Brief Takes

Homicide
Cops across the USofA are all in a huff (or, maybe, soiling their underpants) thanks to that indictment of six Baltimore cops in the Freddie Gray killing.  Nobody should be surprised that three are black, and one is a woman — the police mentality/culture is not necessarily racist.  Many cops are people who enjoy having and exercising power over others, and the weaker their victims, the more they enjoy it.  Since poor blacks are, as a group, extraordinarily weak in terms of political power and public support, they make perfect victims.  Maybe smacking down some abusive cops will encourage some of the typical bullies to seek different career paths.

TPP
I'm not all that worried about the Trans-Pacific Partnership sucking more jobs out of the American economy.  I suspect most of the jobs that people worry about losing already have been transferred overseas.  Mostly, I'm concerned about loss of sovereignty.  I don't want multinational corporations suing state and local governments to overturn health and safety regulations that might have negative impact on corporate bottom lines — and since the people negotiating the treaty on "our" behalf are drawn largely from corporate board rooms, it would be nice to know what they've negotiated before giving our corporate-beholden president fast-track authority.

Bernie!
I really would like it if Bernie Sanders actually could become our next president, but, at the very least, he's likely to get Hillary discussing some left/populist issues she'd rather ignore.  Mind you, any commitment a candidate makes on the campaign trail should be taken with the proverbial grain of salt.  (I'm still waiting for Obama to close Guantanamo, for example.)  As the old joke goes:
      Q: How do you know if a politician is lying?
      A: His lips are moving.