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.

Baltimore

I am for violence if non-violence means we continue postponing a solution to the American black man's problem just to avoid violence. — Malcolm X

One hot day back in 1963, I was cooling off in the reflecting pool while MLK delivered his "I have a dream" speech.  Even then, though, I doubted that non-violent protest would accomplish much.  I still suspect that the urban riots of the later sixties accomplished more for black civil rights than the interminable choruses of "We Shall Overcome."  Riots draw more attention than parades.

It seems that the Baltimore rioters are mostly high school boys, and high school boys are temperamentally inclined to be assholes.  Nevertheless, nobody should doubt that some real, well-justified rage is at the root of the disturbances.  The likelihood that a black, Baltimore high school boy has been harassed by cops has to be close to 100%.  Yes, some of those high school boys probably joined in "just for fun," but "just for fun" just might be why the Baltimore cops did whatever they did to kill  Freddie Gray.