Laughter Can Help

Best thing about living in NY is you can order anything, anytime, and 30 minutes later it shows up. You see here? This here is an orangutan.

— pin up teacher (@pinupteacher) May 20, 2014

It wasn’t until our 4th candlelight dinner in a row that my wife realized I can’t be trusted to pay the bills

— Brent (@murrman5) August 20, 2014

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“If you had one shot, or one opportunity to seize everything you’ve ever wanted, one moment, would you capture it?” pic.twitter.com/oL3SwQpze9

— machine gun kevin (@urboikevin) August 20, 2014

*clears throat* LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOO- pic.twitter.com/hGyG1oHz0t

— T o m (@Tommassh) August 20, 2014

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“Any juggalos out there? Raise your hand if you’re down with the clown.” pic.twitter.com/m6oe4c8Gb1

— Bucky Isotope (@BuckyIsotope) August 20, 2014

*Singing karaoke* ‘He was a skater boy I said see you later boy’ pic.twitter.com/s6KwhSlRqt

— Elliot (@youdzzz) August 20, 2014

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“Okay so I’ve been nominated for this ALS Ice Bucket Challenge” pic.twitter.com/lHF5sxkkYJ

— John (@JMNuch23) August 20, 2014

What’s the deal….with airline food. pic.twitter.com/tNuPZD9ZHO

— J. Cook (@J_M_Cook) August 19, 2014

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“And remember everyone, what happened in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” pic.twitter.com/4iIOgzsjP7

— Bucky Isotope (@BuckyIsotope) August 20, 2014

*Jesus descends from the heavens* I CHALLENGE SATAN TO DO THE ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE LOL *Satan rises from hell flipping everyone off*

— Bucky Isotope (@BuckyIsotope) August 19, 2014

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What my girlfriend thought, first 4 dates: 1. Nice shirt. 2. Wow. A second nice shirt. 3. Okay, first shirt again. 4. He has two shirts.

— Ristolable (@Ristolable) August 13, 2014

Sometimes I eat some Smarties and give my friend some Nerds and say “you are what you eat” then rollerblade away backwards

— Paige (@PeachCoffin) December 3, 2013

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I struggle against the ropes binding me, catching the scent of gas. “You’ll die too,” I say. “9 lives,” my cat whispers, lighting a match.

— Blind Chow (@BlindChow) March 13, 2014

“What’s your bid?” $6,435,765, Drew. “You think this dinette set costs $6.4 million?” *lips right on mic* Yes.

— Ray (Sir E) (@SirEviscerate) August 19, 2014

A Tweet Or Two: Ferguson

Organization for Black Struggle doing activities with kids: “Dont shoot I’m a future_____” #ferguson pic.twitter.com/KmRZPO7dPS

— Copwatch (@Copwatch) August 19, 2014

People need to quit comparing this to Occupy. The people in #Ferguson are fighting the sort of injustice most Occupiers can’t understand.

— Imani ABL (@AngryBlackLady) August 19, 2014

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THIS pic is why Getty Images photographer was probably arrested.. pic.twitter.com/CdEOteZ7Ih

— Linda Husser (@LindaHusser) August 19, 2014

Scott Olsen’s work in Ferguson has been breathtaking. Journalism is not a crime http://t.co/4BXcetz5wh pic.twitter.com/rM3hvZP3tt

— Wesley Lowery (@WesleyLowery) August 19, 2014

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An innocent child is slain by those in charge, for the millionth time, and the justifiable outrage of the community is treated like a crime

— Abby Howard (@AbbyHoward) August 19, 2014

Jake Tapper is shocked, shocked! To find out the cops are treating the people of Ferguson like animals

— Zandar (@ZandarVTS) August 19, 2014

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‘The Same Kid Who Got Stopped On The Freeway Is Now the AG Of The United States’

@ryanjreilly

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Attorney General Eric Holder in Ferguson today

(Excerpts from his remarks, as provided by the Justice Department)

“We have seen a great deal of progress over the years. But we also see problems and these problems stem from mistrust and mutual suspicion.

I just had the opportunity to sit down with some wonderful young people and to hear them talk about the mistrust they have at a young age.

These are young people and already they are concerned about potential interactions they might have with the police.

I understand that mistrust.

I am the Attorney General of the United States, but I am also a black man. …I think about my time in Georgetown — a nice neighborhood of Washington — and I am running to a picture at about 8 o’clock at night. I am running with my cousin.

Police car comes driving up, flashes his lights, yells, ‘Where you going? Hold it!’ I say, ‘Whoa, I’m going to a movie.’

Now my cousin started mouthing off; I’m like, ‘This is not where we want to go. Keep quiet.’

I’m angry and upset.

We negotiate the whole thing and we walk to our movie.

At the time that he stopped me, I was a federal prosecutor. I wasn’t a kid. I was a federal prosecutor.

I worked at the United States Department of Justice.

So I’ve confronted this myself.

We are starting here a good dialogue. But the reality is the dialogue is not enough. We need concrete action to change things in this country. That’s what I have been trying to do. That’s what the President has been trying to do.

We have a very active Civil Rights Division. I am proud of what these men and women have done. As they write about the legacy of the Obama administration, a lot of it is going to be about what the Civil Rights Division has done.

So this interaction must occur. This dialogue is important. But it can’t simply be that we have a conversation that begins based on what happens on August 9, and ends sometime in December, and nothing happens.

As I was just telling these young people, change is possible. The same kid who got stopped on the New Jersey freeway is now the Attorney general of the United States.

This country is capable of change.

But change doesn’t happen by itself.”

Ferguson: The World Is Watching

.@amnesty has a 13-person human rights delegation in #Ferguson. “Unprecedented” in America: http://t.co/bNp25u7VOg

— Andrew Katz (@katz) August 17, 2014

#Ferguson made front pages in Turkey pic.twitter.com/ea0AmVMxxk

— Vince (@vinceperritano) August 16, 2014

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She gave out FREE water & other goods to protestors & press only to get maced by police. I guess thats ok. #Ferguson pic.twitter.com/zVf6dOxyHw

— dieter (@ThaDietz_) August 20, 2014

Besiktas fans. Istanbul, Turkey pic.twitter.com/mL6pEhB0hg

— Rocket RacCOON (@G_Coppo) August 19, 2014

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Bet you didn’t know this about #Ferguson #HandsUpDontShoot pic.twitter.com/33jTZ2Ejco

— Wolf PAC (@WolfPAChq) August 19, 2014

Defense donations favored congressmen who back militarized police http://t.co/zyYmtsSVpa @9870513 @WolfPAChq

— Impact Democracy (@ImpactDemocracy) August 19, 2014

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What The Ferguson/STL County PD Did While The World Watched

The police have raided the church we were at last night and took ALL the supplies that were donated to give protesters.

— ShordeeDooWhop (@Nettaaaaaaaa) August 20, 2014

the police have just surrounded and raided our “safe haven”. they are taking all of our supplies: water and tear gas rehab kits.

— Phillip B. Agnew (@PhilofDreams_) August 20, 2014

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The police are riding through neighborhoods in tanks shooting rubber pellets and gas and yelling through the speakers “shut the fuck up”

— brittany. (@bdoulaoblongata) August 19, 2014

Its come to this… U.N. chief calls for protection of rights in Missouri protests http://t.co/IxrCfrmyJY #Ferguson pic.twitter.com/vbbrUNqFft

— Anonymous (@C0d3fr0sty) August 19, 2014

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We Are The Media

[tweet https://twitter.com/Lib_Librarian/statuses/499744254734778368 align = ‘center’]

I haven’t written much about Ferguson since my last post, mostly because I can’t believe that in 2014 we’re reliving the 1960s.

But, this is something I haven’t done in the string of nights of unrest. I haven’t once turned on our vaunted mainstream media. No CNN, no MSNBC, heavens no Fox News. I’ve relied solely on Twitter to get information.

“But LL,” someone will say, “Twitter? People writing from their parents’ basements?”

Here’s a bit of what Twitter has produced.

[tweet https://twitter.com/elonjames/status/501886693994397697 align = ‘center’]

[tweet https://twitter.com/michaelterry337/status/501880608155385856 align = ‘center’]

Rise and Shine

On This Day: First Lady Michelle Obama and guests watch Big Time Rush perform during the Kids’ State Dinner in the East Room of the White House, Aug. 20, 2012 (Photo by Sonya N. Hebert)

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St Louis Post-Dispatch: From Eric Holder: A message to the people of Ferguson

Since the Aug. 9 shooting death of Michael Brown, the nation and the world have witnessed the unrest that has gripped Ferguson, Mo. At the core of these demonstrations is a demand for answers about the circumstances of this young man’s death and a broader concern about the state of our criminal justice system.

At a time when so much may seem uncertain, the people of Ferguson can have confidence that the Justice Department intends to learn — in a fair and thorough manner — exactly what happened.

Today, I will be in Ferguson to be briefed on the federal civil rights investigation that I have closely monitored since I launched it more than one week ago. I will meet personally with community leaders, FBI investigators and federal prosecutors from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to receive detailed briefings on the status of this case.

The full resources of the Department of Justice have been committed to the investigation into Michael Brown’s death. This inquiry will take time to complete, but we have already taken significant steps.

More here

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President Obama and Malia arriving at Cape Cod Coast Guard Air Station yesterday

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In case you missed it:

SmartyPants: The Obama Way … on Ferguson

Yesterday President Obama once again talked about the shooting of Michael Brown and subsequent events in Ferguson. Like clockwork, he got criticized from the right for “racializing” the situation and from the left for not being bold enough in talking about the racial dynamics. Same story, eighty-second verse.

What I find interesting is that this time around, we’re seeing some journalists attempt to explain the President’s measured response to his critics on the left. Ezra Klein jumped into those waters as did Christi Parsons and Kathleen Hennessy at the LA Times. Both articles make claims that President Obama has learned from “mistakes” in the past and that he has changed his approach to dealing with this issue. I suspect there there is an element of truth to that. But overall, his response seems to fit perfectly into what I have always seen as “the Obama Way.”

More here

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On This Day: President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at Mintwood Place in Washington D.C. (Photo by Scout Tufankjian for Obama for America)

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Another short R&S, we’ll catch up through the day – morning everyone!

Early Bird Chat

@dougmillsnyt: President Obama and daughter Malia depart the White House for Martha’s Vineyard

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MoooOOOooorning – Happy Wednesday!