Not on my campus‏! One judge called a GEO prison a "cesspool of unconstitutional and inhuman acts and conditions"

The GEO Group makes $1 billion a year running private prisons like these -- and now they want to spend some of that money to put their name on a stadium on my college campus, Florida Atlantic University.

TBR--Gonzalo Vizcardo

The private prison company the GEO Group has been found to run some of the most disgusting prisons in America. One judge called a GEO prison a "cesspool of unconstitutional and inhuman acts and conditions" -- places where children were placed in solitary confinement, guards sexually assaulted inmates, and prisoners regularly attempted suicide.

The GEO Group makes $1 billion a year running private prisons like these -- and now they want to spend some of that money to put their name on a stadium on my college campus, Florida Atlantic University.

This is not okay with me. I'm a student at FAU, and I will not see my university help a notorious prison corporation whitewash its name on the side of the tallest and most prominent building on my campus, which can be seen from the highly-trafficked I-95 highway and from the many office buildings and residential neighborhoods near my university. I started a petition on Change.org calling on FAU's President and Board of Trustees to reverse their deal with the GEO Group to license naming rights for a stadium on campus -- will you click here to sign?

Private prisons are hugely problematic, because they run prisons based on profits, not what's best for prisoners or for society. For example, an NPR investigation in 2011 found that GEO Group prisons have far fewer guards than government-run prisons. Prisoners have even died waiting for medical attention.

In fact, the GEO Group's prisons are so bad that the state of Mississippi kicked them out of the state entirely, as did Australia in 2003. I don't want their name on my university's stadium if an entire state and country kicked them out.

Students and professors on campus are angry -- we've staged protests at the university president's office, and she's even agreed to meet with us this Friday. I know that if enough people sign my petition, she and the Board of Trustees will see that giving the GEO Group good PR isn't worth all the bad PR they'll get for making this deal.

Click here to sign my petition calling on FAU's President and Board of Trustees to reverse their deal with the GEO Group to put their name on the side of a stadium on campus.



Thank you,

Gonzalo Vizcardo

Lake Worth, Florida

Soul Solace excerpt from e-book

TBR Leighton Bradford Editor-in-Chief
It’s funny how an individual’s mortality serves as a self-evaluating vehicle of your overall existence.  Ashes to ashes and dust to dust go us all. As I write, I reflect on the pictures sitting on my neglected desk, indicative of the sovereign winds, blowing in eternal change.  Life held ever so dear, only after it sponsors what makes the soul significant.  Sier rose from his semi-conscious state, as though he was Lazarus emerging from the grave.  Silence is all around the clinical walls, whitewashed, sterile, and indifferent.  The nurse begins to methodically check the brothers’ vitals as if nothing is new or different. 

A faint murmur comes from Sier.  A hushed silence pervades every aspect of the Intensive Care Unit.  Anxiety abounds, as our presumed hero un-asses fate and impending doom.  You can hear a pin drop in the room; a distant whimper is the only apparent thing that drowns out an uneasy stilled silence.  This brother dares to dream of life no doubt.  A life so neat, a life so fragile, all he seems to want is life.  “Sier! Please answer me!” “God almighty, help him, help him!”  “Dear Heavenly Father we are in need of your grace. A grace that will enable us to cope Father, Lord help this man, help him.” 

 Each page of life is turned towards judgement day.  The conceptual meaning warrants most people attention.  Tupac Shakur once said, “Niggas" gon hate you for whatever you do." Mandee remembers hearing Sier refer to Tupac’s quote.  The quote sits idle, as she gazes into the eyes of her bedridden man.  She ponders this phrase or gesture, Sier borrowed so frequently from “Pac.”  Her face resolute, but troubled; tears welled up in her lovely eyes.  Those eyes seem to be a mirror towards the soul, beyond a mere encroachment or physical trait. Will the window reveal her essence?  Shall our couple meet the fate that lies before them?  Please imagine Sier and Mandee sitting all alone in the hospital room, neither of them not knowing what lies ahead.  And the days wane not necessarily revealing its basic intent.

intellectual property of BE

Redefining Marriage Sign of a Lost Society

TBR - Star Parker contributor

One significant development in the recent election was votes in four states approving same sex marriage initiatives. Until now, all previous state referenda to approve same sex marriage – 32 of them - failed.

The Wall Street Journal editorial page – a place where conservatives usually turn for intellectual capital – saw this as cause for celebration.

According to the Journal, marriage definition should come from voters, not from court orders. Americans, they argue, have “shown themselves more than capable of changing their views on gay marriage the democratic way.” In other words, our definition of marriage should follow process, not principle. Let voters decide.  “As views on gay marriage change, and a growing number of Americans support it, politics will follow. This is how it’s supposed to work.”

I’d guess if I asked the Wall Street Journal editors if the American constitution should be viewed as a “living document” – if our understanding of its words and what they mean should be open to change to reflect attitudes of the moment – they would say “no.” Liberals think the constitution should be re-engineered every few years like an iPad. So it is not surprising when liberals, for whom tradition is meaningless, trash once sacred institutions in favor of impulses of the moment.

But it does surprise me when those whose politics are supposedly right-of-center, who view America’s founding documents as sacrosanct and give the highest priority to preserving their integrity, are cavalier regarding the integrity of an institution thousands of years older than our constitution.

But it’s a point of view not uncommon.

In other words, our definition of marriage should follow process, not principle. Let voters decide.
While Parker mocked the Journal’s editorial board for its “let voters decide” message, that is the exact same sentiment her allies in the Religious Right have expressed: Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage clearly stated that “we support letting voters decide this issue,” and Jeremy Dys of the Family Policy Council said “voters know that there is no legitimate reason not to let the people vote on the definition of marriage.” Apparently, anti-gay activists are only okay with voting if their side wins.
Parker went on to compare voting to legalize same-sex marriage to voting to enact slavery, arguing that they are both “evil” and lead to “moral chaos”:

In the 1850s, Stephen Douglas proposed solving the dilemma of whether slavery should be permitted in new states by suggesting that they should just vote. What could be more American than submitting the question of slavery to the democratic process of each state?

To this Abraham Lincoln observed: “God did not place good and evil before man telling him to make his choice. On the contrary, He did tell him there was one tree, of the fruit of which he should not eat, upon pain of certain death. … I should scarcely wish so strong a prohibition against slavery in Nebraska.”

Lincoln’s rejoinder to the idea of “popular sovereignty” – that states should vote to determine if slavery would be legal – was that there are core truths – truths that define right and wrong, good and evil – that precede the democratic process.

To reject this premise is to buy into moral chaos, which is what we are approaching today.

The claim that somehow it is a sign of a healthy, free society that by way of the vote we can rewrite our language, our dictionary, our oldest, time-tested traditions is a sign of how lost we are.

Same-sex marriage advocates argue that their efforts will save the embattled institution of marriage. But this takes a symptom of the disease and calls it a cure.

As American society has become more self-centered and materialistic, family and marriage have been imploding.

…

To deal with the crisis of the collapse of family and marriage by redefining what they are is the sign of a society losing its way.

Fortunately, America is still a free country. Individuals can make their own choices about how they choose to live.

But taking personal choices to deviate from our social standards of right and wrong, true and false, and decide to change those truths and standards, so that nothing is any longer considered deviant, is a bridge to nowhere.

“I am the law!” “You don’t tell me the law, I interpret the law!” Judge John A. Donald should be removed from bench!

TBR-Memphis, TN
As we approached the division 3 court room, the bailiff was sitting in the court reporters station, leaned back in a chair. He got up telling people or began instructing where not to stand and threatening to take cell phones. A diminutive man, barking at the court participants, as though he was at a carnival attraction! I looked at my contingent and was astounded at the lack of respect within the court room. This same individual attempted to intimidate me moments later, while taking the stand to testify. The overbearing bailiff sat on the court room divider, trying to stare down respondents, arms folded, hovering over folk. This same court official would not accept the portfolio containing evidence from a case, telling the judge, most did not report the evidence earlier. I soon began to realize the judge sanctioned his bailiff activities. Once judge John A. Donald entered the court room, that’s when the caustic lecturing and court decorum began to break down! “I am the law!” “You don’t tell me the law, I interpret the law!”

The lessor in judge John A. Donald’s is assured a win in the court. The realtor or business owner filing as a plaintiff, succeeded in every instance? Judge Donald yelled at a 7 month old pregnant African-American young lady suing for $200 dollars from a security deposit. In a condescending tone, he insulted the unfamiliar folk, just trying to seek justice. He quickly denied my attorney’s request for a motion of continuance to prepare for a trial, “I don’t know why you were allowed to continue this far,” said Judge Donald. We went to trial an hour and a half later approximately. An attorney explained he would be late assisting a client in the third circuit court proceeding. The judge said the attorney never gave him this information. The individual was forced to move forward with the case pro se, trying to put up a defense in lieu of his strange and belligerent behavior? He would not allow crucial evidence that would have exonerated the defense. Yelling at the top of his lungs “You aint no lawyer son!” During the trial; a lawyer was allowed to interrupt the trial and was granted a full motion, when certain attorney's were not? The constant belittling and lecturing, about his sole authority, was always at the fore front within the tribunal! The judge basically said that the law is as he deems, and not what society has mandated or ordained. In my opinion he needs to be removed from the bench, and under go an evaluation as to his judicial fitness. Not the mention totally ignoring the constitution?

Within one of the cases,  the judge basically said that three government agencies [Fire Department, City of Memphis Code Enforcement, & MLGW] had no relevance in the case. Mold, an identified gas leak, holes in the wall, faulty wiring, improper permit stance, material breach of a contract, fraud, no heat, half of the light fixtures inoperable, have no place in the aforementioned matter set before the court. A tenant has no rights whatsoever, and if you try to suggest otherwise, you will suffer the consequences.

 The aforementioned court official feels the tenant has no rights under "Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act." 66-28-102. Application. In one case they adamantly tried to discuss the unconscionable nature of the lease, the fact the supposed agent never accepted a payment from the defendants, or was not allowed to give relevant proof of payments made towards this issue. To include a code enforcement document the plaintiffs client had not complied with on the ensuing date of the trial.  Judge Donald would not  allow a defendant to provide an invoice from work performed, because of the identified slum lord would not make safety of life repairs. “Maintenance issues are not admissible in my court, its about the non-payment of rent,” said Judge John A. Donald.


 He adamantly sabotages an attempt for a respondent to engage a matter pro se.

My question is simple. Is judge John A. Donald working for an unspecified business group? His position seems to benefit a select group of business, engaging in deceptive business practices.

My Heavenly Father, Save My People!

TBR Leighton Bradford Editor-in-Chief
Since when does a person being released from prison, garner more respect and admiration than a Persian Gulf/Afghanistan veteran? The youths of today profile consist of sagging britches, tattoos, and an attitude. The stated value becomes a disturbing normative distinction, within the Black community. Malcolm X, Dr. King, Huey Newton/Bobby Seale, Angela Davis, Muhammad Ali, Ivan Van Sertima and Harriet Tubman did not fight for the aforementioned concept! While visiting some of my relatives, a distant kinfolk, described his felonious caper with the same pride a PGA tour pro sinking a hole in one! “Man! When Po Po pulled me over the 3 hundred had 10 keys nigga!” And this man was as sincere as a deacon in church. A 40+ year old man documenting the exploits of his sad existence!

President Obama and his lovely wife Mrs. Obama counter this contrived distinction. Aircraft mechanics, Pilots, Engineers, Hotel managers, entrepreneurs, teachers, trash collectors, dentists, and barbers/beauticians are noble professions, not drug dealing and being a so called “THUG”! Were the sit-ins at the lunch counter or protests at Edmund Pettis bridge, so that we may denigrate our culture to the point of biblical condemnation? We need to stop making drug dealers, ghetto super stars.  Work must begin on removing their kind from our communities.

 African-Americans must take control of their own destiny! People of color must refute stereo typical inner-city motifs. White supremacists are exploiting inner city anguish, they are cool with our degraded plight! Black women tell your daughters it’s not okay to be promiscuous or have a number of kids out of marriage. The ultimate goal is a stable relationship! Black women tell your daughters not to cloud gender specified roles, it emasculates your sons. Tele-evangelists are afraid to condemn the ultra-feminizing of black men.  The end game is to lock up Black men and covet the womb of their race! Boycott foreign national business, that don’t support the Black community! Denounce jack leg preachers, who fail to properly interpret the bible, or condemn the sickness that surrounds their culture. We must refute vultures hovering over our short comings.

Herod Revisited

TBR Leighton Bradford Editor-in-Chief - originally published Houston/La Vida News

Popular culture is ever so reluctant to let Tupac Shakur go despite the death of the entertainer a short time ago. Is there any correlation between his death and the working towards the demise of other leaders? Are Black male leaders being purged from American society, making way for an ideal or premise that coincides with white supremacy?

 During the time of Jesus, a ruler by the name of Herod engaged in what was described as infanticide of male Hebrews. Ron Brown (Fmr. Secretary of Commerce), Tupac Shakur, Mickey Leland, El Hajj Malik Shabazz, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Marcus Garvey and Huey Newton are a number of Black men silenced for whatever reason.

What will this become, yet another conspiracy theory? Or will society come to grips with this disturbing trend? Another variable within this equation revolves around the high incarceration and death rate of Black men. How can a scholar or African leader live with the destruction of hope? There also remains the short list of Black men hemmed up over trumped-up charges and imprisoned because of it. If only we could see into the past, maybe the future. What would we do? Maybe adjust flaws of character, and bring back Moses? Are any of these acts or actions related? What measures will some take to keep power out of the hands of Africans? Geo-political destabilization of Africa and America may benefit a white supremacist ideal; our old friend divide and conquer rears its ugly head. The aforementioned issues suggest fault--I ask candidly, who is to blame? There is a belief that certain elements within American society are administering policies which seek to destroy or destabilize the American Black male.

Young Black men are not being nurtured to hold power. So similar are the tactics of Herod, attuned with the shadowy enemy of a would-be messiah. Is there a direct correlation between a male leader of African descent, and an effort to work towards his demise? In college, some taught the varying aspects of logic, be it deductive or inductive. Why not borrow from this concept and begin to look further in what has been suggested. Maybe it's a coincidence that so many Black male leaders have been assaulted. W.E. B. Dubois spent his mature years in Accra, Ghana. Dubois may have washed his hands of society's treatment of individuals of African descent. Hopefully life for young Black men can be productive and prosperous so long as King Herod doesn't get a hold of them. Our current leaders have yet to devise a plan which embraces the young Black male, in an apprentice like posture, preparing them for leadership. So many questions, so few answers--our faith shall respond to all.

Governor Rick Scott (FL) Announces New State Attorney and Task Force in Response to Trayvon Martin Incident! - FL Statute 776

The 2011 Florida Statutes

Title XLVI

CRIMES Chapter 776

JUSTIFIABLE USE OF FORCE View Entire Chapter

CHAPTER 776

JUSTIFIABLE USE OF FORCE

776.012Use of force in defense of person.

776.013Home protection; use of deadly force; presumption of fear of death or great bodily harm.

776.031Use of force in defense of others.

776.032Immunity from criminal prosecution and civil action for justifiable use of force.

776.041Use of force by aggressor.

776.05Law enforcement officers; use of force in making an arrest.

776.051Use of force in resisting arrest or making an arrest or in the execution of a legal duty; prohibition.

776.06Deadly force.

776.07Use of force to prevent escape.

776.08Forcible felony.

776.085Defense to civil action for damages; party convicted of forcible or attempted forcible felony.

TBR-Governor Scott, Lt. Governor Carroll (FL)
Warren Davis
Office of Citizen Services
Executive Office of the Governor (FL)

Continuing his commitment to seeing that justice, due process, and the rule of law prevail in response to the tragic death of Trayvon Martin, Governor Rick Scott, along with Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll, announced the members of the Task Force on Citizen Safety and Protection today. Lt. Governor Carroll will chair the task force along with vice chair Reverend R. B. Holmes Jr., the pastor of the Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Tallahassee.

The purpose of the Task Force on Citizen Safety and Protection is to thoroughly review Florida Statute Chapter 776 and any other laws, rules, regulations or programs that relate to public safety and citizen protection. They will make any necessary recommendations to the Governor and Legislature to improve public safety in Florida.

“We are a nation of laws, and I am committed to letting our legal system work to ensure the people of in our state are safe and protected,” Governor Scott said. “I have the utmost confidence that Lt. Governor Carroll and Reverend Holmes are the best people to lead the review of Florida’s citizen safety laws.”

Governor Scott convened the Task Force on Citizen Safety and Protection immediately after the conclusion of Assigned State Attorney Angela B. Corey’s investigation into the death of Trayvon Martin.

“We look forward to hearing from the citizens of our state about their concerns and recommendations for keeping our state safe,” said Lt. Governor Carroll. “Governor Scott has tapped a diverse and qualified group to carefully review our laws and our policies.”

In addition to Lt. Governor Carroll and Reverend Holmes, the other members of the task force include:

■Sheriff Larry Ashley, of Shalimar, Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.

■State Representative Dennis Baxley, of Ocala, Florida House of Representatives, District 24.

■Former Florida Supreme Court Justice Kenneth B. Bell, of Pensacola, shareholder with Clark Partington Hart Larry Bond and Stackhouse.

■State Representative Jason Brodeur, of Sanford, Florida House of Representatives, District 33.

■Derek E. Bruce, of Orlando, attorney with Edge Public Affairs.

■Joseph A. Caimano Jr., of Tampa, criminal defense attorney with Caimano Law Group.

■Edna Canino, of Miami, president of the Florida Embassy of League of United Latin American Citizens, Council 7220.

■Sheriff Jerry Demings, of Orlando, is the Sheriff for Orange County.

■Gretchen Lorenzo, of Fort Myers, neighborhood watch coordinator for the Fort Myers Police Department.

■Judge Krista Marx, of West Palm Beach, Fifteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida.

■Maria Newman, of Melbourne, neighborhood watch volunteer with the City of Melbourne.

■Chief David L. Perry, of Tallahassee, is the chief of the Florida State University Police Department.

■Katherine Fernandez Rundle, of Miami, state attorney for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit.

■Stacy A. Scott, of Gainesville, public defender with the Eighth Judicial Circuit.

■Mark Seiden, of Miami, self-employed attorney.

■State Senator David Simmons, of Altamonte Springs, Florida Senate, District 22.

■State Senator Gary Siplin, of Orlando, Florida Senate, District 19.

Once Again The Tuskegee Airmen



History

TBR Leighton Bradford Editor-in-Chief
*In spite of adversity and limited opportunities, African Americans have played a significant role in U.S. military history over the past 300 years. They were denied military leadership roles and skilled training because many believed they lacked qualifications for combat duty. Before 1940, African Americans were barred from flying for the U.S. military. Civil rights organizations and the black press exerted pressure that resulted in the formation of an all-African American pursuit squadron based in Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1941. They became known as the Tuskegee Airmen.

"Tuskegee Airmen" refers to all who were involved in the so-called "Tuskegee Experiment," the Army Air Corps program to train African Americans to fly and maintain combat aircraft. The Tuskegee Airmen included pilots, navigators, bombardiers, maintenance and support staff, instructors, and all the personnel who kept the planes in the air. The military selected Tuskegee Institute to train pilots because of its commitment to aeronautical training. Tuskegee had the facilities, and engineering and technical instructors, as well as a climate for year round flying. The first Civilian Pilot Training Program students completed their instruction in May 1940. The Tuskegee program was then expanded and became the center for African-American aviation during World War II.

The Tuskegee Airmen overcame segregation and prejudice to become one of the most highly respected fighter groups of World War II. They proved conclusively that African Americans could fly and maintain sophisticated combat aircraft. The Tuskegee Airman's achievements, together with the men and women who supported them, paved the way for full integration of the U.S. military.

On November 6, 1998, President Clinton approved Public Law 105-355, which established the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site at Moton Field in Tuskegee, Alabama, to commemorate and interpret the heroic actions of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. The new site contains a museum and interpretive programs at the historic complex at Moton Field as well as a national center based on a public-private partnership. *[*denotes-intellectual property of Tuskegee Airmen]

The P-51D North American Mustang, the work horse of the Tuskegee Amn.

I credit my uncle W.T. Arms, an Air Force mechanic during the Korean Conflict; for my passion for aviation.  The flight line separates the boys from the men! Try to imagine tying your shoe lace when its -20 degrees below zero, let alone working on a multi-million dollar aircraft.  I vividly recall the epic heat in West Texas, melting a sample tube of jet engine oil on my forearm. Once MMS (Munitions Maintenance Squadron) let loose a BDU (Practice Bomb) and sent cats running from the several ton concrete behemoth! We were young, helping our country to triumph during the "Cold War"! 

Rockwell International B-1B. This is probably an early production aircraft since their are no unit markings (possibly S/N 84-0049, which was used for weapons testing). (U.S. Air Force photo)

I must take my hat off to George Lucas and his "Red Tail" movie adaption of the Tuskegee Airmen! An excellent depiction! Lucas refrained from the stereo typical take on World War II, as if brothers had no role within the countering of fascism and the thwarting of the Nazi regime!  The Tuskegee Airmen paved the way for our freedoms and ultimate liberation. Their exploits delivered us from the tyrannies of oppression and an axis of evil.  While I was stationed at Luke AFB, to my amazement, I saw Tuskegee Airmen on a wall, honoring the accomplishments of this august body. Luke, AFB; one of the pivotal training facilities for the Tuskegee Airmen.   I seem to be one of the few person of color in aviation at times, thus, it was refreshing to see the respect given to these great men. I over heard Cubing Gooding Jr. explaining to TV personality Charlie Rose, how he did not even know about the Tuskegee Airmen, until later in life. To often individuals of African descent are unaware of their heroic deeds. Young Black aviators were crucial to the success of "Desert Storm" as well.  In the late eighties a KC-135A had an unknown engine failure, and killed 44 passengers and crew, we had just flown across the pacific. The blast resembled a mushroom cloud from an atomic bomb! This was my introduction to the dangers of aviation "Nothing stirs and shapes public sentiment like physical action," said A. Philip, Randolph. The Ebony Pictorial History of Black America  had the following excerpt and ensuing research material:

"Randolph said at the time, and emphasized that unless black demands were met one hundred thousand blacks would stage a nonviolent March on Washington. President Franklin D. Roosevelt opposed the march, as did most whites and some blacks. Randolph was called to New York City Hall by Mrs. Roosevelt and Fiorello LaGuradia, who tried to dissuade him. Randolph would not budge. President Roosevelt later sent for Randolph and Walter of the NAACP and T. Arnold Hill, acting executive of the National Urban League. Again neither Randolph nor his colleagues would budge and a rather heated discussion ensued. Seven days later President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802 which banned discrimination in war industries and apprenticeship programs."



The photographs above depict Elizabeth Coleman and a World War I aviator. Ms. Coleman was the first African-American female pilot. A. Phillip Randolph played a pivotal role in the full integration of the armed services! He deserves a monument dedicated towards his insightful battle against racism and oppression. Most of the aviators were assigned to the 99th and 302nd squadrons.

St. Louis, MO contingent of the Tuskegee Airmen

Jasmine Thar, a 16-year-old African American, was shot and killed by a neighbor with Nazi material



Jasmine Thar shot in the front yard of a N.C. resident


TBR-North Carolina, Treka McMillian
On December 23, 2011, my goddaughter, Jasmine Thar, a 16-year-old African American, was shot and killed while in my mother's front yard in Chadbourn, North Carolina. The 23-year-old Caucasian male who fired the fatal shot from the house across the street claims it was an accident.

He was taken in for questioning, but he has not been charged with a crime of any kind, despite the fact that he admits he fired the shot and police found a Confederate flag and Nazi literature in his home.  The message is that you can shoot and kill someone like Jasmine and get away with it by simply claiming it was an accident. That can't be the world we live in.

That's why we created a petition on SignOn.org to District Attorney Jon David, Attorney General Roy Cooper, and Assistant District Attorney Chris Gentry. The petition says:

We demand justice for Jasmine Thar, who was shot and killed. Three months after the shooting we still have no answers. We urge you to sign this petition to demand a lawful, thorough, and unprejudiced investigation from the FBI and sound judicial decisions from Columbus County District Attorney Jon David and ADA Chris Gentry.


Will you sign the petition? Click here to add your name, and then pass it along to your friends: http://www.moveon.org/r?r=274217&id=39827-17956496-insn2Bx&t=3

Trayvon Case: FL Law Gives More Legal Protection than Troops' Rules of Engagement‏

TBR--Jon Soltz, Chairman, VoteVets.org
The Trayvon Martin case has gripped the nation, and forced the country to again examine its gun laws. But, for me, the whole horrible affair has struck me in another way, because of my two tours in Iraq. One fact stands out in my mind: the “Stand Your Ground” law in Florida, which may let George Zimmerman off the hook for the killing of Martin, gives more leeway to shooters than our own military does, in war.

VoteVets.org has over 105,000 members who take a wide array of views on gun control and the 2nd Amendment, but the Trayvon Martin case is less about the right to bear arms than it is the "use of force." It’s impossible to ignore the legal protection George Zimmerman enjoys in suburban Florida versus the Rules of Engagement that outline when one of our troops can shoot while in combat in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The piece I wrote outlines the comparisons between the Rules of Engagement and the Florida “Stand Your Ground” Law.

This is an important point that has not been included in any of the articles or news pieces that I’ve seen. So, by spreading the word over social media, we can change that. Please take a moment to read the piece, and share it on Facebook and Twitter.


Thanks for your support.

Sincerely,

Jon Soltz
Iraq War Veteran
Chairman, VoteVets.org

Paid for by VoteVets Action Fund

68-year-old veteran killed in his home‏!

Mr. Chamberlain, veteran killed by White Plains, NY police

TBR--White Plains, NY, Kenneth Chamberlain Jr.
On November 19, 2011, my father, 68-year-old Kenneth Chamberlain Sr., was shot and killed in his home in White Plains, New York.


My father was a 20-year veteran of the Westchester County Department of Corrections and proudly served the United States of America as a Marine. He stood about 5 feet, 9 inches tall, and he suffered from a heart condition.

The events that led to his killing began around 5 a.m., when his medical alert device was accidentally set off, sending a call to the City of White Plains Department of Public Safety. Everything that happened after that was recorded by an audio device installed in my father's home as part of his medical alert system.

When the police arrived at my father's home, he and the staff for his medical alert service told them that there was no medical emergency and asked them to leave. And yet they insisted that my father let them into his home, banging loudly on my father's door for over an hour. On the recording, the police can be heard calling my father a "nigger."

Ultimately they broke through his apartment door and first shot him with a Taser. He was wearing nothing but boxer shorts when the police began their assault against him. Shortly after that, he was shot with two 40-caliber rounds and killed.

My family is asking the Westchester County District Attorney to bring a criminal indictment, and we call on the United States Department of Justice or the New York State Attorney General to prosecute this as a hate crime.

The petition says:

This petition is regarding the upcoming grand jury hearing in the case of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr., an unarmed elderly black citizen who was shot to death by the White Plains Police Department.

This case not only brings into question the policies and practices of this department; but it is an open question whether it was inevitable, particularly in light of the audio tapes and video tapes witnessed by Mr. Chamberlain's family members and attorneys where racial slurs and expletives were used before ultimately shooting him twice in the chest and killing him.

It is imperative that those tapes be made available to the grand jury, and that all other evidence be presented as well. I am concerned that secrecy so far—for example, the names of officers involved have not been released—bodes badly for transparency in this case as it moves forward. Nor am I aware of any public statements about the case from elected officials calling for openness.

Members of Mr. Chamberlain's family and community—and a much wider circle of people who need to know there is fairness in the criminal justice system—seek reassurance that, no matter what the verdict, the process has been open, honest, and just.

We, the undersigned, implore Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore to no longer allow police misconduct, brutality, or criminality to happen in this community and ask that these officers be indicted and charged with murder and civil rights violations.

Will you sign the petition? Click here to add your name, and then pass it along to your friends:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=273615&id=38418-17956496-ymUeCix&t=4

Thanks!

Kenneth Chamberlain Jr.

The Official Muhammad Ali Website - Muhammad Ali Enterprises LLCA

The Official Muhammad Ali Website - Muhammad Ali Enterprises LLCA

SENS. BEGICH, MURRAY, TESTER, BROWN & STABENOW HOLD CALL WITH VETERANS(L. BRADFORD)TO DISCUSS VOW TO HIRE HEROES ACT

TBR--Washington, D.C.
United States Senate Democratic
Steering and Outreach Committee
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Chairman of the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Chair of the U.S. Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-Mont.), U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Wash.) joined veterans and veterans’ service organizations from around the country on a conference call to discuss the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011. The bill, which offers a tax credit for companies that hire unemployed veterans and provides job training skills for all service members transitioning to civilian life, is fully paid for.

“Fully honoring our commitment to our veterans means both while they are serving abroad and when they return home – and putting our veterans back to work is a critical part of that promise,” said Senator Begich. “Helping small businesses hire unemployed veterans is just common sense. It eases our veterans’ transition back to civilian life, helps our small businesses, and grows our economy and that why I’m pleased to see so much support for this program.”

“For too long, at the end of their career we patted our veterans on the back for their service and then pushed them out into the job market alone,” said Senator Murray. “The VOW to Hire Heroes Act will give our veterans the job skills to get their foot in the door and incentivize employers to make sure that door is open to them.”

“Veterans risked their lives for this country and it’s our responsibility to make sure they have access to jobs and quality health care when they come home,” said Senator Tester. “It’s our responsibility to make that transition as seamless as possible by connecting veterans with businesses. This bill goes a long way in fulfilling that responsibility and I look forward to the jobs it will create for America’s veterans.”

“Today, the unemployment rate for young veterans is nearly 22 percent—which is simply unacceptable,” said Senator Brown. “Our commitment to our service members shouldn’t end when they return home as skilled, experienced civilians. From leadership experience to technical and scientific skills, veterans are critical to our nation’s economic competitiveness.”

“No veteran should stand at the back of any unemployment line. When we say ‘support our troops’ that can't just be lip-service, we must support them through action,” said Senator Stabenow. “Congress shouldn’t just pass a resolution honoring Veterans Day this week—it should take real action to help America’s one million unemployed veterans get back to work.”

The discussion emphasized Democrats’ commitment to create jobs for veterans and ensure a seamless transition from service in the military to meaningful employment at home.

The unemployment rate for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan has risen to 12.1% over the last year, representing a quarter of a million veterans. Of those, two thirds are younger than 35 years old. Additionally, it is the youngest group of veterans having the hardest time finding work. In 2010, young male veterans who served during the Gulf War-era II had an unemployment rate of 21.9%.

The VOW to Hire Heroes Act would boost employment opportunities for veterans and help address these issues. Key provisions include:

• Tax credit of up to $5,600 for hiring veterans who have been looking for a job for more than six months, as well as a $2,400 credit for veterans who are unemployed for more than 4 weeks, but less than 6 months.

• Tax credit of up to $9,600 for hiring veterans with service-connected disabilities who have been looking for a job for more than six months.

• Makes the Transition Assistance Program (TAP)—an interagency workshop coordinated by Departments of Defense, Labor and Veterans Affairs—mandatory for service members moving on to civilian life to help them secure 21st Century jobs through resume writing workshops and career counseling.

• Expands education and training opportunities for older veterans by providing 100,000 unemployed veterans of past eras and wars with up to 1-year of additional Montgomery GI benefits for education or training programs at community colleges or technical schools.

• Provides disabled veterans up to 1-year of additional Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Benefits.

• Allows service members to begin the federal employment process prior to separation in order to facilitate a truly seamless transition from the military to jobs at VA, Homeland Security, or the many other federal agencies in need of our veterans.

For more information on the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011, visit http://democrats.senate.gov/news/.

About the Senate Democratic Steering & Outreach Committee

The Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee is dedicated to fostering dialogue between Senate Democrats and community leaders from across the nation. Each year, the Steering Committee hosts several meetings with advocates, policy experts, and elected officials to discuss key priorities and enlist their help in the development of the Democratic agenda in the Senate. We are committed to serving as a liaison between Senate Democratic offices and advocacy groups and intergovernmental organizations. The Steering Committee is one of three Democratic Leadership Committees in the Senate. The Steering Committee is chaired by Senator Mark Begich (AK) and vice chaired by Senator Daniel K. Akaka (HI).
CONTACTS:


Begich: Julie Hasquet, (907) 258-9304

Murray: Matt McAlvanah, (202) 224-2939

Tester: Andrea Helling, (202) 228-0371

Brown: Meghan Dubyak, (202) 224-3978

Stabenow: Cullen Schwarz, (202) 379-6775

DSOC: Betsy McManus, (202) 228-1805

###

Giant Webb Space Telescope Model to "Land" in Baltimore

 

 

TBR-NASA Press Release-Baltimore, MD
Baltimore's Maryland Science Center is going to be the "landing site" for the full-scale model of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, and it's free for all to see.

The Webb telescope life-sized model is as big as a tennis court, and it's coming to the Maryland Science Center at Baltimore's Inner Harbor from October 14 through 26, 2011. It's a chance for young and old to get a close-up look at the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope in the same size it will be launched into space.

The real James Webb Space Telescope is currently being built, but this model will be constructed in a couple of days. The real Webb will be the largest space telescope ever built. Once in orbit, the Webb telescope will look back in time more than 13 billion years to help us understand the formation of galaxies, stars, and planets.

Experts will be on hand to discuss the Webb telescope's deep-space mission, how it will observe distant galaxies and nearby stars and planets, and the progress made to date in building the observatory. Spokespeople will also be available starting at 10 a.m. EDT and throughout the model exhibition. There will also be educational activities and an "Ask the Scientist" booth in front of the model during the daytime. The Maryland Science Center is located at 601 Light Street, Baltimore, Md. 21230. For directions and more information, call the center at 410-685-5225.

The full-scale model of the Webb telescope was built by NASA's prime contractor to provide a better understanding of the size, scale, and complexity of the observatory. The model is constructed mainly of aluminum and steel, weighs 12,000 pounds, and is approximately 80 feet long, 40 feet wide, and 40 feet tall. The model requires two trucks to ship it, and assembly takes a crew of 12 approximately four days.

The Webb telescope will add to observations by earlier space telescopes, and stretch the frontiers of science with its discoveries. The model's size shows the telescope's complexity and how the observatory will enable the Webb telescope's unique mission.

For more images and video, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/nasalife/features/webb-balto.html

For more information about the James Webb Space Telescope, visit:

http://webbtelescope.org/webb_telescope

http://www.jwst.nasa.gov

For a sped-up video of the construction of the Webb full-scale model, visit:

http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010500/a010570/index.html

View on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbCBeq2Rz9Q

CONTACT

Dwayne Brown/Trent Perrotto
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726 / 202-358-0321
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov / trent.j.perrotto@nasa.gov

Lynn Chandler
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
301-286-2806
lynn.chandler-1@nasa.gov


Ray Villard / Cheryl Gundy
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
410-338-4514 / 410-338-4707
villard@stsci.edu / gundy@stsci.edu

Imago Dei--Moors, Berbers, Axum and Mestizos

TBR--Leighton Bradford Editor-in-Chief
 The first ascertainable African state to attain power was the ancient empire of Ethiopia, Axum, Abyssinia, etc... For over five thousand years from military conquest and intermarrying, Ethiopia and Kemet (Egypt) established the foundation and the heritage associated with Blacks within the African Diaspora! Carter G. Woodson would have handled this synopsis better than I. All of humanity has contributed to the greatness of this earth! It becomes duly important to shore up past inequalities suspended within a euro-centric reality.

The term Moor when translated from Greek refers to, Mauro's-meaning dark or tanned.  Moors originated from Northern Africa, came to conquer and rule the Iberian [Spain & Portugal] peninsula for 800 years! Was Hannibal Black? I argue he was at least tanned or a light skin brother. There are rumors Vin Diesel or Denzel Washington; may star in upcoming roles, depicting the military genius. Young impressionable individuals of African descent; should see their image in what Hollywood depicts. "Indeed, in Spain (Iberia) and Portugal the indigenous pop. had been ruled until the fifteenth century by the Moors who were both darker skinned and more educated than the natives," Race and Racism, Pierre L. van den Berghe. When the Spaniards came to the America's they had to be of an admixture; moreover, possessed elements of African ancestry! Mestizo refers to a Spanish, African and Indigenous admixture. We interpret the term Mestizos as Mexican. We may have time to discuss Creole, French, Indigenous, and African. Creole culture is a pivotal aspect of not only New Orleans, but around the world.


 The Moors territory of rule stretched from Mali and Niger to present day Spain. Their conquest and existence pre-dates Islam, i.e. The Numidian Kingdom of Maure 3rd century BCE!  Al Andulas a reference used to identify the aforementioned conquered lands of the Iberian Peninsula. I argue that descendants from Al Andulas or the Iberian Peninsula, have elements of Black within them! The conquistadors leading the diaspora of the America's had possible Moorish eugenics scheme. Moors, Berber, and Nubian are interchangeable humanistic, or of African descent distinctions. Let's transition towards an epic scholar Dr Ivan Van Sertima*.

Photo: Dr. Ivan Van Sertima

"Contrary to widespread misinformation, the history of black Americans does not begin with their arrival in the New World on slave ships!" Ebony Pictorial History

Dr. Ivan Van Sertima [*was born in Guyana, South America.  He was educated at the School of Oriental and African Studies (London University) and the Rutgers Graduate School and holds degrees in African Studies and Anthropology.  From 1957-1959 he served as a Press and Broadcasting Officer in the Guyana Information Services.  During the decade of the 1960s he broadcast weekly from Britain to Africa and the Caribbean. ] http://www.journalofafricancivilizations.com/page/9048 

Dr. Van Sertima [*He also appeared before a Congressional Committee on July 7, 1987, to challenge the Columbus myth. This landmark presentation before Congress was illuminating and brilliantly presented in the name of all peoples of color across the world.]:

July 7, 1987, Van Sertima Before Congress - Challenging the Columbus Myth

*“If we are to have a commemoration, let us take this opportunity not to consolidate a myth, but to open a new window upon the universe of peoples. Let us take full cognizance of other civilizations here in a true cross-cultural fashion so we can really speak of ourselves as true Americans, New World people, because that is what the New World means...the bringing together of all these old-world elements into a new world.”

— Ivan Van Sertima

*Dr. Van Sertima appeared, on July 7, 1987, before Congress to discuss the Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Jubilee Act. Van Sertima, single-handedly, presented evidence to prove that Africans made contact with native Americans long before Columbus, and that Columbus did not “discover”.

 It becomes critically important, within an identity of an altruistic interpretation of blackness, to define our anthropological existence.  It thwarts dehumanizing attributes. The Moors derived from an area within and adjacent to Carthage, i.e., Hannibal conqueror of Rome! Libya, Morocco, and Algeria where near or a part of the territory of Carthage.

Some of the oldest human settlements have been unearthed in Tanzania. The oldest human fossils were found in and around Olduvai Gorge (Oldupai) in northern Tanzania, an area referred to as "The Cradle of Mankind". It is believed to be the birthplace of humanity. Fossils found in this area include Paranthropus bones thought to be over 2 million years old, and the oldest known footprints of the immediate ancestors of humans, the Laetoli footprints, estimated to be about 3.6 million years old. About 10,000 years ago, Tanzania was populated by hunter-gatherer communities who spoke Khoisan. They were joined by Cushitic-speaking people who came from the north about 5000 years ago.

[Berbers (Berber: Imazighen / Imaziɣen) are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Today, varieties of Maghreb's colloquial Arabic are spoken by a large portion of Berbers besides the Berber language itself]. wikipedia 


[Many Louisiana creole families arrived in Louisiana during the Colonial Period following the Slave Uprising led by Toussaint Breda (later called L'Ouverture) in 1791 in Ste. Dominique, later called Haiti. Protesting French Colonial rule - and winning the fight with the assistance, in part of the mosquito, as the French plantation owners most holding land grants from Louis XVI (farming primarily sugar) were succumbing to yellow fever. The slave army of L'Ouverture originally in alliance with the French to exile Spanish and English eventually helped evict them too creating a free Haiti]. Wikipedia

Establishing a cultural identity is crucial to a valued self-esteem! Detractors know and understand, without it, you are subjected to the dehumanizing effect, of social genocide. Anthropology is as much a part of the civil rights struggle or equality, as sitting at a lunch counter in the sixties! This is what I often refer to as, Imago Dei, Latin for Image of God. Translated further, all human beings were created in the image or likeness of God! European history must acknowledge the aforementioned ideals. Moors are individuals of African descent.