Ooga Booga Men

Steve M. makes some connections between police fears of black men and how well the right uses the myth of the "evil black superman"—not only to race bait, but also to turn all political opponents into demons—

I've long felt that, since the days of Reagan, conservatives have thrived by modifying the "Southern strategy" demonization of blacks -- the demons now include Democrats, liberals, college professors, Hollywood stars, feminists, gay people, immigrants, and other groups. The rhetoric frequently circles back to race, of course -- especially, needless to say, while we have a black president -- but the same basic anger is stoked when the top Democrat is Bill Clinton or Nancy Pelosi.

Cutting Off Oxygen

The death of Eric Garner was caught on video, for anyone to see; the coroner's finding was homicide, yet the prosecutor wouldn't lead a grand jury to indict the cop responsible.

Garner's death, writes Digby, "wasn't the first time we've been able to hear someone begging for his life, unable to breathe, as police killed them on camera." It happened to a white homeless man, whose vicious beating by Fullerton, CA police was recorded on surveillance film. The police responsible were later indicted, but not convicted.

Charles Pierce on legal "justification" for chokeholds. Also on an old quote—

When police Chief Daryl Gates was asked why almost all of these fatal chokeholds involved African Americans, Gates replied that the "veins or arteries of blacks do not open up as fast as they do in normal people."

Pierce adds, "And they look like demons, too."

Response to public notice of police lawlessness: "Shut up." Victimization plays so well when it comes from the same right-wingers who are forever shrieking about "political correctness," so police have plenty of precedent to follow. Among the results, such fine displays as this and this.

And the team's pundits are always available for turning up the volume.

All Buttons Pushed

Inciting racial fear has been the right's most useful and open tactic throughout Obama's tenure. As national media continue reporting police killings of unarmed black youths, the noise machine follows by turning the victims into thugs who had it coming.

The 1990 murder of Carol DiMaiti Stuart represents, in Charles Pierce's view, a particular turning point, when—

...her husband, Charles, the murderer threw out a fairy tale about a black perpetrator that sent the Boston police on an absolute rampage through the neighborhood where the shooting occurred. It didn't stop until Stuart confessed by throwing himself off the Tobin Bridge.

Racial fear-mongering in the post-Reagan 1990s was marketed through such tropes as a supposedly new, horrifying, and academically-endorsed phenomenon: young ghetto "superpredators," more deadly than any criminals ever known before. And around this time "Cops" on Fox preceded the network's marketing of "News" to a credulous audience.

So here we are, all these decades later, as the "thugs" theme gets a bigger, brighter spotlight.

Confucius Say

Recycled script this morning: "Storytelling: workplaces have heroes and legends… What are yours?..."

Followed by precisely the same examples as last time: "Maybe it was the time we processed a record number of patients in one night"; [something about starting recalcitrant machinery]; "The co-worker who wore that Halloween costume..."

Here's an outfit selling a version of this.

Your employees will love their job and their workplace.

Every great organization has its own heroes. These heroes become company legends. These heroes build great cultures.

Your organization's legend may be a support associate who set her alarm for 2 a.m. so she could respond to a client only available in the wee hours of the morning, or it may be the cutomer service agent who drove accross town to deliver a replacement part after 9 p.m. on a Thursday night.

What photo pick could better represent corporate greatness?

At least it's not this one.

This company claims some big corporate players as clients. Perhaps low-budget cheesy sites filled with misspellings are a sign of outsourcing Mission Accomplished.

It certainly suits the quality of the ideas, that they are represented by fine clip art like this.

Translated from a Chinese manuscript of the 6th or 5th century B.C., no less.... Those ancient sages sure had their greeting card sentiments down pat.

Spin Cycle

If the head spins, too, it's understandable: the cycle moves at whiplash inducing speed.

Just one night earlier Honest Bob McCulloch had been the scourge of media; next day, his fair-haired boy was thrust onto its center stage.

No matter how very weird an appearance Darren Wilson's was, all dog whistles were loudly and clearly delivered to the intended audience.

Digby notes the very long history of this particular tune.

Results 100% Guaranteed

The case presented to the grand jury: prosecution of the victim.

Following days of manipulating the media to tease whether the decision was about to come, yesterday's announcement was made at night—just to ensure proper riot footage for Fox.

After the verdict, broadcasters thoughtfully gave McCulloch much valuable airtime. This, he used to blame "the 24-hour news cycle" and "social media" for his having had to even pretend to address Michael Brown's death in the first place.

Longtime observer of politicians,Charles Pierce, was moved to say

... this Bob McCulloch guy may be the single greasiest public servant I've ever encountered. I've never seen a DA who was so damned proud of himself for putting a grand jury on automatic pilot. ... And I've never seen such a perfect mixture of condescension and willful nonfeasance in my many years of watching how law enforcement in this country operates. This, after all, is a guy who once personally wrangled a grand jury to discover the identity of a whistleblower. This is a guy who once lied through his teeth about another police shooting, this one involving a car that allegedly "charged" a couple of officers, much as Michael Brown allegedly "charged" Darren Wilson. The kindest evaluation of McCulloch's record is that he is a very active prosecutor with a very clear sense of what he can make a grand jury do, if he chooses to do so, which he did not in this case, for reasons that are far from unclear. In the most high-profile case of his career, prosecutor Bob McCulloch insisted he was just a feather in the wind, just gathering evidence so the grand jury could make up its own mind...

Tbogg catches this: State of the Union, in a nutshell—

Mandating Game

Don't notice the low turnout. It goes without saying: Republicans elected, Mandate follows.

As Charles Pierce observed, among other things, "The Tea Party Is Not Dead, It's Just Wearing Shoes This Time".

I detected not the slightest pause for breath between "We Rule", and, "Keystone XL"...

Next up: judicial fix. Pierce again, on "...The Lingering Death of Health Care Reform" and its connection to sociopathy and Moops.