Did you watch Tamron Hall's interview of the mayor of Ferguson a few minutes ago?

[Skidmore]

Last edited Tue Aug 19, 2014, 01:00 PM - Edit history (3)

He basically insisted that all of the unrest is the doing of people from outside of the community and that Ferguson is some sort of progressive middle-class people who are all just happy campers and are upset with the unrest. That this is a small neighborhood of some disgruntled citizens who have felt left out as the town's population has become predominantly AA. She called him on it but he stuck to his story. She pointed to statistics and asked him if he had been watching coverage of the events at all. He also did not make an appearance at the church for the rally.

I hope there is video later. The town's officers are just awful and there will continue to be problems as long as these people have power.


Link to video below.

http://on.msnbc.com/1vd7cY1

[azmom]

1. Yes, he needs to go too.

He's part of the problem. How he could deny what is going on in his City is beyond comprehension.

[alcibiades_mystery]

2. This guy is a piece of shit...and totally out of his depth

The whole "middle class" side of Ferguson is paid for with black tickets and court costs.

Vote these fuckers out, one and all, Ferguson.

[MohRokTah]

3. RECALL!

The people have all the power and they could EASILY recall this idiot of a mayor and the numbskulls on the City Council, then seat their OWN City Council and have that body FIRE the city manager, hire a new one who then FIRES the Chief of Police.

In six months time, these people could have a government that represents their interests instead of oppressing them.

[Hoyt]

6. +10000. That's a town ripe for some serious community organizing.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2014/08/14/ferguson_missouri_government_why_is_it_so_white.html

[sabrina 1]

4. There is an election coming up. The BEST way to scare these people is to start signing people up to

VOTE. I don't know who is up for election in Ferguson, but if ANY of those now in power are running again, the way to get rid of them is to VOTE THEM OUT.

I am guessing, I do not know for sure, that most of the African American community there did not elect these people.

Maybe they have no faith in the system, which is more than understandable.

However NOW they can use their power to get rid of them.

And they do have that power. Well, unless there is a familiar effort to prevent from voting of course.

[TreasonousBastard]

10. True, and easy to say, but needs leadership for...

a good voter registration drive

And then some decent candidates for them to vote for.

This whole mess is tragic enough, but if nothing changes after it's all over and it's just a soapbox for agitators with no serious agenda it will be worse.

[sabrina 1]

15. I have seen some good people on the media during all of this. Some are Community Leaders.

I would think that a few of them would make very good candidates for office.

I also saw a voter registration booth there which I thought was an excellent idea. This is an opportunity to sign people up to vote imo.

I understand the sense of despair the people there must feel, but step one in the right direction would be to throw out those who are responsible for the atmosphere that that led to the death of Michael Brown. Even throwing out ONE of them to begin with would be a victory.

[TreasonousBastard]

17. I hope so, but one of the first things...

is to get the people to believe something can be done.

Then you get them to do it.

A population that's been shoved around for years isn't always that easy to motivate.

But, you don't know for sure if you don't try...

[sabrina 1]

19. I know, I'm just hoping they are now angry enough to pick up that weapon, their VOTES, to use

against those who have been responsible for creating their despair in the first place.

Iow, to grab this moment and scare the s^&t out of those bigots by conducting a huge voter registration effort in Ferguson.

[arcane1]

13. I read elsewhere that turnout for the last election was 12%

And at least one registration booth has been set up in the area to register people.

The next election is going to be a bit different

[OffWithTheirHeads]

5. The problem is that only something like 6% of the town population votes.

Somebody needs to set up a voter registration booth at the demonstrations.

[Hoyt]

7. They did that last week, don't know whether it's still there.

[jwirr]

14. We need to find out why that is. Are they just not interested? Do they for some reason believe that

it is useless to go out and vote? Or is there some means of suppression of the vote going on? It is important to know what is actually going on here.

[JEB]

8. If the money that has been pissed away on the corrupt

and ruthless police had been spent on Public schools a lot more folks would be voting.

[avebury]

9. She should have asked about the 24,000+ arrest

warrants issued by Ferguson in 2013. That is so not typical of a town of progressive middle-class town that has as its 2nd highest revenue generato court costs/fees.

[eleny]

11. Yes. He was right about one thing, though....

The unrest is the doing of someone outside the community - the officer who shot Mike Brown doesn't live there.

[VanGoghRocks]

12. Wait, are you telling me there's a mayor of this Mayberry? And would that Mayor, pray tell,

by (um, let me guess) WHITE?

What a clueless dipshit.

As a member of the GOP, Knowles was the president of the Missouri Young Republicans while he was a student at the University of Missouri. According to St. Louis Public Radio, Knowles is “one of the few Republicans who hold elected office in north St. Louis County.”

http://heavy.com/news/2014/08/ferguson-mayor-james-knowles-michael-brown-shooting/

[sabrina 1]

16. The Young Republicans, well that explains his attitude. That is one reactionary organization.

[JoePhilly]

18. She looked totally shocked.

[fishwax]

20. ferguson has a mayor?

Who knew? Where has that dude been?

[Lex]

21. Like "Baghdad Bob." He was about as clueless a person as I've ever seen or heard.

He was ridiculous.