From Brad's Blog: Is Good Ever Better Than Best?

 

From Brad's Blog at bradthompsonsr.com, Brad writes...

We are now forced to make a decision in the Presidential Primary. Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders have waged an outstanding battle for the hearts of the Democratic primary voter. Bernie’s success in New Hampshire has been balanced with Hillary’s narrow victories in Iowa and Nevada and success in South Carolina. Should we feel the “Bern” or continue the political evolution by electing the first female President?

Our choices are made more difficult as Bernie’s promises to do what Barack Obama been unable to do as President. Single payer health insurance for all, holding Wall Street accountable, making the rich pay their fair share, free public college for all, increasing the minimum wage to $15 are things many want to see accomplished. But do we believe they can? And why would Senator Sanders be able to accomplish these things when Barack Obama has not? Does he have greater political skills? Is he a better negotiator? Is there power in the Presidency that Obama has not used?

Hillary offers a brand of gradualism. We have made progress under President Obama but there is much work yet to be done. We should build on those successes, according to Secretary Clinton, and continue to make progress toward equity and justice for all that was begun under President Obama. Coming in with the economy in trouble, the war taking all our resources, unemployment very high, and a large number of Americans uninsured or underinsured presented quite a few challenges for the new President. He has done well, says Secretary Clinton, under the circumstances, and we would do well to continue these efforts.

The Republicans offer a more convoluted view of the future. Under “making America great again” they place our current ills at the feet of those who come to the country illegally, those whose religions do not respect “the American way”, or bad deals that have cost us in economic might and restricted the growth of American industry through needless regulation, government interference, or over taxation. They believe our increased vulnerability is because we have become soft on our enemies, are unable to stand strong for our beliefs, and lack leadership in Washington (particularly the pinpointing President). A change would make things better.

It seems like we have choice. Can we return to those thrilling days of yesteryear? Can we expect the country to live up NOW to those principles promised in our constitution and its amendments? Should we continue on a path that has demonstrated progress but has fallen short of the ideal? Should we ask for more?

No matter your point of view, this is an important election, both in the primary and the general, and your vote is important.  We must get it right and the outcome will determine the kind of future we and those Americans who might follow us might have.

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Brad's Blog Asks: Are we Killing Ourselves?

 

By Brad Thompson 

www.bradthompsonsr.com

There has been much discussion recently about the loss of life in the Black community because of the overaggressive, if not fearful actions of the police departments. Too many instances of death at the hands of those who are empowered by the state to protect us have led to the proper conclusion that many of these deaths are unjustified. The Black Lives Matter movement has risen in protest to this high rate of death at the hands of police when compared to those observed in the general population. Indeed, “all lives matter” but it seems that the loss of life of Black people deserves special attention. We must also be concerned about other factors that make our community less safe. The amount of violence that we must face attests to the influence that gangs and drugs have in our neighborhoods. This twin scourge is exacerbated by easy access to weapons and the arcane policy toward the mentally ill that makes it difficult for a community without the control of resources or policy to influence either. The devastation of poverty creates challenges for those under employed, welfare dependent, or unemployed due to felony convictions or lack of preparation for the available jobs. We are left with a community where targeting, over-enforcement, fear, apathy, or just plain bad policing create an area that seems helpless to respond to conditions that make it a less desirable place. We are also affected by personal choices in what we eat. Many of our communities have been classified as “food deserts” indicating a lack of access to food stores or farms necessary to keep the area healthy. The incidence of high blood pressure, diabetes, and low birth weight give an indication that our habits and food choices are limiting the life of African Americans. Some of this is economic. Poor people buy what they can afford. So what if it contains too much salt, or too much fat; at least we are still eating. Would you rather we die of starvation? I think it’s possible to eat healthily and affordably - we must, at least try. We cannot continue to make choices in diet that make us less healthy even if the food is “good”. What is good to you may not be good for you. Our communities are often the repository for development that others communities will not accept. The placement of prisons and landfills for “economic development” are indicative of the burden that poor communities must suffer. It does not take a Flint, Michigan to know that poor communities are neglected in a way that would be unacceptable to the larger society. This “environmental racism” has long existed. It is ironic that the very reason we were brought to these shores - our knowledge of nature - is now being used to help kill us. This cannot be acceptable. Some things are beyond our control. But, we must resist all efforts to destroy the communities we love. If it means confronting violence and addiction, we must do so. If it means changing our eating habits, we must do so. If it means resisting placement of landfills and other harmful environmental hazards in our community, we must do so. Our future may depend on it. The loss of life may be result, but we cannot do it to ourselves.

Original Post:  Brad's Blog

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Trump Supporters Harass And Push Black Woman At Rally

 Reports continued to come in about Republican presidential front runner Donald Trump and his supporters who were roundly criticized and condemned for races asked after a video surfaced of Donald Trump supporters harassing and pushing a black woman and a super Tuesday rally in Louisville Kentucky.

 The young woman was protesting the rally when Donald Trump interrupted his speech to ask that the protest to be removed . Donald Trump's supporters then can be heard yelling epithets and seen pushing the woman who can be heard asking them not to touch her .




A similar incident recently happened to Black Lives Matter protesters removed from rallies and Valdosta State University in rural Georgia and a Radfordv University in Virginia.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: NewsOne
PHOTO CREDIT: Getty | VIDEO CREDIT: New York Daily News

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New American Media - NAACP Calls to Remove Polling Places from Police Stations in St. Louis, Mo.

The St. Louis American, News Report, Rebecca Rivas, Posted: Feb 02, 2016

Eighteen polling places in St. Louis County are co-located within a police station – effectively discouraging any resident with an outstanding warrant from walking in, giving his or her name and address, and voting, according to Better Together’s recent study.

“It’s important to realize that when we’re talking about warrants, we’re very often talking about someone who was simply unable to pay a traffic fine or a citation for a code violation and missed a court date,” said Dave Leipholtz, director of Community-Based Studies for Better Together.

There are currently 450,000 warrants stemming from the region’s 52,000 municipal ordinances.

“Warrants are so prolific that 27 municipalities in St. Louis County have accrued more outstanding warrants than they have residents,” he said. “This disproportionately impacts municipalities with large populations of African-Americans and the poor.”

Following the report, the Missouri NAACP State Conference and the St. Louis County NAACP branch released a statement that they are “deeply concerned” about the impact of polling places in municipal police departments.

“Having polling places inside of police departments is yet an additional obstacle in the way of African Americans seeking to exercise their constitutional right,” said Esther Haywood, St. Louis County NAACP president and former Missouri state representative.
Haywood said voters should not be afraid of being toted to jail for exercising their constitutional right.

“A hurdle, such as the location of polling places in police departments, is far too similar to an unofficial Jim Crow Law,” she said.

The St. Louis County NAACP has written a letter to the St. Louis County Board of Election Commissioners requesting that all polling places in St. Louis County located at police departments be relocated immediately.

The report is the fourth and final study from Better Together that shows a strong correlation between the region’s fragmented structure and the disengagement of citizens. In fact, Better Together reports that the rate of participation in local government is far lower than national averages.

In the most recent municipal election, only 9.41 percent of the voting-age population cast a ballot – compared with the national average of 21 percent participation in local elections.

While proponents of fragmentation claim that this is the structure residents want, the new Better Together study suggests otherwise. A review of the processes for incorporating and dis-incorporating shows that historically it’s been easier to incorporate than to dis-incorporate a city.

For example, the village of Champ was founded in 1959 upon one man’s vision to build an Olympic-quality stadium and an industrial park. Those plans never came to fruition, but 57 years later Champ still exists, with a population of 13.

The study argues that dis-incorporation, on the other hand, is arduous. In villages and fourth-class cities, a dis-incorporation proposal can only go on the ballot following a petition of one-half of the city’s voters, and then the proposal must garner 60 percent of the votes in order to pass.

Remarkably, there is no process at all for dis-incorporation of a third-class city. Wellston is one such city. Over the past several years, it has been plagued with a variety of issues ranging from the mayor stealing city employee paychecks to physical altercations between police officials. Yet, even if the citizens of Wellston organized to meet the high threshold needed in other towns, they would not be able to vote on dissolving their city government.

The Better Together report makes several recommendations for lowering the civic cost of fragmentation.

First, municipal elections should be moved from April to the November ballot, thereby producing greater turnout and taxpayer savings. Additionally, the 18 polling places co-located with police stations should be moved, and the 21st Circuit should call for a review of all outstanding municipal warrants. Finally, citizens must be truly empowered to have their governments reflect what they want. In order to meet this objective, there must be a clear pathway toward dis-incorporation.

To read the report in full, visit www.bettertogetherstl.com/generaladministration.

 via  New American Media

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How The Voting Rights Act Changed Congress

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Using National and Local Resources To Get the Vote Out In The Community

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US Black Summit To Organize Nationally

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