The drug war targets poor people

Published in the Albuquerque Journal on 6/4/2016:

APD chief defends recent ‘reverse sting’ operation

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Albuquerque police Chief Gorden Eden in a letter to a city councilor gave a strong defense of his officers’ recent “reverse sting” operation, which appeared to target homeless and transient people, and drew criticism from multiple city officials and community leaders…

Eden also said that people arrested on felony drug possession charges are offered substance and mental health assistance in jail, and most judges will include mandatory substance abuse treatment as part of a sentencing agreement…

The District Attorney, public defenders, city councilors and officials, and community groups have questioned a narcotics operation that narcotics officers held in southeast Albuquerque last month.

Undercover officers stood in a parking lot near Central and Pennsylvania SE, and then bartered with transient people and sold them crack cocaine for, in one case, $3 and a homeless man’s jacket before arresting him…

Crying for joy

http://mentalfloss.com/article/81080/girl-receives-american-girl-doll-prosthetic-match-her-own

Kids growing up with prosthetic limbs face numerous challenges on a daily basis. One struggle that isn’t so obvious is not being able to find dolls in toy stores that look like they do. So when 10-year-old Emma from Cypress, Texas received her American Girl doll, she was surprised to find it had a prosthetic leg that matches her own.

In the video above, which was shared by Mashable, you can see Emma’s heartwarming reaction when she first discovers her doll’s customized feature. The modification was made by a real-life prosthetics company called A Step Ahead that also makes these miniature prosthetic limbs for American Girl dolls, and offers the service free of charge…