USA
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We asked a cop why people were being arrested for nothing he said “If we could arrest all of you we might"
Keep reblogging. The world needs to see this
Fuck 12
So he got arrested for marching?
News/truth is not coming from mainstream media/journalists; if we want the truth, then we must search for the truth. It is mostly coming from citizens on the frontline.
Search for live streams, tweets, independent blogs, status updates, YouTube and Vimeo videos,
You want to protest?
start afterschool programs
invest in black own businesses
get educated
band together
strengthen your community
that’s how you show them that we are a force to be reckoned with
violence, vandalism, looting et al… fits the stereotype that they want, with the medias help, to perpetuate… We are better than that!
A mother has been arrested and sentenced to jail time for sending her five year old son to a school district where she had no permanent residence.
I can barely believe I’m having to type this sentence again. In a post just last year, I wrote about a woman in Ohio who was convicted of lying about where she lived in order to get her daughters into a better school district and was sentenced to 10 days in county jail, three years of probation, community service, and payment of up to $30,000 in back tuition she could be required to pay the school. At the time, I (morbidly) joked that I’m surprised they didn’t hit her with life in prison and tattoo “Thug Life” on her upper stomach.
Now, a year later, the same twisted logic and interpersonal and systemic racism has landed another mother in jail for the simple “crime” of wanting her child to access public education.
Tanya McDowell was living as a homeless woman when she was arrested for sending her five year old son to a school district where she- surprise- didn't have a permanent residence. Ms. McDowell has said that she only wanted a better education for her child. Despite a change.org petition that has generated over 15, 600 signatures asking for the charges to be dropped against her,she was just sentenced to 5 years in prisonafter pleading guilty in the case.
As I’ve mentioned previously, this story really hits home for me because my OWN mother did this for me, driving 30 minutes each way to school and back during a tough time of transition for my family. But because my mother is white, and we weren't homeless, or some other inexplicable reason, she didn't have to go to jail for her crime of fiercely loving her only child.
It’s hard to believe that our tax money is being spent prosecuting the most vulnerable and impoverished members of society for daring to dream a little bit bigger for members of the next generation- if we could even call sending your child to public school “daring to dream big”. This case is just another example of the ways in which motherhood can often be celebrated in theory but villified in practice in our society, especially when that motherhood doesn't look rich or white.
What is this country coming to? Actually, it was always this way! When is to going to stop?!?
Hope for…
“Texas’ new ID law permits voters to use concealed-handgun licenses as proof of identity, but not state university IDs.”
Mother Jones, July/August 2012 (via orifuckingcupcakes)
(via motherjones)
New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie this week said that African-American civil rights should have been voted upon, in lieu of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which outlawed racial discrimination and segregation and strengthened voting rights. Christie made these remarks as he insisted he would veto any legislation that came to his desk allowing same-sex marriage.
“The fact of the matter is, I think people would have been happy to have a referendum on civil rights rather than fighting and dying in the streets in the South,” Christie said Tuesday, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer: READ MORE
And he sat in that church with all of those African-American leaders and celebrities who were there to bury an African-American legend.
This is taken from our Declaration of Independence
–That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government.
Medicare/Medicaid is not a light or transient cause
Social Security is not a light or transient cause
Equality is not a light or transient cause
Troy Davis was not a light or transient cause
Aid for our veterans is not a light or transient cause
The economy is not a light or transient cause.
The middle class is not a light or transient cause
The poor and the homeless are not light or transient causes
HIV/AIDS is not a light transient cause.
Occupy Wall Street is not a light or transient cause
We may think we alter the government with our elections but we continue to be abused by those we give power to and those that rule over them (big corporations and the wealthiest 1-2%)
It’s time for a revolution!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OK…So it’s been a few days since the 10th Anniversary of the 9/11 Attacks. I remember where I was when it all took place - W 31st Street and Avenue of the Americas (also known as 6th Avenue). The Avenue was straight path to the WTC and everyone had a clear of the towers. Amazingly, there was no concern for the Empire State Building which is just a few blocks away from where I was standing. I would have thought it would have been evacuated immediately after learning that this was a possible terrorist attack.
I watched the towers collapse from that corner. The office worked was on that corner (no one else came into work that morning). My boss called and told me that I should stay in the office where he felt I would be safe. I did for a some time but all I could think about was the Empire State Building and the possibility of a plane being flown into it. A friend of mine, who worked a few blocks away and further away from the ESB, sent me an email and said that I could come to his office and hang out there… He himself was about to close the office and head home. I chose the go there. The city seemed so silent; even the cars going by just seemed muffled in the eerie calm. Hardly anyone was speaking; they were just walking. Sirens pierced the surrealism of the beautiful September day and reminded that what I just witnessed really happened.
I do not remember how I got home that day. I lived in Bushwick Brooklyn at the time. What I do remember are the sounds of helicopters and fighter jets flying overhead for days after. I was terrified!
To this day, I get chills when I see what appears, to me, to be a low flying airplane. I didn’t see anything on the news but it appears that passenger airplanes are allowed to fly over Manhattan again. That scares me.
There was a change in the people of New York City that followed. New Yorkers were kinder to one another. We moved out of each others’ way. We offered seats ont he subways. We held more door open for each other. We shared cabs instead of fighting for one. We knew that even though we didn’t know the person next to us, he or she was affected in someway by the events of 9/11. With all the sorrow and loss all around us there was calm in our hearts.
Let’s not lose our ability empathize with each other. Understand that we are suffering something at any given moment. Keep calm and we will persevere.
Never forget!
photo by Christian Ledan
My Country tis of Oh My Fucking God!
by C. M. Rubin
July 4, 1776 is known as American Independence Day, the day that commemorates the adoption of America’s Declaration of Independence. It is the day on which thirteen colonies from Maine to Georgia, (which today consist of Maine, Georgia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, and Rhode Island) overcame many obstacles and finally declared their freedom from the Kingdom of Great Britain. On this most beloved of national holidays, wherever you happen to be, you will see patriots participating in picnics, arts and crafts events, barbecues, carnivals, fireworks, parades, sporting events and many other public and private events as they celebrate the significance of this important day in the history of the United States.
While some argue that July 4 is not in fact the actual day that the Declaration of Independence was signed, no one denies the bigger significance - 13 states declared themselves free. Freedom at last from British rule. Freedom to start anew. Freedom to pursue life and happiness inspired by Thomas Jefferson’s eloquent words that the first all important step forward had been made. Many years later, Jefferson wrote that the Declaration of Independence was “intended to be an expression of the American mind, and to give to that expression the proper tone and spirit called for by the occasion.” I also imagine the colonists thinking, much like Alice in Wonderland might have wondered in her time, “Which way from here?”
July 4, 1862 is also known to many as Alice in Wonderland Day, the day that commemorates Lewis Carroll’s first telling of the famous children’s story to his young inspiration, Alice Liddell. It is the day on which Carroll sent his child friend Alice down a rabbit hole in his far-fetched tale, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. During the course of her journey, Alice finds the courage to overcome the strange, often intimidating characters she meets in the kingdom of wonderland, realizing they are just ridiculous obstacles in her path.
Some years ago, the Story Museum in Oxford, England created an annual event to celebrate the birthday of this most beloved of children’s stories either on July 4 or as close to the date. If you happen to be in Oxford, England for what is called Alice’s Day, you will see Alice in Wonderland fans participating in picnics, arts and crafts events, barbecues, theater workshops and many other creative events as they celebrate the significance of this important date in the history of English literature. While some argue that July 4 is not in fact the first time Carroll told the story to Alice Liddell, it is hard to deny the bigger significance of this day in her life. Carroll created the story to free his heroine. In an age when neither children nor educated young women had social rights, Carroll’s fantastical story provided the first all important clues to the way Alice might claim her freedom. Many, many years later when the President of Columbia University publicly honored Alice Liddell with an honorary doctorate, acknowledging her as “the moving cause of this truly noteworthy contribution to English literature,” I believe Alice had come to fully understand the meaning of freedom. In her moving acceptance speech she remarked, “I love to think, however unworthy I am, that Mr. Dodgson - Lewis Carroll — knows and rejoices with me now.”
And so, “Which way from here?” All that remains to be said is in the pictures and in this updated sentiment, originally expressed by the Virginia Gazette (with my thanks). ”Thus may the 4th of July, that glorious and ever memorable day, be celebrated through America and England, by the sons and daughters of freedom, from age to age till time shall be no more. Amen, and Amen.”
Alice Liddell as the Beggar Maid and as distinguished honoree
C.M. Rubin has more than two decades of professional experience in development, marketing, and art direction for a diverse range of media businesses. She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice In Wonderland.
Over the past 30 years, five U.S. Commanders in Chief have led the nation’s response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Who gets good marks? From 1981 to the present, we assess each president’s leadership.
Biggest Hits: Allowed Surgeon General C. Everett Koop to send a letter to all Americans about AIDS.
Biggest Misses: Ignored the disease for years. Failed to rally public awareness and support. Imposed mandatory HIV testing in numerous federal programs.
The AIDS epidemic arose during his first year in office, yet no U.S. president demonstrated less leadership about the disease or a greater lack of concern for its sufferers than Ronald Reagan. Strongly influenced by the so-called Moral Majority, which believed that AIDS was God’s punishment to gay men and IV drug users, the Reagan administration failed to mount a meaningful public health response at a time when aggressive action might have curbed what would become the greatest public health catastrophe of the 20th century. Ignoring the overwhelming opinion of medical and public health experts, Reagan pursued mandatory HIV testing in federal programs as the centerpiece of his AIDS policy.
While the Reagan administration allocated some funding for research, it wasn’t until 1986 that Reagan’s Surgeon General C. Everett Koop – aided by a small team that included Dr. Anthony Faucci, the head of AIDS research at the National Institutes of Health – effectively executed an end run around the rest of the administration. Dr. Koop published a Surgeon General’s report that not only explained AIDS, its risk factors and how to prevent the disease to the American public, but that also included information about condoms and sex education that differed from the administration’s more conservative approach. (In 1988 Dr. Koop also sent a mailing about AIDS to every household in the U.S.) Ironically President Reagan, nicknamed The Great Communicator, didn’t give his first speech on AIDS until 1987. By then over 36,000 Americans had been diagnosed with the disease and 20,000 people had died, including his dear friend Rock Hudson. Shortly after speaking out he established the President’s Commission on the HIV Epidemic, whose findings activists say, he largely ignored.
Grade: F
Biggest Hits: Signed Ryan White CARE Act and Americans with Disabilities, and met with the National Commission on AIDS.
Biggest Misses: Refused to support full funding for Ryan White. Largely ignored the recommendations of the National Commission on AIDS.
He was Vice President when the Reagan Administration failed to launch an effective approach to the burgeoning epidemic. And while he never implemented a comprehensive strategic response of his own, President Bush did take two very important steps that provided much-needed services to people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). First, President Bush signed the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act, providing $882 million in federal grants to the hardest-hit cities and all 50 states to care for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and their families. Second, President Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act, prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities, including PLWHA.
Grade: C
Biggest Hits: Supported robust funding increases for AIDS treatment and Ryan White services. Rallied public support for the fight against AIDS. Supported creation of the Minority AIDS Initiative as part of the Ryan White programs. Approved notable funding increases for global AIDS at the end of his second term.
Biggest Misses: Failed to approve federal funding for needle exchange. Failed in his effort to achieve comprehensive health care reform.
President Clinton failed in his 1994 attempt to achieve national health coverage through a universal health care plan. But he succeeded in bolstering the country’s response to the AIDS epidemic, elevating AIDS to the level of a White House office by establishing the Office of National AIDS Policy and creating the President’s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA). Funding for AIDS programs increased on his watch, including to the Minority AIDS Initiative directed towards communities of color. His administration also initiated outreach to educate Black leaders about AIDS’ disproportionate impact on their constituents.
The Clinton administration launched the national effort to discover an AIDS vaccine and reorganized the AIDS research program at NIH. As well, that reorganization improved coordination and strategic focus.In 1995 President Clinton signed the Family Medical Leave Act, allowing employees to take unpaid leave for a pregnancy or serious medical condition. And after killing the first version of the bill, he eventually signed the Children’s Health Insurance Program, providing health coverage to low-income children and pregnant women.
The global impact of what was rapidly becoming an HIV/AIDS pandemic began to be felt during the middle of his term. By then the president’s effectiveness was hampered and he failed to fund needle exchange programs to prevent new infections because he believed “politically the country wasn’t ready”. Since leaving office President Clinton has become one of the most effective HIV/AIDS ambassadors in the world. Through the William J. Clinton Foundation, he has played an integral role in convincing heads of state and industry leaders to focus on HIV/ADIS and negotiating price reductions in antiretroviral medications for millions of PLWHA worldwide.
Grade: B
Biggest Hits: Created the largest global health program in history to tackle a single disease, delivering life-saving antiretroviral therapy to millions of people in poor countries and transforming the global AIDS response.
Biggest Misses: Paid very little attention to domestic epidemic, watching while waiting lists for AIDS Drug Assistance Programs emerged and particularly shortchanging prevention programs. Limited the prevention impact of U.S. global AIDS programs by favoring unproven abstinence-only programs and by imposing restrictions on organizations serving sex workers.
While his father strengthened the domestic response after years of inaction under President Reagan, the second President Bush largely turned his back on the domestic epidemic. Not only did he barely convene PACHA, the Bush administration’s investment in the domestic epidemic was lackluster at best, barely keeping pace with inflation. For every dollar the Bush administration spent on AIDS domestically, it spent only 4 cents on prevention. He also failed to implement meaningful reform during the prescription drug plan, which many say turned into a give-away to pharmaceutical companies.
But while Bush II failed to carry out a vision at home, globally he showed significant leadership in the form of his landmark 2003 legislation the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a $15 billion, 5-year strategy to fight the epidemic in 15 severely affected African nations. Renewed by the Obama administration, to date PEPFAR claims that nearly 33 million people have been counseled and tested, 3 million people have started on treatment and in 2010 alone 114,000 mother-to-child transmissions have been prevented, worldwide. Although PEPFAR has literally changed our world, some of the Bush administration’s policies limited its effectiveness. In particular, the administration prioritized abstinence-only funding over comprehensive prevention measures, an approach that critics contend allowed Uganda’s epidemic to rebound after years of success. In addition, the administration required recipients of PEPFAR support to pledge their opposition to sex work, undercutting the effectiveness of efforts to engage sex workers in prevention programs.
Meanwhile the virus devastated Black communities in the U.S. By 2009 Black America was suffering the equivalent of the world’s 16th largest AIDS epidemic, which would have qualified it for PEPFAR had that program existed at home. President Bush also vetoed two attempts to expand funding for the SCHIP program.
Grade: C-
Biggest Hits: Launched National HIV/AIDS Strategy. Achieved comprehensive health care reform. Lifted longstanding HIV immigration ban and previous bar on federal funding for needle exchange. Revitalized PACHA and Office of National AIDS Policy.
Biggest Misses: Failed to ensure that domestic AIDS funding keeps pace with need. Supported only modest funding increases for global AIDS spending.
Before he entered office our nation’s first Black president had already spoken at length about the need for personal and professional leadership on AIDS. He’d also walked the talk by getting tested publically. Once in office he moved fairly quickly on two fronts: repealing the ban against PLWHA traveling to the United States and ending the federal prohibition against needle exchange in Washington, D.C.
He also maneuvered through political landmines, orchestrating the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which majority whip James Clyburn, the most powerful Black member of the U.S. House of Representatives, called “the Civil Rights Act of the 21st century”. Although now being vigorously fought by its detractors, the ACA will ensure health insurance coverage for 32 million uninsured Americans, close the drug assistance donut hole, prevent insurance companies from denying coverage to those with “pre-existing conditions,” and prohibits lifetime caps on the amount of health care an insurance plan will provide.
But the publication of our country’s first National HIV/AIDS Strategy in the 30-year history of the epidemic ranks as perhaps the most notable HIV/AIDS-related accomplishment by any U.S. president in the 30-year history of the epidemic. With its goal of reducing new infections 25 percent by 2015, the NHAS sets forth aggressive goals and accountability for all departments in the federal government.
Still, the NHAS must be carried out in the worst economic climate since the Great Depression – one that has blown holes in state ADAP budgets. (The administration did provide $25M in emergency funding.) In our opinion the president’s FY2012 budget came up a little short, with no increases to the Minority AIDS Initiative and too few dollars allocated to drive the nation toward its 2015 prevention goal. Still, we’re cautiously optimistic.
Grade: Incomplete
