Tuesday, June 16, 2009

” Having faith allows you the opportunity to be active and creative whereas most people in society “tiptoe quietly through life, arriving safely at their graves” without ever playing the game for fear of being a failure."

Sunday, June 14, 2009

From Barbra

Leading With Your Head and Heart
There has been a lot of conversation lately about how the ability to identify with another person’s circumstance makes one unqualified to wear the judicial robe. Since President Obama’s nomination of Judge Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, the word empathy has taken a beating. The other day, Dick Cheney came out in support of gay marriage, stating “freedom means freedom for everyone”…I guess Cheney finally allowed himself to share the empathy he felt for his daughter with the rest of the country. But why should it be acceptable to only show empathy to those we are closest to? Empathy should not be considered a hindrance to fair and balanced judgment.

Just because Judge Sotomayor feels empathetic does not mean she doesn’t believe in the Constitution and carrying out the rule of law. It is the absence of empathy in our country’s elected and appointed leaders that we should fear. Because of empathetic judges we have rulings like Brown vs. the Board of Education and Gideon vs. Wainwright. It took Justices with heart and conviction to change course, put an end to Jim Crow and insert real justice into American society. The documents drafted by our Founding Fathers have grown organically and adapted over the course of our country’s history, giving women the right to vote and ending legal racial segregation as examples. As we now embark upon the new civil rights battle of the 21st century with gay rights, we can only hope that our justices will rule using both their heads and their hearts. Smart well-intentioned people can and should be able to do both.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Ok when I first read that Chastity Bono was changing genders my mouth fell open and in slow motion said...whaaat the fuuckk.lol

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

From CREDO Action

Today's shooting was a tragedy. The gun violence has to stop.
It's time to close the gun show loophole.
close the gunshow loophole! Criminals and corrupt gun sellers can avoid the background checks required by the Brady Bill at gun shows and other events. Rep. Bright should take swift action to close this egregious loophole.

take action now!


First the murder of Dr. George Tiller by an anti-choice extremist. Now the murder of a security guard at the Holocaust Museum by a white supremacist.

These are two horrifying acts of right wing domestic terrorism in as many weeks. No wonder the Department of Homeland Security issued a report last month labeling "rightwing extremism" the "most dangerous domestic terrorism threat in the United States."

And, as we all know, these acts of terrorism were carried out with guns. Scott Roeder, who's being held for the murder of Dr. Tiller, has a history of mental illness and threatened violence against abortion providers a week before he allegedly shot Dr. Tiller. James W. von Brunn, who allegedly killed a security guard at the Holocaust Museum, has his own white supremacy website and is a convicted felon (he stormed the Federal Reserve Bank in 1981).

Why is it so easy for domestic terrorists to get hold of guns?

Here's one way to make it harder. The Brady Bill requires criminal background checks before the purchasing of guns. But there's a tremendous loophole for gun shows and similar events — a loophole that criminals know only too well how to exploit.

Currently, there's a bill in Congress to close this loophole — H.R. 2234, "To require criminal background checks on all firearms transactions occurring at gun shows." We need this law to reduce future attacks like those on Dr. Tiller and at the Holocaust Museum, but it won't go anywhere without significant support in Congress — and right now it has only seven sponsors.

Click here to tell Rep. Bright to co-sponsor H.R. 2234. We need swift action to keep criminals from getting more guns.

Thank you for working to build a safer world.

Kate Stayman-London, Campaign Manager
CREDO Action from Working Assets

P.S. If you're on Facebook, please help us spread the word on this important action by posting it to your profile. Just make sure you're logged in when you sign the petition, and click "Tell my Facebook friends about this petition!" to post it to your feed.

Racism, the Law, and Class Privilege

Reading an article in the local paper about a homicide/assault case that involved a boating accident, I started to think about what was being implied in the case being presented before the public(through the article) and the rhetoric, if you will, behind the legislation involved. Firstly, I noticed that some prominent society names were involved-Tatum, Cumbie... these are people with some social standing in the South(at least in this region). That led me to considering, as I read further in this article, how this case,and more pertinently the defendant, was being handled. So, apparently one person died instantly in the boat collision, caused by one Mr. Cumbie who was driving a boat while intoxicated and crashed it into a boat belonging to the Tatums (said victims). The other person suffered in the hospital, unconscious, until she died several moths later. What the prosecutors have chosen to do in this case was to charge Mr. Cumbie with homicide by vessel-which carries a sentence of 1-5 years in prison and in the second case, charge him with second-degree assault, which carries a sentence of 1-10 years. The prosecutors decided to only pursue the second degree assault charge. The first question that burdened me was why would they pursue a less severe sentence in the second charge? Is this due to this person's class status? If he were black, I have no doubt that the book would have been brought down on him harshly. The second question that burdens me is, why does the "crime" or homocide-by-vessel only carry a sentence of 1-5 years? Is the person no less dead? Is this not a homicide--at least in the second degree? Might the reasoning for this be perhaps that the people who most likely would be found in these types of predicaments come from certain backgrounds with certain class standings...It is always interesting, and really pertinent to think about these things. It is definitely something to ponder....

Monday, June 08, 2009

In the midst of doing some research about my uncle's presence in Autauga County, Alabama, I ran upon this newspaper clipping concerning Stokley Carmichael's visit to Prattville Alabama. Look at the web image of it here

Saturday, June 06, 2009

Dr. George Tiller

I am just now getting around to responding to the murder of Dr. George Tiller. What an egregious act. The very people who are anti-choice are the very one's who will burst hell wide open for their inhumanity....lessons to be learned....

Thursday, May 28, 2009

RIP Ronald Takaki

I am shocked and saddened, having just learned of the death of Ronald Takaki. What a great and brilliant man. What a progressive voice. He was one of the firmest apponents to the effort to end affirmative action in California. He was also one of the most brilliant and profound scholars in the field of ethnic studies. What a loss... Here is the posting from Portside...

Professor Emeritus Ronald Takaki passed away on the evening of May
26th, 2009. Ron Takaki was one of the most preeminent scholars of
our nation's diversity, and considered "the father" of multicultural
studies. As an academic, historian, ethnographer and author, his work
helped dispel stereotypes of Asian Americans. In his study of
multicultural people's history in America, Takaki seeked to unite
Americans, today and in the future, with each other and with the rest
of the world.

He was a professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of California,
Berkeley, where he taught over 20,000 students during 34 years of teaching.

Born in 1939, Professor Takaki was the grandson of immigrant Japanese
plantation workers in Hawaii. He graduated from the College of
Wooster, Ohio, in 1961. Six years later, after receiving his Ph.D. in
American history from UC Berkeley, Takaki went to UCLA to teach its
first Black history course.

In 1972, Professor Takaki returned to Berkeley to teach in the newly
instituted Department of Ethnic Studies. His comparative approach to
the study of race and ethnicity provided the conceptual framework for
the B.A. program and the Ph.D. program in Comparative Ethnic Studies
as well as for the university's multicultural requirement for
graduation, known as the American Cultures Requirement. The Berkeley
faculty has honored Professor Takaki with a Distinguished Teaching Award.

Takaki has lectured in Japan, Russia, Armenia, New Zealand, the
Netherlands, Austria, and South Africa. He has debated Nathan Glazer
and Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. on issues such as affirmative action and
multicultural education.

Professor Takaki wrote 12 books. Iron Cages: Race and Culture in 19th
Century America has been critically acclaimed. Strangers from a
Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans has been selected by
the San Francisco Chronicle as one of the best 100 non-fiction books
of the 20th century, and A Different Mirror: A History of
Multicultural America is read on college campuses across the country
and has over half a million copies in print.
--30--
I am reading Shirley MacLaine's Going Within, which I have picked through off and on for a few months now. I am very fascinated by the concept of frequencies. Shirley says that if Pianos played at a higher frequency, they would produce colors instead of sound....I wonder if someone could perhaps compose a symphony that correlates to the frequencies of colors...a red symphony... The universe is a complex, wondrous place....

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Republicans are soo trying to scrounge up something against Sotomayor. I hope she is appointed soon!
Dick Cheney should drop and go to hell. Please let him fall off the face of the earth. Soon. Magnet to the defibrilator!

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Sonia Sotomayor

I am looking forward to learning more about President Obama's Supreme Court nominee. I hope she is another Ruth Bader Ginsberg!

From Salt Publishing

Hello, All,

Many of you have done this already. As I'm sure you've heard, Salt Publishing (like many other small publishers) is having financial difficulties. Would you please consider adding something about Salt's "Just One Book" campaign to your blogs. If everyone who loves poetry buys just one Salt book, they'll be saved.

Here's the note directly from Chris Hamilton-Emery:


Wednesday, May 20, 2009

As many of you will know, Jen and I have been struggling to keep Salt moving since June last year when the economic downturn began to affect our press. Our three year funding ends this year: we've £4,000 due from Arts Council England in a final payment, but cannot apply through Grants for the Arts for further funding for Salt's operations. Spring sales were down nearly 80% on the previous year, and despite April's much improved trading, the past twelve months has left us with a budget deficit of over £55,000. It's proving to be a very big hole and we're having to take some drastic measures to save our business.

Here's how you can help us to save Salt and all our work with hundreds of authors around the world.

JUST ONE BOOK

1. Please buy just one book, right now. We don't mind from where, you can buy it from us or from Amazon, your local shop or megastore, online or offline. If you buy just one book now, you'll help to save Salt. Timing is absolutely everything here. We need cash now to stay afloat. If you love literature, help keep it alive. All it takes is just one book sale. Go to our online store and help us keep going.

2. Share this note on your profile. Tell your friends. If we can spread the word about our cash crisis, we can hopefully find more sales and save our literary publishing. Remember it's just one book, that's all it takes to save us. Please do it now.

With my best wishes to everyone
Chris
Director
Salt Publishing
http://www.saltpublishing..com

--
Thanks so much!
Shaindel




http://www.saltpublishing.com/books/smp/9781844715053.htm

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Reading the paper this morning, I noticed that the state of Ohio has just pased a ballot measure that caps the interests that payday loan establishments can charge customers. Shouldn't this measure be adopted everywhere? People also should never use these places in the first place. They seem seedy.
One of these days I'm going to write about hotels...my experiences in them...decor...comfort level....I really do appreciate a very nice hotel...

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

The Kitchen Table on Torture Photos and Emmett Till

I encourage everyone to pop over to The Kitcken Table and read the very succinct essay on Obama's decision concerning releasing the photos of prisoners being tortured and how it related to Mamie Till's decision to have Emmett Till's body photographed. Very powerful comparison.

Don't let Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue execute Troy

Despite a strong claim of innocence, Troy Davis, an
African-American man from Georgia, faces execution for
purportedly killing a police officer.

Seven out of nine witnesses have recanted or
contradicted their testimony, no murder weapon was
found, and no physical evidence links Davis to the
crime. The Georgia Board of Pardon and Paroles has
voted to deny clemency, yet Governor Sonny Perdue can
still exercise leadership to ensure that Troy Davis's
death sentence is commuted.

Please sign the petition asking him to support clemency
for Davis. The Georgia State Conference of the NAACP,
which has been a leader in the fight for Troy Davis,
will deliver the petition to the governor to ensure
your voice is heard.

The case of Troy Davis highlights the need for criminal
justice reform in the United States. The NAACP, with
its long and accomplished history of promoting civil
rights, is on the forefront of a movement to
revolutionize the criminal justice system.

More than 60% of the people in prison are people of
color. For Black males in their twenties, 1 in every 8
is in prison or jail on any given day. These trends
have been intensified by the disproportionate impact of
the "war on drugs," in which three-fourths of all
persons in prison for drug offenses are people of
color. The most extreme end of the criminal justice
system, the implementation of the death penalty, is no
exception: currently, more than 41% of those on death
row are Black. We must fight for change.

Please help us fight for the rights -- and life -- of
Troy Davis today.

Here are some facts about Davis's case:

Davis was sentenced to death for the murder of Police
Officer Mark Allen MacPhail at a Burger King in
Savannah, Georgia, a murder he maintains he did not
commit. There was no physical evidence against him and
the weapon used in the crime was never found. The case
against him consisted entirely of witness testimony
which contained inconsistencies even at the time of the
trial. Since then, all but two of the state's non-
police witnesses from the trial have recanted or
contradicted their testimony. Many of these witnesses
have stated in sworn affidavits that they were
pressured or coerced by police into testifying or
signing statements against Troy Davis.

One of the two witnesses who has not recanted his
testimony is Sylvester "Red" Coles -- the principle
alternative suspect, according to the defense, against
whom there is new evidence implicating him as the
gunman. Nine individuals have signed affidavits
implicating Sylvester Coles.

Please urge Georgia Gov. Perdue to commute Davis's
sentence and bring justice to this case by signing our
petition today.


The case of Troy Davis highlights the need for criminal
justice reform in the United States.

Please help us fight for the rights -- and life -- of
Troy Davis today by signing the petition below, asking
Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue to act on behalf of
justice and commute Troy Davis's death sentence.

Benjamin Todd Jealous President and CEO NAACP

====

click below to send e-petition


====

I urge you to commute the death sentence of Troy Davis
to ensure that Georgia does not put to death a man who
may well be innocent.

Mr. Davis has a strong claim to innocence, but he could
be executed without a court ever holding a hearing on
his claims. Because of this, I urge you to act in the
interests of justice and support clemency for Troy
Davis. An execution without a proper hearing on
significant evidence of innocence would compromise the
integrity of Georgia's justice system.

As you may know, Mr. Davis was convicted of the 1989
murder of police officer Mark MacPhail, a conviction
based solely on witness testimony. Seven of the nine
non-police witnesses have recanted or contradicted
their trial testimony. The courts, citing procedural
rules and time limits, have so far refused to hold an
evidentiary hearing to examine these witnesses.
Executive clemency exists, and executive action - and
your leadership - is required to preserve justice when
the protections afforded by our appeals process fail to
do so.

Thank you for your attention.

_____________________________________________

Portside aims to provide material of interest
to people on the left that will help them to
interpret the world and to change it.

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Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Where Love Begins- Patti Labelle

Talkin bout love
sing it sing it Patti
Love love love love
What I'm talkin' bout
Talk about it Patti

Everybody's lookin' for somethin
somethin
An answer to believe in
Come on and talk about it
Don't nobody trust what they're feelin'
Ain't nothin' like the real thing

I've lived and I've learned
from every ruse, every burn
to follow my heart
with every road, every turn

That's why i'm free as a bird
as wild as the wind
Cruisin' up high
I've got my faith on my wings
there's no lookin back
I'm forgivin' my sins
the truth is my song
and it comes deep from within
cause that's where love begins
yes it does
yeah yes it does

Everybody's waitin' for tomorrow
to do what they could do today
do what they could do today
one feels that holdin' onto sorrow
the past keeps gettin' in your way

See I've lived and learned
a bit of wisdom I've earned
there's a place in your soul
where you can always return

That's why i'm free as a bird
as wild as the wind
Cruisin' up high
I've got my faith on my wings
there's no lookin back
I'm forgivin' my sins
the truth is my song
and it comes deep from within
because that's where love begins

I sing it loud
so proud
strong
wherever I go
to the day this Patti's gone
The voice in my heart won't leave me alone
That's why I'll keep on
keep on
holdin' on

Free as a bird
free as a bird
wild as the wind
as wild as the wind
Cruisin' up high
I've got my faith on my wings
there's no lookin back
I'm forgivin' my sins
the truth is my song
and it comes deep from within
because that's where love begins

I'm free as the wind
Up high
I got faith on my wings
There's no lookin back
I'm forgiven my sins
truth is my song
because that's where love begins

Yeah.