#13th Amendment allows slavery for prisoners

[kirch]

in other news: Trump's Own SCOTUS just blew up Net Neutrality in a "loss for democrats" (and anyone else who doesn't prefer the taste of bootleather) -- GOP/DOGE's Trump/Musk "Free Speech Censorship Regime" is set to roll out, and steamroll anyone who actually enjoys freedom. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/01/02/net-neutrality-fcc-sixth-circuit-strike-down/ https://archive.is/voMIE this is from their new "Congress has no right to regulate anything" decision from last year ... getting rid of "Chevron Deference" -- which allowed Congress to delegate tasks to regulatory agencies it sets up ... SCOTUS said "no, congress has to write all the rules, no regulators writing rules!" ... and, well ... they're really hoping they can keep the Mitch McConnell train running where congress only gets to do whatever the oldest and most racist person in the room allows - so that business regulations can go bye-bye and they can start feeding us bread made with sawdust again ... and the new Gov't Deregulation Agency (the newest implementation of Gestapo) DOGE will do it's best to make Elon Musk the King of the Internet... (and nevermind all this from 2017: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFhT6H6pRWg )

URGENT: 🚨🚨EARN IT ACT IS BACK IN THE SENATE 🚨🚨 TUMBLR’S NSFW BAN HITTING THE ENTIRE INTERNET THIS SUMMER 2023

April 28, 2023

I’m so sorry for the long post but please please please pay attention and spread this

What is the EARN IT Act?

The EARN IT Act (s. 1207) has been roundly condemned by nearly every major LGBTQ+ advocacy and human rights organization in the country.

This is the third time the Senate has been trying to force this through, and I talked about it last year. It is a bill that claims "protects children and victims against CSAM" by creating an unelected and politically appointed national commission of law enforcement specialists to dictate "best practices" that websites all across the nation will be forced to follow. (Keep in mind, most websites in the world are created in the US, so this has global ramifications). These "best practices" would include killing encryption so that any law enforcement can scan and see every single message, dm, photo, cloud storage, data, and any website you have every so much as glanced at. Contrary to popular belief, no they actually can't already do that. These "best practices" also create new laws for "removing CSAM" online, leading to mass censorship of non-CSAM content like what happened to tumblr. Keep in mind that groups like NCOSE, an anti-LGBT hate group, will be allowed on this commission. If websites don't follow these best practices, they lose their Section 230 protections, leading to mass censorship either way.

Section 230 is foundational to modern online communications. It's the entire reason social media exists. It grants legal protection to users and websites, and says that websites aren't responsible for what users upload online unless it's criminal. Without Section 230, websites are at the mercy of whatever bullshit regulatory laws any and every US state passes. Imagine if Texas and Florida were allowed to say what you can and can't publish and access online. That is what will happen if EARN IT passes. (For context, Trump wanted to get rid of Section 230 because he knew it would lead to mass govt surveillance and censorship of minorities online.)

This is really not a drill. Anyone who makes or consume anything “adult” and LGBT online has to be prepared to fight Sen. Blumenthal’s EARN IT Act, brought back from the grave by a bipartisan consensus to destroy Section 230. If this bill passes, we’re going to see most, if not all, adult content and accounts removed from mainstream platforms. This will include anything related to LGBT content, including SFW fanfiction, for example. Youtube, Twitter, Reddit, Tiktok, Tumblr, all of them will be completely gutted of anything related to LGBT content, abortion healthcare, resources for victims of any type of abuse, etc. It is a right-wing fascists wet dream, which is why NCOSE is behind this bill and why another name for this bill is named in reference to NCOSE.

NCOSE used to be named Morality in Media, and has rebranded into an "anti-trafficking" organization. They are a hate group that has made millions off of being "against trafficking" while helping almost no victims and pushing for homophobic laws globally. They have successfully pushing the idea that any form of sexual expression, including talking about HEALTH, leads to sex trafficking. That's how SESTA passed. Their goal is to eliminate all sex, anything gay, and everything that goes against their idea of ‘God’ from the internet and hyper disney-fy and sanitize it. This is a highly coordinated attack on multiple fronts.

The EARN IT Act will lead to mass online censorship and surveillance. Platforms will be forced to scan their users’ communications and censor all sex-related content, including sex education, literally anything lgbt, transgender or non-binary education and support systems, aything related to abortion, and sex worker communication according to the ACLU. All this in the name of “protecting kids” and “fighting CSAM”, both of which the bill does nothing of the sort. In fact it makes fighting CSEM even harder.

EARN IT will open the way for politicians to define the category of “pornography" as they — or the lobbies that fund them — please. The same way that right-wing groups have successfully banned books about race and LGBT, are banning trans people from existing, all under the guise of protecting children from "grooming and exploitation", is how they will successfully censor the internet.

As long as state legislatures can tie in "fighting CSAM" to their bullshit laws, they can use EARN IT to censor and surveill whatever they want.

This is already a nightmare enough. But the bill also DESTROYS ENCRYPTION, you know, the thing protecting literally anyone or any govt entity from going into your private messages and emails and anything on your devices and spying on you.

This bill is going to finish what FOSTA/SESTA started. And that should terrify you.

Senator Blumenthal (Same guy who said ‘Facebook should ban finsta’) pushed this bill all of 2020, literally every activist (There were more than half a million signatures on this site opposing this act!) pushed hard to stop this bill. Now he brings it back, doesn’t show the text of the bill until hours later, and it’s WORSE. Instead of fixing literally anything in the bill that might actually protect kids online, Bluemnthal is hoping to fast track this and shove it through, hoping to get little media attention other than propaganda of “protecting kids” to support this shitty legislation that will harm kids. Blumental doesn't care about protecting anyone, and only wants his name in headlines.

It will make CSAM much much worse.

One of the many reasons this bill is so dangerous: It totally misunderstands how Section 230 works, and in doing so (as with FOSTA) it is likely to make the very real problem of CSAM worse, not better. Section 230 gives companies the flexibility to try different approaches to dealing with various content moderation challenges. It allows for greater and greater experimentation and adjustments as they learn what works – without fear of liability for any “failure.” Removing Section 230 protections does the opposite. It says if you do anything, you may face crippling legal liability. This actually makes companies less willing to do anything that involves trying to seek out, take down, and report CSAM because of the greatly increased liability that comes with admitting that there is CSAM on your platform to search for and deal with. This liability would allow anyone for any reason to sue any platform they want, suing smaller ones out of existence. Look at what is happening right now with book bans across the nation with far right groups. This is going to happen to the internet if this bill passes.

(Remember, the state department released a report in December 2021 recommending that the government crack down on “obscenity” as hard the Reagan Administration did. If this bill passes, it could easily go way beyond shit red states are currently trying. It is a goldmine for the fascist right that is currently in the middle of banning every book that talks about race and sexuality across the US.)

The reason these bills keep showing up is because there is this false lie spread by organizations like NCOSE that platforms do nothing about CSEM online. However, platforms are already liable for child sexual exploitation under federal law. Tech companies sent more than 45 million+ instances of CSAM to the DOJ in 2019 alone, most of which they declined to investigate. This shows that platforms are actually doing everything in their power already to stop CSEM by following already existing laws. The Earn It Act includes zero resources for proven investigation or prevention programs. If Senator Bluementhal actually cared about protecting youth, why wouldn’t he include anything to actually protect them in his shitty horrible bill? EARN IT is actually likely to make prosecuting child molesters more difficult since evidence collected this way likely violates the Fourth Amendment and would be inadmissible in court.

I don’t know why so many Senators are eager to cosponsor the “make child pornography worse” bill, but here we are.

HOW TO FIGHT BACK

EARN IT Act was introduced just two weeks ago and is already being fast-tracked. It will be marked up the week of May 1st and head to the Senate floor immediately after. If there is no loud and consistent opposition, it will be law by JUNE! Most bills never go to markup, so this means they are putting pressure to move this through. There are already 20 co-sponsors, a fifth of the entire Senate. This is an uphill battle and it is very much all hands on deck.

CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES.

This website takes you to your Senator / House members contact info. EMAIL, MESSAGE, SEND LETTERS, CALL CALL CALL CALL CALL. Calling is the BEST way to get a message through. Get your family and friends to send calls too. This is literally the end of free speech online.

(202) 224-3121 connects you to the congressional hotline. Here is a call script if you don't know what to say. Call them every day. Even on the weekends, leaving voicemails are fine.

2. Sign these petitions!

Link to Petition 1

Link to Petition 2

3. SPREAD THE WORD ONLINE

If you have any social media, spread this online. One of the best ways we fought back against this last year was MASSIVE spread online. Tiktok, reddit, twitter, discord, whatever means you have at least mention it. We could see most social media die out by this fall if we don't fight back.

Here is a linktree with more information on this bill including a masterpost of articles, the links to petitions, and the call script.

DISCORD LINK IF YOU WANT TO HELP FIGHT IT

TLDR: The EARN IT Act will lead to online censorship of any and all adult & lgbt content across the entire internet, open the floodgates to mass surveillance the likes which we haven’t seen before, lead to much more CSEM being distributed online, and destroy encryption. Call 202-224-3121 to connect to your house and senate representative and tell them to VOTE NO on this bill that does not protect anyone and harms everyone.

[whencyclopedia]

Native American Enslavement in Colonial America

Slavery was practiced by the Native Americans before any Europeans arrived in the region. People of one tribe could be taken by another for a variety of reasons but, whatever the reason, it was understood that the enslaved had done something – staked himself in a gamble and lost or allowed himself to be captured – to warrant such treatment.

This model changed with the arrival of the Spanish in the West Indies in 1492 and their colonization of that region, South, and Central America throughout the 16th century. Native Americans were then enslaved simply for being Native Americans. In North America, after the English arrived, Native Americans were at first enslaved as prisoners of war but, eventually, were taken and sold to plantations in the West Indies to clear the land for expansion of English colonies.

This practice continued throughout the colonial era aided and encouraged by Native American tribes themselves up through 1750 and, after the American War of Independence (1775-1783), natives were pushed into the interior as African slavery became more lucrative. Even so, the enslavement of Native Americans continued even after slavery was abolished by the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865. Americans got around illegal enslavement of natives by calling it by other names and justified it in the interests of "civilizing the savages". The practice continued up through 1900, dramatically impacting Native American cultures, languages, and development.

Native American Slavery & Columbus

Native American tribes were incredibly diverse, each with their own culture, and far from the cohesive, unified civilization they are often represented as under the umbrella term "Native American" or "American Indian". Each tribe understood itself as inherently superior to others and although they would form alliances for short periods in a common cause, or for longer periods as confederacies, they frequently warred with each other for goods, in the name of tribal honor, and for captives, among other reasons.

Men, women, and children taken captive were then enslaved by the victorious tribe, sometimes for life and other times for a given number of years and, in still other cases, until they were adopted and became members of the tribe. People could also be enslaved as hostages, held to ensure compliance with a treaty, and in some tribes, people were not only enslaved for life but any children born to them were also considered slaves, thereby creating a slave class long before the arrival of Europeans.

This model changed after the arrival of Christopher Columbus (l. 1451-1506) in the West Indies in 1492 and the Portuguese in 1500. Columbus kidnapped natives he brought back to Spain as slaves on his first voyage and sent over 500 back on his second. Between 1493-1496, he implemented the encomienda system, which institutionalized Native American enslavement throughout the Spanish colonies of the New World, and, by the time the French, Dutch, and English began colonizing North America, the Transatlantic Slave Trade was already established.

Continue reading...

[readyforevolution]

IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW THIS YESTERDAY THEN TODAY WOULD BE A GOOD DAY TO LEARN THIS.... "All stories don't have a happy ending"

In 1866, one year after the 13 Amendment was ratified (the amendment that ended slavery), Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Florida, Tennessee, and South Carolina began to lease out convicts for labor (peonage). This made the business of arresting Blacks very lucrative, which is why hundreds of White men were hired by these states as police officers. Their primary responsibility was to search out and arrest Blacks who were in violation of Black Codes. Once arrested, these men, women and children would be leased to plantations where they would harvest cotton, tobacco, sugar cane. Or they would be leased to work at coal mines, or railroad companies. The owners of these businesses would pay the state for every prisoner who worked for them; prison labor.

It is believed that after the passing of the 13th Amendment, more than 800,000 Blacks were part of the system of peonage, or re-enslavement through the prison system. Peonage didn’t end until after World War II began, around 1940.

This is how it happened.

The 13th Amendment declared that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." (Ratified in 1865)

Did you catch that? It says, “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude could occur except as a punishment for a crime". Lawmakers used this phrase to make petty offenses crimes. When Blacks were found guilty of committing these crimes, they were imprisoned and then leased out to the same businesses that lost slaves after the passing of the 13th Amendment. This system of convict labor is called peonage.

The majority of White Southern farmers and business owners hated the 13th Amendment because it took away slave labor. As a way to appease them, the federal government turned a blind eye when southern states used this clause in the 13th Amendment to establish laws called Black Codes. Here are some examples of Black Codes:

In Louisiana, it was illegal for a Black man to preach to Black congregations without special permission in writing from the president of the police. If caught, he could be arrested and fined. If he could not pay the fines, which were unbelievably high, he would be forced to work for an individual, or go to jail or prison where he would work until his debt was paid off.

If a Black person did not have a job, he or she could be arrested and imprisoned on the charge of vagrancy or loitering.

This next Black Code will make you cringe. In South Carolina, if the parent of a Black child was considered vagrant, the judicial system allowed the police and/or other government agencies to “apprentice” the child to an "employer". Males could be held until the age of 21, and females could be held until they were 18. Their owner had the legal right to inflict punishment on the child for disobedience, and to recapture them if they ran away.

This (peonage) is an example of systemic racism - Racism established and perpetuated by government systems. Slavery was made legal by the U.S. Government. Segregation, Black Codes, Jim Crow and peonage were all made legal by the government, and upheld by the judicial system. These acts of racism were built into the system, which is where the term “Systemic Racism” is derived.

This is the part of "Black History" that most of us were never told about.

[kny111]

Do World Powers Engage in Subtle Systemic Slavery or Overt Systemic Slavery? It doesn’t Matter. Slavery is Slavery & It Will Never Be Needed Especially Not As A System.

The United States along with other world powers and those that serve them have created this ‘using us, yet against us’ system. We need to change this. The fire James Baldwin spoke of, the very merited rage those enslaved have against this system, is well overdue.

Those who serve a government that knowingly allow for enslavement still and lie to people about it being abolished when their own amendment backs daily institutional and systemic enslavement when it allows “slavery is abolished except in punishment or crime“. This does nothing to remove slavery as a systemic feature from this governing system and you are implicit.

                                                                                                by - K, Blog Admin

What happens when we as a community repurpose the instruments of science and evidence gathering and focus on the 13th amendment? This piece of document literally allows for enslavement. What has been created in its wake? Here’s the thing, when colonial imperial powers in Europe said okay when issues occur we’re gonna call them ‘crime’  they meant it as a word to account for social norms being breached and a sort of “holler if you hear me“ approach to solving those issues was laid out institutionally which included neighborhood watch people that could process this. They later became police. Between that time and the present 2023, legislature and policy reshaped crime and policing, as well as the defending of issues through military, crime became systemically synonymous with prisons/cages/slavery to solve those issues. From the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and its bolstering of these pro enslavement laws to this past historical investment in this strange notion of punishing others so physically, violently to the benefit of a system, a legalized market of slavery was formed and continues to persist with similar legislative and political play on words as they did with the 13th amendment’s clause: The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."

When you specifically write into law and action that amendments create and actualize the means to the system we use, what are you enacting when you pronounce through this same mechanism that “no slavery shall exist within the united states or any place subject to its jurisdiction - EXCEPT as punishment for crime“? We need to, as a people really inspect this slowly and carefully because science has yet to produce any evidence that says punishment at that level and method is required to solve these issues so where is this evidence that says that type of punishment is even needed for the people to “fall in line”?

Secondly, isn’t it evident that processing issues as merely ‘crime’ is factually bringing us more structural issues than not because not every issue can be generalized to crime and often times the word crime itself just doesn’t do nearly enough to account for the disabled community and many other far reaching issues.

These aren’t assumptions, these are educated deductions based on statistical data provided by the errors of the running system. Again, it has yet to produce reputable convincing evidence that establishes prisons, crime, and cops/ slave patrol systems they synergized with as effective means to solve the issues we as a society constantly face. And with this same lack of adhering to scientific facts are we supposed to feel comforted by these slave industry agents, legislators and policy makers that allow for that amendment to exist as is because they know it buys them that much time to not worry of their implicitness in enslavement of others? I implore everyone watch the documentary by Ava DuVernay 13th available for free on youtube from NetFlix due to its educational merit. This documentary is like a course 101 on understanding just how much of an issue enslavement systems are and how synonymous prisons and cops are to slave markets and patrols. It gets right to the problem of slavery, what scriptures did they use to embed it into our social mainframe? did it exist back then? Yes, Is it gone? No, it let’s us know it’s still active and strategies by white supremacists and slavers then benefit their lineages and communities now.

They have a lot of control over the systems that try to govern us. Reconfiguring, inspecting and enacting amendments at this level will be required for us to do something meaningful against this oppressive system and its unsustainable, inefficient amalgamation with slavery markets as a resource system.

Reparations for those harmed by these systems as well as systemic decolonization strategies will be commonly needed. We need documentaries like this and similar subject media to help the public understand the necessary steps to abolish prisons and repurposing the military that serve them away from the rich’s interest and focus on the people. Since all defending this slavery system are implicit. 13th by Ava DuVernay is available now on YouTube for free via NetFlix along with other educational documentaries

[journalofimprobablethings]

[ID: A black and white, hand-drawn comic showing a boy sitting at a table with a pitcher and a couple glasses. There is a sign on the front of the table that reads: "criminals deserve the right to vote. change my mind." /End ID]

[tieflingkisser]

Forced Labor Continues in Colorado, Years After Vote to End Prison Slavery 

Coloradans voted in 2018 to amend their state constitution to ban forced labor in prison. Years later, incarcerated people are still being punished for refusing work assignments.

Throughout Abron Arrington’s decades-long incarceration in Colorado, he often found himself in solitary confinement—not because he was causing trouble, but simply because he refused to work. He didn’t see the point given he was paid 13 cents an hour and figured his time could be better spent learning physics. Before Arrington was incarcerated in 1989, he was studying to get his aircraft mechanic license. But within weeks of returning home from the U.S. Air Force, at 22 years old, he was arrested and ultimately sentenced to life in prison for a murder he didn’t commit. In 2019, he received clemency from Governor Jared Polis and was released after three decades behind bars. “I was actually 30 years a slave,” Arrington, who is Black, told a crowd of people gathered in one of Colorado’s oldest Black churches on Juneteenth, the federal holiday that commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. “So, this is deeply personal to me.”

[...]

In 2018, after years of community organizing, Colorado sparked a national movement when voters overwhelmingly passed Amendment A, a ballot measure that deleted half a sentence from the state constitution that allowed slavery and involuntary servitude “as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.” Colorado was the first state to do so since the signing of the 13th Amendment. Since Colorado removed its language, Utah, Nebraska, Vermont, Oregon, Alabama, and Tennessee have followed suit with similar constitutional amendments. Organizers in around a dozen more states are now pushing to get similar ballot measures in front of voters during the 2024 elections. 

[...]

But in some ways, Colorado’s Amendment A only abolished prison slavery on paper. That’s because the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) has continued to punish those who refuse to work. Since 2018, there have been at least 727 documented instances where an incarcerated person was disciplined for failing to work, according to a 9News investigation this past summer, with punishment ranging from changes in housing to loss of privileges and delayed parole.

[...]

Today, incarcerated workers produce more than $2 billion each year in goods and commodities, and over $9 billion in services for the maintenance of the very prisons that confine them—all while being paid pennies an hour or nothing at all, according to research conducted by the American Civil Liberties Union and the University of Chicago Law School’s Global Human Rights Clinic. Their labor enables mass incarceration by offsetting the cost of the country’s ballooning prison system, which has grown by 500 percent over the last 50 years.

[...]

In addition to off-setting costs for federal, state and local governments, approximately 4,100 companies in the U.S. have directly profited off of prison labor, a number that is likely an undercount—including large companies like Walmart, McDonald’s, Starbucks, IBM, Tyson Foods and Microsoft, according to a database created by the advocacy organization Worth Rises. “A lot of people are making a lot of money off the system,” said Arrington, who has worked for the reentry nonprofit, Second Chance Center, since his release. “It is no different than it was 200 years ago.” 

[dogsuffrage]

Non-penal slavery was permitted by the laws of the United States until 1942. Debt slavery persisted through to 1942 and was defended in court by arguing that, while the 13th amendment says slavery shall not exist, it does not actually make slaveholding a crime, so they could continue to operate slave plantations without legal issue. In fact, debt peonage was a crime, so they had to argue that the debts were fictitious and it was just an excuse to enslave people. They explicitly stated that. The United States only actively began dismantling this form of slavery because they had entered WW2 and were concerned that the Japanese government would push propaganda shining a light on the fact that slavery was still widely practiced in the US and would nullify any propaganda the US could make about Japanese slavery, and they believed the Japanese propaganda would be too compelling to allow.

On a similar topic, after the Civil War, the South began a widespread policy of arresting freed black men on bullshit charges (when you see those lists of "wackiest laws in each state!" many of them are holdovers from when states passed a series of obscure laws to allow them to arrest black people at will) and sentencing them to long terms of hard labor in which a third of those sent to these labor camps would die. This is also the origin of criminalizing homelessness and unemployment. Black people were freed and then told to either immediately enter into debt slavery or go to a labor camp for the crime of being unemployed. In the years following the Civil War, 1/5 of freed black people were arrested and sentenced to this form of labor, including children. These remained legal until 1928, and after 1928 were just replaced with other forms of prison slavery. In the 1920s, the plurality of all of those arrested and sent to these camps were arrested for drinking. And in fact Southern states enacted Prohibition before it was in the Constitution largely as a means to supplement their continued penal slavery. It was a precursor to the War on Drugs today.

[maeinthekinning]

Random reminder, the u.s. still has an exception in the 13th amendment (slavery) that allows slavery and involuntary servitude if you have been convicted of any crime, including petty crimes, including innocent but convicted.

That exception was exploited by many to keep their slaves.

And when you get out, you can't vote to rectify that.

Recently some states (a small minority) have gotten rid of slavery in those states, some like Colorado taking multiple tries to succeed in outlawing slavery.

Even where slavery is not being used, the wages are much lower then minimal wage for where work and the cost of even a phone call or reading a free book can be immense.

Prisons optimally imo should be focused on rehabilitation, instead of punishment. This would help lower recidivism and lower homelessness.

And there shouldn't be lower then minimum wage work or fees for reading free books or pricy phone calls.

[arpov-blog-blog]

..."The goods these prisoners produce wind up in the supply chains of a dizzying array of products found in most American kitchens, from Frosted Flakes cereal and Ball Park hot dogs to Gold Medal flour, Coca-Cola and Riceland rice. They are on the shelves of virtually every supermarket in the country, including Kroger, Target, Aldi and Whole Foods. And some goods are exported, including to countries that have had products blocked from entering the U.S. for using forced or prison labor.

Many of the companies buying directly from prisons are violating their own policies against the use of such labor. But it’s completely legal, dating back largely to the need for labor to help rebuild the South’s shattered economy after the Civil War. Enshrined in the Constitution by the 13th Amendment, slavery and involuntary servitude are banned – except as punishment for a crime.

That clause is currently being challenged on the federal level, and efforts to remove similar language from state constitutions are expected to reach the ballot in about a dozen states this year.

Some prisoners work on the same plantation soil where slaves harvested cotton, tobacco and sugarcane more than 150 years ago, with some present-day images looking eerily similar to the past. In Louisiana, which has one of the country’s highest incarceration rates, men working on the “farm line” still stoop over crops stretching far into the distance.

Willie Ingram picked everything from cotton to okra during his 51 years in the state penitentiary, better known as Angola.

During his time in the fields, he was overseen by armed guards on horseback and recalled seeing men, working with little or no water, passing out in triple-digit heat. Some days, he said, workers would throw their tools in the air to protest, despite knowing the potential consequences.

“They’d come, maybe four in the truck, shields over their face, billy clubs, and they’d beat you right there in the field. They beat you, handcuff you and beat you again,” said Ingram, who received a life sentence after pleading guilty to a crime he said he didn’t commit. He was told he would serve 10 ½ years and avoid a possible death penalty, but it wasn’t until 2021 that a sympathetic judge finally released him. He was 73.

The number of people behind bars in the United States started to soar in the 1970s just as Ingram entered the system, disproportionately hitting people of color. Now, with about 2 million people locked up, U.S. prison labor from all sectors has morphed into a multibillion-dollar empire, extending far beyond the classic images of prisoners stamping license plates, working on road crews or battling wildfires.

Though almost every state has some kind of farming program, agriculture represents only a small fraction of the overall prison workforce. Still, an analysis of data amassed by the AP from correctional facilities nationwide traced nearly $200 million worth of sales of farmed goods and livestock to businesses over the past six years – a conservative figure that does not include tens of millions more in sales to state and government entities. Much of the data provided was incomplete, though it was clear that the biggest revenues came from sprawling operations in the South and leasing out prisoners to companies.

Corrections officials and other proponents note that not all work is forced and that prison jobs save taxpayers money. For example, in some cases, the food produced is served in prison kitchens or donated to those in need outside. They also say workers are learning skills that can be used when they’re released and given a sense of purpose, which could help ward off repeat offenses. In some places, it allows prisoners to also shave time off their sentences. And the jobs provide a way to repay a debt to society, they say.

While most critics don’t believe all jobs should be eliminated, they say incarcerated people should be paid fairly, treated humanely and that all work should be voluntary. Some note that even when people get specialized training, like firefighting, their criminal records can make it almost impossible to get hired on the outside.

“They are largely uncompensated, they are being forced to work, and it’s unsafe. They also aren’t learning skills that will help them when they are released,” said law professor Andrea Armstrong, an expert on prison labor at Loyola University New Orleans. “It raises the question of why we are still forcing people to work in the fields.”

[reasoningdaily]

Incarcerated women risk their lives fighting California fires. It's part of a long history of prison labor

For most of the 23 years Romarilyn Ralston spent in a California prison, she made 37 cents an hour, unable to afford crafty birthday cards for her two sons, let alone the financial support she desperately wanted to give them.

Ralston did clerical and recreational work at the California Institution for Women in Chino, while voluntarily training women who have recently made national headlines for being on the front lines of the state’s biggest wildfires. The state has deployed more than 15,000 people to combat fires ripping through more than 220,000 acres in recent weeks, including as many as 1,600 trained inmates who earn, at the high end, a base pay of close to $2 a day.

Ralston said her friends on the outside were shocked to hear about the low wages and the tough work, and she, as well as a woman who said she trained for the program, said it deserves much more scrutiny.

Describing dangerous, backbreaking labor — they use hoes and chainsaws to manipulate the landscape and redirect fires in their tracks — Ralston compared it to a slave-era practice.

“Prisoners are leased out and thrown down to public and private corporations for labor,” she said. “That’s part of the convict-leasing system from Reconstruction, unfortunately, and it’s shameful.”

The second clause of the 13th Amendment to abolish slavery and involuntary servitude made an exception for people convicted of crimes, allowing landowners to incriminate newly-freed slaves with arbitrary laws and rent them out for cheap labor.

Since then, prisons have relied on this labor — including cleaning, serving food, laundry, plumbing and construction — to run their facilities as well as to provide the state with other workers, including those who make license plates or pave roads.

Though firefighting, Ralston said, is particularly high-risk.

“I’ve seen women come back with broken ankles and broken arms, burns or just suffering from exhaustion, you know, the psychological stress that people go through trying to just pass the requirements because if they don’t pass the requirements, they don’t get to camp,” she said. “It’s very stressful, not only on the body but also on the mind.”

California corrections spokesperson Bill Sessa said he did not anticipate the women would get so much attention. The female California Conservation Camp program has been intact since 1983 and 40 of the 43 camps are male.

“The men were getting all the coverage, so I just happened to mention to a reporter, ‘You know, we do have women who do this,’” Sessa said. “The fact that it’s women, the fact that it’s Malibu, it’s just got all the elements for lack of a better term, a sexy story.”

He also described the positions as coveted among inmates — the environment is nicer, the pay can be higher, the food is better and he said it can accelerate their release dates. For every day most of them are at camp and are on good behavior, they can get two days off their sentence, according to corrections.

A fireman who has managed prison crews for the past seven years, watches over a team of female prisoners in a remote mountainous area of the Witch Fire past Santa Ysabel, California to build a protection line against spreading fire, October 25, 2007. Of about 9,000 firefighters battling the southern California flames, nearly 3,000 are inmates. About 300 are from all-women prisoner brigades. Picture taken October 25, 2007. Photo by Adam Tanner/Reuters

Ralston agreed that it is more humane than other prison jobs for those reasons and that plenty of people get satisfaction out of the work, but that given the history of prison labor, and the low pay for risky work, it can still be demeaning. Corrections estimates the program saves the state $124 million a year, amounting to 3 million hours of firefighting work.

“When it costs $70,000 a year to incarcerate someone, then training them to be a high-functioning state worker and fight fires and put their lives on the line,” she said. “To treat people that way is absolutely shameful.”

While Ralston was incarcerated, she was serving a life sentence, unable to stay at a camp – those spots are for people who are deemed as minimum flight risks.

“It was tough. I tried to send little birthday cards and gifts home but it’s hard to support your kids,” she said. “Even when you make things, sometimes materials are free but sometimes you want to buy materials, or order something from a catalogue because they did well in school, but you can’t afford it.”

She was sentenced to life in 1988 when her sons were 2 and 5 years old. In the 23 years she served, she had bought savings bonds that had amounted to about $500, which she retrieved upon her release in 2011. Since then, she has earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees and become a program coordinator at Project Rebound at Cal State Fullerton, a resource for incarcerated people who want access to higher education.

The director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Prison Project David Fathi said that not all prison jobs are inherently bad. Voluntary jobs can lower recidivism rates, provide routine and a valuable sense of worth and responsibility. But whether they are actually “voluntary” is an important nuance, he said.

“Little in prison is truly voluntary,” Fathi said. “It’s hard for most people to understand the pervasively and inherently coercive nature of the prison environment.”

While California corrections states on its fact sheet that no one is involuntarily assigned to the fire program, Ralston and Ingrid Archie disagree.

Most people in California prisons go through a classification system every year so the facility can assess where they should work based on skills, attitude, work habits and education level.

They are often placed on a pay scale that is anywhere from 8 cents an hour for labor, maxing out at $12 a month, to 37 cents an hour for a lead position, maxing out at $56 a month.

Archie, who was released about two years ago, said she was assigned to the camp without her input.

“If you refuse the program, that’s a disciplinary infraction,” she said.

She said the infraction is called “refusal to program” and that it can layer an additional 30 to 60 days onto a person’s sentence.

Ralston, who did administrative work for the fire program, said that people risk an infraction and added time if they do not cooperate.

California corrections spokesperson Terry Thornton said that there is an infraction called “refusal to program,” but that she still considers the fire program voluntary because corrections “cannot force an inmate” to comply.

Regardless, Fathi said there are clearer lines to better wages.

“State minimum wage laws don’t apply to prisoners. This is something the legislature could fix very easily. The minimum wage could apply to everyone who works,” he said. “Same with worker’s compensation laws.”

California corrections states in its fact sheet that people in the program make $2 a day, but most of them are actually making $1.45. There is a ranking system: $1.45 a day is grade 1, while “skilled and experienced” people get $1.67 a day and “a limited number of skilled inmates who have been given special assignments” get $1.95 per day.

Ralston maxed out at $56 a month as a clerk for the fire crews and Archie said she was compensated $1 a day to clean the camp.

With their earnings, they could buy items like soap or lotion, pre-made birthday cards, vitamins, allergy tablets, cough drops, or Saltine crackers. They could spend it on co-pays for health concerns, but it was never enough money to save or send it home.

Sessa says part of the appeal of the fire program is the extra pay for being in the field. In those circumstances, firefighters get an extra $1 an hour.

Given the severity of the fires in recent weeks, he said some of the crews were working up to 80 hours in a row before they could get a break.

“They can put it in special accounts which gives them a financial cushion when they go back to their home community,” he said.

READ NEXT: Oklahoma lawmakers, voters disagree on punishments for drug crimes

But Ralston says that money is not what lures women to these jobs. Most of them, she said, risk their well-being to get out of prison faster so they can get home to their children and prove that they are “redeemable.”

The majority of women in prison have children, are victims of violence or trauma and are most often there for nonviolent offenses, as opposed to their male counterparts. While California has one of the lowest female incarceration rates, it has come under scrutiny in recent years for its failure to adequately address some of their unique mental health issues.

And even if they are making top prison dollars, the wages are still “shameful,” especially given the many obstacles women face, she said.

“A lot of women in the program are in there because they want to get to their children, but they don’t need a broke down mom when she gets home,” she said.

[whencyclopedia]

Native American Enslavement in Colonial America

Slavery was practiced by the Native Americans before any Europeans arrived in the region. People of one tribe could be taken by another for a variety of reasons but, whatever the reason, it was understood that the enslaved had done something – staked himself in a gamble and lost or allowed himself to be captured – to warrant such treatment.

This model changed with the arrival of the Spanish in the West Indies in 1492 and their colonization of that region, South, and Central America throughout the 16th century. Native Americans were then enslaved simply for being Native Americans. In North America, after the English arrived, Native Americans were at first enslaved as prisoners of war but, eventually, were taken and sold to plantations in the West Indies to clear the land for expansion of English colonies.

This practice continued throughout the colonial era aided and encouraged by Native American tribes themselves up through 1750 and, after the American War of Independence (1775-1783), natives were pushed into the interior as African slavery became more lucrative. Even so, the enslavement of Native Americans continued even after slavery was abolished by the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865. Americans got around illegal enslavement of natives by calling it by other names and justified it in the interests of "civilizing the savages". The practice continued up through 1900, dramatically impacting Native American cultures, languages, and development.

Native American Slavery & Columbus

Native American tribes were incredibly diverse, each with their own culture, and far from the cohesive, unified civilization they are often represented as under the umbrella term "Native American" or "American Indian". Each tribe understood itself as inherently superior to others and although they would form alliances for short periods in a common cause, or for longer periods as confederacies, they frequently warred with each other for goods, in the name of tribal honor, and for captives, among other reasons.

Men, women, and children taken captive were then enslaved by the victorious tribe, sometimes for life and other times for a given number of years and, in still other cases, until they were adopted and became members of the tribe. People could also be enslaved as hostages, held to ensure compliance with a treaty, and in some tribes, people were not only enslaved for life but any children born to them were also considered slaves, thereby creating a slave class long before the arrival of Europeans.

This model changed after the arrival of Christopher Columbus (l. 1451-1506) in the West Indies in 1492 and the Portuguese in 1500. Columbus kidnapped natives he brought back to Spain as slaves on his first voyage and sent over 500 back on his second. Between 1493-1496, he implemented the encomienda system, which institutionalized Native American enslavement throughout the Spanish colonies of the New World, and, by the time the French, Dutch, and English began colonizing North America, the Transatlantic Slave Trade was already established.

Continue reading...

[enlightenedpictures]

Documentary Films That Changed the World: A Look at Iconic Examples

Documentary films have the unique ability to inform, inspire, and provoke thought. Unlike fictional narratives, documentaries present real-life stories, issues, and events, often shedding light on subjects that are overlooked or misunderstood. Throughout history, certain documentaries have transcended their medium, influencing public opinion, shaping culture, and even driving social change. This article examines some of the most iconic documentary films that have made a significant impact on the world.

The Power of Documentary Filmmaking

Documentaries serve as powerful tools for storytelling, allowing filmmakers to present facts and personal experiences in compelling ways. They combine visual imagery with narrative techniques to engage audiences emotionally and intellectually. The objective of a documentary is not merely to inform but also to inspire action and awareness. This unique capability has led to documentaries being instrumental in various social movements, environmental initiatives, and human rights campaigns.

Iconic Documentary Films

1. "The Thin Blue Line" (1988)

Directed by Errol Morris, "The Thin Blue Line" is a groundbreaking documentary that examines the case of Randall Dale Adams, who was wrongfully convicted of murder. The film combines interviews, reenactments, and a haunting score to present a compelling narrative that questions the reliability of eyewitness testimony and the American justice system. The documentary ultimately led to Adams' release from prison, showcasing the potential of film to influence real-world outcomes.

2. "Bowling for Columbine" (2002)

Michael Moore’s "Bowling for Columbine" explores the complex issues surrounding gun violence in America. Through interviews, animations, and poignant storytelling, Moore delves into topics such as the culture of fear, media manipulation, and the impact of violence on society. The film sparked widespread discussions about gun control and the role of the media in shaping public perceptions. Its success at the Academy Awards further solidified its place as a significant cultural commentary.

3. "An Inconvenient Truth" (2006)

Al Gore’s "An Inconvenient Truth" is a pivotal documentary that addresses climate change and global warming. Using a combination of scientific data, personal anecdotes, and compelling visuals, Gore aims to educate the public about the urgent need for environmental action. The film played a crucial role in raising awareness about climate issues and inspired a generation of activists to advocate for sustainability and policy change. Its impact on public discourse regarding climate change cannot be overstated.

4. "13th" (2016)

Ava DuVernay's "13th" examines the intersection of race, justice, and mass incarceration in the United States. The title refers to the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery but also allowed for involuntary servitude as punishment for crime. Through powerful interviews, historical footage, and expert analysis, the film lays bare the systemic racism embedded in American laws and institutions. "13th" has become a crucial resource for understanding the complexities of racial inequality in America and has spurred discussions about criminal justice reform.

5. "March of the Penguins" (2005)

While focusing on the life cycle of Emperor penguins in Antarctica, "March of the Penguins," directed by Luc Jacquet, highlights broader themes of resilience, survival, and the fragility of ecosystems. The film’s stunning cinematography and engaging narration captivated audiences worldwide, leading to a renewed interest in wildlife conservation. It emphasizes the importance of protecting natural habitats and the challenges faced by species due to climate change.

6. "The Act of Killing" (2012)

Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer, "The Act of Killing" challenges former Indonesian death squad leaders to reenact their real-life killings in whatever cinematic genres they wish. This chilling exploration of guilt, memory, and the nature of evil forces viewers to confront the brutal realities of genocide and political violence. The film pushes boundaries in documentary filmmaking, compelling audiences to grapple with complex moral questions.

7. "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" (2018)

This documentary on Fred Rogers, the beloved host of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," delves into his philosophy of kindness, empathy, and understanding. The film celebrates Rogers' dedication to children's emotional and moral development and explores his impact on American culture. In a time of increasing division, the film serves as a reminder of the importance of compassion and the power of media to foster positive change.

8. "The Fog of War" (2003)

In "The Fog of War," director Errol Morris interviews former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, reflecting on his experiences during pivotal moments in American history, including the Vietnam War. The film provides a nuanced perspective on the complexities of war, decision-making, and morality. McNamara’s candid reflections serve as a stark reminder of the human cost of conflict and the importance of understanding history to prevent future mistakes.

9. "Citizenfour" (2014)

Laura Poitras’ "Citizenfour" follows Edward Snowden as he reveals classified information regarding the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs. The film provides an intimate look at the ethical implications of government surveillance and the fight for privacy in the digital age. By documenting Snowden’s journey, "Citizenfour" has sparked vital conversations about civil liberties, security, and the role of whistleblowers in democracy.

10. "The Social Dilemma" (2020)

"The Social Dilemma" explores the dark side of social media and its impact on society. Through interviews with former tech industry insiders, the film reveals how algorithms manipulate user behavior, contribute to addiction, and spread misinformation. By combining documentary elements with dramatizations, the film raises critical awareness about the ethical responsibilities of tech companies and the need for societal change in how we engage with technology.

The Impact of Documentaries on Society

Documentaries have the power to reshape narratives, challenge perceptions, and motivate action. They often act as catalysts for social change, prompting viewers to question their beliefs and take a stand on important issues. The films discussed here serve as prime examples of how documentary filmmaking can illuminate truths, foster empathy, and inspire movements.

Conclusion

The enduring influence of documentary films is evident in the way they provoke thought, inspire dialogue, and drive social change. From examining systemic injustice to highlighting environmental issues, these films have etched themselves into the collective consciousness, urging society to confront uncomfortable truths and strive for a better world. As we continue to navigate complex global challenges, the importance of powerful storytelling through documentaries cannot be overstated. They remind us of our shared humanity and the potential for change when we dare to look beyond the surface.

[celestialmaison]

“in my indulgence era” you’re doing an advertisement for walmart, a company that supports and profits from slave labor under the 13th amendment, which prohibits slavery except as punishment for a crime, which allowed the overwhelming enslavement of black and brown bodies that began during the colonial era to continue and set the stage for the current paradox of majority black and brown bodies incarcerated in us prisons. when and where and how is that considered indulgence. what are you fucking indulging in. legalized enslavement in the 21st century?

[rauthschild]

USNA have repeatedly touched upon the subject of Fourteenth Amendment citizens, defined as "citizens of the United States" by the Territorial Congress acting to latch upon the allegedly "stateless" freed plantation slaves, and serving to create a new kind of citizenship by legislative fiat. 

We have noted that this citizenship and the Fourteenth Amendment establishing it was created and enforced under the so-called Corporate Constitution published in 1868. 

This document looked very, very similar to the actual Territorial Constitution called The Constitution of the United States of America, but it was a different kind of "constitution" altogether, and represented the Articles of Incorporation of a Scottish Commercial Corporation merely calling itself "The United States of America" --- Incorporated, with the word "Incorporated" omitted so as to foster a despicable fraud upon the Autochthonous American people and the rest of the world. 

This Corporate Constitution was never ratified by the States of the Union because as a foreign corporation's Articles of Incorporation it needed no ratification by our States.  Likewise, its "Amendments" served as By-Laws and required no ratification, either.  

This is why the 14th, 15th, 16th, and all subsequent Amendments to this document are not ratified by the States of the Union. It's uncertain at this point whether or not the 13th Amendment purportedly abolishing slavery was ever ratified, either. 

It was the 14th (definitely Unratified) Amendment to this Corporate Constitution that created "Fourteenth Amendment" citizenship and Fourteenth Amendment citizenship obligations for "citizens of the United States".  

When one reads the Congressional records related to these actions it is clear that most members of the Territorial Congress thought that they were doing something good and necessary.  They were acting under the idea that the Southern States would not accept the freed plantation slaves, and that something had to be done to provide these "stateless" people with a political status.  

Unfortunately, when they created this political status, they also latched onto the living men and women and whatever they possessed, as chattel backing the debts of the Scottish Commercial Corporation doing business as "The United States of America" --- Incorporated. 

That is to say, that contrary to the idealism and expressed intentions of the Territorial Congress, their actions resulted in the freed plantation slaves being "latched upon" and subjected to foreign citizenship obligations and debts owed by a foreign corporation merely pretending to be or to represent The United States of North America -- our Autochthonous Federation of States. 

The former plantation slaves were freed from private slavery and redefined as public slaves, instead.  

These new "citizens of the United States" were obligated to accept any debt addressed to them.  If they did not, they were pre-judged as criminals and subject to immediate sentencing, with no need to hear any facts or law or evidence. 

The Scottish Commercial Corporation whose "Constitution" allowed this went bankrupt in 1906 and has been defunct for decades, yet the charlatans responsible for all this continue to rely upon the "Fourteenth Amendment" of the defunct Corporate Constitution as the basis for prosecutions brought in Municipal courts. 

How can a codicil of a fraudulently misrepresented foreign corporation charter -- a corporation that has been out of business for over a century --be used as the basis for prosecution? 

Self-evidently, it cannot.  

Every single prosecution involving Fourteenth Amendment citizens, that is, in current parlance, those cases tried against  Municipal CORPORATIONS, have all been null and void for fraud and misrepresentation since 1868. 

As a result, all the people who have been held in "Federal" prisons and all those who have been held in Federal-franchised State-of-State jails, and all those who have been tried under the presumption of Fourteenth Amendment Municipal CITIZENSHIP, have been tried under False Pretenses invoked under conditions of fraud and non-disclosure, and they must be released and returned to their families and compensated for their ordeals.  

All those who have been tried and convicted under these presumptions in the past must also be exonerated and their records must be expunged. 

Compensation is owed by the Principals who allowed these foreign municipal and commercial corporation Subcontractors to operate "Prisons for Profits" schemes and at a minimum, every non-Federal Employee  misaddressed and convicted as a MUNICIPAL CORPORATION is owed $25,000 plus interest for every Misdemeanor, $1,000,000.00 plus interest for every felony, and $6,000 per day plus interest for each day that living people were impounded or incarcerated under conditions of fraud, non-disclosure and False Arrest. 

The foreign commercial corporations and Bar Attorneys and Governments and Principals responsible have acted with varying degrees of compartmentalized knowledge, with one hand often not knowing what the other was doing --- with the result that many Federal and State of State Employees and Bar Attorneys and bankers participated in this injurious fraud without being aware of it. 

Any and all proceedings against members of the General Public who have been improperly registered as Federal Citizens and as Municipal citizens of the United States and who have been charged and  misrepresented as Municipal CORPORATIONS or as co-trustees of waived infant decedent ESTATES, must be expunged. 

None of the victims of this fraud scheme received Due Process.  All but about 12% of those addressed were convicted by Courts that were incompetent to hear charges against them.  Any and all convictions against members of the General Public must be thoroughly expunged as if they never existed. 

The Court System in this country was unlawfully converted and must now be lawfully converted back to the Autochthonous American Common Law --- not military Common Law and not commercial Common Law nor any foreign form of Common Law whatsoever. 

https://www.slideshare.net/ICJ-ICC/14th-amendment-fraud

Sincerely,

The United States of North America, in the Family of Nations, Law of Nations.

[mint-moon25]

NEW HAMPSHIRE - ABOVE - AN - ORIGINAL - US STATE

13 STATES - ABOVE - BAKER ROCKS - NH - CAMP - YES

GROUND - THEY - USE - TUBES - ALSO - IN - THEIR - 

RIVERS - PLYMOUTH - OVER - 6,000 - PEOPLE - IN - 

THIS - TOWN - IN - NEW HAMPSHIRE - UGLY - YES - 

NATURE’s - FLOORS - 4 - TENTS - NOT - GRASS - 

REMINDED - OF - WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON - 

APPRENTICED - 2 A - NEWSPAPER - EDITOR - 

AGE 13 - PHILIPPINE - LAWS - I - STARTED 2 - 

EARLY - PART TIME - HIGHLY - PAID - AS KID - 

LATE - 1820′s - WITH - CO-EDITOR - BENJAMIN - 

LUNDY - THEIR - PAPER - HE - CALLED OWNER - 

OF - A - SLAVE - TRANSPORT SHIP - B 4 - PRES -

ABE LINCOLN - CALLED - THAT - OWNER - A - 

‘MURDERER’ - PRISON - SENTENCE

6 MONTHS

AFTER - 7 WKS - FREED - WHEN HIS

SUPPORTERS - DONATED - MONEY 

2 - PAY - HIS - FINE

ILLEGAL - ARREST - AND - PRISON

VIOLATED - FREEDOM - OF PRESS

TRANSPORTING - SLAVES - 4 - HARD - LABOR - 

MURDER - RAPING - KNOCKING - UP BEATINGS - 

STARVATION - EVERY - HOUR - WORKING - NO - 

FOOD - DRINK - CALLING - OWNER - OF - SHIP - 

‘MURDERER’ - FREEDOM - OF - THE - PRESS

POLICE - COURTHOUSE - JUDGES - SIDED - 

WITH - OWNER - OF - SLAVE TRANSPORT - 

SHIP - ILLEGAL - 1ST - AMENDMENT - KILLED

BACK - IN - BOSTON - GARRISON - LAUNCHED

NEW - PAPER - ‘THE - LIBERATOR

SLAVERY - DOMINANT - ISSUE - OF - HIS LIFE

ACTIVIST

CAUSE - OF - WOMEN’s - RIGHTS - LIKE RIGHT

2 - VOTE - TEMPERANCE - AGAINST CRUELTY

2 - ANIMALS - OTHER - CAUSES

13TH - AMENDMENT - RATIFIED - 1865

NEITHER - SLAVERY - NOR - INVOLUNTARY - 

SERVITUDE - EXCEPT - AS - PUNISHMENT - 

4 - CRIME - CONVICTED SHALL - EXIST US

OR - POSSESSIONS - TERRITORIES REV’D

HIM - ‘I AM - UNSPEAKABLY - HAPPY - 2 - 

BELIEVE’ - END - OF - SLAVERY - AMERICA - 

GARRISON - DIED - IN - 1879

HIS - WORDS - 

‘I - WILL - B - AS - HARSH - AS - TRUTH - 

AND - AS - UNCOMPROMISING - AS -

JUSTICE’ - NO - MODERATION WITH - 

PASSION - 4 - GARRISON

‘TELL - A - MAN - WHOSE - HOUSE IS - 

ON - FIRE - 2 - GIVE - A - MODERATE - 

ALARM - TELL - HIM - 2 - MODERATELY - 

RESCUE - HIS - WIFE - FR - THE HANDS - 

OF - A - RAVISHER - TELL - THE MOTHER - 

2 - GRADUALLY - EXTRICATE HER BABE - 

FR - THE - FIRE - INTO - WHICH - IT HAS - 

FALLEN’ - URGE - ME - NOT - 2 - USE - 

MODERATION - IN A - CAUSE - LIKE - 

THE - PRESENT’ - ‘I - WILL - NOT - 

RETREAT - IN - A - SINGLE INCH - 

AND - I - WILL - BE - HEARD’ - SO - 

BIBLE - ECCLESIASTES 3 - 

‘A TIME - 2 SPEAK - AND A - 

TIME - 2 B - HEARD’

WHY - I - MENTIONED - WILLIAM GARRISON

THE LIBERATOR - BOSTON MASSACHUSETTS

OLDEST - ESTABLISHED - AMONG - 13 STATES

THE UNDERLINE - PARK - 24/7

NO - SMOKING

HISPANICS - BLKS - SMOKE

NO - CAMP

GOVERNMENT CENTER

NOT - CAMPING - SITE

JUST - LIKE - OWNER - OF - SLAVE - TRANSPORT - 

SHIP - DEFENDED - BY - POLICE - COURTHOUSE - 

DEFENDED - BY - JUDGE - BECAUSE - HUGE TAX - 

PAYER - THEIR - PAYCHECKS - GUARANTEED

ALL - MURDERED - AMENDMENT 1

FREEDOM - OF - THE - PRESS

WENT - 2 - PRISON 

FINE - WAS - FREED

BIBLE - ‘MONEY - ANSWERS - ALL’

CAMPING - CAMP - NO - TENT - PARKS - USA

7-ELEVEN - NO - BACKPACK - NO - BAGS

WHY - ABOVE - POLICE - JUDGES 

COURTHOUSES - WANT - IT - AS A 

BUSINESS - INSTEAD - AND - NOT 

ADVERTISED - ABOVE - HUGE - TENT

VERY - EXPENSIVE - BUT - EXPOSED

NO - KITCHEN - NO - TOILET 

CAMP - KITCHEN

BATHHOUSE

BED - CHAIR - WELL - LIT - SO - ALL-

CAN - SEE - WHAT - THEY’RE - DOING 

ON - THE - BED - NO - PRIVACY

MUST - TURN - OFF - LIGHTS AS

THEY - USE - THEIR - BED - THAT

TENT - OVER - $1,000 - EXPENSIVE

THEY - WANT - U 2 - HAVE - CAMP 

AS - YOUR - BUSINESS - WHY - SO

U - CAN - CREATE - YOUR - RULES

CREATE - YOUR - LAWS 

$225 - PER - NIGHT - AS - U - DESCRIBE

CHECK - IN - CHECK OUT - PHOTO - ID

2 C - AGE 18 AND OLDER - THEIR ZIPCODE

CHECK - THEIR - ADDRESS - WHY - CAMP 2

STATE - GOVERNMENT - LOCAL - GOV’T

FORBID - CAMPING - SO - GUARANTEED 

BUSINESS - SUCCESS - AND - $225 - EA

NIGHT - UNITED STATES - NOT - GREAT 

NATION - BECAUSE - THEY - ALLOW - THESE 

PRICES - ALL - APTS - ARE - UNFURNISHED &

OVER - $1,000 - THEY - HAVE - THE - KEYS - 2 - 

YOUR - APTS - SO - THEY’RE - GOING - ALL - 

THE - WAY - WITH - U - WHILE - YOU’RE YES - 

SLEEPING - PLACED - HIDDEN - CAMERA ON - 

YOUR - SHOWERS - AND - KITCHEN - 2 C - 

YOUR - RECIPES - LEHIGH ACRES - BLK - FEMALE

BAHAMAS - HAS - CAMERA - DOOR - LIVING ROOM

KITCHEN - BECAUSE - 9:30P - NO - KITCHEN UNTIL

TOMORROW - ILLEGAL - BUT - SEEING - EVERYONE

WHAT - THEY - DO - SHERIFF - SAID - ITS - LEGAL 4 

HER - RENTAL - NOT - LEGAL - 4TH - UNREASONABLE

SEARCHES - THEY - TOLD - ME - CAN - EVEN - EVICT

ME - 4 - PINK - HAIR - 8TH - CRUEL - AND - UNUSUAL

PUNISHMENT - USA - NOT - GREAT - BECAUSE - 

THEY’RE - NOT - SMART - THEY’RE - MURDERERS

ALL - PRICES - ARE - ALLOWED - BY - THE - USA

NOT - GREAT - GOVERNMENT

WHY - LOTS - OF - MURDERS - ROBBERIES

ABOVE - $225 - PER - NIGHT - WHY - 4 NOT

LEGAL - WE’RE - PAYING - THEIR - EXPENSES

BECAUSE - TAX - DEDUCTIBLE - THUS - HERE

USA - ALWAYS - UNTIL - BUSINESS IS CAUGHT

THEY - LOVE - MURDERS - KIDNEY - BLADDER

AVAILABLE - THEY - LOVE - ROBBERIES - FOR

NOW - THEY - KNOW - PRODUCT - EXISTS SO 

UNITED STATES

UNITED - IN - ROBBERY - THROUGH BUSINESS

INDEPENDENT - DEMOCRAT - PARTY

50 STATES

WE - CLOSE - COURTHOUSES - POLICE STATION

SHERIFFS - WE - DISAPPEAR - THEIR - WEAPONS

LOCATIONS - CARS - WE - DECREASE - GAS - YES

STATIONS - MORE - ELECTRIC - VEHICLES

500 YRS - NO - PAYCHECKS - INHERITANCE

500 YRS - NO - INVENTIONS - LIKE - WATCH

MICROWAVES - INTERNET - COMPUTERS - MORE

US TREASURY

IRS 

HARVARD LAW

WE’RE - ALL - GETTING - TOGETHER

WHY - NO - CAMPSITE - SO - BUSINESS

CAN - CHARGE - U - $60 - OR - $225 - EA

NIGHT - SO - THEY - CAN - CHECK YOUR

ID - SO - THEY - CAN - CREATE - RULES 2

UNITED STATES - AGE 245

NATION - CALLED - TYRANTS

OPPRESSIVE - MURDERS - &

ROBBERIES - NOT - SMART -

PEOPLE - THEY’RE NOT XO - 

NICE - OR - SWEET - DON’T - 

GET - 2 - KNOW - THEM YES -

'IN - GOD - WE - TRUST’

DE - DESTROY - WHAT’s - OUT - THERE

OF DEMOCRAT - SO WE WILL DESTROY

‘JESUS - IS - LORD’ - WHO - WE BELIEVE

[lightdancer1]

The other was the prototype of mass incarceration with the chain gangs:

The Gulag clause, as I call it, in the 13th Amendment allows for coerced labor as a punishment for a crime. This was exploited quite bluntly by the Bourbon South on a grand scale. It was the system that built much of the first new infrastructure in the postwar South. As it had been under slavery, so it was under this version of 'free soil.' The South was not a realm of democracy in a true sense, it was a totalitarian system with a loose democratic face, a very loose one.