Criminal or Not? It Doesn't Matter

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Saturday August 16, 2014 · 1:37 PM PDT

2014/08/16 · 13:37

This shouldn't even have to be said, but apparently it does so I'll do my best to make it as unambiguous as possible.

I don't care if Michael Brown was a thief. I don't care if he was a cannibal who ate his siblings, put babies on spikes and had just come from bathing in the blood of a hundred virgins. I don't care.

It doesn't matter.

It's not supposed to matter.

What matters is that he was unarmed and appears to have been surrendering when he was shot.

Everything else is just smoke.

More below the fold.

Miang

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Thursday August 14, 2014 · 2:02 PM PDT

2014/08/14 · 14:02

You know, switching who is running security in Ferguson is a good idea - obviously. Changing tactics to try to be more reasonable with the protesters is a no-brainer - obviously.

But seriously? "We are looking forward, not behind."

When asked if anyone would be held accountable for the strong arm tactics being deployed in Missouri over the last few days that was the response. What I'm hearing is a simple "No. We don't want to look at our behavior or bother to determine who fucked up, so we're going to pretend that going forward is a reflection of positive focus instead of a a way of dodging our mistakes."

When the governor is asked questions like will they release the incident report surrounding the shooting of Michael Brown, will they release information about the reporters who were arrested yesterday seemingly for no reason, he essentially indicated that he had NO IDEA what was going on with regards to these issues. "I'm not involved with the actual investigations".

When they say that they want to encourage peaceful protests and start a dialog, that's great. But when they focus so much on how that means other people need to listen too, they seem like they are saying that the protesters are not listening to the poor police officers point of view on the subject. There might be a time and a place for a statement like that but this was not it.

He talked about how "gunfire was used on both sides" and characterized the situation as if the public was more responsible - or as responsible for this escalation and violence as the police who have been perpetuating a reign of fear on their own community.

On the whole the tone of the press conference disturbed me greatly. I'm not satisfied. I want to tell Governor Nixon that he needs to do more than this. Putting a black highway patrol officer in charge of local security is all well and good but in this context it feels like a poor attempt at placation.

*This is not meant to comment, impute or make any statement about the qualification of the highway patrol captain who has been placed in charge.

KosAbility: Prison of Pain

Miang for KosAbility

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Sunday August 10, 2014 · 4:00 PM PDT

2014/08/10 · 16:00

Slowly you claw your way up from the depths of sleep. In the dark abyss of dreams the pain was a dim, dull thing; present but possible to ignore. As awareness returns to your senses you feel it tear through your jaw, your cheek, your ears, until the whole of your reality is reduced to that cluster of cells. Once, during an exam, the nurse, determined in the way of medical people to classify everything in neat columns, asked you to describe the pain. Was it throbbing, burning, or aching? Did the pain stab into you or pulse along your body? Was it a steady beat or did it wax and wane over time? You struggled to explain, to separate the orchestra of sensations into their different types. Frustration tenses your muscles, your eyes narrow, your brow furrows. You've lived with the pain for so long – how can it be that you can’t put to words how it feels?

KosAbility is a Sunday 7pm eastkost/4pm leftkost volunteer diarist series, as a community for people living with disabilities, who love someone with a disability, or who want to know more about the issues. Our use of "disability" includes temporary as well as permanent health/medical conditions, from small, gnawing problems to major, life-threatening ones. Our use of "love someone" extends to cherished members of other species.

Our discussions are open threads in the context of this community. Feel free to comment on the diary topic, ask questions of the diarist or generally to everyone, share something you've learned, tell bad jokes, post photos, or rage about your situation. Our only rule is to be kind; trolls will be spayed or neutered. If you are interested in contributing a diary, contact series coordinator postmodernista.

Miang

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Monday July 28, 2014 · 4:09 PM PDT

2014/07/28 · 16:09

Have surgery or we’ll try to have your children taken from you.

That’s what Bayfont Health, a hospital in Port Charlotte, Florida, has effectively told Jennifer Goodall.

The native of Coral Gables and mother of three is now 41 weeks into her fourth pregnancy. Her other children were delivered by cesarean section as a matter of medical necessity but no medial reason has been given to suggest she needs one in this case. After considering the facts and her options Goodall determined that she wanted to attempt a normal vaginal birth with this child, only moving to surgical delivery if complications during the birth called for it.

The hospital refused. On July 10 she received a letter from the chief financial officer of the hospital warning her that she would be reported to the Department of Children and Family services and that they would seek a court order to allow them to perform a c-section if she sought care in their hospital regardless of her refusal to consent.

Miang

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Tuesday July 22, 2014 · 11:32 PM PDT

2014/07/22 · 23:32

A step by step guide for the curious on how to resolve the problems of the world to the satisfaction of the GOP.

Please be advised that anyone who uses this guide does so at their own risk. (Also, sarcasm)

Miang

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Wednesday July 16, 2014 · 3:12 PM PDT

2014/07/16 · 15:12

Politicians have always served up the issues as a smorgasbord of feelings – usually with extra helpings of fear and outrage. In the cut throat world of soundbites emotion plays better than facts and conventional wisdom tells anyone with political aspirations that they must get their message to their target audience in twenty seconds or less. Emotions have dominated politics from time immemorial, but election years showcase the feelings of the players with more fervor than a high school gossip recounting the latest antics of the school football team.

Michele Bachmann (R-MN) stared into the camera yesterday and announced her heart was “[...] broken for a female college student in Minnesota who was raped, murdered and mutilated by a foreign national”. The congresswoman was speaking to CNN about the humanitarian crisis at the southern border. Along with many of her colleagues Rep. Bachmann has described the thousands of refugees who have traveled to the United States in an attempt to escape violence in their native homelands as an invasion of our country, one that must be stopped at all costs. She’s hardly unique in her comparison of displaced children with murderers, rapists, drug dealers, and disease ridden vermin.

But fear is not the only feeling politics traffics in. Last Friday Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC) spoke at a meeting of the Republican Study Committee about how the GOP should address the party’s poor relationship with women voters. They contend the problem many woman have with their party is not one of policy, but one of messaging. “It’s how we are able to articulate ourselves - make sure we get the point across that we care,” Ellmers said.

It appears to be the opinion of the Republican Study Committee that a semblance of compassion is more important to the voting public than the practical effect of political policy.

Miang

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Tuesday July 08, 2014 · 2:52 PM PDT

2014/07/08 · 14:52

"Without job creators no one would be able to make a living, we should all remember that"

"You should be grateful there are job creators out there to give you work"

"If you don't like your pay you should start your own business and see how hard it is to create jobs"

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Criminal or Not? It Doesn't Matter

Governor Nixon's Press Conference Was Utterly Unsatisfying

KosAbility: Prison of Pain

The Rights of Pregnant Women are Abridged

Foreign Policy, GOP Style

Hearts Versus Minds

Please Sir, Can I have a Job?