Black American residents of Baltimore, Maryland, are now blaming a lower police presence for the city’s soaring murder rate despite three years of Black Lives Matter (BLM) activists insisting that police be pulled from their neighborhoods.
Baltimore has now experienced higher murder rates for three years in a row after riots and BLM-sponsored protests began rocking the city after the death of Freddie Gray, a suspect who died in police custody in the spring of 2015, National Public Radio (NPR) reported.
Since the riots, police morale has collapsed, and city officials began planning a lighter police footprint in response to complaints of residents and protest leaders.
But now, black leaders are blaming cops for the spiraling murder rate, saying that the police pullback has put them in danger.
The Rev. Kinji Scott, a Baltimore activist, is blaming city hall for leaving the neighborhoods unprotected.
“We wanted the police there,” Scott insisted. “We wanted them engaged in the community. We didn’t want them beating the hell out of us, we didn’t want that.”
Scott and others are now pressuring the city to bring police back in as a deterrent to the soaring crime rate.
Despite the loud proclamations from BLM activists that the police are the problem, Scott and his fellow activists are now claiming that they never wanted police to go away.
In an interview with NPR, Scott claims only the progressive activists wanted cops to be eliminated:
No. That represented our progressives, our activists, our liberal journalists, our politicians, but it did not represent the overall community. Because we know for a fact that around the time Freddie Gray was killed, we start to see homicides increase. We had five homicides in that neighborhood while we were protesting.
What I wanted to see happen was that people would be able to trust the relationship with our police department so that they would feel more comfortable. We’d have conversations with the police about crime in their neighborhood because they would feel safer. So we wanted the police there. We wanted them engaged in the community. We didn’t want them beating the hell out of us, we didn’t want that.
Scott also blamed the city for not fostering a community atmosphere between police and the neighborhoods.
The primary thrust nationwide is what President Obama wanted to do: focus on building relationships with police departments and major cities where there had been a history of conflict. That hasn’t happened. We don’t see that. I don’t know a city—Baltimore for certain—we’ve not seen any changes in those relationships. What we have seen is that the police has distanced themselves, and the community has distanced themselves even further. So the divide has really intensified, it hasn’t decreased.
And of course we want to delineate the whole culture of bad policing that exists—nobody denies that—but as a result of this, we don’t see the level of policing we need in our community to keep the crime down in our cities that we are seeing bleed to death.
This is despite Baltimore protesters carrying signs that read things such as “disarm the police,” or wearing T-shirts promising to kill cops.
The reverend’s claims also seem to fly in the face of a list of 19 demands issued by protesters in 2015, one of which demanded that police be barred from entering certain buildings or parts of neighborhoods they had designated as “safe” from police. Clearly, the protesters wanted police removed from Baltimore’s neighborhoods. But now that they’ve gotten their wish, community leaders have suddenly realized what a bad idea such a pullback is.
It’s About Damn Time We Cut Off These Terrorist Sponsors
Trump: ‘No More’ Aid to Pakistan, ‘They Have Given Us Nothing but Lies and Deceit’
President Donald Trump lashed out at Pakistan on Twitter just a few minutes past 7:00 a.m. Eastern time on New Year’s Day, expressing frustration at Islamabad’s inadequate efforts against terrorism and implying that U.S. foreign aid will be terminated as a result.

Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!
7:12 AM – Jan 1, 2018
* 18,41018,410 Replies 34,74034,740 Retweets 93,20393,203 likes
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It is not yet clear whether the “no more” exclamation means the complete or partial termination, or temporary suspension, of American aid to Pakistan.
If the complete termination of U.S. foreign aid does indeed become official policy, it would be a far more dramatic step than withholding all or part of America’s $255 million in military assistance to Pakistan, a measure reportedly under consideration by the administration over the past few days after Pakistan refused to allow U.S. interrogators access to a captured terrorist from the hostage-taking Haqqani network.
In August, President Trump said the “next pillar” of his strategy for battling terrorism would involve a “change in our approach to Pakistan.”
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Trump accused Pakistan of giving “safe haven to agents of chaos, violence, and terror.”
“We can no longer be silent about Pakistan’s safe havens for terrorist organizations, the Taliban and other groups that pose a threat to the region and beyond,” the president said. ”These killers need to know they have nowhere to hide – that no place is beyond the reach of American arms.
The Trump administration withheld $50 million in military aid to Pakistan over the summer because it felt Islamabad was not doing enough to bring down the Taliban and the Haqqani Network. There was some criticism at the time that despite his strong complaints about Pakistan refusing to help fight the Taliban or even actively colluding with it, Trump was dealing more harshly with Egypt over human rights violations by its government.
The Pakistani military rescued a Canadian-American family held hostage for years by the Haqqanis in October. Concerns have been raised that even this rescue might have been the result of a deal between the Pakistanis and the militant network, which has long been suspected of enjoying special favors and protection from elements of the Pakistani security apparatus. The prisoner Pakistan refused to allow the United States to interview was tied to the kidnapping of this Canadian-American family.
On Thursday, Pakistani military spokesman Major-General Asif Ghafoor warned the United States against taking “unilateral” military action on its soil and denied his country was not doing enough to fight the Taliban and its allies, promising that the results of Pakistan’s counterterrorism operations would be “seen in subsequent years and months.”
After making this declaration, Ghafoor implied Pakistan could actually do more, once its concerns about Afghan refugees are addressed. “If there are any facilitators and abetters inside Pakistan that can only be addressed if the 2.7 million Afghan refugees are sent back to Afghanistan,” he said.
According to the federal government, for fiscal year 2012, “The United States remained the world’s largest bilateral donor, obligating approximately $48.4 billion—$31.2 billion in economic assistance and $17.2 billion in military assistance.” However, “obligated” funds are not the same as “dispersed.”
The U.S. disbursed $33.2 billion—$19 billion in economic assistance to 184 countries and $14.2 billion in military assistance to 142 countries. Out of the top six U.S. foreign aid recipients, five of them were Muslim countries. And yet it seems the U.S. can’t buy good press in the Middle East.
The UN boasts 193 members, and the U.S. provided economic assistance to 184 of them, or 96% of the countries in the world. To be sure, the amount of assistance drops significantly after the top 10 countries or so, but still.… Of course, State Department officials might claim that some of that money is to help the poor. But China has the second largest economy in the world—and is a major buyer of U.S. debt. So we borrow money from China in order to give them financial assistance?
One Douglas County deputy died and four more were wounded along with two civilians Sunday morning at a Highlands Ranch apartment complex. The shooter was also shot and is believed dead, the Sheriff’s Office said in a tweet at 9:32 a.m.
The Sheriff’s Office announced at 10:02 a.m. that the slain officer would soon be moved from Littleton Adventist Hospital in a procession. “Expect heavy law enforcement presence and traffic congestion on Broadway, C470 and SB I-25,” the Sheriffs Office tweeted.
Deputies were responding to a domestic disturbance call when shots were fired from the home in the 3400 block of County Line Road near Colorado Boulevard before 6 a.m., Lauren Lekander, DCSO spokeswoman said.
Denver 7 reported hearing shots fired as a reporter later arrived at the scene.
“We have SWAT out there setting up and preparing to go in right now,” Lekander said at about 7:15 a.m.
Early during the incident, the Sheriff’s Office said only that a number of officers were shot. “We have multiple officers down,” said Deputy Jason Blanchard of the incident at Copper Canyon Apartments in Highlands Ranch.
“We are not giving numbers or status at this point, we are still working on getting the suspect in custody.”
Residents were told to stay inside and avoid windows and exterior walls.
Steven Silknitter lives in the complex.
He was working elsewhere when he heard about the shooting. He called home waking up his fiance.
She woke to hear “a barrage” of gunfire in the dark, said Silknitter.
“She was pretty scared. She kept saying how loud it was.”
Silknitter lived in Aurora during the 2014 Aurora Theater shooting. “Where do you move to? It’s everywhere.”
Three of the injured were taken to Skyridge Medical Center in Lone Tree with non-critical injuries, said Linda Watson, a hospital spokeswoman. She couldn’t say if the injured were officers. Another four have been taken to Littleton Adventist Hospital, said Alyssa Parker, a hospital spokeswoman.
Parker couldn’t say how serious their injuries are.
Due to the size of the investigation an emergency shelter was set up at East Ridge Recreation Center, located at 9568 University Blvd. in Highlands Ranch. Anyone who has been displaced can go there, the Sheriff’s Department said.
Multiple law enforcement vehicles, Douglas County Sheriff, South Metro and Littleton fire rescue vehicles came and went from the scene.
“There is still a lot of activity out here,” Larry Ryckman, Denver Post editor at the scene, said at 9:30 a.m.
Video broadcast by Denver 7 showed an Arapahoe County Sheriff Bomb Squad truck at the scene.
In a Code Red the Sheriff’s office told residents to shelter in place, avoid windows and stay away from exterior walls.
An investigation is in progress and most of County Line Road is closed down from Colorado Boulevard to University Boulevard. C-470 is closed from Quebec Street to University Boulevard.
Parker Police Department, Lone Tree Police, Castle Rock Police and Colorado State Patrol are involved in the incident.
Procession for the deceased officer will take place soon from @LittletonHosp. Expect heavy law enforcement presence and traffic congestion on Broadway, C470 and SB I-25 #CopperCanyonOIS
**Copper Canyon OIS Update**- Deputies responded to a domestic disturbance resulting in shots fired. 5 deputies shot by suspect. 1 deputy confirmed deceased. 2 civilians also shot by suspect. Suspect shot & believed to be dead & no longer a threat. #CopperCanyonOIS
Due to the size and cope of this investigation an emergency shelter has been set up @ East Ridge Rec Center, located at 9568 University Blvd. in Highlands Ranch. If anyone has been displaced from their homes due to this event please feel free to head there.
UPDATE 0513 this morning deputies responded to he Copper Canyon Apartments for a Domestic Disturbance. During the Investigation, shots were fired and multiple deputies were injured. No status on the deputies and no status on civilian injuries. Please avoid this area.
Due to this incident, the following agencies are on accident alert. Douglas County, Parker Police Department, Lone Tree Police Department, Castle Rock Police Department and Colorado State Patrol.
A Code Red was sent out regarding this incident. Any citizens in the affected area are instructed to shelter in place, avoid windows and stay away from exterior walls.
DCSO is working an officer down call in the area of County Line Rd between Colorado Blvd and University Blvd. This is an active event, please avoid the area.
I hate men because I did not get a prom date and I was a whore in school.
New Year’s resolutions:
1. Cultivate female friendships
2. Band together to kill all men— Emily McCombs (@msemilymccombs) December 29, 2017
McCombs, who serves as the “Editorial Director of Parents” for HuffPo, previously wrote an article in November titled, “I Don’t Know If I Can Raise A Good Man.”
In the post, she talks about her own son, saying, “(o)f course, we all want to raise feminist sons. I wrote an article a few months ago detailing the ways I try to do just that. But my efforts are starting to seem like grains of sand against a steady wave-crash of misogyny and rape culture.”
She continues, “In my previous article, I wrote, ‘In my sweat-soaked, sit-straight-up-in-bed feminist nightmares, I can imagine a future in which my own spawn makes some woman feel as voiceless as the boys in my high school once did, a world in which he blithely argues against the existence of male privilege and shit-talks the latest all-female remake on Twitter.’ Lately, I can imagine it even more clearly.”
McCombs’ has also tweeted similarly inflammatory anti-male sentiments in the past:
Emily McCombs
“Filed my nails into sharp little points last night so that I may spear and devour the hearts of men.”
Little boys are sweet. They hold hands with each other and tell secrets, their tears come as easily as their giggles. Little boys want nothing more than love and be loved. Then toxic masculinity slams down on them like the giant mousetrap from that game “Mouse Trap” and everything changes.
As a feminist mom to a 5-year-old boy, I fear the day when the “man” part kicks in.
In my sweat-soaked, sit-straight-up-in-bed feminist nightmares, I can imagine a future in which my own spawn makes some woman feel as voiceless as the boys in my high school once did, a world in which he blithely argues against the existence of male privilege and shit-talks the latest all-female remake on Twitter. Especially when he picks up gender stereotypes from other kids like they’re a case of pink-eye in a bouncy castle.
Raising a feminist son isn’t easy. Hell, being a feminist isn’t always easy. I’ve had over 20 years of practice and I still deliver perfectly valid requests to my employees like they’re questions. If a full-time internet feminist like me isn’t immune to society’s subtle and not-so-subtle assaults on the value of my gender, I certainly can’t expect my child to seamlessly tune out the noise during his formative years.
But that’s why they call it the good fight. And in the war for my son’s feminist soul, here are the battles I’ve picked.
1. I teach him that no means no.
When I was 14 years old, I was sexually assaulted by a group of teenage boys. Although it may be more comfortable to imagine them as monsters, the boys who sexually assaulted me were actually just regular boys like my son. Boys who may not have even thought they were doing anything so wrong that day that altered the course of the rest of my life.
What might have been different were all boys taught, clearly and simply, over and over, that “no” always means “no?”
If I accomplish anything as a mother, it will be teaching my son to respect the bodily autonomy of others.
At his age, that means clearly defining boundaries when it comes to touching and play. “Everyone is in charge of their own body” could be on our family crest. My son likes to be tickled, but the minute he says stop, I stop, even when he’s giggling in excited anticipation. If he doesn’t want a kiss or a hug, I don’t give him one, no matter how much I want to grab him and smooch his eminently kissable face. As someone whose “no” was once violated, it’s important to me that he understand that his “no” holds weight. He also knows that if we are touching another person in any way, and they say “no,” we stop immediately. No matter what.
2. I teach him body positivity.
Not only do I want my son to grow up with a healthy body image, I want him to grow up to be respectful of women’s bodies, and to question patriarchal beauty standards.
In talking to my son about fat, I’ve been following the example of Allison Kimmey, a mom we wrote about recently because she posted on Instagram about her response when her daughter called her fat.
Like Kimmey, I tell my son that everybody has fat on their bodies to protect their muscles and give their bodies energy. I tell him that some people have more or less fat but that doesn’t make them better or worse. I tell him that we focus on whether our bodies are strong and healthy and not how much fat they have.
I also try to model a positive attitude toward my own body and avoid negative self-talk in front of my son. If he grows up seeing my curvaceous body as strong and beautiful, I hope that will be reflected in the way he views other women’s bodies.
3. I teach him to feel his feelings.
Toxic masculinity teaches my son that boys don’t cry, that he can’t be vulnerable or sad, and that he can’t express his feelings out loud.
As a future man, my son needs to know how to sit with a feeling, express one, and let it go. I try not to ever say “Don’t cry,” or “Everything’s OK.” Instead, I mirror his feelings back to him ― “Yes, it’s sad when we have to say goodbye to our friends. That would make me sad, too” or “I can see that you’re feeling angry right now.”
When our beta fish, Boonga Boonga, died recently, I held my son when he cried, told him it was OK to be sad and to cry for as long as he needed to. I told him, “When hard things happen, you have to have the feelings and feel them even though it hurts.”
I taught him that if you feel the feelings, they hurt less and less over time. And we practiced checking in with each other, saying, “How are you feeling now, Mom?” “I’m happy to be with you, and sad about Boonga Boonga’s death. How about you?”
Teaching him to hurt is part of parenting an emotionally healthy boy.
4. I show him that women are strong.
As a single mom, there are a lot of situations where I’ve had to just “figure it out” ― whether it’s how to hook up a video game system or which screwdriver to use to change the batteries in a remote control truck. It means that my son sees me (and, at other times, his single dad) doing all kinds of household work, not dividing it along gender lines.
Sons of single mothers “usually have a lot of respect for their accomplishments,” according to Tim King, founder of Urban Prep Academies for low-income, African-American boys, as quoted in the NY Times. Maybe the “figure it out effect” is partly why.
My son also sees me doing the breadwinning for our household, which according to one study, means he’ll spend more time on housework and child care as an adult. Whether you work outside the home or not, there are lots of different ways to exhibit your (formidable) strength to your sons.
My voice is pretty loud, but I’m still just one of many, many influential voices, some of whom are telling him that pink is for girls and trucks are for boys, that Wonder Woman isn’t as cool as whatever third-string male superhero he’s into that day.
Maybe I can’t convince my son that Wonder Woman is cool, but I can be my own kind of Wonder Woman ― a strong, competent female role model.
WISE gave John Skipper and Award and now we get the damn truth right?
Nearly two weeks ago, ESPN President John Skipper shocked the media world by suddenly resigning from his position at the “Worldwide Leader.”
At the time, Skipper said he needed to resign to deal with substance abuse issues.
In a statement, Skipper said:
I have struggled for many years with a substance addiction. I have decided that the most important thing I can do right now is to take care of my problem.
I have disclosed that decision to the company, and we mutually agreed that it was appropriate that I resign. I will always appreciate the human understanding and warmth that Bob (Iger) displayed here and always.
I come to this public disclosure with embarrassment, trepidation and a feeling of having let others I care about down.
As I deal with this issue and what it means to me and my family, I ask for appropriate privacy and a little understanding.
To my colleagues at ESPN, it has been a privilege. I take great pride in your accomplishments and have complete confidence in your collective ability to continue ESPN’s success.
This explanation seemed rather suspicious. Since Skipper had just signed a major contract extension the month before his resignation.
At the time, Breitbart Sports noted:
The timing of Skipper’s resignation seems a bit of a mystery. Skipper had just signed a multi-year contract extension in November. How does one develop a long-term substance problem in a month? Perhaps ESPN just became aware of Skipper’s issue in the last month, though, that too would seem unlikely. Moreover, it’s likely that ESPN would at least attempt to offer some kind of counseling as opposed to compelling Skipper to resign, if they just found out about Skipper’s issue after signing him to a brand new deal.
Could there be something another, bigger story behind this announcement?
Well, Clay Travis of Fox Sports Radio and Outkick the Coverage reports that there is something bigger indeed, behind Skipper’s resignation. Travis reports that in the days following Skipper’s announcement, several reports came to him offering a much different explanation for Skipper’s immediate departure.
“In the next couple of days I was told by multiple sources I trust inside ESPN that the reason for Skipper’s “resignation” was because of sexual harassment issues inside the company. In the wake of the Boston Globe story about sexual harassment I was told Skipper’s own issues suddenly emerged and that was why the resignation happened so abruptly.
And ESPN decided to blame substance abuse issues instead.”
Travis also poked a hole in Skipper/ESPN’s “substance abuse” claim by tweeting photos from a tipster, which appear to show Skipper and ESPN radio host Dan LeBatard at a bar in North Carolina:
A trip out to have a couple of drinks with your friend would all be perfectly normal and a total non-story except for the fact that Skipper just resigned from ESPN 11 days ago citing his struggles with substance addiction and his desire to get help for that addiction.
Now maybe Skipper wasn’t addicted to alcohol — and it was some other drug instead — but if you have such an issue with substance addiction that you need to immediately resign from ESPN should you really be out drinking 11 days later with one of the most prominent employees at your former company? And if you’re Skipper’s good friend, Dan LeBatard, would you let your friend go out drinking with you if you knew he had a true issue with substance abuse and you were crying about it on your radio show 11 days ago?
That seems highly unlikely.
That does indeed seem unlikely. ESPN wouldn’t be unique among major media and entertainment organizations, for forcing out high-profile executives or performers over sexual harassment charges. After all, the last few months have seen dozens of actors, journalists, comedians, politicians, and others, face removal for some form of sexual misconduct.
So why lie about it? If in fact, ESPN is lying about the reasons for Skipper’s resignation?
The answer may be found higher up the food chain. Disney CEO Bob Iger is a rumored2020 Democrat presidential candidate. Considering how crucial the female vote is, especially in a Democratic primary, one would think that Iger would move aggressively to quash any potentially damaging sexual harassment scandal at one of his larger networks.
Would Iger engage in that type of politically-calculated micromanagement?
Well, he’s done it before.
In the weeks after Jemele Hill called President Trump a “white supremacist” on Twitter, Iger personally intervened to prevent Hill’s suspension. Now, why would Iger do that?
Could it be because of Iger’s concern that the optics of suspending Hill, who is black, for criticizing President Trump; could be interpreted as Iger siding with Trump against a black female employee? Which would leave his Democrat primary opponents with a strong and heavy argument that he’s not the right candidate to protect black people from the “cruel and racist” Republicans?
That seems like an extremely plausible theory.
And if that seems like a plausible theory, is it so far-fetched that Iger would concoct a story about substance abuse to conceal a high-profile sexual harassment scandal, which may or may not extend far beyond John Skipper?
Doesn’t seem like that big of a stretch at all, does it?
Yes they want bonuses. ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?
A report entitled “Mapping the Swamp” describes a bureaucracy reportedly consisting of bloated paychecks and enormous incentives for government employees.
The report was published by OpenTheBooks.com, self-described with a mission to “post ‘Every dime, Online, In Real Time,’ of federal, state, and local government spending to provide transparency for smart government.” Open The Books is a function of American Transparency, a public charity that refuses government money and “[presents] hard data without policy recommendations,” in order to “enhanced public discourse with delineated facts.”
The cover of the report features quotes from both Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and President Ronald Reagan. It poses three essential questions: “Should the federal government reassess its payroll priorities?” Second, “is it necessary to maintain an expansive and costly bureaucracy?” Finally, “Does a large and widespread federal workforce facilitate good government?”
Inside, the report details the roughly $1 million per minute that taxpayers spend on the $136 billion in pay and benefits to federal workers — over $20.6 billion of which is contained within the Washington, DC “Beltway” alone. Recent years have reportedly seen a marked increase in large payouts, with 165% more federal employees making more than $200,000 a year, and 406,960 making at least $100,000. These findings prompted Open The Books to dub $100,000 the “minimum wage” for government employees.
The most-paid man in the federal government is reportedly a heart surgeon at the Department of Veterans Affairs who is bringing in $403,849 annually, while the largest bonus was reportedly $141,525 paid out to a human resources manager at Presidio Trust in San Francisco. The aforementioned surgeon makes more money than President Donald Trump himself. The average worker takes 10 holidays off, 13 sick days, and 20 vacations days — and up to two full months of vacation, after three years’ employment.
Federal employees are currently expected to receive a pay increase as part of an order signed by the POTUS.
