HOT Political Blog of The Week! Prometheus6
Mayor Phil Wallace of Martins Ferry, who was in court Monday, said he was bothered that 4 of the town’s 12 officers had turned out in support of Mr. Carpenter.
“It shows how much work we have to do now,” Mr. Wallace said.
Paparazzi Help Convict Police Chief of Break-In
By SEAN D. HAMILL
ST. CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio — By his own admission, what the police chief of Martins Ferry, Ohio, did in May was at the very least stupid. On Monday, a jury concluded that it was also illegal.
The chief, Barry P. Carpenter, was convicted of three of six counts in connection with a break-in at the home of a surrogate mother who was carrying twins for the movie stars Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick.
Though Mr. Carpenter contended that he had taken nothing from the home once inside, he was accused of stealing various items there and offering to sell them to a group of paparazzi visiting his town. The 38-year-old chief was acquitted Monday of the most serious charges, of burglary, but faces up to six and a half years in prison for theft in office, tampering with evidence and receiving stolen property.
He is to be sentenced on Dec. 30 and until then will be confined to his mother’s home, where he now lives after a recent divorce, and placed on electronic monitoring.
The chief, who was suspended without pay after he was charged on July 31, will now lose his job because of the convictions. He declined to comment Monday as he left the county courthouse here with a small group of friends, members of his family and police officers from Martins Ferry, a town of 7,200 people 60 miles southwest of Pittsburgh.
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It’s easy to get lost in the weeds when talking about health care reform. But, like all great public issues, the health care debate is fundamentally a debate about values. It’s a debate about what kind of country we want America to be.
And with his very first statement, David Brooks pushes us directly into the weeds.
Reform would make us a more decent society, but also a less vibrant one. It would ease the anxiety of millions at the cost of future growth. It would heal a wound in the social fabric while piling another expensive and untouchable promise on top of the many such promises we’ve already made. America would be a less youthful, ragged and unforgiving nation, and a more middle-aged, civilized and sedate one.
We all have to decide what we want at this moment in history, vitality or security. We can debate this or that provision, but where we come down will depend on that moral preference. Don’t get stupefied by technical details. This debate is about values.
By making this a discussion of morals and values, you turn it into a kind of Internet debate, where no one can be proved wrong. And I'm not sure at all how capping an abusive monopoly reduces our national dynamism. But morality isn't simply about thoughtful principle, it's about what you actually do in a situation. Take, as an extreme example, child molesting priests.
So if that's the discussion you want, you need to add some physical facts to the discussion. Facts like the operating principle of all for-profit health insurance companies: they are here to profit themselves, not you. Their goal is a constant, and constantly increasing, stream of revenue derived from you...in exchange for which they will give you as little as legally possible. And that is very, very little.
Another fact to take into account is that for all the money being spread around, no one has done a damn thing for the humans being crushed by the current state of affairs.
We citizens aren't the ones involved in the discussion. This is a discussion between business and politicians. That is the kind of nation we are.
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Consider, for instance, Professor Sand’s assertion that Palestinian Arab villagers are descended from the original Jewish farmers. Nearly a century ago, early Zionists and Arab nationalists touted the blood relationship as the basis of a potential alliance in their respective struggles for independence. Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, and Yitzhak Ben Zvi, Israel’s longest-serving president, made this very argument in a book they wrote together in 1918. The next year, Emir Feisal, who organized the Arab revolt against the Ottoman empire and tried to create a united Arab nation, signed a cooperation agreement with the Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann that declared the two were “mindful of the racial kinship and ancient bonds existing between the Arabs and the Jewish people.”
Both sides later dropped the subject when they realized it was not furthering their political goals.
Book Calls Jewish People an ‘Invention’
By PATRICIA COHEN
Despite the fragmented and incomplete historical record, experts pretty much agree that some popular beliefs about Jewish history simply don’t hold up: there was no sudden expulsion of all Jews from Jerusalem in A.D. 70, for instance. What’s more, modern Jews owe their ancestry as much to converts from the first millennium and early Middle Ages as to the Jews of antiquity.
Other theories, like the notion that many of today’s Palestinians can legitimately claim to be descended from the ancient Jews, are familiar and serious subjects of study, even if no definitive answer yet exists.
But while these ideas are commonplace among historians, they still manage to provoke controversy each time they surface in public, beyond the scholarly world. The latest example is the book “The Invention of the Jewish People,” which spent months on the best-seller list in Israel and is now available in English. Mixing respected scholarship with dubious theories, the author, Shlomo Sand, a professor at Tel Aviv University, frames the narrative as a startling exposure of suppressed historical facts. The translated version of his polemic has sparked a new wave of coverage in Britain and has provoked spirited debates online and in seminar rooms.
Professor Sand, a scholar of modern France, not Jewish history, candidly states his aim is to undercut the Jews’ claims to the land of Israel by demonstrating that they do not constitute “a people,” with a shared racial or biological past. The book has been extravagantly denounced and praised, often on the basis of whether or not the reader agrees with his politics.
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Workers stealing data for competitive edge
Posted on 23 November 2009.
The recession is creating camaraderie amongst workforces, at the expense of their employers, is the finding of a transatlantic survey. Carried out amongst 600 office workers in Canary Wharf London and Wall Street New York, 41% of workers have already taken sensitive data with them to their new position, whilst a third would pass on company information if it proved useful in getting friends or family a job.
Pilfering data has become endemic in our culture as 85% of people admit they know it’s illegal to download corporate information from their employer but almost half couldn’t stop themselves taking it with them with the majority admitting it could be useful in the future...
Of those that plan to take competitive or sensitive corporate data, 64% will do so ‘just in case’ it were to prove useful or advantageous in the future, 27% would use it to negotiate their new position, while 20% plan to use it as a tool in their new job.
Top of the hit list is customer and contact details – 29%, then plans and proposals – 18%, with product information bringing up the rear – 11%. What is cause for alarm is the 13% of savvy pilferers who would take access and password codes as, with this information, they can still get into the network once they’ve left the company and continue downloading information and accessing whatever they want or need.
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African American Political Pundit
According to The Washington Post, joblessness for 16-to-24-year-old black men has reached Great Depression proportions, 34.5 percent in October, more than three times the rate for the general U.S. population, The Washington Post reports.
Young black women have an unemployment rate of 26.5 percent, while the rate for all 16-to-24-year-old women is 15.4 percent.
For young blacks, race statistically appears to be a bigger factor in their unemployment than age, income or even education. Lower-income white teens were more likely to find work than upper-income black teens. Even blacks who graduate from college suffer from joblessness at twice the rate of their white peers.
Some studies examining how employers review black and white job applicants suggest that discrimination may be at play.
"Black men were less likely to receive a call back or job offer than equally qualified white men," says a Princeton University sociologist. "Black men with a clean record fare no better than white men just released from prison."
AAPP Says: OK you folks who have blind faith with our President. Why is the President not having his cabinet Secretaries address this issue? Has anyone heard from the department of labor secretary? America's core cities needs a massive jobs program. It's no wonder our communities have not exploded. I'm glad the haven't because they would only taser a another black man to death. Join me tonight on the 10:00 PM EST on African American Political Pundit's "
Political Slugfest Show."
We want to address this particular issue. if you can handle the truth.
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Some two dozen Lincoln University seniors may not receive their degrees this spring, thanks to a graduation requirement stipulating that students who enter college with a BMI over 30 must either prove to the school that they've lost weight, or take a one-semester class called "Fitness for Life." Lincoln, a historically black university in Oxford, Pennsylvania, enacted the requirement in 2006, meaning that this year's graduating class is the first to feel its effects. Despite student protests, James DeBoy, chairman of the health, physical education, and recreation department, doesn't see a problem with the requirement. "We test for written, oral communication skills, and I don't see this as any different," he says. We want our students to have a sound mind, but also a sound body." --- Let's talk about the politics of black health tonight... If you can handle the truth.
AAPP says: I have no problem with this decision, good health is an individual decision, yet the community needs to help out whenever possible. Read
Generation Triple XL: African American Kids' Obesity Rates Rise.
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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Nov. 23, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TASER International, Inc. (Nasdaq:TASR), a leading provider of technology solutions and the market leader in electronic control devices (ECDs), announced that on November 20, 2009, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California entered an order and judgment for TASER International in the arrest-related-death lawsuit entitled Rosa v. TASER International, et al. granting TASER International's motion for summary judgment. Plaintiffs were represented in the Rosa case by California attorneys: John C. Burton, Peter M. Williamson, John F. Baker, and Peter T. Cathcart. Plaintiffs filed their lawsuit in 2005, and aggressively litigated their case for 4 years. The medical examiner had determined cause of death was from the methamphetamine Mr. Rosa ingested.
The Court noted that "California courts require that plaintiffs present evidence of 'general recogni[tion] and prevailing best scientific and medical knowledge' to meet the 'known or knowable' element of a strict liability claim." In addition, the court noted that the "evidence is insufficient as a matter of law to raise a triable issue as to 'knowability' of the risk,... [and] insufficient to create a triable issue as to whether TASER should have known of the risk."
The Court also noted that "TASER has developed a comprehensive warning system in which every ECD sold or distributed is accompanied by a training CD/DVD and operating manual to be used by TASER-certified instructors," and that Defendant's expert Dr. Raymond Fish "unequivocally rejects the theory that ECDs on humans decrease respiration and cause dangerous acidosis."
In granting TASER's motion for summary judgment, the Court stated that TASER International's assertions "are well-taken" that there are no genuine issues of material fact with regard to whether, "the alleged propensity of ECDs to cause metabolic acidosis was known or knowable on December 30, 2003, when the ECDs in question were shipped from TASER to its distributor; [and]... TASER's warnings with respect to the dangers posed by application of its ECDs were adequate..." More HERE
AAPP says: There is a real reason why Taser International can win cases in Federal Court. The Federal judges have been bribed and the Federal government is currently contracting through the Pentagon with Taser International, U.S. Customs and other federal agencies. if anyone is tasered by these Federal Police Departments and Federal Law Enforcement agencies the government would be liable. I smell a conspiracy, do you?
As reported by AFP, CHANTILLY, Virginia — Recession-stoked fears of rising crime and tougher gun laws under a Democratic government are sending US gun sales sky high, and big crowds at the Chantilly Gun Show this weekend proved it once again.
"Do you see the line all around the building and in the back," asked Annette Elliott, co-organizer of one of the top gun shows in Virginia, a conservative state with rather liberal gun laws.
Several hundred people thronged the gun show in the Washington suburb of Chantilly, where some 260 retailers have set up stalls hung with ready-to-fire Smith and Wessons, Glocks, Walthers, Colts and Berettas.
"We've had a huge increase in sales since last October," 2008 just before President Barack Obama was elected. "Well over 200 percent. It's coming back," said Jerry Cochran, owner of his eponymous major gun retailing firm in the state.
He hopes to sell 500 weapons at the gun show this weekend.
Elliott expects as many as 12,000 people will turn up at the three-day gun fair.
In a state where you can wear a loaded weapon on your belt as long as it's in full sight, or a concealed one with a permit, handguns and semi-automatic assault rifles are openly sold to residents after a customary spot check for criminal records.
A questionnaire must also be filled out asking whether the prospective buyer has been convicted of any crime, is an illegal immigrant or is "subject to a court order restraining you from harassing, stalking... an intimate partner." More HERE
AAPP Says: Well I guess the United States is getting wackier every day. Now private citizens will be taseing their kids in order to have the take a shower.
Announcing SCLC's Fort Worth Chapter support, Rev. Kyev Tatum, Sr., President of the SCLC's Fort Worth Tarrant County Chapter said, "The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is proud to support Stop Taser Torture and encourage all to join in the international Day of Blogging. This is one of the issues that will define our generation's consciousness and human rights position for years to come. Thank you for this moment in history, Plow Forward. "
The Stop Taser Torture Movement is appreciative of Rev. Kyev Tatum, Sr. and the support of the SCLC Fort Worth Tarrant County Chapter.
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The organizations — including the A.F.L.-C.I.O. and the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic advocacy group— will make clear that they believe the president’s $787 billion stimulus program has not gone far enough to fight unemployment.
They will call for increased spending for schools and roads, billions of dollars in fiscal relief to state and local governments to forestall more layoffs and a direct government jobs program, “especially in distressed communities facing severe unemployment.”
AAPP says, It's about time the NAACP said something about the status of black America. It's also about time that the Congressional Black Caucus Congressional Black Caucus addressed the unemployment status of our community.
As Glen Ford at the Black Agenda Report has noted,
The Obama Administration makes it plain that no serious job-creation proposals will be entertained.The employment crisis is to be treated as a waiting game. Civil rights and labor leaders seem not to understand that their president “is philosophically opposed to targeted programs that might directly impact on Black unemployment.” More>>> on the White House plans sham jobs forum.
Now, as reported in the Huffington Post, a bloc of African American House Democrats, angry and worried that not enough is being done about high unemployment by the administration, forced the postponement of a much-anticipated vote Thursday on comprehensive financial regulation reform. The Financial Services Committee had finished hearing amendments around 3 p.m. and recessed, planning to return at 4 for a final vote on the package. But during the break, some of the Democrats on the committee buttonholed Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and told him they wouldn't vote for the bill because of the deepening problem of unemployment in their districts. The refusal to vote for the package, a key priority of the administration, and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in particular, was portrayed as a direct rebuke of the White House's "lack of response to the economic situation." "We will not be proceeding to passage today," Frank began. "I have been meeting with members of the committee, particularly the members of the Congressional Black Caucus, who have informed me that they are troubled by what they believe is the lack of response to the economic situation that is confronting them on the part of the administration, and therefore do not feel that they could -- in deference to the various constituencies that they represent -- vote for passage." The CBC met earlier this week with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and expressed dissatisfaction with the administration's response to the unemployment situation, an aide familiar with the meeting said. More HERE
The bogus CBC and Congressional Black Caucus decision to buck Barack Obama all of sudden, is a tell tale sign that they will have competition in there own elections this years, as many people will hopefully come out of the woodwork to run against them.
Many of their districts are turning into white urban enclaves due to gentrification.
I have been pointing out for some time on my BlogTalkRadio program that these black politicans are just crooks and liars like their counterparts. They could care less about the Sub Prime Tsunami that black folks have experienced. According to a recent report, Blacks and Latinos will lose between $163 billion and $278 billion from sub prime loans taken out over the past eight years. Blacks will lose $71 billion to $122 billion, while Latino borrowers will lose between $76 billion to $129 billion for the same period.
More HERE
PS: Let me not even talk about the National office of the NAACP. I hope to have them on my blogtakradio program in the next few weeks.
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http://ping.fm/rBhpqStandards For police Taser Use supported By Publisher of Tasered While Black Blog
http://ping.fm/0n9fVTasered For Needing Help
http://ping.fm/87K40Movement to Stop Taser Torture now on Facebook and Twitter
I just finished reading the Police Executive Research Forum's Taser policy guidelines. The forum is a research group for police chiefs and administrators funded by the U.S. Department of Justice. There are 52 standards that were released in 2005. It was an attempt to standardize police department Taser policy nationally. The guidelines are a good start, and should be adopted in State Legislatures across America. Hopeful Canada would do the same. Do I want tasered outlawed, yes. Yet in the interim, strict policy must be created and enforced.
Some of the police forum's standards provide stricter guidelines for Taser use and improve internal oversight, training and medical care for people shot with a Taser. These standards cover issues not adequately addressed in thousands of police department across the United States, Canada and other countries.
Results include your SearchWiki notes for
Chicgao sun times, taser. Share these notes
Blogger,
African American Political Pundit, who also publishes the blogs,
Stop Taser Torture,
Tasered While Black said, "every police department in the United States should compare it's Police Department's
Taser policy with the forum's standards." He also said, there is a need for all police departments to establish a clear policy on providing medical treatment from medical professionals to people shot with Tasers." The bottom line is police agencies should be required to contact emergency responders whenever the police respond to a call where they believe a Taser might be used." The blogger said, "It's time for police departments to take corrective action and it's time for Congressional and state legislators, along with state police agencies to take the lead in developing strict requirements, such as those spelled out in the Police Executive Research Forum's Taser policy guidelines."
Don't forget to join us on
December 4th.
“Stop Taser Torture, blogging for Justice.” as we raise awareness and trigger a global discussion. Contact us at:
StopTaserTorture@gmail.com to register your blog.
Please place a button on your blog.
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Back-to-Back-to-Back Taser Deaths Kicks Off Crusade
By Eddie G. Griffin (BASG)
Since the maker of the 50,000-volt electronic stun gun control device (ECD), TASER International, issued a new directive and warnings in an October 12, 2009 memo, there has been six more death, three in a matter of four days this past week:
• 453. November 13, 2009: Herman George Knabe, 58, Corpus Christi, Texas
• 454. November 14, 2009: Darryl Bain, 43, Long Island, New York
• 455. November 16, 2009: Matthew Bolick, 30, East Grand Rapids, Michigan
The word about tasers is obviously not getting out. There is still a general public acceptance of tasers as an better alternative to more deadly force, and the common belief among law enforcement that the instrument saves more lives than are lost. But is it saving lives of officers in the field at the expense of the lives of innocent people and thereby endangering the general public’s safety?
Truth Not Tasers blogsite now list the names of 455 people in North America who have lost their lives by tasers.
In a continuing effort to raise public awareness about the deadliness of the weapon, and the memory of those who needlessly died, we are waging a blogging campaign on December 4, 2009. The purpose of the Stop Taser Torture Blogging for Justice Day is “to unite the world’s bloggers” in America, Canada, and throughout the world to join in on the effort to stop tasers.
[Blog Registration through StopTaserTorture@gmail.com]
AfroSpear Network Blogger, Eddie G. Griffin (BASG), has joined the campaign to register the grievances against TASER International on behalf of Fort Worth, Texas families who have lost love ones to the device.
• 424. April 18, 2009: Michael Jacobs Jr., 24, Fort Worth, Texas
• 228. August 23, 2006: Noah Lopez, 25, Fort Worth, Texas
• 138. June 24, 2005: Carolyn Daniels, 25, Fort Worth, Texas
• 116. April 3, 2005: Eric Hammock, 43, Fort Worth, Texas
• 86. November 2, 2004: Robert Guerrero, 21, Fort Worth, Texas
Eddie G. Griffin (BASG), an Adult Friend of World’s Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child, Mariefred, Sweden, also raise the issue of tasers used against children, contrary to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Resolution 44/25, adopted by the General Assembly on 20 November 1989, which states in Article 6 that “every child has the inherent right to life”, and in Article 37 (a) No child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
These are children who died by taser.
• 7. December 15, 2001: Hannah Rogers-Grippi, 6 months fetus, Chula Vista, California
• 144. July 12, 2005: Kevin Omas, 17, Euless, Texas
• 249. October 29, 2006: Roger Holyfield, 17, Jerseyville, Illinois
• 351. March 20, 2008: Darryl Wayne Turner, 17, Charlotte, North Carolina
• 379. July 22, 2008: Michael Langan, 17, Winnipeg, Manitoba
• 408. January 8, 2009: Derrick Jones, 17, Martinsville, Virginia
• 417. March 22, 2009: Brett Elder, 15, Bay City, Michigan
• 421. April 10, 2009: Robert Mitchell, 16, Detroit, Michigan
Although the United States is not a signatory party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, these voiceless children have need of an advocate to speak on their behalf.
417. March 22, 2009: Brett Elder, 15, Bay City, Michigan
Hello, my name is Bethany and I have been reading a lot about how to try and change the state laws in Michigan. I was very close to the 15-year old boy Brett Elder (Dewy). I think about him every day and there is nothing I can do to bring him back, but there is something I can do, and that is to start a Petition. As you may know there have already been two deaths of minors in the State of Michigan this year. I am currently in the process of creating a petition (Dewy’s Minor Taser Protection Act).
If you have any advice for me please feel free to e-mail me. I have also a myspace:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=474323826
Bethany A. Schuster, Bay City, Michigan (Tinkerbell283125@comcast.net)
[Editor's Note: As I write, a 10-year old girl has been tasered.]
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Alabama’s most populous county filed suit Friday blaming Wall Street powerhouse JPMorgan Chase and others for the financial disaster that brought it to the brink of what would be the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.
Source: Mark Lennihan / The Associated Press
Jefferson County in Alabama filed a suit that contends JPMorgan Chase and others were part of a conspiracy.
The suit, filed in state court by Jefferson County, contends JPMorgan Securities Inc., JPMorgan Chase Bank, former Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford and dozens of other defendants were part of a conspiracy to generate huge fees through a series of deals called rate swaps.
The deals were supposed to help the county manage debt from a massive sewer renovation but instead generated huge fees and crippled the county’s finances, according to the complaint. “These transactions provided no value to the county or its citizens and created an inherently flawed financial structure that imploded within just a few years,” said the complaint, which seeks an unspecified amount in damages.
The lawsuit also names Montgomery-based investment banker Bill Blount and lobbyist Al LaPierre, both of whom pleaded guilty to bribing Langford in deals that generated $ 7.1 million in fees for Blount’s company, Blount Parrish & Co., which also is a defendant in the case.
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Larry Langford: 'Calm inside' as verdicts halt career
Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford waits outside the the Federal Building in Tuscaloosa, Ala, as the jury deliberates during his federal bribery trial Wednesday, October 28, 2009. (The Birmingham News /Tamika Moore) Larry Langford, Birmingham's mayor and a former Jefferson County commissioner, has been found guilty in his federal bribery trial.
Langford, who is 61 or 63, was found guilty of taking about $236,000 in cash and gifts from Montgomery investment banker Bill Blount and lobbyist Al LaPierre.
Both pleaded guilty in the case and testified they made cash payments to Langford while he was the president of the Jefferson County Commission to ensure business for Blount's investment bank, Blount Parrish & Co.
"We all have our trials, this too will pass," Langford said as he walked from the courtroom followed closely by his wife.
"The citizens of Birmingham have been fantastic to me," he said outside the courthouse.
He said the verdict will be appealed. "I'm no crybaby, but ..."
"At the end of the day, I shot my best shot, but the jury ruled the way that they did," he said, in a wide-ranging press conference outside court.
"All this trial did was interrupt my Bible study classes for two weeks," he said, adding he faces a potential sentence of 805 years. He said if he lived to be 80, he would have to die and "come back 10 more times" to serve such a sentence.
Judge Scott Coogler decided Langford would forfeit $241,843. The lawyers agreed.
Coogler ordered a sentencing report within 90 to 120 days and said Langford would remain free until then on the existing $50,000 unsecured bond.
Birmingham City Council President Carole Smitherman is now mayor of Alabama's largest city. (Corrected: A swearing in is not required) More HERE
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Is there ever a time when a 10 year old kid should be tasered by police for bad behavior?
According to OZARK, Ark. Police there is: Get this, according to 4029tv.com -- Ozark police said they were called to a home where a mother asked for help with her unruly child, but the 10-year-old's father said he's outraged at the force police used against his daughter.
"I would like to say Ozark police Tased this little girl right here.
Ten years old and [they] shot electricity through her body, and I want to know how the heck in God's green earth can they get away with this," said the girl's father, Anthony Medlock.Medlock said his daughter was at her mother's house when Ozark police Officer Dustin Bradshaw shocked her in the back with a Taser and arrested her."If you can't pick the kid up and take her to your car, handcuff her, then I don't think you need to be an officer," Medlock said.Medlock said his daughter does show signs of having emotional issues, but she "doesn't deserve to be treated like a dog.
She's not a tiger."According to a police report, the officer was called to the home by the mother and witnessed the child kicking and screaming.The officer's statement said the girl's mother, Kelly Hamlert, told him to use a Taser on her if he needed to.The officer did shock the girl after he said she kicked him in the groin."He had no other choice. He had to get the child under control," said Ozark police Chief Jim Noggle.Noggle said the officer shocked the girl for about a second.Ozark police said it is their policy to use a Taser on someone who is a threat to others, no matter their age. More HERE
According to Cameron Langford at the Court House News Service, Police in Texas public schools are increasingly using force against children, including Tasers and pepper spray, and the "overwhelming majority" of police "interventions" involve "low-level, non-violent misdemeanors like disruption of class or disorderly conduct," a public interest group says.
Texas Appleseed claims the Spring Branch Independent School District is putting students at risk and violating the law by refusing to release its "use of force" policy.
More than 75 percent of Spring Branch, a suburb northwest of Houston, is black or Latino. The school district claims its use of force policy is exempt from disclosure because of the exception for law enforcement.
Texas Appleseed says it sent open records requests to 24 Texas school districts, seeking their police departments' use of force policies, and 11 produced the documents. The group say its investigation revealed accounts of police in Texas public schools using pepper spray and Tasers on students.
"The public interest in ensuring full dialogue around policies relating to use force on Texas school children outweighs any risk to SBISD-PD's ability to affect arrests or engage in law enforcement on its campuses," Texas Appleseed says in its complaint in Harris County Court.
Appleseed says that reports of Texas school police using pepper spray and Tasers on school children are becoming more common. It says the data its has received shows the "overwhelming majority of law enforcement interventions on Texas school campuses involve school-aged children cited or arrested for low-level, non-violent misdemeanors like disruption of class or disorderly conduct." Read More HERE
TWB Publisher says: I'm glad to see that a watchdog group wants Info on Police Use of Force Against Schoolkids. It's time to stop the torture of school children in our public school system. Where is the U.S. Department of Justice when we need them to protect our children? Texas is not the only state torturing our children.
ENOUGH is ENOUGH
Join up with:
Let's build a blogger movement to stand in the gap for our children!
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Former police officer Scott Nuugent's trial originally was scheduled to start July 13, but it was postponed so a key witness, Winn Parish Coroner Randolph Williams, could recover from an accidental gunshot wound.
It's important to note, as reported by findingdulcinea.com that police officer Scott Nugent arrested 21-year-old Baron Pikes, handcuffed him and shot him six times in three minutes with a Taser as he struggled to escape.
Once Pikes was in the police car, Nugent shot him a seventh time in the chest. Pikes stopped responding, but Nugent shot him twice more after removing him from the car. Pikes was ruled dead within a half hour.
Nugent was charged with manslaughter August 13 by a grand jury that ruled he used the Taser “unnecessarily” and failed to get medical help. He faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted.
The mother of Pikes’s four-year-old son has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Nugent, city officials and Taser International, the manufacturer of the gun. More HERE
Meanwhile, as reported by NewsDay, the mother of a drugged-up Long Island man who died after being shot by a Taser gun while fighting with police officers Saturday said cops didn't have to stun her boy.
Darryl Bain, 43, was high on cocaine and had locked himself and his elderly mother in her Coram home about 2:46 a.m., causing his brother, Kevin, to call 911, relatives and Suffolk County police said.
But Bain was not posing any threat and didn't need to be stunned with a Taser, said Phyllis Hawkins, his mom.
"I was just trying to get him to get his hands off the door," Hawkins, 78, said."He seemed to be getting himself together from what he did," she said, adding that she smelled alcohol on her son's breath.
"[The police] know that when he gets like that, he calms himself down," she said.
Hearing a struggle with his mother, who has an order of protection against her son, officers broke down the door and tried to wrestle him to the ground, police said.
Bain was shot with the Taser but continued to fight with the officers as they tried to cuff him and they zapped him again, police said. He stopped breathing moments later.
Join us and let's stop the Taser madness ---- it's time for all bloggers whether you be, Black, White, Latino, Native American, Asian, or progressives to come together on this issue. As Villager, at Electronic Village noted recently, "These deaths keep piling on at a rate of once-per-week." I also encourage all bloggers to join us on December 4, 2009 when we gather for a Day of Blogging for Justice to Stop Taser Torture.
Don't forget to Sign The Petition to Request Congressional hearings on Taser Torture in America.
As the Dallas South On-line Newspaper noted, It's time for Congress and the Justice Department to revisit the use of force continuum due to lethal nature of Tasers.
Let's make the December 4th event bigger than our day of blogging for Justice – Standing up against the pre-trial electrocution effort.
Please Sign up now!
Here is a partial list of last years participants and what they said about taser torture:
African American Opinion - A Day of Blogging for Justice …
African American Political Opinion – “A Day of Blogging for Justice …
African American Political Pundit – A Day of Blogging for Justice – Blogging Against Extra-Judicial Electrocution via Tasers
All About Race – A Day of Blogging for Justice
Ancestralenergies – Day-of-Blogging-For-Justice
Black Perspective.com - Taser Awareness – Blogging Against Extrea Judicial Electrocution
Christina Springer Blog- Wish-I-Had-More-Time
Eddie G. Griffin (BASG) - Officer may be indicted for Tasing Death of Scooter
Electronic Village -Electronic Village: End Police Pre-Trial, Extra Judicial
Electrocuted While black – Electrocuted While Black: “A Day of Blogging for Justice
InkogNegro – Day of Blogging for Justice – Don’t Tase the Bros to death
Jack and Jill Politics - Extra-Judicial Electrocution – Jack & Jill Politics
Jena 6 Blog - Barron-pikes-tasered-while-handcuffed.html
Police Brutality Blog - “A Day of Blogging for Justice
Purple Zoe -A Day-of-blogging-opposing-pre-trial Electrocution
Regina’s Family Seasons - “A Day Of Blogging For Justice” – Tasers.\
Republic of T – Held Suspect
A Slant Truth – Blogging For Justice – Police Abuse (Tasers)
Tasered While Black - Tasered While Black: A Day of Blogging For Justice
Ultra Violet Underground - Day Of Blogging Opposing Pre-Trial Electrocution aka Tasering
What Tami Said – A day of blogging for justice
Wonderland or Not - Taser-lets-get-a-clue
The Black Snob – A Fight Against Taser Abuse and Other News
The Super Spade – A Day of Blogging for Justice – Against – Extra – Judicial Electrocution
Are you on this years list yet? Join the growing list of blogs that are making the December 4th event bigger than our day of blogging for Justice – Standing up against the pre-trial electrocution effort.
Join up with:
And many More! Sign up now!
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According to the Washington Informer.com the The District of Columbia is close to recognizing marriage between members of the same sex. A D.C. Council committee voting on Tues., Nov. 10 to send the bill authorizing the practice to the full council.
By a vote of 4-1, with D.C. Council member Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7) dissenting, the Public Safety and Judiciary Committee sent D.C. Council member David Catania’s (I-At-Large) bill, “The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009”, for a first reading vote, which is scheduled to take place on Tues., Dec. 1. The bill was amended to include giving the right of a church to deny its facilities for same sex marriages activities without any penalties from the city’s human rights laws.
There are 10 original co-sponsors of Catania’s bill, including D.C. Council Chair Vincent Gray (D). Council member Harry Thomas (D-Ward 5) did not co-sponsor the bill but has indicated that he will vote for passage. Alexander’s chief of staff, J.R. Meyers said that constituent concerns dictated his boss’s decision to oppose Catania’s bill.
“The councilwoman will follow the wishes of her constituents of Ward 7 and will not vote for this legislation,” Meyers said. “She will not lead any opposition to it. She just will not vote for it.”
Natalie Williams, the spokesperson for Council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) said that her boss opposes the bill. More HERE
AAPP: It looks like same sex marriage will be the name of the game across America. Well, then again maybe not. As reported by
Base Line Scenario.com the state of Maine voted to
restrict marriage to opposite-sex couples.
What do you think? Should the District of Columbia recognize same sex marriage? Should your community recognize same sex marriage ?
CORPUS CHRISTI — According to caller.com, and kristv, a 58-year-old South Carolina man who police subdued using a Taser and then performed CPR on died Friday.
The man was removed from life support Friday afternoon by doctors at Christus Spohn Hospital South, said Corpus Christi Police Capt. Todd Green, department spokesman.
Authorities wouldn’t release the man’s name, pending notification of family members. An autopsy will be done by the Nueces County Medical Examiner’s Office to determine an official cause of death, police said. The autopsy could take days depending upon the medical examiner’s workload Monday morning, according to Ric Ortiz, an assistant to the medical examiner.
“A preliminary investigation has shown the officers acted appropriately in responding to an aggressive individual who was acting erratically,” said Police Chief Troy Riggs “Unfortunately, he has died and we will continue the investigation.”
The five patrol officers who were placed on paid administrative leave have been cleared to work, Green said. Placing the officers on paid administrative is a routine policy for incidents under investigation, he said.
The incident began at 6:54 p.m. Wednesday when officer Stephan Beletic saw drivers flashing their headlights at Cimarron Boulevard and Airline Road. Beletic saw a man riding his bicycle illegally against the flow of traffic and attempted to stop him. The man didn’t stop and rode into a parking lot of restaurant where he banged on the restaurant’s window and spoke unintelligibly, Green said.
Beletic, who already had called for backup, began to frisk the man to make sure he wasn’t armed.
The man resisted, and Beletic managed to cuff one hand, but the man continued to struggle. Officers Ross Murray and Daryl Anderson arrived on the scene and Murray used a Taser, hitting the man in the lower back. The man appeared unaffected by the 50,000-volt stun gun, Green said, adding that police aren’t sure if the probe even penetrated the several layers of clothes the man was wearing.
Murray then placed the Taser on the man’s shoulder blade and shocked him, Green reported. The man continued to be combative, Green said.
Anderson used pepper spray, which also did little. Officer Jason Rhodes arrived and the four fell to the ground in a struggle with the man.
It wasn’t until a fifth officer, Jason Tello, arrived that they were able to finishing handcuffing the man, Green said.
Once the man was in custody, he quit breathing, Green said. MORE HERE
AAPP: How many more deaths will it take before America gets angry and asks for a Federal inquiry into the tasering and torture of American Citizens? Why is it that we only have 2,000 signed petitions for a Congressional hearing on Taser Torture? Enough is enough folks.
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(Family Photo)
On Wednesday, police continued their search for 5-year-old Shaniya Davis, who went missing from her Fayetteville, NC home early Tuesday morning.Investigators have now recovered a blanket from a neighbor’s trash can that may belong to the little girl. Neighbor, Andrea Moore, told WRAL that police said the blanket found in her garbage belonged to Shaniya. More HERE
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Wichita NAACP Blog
Gift is the Largest Received from an Individual Entertainer in the NAACP’s History
The NAACP, the country’s oldest and largest civil rights organization, announced yesterday that acclaimed film director Tyler Perry has donated one million dollars, marking the largest gift ever given by an individual entertainer. In addition, Perry purchased several NAACP commissioned Jacob Lawrence lithographs and additional lithographs by celebrated artists Jonathan Green, Elizabeth Catlett and Sam Gilliam. The gift, which will be distributed over the next four years, was made to commemorate the organization’s Centennial anniversary.
“We are honored that Tyler Perry chose to support the NAACP,” said Julian Bond, Chairman of the NAACP. “Tyler is a courageous pioneer in bringing positive images of African American culture and struggles to the screen. His remarkable journey from poverty and childhood abuse to become one of the world’s most successful filmmakers and entrepreneurs is an inspiration to us all,” Bond said.
“Tyler Perry exemplifies an unyielding commitment to uplifting and bringing hope to the disenfranchised and those less fortunate,” stated Benjamin Todd Jealous, President and CEO of the NAACP, “Both in his films and in his life, he reflects an impressive ethos of caring and conscientiousness. We are deeply grateful for his support.”
“I feel so honored and blessed to be in a position where I can give to the NAACP.” Perry said. “Had it not been for the perseverance and vision of the thousands who came before me in the 100 years of this legendary organization, I would not be in the position I am in today. I continue to be thankful for the tireless work of the NAACP, and I am proud to be able to help in their mission to fight for the equality of all people, and to work towards the elimination of discrimination against race.”
“This is a paradigm shifting moment in black philanthropy. Here is a civil rights organization that is receiving a donation that is usually targeted only at education or cultural institutions. Tyler Perry is setting a high standard for others to follow,” said Maxim Thorne, Senior Vice President of the NAACP.
“The generous gift by Tyler Perry will be used to support our Second Century Society advocacy programs on economic equality, education, health care and criminal justice” stated Benjamin Todd Jealous, President and CEO of the NAACP.
In July of 2009, delegates to the NAACP National Convention approved a resolution to condemn the practice of sentencing Juveniles to Life without Parole sentences. The Resolution also called upon branches to work within their respective states to bring an end to this practice. While Kansas is one the the 7 states in the county that prohibits the sentencing of Juveniles to Life sentences without the possibility of parole, the Wichita Branch and the Kansas State Conference of the NAACP would like to add our voice to the those calling for an end to this practice. Currently, the United States and Somalia are the only two nations in the world that have not ratified Article 37 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which bans participants from sentencing children to life in prison.
Click here to
sign a petition to support Sara Kruzan
Click here to read the
Human Rights Watch report on Juvenile Life Sentences
Click here for the
Public Interest Law Center's report on Florida's disproportionality in Juvenile Life sentencing
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With unemployment among blacks at more than 15 percent, and
in light of new unemployment data released for October 2009, the NAACP joined with several other groups this week to call on President Obama to do more to create jobs.
The organizations, including the Leadership Council on Civil Rights, the AFL-CIO, the Center for Community Change, the National Council of La Raza, and the Economic Policy Institute, stated that they believe the president’s $787 billion stimulus program has not gone far enough to fight unemployment. In response to the crisis, the groups held a panel discussion this week to raise awareness and suggest potential solutions for policymakers. They also issued a
joint statement advocating for strong congressional action to address the crisis, starting with extending unemployment benefits, food stamps, and COBRA to meet the needs of the significant number of unemployed people facing a long road to recovery.
“It’s time for us to really stoke this issue up,” said Hilary O. Shelton; NAACP Senior VP for Advocacy and Policy. “We’re not so much trying to convince him to do something he doesn’t want to do, but urging him to move forward on an issue we have agreement on.”
Currently, nearly 16 million Americans are unable to find employment and another nine million are only able to find part-time employment, according to the
EPI. And finding jobs is increasingly difficult – there are over six job seekers for each available job opening. The situation is even more difficult for workers of color. The unemployment rate for blacks has jumped to 15.7 percent, from 8.9 percent when the recession started 23 months ago. That compares with 13.1 percent for Hispanics and 9.5 percent for whites. The black unemployment rate has climbed above 20 percent in several states, reaching 23.9 percent in Michigan and 20.4 percent in South Carolina.
"Make no mistake – this is the civil rights issue of the moment," said LCCR President and CEO Wade Henderson. "Unless we resolve our national job crisis, all of our other priorities – from reforming health care and fixing our broken immigration system, to stemming home foreclosures and expanding economic opportunity for all Americans – are in real jeopardy."
Several members of the Kansas State Conference of the NAACP and regional activists attended a meeting with Tom Perez; Assistant Attorney General of the United States and head of DOJ Civil Rights Division, to discuss the strengthening of the agency's Civil Rights enforcement efforts. In attendance were
Kevin Myles; President of the Kansas State Conference,
Henry Lyons; President of the Olathe Branch,
Katrina Robertson; President of the Johnson County Branch,
Loris Jones; State Conference Education Committee Chair, Former State Conference President
Charles Jean-Baptiste, and
Mary Ann Flounder. Also in attendance
Nimrod Chapel; Political Affairs Chairman for the Missouri State Conference,
Marvin Szneler of the Jewish Community Relations Bureau,
Gwen Grant of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City,
Mona Lee Perry of the American Indian Council,
Alvin Sykes of the Emmett Till Justice Campaign,
Jessica Piedra of the Coalition of Hispanic Organizations, and several representatives of the US Attorney's Office and the Kansas City Human Relations Department.
The Kansas State NAACP Delegation called for the agency to focus additional attention on:
- Child Welfare disparities in removal and reunification rates
- Non-Compliance of States with the National Voter Registration Act of 94
- Unitary Status/Re-segregation and the inequitable distribution of talent and teaching experience in recently desegregated districts
- Ricci Vs DeStephano and its impact on Title VII enforcement
- Wren Vs the United States and why we believe statistical Racial Profiling data rises to the level of a 14th amendment claim
- The underfunding of Public Defender's offices and the resulting effect on poor and low income peoples ability to obtain adequate representation
- And Employment Discrimination; namely how shifting interpretations of the term "similarly situated" creates a practically insurmountable standard that makes racial discrimination cases almost impossible to win.
We were also given direct contact numbers for the registering of complaints and in the coming days, we will be re-filing complaints that were overlooked or dismissed by the previous administration; foremost among these -
the case of Rowana Riggs...
Nimrod Chapel, Political Affairs Chairman of the Missouri State NAACP, presented a detailed synopsis of the Heather Ellis case with a request for follow-up from the DOJ. NAACP National Board member Anita Russell and Missouri State Conference President Mary Ratliff were scheduled to attend but were delayed in their return from the
rally for Heather Ellis in Kennett Missouri...
The U.S. Senate blocked a controversial amendment that would have required the Census Bureau to belatedly add a citizenship question to the 2010 Census questionnaire.
In voting for cloture on the Commerce Justice and Science (CJS) FY10 Appropriations bill, a majority of senators effectively stopped the amendment from coming up for a vote. If approved, the amendment would have asked respondents to identify if they are a U.S. citizen and would have required the reprinting of Census questionnaires at an estimated cost of $1 billion.
The Vitter-Bennett amendment was opposed by the Leadership Council on Civil Rights, the NAACP and NAACP LDF, LULAC, People for the American Way, the Center for American Progress, the Japanese American Citizens League, SEIU, MALDEF, the NALEO Education Fund, and many other oraganizations. "The civil rights community won an important battle today in the fight for a fair and accurate 2010 census that counts every person in the United States as required by the U.S. Constitution," said LCCR President and CEO Wade Henderson.
The amendment threatened to severely disrupt the 2010 Census. LCCR argued that hastily considered changes such as those proposed by Sens. Vitter and Bennett would delay the census and jeopardize the timing of redistricting and reapportionment, as well as negatively affect any public and private project that depends upon an accurate count of the U.S. population.
After a torrent of meetings, discussions, emails, and phone calls, the question of whether or not the Lord's Diner would open a satellite facility on 21st street in Northeast Wichita has finally been answered. The Lord's Diner held a press conference on Saturday 11/14, and released a prepared statement that said in part,
"Regrettably, over the past few months, we have reached an impasse in our efforts to move forward with a Lord's Diner in the northeast community. Out of respect for those who have voiced concerns, we are withdrawing our proposal for a Lord's Diner at 21st and Grove."
The Lord's Diner contacted the Mayor and asked that the Public Hearing scheduled for November 17th be taken off of the agenda.
As a party to many of the discussions that have taken place within the community and with the Lord's Diner, the Wichita NAACP would like to personally thank Wendy Glick and the board of the Lord's Diner for their willingness to dialogue, and for their responsiveness to the concerns of the community.
While we were firm in our opposition to their proposed 21st site, we believe in and fully support the mission and work of the Lord's Diner. It is our hope that in the coming days we might build upon the relationships and connections we've made and continue to explore opportunities for future partnerships and collaborations.
FREE! NFHTA Regional Fair Lending Training
The following courses will be offered at no cost to the public:
Lending Discrimination: What you need to know (2 Days)
Financial Aspects of Buying a Home (3 Days)
Preventing Foreclosure (3 Days)
Buyer Beware (2 Days)
These courses will be offered in the following locations:
Cleveland, OH -
details and registration
Ft Worth, TX -
details and registration
Los Angeles -
details and registration
Miami, FL -
details and registration
Philadelphia, PA -
details and registration
Phoenix, AZ -
details and registration
Salt Lake City, UT -
details and registration
Stockton, CA -
details and registration
For more information contact Maqueda Fuller (202) 314-3422
The Wichita Airport Authority and The MidAmerica Minority Business Development Council have partnered together to host the Airport Authority Minority Outreach Meet & Greet on
Thursday, November 19, 2009 from 5:00pm – 8:00pm. The event will be held at the Wichita Airport Hilton, 2098 S. Airport Rd.
This networking event has been specifically designed to aggressively target minority firms for contracting opportunities on upcoming Airport projects. Prime contractors, Women, Disadvantaged and Minority Business Enterprises are encouraged to attend. A formal presentation on the upcoming Terminal and other construction projects will begin at 6:00pm. Light snacks and refreshments will also be provided.
The following resource partners will be onsite to answer any questions about business development resources and/or subcontracting opportunities.
- Wichita Airport Authority Staff
- AECOM – Program Management Staff
- MidAmerica Minority Business Development Council Staff
- Small Business Administration – Wichita Division Staff
- Kansas Department of Transportation – Disadvantaged Business Enterprise
- City of Wichita – Emerging Business Enterprise Program Staff
For additional information contact Wichita Airport Authority representative, Linda Turley at (316)946-4716 or the MAMBDC Office at (316) 303-1703. Online registration is available at: www.mambdc.org
Registration deadline: Monday, November 16, 2009.
Tomorrow, Saturday, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on health care reform. The future of health care for you, me, and every American hinges on this historic vote. So now is the time to make your voice heard.
Please send an e-mail to your representative today and ask him or her to support a health care reform bill with a strong public option.
Unless we pass a strong bill, the color of your skin, your ethnic background, and where you live will continue to influence your access to health care, as well as the quality and cost of your care.
Leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus came by the War Room today to urge us to help them pass real health care reform with a strong public option. With your help NOW, we can end discrimination in health care coverage and ensure access for every American.
Click here to send an e-mail to your representative in Congress and tell him or her to support health care legislation with a strong public option requiring all individuals to have insurance.
So, this is it. Let us ensure that Congress stops a system that delays, denies and defends the lack of care.
Click here to listen to a personal message from Congressional Black Caucus Chair Barbara Lee. Then, send a letter to your member of Congress now to urge him or her to support real health care reform with a strong public option when the vote takes place tomorrow.
The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights has proposed significant changes in Civil Rights Data Collection. The Department's proposal includes a biennial survey of roughly half the nation's schools (over 7,000 districts), with new requests for data on:
- Bullying/harassment of students in violation of civil rights laws
- Use of seclusion and restraint
- School-related arrests and referrals to law enforcement
- Expulsions under zero-tolerance school disciplinary policies
- Student retention
- College-preparatory courses, International Baccalaureate programs, and SAT and ACT test participation
- Pre-kindergarten programs
- School counselors
- School finance
- Teaching experience
The proposed changes provide that the data collected be disaggregated by race and ethnicity, gender, special education status (pursuant to IDEA and Section 504), and LEP status.
The Department of Education will accept comments on the Civil Rights Data Collection submitted on or before Tuesday, November 10, 2009. We urge you to submit recommendations and comments; your input is essential to securing collection of this critical data. The DOE has already received comments in opposition to the breadth of the proposed changes.Materials on the proposed modifications can be found on the web at:
http://edicsweb.ed.gov. Click "browse pending collections" and choose #4127. The most relevant documents are labeled "B-4" and "B-5."
Comments should be submitted by e-mail to
ICDocketMgr@ed.gov.
By way of example, the Dignity in Schools Campaign has drafted comments addressing the disciplinary changes in the proposed Civil Rights Data Collection; a Word version of the comments is available at
http://dignityinschools.org.
Thank you for your input, and your continued work and leadership in providing high quality, inclusive schools for all the nation's schoolchildren.
Booker Rising.net
Thomas Sowell: "Solving Whose Problem?"The conservative economist opines: "Many of the things the government does that may seem stupid are not stupid at all, from the standpoint of the elected officials or bureaucrats who do these things. The current economic downturn that has cost millions of people their jobs began with successive administrations of both parties pushing banks and other lenders to make mortgage loans to people whose incomes, credit history and inability or unwillingness to make a substantial down payment on a house made them bad risks. Was that stupid? Not at all. The money that was being put at risk was not the politicians' money, and in most cases was not even the government's money. Moreover, the jobs that are being lost by the millions are not the politicians' jobs-- and jobs in the government's bureaucracies are increasing. No one pushed these reckless mortgage lending policies more than Congressman Barney Frank, who brushed aside warnings about risk, and said in 2003 that he wanted to 'roll the dice' even more in the housing markets. But it would very rash to bet against Congressman Frank's getting re-elected in 2010."
More commentary from Mr. Sowell: "Does the Federal Housing Administration have unlimited money to bail out bad loans? Actually there have been so many defaults that the FHA's own reserves have dropped below where they are supposed to be. But not to worry. There will always be taxpayers, not to mention future generations to pay off the national debt. Very few people are likely to connect the dots back to those members of Congress who voted for bigger mortgage guarantees and bailouts by the FHA. So the Congressmen's and the bureaucrats' jobs are safe, even if millions of other people's jobs are not."
La Shawn Barber: "Westchester Ousts County Executive"The conservative blogger writes: "Voters in Westchester County, New York, kicked Democrat
Andy Spano out of the county executive’s office and replaced him with Republican Rob Astorino. Before the November election, Spano pushed through a so-called desegregation agreement his constituents didn’t want, because he said delaying the order would make his county 'a symbol of racism.' You may recall that Westchester County is under order to create low-income housing in majority white communities and actively seek out minorities to move into the housing. Writing in the
City Journal, Walter Olson notes that the government coercion 'cuts deeply into the county’s tradition of suburban home rule on development issues,' and comments on HUD deputy secretary Ron Sims’s radial vision of racial Utopia. Like other social engineering types, Sims implies that one’s preference to live in an affluent, low-crime area — and complaints about being forced to subsidize housing for people who can’t afford to live in the area — are wrong."
More commentary from Ms. Barber about the housing controversy: "Olson cites
Howard Husock’s article, which we also cited in a September post. Husock made the case that if blacks who could afford to live in wealthier areas of Westchester County are intentionally kept out, the settlement would make sense. But that’s not what’s happening. Blacks are 'only slightly underrepresented' even in 'super-wealthy' areas of the county. To satisfy an arbitrary diversity goal, taxpayers in Westchester County are forced to subsidize lifestyle upgrades. To what end? Husock said moving low-income children to 'better' neighborhoods doesn’t close the academic achievement gap, improve health, or any other magical thing, and the better policy is using tax money to upgrade areas
in which the poor already live. Westchester County voters spoke at the polls. Sixty-three percent chose Barack Obama to serve as president, but 58 percent selected a Republican to serve their county. It’s not about racism; it’s about electing someone who’ll push for local taxpayers rights over 'diversity' goals and playing the race card."
The libertarian economics professor argues that self-interest is what fuels creativity and human progress: "How many things in our lives would we like to depend upon the generosity and selflessness of our fellow man, and do you think we would like the outcome? You say, 'Williams, are you now putting down generosity and selflessness?' No, I'm not. Let me ask the question in a more direct way. Say you want a nice three-bedroom house. Which human motivation do you think would get you the house sooner: the generosity of builders or the builders' desire to earn some money? What about a nice car? Which motivation of auto companies and their workers do you trust will get you a car sooner: the generosity of owners and workers, or owner desire for profits and worker desire for wages? As for me, I put my faith in people's self-interest as the most reliable way to get them to do what I want and believe most other people share my faith. What would your prediction be about the supply of housing, cars and most other things if Congress enacted a law mandating that a house or car could only be donated, not sold? If you said there would be a shortage of houses and cars, go to the head of the class."
More: "Bone marrow transplantation is a relatively new medical procedure that is used to treat diseases once thought incurable such as leukemia, aplastic anemia, Hodgkin's disease, immune deficiency disorders and some solid tumors such as breast and ovarian cancer. Every year, at least 1,000 Americans die and others suffer because they cannot find a matching bone marrow donor. The reason why there is a shortage of donors is the National Organ Transplant Act (NOTA), enacted by Congress in 1984. NOTA makes it illegal to give anything of value in exchange for bone marrow and that includes, for example, giving a college student a scholarship or a new homeowner a mortgage payment. Everyone involved in such a transaction -- doctors, nurses, donors and patients -- risks up to five years in a federal penitentiary."
He continues his commentary: "The Institute for Justice is not challenging Congress' ban on compensation for solid organs such as hearts, kidneys and livers. Instead, the lawsuit challenges only the provision of National Organ Transplant Act that bans compensation for bone marrow. The premise of the Institute for Justice's legal challenge is that there is a fundamental biological distinction between renewable marrow cells and nonrenewable solid organs. In the case of bone marrow, the donor's bone marrow is completely replenished in a few weeks. That's less time than it takes for the human body to fully replenish a pint of donated blood that is often sold to blood banks. Just about everyone would agree that there would be massive shortages and discontent if there were a congressional mandate that we must depend on our fellow man's generosity for our home, our car, our food and thousands of other items that we use. Why then must a person depend on his fellow man's generosity for an item like bone marrow that might mean the difference between life and death? There is no rhyme or reason for the congressional prohibition of bone marrow other than arbitrary unconstitutional abuse of power that far too many Americans tolerate and would like to see extended to other areas of our lives."
Ghana: Ex-Minister: "NDC Can’t Change The Economy"Felix Owusu Adjapong, the former Minister of Parliamentary Affairs in the erstwhile center-right New Patriotic Party administration, calls the 2010 budget presented to Parliament last week as “preposterous and absurd.” He said the "government, reading its second Financial Statement would still resort to the blame game, whilst glossing over their inability at extracting Ghanaians from the woods of the so-called mismanagement they profess was bequeathed to them by the NPP”. He stated that the ruling center-left National Democratic Congress (NDC), in a letter to the Brettonwoods institution, admitted that the economy as they inherited from the NPP government last year was of sound footing.
Mr. Adjapong, who is aspiring for the NPP chairmanship, said the NDC has failed to deliver on its mandate as promised and is misleading Ghanaians. He said that while in government, his party set a growth rate that consistently grew from 3.7% to 7.3%.
USA: Condoleezza Rice, Justice Clarence Thomas To Receive Horatio Alger Association AwardsThe
Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, Inc. is pleased to announce the Horatio Alger Award Recipients for 2010. It will award 11 outstanding individuals "who have accomplished remarkable achievements through hard work, self-reliance and perseverance". Dr. Condoleezza Rice, former U.S. Secretary of State and moderate-conservative Republican, is one of the 11 recipients.
The 2010 Norman Vincent Peale Award will be presented to Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas. The Norman Vincent Peale Award is annually conferred "on an association member who has made exceptional humanitarian contributions to society, who has been an active participant in the association, and who continues to exhibit courage, tenacity and integrity in the face of great challenges." Justice Thomas has hosted the Inaugural Ceremony to honor new members during the annual Horatio Alger Awards at the U.S. Supreme Court since 1992 and has served on the board of directors since 2000. "The Horatio Alger Association is committed to giving at-risk students a college education, the first step toward a bright future," the conservative Republican jurist said. "I am proud and honored to be a part of that."
The new members will be inducted next April in Washington, D.C. The Horatio Alger National Scholars, remarkable high school seniors, are also formally honored during the three-day event.
East Africans Working For U.S. Security Firms In War ZoneThousands of Ugandans (pictured left) and Kenyans are working in Iraq and Afghanistan as contractors for US-based security companies. They are reportedly paid wages eight times more than they could earn at home -- but reportedly only 1/5 of what Americans and Europeans receive for doing similar work. Critics refer to the security contractors as "mercenaries". Emira Woods, the head of a foreign-policy project at a liberal Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C. says the main objection to private security contracting is that these workers cannot be held accountable for human-rights violations in the same way that soldiers can. "Security should be the purview of the government exclusively," Ms. Woods said. "Then there are mechanisms for accountability that are absent with private companies."
The companies defend their recruitment activities as offering significant benefits to those who sign up, their families and society as a whole. They also reject the "mercenary" label. Douglas Ebner, a spokesman for US-based DynCorp International, which is active in Africa, says critics "misuse the term for political purposes." James Mwangemi, a retired lieutenant-colonel in the Kenya Army and now an independent security consultant, told CNSNews.com in 2007 that the successful use of armed ex-soldiers as rearguards in Iraq has caused observers to rethink stereotypes. "Previously, people who performed such tasks were seen as mercenaries," Mr. Mwangemi told the news service. "This is changing, and Iraq has fired up that change."
Windows 7 To Be Translated Into 10 African Languages
Microsoft plans to make its newly-released Windows 7 operating system available in 10 African languages - including five of South Africa's official languages - by the end of 2011. Vis Naidoo, of Microsoft South Africa, said computer technology in local languages offers more opportunities. "UNESCO-funded research in 2006 showed that development and learning is only possible through languages familiar to the people. There's tremendous empowerment in working in your own language." Translation teams are translating Windows 7 and the upcoming Office 2010 productivity suite into Sesotho sa Leboa, Setswana, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Afrikaans, Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, kiSwahili and Amharic.
Yes, black moderates and black conservatives add their opinions to the public debate over the effectiveness of U.S. President Barack Obama's trip to East Asia:
Collin Spears: "China Walks The Middle Path Around Obama"The moderate blogger opines: "In the aftermath of Barack Obama’s first presidential trip to Asia, many of his more ardent critics and fervent supporters are left to ponder the same question – what did he accomplish? This is especially the case in regard to his much anticipated visit to China. Maybe it is more appropriate to ask why Obama’s foreign policy objectives were met with a lukewarm response from Beijing. Further, were there any other possible outcomes considering the divergent interests of America and China? So, what were the issues that Obama felt were most important to address on his tour?"
Mr. Spears continues his commentary: "America is trying to walk the middle path [in Southeast Asia], realizing that China’s increasing penetration into the region is not a zero-sum game; the U.S. wants a constructive working relationship with Beijing. However, Southeast Asia is flush with agricultural and natural resources, and is home to more than half of the world’s annual merchant shipping traffic. The geopolitical reality is that China’s access to the region will increase, and America cannot afford to be shut out of the region....Getting allies to help control and moderate China’s rise has been [i]llusive. Over the last decade Washington has called on India, Japan, Australia, and Indonesia to assist it with security in the South China Sea and Indian Ocean. None of these nations have been especially responsive. In fact, America’s closest ally in the region, Japan, with recent elections, appears to be moving toward a more Asia-centric policy, although it pays lip service to the special relationship between the U.S. and itself."
More: "The United States has tried to apply pressure to China, hoping to persuade it to be a 'responsible' global actor. This actually means that China should work with the West in various international institutions on goals the West deems appropriate, which is not likely to happen unless China’s interests coincide with the West. Case in point, the United States' expectations that China should help reign in North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, and get the North to return to [s]ix-party talks. It seems China has helped convince the North to return to talks, but this is really a non-issue, as neither side is naive enough to believe that will actually accomplish anything over the long term. North Korea will remain a nuclear state, with de facto acceptance by the larger powers in the region. The reason is China. Beijing will not cut off Kim Jong Il, because China is more afraid of an American friendly United Korea on its border and a refugee crisis, in the event of the collapse of the Kim family regime."
Final thoughts: "Obama’s policies and diplomatic approach in dealing with China are not the reason he seemed to accomplish so little, other than setting a framework for future discussions, on his recent trip. The problem Obama has, even more than his predecessor, is that China is stronger in relation to the United States than it ever has been. Further, China has made its cooperation critical to various U.S. interests, including the covering of billions in U.S. debt during a shaky American economic recovery. In this way, the Chinese have effectively insulated themselves from bulk of U.S. pressure. In fact it is the U.S. that has begun to tip-toe around issues sensitive to China, such as Tibet, human rights, and currency manipulation. The world is no longer one where the center of political gravity is in the Atlantic, with the U.S. as the leader of a Western + Japan club. Mr. Obama, and future presidents, will have to learn to work with China, because it is no longer in a position to dictate terms. For many in Washington and America as whole, it is indeed a brave new world."
Maria: "China Sends Him Packing With NOTHING"
The conservative blogger opines: "So President Obama
returns from his Asia trip with nothing to show for it except displays of fatigue and exasperation. And what does
David Axelrod have to say about it despite the growing tension among Obama’s foreign policy team? The public’s expectation was too high. Yeah, sure. It’s all our fault. There there, Davie. I know your job sucks. Lap-dog to an underqualified and delusional world leader can’t be much fun. According to
this article (from
Drudge Report) Obama received no concessions in Bei[]ing or Tokyo. The writer recalled that Obama entered office saying [QUOTE] he wanted to listen to the world, promising respect instead of arrogance. *Sigh* I thought this Barry kid told us he gave up hallucinogens years ago. Good grief! What a novice."
She continues her commentary: "And we know how this story ends. If he tries to act like he grew a spine and a pair now, demanding respect and cooperation for our country, he’ll get slapped in the mouth with a missile or some similar warning to go back to the kiddie table. We can only hope that our military leaders are drawing up a Plan B. We certainly can’t sit around waiting for the learning curve to take effect. Barry is clearly operating now on the fumes of auto-stupid. God help us. That’s my truth and I’m sticking with it."
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