of the NRA. Dr. Murthy’s sin was supporting a ban on assault weapon. (Why the NRA Is Blocking Obama’s Surgeon General Nominee) Attorney General Eric Holder recently announced his resignation but has promised President Obama he will stay on until a successor has been confirmed by the Senate. Eric Holder conceivably could remain in that job until the end of the Obama Administration considering how determined Republicans in the Senate are to obstruct Cabinet appointments – ESPECIALLY the Attorney General’s position. The Executive Branch NEEDS the cooperation of the Senate and the House.

Just as the Executive Branch needs the Senate, the Legislative Branch NEEDS the president. No legislation can become the law of the land UNLESS and UNTIL the President of the United States signs the legislation. If the House and Senate wants to enact its legislative agenda, the legislation must appeal to the president, plain and simple. If it doesn’t, it’s not going to happen. The president has the power of the VETO. Legislation is originated in the House. The Speaker of the House sets the agenda in the House. The Speaker and the president have to have a positive working relationship which is non-existent in Washington these days. If American voters want to end gridlock in Washington, they will ideally elect enough House members from the sitting president’s party in order to have a Speaker from the president’s party. Voters need to know WHO represents their Congressional district in the House in order to hold that House member accountable in the area of acting within the interest of the agenda they would like to see enacted in Washington.

The Supreme Court building

The Judicial Branch is responsible for interpreting and upholding the laws of the United States of America. This includes the Supreme Court and the Attorney General who supervises all legal matters as they pertain to the United States and who also supervises federal law enforcement agencies; namely the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (the FBI). The Supreme Court hears and rules on cases and those rulings become legal precedence. The nine justices are selected by the President of the United States and must be confirmed by the Senate. Presidents usually nominate lawyers who

Department of Justice logo

share the same political ideology as they do to the Supreme Court. After all, these are LIFETIME appointments and appointments to the Supreme Court is one sure way a president ensures his or her time in office has remaining influence on the country long after he or she leaves office. The current Supreme Court has 5 conservatives and 4 liberals and recent rulings have been along ideological lines. If the American people don’t like rulings by the Supreme Court, then voters need to elect a president and a Senate that shares a common ideology who can nominate and confirm justices to the Supreme Court. Simple. Presidents also nominate judges to federal courts, including those very important courts of appeal.

As important as the three branches of the federal government are, state and local branches of government are just as important if not more SO. I would say more so because state and local government affects our lives more directly. Who is your state’s governor? Which party is he or she in? Which party controls your state legislature, therefore controlling your state’s legislative agenda? Who is your mayor? Your County Executive/Administrator/Supervisor? Who is on your city council? Who is on the School Board that directs the schools you send your children to? Do you know how any of these offices and entities are supposed to work? Do you KNOW? Do you CARE?

As I have tried to point out here, no ONE person can perform the Herculean tasks they promise on these political commercials. NO one. Please keep that in mind when you decide on WHO you cast your votes for. Another point to keep in mind is this: The people who make decisions that affect your lives are ELECTED. They work for YOU. YOU have the power to either REHIRE, HIRE or FIRE them on Election Day. Please know this, TOO: EVERY election matters. There are issues that affect your lives on the ballot in EVERY election. It is your DUTY as an American to participate in the process. What would be helpful is to know what the people you vote for or SUPPOSED to do and what they CAN and can NOT do after you elect them. By the way – how many of you could name the politicians that represent you? If you struggled with some, most or all of the questions, that’s okay. You have some homework to do. However, if you’re a parent of anyone younger than voting age, please make sure your kids are equipped with the information. You owe that much to your kids, your country and, most importantly, yourself.

If Americans were required to learn and understand CIVICS, the country would be in better shape.

Peace, peace.

Craig Riggins

Email: therigginsreport517@gmail.com

Facebook: The Riggins Report

Twitter: @CraigRiggins

The Obama Economy and Obamacare are both performing very well

2014-10-04T18:10:00.000-05:00

September 2014 jobs report

The jobs numbers from September were released on Friday and the news was very good. The U.S. economy created 248,000 new jobs and the unemployment rate dropped to 5-9%; the lowest since 2008. This is a strong indication the economy is on the rebound and that employers are reacting to the demand in the market. This is very good news. The Affordable Care Act, aka “Obamacare”, celebrated its first birthday on Wednesday and in the one year it has been in full effect, over 10 million Americans have enrolled and now have access to affordable healthcare. The Obama Economy and Obamacare are both performing very well.

When the Obama Administration began, the economy was hemorrhaging 800,000 a month; the financial markets were trading at record lows; just about every major bank

in the country was teetering on going under; the Dow Jones was in the tank; American International Group (AIG) - the top insurance policy writer in the world - and all the top investment banks in the world Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers were in serious trouble; the auto industry was on the brink of extinction and homeowners were losing their homes in record numbers to due be steered into shady subprime mortgage loans that many homeowners simply could not afford. Not to mention the two wars that was costing the country approximately $12 billion a month the Bush Administration got the country into – one of those wars, the one in Iraq, the country was LIED in to. In short, things were BAD.

The first piece of business of the Obama Administration was to bolster and sustain the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, financial bailout to the banks and investment firms that was initiated during the Bush Administration. That’s RIGHT – the Bush Administration initiated the bank bailouts. The Republicans, who LOVE to rewrite history, led many to believe the Obama Administration initiated the bailouts. The very people who opposed the bailouts when Barack Obama became president were the SAME people who were deadly SILENT when the president they blindly supported in everything initiated the bailouts. Regardless of which administration did, it was a good strategy. In fact, it was the ONLY strategy. If the banks had gone insolvent, the world economy would have gone into an abyss that would have taken years to recover from. It would have been a global economic cataclysm. President Obama COULDN’T and DIDN”T let that happen.

Next, was American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 – more commonly referred to as the Stimulus. With the banks and investment firms on the verge of extinction and Americans losing jobs in record numbers, there was no money being circulated within the economy. The idea was for the government to “stimulate” the economy with an infuse of cash to encourage growth and stability. A large part of the Stimulus plan was a jobs package that would have repaired the country’s aging and crumbling infrastructure. This would have created millions of jobs and that, obviously, would have led to consumer spending by those newly employed Americans. “Dr. No”, aka the Republicans in Congress, fought the stimulus tooth and nail. Not because the stimulus was a bad idea, but because their sole agenda was to OBSTRUCT and OPPOSE Barack Obama at ANY and EVERY opportunity. The Republicans insisted the Stimulus include additional tax cuts, which would have diverted money directly from consumers and into the coffers of corporations and individuals who were already wealthy. President Obama, in an effort to have bi-partisan participation in righting the economy, acquiesced to the Republican additional tax cut demands and the Republicans STILL voted against it. All but three of the 37 Republicans in the Senate at the time voted in favor of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Stimulus was affective nevertheless. Between 2009 and 2012, it either saved or created 6.5 million jobs.

President Obama then aimed his attention at the auto industry in America. General Motors and Chrysler were inches away from going under. Auto sales had fallen off the table because people were unemployed and couldn’t buy cars and those who were employed hung on to their cars longer. The auto industry was once the backbone of the American economy and had the auto industry had collapsed it would have been disastrous to the nation’s economy and to the nation’s psyche. The government not bailing out General Motors and Chrysler was not an option. Although the government realized a net loss of $12 billion, according to the Center for Automotive Research, there were tangible and intangible gains for the country in bailing out General Motors and Chrysler. In a December 2013 story in The Week (The U.S. auto bailout is officially over. Here's what America lost and gained.), the C.A.R. put of the following numbers:

1.88 million: Job losses in 2009-2010 if only GM had gone under.
4.15 million: Job losses in 2009-2010 if the whole U.S. auto industry had shut down.
$39.4 billion: The hit to federal and state governments, from lost tax revenue and jobless benefit payments, if just GM went under.
$105.3 billion: The hit to federal and state governments if the whole auto industry had collapsed.

Subtract the net loss from what was saved, the country saved $95 billion. Not too shabby.

The next crucial step in the saving the economy from complete collapse was to attack

the foreclosure crisis. Millions of homeowners were snookered in subprime mortgage loans. Millions were done in by ARM (Adjustable Rate Mortgage) loans where the payments and terms were fixed for 2 to 3 years and then the loans would reset – or adjust – and interest rates determined by the volatile market rose upward. Mortgage payments went through the roof. Coupled with the massive loss of jobs and mortgage payments that doubled, millions of homeowners could no longer afford their mortgage payments. Millions of homeowners lost their homes due to foreclosure. This not only displaced homeowners and their families from their homes, but it affected homeowners who COULD make their mortgage payments. Because of the number of vacant homes in the country, real estate values plunged for all homeowners and as a result, many homeowners who were able to make their mortgage payments found themselves upside down – owing the bank more than the house was worth. The Obama Administration introduced the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) plans. HAMP modified the terms of the original loan for homeowners who were behind on their mortgage payments and threatened with foreclosure. Under this plan homeowners could have their payments reduced, the term of the loan extended and in some case, the balance reduced and in some cases all three remedies. HARP was designed to assist homeowners who were current on their mortgage payments, but couldn't refinance their mortgages due to owing more than what existing home values determined their homes were worth. Homeowners in this situation simply were walking away from their homes because they realized they would never recover the value their homes once had. These programs have been successful.

Remember the Town Hall meetings in 2009 during the Affordable Care Act debate? They were downright ugly.

It was quite amazing to see so many Americans fight so hard and display such raw emotion in order to prevent 40 million other Americans from having access to affordable health care. The Republicans, yet again, were determined to obstruct this legislation by any means necessary. What was interesting about this obstruction was the Affordable Care Act pretty much was a copy of a free market driven, competition among insurance providers health plan hatched by the Heritage Foundation, one of the most conservative think tanks in America. That’s why amidst all the vitriol and obstruction, the Republicans never produced an alternative to “Obamacare”. “Obamacare” was THEIR plan to begin with. Progressives favored a single payer, Medicare for all plan. The Republicans basically told the country over and over and over again that a plan that would give 40 million fellow Americans access to affordable health care was an attack on personal FREEDOM. “Obamacare” wouldn’t CURE cancer. It WAS cancer. Michele Bachman described the affect “Obamacare” would have on the country in the simplest terms as she all but begged for the law to be repealed:

There you have it. In Michele Bachman’s eyes, “Obamacare” would kill EVERYBODY and EVERYTHING. (By the way, THAT woman is an IMBECILE) The Republicans said it would kill jobs. They said it was “socialized health care”. They said “Obamacare” would redirect the flow of the mighty Mississippi River. They said the Earth would rotate from right to left instead of left to right. Never mind that 40 million fellow Americans would have access to something they didn’t have – affordable health care. The Republicans went on a full frontal JIHAD when it came to “Obamacare”. Not ONE Republican in the Senate at the time voted for the Affordable Care Act. Since the law was signed by President Obama, the Republicans have voted over 50 times to repeal “Obamacare”. When Mitt Romney, the biggest political charlatan to come along since – well, George W. Bush – was the nominee for the Republicans in the 2012 presidential election, he was forced to run away from HIS signature legislation as governor of Massachusetts which was universal health care for all citizens of that state. (Insert the plaintiff) filed a lawsuit against “Obamacare” questioning the Constitutionality of the law. The suit made its way to the Supreme Court where, in a 5-4 surprise decision with the deciding vote cast by Chief Justice John Roberts, the law was ruled Constitutional. That still was not good enough for the Republicans. Led by Texas Senator Ted Cruz, a Canadian, the Republicans shut the government down in 2013 in an effort to coerce President Obama to repeal his signature legislative victory. The shutdown lasted 16 days and the stated objective was not even considered by President Obama. CURSES … foiled AGAIN.

Considering that over 10 million Americans have enrolled and received health insurance under the Affordable Care Act as of this writing and considering that 248,000 Americans who were unemployed a little over 30 days ago now have jobs and unemployment is now at 5.9% - the lowest since July 2008 - and that September marked the 55 straight month of positive job growth, it definitely appears the economy seems to be heading in the right direction. Just imagine how much further the country would be if the Republicans had not blocked President Obama’s jobs bill that was introduced in 2011, the American Jobs Act, that would have rebuilt the infrastructure and created 1,600,000 jobs. Just imagine how many more Americans would have health care if 23 states had not outright refused to establish state exchanges that would have implemented “Obamacare”. Over 5.000.000 Americans are being denied access to health care by the governors and legislatures in those 23 states due to political reasons only. Hopefully, those Americans will hold those elected officials accountable come Election Day. One can only hope, right? Despite all the obstruction, hatred and vitriol, one simple fact can’t be denied:

The Obama Economy and Obamacare are both performing very well.

Peace, peace.

Craig Riggins

Email: therigginsreport517@gmail.com

Facebook: The Riggins Report

Twitter: @CraigRiggins

WHY does the Republican BASE yearn for the days of the Cleavers?

2014-10-02T15:15:00.000-05:00

Cast of "Leave It To Beaver"

When Republicans and their rabid base say "we want our country back", I almost immediately think of the Cleaver Family in "Leave It To Beaver". Now, I am in no way HATING on the Cleavers. In fact, I watch an episode every now and then when I can. I'm sure I've seen EVERY episode of this sitcom than ran from 1957-1963. As big a fan I am of the show, there has always been one fact that has stood out to me: I only saw ONE black actor in all of those episodes. It was a black actress, in fact, and she played the role of, what else, a domestic. If her scene lasted a full minute it would be surprising. In the world of the Cleavers, black people and other minorities didn't exist. There was ONE episode where Beaver did befriend a Hispanic kid named Chuy. That character was prominent throughout that particular episode. But that was IT for minorities. That was television and LIFE in American in the late 50s and early 60s. That's seemingly the life in America the majority of the Republican base wants to return to in 2014 and beyond. WHY does the Republican BASE yearn for the days of the Cleavers?

In the era of the Cleaver Family (1957-1963), white Americans moved into the middle class in record numbers. Manufacturing and other blue collar industries paid good wages - in fact, America paid the highest wages in the world in the 1950s. American workers enjoyed the best benefits and the longest vacations of any industrialized nation in the world. Over thirty five percent (35%) of Americans working in the private sector were represented by labor unions. White working class families went from living within city limits to the fledgling and sprawling suburbs. New modern schools were built and the word "subdivision" became a part of pop culture lexicon. Things were good for white men in America.

Conversely, things were NOT so good for minorities - ESPECIALLY black Americans in the era of the Cleaver Family. Blacks were virtual outcasts in nearly every area of public life from employment, to housing, to education, to civil rights - every CRITICAL area of public life. Along comes the Civil Rights movement which culminated in two LANDMARK legislation - the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. A spinoff of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The creation of the EEOC bolstered Affirmative Action which, unbeknownst to many, was created in 1935 during the Roosevelt Administration. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 made it easier for black people to vote in this country. For some inexplicable reason a significant number of white people, ESPECIALLY white people in the South, didn't think black people voting was a good idea - to the point where black people were actually KILLED for wanting to vote. Imagine that. It was then and only then that a large swath of black people began edging toward and entering the Middle Class.

Women weren't exactly welcomed into the mainstream, either. From 1957-1963, women working in America made from 63.8% of every dollar as men made to 58.9% in 1963. That right. Women made LESS in 1963 than they did in 1957. It got WORSE for women as time progressed instead of BETTER. (Women's Earnings as a Percentage of Men's, 1951–2011) If you think wages and employment opportunities were bad for women during the era of the Cleavers, it was absolutely UNTHINKABLE that women actually had enough sense to make decisions regarding their reproductive rights. Premarital sex was disgusting and immoral and abortions were ILLEGAL. Women were expected to get married, have kids, stay at home and raise the kids, keep the house, cook the meals, wash the clothes and do whatever their husbands told them to do. This was archaic thinking to say the least, but it was the prevailing social more of the time. Along came o woman named Gloria Steinem and a new word, feminism, was

Women burning bras

introduced to the world and the Feminist movement in America was born. Women in America had decided they had enough of both being TOLD what to do and EXPECTED to do. Women decided they were free; free to make their own choices about their lives, PERIOD. In a fascinating sign of solidarity, bra burning became the cause célèbre. Women were successful in getting a cigarette in their honor along with a slick advertising campaign to boot.

(Click on this link and check out this Virginia Slims commercial from 1969)

Considering the affect on health we know cigarettes can have, to say a cigarette campaign was successful is relative. However, in the 1960s, this was a big deal. In the last 50 years women have made gains in employment, education, politics, sports and freedom of choice. As the Virginia Slims jingle says, "You've come a long way, baby." As a result of the feminist movement and some skillful lawyering, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that a woman's right to privacy under the 14th Amendment extended to a woman's right to have an abortion. That January 1973 ruling is commonly referred to as Roe vs. Wade.

Immigration laws in the 1950s to mid-1960s were a lot more stringent than they are today - ESPECIALLY when it came to Asians and Africans. They were stringent for some Europeans, too. The immigration laws then favored northern and western Europeans as opposed to eastern and southern Europeans. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 changed all of that. The law, signed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson, opened the doors to the United States for immigrants from Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.

If you were gay or lesbian in the era of the Cleavers, you were a social leper. You had to live your life in shame, face public humiliation - up to an including assault or worse. Some simply HID who they were. They felt compelled to be attracted to the opposite sex in order to conceal their identities. Some married and produced children. There were few options available. Homosexuals were even objectified by the government and the clergy. The government and the clergy desperately sought "cures" for homosexuality. Homosexuals were FREAKS and ABNORMAL and something had to be done. In the 1960s, gay men starting moving to San Francisco and setting up shop in the Castro District. Gays from all over the world started migrating to San Francisco - the one city in America where they could be totally free. In 1973, a dynamic and charismatic gay man by the name of Harvey Milk moved to The Castro and the lives of gays, lesbians, bi-sexuals and transsexuals changed forever. Harvey Milk became the first openly gay politician to be elected in San Francisco and from that power of power, he led the charge in passing landmark legislation that favored the gay community. As recently as the 2004 presidential election, same sex marriage was the third rail in American politics. George W. Bush was re-elected president in 2004 basically on the promise to outlaw same sex marriage by Constitutional amendment. Today, same sex marriage is LEGAL in 19 states. The cultural landscape sure has changed since 2004.

The Republican Party's primary base is made up old, angry, bitter, frustrated (socially and otherwise), mean spirited and bigoted white men. In the 2012 presidential election, 88% of Mitt Romney's voters were white and he won 59% of the white vote overall. The Daily Kos referred to that voting bloc as a "white identity organization".
(Daily Kos: New Gallup Data Details How the Republican Party Lurches forward as a Shambling Corpse of Whiteness) Gallup backs up the Daily Kos with some indisputable evidence, too. (Gallup Politics: U.S. Whites More Solidly Republican in Recent Years) Of course, these hard numbers will be disputed. One thing about Republicans and their followers - FACTS mean NOTHING. As always, I fully expect to be inundated with email calling ME a racist and a race baiter among other things.

Political correctness was unheard of during the era of the Cleavers. People in the majority commonly and openly referred to people different from them as niggers, japs, gooks, spics, kikes, faggots, queers, camel jockeys ... I could go on. These hateful and despicable pejoratives were widely accepted. They no longer are and those who yearn for the era of the Cleavers can't understand WHY they can't say those words as freely as they once did. To them, being unable to insult and dehumanize people as often and openly as they would like is an attack on their freedom. Never mind that others may be violated in the process.

The country is getting browner and more diverse. The Republican base KNOWS they will be the in the MINORITY in approximately 25 years. That is inevitable. So instead of broadening their agenda and appealing to a more diverse electorate, they have chosen to attack and eliminate Affirmative Action; to generate voter suppression legislation targeted at reducing the number of voters who traditionally vote for progressives and Democrats; they want to abolish Roe vs.Wade and a woman's right to choose; they want to establish harsh immigration laws; they don't believe in a woman getting paid the same as a man for doing the same work; they don't believe in funding public education; they don't believe in equal rights for all because they absolutely ABHOR same sex marriage; they oppose raising the minimum wage that would actually allow people to support themselves and their families with dignity; they oppose universal healthcare; they want to eliminate social safety nets such as Social Security and Medicare; they HATE political correctness and they are absolutely OUTRAGED that a black man is President of the United States and that he and his black family actually LIVE in the RESIDENTIAL area of the White House and not in the domestic's quarters. Some apparently are outraged that a black woman can be a camera operator for one of the major news gathering agencies in the country. Patricia Carroll, a camera operator for CNN, was

Patricia Carroll

pelted with peanuts at the 2012 GOP Convention in Tampa in the course of simply doing her. As they threw peanuts at her, her attackers were heard saying, "THIS is how we feed ANIMALS."  (Washington Post: RNC ejects attendees for assaulting an African-American camera operator with peanuts) For some reason, it is popular to refer to black people as animals.   A black woman with a job like that? How many white men were passed over in order to fill that racial quota established by Affirmative Action? NONE of these things were true in the era of the Cleavers.

Men worked, women had babies and stayed at home to raise them, black people and other people of color were marginalized, excluded and knew their place and white men ruled the world. THAT was their vision THEN and that is what they want to return to. Their world has been TAKEN from them and everything has been GIVEN to women and minorities. They have been victimized and they're hurt and angry. They WANT their country BACK. They intend to get it back, too, by any means necessary. Senator Lindsey Graham (R - South Carolina) said it best two years ago: “The demographics race we’re losing badly. We’re not generating enough angry white guys to stay in business for the long term.” (From Outside the Beltway: Running Out Of Angry White Guys)   The answer to the following question is now crystal clear:

WHY does the Republican BASE yearn for the days of the Cleavers?

Peace, peace.

Craig Riggins
Email: therigginsreport517@gmail.com
Facebook: The Riggins Report
Twitter: @CraigRiggins

WHY is deadly force against UNARMED black men by law enforcement so ACCEPTABLE?

2014-09-27T13:43:00.000-05:00

John Crawford, III

John Crawford, III was shot and killed on August 5 by law enforcement officers of the Beavercreek, Ohio Police Department in a Walmart in Beavercreek. The shooting preceded the shooting of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri by four days. Yet, both shootings have remarkable similarities. Both were unarmed and both were young black men shot and killed by law enforcement officers. There is one noticeable distinction, though. John Crawford, III's killing was caught on tape. Thus far, no such tape has been presented or made available to the public in the Mike Brown case. On Wednesday, the Greene County (OH) Grand Jury ruled the Beavercreek Police were JUSTIFIED in shooting and killing John Crawford. III - DESPITE a video tape that not only showed that Crawford posed no threat to the officers at the time he was shot, but also contradicts the 911 call that brought the police to the Walmart to begin with. Take a look at the video and we'll pick up on the other side. Perhaps you can see something different from what I saw.

Ronald Ritchie

The initial call to 911 from Ronald Ritchie, who was in the Walmart the same time as John Crawford, painted an entirely different picture from what I saw on the video. Ritchie claimed that Crawford was "waving the gun" and "aiming it at people". Ritchie went so far as to tell the dispatcher that "He (Crawford) was loading the gun". I didn't see Crawford do anything that resembled Ritchie's account. By now, we all know that Crawford was carrying a BB gun that he picked up off of a shelf in the store.

Apparently, Ritchie didn't see anything that resembled his initial story, either. To put it mildly, he "recanted" the story he gave to the 911 dispatcher. To put it bluntly, Ritchie admitted to being a MONSTROUS liar that caused the death of TWO people. In a story in The Inquisitr News, Ritchie admitted that Crawford "at no point shouldered the rifle and pointed it at somebody." The cynic in me now wonders how large a dose of Sodium Pentothal aka "truth serum" did Ronald Ritchie take. This LIAR should have to pay a penalty for directly and indirectly causing the deaths of two people.

Ohio is an "Open Carry" state, which means gun owners can do just that: carry around their guns to grab a burger, a cup of coffee or some groceries - wherever they go. How many times and in how many places have we seen pictures and video of scenes like this one on the right? Just some regular guys with assault weapons hanging out.

What if the BB gun John Crawford, III was carrying around in the store WAS real? He would have been well within his rights to do so. From what I can tell from the video, as soon as police got near Crawford they shot him. It doesn't appear that he was given a chance to distinguish if the gun was real or not. Another minor detail that should have been considered is this: Walmart is one of the leading retail gun dealers in the United States. They SELL guns. What was so alarming and frightening about a guy walking around with a gun in an "Open Carry" state in a store that sells as many guns as any retailer in the country? Will SOMEONE ... ANYONE answer that question for me?

Sean Williams

Despite reviewing the store's surveillance video; despite the guy who called 911 from the store "recanted" his story and despite the fact Ohio is an "Open carry" state, the Greene County (OH) Grand Jury ruled that Sean Williams was justified when he shot and killed John Crawford, III. Considering the racial polarization in America these days, the ruling was not all surprising. In fact, it would have been surprising

The number of unarmed black men killed recently by law enforcement is both staggering and numbing. On a recent segment of Melissa Harris-Perry on MSNBC, host Melissa Harris-Perry offered up a macabre roll call of unarmed black men killed by law enforcement:

It's enough to make you cry. I have cried about it. Knowing that I or any black man can arbitrarily be killed by law enforcement for simply walking in the street or walking the aisle in a retail store or seeking help after having a traffic accident is emotionally overwhelming. We black people are constantly told by RACISTS and CLUELESS others that racism no longer exists and that America is race neutral. When we dispute that nonsense we are labeled "race baiters" and "racists". But these murders are REAL. These black men ARE dead and they were all unarmed and they were all killed by law enforcement. We know racism is America's biggest denial because I told you as much over three years ago in a piece I wrote (Racism: America's BIGGEST denial).

What's disturbing is that law enforcement killing unarmed black men is so acceptable to so many. Read any of the comments connected to any of the stories about unarmed black men killed by law enforcement and you'll see some of the most racist, vile and hate filled comments imaginable in support of cops killing black men. Grand Juries won't indict and trial juries won't convict law enforcement for killing unarmed black men, either. We're always told the officers "feared for their lives" at the hands of unarmed black men. That is what the Grand Jury in Beavercreek, Ohio bought when they decided not to indict Sean Williams. He was in fear of his life although the video clearly shows John Crawford, III didn't raise the gun at all. Another heartbreak in the name of the law.

A black man's life is threatened even when he COMPLIES with the law. Check this out:

The latest shooting victim, Lavar Jones, was shot for simply retrieving his driver's licenses as South Carolina State Trooper Sean Goubert asked him to. There was no resistance. When Jones asked the trooper why he was shot, the trooper said he made a head first move into his truck. HUH? You see a guy pull his truck on a gas

Sean Williams mug shot

station parking lot, you turn around and pull on the lot behind him; you justify your action by saying he wasn't wearing his seat belt while his vehicle was PARKED on a parking LOT; you ask for his licenses and when he gets them, you shoot him. Hmm. Okay. In a surprising turn of events Goubert was suspended, then fired and THEN was ARRESTED and CHARGED with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. In South Carolina, of all places. (Hello, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCullough!) Goubert faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Perhaps there is hope after all. (From The State: SC trooper charged with felony in shooting at traffic stop over seat belt violation)

The Department of Justice will probably conclude that John Crawford, III's civil rights were violated and DOJ may very well try Sean Williams in a federal civil rights case. Crawford's family will undoubtedly file an unlawful death suit against the city of Beavercreek, Greene County and the state of Ohio. Crawford's family should also seek legal action against Ronald Ritchie, too. So should the family of Angela Williams who suffered a fatal heart attack in the Walmart while running for cover when the shooting started. (Funeral set for woman at Walmart shooting) Ronald Ritchie NEEDS to be criminally charged.

Until law enforcement officers are charged, arrested, tried and convicted in their LOCAL jurisdictions - where they LIVE, the chances of law enforcement shooting and killing unarmed black men without suffering consequences will likely continue. Cops know they can simply say they were in fear of the unarmed black men and that will be the end of it. End of story. Those on grand juries and trial juries will render decisions based on their own fear of black men. After all, NOTHING on Earth is more menacing than black men, right? Okay ... maybe the last one was embellishing some. But at times it does seem to ring true. WHY are black men so FEARED? WHY are black men so DEHUMANIZED?

WHY is deadly force against UNARMED black men by law enforcement so ACCEPTABLE?

Peace, peace.

Craig Riggins

Email: therigginsreport517@gmail.com

Facebook: The Riggins Report

Twitter: @CraigRiggins 