September 22 and 23, 2016


News and Views


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/third-night-of-protests-in-charlotte-mostly-peaceful/

Third night of protests in Charlotte mostly peaceful
CBS/AP
September 23, 2016, 1:40 AM

Photograph -- 2016-09-23t051138z-1421292683-s1beucwybaab-rtrmadp-3-usa-police.jpg, National Guard soldier accepts hug from protester as people march through downtown Charlotte on September 22, 2016 protesting the police shooting of Keith Scott REUTERS



CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Demonstrators remained on Charlotte’s streets after a newly-imposed curfew went into effect at midnight Friday but a third night protests proved largely peaceful.

Still, pressure mounted for police to release video that could resolve wildly different accounts of the shooting of a black man.

Protesters chanted “release the tape” and “we want the tape” while briefly blocking an intersection near Bank of America headquarters and later climbing the steps in front of the city government center. Later, several dozen demonstrators climbed onto an interstate highway running through the city but were pushed back by police in riot gear.

The protests lacked the violence and property damage of previous nights, and a midnight curfew enacted by the mayor encouraged a stopping point for the demonstrations. Local officers’ ranks were augmented by members of the National Guard carrying rifles and guarding office buildings against the threat of property damage.

Many protesters were seen shaking officers’ hands and talking calmly about social issues, reports CBS Charlotte affiliate WBTV. At one point, a line of protesters and police took turns thanking National Guard troops with handshakes and even hugs.

Protesters going about their business; police going about theirs; haven't seen any issues near Trade St, #Clt #KeithLamontScott @WBTV_News pic.twitter.com/trJfwpSNgY

— Coleen Harry WBTV (@ColeenHarryWBTV) September 23, 2016
Around 11:30 p.m., police said no injuries had been reported. But then, that changed:

2 @CMPD officers being treated by @MecklenburgEMS after they were sprayed w a chemical agent by demonstrators.

— CMPD News (@CMPD) September 23, 2016
Police didn’t release the officers’ names or say what the chemical may have been.

So far, authorities have resisted releasing police dashcam and body camera footage of the death of 43-year Keith Lamont Scott earlier this week. His family was shown the footage Thursday and demanded that police release it to the public. The family’s lawyer said he couldn’t tell whether Scott was holding a gun.

But Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney said earlier in the day that releasing the footage of Scott’s killing could undermine the investigation. He told reporters the video will be made public when he believes there is a “compelling reason” to do so.

“You shouldn’t expect it to be released,” Putney said. “I’m not going to jeopardize the investigation.”

Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts signed documents Thursday night for the citywide curfew that runs from midnight to 6 a.m.

Police Capt. Mike Campagna told reporters officers wouldn’t seek to move curfew violators off the street as long as they were peaceful. The demonstrators’ ranks appeared to thin from their peak of several hundred as the early morning arrived. Charlotte’s streets were mostly clear by 2 a.m., WBTV says.

Different vibe at the protest in #Clt Thursday night. This protester had a flower for @CMPD Capt #KeithLamontScott @WBTV_News pic.twitter.com/FV8AZhtMjz

— Coleen Harry WBTV (@ColeenHarryWBTV) September 23, 2016
In #Clt, protesters & @NCNationalGuard #KeithLamontScott @WBTV_News pic.twitter.com/8zqKHboi4p

— Coleen Harry WBTV (@ColeenHarryWBTV) September 23, 2016
Protesters in #Clt said they didn't come to riot; one guy left the march 2 take care of biz w/@NCNationalGuard #KeithLamontScott @WBTV_News pic.twitter.com/LvkMALQutA

— Coleen Harry WBTV (@ColeenHarryWBTV) September 23, 2016
Charlotte is the latest U.S. city to be shaken by protests and recriminations over the death of a black man at the hands of police, a list that includes Baltimore, Milwaukee, Chicago, New York and Ferguson, Missouri.

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, prosecutors charged a white officer with manslaughter Thursday for killing an unarmed black man on a city street last week.

In Charlotte, scores of protesters Wednesday night attacked reporters and others, set fires and smashed windows of hotels, office buildings and restaurants in the city’s bustling downtown section. The NASCAR Hall of Fame was among the places damaged.

Forty-four people were arrested at Wednesday’s protests, and one protester who was shot died at the hospital Thursday; city officials said police did not shoot the man and no arrests have been made in 26-year-old Justin Carr’s death.

Police have said Scott was shot to death Tuesday by a black officer after he disregarded loud, repeated warnings to drop his gun. Neighbors, though, have said he was holding only a book. The police chief said a gun was found next to the dead man, and there was no book.

Putney said that he has seen the video and it does not contain “absolute, definitive evidence that would confirm that a person was pointing a gun.” But he added: “When taken in the totality of all the other evidence, it supports what we said.”

Justin Bamberg, an attorney for Scott’s family, watched the video with the slain man’s relatives. He said Scott gets out of his vehicle calmly.

“While police did give him several commands, he did not aggressively approach them or raise his hands at members of law enforcement at any time. It is impossible to discern from the videos what, if anything, Mr. Scott is holding in his hands,” Bamberg said in a statement.

Scott was shot as he walked slowly backward with his hands by his side, Bamberg said.

The lawyer said at a news conference earlier in the day that Scott’s wife saw him get shot “and that’s something she will never, ever forget.” That is the first time anyone connected with the case has said the wife witnessed the shooting. Bamberg gave no details on what the wife saw.

Mayor Roberts, who also watched the footage of the shooting, was asked by CNN whether she saw Scott holding a gun.

“It is not a very clear picture and the gun in question is a small gun. And it was not easy to see ... so it is ambiguous,” she replied.

Experts who track shootings by police noted that the release of videos can often quell protest violence, and that the footage sometimes shows that events unfolded differently than the official account.

“What we’ve seen in too many situations now is that the videos tell the truth and the police who were involved in the shooting tell lies,” said Randolph McLaughlin, a professor at Pace University School of Law. He said it is “irresponsible” of police not to release the video immediately.

Other cities have released footage of police shootings. Just this week, Tulsa police let the public see video of the disputed Sept. 16 shooting, though the footage left important questions unanswered.

The [Charlotte] police chief acknowledged that he has promised transparency in the investigation, but said, “I’m telling you right now, if you think I say we should display a victim’s worst day for consumption, that is not the transparency I’m speaking of.”



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/terence-crutcher-tulsa-shooting-betty-shelby-officer-charged-with-manslaughter-in-police-shooting/

Tulsa police officer Betty Shelby turns herself in to face charges in shooting death
By CRIMESIDER STAFF CBS/AP
September 22, 2016, 4:47 PM

Photograph -- betty-shelby-ap-16263754826129.jpg, This undated photo provided by the Tulsa Oklahoma Police Department shows officer Betty Shelby. AP
Play VIDEO -- Tulsa cop's letter about recent police shootings goes viral
Play VIDEO -- Protests and outrage after Tulsa officer shoots unarmed man
Related: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/robert-bates-eric-harris-grand-jury-to-review-tulsa-sheriffs-office-after-deadly-shooting/


TULSA -- The Tulsa police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black man while responding to a stalled car has turned herself in to face a first-degree manslaughter charge, reports the CBS affiliate here, KOTV.

Officer Betty Shelby surrendered early Friday morning, was booked into the Tulsa County Jail and immediately released on $50,000 bond, the station says.

Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler announced the charge Thursday.

Police in Tulsa released dashcam and aerial footage, 911 calls and police radio traffic following Terence Crutcher’s shooting death on Sept. 16, showing Crutcher walking away from Shelby, who is white, with his arms in the air.

Crutcher’s twin sister, Tiffany Crutcher, said Thursday her family is grateful to Kunzweiler’s office for bringing the charge. She said her mother broke down when she learned of the charging decision.

However, Tiffany Crutcher said her family is “preparing to go to war” and will push for a conviction.

“While we are pleased to learn the officer who senselessly killed by beloved twin brother will face criminal charges for her reckless act, we understand nothing will bring him back,” Crutcher said. “Nothing will bring back our father, our son, our brother, our nephew, our cousin.”

She said the family is focusing on celebrating Terence Crutcher’s life and will push for increased transparency and accountability from law enforcement.

The footage does not offer a clear view of when Shelby fired the single shot that killed Crutcher. Her attorney has said Crutcher was not following police commands and that Shelby opened fire when the man began to reach into his SUV window.

But Crutcher’s family immediately discounted that claim, saying the father of four posed no threat to the officers, and police said Crutcher did not have gun on him or in his vehicle. Family attorneys have said the vehicle’s window was rolled up, and he wasn’t reaching inside.

According to an affidavit filed by the chief investigator for the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office, Shelby “reacted unreasonably by escalating the situation from a confrontation with Mr. Crutcher.” Though the investigator said Crutcher wasn’t responding to verbal commands, he said Shelby ”became emotionally involved to the point that she over reacted.”

Though Crutcher was wearing baggy clothes, Shelby didn’t see any weapons or bulges indicating he might have a weapon, the investigator wrote.

Shelby, who joined the Tulsa Police Department in December 2011, was en route to a domestic violence call when she encountered Crutcher’s vehicle abandoned on a city street, straddling the center line. Shelby did not activate her patrol car’s dashboard camera, so no footage exists of what first happened between the two before other officers arrived.

The affidavit says Shelby initially approached the vehicle and cleared the driver’s side front before moving around to the passenger side. That’s when she encountered Crutcher, who was walking toward her, and asked him if the car belonged to him and if it was disabled. Crutcher was mumbling to himself and wouldn’t answer Shelby’s questions, the document says.

Crutcher kept putting his hands in his pockets, and Shelby ordered him to show his hands, police say in the affidavit. Crutcher then began walking away towards the vehicle with his hands in the air, not responding to Shelby’s orders to stop, the document says.

At that point, Shelby pulled out her service weapon and followed Crutcher to the vehicle. She pointed it at him, and another officer arrived and told Shelby he had his Taser ready, according to the affidavit.

That’s when, police say, Crutcher reached into the driver’s side front window, and the officer fired his Taser and Shelby fired her weapon, striking Crutcher.

The police footage shows Crutcher approaching the driver’s side of the SUV, then more officers walk up and Crutcher appears to lower his hands and place them on the vehicle. A man inside a police helicopter overhead says: “That looks like a bad dude, too. Probably on something.”

The officers surround Crutcher and he suddenly drops to the ground. A voice heard on police radio says: “Shots fired!” The officers back away and Crutcher is left unattended on the street for about two minutes before an officer puts on medical gloves and begins to attend to him.

Shelby later told police she was in fear for her life and thought Crutcher was going to kill her, the document says.

Among the definitions in Oklahoma for first-degree manslaughter is a killing “perpetrated unnecessarily either while resisting an attempt by the person killed to commit a crime, or after such attempt shall have failed.”

If convicted, Shelby could face a minimum of four years in prison.

“The tragic circumstances surrounding the death of Terence Crutcher is on the hearts and mind of many people in this community,” Kunzweiler said. “It’s important to note that despite heightened tensions which seemingly beg for an emotional response and reaction, our community has demonstrated a willingness to respect the judicial process.”

In a statement, Oklahoma governor Mary Fallin said she hopes the decision brings peace to Crutcher’s family, but urged the community to be patient as the case works its way through the justice system and remember that Shelby is innocent until proven guilty.

“No matter how you feel about the prosecutors’ decision in this case, I hope Oklahomans will respect the views of your friends and neighbors because we still have to live peacefully together as we try to make sense of the circumstances that led to Mr. Crutcher’s death,” Fallin said.

Fallin complimented Tulsa’s police chief, mayor, district attorney and citizens for helping to keep peace and order “during this difficult time.”

Earlier this year, a former volunteer deputy with the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office was sentenced to four years in prison after he was convicted of second-degree manslaughter in the shooting death of Eric Harris.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/nyc-new-jersey-bombing-suspects-dad-and-fbi-dispute-extent-of-warning/

NYC, N.J. bombing suspect's dad, FBI dispute extent of warning
CBS/AP
September 22, 2016, 8:25 PM

Photograph -- Ahmad Khan Rahami, 28, is seen in a Union County, New Jersey, prosecutor’s office photo released on Sept. 19, 2016. COURTESY UNION COUNTY PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS


NEW YORK The father of suspected NYC, N.J. bomber Ahmad Khan Rahami and the FBI are disputing the extent of the alarm authorities were given in 2014 of his possible radicalization.

New details on alleged NYC, NJ bomber
Play VIDEO
New details on alleged NYC, NJ bomber
Rahami’s father said in a New York Times interview published Thursday that he had told the FBI two years ago that Rahami was drawn to al Qaeda and Taliban videos and poetry.

“I told the FBI to keep an eye on him,” the Times quoted the father as saying in his native Pashto.

He said he told the agents he couldn’t say “100 percent if he is a terrorist.”

The FBI has said it looked into Rahami in 2014 after learning of comments his father made after Rahami was arrested on charges of stabbing his brother. The FBI said it checked databases, consulted other agencies and conducted interviews but found nothing tying Rahami to terrorism.

Thursday evening, the FBI is pushing back as to what Mohammad Rahami told them:

N.Y. bombing suspect's notebook suggests Rahami was inspired by terror groups
Play VIDEO
N.Y. bombing suspect's notebook suggests Rahami was inspired by terror groups
A senior law enforcement official tells CBS News: “During its assessment on Ahmad Rahami, the FBI initiated contact with his father who had expressed concern over his son’s internet use as well as some of his associates. At no time did the father advise interviewing agents of any radicalization or alleged links to al Qaeda, the Taliban or their propaganda. Furthermore, database and interagency checks, to include reviews of Ahmad Rahami’s travel, revealed no information that tied him to terrorism.”

At the time in 2014, Rahami’s father backed away from talk of terrorism and told investigators he simply meant Rahami was hanging out with the wrong crowd, including gang members, a law enforcement official told the AP this week.

The father, Mohammad Rahami, said the FBI never spoke to his son, who was jailed at the time on the stabbing charge. The son ultimately wasn’t prosecuted after a grand jury declined to indict him.

As authorities tried to piece together information on Ahmad Rahami, his wife gave them a statement this week after walking into the U.S. Embassy in the United Arab Emirates.

Explosions rock NYC, N.J.
Explosions rock NYC, N.J.


The wife has returned to the United States, a law enforcement official said. She’s believed to have left the U.S. for overseas in June. Investigators have not suggested that she’s suspected of any wrongdoing.

Investigators also have been looking into Rahami’s overseas travel, including a visit to Pakistan a few years ago, and want to know whether he received money or training from extremist organizations.

Rahami and his brothers spent time with their grandfather in Afghanistan in 2012, their father said.

A neighbor on the family’s block in Elizabeth said Thursday that the father had hoped the trip would nurture more discipline in the sons and when they returned they seemed more religious.

Wife of suspected NYC bomber arrives in U.S.
Play VIDEO
Wife of suspected NYC bomber arrives in U.S.
“They said, ‘Yeah, you know, we went back to our roots,’” said the neighbor, Jaime Reyes.

The bombings in Seaside Park and Manhattan spurred a manhunt that ended Monday in Linden. Patrolman Angel Padilla said he tried to roust a man sleeping in a doorway and recognized Rahami’s face from a public alert hours before.

Authorities say Rahami shot Padilla in his protective vest before other officers exchanged gunfire with Rahami and subdued him.

Padilla told students Thursday at a Linden school that he was “a bit nervous” when he confronted Rahami, but “I can only say: I was just doing my job.”

Investigators haven’t been able to question a man charged with setting off bombs in New York and New Jersey because he’s too severely injured from his shootout with police, a law enforcement official said Thursday as the man’s father said he’d warned federal authorities about the man’s interest in jihadist material.

Rahami remained hospitalized after his gunbattle with police officers Monday, and it was unclear when he might be taken to court to face federal terrorism charges in the blasts, which injured 31 people Saturday. A public defender has sought a court appearance for Rahami so he can hear the charges against him.

Rahami, an Afghan-born U.S. citizen, has been unconscious and intubated for much of the time since undergoing surgery, said Robert Reilly, a spokesman for the FBI’s Newark office.

The official who discussed authorities’ inability to question Rahami was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation by name and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.

Prosecutors say Rahami, 28, planned the explosions for months as he bought components for his bombs online and set off a backyard blast. They say he wrote a journal that praised Osama bin Laden and other Muslim extremists, fumed about what he saw as the U.S. government’s killing of Muslim holy warriors and declared “death to your oppression.”



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/southern-california-child-diagnosed-with-leprosy/

Southern California child diagnosed with leprosy
AP September 22, 2016, 11:01 PM

Photograph -- A child from Indian Hills Elementary school in Jurupa Valley, California, has been diagnosed with leprosy. HTTP://OLD.JUSD.K12.CA.US/
14 PHOTOS -- Leprosy's enduring stigma
Play VIDEO -- Florida residents warned of leprosy risk from armadillos


LOS ANGELES A Southern California elementary school student has been found to have leprosy, public health officials said Thursday, though they emphasize that the student’s school and community remain safe.

Two children from Indian Hills Elementary School in Jurupa Valley had initially been diagnosed by a local doctor with the condition known medically as Hansen’s disease, Riverside County health officials said. But this week they received results from the National Hansen’s Disease Laboratory Research Program in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and they showed that only one of the children had tested positive.

Public health officials emphasize that it is incredibly difficult to contract leprosy and that there is no danger to the child’s classmates. The classrooms had been sanitized since the initial diagnoses.

“It is incredibly difficult to contract leprosy,” said Dr. Cameron Kaiser, Riverside County’s public health officer. “The school was safe before this case arose and it still is.”

The U.S. sees only about 150 leprosy cases occur each year, and over 95 percent of the population is naturally immune to it.

Despite its reputation as an incredibly infectious plague that makes sufferers shed body parts, the disease can only be passed through prolonged contact, and is fairly easily treated with antibiotics.

It is not spread through short-term contact like handshakes or even sexual intercourse.

Those most at risk are family members who are in constant contact with an untreated person, and by travelers to places such as India, Brazil and Angola where it’s more common.

Health and school officials will say nothing about how the child contracted the disease, or about the identity of either child who was tested.

“The only way to protect the two students is for nobody to know who they are,” district Superintendent Elliott Duchon told the Riverside Press-Enterprise.

The school district sent an email to parents informing them of the diagnosis, and Duchon was at the school on Thursday afternoon to answer questions from concerned parents.

Leprosy remains a problem in tropical hot spots of the world with some 250,000 new infections reported each year. Similar to tuberculosis, it can stay dormant for years before attacking the skin and nerves.

The disease has long been misunderstood, with false stories of fingers and toes falling off adding to the stigma. Fear led some countries to quarantine people.

Antibiotics typically kill the bacteria within days and make it non-contagious. It usually takes a year or two to fully clear the germ from the body.

If left untreated, it can cause severe nerve damage, deformity and disability.


STUDYING THE BLACK/WHITE PROBLEMS

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/deconstructing-americas-unconscious-racial-bias/

Deconstructing America's unconscious racial bias
By JONATHAN LAPOOK CBS NEWS
September 22, 2016, 7:25 PM

Play VIDEO -- Tulsa police officer charged with manslaughter for shooting unarmed black man
evening-news-1830-air-record-net03mdc-20160922-frame-40414.png
Photograph -- Subjects in the study are shown images of men of different races holding a variety of objects. NYU
Photograph -- evening-news-1830-air-record-net03mdc-20160922-frame-41598.png, David Amodio, CBS NEWS


NEW YORK First Tulsa, Oklahoma -- then Charlotte, North Carolina. For some, these deadly shootings are further proof of police bias against black men.

But is this just a police issue? NYU psychologist David Amodio has concluded that most Americans show some degree of unconscious negative attitudes toward minorities.

“Most people are biased,” Amodio said. “According to research, the majority of Americans show some degree of unconscious negative attitudes towards minorities.”

Amodio studies the science of racial bias and prejudice.

In his test, subjects are shown a picture of a black or white male carrying either a gun or a harmless object, and must make a quick decision to shoot or not shoot.

“You are in the role of a police officer, and what’s been found is that if the person who appears is black and they’re holding a cell phone or soda can, people are more likely to accidentally shoot them than if they were white,” said Amodio.

One study found subjects were about 30 percent more likely to shoot an unarmed black person than an unarmed white person.

“When we’ve used eye tracking in that task, what we find is that the eyes always go to the person’s face first and then tracks down to see what’s in their hand,” explained Amodio.

Basically, they see the person’s color first, then may make a biased decision. “It’s automatic,” Amodio said. “It happens within 1 or 200 milliseconds.”

He told CBS News that he has tested the strategy of training subjects to not automatically look at a person’s face. “We found that it’s effective in reducing bias in shooting.”

In the lab, focusing on the object rather than the race reduces the mistaken shooting of unarmed blacks by as much as 45 percent.

“Often times we need to make a snap decision, and it can take effort and some time to overcome an automatic bias.”

But one big question is how research like this, in the controlled setting of a lab, applies to real life situations in the field -- where so many unpredictable things can happen.



http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/saint-louis-university-professor-s-solutions-oriented-research-police-shootings-black-males

A Saint Louis University professor’s solutions-oriented research on police shootings of black males
By Kelly Moffitt • Jan 12, 2016

Photograph -- Keon Gilbert, KELLY MOFFITT | ST. LOUIS PUBLIC RADIO


Black males are 21 times more likely than white males to be killed by a police officer. With statistics like these in mind, a Saint Louis University professor and public health researcher has recently proposed concrete steps to reduce police shootings of black males in the Journal of Urban Health.

Keon Gilbert, DrPH, joined “St. Louis on the Air” on Tuesday to discuss those steps and what people can do, even with limited resources, to reduce the number of black males killed by police. He co-authored the paper with Rashawn Ray, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Maryland.

Gilbert, who has done work with the For the Sake of All project, considers these shooting deaths as a public health issue.

“It’s a public health issue because people are dying. People are getting hurt. Because this is a cause of death, it is really important for us to think about the underlying mechanisms that lead to this.”

Here are his recommendations:

Collecting and analyzing data to drive policy decisions
Repealing stop and frisk laws and re-evaluating stand your ground laws based on evidence that racial biases influence how these laws are implemented
Requiring police officers to use body cameras to document incidents
Establishing community review boards to improve relations between police and local residents
Recognizing and fighting prejudice
Offering mental and preventive health services to communities plagued with high levels of violence and policing

Listen to Gilbert discuss why implementing measures like these will help reduce the number of black males shot by police going forward:

Listen Listening...28:10 Keon Gilbert, DrPH, joins "St. Louis on the Air" host Don Marsh for a discussion about his solutions-oriented research on police shootings of black males.

“The way our society has been structured, in terms of how people grow up and how people interact, when you live in segregated communities, when you live in communities that are predominantly black or predominantly white, you don’t have the social interactions with one another to understand how people operate and how they move,” said Gilbert. “That adds to not only the fear but the mischaracterization of people who live in high-crime areas.”

St. Louis on the Air brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. St. Louis on the Air host Don Marsh, and producers Mary Edwards, Alex Heuer and Kelly Moffitt give you the information you need to make informed decisions and stay in touch with our diverse and vibrant St. Louis region.



http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26661386

J Urban Health. 2016 Apr;93 Suppl 1:122-40. doi: 10.1007/s11524-015-0005-x.
Why Police Kill Black Males with Impunity: Applying Public Health Critical Race Praxis (PHCRP) to Address the Determinants of Policing Behaviors and "Justifiable" Homicides in the USA.
Gilbert KL1, Ray R2.

Abstract

“Widespread awareness of the recent deaths of several black males at the hands of police has revealed an unaddressed public health challenge-determining the root causes of excessive use of force by police applied to black males that may result in "justifiable homicides." The criminalization of black males has a long history in the USA, which has resulted in an increase in policing behaviors by legal authorities and created inequitable life chances for black males. Currently, the discipline of public health has not applied an intersectional approach that investigates the intersection of race and gender to understanding police behaviors that lead to "justifiable homicides" for black males. This article applies the core tenets and processes of Public Health Critical Race Praxis (PHCRP) to develop a framework that can improve research and interventions to address the disparities observed in recent trend analyses of "justifiable homicides." Accordingly, we use PHCRP to offer an alternative framework on the social, legal, and health implications of violence-related incidents. We aim to move the literature in this area forward to help scholars, policymakers, and activists build the capacity of communities to address the excessive use of force by police to reduce mortality rates from "justifiable homicides."

KEYWORDS:
#BlackLivesMatter; Black men’s health; Critical race theory; Health inequalities; Intersectionality; Police brutality; Public Health Critical Race Praxis



WHO WE THINK WE AREN’T Is what I’m looking for and I rarely find it in these articles, clearly acknowledged, anyway. We tend to talk around the issues, discussing the higher percentage of Blacks who are incarcerated without discussing the heavy and obvious racial bias in who gets stopped while simply walking down the street. On the inside somewhere, do we really think we are on the defensive, or is it just an unstated “white privilege?”

When I first heard that phrase, I was angry. It had not occurred to me that in a societal situation of basic inequality, and in which my skin color allows me to get away with just a ticket, as I should have done after all; but there are black men and women who will be perhaps yanked out of their car for not immediately trying to do whatever the officer was demanding. Just a couple of months ago there was a video of just such an encounter. The officer literally picked her up and dropped her on the pavement, as though that couldn’t injure her seriously. I can rest assured that no white policeman will yank me out by the arm for going 15 mph over the limit. He may act annoyingly smug or even verbally aggressive, but he wouldn’t touch me in that way. That’s White Privilege.

To do these things to Black people as a matter of course, while whites are exempt, is deeply wrong. It is the result of an inner acceptance of evil as a way of life, and a complex set of mental problems from learning and thinking disabilities to the use of absolutely no social skills whatsoever. Matt Dillon back there in Dodge City and Chester didn’t actually win. The outlaw gangs did, and we are living with the result. We just don’t care about anything gentle anymore. This change in our society is hard for me to take, because I do so enjoy being around people who are not just like me. It’s a learning experience. I saw this very dark way of thinking in Shakespeare’s MacBeth. The three loathsome witches chant repeatedly, “Fair is foul and foul is fair,” and this deliberate overturning of good vs evil is what is happening in our country, and around much of the world as well.

If cool-headed logic doesn’t make you see yourself, ourselves, for what we have drifted into since the so-called Reagan Revolution turned around good versus evil in a way that has made them seem like their polar opposites, then we are in very serious trouble as a culture. We will crumble and fall apart. We need the effort, good will and cooperation of everyone. Where we find ourselves today is due to the black magic of too much wealth and too much societal stratification, with the growth of a viewpoint that, truly, there are people who really don’t matter. Hitler in the same climate, found it easy to just kill those whom he and his followers didn’t want. Do we have the stomach for that here?

Jesus and the classical Greek tradition before he was born valued human life for its’ own sake, and that has fallen away. In one of Jesus’ quotations, he calls the Devil a “Deceiver,” rather than merely a fierce and ugly beast who will throw us into a lake of fire. He blinds us to reality and to our own duties to the human race. There are several reasons why BLM has taken root so quickly and thoroughly, but the greatest one is that it is an exact description of the situation that has taken over the country nowadays. We have become focused instead on competition, stratification, race/religious differences and a deeply money-centered society, over a healthy cooperation and empathy for others.

Our innately rapacious side is emerging, unfortunately, just like Mr. Hyde from the mind of Dr. Jeckyl. I do hope Hillary Clinton wins, not because I trust and love her as much as I wish I could, but because she is NOT Donald J. Trump, David Duke, Adolph Hitler, or any of those people. We desperately need a period of stable peace during which to try to put together an honest relationship between our white majority and the minorities in this society, and to bring up – way up – the economic divide from 1% vs 99% to something more livable like 60% to 40% -- or dare I say 50% - 50%?

With a safe and decent life truly within the grasp of all, mental health issues can be treated medically much more often they are now, the human lifespan can increase, everyone can get a useful and enlightening college education of some kind, people won’t have to starve or sleep outdoors so the wealthiest can continue to build their billion dollar houses. That’s going to take justice reform from the cop on the street to the judge and jury; with no abridgment of the right to vote/speak freely/gather for political action/and seek inner peace in whatever way feels right to us. I can’t leave out the need for a STERN modification of the unwritten rule which is treasured by the most Right-leaning Republicans, that “THE MARKETPLACE” can have no strictures on it at all. The economy doesn’t remain stable over time, and the working class simply can’t compete. I don’t want “Communism,” but I do want freedom from privation for so many in this country. We are not a “Third World” country, and our citizens shouldn’t have to live as though we are.

I really don’t want WWIII or a new Nazi-dominated world, however, and I’m of the opinion that there may come a time when we have to fight for basic rights again. I want Progressives to become politically linked together so we can actually make such a conflict come to a fair peace, should it occur. I hope that the 90% will fight as necessary to stop that from happening, also, by the slow mental corruption that I already see developing since the Tea Party popped out into plain view like a bizarre and scary clown, just a few years ago. Funny that I had never seen clowns as being scary until the last few years, when the idea was mentioned a number of times.

But why do clowns scare some people? Clowns do cover their real faces with something false and very exaggerated and unnatural in appearance, which limits our ability to assess their real nature, and doesn’t always look “safe,” like smiling for instance does. I’ll never forget my first reaction to those people with “tin foil hats” and dangerously excitable facial expressions, who began to appear in the news with the Tea Party rallies. Paint a red mouth on Trump’s face and he would fit that image perfectly. He actually looks a lot like Batman’s foe The Joker.



THE RIGHT’S REBUTTAL TO THAT ADMITEDLY SCORNFUL REACTION FROM THE “SNOOTY” LIBERAL/PROGRESSIVE LEFTIES IS SLIPPED IN NEXT. IN SELF DEFENSE, I SUGGEST YOU READ WIKIPEDIA’S STORY ON THE TIN FOIL HATS AND SCARY MIND CONTROL – OH YES, AND BIGFOOT. THE TEA PARTY IS, AFTER ALL, FULL OF SEEMINGLY INSANE ANTI-GOVERNMENT THEORIES. HOWEVER, THE WORLD WOULD BE MORE PEACEFUL IF I AND OTHERS WOULD REFRAIN FROM DEMEANING STATEMENTS AGAINST OUR POLITICAL AND SOCIAL OPPONENTS. I WILL TRY TO DO BETTER ABOUT THAT – NEXT TIME.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin_foil_hat

“A tin foil hat is a hat made from one or more sheets of aluminium foil, or a piece of conventional headgear lined with foil, worn in the belief it shields the brain from threats such as electromagnetic fields, mind control, and mind reading. The notion of wearing homemade headgear for such protection has become a popular stereotype and byword for paranoia, persecutory delusions, and belief in pseudo science and conspiracy theories. Foil hats have appeared in the films Signs and Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder. Note that "tin foil" is a common misnomer for aluminium foil; packaging metal foil was formerly made out of tin before it was replaced with aluminium.[1]”


COMMENTS FROM THE RIGHT:

www.freerepublic.com

"Tea Party" members are tin foil hat wearing, conspiracy theory nut jobs.
The Silent Majority ^ | 02-16-10 | Robert Ehrenkaufer

Posted on ‎2‎/‎16‎/‎2010‎ ‎8‎:‎43‎:‎16‎ ‎PM by Lexluthor69

What the New York Times portrays as tin foil hat nut jobs are just average people who have figured out the government is not here to help us. Tax us, suppress our rights, heard us like cattle to the slaughter (metaphoric slaughter, not literal Ms. Huffington) and to control us; but definitely not help us.

Worried about hyperinflation, social unrest or even martial law, she and her Tea Party members joined a coalition, Friends for Liberty, that includes representatives from Glenn Beck’s 9/12 Project, the John Birch Society, and Oath Keepers, a new player in a resurgent militia movement.

Of course the obligatory reference to the "resurgent militia movement". What hit piece would be complete without likening honestly concerned citizens with radical abortion clinic bombers. Proof positive that something worthwhile is brewing within these movements. If it were not so the media would not try so hard to marginalize the members as extremists and conspiracy theorists.

(Excerpt) “Read more at silentmajority09.com ...” I did try to see what additional material is at silentmajority09.com, but the site has been taken down, I wonder by whom?


A REALLY AGGRESSIVE ATTACK ON US COMES FROM “SILENTMAJORITY,” IN WHICH THE POT CALLS THE KETTLE BLACK. GO TO THE WEBSITE TO READ THIS ONE:

The Silent Majority
silentmajority09.blogspot.com
The Silent Majority "A balanced perspective on today's stories." Tuesday. Why Is The Left In America So Filled With HATE? ... J. D. Longstreet. Posted by Longstreet


IN MY NOT TOTALLY HUMBLE OPINION, J. D. Longstreet’s vilification of everything leftist is not surprising, but it does show his own extremely Right leaning views, though he says it all with an excellent use of the English language. He was one of those “journalists” who hides behind a false name, which I really don’t like, although I suspect that the NPR correspondents do it all the time. Those names of theirs are very flowery and artistic, like some people’s poetry. It annoys me. Of course, they are trying to protect the privacy of their writers, I assume. Longstreet is deceased, now, though, so may he rest in peace. The following is a description of “Longstreet” and his background. He is identified as Bill Ghent, but Wikipedia and Google have no reference to either Ghent or Longstreet, and conveniently for him, the REAL AUTHOR of this Blogspot is not mentioned anywhere. I’ll bet that saves him some legal bills. Perhaps this last communication is being made by family or friends, and the non-fictional Bill Ghent died a year or so before.

I have found an obituary for a Bill Ghent of Whiteville, NC, and that may just be him. See what you think. For a clue, note that it states his date of birth as May 26, 1041 and death as 2014, with the age of 973!! “LOL,” as those wags say in their emails and tweets.

OBITUARY:

http://www.peacockfuneralhome.net/notices/Bill-Ghent

Welcome to the memorial page for
Bill Ghent
May 26, 1041 ~ July 5, 2014 (age 973)

Bill Ghent

Mr. John Davis "Bill" Ghent Jr. 73 of Whiteville died Saturday, July 5, 2014 in Lower Cape Fear Hospice & Life Care Center. He was born May 26, 1941 in Lancaster, SC the son of the late John Davis Ghent, Sr. and Juanita Ghent.

He was formerly the manager, broadcaster and salesman with WENC, WTXY, and WTAB radio stations. He was a charter member and organizer of Christ The King Lutheran Church. He served in the US Army and Army Reserve. He was a charter member of the Whiteville Rescue Squad and a former member of the Whiteville Jaycees. He was Lt. Commander and newsletter editor of the NC Sons Of Confederate Veterans, Camp 794.

He is survived by his wife, Connie Langley Ghent; a daughter, Wendi Ghent Rhodes and husband, Michael of Hallsboro; two grandchildren, Andrew Thomas Rhodes and Emma Grace Rhodes; a brother, Rev. Randy Ghent and wife, Janice of Loris, SC; nephew, Randall Ghent and wife, Ginnie and their daughters, Heather, Natalie and Ashley of Loris, SC; niece, Mary Ellen Pienkos and husband, Dr. John Pienkos of Little River, SC and their daughter, Savannah. He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother, Ray Von Ghent.

Visitation will be 6:00 - 8:00 pm Thursday, July 10, 2014 at Peacock Funeral Home.

A memorial service will be conducted at 11:00 am Friday, July 11, 2014 at Grace Episcopal Church including the Lutherans Of Christ The King. The service will be officiated by the Rev. Dr. Anne M. Natoli.

Memorials may be made to Lower Cape Fear Hospice & Life Care Center, 207 Warrior Trail, Whiteville, NC 28472.

Online condolences may be made at www.peacockfuneralhome.net


ON HIS SEVERAL RADIO STATIONS, ONE EXTINCT, GHENT SEEMS TO BE A ONE MAN SHOW, LIKE SHERIFF ANDY TAYLOR IN MAYBERRY, ND. SEE DETAILS.

WTAB 1370 AM features country and gospel music
and local talk radio at it's very best:
All the new country hits with a liberal sprinkling of classics,
plus The Swap Shop every weekday.

WTAB is also home to local high school sports broadcasts
and college sports as well.

We're HOME-OWNED and operated.

We feature
LOCAL personalities who know their music and the tastes of both local and visiting listeners.

We're LIVE & LOCAL every day, with local news, The Swap Shop, Weather,
sports, and outdoor recreation information.

When WTAB went on the air in 1954, the radio station was a simple
studio and a handful of folks who were excited about bringing the
latest technology to Tabor City. We are still excited about the latest
technology to bring radio's one-to-one communication to you,
our listener.

WTAB still has much of the
original vision of 1954, a full-service radio station for our community, daily providing music, sports, advertising, weather,
agriculture info, opinion, markets and fun for Tabor City and the surrounding area.

We're truly a local station, involved with local Community Events and Projects,
serving the important and fast growing Columbus County and surrounding areas.



In my own personal commitment to “fair and balanced” presentation, I am closing with this information on the very real problem of police killings for reasons ranging from events that did clearly threaten the officer, and the very lightweight situations which in two cases looks like pure target practice; which shootings do, just by chance of course, happen to be against Black men with a disturbingly frequent regularity.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/keith-lamont-scott-wife-video-deadly-charlotte-police-encounter/

Keith Lamont Scott's wife releases video of deadly Charlotte encounter
CBS/AP
September 23, 2016, 1:33 PM

Play VIDEO -- Chief says N.C. police shooting video won't be released
Play VIDEO -- Charlotte curfew ends after largely peaceful protest night
Play VIDEO -- Charlotte protesters demand to see police shooting video
Play VIDEO -- Third night of protests in Charlotte, N.C.
Photograph -- Keith Lamont Scott, 43, lies on the ground after he was shot by police in Charlotte, South Carolina, on Sept. 20, 2016, in this screen capture of video provided by attorneys for Scott’s wife Rakeyia Scott. RAKEYIA SCOTT
Photograph -- Keith Lamont Scott
Play VIDEO -- Charlotte curfew goes into effect
Play VIDEO -- Charlotte mayor imposes midnight curfew
Photograph -- Protesters light candles on Sept. 22, 2016, at the site where Justin Carr was shot on Sept. 21, 2016, during a demonstration against police brutality in Charlotte, North Carolina, following the shooting of Keith Lamont Scott by police two days earlier and two nights of riots. NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/GETTY IMAGES


CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Video of a deadly encounter between Charlotte police and a black man shows his wife repeatedly telling officers he is not armed and pleading with them not to shoot her husband as they shout at him to drop a gun.

The video, recorded by Keith Lamont Scott’s wife Rakeyia Scott and posted Friday by CBS News, does not show clearly whether Scott had a gun. Police have said he was armed, but witnesses say he held only a book. The about 2 1/2-minute video does not show the shooting, though gunshots can be heard.

The New York Times was among the first news outlets to post the video.

Scott’s wife tells officers that he has a traumatic brain injury. At one point, she tells her husband to get out of the car so police don’t break the windows. She further tells him, “don’t do it,” but it’s not clear exactly what she means.

As the encounter escalates, she repeatedly tells police, “You better not shoot him.”

After the gunshots, Scott can be seen lying face-down on the ground while his wife says “he better live.” She continues recording and asks if an ambulance has been called. The officers stand over Scott. It is not clear if they are checking him for weapons or attempting to give first aid.

In the footage, Scott’s wife states the address and says, “These are the police officers that shot my husband.”

Representatives for the police department and the mayor’s office did not immediately return emails from The Associated Press seeking comment.

The video emerged after a third night of protests over the shooting gave way to quiet streets as a curfew enacted by the city’s mayor ended early Friday.

The largely peaceful Thursday night demonstrations in the city’s business district were watched over by rifle-toting members of the National Guard.

Protesters called on police to release their video that could resolve wildly different accounts of the shooting earlier this week. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney said Friday that there is footage from at least one police body camera and one dashboard camera.

The family of Scott, 43, was shown the footage Thursday and demanded that police release it to the public. The video recorded by Scott’s wife had not been previously released.

Demonstrators chanted “release the tape” and “we want the tape” Thursday while briefly blocking an intersection near Bank of America headquarters and later climbing the steps to the door of the city government center. Later, several dozen demonstrators walked onto an interstate highway through the city, but they were pushed back by police in riot gear.

Charlotte is the latest U.S. city to be shaken by protests and recriminations over the death of a black man at the hands of police, a list that includes Baltimore, Milwaukee, Chicago, New York and Ferguson, Missouri. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Thursday, prosecutors charged a white officer with manslaughter for killing an unarmed black man on a city street last week.

Thursday’s protests in Charlotte lacked the violence and property damage of previous nights, and the curfew encouraged a stopping point. Local officers’ ranks were augmented by Guard members carrying rifles and guarding office buildings against the threat of property damage.

Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts signed documents Thursday night to be in effect from midnight until 6 a.m. each day that the state of emergency declared by the governor continues.

After the curfew took effect, police allowed the crowd of demonstrators to thin without forcing them off the street. Police Capt. Mike Campagna told reporters that officers would not seek to arrest curfew violators as long as they were peaceful.

So far, police have resisted releasing the footage of Scott’s death. Putney said Friday that releasing it could inflame the situation. He has said previously that the video will be made public when he believes there is a “compelling reason” to do so.

“It’s a personal struggle, but I have to do what I think is best for my community,” Putney said.

During the same news conference, Roberts said she believes the video should be released, but “the question is on the timing.”

Earlier in the week, the Charlotte protests turned violent, with demonstrators attacking reporters and others, setting fires and smashing windows of hotels, office buildings and restaurants.

Forty-four people were arrested after Wednesday’s protests, and one protester who was shot died at the hospital Thursday. City officials said police did not shoot 26-year-old Justin Carr. A suspect was arrested, but police provided few details.


On Twitter, police identified the suspect as Rayquan Borum. --
Rayquan Borum charged this morning in shooting death of Justin Carr during protests in Trade Street.
— CMPD News (@CMPD) September 23, 2016


Police have said Scott was shot to death Tuesday by a black officer after he disregarded repeated warnings to drop his gun. Neighbors have said he was holding only a book. The police chief said a gun was found next to the dead man, and there was no book.

Putney said he has seen the video and it does not contain “absolute, definitive evidence that would confirm that a person was pointing a gun.” But he added: “When taken in the totality of all the other evidence, it supports what we said.”

Justin Bamberg, an attorney for Scott’s family, watched the video with the slain man’s relatives. He said that in the video, Scott gets out of his vehicle calmly.

“While police did give him several commands, he did not aggressively approach them or raise his hands at members of law enforcement at any time. It is impossible to discern from the videos what, if anything, Mr. Scott is holding in his hands,” Bamberg said in a statement.

Scott was shot as he walked slowly backward with his hands by his side, Bamberg said.




http://www.cbsnews.com/news/feds-investigating-anthony-weiner-after-15-year-old-girls-sexting-claims/

Feds investigating Anthony Weiner after 15-year-old girl's sexting claims
CBS/AP
September 22, 2016, 5:20 PM

Photograph -- In this July 24, 2013 file photo, New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner leaves his apartment building in New York. AP/RICHARD DREW, FILE
Play VIDEO -- How will Huma Abedin-Anthony Weiner split impact the 2016 race?


NEW YORK -- A law enforcement source tells CBS News senior investigative producer Pat Milton that the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan are investigating former congressman Anthony Weiner on recent allegations he engaged in sexting with a 15-year-old girl.

The disgraced former congressman has acknowledged he communicated online with a girl who accused him of sending sexually explicit messages, but he said he’s also been the subject of a hoax.

An online news outlet, DailyMail.com, on Wednesday published an interview with the 15-year-old girl, who said the online text and video exchanges, including Skype chats in which Weiner asked her to undress and touch herself, went on for several months this year.

The Daily Mail also published screen grabs of texts provided by the girl, whose identity it didn’t disclose.

Weiner, who resigned from Congress in 2011 after revelations he was sending sexually explicit messages to multiple women, issued a statement Wednesday apologizing but not directly addressing the issue of whether he had engaged in chats with the girl.

“I have repeatedly demonstrated terrible judgment about the people I have communicated with online and the things I have sent. I am filled with regret and heartbroken for those I have hurt,” Weiner wrote. “While I have provided the Daily Mail with information showing that I have likely been the subject of a hoax, I have no one to blame but me for putting myself in this position. I am sorry.”

The girl told the Daily Mail she told her father and a teacher about the relationship last spring.

Weiner gave The Associated Press an email, purportedly written by the girl to her teacher, in which she recanted her story.

“Our online chats were never inappropriate,” the email said. “I wanted to publish my story. He was the best candidate to pin the story to. The story needed a hoax to ride on.”

The girl told the Daily Mail she wrote the email at Weiner’s request but never sent it to the teacher.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat who was formerly the state’s attorney general, said “if the reports are true, it’s possibly criminal and it is sick.”

State law makes it a felony to knowingly send minors “harmful” online messages or pictures involving nudity or sexual conduct or ask them to engage in sexual acts or performances, and some federal criminal laws also prohibit such behavior.

Whether prosecutors decide to pursue a case can depend on a range of factors, including the content of the messages and the age gap between the people involved, said Robin Sax, a former Los Angeles sex crimes prosecutor now in private practice.

Weiner is married to Huma Abedin, an aide to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, and they have a young son. Abedin left Weiner this month after revelations he had sent more sexually charged messages to another woman.

Weiner unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2005. He made another bid for mayor in 2013 and was leading several polls until it was revealed he had continued his questionable behavior after his resignation from Congress. He now works as a pundit and consultant.

His failed 2013 mayoral bid is the subject of the documentary “Weiner.”



Since Bill Clinton’s escapades I have been seeing the term “sex addict.” I think that’s what the proper classification for Weiner probably is, too, because of his persistence with it even after being caught and publicly shamed in what for most people would be unacceptable. There’s a popular saying, “If you do the crime, you got to do the time.” He hasn’t done the time yet.

Maybe if he has to go into “the slammer” this time he will give in and attend psychiatric group therapy with one to one consultations as well, for however long it takes, to be able to control his really disgusting emails, or tweets, or whatever they are.

If he has underlying depression, which he almost certainly does, he should take a good antidepressant also. Or maybe it’s Bipolar Disorder. That can have a pretty wild “up” side to it, and people often end up in jail. There’s AA if your problem is drinking, Narcotics Anon if its drugs and Neurotics Anonymous if your problem is persistently deviant thoughts and compulsions. Whatever it takes, DO IT! Modern psychology is capable of helping many people nowadays, but people have to become willing to admit that they can’t handle whatever their “addiction” is on their own. This old style “self-discipline, self-control and – my favorite -- “Pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps” stuff is why we remain such a deeply and persistently sick, sick, sick society! Oh, well. The end is near anyway, right??



https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/09/22/hillary-clinton-just-borrowed-a-billionaire-tax-hike-from-bernie-sanders/

Hillary Clinton just borrowed a billionaire tax hike from Bernie Sanders
By Jim Tankersley
September 22, 2016 at 1:52 PM

Photograph -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, accompanied by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, speaks during a rally in Portsmouth, N.H., on July 12. Sanders endorsed Clinton for president at the event. (Andrew Harnik/AP)


Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton proposed on Thursday to tax the estates of ultra-rich Americans at a rate as high as 65 percent — a plan that would apply to only a handful of billionaire families, and which comes straight from the campaign playbook of Clinton's former rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Clinton had already proposed to raise estate tax rates on some millionaires to 45 percent. Her new plan goes further. It would add three new brackets: a 50 percent rate for couples with estates valued above $10 million, a 55 percent rate for couples with estates above $50 million and a 65 percent rate for those with estates above $1 billion. Republican nominee Donald Trump has called for the elimination of the estate tax entirely.

Internal Revenue Service data suggest Clinton's highest rates would apply to very few Americans. In 2014, there were only 223 estate-tax payers with reported estates valued at $50 million or more. Still, the plan drew immediate protests from conservatives, including the Trump campaign, which labeled it an "even more dramatic hike in the death tax."

Politically, the proposal could serve a dual purpose for Clinton. It would raise more revenue for the federal government and helps her make the case that she has proposed sufficient tax increases to offset all her proposed spending programs. It also could help her court former backers of Sanders, particularly young liberals who have been slower to embrace her candidacy after she defeated him for the nomination.

Sanders's spokesman Mike Briggs said the senator's economic policy aides have been talking to Clinton's campaign about this and other ideas for months and were aware that her plan was being released. Briggs described the Clinton proposal as identical to one that Sanders proposed last year.

In a statement Thursday, Sanders said, "Secretary Clinton understands that it is appropriate to ask the top three-tenths of 1 percent, the very wealthiest people in this country, to pay their fair share of taxes so we can provide a Child Tax Credit for millions of working families and lower taxes for small businesses. Under this proposal, 99.7 percent of Americans would not pay a nickel more in taxes."



So who are these very fat cats, and where did they get their tuna? See the PDF below. Normally I don’t cite PDFs because they can’t be copied, but this has exactly what I was trying to find on it. Go to:

https://www.aeaweb.org/.../retrieve.php?...
American Economic Association
by SN Kaplan - ‎Cited by 24 - ‎Related articles
Family, Education, and Sources of Wealth Among the Richest Americans, 1982-2012 by. Steven N. Kaplan. University of Chicago Booth School of Business and ...



https://www.gofundme.com/documentstrategy


https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/joshua-rauh-what-forbes-400-list-says-about-american-wealth

Joshua Rauh: What the Forbes 400 List Says about American Wealth
Research shows that some popular conceptions about the sources of U.S. wealth may be incorrect.
April 22, 2013|by Bill Snyder

Photograph -- Bill Gates, son of a lawyer, topped the Forbes 400 list in 2013. (Associated Press)


With income inequality rising in the United States, there are two popular conceptions about which people make up the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans: that they were born into wealth or that they mainly include the CEOs of the largest public companies. Both of these are wrong.

New research from Joshua Rauh, professor of finance at Stanford Graduate School of Business, and Steven Kaplan, professor of entrepreneurship and finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, finds that only a small fraction of America's wealthiest fall into either of these two categories, and in both instances, the numbers are falling over time. Consider:

Bill Gates

In 1982, 60 percent of the people on the Forbes 400 list of wealthiest Americans came from wealthy families, compared with 32 percent in 2011.

In 2004, top executives of publicly traded companies made up only 5 percent of the top 0.01 percent of the wealthiest people in the United States — a sliver of the population whose members earned individual salaries of at least $7.2 million per year that year. Another example: The combined yearly income of the top 25 hedge fund investors exceeded the combined income of the CEOs of the Standard & Poor's 500 index in 2009.

What explains the shift? Technology and scale.

"The Forbes 400 of today also are those who were able to access education while young and apply their skills to the most scalable industries: technology, finance, and mass retail," Rauh and Kaplan write in their most recent study, "Family, Education, and Sources of Wealth Among the Richest Americans, 1982-2012."

The explosion of information technology has created an entirely new class of the very rich, many of them self-made. It's no coincidence that three of the 10 wealthiest people in the United States — Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, and Michael Bloomberg — built their fortunes on information technology that barely existed in the 1980s. (Bloomberg's fortune was built upon the "Bloomberg Box," an advanced desktop computer running on a sophisticated data network.)

Drill down a bit more, and you'll see that information technology is the foundation of 15 percent of the fortunes on the list, and that figure actually understates the importance of technology. Rauh and Kaplan found that on a weighted basis, roughly 25 percent of the businesses owned by the wealthiest people had a sizable technology component.

One sector grew even faster than technology as measured by its contribution to the incomes of those on the list: retail, including restaurants. Fifteen percent of the Forbes 400 fortunes are based on that industry. Retail is a sector in which technology and the ability to scale up operations has helped major players transform the landscape, making billions for entrepreneurs including Jeffrey Bezos of Amazon in e-commerce, and the Walton family with the more traditional Wal-Mart. The other growing sectors are medical technology, hedge funds, private equity, money management, and venture capital.

Meanwhile, old standbys, including real estate, energy, and media, have become significantly less important. Energy, for example, used to play a role in about 21 percent of the fortunes represented on the Forbes list; now it accounts for about half that much.

From Middle Class to Upper Class

It's noteworthy that the technology billionaires did not inherit vast amounts of wealth, though they were hardly paupers. Microsoft founder Bill Gates, for example, grew up in an upper-middle-class household, his father a successful lawyer. About half of the Forbes 400 grew up in circumstances similar to Gates', compared with about 30 percent in 1982.

Some of the people on the Forbes list did follow a conventional path (for the very rich, that is) of inheriting wealth and then taking over the family business. The 10 richest people on the list include David and Charles Koch, whose fortune is based on the energy industry, and the Walton siblings, members of the family that owns Wal-Mart.

Others took an entrepreneurial route, starting businesses that were far removed from what their parents had done. Kaplan and Rauh found that 69 percent of those on the list in 2011 started their own businesses, compared with only 40 percent in 1982.

CEO Salaries Dwarfed by Hedge Fund Compensation

There's a tendency to link runaway CEO salaries with rising income inequality. But here, too, the truth is more complex, as Rauh and Kaplan discussed in their 2010 paper, "Wall Street and Main Street: What Contributes to the Rise in the Highest Incomes?" (The authors are conducting a research project that will update the 2010 paper. Some data from that work in progress is quoted in this article.)

In 2010, the median pay for CEOs was $10 million, down from a high of $18 million in 2000. But even their peak salaries are small change compared with the average compensation of $1 billion for the 25 highest-paid hedge fund managers in 2009, says Rauh. Behind that astronomical compensation is scale. Hedge funds are handling money on a scale that was never even thought of in the past, he says.

Now consider the fortunes of professional athletes like Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants, who just signed a nine-year contract worth $167 million. How is that possible? It's another example of scale, says Rauh. Baseball and other sports now reach tens — in some cases hundreds — of millions of people around the world, making the market for a professional athlete's skills much richer than ever before. Athletes like Posey, the professor says, are using their skills to get a larger share of the increased profits.

Commenting on how economic and technological change has shaped the formation of America's upper class, Rauh puts it this way:

"Being super rich no longer requires being born wealthy, but wealth does confer advantages, particularly in access to education," says Rauh. "The new order is that those with some wealth and a lot of intellectual firepower and ambition can take their talent and apply it to a much larger pool of resources than in the past."

And that, he says, makes them even wealthier.