☕️Research&Coffee☕️

Civil Rights Lawyer Bryan Stevenson on How America’s Story Should Be Told

Cause the algorithms are increasingly shady and I don’t see much promotion, let me Gift Link this:

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/u...

I’m not sure there is even a desire to build a functioning social contract anymore. We live in an American hellscape of individuals living in close proximity to one another. We are seeing the terrible outcome of the American social experiment. Social behaviors with an expectation of no consequences.

Just horrific. The depths of inhumanity.

I hope out of this chaos, in addition to reimagining immigration, conflict, & our relationships with the global community, I also hope we examine how we understand the core necessity of physical & mental health. There should be no profit in harm & illness.

I’ve gotten around to finally watching an older medical program, The Knick (forgot it was on HBO). Just got done with Season 1, and for nerds like me who enjoy the historical Easter eggs planted in shows, this one is right up my alley.

Lots of coffee today in Command & Leadership in Policing class. Having many thoughts that end up just staying in my head or as little notes in my notebook. I do wish I had more of a sounding board to help me work through them. Always an isolating experience, even as much as I enjoy observing.

Sadly, yes…I think there is a strong confidence (for a variety of reasons, due to both long- and short-term factors) that accountability measures are moot.

The callousness of the firing of the pepper ball. Didn’t even aim, just cocked the gun & fired. Anything ever shot into a crowd - less-than-lethal ammunition or lethal - is a decision that comes with accountability & could change a life forever. The decision to shoot should never be this callous.

This is an interesting definition of the variety in the US.

In a world of hate, fear, and cognitive dissonance, be a wee black and white sheep who consciously bounds into a room with a spirit toward celebrating and supporting humanity.

Alabama sheriff under fire for Halloween display with ‘ICE’ agents chasing skeletons wearing sombreros The controversial display shows ICE agent skeletons chasing figures in sombreros, which the sheriff's wife defends as "tongue-in-cheek" while citing her own Cuban heritage.

How does American policing writ-large even think about building/maintaining legitimacy when police leadership would create such a crass statement about pain & harm in communities? There are mistakes, & there are conscious efforts to dehumanize. This is not a joke - it shows a rejection of humanity.

Dozens killed in Myanmar after armed paraglider attack: Reports Amnesty International says the military launched a paraglider attack on a nighttime civilian gathering.

A forgotten conflict, at least in the West. More than 20 people killed in central #Myanmar after the military launched motorised paraglider attacks during a candlelight vigil

Bondi senate hearing had a folder full of notes for attacking the senators

Bondi senate hearing had a folder full of notes for attacking the senators

Bondi senate hearing had a folder full of notes for attacking the senators

Bondi senate hearing had a folder full of notes for attacking the senators

Reuters photographer Jonathan Ernst noticed that Bondi flipped open a file during the Senate hearing and he zoomed in.

Inside were her crib notes for attacking the senators.

The GOP now practicing Cliff's Notes Fascism

In other words, under oath Bondi was purely a performance.

Just have to take a beat to say that the people that have long warned about state violence and the militarization of law enforcement were right.

These need to go down into histories textbooks for what they are - the result of Kavanaugh’s choice to sacrifice our Constitutional rights on the altar of fascism and authoritarianism.

I love this idea, but hear me out.

What if one billionaire or millionaire in a station’s market just donated even a small part of their annual income? No matching, no drive, just doing the right thing.

We have so, so much wealth in this country, yet basic services like PBS are folding.

Shameful.

Bob Ross paintings to be auctioned to support public TV stations after federal funding cuts All profits will help public TV stations with licensing fees for popular programs that include "The Best of Joy of Painting" and "America's Test Kitchen."

Thirty paintings created by the bushy-haired, soft-spoken Bob Ross will soon be up for auction to defray the costs of programming for small and rural public television stations suffering under cuts in federal funding. https://to.pbs.org/4nEQMrw

👂LISTEN — (U.S. Navy veteran) country Singer Zach Bryan’s lyrics about ICE that triggered the White House

They should all be in disarray because Americans know, too, that with one vote, Republicans could take a step to stop the descent into violent chaos that we are running full speed into.

Instead, they choose to punish the country for their own hate and fear. Pure spite and cowardice.

There is no coming back from this...

I shouldn’t be surprised, but it pains me to see - with so many historical cases to learn from - police leadership so unprepared to speak up in unison and demand accountability from federal agencies on behalf of their communities. The silence is deafening.

I would actually love this - not everything needs to be a competition. I enjoy watching what people come up with, and how people grow from their experiences. I don’t need an ultimate winner for a TV series.

There are a lot of memorable photos of the current moment surfacing.

Here’s one from Portland now.

Plenary authority = not anchored in the constitution. Ask this immigration scholar how I know.

A BIG slip.

You can see it on his face when he realizes it.

Look at them…barely surviving in the hellscape of Portland…down to eating persimmons and blood oranges from a farmer’s market.

We are collapsing…

After law school, only one thing is gonna keep me from prosecuting murders in my home town, and that is prosecuting the shameful federal ‘law enforcement’ officers who are so proudly violating the law. Save your signing bonuses for defense lawyers. You’ll need them.

Just terrifying…utterly terrifying. Portland is lost.

I feel like this photo of masked, armed men pepper spraying a pastor protecting his community is going to be a defining picture of this moment in America for a long, long time.

Sending the Texas National Guard to Illinois is a loyalty test.

They went.
They passed.

Legality doesn't matter.
Need doesn't matter.
Crime doesn't matter.
Humanity doesn't matter.
Logic doesn't matter.

Loyalty to DJT matters.
That is all.