This link goes to CNN's story on Joe Walsh's tweet threatening to go to war on Obama and Black Lives Matter [which he's now deleted] ~ it's well worth reading ~

For those who don't know/don't remember, Joe Walsh was a 1-term TPer congressman from Illinois ~ he beat Tammy Duckworth in that race by telling ugly/horrendous lies and questioning her war-time service [Tammy lost both legs and the use of one arm during her tour as a helicopter pilot in Iraq] ~ while a congressman, he was exposed as a deadbeat dad, owing something like $100,000 in back child support ~ a real gem of a guy ~ ~ but this part of his story proves "all's well that ends well" because Tammy stormed back in the next election and took his congressional seat ~ this year, she's challenging Mark Kirk [the Illinois GOP senator] for his Senate seat, and she has a very solid chance of taking that seat too ~

But Walsh proves once a TPer, always a non-reality-based TPer ~ I'm hoping the tweet threatening Obama and Black Lives Matter provokes an unscheduled visit from the Secret Service or the FBI ~

Sooz

We took Mother to the Ocean City boardwalk because she told us she wanted to see the ocean. Loads of cops on the boardwalk. I actually thought to myself, "Go away. If someone is targeting you I don't want us to be collateral damage."

The threat was just about as close to sedition as you can get. Far lesser threats have been seen as seditious.

But he's white.

This is a terrific commentary and asks some on-point questions ~ I personally relate to all of these reactions ~ but I'm still a "peace, love, and rock 'n roll" mentality and I'm feeling gobsmacked by this ~ ~ Sooz

'America is weeping': Taking stock after 3 days of tragedy
Associated Press / By MATT SEDENSKY and SHARON COHEN, AP National Writers / 15 hrs ago

NEW YORK — Can this really be America in 2016?

Three tumultuous days have brought echoes of decades past and made clear a public that elected a black president hasn't reconciled its fractured history with race, that a country that lived through unrest and assassinations in the 1960s and 1970s still bubbles with resentment and rage, and that bloody images of violent tragedy aren't going away.

"America is weeping," said Rep. G.K. Butterfield, head of the Congressional Black Caucus, reflecting an entire nation's mounting anger, tension and despair.

It started Tuesday, with a familiar scene: A black man, on the ground, shot by police, with the incident captured on cellphone video. That killing, of a 37-year-old ex-convict named Alton Sterling, who was carrying a gun while selling CDs outside a Louisiana convenience store, ignited public outrage, and added Baton Rouge to a long list of places where the death of a black male at the hands of police has come under a cloud of suspicion.

It might have remained just that, with Sterling's name added to a sorrowful litany alongside Michael Brown and Eric Garner and Freddie Gray.

Then came Wednesday.

In Falcon Heights, Minnesota, another black man was shot dead by an officer, this time after a traffic stop. As 32-year-old Philando Castile sat bloodied and dying, his girlfriend made a live broadcast on Facebook that gave an eerie look into the aftermath. As the video freezes and the woman loses composure and lets out a scream, the sweet voice of her 4-year-old daughter chimes in to comfort: "It's OK, I'm right here with you."

And then, like clockwork in a new deranged norm, came another evening, another night of tragedy.

As demonstrators amassed in Dallas on Thursday to mark what had transpired in the two preceding days, five police officers there to help keep the peace were shot and killed and seven other officers and two civilians were wounded. Authorities said it was the work of a sniper. The suspect, who was killed by police, had said he was upset by the recent shootings and wanted to kill whites, particularly white officers.

It was a devastating climax to three horrific days that Americans are struggling to understand.

At the Justice Department, Attorney General Loretta Lynch called it "a week of profound grief and heartbreaking loss." In Chicago, Archbishop Blase Cupich said, "Every corner of our land is in the grip of terror." On Capitol Hill, civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis of Georgia said, "We feel the pain. We feel the hurt."

Kevin Boyle, an American history professor at Northwestern University, thought of the late 1960s and the 1992 Los Angeles riots, seeing "terrifying parallels" and "echoes for me of other really incredibly tense points." The presence of video documentation of the incidents calls attention to strife that had previously existed only in agonizing private memories.

"It's not that the incidents are new," he said, "it's our ability to see them."

At the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., Kim Hernandez welled with tears Friday as she took stock of the week. "There's just a really scary sense of humanity right now," she said. "I don't know what's going on. I don't know how we can fix it, but it doesn't seem like talking is working."

At Bible Way Temple in Raleigh, North Carolina, Darnell Dixon Sr., the chief pastor, wondered why more positive change hasn't come. He presided over the funeral of another black man who was shot by a white officer earlier this year, and was part of a dialogue with police that followed and brought him a sense of healing.

"I started feeling better," he said. "But yesterday set me back. It bewildered me."

As rancor grew, a handful of violent incidents against police arose across the country, including the shooting of an officer in Valdosta, Georgia. Authorities said a man called 911 to report a break-in, then ambushed the responding officer.

Some lashed out at the movement that was born of police shootings of blacks and even at President Barack Obama, accusing him of fueling divisions among people of color and whites. Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh called Black Lives Matter a "terrorist movement," while U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, a Republican from Texas, said the "spread of misinformation and constant instigation by prominent leaders, including our president, have contributed to the modern day hostility we are witnessing between the police and those they serve."

Black Lives Matter organizers condemned the violence in Dallas, and police haven't given any indication that the shooter had anything to do with the group.

If the gravity of it all seems clear, the road from here does not.

Does the assemblage of killings by police around the country and the resulting Black Lives Matter movement lead to more than candlelight vigils and calls for change? Does the anger that seemingly fueled the shootings in Dallas precipitate and lead to similar attacks on police akin to Black Panther-style violence of long ago? Is this a turning point or simply a continuation?

Jeanine Bell, an Indiana University professor who authored "Policing Hatred: Law Enforcement, Civil Rights, and Hate Crime," said the week will not go down as a pivotal point unless it leads to substantive change by police that goes beyond simply diversifying forces and introducing anti-bias training.

"Until there is a call for reorganization of policing practices, not just small changes, then it's very hard to call this a turning point," she said.

Pew Research Center, in a survey released last month, found more than 4 in 10 blacks doubt the nation will ever make changes necessary for racial equality with whites and that nearly two-thirds of black adults believe blacks are treated less fairly than whites in the workplace.

This week's killings come in the midst of a divisive presidential election, amid fears of terrorism and on the heels of the latest mass shooting that claimed 49 innocent lives. The killings in Dallas happened just blocks from the book depository where another sniper took aim at President John F. Kennedy. It ended his life and a period of American history that became regarded as "Camelot," and became a presage to the strife, unrest and other assassinations that followed.

Two blocks from the shooting site, in Dallas' historic West End district, Joe Groves owns Ellen's Southern Kitchen & Bar, where dinner was underway when the gunfire sounded. Many of the officers who were assigned to Thursday night's demonstration are friends of his, and as the violence erupted, he tapped out three words to two of his uniformed friends: "Love you man."

Though Groves is white, most of his 72 workers are black and Latino; his clientele is diverse as well. The tension that came to a head in the shootings wasn't something he'd experienced personally, until now.

On Friday, his restaurant was open again, but the atmosphere was noticeably different. He said people are speaking more quietly, and the enormity of it all seemed to weigh. He sees some good coming of it all, a connectedness between strangers that is rarely there, a willingness to make eye contact. And even though he thinks race relations may have reached their rock bottom, he sees a reason for hope there, too.

"The good news about rock bottom," he said, "is the only way out is up."

Cohen reported from Chicago and can be reached at scohen@ap.org. Sedensky can be reached at msedensky@ap.org or https://twitter.com/sedensky . AP national writers Rachel Zoll in New York, Pauline Arrillaga in Phoenix and Allen Breed in Raleigh, N.C., contributed to this report.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/breakingnews/america-is-weeping-taking-stock-after-3-days-of-tragedy/ar-BBu6QkG?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=U145DHP

The sad part is that we've hit rock bottom before, climbed our way up about 50% or so, then we fall back down. I am losing hope that I will live to see true equality as long as those of my generation who were raised as racists live and as long as they've passed that racism on to their children. I hope that my grandchildren will break that cycle.....

IMO, as long as religion has a strong hold on people, there will always be bigotry and racism.

Religion is only a small part of the hate culture.

I would disagree. I don't think you realize the strong influence of (bastardized) religion in the US which crosses over to politics too . It is no longer about love and peace. It's about who is superior and whose religion is "true", most of that is based on the white man . No matter that Jesus wasn't white....

Now that I think about it as I typed that, I realize that a lot of the Christian religious sects aren't even concerned about conversions now. They just want those who do not believe like them to shut up or disappear as they circle their cross-emblazoned wagons to shut others out. Blacks, Muslims, gays etc. In their minds, these people are "dirty" and beneath them, unworthy to breath the same air.

Skinheads aren't particular religious yet they are a huge part of the problem.

Because the skinheads [and that entire "white supremacy" ilk] hate the same people, oskar ~

Sooz

That's what I said, essentially. It's the "white European" cultural sense of superiority. Whether it's rooted in religion, race, language, nationality, ethnicity, etc. is irrelevant. The Japanese have the same sense of cultural superiority towards "the other". We are slowly losing that attitude in Canada as we search to define who we are. USians have much further to go at this point but once it starts getting a good head of steam things will change very quickly and those who refuse to accept the reality of it have lotsa guns, so it won't be pretty.

And now....

Bahamas issues US travel advisory over racial tensions

The Bahamas has issued a rare travel advisory for its citizens visiting the US, recommending particular care for young men in cities affected by tensions over recent police shootings.

The advisory warns citizens to not get involved in protests and avoid crowds.

It comes after two black men were shot dead by police in Minnesota and Louisiana, and five officers were killed at a protest in Dallas.

Some 90% of the Bahamas population is black, according to the CIA.

The advisory comes as the country, a former British colony, celebrates its Independence Day holiday, on 10 July, a time when many locals travel abroad, including to the US.

The statement, issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, tells citizens to "exercise appropriate caution", especially in cities affected by "tensions... over shootings of young black males by police officers".

"In particular young males are asked to exercise extreme caution in affected cities in their interactions with the police. Do not be confrontational, and co-operate," it says.

"Do not get involved in political or other demonstrations under any circumstances and avoid crowds."

The US regularly issues travel advisories for Americans visiting other countries, but it is rare for nations to issue warnings for their citizens travelling to the US.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-36755182

I think skinheads comprise a smaller percentage of the population than religious folks. The KKK consider themselves Christians.

#37 Wow.

Right off the bat, I'm drunk. Talked to the father of my customer, a vet Afghanistan soldier, this evening.
Dad is a friend of mine. He voted for Trump. Son doesn't. I told dad to listen to his son.
I seriously believe I made dad start looking up those "facts" in the future.
One at a time is all we can hope for.
I definitely was impressed with the son, having served in Afghanistan for three rounds and still having a liberal mindset.
I'm exhausted.

I would be too.

You don't have to have a liberal mindset to be opposed to Trump...just a mind.

For what it's worth, in my area All of the mainstream Christian denominations are urging respect for Muslims. In the sanctuary where I attend and work (mostly white) there's a large sign on the wall: BLACK LIVES MATTER. Of course we don't have any Southern Baptist Convention congregations. And Assembly Of God churches aren't mainstream. Haven't heard anything out of them.

Very nice work, Jab! ~

Sooz

Dallas sniper 'was not the same' after time in Afghanistan, next-door neighbour says

In her Mesquite, Texas home, about 20 kilometres east of Dallas, the next-door neighbour of Micah Johnson spoke quietly about the man she remembered as a sweet kid, but who she said became a different person after his time in Afghanistan.

The neighbour, who says she has known Johnson since he was a teenager, did not want to be identified, but agreed to speak briefly about the 25-year-old, now responsible for the deadliest attack on law enforcement in the city's history, and the deadliest day for law enforcement in the U.S. since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

"He was a good kid. He was not the same when he came back from Afghanistan," she said.

Johnson changed, she said. He was quieter, more reclusive and withdrawn, and would talk about the horrors of war. Before his tour, he was sweet and quiet, and would help other kids in the community, a neighbourhood she described as mixed, where people of all races and religions live.

"And that's why everybody is so shocked."

For six years starting in 2009, Johnson served in the Army Reserve as a private first class with a specialty in carpentry and masonry, the military said.

According to The Associated Press, on May 2014, six months into his Afghanistan tour, he was accused of sexual harassment by a female soldier and sent home.

Police say Johnson, who was killed by a robot armed with a bomb, had declared he wanted "to kill white people, especially white police officers." His Facebook page revealed that he "liked" groups that included the African American Defence League and the New Black Panther Party, which was founded in Dallas.

Johnson also "liked" the Nation of Islam and the Black Riders Liberation Party, which the Southern Poverty Law Center described as "hate groups."

In a statement, police said Johnson had no criminal history and that "others had identified him as a loner."

Since the shootings, his home had been been the scene of an intensive investigation launched by police, who found bomb-making materials, ballistic vests, rifles , ammunition and a personal journal of combat tactics.

But on Saturday, his residence and the neighbourhood was relatively quiet, save for a scattering of media.

A bouquet of flowers was left on the doorstep of Johnson's home with a note that read: "Praying for your family. Remember this too shall pass. Praying for your comfort and peace."

'I even cried for him'

"I cried as much for the police officers as I did for his family," said his neighbour. "I even cried for him because what was that kid going through that he would do such a horrific thing? A loving kid, a loving family, what was he going through that triggered him?"

More details emerged Saturday about Johnson's background with weapons' training. A neighbour reported to investigators that Johnson had been seen practicing some sort of military drill in his backyard, said Clay Jenkins, the Dallas County judge, the county's most senior elected official.

Johnson also received instruction at the Academy of Combative Warrior Arts in the Dallas suburb of Richardson about two years ago, the school's founder and chief instructor, Justin J. Everman told the Associated Press.

The private self-defence school teaches special tactics, including "shooting on the move," in which an attacker fires and changes position before firing again.

Mike Rawlings, the mayor of Dallas, on Friday said officials believed Johnson was the lone shooter, and that he'd been on the move between locations.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/micah-johnson-da ... -1.3672068

A "private self-defence school"? "Shooting on the move"?
You guys are crazy .....

It's the USian "melting pot". If you don't "melt", you're screwed.