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FALLS CITY, ORE. — A few hundred feet past this Oregon timber town, a curtain of Douglas fir trees opens to an expanse of skinny stumps.

The hillside has been clear-cut, with thousands of trees leveled at once. Around the bend is another clear-cut nearly twice its size, then another, patches of desert brown carved into the forest for miles.

Logging is booming around Falls City, a

Rev. Al Sharpton is poking New York City mayor Bill de Blasio after he called for a halt in protests against law enforcement until after the two police officers who were murdered have their funerals.

“Is a vigil a protest? Is a rally?” Sharpton told Reuters when asked about his response. He added that de Blasio’s remarks were “an ill-defined request.”

According to Reuters,

The tense situation in Ferguson, Mo., following the shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown is another test for President Obama. He has struggled at times over how to navigate long-simmering tensions between police and the African-American community.

This country has failed to provide one of the most fundamental protections in the Constitution: the right to life.

“Stop Killing Us!” Three words, scrawled on a sign held by a 5-year-old black boy at a Tampa protest against police brutality. Messages don’t get any clearer than that. Yet to judge by the days of protests sweeping the country, this message still hasn’t gotten through.