On December 14, the New York Times published Op-ed Columnist Charles M. Blow‘s opinion America, Who Are We? Mr. Blow writes on “Politics, public opinion and social justice” and his thoughts are deep and persuasive.
Last week I spoke at a seminary and graduate school in New York about the protests following the grand jury decisions in the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases.
It was invigorating and inspiring to be among so many young people with so much passion about social justice, young people beginning to feel their power as change agents and brimming to exercise it by disrupting the status quo.read more
Analilia Mejia 07 Dec 2014 at 08:42
Watching a White Christmas for the first time this morning and all I can think of is that this exemplifies the economic disadvantage forced on people of color.. There are no black soldiers in the 151 Division, in fact no black characters asides for the AA car porter (whom at the time would have been discriminated against in employment, advancement and pay). All of the happy GI’s who created comfortable lives (enough to drop everything and head to Vermont) did so through their access to higher Ed, a growth in professional jobs and their ability to build equity in a newly created suburbia. Blissfully ignorant (or directly complicit) to the denial of the same benefit to AA GI’s. Redlining prevented home purchases and neighborhood covenants kept them out of suburbia (and its schools). Racism denied (and denies) equal access and advancement into more lucrative jobs and careers. The American Legion and VFW routinely denied claims of African Americans in pursuit of higher education, and those who did access it where barred by racist policies in many universities, or limited to increasingly strained HBCU’s and even then faced the hurdles of an inferior preparation by Jim Crow segregated AND unequal k-12 schools.. This all led to a wealth gap passed on through generations. Your comforts today are DIRECTLY influenced by your grandparents owning a home, generations of superior education impacts how well YOU did (much less if you went). This inequity is exacerbated today by the foreclosure crisis that disproportionately dismantles POC communities thanks to predatory lending. All of this didn’t happen centuries ago and hence we are past it. This systemic racism has tentacles that reach back into times of slavery, peonage re-enslavement, Jim Crow, the struggles of the civil rights era and into today with the subsequent dismantling of that dream through continued inequity in education, mass incarceration, an unjust justice system to name a few.. But much like those soldiers and Bing in that movie, most of white America is OBLIVIOUS to all of this. Insulated or intentionally blind. Lucky them, they get to dream about a White Christmas while black mothers are mourning their sons and WE continue to lose our belief in the system this holiday season…read more
(Foto Source) Our good family friend Rabbi Moshe Jordan S. Yasgur forwarded this email, written by the mother of a 4 year old Israeli boy to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. The recent Hamas-Gaza conflict has caused an international outcry to be raised against Israel, but examination reveals that the barbarities and calls for genocide are emanating from the Hamas side.
My sons’ godfather Rabbi Moshe Yasgur forwarded us this letter, written by the mother of a 4 year old Israeli boy to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. read more
Another reason progressives lose: we’re morons at candidate promotion. Constantly naming the oppositions’ candidates and pasting photos of them all over the media is not a winning strategy.
Stop helping the other team give their candidates face time and views. Just freakin’ stop. Door hangers featuring GOP candidates belong in the Dem HQ recycling bins.
Project 435 wants to get all 435 US Congressmen on record as being for or against the American Anti-Corruption Act. The next step will be, running a national campaign to publicize Congressional Representatives’ stand against (or not against) corruption and then leverage bipartisan public support to get the American Anti-Corruption Act passed.
Sign the petition to take back control of our government and rebuild a democratic society by showing your support for the American Anti-Corruption Act … and if you want to get more involved, indicate your volunteer preferences too.read more
You would think that a person in Christie’s situation would learn from past mistakes, but I guess after you’ve fallen a certain distance from grace self-correction becomes impossible. Christie’s camp is once again making the law all about our governor’s wishes instead of about legal precedent, common decency, responsibility to constituents or logic.
Lots of things Bob Braun says are way too important to only be seen on Facebook. Like his thoughts on the relationship between Christie’s ranting/abuse and youth shootings motivated by a desire for “respect”:
If the governor of the state can suggest that someone should “take a bat” to a woman, why should we be surprised that a child shoots people because they “disrespected” him?
We live in a state in which the governor prides himself in bullying, misogynistic behavior, someone who shows his displeasure with threatening gestures and who refuses to defend gun restrictions in court. We live in a state whose voters re-elected this bully and elected as US senator a man who, as Newark mayor, laid off cops and presided over the worst carnage in almost a decade. We live in a state where the busiest interstate crossing can be held for political ransom despite the threat to public safety.read more
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
Category: Social Justice
Author Michelle Alexander-West is the wife of a United States federal prosecutor and an attorney in her own right. In this book, she does a truly remarkable job of drilling down through levels of strategy, policy and procedure that form the complex web of injustice that has brought the United States to the terrible point of imprisoning over 1% of our adult population and detaining 25% of all prisoners everywhere in the world … many of whom have been jailed for minor offenses, such as carrying a couple of marijuana cigarettes. Over 3200 non-violent offenders have been jailed for life for non-violent offenses like that, or for stealing an item of clothing worth $150. Unjust imprisonment is part of the intentional destruction of the lives of people of color.read more
I know, I know. That’s a pretty depressing thing to say. But let’s look at the facts: Federal workers will be expected to subsidize this deal with an increase in their out-of-pocket pension costs. There will be cuts to Medicare. Airline passengers will pay a new tax. Military retirees — military retirees — will see their benefits cut.read more
The Schools Development Authority (SDA) is denying the public information on the facility conditions at Camden High School, Thomas G. Connors Elementary School (Hoboken), Cleveland Elementary School (Orange), and Orange High School.
The Education Law Center made an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request to obtain the SDA’s reports on the facility conditions at these four schools which are badly in need of repair. The SDA said no. This is unacceptable! Communities have a right to know what the facility conditions are at their schools. This is another example of the SDA stalling on urgent repairs.read more
Christie made a big stink when Barbara Buono said New Jersey didn’t want to see Christie frolicking on the beach, claiming his opponent’s comment was an oblique reference to his weight. Is the big man going to cry “foul” to Time magazine now, which boldly portrays Christie on its current cover along with caption, “The Elephant In the Room”?
Everyone knows I have the best Facebook friends. Today, one of them wrote a few true and important words about the upcoming election – so, I hope you’re paying attention! Cynthia Oneday Flood says:
November 5th is the election for GOVERNOR..BRING ANYBODY 18 AND OVER OUT TO VOTE. THIS IS TOO IMPORTANT. YOU SEE WHAT THEY (Republicans like Christie) HAVE BEEN DOING ALL OVER THIS COUNTRY…
I do not think people understand the magnitude of this election. I have been watching it since day one. Governor Christie has allied with some Democrats just so they can get both the house and Senate. He is aligning himself for the Presidential run in 2016. He does not truly care about bi partisan alies to help the people of New Jersey. He will use them and throw them to the side once this election is over. The true issue is that the working poor, our veterans, our seniors, our children and our people will suffer even more should he be re- elected. We MUST vote Democracts in. Barbara Buono must and should be our next Governor. We must deliver on our Promise to our President.we need Democract in both the house and Senate. We need a Democract as Governor. All those Democracts who left their political party to support Republicans must be voted out. we have enough Democracts in New Jersey to vote them out. You have to vote Nov 5, 2013.read more
Most New Jersey voters do not need to show ID when voting. However, if you are a first-time New Jersey voter who registered by mail, and election officials could not verify your identifying numbers (your New Jersey driver’s license or ID number or the last four digits of your Social Security number), you will have to provide proof of identification, either at the polls or anytime before Election Day.
Sufficient proof of identity includes any current and valid photo ID, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, car registration, non-photo driver’s license, rent receipt, sample ballot, utility bill (including cell phone and student housing bills), or other government document that shows the name and address of the voter. Brennan Center for Justiceread more
I have developed some tools to help motivate people to vote in this important election. In this post are Vote Pledge Cards you can download – they are a major component of the toolkit. And this is the GOTV plan in a nutshell (as of 10 days before the election):
The goal for this week is to get people thinking and talking about voting in New Jersey. Talking about putting a governor and other elected officials in office who will help us bring back our cities … about how and where they’re going to cast their vote … and about how WE CAN VOTE OURSELVES A RAISE this election. Voters who are busy or have children to watch, might want to consider which voting option makes most sense for them.
To find out where your vote polling location is, check your voter registration card, Look it up online or call your town/city clerk.
Do you need a ride or can you give one?
Here are the voting options New Jersey voters have:
Voters can mail applications to Vote by Mail until Monday Oct 28. Mailed applications need to be in their County Clerk’s office by Tuesday Oct 29.
Through Monday Oct 28, voters can mail in Vote by Mail applications. If the application arrives at the County Clerk’s office by Tuesday Oct 29, a BALLOT will be mailed to their home.
Through Tuesday Oct 29, voters can drop Vote by Mail applications off to their County Clerk and get a BALLOT mailed to their home.
Until 3pm on Monday Nov 4 (day before Election Day) voters can obtain Vote by Mail BALLOTS at the County Clerk’s office;
And through Tuesday Nov 5 (Election Day) Vote by Mail BALLOTS obtained in person or through the mail can be handed in at the County Board of Elections office.
Remember, a Vote by Mail BALLOT vote is counted as a regular vote in exactly the same way a vote cast in a polling place voting machine is counted.
Voters can vote at the polls on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov 5.
Vote Pledge Cards
Start a conversation about voting with friends, family and anyone else you chat with by asking them to pledge to vote by filling in a VOTE PLEDGE CARD (pdf). The cards are conveniently arranged 4 on a sheet for easy printing and cutting.
NJ 2013 Vote Pledge Cards 4 on sheet for printing
Will remind people they can vote themselves a raise this election by voting YES on Question 2 to raise the minimum wage to $8.25/hr (about $2000 per year).
Vote Pledge Cards will help people think through when and where they’re going to cast their vote.
They will help you capture contact information and reach out to make sure people fill in their Vote by Mail BALLOT when it arrives and send them back right away, or think through when and how they will vote in person at the County Clerk’s office or at the polls.
Vote Pledge Cards will help connect people with a ride to vote if they need one.
They will identify drivers who can bring voters to the County Clerk’s Office to vote, and who can help with GOTV on Nov 5.
Vote Pledge Cards will help identify canvassers who are available work on door to door GOTV (Get Out The Vote) from Friday Nov 1 through Tuesday Nov 5.
On Election Day, we will be doing door to door GOTV, reminding people to vote and offering rides to the polls to as many people as possible. Remember to ask pledges if they can help and to contact @ivanwei or @kimiwei when you identify someone who wants to volunteer!
On December 14, the New York Times published Op-ed Columnist Charles M. Blow‘s opinion America, Who Are We? Mr. Blow writes on “Politics, public opinion and social justice” and his thoughts are deep and persuasive.
