Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 6 2020

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 23 2020

If you do not believe that free speech is a necessity of life: please leave this blog now officially and legally as of reading this, your obligation of this statement is formally required.
Freedom of speech is understood to be fundamental in a democracy. The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, as one of the ten amendments that comprise the Bill of Rights.

The author of the Constitutional Rights Blog does not affiliate with any other organization or people on the internet or the world for that matter. I have been saying this since I first logged on to the internet. Just because I like organizations like the ACLU; does not mean I believe in everything they believe in or stand for. Just like in our great country when we vote; we will never believe in everything the candidate we vote for; believes in or stands for. That doe not mean we are should not vote.

I make typos allot. I do not get paid to do this. I do not have a editor or anyone working for me at all. Sometimes it may take me more than one day to finish a article. 

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 23 2020

THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020 
Texas leaders’ budget direction for prison agency makes no sense
Texas state agencies have been asked to prepare budgets that include 5% cuts in light of reduced tax revenues thanks to the coronavirus and plunging oil prices, the Texas Tribune’s Jolie McCullough reported on Twitter. The TDCJ Correctional Security division and UTMB Managed Correctional Healthcare are exempt from cuts, but “Other parts of TDCJ’s budget though — like parole, education/training programs, drug treatment, executives — seemingly will have to be in proposed 5% cut.” Read here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/05/texas-leaders-budget-direction-for.html

 Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 24 2020
She plead guilty last year to maintaining a drug-involved premises. She was sentenced to 26 months in federal prison.But shortly after being transferred from a jail in South Dakota to a federal prison in Texas, Circle Bear died of COVID-19 while in custody, just 28 days after giving birth via C-section while on a ventilator. The 30-year-old member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota was the first federally incarcerated woman to die from COVID-19. From here: https://www.aclu.org/news/criminal-law-reform/when-a-two-year-sentence-becomes-a-death-sentence/

 Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 26 2020

I made this screenshot of a good email I got from: https://texashdcc.com/

 Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 27 2020
TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2020 Reasonably Suspicious podcast back from hiatus: Austin police chief under fire, COVID in TX prisons and jails, Harris DA calls to overturn shady drug convictions, and other stories Listen here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/05/reasonably-suspicious-podcast-back-from.html

 Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 29 2020

I am longing for the days before the corona virus. It seems they were carefree days compared to today. I have not had a truly carefree day since around 1995 so I am a good judge of this. It seems like this past January for us; (I realize China was dealing with it before us) was a time of peace. Now we have this Minnesota problem. Let me just say when I saw a photo of George Floyd I felt very, very sad; for him and the people that loved him. He was a very large man and in my opinion a legendary type of human being. These are the exact type of people the police seem to over react to and abuse, sometimes. This is also the type of individual we all want to stand up for too. I think as that police officer had his knee on his neck, killing him; he did not resist because of his respect and admiration for our country and it’s so called justice system. In real life if he wanted to he could have broke that guys leg and pulverized him in less than a minute; if he was not handcuffed at the time. I think the image of a citizen cooperating as a police officer is killing them, while they are handcuffed; is a great example of what is wrong with our perverted, unjust so called justice system. Yes George Floyd had trouble with the law and no doubt on edge because of the Covid 19, but he is and was definitely not alone in our country of mass incarceration. The only problem I have with all this is the state of Minnesota. I have been actively warning people online for many years now about Minnesota. It seems in this most secluded aria of the united states the state of Minnesota has gone completely insane in the past 20 years or so. The government and law enforcement in Minnesota has become the worst of what our country has to offer. I think allot of it has to do with it’s proximity to Canada also. Lets face it Canada is not fond of us and is rated one of the worst places for Americans to visit. To all them in authority that has ignored the deterioration of Minnesota all these years; now is the time except your responsibility and act to bring civility to this long gone insane state of The United States of America. All these things I have been saying about Minnesota for many years online now; including my jokingly comparison to Rose Nylund depiction of Minnesota in the good old show; The Golden Girls. Think about how many years ago that was and how with a little comedy, like that; there is always some truth to it. 
Here is a email I got from the NAACP today. If anyone has a say in all this; they should be considered the authority and the go to people for what is going on in the (in my opinion; completely mentally ill state of Minnesota).: 
The murder of George Floyd by the police is an unspeakable tragedy.
Black families and communities across this country are united in outrage at this moment. The protests we see are urgent responses to the racism that has afflicted and torn apart our communities for centuries. Over the last few days, these issues have now manifested in anger, sadness, fear, and confusion experienced by people after watching or hearing about the horrific footage of George Floyd’s killing at the hands of law enforcement. We are all asking, when is enough, enough?
As a father, I share the fear of Black parents when our children leave the house. As a husband, I consider my wife and the life she would be left to navigate if I was prematurely taken from her and my children as yet another unexplainable death. As the leader of the NAACP, I understand just how hard it is to face the injustices that threaten our personal safety. And as a Black man, I consider how much longer I can be asked to bear the brunt of these social injustices without meeting force with force.
But, as a community, we must consider what’s at stake in this moment. We must consider the lives we are attempting to forge for our families and communities, and the walls we are working to knock down that will grant future generations access to a greater and more powerful reality.
From the onset, the NAACP in Minneapolis has been at the forefront in spreading awareness and fighting for justice in the death of George Floyd. In speaking with Leslie Redmond, President of NAACP Minneapolis, about the situation on the ground, the rawness in her report and the trauma she has had to face spoke to an issue much larger than Minneapolis, and much deeper than police brutality. The events in Minneapolis have confirmed the weaponization of whiteness and the criminalization of Blackness that has plagued our nation for generations.

NAACP Minneapolis President, Leslie Redmond, doused with milk after being tear-gassed by police.

I’m asking our communities in this hour to be angry, to be sad, but above all, to be measured as we battle this outrageous injustice. The NAACP will not rest until we see these officers charged and convicted for the murder of George Floyd. But we must also keep our focus on redressing the institutional racism against our communities everywhere that led to this tragedy. And we cannot afford to do so while losing more Black lives.
We are done dying.
What we must do now is protest peacefully, demand persistently, and fight politically. If you believe that enough is enough, join us in our fight and let’s work together to make sure justice will be ours.
Fighting forward, Derrick Johnson @DerrickNAACP President and CEO NAACP

THURSDAY, MAY 28, 2020
Prosecutor-turned-TV-star cultivated ring of informants to give false testimony in cold cases, federal judge declares
Imagine prosecutors cultivating a “ring” of jailhouse snitches to give false testimony in cases where there otherwise was insufficient evidence to convict the defendant. Well guess what? You don’t have to imagine. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/05/prosecutor-turned-tv-star-cultivated.html
Florida forced medical examiners to stop reporting death results, and now we know why

Thursday May 28, 2020 · 7:40 AM CDT

Back in April, it became clear that Florida was intentionally hiding a list of daily deaths that had previously been compiled by county medical examiners. Since that time, those examiners, as well as hospitals and local officials, have complained that the number of COVID-19 deaths being reported in Governor Ron DeSantis regular updates, doesn’t match what they’re seeing in their areas. Last week, the scientist behind Florida’s COVID-19 dashboard was fired after she says she refused to alter numbers as she was told.  Read more here: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/5/28/1948035/-More-evidence-emerges-that-DeSantis-has-been-deliberately-under-reporting-COVID-19-deaths-in-Florida

 Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 31 2020

I love that people are disgusted with Minnesota. I love that people are protesting in backwards, insane Minnesota; I do not even care if they are bused in. They need to be bused into Minnesota. It seems Minnesotans have done nothing to stop it’s state from it repression and oppression of it’s people; through it’s unconstitutional, barbaric, cruel and unusual legal system. Please heed the advise of Joe Biden and do not let violence ruin it all: 

Biden: ‘We are a nation in pain, but we must not allow this pain to destroy us’
05/31/20 07:39 AM EDT
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is condemning the violence associated with protests over the police-involved death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, saying that while the nation is in pain, “we must not allow this pain to destroy us.”
Biden said in a statement early Sunday that the past few days have “laid bare that we are a nation furious at injustice.”
“Every person of conscience can understand the rawness of the trauma people of color experience in this country, from the daily indignities to the extreme violence, like the horrific killing of George Floyd,” the former vice president said.
He added that protesting such brutality is “right and necessary” as well as an “utterly American response.”
“But burning down communities and needless destruction is not. Violence that endangers lives is not. Violence that guts and shutters businesses that serve the community is not,” he said.“The act of protesting should never be allowed to overshadow the reason we protest,” he added. “It should not drive people away from the just cause that protest is meant to advance.”
Biden’s comments came after a fifth night of demonstrations over the death of Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in police custody on Monday.
Read here: https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/500310-biden-we-are-a-nation-in-pain-but-we-must-not-allow-this-pain-to-destroy-us

 Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 2 2020 

“Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals.”: Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him.”: Martin Luther King, Jr.
“That’s all nonviolence is – organized love.”: Joan Baez
“Demonstrations must be dignified and nonviolent, as the overwhelming protests in Ferguson and Staten Island have been. Do not confuse anarchists who don’t want the system to work and thugs who want to exploit a situation with the majority who from day one have operated with impeccable nonviolence and clear goals.”: Al Sharpton
See what could happen through non violent protest?:
Michigan sheriff takes off helmet and joins protesters marching for George Floyd
JUNE 1, 2020 / 12:03 PM / CBS NEWS
Police officers and the National Guard clashed with protesters in several U.S. cities this weekend, as demonstrations over the death of George Floyd escalated. But in Michigan, law enforcement officers actually joined a peaceful protest in a show of solidarity. Video showing Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson taking off his helmet and joining a group of protesters in a march has gone viral. Raed more here: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/michigan-sheriff-chris-swanson-joins-george-floyd-protest-march/

I got this cool email from the ACLU this morning:
As you come out to protest, here’s what our video notes to keep in mind:
The right to protest is a fundamental human right guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and the First Amendment.
If you get stopped, ask if you are free to go. If the police say yes, calmly walk away.
You have the right to record. The right to protest includes the right to record, including recording police doing their jobs.
The police can order people to stop interfering with legitimate police operations, but video recording from a safe distance is not interfering.
If you get stopped, police cannot take or confiscate any videos or photos without a warrant.
If you are videotaping, keep in mind in some states, the audio is treated differently than the images. But images and video images are always fully protected by the First Amendment.
The police’s main job in a protest is to protect your right to protest and to de-escalate any threat of violence.
If you get arrested, don’t say anything. Ask for a lawyer immediately. Do not sign anything and do not agree to anything without an attorney present.
If you get arrested, demand your right to a local phone call. If you call a lawyer for legal advice, law enforcement is not allowed to listen.

Police cannot delete data from your device under any circumstances.

 Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 3 2020

TUESDAY, JUNE 02, 2020
Did a Houston cop set up George Floyd years before Minnesota cops killed him? How militarized policing escalated protests; 50 years of ignoring ‘accumulated grievances,’ and other stories 
It’s been a crazy few days for those of us who work on criminal-justice reform. The news right now is filled with analysis and accounts of all the protests, so I won’t rehash it all. But here are a few odds and ends that merit Grits readers’ attention: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/06/did-houston-cop-set-up-george-floyd.html

 Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 10 2020

I have been against the militarization of the police online for about 20 years on the internet. My father was a police officer and his police officer friends; were my good friends. Police should be member’s of our community and people we know. If a police officer conducts themselves like that; there would never be problems. Police are not the military and never should be. 
I was shocked almost 20 years ago; to find out we had regular armed police officers as campus security, at my college. I remember posting on the internet that it was like trying to kill a butterfly with a tank. I have also posted shocking stories of children being arrested in their schools. That can not be good physiologically for children’s futures and subsequently our future. I think the same thing for all those young people in violent protests. It must have a very bad, long lasting effect on a young person; to be in a violent protest. 

TAKE ACTION: https://action.aclu.org/send-message/congress-end-police-militarization-and-over-policing-our-communities-now
It’s time to divest from law enforcement as an institution. We’re calling on the House to take swift measures toward this goal and need you to join us. Please, send your message to Congress now – and specifically demand:
The end to the Department of Defense’s 1033 program, which fuels the militarization of law enforcement by arming local and state police like soldiers. Weapons have no role in the policing of our communities or protests, especially military-grade weapons;The end to the COPS (Community Oriented Policing Services) grants that put excessive numbers of law enforcement on the streets and in schools, where they have proven to be dangerous and divisive;
The reigning in of Byrne JAG (Justice Assistance Grant) grants, as long as they continue to perpetuate police violence, the destruction of Black and Brown communities, the failed drug war, and low-level arrests.
TAKE ACTION: https://action.aclu.org/send-message/congress-end-police-militarization-and-over-policing-our-communities-now

TUESDAY, JUNE 09, 2020Big D city-council majority endorses defunding police agenda; other Texas cities may follow suitThe Dallas City Council is considering its own defunding police agenda. Reported the Dallas Morning News: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/06/big-d-city-council-majority-endorses.html

 Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 16 2020

Supreme Court rules in favor of LGBTQ rights in landmark decision“Today, we must decide whether an employer can fire someone simply for being homosexual or transgender. The answer is clear.”Monday, June 15, 2020 : https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/06/supreme-court-rules-favor-lgbtq-rights-landmark-decision/

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020Roundup on policing and COVID in prisonsHere are some recent articles Grits found enlightening that may interest readers as well: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/06/roundup-on-policing-and-covid-in-prisons.html

 Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 18 2020
Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/federal-demand-the-house-pass-legislation-to-end-marijuana-criminalization/
Federal: Demand The House Pass Legislation To End Marijuana Criminalization While it is positive that House lawmakers are debating ways to reform police tactics, we believe that they should also be debating issues surrounding police powers. Over the years, law enforcement in this country have been granted extraordinary powers — powers that often provide them with the ability to interact with citizens whenever and wherever they please. In many cases, the rationale for these ever expanding police powers has been to enforce the so-called war on drugs. One of the most common pretexts provided by police for interacting with citizens is that they suspect that someone has either used or is in possession of marijuana. Yet, the policy of marijuana prohibition itself was largely born out of prejudice and racial animus and its enforcement continues to disproportionately impact people of color. Simply put: marijuana should have never been criminalized in the first place, and law enforcement should not be able to engage with a citizen simply because they arbitrarily suspect that he or she may be possessing cannabis. That is why NORML is demanding that federal lawmakers end marijuana criminalization, by way of either including language in the police reform bill to deschedule cannabis, or having House lawmakers pass the MORE Act, which cleared the Judiciary Committee last November. Use our pre-written message and edit it as you see fit to your Representative now!
Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/federal-demand-the-house-pass-legislation-to-end-marijuana-criminalization/

 Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 19 2020
The following paragraph include the same words I have been posting on the internet for the past 20 years.
This article (below) is a example why there is such terrible political unrest in out city’s. Always the city’s never our rural arias; especially the upper class neighborhoods that equal one percent of our total population, yet these arias rule our nation with a iron hand. When there is a assault or a sex crime in a rural or upper class aria; it is a epidemic that needs Nazi like, anti-American laws, that devastate community’s and effects countless citizens all in a negative way. In contrast: if someone commits a assault or a sex crime in the city; it seems like it is all part of living in the city and considered no big deal, especially to them that do not live in the city’s. Our entire country needs to face the reality of everyday life in our city’s or be destroyed by it. 
The following paragraph include the same words I have been posting on the internet; since the dawn of social media organized crime. Social media should be called trolling media instead or just plain organized crime. Sorry; never got into it and most likely never will. 
Also this article is one of many examples why I will never forget the crimes organized and perpetrated by Facebook.I especially remember the many elderly people assaulted because of Facebook. I even remember elderly people being beaten here locally here in the Dallas Metroplex aria organized by Facebook. Could be the man mentioned in the article was inspired by Facebook to commit his crime. One thing is for sure crimes like this are a small step away from committing murder or rape. 
CAUGHT ON CAMERAFrom: https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/disturbing-video-shows-random-attack-hydrant-head-smash-of-92-year-old-woman-in-manhattan/2466659/
Serial Random Attacker Cuffed in Hydrant Head Smash of 92-Year-Old NYC Woman: CopsThe woman was taken to a hospital in stable condition after Friday’s attackPublished June 16, 2020 • Updated on June 17, 2020 at 5:45 am
A senior law enforcement official tells News 4 Brimmage is a recidivist with 100 prior arrests who has gotten a desk appearance ticket for his most recent ones because of bail reform. He is an NYPD co-response client, which means police have responded with social workers when dealing with him. Brimmage has an extensive history of being emotionally disturbed in police encounters as well.
Brimmage is currently a suspect in a grand larceny that happened on Feb.19 at the 116th St. train station in which a woman had $120 stolen from her purse, the senior law enforcement official said. He’s also a transit sex crime recidivist.
Just got this; must post email, from the ACLU:
Enslaved people in Texas were the last to learn of their freedom in this country.
On June 19, 1865, more than two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, news of the end of chattel slavery finally made its way to Galveston, Texas. Today we celebrate June 19, aka Juneteenth, amidst an unprecedented public health crisis and national moment of reckoning over systemic racism.Advocates like you are continuing to take to the streets to protest systemic racism and the tragic death of George Floyd. With protests planned for Juneteenth, we want you to have what you’ll need to know your rights. : https://www.aclutx.org/en/know-your-rights/freedom-of-speech-right-to-protest
I have been wearing a baseball cap for years from the Texas Ranger baseball team. My wife got the hat for free and I liked the way it fit on my head. I cut it in half and threw it away this morning after reading this article: 
The Texas Rangers have a nasty history. Why does the baseball team keep the name?“The terms ‘death squads’ and ‘ethnic cleansing’ would not enter common usage for another sixty years or so, but that was what the Rangers were and what they did.” JUNE 18, 2020 — 12:29PM
“They burned peasant villages and slaughtered innocents,” he writes. “They committed war crimes. Their murders of Mexicans and Mexican Americans made them as feared on the border as the Ku Klux Klan in the South.”
Later, they were a bulwark acting to hold back racial equality. When black students tried to enroll in the segregated Texarkana Junior College in 1956, angry whites barred the way, hurling gravel and racial slurs and forcing the students to leave. The Rangers stood idly by.
When farmworkers, most of them Mexican-American, went on strike in 1966, some were beaten and arrested by Rangers. An old saying is: “Every Texas Ranger has Mexican blood. It’s on his boots.”
Read more here:https://www.startribune.com/the-texas-rangers-have-a-nasty-history-why-does-the-baseball-team-keep-the-name/571346412/?refresh=true
Do not let all this make you hate Texas. Only in Texas, would such things be revealed in the Texas media and by the Houston, Texas ACLU; like this. Texas is big, wild and free and that is always the underlying reason we all love it here. 
It is not easy getting used to wearing a mask. I wear a mask for one main reason; for my wife. The second reason I wear a mask to set a good example.Of course I also wear a mask for myself. After much thought I am starting to see a little bright spot in all of this. I notice how good we are becoming in expressing ourselves with our eyes. People I remember before the mask’s take on a whole new light with the masks on. You can judge a lot by looking into people’s eyes. The eyes are the window to the soul; goes the old saying. Also I am enjoying how good we all have become by using body language. I am a Sicilian and it is in my blood to talk with my hands; so this comes easy to me. I am encouraged by how we are evolving to all this. No one can improvise and innovate like Americans. 

 Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 20 2020
It is not wearing a mask that stresses me out; it is the people that I come in contact with. Also the news seems unreal. I keep reading about violent people. I never dare ask someone to practice social distancing. I see someone in my space; then I realize, if I say something, they may get violent. The people that do not wear masks; apparently, according to the news are prone to violence. This also is stressful. It does seem things are getting a little better as time goes by. Articles like this is the levelheaded words that are good to read and consider. When it comes to psychology; get what you can out of it and be wise enough to dump the rest. Not everything is about you.:
9 Ways To Stay Mentally Strong In This Chaotic World
Life is not easy for most people lately. The Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc, causing a brutal health, economic and jobs crisis. Since mid-March, 40 million Americans have lost their jobs. Those who hold a job are worried about its long-term safety. We’ve been locked up indoors with our homebound children, as schools were closed. Business owners watched helplessly, as their companies have been ordered to shut down, raising concerns if they’ll be financially ruined. Over the last eight days, we’ve seen well-meaning, peaceful protests held for George Floyd, who was killed by a police officer, infiltrated by people who use it as an excuse to riot, steal and commit vicious, violent acts.
1. Things may be awful, but that doesn’t mean you have to feel awful.You can control how  you view, process and react to events. 
2. Try to put aside your negative thoughts.We’re constantly overwhelmed with bad news lately. The negativity can be debilitating. While it’s not easy, tune out the noise. 
3. Stop caring about failing.Go after what you want with gusto. No one will hand you a job or opportunity. 
4. You can’t take life personally.It’s not just you. We all get rejected, doors slammed in our faces, lose out on a promotion and not get called back for a second interview. 
5. No one is entitled to success.It takes a lot of time, planning, hard work, execution and luck to succeed. Sometimes luck’s not on your side. 
6. Avoid getting goaded into arguments with strangers on social media.It’s a no-win proposition. Your blood pressure rises, you get aggravated and nothing gets accomplished. 
7. It’s natural to be afraid of trying something new.We all worry about pursuing a new job, romance, friendship or potentially life-changing endeavor. 
8. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Avoid getting roped into petty nonsense. 
9. Learn to say “No.”We have a tendency to want to be liked. When you’re asked to commit to a business function or social engagement, you feel obligated to say “yes.” It’s difficult to turn down opportunities, as you risk alienating the other person, but sometimes it’s more productive to just say “no.” 

Read the full article here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2020/06/03/9-ways-to-stay-mentally-strong-in-this-chaotic-world/#3974fcc5210d

 Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 21 2020
First, the problems courts are imagining with mass release just don’t exist when you look at the data. The people we’re asking judges to release are either elderly or have serious medical conditions. A subgroup of these people are in for “violent” offenses, which can range from murder to more benign actions like failing a urine test repeatedly. Because these people have been incarcerated for such a long time, much of their sentences have already been served. Further, data shows that most people age out of “violent crime” and older people are least likely to re-offend, making draconian sentences unnecessary and counterproductive, even in non-pandemic times.  Read more here: https://www.aclu.org/news/criminal-law-reform/we-wont-address-our-mass-incarceration-crisis-until-we-rethink-our-approach-to-violent-crime/

SATURDAY, JUNE 20, 2020Policing budgets and outcomes: A Catch 22Viewed broadly, America finds itself essentially at the bottom of a thirty-year crime decline. But as police have had less crime to respond to, their budgets and staffing have ballooned, reported Politico this week.:

Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/06/policing-budgets-and-outcomes-catch-22.html

 Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 24 2020
As I have said on the internet many times: America was the hero to world in WWII. This vandalism is extremely wrong.: 
WWII monument in North Carolina vandalized with praise for communismBreaking News Reporter  June 22, 2020 05:28 PM
A World War II monument in Charlotte, North Carolina, was targeted by vandals who spray-painted a hammer and sickle over the names of soldiers who died while fighting overseas.
The vandals carried out their crime on the memorial at Evergreen Cemetery sometime between Sunday night and Monday morning. They also painted the quote: “Glory to the day of heroism June 19, 1986.” The quote references a Communist Party uprising in Peruvian prisons.
Wayne White, a U.S. Air Force veteran, gathered a group of volunteers and began scrubbing the monument clean on Monday morning. He told Fox 46 that he was upset by the vandalism because it covered up the 507 names of people from Mecklenburg County who were “veterans and deserve the honor, respect, and dignity.” Read more here: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/wwii-monument-in-north-carolina-vandalized-with-praise-for-communism
Racist who refused to wear a mask in a Lyft threatened to crush his gay driver’s skull The customer called the driver “a candy-a** fa***t” and an anti-Latino slur while threatening violence after being asked to wear a mask. Monday, June 22, 2020 Read more here: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/06/racist-refused-wear-mask-lyft-threatened-crush-skull-gay-driver/Franklin Graham attacks Anthony Fauci because “Science isn’t truth. God is.”But as Graham regularly does, he distorts the actual truth. Imagine that.June 22, 2020 Read more here: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/06/franklin-graham-attacks-anthony-fauci-science-isnt-truth-god/
TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2020Reform updates from Dallas, Houston, and Austin, a police-union hissy fit, how police spend their time, and other storiesare a few odds and ends related to policing that merit Grits readers’ attention: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/06/reform-updates-from-dallas-houston-and.html

 Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 25 2020 
This story should calm right wing fanatics that think the democrats are behind all the violent protests. I have been warning people of fanaticism for years online; especially when it comes to politics of any kind. Also this story should help us all to see; we are all in this together, whether you are a democrat or a republican.    
Fanaticism Fanatics, ideologues and absolutists are humanity’s greatest scourge. Read here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ambigamy/201411/fanaticism-is-disease-alcoholism
Timothy W. Carpenter is a Democratic member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing the 3rd District since 2003. He earlier served in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the 20th District from 1985 through 2003. From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Carpenter
Senator Timothy W. Carpenter, said he was “Punched & kicked in the head. Might have concussion, left eye a little blurry, cheek swollen, sore neck and ribs.” 
Read more here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/06/24/madison-police-protest-senator/

 Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 27 2020
“weeding out the weak” as quoted from below is a right wing conspiracy theory. The far right wing is really out of control; spreading lies about anything, that could bring about fear mongering. I do not blame the internet for trying to block them that are guilty of these lies and conspiracy theory’s; that mislead people so terribly. I think of myself in the middle. I do not consider myself left wing or right wing. I do believe in LGBTQ rights and protection of people’s rights. I also believe in equality of all people. I also believe unjustified inequalities need to be reduced or abolished. Also supporting social equality sounds good. I think if you read all my political blogs you can get a good idea of what I like to see helpful for people. Left-wing politics : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-wing_politics I think because left wing politics seem not anywhere as load as the right wingers; I know less about it. At any rate I do love our country. 
This is the type of story that defines one of the reasons we as a nation suffer what we do. I have been posting about how nursing homes are like modern day Nazi concentration camps; on the internet for 20 year now. I also feel bad for people that work in nursing homes; because it has got to cause mental problems, for those people.:
NEWS & COMMENTARYCOVID-19 Deaths in Nursing Homes are Not Unavoidable — They are the Result of Deadly DiscriminationWe as a society must reckon with our relentless marginalization and de-prioritization of people with disabilities and the people who support them.
June 23, 2020
COVID-19 has ripped through nursing homes, psychiatric hospitals, and other congregate settings for people with disabilities. People living in these settings make up less than 1 percent of the U.S. population, but nearly 50 percent of COVID-19 deaths.
Some have said these deaths are inevitable. Some have even called for “weeding out the weak” as part of herd mentality. But these deaths are far from inevitable. They arise from decades of indifference, invisibility, and deadly discrimination against the people who live and work in these settings. They also arise from our government’s abdication of its responsibility to regulate and monitor these segregated institutions.  
Congregate settings for people with disabilities include nursing homes, psychiatric facilities, and intermediate care facilities for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Long before COVID-19, these facilities already had a poor track record with insufficient oversight, poor infection control, under-staffing, and inadequate training. Combined, these conditions created the powder keg. COVID-19 lit the match.  
How has this happened? This is the first in a series of ACLU blogs addressing this crisis, in which we will break down the causes at the institutional level and the personal effect on individuals such as staff and residents. The focus today is on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and its agency, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS). Together, HHS and CMS are charged with regulating and monitoring the vast majority of the institutions where we have warehoused people with disabilities. HHS is responsible for the primary funding and for ensuring the safety of people in these facilities. And it has failed miserably in the age of COVID-19. 
On January 31, 2020, HHS declared a national public health emergency to respond to COVID-19. As a primary response to the pandemic, all of our medical and political leaders demanded social distancing. We closed schools and dormitories, required employees to work from home, and shuttered bars, restaurants, and ball parks. But we did not extend this disease prevention tactic to nursing homes, psychiatric hospitals, and developmental disability facilities. In fact, HHS has done the opposite. It has instructed nursing homes to take new patients without first confirming that they are not infected with COVID-19, and it has waived regulations to help divert people from entering institutions.
HHS has mechanisms at its disposal to reduce the overcrowding and dangerous conditions in these institutions. It can increase its funding for Home and Community Based Services and community mental health services, so people can stay in their own homes to get support. It can encourage states to advertise a provision allowing family members — so many of whom are sheltering in place without work — to take their relatives out of nursing homes and get paid to provide their care. And, it could increase the discharged planning process to move those who wish to be back in the community to move there. But it has failed on all counts.
HHS also has obligations to step up infection control and safety for the people who cannot yet leave these institutions. But it has not required states to prioritize personal protective equipment (PPE) or testing for staff or residents, and it has failed to increase the consequences for facilities that violate infection prevention measures. As a result, these institutions, rather than being havens from infection, are ‘death pits’ — among the most dangerous places in the country during this pandemic.
And finally, HHS should provide transparency, so that individuals and families can decide for themselves whether to enter — or stay — in an institution. Instead, more than four months passed before HHS started to require nursing homes to publicly report COVID-19 infection and death rates. And even this is incomplete — as nursing homes can choose not to report deaths before May 6, and other congregate settings — such as psychiatric hospitals, group homes, and institutions for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities — have no reporting obligations at all. 
Yesterday marked the twenty-first anniversary of Olmstead v. L.C., the landmark Supreme Court decision that recognized that “unjustified institutional isolation of persons with disabilities is a form of discrimination.” The court went on to observe that institutional confinement limits every part of a person’s life, and that such confinement “perpetuates unwarranted assumptions that persons so isolated are incapable or unworthy of participating in community life.”
Today, we filed a petition calling on HHS and its agencies to meet their obligations under Olmstead and under federal law. We are asking HHS to get people out of institutions as quickly and safely as possible, to provide genuine infection prevention and control measures for those who remain, and to provide true transparency as to who is living, working, and dying in these institutions. 
HHS must respond. Collectively, we have much more to do. As a society, we must reckon with our relentless marginalization and de-prioritization of people with disabilities and the people who support them. We must look at the tens of thousands of deaths inside congregate care settings as a collective, systemic tragedy. These victims of COVID-19 are mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, grandmothers, grandfathers — all of us. We must end the disregard and discrimination that took their lives and that threatens — if we do not act quickly — to take many more. Read more here: https://www.aclu.org/news/disability-rights/covid-19-deaths-in-nursing-homes-are-not-unavoidable-they-are-the-result-of-deadly-discrimination/

 Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 30 2020
MONDAY, JUNE 29, 2020Police reform roundupLet’s clear a few browser tabs; here are some odds and ends that recently caught my attention and may also interest Grits readers: Read all of them here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/06/police-reform-roundup.html
I picked some out to post here:
Houston Chronicle: Chief Harris County trial prosecutor resigns over post comparing Black Lives Matter to Nazis.
Houston Chronicle: Houston City Council hears calls for police reform, improved oversight board, reduced police budget. Here’s another article on Houston’s weak and ineffective civilian oversight board.
SA Express News: Arbitrator reinstates SA cop fired for using the N-word.
Austin Statesman: A state lawmaker asks about a cop’s duty to stop other cops’ transgressions.
 Dallas Morning News: Texas should make police bodycams and citizen complaints public.
Texas Tribune: A Fort Worth police officer whose uncle died in police custody hopes departments can change. 
This could be a good time for some much needed police reforms in Texas; at least that is what I see from these links I read and posted here. 

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 01 2020
Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sign-now-we-need-masks/
The COVID-19 pandemic is still raging across America, endangering essential workers and killing seniors. One of the best tools for reducing its spread is widespread face mask use. But Donald Trump and his administration have turned this into another culture war issue. This isn’t culture―it’s science. Re-opening economies, especially ahead of the July 4th holiday, is likely to spread COVID-19 even more rapidly. We’re calling on state and local governments to enact rules to make mask-wearing mandatory when engaging in commerce.
McKinney businesses must require face masks, mayor ordersMayor George Fuller said wearing a mask protects public health as well as the local economy.
11:01 AM on Jun 30, 2020
Anyone entering a McKinney business or nonprofit will be required to wear a mask to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, Mayor George Fuller ordered this week.
The mayor’s declaration is similar to “mask mandates” adopted recently in Dallas County and Tarrant County, which order businesses to institute and enforce policies that require their employees and customers to wear face coverings.
McKinney is the first city in Collin County to require residents to wear masks, with Plano set to vote on its own resolution today.
Businesses in McKinney have until noon Wednesday to comply with the declaration, which will last a week but can be extended by the McKinney City Council when it next meets on July 7.
Read more here: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/public-health/2020/06/30/mckinney-businesses-must-require-face-masks-mayor-orders/
If the so called TXDPS; plans on doing this, during the State of Disaster, The Texas Department of Public Safety may be responsible for killing people. I have been wanting to post this for a while:
COLLIN-COUNTYHundreds waited for hours in heat outside McKinney driver’s license office TuesdayThose in line reported a teenager fainted while waiting to get inside the driver’s license office.
Published: 5:45 PM CDT August 13, 2019Updated: 5:58 AM CDT August 14, 2019
MCKINNEY, Texas — Some people lined up outside the McKinney driver’s license office waited more than seven hours just to walk through the front door. 
Brandon Guillory waited for two hours Monday before he was told to try again the next day. He was in line for at least three hours Tuesday without much movement. 
The former professional football player was trying to get his Texas driver’s license after moving from Louisiana. He told WFAA that he waited a total of seven hours before getting inside, and once he did, he was told that he didn’t have good proof of address. 
Day three for Guillory starts Wednesday. “Literally seven hours,” Guillory said. “This is equivalent to training camp.” 
He and others in line estimated they barely moved 10 feet forward with each passing hour. 
About five people at a time were allowed inside the Texas Department of Public Safety office. The rest waited in a line that stretched around the building, even in the triple-digit heat. 
Latifi McCloud stood in line for more than four hours with her daughter. “They’re not telling us anything. They’re just taking five at a time,” she said. 
Some in the line told WFAA that a teenage girl fainted earlier in the morning. “Oh God, it’s so hot. I want to go sit in the car. I felt queasy and lightheaded,” McCloud said before she headed to her car. 
Full article here: https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/teenager-fainted-in-line-to/287-453ed99b-3b3e-4be5-8ca3-cbb5c61b8694
Mike Pence spoke to 2,100 people jammed into an anti-LGBTQ megachurch in a COVID hotspotPence helped lure over 2,000 people into a Dallas church to hear him speak live, even though the city is experiencing a serious COVID-19 outbreak.Monday, June 29, 2020: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/06/mike-pence-spoke-2100-people-jammed-anti-lgbtq-megachurch-covid-hotspot/

I think we all need to read this every once and a while.:
First Amendment of The Constitution of the United StatesFrom: HereCongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2020Advice for Texas police reform activists outside the big counties: Interview with Chas Moore, plus was George Floyd set up by a crooked Houston narcotics cop? Texas’ anachronistic ‘riot’ laws, and other stories: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/06/advice-for-texas-police-reform.html

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 02 2020

I voted today. The Collin County staff there were very professional. They even offered Q-tips® to use the touch screen voting machines; instead of your hands.

The death penalty is racist: *“Convictions are more likely if the accused is Black, poor, and/or if the victim is white.”
The death penalty is racist and against the Bible: Exodus 20:13“Thou shalt not kill.”
Sign this petition here: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/letters/petition-your-us-rep-ban-the-federal-the-death-penalty-cosponsor-hr4052
Sign and send a petition to your U.S. Representative: Ban the use of the death penalty by the federal government. Cosponsor H.R.4052.
On June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider serious issues with the federal death penalty, allowing the federal government to resume executions after a 17-year hiatus.
In response to Attorney General Bill Barr’s decision to resume the death penalty, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) introduced H.R. 4052 — legislation to prohibit the use of the death penalty at the federal level and require re-sentencing of those currently on death row. As of this writing, the bill has 36 cosponsors (the late Elijah Cummings is still listed).

Barr claims he is reinstating the death penalty to seek justice for the families of the victims. But not only is he not a crime victim advocate, he’s expressly ignoring the wishes of those who do not want to use capital punishment. Instead, he re-victimizes them, and offers no support to process their trauma and grief.
The Supreme Court’s refusal to consider the issues brought to them has increased the urgency of the ending the use of capital punishment. Since pharmaceutical corporations refuse to provide a drug previously used for executions, the Trump administration plans to use a dangerous, painful replacement, possibly produced by a pharmacy with questionable practices.
Capital punishment is unjust. The process is rife with implicit bias, poor lawyering, and junk science. *Convictions are more likely if the accused is Black, poor, and/or if the victim is white. The people most likely to be put to death suffered traumatic childhoods, are mentally ill, or have an intellectual disability. It doesn’t deter crime or help victims grieve and heal.
The death penalty has no place in a just society. The Supreme Court abdicated its legal and moral responsibilities. Congress cannot.
Sign and send a petition to your U.S. Representative: Ban the use of the death penalty by the federal government. Cosponsor H.R. 4052.
After reading this carefully I approve of what I read. 
*”transparency measures solely dedicated to ensuring that our taxpayer dollars are being awarded to those in need and spent according to the intent of the law.” What is wrong with that?
Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sign-the-petition-demand-congress-stop-corporate-abuse-of-covid-19-relief
Sign the petition: Demand Congress stop corporate abuse of COVID-19 relief
Congress has passed three relief bills providing critical aid to citizens and businesses struggling to stay afloat in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Yet from the onset, there have been major oversight issues with examples of large corporations abusing relief and our tax dollars, as well as evidence of companies with Trump administration connections benefiting from contracts and taxpayer-funded relief.
The potential for further abuse is enormous, which demands further actions by Congress to protect taxpayer dollars and to ensure that the public understands whether relief funds are being spent as intended, for the good of the nation as a whole and to the needs of those most vulnerable.
Senators Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal, and Chris Coons, and Representatives Pramila Jayapal and John Sarbanes have introduced new legislation to beef up oversight of the administration’s COVID-19 relief effort. The Coronavirus Oversight and Recovery Ethics (CORE) Act would make it harder to fire government inspectors general, give subpoena power to the congressional watchdog tasked with monitoring coronavirus relief funds, and protect whistleblowers in the public and private sectors who come forward with evidence of fraud related to the coronavirus response.
The CORE Act offers commonsense oversight and *transparency measures solely dedicated to ensuring that our taxpayer dollars are being awarded to those in need and spent according to the intent of the law.
These provisions must be enacted to ensure taxpayer dollars do not serve the interests of the wealthy or well-connected to the exclusion of the American people.
Sign the petition: Demand Congress support the CORE Act.Congress has passed three relief bills providing critical aid to citizens and businesses struggling to stay afloat in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Yet from the onset, there have been major oversight issues with examples of large corporations abusing relief and our tax dollars, as well as evidence of companies with Trump administration connections benefiting from contracts and taxpayer-funded relief.
The potential for further abuse is enormous, which demands further actions by Congress to protect taxpayer dollars and to ensure that the public understands whether relief funds are being spent as intended, for the good of the nation as a whole and to the needs of those most vulnerable.
Senators Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal, and Chris Coons, and Representatives Pramila Jayapal and John Sarbanes have introduced new legislation to beef up oversight of the administration’s COVID-19 relief effort. The Coronavirus Oversight and Recovery Ethics (CORE) Act would make it harder to fire government inspectors general, give subpoena power to the congressional watchdog tasked with monitoring coronavirus relief funds, and protect whistleblowers in the public and private sectors who come forward with evidence of fraud related to the coronavirus response.
The CORE Act offers commonsense oversight and transparency measures solely dedicated to ensuring that our taxpayer dollars are being awarded to those in need and spent according to the intent of the law.
These provisions must be enacted to ensure taxpayer dollars do not serve the interests of the wealthy or well-connected to the exclusion of the American people.
Sign the petition: Demand Congress support the CORE Act.

 Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 04 2020
FRIDAY, JULY 03, 2020San Antonio can’t fire cops who use the N-word or feed homeless people feces: Accountability systems in Texas civil-service cities brokenIn San Antonio, recently, a fired police officer was reinstated by an arbitrator after repeatedly using the N-word to address a black suspect while handcuffing him. The head of the police union said it was no more offensive than the mayor publicly using the word, “goddamn.” I suspect that’s a minority viewpoint.: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/07/san-antonio-cant-fire-cops-who-use-n.html
I got a July 4th email from the non violent NAACP:
The hard truth is that America still has not extended the ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to the Black community. And even centuries after our very own ancestors built this country from the ground up, the consequences of chattel slavery are still painfully reflected in the system of racism that is so thoroughly embedded in our nation’s social, economic, and political systems.
The good news is that the recent protests are evidence that true freedom is within our grasp. We have a chance now to escalate the energy of this moment and move from protest to power to policy change—as long as those of us who care about civil rights and social justice keep up the fight.
So on this Fourth of July, I’m calling on all of us to not let this moment slip through our hands. Let’s all pledge to continue doing the hard, necessary work of pushing toward a better and more just future for our families and our country.In Solidarity,Derrick Johnson@DerrickNAACPPresident and CEONAACP
I posted this on my art blog on October 11, 2015. Since I have decided to post Normal petitions and articles here; I will post it here. I donate to Normal; five dollars, once a year. Normal is American earned freedom and INDEPENDENCE; in action.
Although I have not used Marijuana since high school and shortly after high school. Since I have mentioned it here on my blog yesterday; I have decided to support the legalization of Marijuana online. I signed up with these folks : http://marijuanamajority.com/
Check this website out it is amazing! http://marijuanamajority.com/
Check out who supports the legalization of Marijuana on this website:
John Paul Stevens Former U.S. Supreme Court JusticeDavid Koch Executive Vice President of Koch IndustriesAndrew Cuomo Governor of New York & Former U.S. Secretary of…Rick Perry Governor of TexasGlenn Beck Television and Radio HostNorm Stamper Former Seattle Chief of PoliceElizabeth Warren U.S. SenatorMichael Steele Former Chairman of Republican National CommitteeBill O’Reilly Host of Fox News Channel’s “O’Reilly Factor”Howard Dean Former Chairman of Democratic National Committee &…Richard Posner Federal Judge on U.S. Court of Appeals for the…Sarah Palin Former Governor of Alaska & Republican…National Organization for Women 500,000-Member Women’s EqualityRandi Weingarten President of American Federation of TeachersPatty Murray U.S. SenatorBrian Schweitzer Former Montana GovernorRand Paul U.S. SenatorRobert Reich Former U.S. Secretary of LaborCharles Koch Chairman of the Board of Koch IndustriesTerry McAuliffe Governor of Virginia & Founder of GreenTech…Jeb Bush Former Governor of FloridaMark Cuban Owner of Dallas Mavericks, Landmark Theatres &…Elizabeth Warren U.S. SenatorJay Nixon Governor of Missouri & Former Missouri Attorney…Nikki Haley Governor of South CarolinaCharlie Crist Former Governor of FloridaBobby Jindal Governor of LouisianaBarack Obama 44th President of the United StatesHarry Reid U.S. Senate Majority LeaderJohn McCain U.S. SenatorLouisiana VotersMinnesota VotersFlorida VotersMichael Bloomberg Mayor of New YorkPatrick Leahy U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman & Former…And thousands more…
I definitely do not support any breaking of any laws; so until it is legalized; I hate even the thought of having anything to do with Marijuana. In fact any mention of Marijuana to me or any of my loved ones repulses me beyond belief; to the point of which makes me physically ill. I will always feel this way until Marijuana is legalized. I advise you take up this frame of mind also to protect yourself and the ones you love; if Marijuana is illegal where you are.
I got this email from Texas Normal:July 03, 2020In a memo to the Mayor and Council Members, Austin Police Department’s Chief Manley lays out how the 2007 Cite and Summons bill, in conjunction with the 2019 Texas Hemp Program, paved the way for Austin City Council to pass a resolution that restricted city funds or city personnel from being used to create THC testing protocol and directed APD to stop citing or arresting personal possession of marijuana. After several delays: https://www.texasnorml.org/update-apd-stops-thc-testing/ due to the pandemic, the memo states that APD has now revised their enforcement policies and have a plan for training and public notification.  
APD will no longer cite or arrest individuals with sufficient identification for Class A or Class B misdemeanor “possession of marijuana” offenses, unless there is an immediate threat to a person’s safety or doing so as part of the investigation of a high priority, felony-level narcotics case or the investigation of a violent felony.
“This is an important step forward for Austin. The City used the powers of the purse to pressure APD to do what is best for Austin, no longer waste taxpayers’ funds on these victimless crimes that have a disparately impacted communities of color. I hope this is the first step of many that will bring justice to Austin,” says Jax Finkel, Executive Director of Texas NORML.
“Although the Police Chief should have made this change the day after City Council passed my resolution directing this back in January, it finally happened today because of continued community advocacy. This victory is only a small step compared to the much more transformational change that we must make this summer to our City’s budget and policing practices. Keep organizing!” said Council Member Greg Casar.
Texas NORML was proud to work alongside many local organizations to help push forward this important resolution. Learn more about it here: https://www.texasnorml.org/atx-passes-pom-resolution/ .

 Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 08 2020
TUESDAY, JULY 07, 2020Laws on rioting an anachronistic snapshot into Texas Legislature’s anti-civil rights mentality in 1965Grits has heard of people reading someone the Riot Act, but until recently had never read Texas’ own riot act for myself.
On the Reasonably Suspicious podcast the other day, Mandy Marzullo and I discussed Texas’ laws on “riots,” which were invoked via dozens of arrests around the state, including “several dozen” in Fort Worth. In Dallas, protesters have sued to challenge the constitutionality of the law.First, some historical context. Texas’ offense of “Riot” was created in spring 1965, reacting to national events like passage of the the Civil Rights Act in 1964 and the Harlem Riots later that year (begun after police shot a young black man). The famous 1965 Watts riots wouldn’t come until later that August, when the Legislature was no longer in session.Regardless, by then Texas had a long history of repressing black-liberation politics, often by dubbing the speaker a “Communist” to justify quashing them. Grits recently recounted examples of repression of civil-rights activism in the ’50s and ’60s in northeast Texas, including the intervention by Gov. Price Daniel in 1960 to redbait black leaders and fire all Wiley College faculty members who had not opposed a visit from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. Texas state political leaders were serious about fighting communism, conflating that with desegregation to a degree that seems nonsensical with the clarity of 20/20 hindsight. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/07/laws-on-rioting-anachronistic-snapshot.html
Send message here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/support-the-secure-and-fair-enforcement-banking-act-safe-banking-act-2
Send a message to your Senators now while these negotiations are ongoing and make your voice heard.
Update: This legislation passed the House of Representatives on September, 25 2019 by a vote of 321-103
The Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act (SAFE Banking Act), HR 1595 / S. 1200, would allow state-licensed marijuana-related businesses to engage freely in relationships with banks and other financial institutions.
If enacted, banks would no longer face the threat of federal sanction for working with marijuana-related businesses and entrepreneurs. Read more here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/support-the-secure-and-fair-enforcement-banking-act-safe-banking-act-2

 Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 09 2020
Our representatives need to take this seriously:
You live in a district that is holding a Primary Runoff Election, which is for races where no candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the March Primaries. The two candidates with the highest number of votes are facing off in the Primary Runoff Election to see who will represent their party on the ballot in November. We surveyed the candidates to find out where they stand on marijuana policy, including voting records for incumbents.
Click here to use our interactive Texas Marijuana Policy Voter Guide!: https://www.texasnorml.org/votersguide/
Election Day: Tuesday, July 14th, 2020.
Sign the petition: REJECT Corporate Immunity for COVID-19!: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-abusive-employers-must-be-held-accountable-if-they-cause-covid-19-outbreaks-reject-covid-19-corporate-immunity
Tell Congress: Abusive employers must be held accountable if they cause COVID-19 outbreaks. REJECT COVID-19 corporate immunity!As Americans prepare to return to work, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is demanding corporate immunity for companies that expose workers to the virus — which would mean companies could not be sued if people get sick on the job.Under McConnell’s plan, companies that don’t provide masks and gloves, fail to enforce social distancing, or recklessly expose customers to COVID-19 could be let off the hook, while workers and customers pay with their lives.
Sign the petition: REJECT Corporate Immunity for COVID-19!: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-abusive-employers-must-be-held-accountable-if-they-cause-covid-19-outbreaks-reject-covid-19-corporate-immunity
I have posting for 20 years online to support birth control. If we would only make birth control easy for everyone; there would not be so many abortions. I have been saying this for 20 years online yet still; it seems people do not see it. 
If anything sign this petition to support birth control: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/petitions/sign-the-petition-the-next-democratic-administration-must-rescind-trumps-anti-birth-control-regulation
Sign the petition to the next Democratic administration: Sign an executive order rescinding Trump’s anti-birth control regulation on your first day in office. Everyone deserves contraception.PETITIONINGThe next Democratic administrationSPONSORED BYDaily KosOur Message to The next Democratic administration :On your first day in office, it is imperative that you rescind Trump’s anti-birth control regulation that allows a laundry list of employers to deny employees birth control coverage under religious or moral objections. Everyone deserves access to contraception, no matter where they live, where they work, or how much money they make.If anything sign this petition to support birth control: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/petitions/sign-the-petition-the-next-democratic-administration-must-rescind-trumps-anti-birth-control-regulation
Another one for the hard working people:
Sign this too: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-abusive-employers-must-be-held-accountable-if-they-cause-covid-19-outbreaks-reject-covid-19-corporate-immunity
Tell Congress: Abusive employers must be held accountable if they cause COVID-19 outbreaks. REJECT COVID-19 corporate immunity!As Americans prepare to return to work, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is demanding corporate immunity for companies that expose workers to the virus — which would mean companies could not be sued if people get sick on the job.
Under McConnell’s plan, companies that don’t provide masks and gloves, fail to enforce social distancing, or recklessly expose customers to COVID-19 could be let off the hook, while workers and customers pay with their lives.
Sign the petition: REJECT Corporate Immunity for COVID-19!: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-abusive-employers-must-be-held-accountable-if-they-cause-covid-19-outbreaks-reject-covid-19-corporate-immunity

WEDNESDAY, JULY 08, 2020Houston PD should shut down Narcotics Division based on problems revealed in (redacted) auditReaders of this blog know Grits is a solutions-oriented guy, so stick with me because I’ve got one here. Indeed, these days, when you send people to prison for a drug crime, you’re risking their exposure to the COVID 19 virus. We’ve already seen examples of Texans sent to prison for short, treatment-focused sentences who died of COVID while they’re there. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/07/houston-pd-should-shut-down-narcotics.html

 Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 12 2020
I actually watched this one. This guy is definitely trying to invoke violence. : 
Florida man loses job after Costco mask meltdown went viral amid coronavirus pandemicWednesday July 08, 2020 · 11:41 AM CDTIn a now-viral video, a Florida man was seen not wearing a mask while in a Costco in Fort Meyers, Florida, on June 27, as reported by local outlet NBC 2. The video shows a man wearing a red T-shirt and flip-flop sandals. What made the video go viral is not just his lack of a face covering, but that the video shows the man shouting at another customer after he was reportedly asked multiple times why he was not wearing a mask in the store. Costco has required employees, members, and guests to wear face coverings over both the nose and mouth since May 4, 2020. According to the Orlando Sentinel, the man in the video has since been fired from his job at an insurance agency. Watch video here: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/7/8/1959086/-Florida-man-loses-job-after-Costco-mask-meltdown-went-viral-amid-coronavirus-pandemic?detail=
SATURDAY, JULY 11, 2020 From: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/07/cowtown-gets-defund-police-vote.html
Cowtown gets a ‘defund police’ vote
The folks at the Fort Worth Crime Control and Prevention District must be kicking themselves at the timing of the voters’ re-up of their taxing authority, on the ballot this Tuesday. See quality coverage from The Appeal and Fort Worth Weekly. Basically, the question becomes, do voters make this a Black Lives Matter referendum? Do they take out all the frustration expressed during the George Floyd protests when when presented in the ballot box with an explicit opportunity to “defund police”? Only time will tell.
Local defund advocates are taking the opportunity to pitch CCPD abolition with a libertarian spin. Given that supporting a sizable tax during a major recession is already a hard sell, anyway, Grits would give the opposition a puncher’s chance at sneaking an upset. Between COVID and the delayed runoffs, it’ll be an odd, unpredictable electorate to begin with. That’s the kind of wild card that could easily result in election-night surprises.
Grits hasn’t followed this local, Cowtown issue before and wishes I’d realized this opportunity earlier. It’s too small a race for anyone to poll on, but if an upset occurs, the implications could be significant. 

 Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 15 2020
Please sign this petition here: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/forms/sign-the-petition-to-say-i-dissent-with-this-attack-on-birth-control-coverage
Sign the petition to say “I DISSENT” with this attack on birth control coverage!
The Supreme Court just ruled in Trump v. Pennsylvania, giving the green light to the Trump administration’s attacks on our birth control coverage.
Let’s be clear: Every body deserves birth control coverage, no matter where you work or go to school. The Trump-Pence rule that the Supreme Court just let go into effect allows employers and universities to take birth control coverage away from their employees and students. But the personal beliefs of your boss or school shouldn’t dictate the care you can access.
Add your name to NARAL Pro-Choice’s petition to support birth control access and say “I DISSENT” with this ruling!
Please sign this petition here: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/letters/petition-your-us-rep-ban-the-federal-the-death-penalty-cosponsor-hr4052
Sign and send a petition to your U.S. Representative: Ban the use of the death penalty by the federal government. Cosponsor H.R.4052.
On June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider serious issues with the federal death penalty, allowing the federal government to resume executions after a 17-year hiatus.
In response to Attorney General Bill Barr’s decision to resume the death penalty, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) introduced H.R. 4052 — legislation to prohibit the use of the death penalty at the federal level and require re-sentencing of those currently on death row. As of this writing, the bill has 36 cosponsors (the late Elijah Cummings is still listed).Barr claims he is reinstating the death penalty to seek justice for the families of the victims. But not only is he not a crime victim advocate, he’s expressly ignoring the wishes of those who do not want to use capital punishment. Instead, he re-victimizes them, and offers no support to process their trauma and grief.The Supreme Court’s refusal to consider the issues brought to them has increased the urgency of the ending the use of capital punishment. Since pharmaceutical corporations refuse to provide a drug previously used for executions, the Trump administration plans to use a dangerous, painful replacement, possibly produced by a pharmacy with questionable practices.Capital punishment is unjust. The process is rife with implicit bias, poor lawyering, and junk science. Convictions are more likely if the accused is Black, poor, and/or if the victim is white. The people most likely to be put to death suffered traumatic childhoods, are mentally ill, or have an intellectual disability. It doesn’t deter crime or help victims grieve and heal.
The death penalty has no place in a just society. The Supreme Court abdicated its legal and moral responsibilities. Congress cannot.
Sign and send a petition to your U.S. Representative: Ban the use of the death penalty by the federal government. Cosponsor H.R. 4052
At least 8 people partially blinded same day during police rampage against George Floyd protesters
Tuesday July 14, 2020 · 4:54 PM CDT
Witness video clips from eight different incidents of police brutality on the same May 30 date seem to prove that authorities involved in at least one of the incidents lied in official reports of what happened, according to a Washington Post investigation. Other officials were caught in apparent policy breaches highlighted when the Post evaluated slow-motion forms of witness video, traffic surveillance tapes, and other forms of video footage.In the newspaper’s probe, reporters interviewed eight victims who were all partially blinded when police used “less lethal” weapons against them at George Floyd protests from California to Ohio.Read more here: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/7/14/1960695/-At-least-8-people-partially-blinded-same-day-during-police-rampage-against-George-Floyd-protesters#read-more

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 16 2020
From here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/07/sunset-review-provides-chance-to.html
WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2020Sunset review provides chance to restrict who in Texas gets to have a police forceTo attempt to alter policing at a fundamental level is a vast undertaking. You’re not changing one agency but thousands of them. America has more than 18,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide.The general public rarely considers and likely barely conceives of the vast scope of law enforcement systems. Just in Texas alone, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement reports that it regulates 2,740 agencies which collectively carry 80,130 peace-officer licenses and 22,944 jailers’ licenses.Law enforcement has grown in Texas in recent decades along several axes: The number of officers employed en toto has increased. The number of agencies has increased. The types of agencies which employ officers has expanded. Their proportion of local budgets have grown.
We’re not just talking about the state’s 254 county Sheriffs or its 1,800 or so municipal police departments. The Texas Code of Criminal Procedure 2.12 lists 35 categories of government entities that can employ peace officers, including the Dental, Medical, and Pharmacy boards, water control and improvement districts (!), and the General Services Commission (archaic: this is now the Texas Facilities Commission, which manages state properties).
But wait, there’s more!Railroad companies can employ their own licensed Texas peace officers, as can the Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, whose offices are dubbed “special rangers” in the statute. Eric Dexheimer, now at the Houston Chronicle, had good coverage of this back in 2009.
In counties with less than 200,000 people, security officers for private colleges can be licensed through a local-area Sheriff or police department as “adjunct police officers” – up to 50 per institution.
Police employed by the Alabama Coushatta and Kickapoo tribes can be commissioned by TCOLE.”School marshals” are licensed police officers in Texas, but unlike, say, Dental Board investigators or railroad company employees, the Code of Criminal Procedure insists that, “A school marshal may not issue a traffic citation.” (At this, a light bulb went off over your correspondent’s head: Powers of any of these 35+ categories can be limited!)
Thinking broadly, what is the scope of the “policing” industry in Texas? According to the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics, Texas in 2015 spent $16 billion on criminal justice, which broke out thusly:Police: 46.2%Judicial: 17.8%Corrections: 36%So let’s assume as a rough estimate that 46 percent of overall criminal-justice expenditures in Texas, state and local combined, goes to pay for these 80,130 police officers at 2,740 agencies.
None of this is new, but the problems have grown and little has been done to rein in unintended consequences from the explosion of law enforcement agencies and officers in the state.
Almost 16 years ago, when your correspondent was director of the Police Accountability Project at the ACLU of Texas, I presented written testimony on this topic to the Texas Senate Criminal Justice Committee, the first half of which focused on the proliferation of law enforcement agencies. Several of those criticisms still very much apply:
Gypsy cops: Officers with histories of misconduct move from agency to agency with no consequences, particularly in smaller jurisdictions.The pool of quality police supervisors in Texas simply is not deep enough to manage 2,540 different agencies. (Grits’ note: Today, it’s 2,740 agencies.) That means many of these special agencies are being led by managers who are frankly unqualified.Smaller forces don’t have sufficient resources for modern, high quality training or equipment for more specialized work needed to solve serious of crimes.The second part of that testimony, for those interested, discussed Texas’ string of “regional narcotics task forces” employing more than 700 officers which were ultimately defunded under Gov. Rick Perry and abolished after a six year campaign. Reading through it, the criticisms sound like those raised in the audit of the Houston PD Narcotics division!Grits remains skeptical America can ever completely “abolish” police. But I’m downright enthusiastic about abolishing certain types of police, starting with narcotics officers, school cops, and maybe while we’re at it, the dental and pharmacy boards, etc.. As the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement undergoes Sunset review, staff and legislators should consider paring back the long list of approved agencies that get their own police force. When it comes to expanding that list, we have long past the point of diminishing returns.

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 17 2020
Sign this petiton here: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/letters/sign-and-send-the-petition-hold-police-accountable-end-qualified-immunitySign and send the petition: Hold police accountable. End qualified immunity.“Qualified immunity” is one of the reasons it is so hard to successfully sue police officers for abuse of power or misconduct, even in cases where they clearly acted in bad faith & unquestionably violated a person’s civil rights.This is a copy of a email I got from Daily Kos:
The nation is turning against Donald Trump in a dramatic fashion. Poll after poll shows Joe Biden opening up a huge lead nationally as poll after poll after poll after poll shows swing states turning blue and traditional red states become new battlegrounds.
Politicians need to wake up to the fact they could lose elections because of refusal to end marijuana prohibition.:
Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/petition-to-biden-and-trump-end-marijuana-prohibition/
Petition to Biden and Trump: End marijuana prohibition
Never in American history has there been such an overwhelming consensus to end marijuana prohibition, yet neither major party nominee for President has committed to doing so.
Sign the petition to tell Joe Biden and Donald Trump to include ending the failed policy of federal marijuana prohibition to their platform.
Never in modern history has there existed greater public support for ending the nation’s nearly century-long experiment with marijuana prohibition. According to nationwide polling data provided by Gallup, 67 percent of Americans support legalizing and regulating the adult-use of marijuana, including outright majority support from Democrats, Republicans, and Independents.
The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) represents the interests of the tens of millions of Americans who support replacing marijuana prohibition with a system of adult-use legalization and regulation, as well as the interests of those residing in the majority of US jurisdictions that have liberalized their own state-specific policies in a manner that is divergent from federal law.
The criminalization of marijuana financially burdens taxpayers, encroaches upon civil liberties, engenders disrespect for the law, impedes legitimate scientific research into the plant’s medicinal properties, and disproportionately impacts communities of color. Americans demand a President who recognizes this reality and who will seek to amend federal law in a manner that comports with scientific consensus, public opinion, and the plant’s rapidly evolving cultural status.
That is why we call on the two major party candidates to support the following changes in federal marijuana policy:
Deschedule. Expunge. Reinvest.
1) Deschedule the marijuana plant from the Controlled Substances Act so that states, not the federal government, are the primary regulators of marijuana policy and so that local governments (that wish to do so) can take steps to regulate the marijuana market unimpeded by the threat of undue federal interference. Utilize the bully pulpit to advocate Congress to prioritize and advance legislation similar to The MORE (Marijuana, Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement) Act to rectify existing state/federal conflicts over marijuana access, banking issues, and other related policies. Pledge to appoint federal officials in the positions of US Attorney General, Secretary of Health and Human Service, Director of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, and other relevant agencies who will no longer oppose efforts to bring about legislative and regulatory changes to federal marijuana policy — including efforts to facilitate greater clinical research and exploration into marijuana’s therapeutic utility. Pledge to pursue executive actions to enact changes in federal marijuana policy when applicable.
2) Call for the automatic review of federal convictions specific to low-level marijuana-related offenses, and for the expungement and/or resentencing of these convictions when applicable. The stigma and loss of opportunities stemming from a marijuana conviction can last a lifetime. At a time when the nation is facing mass unemployment, the federal government can and should remove — nor promote — undue barriers to economic opportunity and prosperity.
3) Provide federal financial assistance to facilitate state and local governments to review and expunge non-violent marijuana convictions through the issuance of grants and other resources. Tens of millions of Americans currently carry the burden of a state-specific marijuana conviction. In many cases, these convictions are for activities now deemed legal under state laws. These individuals should no longer carry this undue stigma and the lost opportunities that go with it. While many state governments are now engaging in the process of reviewing and vacating some of these convictions, this process would be further facilitated with federal assistance, inducements, and resources.
4) Work to ensure that a portion of revenues derived from businesses in the marijuana sector are circulated and reinvested into those communities most adversely impacted by prohibition, and that the emerging legal industry creates pathways for ownership opportunities for local small businesses, as well as engage in practices that promote social justice and equity.
Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/petition-to-biden-and-trump-end-marijuana-prohibition/
Transgender women win elections for the first time in West Virginia & Louisiana”I’m proud to stand for transgender and gender non-conforming people in the state,” said Peyton Rose Michelle, who won in Louisiana.
Wednesday, July 15, 2020 
Two women who won elections this past month just became the first transgender elected officials in their respective states.Peyton Rose Michelle won a seat on Louisiana’s Democratic State Central Committee and is the first out transgender woman elected to a political position in the state, according to Big Easy Magazine. She got over twice as many votes as her opponent. 
Read more: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/07/transgender-women-win-elections-first-time-west-virginia-louisiana/

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 19 2020I love America. Anyone that has read my blogs; knows this. I absolutely believe that every statue and everything else that honors slave owners and human rights violators and fiends, etcetera; should be done away with. Read up on all the terrible things these people have done. I can not see how any sane person would honor anyone that owned slaves or guilty of other atrocities. I looked it up and could barely stand reading it. I do not believe anyone should break the law to take down statues or memorials. We need to lobby and vote; not take part in violence or vandalism. Protests are how this country started. The greatest historically, most honorable protests on this earth; have always been peaceful protests. This is a whole new age of Americans in our country. People today are the more informed; than ever before, in the history of the world. It is one hundred percent because of the internet. I did not want to cut my Texas Rangers hat in half. I did it because it needed to be done. I do not to be wearing that hat when some poor Hispanic person had one of their family members killed by the Texas Rangers and sees my hat as a reminder of that.
Dallas Morning News article:
Schools honoring Confederates Robert E. Lee and John Tyler will be renamed, says Tyler school board
On Thursday, the Tyler ISD school board unanimously voted to start the renaming process for both of its high schools, which both compete with Dallas-area schools in extracurricular activities. 
11:08 PM on Jul 16, 2020 
Robert E. Lee High School alumna Darlene Foy, left, of Arlington, Texas, stands next to Kaelyn Flowers, a freshman at the school, as people gather outside a special Tyler Independent School Board meeting on a potential name change for the school, Thursday, July 16, 2020 in Tyler, Texas. Foy drove to Tyler to support keeping the name. Flowers is in favor of changing the name. Click here to view this classic photo by Dallas Morning News. The thing I like about this photo is, that these people obviously disagree with each other; yet they are still polite enough to show civility to each other. I think it is just good old fashioned southern hospitality. The only thing I can say is; if people are so attached to statues, etcetera: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3 God used people to form our great Country. God also uses Satan to do work for him: “Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” Matthew 4:10
Read more here: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2020/07/16/schools-honoring-confederates-robert-e-lee-and-john-tyler-will-be-renamed-says-tyler-school-board/
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) told Trump to get his DHS lackeys and paramilitary operations out of his state of Oregon. – Get your DHS lackey and uninvited paramilitary actions out of my state. Our communities are not a stage for your twisted reelection campaign. Read more here: https://www.politicususa.com/2020/07/17/jeff-merkley-trump-oregon.html
SATURDAY, JULY 18, 2020Boomer Dems backlash vs #cjreform in Austin, Prison TikTok, Texas’ first, truly ‘progressive’ DA, and other storiesHere are a few odds and ends that merit Grits readers’ attention: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/07/boomer-dems-backlash-vs-cjreform-in.html
I liked this one most: Texans back police reformFrom that second MCM Austin Chronicle story, statewide Texas polling demonstrates that:73% of those surveyed agreed that police brutality is a “somewhat serious” or “very serious” problem. Similar lopsided majorities feel that police departments should reform their use-of-force practices, and that non-police (“other types of workers”) should be responding to “community issues such as mental health and homelessness.” A smaller majority (53%) agrees with the statement, “We need to reform the police.” Pluralities support reallocating police funding to health and homelessness (46%) and agree that police unions have too much power (43%) and that police don’t need military gear and vehicles (48%); large numbers are “not sure” in all three cases.
The most I ironic thing about COVID-19 is; when you get it, it is like having to wear the scarlet letter. You become marked as someone to avoid at all cost’s; by closed minded people. Trust me the amount of closed minded people in our society is astounding and daunting. Even though being closed minded is actually a mental disorder; the huge population of them is always there. Closed minded people will avoid you like the plague if you get this deadly virus. Aids was exactly like this when it first started. Getting the coronavirus is like getting aids in the early 1980’s. The bottom line is there will always be uneducated people that think if you got the corona virus in 2020; you could be contagious, forever. However unfair it is to be ostracized like this by narrow minded people, that are completely oblivious to the actual COVID-19 virus; it is still going to be a fact of life for those that are labeled with COVID-19. Young people should think of this before they take part in high risk behavior. Another thing young people should think about is; this virus is so new that no one knows what it is truly capable of beyond a shadow of a doubt.  
Fauci: Young People “Are Propagating a Pandemic” by “Not Caring” if They Get Infected
JULY 18, 20208:00 PM
Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, says the data is clear that it is “young people” who are “driving this new surge” of coronavirus infections. While the young may feel invincible and they’re right that most of them won’t get sick, they need to understand the role they play in making sure the virus keeps spreading to others with sometimes lethal consequences. “They’re not going to get very sick. They know that,” Fauci said in an interview with WebMD’s chief medical officer John Whyte. “So what I think is happening is that, understandably, innocently, but not correctly, the younger individuals are saying, well, if I get infected, so the chances of it is that I won’t even have any symptoms, so who cares? That’s a big mistake.” Read more here: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/07/fauci-young-people-propagating-pandemic-coronavirus.html

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 22 2020
TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020
Texas agency that licenses peace officers up for ‘Sunset’ review: What needs to change to improve accountability?The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, which is the state licensing agency for Texas police and jailers, is up for “Sunset” review during the next Texas legislative session in 2021. During a session when policing issues may dominate, this will be a track worth watching.*For the un-initiated, all state agencies in Texas every 12 years undergo a comprehensive “Sunset” review to analyze whether their core functions are still relevant and if the agency should continue to exist. If the agency is not proactively renewed by the Legislature, it is “sunsetted” out of existence. But seldom does the Sunset Commission make that recommendation. Instead, they identify ways the Legislature could fix the agency to better achieve its goals.
That’s what I anticipate will happen with TCOLE. Texas has nearly one-sixth of the nation’s law enforcement agencies (2,740) and more than 80,000 licensed officers. So there’s a continued need to license officers and ensure that training meets minimum state requirements. But there’s also plenty of room for improvement. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/07/texas-agency-that-licenses-peace.html

Our politicians need to take note of this problem. Say for instance beer was illegal. Don’t you think people would vote only for politicians who wanted to make beer legal? 
Send a letter to your representatives here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/upcoming-vote-in-the-house-on-marijuana-policy?source=direct_link&
Federal: Upcoming vote in the House on marijuana policy
Later this month, there will be a crucial vote in the US House of Representatives on an amendment to protect legal marijuana states from federal interference. The passage of this amendment would be our biggest federal victory yet! But we need your help to ensure that we have the votes necessary to win.
Since 2014, members of Congress have passed annual spending bills that have included a provision protecting those who engage in the state-sanctioned use and dispensing of medical cannabis from federal prosecution by the Department of Justice. The amendment maintains that federal funds cannot be used to prevent states from “implementing their own state laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession or cultivation of medical marijuana.”
It is time for Congress to expand these important protections to adult-use legalization states. Today, nearly one in four Americans reside in a jurisdiction where the adult use of cannabis is legal under state statute.
Known as the Blumenauer-McClintock-Norton amendment, after Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D), a founding member of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, Tom McClintock (R) and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), the amendment removes the word “medical” from the existing language — thereby extending these protections to both qualified patients and to adults, as well as to those licensed in both the medical and recreational industries.
The fix is literally that simple.
This expanded language passed the House last year, but was later removed by the Senate leadership. Send a message right now to your Representative and urge them to vote ‘yes’ and fight to keep this language in the final version of the CJS appropriations bill!

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 25 2020FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2020How the #txlege can pay for needed staff, reforms at Texas’ peace-officer licensing agencyGrits mentioned earlier that the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) is up for Sunset review and suggested that many of the needed changes at the agency would require new appropriations. The problem arises: COVID and the oil bust have reduced state revenue and state agencies, including TCOLE, have been asked to reduce budgets accordingly. So is that realistic?
TCOLE’s budget is paid mostly from the General Revenue fund and a few disparate grants. But considering they’re a licensing agency, there’s a big, gaping hole in their revenue sources: Licensing fees!
Neither officers nor agencies pay licensing fees to cover the cost of state regulation. By contrast, a Master Plumber’s license costs $175 and $75 to renew every three years.
Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/07/how-txlege-can-pay-for-needed-staff.html
Federal agents likely permanently blinded by Portland protesters’ lasers, White House saysJuly 25, 2020
Three federal agents who have been dispatched to Portland, Ore., to attempt to assist quell the town’s  violent protests have been “likely left permanently blinded” from clashes, White House officers stated Friday.
“A federal agent’s hand was impaled by planted nails, one other federal agent was shot with a pellet gun, leaving a wound deep to the bone, and tragically, three federal officers have been likely left permanently blinded by the rioters utilizing lasers pointed immediately into their eyes,” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany informed reporters Friday.
Read more here: https://gruntstuff.com/federal-agents-likely-permanently-blinded-by-portland-protesters-lasers-white-house-says/71482/

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 27 2020

Author: KGW StaffMurder of black Trump supporter Bernell Trammell spurs call for federal investigationJuly 25, 2020 | 12:37pm
The shooting death of a black Trump supporter in Milwaukee has state Republicans calling for a federal investigation.
Bernell Trammell, 60, a dreadlocked activist known for carrying handmade signs through the streets reading “Vote Donald Trump 2020,” and posting them on his storefront, was gunned down by an unknown assailant on his sidewalk Thursday afternoon, police said. Read more here: https://nypost.com/2020/07/25/black-trump-supporter-bernell-trammell-shot-dead-in-milwaukee/

This guy really got to me. I mean look at the photos of him. He is just some poor guy full of spirit, going way out of his way to try to help people. I have said on the internet many times; never to be fanatical about any political person or political party. Fanatical behavior is a definite sign of mental illness and if I or a loved one was exhibiting fanatical behavior, I would be very concerned about them and do all I could to help them. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that promoting Donald Trump next to God is not God’s will or according to scripture. I absolutely do not believe all the right wing lies about the democrats and they are more and more bazaar as we near election time. I have become so sick of all it. Then again the left wing lies about the the president and his administration still keep going strong even after all this time after loosing the election. I have said it before on this blog you can not blame everything on earth that is bad on any one person. 
I have to agree that the Trump administration sometimes, seems anti LGBTQ human rights and that is not what God would want. I recently read a article about how to refuse homeless transgender people from a homeless shelter, for example. See here: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/07/trump-administration-memo-explains-spot-transgender-woman/ I have been against this type of cruelty since I first read about it and have posted here about it too. 
At any rate this guy’s story really touched me and I hope they find who killed him and if it was politically motivated that would truly be a bad sign of the times. 
It reminds me of this story as well: Published: 1:17 PM PDT July 25, 2020Updated: 6:29 PM PDT July 26, 2020Facebook TwitterPORTLAND, Oregon — A man was arrested for stabbing another man near the scene of the Federal Courthouse protest at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday.
Blake D. Hampe, 43, was charged with Assault II and booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center. He will be arraigned in court Monday.
After being called to the scene, at Southwest 5th Avenue and Salmon Street, Portland Police Bureau officers found Hampe held down by several bystanders and one male victim with a stab wound. 
The victim was transported to an area hospital with a serious injury. 
A Black conservative videographer named Drew Duncomb identified himself in a series of Twitter posts as the victim. He was released from the hospital today, he said.
Read more here: https://www.kgw.com/article/news/crime/one-stabbed-near-protests-suspect-in-custody/283-a7c49dca-37a1-48e7-bc5b-aa8a6600fa7f
We need to celibate living in the Land of the Free and our right to vote and the outcome of that vote even if we do not agree with the outcome. That is what our solders died for. They did not die for violence or crime against either political party or anyone; when it crosses that line it is no longer a right; it is a crime and not just a crime against individuals, it is a crime against our entire nation.

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 29 2020
I remember this story when it first came out: 
‘Umbrella Man’ seen in viral video has finally been identified as a white supremacist gang member
Tuesday July 28, 2020 · 12:55 PM CDT
The murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin sparked Black Lives Matter protests nationwide. At the start of the protests in Minneapolis, one white man sparked instant outrage after he was recorded by Javier Morillo smashing the windows of an AutoZone, part of eventual damage estimated at $100 million in Minneapolis alone.
“Umbrella Man” was confronted by protesters because he stood out like a sore thumb, dressed in all black, wearing a face mask, and carrying an umbrella. He was the first to start damaging storefronts and protesters wondered aloud as they confronted him if he was an agent provocateur seeking to make the protesters look bad. Turns out, that is exactly what he was doing.
Read more here: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/7/28/1964542/–Umbrella-Man-finally-identified-as-a-member-of-a-white-supremacist-group-and-biker-gang

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 30 2020
I just want to say again on this blog that we pray every day for the pandemic to end. We pray like this everyday and I hope everyone is too. At least this should be all of our focus and inner intention. I know this will all end. The problem is the impatient’s and the waiting for it all to end. For my wife and I; peace comes from trusting in God and knowing no matter what, He is in control of all of this. I feel obligated to type something on this subject every once and a while, here.   
Got this email this morning that touched on a subject I just posted about, recently; from the great and always necessary Lambda Legal:
While Lambda Legal currently fights the Trump administration’s vicious anti-transgender healthcare rule, the administration continues its relentless attacks aimed at the most vulnerable.
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) proposed a new rule that would empower federally-funded emergency single-sex homeless shelters to turn away people seeking emergency housing based on whether shelter staff thinks the person appears sufficiently “masculine” or “feminine” to be housed in that facility.
“The rank cruelty of this proposed rule is a new low for this administration which continues its relentless attack on the LGBTQ community and especially on transgender people, “ said Sasha Buchert, Lambda Legal Senior Attorney and Co-Director of Lambda Legal’s Transgender Rights Project.
“Transgender people already suffer shockingly high rates of discrimination, poverty, and violence — the epidemic of hate and violence is especially marked for transgender women of color. But this administration seems not to care, and is all but inviting further violence by proposing to block access to critical emergency shelters.”
Lambda Legal is here for you and we will continue to protect and defend the rights of the LGBTQ community. We need you to make your voice heard by submitting a public comment opposing this rule and its effects. Submit your comment until Tuesday, September 22, 2020 at 11:59PM ET. The government will only respond to unique comments, so it is important to put your objections into your own words and include any experiences, perspectives, and values that inform your opinions. Submit your comments here.

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 31 2020
THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2020Should social workers supplement or displace police? SWAT for show, Confederate prison names, and other storiesHere are a few odds and ends to hold y’all over while I finish editing this month’s podcast: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/07/should-social-workers-supplement-or.html
I love this Texas dude. He was great when Obama was president; less angry. He also was against the TPP even though Obama supported it; he really inspired me back then. He has a awesome Texas accent too. Since he is gripping about how much it cost’s to get health care; I will post his article previews here.:

DOWNLOAD FILE: https://hightowerlowdown.org/podcast-download/13248/the-exceptional-greed-of-healthcare-executives.mp3?ref=download | PLAY IN NEW WINDOW: https://hightowerlowdown.org/podcast-download/13248/the-exceptional-greed-of-healthcare-executives.mp3?ref=new_window | DURATION: 2:10 | RECORDED ON JULY 28, 2020
Sometimes I don’t know whether to weep uncontrollably, laugh hysterically, or just throw up.
I recently did all three when I saw another gusher of greed pouring out of corporate America. This one is especially nauseating, given today’s raging health crisis, for the culprits are major healthcare corporations!
One perpetrator is Larry Merlo, CEO of our country’s largest drugstore chain, CVS. In this time of COVID-19, customers are surging into the chains 10,000 stores for everything from medications to masks. Yet, the boss has blithely left many of the pharmacies so severely understaffed that they pose a danger to public health. Read more here: https://hightowerlowdown.org/podcast/the-exceptional-greed-of-healthcare-executives/
DOWNLOAD FILE: https://hightowerlowdown.org/podcast-download/13250/the-virus-thats-killing-america.mp3?ref=download | PLAY IN NEW WINDOW: https://hightowerlowdown.org/podcast-download/13250/the-virus-thats-killing-america.mp3?ref=new_window | DURATION: 2:10 | RECORDED ON JULY 30, 2020
The holy mantra of health professionals was coined about 2,500 years ago by the Greek physician, Hippocrates: “Do no harm.”
Of course, that was before corporate healthcare took charge and asserted a new guiding ethic: “Jack up profits.” Putting this in practice, America’s largest and richest hospital chains rushed to the front of the COVID-19 bailout line this spring to pull $15 billion from the government’s emergency fund. They pocketed the taxpayers’ money despite sitting on tens of billions of dollars of their own cash reserves. Read more here: https://hightowerlowdown.org/podcast/the-virus-thats-killing-america/
I do not like to hear about voter suppression. I hope the White House is working against voter suppression in every way they can. 
Read the Full Transcript of Obama’s Eulogy for John Lewis
Mr. Obama praised Mr. Lewis, saying “he as much as anyone in our history brought this country a little bit closer to our highest ideals.”
July 30, 2020
By ending some of the partisan gerrymandering — so that all voters have the power to choose their politicians, not the other way around.
And if all this takes eliminating the filibuster — another Jim Crow relic — in order to secure the God-given rights of every American, then that’s what we should do.
And yet, even if we do all this — even if every bogus voter suppression law was struck off the books today — we have got to be honest with ourselves that too many of us choose not to exercise the franchise; that too many of our citizens believe their vote won’t make a difference, or they buy into the cynicism that, by the way, is the central strategy of voter suppression, to make you discouraged, to stop believing in your own power. Read more here: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/us/obama-eulogy-john-lewis-full-transcript.html

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 1 2020
Tell Congress: https://www.stopthepatriotact.org/
“Vote no on reauthorizing the PATRIOT Act and reject any attempt to spy on people in America without a warrant!”
ADD YOUR NAMEDonald Trump wants to be a dictator. And thanks to the post-9/11 security state, he has the powers to very nearly make himself one.
For years, government officials told the public that the PATRIOT Act was an important law that helped America’s intelligence agencies fight dangerous terrorists overseas.
But they were lying to us.
They were even lying to Congress.
In reality, the PATRIOT Act was being used to secretly spy on hundreds of millions of people across the country. Telephone calls, text messages, internet activity … nearly every kind of digital communication was being collected.
SIGN NOW: Congress must STOP the reauthorization of the PATRIOT Act before it’s too late!
No President should have the spying powers that the PATRIOT Act creates. Americans were shell-shocked after a terrorist attack, and in that fear, our representatives gave up our freedom.
It’s clearer than ever that there’s no assurance that the President will act in the interests of Americans. Instead of holding faith that the law won’t be abused, we need laws that can’t be abused! That means letting the PATRIOT Act expire!
Tell Congress: STOP The Patriot Act!: https://www.stopthepatriotact.org/

SIGN THE PETITION: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-demand-us-companies-stop-contributing-to-rainforest-destruction-immediately
The fires that devastated the Amazon in the summer of 2019 were deliberately set to clear land in the rainforest for agricultural purposes. What’s more, there’s evidence that this development in the Amazon is fueled, in part, by our own consumer dollars.
Firms that fuel the destruction of the Brazilian Amazon openly trade with and receive financing from a range of companies and major investors in the U.S. This means U.S. companies are not only financing rainforest destruction, they also financed the disastrous Amazon fire.
We must demand U.S. based companies divest and/or stop bankrolling Brazilian companies that are the source of the destruction.
Sign the petition: Demand U.S. companies stop financing Amazon destruction.
SIGN THE PETITION: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-demand-us-companies-stop-contributing-to-rainforest-destruction-immediately

SIGN THE PETITION : https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-ban-the-use-of-the-death-penalty-by-the-federal-governmentBack in July 2019, Attorney General Bill Barr decided to resume the use of capital punishment in federal cases — conveniently announced less than 24 hours after the testimony of special counsel Robert Mueller to two House committees during the Russia investigations. Barr claimed he was seeking justice for the families of the victims, but he actually ignored the wishes of those who do not want to use capital punishment.
Make no mistake, Barr was looking for a distraction. He put lives on the line to do so.
On June 29 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider the federal death penalty case, allowing the Trump and Barr to resume executions after an almost two decade hiatus.
Sign the petition: Demand Congress end the federal death penalty.
SIGN THE PETITION: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-ban-the-use-of-the-death-penalty-by-the-federal-government
FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020Podcast: How police licensing agencies can weed out bad cops; what 911 calls EMS could take over from police: and Just Liberty and the Austin Justice Coalition unveil a new jingle aiming to oust Austin police Chief Brian ManleyHere’s the July 2020 episode of Just Liberty’s Reasonably Suspicious podcast covering Texas criminal-justice politics and policy, co-hosted by Scott Henson and Mandy Marzullo. Listen here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/07/podcast-how-police-licensing-agencies.html

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 3 2020
From: https://ccrjustice.org/home/press-center/press-releases/communities-united-police-reform-moves-intervene-nypd-misconduct
Communities United for Police Reform Moves to Intervene in NYPD Misconduct Database Case
July 28, 2020, New York – Today, Communities United for Police Reform (CPR), represented by the Center for Constitutional Rights and the law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliff LLP, filed a motion  to intervene in a lawsuit brought by five New York City police unions, as well as corrections and firefighter unions, that seeks to block NYC from publishing officer misconduct and discipline information and roll back the repeal of Civil Rights Law § 50-a.
MONDAY, AUGUST 03, 2020’Citizen Spying Program’ revealed in #BlueLeaks documents, Austin Chronicle reported; general ineptitude at fusion centers likely prevents worse abuses
Grits wanted to flag this report from the Austin Chronicle on some of the “BlueLeaks” revelations dumped from, among other agencies, Texas fusion centers. The Chron reported that the documents “reveal a secret citizen spying program that’s active in the Austin area and across the country.” They plan to follow up with future stories. 
Read here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/08/citizen-spying-program-revealed-in.html

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 4 2020
Business Insider AustraliaA woman who coughed on a brain tumour patient in a viral …… a brain tumour patient in a viral video has been charged with assault, police say … after she was asked to put on a face mask to prevent the spread of the virus.:https://www.businessinsider.com.au/viral-video-cough-karen-arrested-pier-1-cancer-patient-florida-2020-8
MetroGunman opens fire on cops with AK47 after being told to wear …Gunman opens fire on cops with AK47 after being told to wear face mask in store … crime spree including attempted homicide, aggravated assault and robbery.: https://metro.co.uk/2020/08/03/gunman-opens-fire-cops-told-wear-mask-13079030/
Search Results
wokq.comCustomer Accused of Spitting at Maine Restaurant Employee …When someone approaches you and asks you to put a mask on, just do it or leave. … this but spitting on someone is considered “assault” in the State of Maine.: https://wokq.com/spitting-incident-at-common-loon-identified-and-may-face-charges/

Atlanta Journal ConstitutionMan accused of firing AK-47 at police after refusing to wear …… store clerk who asked him to wear a face mask allegedly opened fire with an AK-47 assault rifle when authorities showed up to arrest him during the weekend.: https://www.ajc.com/news/man-accused-of-firing-ak-47-at-police-after-refusing-to-wear-mask/MYMZXQNU6FHURM2I4EKBQMWTQI/
WZTVNashville Bachelorette party member coughed on restaurant …… party refused to follow coronavirus social distancing and mask requirements, … facing an assault charge – Corona said one girl, who wasn’t wearing a mask, …: http://fox17.com/news/local/nashville-bachelorette-party-member-coughed-on-restaurant-employee-owner-says-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-tennessee
Miami HeraldFlorida woman who coughed on cancer patient arrested… Sprague shot video of a fellow Pier 1 shopper deliberately coughing on her without a mask. … The 52 -year-old New Jersey native is charged with assault.: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article244688687.html

TheBlaze.comMan shoots at store clerk over mask requirement, then fires on …… attempted first-degree murder of a police officer, aggravated assault with a … Zaborowski allegedly stole two cigars after the clerk insisted on the mask, and left …: https://www.theblaze.com/news/man-shoots-at-store-clerk-over-mask-requirement-then-fires-on-seven-police-officers-with-an-ak-47
CBS BaltimoreCustomer Allegedly Spits On Brew Belly Employee Who …The victim told the suspect he had to wear a mask inside. … County police couldn’t arrest or charge him with second-degree assault because Maryland Law …: https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2020/08/03/customer-allegedly-spits-on-brew-belly-employee-who-asked-him-to-wear-a-mask/

International Business Times, Singapore EditionToronto Man Loses Cool, Destroys Pizza Display As Fellow …However, the man in question did not appear to wear his mask properly during … liver transplant about four months ago, suffered a broken tibia from the assault.: https://www.ibtimes.sg/toronto-man-loses-cool-destroys-pizza-display-fellow-customer-did-not-wear-mask-video-49515
TheGrioCustomer throws woman, breaks her leg after being told to …A woman was thrown to the ground in Staples in Hackensack, New Jersey after asking someone to wear a mask. After the unexpected assault, Margot Kagan, …: https://thegrio.com/2020/08/03/customer-woman-breaks-her-leg-mask/
wgxa.tvCustomer spits on Montgomery Co. restaurant employee over …Police were called to the restaurant for a second-degree assault. The suspect entered without a mask and was told he needed to wear a mask, said Montgomery …: https://wgxa.tv/news/nation-world/customer-spits-on-montgomery-co-restaurant-employee-over-mask-request-police-say-08-03-2020

DCist.comA Man Didn’t Wear A Mask To A Restaurant, Then Spat On …She says officers can only arrest someone for second-degree assault if they actually witness the altercation. Spitting is one way the coronavirus can spread since it A customer who refused to wear a mask at a Maryland restaurant now has a one-year ban after he spat on an employee…: https://dcist.com/story/20/08/02/a-man-didnt-wear-a-mask-to-a-restaurant-then-spat-on-employee-when-confronted-about-it/

PatheosTrump-Loving Anti-Mask Pastor Threatens Dunkin’ Donuts …More Of That Christian Love: Trump-loving Pastor Greg Locke threatens a Dunkin’ Donuts employee with assault after being asked to wear a face mask.: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/progressivesecularhumanist/2020/08/trump-loving-anti-mask-pastor-threatens-dunkin-donuts-employee-with-assault/

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 6 2020
After reading many of these articles; it is my assessment that most of these story’s go unreported.: 
From: https://www.northernpublicradio.org/post/psychology-behind-wearing-masks
The Psychology Behind Wearing MasksAugust 5, 4:10 PM 2 HOURS AGO
“I think a lot of that resistance can come from this almost reflexive response, that if you tell me what to do, I’m going to say no. I’m going to assert my freedom and assert my choice,” Sagarin said.
From: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8595679/Former-MMA-fighter-turned-ringleader-Melbournes-anti-mask-brigade-films-tirade-officers.html
Former MMA fighter turned ringleader of Melbourne’s anti …Nick Patterson filmed the confrontation at a Melbourne train station on Wednesday while being questioned why he wasn’t wearing a mask, which became …
From: https://www.wkok.com/578941-2/
AAn unmasked man with a gun was in a restaurant  August 5, 2020
State troopers at Montoursville, and the Lycoming County District Attorney, are looking into an incident at a restaurant where a man without a cloth mask, was confronted by restaurant staff, and showed the workers his concealed carry firearm.
From: https://www.krqe.com/health/coronavirus-new-mexico/video-mask-free-new-mexico-family-kicked-out-of-hobby-lobby/
Posted: Aug 4, 2020 / 10:01 PM MDT / Updated: Aug 5, 2020 / 06:10 AM MDTALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A tense confrontation between Hobby Lobby workers and a New Mexico family over face masks was caught on video. Businesses can get slapped with fines if customers aren’t wearing face coverings, but the man who recorded the video claims Hobby Lobby workers took their mask enforcement too far.
From: https://tucson.com/news/local/university-of-arizona-police-investigate-clash-over-mask-wearing-on-campus/article_137e6332-d6ac-11ea-82a3-1f0f66f768c2.html
University of Arizona police investigate clash over mask wearing on campusA wave of mask-based clashes has swept the country recently.Arizona Daily Star Aug 5, 2020 Updated 6 hrs ago 
Officers responded to a report of a “verbal altercation,” that erupted after someone was asked to wear a mask, Aguilar told the Arizona Daily Star in a phone interview Tuesday.
“We are investigating. I can’t give details of who was involved or where it occurred on campus.”
A wave of mask-based clashes has swept the country recently as store clerks, food servers and grocery cashiers report run-ins with customers who refuse to cover their faces to protect against the spread of coronavirus.
From: https://globalnews.ca/news/7249933/olympia-liquor-137-ave-racist-video-masks/
Globalnews.caEdmonton liquor store employee faces racist tirade after …The footage shows a man, who is not wearing a mask, move around the store and confront … The confrontation comes after new rules came into place on Aug.
From: https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/face-mask-backlash-st-louis-city-business/63-8d72f3ec-2d43-4d9b-a62c-8113c8b3ae5a
KSDK.comSt. Louis business backlash for face mask mandate | ksdk.comLOUIS — Wearing a face mask is mandated in St. Louis city and St. Louis County … the Incredible Pizza Company in south St. Louis County had a confrontation …
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 05, 2020Texas Commission on Jail Standards: Sunset considerationsSunset Commission staff asked to visit with your correspondent with regards to their review of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS), so Grits prepared a few talking points for our visit. Find them below. (See also Grits’ writeup of the agency’s self evaluation from last fall.): https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/08/texas-commission-on-jail-standards.html
Sign this petition here: https://action.aclu.org/petition/tell-governors-embrace-clemency-pathway-redemption
TELL GOVERNORS: EMBRACE CLEMENCY AS A PATHWAY TO REDEMPTIONThe United States incarcerates more people than any other nation in the world. And of the 2.3 million people in America’s prisons, 1.3 million are in state prisons.
The errors of the past – ‘tough-on-crime’ policies such as the War on Drugs and mandatory minimum sentencing – mean that too many people are serving sentences that would be unthinkable today. Racial disparities are glaring: Black and Latinx people make up 57% of the state prison populations despite comprising just 29% of the overall population. And states are spending $43 billion on their prisons every year, perpetuating the crisis of mass incarceration and wasting money that should be invested instead into impacted communities.
Solving this problem is a moral, racial justice, and economic imperative and governors have a leading role to play. In nearly every state, governors have the power to immediately commute people’s sentences and liberate them, offering them and their families a meaningful opportunity at hope, healing, and redemption. Governors can decarcerate without waiting for legislation to be passed.
That’s why the ACLU is fighting for the liberation of 50,000 people from state prisons in the next five years by pushing governors to use their existing clemency powers in new and transformational ways.
Join us by urging governors to grant clemency for the tens of thousands of people in state prisons whose sentences are unjustifiable and whose path to redemption cannot be delayed a moment longer. Sign our petition today to tell your governor:
1. I support clemency for all people who are still incarcerated on a sentence that’s no longer legal or possible today2. I support clemency for all people imprisoned because of the War on Drugs3. I support clemency for all people who are in prison for violations, or alleged violations, of probation or parole4. I support clemency for all older incarcerated people, especially as the number of older people in prison is growing
Sign this petition here: https://action.aclu.org/petition/tell-governors-embrace-clemency-pathway-redemption

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 7 2020
THURSDAY, AUGUST 06, 2020 Lies, jail deaths, naysaying on police budget cuts, and other stories Here are a few odds and ends that merit Grits readers’ attention while mine is focused elsewhere.: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/08/lies-jail-deaths-naysaying-on-police.html
I never miss a chance to show negative press about Alabama. For a long time now I have believed that Alabama is the worst state next would be Minnesota.:
From: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/07/28/alabama-republican-lewis-kkk/
As John Lewis was honored in Alabama, a state GOP legislator celebrated a KKK leader’s birthday
July 28, 2020 at 5:04 a.m. CDTAs ceremonies honoring the life of civil rights legend John Lewis began over the weekend in Alabama, one Republican state lawmaker elected to take part in a local celebration of another prominent figure in Southern history: Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate Army general and the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.
From: https://www.rawstory.com/2020/08/arrest-warrant-issued-for-alabama-republican-who-celebrated-kkk-founders-birthday/
Arrest warrant issued for Alabama Republican who celebrated KKK founder’s birthdayPublished 19 hours ago on August 6, 2020
Alabama GOP Rep. Will Dismukes, who recently made headlines when he appeared at a celebration for Confederate general and Ku Klux Klan leader Nathan Bedford Forrest, now has a warrant out for his arrest for felony theft from a business where he once worked, according to a report from the Alabama Political Reporter.
Montgomery County District Attorney Daryl Bailey said Thursday that the charge is a Class B felony and applies when a person steals more than $2,500.
From: http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-2369
By the antebellum period, Alabama had evolved into a slave society, which is characterized by the proliferation and defense of the institution that shaped much of the state’s economy, politics, and culture. The defense of slavery played a significant role in Alabama’s secession from the Union in 1861. The collapse of the Confederate States of America and the end of the American Civil War (1861-1865) resulted in the emancipation of the state’s enslaved population.
From: https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2017/07/31/former-alabama-slaves-tell-their-tales-university-archives/518202001/
Former Alabama slaves tell their tales in university archives
Until three years ago, Russell and 227 other former slaves’ accounts of their enslavement were kept safe in the archives at Louisiana’s Southern University. Safe, but out of sight.
In 1999, Southern University archivist Angela Proctor began the painstaking task of reading, scanning and transcribing 228 handwritten interviews. The interviews were coordinated by former Southern University Dean John B. Cade — whom the university’s library is now named for — and conducted by students after the slaves were freed following the end of the Civil War in 1865. They’re also now available to the public.

Add The above image is from: https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2017/07/31/former-alabama-slaves-tell-their-tales-university-archives/518202001/ I added the text.caption.

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 8 2020
I meant to ad this from this page yesterday: http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-2369
The Development of Slavery in AlabamaAs of statehood in 1819, slaves accounted for more than 30 percent of Alabama’s approximately 128,000 inhabitants. The slave population more than doubled during the 1820s and again during the 1830s. When Alabama seceded from the Union in 1861, the state’s 435,080 slaves made up 45 percent of the total population. The largest numbers of slaves were held in bondage in counties located in either the Tennessee River Valley or the Black Belt region. Slavery, however, existed in every county.
You could say; that slaves founded and established Alabama. I am sure these numbers are not recorded correctly; of the actual slave population. After reading the above paragraph; I get the impression that black slaves outnumbered the whites. You could say that the descendants of the Alabama slaves; are the rightful owners of Alabama. 
From: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/08/no-confidence-in-you-jingle-mocks.html
FRIDAY, AUGUST 07, 2020No Confidence in You’: Jingle mocks failures by Austin PD chiefThe Austin Justice Coalition and Just Liberty have put out a new jingle and video calling for the ouster of Austin police Chief Brian Manley. Check it out, and please share widely on all social media channels.

I wrote the tune. Gabe Rhodes produced it and played guitar. It was sung by Johnathan Horstmann of Urban Heat (who I thought did a really good job). João Paulo Connolly at the Austin Justice Coalition made the video and his flying cows made me LOL. Hope you like it!
Regular readers are well aware of the #FireManley campaign launched after the murder of Mike Ramos in April, but for those looking for more background, see here. The Austin City Council on June 12th issued a “no confidence” vote regarding Chief Manley, but City Manager Spencer Cronk has steadfastly supported him. That must change. AJC has set up an action alert to send the city manager and council a message telling them Manley must go. Register your opinion today.

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 10 2020
Once again we see social media is to blame for organized crime.:
Chicago erupts with violence and looting after police shootingMore than 100 arrested after overnight looting on shopping district as mayor decries ‘an assault on our city’
Mon 10 Aug 2020 15.49 EDT
Hours earlier, on Sunday afternoon, police shot a man after he opened fire on officers, according to the department. The incident apparently prompted a social media post urging people to converge on the business district, Brown said. Some 400 additional officers were dispatched to the area after the police department spotted the post.
Tacoma News TribunePolice arrest man for punching 72-year-old veteran over maskThe veteran had asked the man why his girlfriend wasn’t wearing a mask, police said. Cody P. Hansen faces a charge of second-degree assault, after Spokane …https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/coronavirus/article244856392.html

A QuickChek cashier suffered burns on her legs when a Randolph man threw his hot coffee on her after she asked him to readjust his face mask, authorities said.
08/10/2020 3:12 p.m.
Dedolce then threw the food he was attempting to purchase onto the floor and threw hot coffee at the cashier before leaving the store, authorities said.
Read more here: https://dailyvoice.com/new-jersey/northpassaic/police-fire/police-randolph-man-refusing-to-fix-face-mask-scalds-quickchek-cashier-with-hot-coffee/792244/

Mix 95.7FM – Today’s VarietyIt’s Now A Felony In IL to Assault A Worker, MI Should Do The …WNEM reports that in Illinois, it’s now a felony if you attack a business employee that asks that you put on a mask when inside the business, or to practice social …https://mix957gr.com/its-now-a-felony-in-il-to-assault-a-worker-mi-should-do-the-same/

WCYB4 arrested, 38 cited for violating Nashville’s mask mandate on …Police said Friday’s arrest was of a man who also had an outstanding assault warrant. Another 16 citations were issued Thursday night. Officers were on …https://wcyb.com/news/tennessee-news/4-arrested-38-cited-for-violating-nashvilles-mask-mandate-on-broadway-this-weekend-08-09-2020
You have to read this one.:
From: https://www.vvng.com/altercation-over-wearing-a-mask-at-a-rancho-cucamonga-gas-station-turns-violent/
Gas station employees reported the suspect was upset because he was refused service for not wearing a mask properly inside the store and threw a display rack at the victim.
The disturbance between the two escalated outside the store when the victim stood behind Thomas’ truck in an attempt to get a picture of the license plate. Thomas put his truck in reverse and accelerated, stated officials.
According to a news release, the victim didn’t have time to get out of the way, so he jumped on the trailer hitch and held on to the tailgate. Thomas sped out of the parking lot with the victim holding on to the tailgate.
“The victim jumped inside the bed of the truck for safety because Thomas would not slow down enough for him to jump off safely. Thomas drove erratically for about a mile, accelerating and slamming on his brakes several times before he pulled over, grabbed the victim and threw him to the ground,” stated the news release.
Deputies conducted an area check and found the victim near Vintage Avenue and Rochester Avenue. Deputies also located the Thomas in his truck and attempted a traffic stop. Thomas failed to yield and continued to drive to his girlfriend’s house nearby where he was arrested. Thomas was booked in at the West Valley Detention Center where he remains in custody on $50,000 bail. 
A fake ‘agency’ behind an anti-mask confrontation in a grocery store was also part of a virus misinformation campaign on Facebook
August 10, 2020
A video of a woman in a California supermarket claiming to be from the “Freedom to Breathe Agency” was widely shared over the weekend.
It shows her telling a store employee that she is breaking the law by trying to enforce mask-wearing in store.
Read more here: https://kyrnews.com/us-news/4920/a-fake-agency-behind-an-anti-mask-confrontation-in-a-grocery-store-was-also-part-of-a-virus-misinformation-campaign-on-facebook/
Ohio Woman Refuses Mask in Planet Fitness, Accuses Staffer of ‘Harassment’8/8/20 AT 7:00 PM EDT
Peric accused the staffer of “harassing” her as she tried to start up a treadmill without a mask.
This is Peric’s second anti-masker dispute in public in under a week. Peric posted her own video to Facebook on Wednesday in which she argued with DMV workers about why refused to wear a mask inside the government building. She repeatedly says she is within the confines of the law because she just wanted to “accompany her boyfriend.”
Read more here: https://www.newsweek.com/ohio-woman-refuses-mask-planet-fitness-accuses-staffer-harassment-1523829

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 12 2020
MONDAY, AUGUST 10, 2020 
Don’t be fooled by the shiny new object of online jury trials This guest blog post was authored by Kathryn Dyer, clinical professor at UT Law’s Criminal Defense Clinic (for identification purposes only) and long-time public defender.
The credibility determination that the jury will make comes, in part, from the witness being under pressure to tell the truth. The witness is sworn to tell the truth under oath in front of the judge, jury, and person charged. It requires the witness testify from memory about what they saw. When a witness is testifying over an online platform, with a click of a button, they can turn off the video image of the person they are accusing, the judge, or the public.A witness can read a script behind the computer, read or refer to notes, or otherwise pre-write their testimony. 
Other Sixth Amendment rights are also hindered by virtual jury trials, including the right to put on a defense. During a trial, lawyers and clients regularly confer with each other about what is happening and next steps. On an online platform, each player is on their own island with almost no ability to privately communicate while maintaining attorney-client privilege. Further, lawyers on both sides need to make objections to prevent impermissible questions, answers, or evidence. That is nearly impossible to do in real time over a virtual platform because of mute buttons, delays in video feeds, and the like.
Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/08/dont-be-fooled-by-shiny-new-object-of.html

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 13 2020

DOWNLOAD FILE: https://hightowerlowdown.org/podcast-download/13422/how-intractable-is-ceo-greed-2.mp3?ref=download | PLAY IN NEW WINDOW: https://hightowerlowdown.org/podcast-download/13422/how-intractable-is-ceo-greed-2.mp3?ref=new_window | DURATION: 2:10 | RECORDED ON APRIL 30, 2020
As horrible as the COVID-19 crisis is, it has brought out the best in the American people – the selflessness of front-line nurses and doctors, for example, as well as the generous community spirit of local food businesses. Yet, it has also amplified one of the worst character flaws in our society, namely the “me-first” greed of corporate chieftains.
Read more here: https://hightowerlowdown.org/podcast/how-intractable-is-ceo-greed-2/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=f1ca3c32-a684-4b97-a920-38e7db616ad3
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2020Cuts for cops, prison cells that won’t lock, protesters punished but not prosecuted, the relationship between urban planning and police violence, and other stories: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/08/cuts-for-cops-prison-cells-that-wont.html

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 17 2020
SPONSORED BYDaily Kos
Sign this petition here: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/petitions/add-your-name-we-need-transparency-on-facial-recognition-technology

Campaign ActionAdd Your Name: We need transparency on facial recognition technology
Sign MoveOn’s petition and call on Congress to protect Americans’ right to privacy by passing a national biometric privacy law.
Recently, it was made public that Rite Aid has been using facial recognition systems in its stores across the United States. And Rite Aid isn’t the only retail company to surveil its customers: Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Walmart are using or testing facial recognition technology in their U.S. stores.
Possible shot at freedom for lifer who stole hedge clippersAssociated Press Aug 14, 2020 
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — An October parole hearing has been set for a Black man sentenced to lifein prison after stealing hedge clippers in a 1997 Shreveport burglary, a sentence Louisiana’s Supreme Court upheld despite its chief justice’s insistence that the punishment was excessive and rooted in racist law.
The Supreme Court voted 5-1 to let the ruling stand, with five white male justices voting in favor and Chief Justice Bernette Johnson, the court’s only Black member, voting against. A seventh justice, also a white male, was recused. The court issued the decision without comment, but Johnson posted a stinging two-page dissent in which she argued that the sentence was so out of proportion to the crime as to be clearly unconstitutional. Her response drew widespread attention to the case.
In her dissent, Johnson called habitual offender laws “a modern manifestation” of legislation passed after the Civil War to make it easier to convict former slaves and their descendants for minor crimes and sentence them harshly. Those laws, she said, were an attempt to “re-enslave African Americans.”
Read more here: https://www.ktbs.com/news/possible-shot-at-freedom-for-lifer-who-stole-hedge-clippers/article_6c53b667-17cd-5338-a037-c8bd9a209928.html#tncms-source=infinity-scroll-summary-siderail-latest

UT drum major says she won’t lead ‘The Eyes of Texas’ when football returns
After song’s racist history came to light, band members are among those who no longer feel comfortable promoting it.
3:15 PM on Aug 16, 2020
AUSTIN — Ally Morales is preparing for her second year as the Longhorn Band drum major, but she has already made her decision clear: She will no longer conduct the school’s fight song, “The Eyes of Texas,” due to its racist history, which came to light in June.
No matter when they return to the stands after the pandemic, Morales and other band members say the song represents something they no longer feel comfortable promoting.
“It’s not ultimately about the song, it’s about ingrained, institutionalized racism that frankly, in invisible form, takes the image of a school song,” Morales said. “Removing our alma mater is the first step to realizing the oppression that the Black students face on campus and off campus.”
The phrase “The eyes of Texas are upon you” stems from former UT President William Prather, who studied law at Washington and Lee University, where Robert E. Lee served as the president. There, Prather watched Lee coin the phrase, “The eyes of the South are upon you,” while he addressed students.
Prather decided to play with the phrase and took it to UT when he became the university president in 1899. Four years later, yearbook editor John Sinclair matched the phrase to the tune of “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad.” This was then performed by white singers and dancers in blackface at minstrel shows, which were fundraisers that lasted at UT until the 1960s.
As time would tell, “The Eyes of Texas” would become just as recognizable as Bevo and burnt orange as symbols for the state school, but it is now drawing national attention as its racially charged origins come to the forefront.
Read more here: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2020/08/16/ut-drum-major-says-she-wont-lead-the-eyes-of-texas-when-football-returns/

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 18 2020
About my last post (above). I love Texas and have proclaimed it many times online and in my life, western art, music, et cetera. I have a allegiance to this great state; that is why I create posts like this, because I care. I just don’t like racism and the stupid song; ‘The Eyes of Texas’. I never like song since I first heard it over 20 years ago. It sounds stupid and is a rip off of another song. Now that I know it’s racist origins; I have a good reason to hate it. I do not go searching for these stories; I use my emails and read through Google news and that’s it. Don’t blame me for pasting what is in the news in this blog. 
MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2020 
What’s in Texas’ proposed ‘George Floyd Act’? 
George Floyd mural, 3rd Ward, Houston Last week, while your correspondent was focused on Austin’s budget battles, in Houston the Texas Legislature’s Black Caucus unveiled what’s been dubbed the “George Floyd Act,” which will be carried in the House by state Rep. Senfronia Thompson and in the upper chamber by Sen. Royce West. See initial coverage: Texas Tribune Houston Chronicle Dallas Morning News
Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/08/whats-in-texas-proposed-george-floyd-act.html

I have been a PsychoHeresy Awareness supporter since 1988. I got tracts in the mail back then; from my soon to be church. I learned about PsychoHeresy Awareness from those tracts. I still believe psychology still has good advice for people these days and I post things like that here, now and again. I just got my issue of PsychoHeresy Awareness Letter, dated September-October 2020.  I quickly looked through it to post something quick here. I took a screenshot of it (above). Find the PsychoHeresy Awareness website here: https://pamweb.org/

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 19 2020
MPD: Man calls Black police officers N-word and threatens to kill third officer
Published: Aug. 17, 2020 at 10:04 PM CDT
MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – A 19-year-old called two Black police officers the N-word and threatened to kill a third officer before being arrested in downtown Madison last Friday.
According to an incident report, AEM tried to start a fighting with an officer in the 500 block of State Street just after 8 p.m.
Police say M called one of the officers racist, and then started using the racial slur towards the two Black officers.
M was arrested for resisting and disorderly conduct.
Read here (caution has curse word tattooed his on face): https://www.nbc15.com/2020/08/18/mpd-man-calls-black-police-officers-n-word-and-threatens-to-kill-third-officer/

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 20 2020
TUESDAY, AUGUST 18, 2020Abbott: Punish cities that won’t maximize police spendingToday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott proposed legislation to cap revenue for cities that reduce police-department budgets.
Read here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/08/abbott-punish-cities-that-wont-maximize.html
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2020Police evidence rooms another function we don’t need cops to performWe’ve been lately discussing functions of police that don’t require a badge or gun to perform that might reasonably be removed from law enforcement’s purview, and Grits can’t believe I hadn’t considered the evidence room!
Read here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/08/police-evidence-rooms-another-function.html
Costco Karen Coughs on Customer Who Called Out Boyfriend for Not Wearing Mask: ‘I’ve Got COVID. You’re Gonna Get Sick’ (WATCH)AUGUST 20, 2020
“Yeah, I did, so protect yourself,” she says, before coughing repeatedly on him. “You need to get the $#@* out of our space. Like seriously, back off.”
“You’re going to be staying home now, because I’ve got COVID, and you’re going to get sick,” the woman says before the video ends.
Read and watch here: https://www.towleroad.com/2020/08/costco-karen-coughs-on-customer-who-called-out-hubby-for-not-wearing-mask-ive-got-covid-youre-gonna-get-sick-watch/

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 21 2020
THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2020 Houston civiliain-review fail, docs vs. ‘less-lethal’ munitions, Ranger revisionism?, and other stories Let’s clear a few browser tabs and share a few odds and ends that deserve Grits readers attention: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/08/houston-civiliain-review-fail-docs-vs.html
The Texas Rangers’ lore spurred cultural fawning and sports namesakes that have long masked a history of violence and racism
This year’s prevalent and ongoing protests against police brutality have sparked calls for the Rangers’ name to be stricken from the modern-day Texas Department of Public Safety investigative agency, North Texas’ Major League Baseball team and college mascots.
AUG. 15, 2020 6 AM
The Porvenir massacre is one of many past acts of violence committed by the Texas Rangers against people of color in the state, including indigenous Texans, Black Texans and Tejanos, or Mexican Americans from the South Texas region, from the 19th century through the 20th century.
In the mid-1800s, the Rangers captured runaway enslaved Black people seeking freedom in Mexico through the Callahan Expedition, according to the Texas State Historical Association. 
In 1918, the Rangers slaughtered Tejanos during the Porvenir massacre, said John Morán González, a literature professor and the director of the Center for Mexican American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. According to the Texas Observer, the massacre occurred when a group of Rangers, U.S. Army soldiers and ranchers arrived at the Porvenir village near El Paso in pursuit of revenge for a series of cattle raids by Tejanos along the border. A 2018 El Paso Times article reported there was no evidence implicating the Porvenir villagers in the cattle raids, but the Rangers nevertheless separated 15 men and boys from their families and executed them.
Decades later, in the mid-1950s, Rangers helped the Texas governor, Allan Shivers, resist a federal court order for Mansfield High School to desegregate, according to the Texas Historical Association.Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2020/08/15/texas-rangers-racist-violent-history/
Texas Rangers is a Texas anomaly. In my opinion Texas Rangers; still take cases most police will not and go way over board when it comes to law enforcement; just like TDPS does. Just search for articles like this: 
Police Officers, Sheriffs, Rangers, and Marshals: What’s the Difference?07/20/2015 03:38 pm ET Updated Dec 06, 2017
Rangers, at least as general-service law enforcement officers at the state level, are limited to Texas. The Texas Rangers have a history going back many years and are the top of the police pecking order in Texas. Many states will have park or forest rangers who work for their proprietary government subdivisions (division of state parks, department of forestry, etc.), and may or may not have police powers (they usually do). Where they do not have police powers, they generally function as naturalists or conservation officers. Read more here: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/police-officers-sheriffs_b_7835320
Cult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Rangers Hardcover – June 9, 2020by Doug J. Swanson  (Author)
Click here to buy this book.“Swanson has done a crucial public service by exposing the barbarous side of the Rangers.” —The New York Times Book Review
A twenty-first century reckoning with the legendary Texas Rangers that does justice to their heroic moments while also documenting atrocities, brutality, oppression, and corruptionIt took the Texas Rangers almost 80 years to catch up with the rest of America in having a female police captain. 
Penny E. Harrington (born March 2, 1942) became the first female chief of the Portland Police Bureau, making her the first female to head a major police department in the United States. Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_Harrington
AUSTIN – The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) today announced the promotion of three Texas Rangers to the rank of captain, including the first two female Ranger captains in DPS history and the first-known Ranger in modern history to hold a doctorate degree. From: https://www.dps.texas.gov/director_staff/media_and_communications/pr/2020/0818a
Health officials: Evidence shows COVID-19 infections go down when mask use goes upThursday, August 20th 2020Now, health officials have new evidence showing how COVID-19 infections go down, when mask use goes up.From: https://komonews.com/news/coronavirus/new-numbers-show-covid-19-infections-go-down-when-mask-use-goes-up

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 22 2020
Sign this petition here: https://www.change.org/p/naacp-free-fair-bryant-wayne-serving-life-in-prison-for-allegedly-stealing-hegde-clippers/psf/promote_or_share?source_location=petition_show
In 1997 38 year old Fair Wayne Bryant, a Black man, was stopped by police in Shreveport Louisiana for attempted stealing of hedge clippers. Since this was his fifth felony, (only one of which was violent) Bryant was sentenced to life in prison through Louisiana‘s habitual offender laws*! That was over 20 years ago!
The Louisiana Supreme Court just denied review of Bryant’s case effectively closing many legal options for him. The lone descent on the Louisiana Supreme Court came from the only Black Judge, Chief Justice Bernette Johnson, who said that this practice amounted to a modern version of “Pig Laws,” created by White Southern Lawmakers after the Civil War as a way to keep Black people in poverty during Reconstruction. The Chief Justice explained these Pig Laws were a way to, “re-enslave African Americans… [by] target[ing] actions such as stealing cattle and swine—consideredstereotypical ‘negro’ behavior—by lowering the threshold for what constituted a crime and increasing the severity of its punishment.” 
The Governor of Louisiana, John Bel Edwards, can grant clemency for Fair Wayne Bryant today! By doing so, Bryant, who is now over 60, can go free and and not be imprisoned under this grave injustice! Sign the Petition urging the Governor of Louisiana to free his constituent from unjust imprisonment! #JusticeforBryant #BlackLivesMatter #EndMassIncarceration 
To Contact the Governor’s Office go here:
https://gov.louisiana.gov/page/contact
To Email the Governor’s Office go here:
https://gov.louisiana.gov/index.cfm/form/home/4
To Email members of the Louisiana Legislature go here:
https://house.louisiana.gov/H_Reps/H_Reps_ByName
http://senate.la.gov/Senators/default.asp
To read Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s decent go here:
https://www.lasc.org/Opinions/2020/20-0077.KO.bjj.dis.pdf 
To Read some articles to know more go here:
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/510722-louisianas-only-black-supreme-court-judge-condemns-keeping-man-in-jail
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/08/05/louisiana-supreme-court-life-sentence/
https://www.npr.org/2020/08/05/899525589/louisiana-supreme-court-wont-review-life-sentence-for-man-who-stole-hedge-clippe
How can Louisiana get away with enforcing these obviously; racist laws? This is another example of how our country’s sick obsession with mass incarceration is destroying our country. 
Sign this petition here: https://www.change.org/p/naacp-free-fair-bryant-wayne-serving-life-in-prison-for-allegedly-stealing-hegde-clippers
The Louisiana Supreme Court last week denied a request to review a LIFE SENTENCE handed down to Fair Wayne Bryant, a man convicted to LIFE in prison for trying to steal hedge clippers from a carport storage room in Caddo Parish, LA, in 1997.
In a lone dissent, Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson wrote that Bryant’s “life sentence for a failed attempt to steal a set of hedge clippers is grossly out of proportion to the crime and serves no legitimate penal purpose.”
Mr. Bryant was given a punishment that was extreme, excessive, and racially biased. He has already had 23 years of his life destroyed behind bars. Mr. Bryant deserves to be released from prison at once!

Black veteran walks free after almost a decade in jail over $30 marijuana sale
AUGUST 21, 2020 NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
A Black veteran who was sentenced to life behind bars over a petty $30 marijuana bust was set free from the Louisiana State Penitentiary on Tuesday, his lawyers said, after his prison term was revisited in court earlier this month.
Prosecutors agreed to soften Derek Harris’ punishment, and District Judge Laurie Hulin sentenced him on Aug. 6 to time already served.
Harris was leveled with the life sentence in 2012 after he offered less than a gram of pot to an undercover agent. The Gulf War veteran developed a drug addiction after returning to the U.S. from overseas, his lawyer Cormac Boyle said.
Harris’ case made it to the Louisiana Supreme Court this summer, and the top court granted him a new hearing in district court.
The Promise of Justice Initiative, which represents Harris, shared a video of him smiling after his release from the maximum-security prison at Angola.Read more here: https://americanmilitarynews.com/2020/08/black-veteran-walks-free-after-almost-a-decade-in-jail-over-30-marijuana-sale/
LOUISIANA VETERAN SENTENCED TO LIFE FOR SELLING $30 WORTH OF WEED WILL BE FREEDAugust 21, 2020
A Louisiana veteran serving a life sentence for selling less than $30 worth of marijuana will soon be released from prison.
Derek Harris, who was arrested in 2008 in Louisiana for selling .69 grams of marijuana to a police officer, was re-sentenced to time served after serving nine years in prison.
Harris was initially sentenced to 15 years in prison according to CNN. In 2012 however, Harris was re-sentenced to life in prison under Louisiana’s Habitual Offender Law*. The law allows judges to impose stricter sentences on someone who’s been charged before. Prosecutors in Vermilion Parish agreed to release Harris after the State Supreme Court granted him a new trial in July, according to Harris’s lawyer Cormac Boyle.
Boyle also noted that Harris developed a substance abuse issue when he returned from Desert Storm which led to his convictions.
https://www.blackenterprise.com/louisiana-veteran-sentenced-to-life-for-selling-30-worth-of-weed-will-be-freed/
The Habitual Offender Law* is the same racist law they used on Fair Wayne Bryant.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, 2020Dallas police chief receives lesson on post-#GeorgeFloyd political landscapeThe Public Safety Committee at the Dallas City Council this week lambasted the city’s first black-woman chief over DPD’s 85-page “after action report” following the George Floyd protests, reported the Dallas News. Watch the videos embedded in that story, some of the council members were remarkably angry.: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/08/dallas-police-chief-receives-lesson-on.html

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 23 2020
Sociopaths Are More Likely to Refuse Wearing a Mask and Other COVID-19 Measures, Study Finds
August 23, 2020
A new study from Brazil has found that people with sociopathic traits are more likely to not comply with mask-wearing and other measures to limit the spread of coronavirus.
The study investigated the relationship between antisocial personality traits and compliance with COVID-19 measures using a sample of 1,578 Brazilian adults aged between 18 and 73.
Between May 21 and June 29, participants completed a test that assessed maladaptive personality traits as well as assessments on apathy and compliance with coronavirus-related measures. The findings were published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences.
Read more here: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/sociopaths-are-more-likely-to-refuse-wearing-a-mask-and-other-covid-19-measures-study-finds/ar-BB18hcwd
Sociopath – from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/sociopathy :
Sociopathy refers to a pattern of antisocial behaviors and attitudes, including manipulation, deceit, aggression, and a lack of empathy for others. Sociopathy is a non-diagnostic term, and it is not synonymous with “psychopathy,” though the overlap leads to frequent confusion. Sociopaths may or may not break the law, but by exploiting and manipulating others, they violate the trust that the human enterprise runs on.
America’s Prisons Are Outrageously Unjust and Need Immediate Attention
If America really values freedom and respects human rights, its high time it rethinks and corrects outrageous injustice in the name of prison laws.
23/08/2020
One such excruciatingly painful case was reported on by the ACLU in 2013. Rayvell Finch was arrested in Louisiana at age 22 for trespassing; a search of his person uncovered heroin, for which its possession he was convicted of in 1997. He was never accused of distribution, yet was sentenced to mandatory life in prison without parole under *Louisiana’s habitual offender statute, as he had two prior ‘strikes’ against him (possession of stolen property in 1993, and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine in 1994). He was only 23 years old when he received a life sentence—the same amount of time he has now spent in prison for his non-violent crime.
Appellate Judge William H. Byrnes stated that the sentence was “clearly excessive, and designed to cause needless suffering.” Finch has said that being separated from his family “feel[s] like my soul has been pierced and assaulted.”
Read more here: https://www.thenewleam.com/2020/08/americas-prisons-are-outrageously-unjust-and-need-immediate-attention/

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 25 2020

In this April 9, 2013, photo, Chief Justice Bernette Johnson of the Louisiana Supreme Court speaks in Baton Rouge, La., to a joint session of the legislature. An October 2020 parole hearing has been set for Fair Wayne Bryant, a Black man sentenced to life in prison after stealing hedge clippers in a 1997 burglary, a sentence Louisiana’s Supreme Court upheld despite Johnson’s insistence that the punishment was excessive and rooted in racist law. Arthur D. Lauck/The Advocate via AP

That system went on for decades until the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Cases like Fair Bryant’s are just a new version of the same old Pig Laws. About 80% of people in Louisiana incarcerated under the habitual offender laws are Black. Such laws are, without a doubt, a driver of mass incarceration.
Read more here: https://www.concordmonitor.com/Fair-Wayne-Bryant-35806627

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 27 2020
Even though I have been down on Louisiana; I sure do not want storm damage to them. I have been praying with my wife about the hurricane’s since they started. I have never done this till now; we are praying for the hurricanes to stop. It worked for the 1st one Marco. We should all pray like that. 
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2020 Why does the number of Texas police shootings keep increasing? Here’s one for the Suspicious Mysteries segment on the podcast: Why have police shootings in Texas continued to rise when police contacts with criminals and the public are way down? 
Just a few years ago, Grits highlighted reports that police shootings had increased over the course of the prior decade. Now, the Texas Justice Initiative analyzed police shooting reports and found that they continued to rise from calendar-years 2016 through 2019.Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/08/why-does-number-of-texas-police.html
Man Faces Charges After Anti-Mask Tirade At Minnesota Bar POLICE SAY THE MAN TOLD A BOUNCER HE WOULD “PUT A BULLET THROUGH HIS HEAD” & THREATENED HIM WITH A STREET SIGN August 26, 2020
From: https://www.kvrr.com/2020/08/26/man-faces-charges-after-anti-mask-tirade-at-minnesota-bar/
MANKATO, Minn. — A Twin Cities real estate agent faces charges after getting kicked out of a Mankato bar for refusing to wear a mask.  
August 26, 2020
21-year-old Samuel Wocelka of Prior Lake is charged with felony threats of violence, assault and disorderly conduct.  
Police say Wocelka was thrown out of 507 Saturday night.  
He told a bouncer he would “put a bullet through his head” before returning with a no-parking sign and threatening to hit him with it.  
Officers say Wocelka tried to punch a bar employee but got hit in the face.  
He’s also accused of spitting blood at hospital staff.

Passenger Tramples Gate Attendant at Seattle Airport After Mask Run-In, Police Say  
Aug 27th, 2020      
The first time a California man tried to board his Alaska Airlines flight at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, attendants informed him he couldn’t fly without a face mask.  
When he returned to the gate for the Sitka, Alaska-bound flight at 12:30 p.m. Monday, the 47-year-old passenger had a mask but was now too drunk to fly, KIRO reported.  
The man tried to board anyway, knocking over an airline gate agent, KOMO reported.  
“(He) essentially walked right through her and over the top of her as she fell down onto the ground and tried to continue on through to the jetway,” said Perry Cooper, a Port of Seattle spokesman, according to the KIRO.
Read more here: https://www.aviationpros.com/airports/news/21152008/passenger-tramples-gate-attendant-at-seattle-airport-after-mask-runin-police-say

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 28 2020
Got a new email from the NAACP:

There has never been a more urgent time to demand justice for the Black community. From the unjust killings of innocent African Americans to the disproportionate impact of a global health pandemic, Black people have been getting attacked on all fronts. The time to take action is now.
https://2020march.com/watch
In Solidarity,
Derrick Johnson@DerrickNAACPPresident and CEONAACP  

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 29 2020
Sign this petition here: https://secure.everyaction.com/NLBgG9tBaEauXZ1cPyDsXA2
Tell Ben Carson: Trans People Deserve Safe Emergency ShelterThe Trump administration is once again attacking LGBTQ people, this time by removing critical equal access protections and regulations for transgender people. The HUD Anti-Trans Shelter Proposed Rule would violate the Equal Access Rule and is an egregious attempt to prevent transgender people from accessing federally funded emergency shelters and services.
Send HUD Secretary Ben Carson a message below to let him know that you oppose such government-sanctioned discrimination.
Sign this petition here: https://secure.everyaction.com/NLBgG9tBaEauXZ1cPyDsXA2
Write a letter to your senators here: https://norml.org/act/federal-the-marijuana-opportunity-reinvestment-and-expungement-act
(MORE) Act, HR 3884 / S. 2227, which would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act. The bill has already passed in the House Judiciary Committee on November 20th with a bipartisan vote of 24-10.
If enacted, the MORE Act would decriminalize the substance at the federal level and enable states to set their own policies. The MORE Act would also allow the existing state-legal marijuana industry to no longer be barred from accessing financial services or standard tax treatment as every other legal business. 
The Act would also make several other important changes. For example, it permits physicians affiliated with the Veterans Administration to make medical marijuana recommendations to qualifying veterans who reside in legal states and it encourages states to move ahead with expungement policies that will end the stigma and lost opportunities suffered by those with past, low-level cannabis convictions. If approved, the MORE Act also allows the Small Business Administration to support entrepreneurs and businesses as they seek to gain a foothold in this emerging industry.
The ongoing prohibition of marijuana financially burdens taxpayers, encroaches upon civil liberties, engenders disrespect for the law, impedes legitimate scientific research into the plant’s medicinal properties, and disproportionately impacts communities of color.
Never in modern history has there existed greater public support for ending the nation’s nearly century-long experiment with marijuana prohibition. According to nationwide polling data done by Gallup in October 2018, 66% of US voters endorse regulating the adult-use of marijuana.
Write a letter to your senators here: https://norml.org/act/federal-the-marijuana-opportunity-reinvestment-and-expungement-actArizona woman charged with assault for clawing mask off restaurant manager’s facePublished on August 29, 2020
On Saturday, ABC 15 reported that a woman has been charged with assault during an altercation over COVID-19 restrictions at the 92 Drinks + Eats restaurant and karaoke bar in Scottsdale, Arizona.
According to manager Nicole Dinkel, the woman, who was in a party of four and unmasked, escalated when she got up and blew in Dinkel’s face.
“On Friday, ABC15 confirmed the Scottsdale Police Department filed assault charges against one woman,” reported Nicole Valdes. “No arrests have been made. Instead, the charges are being sent to prosecutors with a notice for the woman to appear in court.”
Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/2020/08/arizona-woman-charged-with-for-clawing-mask-off-restaurant-manager/
Amazon driver hits 73-year-old man in the face after being ‘asked to wear a face mask’ while delivering packages
The driver has not been identified or charged
“Then he came back with a mask on, and I thought ‘Ok, not so bad’ and I open the door and I let them in,” Mr Breslin said. “He brings his phone up like that and smashes me in the face.”
Mr Breslin pointed out to the driver that the entire encounter had been caught on surveillance video, which prompted the man to flee the scene with the packages.
Mr Breslin’s lawyer, Michael Grieco, said the the incident was “felony battery,” explaining that any time someone hit someone over the age of 65, it was considered a felony.*
Mr Breslin filed a victim’s report with the local police, but the driver has yet to be identified or charged.
Amazon said it sent an apology letter to Mr Breslin. The driver worked for a company that contracted with Amazon to deliver its packages.
According to Amazon, the driver no longer works for the delivery company.
Read more here: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/amazon-driver-hit-elderly-man-face-mask-a9694971.html
* We need that law in Texas; especially after that Facebook organized random crime against senior citizens here in Dallas. 

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 30 2020
Bodega customer slashes goods after being asked to wear a mask: video: video: https://nypost.com/2020/08/30/bodega-customer-slashes-goods-after-being-asked-to-wear-a-mask-video/
August 30, 2020 | 10:53am | Updated
An enraged customer went on a rampage slashing goods in a Bronx bodega after being asked to wear a mask, the owner said Sunday.
Lizbeth Supermarket owner Wascar Sotos said the woman caused more than $7,000 worth of damages after refusing to comply with mask rules at the store on Watson Ave. near Croes Ave.
“I thought it was simple, I ask everyone coming into my bodega to wear a mask,” Soto said in a statement.
“Some argue, some curse, some want to fight, some simply slam the door and leave but this person was different. She pulled out a butcher knife and stabbed soda cans, plastic soft drinks, sacks of rice — you name it she stabbed it.”
Surveillance video showed the woman going through one of the aisles puncturing drink containers with the knife.
“It went on for some time before a dozen cops arrived,” Soto said.
When the cops responded, they watched the woman destroy more products in the store before arresting her, according to the United Bodegas of America (UBA).

Above image from:  https://www.statista.com/chart/22460/number-of-homicides-in-selected-us-cities/

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 31 2020

The Black Women Behind the Ongoing Fight for SuffrageAs we ring in the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment this month, it’s essential to reflect on who was excluded in practice if not on paper, and what the popular historical record of this movement leaves out. “Black women know as 1920 unfolds that many of them are still going to be disenfranchised,” professor and author Martha S. Jones tells At Liberty. “That’s not a secret. That’s an open premise of the 19th Amendment.” Jones joined the podcast this month to discuss how the history of voting rights has led us to this moment.
Listen Now: https://www.aclu.org/podcast/black-women-behind-ongoing-fight-suffrage-ep-115
From Punishment to Promise: The Power of RedemptionThis month, the ACLU launched the Redemption Campaign, a nationwide effort to release 50,000 people from state prisons over the next five years by executing state-level campaigns that push governors to use their existing clemency powers in new and transformational ways. Preston Shipp, the former prosecutor who sent Cyntoia Brown to prison and later lobbied for her release, shares his experience with her case and what he has learned about redemption.
Read more: https://www.aclu.org/news/smart-justice/from-punishment-to-promise-the-power-of-redemption/
Right on ACLU!:The U.S. Postal Service Was Never a Business. Stop Treating it Like One.
Recent news that the Postal Service’s financial condition is being used as a pretext for degrading its service – including allowing mail to go undelivered for days and scaling back the hours of or closing post offices – threatens to degrade that constitutional baseline as well. But the U.S. Postal Service was never a business; it is an essential government service guaranteed to the American people by the U.S. Constitution and it should be preserved accordingly. At this critical time, Congress should do everything in its power to ensure the USPS remains vibrant and strong.
Read more: https://www.aclu.org/news/free-speech/the-u-s-postal-service-was-never-a-business-stop-treating-it-like-one/
How Conservatorship Threatens Britney Spears’ Civil RightsBritney Spears has recently been in the news for her ongoing conservatorship and civil liberties battle with her father, Jamie Spears. This month, Britney asked a California court to keep her father from being her conservator and having broad control over her life decisions and career. But what exactly is a conservatorship, and what are the implications of it? We sat down with Zoe Brennan-Krohn, staff attorney with our Disability Rights Project, to discuss Britney, conservatorship, and why this is a disability rights issue on our radar.
Read more: https://www.aclu.org/news/disability-rights/how-conservatorship-threatens-britney-spears-civil-rights
MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2020Houston’s early police chiefs: The Thief, the Chief Who Wouldn’t Be Fired (sound familiar?), and the Mysterious Disappearance of John Proudfoot
Here’s an update on my search for the history of early Texas police chiefs. As it turns out, there is a book-length history of the Houston Police Department, a high-end vanity piece commissioned by the Houston Police Officers Union, written by Mitchel Roth and Tom Kennedy. On the questions I’ve been asking – what is the relationship between slave catching and antebellum policing or Jim Crow enforcement after the war? – it’s of scarce little use. But it gives us a few more details about these early characters. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/08/houstons-early-police-chiefs-thief.html
Analysis: Push to revise parole survives despite gov’s vetoAugust 31, 2020 11:27:37 AM
In an email last week, the Center for Public Policy wrote about Mississippi habitual-offender laws that keep people imprisoned for years. It cited the case of Tameka Drummer, who received a life sentence in 2008 after she was pulled over for an expired license plate in Alcorn County and officers found a small amount of marijuana in her car. Drummer was sentenced as a habitual offender because of previous convictions.
“Multiple bills that would have impacted habitual offender laws did not make it past the finish line this session and another bill that would have reformed parole for up to 2,000 prisoners was vetoed by Gov. Tate Reeves,” the center wrote. “That shouldn’t be the last word. We know much needs to be done.”
Alesha Judkins is the Mississippi director of FWD.us, a group that published a report last year saying that Mississippi’s habitual offender laws are causing “extreme” prison sentences. Judkins said Aug. 20 that the vetoed bill would have brought Mississippi in line with states such as Texas, Utah and Louisiana that have broad parole eligibility.
Read more here: https://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=83238
OPINION: Life Sentences for Non-Violent Crimes?by Special to the Post | Aug 31, 2020 | Opinion/Letters
Bryant was sentenced to life in prison, without the possibility of parole, under the habitual offender statute, due to four prior felony convictions. While an appellate court determined that to deny Bryant the possibility of parole was actually illegal, there are in fact over three thousand prisoners serving life without parole for non-violent offenses. This is a human rights issue, and the shame of it should shock every American possessed of conscience. A 2013 ACLU report found that roughly seventy-nine percent of those 3,278 prisoners, “were sentenced to die in prison for non-violent drug crimes.” Other infractions were as minor as “siphoning gasoline from an 18-wheeler, shoplifting three belts” or “breaking into a parked car and stealing a woman’s bagged lunch…”
Read more here: https://pagosadailypost.com/2020/08/31/opinion-life-sentences-for-non-violent-crimes/
Louisiana’s habitual offender law is cruel and unjustJust because something is legal doesn’t make it morally right.August 31, 2020
Louisiana is famous for many things—Cajun and Creole culture, jazz festivals, zydeco music, not to mention being the birthplace of several current Century editors. More in­famously, Louisiana has been dubbed “the world’s prison capital”—it has the highest incarceration rate in the US. The state’s harsh sentencing laws have made incarceration its default response to crime. In particular, Louisiana’s habitual offender law, under which subsequent convictions are accompanied by longer and longer sentences, provides a convenient way to imprison a lot of poor, nonviolent offenders for life. Eighty percent of those convicted as habitual offenders are black.
Read more here: https://www.christiancentury.org/article/editorpublisher/louisiana-s-habitual-offender-law-cruel-and-unjust

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 3 2020
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 02, 2020
Early Texans couldn’t get enough slave patrols, but didn’t want to pay for them.
A bit more on slave patrols, which county commissioners courts were authorized to enact in the 1st Texas Legislature in 1846, the year after Texas became a state. We’ve discussed these antebellum slave-catcher patrol operations briefly: Created by county commissioners courts, comprised of local districts, sometimes many of them, with 4-6 officers in each. But I wanted to know more about them. Here are some related anecdotes from early Texas newspapers in the 1840s and ’50s, found online at the University of North Texas’ excellent “Portal to Texas History” site.
Slave patrols were designed to enforce apartheid and thwart the Underground Railroad to Mexico, not for general crime prevention. Using tools created for the one problem to apply to the other lies at the root of many 21st century criminal-justice conundrums
For most white Texans, patrols were controversial not because of their brutality but because they were expensive. In 1851, Bexar County employed 108 people covering 18 districts across the county. Grits has yet to find records of slave patrol districts from other counties, so I have no idea to estimate a statewide count, much less how much they were paid. But if Bexar County’s numbers are indicative, these were easily the largest local law enforcement outfits in the state during the 1840s and ’50s. No Sheriff or Constable had that many staff.
Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/09/early-texans-couldnt-get-enough-slave.html
St. Louis man opens fire after being told to leave store for not wearing mask, charges say
September 2 2020
ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis man opened fire this week outside a Family Dollar store in the Gravois Park neighborhood after being told to leave for not wearing a face mask, authorities said.
According to charges, employees of the Family Dollar store at 341 South Jefferson Avenue told Perry and a shopper he was with Monday to leave the store for not wearing masks “in accordance with public health standards imposed” by the city health department. Court documents say Perry and the second person reacted by insulting staff and threatening “to shoot up this place” before leaving the store.
A person walked outside to see if the pair had left the property and Perry responded by pulling a firearm from his bag and firing at the person, charges say.
The person was not hit and returned fire, striking Perry in the hip, police said. Neither police nor court documents said if the person was a store employee.
Police soon found Perry in the 3600 block of Iowa suffering from a gunshot wound, police said. He told officers he had been shot in a drive-by shooting.
Charges say Perry’s criminal history includes a conviction in federal court in St. Louis for possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Read more: https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/st-louis-man-opens-fire-after-being-told-to-leave-store-for-not-wearing-mask/article_3b293ede-f6c1-50b9-bf20-f7c695594ff3.html

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 4 2020

Hate crime charges filed after 3 trans women were beaten, robbed & mocked in the street
People passed by and did nothing as the men allegedly attacked the trans women and laughed about it. 
September 3, 2020    
Video went viral of a brutal attack on transgender Instagram influencer Eden the Doll and her friends Joslyn Flawless and Jaslene White Rose last month, and now prosecutors have filed hate crimes charges against two men in connection to the attack.
Carlton Callaway, 29, and Davion Williams, 22, face charges including robbery, assault, and grand theft for allegedly attacking and robbing the three women and filming themselves laughing about it, while police officers and other passersby did nothing to help the victims. Each man is also facing hate crime enhancements because of the suspected anti-transgender nature of the crime.
Read more here: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/09/hate-crime-charges-filed-3-trans-women-beaten-robbed-mocked-street/
N.Y.C. to Pay $5.9 Million in Death of Transgender Woman at Rikers
Layleen Polanco had a fatal epileptic seizure while in isolation, an investigation found, spurring calls to end solitary confinement and close the jail complex.
Aug. 31, 2020
New York City has reached the largest settlement recorded over an inmate’s death at the Rikers Island jail complex, agreeing to pay $5.9 million to the family of a 27-year-old transgender woman who died there last year while in solitary confinement.
Layleen Polanco was found unresponsive in her cell in June 2019 after having an epileptic seizure. Her death prompted protest marches to draw attention to the discrimination transgender people say they often face in the criminal justice system. Her case also spurred Mayor Bill de Blasio to call for an end to solitary confinement in city jails altogether.
The settlement, which is still being finalized, resolves a federal civil rights lawsuit brought by Ms. Polanco’s family in August 2019. Still, her sister, Melania Brown, said in an interview on Monday that it was “just the beginning of justice.”
Read more here: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/31/nyregion/layleen-polanco-settlement-rikers-transgender.html
Thanks to GayUSA for the lead on this story. I was contemplating not posting this story because New York is such a mess these days. Nevertheless it should be a warning to other insane people who would treat another human being so terribly. 
MONTGOMERY COUNTYMaryland Man Accused of Assaulting Liquor Store Manager Over Mask Requirement
The incident allegedly began after a friend of the suspect was refused service for not wearing a mask
Published September 4, 2020
According to charging documents, the victim suffered serious injuries, including a broken jaw, missing teeth and bruised skull.
Police have charged 31-year-old __________ of Silver Spring with two counts of assault. He faces up to 25 years in prison if found guilty.
Read more here:https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/maryland-man-accused-of-assaulting-liquor-store-manager-over-mask-requirement/2410728/
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 03, 2020Amidst many proposals, police reform in Houston seems stalled outSo, here are the basics regarding police reform in Houston so far as I understand them.The Mayor has created a task force to suggest reforms but no one expects much of it.
Five council members this week came out with a letter demanding 25 reforms, some big (eliminate the 180-day rule and the 48-hour rule), some small (video recording walk-throughs at the scene of police shootings), and some perhaps deviating from the spirit of recent protests (“Mandatory community engagement hours in predominately minority areas for all patrol officers.”)
Knowing all that went into achieving Austin’s budget cuts and related reforms, it’s not surprising to me that few other cities went as big. It wouldn’t have happened here if Brian Manley weren’t near-universally distrusted and hadn’t rallied his foes before the George-Floyd protests ever began. And still, even in Austin, most of the change remains in front of us and could easily be derailed in the coming year or three. 
Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/09/amidst-many-proposals-police-reform-in.html

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 5 2020
Sign this petition here: https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/tell-congress-to-stop-ignoring-veterans-who-are-sick-and-dying-from-toxic-burn-pits
TO: House of Representatives, Senate, White House, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense
Tell Congress to stop ignoring veterans who are sick and dying from toxic burn pits
Campaign created by
Jon Stewart and John Feal
Hundreds of tons of waste produced on military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan were doused with jet and diesel fuels and burned in massive burn pits—as American soldiers lived, worked, and slept next to the toxic fumes. Now that they are home, hundreds of thousands veterans are sick and dying from lung diseases, cancers, and respiratory illnesses.
The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense continue to ignore our veterans’ suffering and deaths caused by their neglect despite their own statistics which show burn pits as the source of these health problems.
Sign our petition to tell Congress it must pass a bipartisan bill so veterans will no longer be denied the care and benefits our government owes them for their service.
Why is this important?There’s a reason it’s against the law to burn hazardous waste in your own backyard in America.
It’s common sense. Burning regular household waste releases carcinogens, neuro-disruptors, and heavy metals that can have devastating effects on the lungs, heart, brain, thyroid, and immune system.
It’s also a scientific fact. Federal and state government agencies compiled decades of research linking toxins from burn pits to diseases and birth defects.
But the US military paid private companies like Halliburton subsidiary KBR billions of dollars from taxpayer funds to burn human waste, aerosols, Styrofoam, medical waste, biohazardous materials, body parts, trucks, and explosives in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then troops got sick and started dying. It’s haunting and a reminder that these forever wars have long-lasting consequences.
For every soldier returning with horrific health defects, there are untold numbers of servicemembers who continue to be subjected to burn pit sites and toxic smoke to this day. The DoD and VA must acknowledge the reality and gravity of the problems toxic chemicals from burn pits have caused and take immediate action to end the use of the active burn pits once and for all.
In addition, Congress must make health care and compensation available to veterans and servicemembers who are suffering exposure-related health effects. And, we must pass legislation that grants surviving families of deceased veterans the benefits they deserve.
We have worked together to pressure Congress to acknowledge the bipartisan need to care for the 9/11 community suffering from cancers and other health problems after those deadly attacks nearly 20 years ago. Washington moves too slow for the families who need our government’s help. We only got that done last year, and it took all the help people like you were able to provide signing petitions, making phone calls, chipping in to cover costs, and organizing in your local communities.
We’re taking this fight about burn pits to Congress and want to work even more quickly. We want to work together with anyone willing to help those who served in the military and came home feeling abandoned after their government used them to fight wars and risk their lives.
Sign the petition as one step to help provide health care and compensation to those suffering from exposure to toxic burn pits. Let’s fix this and stick up for the families who are fighting for health care and accountability from the same government that sent them into harm’s way.
We will update you on the upcoming bill and other actions you can take as the campaign develops so please stay tuned.
Police: Man asked to wear mask threatens store employee, throws knife at officers
https://www.insidenova.com/news/crime_police/police-man-asked-to-wear-mask-threatens-store-employee-throws-knife-at-officers/article_3e75cdc0-eefb-11ea-aed9-fb65a82ddff1.html
Sep 4, 2020 
LATEST NEWS on coronavirus in Northern VirginiaA McLean man asked to wear a mask at a Giant grocery store faces assault charges after, police say, he threatened a store employee at knife point and threw the knife at responding police officers.
Police were called to the store at 1454 Chain Bridge Road on Aug. 31 just before 1 p.m. for the disturbance.
Fairfax County police say the customer threatened an employee with a knife after being asked to wear a mask. He then stole an item from the store and ran away.
Officers found the man nearby and approached him to investigate. He threw the knife at the officers, but missed, police said.

__________________, 33, was then arrested and charged with two counts of assault, police said.
________ was treated for minor injuries at a hospital and one officer was treated for a minor injury at the scene, police said.
Man charged for aggressive behaviour after being asked to wear a maskSeptember 5, 2020
From: https://cyprus-mail.com/2020/09/05/man-charged-for-aggressive-behaviour-after-being-asked-to-wear-a-mask/
A 50-year-old man from a Nicosia village was arrested on Friday afternoon after attacking police officers at Larnaca airport for asking him to put on a mask.
The man according to police, was in the departures area of the airport without a mask on.
After officers asked him to put his mask on, he refused and started shouting. He allegedly attacked the officers, leading to his arrest.
He was charged for assault and causing unrest and was released. He is to present in court at a later stage.
A 60-year-old Key West man was arrested Friday night after police said he attacked a man who insisted he wear a face mask on Duval Street.
__________ slapped __________, of Key West, in the face and then shoved him to the pavement the night of Aug. 27 outside an ice cream shop in the 1100 block of Duval, according to the arrest affidavit.
The reason?
_____ told ____ and his friend they needed to put on face masks, police reported.
____ said he was only trying to protect his town in the time of COVID-19, according to the arrest warrant.
Read more: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/florida-keys/article245511110.html
Being told to wear face mask spurs man to attack Turlock bus driverUpdated: Sep 4, 2020, 9:36 PMA Turlock man was arrested for assault and battery after attacking a bus driver who refused to let him ride without a mask, the Turlock Police Department reported.
The suspected was identified by the police department as -_____, 41, of Turlock.
The incident was reported to the police department at 1:20 p.m. Aug. 28 in the 800 block of Lander Avenue.
Read more: https://www.turlockjournal.com/news/crime/being-told-wear-face-mask-spurs-man-attack-turlock-bus-driver/
INSIGHT: Louisiana Has Chance to Restore Justice for 1,300
 Convictions Sept. 1, 2020, 3:00 AM Listen   Overturning “Jim Crow Jury” decisions in Louisiana is one of the most fundamental ways of dismantling the systemic racism that continues to plague us, New Orleans attorney Bradley Egenberg contends. He says the state must act and the U.S. Supreme Court has the chance next term to address the suffering of those who remain imprisoned due to non-unanimous jury verdicts.
Read more here: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/insight-louisiana-has-chance-to-restore-justice-for-1-300-convictions

Charges pending against man who pepper-sprayed Boston Heights Costco manager after refusing to wear mask
Posted at 10:06 PM, Sep 04, 2020 and last updated 9:06 PM, Sep 04, 2020 
BOSTON HEIGHTS, Ohio — The Boston Heights Police Department was able to identify the man dubbed “The Moronic Macer” after he pepper-sprayed a store manager because he was escorted from the store for not wearing a mask.
Read more here: https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/oh-summit/charges-pending-against-man-who-pepper-sprayed-boston-heights-costco-manager-after-refusing-to-wear-mask

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 8 2020
Business owner receives threats over mask mandate
Owner of Vintage Arts Decor Studio says customers have cursed at her, threatened her, spit on her and set fires outside her business when asked to wear a mask.
Published: 8:02 PM EDT September 6, 2020Updated: 11:21 PM EDT September 6, 2020
First Coast News cameras were rolling Sunday afternoon as Holly _______, the store’s owner, spoke to two Jacksonville Sheriff’s officers to make a report of harassment and threats by a customer at her business.
“When he threatened to rape me and my other female employee, I called 911,” _______ said.
_______ says the same customer set a notebook on fire and threw it against her door, in addition to setting her dumpster on fire in August. 
Read more here: https://www.firstcoastnews.com/article/news/local/jacksonville-business-owner-files-police-report-over-threats-from-customers-when-asked-to-wear-a-mask/77-352510e2-21a3-43a5-9d4a-9029eff12fa8
U.S. airlines ban 700-plus over masksBy Hugo Martín, of the Los Angeles Times Sep 6, 2020 Updated Sep 6, 2020 
If you ignore the requirement to wear a mask on a commercial flight, you could join the more than 700 passengers who have been banned from flying on the nation’s largest airlines.
Delta Air Lines leads all carriers, having placed 270 passengers on its “no fly” list for flouting its mask policy. It’s followed by United Airlines, with 150; Spirit Airlines, 128; Frontier Airlines, 106; Alaska Airlines, 78; and Hawaiian Airlines, six.
Read more here: https://lmtribune.com/coronavirus/u-s-airlines-ban-700-plus-over-masks/article_17bade2a-583f-532c-ac69-31f8f7d80c13.html
Did Allegiant Remove A Passenger For Asking Crew To Mask Up?
September 7, 2020
On Monday, reports and accompanying footage emerged of how a man was supposedly removed from an Allegiant Air flight. The passenger was made to disembark before take-off from Punta Gorda, Florida, after repeatedly telling the flight attendant making the preflight safety announcement that she should put her mask on.
Reports of the social media kind have surfaced on how Allegiant Air removed an elderly passenger from one of its flights, leaving Punta Gorda on Monday. Apparently, there was an issue with a mask, which, these days, is not that surprising. Only, it seems the lack-of-mask in question was not that of the man being removed. This time, the cause for disruption in the matter of proper onboard mask etiquette was a flight attendant.
Read more: https://simpleflying.com/allegiant-passenger-mask-request/

Posted at 5:13 PM, Sep 06, 2020 and last updated 8:39 AM, Sep 07, 2020
MORRISANIA, the Bronx — A bodega clerk who was attacked by a customer is concerned mask laws will get someone killed, he said Sunday.
_____ ____ and _____ _____ were in a Morrisania bodega several weeks ago when they were attacked. _______ was stacking the shelves when he asked a customer to put on a mask. The customer punched him in the face.
Read here: https://www.pix11.com/news/local-news/i-dont-want-to-die-in-the-bodega-workers-attacked-for-enforcing-mask-rules-in-the-bronx

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 9 2020
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 08, 2020Podcast: Update from the March on Washington, slave patrols and Texas policing, the politics of police budgets, and other storiesIn the September 2020 episode of Just Liberty’s Reasonably Suspicious podcast, the Austin Justice Coalition’s Chas Moore substitutes for Mandy to co-host with Scott Henson. 
This month, we discuss:The March on Washington and protesters’ theory of changeSlave patrols and the history of Texas policingThe politics of Austin’s police budget cutsIn the Last Hurrah segment, Chas and I took up:Austin PD’s 911 call data analyzedDallas Chief under fire in protest aftermathTexas’ George Floyd ActAs always, I’ve ordered a transcript and will add it below the jump when it comes back. Enjoy!
Passengers forced to deplane from US flight after woman refuses to wear mask
AOL.com8 September 2020
According to Mailloux, she was approached around three times to wear a mask once on the plane.
When she refused, the announcement was made for the passengers to all start deboarding the flight, which is when the other passengers became very frustrated.
The 23-year-old photographer added: “We got up to start to deboard the plane and she decided that now was the time she was gonna get off and everyone else can stay on. Well, half the plane already had deboarded before she got off.”
The woman eventually left the plane and the other passengers were allowed to return, and the flight left safely without the woman on board.
Read more: https://uk.movies.yahoo.com/passengers-forced-deplane-us-flight-160200632.html
Utah police shooting of 13-year-old autistic boy under investigationASSOCIATED PRESS |SEP 08, 2020 AT 8:49 AM
SALT LAKE CITY — Authorities in Utah are investigating the shooting of a 13-year-old autistic boy by police in the Salt Lake City area.
Police said they were called to a home in Glendale Friday night with a report of a boy who had threatened people with a weapon. The boy reportedly ran and was shot by an officer after being pursued by police.
The boy’s mother, Golda Barton, told KUTV-TV that her son has autism and she had called police because he was having a breakdown and needed a crisis intervention team.
Barton claimed she told police her son was unarmed and warned them that he did not know how to regulate his behavior.
A few minutes after two officers who had arrived went through the front door of the home, Barton said she heard an order to “get on the ground” and several gunshots.
Read more: https://www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/ct-nw-utah-police-shooting-autistic-boy-20200908-isqebb5ic5epbmkrr2yrpdo4gq-story.html
If you hate all social media like I do; then you will love this article. This proves what I have been saying for years; that social media is violent, organized crime. The definition for mob mentality should be a definition for social media. What is most bazaar; is it shapes or politics in our country. it effects all of our lives; even though there are 100’s of millions of fake accounts and people that are not even from our country, having the biggest influence on it all. 
I very much recommend people read this whole article:
Another Facebook worker quits in disgust, saying the company ‘is on the wrong side of history’Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg’s stances on hateful and racist speech prompted the engineer to resign.
September 8, 2020 at 1:13 p.m. CDTFacebook software engineer Ashok Chandwaney has watched with growing unease as the platform has become a haven for hate. On Tuesday morning, it came time to take a stand.
“I’m quitting because I can no longer stomach contributing to an organization that is profiting off hate in the US and globally,” Chandwaney wrote in a letter posted on Facebook’s internal employee network shortly after 8 a.m. Pacific time. The nearly 1,300-word document was detailed, bristling with links to bolster its claims and scathing in its conclusions.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/09/08/facebook-employee-quit-racism/
This is another great article I must take my hat off to: 
Rethinking America
US Prisons: Outrageously UnjustThe time is overdue to reform the US prison system. It reflects very poorly on the country‘s moral values.
September 9, 2020
Even a cursory review of the US prison system reveals the outrageous inhumanity to which hundreds of thousands of prisoners — especially young adults — are subjected to.
Many of them are imprisoned for non-violent crimes — sometimes for life. Some of the cases I came across are simply heart wrenching, bringing tears to my eyes.
The over-policing of the United States, which results in the disproportionate incarceration of people of color, and the numerous flaws in the judicial system, most particularly highlighted in sentencing disparities by race and class, and habitual offender (aka three-strikes) laws, have contributed greatly to the travesty of the U.S. prison system.
Read more here: https://www.theglobalist.com/united-states-prison-system-criminal-justice-reform-racism-blacks-minorities/

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 10 2020
When I read the caption for this article it made me laugh out load.:

Michele Bachmann says “transgender Black Marxists” are trying to “overthrow the United States”She says they’re going to start a Communist revolution to elect Joe Biden & bring about a global currency. Seriously.Wednesday, September 9, 2020   Read full article here: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/09/michele-bachmann-says-transgender-black-marxists-trying-overthrow-united-states/

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 13 2020
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2020
In Dallas, #DefundThePolice becomes epithet to describe any cut, even amidst COVID revenue shortfalls
Debates over “defunding the police” became even sillier this week with Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson trotting out the phrase to oppose a $7 million cut to police overtime that’s almost trivial in the scheme of a) the overall Dallas police budget and b) COVID-driven revenue shortfalls.
Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/09/in-dallas-defundthepolice-becomes.html
Pennsylvania Rite Aid worker fired for dialing 911 on customer who turned violent when asked to wear face mask
Security footage in the store showed the customer pushing the store display to the ground and knocking the cash register over
Published on : 07:56 PST, Sep 12, 2020
customer turned violent and even pushed the cashier into a magazine rack nearby. Security footage in the store showed the customer pushing the store display to the ground and knocking the cash register over.
Recently, in Logan Township, Pennsylvania, an Altoona man threw frozen pizzas at the store manager of a convenience store when he was asked to wear a mask.  According to the Logan Township Police Department, cops were called regarding a disturbance on August 13. The man, 35-year-old _______, attacked the manager and fled from the scene.
Read more here: https://meaww.com/pennsylvania-rite-aid-worker-fired-customer-wear-mask-defense-call-cops-violent

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 14 2020
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2020Dallas chief resigns; Manley remains:Grits should have mentioned Dallas police Chief Renee Hall’s resignation in yesterday’s post about the Dallas budget, but it seemed like a separate topic. She wasn’t resigning over budget cuts, like the chief in Seattle. Rather, she left after a half dozen city council members declared they’d lost confidence in her leadership, largely as a result of a tone-deaf after action report that seemed to pre-exonerate officers for misconduct while overstating protester “violence.” I wrote at the time: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/09/dallas-chief-resigns-manley-remains-wtf.html
I kept noticing these story’s taking place again and again in the news. So I decided to start posting them here; when ever I was able to spot them. I find it weirdly odd that these things are a violent event; not to mention so often. Like I said weeks ago here most of these stories must go unreported; because most of these stories involve businesses and the exchange of money. I am not trying to be mean and focus in on people to mock them in anyway. If someone were to ask me to wear a mask I would not be offended in anyway. I can not imagine why anyone would be triggered to violence over putting on a mask. I post these stories because in my opinion; it has no explanation, that is why it deserves attention.
White Woman Goes On Racist Tirade Against NYC Verizon Employee Who Asked Her To Wear MaskShe yelled the n-word and threw a trash can at the Black employee.
September 13 2020
While visiting a Manhattan Verizon store in New York City, a woman who was asked to put on a mask in the store went on a racist rant after refusing to do so. 
“You don’t tell me what to do, you don’t grab my f—ing hand, you f—ing fat ugly n—-r,” she said.
Verizon has asked the public to help identify the woman so that she can be banned for life from their stores. The company also said that they will “terminate her ability to do business with us.”
Read more: https://www.bet.com/news/national/2020/09/13/-white-women-assaults-n-word-nyc-verizon-employee-refusing-wear-mask.html
Coronavirus: 70-Year-Old Man Brutally Assaulted, Dragged by Hair, Spit Upon by Youngster Over Mask Row
In another outrageous incident of violence related to COVID-19, an elderly man was left bloody and battered by a youngster in Orlando, Florida
Updated September 13, 2020 20:28 +08
In another outrageous act of violence related to taking necessary measures for avoiding spread of COVID-19, a man, 70 years old, was left battered for the simple crime of asking a younger man to maintain social distancing and wear a mask. The incident occurred in Orlando, Florida at a gas station.
The assailant has been identified as _____ _____, 24 years old. The police have arrested him and leveled charges of aggravated battery against a person above the age of 65. The bail bond value has been set at $30,000. The accused has been lodged in Orange County Jail.
Read more: https://www.ibtimes.sg/70-year-old-man-brutally-assaulted-dragged-by-hair-spit-upon-asking-youngster-take-covid-19-51462

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 16 2020
Video captures anti-COVID-19 rant at Calgary fabric store
Posted Sep 15, 2020 1:11 pm MDT Last Updated Sep 15, 2020 at 1:26 pm MDT
She later goes on a rant calling the COVID-19 pandemic a hoax and is tired of the public health guidelines.
She tells staff and other customers in the store to “educate themselves”, stating “no one is sick”.
Read more here: https://www.660citynews.com/2020/09/15/video-captures-anti-covid-19-rant-at-calgary-fabric-store/
Citations: Northwest Side sports bar cited 4 times for violating COVID-19 order1:51 pm CDT, Tuesday, September 15, 2020
The City of San Antonio has issued more than 2,900 warnings and 230 citations for violating the emergency declarations, according to an enforcement report.
Officials had received over 13,300 calls reporting violations as of Tuesday.
Read more: https://www.mysanantonio.com/coronavirus/article/Citations-Northwest-Side-sports-bar-cited-4-15187448.php
RACE IN AMERICABreonna Taylor case: Louisville to pay $12M in settlement, reform police department
Updated September 15 2020 2:50 PM
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The city of Louisville will pay $12 million to the family of Breonna Taylor and reform police practices as part of a lawsuit settlement months after Taylor’s slaying by police thrust the Black woman’s name to the forefront of a national reckoning on race, Mayor Greg Fischer announced Tuesday.
The lawsuit, filed in April by Palmer, alleged the police used flawed information when they obtained a “no-knock” warrant to enter the 26-year-old woman’s apartment in March. Taylor and her boyfriend were roused from bed by police, and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, has said he fired once at the officers thinking it was an intruder. Investigators say police were returning fire when they shot Taylor several times. No drugs were found at her home.
Read more: https://abc7chicago.com/louisville-to-pay-$12m-to-breonna-taylors-mom-in-settlement/6423703/
NEWS SEPTEMBER 15, 2020Brutal assault of bartender caught on video over alleged mask dispute at San Diego barThe bartender says he was sucker punched
The doorman refused them entry because they violated the city’s face mask restrictions to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Aversa, who is also a manager of the bar, went over to help the doorman when someone ran at him and sucker punched him.
“I immediately knew my nose was broken,” Aversa told KTTV.
“I could hear it pop,” he added. “I kind of went black for a second. I immediately felt blood gushing out of my nose all over the cement, all over my hands.”
Read more: https://www.theblaze.com/news/video-bartender-assault-sandiego-mask
Man spit in bank manager’s face after being asked to properly wear mask, police sayUpdated Sep 15, 2020; Posted Sep 15, 2020
Police are looking for a man who is accused of going into a bank in the Township of Union and spitting in an employee’s face after he was told to properly wear a mask during the coronavirus pandemic.
Read more here: https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2020/09/man-spit-in-bank-managers-face-after-being-asked-to-properly-wear-mask-police-say.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 17 2020
NEWS17/09/2020 7:42 AM AESTAnti-Maskers March Through Shop Chanting ‘Take Off Your Mask!’
Before the protest, Gomez had promoted it with a graphic on her Facebook page, calling it an “anti mask flash mob.”
Nearly 200,000 people have died from coronavirus in the United States. Florida has logged more than 12,700 deaths.
Read more: https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/anti-maskers-march-through-target_au_5f6286b2c5b6ba9eb6e9111b
Transgender woman makes history by speaking at DNC 
Washington (CNN)Transgender activist Sarah McBride announced Tuesday that she’s running for a Senate seat in her home state of Delaware.
Updated 6:21 PM ET, Tue July 9, 2019
McBride, 28, would become the first transgender person elected to a state senate if chosen to represent Delaware’s 1st District. 
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/09/politics/transgender-activist-sarah-mcbride-delaware-state-senate/index.html
Sign this petition here: https://action.aclu.org/send-message/support-just-marijuana-legalization

SUPPORT JUST MARIJUANA LEGALIZATIONSupport the MORE ActUpdate 9/11/2020: The House is back in session and plans to bring the MORE Act to the floor for a vote on the week of September 21. We need to ensure that House Leadership follows through on this commitment and that Members vote YES on this important legislation. Send a message to your representative today.
While an increasing number of states are moving to decriminalize and legalize marijuana, arrest rates – and racial disparities in arrests – are not improving. In some parts of the country, they’re getting even worse. It’s past time that we not just legalize marijuana but do so in a way that tackles racial disparities head-on. The MORE Act will do just that.
Message Recipients:
Your U.S. House Representative

YOUR MESSAGESubjectPass the MORE Act (H.R. 3884)As your constituent, I urge you to vote YES on the MORE Act so marijuana can be legalized in a way that addresses racial disparities, which continues to persist in every state. Even with an increasing number of states adopting marijuana reform, arrest rates are staggering and disproportionately target Black people.
Sign this petition here: https://action.aclu.org/send-message/support-just-marijuana-legalization

Let me speak in the local language of the land of the Bible belt: Do you think Jesus would turn a homeless person away into the cold because they are a transgender?
Send message here to help everyone that is homeless and get them all the help they need: https://myresourcecenter.org/campaign/example-targeted-action/
At an unthinkable time during a global pandemic, the Trump Administration has proposed gutting the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Equal Access Rule for transgender individuals in shelters. This critical protection ensures that transgender people are treated in an affirming and equal way at a time when they need help most.
Studies have shown that 1/3 of transgender and non-binary individuals experience homelessness at some point in their life. They may be fleeing domestic violence or unsafe conditions and are in need of shelter away from harm. 
Preserving access to gender segregated facilities does not put others at risk. However, denying access to transgender individuals it further puts them in harms way.
Take a moment to stand with us and say NO to discrimination! We have started a message to oppose this rule for you but please feel free to add your own thoughts and experiences.
Send message here to help everyone that is homeless and get them all the help they need: https://myresourcecenter.org/campaign/example-targeted-action/

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 18 2020
I did not want to post this article but since I love the band Twisted Sister and Dee Snider rules; I will post it. I saw Twisted Sister around 1983 with Rat. It was a great concert. Twisted Sister is a great metal band to this day.
By The Associated PressUpdated September 17, 2020 3:14 PM
Snider said the group doesn’t have his “permission or blessing to use my song for their moronic cause.”
Target was fined for not enforcing the county’s mask law and citations were mailed to the protesters, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported.
“We’re Americans, breathe,” a woman yelled. “It’s all a lie!”
Another woman screamed that a customer should take the mask off. “You don’t need it,” she said.
“Any additional participants from the video that are able to be identified will also receive $100 citations in the mail,” she said.
Read more: https://www.newsday.com/entertainment/music/dee-snider-anti-maskers-twisted-sister-1.49427492
Anti-mask Karen couple yells at bystanders recording them in Walmart
Neither shopper chose to don a mask inside the store.Sep 17, 2020, 9:03 am*
In case there weren’t enough Karen videos floating around the web, a fresh clip of angry, entitled anti-maskers has gone viral on Twitter.
They even attempt to block her path. “I’ll knock you the fuck out if you touch me,” Karen exclaims. She then demands that employees “get her to leave,” despite the fact that the woman in grey is following the store’s mandate.
Read more: https://www.dailydot.com/irl/walmart-karen-couple-anti-mask-video/

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 19 2020
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Woman leaps onto a KFC counter and threatens to stab staff after being asked to wear a mask
Published: 06:23 EDT, 18 September 2020 | Updated: 06:47 EDT, 18 September 2020
Footage of the incident shows the woman then jumping onto the counter where she yells ‘Gimme something to f—ing eat! I’m hungry!’
The unidentified woman also threatens to stab a female worker unless she gets ‘something to eat’ immediately.
Read more: https://thestreetjournal.org/2020/09/woman-leaps-onto-a-kfc-counter-and-threatens-to-stab-staff-after-being-asked-to-wear-a-mask/
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2020A Texan Huck Finn, Proletarian Slaves, Dreaming of Mexico, and the Habeas Revelation: Lessons from runaway slave stories: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/09/a-texan-huck-finn-proletarian-slaves.html

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 20 2020
Protest for Black family becomes clash between Detroit Will Breathe and Trump supportersMACOMB COUNTYThe Detroit NewsSeptember 19 2020
What was expected to be a protest to defend a Black family targeted with racially motivated attacks on Saturday ended up as a standoff between Black Lives Matter proponents and Donald Trump supporters. 
During the same time, a Back the Blue rally was held across the street on Hoover Road with people holding Trump 2020 flags. 
At one point, a woman who Tristan Taylor, a Detroit Will Breathe organizer, said was not part of the group was walking on the Trump supporter’s side and got in an altercation with supporters.
The woman was holding onto a flag while multiple men tried to take it out of her hands, pulling the woman around on the ground. 
Read more: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/macomb-county/2020/09/19/protest-black-family-becomes-standoff-between-detroit-breathe-and-trump-supporters/5839022002/
Sometimes you need just the right words to do a search. I heard the words gun violence on public radio this morning and sure enough I found a web site with all the statistics. I have searched on my own and never found it until I entered those two words.:

Image from: https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/

Image from: https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 21 2020
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2020Can police patrol function be separated from racist slaver legacy? Maybe notDid early policing begin with slave patrols?In Texas, slave patrols were established (just) after the creation of more traditional law enforcement offices like Sheriffs, Constables, and City Marshals (the early Texan name for what would become municipal police chiefs). But slavery began late here and lasted less than 50 years. In other states, particularly in the Carolinas, patrols preceded those forms. That’s why you hear people say American policing originated with slave patrols. Some places, it did.
Man Beat Clerk Who Asked Suspect To Maintain Social Distancing, Cops Say
SEPTEMBER 19, 2020
A man was arrested for allegedly beating a Freeport gas station attendant who asked the suspect to maintain social distancing due to the coronavirus pandemic, Nassau County police said.
Said the victim asked the suspect to step back because he got too close when paying for gas at 10:35 p.m. Friday.
got mad, got a metal bar out of his car, and hit the 67-year-old victim in the head, ribs, and leg, police said.
Read more: https://www.longislandpress.com/2020/09/19/man-beat-clerk-who-asked-suspect-to-maintain-social-distancing-cops-say/

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 22 2020The dangerous relationship between cops and right-wing militias 
PUBLISHED: September 21, 2020 at 3:49 p.m. | UPDATED: September 21, 2020 at 3:52 p.m.
Also note that the recent “Back the Blue” rally in Red Bluff was sponsored by a right-wing separatist Jefferson State group in conjunction with the Tehama County Deputy Sheriff’s Association. Police participation with right-wing extremist, separatist and paramilitary groups makes me nervous. And it is wrong.
Read more: https://www.redbluffdailynews.com/2020/09/21/the-dangerous-relationship-between-cops-and-right-wing-militias/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 23 2020

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2020 Taking the easy way out: When they choose, Austin cops take the lowest risk assignments and spend lots of time on them Looking at the 911 call center data discussed in the last post, a notable data point jumps out: When Austin police officers self assign themselves to an activity, they appear to choose the most low-risk, anodyne tasks and spend longer at those than they do ones they’re assigned by 911 dispatchers. Technically these are not “calls,” in that they are activities that an officer chooses to do and then puts into the “call” system independently of dispatch. They represent about a third of “call” activity.
Here we see that most officer-initiated calls are for Priority 3 incidents, which are defined as “life or property not at risk; immediate response not req’d.”
Perhaps removing the 911 call center from control of the police department (as Houston has already done, btw) will help impose more discipline on how officers spend their time. Honestly, these aren’t liberal/conservative questions so much as good-government/managerial ones.
Read more:https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/09/taking-easy-way-out-when-they-choose.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 24 2020

I voted today.

4 file federal lawsuit against Facebook, Kyle Rittenhouse, militia groups in wake of Kenosha protest shootingsSeptember 23 2020
Four people have filed a federal lawsuit demanding that Facebook prevent militias and hate groups from using the site after the platform was used to draw armed people to protests in Kenosha that left two people dead.
Read more: https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/crime-and-courts/4-file-federal-lawsuit-against-facebook-kyle-rittenhouse-militia-groups-in-wake-of-kenosha-protest/article_646089ba-dbec-5972-9e8b-acc9ddac2559.html

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 25 2020
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2020 Governor hopes pro-police push will distract from COVID failures The Governor today held a press conference calling for a half-dozen new laws aimed at increasing penalties for protester violence and people who harm cops. Thing is, Texas already did this in 2015 after the Ferguson protests, boosting penalties for assaulting police officers and requiring high school students to watch a video teaching them how not to make police angry (I kid you not: they did that because it would offend cops to tell them not to shoot the kids – Democrat Royce West carried the legislation).: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/09/governor-hopes-pro-police-push-will.html

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 26 2020
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2020 Slave patrols as apartheid enforcers in addition to chasing runaways  When your correspondent began researching the history of Texas slave patrols, I considered them mainly a way the government collaborated with slave owners to control black people and punish them for violating rules. But it turns out, slave patrols were as much about enforcing apartheid as protecting property rights, and they were empowered to arrest white folks for various co-mingling considered inappropriate. 
Grits’ slave-patrol research homed in on Guadalupe County, in large part because records there have been preserved. I’m not the only one to take advantage of that serendipity. In Mark Gretchen’s remarkable 2009 genealogical volume, “Slave Transactions of Guadalupe County, Texas,” he included a comprehensive list of slavery-related criminal charges from Guadalupe County criminal court records. Almost all (20 out of 28) involved white defendants, not black ones. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/09/slave-patrols-as-apartheid-enforcers-in.html
Here are the links from Grits from yesterday. Grits has gone free speech wild lately and I like it. 
@scottbraddock Sep 24 As Gov @GregAbbott_TX speaks on police budgets today, it’s relevant that his office is sitting on nearly $6 billion in federal relief money allocated to Texas that must be allocated by Dec 31. His office has articulated *no* reason for hoarding that cash #TxLege: Read more: https://twitter.com/scottbraddock/status/1309099443699023873

Editorial: Pledge easy, but policing issues aren’tExpress-News Editorial Board Sep. 17, 2020
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks before signing a “Texas Backs the Blue Pledge.” It’s a gimmicky approach that serves Abbott’s immediate political purposes.Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks before signing a “Texas Backs the Blue Pledge.” It’s a gimmicky approach that serves Abbott’s immediate political purposes.: Read more: https://www.expressnews.com/opinion/editorials/article/Editorial-Pledge-easy-but-policing-issues-15576078.php
Abbott unveils proposals to strengthen penalties for rioting
Posted Sep 24, 2020 at 11:34 AMUpdated Sep 24, 2020 at 5:03 PM   In a Dallas news conference Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott announced several legislative proposals that would stiffen penalties for people participating in riots.
Abbott invoked protests that turned violent in Dallas and elsewhere in Texas over the summer, and a move last month by the Austin City Council to reduce police funding, although unlike other recent proposals unveiled by Abbott, his ideas Thursday did not address the funding issue.: Read more: https://www.statesman.com/news/20200924/abbott-unveils-proposals-to-strengthen-penalties-for-rioting
POLICE BRUTALITY IN TEXASGov. Greg Abbott wants to raise the stakes for protesters during a divisive Texas electionAbbott’s campaign event came after a majority of likely Texas voters in a recent poll said that law and order is a bigger issue than the pandemic. Yet they were also more likely to say that racism in the criminal justice system is a larger problem than riots in American cities.
SEPT. 24, 2020UPDATED: 4 PM
At a campaign event in Dallas on Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott laid out a string of new legislative proposals to raise penalties and create new crimes that would require jail time for offenses committed at protests.
Abbott isn’t on the Nov. 3 ballot, but the event was the Republican governor’s latest move in a national political battle during a tumultuous election that has pitted police officers and fears of rising crime against calls for an end to police brutality and systemic racism. Recent Texas protests against police brutality have largely been peaceful as the four-month mark of George Floyd’s in-custody death in Minneapolis nears. Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2020/09/24/greg-abbott-protests-brutality-police-budget-cuts/

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 29 2020
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2020Massive police response over anti-cop bumper stickers, public opinion and #BlackLivesMatter, deep policing history, and other storiesLet’s clear a few browser tabs and run down a few links Grits wanted to record and other items that may interest Grits readers. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/09/massive-police-response-over-anti-cop.html
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2020Debtors Prison Blues: Homeless rack up tens of thousands of tickets and warrants that everyone knows they can’t pay Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/09/debtors-prison-blues-homeless-rack-up.html
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2020From the archives: Primer on police-union politics and contractsIn 2017, Just Liberty’s former Policy Coordinator, Sukyi McMahon, who now works for the Columbia University Justice Lab, created three, short videos based on Reasonably Suspicious podcast segments that constitute a primer for reformers on police-union politics and debates surrounding their labor contracts. Lately, I’ve received inquiries on the topic from folks in other cities looking at what Austin did this summer, so I thought it worthwhile to re-up this little-discussed background to the recent budget fights: Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/09/from-archives-primer-on-police-union.html

Read more here: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2020Want to improve police oversight? Settle in for the long haulThe “Independent Police Oversight Board” for the Houston Police Department arguably represents a worst-case scenario when it comes to reform efforts: It took years for advocates to install and, by providing a veneer of meaningless oversight, probably does more to obscure episodes of police misconduct than illuminate problems. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/09/want-to-improve-police-oversight-settle.html
Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/sign-and-send-the-petition-no-more-war-on-drugs-demand-congress-repair-harms-to-communities-decriminalize-marijuanaCampaign ActionSign and send the petition: No more War on Drugs. Demand Congress repair harms to communities & decriminalize marijuana.
State after state has boldly legalized medical or recreational use of marijuana. Thousands of Americans are building livelihoods in the growing cannabis industry. Yet federal laws have not kept pace, and communities of color are disproportionately harmed.
While marijuana consumption is similar across racial groups, studies show that Black and Brown communities are much more likely to be arrested and incarcerated for marijuana possession. For immigrant community members, marijuana-related charges require mandatory detention and often lead to deportation and create barriers to U.S. naturalization. Between 2007 and 2013 alone, over 34,000 people were deported whose most serious offense was possession of marijuana. In 2013, the number one drug crime for which immigrants were deported was simple possession of marijuana.
As states move to decriminalize marijuana, we need federal lawmakers to also begin to repair the harm and destruction of the War on Drugs. And now, Congress is finally considering the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level and — critically — expunge or resentence marijuana-related convictions. This would be a huge step toward racial equity and restorative justice.
The MORE Act also includes a tax on marijuana sales that would provide services to communities that have been disproportionately harmed by the War on Drugs, as well as small-business loans for people of color to enter the marijuana industry.
The War on Drugs has targeted Black, Brown, and immigrant communities and has rendered millions of people second-class citizens and residents
We need to show Congress that there’s widespread support for marijuana decriminalization and restorative justice in the MORE Act.
Sign and the petition: Demand the U.S. House and Senate deal justice to Black, Brown, and immigrant communities by passing the MORE Act!
Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/sign-and-send-the-petition-no-more-war-on-drugs-demand-congress-repair-harms-to-communities-decriminalize-marijuana

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 1 2020I collected a few more mask attack stories. I am not happy to see people upset; in a attempt to help I decided to write about it. I think people that are prone to stress due to the pandemic should take stress vitamins. I noticed they are available in the vitamin section of the stores these days. I have not taken them for years but Hyland’s Calms was one of my favorites. 
Find them here: https://www.hylands.com/products/adults/stress-sleep
From: https://wnyt.com/troy-new-york-news/police-woman-accused-of-attacking-her-boss-during-argument-over-masks-west-sand-lake-rensselaer-county-/5877883/
Created: September 29, 2020 10:04 AM
Police: Woman accused of attacking her boss during argument over mask
A woman from West Sand Lake is accused of attacking her boss during an argument about face masks.
State police say Tina Hock was asked to wear a mask while at work, as is required. Troopers say she got angry and threw things all over the business and after her manager, injuring him.
She’s facing multiple charges including assault, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct.
From: https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/sandwich-karen-subway-no-mask-video/
September 29, 2020
‘Sandwich Karen’ Won’t Wear a Mask and Freaks Out In a …A Reddit video shows a “Sandwich Karen” having a temper tantrum in Subway because he’s asked to wear a mask. The viral video, uploaded to Reddit this …

From: https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/manitoba-man-arrested-following-alleged-assault-over-wearing-a-mask-1.5125315WINNIPEG | NewsManitoba man arrested following alleged assault over wearing a mask
Published Tuesday, September 29, 2020 3:07PM CS
WINNIPEG — A 52-year-old man from the Rural Municipality of St. Clements has been arrested following an alleged assault at a Walmart in Selkirk over face masks.
RCMP said on Sept. 23, officers were called to the store around 3:45 p.m. after receiving reports of an assault.
According to RCMP, a man inside the store was not wearing a mask and an employee told him he should be wearing one.

RCMP said the man ignored the employee and walked down an aisle. The employee followed the man with RCMP saying the man was again asked to wear a mask.
RCMP said while being asked a second time, the man turned around and pushed the employee and threatened him.

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 2 2020
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2020Want to improve police oversight? Settle in for the long haulThe “Independent Police Oversight Board” for the Houston Police Department arguably represents a worst-case scenario when it comes to reform efforts: It took years for advocates to install and, by providing a veneer of meaningless oversight, probably does more to obscure episodes of police misconduct than illuminate problems. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/09/want-to-improve-police-oversight-settle.html
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 01, 2020Task Force on reforming Houston police: Empower oversight board, remove civil-service barriers to accountability at #txlege, and have someone besides the DA prosecute police misconduct (Grits has a suggestion)”The loss of public trust and credibility makes it difficult, if not impossible, for the police to forge partnerships in local communities, let alone expect community cooperation in criminal investigations,” declared the Houston Mayor’s Task Force on Policing Reform (TFPR), which issued its recommendations this week. Even if your correspondent might have gone further, or may quibble with their suggestions (as indeed, I will, below), they’re more significant than Grits had anticipated. Good for them! Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/10/task-force-on-reforming-houston-police.html
As I have stated many times on the internet; I have always loved Spanish people from South America. When I have been back on the East Coast, where I am originally from; one of my favorite things about living there was visiting with my fellow Sicilian family members. I do not have a extreme Sicilian accent at all. When I get with my family; I immediately go into a mode where I have a extreme Sicilian accent. When ever I talk with Spanish people from South America I have a perfect Spanish accent that is very similar to a Sicilian Accent. It is like hanging out with my family back east. Also Spanish people from South America look like my Sicilian family back East. One of the first human rights issues I posted on the internet was about the missing women in Warez Mexico. I care very much about South America and should be posting more often about our southern neighbors. I was listening to public radio recently and heard a story that touched me. No one should be starving in the world never mind just south of our border. 
COVID may kill more thru starvation than infection
As many as 132 million more people than previously projected could go hungry in 2020, and this year’s gain may be more than triple any increase this century. The pandemic is upending food supply chains, crippling economies and eroding consumer purchasing power. Some projections show that by the end of the year, COVID-19 will cause more people to die each day from hunger than from virus infections.
Read more here: https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/708479-covid-may-kill-more-thru-starvation-than-infection
Also I heard this story: 
The pandemic threatens to push more people in Mexico into poverty
Oct 1, 2020
According to Mexico’s government, nearly half the country’s population lives below the poverty line. And the coronavirus pandemic threatens to make those numbers worse.
Marcelo Delajara, an economic researcher at the think tank Centro de Estudios Espinosa Yglesias, said about 46% of Mexico’s population is low-income. The country has high inequality and low social mobility.
“So it’s an economy much poorer than the U.S.,” he said.
Read more here: https://www.marketplace.org/2020/10/01/covid-19-pandemic-mexico-poverty-economy/

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 3 2020
The Law That Sent a Man to Prison for Life for Stealing a Pair of Hedge Clippers – and What Prosecutors Can do About It Habitual offender statutes, known in some states as “three strikes” laws, are a relic of failed “tough on crime” policies that have had devastating consequences for families and communities across the country.
October 2, 2020
Last month, the Louisiana Supreme Court refused to review the life sentence of Fair Wayne Bryant, who was sentenced to life in prison for attempting to steal a pair of hedge clippers more than 20 years ago. Bryant’s sentence was the result of Louisiana’s extreme “habitual offender” law, which allows people to spend life in prison for minor offenses. While the court should have reviewed the sentence, the legislature should abolish this law, and until then, Orleans prosecutors should refuse to seek it.
Habitual offender statutes, known in some states as “three strikes” laws, are a relic of failed “tough on crime” policies that have had devastating consequences for families and communities across the country. Both racist and punitive in their nature, these enhancements drive out of control prison populations in states that have some of the highest incarceration rates in the world, Oklahoma and Louisiana among them. Read more: https://www.aclu.org/news/criminal-law-reform/the-law-that-sent-a-man-to-prison-for-life-for-stealing-a-pair-of-hedge-clippers-and-what-prosecutors-can-do-about-it/

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 3 2020Family says Jonathan Price killed in Wolfe City officer-involved shooting while breaking up fight October 4, 2020
WOLFE CITY, Texas – The family of Jonathan Price says he was fatally shot during an officer-involved shooting in Wolfe City on Saturday while he was breaking up a fight. 
Authorities have released few details at this time, but said an investigation is underway into the officer-involved shooting in Wolfe City, which is about 15 miles north of Greenville in Hunt County. 
The Texas Rangers are investigating the shooting, and the officer involved has been placed on administrative leave until the investigation is completed. 
Price’s family said he was the person shot by a Wolfe City police officer, and that he died as a result of the shooting. 
They said he was at an Exxon gas station, when he saw a confrontation between a man and woman. 
He then tried to break it up, and an officer pulled up Price’s family said the officer may have thought the two men were fighting. 
Read more here: https://www.fox4news.com/news/family-says-jonathan-price-killed-in-wolfe-city-officer-involved-shooting-while-breaking-up-fight

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 6 2020
MONDAY, OCTOBER 05, 2020 With one, unanswered question, Chris Wallace debunked weeks of Texas media coverage on Austin, Fort Worth, crime trends, and partisanship 
Grits can hardly convey my delight that, during the mostly unwatchable Presidential debate, Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price found herself hoisted on her own petard, with moderator Chris Wallace questioning whether rising murder rates in cities with Republican mayors like Fort Worth and Tulsa show that crime isn’t a partisan issue. Read more: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/10/with-one-unanswered-question-chris.html
Video shows ‘Freebirds Karen’ threatening to hit woman who asks her to wear maskFreebirds Karen also claims to have attended not only Brown, but also Harvard.Oct 6, 2020, 10:28 am
“You think you go to UT [University of Texas], when I went to fucking Brown, bitch,” Karen yells. “I went to fucking Harvard. I went to fucking Harvard!” (The showdown likely took place in Austin, home to several Freebirds locations and the University of Texas.) 
Read more here: https://www.dailydot.com/irl/freebirds-karen/
WATCH: Fight Breaks Out on Flight Over Mask Dispute
https://coed.com/2020/10/06/watch-fight-breaks-out-on-flight-over-mask-dispute/
October 6, 2020, 11:15 am
“While the passenger was being escorted off the plane, he had an altercation with another passenger. Law enforcement was called to assist,” Allegiant told The Arizona Republic in a statement.
Fight breaks out on Allegiant Air flight from Mesa after man refuses to wear mask
Arizona Republic
A fight broke out between two passengers on an Allegiant Air flight from Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport on Oct. 3 after one passenger confronted another for allegedly refusing the flight attendant’s request to wear a face mask in addition to a face shield. 
Flam said the fight ensued after an airline supervisor asked Honaker to leave the plane. As he grabbed his backpack and exited his row, Honaker reportedly elbowed the other passenger in the head and accused the man of getting him kicked off the plane.
Read more here: https://www.azcentral.com/story/travel/airlines/2020/10/05/fight-breaks-out-allegiant-air-passenger-refuses-to-wear-mask/3627755001/
Pennsylvania Real-Time News80-year-old former Marine dies after confrontation with bar patron not wearing a maskUpdated 10:39 AM; Today 10:39 AM
The death of Rocco Sapienza is being investigated as a homicide. In a report by WKBW ABC7 in Buffalo, the incident took place at Pamp’s Red Zone Bar and Grill in West Seneca, New York, on Sept. 26. The Erie County District Attorney’s Office in New York says Sapienza got into an argument with 65-year-old Donald Lewinski, who was not wearing a mask.
Here: https://www.pennlive.com/news/2020/10/80-year-old-former-marine-dies-after-confrontation-with-bar-patron-not-wearing-a-mask.html

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 7 2020
This lady should do what my wife and I did when visiting the Hollywood aria. Take a wrong turn and end up in East LA. If you are even thinking the N-Word there; the local people there will read your mind and take you down many pegs, before they let you leave. Me; when I was there there staring out my Ford Escort car window at all those East LA people in the park; I wish I could have got out of my car and absorbed their discontent to strengthen my resolve. I wrote about this exact East LA event on the internet before.
Racist woman bites Black security guard in wild brawl – but fails to escape after bystanders intervene
Published 2 hours ago on October 7, 2020
KTLA reports that security guard Natosha Lawson said she intervened when she saw Duran arguing with her father, but Duran then turned her anger towards her.
“She gets a water bottle and she throws it at me and says get the f— out of here,” Lawson said. During the course of the confrontation, Duran lobbed the N-word at Lawson more than once.
“Then she catches my finger in her mouth and proceeds to chomp down on my finger,” Lawson said.
Read more here: https://www.rawstory.com/2020/10/woman-arrested-after-ing-black-security-guard-and-calling-her-the-n-word/
 A white police officer charged with murder in the death of a Black man at a gas station in Texas had been a police officer for less than six months at the time of the shooting. 
Oct. 7, 2020, 1:55 PM CDT
The officer, Shaun Lucas, 22, was arrested Monday night and had his bail set at $1 million. He is accused of shooting Jonathan Price, 31, on Saturday night in the small east Texas town of Wolfe City, authorities said.
Read more here: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/texas-police-officer-charged-fatal-shooting-jonathan-price-had-been-n1242428

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 9 2020
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 08, 2020 Rangers rule police shooting ‘murder,’ searches at traffic stops mostly fruitless, Sheriffs behaving badly, and other stories Here are a few odds and ends that merit Grits readers’ attention: I’m not sure I’ve ever heard of the Texas Rangers announcing a shooting by a police officer constituted “murder,” as they did in the case of Wolfe City Police Officer Shaun Lucas’ killing of Jonathan Price. Either this summer’s events have changed attitudes at DPS, the facts of case are especially egregious, or maybe both.
Read more: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/10/rangers-rule-police-shooting-murder.html
October 09, 2020In Texas, citizen-initiated ballot propositions are not allowed, so elected officials at the state and federal levels are responsible for upholding or reforming current marijuana laws. Elections offer an opportunity for voters to decide who will represent them when these decisions are made!
We worked with our friends at Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy to survey candidates seeking the Democratic and Republican nominations for the Texas House, Texas Senate, U.S. House, and U.S. Senate. Here’s our Texas Marijuana Policy Voter Guide for the 2020 General Election.: https://www.texasnorml.org/votersguide/
Please make a donation to support this important program!: https://shop.texasnorml.org/donate/
POLITICAL REPORTHOW NEW ORLEANS ACTIVISTS ARE PUSHING D.A. CANDIDATES TO END MASS INCARCERATION
Oct 08, 2020
The retirement of a notoriously harsh DA has opened the door for criminal justice reform in New Orleans.
In New Orleans, the office of the district attorney has a fraught reputation. Former prosecutor Jim Williams, while photographed for Esquire in 1995, showed off a model electric chair he kept on his desk with the photos of men he had placed on death row. Longtime District Attorney Harry Connick was criticized by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg for displaying indifference to the rights of defendants. And the office is broadly known for its aggressive prosecution tactics. 
Current District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro, who was first elected in 2008, has followed suit. He has attacked efforts to bail people out of jail pretrial, fought to retain nonunanimous jury convictions, vowed to put more children in jail, and used habitual offender laws to increase sentencing. He is also facing an ongoing lawsuit that alleges his office issued fake subpoenas to jail crime victims and to pressure witnesses to cooperate. 
When Cannizzaro announced he would not run for re-election this year, it threw open the city’s DA race. Criminal justice reform advocates see it as a golden opportunity to bring change to New Orleans and its pervasive reliance on incarceration.
The race has come to be defined less by the four candidates who are running, and more by a group of criminal justice reform organizations that joined to form the People’s DA Coalition, driven by the diagnosis that this prosecutor’s office has been pivotal in fueling Louisiana’s record-high incarceration rate. 
Read all of this here: https://theappeal.org/politicalreport/new-orleans-district-attorney-election/

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 12 2020
This is only the second article I could find like this. These back the blue people are tough to find breaking any laws. The police are covering up for them; I strongly suspect. I think that is a bad idea. It is just a matter of time before they go off the deep end. The amount of weapons they have at their social events; is enough proof of that, for me. I will keep looking and I hope other people will do the same.:
WATCH: Antifa and pro-police protestors clash in Seattle 
Network (@PTNewsnetwork) October 10, 2020
The event was organized by “Back The Blue-Washington” and was staged in a public park near a children’s playground. Some neighbors were not happy about the event being held where their kids play and where they walk their dogs and said that organizers should have anticipated the violent response from Black Bloc activists.
Read more here: https://thepostmillennial.com/watch-antifa-and-pro-police-protestors-clash-in-seattle

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 16 2020Sign this petition here: https://act.demandprogress.org/sign/sign-petition-tell-congress-ban-reverse-search-warrants/
Petition to Congress:Ban police from using reverse search warrants, like keyword searches and geofence location data.
If you use Google, cops can see where you go and what you search for online.
Police departments are increasingly leaning on Google to get access to internet search history and location data. And Google is rolling over and giving it to them, sacrificing your privacy in the process.1 This is a blatant violation of the 4th Amendment, which is why Congress needs to step up and stop this dead in its tracks.
Sign the petition: Tell Congress to ban reverse internet search warrants!
Rather than obtaining search warrants for a specific person–and demonstrating probable cause for committing a crime–police are demanding Google give them IP addresses of everyone based on “keyword warrants.” That means random and curiosity-driven googling could land you in a police database.
That’s already frightening, but it gets even worse: In the past few years police have increasingly badgered Google for “geofence warrants,” leading Google to hand over location data of anyone who happened to cross a specific location.
Your internet search history and your physical whereabouts are your personal business. Unless police can demonstrate probable cause, they shouldn’t be allowed access to what you’re typing into search engines or where you’re going.
Technology is rapidly changing our lives and Congress can’t keep sleeping at the wheel as governments and tech companies stomp all over our constitutional rights. That’s why you need to speak up now to stop Google.
Sign the petition: Tell Congress to ban reverse internet search warrants!
Sources:1. Cnet, “Google is giving data to police based on search keywords, court docs show,” October 8, 2020.
Sign this petition here: https://act.demandprogress.org/sign/sign-petition-tell-congress-ban-reverse-search-warrants/
YEAH!:
Fair Wayne Bryant granted parole, ACLU of Louisiana responds
Posted: Oct 16, 2020 / 11:55 AM CDT / Updated: Oct 16, 2020 / 11:55 AM CDT
BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – A 3-0 vote means that 63-year-old Fair Wayne Bryant has been granted parole.
Bryant was serving a life sentence for stealing a set of hedge clippers.
The ACLU of Louisiana released this statement about the decision:
“While nothing can make up for the years Mr. Bryant lost to this extreme and unjust sentence, today’s decision by the parole board is a long-overdue victory for Mr. Bryant, his family, and the cause of equal justice for all,” said Alanah Odoms, ACLU of Louisiana executive director. “Now it is imperative that the Legislature repeal the habitual offender law that allows for these unfair sentences, and for district attorneys across the state to immediately stop seeking extreme penalties for minor offenses.”
Read more here: https://www.brproud.com/news/fair-wayne-bryant-granted-parole-aclu-of-louisiana-responds/
Woman says she was harassed for not wearing mask at Goshen vote center
October 15 2020
She said she suffers from asthma and anxiety due to her asthma, and that is why she did not want to wear a mask. However, due to her anxiety, she decided to comply and wear the mask.
“I am an anxious person, and since I had already been confronted twice, I am like, I need to vote. That is why I am here and that is what I am doing.”
She added that she felt that if she did not don the mask, “He was going to tell me to leave.”

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 17 2020
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2020 Texas prison pop reaches 21st-century lows, but jail populations rising again Keri Blakinger brings word that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice a) has shuttered three additional prison units and b) has witnessed the prison population dip to 120,709, which is the lowest it’s been since before the turn of the century. That’s mainly because county jails for several months stopped sending new inmates to TDCJ, says Blakinger, but they started taking them again in June. I’m a bit surprised that they wouldn’t have caught up four months hence.
ADD YOUR NAME NOW: Demand Congress take action to close the $50 trillion income inequality gap!

Income inequality is a massive problem in the United States, and it has gotten much worse in recent decades. A new report from the RAND Education and Labor found that the bottom 90% of earners in this country have lost $50 TRILLION to the top 1% since 1975. Without skyrocketing inequality the typical U.S. worker would be earning $42,000 more every year.

This number is no accident: It is the result of deliberate, trickle-down policies that have decreased public investment, weakened labor rights, and slashed taxes on the rich at the expense of everyone else.

For decades, politicians have enabled this gross capture of wealth, and we can’t allow that to continue. That’s why we’re calling for 100,000 grassroots supporters to add their names and demand that Congress take action to help everyday people by combating the United States’ rampant inequality.
Sign this petition here: https://petitions.signforgood.com/RAND-Report-Top-1

ADD YOUR NAME NOW: Demand Congress take action to close the $50 trillion income inequality gap!

Marquita Bradshaw, Candidate for U.S. Senate

Rep. Jim McGovern

Tracy Mitrano, Candidate for Congress

A Woman’s Place PAC
Abolish the Electoral College
Civic Action
Daily Kos
Deliver Democracy PAC
Elect Black Women PAC
End Citizens United
Every. Single. Vote.
Fair Shot PAC
Let America Vote
MeidasTouch
No Dem Left Behind
Progressive Majority PAC
Public Citizen
Washington State Democratic Party
When Democrats Turn Out PAC
Sign this petition here: https://petitions.signforgood.com/RAND-Report-Top-1
I have been blogging about this for a while and did not know there was a petition. Like I said I have before on this blog; I unsubscribed to some emails, connected to other emails and it stopped emails, I would have never unsubscribed to. That could be the reason. From: https://www.change.org/p/john-bel-edwards-get-fair-wayne-bryant-out-of-jail
The Louisiana Supreme Court just denied review of Bryant’s case effectively closing many legal options for him. The lone descent on the Louisiana Supreme Court came from the only Black Judge, Chief Justice Bernette Johnson, who said that this practice amounted to a modern version of “Pig Laws,” created by White Southern Lawmakers after the Civil War as a way to keep Black people in poverty during Reconstruction. The Chief Justice explained these Pig Laws were a way to, “re-enslave African Americans by targeting actions such as stealing cattle and swine—considered stereotypical ‘negro’ behavior by lowering the threshold for what constituted a crime and increasing the severity of its punishment.” The Governor of Louisiana, John Bel Edwards, can grant clemency for Fair Wayne Bryant today! By doing so, Bryant, who is now over 60, can go free and and not be imprisoned under this grave injustice! Sign the Petition urging the Governor of Louisiana to free his constituent from unjust imprisonment! 
To Contact the Governor’s Office go here: https://gov.louisiana.gov/page/contact To Email the Governor’s Office go here: https://gov.louisiana.gov/index.cfm/form/home/4 To Email members of the Louisiana Legislature go here: https://house.louisiana.gov/H_Reps/H_Reps_ByName http://senate.la.gov/Senators/default.asp To read Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s decent go here: https://www.lasc.org/Opinions/2020/20-0077.KO.bjj.dis.pdf To Read some articles to know more go here: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/510722-louisianas-only-black-supreme-court-judge-condemns-keeping-man-in-jail https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/08/05/louisiana-supreme-court-life-sentence/ https://www.npr.org/2020/08/05/899525589/louisiana-supreme-court-wont-review-life-sentence-for-man-who-stole-hedge-clippe Photo Created by Skylar Sorensen https://www.flickr.com/photos/170652705@N05/

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 18 2020
This one had me extra sad. A inner tear got shed by me; for this sad story. : Pregnant Woman Fatally Shot In Jeffery Manor; Baby In Critical ConditionOctober 13, 2020 at 5:10 pm
CHICAGO (CBS)– A pregnant woman was killed in a shooting in the Jeffery Manor neighborhood early Tuesday morning.
According to police, officers responded to a home, in the 2100 block of East 95 Place just after midnight, and found a 35-year-old woman unresponsive on a porch.
Police said the woman, identified as 35-year-old Stacey Jones, was shot twice in the back and was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans confirmed Jones was an adult probation officer.
Police later confirmed the woman was eight months pregnant and hospital doctors were able to deliver the baby.
Read more here: https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2020/10/13/pregnant-woman-fatally-shot-in-jeffery-manor-baby-in-critical-condition/
BREAKING: Baby Dies After Fatal Shooting Of Pregnant Woman In Jeffery ManorOctober 18, 2020 at 12:06 pm
CHICAGO (CBS) — The baby who survived after its mother was shot and killed Tuesday in Chicago’s Jeffery manor neighborhood has died, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office confirms.
The woman, 35-year-old Stacey Jones, was found unresponsive on the porch of a home in the 2100 block of East 95 Place just after midnight Tuesday. Jones, who was eight months pregnant, had been shot twice in the back, and was taken to University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition. She was later pronounced dead, but doctors were able to deliver the baby
Read more here: https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2020/10/18/breaking-baby-dies-after-fatal-shooting-of-pregnant-woman-in-jeffery-manor/

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 19 2020
Video shows male ‘Karen’ bullying pedestrians, scared off by man in suit
A new Reddit video shows an insufferable male Karen—a “Daren”—getting angry over being asked to wear a mask and getting punked for being a bully.
Oct 19, 2020, 9:11 am
The guard walks away, realizing he has to do his job without putting hands on anyone unless physically threatened. He does, however, demand that Daren take his camera out of his face, which is just what he wanted to hear.
Daren follows the guard and continues taunting him: “What are you gonna do? Are you gonna beat me up? Is security gonna beat me up? Is that what you were gonna do? You’re gonna intimidate me and beat me up?”
Daren asks who the suited man is, to which he replies, “Someone who doesn’t like bullies.”
Daren feigns a gasp and says incredulously, “I’m the bully?”
Read more here: https://www.dailydot.com/irl/male-karen-scared-man-suit-video/
Mask-free Trump fans ‘cough’ on Biden supporters as president attends swanky fundraiserPublished 1 day ago on October 18, 2020
Fans of President Donald Trump on Sunday were seen coughing on supporters of Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
The confrontation occurred in Newport Beach, California, where President Donald Trump was holding a fundraiser. 
Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/2020/10/mask-free-trump-fans-cough-on-biden-supporters-as-president-attends-swanky-fundraiser/

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 20 2020
MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020″I wonder why black folks don’t want to join Waco PD?,” cops telling on themselves in social media, SWAT excesses in Nacogdoches, and other storiesHere are a few odds and ends that merit Grits readers’ attention: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/10/i-wonder-why-black-folks-dont-want-to.html

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 21 2020
Send message here: https://norml.org/act/federal-the-marijuana-opportunity-reinvestment-and-expungement-act
Federal: The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement Act
The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act (HR 3884 / S. 2227) is bipartisan legislation that removes marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, thus decriminalizing the substance at the federal level and enabling states to set their own policies.The Act would also make several other important changes. For example, it permits physicians affiliated with the Veterans Administration to make medical marijuana recommendations to qualifying veterans who reside in legal states and it incentivizes states to move ahead with expungement policies that will end the stigma and lost opportunities suffered by those with past, low-level cannabis convictions. If approved, the MORE Act also allows the Small Business Administration to support entrepreneurs and businesses as they seek to gain a foothold in this emerging industry.
Progress so far for The MORE Act in Congress:
–   The bill was introduced on July 23rd, 2019-   Approved in the Judiciary Committee on November, 20th, 2019 with a bipartisan vote of 24-10-   The Small Business Committee announced a waiver for the bill on January 5th, 2020.-  A legislative hearing in the Energy and Commerce Committee was held on January 15th.-  On August 28th, it was reported that the House is preparing for a full floor vote on the MORE Act.-  On September 17th, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer publicly committed that the House will hold a vote on the MORE Act this year. It is expected that the vote will not take place until after the November elections.
Enter your information to tell your members of Congress to sign on as a cosponsor and vote for this monumental legislation.
Sponsored by: Normal
Send message here: https://norml.org/act/federal-the-marijuana-opportunity-reinvestment-and-expungement-act
I believe in this cause. I quote myself from this page on,  Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 04 2020: I definitely do not support any breaking of any laws; so until it is legalized; I hate even the thought of having anything to do with illegal Marijuana. In fact any mention of illegal Marijuana to me or any of my loved ones repulses me beyond belief; to the point of which makes me physically ill. I will always feel this way until illegal Marijuana is legalized. I advise you take up this frame of mind also to protect yourself and the ones you love; if illegal Marijuana is illegal where you are. Also, I am saddened to see so many people getting arrested for illegal Marijuana with it legal in so many states. That is not right and against our constitution. We need to change the country to make it right. It is definitely a game changer at the ballot box and I predict more and more so. 
WATCH: Karen screams “F*ck Black Lives Matter” after barista asks her to wear a maskOctober 21, 2020
Starbucks. One of the women wore a “Trump 2020” mask over her chin, but not her nose and mouth. When Alex asked her to wear her mask correctly, the Karen went off.
“You’re discriminating against me because I’m a Trump supporter,” the woman growled. “F*ck Black Lives Matter.”
“It’s not a law,” the woman continued to whine. “It’s not a law and I can show you the penal code and everything. It’s a hoax. I don’t have to wear a mask. I’m not going to wear a mask. This is America and I don’t have to do what you say. Trump 2020!”
Read more here: https://www.queerty.com/watch-karen-screams-fck-black-lives-matter-barista-asks-wear-mask-20201021
If this one does not make you sad there is something wrong with you. This is a good one to help fight domestic abuse too.:
Police officer two weeks from retirement is killed, another cop wounded, and suspect’s child shot in deadly standoff by Ellen Killoran October 21, 2020
According to the report, Preston lived with his aging parents, taking care of them in their senior years. He was also engaged to be married. KHOU reports that Preston was only two weeks away from retirement. The Houston Police Department is planning his funeral.
Read more here: https://www.crimeonline.com/2020/10/21/police-officer-two-weeks-from-retirement-is-killed-another-cop-wounded-and-suspects-child-shot-in-deadly-standoff/
Police seek man after assault at Clark-Fulton Burger King The suspect threw a large yellow cone at an employee and struck her in the head. He became enraged after being asked to put on a mask
October 21, 2020 at 4:46 PM EDT – Updated October 21 at 4:46 PM CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Cleveland Police are asking the public to help them identify a man who allegedly assaulted a Clark-Fulton Burger King employee after being asked to put on a mask.
Read more here: https://www.cleveland19.com/2020/10/21/police-seek-man-after-assault-clark-fulton-burger-king/

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 22 2020

I have not missed a vote in over 25 years here in Collin County and I have never seen a ballot like this; ever. Normally you have to choose verbally whether to vote Democrat or Republican. You may get to vote for 3 people for Democrat or 50 people Republican. About 30% on the Republican ballot would be only one person running for office because they are running unchallenged by Democrat or Republican. This time almost every office had a choice Republican or Democrat; with only about 3 or 4 unchallenged. 
Lots of great stuff in my email today. I have not seen it like this in a while. Could it have something to do with me voting today? 
If you love this country and have made your millions here, why would you protest paying your fair share of taxes;? You could take your millions to another country and see how happy you will be there.

Sign the petition: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sign-the-petition-make-donald-trump-and-the-ultra-rich-pay-their-fair-share-in-taxes
Our tax code is fundamentally flawed and in need of major reform because it’s rigged in favor of the rich and powerful with special breaks unavailable to ordinary citizens.
One major reform is for Congress to enact a wealth tax, which would annually tax the net worth of the super-rich. It would be similar to the taxes on real estate and, in some places, personal property like cars that millions of Americans pay each year.
A wealth tax would curb the phenomenal growth in wealth that the country’s nearly 650 billionaires have reaped since the beginning of the pandemic, which has taken the lives of over 209,000 Americans and infected 7.4 million. These billionaires have seen their wealth increase by $845 billion—or 29%—between mid-March and mid-September as 50 million people lost their jobs, 30 million went hungry and 12 million lost their employer-provided health insurance.
America’s nearly 650 billionaires now have more than twice as much wealth as the bottom half of the population—165 million people.
A wealth tax would annually tax the net worth of these billionaires and a whole lot of multi-millionaires. Different versions of a wealth tax have been proposed by Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. One version would assess a 3% tax on wealth between $50 million and $1 billion, and a 6% tax on wealth above $1 billion. It would raise more than $2 trillion, and only the wealthiest 0.1%—or 75,000 households—would be subject to the tax.
Nine years ago, 12% of millionaires’ tax returns were audited. Now, it’s just 3%. Remarkably, the very poorest taxpayers—those eligible for the poverty-fighting Earned Income Tax Credit—are about as likely to get audited as the wealthiest 1%.
Sign the petition demanding Congress make millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share of taxes by enacting a wealth tax, and fully fund the IRS to hold tax cheats like Donald Trump accountable.
Sign the petition: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sign-the-petition-make-donald-trump-and-the-ultra-rich-pay-their-fair-share-in-taxes
Thank you to http://gayusatv.org/ for the lead on this awesome website: https://outforamerica.org/ it screenshotted this image there today:

Thank you to http://gayusatv.org/  also, for the lead on this awesome website: https://www.hrc.org/resources/congressional-scorecard I pasted this from there:
Congressional Scorecard for the 116th CongressDownload Scorecard : https://hrc-prod-requests.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/116th-Congressional-Scorecard-FINAL.pdf?mtime=20201007223859&focal=none

As we all know, demands to end anti-Black police violence have been growing across the country for months – and even amidst this most pivotal election time, we cannot stop speaking out until the brutality ends.
Sex workers need to be a part of that conversation. Police regularly target, harass, and assault sex workers – or people they think are sex workers, such as trans women of color. That’s why it’s time to talk about decriminalizing sex work – something the ACLU has supported since 1973.
Advocating for sex work decriminalization is advocating for personal autonomy, LGBTQ+ and women’s rights, decarceration, immigrants’ rights, racial justice, and equal access to the right to life and security. You can visit here to find our latest research brief on the issue, policy recommendations, ways you can help, and more.
But first, here’s a quick lesson on some of the reasons to decriminalize sex work. It would:
Reduce police violence. Police abuse against sex workers is common, but police rarely face consequences for it. That’s partly because sex workers fear being arrested if they come forward to report abuse.Deter violent clients. Like the police, sex workers’ clients know they can rob, assault, or even murder a sex worker – and get away with it – because the sex worker does not have access to the same protections from the law.Provide access to health care. Some sex workers will forgo medical care because they are afraid that if medical staff find out about their jobs, they will be poorly treated or even arrested. In some states, carrying condoms can be used as evidence of intent to do sex work, so many sex workers opt not to carry condoms to avoid arrest.Advance LGBTQ and women’s equality. Cis and trans women and members of our LGBTQ communities make up a large portion of sex workers and face disparate impacts in criminalized settings. Trans women of color are the most impacted – police often profile them as sex workers and subject them to harassment.Fight mass incarceration. The criminalization of sex work feeds the mass incarceration system by putting more people in jail unnecessarily. Those incarcerated tend to be trans and/or people of color, two groups that are already disproportionately incarcerated.Richard, sex work is real work. Period. You should be able to maintain your livelihood without fear of violence or arrest. You should be afforded access to health care and other services without discrimination. And you should be able to seek justice when you are harmed.
It’s time we push for a world where all people – including sex workers – are ensured those basic legal protections. You can start now by educating yourself on this important issue and joining the fight ahead. Thank you.

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 23 2020
Sign this petition here: https://resourcecenter.salsalabs.org/socialworklgbt/index.html
As your constituent, I demand that your office direct the Behavioral Health Executive Council to reinstate protections for sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and disability in the code of conduct for social workers.
I am dismayed that your office would direct the council to remove the protections without any public input. This move is nothing short of an attack on the rights and dignities of LGBTQ Texans. Further, it is out of step with the overwhelming majority of Texans that support equal rights and legal protections for the LGBTQ community. 
During a global pandemic, you should focus on creating access to life-saving services such a social work, not creating more roadblocks. Social workers help those most in need. At a time like this, removing protections for vulnerable populations will only undermine efforts to get people back on their feet.
Please direct the council to reinstate these critical protections immediately.
Sign this petition here: https://resourcecenter.salsalabs.org/socialworklgbt/index.html
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2020 Four stories let public peer into soul of Houston justice system The justice system can be difficult to understand for experts and darn near impossible for laypeople. Grits believes that’s in part because the public best understands issues of crime, punishment and justice through storytelling. But there are too many stories emerging from the system which often seem to produce contradictory moral conclusions. Which story one latches onto may tell more about the storyteller (or the listener) than the system. Yet at the same time, the stories are important and without them, the public can’t comprehend what’s happening and drowns in a sea of policy recommendations.
Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/10/four-stories-let-public-peer-into-soul.html
‘Boogaloo Bois’ member charged in connection to shooting at Minneapolis police station during George Floyd protestsProsecutors say Ivan Harrison Hunter, 26, fired 13 rounds from an AK-47 during Minneapolis protests in late May.
Oct. 23, 2020, 2:15 PM CDT
Federal prosecutors charged a far-right extremist in connection with a shooting at a Minneapolis police station during protests sparked by George Floyd’s killing, authorities said Friday.
Read more here: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/boogaloo-bois-member-charged-connection-shooting-minneapolis-police-station-during-n1244562
Boogaloo adherents say they are preparing for, or seek to incite, a second American Civil War, which they call the boogaloo. Groups belonging to the boogaloo movement organize on mainstream online platforms including Facebook Read here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boogaloo_movement

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 25 2020
You mean to tell me his body convulsed from being tasered and the police officers saw this as a threat to them? 
“When police arrived, I’m told, he raised his hands and attempted to explain what was going on. Police fired tasers at him and when his body convulsed from the electrical current, they ‘perceived a threat’ and shot him to death,” Merritt wrote.
Read more here: https://www.bet.com/news/national/2020/10/05/jonathan-price-texas-police-facebook-post.html
CBS Dallas / Fort Worth 3-Year-Old Texas Boy Dies After Shooting Self During His … PORTER, Texas (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — A 3-year-old Texas boy was killed after he shot himself accidentally at his own birthday party, sheriff’s officials said. Read more here: https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2020/10/25/3-year-old-texas-boy-dies-shooting-self-birthday-party/
Report: Texas named among the ‘most hated states’ in America
3:54 PM, Oct 24, 2020 and last updated 2:46 PM, Oct 25, 2020 CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A lifestyle website has some harsh news for the residents living in Texas. According to Best Life, Texas was named one of the “most hated” states in the United States. New Jersey took the number one spot according to the study. Texas finished second on the list of the most hated states in America.
It is rare to see so much violence like this in this aria in one weekend.:
CBS Dallas / Fort Worth Shooting At Dallas Club Leaves 3 Dead DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – A shooting at a club on northwest Dallas early Sunday left three people dead, police said. Police said they responded to the … https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2020/10/25/shooting-northwest-dallas-club-3-dead/
2 Dead, 3 Injured After Shooting During Party At Fort Worth Home October 25, 2020 at 2:04 pm…..https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2020/10/25/shooting-northwest-dallas-club-3-dead/
1 person dead after shooting at Texas Renaissance Festival Authorities in Grimes County are investigating a shooting that left one person dead at the Texas Renaissance Festival in Todd Mission Sunday morning….. https://www.kagstv.com/article/news/local/shooting-investigation-texas-renaissance-festival/499-f46a21c6-eab1-4d25-8ecd-cdc5e12ce526
NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth 1 Dead, 1 Wounded in Denton Shooting – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort … 1 Dead, 1 Wounded in Denton Shooting. Police were notified of a possible second victim who had a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Published 2 hours ago • … https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/1-dead-1-wounded-in-denton-shooting/2466404/
2 Dead, 3 Wounded in Shooting at Fort Worth House Party … Two people were killed and three were wounded in a shooting early Sunday at a house party, Fort Worth police say. Officers were called at 1:16 a.m. to the 1900 … https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/1-dead-4-wounded-in-shooting-at-fort-worth-house-party-police/2466380/

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 26 2020
We’re urging SCOTUS to hold U.S. corporations liable for international violations  On Wednesday, we joined 15 international human rights organizations and submitted a brief to the United States Supreme Court in support of holding U.S. corporations complicit in serious human rights violations liable in U.S. courts. The case, Doe, et al. v. Nestlé USA, Inc./Cargill, Inc., concerns Nestlé USA’s and Cargill’s alleged role in child slavery and forced labor in the Ivory Coast for decades. The case risks rendering the United States a safe haven for corporate human rights abusers by allowing American companies immunity from liability in U.S. courts when the injury is committed abroad.  
“Our brief makes clear: international law recognizes that companies can, and should, be held accountable for human rights violations like child slavery and forced labor,” said Senior Staff Attorney Katherine Gallagher, who serves as counsel for the human rights organizations. “Just like other countries that hold their own companies accountable for serious harms, the Supreme Court should find that these former enslaved children can sue U.S. companies in U.S. courts.”  
For more information, visit our case page.

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 27 2020
MONDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2020 A chance to expand police oversight: Why Texas should begin charging cops and jailers licensure fees Readers may recall Grits recommended over the summer that the agency licensing Texas peace officers, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE), begin charging licensing fees to Texas cops and jailers. The idea was that they could use the “extra” money to expand their oversight role.  
But a new document from the Legislative Budget Board shows that TCOLE may need to begin charging licensure fees just to keep its funding at current levels. Here’s why: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/10/a-chance-to-expand-police-oversight-why.html

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 28 2020Sign the petition: All formerly incarcerated citizens deserve the right to vote: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/petitions/sign-the-petition-all-formerly-incarcerated-citizens-deserve-the-right-to-vote
Formerly incarcerated people deserve the right to vote.
Mass incarceration is racist and destabilizes communities. Our government disproportionately incarcerates Black, Latinx, and Indigenous adults and children, stripping millions of people of their right to vote even after the completion of their prison sentences.
Instead of exploiting incarcerated citizens — who make obscenely low wages fighting forest fire, picking produce, and much more — we must put an end to felony disenfranchisement.
Every other year, important issues like healthcare, education, and workers’ rights are on the ballot and they directly impact ALL citizens. Politicians cannot continue to make decisions that affect formerly incarcerated people and their communities while stealing their votes.
Right now, only eighteen states and the District of Columbia immediately restore voting rights to formerly incarcerated people. In other states it can take years for formerly incarcerated citizens to regain access to the ballot box. And in only two states, Maine and Vermont, do incarcerated citizens never lose the right to vote. This is not nearly enough.
We need to make serious strides to undo the destruction this form of voter suppression has done to Black, brown, and Indigenous communities. It’s time for Congress to pass sweeping national legislation granting voting rights to all formerly incarcerated people, thus restoring the franchise to millions of people who are currently barred from voting.
Sign the petition: Urge your federal lawmakers to support legislation restoring voting rights to formerly incarcerated U.S. citizens.PETITIONINGCongressSPONSORED BYDaily Kos Liberation LeagueOur Message to Congress :The Constitution establishes voting as a fundamental right of citizens. Felony disenfranchisement is a racist practice that disproportionately impacts Black, brown, and Indigenous people. No person should be denied the right to vote based on a criminal record or sentence of incarceration. End felony disenfranchisement and restore voting rights to thousands of citizens deserve to exercise their voice.

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 29 2020
See this on this page: Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 23 2020 Sign this petition here: https://resourcecenter.salsalabs.org/socialworklgbt/index.html
Now go here: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/10/texas-reverses-rule-allowing-social-workers-right-refuse-lgbtq-clients/

Texas reverses rule allowing social workers the “right” to refuse LGBTQ clients The state’s Republican governor insisted social workers allow anti-LGBTQ discrimination. After a national outcry, the decision has been reversed.
 Wednesday, October 28, 2020 

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 30 2020
An Elected Official Handcuffed a Woman for Putting Black Lives Matter Stickers on Trump SignsEddie Kabacinski, a city councilman, is facing charges of impersonation, assault and battery.October 28, 2020, 2:12pm
At some point that afternoon, the 47-year-old Kabacinski encountered a 24-year-old woman…Kabacinski handcuffed her.
Once police arrived, they immediately took the woman out of restraints, according to the Free Press, which reported that she is not facing criminal charges.
The handcuff incident is just Kabacinski’s latest controversy.
He was one of the “Back the Blue” supporters who showed up to counter an anti-racism protest in Warren last month. The protest was organized by local activists after the home and car of a Black couple, both veterans, were vandalized in an alleged hate crime, potentially due to their own Black Lives Matter sign.
At the counterprotest, Kabacinski was armed and in military gear
Read more here: https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7vwaq/an-elected-official-handcuffed-a-woman-for-putting-black-lives-matter-stickers-on-trump-signs
Republican candidate apologizes for wearing KKK regalia & terrorizing Black students”I just remember being petrified to the point of tears,” said a Black woman who witnessed the KKK event.Thursday, October 29, 2020    
A Republican candidate in Arkansas has apologized for terrorizing classmates – including several Black women – in high school by wearing a KKK outfit.
They say they remember when he dressed up as a Klansman for Halloween in 2000 at the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science.
“I just remember being petrified to the point of tears,” said Victoria Brown, a Black woman who attended the school with him.
Beckham and his friends weren’t just wearing bedsheets, but actual KKK clothes with insignias.
“He was serious,” said Alana Nichols, another Black woman in the dorm at the time. She said it didn’t seem like a prank.
Jennifer Leigh Ann Jackson, a white woman who attended the school at the time, said that Beckham and his future wife were seriously into “Rebel pride.”
“This was not some isolated event, like maybe he had a bad moment,” she said.
Another Black woman who attended the school, Safira McGrew, said that both Beckham and his girlfriend at the time had Confederate flags hanging in their dorm rooms.
Beckham said: ““I am a Christian”

Read more here: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/10/republican-candidate-apologizes-wearing-kkk-regalia-terrorizing-black-students/

One from my inbox today: Texas NORMLOctober 30, 2020Early Voting : October 13-30, 2020 | Election Day: November 3, 2020.In Texas, citizen-initiated ballot propositions are not allowed, so elected officials at the state and federal levels are responsible for upholding or reforming current marijuana laws. Elections offer an opportunity for voters to decide who will represent them when these decisions are made!
We worked with our friends at Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy to survey candidates seeking the Democratic and Republican nominations for the Texas House, Texas Senate, U.S. House, and U.S. Senate. Here’s our Texas Marijuana Policy Voter Guide for the 2020 General Election.: https://www.texasnorml.org/votersguide/
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2020Hemp law radically reduced pot prosecutions in Texas: Don’t go backReaders will recall that the Texas Legislature last year legalized “hemp” without a way for prosecutors to distinguish between legal hemp and illegal marijuana, which come from the same plant. To successfully prosecute, police would need to test the plant’s THC levels, but few jurisdictions have the equipment to perform the task, much less staff to handle the extra work.
The result: marijuana arrests and prosecutions plummeted statewide, with many jurisdictions eschewing them altogether. Grits dubbed it the Great Texas Hemp Hiatus. The Texas Department of Public Safety now has technology to perform the testing, but not sufficient staff; they have refused to provide testing for misdemeanor marijuana possession cases. 
In this light, the Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence was given an “interim charge” to study the questions raised by the hemp law, but COVID has prevented much progress. So they solicited written testimony, due next week, in lieu of holding a hearing. I wrote a short, two-page missive on the subject on behalf of Just Liberty. Anyone interested should give it a read. Here’s a notable excerpt arguing that, when pot arrests declined, many good things happened: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/10/hemp-law-radically-reduced-pot.html
Texas Marijuana Policy Voter Guide for the 2020 General Election.: https://www.texasnorml.org/votersguide/

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 31 2020
Why are Police the Wrong Response to Mental Health Crises?
This month on our podcast, we dug into a topic that has gained more attention in the wake of Daniel Prude’s death in March at the hands of the Rochester Police Department and the fatal shooting of Walter Wallace Jr. by Philadelphia police this week: the startling connection between mental health-related 911 calls and police brutality.
Listen here: https://www.aclu.org/news/criminal-law-reform/why-are-police-the-wrong-response-to-mental-health-crises

Racial Justice Demands That Every Vote Is CountedThis year, ensuring every mail-in ballot is counted is more important than ever. Anticipating the surge in absentee voting, new ACLU analysis finds discounting mail-in ballots would disenfranchise communities of color and distort election outcomes in key counties in four battleground states. We must keep an eagle eye on the counties identified in our report and make sure the mail-in vote is counted completely and accurately.
Read more: https://www.aclu.org/news/voting-rights/racial-justice-demands-that-every-vote-is-counted/
I like Arizona and always have. I also like pointing out when people use the internet/media to lie. I drove through Arizona 2 times and always considered Arizona to be a very laid back modern forward thinking type place. It has a easy going look to it and it seems like it is where many iconic country folk come from. We broke down with a flat there and these Native Americans came out of no where and saved my wife and I and we even camped out at their drive way for a night on our way to California; in the late 1980’s. I wrote about it on the internet before. 
This is a really good article and the opposition people that are publishing these lies should get in trouble for it. Read the whole article here: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/arizona-marijuana-opponents-release-five-misleading-attack-ads-ahead-of-legalization-vote-next-week/
POLITICSArizona Marijuana Opponents Release Five Misleading Attack Ads Ahead Of Legalization Vote Next WeekPublished 2 days ago on October 29, 2020
A campaign opposing a marijuana legalization initiative in Arizona recently released a series of ads imploring voters to reject the proposal.
The digital spots—which range from 16 to 42 seconds in length—argue that cannabis reform would negatively impact young people, increase impaired driving and create workplace risks. In doing so, they make misleading claims about what the proposed Arizona law would allow and what has occurred in other states that have already enacted legalization.
Here’s each ad and script, along with some broader context on the accuracy of the claims: 
“When Washington State legalized marijuana, I wasn’t too concerned. What began happening with students, however, was alarming. Marijuana possession increased. We maintained a zero drug policy in our district, and parents and students became confused when students were disciplined for possession of marijuana. Suspensions increased and students lost valuable classroom time. If I could give one piece of advice from this Democrat, school principal from Washington to my new Arizona neighbors vote ‘no’ on 207. It won’t provide the support needed to deal with the problems this law will create. Vote ‘no’ on Prop. 207.”
Actually, a study published last year by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that youth marijuana use declined in Washington State’s largest metropolitan county after legalization. Other research has reached similar conclusions.
“Marijuana use damages the developing brain of teenagers. Unfortunately, where marijuana is legal for adults, more teens get it and use it. Under Prop. 207, marijuana-laced candies, cookies and vape pens—all very appealing to teens—are not only legal but marijuana marketers can advertise them on TV, radio and social media, a teen favorite. Vote ‘no’ on Prop. 207.”
The Arizona initiative states that any advertising “involving direct, individualized communication or dialogue shall use a method of age affirmation is twenty-one years of age or older before engaging in that communication or dialogue.”
“Police pull over the driver next to you for swerving, but there’s no standard of impairment. It’s 2021, and using marijuana is legal right under Prop. 207. There’s no roadside test to gauge marijuana impairment, so they let it go. Nearly 70 percent of marijuana users in Colorado admit to driving stoned. Their traffic deaths doubled after legalization. Keep stoned drivers off Arizona roads. Vote ‘no’ on Prop. 207.”
The Arizona initiative explicitly states that it “does not allow driving, flying or boating while impaired by marijuana to even the slightest degree.”
“When you drop your child off at daycare, you expect the caregiver to be sober. Under Prop. 207, employers can only prohibit using marijuana at work. There’s nothing stopping employees from using and then heading to the daycare or elderly care facility or the worksite. Prop 207. ties the hands of employers who want to keep a drug-free workplace. Vote ‘no’ on Prop. 207.”

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 3 2020
Video shows ‘Costco Karen’ calling hospital workers ‘ignorant’She believes that COVID-19 is ‘a lie.’Nov 3, 2020, 12:30 pm 
Another employee, who looks to be a manager, hands the woman a printed copy of the mask mandate from their governor. But the woman, who is wearing a red Trump hat, insists the mandate is irrelevant because “the governor is not a dictator.”
Read more here: https://www.dailydot.com/irl/video-costco-karen-hospital-workers-ignorant/

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 4 2020
Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-and-send-the-petition-to-us-governors-and-state-election-officials-you-must-keep-counting-every-vote

Sign the petition to U.S. Governors and state election officials: You must keep counting EVERY vote    Voting rights are the foundation of our democratic process, and counting every vote is key to our democracy. People vote, every vote is counted, and then the candidates who win represent us.  Voters determine elections. Every eligible voter who cast a ballot this election has the inalienable right to be heard — whether that ballot was cast in person or by mail.  More people voted by mail than ever leading up to Election Day. That means it’s going to take longer to count all the votes and certify a winner for the election — and that’s okay. What’s wrong is the possibility of some people’s votes being thrown out. Election officials must take the time needed to ensure every vote is counted accurately. Governors must ensure those election officials have the resources they need to do their democratic duty.  On Nov. 1, Republican politicians and conservative activists tried to throw out over 127,000 early ballots cast via drive-through locations in Harris County, TX. The all-Republican Texas Supreme Court and U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen rejected their case of blatant voter suppression.  On Nov. 2, the Trump reelection campaign and state Republican officials tried to stop mail-in ballot counting in Clark County, NV, where 70% of all voters reside. A Nevada judge rejected their lawsuit which included installing cameras to “monitor” the ballot counting process.  These legal schemes to invalidate ballots from eligible voters are tactics that undermine our democratic elections. There will be other efforts to disrupt or bypass a complete count of all votes.  We’re calling on all governors and election officials to ensure that ALL eligible votes — every early vote, mail-in ballot, provisional ballot and Election Day vote — are counted.  Many states are still counting ballots and every single one must be counted.  We must demand our leaders do their job: America is watching. With our democracy on the line, we’re counting on you to ensure the U.S. election is fair and accurate.  Sign the petition: Every vote must be counted! 
Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-and-send-the-petition-to-us-governors-and-state-election-officials-you-must-keep-counting-every-vote
Sign these petitions too:
Sign the Count On Us Pledge to ensure every vote in Wisconsin is counted.https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/wisconsin-count-every-vote
Sign the petition to U.S. governors and state election officials: You must continue to count EVERY votehttps://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/petitions/sign-the-petition-to-us-governors-and-state-election-officials-you-must-continue-to-count-every-vote
WE GO TOGETHER Our commonwealth and country should be places where everyone counts and where every vote is counted. Everyone who wants to cast a ballot must be free and encouraged to do so without intimidation, disinformation, or disenfranchisement.https://wegotogetherpa.com/

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 5 2020
Our voting system needs perfecting and with technology today I believe that is possible. Until that day we need to wait every time for the vote to get sorted out and investigated if necessary. 
Here are some more petitions I have signed:Sign the petition: Count every vote!Petition to election officials in Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, and Wisconsin:We expect you to resist Donald Trump’s efforts to undermine the election and our democracy and instead count every vote.
Last night’s election isn’t over yet. Several crucial states remain too close to call, with millions of ballots left to count — and Donald Trump wants to stop them from being counted.
We need to make it extremely clear to those who oversee elections in these states that they must count every vote. Can you send that message to them right now?
Sign the petition: Count every vote!: https://act.demandprogress.org/sign/count-all-the-votes/
It’s not over. Demand that every vote is counted!We knew this would take time. We must make sure election officials are allowed to do their job.
The voters will decide this election — not the candidates. It’s CRITICAL now more than ever that we stand up and defend our democracy.
Sign the Count Every Vote petition to make sure every vote is counted. >>: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/forms/its-not-over-demand-that-every-vote-is-counted

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 04, 2020 Austin Police Monitor proposed rule changes to discourage officer discourtesy When one digs into the details of complaints at most police departments, the category that stands out by volume isn’t “use of force” but “rudeness,” or some variant thereon. But most police-oversight discussions focus on beatings, shootings, etc., not the nasty, personal interactions that generate the greatest volume of grassroots antipathy. So Grits was pleased that Austin’s Office of Police Oversight in September put out recommendations to upgrade APD’s Personal Conduct policy regarding officers’ maintaining an “Impartial Attitude and Courtesy” in their interactions with the public. https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/11/austin-police-monitor-proposed-rule.html
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 03, 2020 San Antonio to #txlege: Fix the 180-day rule, stop arbitrators from overturning police firings, and make police-disciplinary records public The San Antonio City Council added some police-reform-oriented items to the Alamo City’s 2021 legislative agenda, reported the Express News’ Joshua Fechter. Here are some of the items approved by the mayor and council: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/11/san-antonio-to-txlege-fix-180-day-rule.html
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 02, 2020 House committee considering Class C misdemeanor debt, arrests In lieu of a public hearing (with the capitol still closed off from COVID), the Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee announced it would accept written testimony regarding its Interim Charge #2 regarding Class C misdemeanor arrests, debt, and the use of citations in lieu of arrest for certain low-level Class Bs. I prepared testimony for the committee on behalf Just Liberty, check it out here. Here’s a notable excerpt framing the situation through data (endnotes in original): https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/11/house-committee-considering-class-c.html

Urge Your Election Officials – COUNT EVERY BALLOTThis has been one of the most historic elections of our time and with so many ballots cast before Election Day, it is crucial that states count each and every ballot.
No state ever reports final results on election night, and no state is legally expected to.
Mail-in ballots take longer to process than in-person votes. This year, because of the pandemic, 61 million mail-in ballots have been returned—with 30 million ballots still outstanding.
The NAACP expects all election officials AND all courts, to follow state election laws and ensure that every American who casts a ballot has that ballot counted.
For our democracy to work, every voter must have their voice heard and their ballot counted.
Contact your Secretary of State today and demand that they count every single ballot, whether mail-in, provisional, or otherwise.: https://support.naacp.org/a/count-every-ballot

Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 6 2020

I think God is punishing all the republicans for all their lies and conspiracy theories.  Proof of this is; even now they are using lies and conspiracy’s to accuse democrats of fraud: https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-11-05/trump-false-claims-of-stolen-election : NOV. 5, 20206:21 PM WASHINGTON —  Speaking publicly for the first time since election night, a somber-faced President Trump stepped behind a White House lectern Thursday evening to spread baseless accusations of voter fraud as his reelection appeared in increasing doubt.