Tonight, protesters in Louisville, Kentucky, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York City, Rochester, and other cities are calling for justice and reminding observers that Black Lives Matter after a grand jury on Wednesday declined to charge the three officers involved in Breonna Taylor’s murder. The grand jury did indict Brett Hankison, one of the officers involved, on charges of first-degree wanton endangerment for shooting into her apartment and that of her neighbors without a clear line of sight. His actions, according to the charge, exhibited “extreme indifference to the value of human life,” Hankison had to post a bond of $15,000.
It's time to quit kidding ourselves about who and what we are as a nation.
The founding fathers had no intention of ever considering all men equal just as they never intended women to be considered equal to men. These truths are obvious in the original language of the document, the legacy of that very clear and specific language, and by the continued shameful treatment of people in the United States who are not white and male. Despite the good intentions of many over the last two and one half centuries, the amended constitution has been repeatedly hijacked to reflect the will of those in power; those with enough money and clout to dominate and push their agendas at the expense of the rest of us. Yes, the constitution has been amended but when the behavior of the people does not change to reflect acceptance of an amendment the amendment is a sham. Until our constitution is upheld by every human being in the country, from the top down, things cannot and will not get better. When there is no real accountability for violating an individual's constitutional rights, we have failed. This is where we are today.
My deepest sympathy for Breonna Taylor’s family and friends. Disgust and anger for the members of the grand jury, the police department and individual officers responsible for the murder of a sleeping woman. Breonna Taylor is yet another victim of the hideously lopsided system designed to protect out of control members of law enforcement who commit murder and get away with it because the victim's skin color is black. We have indeed failed. Again.
(I am raging mad as I write this at 3:30 a.m. Maybe I'll regret my cynicism later today but somehow I doubt it.)
The most disturbing news in this letter is a Judge declaring that a reasonable person would know that Tucker Carlson is using hyperbole. If true, then 40% of this country and the President are simply not reasonable?
“ general tenor” of Carlson’s program indicates to the audience that he is not explaining the news, but rather is “engaging in ‘exaggeration’ and ‘nonliteral commentary.’” She said: “Given Mr. Carlson’s reputation, any reasonable viewer ‘arrive[s] with an appropriate amount of skepticism’” about anything Carlson says.”.
THIS IS CRAZY ! his show doesn’t have “reasonable” viewers. They all think he’s news.
Disclaimer: I am a Kentuckian who has never voted for any of the state's representatives in Congress, did not vote for Daniel Cameron but did vote for the current Governor. I kept holding a little hope that the grand jury findings would be different. I was grieved that they were not. I was perturbed by Mr. Cameron remarks during his press conference afterwards where he implied that ALL Kentuckians were behind this verdict and only outside "celebrities and activists" were causing the protests. He sounded like our past governor, Mr Bevin, who did not pass up a chance to insult the citizens of Kentucky and thought he would still be loved. Yes, Mr Bevin was a Republican and was a avid follower of the current President. Mr Cameron worked in Mr McConnell's office (first strike). During his campaign, he kept talking how he grew up in the "shadow of Lincoln" meaning he grew up one county over from Lincoln's birthplace., not that he actually follows anything Lincoln stood for. I don't like Lincoln's name taken in vain (second strike). And he thought Governor Bevin and the current President were doing a good job (third strike). He is also supporting a law suit against Governor Beshear about the actions taken during the pandemic. Had Mr Bevin still been in office and had Mr Cameron had his way, our state's death toll would have been devastating as they would have operated "business as usual". I have heard rumors that Mr Cameron is being groomed as Mr. McConnell's successor. At least we have a head start into a campaign against him. They say that they are holding the grand jury reports due to a federal case pending about Ms Taylor's civil rights being violated. I would really like to know what was presented.
At this dark, sad and frightening time in our country, your last two sentences in tonight’s Letter made me laugh out loud. Of course, you were reporting seriously and accurately, possibly with a straight face, but the utter absurdity of it all is beyond belief, especially in light of Trump’s daily whining, the repeated accusations of defamation he heaps on others and Fox's consistent amplification of Trump’s lies. If the whole nightmare that is Trump and his family were a novel, it would be discarded as cheap, appalling trash. May this nightmare be over soon.
Thank you, Dr. R, for keeping the news about Ms. Taylor's death a significant focus. I do have a question about this remark: "Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron explained that Hankison’s bullets had not hit Taylor, so he could not be charged in her death." So whose bullets was it that killed her? We must not lose sight of the fact that police reform and systemic racism need to be addressed in our country because black lives do matter. Let's get into some good trouble about this.
” She said: “Given Mr. Carlson’s reputation, any reasonable viewer ‘arrive[s] with an appropriate amount of skepticism’” about anything Carlson says. [unless you are the president of the United States or one of his worshippers.]
I think that since the President of the United States is a fervent follower of Tucker Carlson and as such lends credibility to the announcements and questions posed by the Fox News Headliner Carlson is not a mere Gossip Columnist.
The idea that this commentator is not accepted by his audience as a news source is preposterous and obviously a political decision designed to protect the network and Carlson.
It’s common knowledge that the Tucker Carson show is the most watched show on the Fox News Network and his influence at the top levels of Government is obvious.
Thank you for addressing this. I, among some many others, am heartbroken about the injustice of it all. So, now we can say that it has been decided in a court of law that Fox “news” is not actually “news” at all. Too bad his supporters are too far gone to care - they just keep parroting the ridiculous lies because, for their own vile reasons, they actually *want* to believe them.
We are at an incredibly perilous point in our history, one we may or may not survive as a country. Heather’s chat today was quite sobering. It’s time to seriously prepare for very dark times ahead. Hopefully, we will walk into the light once again but darkness comes first. We must not despair or give up, but hold each other up when we are weary of it all. There is strength in numbers and strength in hope. Onward, together.
Sometimes, the misery in the news is so exhausting. Thank you for keeping track. Any one of these scandals, these affronts to our democracy and our humanity, would have taken down any other President or elected official. Now, we can’t keep track. Huge scandals are replaced by the next one. It’s a good thing miracles still happen, too.
So, there's actual law, Southern "law", Republican "law" and "Trump law." Every single one of these legal usurpers should be impeached off the bench since they were nominated by a usurper.
Kentucky is not only a Castle Doctrine state, but also has a “Stand Your Ground” law. As such, a “person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat. He or she has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force, if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another.”
I suppose they should modify their law to reflect reality: only White people may stand their ground, or expect to remain safe and unmolested in their own home.
Pardon my crude language, but f%#k this and f%#k them.
Thank you, HCR. Grief. I find this word appealing for how I feel today and have felt many days of the past 4 years. Sometimes it’s “Good Grief” as in “Good Grief Charlie Brown!” for those who remember the cartoon Peanuts. What are my daily emotions in Trumpistan? Disbelief. Disgust. Anger. Hatred. Anxiety. Frustration. And Grief. Seven, at least. In my limited actions as a Citizen Campaign Volunteer I try to keep my Hope alive. Hope that together enough sane good Americans will vote and overcome and remove and change the system. But, I’m a white person. If I was a black person I imagine it would be much harder to hold onto hope. Can we “never lose infinite hope”? Is the arc of the universe really bending “toward justice”? VOTE to let me know. ❤️🤍💙
I think most of Fox "news" should be approached with a very large shaker of the salt of skepticism. They should be made to change their name from Fox News to Fox Klan Outlet.
Just because that grand jury came back with the decision that they rendered does not mean that we should not see the $12 million settlement to Ms Taylor's family as anything than what it is ; an attempt to buy their goodwill and a sop to their feelings of outrage in the hopes that they will hush.
“ Vyskocil agreed with FNC lawyers that the “general tenor” of Carlson’s program indicates to the audience that he is not explaining the news, but rather is “engaging in ‘exaggeration’ and ‘nonliteral commentary.’” She said: “Given Mr. Carlson’s reputation, any reasonable viewer ‘arrive[s] with an appropriate amount of skepticism’” about anything Carlson says.“.
Wouldn’t it be nice if these words were used as a disclaimer before Carlson’s show? And if they were, I wonder how many of his diehard viewers, (Trump), would comprehend their meaning?
I don't understand how Fox continues to be branded as "news" when their license calls the station "entertainment". How do they get away with reporting "news" (their news) if they are not licensed as a news station?
And the Breonna Taylor verdict is sickening. I'm glad the Governor has at least called for transcripts from the grand jury, and police reports. How could the reporting officers say there were "no injuries" to someone who was pronounced dead at the scene? There is so much (mis)information that I believe we will never know what happened on that night in March. If Ms Taylor and her boyfriend had been white, would this story be different? I believe so.
It's time to quit kidding ourselves about who and what we are as a nation.
The founding fathers had no intention of ever considering all men equal just as they never intended women to be considered equal to men. These truths are obvious in the original language of the document, the legacy of that very clear and specific language, and by the continued shameful treatment of people in the United States who are not white and male. Despite the good intentions of many over the last two and one half centuries, the amended constitution has been repeatedly hijacked to reflect the will of those in power; those with enough money and clout to dominate and push their agendas at the expense of the rest of us. Yes, the constitution has been amended but when the behavior of the people does not change to reflect acceptance of an amendment the amendment is a sham. Until our constitution is upheld by every human being in the country, from the top down, things cannot and will not get better. When there is no real accountability for violating an individual's constitutional rights, we have failed. This is where we are today.
My deepest sympathy for Breonna Taylor’s family and friends. Disgust and anger for the members of the grand jury, the police department and individual officers responsible for the murder of a sleeping woman. Breonna Taylor is yet another victim of the hideously lopsided system designed to protect out of control members of law enforcement who commit murder and get away with it because the victim's skin color is black. We have indeed failed. Again.
(I am raging mad as I write this at 3:30 a.m. Maybe I'll regret my cynicism later today but somehow I doubt it.)
The most disturbing news in this letter is a Judge declaring that a reasonable person would know that Tucker Carlson is using hyperbole. If true, then 40% of this country and the President are simply not reasonable?
“ general tenor” of Carlson’s program indicates to the audience that he is not explaining the news, but rather is “engaging in ‘exaggeration’ and ‘nonliteral commentary.’” She said: “Given Mr. Carlson’s reputation, any reasonable viewer ‘arrive[s] with an appropriate amount of skepticism’” about anything Carlson says.”.
THIS IS CRAZY ! his show doesn’t have “reasonable” viewers. They all think he’s news.
Disclaimer: I am a Kentuckian who has never voted for any of the state's representatives in Congress, did not vote for Daniel Cameron but did vote for the current Governor. I kept holding a little hope that the grand jury findings would be different. I was grieved that they were not. I was perturbed by Mr. Cameron remarks during his press conference afterwards where he implied that ALL Kentuckians were behind this verdict and only outside "celebrities and activists" were causing the protests. He sounded like our past governor, Mr Bevin, who did not pass up a chance to insult the citizens of Kentucky and thought he would still be loved. Yes, Mr Bevin was a Republican and was a avid follower of the current President. Mr Cameron worked in Mr McConnell's office (first strike). During his campaign, he kept talking how he grew up in the "shadow of Lincoln" meaning he grew up one county over from Lincoln's birthplace., not that he actually follows anything Lincoln stood for. I don't like Lincoln's name taken in vain (second strike). And he thought Governor Bevin and the current President were doing a good job (third strike). He is also supporting a law suit against Governor Beshear about the actions taken during the pandemic. Had Mr Bevin still been in office and had Mr Cameron had his way, our state's death toll would have been devastating as they would have operated "business as usual". I have heard rumors that Mr Cameron is being groomed as Mr. McConnell's successor. At least we have a head start into a campaign against him. They say that they are holding the grand jury reports due to a federal case pending about Ms Taylor's civil rights being violated. I would really like to know what was presented.
At this dark, sad and frightening time in our country, your last two sentences in tonight’s Letter made me laugh out loud. Of course, you were reporting seriously and accurately, possibly with a straight face, but the utter absurdity of it all is beyond belief, especially in light of Trump’s daily whining, the repeated accusations of defamation he heaps on others and Fox's consistent amplification of Trump’s lies. If the whole nightmare that is Trump and his family were a novel, it would be discarded as cheap, appalling trash. May this nightmare be over soon.
Thank you, Dr. R, for keeping the news about Ms. Taylor's death a significant focus. I do have a question about this remark: "Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron explained that Hankison’s bullets had not hit Taylor, so he could not be charged in her death." So whose bullets was it that killed her? We must not lose sight of the fact that police reform and systemic racism need to be addressed in our country because black lives do matter. Let's get into some good trouble about this.
” She said: “Given Mr. Carlson’s reputation, any reasonable viewer ‘arrive[s] with an appropriate amount of skepticism’” about anything Carlson says. [unless you are the president of the United States or one of his worshippers.]
I think that since the President of the United States is a fervent follower of Tucker Carlson and as such lends credibility to the announcements and questions posed by the Fox News Headliner Carlson is not a mere Gossip Columnist.
The idea that this commentator is not accepted by his audience as a news source is preposterous and obviously a political decision designed to protect the network and Carlson.
It’s common knowledge that the Tucker Carson show is the most watched show on the Fox News Network and his influence at the top levels of Government is obvious.
Thank you for addressing this. I, among some many others, am heartbroken about the injustice of it all. So, now we can say that it has been decided in a court of law that Fox “news” is not actually “news” at all. Too bad his supporters are too far gone to care - they just keep parroting the ridiculous lies because, for their own vile reasons, they actually *want* to believe them.
We are at an incredibly perilous point in our history, one we may or may not survive as a country. Heather’s chat today was quite sobering. It’s time to seriously prepare for very dark times ahead. Hopefully, we will walk into the light once again but darkness comes first. We must not despair or give up, but hold each other up when we are weary of it all. There is strength in numbers and strength in hope. Onward, together.
Sometimes, the misery in the news is so exhausting. Thank you for keeping track. Any one of these scandals, these affronts to our democracy and our humanity, would have taken down any other President or elected official. Now, we can’t keep track. Huge scandals are replaced by the next one. It’s a good thing miracles still happen, too.
So, there's actual law, Southern "law", Republican "law" and "Trump law." Every single one of these legal usurpers should be impeached off the bench since they were nominated by a usurper.
Kentucky is not only a Castle Doctrine state, but also has a “Stand Your Ground” law. As such, a “person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat. He or she has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force, if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another.”
I suppose they should modify their law to reflect reality: only White people may stand their ground, or expect to remain safe and unmolested in their own home.
Pardon my crude language, but f%#k this and f%#k them.
https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/blog/kentucky-gun-laws-what-you-should-know/
Thank you, HCR. Grief. I find this word appealing for how I feel today and have felt many days of the past 4 years. Sometimes it’s “Good Grief” as in “Good Grief Charlie Brown!” for those who remember the cartoon Peanuts. What are my daily emotions in Trumpistan? Disbelief. Disgust. Anger. Hatred. Anxiety. Frustration. And Grief. Seven, at least. In my limited actions as a Citizen Campaign Volunteer I try to keep my Hope alive. Hope that together enough sane good Americans will vote and overcome and remove and change the system. But, I’m a white person. If I was a black person I imagine it would be much harder to hold onto hope. Can we “never lose infinite hope”? Is the arc of the universe really bending “toward justice”? VOTE to let me know. ❤️🤍💙
I think most of Fox "news" should be approached with a very large shaker of the salt of skepticism. They should be made to change their name from Fox News to Fox Klan Outlet.
Just because that grand jury came back with the decision that they rendered does not mean that we should not see the $12 million settlement to Ms Taylor's family as anything than what it is ; an attempt to buy their goodwill and a sop to their feelings of outrage in the hopes that they will hush.
“ Vyskocil agreed with FNC lawyers that the “general tenor” of Carlson’s program indicates to the audience that he is not explaining the news, but rather is “engaging in ‘exaggeration’ and ‘nonliteral commentary.’” She said: “Given Mr. Carlson’s reputation, any reasonable viewer ‘arrive[s] with an appropriate amount of skepticism’” about anything Carlson says.“.
Wouldn’t it be nice if these words were used as a disclaimer before Carlson’s show? And if they were, I wonder how many of his diehard viewers, (Trump), would comprehend their meaning?
I don't understand how Fox continues to be branded as "news" when their license calls the station "entertainment". How do they get away with reporting "news" (their news) if they are not licensed as a news station?
And the Breonna Taylor verdict is sickening. I'm glad the Governor has at least called for transcripts from the grand jury, and police reports. How could the reporting officers say there were "no injuries" to someone who was pronounced dead at the scene? There is so much (mis)information that I believe we will never know what happened on that night in March. If Ms Taylor and her boyfriend had been white, would this story be different? I believe so.