Same Difference

Breonna’s Law

Breonna’s law will not pass in Kentucky, the state that spawned it. Breonna’s Law bans the use of no-knock warrants, which allow officers to enter a home unannounced. “It’s been seven months since we filed the bill and we’re just getting a hearing,” said Democratic State Rep. Attica Scott. “It never stood a chance at this point of passing the House, and then into the same process in the Senate, and eventually becoming law. And so we were left with really no choice but to support Senate Bill 4.” In February, the state Senate passed a bill to restrict, but not ban, the use of no-knock warrants. The Senate bill limits the hours of the day a no-knock warrant can be served and requires officers to wear body cameras and to seek higher levels of approval. Newsy: No-Knock Warrant Ban Won’t Pass In Breonna Taylor’s Home State  On March 13, 2020, Louisville Metro Police officers shot and killed Breonna Taylor in her home while executing a no-knock warrant. A no-knock warrant that was based on misinformation and lies. Now a woman is dead and next time they won’t even have to announce themselves at the door. There are other states and cities, including Louisville, who have banned no-knock warrants, but the state fails to make it statewide.

It is a sad day when the state where the tragedy happened will try to prevent it from happening again. What it says to Black Americans is that your live is expendable. That a Black woman who did not sell drugs, but who you suspected did was asleep in her bed when you killed her and you reject the idea that you should announce yourself at the door the next time. It is sad and they defend this position by saying some people are dangerous so they need to sneak up on them. Are you kidding me? Your ineptitude at your job, does not justify the taking of Black lives, any Black lives, but especially innocent Black lives.

Trillion Dollar Fact Check

A current popular Republican talking point is that the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan should not have been passed because there is $1 trillion not spent from previous relief packages. Newsy checked it out. “”It’s not as if there’s a trillion dollars sitting in a pot somewhere,” said Marc Goldwein, who tracks federal COVID relief at the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The group has accounted for how $3.1 out of $4.1 trillion approved by Congress has been disbursed since the pandemic began.”  So where is the money? About 10 percent cannot be found because of poor record keeping, some numbers have not been updated for over a month. The rest has not been distributed because many of the programs are releasing money in blocks: PPP loans require applications; Tax breaks will be sent after people file taxes; the Education department has millions but it has been promised to districts for reimbursements for money they are currently spending. Thus, most of the money is not spent but allocated. So, per usual with Republican talking points it is not that simple. Newsy: Is There Really $1 Trillion In Unspent COVID Aid? Not Quite

After Class Racism

One Georgetown law professor was fired and one was placed on administrative leave after a video was posted on Twitter by a student. In the video, adjunct professor Sandra Sellers is having a conversation with another professor David Baston where she says  “I hate to say this. I end up having this angst every semester that a lot of my lower ones are Blacks. Happens almost every semester. And it’s like, ‘Oh, come on.’ You get some really good ones, but there are also usually some that are just plain at the bottom. It drives me crazy.”  CBS News: Georgetown law professor fired over remarks about Black students that a dean called “abhorrent” and “reprehensible” .  The issue is that this woman is an adjunct professor which means she likely works as a practicing attorney and teaches part-time.  This means she is out in the world, in a hiring position, making decisions about black applicants and thinking the entire time, they are always at the bottom of the class. Also their placement in her class is misleading at best and plan racist at worst. At Georgetown law school, the percentage of black students is very low, somewhere around 9%.  Additionally, a lot of law schools often require that classes have an average grade in a certain range which requires someone be at the bottom of the class. That means everyone cannot get an A; So who decides? The professor and law school exams are extremely subjective because there are very few right and wrong answers and most tests are essay questions. Thus, she likely let her bias in grading confirm her preconceived predictions that black students would be at the bottom of the class. And FYI, I am a law school graduate, so I have a pretty good idea how these things work.

Backward Dash

“There are things that I am sorry for. Things that I did say, that I should not have said them the way I said them,” Dash said. “They were very arrogant and prideful and angry. And that’s who Stacey was, but that’s not who Stacey is now. … Stacey now would never work at Fox, would never work for a news network or be a news contributor.” WaPo: Stacey Dash went from ’90s movie star to Fox News pundit. Now, she’s apologizing for being ‘prideful and angry’ Oh Stacey. First, the third person speak must go. Second, you profited and expanded your celebrity on racist rhetoric directed at people who look like you. It is fine that you are sorry now, but I think you should just go home and be quiet.