Following Through After Ferguson... A Letter From Attorney General Eric Holder

Following Michael Brown's tragic death, millions of people across the nation and around the world have focused their attention on unfolding events in Ferguson, both grieving together and making their voices heard.
In recent days, many have been captivated by ongoing developments, anguished emotions, peaceful protests -- and, too often, deeply unfortunate images of unnecessary destruction. And this tragic incident has sparked a necessary, national conversation about the need to ensure trust and build strong relationships between law enforcement officials and the communities they serve.
Events in Ferguson have revealed a deep distrust between a community and its police force. But this reality is not limited to one location. Other communities around this country know this struggle all too well. And it's abundantly clear that every single one of us has a role to play in tackling this problem together, as a nation -- to identify those things that bind us, and to be honest with one another about the things that continue to divide us.
In August, President Obama ordered a review of federal funding and programs that provide equipment to state and local law enforcement agencies. Yesterday, the Administration released that review's findings -- and announced key next steps to strengthen the trust in and effectiveness of the policing of our communities.
Learn more about yesterday's announcements, and the findings of the Administration's review.
Here are the next steps we're taking:

1. Creating a new task force to promote the expansion of 21st century community-oriented policing.
2. Reforming how the federal government equips local law enforcement, particularly with military-style equipment.
3. Advancing the use of body-worn cameras and promoting proven community policing initiatives.

I know this has been a difficult time for people in Ferguson, and for many others across the country. It will take time for things to get better. But as I assured Ferguson residents during my visit there, in August, the Obama administration is firmly committed to making the progress we need -- and that all of our citizens deserve.
The changes that the President announced yesterday are exactly the sorts of programmatic steps that will bring the right people together to engage in a constructive, national conversation -- so we can build trust, address persistent concerns, and protect public safety while respecting the rights of every American.
Last Tuesday, addressing the public, the President said, "[to] those who are prepared to work constructively, your President will work with you." I am committed to answering the President's call to see this through -- as are the men and women of the United States Department of Justice.
Learn more about yesterday's announcements here -- and spread the word to anyone who wants to know how we're moving forward as a nation.
Thank you,
Eric H. Holder, Jr.

America Beyond Ferguson, Missouri

A picture worth a thousand words. It tells the story of that other America that now retired officer Darren Wilson who shot and killed unarmed teenager Mike Brown is totally ignorant of. It shows police Sgt. Bret Barnum hugging and being hugged by twelve year old Devonte Hart during the Ferguson demonstration in Portland, Oregon on November 25, 2014. The picture was taken by freelance photographer Johnny Nguyen. Look at this moment and let it sink in. I have no more words about it.

Are We Headed In The Wrong Direction On Human Rights?

UN Report Criticizes U.S. Record On Torture
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/28/un-torture-us_n_6237898.html

Burning And Looting Tonight... A Ferguson Conspiracy Theory

This morning I woke up in a curfew; 

O God, I was a prisoner, too - yeah!

Could not recognize the faces standing over me;

They were all dressed in uniforms of brutality. Eh!

How many rivers do we have to cross,

Before we can talk to the boss? Eh!

All that we got, it seems we have lost;

We must have really paid the cost.

(That's why we gonna be)

Burnin' and a-lootin' tonight;

(Say we gonna burn and loot)

Burnin' and a-lootin' tonight;

(One more thing)

Burnin' all pollution tonight;

(Oh, yeah, yeah)

Burnin' all illusion tonight.

---Bob Marley... "Burnin' And Lootin"

Did you see the smug expression on Bob McCulloch's face as he set out to justify the actions of Officer Darren Wilson by discrediting the witness accounts of this policeman's indiscriminate actions in the killing of unarmed teenager Mike Brown? A rather long question I agree, so consider thus while you ponder it. Robert McCulloch's father was a police officer who was killed on the job in 1964 by an African-American man. Paul McCulloch was killed the evening of July 2, 1964, during a gun battle in St. Louis’s infamous Pruitt-Igoe housing projects. His alleged killer, Eddie Steve Glenn, was a black man who had reportedly abducted a white woman. 

McCulloch was 12 years old at the time of his father’s death. In addition to his father, McCulloch's brother, an uncle and a cousin all served with the St. Louis Police Department, and his mother worked as a clerk at the department. McCulloch, who as a teenager lost a leg to cancer, made it his career ambition to become a prosecutor. He was quoted by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as telling a reporter, while first campaigning for the office: "I couldn't become a policeman, so being county prosecutor is the next best thing."

No one was surprised by the outcome of the grand jury deliberation. Bob McCulloch did not want an indictment. In his mind all his police comrade had done was kill a "demon". A black demon at that. One like the other black demon that allegedly killed his dad. This outcome is exactly what he designed it to be... Absolution for his comrade in arms... Vengeance ongoing for his fallen father. And so now his only remaining duty was to present the findings of this secret trial in a way, and at a time , to achieve maximum impact. How does one in his position, in a place like Ferguson, Missouri, cover up an injustice? Should he use the dark of night? Should he present his findings in such an insensitively smug way as to inflame the passions of those who were there to protest? Would he collaborate with the other authorities to make sure that his inflammatory response to this tragedy would become a trigger for a fiery response from protesters, thus creating a  needed distracting narrative? Well a literally fiery response was what resulted. Ferguson burned overnight... And may continue to burn.

Huffington Post reports:

"Ferguson, Missouri, is waking up to a city that is still smoldering after a night of unrest following a grand jury's decision not to indict officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown.

At least a dozen buildings were torched and looted, many of them local businesses that police said were total losses. Dozens of cars -- including two police cruisers and rows of vehicles at a car dealership -- were also vandalized and left charred. St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said he heard about 150 gunshots, none from police."

The pictures coming out of Ferguson show security forces in some cases standing by as the destruction was being effected. They had more than ample time to prepare for this eventuality. We all witnessed the press conferences by the governor and others stating how prepared they would be. And so we must wonder... Is this the result that Bob McCulloch and some others in authority wanted? In the face of what most reasonable observers see as a travesty of Justice, did they want to create a narrative that would distract attention away from the real tragedy?

The actions of this policeman has become another trigger for action against the vile actions of law enforcement in minority communities. If I were Darren Wilson or any of those cuddling him, I would not break out the champagne just yet. Not as long as people in minority communities have cause to lament:

"This morning I woke up in a curfew;

O God, I was a prisoner, too - yeah!

Could not recognize the faces standing over me;
They were all dressed in uniforms of brutality. Eh!"

Openness and Functional Living... Beyond The Parochialism Around Us

(The following is an excerpt from the essay "Cultivating Functional Lives" which is published in my book "Of Paradise Despised... and lives that bought into a lie". Visit www.figtreeenterprises.com for information on all my published works.)

The cultivation of openness is, on the one hand, a function of the things we do to expose the precariousness of our own existence. We initiate that task by truthfully dis-investing ourselves of lifestyles and habits that definitively under-develops us. On the other hand, it is also a function of our willingness to engage in the lives of others in a liberating way. That is to say, in ways that builds them up. Ultimately, it is that dynamic process through which Love works its will through us to heal the wounds, and fill the void in so many hopeless lives.

The cultivation of functional lives is an individual responsibility, but it is essentially a collective pursuit. We fail in this pursuit when we behave as if we can accomplish this in some kind of paradigm that reeks of isolationism. No man is an island. We stand up by raising others up. This demands a realistic openness to the essential dynamics of our collective experience. It necessitates a critical awareness of our cultural habitat, and a spiritual perspective that is inclusive of our collective well-being.

On the journey of self-discovery, we necessarily find each other. That is how it is. That is how it should be. Our destinies are inextricably interrelated. The secret of our happiness lies in the realization of our common humanity. Balance is found when we see the relationship between our good, and the common good. We come to realize eventually, that our materialism is actually our spiritualism turned on its head. Obtaining bread for myself may be a material issue; feeding the hungry is definitely a spiritual pursuit.

So, how do we realize true functionality in our lives? How do we get to that place of supreme balance? I have no new answers to these questions, because I truly believe that the old answers work. Accept responsibility for your destiny. That destiny is not inevitable. If you need to, you can turn around and go in a different direction. The  road you are on leads somewhere; if you do not look forward to ending up in that place then stop. There are many junctions in our experience. Stop. Look. Listen. Go in a different direction. Head in a new direction, to a better place, somewhere that is more in keeping with your truest desires. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. Service is the truest expression of any real love. Feed the hungry. Clothe the naked. Take care of the afflicted. Encourage the broken-hearted. Set the captive free.

I am here to proclaim the good news that the time has come when we are required to take responsibility for our lives. This requires a sense of industry. Each one of us is expected to engage in the necessary work of creating the life we want. The great news is that when we do, we will find that fulfillment that has been our greatest desire.

Giuliani's black-on-black crime comments: What he got wrong

Giuliani's black-on-black crime comments: What he got wrong

With Nothing To Offer... The Republicans Are Frothing At The Mouth

Political commentator and griot Walter Rhett writes in his blog Black History 360* about  "... the condescension in the tone and attitude..." which characterizes the spirit of the Republican leadership's responses to President Barack Obama. Mr Rhett notes that it is:

" ...as if (Boehner) is reminding the President of his betters (the caucus of white Republican men in Congress), as if he is threatening the President while pretending to offer friendly political advice, ..."

My friend Walter Rhett is not alone in his assessment of what I am calling the froth coming from the mouths of the Republican leadership. Other political observers have characterized the GOP's responses to the President's actions on issues like Immigration Reform as "toothless griping". What is disturbing to many is the obvious lack of cultural grace, or the no show of just plain good manners that has become a part of the attitude and language of the President's critics. They seem to have gotten to that shallow place in political discourse where to be perceived as effective they must display that gross incivility which the worst elements of their base find culturally reassuring.

To satisfy the depraved political and cultural cravings of those whose objections to the POTUS are rooted in an underground of political and cultural motives that are adverse to the interests of a progressive society; they continue to resort to rhetoric that defiles the sensibilities of a civilized society. To object to the Affordable Care Act they talk about "death panels". To distract our attention away from the humane consideration of the strangers among us they carelessly talk about "anarchy". They have no answers... Only questions about the President's motives and methods. Instead of offering improvements... They seek to tear down everything the President seeks to build. Instead of the art of compromise they demand their way... Or no way. Instead of dialogue... they continue to shout "hell no!".

What ails these Republicans? We note their shouts and screams... But is what we are hearing the declarations of an empowered political entity, or signals of their existential pain? Let’s call this “condescending tone” by it’s real name. It is the verbal mask that a feckless Opposition wears to hide the fact of its subservience. Boehner's is nothing more than the voice of organizations like Heritage and others who share their existential angst. Confronted with this symbolically powerful Presidency, they realize that they now live in a new cultural/political paradigm. 

The Boehners and McConnells et al in the political arena decided that if they couldn’t limit President Obama to one term, they would do everything they could to prevent him from governing. An enlivened electorate beat back their regressive voices in 2008 and 2012; giving this President an opportunity that few Presidents in the modern era have had... a second term. Now they must deal with the fact that the change that President Obama symbolizes is an enduring fact of the new and evolving demographic reality. 

Let them continue to froth at the mouth… The times, they are a changing. The froth we witness coming from the mouths of these Republicans is a result of the pain from their internal cultural "weeping and wailing".  As presently constituted their days are numbered. They have no future in a dynamic democracy that acts against the suppression of voters rights and the naked fraud of gerrymandering. This froth is also symbolic of the vapidity of their political and cultural postulations. On the major issues of our day... healthcare , a liveable wage, a sustainable environment, immigration reform, international security,  and infrastructure redevelopment... They've got nothing. Their anxious regurgitation of empty objections will not endure in the persistent wind of our ever-changing reality.