NYT, Time and Bloomberg can STFU

Honest journalists are once again hanging their heads in grief over the sour grapes of some MSM entities, this time for not being invited to a private party. At the White House. 

Holy crybabies, Batman.

President Obama deserves a private life. Being President of the United States is not an automatic I'll-show-you-everything card for the press. Yes, government should operate "in the sunshine" as often as is possible. There are times when doing so is against the public interest, i.e. classified information (though why something is designated classified is a debatable point). Outside of those items, actions and words meant for public/media consumption should be available for public/media consumption.

The President himself paid for this party. He's chary with information about his private life because he has the right, like every other American, to do so. Public figures should expect a certain amount of increased media notice, but there is no law that forces such folks to make available every last thing they do. Politicians are public figures; if they want to keep their non-public lives private, that's their choice.

President Obama and his family can and should do whatever they wish that has no bearing on the political arena or how he conducts himself as the US president. Might laws be broken in such circumstances? Anything is possible. But living in a surveillance state is not the answer to lowering the crimes rate. 

I applaud President Obama for his self-care. Doing the hardest job in the world is not a gig for a workaholic.  A person cannot care for others if they don't take care of themselves first, and that's what I believe the POTUS did with this private get-together: letting off steam, relaxing, having some fun. Damn, we all deserve that, right? Why should a president be whinged at for doing the same?

And here's another question: why are these MSMites concerned about a private party when there is so much else to cover? Hell, there's no shortage of war, famine, genocide, domestic terrorism, crooked pols and stupid laws -- all in our own country. 

Yeah, I said it. Deal with it.

Really, CNN?

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/02/us/freddie-gray-baltimore-death/

"Police Under Fire"? OMG, so MUCH fail in that title. Centering the cops who got arrested for Freddie Gray's homicide instead of Mr. Gray and the kill-all-black-males mindset so prevalent in so many US cities is just wrong.

Off to the pit with you.

AG Holder, FBI: Time to clean up Florida's corrections system

There are lots and lots of things deserving of the descriptive phrase "vile and pernicious," but -- for this week, at least -- this one takes the cake.

The DoJ and FBI need to go full bore on this shit:

1. Investigations on all reports of prisoner abuse by corrections personnel, arrests and indictments made where supported by evidence. If more money is needed to hire qualified personnel to complete this task, ALLOCATE IT.

2. Any laws  allowing Homeland Security to pass on military-grade weapons and-or equipment must be rescinded and all such items removed from any police agency which currently has them. Agencies may then request items be re-provided but NOT be automatically certain of getting them. Justification for such items must be supported by thorough documentation of need.

3. All job requirements for corrections personnel on ALL levels must be reviewed and revised to higher standards, to include higher pay for corrections officers and staff, EXCEPT for the administrators. Lack of equity between corrections and administrative staffs' incomes must be resolved. Better pay attracts better-qualified candidates. ABSOLUTELY NO POLICE ACADEMY WASHOUTS OR REJECTS.

4. For every person convicted and sentenced to serve time for crimes committed while working as corrections personnel, one person convicted for a non-violent crime must be released, starting with those who've been incarcerated the longest.

5. State laws concerning drug possession and use must be overhauled, to reduce the number of persons incarcerated for non-violent crimes.

That's just for starters, of course.

The Dept. of Homeland Security is a dangerous and unnecessary federal agency. It holds far too much power under one umbrella. Cooperation between agencies can be achieved by other means without centralizing so much legal and political power in one department. I've held this opinion ever since I first heard of this department's creation nearly 14 years ago.

The more we give away our freedoms for a little more "security," the less free we become.

Things that make me go "Hmmm..."

Forty thousand voter registration forms went missing in Georgia US.

Ga. Sec. of State claims almost all 40K forms have been processed.

Yeah, sure. Publish all the state voter registrations records in question and I might consider the possibility that the SoS is telling the truth. Y'know, image manipulation and alla dat. smh