PERRY J’ACCUSE: Texas Governor and rumored 2016 Presidential candidate Rick Perry was indicted by an Austin grand jury for two felony counts of alleged abuse of power. Republican Perry is accused of trying to force a Democrat District Attorney to resign after she plead guilty to drunk driving, first threatening and then withholding funding for the county’s Public Integrity Office, which investigates corruption of public officials. Supporters of the judge claim that’s a political move, since Perry would appoint her replacement, presumably a non-Democrat. Perry is claiming the indictment has no merit. He faces several years in prison if convicted. He faces several years in power if elected. Both positions involve a lot of guards and a big house.
SIX SHOTS AND SHARPTON: Three autopsies last week on deceased Michael Brown show he received six shots from Office Darren Wilson during their confrontation. That’s pretty much the only certainty about their encounter known publicly to date, as a grand jury sifts through testimony and evidence for the next two months. That didn’t stop the usual crowd of spokesmen from descending on the city, including Al Sharpton, who has apparently risen from his key role in the Tawana Brawley hoax and inciting the torching of Freddy’s Fashion Mart in New York City to become a presidential advisor, according to published reports. The White House has also sent the Attorney General, a reported 40 FBI agents, and at least three representatives to Ferguson in the wake of the shooting and subsequent uprising. Meanwhile, in Utah, an eerie parallel occurred: white 20-year-old Dillon Taylor (unarmed) was shot dead by a black policeman. The White House has yet to respond.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL SPEAKS: During his stay in Ferguson, Attorney General Eric Holder met with Brown’s family and various law officials to ascertain the state of the investigation. Holder also threw some gasoline on the incendiary situation by reminding people that he was “Not just the Attorney General, but also a black man,” a distinction that seems puzzling coming from the chief law enforcement official of the US government. While Holder obviously meant the comment to indicate that he would be fair to both sides, it could also be taken to mean that he has already formed an opinion on the situation before a jury decides the issue. Given that the Missouri Governor has already issued prejudicial statements, one wonders if Patrolman Darren Wilson will be able to find an untainted jury pool on this planet, let alone in the state, if he is ultimately indicted.
KURDISH WAY: Backed by US air strikes, Iraqi and Kurdish troops have taken back territory lost to the rampaging terror machine known as ISIS, including the key Mosul Dam. ISIS apparently is a problem that will not go away quietly, as a number of government officials have lately taken to the press to warn of the organization’s danger to the US homeland. Their point was underlined by the beheading of journalist James Foley, a grisly video that was seen by millions of people worldwide. It was later revealed that a Special Ops mission to rescue Foley and others held by ISIS failed. As for the overall situation in Iraq, it’s looking less like “Mission Accomplished” and more like “Quagmire Established.”
EBOLA PATIENTS ON THE LOOSE: Atlanta’s Emory University Hospital has discharged an American who was infected with the Ebola virus while in Liberia. Dr. Kent Brantly is apparently cured of the dread disease, which kills most of the people it infects, thanks to his treatment with an experimental drug. Of course, little is known about the causes and particularly the cure for what’s been previously described as an incurable disease. So the medical technicians treating Brantly must have a good deal of faith that they got it right on their “cured” diagnosis. They’d better.