Fear of Trump, Radicalized Years

The Trump Report: Nearly two thirds of Americans are worried about the prospect of Donald Trump becoming president, according to a NY Times/CBS News poll. The poll says 24 percent of voters expressed concern and 40 percent outright fear about a Trump presidency.

Most of the poll was conducted before Trump said he would ban all foreign Muslims from entering the US.

The same poll says Trump has the support of 35 percent of Republican primary voters, with Ted Cruz second at 16 percent and Ben Carson at 13.

Serial: The groundbreaking podcast “Serial” has released the first installment of its new story, focusing this time on Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl who walked away from his post in Afghanistan and was held for five years by the Taliban. The podcast is using recordings of interviews screenwriter Mark Boal did with Bergdahl as part of research for a movie.

Bergdahl says he had planned to hike 18 miles to another base to report problems in his mountain unit. Sarah Koenig narrates that Bergdahl almost immediately realized he was in over his head, but chose not to turn back. “After all, the guys there are watching for people coming toward them, and they’re manning big machine guns,” she said. “He might get shot.”

Homeland: The two killers who went down guns blazing in San Bernardino last week had discussed jihad and martyrdom even before they were married and had a child, FBI director James Comey said yesterday. He said Syed Farook had planned an attack as far back as 2012.

Comey said in an appearance on Capitol Hill that the “investigation to date shows that they were radicalized before they started courting or dating each other online.”

Investigators are also trying to sort out the role of Farook’s friend and neighbor Enrique Martinez, a convert to Islam who was the original buyer of two guns used to killed 14 people at a holiday party in a state office building. Marquez, who is a Walmart clerk, checked himself into a mental health facility soon after the massacre.

May it Please the Court: The man accused of killing three people and wounding nine at the offices of Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs blurted out in court yesterday, “I’m guilty. There’s no trial. I’m a warrior for the babies.” In a separate outburst Robert Dear, Jr. shouted, “Let it all come out. The truth!” Dear is charged with 179 counts, including first-degree murder. He’s been described as an anti-government loner.

Police Beat: The first Baltimore police officer to face trial in the death of Freddie Gray testified yesterday that he didn’t call for medical help because Gray was “unable to give me a reason for a medical emergency.” Gray died of a spinal injury suffered in police custody, sparking rioting in Baltimore last April.

Off. William Porter is charged with manslaughter for failing to get help for Gray. Despite department policy, Porter did not put Gray in a seatbelt inside the police van in which he was transported. Porter said it was too tight inside the van to strap in prisoners.

>Protesters marched in the streets yesterday after Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel apologized for how the police handled the shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald last year. They want Emanuel to resign.

At times showing emotion as he spoke to the city council he said, “that happened on my watch.” He went on, “If we’re going to fix it, I want you to understand it’s my responsibility with you,” Emanuel told the 50 Chicago aldermen. Over the years many of those same aldermen approved hundreds of millions of dollars to settle complaints against the police without demanding any change in how the cops behave.

But also, Emanuel’s administration presided over suppressing video of the McDonald shooting for 13 months. Now contrite, Emanuel said,

“Nothing, nothing can excuse what happened to Laquan McDonald.

Loser of the Year: Donald Trump tweeted in reaction to German Chancellor Angela Merkel being chosen as Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year.” Trump said, “I told you @Time Magazine would never pick me as person of the year despite being the big favorite. They picked person who is ruining Germany.”

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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Page Two

The Most Corrupt Justice

Monday, October 2, 2023

Democracy and Video in the Dark

Sunday, February 26, 2023

Page Two: Do the Right Thing

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Page Two: Sound Recall

Monday, September 13, 2021

Page Two: Cuomo Must Go

Friday, August 13, 2021

Trump and the Truth

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

The “Great” President

Monday, March 30, 2020

The Wright Stuff

Saturday, February 29, 2020

It's Been Said

"In my mind, I’ve never crossed the line with anyone, but I didn’t realize the extent to which the line has been redrawn. There are generational and cultural shifts that I just didn’t fully appreciate, and I should have, no excuses."

-Andrew Cuomo, resigning as governor of New York after accusations of sexual harassment

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