In 1971, Howard Zinn measured our government against the harshest of all standards, the ideal of Democracy. Against any ideal standard, man's achievements, measured in 1971 or 2016, although worthy of praise, fall short of ideal.
Zinn measured our shortages against 10 categories. As we close Election Day 2016, perhaps the most trivial election of our lifetimes and also the most important as is every election, Zinn's mythical 10, or at least three of them deserve another measurement, access to the ballot, freedom of individuality, and the opportunity to protest. Like Zinn, I choose to test my 3 against the ideals, not just the present versus the past, nor a scale of good, better, and best.
Zinn's 1971 opinion found the ballot, or political activity in general, favored the weathy, as measured in health, social-economic status, and education. I agree in 2016 with Zinn. Given the amounts of money needed to place a name or an issue on a ballot, the our election process differs little from a dictatorship. The sick need not apply to democratic methods just as the Irish were told. The corporate person, the highest social-economic status, offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner to willing political actors. And, the least educated suffer under a crushing burden of misinformation and information overload without a trained mind.
Voters, in Zinn's time, like today's voters, faced voter suppression efforts.The 1966 state poll taxes being similar to the 2016 purchase of a state validated voter ID card or photo ID. The white men under the white hoods, openly racist in the 1960's, resemble today's open carry thugs patrolling political rallies as self appointed 'candidate security.' I offer no Zinn equivalent to the 21st Century closing of inner city polling locations for budgetary reasons. The US electoral system denies a right to vote, freedom to vote, and perhaps a place to vote. There is no Democracy in that.
By measuring the present versus the past, freedom of individuality, measured by a woman's access to birth control without a husband's consent, the availability of same sex marriage, or discrimination against minorities in housing and employment, grew larger since Zinn's time. Yet, some call to end immigration, shout for the building of walls, and cry for mass expulsions based on religious beliefs. There is no democracy in that.
Just prior to Zinn's time, Chicago's Democratic Convention protesters found themselves beaten by police, four college students in Ohio were shot to death by the National Guard seeking to end campus protests, and the nation saw pictures of Martin Luther King dead on a Memphis balcony.
This week, pipeline protesters in at Standing Rock, ND, were assaulted with noise cannons and rubber bullets by enforcers wearing riot gear supported by military vehicles. The city of Miami, in preparation for FTAA protests, developed what is called, the Miami Model, based on City of Miami Ordinance 54-6.1,included a ban of 8 people meeting in public, and defining a parade as two or more people, and a ban on weapons, a 2nd Amendment right. All the signs of a democracy under challenge or the actions of dictatorship.
We must choose, in 2016 and beyond, a striving towards ideals and the path of pragmatism. Elections must have a time, a place, and faithful rules for access. The route to Individualism needs a Main street, many side roads, and the safety of reflective pastures to nurture and advance. The protests of one against many or the many against one requires the willingness and cooperation of more than one side without the government enforced passivity similar to slavery.
America fails my measurements and standards for Democracy. The 2016, in ways, a referendum on emails and vulgarity, tests whether the willingness or ability exists, in my time and yours, to seek more than trivial issues in deciding a Presidential Election.
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
Democracy measured in American, 2016
In 1971, Howard Zinn measured our government against the harshest of all standards, the ideal of Democracy. Against any ideal standard, man's achievements, measured in 1971 or 2016, although worthy of praise, fall short of ideal.
Zinn measured our shortages against 10 categories. As we close Election Day 2016, perhaps the most trivial election of our lifetimes and also the most important as is every election, Zinn's mythical 10, or at least three of them deserve another measurement, access to the ballot, freedom of individuality, and the opportunity to protest. Like Zinn, I choose to test my 3 against the ideals, not just the present versus the past, nor a scale of good, better, and best.
Zinn's 1971 opinion found the ballot, or political activity in general, favored the weathy, as measured in health, social-economic status, and education. I agree in 2016 with Zinn. Given the amounts of money needed to place a name or an issue on a ballot, the our election process differs little from a dictatorship. The sick need not apply to democratic methods just as the Irish were told. The corporate person, the highest social-economic status, offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner to willing political actors. And, the least educated suffer under a crushing burden of misinformation and information overload without a trained mind.
Voters, in Zinn's time, like today's voters, faced voter suppression efforts.The 1966 state poll taxes being similar to the 2016 purchase of a state validated voter ID card or photo ID. The white men under the white hoods, openly racist in the 1960's, resemble today's open carry thugs patrolling political rallies as self appointed 'candidate security.' I offer no Zinn equivalent to the 21st Century closing of inner city polling locations for budgetary reasons. The US electoral system denies a right to vote, freedom to vote, and perhaps a place to vote. There is no Democracy in that.
By measuring the present versus the past, freedom of individuality, measured by a woman's access to birth control without a husband's consent, the availability of same sex marriage, or discrimination against minorities in housing and employment, grew larger since Zinn's time. Yet, some call to end immigration, shout for the building of walls, and cry for mass expulsions based on religious beliefs. There is no democracy in that.
Just prior to Zinn's time, Chicago's Democratic Convention protesters found themselves beaten by police, four college students in Ohio were shot to death by the National Guard seeking to end campus protests, and the nation saw pictures of Martin Luther King dead on a Memphis balcony.
This week, pipeline protesters in at Standing Rock, ND, were assaulted with noise cannons and rubber bullets by enforcers wearing riot gear supported by military vehicles. The city of Miami, in preparation for FTAA protests, developed what is called, the Miami Model, based on City of Miami Ordinance 54-6.1,included a ban of 8 people meeting in public, and defining a parade as two or more people, and a ban on weapons, a 2nd Amendment right. All the signs of a democracy under challenge or the actions of dictatorship.
We must choose, in 2016 and beyond, a striving towards ideals and the path of pragmatism. Elections must have a time, a place, and faithful rules for access. The route to Individualism needs a Main street, many side roads, and the safety of reflective pastures to nurture and advance. The protests of one against many or the many against one requires the willingness and cooperation of more than one side without the government enforced passivity similar to slavery.
America fails my measurements and standards for Democracy. The 2016, in ways, a referendum on emails and vulgarity, tests whether the willingness or ability exists, in my time and yours, to seek more than trivial issues in deciding a Presidential Election.
Zinn measured our shortages against 10 categories. As we close Election Day 2016, perhaps the most trivial election of our lifetimes and also the most important as is every election, Zinn's mythical 10, or at least three of them deserve another measurement, access to the ballot, freedom of individuality, and the opportunity to protest. Like Zinn, I choose to test my 3 against the ideals, not just the present versus the past, nor a scale of good, better, and best.
Zinn's 1971 opinion found the ballot, or political activity in general, favored the weathy, as measured in health, social-economic status, and education. I agree in 2016 with Zinn. Given the amounts of money needed to place a name or an issue on a ballot, the our election process differs little from a dictatorship. The sick need not apply to democratic methods just as the Irish were told. The corporate person, the highest social-economic status, offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner to willing political actors. And, the least educated suffer under a crushing burden of misinformation and information overload without a trained mind.
Voters, in Zinn's time, like today's voters, faced voter suppression efforts.The 1966 state poll taxes being similar to the 2016 purchase of a state validated voter ID card or photo ID. The white men under the white hoods, openly racist in the 1960's, resemble today's open carry thugs patrolling political rallies as self appointed 'candidate security.' I offer no Zinn equivalent to the 21st Century closing of inner city polling locations for budgetary reasons. The US electoral system denies a right to vote, freedom to vote, and perhaps a place to vote. There is no Democracy in that.
By measuring the present versus the past, freedom of individuality, measured by a woman's access to birth control without a husband's consent, the availability of same sex marriage, or discrimination against minorities in housing and employment, grew larger since Zinn's time. Yet, some call to end immigration, shout for the building of walls, and cry for mass expulsions based on religious beliefs. There is no democracy in that.
Just prior to Zinn's time, Chicago's Democratic Convention protesters found themselves beaten by police, four college students in Ohio were shot to death by the National Guard seeking to end campus protests, and the nation saw pictures of Martin Luther King dead on a Memphis balcony.
This week, pipeline protesters in at Standing Rock, ND, were assaulted with noise cannons and rubber bullets by enforcers wearing riot gear supported by military vehicles. The city of Miami, in preparation for FTAA protests, developed what is called, the Miami Model, based on City of Miami Ordinance 54-6.1,included a ban of 8 people meeting in public, and defining a parade as two or more people, and a ban on weapons, a 2nd Amendment right. All the signs of a democracy under challenge or the actions of dictatorship.
We must choose, in 2016 and beyond, a striving towards ideals and the path of pragmatism. Elections must have a time, a place, and faithful rules for access. The route to Individualism needs a Main street, many side roads, and the safety of reflective pastures to nurture and advance. The protests of one against many or the many against one requires the willingness and cooperation of more than one side without the government enforced passivity similar to slavery.
America fails my measurements and standards for Democracy. The 2016, in ways, a referendum on emails and vulgarity, tests whether the willingness or ability exists, in my time and yours, to seek more than trivial issues in deciding a Presidential Election.
Saturday, October 8, 2016
Ashley Bell and Donald Trump
An open letter to Ashley Bell,
Mr. Bell,
I hope your family and friends are doing well. With so much danger in our country today from Mother Nature, I still had a moment to think of you working for Donald Trump.
You are still whoring yourself to the Donald this evening? Right? I've heard nothing about your resignation.
So break it down for your 'brothers and sisters' as you have called them so many times.
Trump is the right man ...
Mr. Bell,
I hope your family and friends are doing well. With so much danger in our country today from Mother Nature, I still had a moment to think of you working for Donald Trump.
You are still whoring yourself to the Donald this evening? Right? I've heard nothing about your resignation.
So break it down for your 'brothers and sisters' as you have called them so many times.
Trump is the right man ...
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Racism in Georgia, Stats borrowed from the Boston Globe
First, some credit to the Boston Globe for presenting Norcross, Georgia in the proper light which is not so white anymore. Only the Irish can relate to being white and a second class minority, eh?
One little fact really needs to be examined in terms of racism, second class citizens, and perceptions. I'll quote the whole paragraph.
Doesn't mean very much with a first reading, buried in all the other angst of being old, white, and Southern.
So four counties in Georgia, one of them Gwinnett with a population of 1,000,000, deported 1,300 illegal immigrants last year.
I know the names of the 3 other counties, their demographics, or population. My population estimate for Gwinnett, based on the 2010 Census of 859,000, of 1 million might be too low after 6 years. Another county, Cobb had a population of 717,000 in 2010. Whitfield adds 102,000. And, my current county of residence, Hall, had a population of 187,000 back in 2010. So maybe the 4 counties have a total population of 2 million.
Only 1,300 illegals were rounded up and deported out of those 2 million last year. That's 0.00065% of the population.
Again, the police could only find 0.00065% of the entire populations of four counties living, well, in sin, if being undocumented is a sin in the South.
So what the frack does it cost? Homeland Security spent $64,000,000 ($64 million) in 2010 to collect all the 287g prisoners. Only Trump knows what Homeland spent last year for 287g. I'm estimating $150,000,000 ($150 million) as spending increased over 26% in each year of the program. Actually 300% in the first two years. None of their spending goes directly to counties like Gwinnett or Hall.
It's been estimated that it costs a jurisdiction a million dollars a year to run a 287g program. " Mecklenburg County, NC, spent an estimated $5.3 million to set up and operate the 287(g) program in its first year." That information comes from theMigration Policy Institute. Their data came from Homeland Security and local jurisdictions like county sheriffs.
I didn't make up any of those numbers.
So I'm ringing up some of the numbers:
4 Georgia counties spending a cool million each equals $4 million in local spending
Homeland Security spending $150 million a year to run 70 programs equals $2 million each program
So, 4 local Georgia jurisdictions get over $8 million in support from the Feds and spend $4 million of local property taxes to collect 1,400 illegals. So, $12 million divided by 1,400 or is it 1,400 divided by $12 million means about $9,000 per illegal. Not too bad? Great program.
Only, not so much. All 1,400 illegals were already in jail.
One little fact really needs to be examined in terms of racism, second class citizens, and perceptions. I'll quote the whole paragraph.
Four counties in Georgia signed up for a program that allows local police and sheriffs to check the immigration status of any person charged with a crime, including Gwinnett County, where Norcross is located. Those four places deported more than 1,300 illegal immigrants using the program in the last year, according to federal statistics.
Doesn't mean very much with a first reading, buried in all the other angst of being old, white, and Southern.
So four counties in Georgia, one of them Gwinnett with a population of 1,000,000, deported 1,300 illegal immigrants last year.
I know the names of the 3 other counties, their demographics, or population. My population estimate for Gwinnett, based on the 2010 Census of 859,000, of 1 million might be too low after 6 years. Another county, Cobb had a population of 717,000 in 2010. Whitfield adds 102,000. And, my current county of residence, Hall, had a population of 187,000 back in 2010. So maybe the 4 counties have a total population of 2 million.
Only 1,300 illegals were rounded up and deported out of those 2 million last year. That's 0.00065% of the population.
Again, the police could only find 0.00065% of the entire populations of four counties living, well, in sin, if being undocumented is a sin in the South.
So what the frack does it cost? Homeland Security spent $64,000,000 ($64 million) in 2010 to collect all the 287g prisoners. Only Trump knows what Homeland spent last year for 287g. I'm estimating $150,000,000 ($150 million) as spending increased over 26% in each year of the program. Actually 300% in the first two years. None of their spending goes directly to counties like Gwinnett or Hall.
It's been estimated that it costs a jurisdiction a million dollars a year to run a 287g program. " Mecklenburg County, NC, spent an estimated $5.3 million to set up and operate the 287(g) program in its first year." That information comes from theMigration Policy Institute. Their data came from Homeland Security and local jurisdictions like county sheriffs.
I didn't make up any of those numbers.
So I'm ringing up some of the numbers:
4 Georgia counties spending a cool million each equals $4 million in local spending
Homeland Security spending $150 million a year to run 70 programs equals $2 million each program
So, 4 local Georgia jurisdictions get over $8 million in support from the Feds and spend $4 million of local property taxes to collect 1,400 illegals. So, $12 million divided by 1,400 or is it 1,400 divided by $12 million means about $9,000 per illegal. Not too bad? Great program.
Only, not so much. All 1,400 illegals were already in jail.
Monday, August 29, 2016
Colin won't stand for it any more.
I should write a nice letter to the editor on this subject. It offends everyone and no one all at the same time which makes it perfect material for the backwoods dog beater.
Colin Kaepernick picked a fight and did a great job of it. 'My hat's off to him.' He picked a losing battle and stood on Sun Tzu's 'Dying Ground' when he sat down for his country's national anthem.
Was it an act of Civil Disobedience? No. For that to work, he'd have to face legal consequences for breaking the unfair and unjust law forcing people to stand during the national anthem at football games.
No such law; therefore, no way to break it.
He did violate social convention in the nearly sacred Red Neck Church of Pigskin. Now that takes some guts.
It takes something like he did to focus attention on social issues. We do have bodies laying in the streets. We have locked up kids as felons for smoking pot. We sell kids into private prisons. Yet, we have given Wall Street the keys to our national economy car and paved them a four lane road to Hell and Back.
So cut this man some slack. He's got some skin in the capitalist game. He's close enough to having it made to have real credibility. He's risking that. He's daring people, on one issue, to call him out as being wrong on that issue.
He's winning that dare even as he's losing public indifference, professional associations, and maybe his paycheck.
Who does that without good reason.
Colin Kaepernick picked a fight and did a great job of it. 'My hat's off to him.' He picked a losing battle and stood on Sun Tzu's 'Dying Ground' when he sat down for his country's national anthem.
Was it an act of Civil Disobedience? No. For that to work, he'd have to face legal consequences for breaking the unfair and unjust law forcing people to stand during the national anthem at football games.
No such law; therefore, no way to break it.
He did violate social convention in the nearly sacred Red Neck Church of Pigskin. Now that takes some guts.
It takes something like he did to focus attention on social issues. We do have bodies laying in the streets. We have locked up kids as felons for smoking pot. We sell kids into private prisons. Yet, we have given Wall Street the keys to our national economy car and paved them a four lane road to Hell and Back.
So cut this man some slack. He's got some skin in the capitalist game. He's close enough to having it made to have real credibility. He's risking that. He's daring people, on one issue, to call him out as being wrong on that issue.
He's winning that dare even as he's losing public indifference, professional associations, and maybe his paycheck.
Who does that without good reason.
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