(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Black Kos, Week In Review: Keith Olbermann makes the case, "We are all hostages to the police." [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-03 Speak up. Commentary by Black Kos editor JoanMar Cops killed 1,176 people in 2022—the most reported in any one year since 2015 (the year Darren Wilson executed teenager Michael Brown)—and there was not a peep about that grim fact in mainstream media. Tyre Nichols' brutalization captured our attention, and the media couldn't find a way to ignore it... as they did with Keenan Anderson's murder a week before, which was not dissimilar to Tyre's. Having decided to cover Tyre’s murder at the hands and feet of primarily 5 Black cops, we were then treated to the performative, formulaic concern of anchors. reporters/journalists, and panelists. No, I’m not buying their professed outrage. They have blood on their hands. Their enabling, normalizing language over the years and their wholesale, often times verbatim, regurgitation and acceptance of police public relations releases provided the cover necessary for cops to continue to disrespect and brutalize the very people they swore to protect and serve. I have been attentively following the coverage of the unaliving of RowVaughn Wells’ baby. I have been listening and watching to see if one — one! — anchor person will cover his murder as the systemic problem it is and not as a one-off. None of those I listened to did. This was a horrific deed those five (BLACK!) officers committed, much in the way Rodney King was beaten, or George Floyd was killed, but there should be no reason for outrage. Because, weren’t the officers fired and then arrested? Problem solved. On CNN the night the tape was released, John Berman took over from Don Lemon (the “race guru” who had been on air the whole day doing a good-not-great job). Berman, looking suitably outraged with his I-can’t-believe-this-really-happened face, spent the first couple minutes cluck clucking about how awful the beating was and can you imagine what the parents must be going through… blah, blah, blah. And then he turned to the Black attorney on his panel, “You are a defense attorney, put on your defense cap, what kind of defense do you think the cops have here.” If the words weren’t exactly those, they were pretty damn close. Berman couldn't resist doing that dance that CNN in particular has perfected—the bothsiderism skank. Luckily, Joey Jackson [lawyer] was not about to allow himself to be tricked into defending the indefensible. Berman is not alone. That’s how they do. To be fair, I’m not saying that nobody covered Tyre’s murder with the sophistication it warranted; I’m saying that I didn’t see or hear anyone do it. Some tried, but they rang hollow as they lacked conviction and passion. Enter Keith Olbermann. While media types re-enacted the usual milquetoast, wishy-washy, fake-concern routine, Mr. Olbermann bluntly called it what it was: murder. And torture. And he was just getting started. He didn’t equivocate. Keith Olbermann: We Are All Hostages To The Police … thought that despite the video, despite the horror film they left in the torture and death of Tyre Nichols, they could get away with lies like those and that they could get away with murdering him. We are hostages to the police. All of us. More directly, more urgently, more lethally, people of color. Because police who kill other than as a last unavoidable act to protect the community are no longer police for any of us. They are instead a murderous national gang with unlimited weaponry and extraordinary impunity, and even if 99% of them would never kill a civilian, that would mean that there are 7,000 of them who would. And right now they are holstering their guns and putting on their body armor. And they have been trained, even if they are people of color, to especially suspect, to distrust, to escalate against African Americans. And if that horrifies you, but does not leaves you personally with a sense of dread and fear and rage because you are not African American, think again. Because, if they can be trained to kill because of race, they can be trained to kill because of politics. Trained to kill because of sexual orientation. Train to kill because of what whoever trains them decides should be killed. Because for decades we have trained police that they are the “us” and everybody else is the “them.” Because for decades, for every day since 9/11, we have fetishized the police in this country, and we’ve conflated the police and the military. And we have equipped the police with military weapons and vehicles and impunity. And we have let the venom of fascism and authoritarianism, and most of all racism, infect virtually every police force in this nation. And if the police no longer have the thin veneer of peace officers wrapped around them, and are instead paranoid, prejudiced, messianic, barbaric, sadistic, what are they? Who do they protect? Who do they serve? Besides, that is, themselves and the gutter trash white couple standing outside their house in Portland Place in St. Louis in 2020 with guns, and every other racist, and every other fascist, and every other paranoid with hate and lynching in their hearts. We have 200 and more years of racial brutality by police, now we have 32 years of it — or more — being captured on video, and yet we act each time as if it is new, as if the protests against it are dangerous and unjustified, or as bad as the police murdering some guy who was trying to get home. As if the firing, and the protests, and the funerals, and the trials, and the horrible soundtrack of the video tapes will make it stop. And we watch half the nation, or more, try to minimize the crime of the Memphis — the crime they believe they were entitled to commit. Just as the Minneapolis police believed they were entitled to commit that crime. Just as the New Police who killed Eric Garner believed they were entitled... The problem of police brutality, intractable though it has been for generations now, is not unsolvable. Every other developed country, and most developing ones, have shown that it can be done. While none of them ideal, they have at least succeeded in curbing the worst excesses of their law enforcement agencies. What we need here is for people to stop acting as if they are above the fray and to give a damn. Thousands of lives are at stake. Thank you, Mr. Olbermann. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ News round up by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Stanford collaboration with the Department of the Treasury yields the first direct evidence of differences in audit rates by race. Standford Law: IRS Disproportionately Audits Black Taxpayers ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Researchers have long wondered if the IRS uses its audit powers equitably. And now we have learned that it does not. Black taxpayers receive IRS audit notices at least 2.9 times (and perhaps as much as 4.7 times) more often than non-Black taxpayers, according to a new paper by Daniel E. Ho, the William Benjamin Scott and Luna M. Scott Professor of Law at Stanford Law School, faculty director of the Stanford RegLab, associate director of the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, and senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research; Hadi Elzayn, researcher at the Stanford RegLab; Evelyn Smith, PhD candidate at the University of Michigan; Arun Ramesh, a pre-doctoral fellow at the University of Chicago; Jacob Goldin, a professor of tax law at the University of Chicago; and economists in the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Tax Analysis. The disparity is unlikely to be intentional on the part of IRS staff, Ho says. Rather, as the team’s research demonstrated, the racial disparity in audit selection is driven by a set of internal IRS algorithms that Goldin likens to the recipe for Coca-Cola. That is: It’s completely secret. To better understand this audit selection bias, the research team modeled the racial impact that various alternative audit selection policies might have. The result: a demonstration of how the IRS might be able to tweak its secret algorithm to reduce its racially disparate impact. “The IRS should drill down to understand and modify its existing audit selection methods to mitigate the disparity we’ve documented,” Ho says. “And we’ve shown they can do that without necessarily sacrificing tax revenue.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The government is pushing for a cashless economy that is more inclusive and says the changes will drive economic growth. Associated Press: Nigeria hopes new currency notes curb inflation, corruption ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nigeria on Wednesday launched newly designed currency notes, a move that the West African nation’s central bank says will help curb inflation and money laundering. The newly designed denominations of 200 (45 U.S. cents), 500 ($1.10) and 1,000 naira ($2.20) also would drive financial inclusion and economic growth, said Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Experts, however, are skeptical about such results in a country that has battled chronic corruption for decades, with government officials known to loot public funds that has caused more hardship for the many struggling with poverty. Nigeria’s currency has not been redesigned in 19 years, and the new initiative is the latest introduced by policymakers in Africa’s biggest economy in their quest for a cashless and more inclusive economy. The naira is “long overdue for a new look,” Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said at the launch. The new paper notes designed in Nigeria and featuring enhanced security “will help the central bank to design and implement better monetary policy objectives.” More than 80% of the 3.2 trillion naira ($7.2 billion) in circulation in Nigeria are outside the vaults of commercial banks and in private hands, Emefiele said. Regulators last month announced a Jan. 31 deadline for old notes to either be used or deposited at banks. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pope Francis has started his six-day pastoral visit to Congo and South Sudan where he'll bring a message of peace to countries riven by poverty and conflict. The Grio: ‘Hands off Africa!’: Pope blasts foreign plundering of Congo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pope Francis demanded Tuesday that foreign powers stop plundering Africa’s natural resources for the “poison of their own greed” as he arrived in Congo to a raucous welcome by Congolese grateful he was focusing the world’s attention on their forgotten plight. Tens of thousands of people lined the main road into the capital, Kinshasa, to welcome Francis after he landed at the airport, some standing three or four deep, with children in school uniforms taking the front row. “The pope is 86 years old but he came anyway. It is a sacrifice and the Congolese people will not forget it,” said Sultan Ntambwe, a bank agent in his 30s, as he waited for Francis’ arrival in a scene reminiscent of some of Francis’ earlier trips to similarly heavily Catholic countries. Francis plunged headfirst into his agenda upon arrival, denouncing the centuries-long exploitation of Africa by colonial powers, today’s multinational extraction industries and the neighboring countries interfering in Congo’s affairs that has led to a surge in fighting in the east. “Hands off the Democratic Republic of the Congo! Hands off Africa!” Francis said to applause in his opening speech to Congolese government authorities and the diplomatic corps in the garden of Kinshasa’s national palace. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ AUTHOR DERRICK BARNES SAYS HE BELIEVES CANCELLATIONS ARE PART OF A NATIONWIDE TREND OF LIMITING ACCESS TO BOOKS THAT FEATURE BLACK PROTAGONISTS AND THAT TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT AMERICAN HISTORY. Essence: Alabama Schools Cancel Black History Month Event With Award-Winning Author ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Award-winning children’s book author Derrick Barnes was scheduled to visit three schools in Alabama during Black History Month. But just before Barnes’ planned appearances in February, the invitation to Hoover and Alabaster City Schools was abruptly canceled. Initially, the school district cited a “recent change” and claimed Barnes had failed to provide the information required to offer a contract. However, The New York Times best-selling author stated that implying that there were contract issues was a “boldfaced lie” and that the cancellations were political and motivated by ignorance and fear. He said the cancellations are part of a nationwide trend of “limiting access to books that feature Black protagonists and books that tell the truth about American history.” In K–12 schools in Alabama, Critical Race Theory (CRT) was outlawed in 2021 by the state board of education. Alabama is one of many state governments with a predominately Republican majority that opposes CRT, an academic framework to examine systemic racism that is largely taught in law schools and not covered in primary or secondary education. “I hate this so much because, like most writers, I’m an introvert,” Barnes told WIAT-TV, Alabama’s local CBS News affiliate. “I try to stay very low key and write the books that I write and hope that children fall in love.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Association for Teaching Black History in Kentucky seeks to prevent the subject from being limited to just February at a time when it's being banned and criticized in other states. Louisville Courier Journal: New group wants to help teachers across Kentucky teach Black history ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "The goal is to really think locally about history across Kentucky and where the lens of Black Kentuckians can be integrated within the tapestry of local history across the commonwealth," said Chaka Cummings, executive director of the Association for Teaching Black History in Kentucky. Established in December 2022, the association was formed through a partnership between the Muhammad Ali Center, Berea College, Kentucky State University and the Thomas D. Clark Foundation. On Wednesday, Cummings plans to celebrate the start of Black History Month at the Ali Center, meeting with Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman and Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Marty Pollio to share more about the association's mission. The association's formation comes at a time when teaching Black history has been opposed in some communities. Last month Florida's Department of Education blocked an Advanced Placement course on African American studies from being taught in its public schools, saying it is “inexplicably contrary” to Florida law and “significantly lacks educational value." "Continuing to improve education in the Commonwealth to reflect the complexities of current events and their historical context is critical and should include awareness of the Black experience in Kentucky," a release from the Ali Center about Wednesday's event stated. The association has launched a website where teachers can find lesson plans focused on Black history that align with the state's mandated standards, and it is forming an advisory committee of educators to build upon the association's collaboration with Kentucky teachers. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Attacks on Black History and the way it echoes through our present day lives are rampant. We need to fight back! The Root: What We Lose If We Don't Talk About Black History! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The way we’re often taught to think about history as children is a linear progression. Bad things happen in the past and then we move on. But that’s not exactly true. Things rarely happen the exact same way twice, but systems of oppression have a way of cycling through time. Ultimately, knowing your history is the only way to break that cycle. As we head into this Black History month, it’s never been more important to hold onto our history, especially as the right does its best to claw it out of our collective conscience. Now, I’m sure you’re all expecting a rant about Governor Ron De Santis, but frankly, he’s gotten enough of our time. I want to talk about why we need to continue talking about our real history. If all you learn about Black History was that Martin Luther King Jr. wanted a “colorblind” society, it’s easy to buy into a pull yourself up by your bootstraps mentality. Who needs affirmative action if we live in a “colorblind” world, right? If you don’t learn about queer Black figures like James Baldwin, you might struggle to understand the link between LGBTQ+ rights and the broader fight for Black liberation. And if you never learned about Angela Davis, you’d lack context for the state-sanctioned violence we live with on a daily basis. People want us to forget our history because it holds the key to our liberation. We can see what’s worked and what hasn’t and how we ultimately win. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WELCOME TO THE FRIDAY PORCH [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/3/2150500/-Black-Kos-Week-In-Review-Keith-Olbermann-makes-the-case-We-are-all-hostages-to-the-police Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/