Sunday Long Read: 15 Years And A World Apart

As we now approach 15 years since September 11, 2001, this week's Sunday Long Read is Scott Anderson's sweeping magnum opus in the NY Times Magazine on how Iraq came apart and took the rest of the Middle East with it. It is the story of how the cosmically awful and morally indefensible actions of Bush 43 and the multiple failures to fix the problem by Obama during that time affected the ground level view of the mayhem we caused over the last decade and a half, all from the point of view of the people who lived there, whose lives America destroyed.

The opening note from the editor-in-chief sums it up:

This is a story unlike any we have previously published. It is much longer than the typical New York Times Magazine feature story; in print, it occupies an entire issue. The product of some 18 months of reporting, it tells the story of the catastrophe that has fractured the Arab world since the invasion of Iraq 13 years ago, leading to the rise of ISIS and the global refugee crisis. The geography of this catastrophe is broad and its causes are many, but its consequences — war and uncertainty throughout the world — are familiar to us all. Scott Anderson’s story gives the reader a visceral sense of how it all unfolded, through the eyes of six characters in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan. Accompanying Anderson’s text are 10 portfolios by the photographer Paolo Pellegrin, drawn from his extensive travels across the region over the last 14 years, as well as a landmark virtual-reality experience that embeds the viewer with the Iraqi fighting forces during the battle to retake Falluja.

It is unprecedented for us to focus so much energy and attention on a single story, and to ask our readers to do the same. We would not do so were we not convinced that what follows is one of the most clear-eyed, powerful and human explanations of what has gone wrong in this region that you will ever read.

This took me most of the morning to get though, and it was absolutely worth it, and it may be the single most important foreign policy piece I've read in years.  I would have missed it if my best friend hadn't tipped me off to it, so thank you.

Trump Cards, Con't

The Trump campaign's continuing damage to the legitimacy of American elections continues apace.

Donald Trump's campaign is seeking to recruit "election observers" following the Republican nominee's repeated claims that the general election is "rigged."

In a move that's unprecedented in a presidential election, the campaign late this week launched a page on its website proclaiming, "Help Me Stop Crooked Hillary From Rigging This Election! Please fill out this form to receive more information about becoming a volunteer Trump Election Observer."

Those who wish to be a Trump "observer" are asked to fill out information on the website that should match their voter registration. Once submitted, voters are directed to a donation page.

Hours before the site gained traction Friday night, Trump said at a rally in Altoona, Pennsylvania, that the only way he would lose in Pennsylvania is "if cheating goes on."

“She can’t beat what’s happening here. The only way they can beat it in my opinion, and I mean this 100 percent, if in certain sections of the state they cheat,” Trump said of Clinton campaign in Pennsylvania.

Although laws vary from state to state, campaigning by political parties is typically banned at polling sites under voter intimidation laws.

But of course, Trump can't be held responsible if he tells his followers that the election is rigged, that he needs people to "observe" these elections to "stop cheating" and that these happen to be swing states like Ohio, which have open carry laws.

No possibility of Trump being held responsible for what might happen, right?

Getting Really Hacked Off

The Russian theft of Democratic party information online continues to be problematic as hacker "Guccifer 2.0" has now posted the personal, private contact info of nearly 200 House Democrats for the world to have.

The massive data breach plaguing the Democratic Party led to another leak on Friday.

A hacker group calling itself “Guccifer 2.0” posted the personal cell phone numbers and emails of nearly 200 Democratic congressional members, The Wall Street Journal reported.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer were among those affected.

The ongoing leaks, which have been roiling the Democratic Party since before its national convention last month, have prompted an FBI investigation.

That investigation widened this week when it became clear that Russian hackers were targeting Democratic Party insiders and people on Hillary Clinton's campaign staff.

Members of several homeland security committees were also affected, including those on the House Intelligence Committee, and the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, The Journal noted, prompting concerns that members of those groups could be further targeted by spies.

Lawmakers have worried that the leaks may be an attempt to influence the election. The party has been bracing for the possibility of another damaging leak before November.

The data is there pointing to Guccifer 2.0 as yet another Russian front like WikiLeaks, and our good friends in Moscow must be laughing their asses off at how easy it is to pull the strings on our election press.

The hacker(s) included a message about US elections along with the stolen documents posted Friday: "As you see the U.S. presidential elections are becoming a farce, a big political performance where the voters are far from playing the leading role. Everything is being settled behind the scenes as it was with Bernie Sanders. I wonder what happened to the true democracy, to the equal opportunities, the things we love the United States for," the hacker(s) wrote. "The big money bags are fighting for power today. They are lying constantly and don't keep their word. The MSM are producing tons of propaganda hiding the real stuff behind it. But I do believe that people have right to know what's going on inside the election process in fact."

Sure, but only the Democrats, see.  Funny how that works.  Funny how Trump then carries into arguably his most dangerous tirade yet.

Donald Trump again raised the specter of election fraud Friday, saying that the only way he would lose Pennsylvania is to Hillary Clinton is if "they cheat."

The Republican nominee, speaking at a rally in Altoona, Pennsylvania, repeated his concerns about the fairness of the election.

“The only way we can lose, in my opinion — I really mean this, Pennsylvania is if cheating goes on and we have to call up law enforcement and we have to have the sheriffs and the police chiefs and everyone watching because if we get cheated out of this election, if we get cheated out of a win in Pennsylvania, which is such a vital state especially when I know what is happening here,” he said. “She can’t beat what’s happening here. The only way they can beat it in my opinion, and I mean this 100 percent, if in certain sections of the state they cheat.”

So you publish the info of several Democratic House members -- including in Pennsylvania -- and then say the only way those people can win is if those people cheat in "certain sections" of the state.

You know, the sections represented by Democrats.

Maybe some Second Amendment supporters should do something, you know?

And on and on we go.  There's no question now that the Russians are playing the incitement game in order to damage the Democrats and to damage the credibility of US elections.  Trump is playing along because he's a fellow traveler.

This just got a whole lot scarier, folks.

Last Call For Economic Anxiety

So it turns out that "working-class white voters" aren't voting for Trump over economic reasons at all, and as a matter of fact Trump supporters aren't "working-class" in the least.

Economic distress and anxiety across working-class white America have become a widely discussed explanation for the success of Donald Trump. It seems to make sense. Trump's most fervent supporters tend to be white men without college degrees. This same group has suffered economically in our increasingly globalized world, as machines have replaced workers in factories and labor has shifted overseas. Trump has promised to curtail trade and other perceived threats to American workers, including immigrants. 

Yet a major new analysis from Gallup, based on 87,000 interviews the polling company conducted over the past year, suggests this narrative is not complete. While there does seem to be a relationship between economic anxiety and Trump's appeal, the straightforward connection that many observers have assumed does not appear in the data. 

According to this new analysis, those who view Trump favorably have not been disproportionately affected by foreign trade or immigration, compared with people with unfavorable views of the Republican presidential nominee. The results suggest that his supporters, on average, do not have lower incomes than other Americans, nor are they more likely to be unemployed. 

Yet while Trump's supporters might be comparatively well off themselves, they come from places where their neighbors endure other forms of hardship. In their communities, white residents are dying younger, and it is harder for young people who grow up poor to get ahead.

So what's happening is the GOP is screwing over their base, and has made sure through Congress to keep Democrats from passing economic measures that would help the GOP base.  An angry base votes, and votes reliably.  That's always been the plan.

The bigger problem is of course this puts to bed the polite, accepted cover for Trump's virulent and obvious racism, misogyny, and Islamophobic campaign of hatred.

I wonder what the excuse will be for the rest of the contest?

The Turtle's Lament

Even Mitch The Turtle thinks the GOP keeping control of the Senate with Trump rampaging through the landscape is going to be a real problem for them come November.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that GOP prospects for keeping control of the Senate after the November elections are "very dicey," sounding an alarm amid mounting Republican concerns about presidential nominee Donald Trump, 

Speaking to a Louisville-area civic group in his home state, McConnell said Senate Republicans were going to be "on defense" in this year's election, regardless of who led the ticket as the party's presidential candidate. 

Twenty-four GOP-held seats are on the ballot this year, compared with 10 for Democrats, he noted. McConnell was promoted to majority leader two years ago when a Republican surge wrested Senate control from Democrats.

McConnell did not mention Trump as being a drag on Republican down-ballot races, but he chided Trump's campaign tactics. The Kentucky senator said he hopes Trump "settles down and follows the script."

When asked by a reporter about Trump's comments labeling President Barack Obama as the "founder" of the Islamic State group, McConnell replied: "I'm hoping that we can make this election about Hillary Clinton. I think if we do, we can win." 

With the election less than three months away, McConnell said Republicans are in "a dogfight," and listed GOP-held seats in New Hampshire, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, Florida and Indiana as "very competitive." 

"I may or may not be calling the shots next year," McConnell said.

You're probably not going to be calling those shots next year, Mitch.  Let's be honest. And as far as telling Trump to settle down, well, good luck with that.

Donald Trump’s campaign and top Republican Party officials plan what one person called a “come to Jesus” meeting on Friday in Orlando to discuss the Republican nominee’s struggling campaign, according to multiple sources familiar with the scheduled sit-down. 

Though a campaign source dismissed it as a "typical" gathering, others described it as a more serious meeting, with one calling it an "emergency meeting." It comes at a time of mounting tension between the campaign and the Republican National Committee, which is facing pressure to pull the plug on Trump’s campaign and redirect party funds down ballot to protect congressional majorities endangered by Trump’s candidacy.
Story Continued Below

The request for the Orlando Ritz Carlton meeting originated with Trump’s campaign, according to a source familiar with the broad details, and is being viewed by RNC officials as a sign that the campaign has come to grips with the difficulty it is having in maintaining a message and running a ground game. 

“They want to patch up a rift that just keeps unfolding,” one source said. “They finally realize they need the RNC for their campaign because, let’s face it, there is no campaign.”

Considering Trump lacks a ground game in Cincy, and in other key places in key swing states, maybe that's true.  I think it's far, far more likely that Trump truly believes his own ego-inflated press and that America will proclaim him leader for life through adoration, because he can't possibly conceive of losing an election. He's Donald Trump, after all.

His rude awakening is going to be lots of fun. Even Mitch is expecting it, and the closer we get to Trump's Waterloo, the more nervous Mitch is going to get about his chances of remaining in that big office in the Senate building.

Trump Cards, Con't

The Rough Orange Beast was in Florida on Thursday, slouching towards Guantanamo Bay, waiting to imprison Americans there for, well, whatever reason he deems fit.

A President Donald Trump might push for Americans accused of terrorism to be tried in military tribunal at the U.S. Navy base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, the Republican nominee told the Miami Herald on Thursday. 

“I would say they could be tried there, that would be fine,” Trump said in a brief interview ahead of his speech to home builders in Miami Beach. 

Under current federal law, it’s illegal to try U.S. citizens at military commissions. Changing the law would require an act of Congress. 

In the wide-ranging interview focused on key South Florida issues, Trump continued to question climate change caused by humans. He said he plans to soon sit down with Cuban Americans in Miami to hash out a Cuba policy. And for the first time, he said Congress should set aside money to combat the Zika virus. 

Asked about Guantánamo in the past, Trump has said he would like to “load it up with bad dudes.” He wouldn’t specify to the Herald whether as president he would again allow terrorism suspects captured abroad to be transferred to the detention center. 

“I want to make sure that if we have radical Islamic terrorists, we have a very safe place to keep them,” he said. President Barack Obama, he added, is “allowing people to get out that are terrible people.” 

“Would you try to get the military commissions — the trial court there — to try U.S. citizens?” a reporter asked. 

“Well, I know that they want to try them in our regular court systems, and I don’t like that at all. I don’t like that at all,” he said. “I would say they could be tried there, that would be fine.”

Sure.  The gulag era of the America experiment sounds like a great idea, but at least it's on a sunny island like Cuba, right?  Guess what happens when Trump figures out he gets to decide as President who qualifies as a "terrorism suspect" in this scenario?

Gonna be fun times for all the kids on the Gitmo beaches with the Trump junta, baby.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/election/donald-trump/article95144337.html#storylink=cpy

StupidiNews!

• Multiple bombings in Thailand have killed four and injured more than 30 in less than 24 hours as police search for any connections and who may be responsible.
• An insurance executive for New Your Life has been fired after making public threats in a Facebook rant against a Black Lives Matter activist.
• Congressional leaders in both parties were briefed a year ago on signs that Russian hackers had stolen classified information from Democratic party sources.
• In Rio Simone Biles captured the all-around Olympic gymnastics gold, teammate Aly Raisman took the silver as US domination of the sport continues.
• Despite the shutdown of internet drug site Silk Road, internet sales of illegal drugs remain a multi-million dollar business.

The Honey Badger's Last Hurrah

Senate minority leader Harry Reid may have one last ace up his sleeve before he retires and heads back to Nevada in the form of procedural maneuvering to force Senate Republicans to vote on Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, whose nomination has now been blocked by the GOP for a record-breaking 148 days without a even a hearing.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Thursday left the door open for Democrats to potentially use a procedural tactic to force a vote on Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland. 

"We have a couple of options, and we're deciding when to do that and if we should do it — when and if," Reid told reporters during a conference call. "I've been in touch with some of my senators during the break to determine that." 

Reid didn't specify how Democrats could bring Garland's nomination to the Senate floor, but said they had some "extreme" options that would ultimately need more than 50 votes to succeed.

"It all boils down to whether you have more than 50 votes. If you don't have more than 50 votes ... most of it is not for anything other than a little drama," he said.

Democrats currently hold 44 seats, in addition to Independent Sens. Angus King (Maine) and Bernie Sanders (Vt.), who caucus with them. 

One option could be using a discharge resolution to bypass Republicans on the Senate floor and try to force the nomination out of the Judiciary Committee, where it has been waylaid by Sen. Chuck Grassley's (R-Iowa) refusal to give Garland a hearing. 

Reid's comments come amid a months-long entrenched fight over Garland's nomination after President Obama nominated him in March. 

GOP leadership has pledged to keep the seat open until next year, allowing Obama's successor to fill the vacancy created by Justice Antonin Scalia's death.

There are several scenarios that play out here: First, should GOP Senate races start crumbling under the weight of Donald Trump's disastrous campaign, opposition to Garland's nomination could crumble along with it in an effort to split the ticket and "save" GOP control of the Senate. once they come back from Labor Day recess.

Second, the GOP gambles they can keep 51 seats and they lose in November, or that Clinton loses in November, and they lose on both counts.  This is probably just as likely as scenario one in my head, and in both cases opposition crumbles and the Senate GOP accepts Garland.

Third, Reid plays his ace and the pressure during the campaign breaks the GOP.  The rest plays out like in scenarios one and two: opposition to Garland's nomination fails.

Four is where things get interesting: this is where Clinton is elected but the GOP keeps the Senate, barely.  This however imperils a whole different group of GOP senators in 2018, and they probably don't want to deal with this can being kicked down the road.  A lot of moving parts happen here, but I would think Garland would at least get his hearing and a vote.

Five? Five is where Trump wins, and well...all bets are off.  We do not speak of Scenario Five.

Weeding Out Change

The DEA is rejecting any notion that it will relax prohibition on marijuana, pointedly announcing today that it will keep pot as a Schedule I substance subject to federal drug laws.

The Obama administration has denied a bid by two Democratic governors to reconsider how it treats marijuana under federal drug control laws, keeping the drug for now, at least, in the most restrictive category for U.S. law enforcement purposes. 

Drug Enforcement Administration chief Chuck Rosenberg says the decision is rooted in science. Rosenberg gave "enormous weight" to conclusions by the Food and Drug Administration that marijuana has "no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States," and by some measures, it remains highly vulnerable to abuse as the most commonly used illicit drug across the nation. 

"This decision isn't based on danger. This decision is based on whether marijuana, as determined by the FDA, is a safe and effective medicine," he said, "and it's not."
Marijuana is considered a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, alongside heroin and LSD, while other, highly addictive substances including oxycodone and methamphetamine are regulated differently under Schedule II of the law. But marijuana's designation has nothing to do with danger, Rosenberg said. 

In a letter to the petitioners, Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and New Mexico nurse practitioner Bryan Krumm, Rosenberg said doctors are responsible for treating patients, but the FDA makes decisions about drug safety: "Simply put, evaluating the safety and effectiveness of drugs is a highly specialized endeavor." 

Tom Angell, chairman of Marijuana Majority, said in a statement that the decision was disappointing. 

"President Obama always said he would let science — and not ideology — dictate policy, but in this case his administration is upholding a failed drug war approach instead of looking at real, existing evidence that marijuana has medical value," he wrote. 

Most Americans support legalization, Angell wrote, and the federal government should at a minimum leave regulatory decisions to the states.

I don't use pot myself, but like most Americans I know people who do. I don't think it's a huge deal considering how many Americans die from smoking or booze every year, both of which are regulated, taxed, and still sold to people.  The real problem is the criminal justice aspect of federal pot laws (and state laws), which imprison tens of thousands every year , a disproportionate amount being black and Latino when the majority of pot users are white.

It's completely up to the Obama administration to determine whether or not pot is a Schedule I drug or not, and the president is making it very, very clear that it will continue to be.  That's unfortunate for any number of reasons, and it will become Hillary Clinton's problem to deal with starting next January (I hope...)

Regardless, I expect this to change pretty quickly should large states like California legalize recreational pot use, and several states including California will be holding votes in November to do just that.  Having enough states legalize, regulate and tax pot is going to eventually cause the necessity for federal statues to be changed.

We've seen it before with same-sex marriage.

The Donald Getting Trumped In Cincy

To win the White House, as a Republican Donald Trump has to win Ohio.  To win Ohio as a Republican, Trump has to win Hamilton County and Cincinnati.  Any political strategist could have told The Donald this, but apparently he's just not smart enough to care.

With the presidential election 90 days away, the Donald Trump campaign is scrambling to set up the basics of a campaign in Hamilton County, a key county in a swing state crucial to a Republican victory, a recent internal email obtained by The Enquirer shows. 

The campaign has yet to find or appoint key local leaders or open a campaign office in the county and isn't yet sure which Hamilton County Republican party's central committee members are allied with the Republican presidential nominee. 

"If they are against us, we just need to know," wrote Missy Mae Walters, Southwest Ohio regional coordinator for the campaign. 

Even campaign materials, such as signs and stickers, aren't yet available.
"We have been promised they're on their way," she wrote. 

The campaign plans to open 25 Trump "Victory Centers" statewide, she said, but a planned Monday opening of an office in Kenwood got held up waiting for a legal department sign-off. Some volunteer training sessions have been set up with more planned, she wrote. 

The email indicates a campaign whose ambition matches the urgency of its late arrival. The campaign plans to have a presence at the Labor Day union picnic event in Cincinnati, in an attempt to siphon supporters for Donald Trump's trade policies away from what would otherwise be a heavily Democratic crowd. 

A request for comment from the Trump campaign in Ohio wasn't immediately returned on Wednesday.

And this is why Trump is done:

The state of the Clinton campaign in the county and statewide stands in stark contrast. It had 12 offices open across Ohio at the end of last week, with local offices in Walnut Hills, Pleasant Ridge and Woodlawn. The campaign is opening seven more offices this week, including a Mason office on Wednesday night.

So that makes 19 Clinton offices in Ohio, and four in Cincinnati alone.  Meanwhile, Trump's ego is so massive he assumes that everyone will vote for him because he's Donald Trump. The fact that people are doing the opposite for that reason hasn't occurred to him.  If you can't win Hamilton County as a Republican, you're done.  Romney and McCain both lost Hamilton County. to Barack Obama. Both lost Ohio as a result.  Both went on to lose the White House because no Republican has ever won without Ohio.

Trump isn't even trying to win Hamilton County yet.  That should tell you everything you need to know about him.

StupidiNews!

• Turkish President Recep Erdogan is demanding the extradition of a Muslim cleric exiled to the US that the Turkish government believes is responsible for last month's failed coup attempt.
• A federal court has ruled that the FCC cannot stop states from putting limits on public broadband projects in a major victory for internet service providers and cable companies.
• Belgian officials have cleared two flights after bomb threats were made against airline SAS, no explosive devices were found.
• The 25-year-old new Duke of Westminster and heir to the British family's $12 billion fortune is now the youngest billionaire among the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
• NASA's Cassini probe has discovered evidence that Saturn's largest moon, Titan, has rivers of liquid methane located in deep gorges on the moon's surface.

Last Call For The Wire

The Justice Department's investigation into systemic racism fueling thousands of unlawful arrests and deadly brutality in Baltimore's police department has uncovered devastating results that should infuriate everyone in the country.

The Justice Department’s investigation into the practices and policies of the Baltimore Police Department details a number of shocking incidents involving Baltimore officers. Here are some excerpts, with the headings also written by the Justice Department: 

“BPD Conducts Unconstitutional Strip Searches” 

“Numerous Baltimore residents interviewed by the Justice Department recounted stories of BPD officers ‘jumping out’ of police vehicles and strip-searching individuals on public streets. BPD has long been on notice of such allegations: in the last five years BPD has faced multiple lawsuits and more than 60 complaints alleging unlawful strip searches. In one of these incidents — memorialized in a complaint that the Department sustained — officers in BPD’s Eastern District publicly strip-searched a woman following a routine traffic stop for a missing headlight. Officers ordered the woman to exit her vehicle, remove her clothes, and stand on the sidewalk to be searched. The woman asked the male officer in charge, “I really gotta take all my clothes off?” The male officer replied “yeah” and ordered a female officer to strip search the woman. The female officer then put on purple latex gloves, pulled up the woman’s shirt and searched around her bra. Finding no weapons or contraband around the woman’s chest, the officer then pulled down the woman’s underwear and searched her anal cavity. This search again found no evidence of wrongdoing and the officers released the woman without charges. Indeed, the woman received only a repair order for her headlight. “ 

“BPD Ignored Prosecutors’ Warnings Against Problem Officers” 

“Even where prosecutors have provided BPD with specific information on problematic officers who routinely make improper arrests, searches, or seizures, the Department has failed to meaningfully investigate the information or take appropriate action. For several years, the State’s Attorney’s Office maintained a ‘Do Not Call’ list of officers that prosecutors should not subpoena to testify because prosecutors determined that the officers did not testify credibly about their enforcement actions. Although the State’s Attorney’s Office regularly shared this list with BPD, the Department rarely used the information to identify officers who may need support or discipline. As a result, problematic officers remain on the street, detaining, searching, and arresting people even though the State’s Attorney’s Office has determined that it cannot prosecute a crime based on the officers’ testimony. The State’s Attorney’s Office no longer maintains a written ‘Do Not Call’ list, but prosecutors informally maintain a registry of problematic BPD officers who cannot be used to support criminal prosecutions. In recent years, the State’s Attorney’s Office has contacted BPD leadership on several occasions to identify officers that prosecutors determined can no longer testify credibly due to misconduct. In most of these cases, BPD leadership took no action against the identified problem officers.” 

“BPD’s ‘Zero Tolerance’ Strategy Focused on African American Neighborhoods” 

“In some cases, BPD supervisors have instructed their subordinates to specifically target African Americans for enforcement. A sergeant told us that in 2011 her lieutenant — a commander in charge of setting enforcement priorities for an entire police district during the shift — ordered the sergeant to instruct officers under her command to ‘lock up all the black hoodies’ in her district. When the sergeant objected and refused to follow this order, she received an “unsatisfactory” performance evaluation and was transferred to a different unit. The sergeant filed a successful complaint about her performance evaluation with BPD’s Equal Opportunity and Diversity Section, but BPD never took action against the lieutenant for giving the order to target “black hoodies” for enforcement. 

“Similarly, as described above, in 2012 a BPD lieutenant provided officers under his command with a template for trespassing arrests that suggested officers would arrest exclusively African-American men for that offense. As in the first example, this directive is especially concerning because it came from a shift commander. These statements targeting African Americans for enforcement reinforce the statistical disparities in enforcement outcomes that we measured. The enforcement activities ordered by the BPD commanders — arresting African Americans for trespassing and finding any possible basis to arrest ‘black hoodies’ — are consistent with the racial disparities we found in BPD’s discretionary stops, searches, and misdemeanor arrests.” 

“Racial Disparities in Arrests” 

The racial disparities in BPD’s stops and searches are further reflected in BPD’s arrest practices. From November 2010 – July 2015, BPD charged African Americans with 280,850 criminal offenses, constituting over 86 percent of all charges filed for which the race of the offender is known. Expressed a different way, African Americans in Baltimore were charged with one offense for every 1.4 residents, while individuals of other races were charged with only one offense per 5.1 residents. This discriminatory pattern is particularly apparent in two categories of BPD’s enforcement: (1) warrantless arrests for discretionary misdemeanor offenses such as disorderly conduct and failing to obey an officer’s order; and (2) arrests for drug possession. In both cases, officers arrest African Americans at rates far higher than relevant benchmarks. 

“BPD’s warrantless arrests for discretionary misdemeanor offenses exhibit substantial racial disparities. .. Analysis of this data reveals that African Americans account for the overwhelming majority of BPD’s discretionary misdemeanor arrests, and that reviewing officials are more likely to dismiss charges against African Americans—indicating that officers apply a lower standard when making them. As an initial matter, BPD officers arrest African Americans for several common misdemeanor offenses at high rates. Although they make up only 63 percent of Baltimore’s population, African Americans accounted for: 87 percent of the 3,400 charges for resisting arrest; 89 percent of 1,350 charges for making a false statement to an officer; 84 percent of the 4,000 charges for failing to obey an order; 86 percent of the more than 1,000 charges for hindering or obstruction; 83 percent of the roughly 6,500 arrests for disorderly conduct; and 88 percent of the nearly 3,500 arrests for trespassing on posted property.”

And again, these are just a small part of the findings of systemic racism, unlawful arrests, and a culture of viewing brown and especially black people as The Enemy,  You're crazy if you think this isn't happening in nearly every PD in America, too.

This isn't Jim Crow era stuff in America's past.  This is now.

Trump Cards, Con't

Democrats are licking their chops at the prospect of making gains in the House as well as the Senate thanks to Donald Trump, and I can't say I blame them.

Hillary Clinton is trouncing Donald Trump in several swing House districts, Democratic Party officials say in a new memo obtained by POLITICO that touts the party's down-ballot prospects in November but does not predict they'll capture the chamber. 

Clinton is posting double-digit leads in several vulnerable Republican districts including Rep. Bob Dold in Illinois, Florida Rep. Carlos Curbelo, California freshman Rep. Steve Knight, Rep. Mike Coffman in Colorado and Rep. Erik Paulsen in Minnesota, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee memo states.

“Donald Trump’s likely defeat in many swing districts will be a devastating anchor that drags down House Republicans all across the country,” wrote DCCC Executive Director Kelly Ward. 

The memo, which comes 90 days out from the election, says that Democrats intend to hitch their House opponents to Trump at every turn and misstep, including his suggestion Tuesday that “Second Amendment people” might stop Clinton if she’s elected. 

“For the next 90 days, Donald Trump will undoubtedly continue these types of antics – just yesterday he suggested a violent attack against Hillary Clinton – and House Republicans will be forced to deal with the fallout. Their problems are only going to get worse,” Ward wrote.

That's undoubtedly true.  The question is how many people will be willing to split their ticket and vote against Trump while still backing House Republicans that have been a disaster for the country for six years and created the very toxic political stew that gave rise to Trump in the first place.

Cook Political Report has all those above districts listed as toss-ups, so if numbers are starting to come in where Clinton has a big lead it could be a sign that Democrats may be able to pick up multiple seats.

It's possible that the Dems could pick up the 23 seats they need to take control of the House, there are 16 total GOP districts that Cook has rated a toss-up, with the Democrats likely to pick up a net total of five more, and 11 additional leaning districts that could be in play in the kind of election that goes particularly badly for one party.

Still, that's going to require a "blue wave" to win, and the prospect of giving the House right back in 2018 midterms is almost assured.  However, the Dems have to start somewhere in taking back the House, so they might as well take what gains they can get out of of Trumpster Fire.

The Rio Hunger Games

While world records are being smashed and medals awarded in Rio, it's time to check in with the more lasting political story in Brazil as the country's Senate has overwhelmingly voted to proceed with the impeachment trial of suspended President Dilma Rousseff over corruption charges, charges almost certainly related to financing the construction of the very Olympic venues being celebrated this month.

The Brazilian Senate has voted to hold an impeachment trial of suspended President Dilma Rousseff, who is accused of breaking the budget law. 

The senate voted 59 to 21 in favour of going ahead with the trial against Ms Rousseff, which is likely to be held at the end of this month. 

The Senate suspended Ms Rousseff in May over alleged illegal accounting practices.
She says they were common practice under previous administrations. 

Following a marathon debate that ended early on Wednesday, the senate easily surpassed the required simple majority needed to decide on whether to try Ms Rousseff. 

A two-thirds majority is needed in the final vote following the trial, which is due in the week after the Olympics closing ceremony. 

As the debate got under way on Tuesday, Supreme Court President Ricardo Lewandowski told senators that they were about to "exercise one of the most serious tasks under the constitution".

Current replacement Michel Temer isn't exactly popular these days either, being roundly booed by Brazilians at the Olympic opening ceremony last weekend. As a reminder, Olympic games are usually financial disasters for the countries that host them too.

Both these events will have a long-term impact on Brazil, and not a very good one.

StupidiNews!

• US Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps extended his record total as the world's most decorated athlete last night swimming the anchor leg to his 21st gold in the Men's 4x200 relay.
• Pacific Gas and Electric has been found guilty on multiple federal charges resulting from a 2010 residential area pipeline explosion that killed eight.
• At least 11 babies died in a maternity ward hospital fire in Baghdad on Wednesday, the fire was apparently caused by an electrical fault.
• Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan easily won his primary last night in Wisconsin after a grudging endorsement from GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.
• Cable internet startup Wow plans to bring gigabit fiber internet to five cities in 2016 as the company enters the fiber internet market against Google and AT&T.