Justin Barrett Too Ignorant to Quit While He Was Ahead

First he writes a racist email, now he says he's a victim and he's suing. This guy obviously thinks at a lower level and he is an example of the problem we have with SOME cops. I'm not sure he ought to be fired though. If we fired every racist, there wouldn't be many people left in the workforce. He should undergo some sort of training because he is in a people job. Too bad he got suckered in by an attorney. He could've just been decent about the whole incident. He could've sincerely apologized. On second thought, maybe he should be fired for being a dim bulb.

Gates Sends Lucia Bouquet of Flowers

The woman who made the 911 call that led to Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates' controversial arrest wasn't present at the so-called beer summit.

But she got a shot of kindness and a taste of gratitude from Gates himself.

Lucia Whalen received a bouquet of flowers at her office from Gates, according to Whalen's attorney, Wendy Murphy.

"She described them as amazing, and appreciated them very much," Murphy said of the bouquet.

The attorney described the flowers as being a beautiful assortment of what she believed were different colored roses.

There was a note included from Gates, the details of which Murphy would not divulge. She said the note characterized Gates's "expression of gratitude" for Whalen's action.

An officer responding to a report of a possible break-in at Gates' Cambridge, Massachusetts, home arrested the professor on July 16 for disorderly conduct. The charge was later dropped. CNN

Gates and Crowley's Statement Post Beer

Awwww. We may not have learned anything, but it looks like they did. Gates and Crowley have planned a second meeting.
Gates:

Crowley:

Boston Police Officer Slurs Gates in Racist Email

Are we all a bunch of fools or what? This incident has taken so many twists and turns, all for the worse. Today, an emotional Lucia Whalen, who made the 911 call, defends herself. Sgt Crowley got the details wrong and now a Boston police officer, Justin Barrett, uses a racial slur against Henry Gates in an email. It's becoming apparent that we have more than a problem with race in this country. We have serious problems with rational thinking skills:

Obama Needs to Add One More To Beer at the White House

This incident is sad the whole way around.
It shows what kind of ripples incidents like these have on individuals, families, communities and the nation. People took sides either for or against Gates or Crowley, without considering nuances, and demonized the other. These days it's so easy to tear people apart on the Internet and in the media. Judging from the 9-11 call, she is NOT a racist. Looks like Obama needs to add one more to the gathering over beer.

The woman whose 911 call led to the arrest of Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. spoke publicly for the first time about the case Wednesday, contradicting the arresting police officer on a key point and saying she was unfairly labeled a racist.

A police report said the caller described the possible burglars as "two black males with backpacks" — leading some commentators to vilify the caller as racist since it turned out Gates was entering his own home.

But the 911 recording released by police showed that Lucia Whalen never said two black men were involved. She did not describe their race, acknowledged they might just be having a hard time with the door and said she saw two suitcases on the porch. MSNBC

Colin Powell Racially Profiled Many Times

"There is no African-American in this county who has not been exposed to this kind of situation," Powell said. "Do you get angry? Yes. Do you manifest that anger? Do you protest? Do you try to get things fixed? But it's the better course of action to try and take it easy and don't let your anger make the current situation worse."

The former secretary of state said he has been racially profiled "many times," including an incident that took place while he was the national security adviser to President Reagan.

"Nobody thought I could possibly be the national security adviser to the president, I was just a black guy at Reagan National Airport," Powell said. "And it was only when I went to the counter and said, 'Is my guest here waiting for me?' that someone said, 'Oh, you're General Powell.' It was inconceivable to him that a black guy could be the national security adviser." CNN

On Palin:

Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, he said, is a "fascinating figure ... you have got to hand it to her." Palin transferred power to Gov. Sean Parnell on Sunday.

He repeated his assessment that the former Republican vice presidential candidate had not been ready for the Oval Office last fall, but said she was worth watching.

"Apparently, she is going to re-enter public life ... . We will have to see what her plans are," he said Tuesday. "I don't know if she is doing all of this for political purposes or just to start a new life in the wonderful world of speaking. And we will all be watching with great interest."

Powell says republicans afraid are of Limbaugh.

Powell on Gates:

Obama, Crowley, Gates and Beer at the White House July 30

The date's set: Thursday at the White House. Beer, Crowley, Gates and Obama.
Obama's doing that empathy thing again.
It was wrong for Sgt. Crowley to arrest Gates but it doesn't appear that Crowley was doing so because Gates was black. It's looking like emotions flared on both sides and neither managed to be the bigger person. With a history of cops targeting black people, Gates immediately jumped to the conclusion that Crowley was racist.
But ultimately, it is the cop, the person with authority, who should be able to calm a situation. If Crowley had been more sensitive, he could've calmed Gates down.
I think Obama's trying to say that if both sides are empathetic, flare ups like these don't need to happen.
Sadly, both Crowley and Gates already have been demonized on the Internet. People have already taken up sides, which merely perpetuates racism. Sometimes, both sides are wrong. It will be interesting to see how their meeting plays out.
Colin Powell suggests "Skip" could've kept his cool:

Face the Nation Roundtable on Gates and Race

This is a great video because two people from opposite sides of the political spectrum have a rational discussion. Thank you Bob Schieffer, Kathleen Parker and Michael Eric Dyson. I'm so tired of the dumbed down talk on this issue.

Here is the entire episode with David Axelrod:

Obama, Gates, Crowley and Beer at the White House

Update: Gates says he'll have a beer. Read what he said at The Root.
This is why I voted for Obama.
His judgement is as solid as it gets. He's always the bigger person. Obama needed to reach out if for one reason only, Crowley was getting hammered with criticism and the media was having a field day or as Obama says, a "media frenzy." Now, the media is effectively defused. This is a teachable moment, Obama said. Obama's unscheduled press conference:

Surprise! Obama's Other Comment Made News

Obama unwittingly undermined his own press conference.
But I don't know which is more important--drawing attention to racial profiling or healthcare reform.
But the media isn't talking about racial profiling or health care. They're talking about Obama's comment that police "acted stupidly" when they arrested Henry Gates in his own home after showing ID.
Just more fodder for the racists and birthers.
The media does controversy best.

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See Obama's comments and read what Gates said in a Q&A here.

Obama on Henry Louis Gates

Obama says Skip Gates is a friend and that the Cambridge police acted stupidly arresting Gates when they knew it was Gates' home. This whole incident makes me ill and sad.

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Here's what Gates said in an interview at The Root:

Henry Louis Gates Jr.: I’m outraged. I can’t believe that an individual policeman on the Cambridge police force would treat any African-American male this way, and I am astonished that this happened to me; and more importantly I’m astonished that it could happen to any citizen of the United States, no matter what their race. And I’m deeply resolved to do and say the right things so that this cannot happen again.

Of course, it will happen again, but … I want to do what I can so that every police officer will think twice before engaging in this kind of behavior. Read the rest