Long before anyone was paying attention to Baltimore.

…”It will take hard, collective action to dramatically reduce the overuse of exclusionary discipline and to consistently create positive school climates. But we know it can be done. There are amazing examples all across the country of leadership making a difference. And in fact, it’s being done right here in Baltimore, and right here at Frederick Douglass High School”….

[…] I thank you for your unwavering commitment to equal opportunity for all students and your leadership in rethinking school discipline in Maryland. And I’m so pleased to be joined here today [Frederick Douglas School] by my good friend and colleague, Attorney General Holder.

[…] So today, the Departments of Education and Justice are joining together to release a guidance package on school discipline for a broad range of stakeholders–educators, principals, district administrators, school board members, charter school heads, school resource officers, counselors, social workers, parents, community leaders–and, importantly, students themselves.
[…] This is the first Administration to provide guidance to the public on discrimination in school discipline. And we want to continue to provide leadership on this critical problem going forward to ensure equal opportunity for all students.
[…] Racial discrimination in school discipline is a real problem today, and not just an issue from 40 to 50 years ago.
[…] The need to rethink and redesign school discipline practices is long overdue. Too many schools resort too quickly to exclusionary discipline, even for minor misbehaviors (more…)

On April 26th we wrote:

Clinton Cash author Peter Schweizer appeared on This Week and faced a very skeptical George Stephanopoulos, who argued that his accusations that Hillary Clinton exchanged favorable treatment from the U.S. State Department for multimillion dollar donations to the Clinton Foundation were unsubstantiated.
However, what ABC doesn’t tell YOU is that Stephanopoulos has a SEVERE conflict of interest about this story as it relates to its 2005 origin and his former Boss Bill Clinton. (link)

After being busted by WFB: “Stephanopoulos, a former aide to President Bill Clinton, confirmed the donation to POLITICO’s Dylan Byers after the Free Beacon contacted ABC News for comment“, today tries to apologize for his lack of disclosure…
(Via Politico) ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos has given $50,000 to the Clinton Foundation in recent years, charitable contributions that he did not publicly disclose while reporting on the Clintons or their nonprofit organization, the On Media blog has learned.
In both 2013 and 2014, Stephanopoulos made a $25,000 donation to the 501 nonprofit founded by former President Bill Clinton, the foundation’s records show. Stephanopoulos never disclosed this information to viewers, even when interviewing author Peter Schweizer last month about his book “Clinton Cash,” which alleges that donations to the foundation may have influenced some of Hillary Clinton’s actions as secretary of state. (more…)

This is like a never ending song with a repeating chorus. It was not long ago the entire Baltimore jail system had to be torn apart and restructured after it was discovered that corrections officers were part of the gang trade, smuggling drugs to prisoners, allowing prisoners to leave jail on weekends, having sex with prisoners and several female officers were pregnant.
Now video discovers Baltimore corrections officers participating in the looting and riots…

Do you know why they’re smiling?  Think about where they’re headed !

(Via Daily Caller) Two correctional officers who work at the Baltimore City jail were suspended without pay Wednesday after video emerged showing them looting a 7-11 store during last month’s riots. (more…)

You can find below the complete 27 page investigative report on the shooting of Tony Robinson – including numerous eye-witnesses to the events up to and including the shooting. You should read the witness statements, it removes any doubt about whether Tony Robinson was in a “normal” frame of mind.
The details remove all doubt about justification.  It’s not even a close call.
However, what you might find additionally interesting is the complete local, state and federal (yes, DOJ involved too) was completed in March, and the full investigative report turned over to the State Attorney on March 27th. Why did the State Attorney wait until mid-May (almost two months) to announce a decision?
[scribd id=265258977 key=key-FyASo2uQwaZ0aIu2Ewsk mode=scroll]

“Budget Cuttin’ Violence“…

Hank “Tippy Guam” Johnson – During an interview last week on WABE radio’s “A Closer Look” program Johnson said he voted against the GOP budget measure because of its domestic spending cuts and added that its passage could result in violence.

“If we’re not careful the have-nots of this country will rise up like the people in Baltimore,” Johnson said.

“What happened in Baltimore stems from deeper economic issues and if you would take a ride down the streets of some of the greatly impoverished areas of Baltimore where change has not come, where things are the same as they were 50 years ago and have been allowed to grow worse then you will understand the lack of hope of which those riots were born from.” (more…)

Marilyn Mosby took it upon herself (May 1st) to file Direct Action charges against the Baltimore Six and issue arrest warrants.  As such she has 30 days to bring a formal indictment outlining the specific evidence, which supports the charges against each of the officers.

BALTIMORE – Defense attorneys for the officers charged in the Freddie Gray case anticipate their clients will be indicted by a grand jury in the next two weeks.
The attorneys have asked that a stenographer be appointed to transcribe the grand jury proceedings or that an audio tape recording be made. They claim misinformation was included in the original charging documents, underscoring the need to know what prosecutors tell grand jurors. (more…)

….and the bartender says “Hello, Mr. President”.

President Obama makes a straw man argument, rips Fox News and jokes about how cool he is in one breath:

Four of the six Gulf Cooperation Council leaders refuse to attend the Obama “Arab Summit”.  Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Oman know full well the summit is a propaganda event meant to deflect attention away from President Obama’s failed mid-East policies. 
Only GCC members Qatar and Kuwait will attend.  Kuwait, because there is still generational loyalty for President Bush’s success in rescuing them from the Iraqi invasion – and Qatar because they carry conflicted loyalties to both the Muslim Brotherhood and their moderate Arab neighbors. 
(Via New York Post) Ever since he decided to chase the mirage of a “Grand Bargain” with Iran, President Obama has pretended that the only opposition comes from Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu and “hardline” Republicans in the Congress.
He was to highlight that claim by hosting a summit for “key Arab allies” at Camp David this week.
Yet the exercise has instead shown the failure of Obama to sell his narrative to “key Arab allies” even before the first round of orange juice is served at Camp David.
Of the six heads of the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, only two, the emirs of Kuwait and Qatar, will attend. (more…)

Of course most of those arrested were from husband Nick Mosby’s council district; but, meh, who’s paying attention to those pesky details.

[…]  The Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office tells WJZ prosecutors are dropping all charges against individuals arrested solely for curfew violations. They say those arrests were punishment enough. (link)

If, like many of us, you are deep in the weeds in your understanding of the issues around Benghazi, the 2010 Arab Spring (Tunis, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Bahrain, Yemen), or the CIA operation “Zero Footprint” in Libya and the follow-up operation in Syria, you will enjoy this interview with former Panetta/Petraeus replacement Mike Morell.
Or, if you have a cursory understanding of events, this interview might spur you toward further research.  “The Benghazi Brief” – Regardless of your current level of understanding behind events of the past 7+ years, this interview is well constructed.
Bret Baier has done his homework, and in a refreshing and surprising manner you can see how Baier is able to cut through the distracting ‘talking points’ (no pun intended), and draw out the reality of what lies behind Morell and his foundational motives.