January 4, 2019

2018 was the year of 'Living While Black': followups with the people who called the cops on blacks

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/2018-year-living-black-update-controversial-cases-130038174.html

2018 was the year of 'Living While Black': An update on the most controversial cases


Robert Ortiz: “At the end of the day, my actions were unjustifiable.”

Brooklyn resident Robert Ortiz, who called 911 on his Lyft driver for refusing to turn on the radio and using the N-word while he was at it, didn’t earn a catchy nickname on Twitter, but he did lose his job.

During the 16-minute video shot in October by driver Shawn Pepas Lettman, Ortiz and his two friends threatened to “make your night a living hell” and spat, “F*** Black Lives Matter” from the back seat of Lettman’s parked car. Ortiz claimed the driver was “racist against gay people” and “I know my legal rights as an American citizen that voted for Trump…” He also called Lyft and law enforcement.

In a statement sent to Yahoo Lifestyle, Lyft called Ortiz’s behavior “extremely concerning” and medical clinic CityMD said it had fired Ortiz. “This is to confirm that this individual was terminated and is no longer employed by or affiliated with CityMD in any capacity,” the company wrote on Facebook.

A few days later, Ortiz told Pix11, “At the end of the day, my actions were unjustifiable. There’s nothing that I can say but this: I was drinking — a lot of the stuff I said, I didn’t remember until the next day. That’s not how I was raised to treat people. I grew up in the projects. So I want to make sure people understand that I’m not racist.”



Gas Station Gail: “We express our regret for any actions on our part.”

In October, South Carolina activist Jonathan Thrower made a Facebook video of Murphy’s gas station manager Brenda Metz calling the police on him and a group of young people who had just come from peacefully protesting in North Charleston, S.C.

Thrower told Yahoo Lifestyle that while his group, which included children as young as 1, was inside the store buying water, Metz arrived outside, yelling, “Leave now! Leave now! I’m calling 911” and then called the police.

A 911 call published by Charleston City Paper revealed Metz saying, “I need a police officer now. I have, like, 30 people standing out here and they will not leave. … They’re standing there, they’re ‘Guns Down Chuck Town’ something,” she said about the group’s statement shirts. “I mean, it’s like a riot out here.”

---
Metz hung up on Yahoo Lifestyle when called for comment in October.


more updates at the link

January 4, 2019

to Hillary

https://twitter.com/realdebfarmer/status/1081067406439510016

"you inspired women to dream. You inspired women to run. You inspired women to vote. This is for you and the generations to come who will live in a more equitable world because of your courage, your commitment and your perseverance. #StillWithHer"
Deb WARRIOR WOMAN Farmer
‏

@realdebfarmer

January 4, 2019

this little girl is VERY EXCITED that people are voting for nancy pelosi

https://twitter.com/davidmackau/status/1080895706062303232

https://twitter.com/davidmackau/status/1080889875476426752

January 4, 2019

restaurant manager explains that he gets "really defensive" with "black guys"

https://twitter.com/sahluwal/status/1081026813948715008

January 4, 2019

Poll shows Trump appears to be losing core voters with nonstop tweets, rhetoric, antics

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Michigan (AP) — Jill Mott doesn't like the tweets. The hard line on the border is too hard. And when asked whether she will vote for President Donald Trump a second time, she lets out a long, deep sigh.

"That is the question," said Mott, a Republican from suburban Detroit.

In her moment of hesitancy, Mott is the portrait of a small, but significant slice of voters poised to wield considerable influence in the 2020 presidential campaign. They are the 18% of voters who described themselves as only "somewhat" approving of the president.

It's a group whose backing for Trump is most tenuous and whose reservations about his personality and his policies reveal warning signs for Republicans, perhaps even more so as he dug in on his demand for a U.S.-Mexico border wall, leading to a budget impasse with Congress that has shut down the government around Christmas.

------

"How he presents himself is the biggest issue," said Mott, a 52-year-old occupational therapist, who addressed her concerns this past week during a break from Christmas shopping outside the Gucci store at the Somerset Collection luxury mall. She also worries about the president's fiery approach to immigration.


"I understand what he's going for — trying to keep out criminal activity," Mott said, pointing to Trump's rhetoric about a caravan of Latin American migrants seeking asylum at the U.S. border. "However, I think he could do much better in showing concern for these people, offering short-term help."

https://www.businessinsider.com/poll-shows-trump-appears-to-be-losing-somewhat-supporters-with-antics-2018-12

January 3, 2019

cops have to pay out of their own pockets for this one.

https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-metro-jackson-settlement-5-million-20190103-story.html


Black off-duty cop who claims he was beaten by brothers in blue awarded $5 million settlement from NYC

Jackson, 48, claims he was beaten by cops and falsely arrested on Aug. 22, 2010, when, during a birthday party for his daughter at his Queens home, his wife called 911 and said an armed man crashed the party.

When police arrived, Jackson said the officers jumped him even though he told them that he was an “MOS,” meaning a member of the service, and was cooperating.

Jackson alleged the cops repeatedly struck him with their collapsible batons and lifted him up “with an ASP baton around his neck,” according to court papers.

---------

Jackson sued a dozen police officers involved for excessive force and false arrest. On Feb. 3, 2016, a jury decided in Jackson’s favor and awarded him $12.5 million in compensatory damages and $2.6 million in punitive damages.

The cops — who each had to pay $50,000 to $300,000 in the damages out of their own pockets — demanded the judge lower the damage amount, claiming that the jury’s decision exceeded what would normally be granted.

January 3, 2019

cats bird watching... doing that weird mouth flutter thing

https://twitter.com/Texas_Dexter/status/1080636577188118529

January 3, 2019

Administration finds funds to reopen landmark tower attached to Trump's luxury DC hotel despite shut

Administration finds funds to reopen landmark tower attached to Trump's luxury DC hotel despite shutdown –

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6550067/Feds-funds-reopen-landmark-bell-tower-attached-Trumps-DC-hotel-despite-shutdown.html

The Trump administration has located funding to reopen the historic clock tower that tops the president's luxury hotel despite the government shutdown.

The public maintains access to the clock and bell tower of the Old Post Office despite the Trump Organization's 60-year lease with the government to run a hotel inside the historic building.

It continues to be an attraction for hotel guests and residents alike, and is normally open for free tours throughout the week.

But the tower was shuttered Dec. 22 at the beginning of the partial government shutdown due to a lapse in funding that shuttered National Parks across the country, which operates it.

January 3, 2019

Captain & Tennille's Daryl Dragon has died, with Toni Tennille by his side

https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2019/01/02/daryl-dragon-captain-tennille-has-died-arizona-76/2468070002/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=toppeople

January 3, 2019

guy made physical flip-flops out of Trump's contradictory tweets - and sold out within a month

Sam Morrison, a 27-year-old photographer and artist based in Los Angeles, started selling flip flops themed after President Trump's contradictory tweets on his website, PresidentFlipFlops.com, back in 2017.
Morrison sold out of every pair of Trump flip flops he made in less than a month.
You can see Morrison's process and designs from the limited run below.








Morrison made 1,000 pairs of flip flops.





Despite a marketing budget of $0, his flip flops went viral anyway, getting coverage from major news outlets like MSNBC, HuffPost, Fortune, and the BBC. It also made the rounds on Twitter and Reddit.



Morrison says he donated 10% of every purchase to the ACLU.



Morrison explained to Business Insider that President Flip Flops was a limited run due to the effort and complexities behind the production.



https://www.businessinsider.com/president-trump-flip-flops-made-from-tweets-2018-12#finally-these-are-the-sources-flip-flops-13