Category: Justice

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Bergen CC NAACP screens Half the Sky today 4/29

naacphalftheskyBergen Community College Chapter of NAACP in Paramus is sponsoring a screening of Half the Sky today 4/29 at 11:45am-2:15pm in Room A-104 (in the Student Center atrium), followed by a panel discussion on empowering women as full citizens across the globe and ending targeting violence against women. Please feel welcome to join.

Renée from Half the Sky organization is coming out from their New York office to tell us about the movement that has been sparked by the book and film, and as one of the discussion panelists I (Kimi Wei) will share my own perspectives as a widow, single mom, domestic violence survivor, sustainability advocate and Happiness trainer. read more

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Poverty creates poor school performance. Time to stop it.

Kennedy with kids

Kennedy with kidsBobby Kennedy made hunger and poverty relief a top priority with his Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, but 50 years later the United States has the 2nd highest rate of poverty among industrialized nations. And Dale Hansen of the Detroit News is asking, if poverty is the biggest problem education faces, why aren’t we more focused on relieving it? Dale supplies his own answer: Republicans are way too committed to their war on public education to allow positive change to get in their way. read more

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Pro-public education Board of Education 2013 candidates

Vote in 2013 BOE elections

Vote in 2013 BOE electionsBoard of Education budgets are typically 3 times as big as the entire budgets of the municipalities in which they’re located. Those hugs pots of money are why Big-Business supporter Gov. Chris Christie and his GOP colleague Mitt Romney are so eager to get their hands on public education funds. They can’t stand money being spent to actually improve the lives of vulnerable children, and students of color, across America when that money could go to make their own children and grandchildren richer. read more

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What is ALEC and how is it tied to the GOP?

ALEC for Dummies

ALEC for DummiesTo understand what the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is, you have to look at what this organization does. Since ALEC is becoming bolder by the New York Minute, it’s easier to see exactly what their agenda is.

Common Cause answers the question, “What is the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)?”

For almost 40 years now, up to 300 of the largest US corporations—including Koch Industries, Verizon, Bank of America and Exxon—have used ALEC to push model legislation, which is beneficial to their corporate interests, into law in the states. ALEC boasts that a third of all state legislators in the US are members, introducing around 1,000 ALEC bills every year. By using ALEC to pursue their agenda, they are able to hide their fingerprints, avoid lobbying disclosure, and evade the kind of increased scrutiny that comes when citizens know it’s actually corporationsthat draftedsome of their most important laws. Recent ALEC bills have rolled back voting rights, reduced environmental protections and stripped away collective bargaining rights for workers around the country. read more

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Stop telemarketers with 6 words

National Do Not Call RegistryDo telemarketers bug you? Can’t get them off the phone? They’re not deterred by you hanging up, politely asking them not to call you anymore, and they don’t seem to care when you tell them your baby’s crying or your dinner is burning and you have to go.

There’s an answer to your woes so simple, you won’t believe it works until you try it out and see for yourself. I did it again just now and the results are always gratifying. This is what you do: next time a telemarketer calls, interrupt them with this phrase, “Take me off your call list.” read more

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5 articles on why charters are bad for Paterson

Mother Crusader is a new voice in education reform – on the good guy side. This lady didn’t intend to become an advocate for public education. But, she followed the thread of a bit of “education reform” injustice she stumbled across one day which led her to a huge ball of intentional attacks on public education by privatizers who want the money it represents for themselves, and are out to destroy students’ minds, happiness and their communities while they’re at it, in order to get that money. Mother Crusader was disturbed, put aside all of her other tasks for the week and wrote a series of articles explaining in very clear English, why charter schools are bad and exactly why the Paterson Collegiate Charter School in particular, is bad for Paterson. read more

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Go to jail for unlocking your phone? Yep, you might.

unlock phone

unlock phoneFirst things first. You know that 1) if you buy a phone you should be able to hook it up with whatever service you want to use and 2) nobody should send you to jail or fine you up to half a million dollars just because you unlock your phone. What if you want to switch to the ATT network because you’re fed up with Verizon, or because you move out of Verizon’s service area? The Library of Congress says, “Tough luck.” If you unlock your phone after January 26 without a carrier’s permission, you could get in a lot of trouble and end up paying heavy fines – even jail time. So sign the White House petition asking Obama to add his voice to The People’s and ask the Library of Congress to make phone unlocking legal again. The petition is pretty close to getting the 100,000 signatures it needs to get an official White House response. read more

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Immigrant children stolen & families shattered

DREAMERS display sign, "We Are America".

DREAMERS display sign, "We Are America".There are so many forms of racism and social oppression being carried out in America, it just boggles the mind. This morning, I posted on Facebook a link to an article that details sad facts about a practice I first learned about from a Nightline TV news show report “Stolen Babies”, a court-sanctioned family destruction that has been going on for way too many years. I linked to a Colorlines story on families being shattered when immigration officials detain or deport parents who work hard and abide laws, except that they lack legal United States residency status – a holy grail that is impossible for so many immigrants to obtain. Colorlines tells us, read more

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Extension on registrations, inspections & licenses for NJ drivers

MVC Chairman and Chief Administrator Raymond P. Martinez issued Administrative Order 2012-03 authorizing a 30-day extension for all driver’s licenses, vehicle registrations and inspections due to expire on Oct. 31. Martinez also authorized Administrative Order 2012-04, which waives International Registration Plan (IRP) and International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) requirements during a state of emergency declared by the Governor of New Jersey. This temporary waiver will aid commercial motor carriers in delivering essential services and emergency relief supplies in a timely matter to areas that may be affected by Hurricane Sandy. read more

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2012 fixed voter machines and intimidation

All hell has broken loose in conservative political camps this week. The stronger President Obama’s position has become, the more determined GOP extremists have become to defeat him at all costs – including the sacrifice of a favoured son, and just about all of whatever formerly passed for these people’s morality. God save them. At some Pennsylvania polls, voters were being told they had to have IDs and were turned away if they didn’t

Tuesday, Nov. 6, 12:10 p.m. EST: Report: Pennsylvania voters illegally turned away: Civil rights group the Advancement Project tells The Root that it’s investigating and addressing what seems to be a pattern in Pennsylvania of poll workers turning away voters if they don’t have voter ID, which violates a recent court order stipulating that voters do not need ID for this election. “It’s not surprising, because despite the judge’s ruling, the state continued to run ads telling voters to get ID,” an Advancement Project representative says. read more

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Election 2012 voting FAQ

FAQ: Questions about election/voting procedures

  • Q: I didn’t get my Voter ID card after registering to vote. Can I still vote?
    A: Yes. If you’re a registered voter who appears on the voter rolls (see below for how to check if you’re registered), you can vote. If you submitted a registration form but don’t appear on the voter’s roster at your polling place, you have two options:

    Q: How can I find out if I’m registered to vote? A: Visit canivote.org To check if you’re registered to vote and to find your polling place Q: Can I vote electronically, by email or fax? A: Yes! New Jersey voters that are, “displaced voters” can cast ballots by fax or email. What’s more, I learned at 6:10pm from the Assistant Bergen County Clerk that due to overwhelming demand, Governor Christie has just authorized the County Clerk’s offices around New Jersey to continue processing ballot requests through Friday Nov 9 for Vote By Mail applications that were received electronically by the submission deadline of 5pm on Election Day, Nov 6.. The Clerks’ staff need this extra time to finish checking and entering Vote By Mail applications received, and to generate and send out ballots by fax or email in accordance with the preference each voter has indicated). Although thousands of ballots have been processed in Bergen County, many still remain. The vote of each and every registered voter who returns an electronic ballot by Friday will be counted for the 2012 General Election :).

    The deadline for submitting a request for an electronic ballot ended at 5pm Tuesday, Nov 6, 2012. No new procedure was established to make this process possible for New Jersey voters displaced by Hurricane Sandy; the procedure already existed for military personnel and United States residents living abroad. Permission to vote by electronic means expires at the end of the 2012 general election. These are the instructions that were provided.

    You will need to fax or email a Vote By Mail application to your County Clerk by 5pm on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov 6 2012. They will send you back a form you must sign waiving your right to having your vote be anonymous (because entering your vote will see it), and a ballot. After filling out the ballot, you return it by fax or email as indicated on the ballot.

  • Q: How does a provisional ballot work?
    A: You can vote provisionally from any polling location or by visiting your county’s (see list) Board of Elections or County Clerks Offices – they’ll steer you to the right location. When the provisional ballot is reviewed, they Board of Elections should approve it based on what are a common entry errors (Street vs. Avenue, etc.).
  • Q: Why didn’t I get a sample ballot?
    Sample ballots came out very late. Some people received them on Nov 5 and some people did not receive them at all.
  • Q: What do I need to bring with me to vote at the polls?
    A: Here’s a list of what’s required in each state. In New Jersey, people who have already voted don’t need to bring any form of ID, but first time voters may be asked for identification.

Información en Español

Visite Ya Es Hora – ¡Ve y Vota! ó llamar al 888-839-3682 (888-VE-Y-VOTA) read more

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Report on voter woes in Bergen County NJ

Hundreds wait to vote in person at Bergen County Clerk Nov 4 2012

Here are details of the report I sent in about voting issues here in Bergen County, NJ to Our Vote Live, set up by Craig Newmark (of Craig’s List) and other civic rights advocates to protect voter’s rights and make sure the conservatives don’t get away with suppressing people’s voting rights in this pivotal election. If you become aware of any voting issues, please make your own report.

Hundreds wait to vote in person at Bergen County Clerk Nov 4 2012
Hundreds wait to vote in person at Bergen County Clerk Nov 4 2012
The Bergen County Clerk this afternoon remarked that State issued a new and confusing Directive just yesterday (Saturday). Apparently, County Clerks all over the state asked all week for a Directive to be issued. read more

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Special New Jersey voting options for 2012 election

This will be updated as new information becomes available. Please also see Election 2012 Voter FAQ
Nov 2, 2012 New Jersey State has changed some of the voting rules to help people cast their votes in this election. They include: you can vote early at county clerk offices; you can vote by email or fax; a messenger can bring any number of ballots into the Board of Election. See the State Directive below or visit the League of Women Voters website – they’ve got the best information I’ve seen. read more

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Peggy McIntosh’s extraordinary essay on what it means to possess White Privilege

I can go shopping without being harassed

I hope you enjoy this extraordinary essay by gifted writer, thinker and egalitarian, Peggy McIntosh as much as I do. For your downloading pleasure, here’s a condensed list of 50 ways white privilege is experienced in America (thanks for the link Helen Tinsley!).

White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack
by Peggy McIntosh

I can go shopping without being harassedThrough work to bring materials from women’s studies into the rest of the curriculum, I have often noticed men’s unwillingness to grant that they are overprivileged, even though they may grant that women are disadvantaged. They may say they will work to women’s status, in the society, the university, or the curriculum, but they can’t or won’t support the idea of lessening men’s. Denials that amount to taboos surround the subject of advantages that men gain from women’s disadvantages. These denials protect male privilege from being fully acknowledged, lessened, or ended. read more

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Most inspiring message on Why Vote!

I am honored by the opportunity to display this message on my website. Rev. Dr. William Barber II shares the historical time line of Black and ethnic minority acquisition of the rights to vote, to have equality in housing and economic opportunities and reminds us, “If there was ever a time to vote that time is NOW.”