[guest post by Dana]

So today, Martin O’Malley, former governor of Maryland, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) were both interrupted and heckled by protesters during their back-to-back appearances at the progressive Netroots Nation conference.

According to Dave Weigel of the Washington Post:

Demonstrators began chanting, “What side are you on?” during a Q&A session with O’Malley. O’Malley allowed the protesters to finish, but drew boos when he said that “black lives matter, all lives matter, white lives matter”. O’Malley later admitted that he made a mistake in his choice of words, and said he did not mean any disrespect.

O’Malley was eventually forced off stage.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders also faced protesters:

The protesters remained as Sanders appeared on stage, and he took a less patient approach.

“Whoa, whoa, let me talk about what I came to talk about for a minute,” the senator said, before launching into a riff on income inequality and steps to address it.

The Vermont senator faced chants and heckling as well, but Sanders continued talking. Asked what he had done in the Senate to benefit black Americans, he started to talk about the 2010 Affordable Care Act.

“We can’t afford that!” heckled Elle Hearns, a 28-year-old Ohio coordinator for the LGBT rights group GetEqual.

And again, O’Malley tried to regain footing:

“I think that all of us as Americans have a responsibility to recognize the pain and grief throughout our country from all of the lives that have been lost to violence, whether that’s violence at the hands of police, whether that’s violence at the hands of civilians,” he said.

“Stop trying to generalize this s—!” yelled Ashley Yates, a 30-year-old activist from Oakland, Calif.

Statements followed:

Anna Galland, executive director of MoveOn, issued a statement which said: “The presidential candidates’ responses today to the powerful protest led by black activists at Netroots Nation … make clear that all Democratic candidates have work to do in understanding and addressing the movement for black lives.Hillary Clinton did not make an appearance at the conference.

A joint statement from Democracy for America and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee said: “Black lives matter and we stand in solidarity with every single organizer and activist who stood up and demanded that presidential candidates challenge power and respond to the crushing consequences of structural racism.”

Hillary Clinton did not address racial inequality at the conference as she chose to skip the event.

–Dana

[guest post by Dana]

In spite of a depressing news week, it is well worth noting a few positives (including that which is the direct result of tragedy).

First, reminding us that there are many good and decent people fighting the good fight for freedom, Aaron and Melissa Klein (Sweet Cakes by Melissa) who had been ordered to pay $135,000 to a same-sex couple who threw a legal-sized fit when the Kleins opted not to to provide a cake for their commitment ceremony because it would violate their religious beliefs, have seen a record-breaking $352,500 raised at their Continue to Give fundraising campaign. This just in two months time and on top of the $109,000 already raised in the now shutdown GoFundMe campaign.

Second, last week saw CBS News reporter Major Garrett challenge the president with a fair and tough question about the fate of four Americans still being held in Iran and whose secured release was not part of the Iran deal. The president was obviously offended by the confrontation and a CNN scold publicly pursed her ass-kissing lips in withering judgment. Reminding his colleagues that a real journalist has to both maintain a spine and remain unprejudiced in all manner of reporting, Garrett stood by his questioning:

“Look, the position I’m in, I asked the question I asked and I can’t take it back. The president believed I was suggesting he was content with the Americans’ captivity. That wasn’t the basis of my question,”

Further:

“Do you believe that the president is content to leave the conscience of the nation unaccounted for?” asked Rose. Garrett returned the volley: “I don’t. And the whole point of the question, Charlie, was, why were these four Americans not accounted for in the context of negotiating a wide range of issues with the Iranians? Remember, in the final hours of this deal, the Iranians put other things on the table that hadn’t been previously discussed: the arms embargo on conventional weapons and ballistic missiles. If those could be introduced, it seems to me it’s reasonable to ask the commander-in-chief if other issues on the American side could have been introduced. I suggested there might have been one: the fate of four Americans. I stand by that.”

Third, on the heels of the tragedy in Chattanooga, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin issued executive order 2015-35 which authorizes the adjutant general to :

“arm certain full-time military personnel on military installations throughout Oklahoma with weaponry as deems necessary to adequately provide for the security of the facilities and their occupants.”

The order also includes recruiting centers.

Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas have done likewise.

(This as Pentagon officials scratch their heads over what to do…)

And lastly, a Republican running for the presidency, schools fellow Republicans on how to deftly and efficiently handle the manipulations of the MSM:

In short:

Mark Halperin: “Governor, I would like to ask you a couple questions about Planned Parenthood. [snip] Second, why are you so troubled by this video?”

[snip]

[Rick] Perry: [snip] Mark, let me ask you. You looked at that video and you’re good with it?”

Halperin: “I think the video raises a lot of questions, and you and others have raised them.”

Perry: “It does, indeed. I think you just answered the question for us. Thank you.”

–Dana