#Hamas Won In #Gaza Against #Israel! Wink.

Only In #America Do People Display Such A Complete Lack Of (Common) Sense!

#Isis: Message To America. #America: Message To Isis!

Burger King: Have It Canada's Way! LOL.

#Isis!

#Ferguson!

World Crises!

Civilization In The Middle East!

Kentucky Supreme Court Flexes Its Muscle, Rules Unanimously That Lawyers Cannot Ethically Require Their Clients To Waive Future Malpractice Claims When Advising Clients To Accept Plea Deals, Even In Federal Courts.

 
Ky. high court rejects U.S. plea bargain clause

In an unusual case pitting the power of federal government against that of the Kentucky Supreme Court, the court ruled unanimously Thursday that federal prosecutors may not force defendants in plea bargains to waive the right to sue their lawyers for ineffective counsel.

The U.S. attorneys for the western and eastern districts of Kentucky challenged a state ethics opinion adopted in 2012 that said it is unethical for defense lawyers to advise clients to accept such deals.

The Kentucky Bar Association said there is an inherent conflict of interest when a lawyer advises a client to drop a future malpractice claim. The bar also said it is unethical for prosecutors to recommend such deals.

Writing for a unanimous Supreme Court, Chief Justice John D. Minton agreed, saying that it is unethical for prosecutors, as "ministers of justice," to induce defendants to waive their right to pursue a claim of ineffective counsel or to induce a defense lawyer to violate the Rules of Professional Conduct.

Minton wrote that the case is important because, as the U.S. Supreme Court once said, "ours is for the most part a system of pleas, not a system of trials."

He said the "pervasiveness of plea bargains — horse trading between prosecutor and defense counsel — cannot be overstated."

Prosecutors say waivers of the right to sue for ineffective counsel bring finality to cases and avoid years of subsequent litigation.

U.S. Attorneys David J. Hale and Kerry Harvey noted that 10 of 12 federal circuit court of appeals have said they are legal.

They also contended that the state was violating the supremacy clause of the federal constitution by telling federal prosecutors what to do.

But the Supreme Court said that it alone has the power to regulate lawyer ethics, and that the ethics opinions governs only lawyers — defense attorneys and prosecutors — not defendants.

Minton also noted that Justice Department rules say its prosecutors must follow ethics rules in the state where they practice.

Stephanie Collins, spokeswoman for the Western District, said in a statement that "we are grateful that the Kentucky Supreme Court reviewed the ethics opinion," which she said the office is studying.

Prosecutors in the office had stopped including the waivers since the ethics opinion was adopted in November 2012.

Thomas Glover, the KBA's chief bar counsel, said he is pleased with the ruling and that Kentucky lawyers will be pleased with it as well.

Editor's comment: Just require your clients to make the choice only, as to whether or not to accept a plea deal.

Problem solved!

Guess What Police Have That's Most Deadly? Try "F"!

Special Cartoon For Friday: Conversation On Race In #America! LOL.

#Isis: Ignore It And It Will Go Away!

All I Can Do Is Sigh!

The Expendables Are Us!

#Ferguson Police: Pull Over!

The Coming Race War Won't Be About Race!

 Ferguson is not just about systemic racism — it's about class warfare and how America's poor are held back, says Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Will the recent rioting in Ferguson, Missouri, be a tipping point in the struggle against racial injustice, or will it be a minor footnote in some future grad student’s thesis on Civil Unrest in the Early Twenty-First Century?

The answer can be found in May of 1970.

You probably have heard of the Kent State shootings: on May 4, 1970, the Ohio National Guard opened fire on student protesters at Kent State University. During those 13 seconds of gunfire, four students were killed and nine were wounded, one of whom was permanently paralyzed. The shock and outcry resulted in a nationwide strike of 4 million students that closed more than 450 campuses. Five days after the shooting, 100,000 protestors gathered in Washington, D.C. And the nation’s youth was energetically mobilized to end the Vietnam War, racism, sexism, and mindless faith in the political establishment.

You probably haven’t heard of the Jackson State shootings.

On May 14th, 10 days after Kent State ignited the nation, at the predominantly black Jackson State University in Mississippi, police killed two black students (one a high school senior, the other the father of an 18-month-old baby) with shotguns and wounded twelve others.

There was no national outcry. The nation was not mobilized to do anything. That heartless leviathan we call History swallowed that event whole, erasing it from the national memory.

And, unless we want the Ferguson atrocity to also be swallowed and become nothing more than an intestinal irritant to history, we have to address the situation not just as another act of systemic racism, but as what else it is: class warfare.

By focusing on just the racial aspect, the discussion becomes about whether Michael Brown’s death—or that of the other three unarmed black men who were killed by police in the U.S. within that month—is about discrimination or about police justification. Then we’ll argue about whether there isn’t just as much black-against-white racism in the U.S. as there is white-against-black. (Yes, there is. But, in general, white-against-black economically impacts the future of the black community. Black-against-white has almost no measurable social impact.)

Then we’ll start debating whether or not the police in America are themselves an endangered minority who are also discriminated against based on their color—blue. (Yes, they are. There are many factors to consider before condemning police, including political pressures, inadequate training, and arcane policies.) Then we’ll question whether blacks are more often shot because they more often commit crimes. (In fact, studies show that blacks are targeted more often in some cities, like New York City. It’s difficult to get a bigger national picture because studies are woefully inadequate. The Department of Justice study shows that in the U.S. between 2003 and 2009, among arrest-related deaths there’s very little difference among blacks, whites, or Latinos. However, the study doesn’t tell us how many were unarmed.)

This fist-shaking of everyone’s racial agenda distracts America from the larger issue that the targets of police overreaction are based less on skin color and more on an even worse Ebola-level affliction: being poor. Of course, to many in America, being a person of color is synonymous with being poor, and being poor is synonymous with being a criminal. Ironically, this misperception is true even among the poor.

And that’s how the status quo wants it.

The U.S. Census Report finds that 50 million Americans are poor. Fifty million voters is a powerful block if they ever organized in an effort to pursue their common economic goals. So, it’s crucial that those in the wealthiest One Percent keep the poor fractured by distracting them with emotional issues like immigration, abortion and gun control so they never stop to wonder how they got so screwed over for so long.

One way to keep these 50 million fractured is through disinformation. PunditFact’s recent scorecard on network news concluded that at Fox and Fox News Channel, 60 percent of claims are false. At NBC and MSNBC, 46 percent of claims were deemed false. That’s the “news,” folks! During the Ferguson riots, Fox News ran a black and white photo of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with the bold caption: “Forgetting MLK’s Message/Protestors in Missouri Turn to Violence.” Did they run such a caption when either Presidents Bush invaded Iraq: “Forgetting Jesus Christ’s Message/U.S. Forgets to Turn Cheek and Kills Thousands”?

How can viewers make reasonable choices in a democracy if their sources of information are corrupted? They can’t, which is exactly how the One Percent controls the fate of the Ninety-Nine Percent.

Worse, certain politicians and entrepreneurs conspire to keep the poor just as they are. On his HBO comedic news show Last Week Tonight, John Oliver ran an expose of the payday loan business and those who so callously exploit the desperation of the poor. How does an industry that extorts up to 1,900 percent interest on loans get away with it? In Texas, State Rep. Gary Elkins blocked a regulatory bill, despite the fact that he owns a chain of payday loan stores. And the politician who kept badgering Elkins about his conflict of interest, Rep. Vicki Truitt, became a lobbyist for ACE Cash Express just 17 days after leaving office. In essence, Oliver showed how the poor are lured into such a loan, only to be unable to pay it back and having to secure yet another loan. The cycle shall be unbroken.

Dystopian books and movies like Snowpiercer, The Giver, Divergent, Hunger Games, and Elysium have been the rage for the past few years. Not just because they express teen frustration at authority figures. That would explain some of the popularity among younger audiences, but not among twentysomethings and even older adults. The real reason we flock to see Donald Sutherland’s porcelain portrayal in Hunger Games of a cold, ruthless president of the U.S. dedicated to preserving the rich while grinding his heel into the necks of the poor is that it rings true in a society in which the One Percent gets richer while our middle class is collapsing.

That’s not hyperbole; statistics prove this to be true. According to a 2012 Pew Research Center report, just half of U.S. households are middle-income, a drop of 11 percent since the 1970s; median middle-class income has dropped by 5 percent in the last ten years, total wealth is down 28 percent. Fewer people (just 23 percent) think they will have enough money to retire. Most damning of all: fewer Americans than ever believe in the American Dream mantra that hard work will get them ahead.

Rather than uniting to face the real foe—do-nothing politicians, legislators, and others in power—we fall into the trap of turning against each other, expending our energy battling our allies instead of our enemies. This isn’t just inclusive of race and political parties, it’s also about gender. In her book Unspeakable Things: Sex, Lies and Revolution, Laurie Penny suggests that the decreased career opportunities for young men in society makes them feel less valuable to females; as a result they deflect their rage from those who caused the problem to those who also suffer the consequences: females.

Yes, I’m aware that it is unfair to paint the wealthiest with such broad strokes. There are a number of super-rich people who are also super-supportive of their community. Humbled by their own success, they reach out to help others. But that’s not the case with the multitude of millionaires and billionaires who lobby to reduce Food Stamps, give no relief to the burden of student debt on our young, and kill extensions of unemployment benefits.

With each of these shootings/chokehold deaths/stand-your-ground atrocities, police and the judicial system are seen as enforcers of an unjust status quo. Our anger rises, and riots demanding justice ensue. The news channels interview everyone and pundits assign blame.

Then what?

I’m not saying the protests in Ferguson aren’t justified—they are. In fact, we need more protests across the country. Where’s our Kent State? What will it take to mobilize 4 million students in peaceful protest? Because that’s what it will take to evoke actual change. The middle class has to join the poor and whites have to join African-Americans in mass demonstrations, in ousting corrupt politicians, in boycotting exploitative businesses, in passing legislation that promotes economic equality and opportunity, and in punishing those who gamble with our financial future.

Otherwise, all we’re going to get is what we got out of Ferguson: a bunch of politicians and celebrities expressing sympathy and outrage. If we don’t have a specific agenda—a list of exactly what we want to change and how—we will be gathering over and over again beside the dead bodies of our murdered children, parents, and neighbors.

I hope John Steinbeck is proven right when he wrote in Grapes of Wrath, “Repression works only to strengthen and knit the oppressed.” But I’m more inclined to echo Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues,” written the year after the Kent State/Jackson State shootings:

Inflation no chance

To increase finance

Bills pile up sky high

Send that boy off to die

Make me wanna holler

The way they do my life

Make me wanna holler

The way they do my life

(h/t: Skyhooker).

#Ferguson!

#Ferguson Police!

Iwreck!

#Isis: Weapon Of Mass Destruction Found In Iraq!

R.I.P #ROBINWILLIAMS.

Iraq!

Joel Pett Picks On Mitch MCconnell. So What Else Is New?

Which One Lasts Longer?

Campaign Promises!

Go #Cards!

Online!

"A Fool Has Himself/Herself As Own Lawyer": Jodi Arias To Represent Herself At Death Penalty Phase Of Trial! Watch News Video.

Very Funny! Ha, Ha.

In Case You Missed It, James Comer Enters Race For Kentucky Governor; Race Is Expected To Attract A Crowded Field.

Ag commissioner Comer announces run for governor; third candidate in the race

FANCY FARM — With his wife, T.J., at his side on the stage of the 134th annual Fancy Farm picnic Saturday, state Agriculture Commissioner James Comer declared, "I will be a candidate for governor in 2015."

Comer is the second Republican to announce his candidacy for the state's highest elective office and the third candidate to enter the race.

More are expected.

Two men from Louisville — Democratic Attorney General Jack Conway of Louisville and Republican businessman Hal Heiner — have already announced their bids for governor next year. Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear cannot seek re-election due to term limits.

Comer predicted that neither will be the next governor of Kentucky.

Comer, who will turn 42 on Aug. 19, told reporters after his Fancy Farm speech that he will officially enter the race and announce his running mate at a Sept. 9 news conference behind the courthouse in his hometown of Tompkinsville.

Speculation has focused on state Sen. Christian McDaniel of Kenton County as his running mate for lieutenant governor.

He said he would be looking for someone who could be elected governor.

Comer, a former state representative and the only current Republican constitutional state officeholder, had initially said he would not discuss his gubernatorial plans until after the Nov. 4 elections.

He said Saturday that he changed his mind "after so many House Republican colleagues called him and asked him to get into the race earlier" because Conway had already entered the race and was raising campaign funds.

During his speech at Fancy Farm, which traditionally kicks off fall campaigns in Kentucky, Comer took shots at Conway and other potential opponents.

He reminded the crowd that Conway used a profanity to describe how tough he was at the 2009 Fancy Farm picnic, which is sponsored by St. Jerome Catholic Church.

"He even invited us to chew on his hide," said Comer. "This is going to sound like a public service announcement, but that is not a Kentucky Proud product."

Comer also went after Democratic House Speaker Greg Stumbo of Prestonsburg, who said he is weighing a possible run for governor next year but is focused now on the Nov. 4 state House elections to help Democrats keep control of the chamber.

Comer said he would stay out of the Democratic primary next spring for governor.

As Stumbo's relatives in Floyd County might say, said Comer, "I don't have a chicken in that fight."

That was a reference to news reports this year that "distant cousins" of Stumbo in Eastern Kentucky had been charged by federal authorities in a massive cockfighting ring that generated an estimated $1 million in revenue.

Before announcing his intentions to run for governor next year, Comer claimed he has managed the state agriculture department from "worst to first." That was an apparent reference to his predecessor, Republican Richie Farmer, who now is in prison for misusing state resources.

Several others considering next year's governor's race attended this year's Fancy Farm picnic, but Conway was the only one who got to speak because he is an elected constitutional officeholder.

In his speech, Conway did not mention any of his possible opponents in the gubernatorial race. Instead, he highlighted his office's work, particularly on curbing prescription drugs, and said that is the type of service he and his running mate, state Rep. Sannie Overly of Paris, would bring to the governor's office.

Conway also tried to put some distance between him and President Barack Obama, who is highly unpopular in Kentucky, by saying he is standing up for coal and low electricity rates by suing to stop regulations implemented by the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

Heiner was unperturbed by Comer's dismissal of Louisville candidates for governor.

"Kentucky needs a governor with an outsider's perspective, someone who is concerned with growing and attracting high-quality jobs, not the political status quo," Heiner said. "As someone who has spent the last 30 years working in the business of job attraction, I believe I am uniquely qualified to get our economy back on track and grow jobs for Kentucky families."

Former Democratic Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo of Hazard said he is thinking about the 2015 race but is focusing now on this year's U.S. Senate race and state legislative races.

Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Will T. Scott, a Pikeville Republican, said he is being encouraged to run for governor but has not yet decided whether he will enter the race.

Republican Matt Bevin, a Louisville businessman who lost the GOP primary for U.S. Senate this year to incumbent Mitch McConnell, said he is listening to many people about possibly running for governor.

Others who have been mentioned as potential Democratic candidates include former U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler and Lexington banker Luther Deaton. Cathy Baily, former U.S. ambassador to Latvia, is another Republican considering the race.

Robert Lee Rosier, an Army retiree from Elizabethtown, filed a letter of intent this year with the state Registry of Election to run for governor to take back the country for Christ. He has no previous political experience.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2014/08/02/3363143/ag-commissioner-comer-announces.html?sp=/99/1344/#storylink=cpy

Impeach Barack Obama! LOL.

Meanwhile, Still In Kentucky!

Unlike Me, Did You Miss #FancyFarm? Watch Videos.

Mitch McConnell:



Alison Lundergan Grimes:



James Comer:



Rand Paul:



Jack Conway:

Windows!

POTUS Barack Obama: "In The Aftermath Of 9/11, W Tortured Some Folks .... We Did Some Things That Were Wrong"! Watch Video.

Hamas Is Fighting Israel!