In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note: Racism] This is something: "U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said on Monday he would soon release new guidelines to limit racial profiling by federal law enforcement, a move long awaited by civil rights advocates. ...Civil rights advocates have long called on the federal government to expand the guidelines. It is not known what groups Holder will include. The new guidelines would not pertain to local or state law enforcement, such as the Ferguson Police Department where officer Darren Wilson worked when he shot Brown. But Holder and civil rights advocates have said the federal guidelines will set the example for local agencies." Is the problem with local and state law enforcement lack of good examples, though? I think it's rather more lack of accountability. Still, this is good news.

[CN: Racism; police brutality] The unmitigated cheek: "Less than a week after twelve-year-old Tamir Rice was fatally shot by Cleveland police officers who thought Rice's toy gun was real, nine other members of the Cleveland Police Department filed a lawsuit that accuses the department of discriminating against non-African American officers who used deadly force. ...In the suit, the plantiffs claim that the department treated non-African American officers involved in the 2012 shooting of two African Americans 'substantially harsher' than African American officers involved in the same incidents. ...The officers alleged that the department's practices place 'onerous burdens on non-African American officers, including the plaintiffs, because of their race,' which violates their due process and equal protection under the law." I don't even know.

[CN: Racist apologia] What the actual fuck: "Chief Jon Belmar sent an email to his staff Monday night informing them that a senior Rams executive called to apologize for some players' show of support for protesters in Ferguson, Mo., the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. ...Belmar wrote his staff that Kevin Demoff, the Rams' chief operating officer, called 'to take the opportunity to apologize' to the police department on behalf of the team. ...Demoff didn't dispute that he called Belmar. But he told ESPN.com that he never apologized during the conversation. 'In those conversations, I expressed regret that players' actions were construed negatively against law enforcement,' he told ESPN, adding that the team believes 'it is possible to support both our players' First Amendment rights and the efforts of local law enforcement to make this a better community.'"

[CN: Class warfare] More evidence that the recovery is not a recovery for everyone: "They tell you if you knuckle down and work hard, you'll get ahead in life. But Northwest Indiana residents haven't been making much progress financially—in fact, they've collectively been hit by a big pay cut over the last year. On average, wages in Northwest Indiana declined by $1.25 an hour over the past 12 months, and the average income has fallen by $3,000 as a result of lower wages and fewer work hours, said Micah Pollak, Indiana University Northwest assistant professor of economics. It's a local problem: Wages actually rose by 24 cents an hour statewide over the same period, while workers nationally got an average raise of 33 cents per hour. The average income in the Calumet Region has dropped to $40,000 from $43,000, a 6.6 percent decline, while workers nationally are making the same amount as they did a year ago." BOOTSTRAPS!

Ms. Willie Murphy is a 77-year-old weightlifting champion who could definitely kick my ass.

Sad news for all you Portman-heads out there: Republican Ohio Senator Rob Portman has ruled out a presidential bid. We're all devastated, I'm sure.

Neat! "Astronomers have made the first ever observation of an exoplanet using a ground-based telescope." 55 Cancri e is a "super-earth" orbiting "a star dimly visible to the naked eye called 55 Cancri."

And finally: Nobody puts Baby behind a pet gate! Nobody!