Random Politics & Religion #00

It’s official: Al Sharpton is not a racist. At least in the case of a $20 billion lawsuit against Sharpton and Comcast, which was dismissed by a federal judge on Wednesday.

The lawsuit, which named Comcast and Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, along with Time Warner Cable and the NAACP, was filed in May by the National Association of African-American Owned Media and Entertainment Studio Networks. The co-plaintiffs claimed that the defendants were blocking equal access for black-owned networks.

The lawsuit claimed that the groups collaborated to make Comcast/NBCUniversal appear to fight for diversity, but instead kept 100-percent black-owned networks out of the mix. One of the payoffs, the plaintiffs allege, was the MSNBC show Sharpton hosts, which they say MSNBC owner Comcast gave to Sharpton in exchange for his signature on diversity agreements.

“Comcast spent millions of dollars to pay non-media civil rights groups to support its acquisition of NBC-Universal, while at the same time refusing to do business with 100 percent African-American owned media companies,” the suit read. “These payments were a ruse made with an ulterior motive: To make Comcast look like a good corporate citizen while it steadfastly refused to contract with 100 percent African American-owned channels.”

But in Wednesday’s ruling, Judge Terry J. Hatter found that the plaintiffs weren’t able to make their case.

“[A] complaint must contain sufficient facts to state a ‘plausible’ claim for relief,” Hatter wrote. “A claim is facially plausible when the facts to support it allow the court to reasonably infer that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged. This requires more than a possibility that the defendant has acted unlawfully. Where a complaint pleads facts that are merely consistent with a defendant’s liability, it stops short of the line between possibility and plausibility of entitlement to relief.”

Hatter concluded, “the plaintiffs have failed to allege any plausible claim for relief.”

Puerto Rico just went into default for the first time in its history.

The commonwealth paid a mere $628,000 toward a $58 million debt bill due Monday to creditors of its Public Finance Corporation. This will hurt the island's residents, not Wall Street. The debt is mostly owned by ordinary Puerto Ricans through credit unions.

"This was a decision that reflects the serious concerns about the Commonwealth's liquidity in combination with the balance of obligations to our creditors and the equally important obligations to the people of Puerto Rico," Puerto Rico's Government Development Bank president Melba Acosta Febo said in a statement.

The default is a historic moment in Puerto Rico's economic "death spiral," a term the island's governor, Alejandro Garcia Padilla, has used. The island is struggling with about $70 billion in total outstanding debt, and its economy is in recession.

Padilla has put together a team to come up with a plan to restructure Puerto Rico's debt crisis by the end of the summer.

It's PR's turn to default.

Puerto Rico just defaulted for the first time

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders was shoved aside by several Black Lives Matter activists and eventually left a Saturday afternoon event in Seattle without giving his speech.

Sanders was just starting to address several thousand people gathered shoulder to shoulder at Westlake Park when two women took over the microphone. Organizers couldn't persuade the two to wait and agreed to give them a few minutes.

As Sanders stepped back, the women spoke about Ferguson and the killing of Michael Brown and held a four minute moment of silence.

When the crowd asked the activists to allow Sanders to speak, one activist called the crowd "white supremacist liberals," according to event participants.

After waiting about 20 minutes, Sanders himself was pushed away when he tried to take the microphone back. Instead, he waved goodbye, left the stage with a raised fist salute and waded into the crowd. He shook hands and posed for photos with supporters for about 15 minutes, and then left.

Apparently Sanders only appeals to "white supremacist liberals."

Black Lives Matter activists disrupt Bernie Sanders speech

As much as people have a reason to like/dislike Bernie Sanders, from the information given in the article, it seems Bernie got burned for taking the high road after his speech got hijacked.

And I had a hearty chuckle and wtf moment when I read "white supremacist liberals"

#gamecharacterslivesmatter

Christian Taylor, a 19-year-old defensive back at Division II Angelo State, was shot and killed by a police officer Friday night.

According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, police were responding to a burglary call at a car dealership in Arlington, Texas. Police said Taylor had used a vehicle to drive through the glass of the showroom window.Christian Taylor, a 19-year-old defensive back at Division II Angelo State, was shot and killed by a police officer Friday night.

According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, police were responding to a burglary call at a car dealership in Arlington, Texas. Police said Taylor had used a vehicle to drive through the glass of the showroom window.

Rodriguez said both criminal and administrative investigations into the incident were underway. He also said surveillance tape showed Taylor engaging in "criminal activity" before he was shot.

Per the Associated Press, the FBI has been asked to help investigate the incident. During a news conference Saturday night, Arlington Police Chief Will Johnson said he had spoken to the FBI's Dallas field office early Friday, but stressed the move "in no way diminishes my confidence" in local officers to conduct the investigation.

Clyde Fuller, Taylor’s great-uncle, told the Star-Telegram he didn’t think his nephew was robbing the dealership.

“He was a good kid. I don’t see him stealing no car or nothing like that,” Fuller said. “I think something is going on that somebody is lying about. They say he’s burglarizing the place by running up in there? Nuh-uh. Something doesn’t sound right.”

Taylor was enrolled at Angelo State and preparing to start football camp on Wednesday. Taylor, a sophomore, had two interceptions in the Angelo State’s spring game.

Angelo State coach Will Wagner used Twitter to express his condolences.

Prelude: I'm actually in the middle of a writing assignment atm (just some simple synopsis of movements during the 1920s in the US) , so I'm just popping in and out for the time being. Luckily this new girl I'm falling for (haven't done that in a very long time and never like this plus she's Russian :D and she actually knows how to use her mind to mess with me in a way that tickles my soul) is busy with her studies all weekend long. Turns out she's only 22, lol.

Anyway... (just in case anyone missed my updates in life, lol)

So as far as I understand the story, he drove a car (vehicle) through the dealership window. Was he trying to rob the place or some kind of accident?

Only thing stated from the article was he was engaged in "criminal activity" before shot.

My point is, I can't see how they're going to use him as another example of racism from the police. It seems like way too far of a stretch.

She might work for the CIA

If you ever get bored one day you should read 'Mein Kampf.' There's some pretty good points in there about labor unions.