caucus99percent

free-range politics, organic community

"Rioting and Looting" is how the media is selling this story instead of overwhelming and unnecessary police force against the protesters is fueling the violence. We have seen that time and time again starting long before Ferguson, but that is one of the first places I remember the cops starting to use the military equipment. Who can forget that scene where a cop is on top of a bearcat pointing his rifle at a group of unarmed people standing there with their hands up? The protests were mostly peaceful UNTIL the cops showed up and starting stirring shit up. Why? Because they could. And if the militarized outfitted cops weren't enough many states sent in the national guard. Yeah cuz that has always turned out well.

I have a habit of batch processing a lot of my e-mail, letting it fester and then dealing with it. I especially do this with Caitlin, because I let my phone read it to me when I'm out doing stuff that takes little attention. So, on the 21th Caitlin Johnstone posted this funny yet gritty to do list which I thought would provide some entertainment for the assemblage here.

To-Do List
by Caitlin Johnstone

Laundry

Vacuum

Roar at sky

Ferguson PD

There are likely other reasons as well, especially psychological ones, including sociopathic levels of need for extreme control ‘the other’, even when ‘the other’ is the same color or ethnicity.  Of course black cops kill other blacks, including unarmed ones, and as an honest black Chief of Police had said a decade ago: ‘When a cop zips on the uniform of the security state, he becomes what the Police Chief demands’.  I wish I could remember his name; he’d not allowed his force to carry guns, and back then, it was working to cut down on actual  crime.

.

The United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2020

I am beside myself with anger. I seriously want to punch the fuck out of someone. I am so pissed off, I can't see straight. This is totally, and utterly un-acceptable.

Ebb and Flow

Life's patterns continue. It's been a time of harvest and processing this week. As summer heat encroaches spring greens will turn bitter. So it's been harvest, wash, blanche, and freeze while they are the tastiest. We had a few nice cabbages too which are fermenting to kraut. Crops come and crops go. So do empires. Not all is ideal. After 33 years we had to pump our septic system which involved digging up the flowerbed on top of it to pull the lid and clean it out. What a mess, but I've reseeded and mulched the bed and it too will flow (grow) back. Managed to put in a new gas tank on the tractor last week, but am still awaiting a reordered fan blade. One step forward, one step back. It's the nature of things.

Something/Someone Old

My Something Old today is Margery Allingham's Albert Campion series.

It's amazing I got to the age of 52 without knowing about Margery Allingham.

Recent release of the transcripts of both General Flynn's December 29, 2016 conversation with Russian Ambassador Kislyak and FBI Director Comey's testimony to Congress of March 2, 2017 add immeasurably to our understanding of what happened with Flynn and the Ambassador and with Comey, Congress, and the public's perception.