January 1, GA Shooting Ignites Racial Tension Across America

This Day in History | 1915

A German U-boat torpedoes and sinks the RMS Lusitania, an ocean liner, traveling from New York to Liverpool, England. The Lusitania was primarily a passenger ship, however it was carrying some munitions. Among the 1,201 drowned in the attack were many women and children, including 128 Americans. The attack would draw the US closer to entering World War I.

Good Morning Middle Americans, 

On top of everything else this country is facing right now, we are about to see an eruption of racial tension. Video, just released on-line shows two white men shooting and killing a black jogger in Brunswick Georgia. The shooters say they had a confrontation with the jogger, who they believed was a burglary suspect. The jogger Ahmaud Arbery, was not armed. Nor was involved in a burglary, apparently. The video seems to tell another story. Also, since the incident happened in February and the video is just now coming out, the local police department now looks like they’ve been actively involved in a cover up. It sounds like an episode of the Heat of the Night. But it’s not, this is 2020, it’s only May and we are in for a very long summer.  Or not if you’ve seen recent weather reports. They are calling for snow ON MAY 7th! 

Meanwhile, it looks like the Oval Office’s inner circle is making a clean break with the nation’s medical professionals. The AP is reporting today that the Trump administration is scrapping the CDC’s plan for reopening the country and going with something else. Whatever it is, they better get it before the American public and quickly. 

We also got more indication from the U.S. Supreme Court about how limited our rights are in times of national emergency. A majority of the justices sided with PA Gov. Tom Wolf over business owners who say the lockdown in the Keystone State is killing their livelihoods. Also it sounds like one of the justices or someone on the SCOTUS conference call had to hit the head during deliberations.We have a link so you can listen and judge for yourself. 

And we’ll head to Texas for the story of a Dallas Hair Salon owner who’s being hailed as a hero among those of us who believe we have a God given right to pursue an honest living and wage . 

Finally – Critics from the far-left are bashing Joe Biden for not going far enough when it comes to his marijuana policies. 

Read all about it. 

-Fraser Dixon 

GA Shooting Case will go to Grand Jury as Disturbing Video Surfaces Online

(Washington Post) – A Georgia prosecutor on Tuesday said a grand jury should review the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery, who was killed in February after being chased by two armed men who told police he looked like a burglary suspect. The lack of charges thus far has enraged advocates across the country, who have expressed deep frustration with both the shooting of the unarmed man and how the case has been handled.

News around Arbery’s killing reverberated Tuesday after a graphic video that appeared to depict the shooting went viral on social media. Lee Merritt, the family’s attorney, shared the video Tuesday afternoon and said Arbery’s family was forced to watch for the first time online.

Find out more here

AP Exclusive: Trump Admin Shelves CDC Guide to Reopening Country

(AP) — A set of detailed documents created by the nation’s top disease investigators meant to give step-by-step advice to local leaders deciding when and how to reopen public places such as mass transit, day care centers and restaurants during the still-raging pandemic has been shelved by the Trump administration.

The 17-page report by a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention team, titled “Guidance for Implementing the Opening Up America Again Framework,” was researched and written to help faith leaders, business owners, educators and state and local officials as they begin to reopen.

Read more here

Supreme Court Declines to Lift Pennsylvania’s Stay-at-Home Order

(CBS News) – The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to lift an executive order from Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf that mandated the closure of all businesses in the state deemed non essential as part of efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

A group of businesses and other entities in the state asked the high court last week to block enforcement of Wolf’s executive order, which was issued March 19 in response to the coronavirus. There were no noted dissents. 

The Pennsylvania businesses argued Wolf’s lockdown order was unconstitutional and filed an emergency request with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court arguing it went beyond Wolf’s authority. The state court, however, sided with Wolf and rejected the challenge. The businesses then asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the lower court’s decision.

Read more here

And then… wait… what was that!?

Toilet flush during Supreme Court case: Listen Here

Dallas Hair Salon Owner Jailed for Week for Defying Lockdown

(CBSDFW.COM) – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has called for the “immediate release” of a Dallas salon owner who was arrested and sent to jail for opening her business in defiance of Gov. Greg Abbott’s stay-at-home orders.

Shelley Luther, owner of Salon A La Mode, was sentenced to seven days in jail Tuesday after Dallas judge Eric Moye said she violated those orders as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

Paxton said he believes the judge is abusing his authority and that her arrest seems like a “political stunt.” In a full statement, Paxton said:

“I find it outrageous and out of touch that during this national pandemic, a judge, in a county that actually released hardened criminals for fear of contracting COVID-19, would jail a mother for operating her hair salon in an attempt to put food on her family’s table,” said Attorney General Paxton. “The trial judge did not need to lock up Shelley Luther. His order is a shameful abuse of judicial discretion, which seems like another political stunt in Dallas. He should release Ms. Luther immediately.”

Read more here

Joe Biden includes Marijuana Decriminalization in New ‘Plan for Black America’

(Boston Globe) – Former Vice President Joe Biden released a new plan on racial justice this week, utilizing it to also tout his modest marijuana reform proposals.

The presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee said he would “decriminalize the use of cannabis and automatically expunge all prior cannabis use convictions” as part of a “Plan for Black America” his campaign released Monday. He also talked about changing broader criminal justice policies, including ending the crack-versus-cocaine sentencing disparity, repealing mandatory minimums, abolishing the death penalty, and diverting people with minor drug convictions to treatment instead of prisons.

While advocates generally welcomed the proposals, many argued that they do not go far enough to fully address racial equity. Notably absent from his plan is legalizing marijuana for adult use — something activists say is critical to ensure equity and restorative justice.

Read more here