#There are fears that having this felon in charge is going to cost me my job

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Disruption for Thee, But Not for Me

http://locusmag.com/2019/01/cory-doctorow-disruption-for-thee-but-not-for-me/

The Silicon Valley gospel of “disruption” has descended into caricature, but, at its core, there are some sound tactics buried beneath the self-serving bullshit. A lot of our systems and institutions are corrupt, bloated, and infested with cream-skimming rentiers who add nothing and take so much.

Take taxis: there is nothing good about the idea that cab drivers and cab passengers meet each other by random chance, with the drivers aimlessly circling traffic-clogged roads while passengers brave the curb lane to frantically wave at them. Add to that the toxic practice of licensing cabs by creating “taxi medallions” that allow businesspeople (like erstwhile Trump bagman Michael Cohen) to corner the market on these licenses and lease them to drivers, creaming off the bulk of the profits in the process, leaving drivers with barely enough to survive.

So enter Uber, an app that allows drivers and passengers to find each other extremely efficiently, that gives drivers realtime intelligence about places where fares are going begging, and which bankrupts the rent-seeking medallion speculators almost overnight.

Of course, Uber also eliminates safety checks for drivers (and allows them to illegally discriminate against people with disabilities, people of color, and other marginalized groups); it used predatory pricing (where each ride is subsidized by deep-pocketed, market-cornering execs) to crush potential competitors, and games the regulatory and tax system.

Uber (and its Peter-Thiel-backed rival Lyft) are not good companies. They’re not forces for good. But the system they killed? Also not good.

In 2016, the City of Austin played a game of high-stakes chicken with Uber and Lyft. Austin cab drivers have to get fingerprinted as part of a criminal records check, and Austin wanted Uber and Lyft drivers to go through the same process.

Uber and Lyft violently objected to this. They said it would add a needless barrier to entry that would depress the supply of drivers, and privately, they confessed their fear that giving in to any regulation, anywhere, would open the door to regulation everywhere. They wanted to establish a reputation for being such dirty fighters that no city would even try to put rules on them.

(Notably, Uber and Lyft did not make any arguments about criminal background checks perpetuating America’s racially unjust “justice system” in which people of color are systematically overpoliced and then railroaded into guilty pleas.)

Austin wasn’t intimidated. They enacted the rule, and Uber and Lyft simply exited the city, leaving Austin without any rideshare at all. All the drivers and passengers who’d come to rely on Lyft and Uber were out of luck.

But the drivers were undaunted. They formed a co-operative and in months, they had cloned the Uber app and launched a new business called Ride Austin, which is exactly like Uber: literally the same drivers, driving the same cars, and charging the same prices. But it’s also completely different from Uber: the drivers own this company through a worker-owned co-op. They take home 25% more per ride than they made when they were driving for Uber. Uber and Lyft drivers commute into Austin from as far away as San Antonio just to drive for Ride. That’s how much better driving for a worker co-op is.

I remember when the term “platform cooperativism” was first bandied about to describe this kind of thing. I was at a small, invitational tech conference where nerds, investors, activists, lawyers, SF writers and other technologically oriented types were gathered. I was on a panel about these platform co-ops and I said that I thought Uber would be really easy to replace with a co-op: the riders and the drivers valued the service, not the logo on the app, and plenty of people were happy about the convenience of Uber but unhappy about the creepy, rapacious nature of the company behind it.

An investor in the audience stood up to tell me how full of shit I was: I had no idea just how complicated Uber’s app and infrastructure were, and there was no way a bunch of grubby drivers would ever be able to match its expert coding and administration.

He was so wrong.

But there’s another, better argument against this kind of platform cooperativism: “discovery costs.” I first hailed a Ride car at South By Southwest, not long after Lyft and Uber had exited the city, and everyone going to the festival had been repeatedly warned that they would have to download the Ride app to get around the city (Austin’s taxi fleet hasn’t been up to the SXSW crowds for more than a decade, and never less so than now, having been crippled by Uber and Lyft).

So I was prepared. When I land in another city, the first app I try when I need to get around is Lyft, then Uber (Uber was a godsend in Shanghai, where we were repeatedly cheated by regular cab drivers, but where the Uber app kept everything aboveboard). Some or all of these cities might have co-op rideshares, but there’s no easy way to know about it, and without passengers, there’s no incentive for the drivers to drive for the co-ops, so even when you do try to hail a co-op, there won’t be any drivers available.

Lyft and Uber have moved back into Austin, and their drivers get fingerprinted. I just got my speaker-info package from SXSW for the 2019 festival, and the advice to download Ride before touching down is no longer the top of the checklist. I imagine that most of the attendees at SXSW will be getting around with Uber and Lyft, and 25% of the money they spend will go to those companies’ shareholders, not to the drivers.

But imagine a disruptive app that disrupted the disrupters.

Imagine if I could install a version of Ride (call it Meta-Uber) that knew about all the driver co-ops in the world. When I landed, I’d page a car with Uber or Lyft, but once a driver accepted the hail, my Meta-Uber app would signal the driver’s phone and ask, “Do you have a driver co-op app on your phone?” If the driver and I both had the co-op app, our apps would cancel the Uber reservation and re-book the trip with Meta-Uber.

That way, we could piggyback on the installed base of Uber and Lyft cars, the billions they’ve poured into getting rideshare services legalized in cities around the world, the marketing billions they’ve spent making us all accustomed to the idea of rideshare services.

This Meta-Uber service would allow for a graceful transition from the shareholder-owned rideshares to worker co-ops. When you needed a car, you’d get one, without having to solve the chicken-and-egg problem of no drivers because there are no passengers because there are no drivers. One fare at a time, we could cannibalize Lyft and Uber into the poorhouse.

The billions they’ve spent to establish “first-mover advantages” wouldn’t be unscalable stone walls around their business: they’d be immovable stone weights around their necks. Lyft and Uber would have multi-billion-dollar capital overhangs that their investors would expect to recoup, while the co-ops that nimbly leapt over Uber and Lyft would not have any such burden.

Could we do this?

Yes. Technically, this isn’t all that challenging. Create a service where drivers and passengers’ devices all register unique, per-ride codes, have the Meta-Uber check to see if the driver’s device has just posted a unique code that matches yours, and then use the built-in ride-cancelation tool that’s already incorporated into Uber and Lyft to tear down the old reservation and re-create it with Meta-Uber.

What about legal impediments, though?

That’s where the trouble starts. Tech law is a minefield of overly broad, superannuated rules that have been systematically distorted by companies that used “disruption” to batter their way into old industries, but now use these laws to shield themselves from any pressure from upstarts to seek to disrupt them.

First is the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, passed in 1986 in part to assuage Ronald Reagan’s panic after seeing the movie Wargames (I am not making this up). CFAA is nominally an anti-computer-intrusion statute, which criminalizes “exceeding your authorization” on a computer that doesn’t belong to you. Even when it passed, more than 40 years ago, technologically clued-in scholars and practicioners warned that this was way too broadly defined, and that someday we might see this rule used to felonize normal activities involving computers we owned, because the computers would have to talk to a server to accomplish part of their work, and the server’s owner could use onerous “user agreements” and “terms of service” to define our authorization. If this became widespread, then these licenses could take on the force of criminal law, and violating them could become a jailable offense.

40 years later, those fears are vindicated: CFAA is used to threaten, intimidate, sue, and even jail people engaged in otherwise perfectly lawful activity, merely because they have violated some term of service on the way. The metastasis of terms of service into sprawling novellas of impenetrable legalese has created a world where anything you do to frustrate the commercial ambitions of digital monopolists is a potential criminal offense.

Then there’s Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, a Bill Clinton bill that creates a felony for “bypassing an effective means of access control” (AKA Digital Rights Management or DRM) for copyrighted works. Twenty years ago, the proponents for this bill argued that it would be used to safeguard certain marginal commercial technologies: under DMCA 1201, it would be illegal to bypass the region controls on a DVD player, allowing movie studios to force you to buy your DVDs in the same place where you bought the player – it would also allow Sega to force you to buy your Dreamcast games on CDs that came from official Sega pressing plants, rather than direct from the games’ authors, ensuring that Sega would always get a share of the revenues from the sale of games you played on your console.

Again, experts warned Congress that DMCA 1201 was way too broad and would be ripe for abuse, as software crept into more systems. Again, the experts were right. Today, DRM is used to force people with artificial pancreases to buy proprietary insulin and people with inkjet printers to buy proprietary ink; it’s used by car manufacturers and phone manufacturers to control who can make parts for their products and who can service them; it’s found in voting machines, tractors, thermostats, virtually every device with software, and it has no connection with copyright enforcement. Rather, it is used for “business model enforcement,” to ensure that disruptive, but legal, ways of using a product or service are made illegal – from refilling your printer’s ink cartridge to getting your car or phone serviced by an independent neighborhood repair shop.

Together, the CFAA and DMCA have given digital businesses access to a shadowy legal doctrine that was never written by Congress but is nevertheless routinely enforced by the courts: Felony Contempt of Business-Model.

The CFAA and DMCA 1201 have been carefully distorted into defensive, anti-disruption shields that are only available to digital businesses. Taxi medallion owners can’t use the CFAA and DMCA 1201 to keep Uber and Lyft out of their cities.

But Uber and Lyft could use these legal tools to keep Meta-Uber out of their bottom lines. Uber and Lyft have lengthy terms-of-service that set out the rules under which you are authorized to communicate with Uber and Lyft’s servers. These terms of service prohibit using their servers to locate drivers for any purpose other than booking a ride. They certainly don’t permit you to locate a driver and then cancel the booking and re-book with a co-op app.

And Uber and Lyft’s apps are encrypted on your phone, so to reverse-engineer them, you’d have to decrypt them (probably by capturing an image of their decrypted code while it was running in a virtual phone simulated on a desktop computer). Decrypting an app without permission is “bypassing an effective means of access control” for a copyrighted work (the app is made up of copyrighted code).

Uber and Lyft can use DMCA 1201 to stop you from figuring out how to use them to locate co-op drivers, and they can use the CFAA to stop you from flipping your booking from Uber to Meta-Uber.

There are a hundred other Metas we can imagine: a Meta-Amazon that places your order with the nearest indy bookstore instead; a Meta-OpenTable that redirects your booking to a co-op booking tool.

Every single one of these co-ops would disrupt a digital monopolist who came to power preaching the gospel of disruption. Every single one of those digital monopolists would switch to the aggrieved bleats of a bewildered incumbent apex predator snarling and twisted impotently as its flesh was rent by a thousand tiny bites from swarms of fast-moving, highly evolved successors.

But we never get to bring those lumbering relics down, not so long as felony contempt-of-business-model is still in play in America. Until then, disruption will always be for thee and never for me.

[crimethinc]

Between the Sun and the Sea: Icarus at 12th and L–A Voice from the J20 Black Bloc and Kettle on the Practice of Anarchy

Several blocks before the L & 12th Street intersection, I was already feeling that the march had run its course. At each cross street, we met a line of police, sirens blaring. A few brave souls still managed to fell some final windows on the periphery. Yet while the Bank of America windows had crashed in triumphant cacophony, these windows struck the pavement with an urgency that reflected our increasingly dire situation. We had no destination, no end goal. It felt as though we were running solely to evade police. I knew that it was time to break from the group, yet I still held a kind of separation anxiety.

Leaving has always been hard for me. Dispersing consistently feels liken a haphazardly unthought-out ending tacked onto an otherwise compelling novel. A novel that begins with, “Collectively, anything is possible—you can do whatever you’d like” and ends with, “Everyone goes their own way and pretends to be normal.” Leaving the bloc means leaving the safety of a powerful mass of people, often to wander the streets immediately adjacent to crime scenes, alone, with police looking to single out suspects. There was a rumor circulating that, given their history with lawsuits, the DC police would be unlikely to mass arrest. This false prediction spelled doom for us unlucky rioters, as the police did just that. It was with these thoughts circling my head, alongside memories of past dispersals gone awry, that I decided to stay with the march.

I was with a few friends. We stayed together. We kept track of each other. As the march shrunk in size, we paired off and prepared to jettison ourselves from the bloc. We turned to face an alleyway on L Street between 13th and 12th. I knew very well that this could be my chance to safely exit the march. My friends bolted down the alleyway, not knowing what lay the next street over. For a moment, I thought to follow suit, but decided that too many of us in one place might attract police attention. A few minutes later, I was trapped between a wall and a riot shield. Facing the corridor that had offered safe passage just moments earlier to anyone brave enough to step down its halls, I contemplated the hesitation that had led me to this fate. If there’s anything I can say from my experience being pinned against that wall, it is that a split second of intuition in the street is worth more than weeks of prior planning.

The kettle was where I made my biggest mistake. It was there, and the moments just before, that I put almost no effort into escaping. The police had us sardined together so tightly that I gravely underestimated our collective potential within the kettle. I thought that I was about to be arrested with at most seventy people, less than a third of our actual numbers. I was primarily among strangers. In my heart, I felt that I would participate in a second attempt to charge the police line. It was my fear of being cast as a leader, in a film produced by live-streamers and on-duty officers, that kept me from voicing my intent. Yet if there was any time to risk collective trust and courage, it was there, where we were most vulnerable.

There was larger reason I was compliant in my own captivity. I felt myself above persecution. There are two reasons why one would go willingly to their arrest. The first, they think that they haven’t committed any crime. The second, that they committed a crime so flawlessly that they could not possibly be convicted of it. Both of these presumptions involve a false sense of security; neither save you from prosecution. Though I did not delude myself with the pretense that I had performed a perfect execution of black bloc tactics, I considered myself “high-hanging fruit.” I was counting on the prosecution to be lazy, to lack the funding or time to convict me. When I was in the kettle, I was convinced that I wouldn’t actually be arrested. At worst, I would be charged with a misdemeanor, slapped on the wrist, and eventually end up with a check from a class action lawsuit. Instead, I had to navigate the next year and a half with looming felonies.

I had not come to DC innocently. I knew the risk, the potential repercussions. I chose to look them in the face. The pepper spray and stun grenades were terrifying, but not unexpected. In some ways, they heightened my senses and fortified my convictions. My heart races when I look back on the march—but not from trauma, nor from anxiety. It drums in vigorous reverie, recounts the last time it beat with purpose.

Over the following year, I was forced to tame my heart. In court, I stilled my breathing, attempted to hide my guilt. I kept a caged life. The legal procedure left me fraught with anxiety. I clung to the safety and certainty of routine. I denied every passion, every risk, in hopes that I would be able to convince a jury that I was simply not the adventurous type. My heart sat and sulked. I came to learn that, as a friend so elegantly put it, “The process is the punishment.”

Felonies change things. I catch glimpses of understanding in the eyes of my friends who have faced prosecution to this degree. One of the beauties of black bloc is that I might be anyone under this mask; a restaurant server, a designer, a nurse. Once donned, the mask allowed me to act in ways a nurse can only dream.

To be unmasked is to be held in purgatory between selves. I was no longer the person I was in the streets, yet I could not return to being who I had been just days earlier. At its core, the bloc hinges on the moment when we shed our black clothes and return to normalcy. While there have been times where I’ve de-bloc’ed with a profoundly different understanding of the world, I was still banking on returning to work with only one less sick day. As time passed after J20 and my charges remained, I realized there was a possibility that I might never return to being the person I had been before my arrest.

During the interim awaiting trial, I chose a course of action that seems common among anarchist pending-felons. I applied to college.

For me, college was an attempt to regain some agency in two different ways. In one way, I was trying to influence my potential sentencing. If I could convince a judge that I was an upstanding citizen, then he or she might be a little more lenient in punishing me. Going to college was also an attempt to salvage my future, a future I felt was starting to escape my grasp.

At the time I was arrested, I did not consider myself to have a clear vision of the future. Yet in the wake of my arrest, all successful futures seemed out of reach. Success felt like a mirage, shimmering, hazy, always on the horizon. My case continued and evidence mounted against me. I scrambled to claim any sort of successful future I could before a conviction made one unobtainable. I raced towards the horizon without drawing any closer to it, meeting the same scene in every direction. My charges sent me spiraling and forced me to examine my feelings of helplessness.

When I did so, I realized that all along, I had held within me a concrete image of success after all. It was not the unimaginable utopia I had believed myself to be pursuing. On the contrary, it was all too familiar; I had simply kept it intentionally obscured from myself. When I honestly consulted myself about what constituted my image of a successful future, what I found was indistinguishable from the world I already knew—only in the future I had been imagining, I had a little more money, a better presence on social media. I had been so disgusted by this vision that I had I banished it to the horizon of my mind.

The anarchist canon has changed dramatically over the past decade. Today, we are not as steeped in subculture. Our politics rely a lot less on consumer choices. We’ve come a long way from the cornerstone pieces of the early 2000s. Early CrimethInc. texts took the Situationist exhortation “Never Work—Ever” literally, proposing a sort of exodus that often looked more like voluntary exile; today, as work becomes more and more a part of our social as well as professional lives, the proposal seems unthinkably absurd. We have largely escaped the cultural pitfalls of the punk scene, expanded our access to funding for our projects, even created our own platforms so that anarchist ideas can proliferate. Along with these conscious efforts to grow and develop nuance with age, for me, something has shifted silently in the background.

I gave up my resistance to work—even took up office at some of the same companies I believed were bringing about an apocalyptic nightmare. I closed my eyes, clicked my heels, and repeated “There is no ethical consumption under capitalism.” I justified my increasingly indiscriminate use of money, sought to tally up my influence on the world. I became obsessed with power, quantifiable power. I searched for any sign that the anarchist movement was gaining traction, that one day way we could finally make “The Switch.” My measurements for success had paralleled social norms; now they began to overlap with them. Soon Anarchy was just something I believed in. Aside from sharing meals and resources among friends, it was not something I practiced.

To some, the black bloc is a tactic, a means to an end. For me, having lived through a myriad of outcomes, black bloc is a practice. Black blocs are a practice in timing: when to return teargas to the police, when to leave an intersection, when to smash windows, when to disperse. As in all practice, some days are better than others. To be in bloc is to experience what can be possible when the laws that typically govern us are momentarily superseded and how to act when our adversaries try to reassert them. When we participate in black blocs, we are attempting to learn the balance between exercising an otherwise impossible freedom, at the cost of our safety, and maintaining a modicum of safety so that we can continue to act freely.

Every night as I mulled over my legal predicament, I would ask myself the same questions. “Are black blocs a pertinent part of the way we do Anarchy today? Are they just hollow tradition from a bygone era? Are they worth risking the world you inhabit daily for a fleeting experience, however ecstatic?” I think of my friends who are a little older than I, who have better jobs, who were noticeably absent from the march on January 20. For many people, their little ration of worldly success is not worth the risk.

When I look back to the texts that inspired me as I was coming of age in radical politics, I trace a common thread binding them. Travel logs, accounts of underground healthcare, epics of animal liberation—at their core, all of them conveyed the same story. They told that There is a Secret World Concealed Within This One; a world that I had long since forgotten. The once-common anarchist saying “Another world is possible” is no longer spoken between friends. It is not overlaid on images of riots, nor commonly held as an anarchist truth. I mourn it’s absence. There are those who would say there is no life outside of capitalism, that we are bound to this world by birth. Only recently has the premise emerged that being born into a position invalidates your ability to transcend it.

The truth is that we alone are the visionaries of our success. We define our values, sculpt our objects of beauty. If we build from the blueprints of power and safety laid out in this world, then we will make more of the same. But I believe that we are capable of breaching the precedents of modern life. We can imagine less abhorrent futures, create lives worth living—but to do so, we must abandon the worldly successes we seek for validation. If we want to continue to experience the transcendental, unbridled ecstasy of black blocs, the practice of anarchy and experimentation, then we must create and maintain worlds in which the consequences of a felony rioting conviction are not so dire—worlds worth leaving this one to get to. Another world is not only possible, it is waiting for us. We must believe in our ability to reach it so we can find the strength to depart. We have to let go of our attachments and truly believe that we are capable of taking flight.

In the kettle at 12th and L Street, I felt like a young Icarus, hurtling towards the sun, only to plummet into the sea. All exercises in freedom have these risks. To those who dare to soar, may we also learn to swim, and never fear the consequences of singed wings.

Despite its abrupt end and unfortunate outcome, the march on January 20, 2017 was one of the most inspiring, vitalizing moments of my life. Despite its obvious challenges, I am thankful that facing charges has given me time to reflect. Let me take a moment here to explicitly state, with a clear mind and certain heart, that—having eluded conviction—I would 100% do it again no questions asked. I hope someday to share an experience of elation similar to that of J20 with the readers of this piece. If and when that day comes, may we both avoid arrest and get off scot-free.

With love,

a CrimethInc. ex-defendant

[theemichelleb]

When They See Us (Netflix) - Miniseries Reflection

To be honest… I have no idea how to start this post.

A few weeks ago I watched Ava Duvernay’s interview on the Breakfast Club about this miniseries and how she came about taking on the challenge of telling this unbelievably difficult story. Our community is affected by these tragedies all too often and it makes it hard to want to have children that will have to grow up in a society that will never see them as children. Ultimately, I just want to put a thank you out there to Ava Duvernay for checking her DMs and responding to that message she got from one of the victims of this ridiculous justice system and running with the opportunity to shed light on this horrible part of their history.

“When They See Us” is the true account of what happened to Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana Jr., Kevin Richardson, and Korey Wise in 1989 when they were falsely accused, charged, and convicted of the tragic beating and rape of Trisha Meili, a white woman. This four-part miniseries walks us through the eyes of the boys from the night they were in Central Park until the day they are exonerated of all charges and released back into the world. Part 1 exposes the unjust tactics and tools used to interrogate and trap these boys in lies of committing a crime that they had no idea existed. Part 2 walks us through the trials of all 5 boys and how the justice system brings no justice to black people no matter how blatantly untrue a story being told against them can be. Part 3 shows us a snippet of what Antron, Yusef, Kevin, and Raymond endure during and after their release from prison; trying to integrate into a world that refuses to accept them because of these false allegations. Finally, part 4… we see the tragic circumstances and situations Korey Wise experienced for 14 years being moved from prison to prison trying to survive with a target on his back that NEVER SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE.

As a black woman I can never understand the tragedy of having that type of target on my back to the degree our men must live with it, but I can be angry for what they are doing to our men. This story is known… there are no spoilers to give or disclaimers to provide. If you don’t want to know my opinions on certain parts of this because you feel it may ruin the watch for you I understand, but please watch because this story NEEDED to be told. I don’t want this to be considered a review but more of a reflection because no matter the scale this affects us all, including myself. If you feel it’s “too hard” to watch or don’t know if you can “handle it,” they don’t deserve to have their story out there for you to not watch. Take your time, but watch… no excuses.

There were so many parts that hurt to watch and I’m often told I’m heartless because of my inability to cry at emotionally tear provoking movies or tv shows, but this broke me. I made it through the first 3 parts with anger and frustration but no tears, taking breaks and pauses in between watching. It’s going to take anywhere between 1-3 days to work through the series; approximately 5 hours altogether. For some, it may take longer. That’s how real it gets.

Watching Korey’s story hit me the hardest; that was what finally made the tears fall. The depiction of his truth and struggle was the hardest to witness yet the easiest to relate to. Not many of can say we’ve been directly arrested and blamed for a crime we’ve had nothing to do with, but anybody can relate to the fear of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and having something like that happen. Korey Wise went to the police precinct to support his friend, Yusef, and was left there. Not too long after being left he was used as a scapegoat to make this absurd story make sense to any other white person that would listen. Considering these boys were already being treated as animals it’s hard to believe the scenario could get any worse but lets add in the fact that he’s sent directly to prison, not a juvenile detention center, and beaten countless times by grown men that are actual rapists, murderers, felons, and so much more. Korey’s story is going to hit the hardest… just be prepared.

Watch this with your kids, your younger siblings, your older siblings, mentees, whomever you hold dear to you because this is real, and EVERYBODY in America needs to see what really happens to our boys. This isn’t something that you can turn away from and pretend as though it’s not happening everyday from police shootings to racial profiling. We wouldn’t change our skin even if we could, but America does need to change it’s privilege…

These boys were interrogated for hours without their parents. Parents were suckered and punked into handing over their kids to the system. This outrageous individual that is often referred to as the President of the United States, current day, was on news channels, taking out ads to have the death penalty imposed on these children that didn’t even know what truant or rape meant. Let’s be realistic… who in their right mind believes any BLACK MAN would willingly admit to raping a white women if they knew exactly what that meant? No man… and you think these five 14-16 year old black and brown BOYS understood what they were admitting to, alone with no parental guidance? Sitting in a precinct hungry and wanting to go home?

One question here… when has a rape EVER been THIS important to police? Rape gets overlooked, forgotten, disregarded, and ignored more often than it should even now with more resources than were available in 1989. Don’t be fooled… had that woman in the park been black and the supposed assailant a white male, there wouldn’t have been this much traction to find the attacker, let alone to create 5 attackers out of a crime scene that clearly only had evidence of their being one. This was a clear racial attack targeted at minorities that couldn’t protect themselves… more specifically blacks in America that have ALWAYS been discounted and created into animals that couldn’t possibly be human beings.

Linda Fairstein was disgusting, right along with Elizabeth Lederer, Robert Morgenthau, all of the cops that were gathering up boys, and the detectives in the precinct that coerced false confessions out of 14 year olds. Disgusting doesn’t even give justice to the horrific things these five went through, and the worst part is the shock value is gone. We’re not surprised at how the justice system fails and frames our people, it’s what we expect and that’s disheartening. You may watch and wonder how can we protect our children against a system that’s centered around seeing them fail, and I don’t have the answer to that. Knowledge is power, however. This takes me back to “The Hate U Give” and how Starr’s father teaches his children the hard realities of dealing with law enforcement and being black. Give your kids as much knowledge as possible to protect themselves; tell them don’t say anything without having you present, don’t resist or struggle unnecessarily, and don’t admit to anything especially something they haven’t done or don’t have any knowledge of.

Points that struck a nerve and hit me the hardest while watching:

Nancy Ryan should have pushed harder to take the case or have somebody else work the case because Linda Fairstein had a personal vendetta she was trying to resolve. I don’t know if she was a victim of rape or knows somebody closely who was and that made her act the way she did, but somebody needed to put her on a leash. I truly believe Nancy Ryan should have been that person, but I am happy she was the one that handled the confession from the real attacker in 2003. I understand the attempt to try and set Linda straight after everything, but babygirl waited a little too long to try to check somebody that flew off the deep end 4 years prior.

The black cop that tried to keep the detectives from interrogating Kevin after his mother left not feeling well… sir you could have pushed harder. I understand the remorse you probably felt by stepping back and watching that happen, but I’m sure there’s plenty of things you could have said to somebody or done to address the fact that they knowingly interrogated him ignoring the fact that his mother was sick and was coming back after getting her medication.

The audacity to connect Kevin’s eye being swollen and scratched to the struggle the rape victim put up when in reality he had a black eye from being smacked in the head by a cop with a helmet while they were tackling and herding black boys up like they were cattle… and this is NEVER addressed during the trial.

Antron’s father, Bobby, disgusts me. This man knew how the system worked because he had been locked up, but instead of protecting his son he forced his son to admit to being involved with raping that woman to keep his job and lifestyle up. I understand he’s passed on and God rest is soul where he is, but that struck a serious nerve with me. Protect your children at all costs, because nobody else will.

Yusef’s mom, Sharon, was a lot for me. I understand she was trying to protect her son, but this entire situation was bigger than just her and Yusef, especially when Korey ended up in this trying to look out for her son. No disrespect to any mothers out there because I definitely understand wanting to protect your baby, but they were all babies and they all needed protecting.

Ray’s step mother needs something… a beat down is what comes to mind, but I’m a lover not a fighter.

And just overall, the evidence that was missing, the stories that didn’t match up, the DNA sample that matched NONE of the boys, but some how they were still convicted.

There were so many other moments other than just that that even make writing this and reflecting on it almost as hard as it was watching it.

There has been a lot of buzz around this miniseries and for good reason. Ava Duvernay took her time on sculpting this and telling their tragic story in a beautiful manner. The actors portraying every person involved did such an amazing job and I can’t even begin to imagine how it must have been stepping into the shoes of anybody in this plot line; especially one of the five men that stepped up to tell their story in hopes that it would be heard and they would be recognized. All five men are hard working and it appears they are thriving despite the tragedies they endured to get to where they are present day. Again, I charge anybody that has decided this is too much to watch to reconsider. It may be hard to watch, but this is our history as black people and these men deserve to be supported by our community no matter how painful it may be to witness. The hardest part was going through it and they handled that part long ago, now, we should stand behind them and their efforts to stop this from happening to anymore of our children.

I recently saw a video from Clint Coley with him in a rap battle against some white cops and one line stood out to me… “You can’t say all lives matter, cause the black ones don’t.” Nobody should be able to watch this and continue to think our justice system is fair and protects all citizens. The thing white people will never be able to relate to is the fear that they may get that call one day about their son and they won’t be able to do anything about it. White boys are coddled and treated as though there’s every cure in the book for anything wrong they do, but black boys are thrown into jails and treated as adults with no comfort, support, or benefit of doubt. All lives can’t matter when that’s the reality of the world we live in.

So, do your community a favor… do your future sons and daughters a favor… do yourself a favor and watch “When They See Us.” It will make you mad, it will make you afraid, it will make you cry, but it will throw more fuel to the fire inside you that should be anxious to make a change for the generations coming after us. They will watch what you did and move accordingly. They will appreciate how you supported our community and follow your lead. They will be stronger for it, because that’s what you’ll teach them to be.

Be D.O.P.E. Support our men.

Release Date: May 31, 2019 Where I watched: Netflix

[mylovingbouquetearthquakewo-blog]

affordable care insurance rates

"affordable care insurance rates

affordable care insurance rates

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affordable care insurance rates

affordable care insurance rates

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affordable care insurance rates

affordable care insurance rates

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affordable care insurance rates

affordable care insurance rates

Will My car insurance go up if a 16 year old gets a older 2 door car?

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What is a good company to get affordable E&O insurance?

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I Love my top row, they are just fine, but my bottom front teeth need alignment. i want to get braces for the bottom half only, and i wonder how much it would cost, due to the fact i don't have dental insurance.""

Is ICBC Prejudiced against young drivers a 120$ a month insurance rate cars?

I am a young drivers just starting out and I drive just like anyone else, I don't consider my actions dangerous why is it though I must pay premium prices if I drive well. These rates only adjust after driving for a longer time. it can be that of statistics ? I know that amount a month for insurance alone is exorbitant and when I ask older drivers some say they pay around 50$ a month. Are there other licensures in BC for licensing for driving a car, perhaps much cheaper than ICBC ?""

Is Progressive a good insurance company?

Is Progressive a good insurance company?

What is the average car insurance cost for new drivers in NJ?

17 yr old driver male extra cost cost per year on parents insurance?

How much will I get from the insurance for my totaled car?

A person hit my parked car and damaged the body, the wheel well, and the wheel is bent crooked and rubbing on the strut. My problem is the car is old and probably only worth $500. It will be really difficult to find a replacement for $500, it seems i might need to spend $1500 -$2000. Maybe this is close to the repair price, I don't know. What do you think they will offer me? What should I do?""

How much do Fed-Ex Drivers pay for insurance?

I just got employed with Fed-Ex. Does anyone know about how much my insurance will be?

Car insurance queries?

its got no insurance but taxed and motd can i drive it on my licence i can drive any car not belonging to me with owners permission

Do you approve or disapprove of the Affordable Healthcare Act?

And do you want it to become a reality or to disappear?

Can I be covered under my girlfriend's insurance plan if we have lived together for a year and a half?

My girlfriend works for AT&T and is enrolled in their insurance plan. I just graduated from college, and have not started employment with my job yet. The insurance coverage I had with ...show more""

""Pregnant, no insurance and make too much money for medicaid. Advice?""

I am an independent contractor and have no insurance. I am now pregnant before having a chance to get health insurance. Health insurance once pregnant is way too expensive. I make too much money for government assistance, but not enough to afford private insurance. I'm in a tough spot, and I wonder if anyone has any advice to help me finance my pregnancy.""

Car insurance help!!?

So about a month and a half ago, someone kicked my car at night and left a big dent. I was stupid and called insurance and they gave me two options: fix the car or take a cash settlement. However, no matter what I do, my monthly insurance rate is going to go up even though it was not my fault. I think this is ridiculous and not worth it and I just want to cancel the claim. But I have been told that once a claim is put in, there's nothing you can do and once you hit three claims, your overall premium goes way up. What do I do? Should I just stop contacting the insurance company and after a while they have to close the claim? I wanted to sell the car this week but I guess that adds too many complications...""

Insurance rates after one accident?

On the average how much would the insurance go up for one at fault accident, just an average.""

Health Insurance?

Will my health insurance cover going to a psychiatrist regarding anxiety issues?

""If u wrote-off a $5000 car, on average how much would ur insurance company give you back?""

If u wrote-off a $5000 car, on average how much would ur insurance company give you back?""

Simple car insurance question:? help?

Hiya, I'm seventeen and 7 months old, I'm working towards my drivers license but I REALLY do want to buy a Hyundai Coupe, either a Hyundai Coupe Siii 2006-8 or the normal s edition, its engine is 1.6 and one costs about 2 grand and the other 4 thousand, how much will be it to ensure, ? average costs? its in insurance group 8p, the siii one, dont give me any sites to go and look and get quotes please, btw, I WILL BE THE SECOND DRIVER, the first driver will be aged 48 and with over 20 years of experience and no history of claims or anything, i have no convictions nothing that could hurt my insurance, just wanna know an average cost, and cheapest thanks""

California: Smogging an older car?

I have a 1983 Datsun 280zx, and I just got a letter in the mail saying I have to smog this vehicle. I thought there was an age bracket for classic cars that didnt need to be smogged ...show more""

affordable care insurance rates

affordable care insurance rates

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-would-estimated-insurance-cost-motorcyle-luis-young/"

[hazelvt]

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[writingmaniacnerdart]

A prequel for Hallowed Shapes, an interview originally proposed by her-royal-shyness.

Patricia Tilby touched up her hair, checking her appearance in the mirror as she sighed. Checking her watch, she knew the hour was close. They were going to be on live soon, and she couldn’t help but wonder why she was doing this again. Right, because Abigail Dunton, an old friend from the Xavier Academy, called in a  “favor”...The Company she worked for, needed some publicity.

Patricia checked her notes.

Damage Control: a non-profit organization which specializes in repairing property damage caused by conflicts between super-powered or destructive beings. Created shortly following World War II and the creation of SHIELD. The organization used to be financed by SHIELD and the US government until a select group chose to elect out on its own due to differences in values.

Nowadays, it stood out as an organization like UNICEF or Doctors Without Borders, out on its own to make a difference in the world. However, everything costs something, and every donation helped. At least this would help make the studio look good.

Abigail, ugly bright orange suit and all, walked over, beaming at Patricia, “Thanks again for this.”

Patricia nodded, trying to distract herself, “No problem. So, who am I interviewing again?”

Abigail leaned on her shoulder, disregarding all sense of personal space, “Well, there’s me, then there’s the Head Foreman...And why are you asking when you already know?”

Trish groaned, hitting her head with her papers. “Abby-”

“Abigail, my name is Abigail.”

“Abigail, you do know I’m a professional reporter, right? Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to get this job?”

Dunton grinned, “Don’t worry, we’re not that bad. We’re just...A bunch of super janitors.”

When Trish began to show doubt, Abigail smirked, “Y’know, I could just tell everyone why your favorite color is blue.”

“Don’t you dare,” Patricia flushed, whacking Abigail with the script.

Abigail chuckled, “Hey, don’t worry...Everybody’s got a type, and blue’s a very attractive color.”

“...Just get on set.”

As Abigail wandered off, another woman came up and reluctantly patted Patricia sympathetically on the shoulder, “Uh, sorry about Abigail.”

Recognizing her, Patricia smiled, “Nah, we’ve always known she teases people. How have you been, Terry?”

Terra “Terry” Barloc, another student who went to the Xavier academy, and who like Abigail, was wearing the neon orange suit. However, unlike Abigail, Terra wasn’t a mutant. Instead, she was...No one quite knew what she was. The best thing people could describe her as was mutate since she was biologically human but had inexplicable powers. The kind of powers, that made Barloc’s eyes glow bright green as she surveyed the area around them, glancing nervously at the cameras.

“Uh, kind of nervous,” Barloc admitted. “I’m not exactly a people person.”

Patricia nodded, leaning against the wall, “You’re better than you were when we were in school.”

“...I guess,” Terra responded after some thought. “You’re a reporter now? Makes sense.”

Trisha snickered, “You mean like how I originally snuck in searching for the ‘secret school of mutants’?”

“You could’ve made one hell of a story.” Terra stuffed her hands into her pockets.

Trish lowered her eyes, remembering all of the trouble she had gotten into. It wasn't just that she was a human breaking into the school, but the chaos of the Xavier Academy and the X-Men overall that astounded her. If the world had known all that they did...“I couldn’t, I wouldn’t. It’s one thing to follow a lead and report a story, it’s another to endanger lives through recklessness or idiocy.”

Barloc’s hazel, more green than brown, searched for something, softening once she found it, “You really have grown a lot.”

“What?”

Shaking her head, Terra chuckled while gesturing to the corner of her eye. Oh, right. Checking the time again, Trish looked at the stage and Barloc got the message. All of the Damage Control members to be interviewed, sat on the couch. Some, like many Trish had interviewed, looked more nervous than others. It was better to start with ice breakers and then get down to more serious business. If she was going to sell them to the public, she was going to do it right.

Ivan, the cameraman, started the countdown, “We’re live in three, two-”

TRANSCRIPT BELOW

Trish Tilby: This is CNBC News. I’m Trish Tilby of New York. It’s 9:00 am here on the East Coast, and I’m here with Damage Control, an international non-profit organization that repairs property damage, aids in natural disasters, and volunteers around the world to help those who are struggling to thrive in a super powered world. Today we have four guests from Damage Control. John Porter is the company’s Damage Inspector and an account executive. Lenny Ballinger is the Head Foreman who has served for over seventeen years. Abigail Dunton is a primary member of the Search and Rescue Division. And Terra Barloc is a representative and Safety Networks’ Strategic Adviser.

Abigail Dunton: She also occasionally acts as bait for bad guys in the Search and Rescue division if things get messy. Some people here in New York might know her as the “Meep Meep” person.

Damage Control Group: *Laughs*

Trish Tilby: So, Terra, I’ve heard a number of things about you.

Terra Barloc: Uh oh.

Trish Tilby: Is it true that you have x-ray vision?

Terra Barloc: I can honestly say that is false. What I see is life energy. Basically, I can see if you’re alive or dead, and maybe some emotions that you might be feeling...

Trish Tilby: So you’re a mutant.

Abigail Dunton: No, she’s not. I am. I’m an empath and a minor telepath. I use my powers in Search and Rescue to find survivors and those who are injured in emergency situations. Terra uses her powers in a similar way in cases of emergency, but also in her line of work to locate danger from imposing threats.

John Porter: Damage Control does hire mutants, mutates, and other beings with supernatural powers. We also hire members of the LGBT community, and pending their crimes, even felons.

Trish Tilby: Can you elaborate on that?

John Porter: For example in the War on Drugs a number of people were arrested as felons for charges that would be considered minor offenses today. For some, circumstances which should have been looked at more closely, weren’t because of fear.

Trish Tilby: Are you saying that all felons should be pardoned?

John Porter: No, there are felons who have committed extremely serious crimes, some of an insidious nature, and should be monitored very closely. However, if someone has repaid their debt to society and/or has done more than their fair share to act as a citizen, then they be treated as such and have the opportunity to show what they are capable of as that citizen.

Trish Tilby: Mr. Ballinger, as you are currently the most experienced employee here, what is your opinion on the matter?

Lenny Ballinger: I’ve worked with felons, immigrants, and generally unwanted people that society tends to shut out and I’ll tell you, these people get the job done. Most often, they’re good folks. The ones who aren’t, we make them leave. Damage Control also has a very careful screening process whenever we hire someone. We want people who want to be here not just for the job as in for the paycheck, but the people recognize they can get something from us just as we can gain something from them.

Trish Tilby: Something from you?

Abigail Dunton: Damage Control is...We wouldn’t say a family because any company or organization who claims that generally wants something in return more for worse than better. However, we don’t just deal with damage as in property or land or services of that nature. We try to help people. Generally, we want someone, we want employees, who can honestly say they feel happy or at least satisfied to work for us because they feel some sense of being...Themselves.

Terra Barloc: Everyone is flawed in some way. As soon as someone recognizes those flaws, and sees that they can find a way to help themselves in this company to address their problems, whatever those may be, we hope they’re more than willing to walk through our doors.

Trish Tilby: You would get rid of those flaws?

John Porter: No, that’s up to the person to do. They can get rid of them, or live with them. No one’s perfect, and no one has to be perfect either.

Trish Tilby: Forgive me for saying so, but the company itself sounds too perfect.

Terra Barloc: It’s not like that, and it’s no Hotel California either. We’re a little chaotic at times. We’ve seen...A lot. Frankly, this organization is NOT for everyone.

Lenny Ballinger: We mainly clean up after supers. That involves many things ranging from magic to extreme unknown science and other things that no known language can begin to describe. Last week we had to deal with the aftermath of leavings from Fing Fang Foom...We thought he’d at least be potty-trained since he wore pants, but we were wrong.

Abigail Dunton: I’m really glad I’m not part of that division.

Trish Tilby: Some people call you heroes. Would you agree?

All Damage Control Members: No.

Lenny Ballinger: A hero, in this day and age, isn’t like us. We aren’t the people who actively look out for threats and danger to protect people from. We step in when we can and do our utmost, but we’re...We’re the janitorial group.

John Porter: We’re the sidekicks.

Abigail Dunton: We’re the middlemen that villains either ignore or don’t mess with too often because they know we’re the cleanup crew.

Terra Barloc: We’re Damage Control, and Damage Control, is not made up of heroes, just people trying to do the right thing.

Trish Tilby: How did each of you join Damage Control, if I may ask?

Lenny Ballinger: I was wrangled in by the previous CEO, Anne Marie Hoag. She interviewed me and liked what she found.

John Porter: She also found me and offered me the job. I was from a rival company and when she saw me working, she offered me higher pay. I agreed, but I stuck around because I fell in love...With the place.

Abigail Dunton: ...I was walking and Terr found me. We clicked and after talking, she and Lenny offered me a job.

Terra Barloc: I followed my father’s footsteps. He works there and I grew up with Damage Control. I can’t imagine being anywhere else.

Trish Tilby: Well, thank you for the interview. Please donate to Damage Control and/or contact them at the following number.

TRANSCRIPT END

“Rather vague on your origins, weren’t you?” Trish asked, concerned. "It might've been more beneficial to be more honest about who and what you were. The public tends to like that."

Lenny tipped his construction hat, “We didn’t lie and...Marie always believed that our pasts were our own. Thank you, Miss Tilby.”

Abigail smirked, leaned up and whispered to Trish, “I’ll put in a good word to Beast for you, shall I?”

As Patricia began blushing and stuttering, Abigail shook her head, glancing at Terra.

“Why am I surrounded by shy, people who are attracted to non-human humanoids?”

Terra blushed, looking away, “Not sure what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, right.”

Snickering, even Trish knew who Abigail was referring to. Still, their "origins" as it were could truly help gain employees and donations. Couldn't they?

Roll Credits!

Either Sunny Sunday or Live in the Moment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT4MmbiIox4&list=PL9XJm6jVWidTfKA7-tbRl_6wzttIMMKAJ

(In Introduction Order)

Patricia Tilby aka a reporter from X-Men and X-Factor comics aka somebody most people probably wouldn’t know

Abigail Dunton aka The One Who Likes to Embarrass/Tease

Terra “Terry” Barloc aka My OC

Ivan aka Trish’s Cameraman

John Porter aka Coverer of Damage Control’s Butt

Lenny Ballinger aka The Old Guy

Robin Chapel aka Current CEO aka John Porter’s “Place”

Fing Fang Foom aka He’ll either put you in his pants or he’ll leave gigantic droppings everywhere

Marie Anne Hoag aka the previous CEO aka Mysterious Lady

Originally an idea proposed by her-royal-shyness.

Found here: https://archiveofourown.org/users/her_royal_shyness/pseuds/her_royal_shyness

Please check out her works.

Thank you!

[nhlabornews]

Justice and Injustice in the Big City - Part Two

(NB: This article was based on interviews with attorneys, court employees, police officers, defendants, and personal observations by this reporter in actual courtrooms and in the Philadelphia Criminal Courthouse. All names have been changed. Multiple real personal stories have been condensed to provide a hypothetical scenario where you are the defendant.)

You’ve rejected every plea deal. You’re one of the few cases that’s made it to trial. Your public defender has urged you to take the deal. You’re innocent, and you refuse. You’ve waited almost a year for this day, and you finally will be able to tell your side of the story. During that year, you’ve lived in constant fear. As a defendant on bail, even being pulled over for running a red light or being in the same room as a potential witness against you (even family members) could have landed you in jail with your bail revoked. The District Attorney knows this and is hoping you’ll do something – no matter how innocent it looks – to land you in jail and to limit your options. You never leave your house if you can help it. You miss weddings. Funerals. Family gatherings. Your heart races when you hear sirens going by.

But you’ve made it! You’re going to trial.

If you’re lucky, you’ve had a hour to go over the facts of your case the week before, and to prepare your testimony. Your attorney has a mountain of cases on their desk, and may even remember your name and what you look like on your trial date. By now the District Attorney’s Office has given your lawyer all of evidence they have against you – called “discovery” – and you’re confident that the evidence of your innocence that you’re collected will eventually exonerate you.

You get to court bright and early because your subpoena says you need to be there at 9:00 am. As I discussed in a previous column, that doesn’t mean your trial starts at that time. You go through the line, emptying your pockets and removing your belt to be run through a scanner. You walk though a metal detector, gather your things, and join the throng of defendants, police officers, witnesses, and attorneys jostling for a place in the elevator.

(Author’s note: If you want to be glared at by police officers, wear a press pass during this process.)

You get to the fifth floor, and enter your courtroom. Outside you may have seen the witnesses against you, but you quickly look away before anyone can unjustly claim you’ve intimidated them. You sit and wait for your lawyer to appear.

And wait. And wait. And wait.

Photo: Mark Dobbins

Real Scene: An Assistant District Attorney (ADA) hands a file to a police officer in the hallway of the courthouse that has the evidence that will be used against the defendant – including the arrest report. The officer “refreshes their recollection” by memorizing this report, and all of the other evidence collected since the arrest. This is information that the arresting officer could not have known at the time of your arrest. But they know it now, and the officer will “expand” their testimony to include language and this information that will be geared to ensure your conviction: “in plain view,” “furtive movement,” etc. The ADA goes over the officer’s testimony. In violation of the rules of criminal procedure, I observed one ADA say, “No, you want to say this,” and the officer repeated their planned testimony until the ADA was satisfied that they will say what the ADA wanted to hear to convict. I witnessed this myself just feet away from this pair with my press pass in plain view – and on other occasions. That’s suborning perjury – and it’s against the law.

Your case is called. You’ve elected for a bench trial, so the judge goes over your waiver of your right to a jury. You sit to the left of your lawyer, and start praying that not all of the witnesses show up. They do. Damn.

Real Scene: Jane is arrested in November of 2016 and charged with retail theft for forgetting to pay for a soda. Her family cannot afford the five-hundred dollar bail. She sits in jail. During her first hearing, the complaining witness fails to appear. The case is continued for another six weeks. Six weeks of no income. Six weeks where she rarely sees her children. The case is called a second time. Still no witness. Another six weeks of jail. Another six weeks of your public defender telling you that all Jane needs to do is sign this piece of paper and she can go home. She justs have to plead out. Jane refuses. During the third hearing the witness still fails to appear. The judge tells the ADA to either withdraw the charges or they will dismiss. They case is withdrawn. Jane’s processed and eventually released. Jane has lost her job. She’s lost her apartment and everything that she owns. All she has are the clothes on her back. Where does she go to get her life back? She can’t sue the District Attorney – under Pennsylvania law, they’re immune from that. She can’t sue the police. She’ll lose. With no apology and no offer of assistance Jane gets on the bus with her mother. Jane and her children can’t stay long at her mother’s apartment because it’s Section Eight – and there are limits as to who can live there. Jane has no job, no money, and about two weeks to figure something out before she ends up in a shelter. Over a can of soda that, in the haste of taking her children out for some pizza, she forgot to pay for. Jane breaks down in front of me and starts sobbing, “What do I do?”

The ADA calls the arresting officer. It’s clear to everyone in the room that they’ve been coached. Their answers use language and phrases that no regular person uses. It’s also clear that they’re lying. Yes, the police lie every day in court – hundreds of times. The ADA knows that they are lying and will put them on the stand anyway. The ADA will “rephrase” questions if they realize the officer has forgotten their pre-planned answers. Every person in the room knows that they are lying – and no one says a word.

Photo: Mark Dobbins

Your lawyer cross examines the officer, and tries to poke holes in their account. But it’s too late. The damage has been done. The judge believes their lies.

Fast forward: You’re found guilty.

Because you’re accused of a non-violent offense, and since you’re never been arrested before, you’re lucky. You’re later sentenced to two years probation, plus court costs. You’re a felon, but you get to go home.

Real Scene: Bob goes home and start talking to his family and neighbors. He’s heard something that stops him cold. His neighbor said that the DA’s office questioned them about his case, and they told the ADA that you were miles away when they say you committed the crime. But they never told your lawyer about that witness – and that’s what’s called a “Brady Violation,” after the case that said the prosecution must turn over all evidence about the crime – even evidence that may point to your innocence. Bob calls his lawyer, excited that his case may be overturned. That’s when Bob finds out from his lawyer that it doesn’t matter. Brady violations happen every day. Bob has one witness against the weight of the police and District Attorney’s Office. No one will believe him. Bob’s conviction stands.

At this point you’re wondering why this happens. How can the District Attorney’s Office get away with this? You’ve watched court dramas on television and that’s not what happens.

It happens every day.

When I planned this series, I was like you. I believed that the system was self-correcting, and that people who lie on the stand get caught, and punished. I believed that the District Attorney existed to charge bad people and to seek the truth. That the truth mattered above all. That there was justice.

Then I started talking to the people who work in the system. And I was shocked.

In Philadelphia, our District Attorney, Seth Williams, isn’t one of the good guys. For years people have noted his ethical lapses. Then this happened. He took money from tax cheats. He took gifts from people who had business before his office. The words “scandal” and “District Attorney” now are synonymous in Philadelphia. In any jurisdiction he’d be facing criminal prosecution. But in Philadelphia, he’s only looking at fines. He will walk away smiling.

And that’s wrong. I’ve called out our District Attorney for his ethical lapses. Like you, I expect out District Attorney to be ethical. To follow the rules. To be one of the good guys. To put justice above personal ambition. I posted one tweet calling for him to resign.

This was his response.

Photo: Mark Dobbins

In my next column, I’ll write about the wreckage this system causes. Lost jobs. Lost families. Lost homes. Lost hope.

Oddly enough. I have been called for jury duty this Thursday. Once my name is called – how long do you think until I’m shown the door?

Place your bets.

Justice and Injustice in the Big City – Part Two was originally published on NH LABOR NEWS