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khalilhumam · 4 years ago

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What should athletes demand for police reform?

New Post has been published on http://khalilhumam.com/what-should-athletes-demand-for-police-reform/

What should athletes demand for police reform?

By Rashawn Ray Professional athletes have an extraordinary platform for public action and they are using it. They can command media time, get their calls returned by leading politicians, have access to financial resources, and can encourage broad segments of society to respond in certain ways, like voting. At a time of persistent police brutality and racist behavior, we should not be surprised that athletes and coaches are protesting and speaking out about the police violence against George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Jacob Blake, and many others who never get a trending hashtag. Yet, the goal of these athletes is not just to express their outrage but to drive meaningful social change and racial equity. Beyond condemning police brutality, there are a number of specific actions that would make a dramatic difference. Adoption of these items would go a long way towards reducing police use of force and preventing future police shootings. 1. Demand that tax monies not be used to pay for legal settlements in cases of officer misconduct and that police departments pay for malpractice insurance out of their own budgets. In most areas, taxpayer money is used to pay civil settlements for police misconduct cases. So, the millions of dollars in taxes that players from teams like the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, Washington Mystics, Dallas Cowboys, Seattle Sounders, Pittsburgh Penguins, and New York Yankees pay in taxes go to civilian payouts for police misconduct. More insult to injury, these payouts do not come out of police department budgets. They come from general funds, which is money that could go to improving schools and providing work infrastructure. New York City paid $230 million in one year for police misconduct settlements and Chicago has spent over $650 million over the past two decades. An alternative is for police departments to have their own insurance policies to cover police misconduct settlements. While the policy will be covered by the municipality, this important change will shift accountability and financial liability away from taxpayers to police departments by including a clause that the policy is paid from the police department budget. In a market-driven approach, police chiefs can now see how much each officer is costing them due to misconduct. It will justify removing “bad apples” who are often allowed to further rotten the trees of policing. This is important because in many cities everyone one out of three tax dollars are spent on police departments. Players might also advocate for police officers carrying their own malpractice insurance. This is important too, but it is vital that police departments as a whole are on the hook for the role they play in shaping policy and practice. This is similar to the doctor-hospital model. 2. Dismantle qualified immunity Players can also demand for absolving qualified immunity. Qualified immunity is the legislation that often prevents officers from facing civil culpability. Players simply need to advocate for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which passed the House of Representatives on what would have been Tamir Rice’s 18th birthday. The Senate has failed to introduce the bill for formal discussion. Players could demand this happens. The bill also aims to demilitarize police, ban no-knock warrants, and create a federal database of police shootings and officers fired for misconduct. 3. Improve transparency in cases of police misconduct Players can demand transparency. First, they can demand that body-worn camera video evidence be released immediately. Second, they can demand that officers’ history with use of force be released. Third, they can demand that police departments release quarterly lists of misconduct allegations. This means demanding that all officers have body-worn cameras. Kenosha officers do not. But they are not alone. From Kenosha to Prince George’s County, Maryland, all officers still do not have cameras. Finally, athletes can demand that the community have representation on internal police department misconduct boards, like Nashville is doing. Imagine if we didn’t have video footage from everyday Americans who heroically filmed injustices when police officers did not stand up? Without video evidence, we should ask ourselves if we would even know about George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Sandra Bland, Walter Scott, Eric Garner, or Marlene Pinnock—a great-grandmother who was beaten by California highway patrolmen and received a $1.5 million settlement. The officer resigned and would be on the federal list from the George Floyd Justice on Policing Act. This would ensure that the officer could not work in another department, as would have been the case for the officers who killed 12-year old Tamir Rice in Cleveland and 17-year Antwon Rose in Pittsburgh. As Will Smith said, “Racism isn’t getting worse. It is getting filmed.” 4. Fund research to improve police-community relations There are many outstanding organizations focusing on police reform, but the research and policy component is key. At Brookings, we are engaged in innovative and transformative work with the The Lab for Applied Social Science Research (LASSR) at the University of Maryland. LASSR, where I serve as Executive Director, has developed a virtual reality program that aims to improve the decisions that officers make. We vary the setting, race, and gender of the people that officers encounter and give them feedback to reduce bias. My research shows that implicit biases about players’ bodies and humanity extends from the ways that officers view them on their streets or in their cars to the ways that commentators and journalists describe them on the court. Players understand this as well. They realize they cannot “outclass racism.” Being famous, having high-status, or money does not stop overpolicing. Sometimes these qualities exacerbate it. This was the case for minor league baseball player Robbie Tolan who was shot in front of his home, derailing his professional career. This was the case for Milwaukee Bucks’ player Sterling Brown, who after being tazed and tackled by multiple officers in a Walgreens store parking lot said, “I look familiar, don’t I?” “Only after the stun gun was used does an officer recognize who Brown is. Not that he is a human being, but a professional basketball player for the hometown team,” wrote journalist Martenzie Johnson. There are many other incidents that professional athletes experience as well including having the police called when going to view a property (Cam Chancellor), having the N word spray painted on their house (LeBron James), or trying to celebrate a championship on the court as a NBA executive only to have a police officer accost you (Toronto Raptors team president Masai Ujiri). In this regard, Black professional athletes experience what W.E.B. Du Bois termed as “double-consciousness.” Double-consciousness is the concept of always seeing yourself through the eyes of others, experiencing a duality of being Black in a White world. Bishop Joseph Walker said, “This reality exists even in 2020. As athletes put on uniforms and are celebrated and applauded as they are making baskets and knocking home runs, but when they take their uniforms off, they literally can be racially-profiled as another African-American person. I understand all too well as a faith leader. I pastor one of the largest churches in the south and here I am celebrated in culture. But then, I can be driving through my neighborhood and be pulled over and terrorized in my spirit wondering whether I, as a Black man, am going to make it home.” As Deadric Williams and Armon Perry wrote, “The problem isn’t just that Black men get killed – it’s that Black families are stressed and strained by Black men’s daily encounters with police. Athletes’ collective strike across sports matters. NBA, WNBA, MLB, NHL, MLS and tennis players have all joined in. WNBA players wore white t-shirts with seven red dots and holes on their back to represent Jacob Blake’s gunshot wounds. MLB players cancelled games and during the New York Mets and Miami Marlins, Lewis Brinson draped a Black Lives Matter t-shirt over home plate. Players are saying: we love America, but America seems to only embrace us when we are entertaining people by dribbling or running a ball. But all bets are off on our way home from the games when our Blackness instantaneously becomes used to criminalize us rather than to celebrate us and recognize our true humanity. The collective trauma is apparent in the tears that players and coaches have shed in recent days. But, let me be clear. These protests and demands are not just for Black players. They include all players including White players who have witnessed and heard the negative experiences of their teammates with law enforcement. Players such as Megan Rapinoe, Mike Miller, and Joe Burrow are joining in shifting from racial equity learners to racial equity advocates, accomplices, and brokers for racial justice. Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal asked what’s next for these protests after their TNT colleague Kenny Smith walked off the set in solidarity with players. After direct action of protests, there is a negotiation, as Dr. Martin Luther King laid out in Letters from a Birmingham Jail. Well, I just laid out the blueprint, as Jay-Z would say.

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wendyimmiller · 5 years ago

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Gardening with Your Hands Tied: HOA Regulations vs. The Inspired Gardener

Well, it’s comforting to know that in the midst of world chaos, economic devastation and unprecedented anxiety, the HOA Clipboard Police are still doing their jobs.

While chatting with a friend the other night about gardening and other landscape-related topics that make others in the virtual happy hour suddenly realize they need to get up and refill their glasses, she mentioned that she had just received a letter from her officious Homeowners’ Association (HOA) asking her to “please remove the dead plant on the left side of your home.”

That is to say, a clematis.

On a trellis.

In early spring.

Once the plant had been removed, she was further commanded (on threat of fines and the weighty disapproval of her neighbors), to sign the letter, put a stamp on it and mail it back to Mrs. Kravitz and her band of tightlipped clipboard junkies.

Micromanaged Landscapes

She returned the letter, writing, “It’s a perennial.” in the margin. It took everything she had not to write, “It’s a perennial, stupid.” After all, you don’t want to antagonize law enforcement.

“You have to understand,” my friend told me, “they’re trying to keep home values up – they’ve got to compete with _______.” Here, she referenced a newer, stricter subdivision that furnishes its homeowners (term loosely used) with a laundry list of the many perennials, shrubs and trees they absolutely cannot plant without being clapped in irons.

That is to say, fined.

Yet I only slightly exaggerate. Setting such limits may not literally shackle the passionate, spontaneous gardener, but it sure as hell does figuratively. It restricts creativity and ensures boring, passive, tidy little landscapes which work better than a Unisom for inspiring deep REM sleep.

I know, I requested a copy of their covenants and made the mistake of bringing them to bed with me. Four times.

Do you have a permit for that swing? And that mullein is over five feet tall! Infraction!

So Much for Inspired Landscapes

If you live in that neighborhood, it is hoped that you managed to get through those covenants more successfully than I. For, should you be inspired one bright Saturday morning by two expressos and Jimi Blake’s gorgeous new book A Beautiful Obsession, and excitedly tear out more than 20% of your plants in order to replace them with something that makes your heart sing; AND you do so without filing an “Architectural Review Committee Application” and receiving approval; you’d better prepare yourself for a letter from the garden police asking you to “be compliant” and hand over the trowel.

Oh boy. WAAAY too much going on here. Where are the arborvitae? The azaleas? The lawn? Infraction!

Obviously, I find this sort of thing disturbing. I am a spontaneous gardener. Half of the projects I undertake in the garden involve about five minutes notice, a pile of old stone and the clearance plant racks at my local Big Box. Though I do not live under the jurisdiction of the Clipboard Police, by my reckoning I break at least two HOA by-laws an hour, and that’s on a slow day.

Dirt happens. And it very rarely happens within accepted parameters, at accepted times, in accepted ways.

The Fear Factor

What is it that entices many of us to hand over our rights to own a gazing ball?

Fear of our neighbor’s tackier gazing ball.

Is that an unapproved ornament? Infraction!

Though these neighborhoods often have community amenities such as pools or walking trails (my friend’s does not), fear of one’s neighbor – or potential neighbor – is at the core of each of these HOAs; and the successful (and subtle) marketing of such fear makes it much easier to swallow one’s doubts and sign up for a lifetime of surveillance.

The rules keep you ‘safe and happy.’ The HOA boards have ‘your best interests in mind.’ On one HOA blog (now THAT has got to be a boring gig), I read that “there is an undeniable, peaceful harmony within the neighborhood” when homeowners follow the rules and regulations.

Fascinating. Harmony apparently reigns when everyone plants Ilex crenata and forgoes a bench in the front yard to watch the pollinators.

Not that they’re encouraging many with the ilex.

Those empty troughs have been drying in the sun for over five weeks! And what is with all the unplanted terracotta? Either get some respectable pansies in there or……Infraction!

After all, mere city ordinances can’t possibly think of everything. What if your neighbor paints their house red? What if she decides to have a compost pile, or wants to stop wasting money and environmental resources and (gasp) hangs her clothes up to dry?

What if she’s just plain crazy and wants to plant a meadow instead of a lawn? Well, sadly for many people living in these subdivisions, by-laws might protect against compost, meadows and front yard benches, but they don’t protect against ‘crazy’ – I’ve listened to too many first-hand accounts of wack-a-doo neighbors inhabiting tasteful homes with thoroughly approved siding to know otherwise.

First year meadow project? Yeah, no. And BTW that fence needs to go too.

Nevertheless, we are convinced that we can create utopia with these regulations – eliminating any variables that make us uneasy (referred to in previous generations as “the spice of life”).

It’s no longer enough to give your neighbor a list of the paint colors that won’t offend you and won’t inspire her, but now we can make sure her floral life resides firmly within established parameters.

And she gets to pay for the privilege.

Oh hell no.

Liberty for Security – A Good Trade?

So what are we giving up in return? For if you support such petunia policing, do not kid yourself, you will give up something in return. Here’s a list just off the top of my head:

1) The stifling of creative energy when a homeowner sees an unusual, beautiful plant in a nursery and finds that it’s not on the list of approved flora.

2) The establishment of mini-monocultures which are particularly vulnerable to pests and disease. (You can bet that Impatiens walleriana and Knock-Out roses once featured as ‘approved plants’ on many lists.)

3) A severely impacted nursery trade as this practice continues, and garden centers (quite rightly) respond to the needs of their customers. All begonias. All the time.

That looks like a lot of garish color. And is that a CASTOR BEAN?!?!?!?! Infraction!

4) A growing group of the public who is less physically connected to the incredible range of plants that Nature provides – and to the Earth itself.

5) A neighborhood that looks like Disneyland – without the rides and definitely without Sleeping Beauty’s castle. (Pink is never an approved color.) Probably without gardeners.

6) The inability of many homeowners to proactively take steps towards reducing their carbon footprint, such as hanging up clothes, having a compost pile, growing vegetables in sunny front yards, collecting water in rain barrels, etc…

7) The desensitization of the public to similar standards of uniformity, and with desensitization, a growing uneasiness when ridiculing such practices, or holding them up to scrutiny – or indeed, contrasting them with the unique mix of cultures, practices and people that make up this country.

Whew – all because it’s more comforting to know your neighbor can’t go off the deep end and plant garish, hopelessly vulgar and completely lovely sunflowers in his front yard. And if he does, you’ve got the power to stop him – and make him pay for his transgression.

De gustibus non est disputandum…

Except.

No matter how many matters of taste we attempt to remediate with various sections and subsections, there are hundreds more for which there is no answer. Which is why HOAs tend to become more restrictive over time – particularly if they are in desirable areas.

As my friend has found out over the last 16 years of increasingly pedantic letters from Mrs. Kravitz and her merry band, when you choose to live in a Homeowners’ Association, you not only sign up for the rules that are, but the rules that will be.

Are those approved building materials? Infraction!

And “running for the Board” (as one is always instructed to do after receiving one of these letters and losing one’s freaking mind at an appeals hearing), is not a proportionate time/energy response when you just want to keep the rights you had when you signed up.

Ways Around the Madness

Certainly there can be compromises, and I have great respect for gardeners who work within the rules to create a garden they can be proud of. In my book Big Dreams, Small Garden, I profiled Sheryl Massaro, a painter and gardener in Maryland who overwhelmed her HOA Board with a professional blueprint of her planned garden and a thorough list of the plants she wanted to use. She even became a Master Gardener during the proceedings which added weight to her application.

Lists, plans and credentials go a long way. Sheryl got her garden, and as a result, her neighbors were inspired to do something similar. A win for everyone – including the HOA.

But Sheryl is not the norm. Most people shut down in the face of bureaucracy. Including me.

According to the Community Associations Institute, over 20% of Americans currently live under the power of a Homeowners Association, and those numbers have grown steadily since the 1960’s.

That’s a lot of begonias folks. Maybe it’s time to think about what we’re giving up, and why.

Gardening with Your Hands Tied: HOA Regulations vs. The Inspired Gardener originally appeared on GardenRant on April 9, 2020.

The post Gardening with Your Hands Tied: HOA Regulations vs. The Inspired Gardener appeared first on GardenRant.

from Gardening https://www.gardenrant.com/2020/04/gardening-with-your-hands-tied-hoa-regulations-vs-the-inspired-gardener.html via http://www.rssmix.com/

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skilltradecontractor · 5 years ago

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Emergency Roof Repair Services and Company Near Me | Finding a Reliable Contractor

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manleycollins · 6 years ago

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Journal Entry #27 - Party Ain’t A Party...Leaving the Past Behind...Getting it All Out

JOURNAL ENTRY #27 Name: Manley M Collins Social Security Number: 5 7 9 - * * - 6 5 4 1 Date of Birth: 06/21 Place of Birth: Washington, District of Columbia Country of Birth: United States of America Date: June 21, 2019 TOPIC: Party Ain't A Party....Leaving the Past Behind....Getting it All Out DEPARTMENT: United States Department of Justice DEPARTMENT: United States Department of Education DEPARTMENT: United States Department of Health DEPARTMENT: United States Department of Transportation DEPARTMENT: United States Department of Labor

Disclaimer: All English, language, and grammar were purposely made on all or any posts.

As I work on my dissertation updates and law school score. I am using Khan Academy, Blueprint, and Griffon Prep. Goal is to aim for 500 points on the LSAT. Since my first round of schools are denying admission, I am already updating my Credential Assembly Service package and created a brand new list of schools. I look forward to those applications. I am expecting to take the LSAT and GRE during the end-of-summer and Fall seasons when I send my second round of applications. If no admissions after second round of applications for August 2020 class, then I am heading to South Carolina around April 2020 to do the position and people, and get it out of the way.

United States LSAC Member Law Schools (First Round) Albany Law School - Applied - Transmitted Sent - Decision is Denied Admission American University Washington College of Law University of California, Berkeley, School of Law - Applied - Transmitted Sent - Decision is Denied Admission Boston College Law School California Western School of Law University of California, Irvine School of Law Columbia University School of Law - Applied - Transmitted Sent University of Connecticut School of Law University of California, Davis School of Law (King Hall) The George Washington University Law School - Applied - Transmitted Sent - Decision is Denied Admission Georgetown University Law Center - Applied - Transmitted Sent - Decision is Denied Admission Harvard Law School - Applied - Transmitted Sent - Decision is Denied Admission University of California Hastings College of the Law Loyola Law School, Loyola Marymount University New England Law, Boston University of New Hampshire School of Law New York University School of Law - Applied - Transmitted Sent - Decision is Denied Admission Pepperdine University School of Law University of San Francisco School of Law Santa Clara University School of Law Seattle University School of Law University of South Carolina School of Law - Applied - Transmitted Sent - Decision is Denied Admission University of Southern California, Gould School of Law - Applied - Transmitted Sent - Denied Admission Southwestern Law School Stanford University Law School - Applied - Transmitted Sent - Decision is Denied Admission Thomas Jefferson School of Law Vermont Law School Western State College of Law at Argosy University Western New England University School of Law Whittier Law School Yale Law School - Applied - Transmitted Sent - Decision is Denied Admission

I did purchase a Yamaha XMAX. It rode very well. I did have two separate accidents in the Yamaha XMAX. I thought I was being safe with bike, but unfortunately life did not like me having it. On December 5, 2018, while I was doing deliveries. The 2018 Yamaha XMAX broke down and could not crank. I had to push the vehicle from North Capitol St NE and Michigan Ave NE to downtown. I was severely anger because it was a new bike and some of my recent trips was to Fredericksburg, VA and Baltimore, MD. I did not know one ounce of help for scooter/motorbike that could have broken down somewhere I was unfamiliar to get help. It sent all kinds of emotions through me. So I threw my anger in emails and phone calls to dealer and Yamaha, I authorized the work. The Yamaha breakdown cut into my XMAS money I could have made from my part-time gig. Yamaha was expecting payments for the periods of non-use and I told them I was not riding, and I am not paying. Now, February 1, 2018, Yamaha dealer decides to call back and say bike is fixed. Guess what I did out of anger? I got a new bike, Suzuki Burgman 650 Executive, with all the bells and whistles. I transferred the tags, paid the tax, and now I am riding. It has been six to seven months riding my motorbike and cycling bike and parking them everywhere. Guess what? Now, the cops/MPD and US Capitol Police saw me parking the motorbike on the bike rack. On Monday, January 28, 2019, I left my motorbike parked on US Capitols ground on a public sidewalk on a bike rack near one of the capitol ground parks for one day because of inclement weather. I come back the next day, the entire motorbike was gone and someone broke through the Kryptonite lock with security level 10, and all other security features on the motorbike. US Capitol Police saw me every day and night when I parked in the same spot and did not say anything. After I made two calls to 911, US Capitol Police showed and told me all the rules regarding the motor scooter. I paid $210 for towing and they issued me a ticket in the same day for $100. The ticket infraction information was dated Tuesday, January 29, 2019 at 7:50 PM, location Unit block C St NE and 300 Delaware Ave NE, Code P047, Parked on sidewalk, Signature Officer Dworak, Dept USCP, Element USB/OSB, Badge No 7001. I am back riding again, but this time I am using all the areas of residential parking in my Zone. I was completely corrected to use my residential parking permit in Washington, DC and take up a full parking space. My Suzuki Burgman 650 Executive is financed by GE Capital. I do apologize GE Capital for cancelling a credit card earlier in my life when I still did not understand how to use the credit card. I am glad General Electric came back to be apart of my life. It feels good.

I am becoming better at doing repossessions. My 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee from Carmax was repossessed. My 2007 Mercedes Benz from EuroMotors was repossessed, but they are getting lawsuit/civil suits for that car experience. My 2018 Yamaha XMAX from Coleman PowerSports was repossessed and if I incur a balance from that motorbike, then civil suits are prepared and ready. Just as expected Yamaha made a balance from a defective product.

POSITION #47 - Amazon This was a good position. I am surprised that Amazon was so inflexible as a 24/7 operation that the organization did not want to switch/change my schedule when offered and I asked. I learned so much and they pass over plenty people for supervisory positions and ambassadors. Once the managers and supervisors warn you that you will be terminated due to no more Unpaid Personal Time (UPT) and when coaching kids or providing community service in the same time slot, Amazon will put you in a position not even get unemployment after the years of service. They did offer for me to come back after 365 days. I tried to leave with references with the people I thought cared and were friends, but it was a setup. Since I am not from Virginia, I will not be returning to any Amazon warehouses or fulfillment centers in Virginia or Maryland. I will take this employer with me to South Carolina.

POSITION #48 - AmeriCorps / Up2Us Sports / TeensRunDC / District of Columbia Public Schools Meredith Lonberger seems like a great person to work with. I wish Jen Edmonds stayed onboard and things could have been different. Jen left as a new AmeriCorps service year started. This experience start out awkward. I never worked with middle schoolers or in a school environment for a very long time. District of Columbia Public Schools have a culmunation of a variety of professionals to put the school together. Students, such as Louis Coney, kept talking and running the 7th grade lunch clubs and interrupt his game with Antoine Lewis regarding bayblades or music sessions with David Adejiji, Louis assaulted me for interruption or stopping them from doing what they were doing. Jarmal Pannell definitely had a problem with keeping his hands to himself. Jarmal knew his size and kept pushing his friend, Shaun Suber, around. Jarmal Pannell kept placing his anger out on me by bending my fingers, testing his testosterone, and pushing me and the table at the same time. Jovan Miles, he was a smart, 8th grade kid and TeensRunDC alum, he came in the first season and started participating, but he started making serious interruptions with watching inappropriate flicks or facetiming girls, throwing food at walls, and assaulted and bullied me around for snitching. The instructors and security saw what were happening. They did not do a darn thing. SaQuan choked Joseph Stanback, a TRDC student, Ms. Latisha Cooper (an adult) assaults SaQuan. Alexandra Wade, so called Alee, try to keep up this energy and power of psychology. Positives she was good at attempting to run the organization and attempt to do cohesion, but very bad at decision making as a new program manager of a non-profit. Lizzie or Elizabeth was good at trying to do the books of the organization, but she will miss some reimbursements as it is see some and do not see some. Michelle Morris, the Asian girl, tried to fit as much as possible, but purely depressed about not getting in at DCPS as a teacher/substitute teacher. LeRoy Reed, he was a small and smart young boy. His friend was Thomas Miller. Thomas Miller kept complaining and putting down himself with weight problems calling himself fat. Thomas Miller had a pure attachment to YuGiYoh and his cellphone. Thomas Miller had several cellphones. I met Thomas Miller's mother and made me wonder who the daddy is because he came out pure red or light skin with black curly hair. LeRoy Reed was little and bullying people around so people would not mess with him. I met LeRoy Reed's grandmother alot and she kept thinking I was a DCPS administrator or instructor that could make a difference on his, his teachers', or administrative errors on his records. Thomas Miller disliked Alexandra Wade alot when she dismissed him from an after school practice for keeping and looking at cellphone. Thomas Miller called her a female dog and all kinds of names. Thomas Miller dislike Michelle Morris because she dismissed him from an after school practice, but he did not know what names to call her. LeRoy Reed and Thomas Miller were partially coming during Spring season after they caught on to the pattern. Treazure Stewart was a unique female coming in with all kinds of hairstyles. Treazure Stewart talked about herself alot and able to fully provide her point of view on the lunch club subjects. Treazure Stewart did come to school with a broken, sprained, or fractured leg. I did not question what happened. Joshua Davis started coming to lunch club, but he was being raised vegetarian and lie really well or make an excuse for everything that he does not like. Alissa Rhodes, Nyasia Coleman, and Jamaya White came to lunch club religiously in the beginning and talking about all the different subjects, then the school started its sports program. Alissa Rhodes came to one after school practice and complained it was too hot. I let her rest the remainder of practice. Nyasia Coleman went to basketball program. Jamaya White sided with her friends and not come at all. Saviona Richardson, this girl is going to get alot of boys in trouble, and stepped up to all the boys challenging them to anything they say about girls. Saviona Richardson came to a couple after school practices, then keep saying she cannot come because she is moving. This was a repeated sentence from beginning of school year to close to end of school year. I did meet the daddy of Saviona Richardson and her sister. I got a lyft (TRDC paid) for the family so they could attend TRDC xmas holiday party. Saviona Richardson did attend almost all the lunch clubs. Evonye Simmons was convinced sometimes by the boys to attend lunch club....she looks and acts more tomboy-ish. Evonye Simmons does talk on the subjects and participate in some of the lunch club activities. Sevyn Robinson only came to lunch club when food is around or when the TRDC is treated by EBFSC. Jayden Parker is a very intelligent and brilliant star. Jayden Parker has girlpower to become famous. I do not know what she plans to become, but it will be big. Jayden Parker cares very much about the environment and helping others. The way she is coming out to be a selfless person is going to do wonders. I did meet her mother and she was very kind. Jayden Parker did come to one after school practice. She did not come to anymore practices because she stated she had to get little brother from Maury Elementary. Navar Rogers had a personal attention complex. As TRDC coach, Navar Rogers wanted personal attention. He would put down himself to have me as a coach figure out how to uplift him. Navar Rogers did run in the United States Arboretum Oaktoberfest 5K and did a personal record. Thomas Miller also walked in the United States Arboretum Oaktoberfest 5K and the only thing that motivated him was to make sure he finished before someone's dog did. When I started bringing snacks, he expected me to keep rewarding him for every good grade or good act. I did meet Navar Rogers's guardian. Allen Jones was a smart dude, but I already see him as a blockhead athlete and jock celebrity (meaning he does sports very well and hates the classroom). I met Allen Jones's sister during an after school practice. Morgan Paul was a tomboy, super smart, and intelligent. Her English was very good and her sense on life was good. I did meet Morgan Paul's dad. The parents or guardian are doing a great job helping her understand the different facets of people. She was coming to after school practices and lunch clubs, but she also was in higher achievement (another after school program) so I think her dad cracked down on what she doing after she was literally not going home after school everyday. Jakale Lipson was the most unique student I ever met. Jakale Lipson kept acting like she was a mute student when everyone in the school knew she could talk. Jakale Lipson participated in lunch club written activities. Jakale Lipson was helping the main office sometimes during lunch. With Jakale Lipson acting as a mute student in public school questions activities at home or is it truly an act to not get bothered by anyone. John Moore is going to be a bright student and active athlete. I can see John Moore as team captain of a sport. Do not get John Moore talking because gives a point of view on every subject from every angle. John Moore is very attentive, appreciates praise, and does not mind doing the work. Ben Boomer, a TRDC alum, came once to lunch club along with his from Orlando Edwards, another TRDC alum, and stated they were in lunch club because of nothing to do. Ben Boomer stated he was the chill and mellow guy, "nothing about nothing" type of guy. DeMarko French kept coming to lunch club with a very loud mouth so everyone can hear him or speak over the other person. DeMarko French kept trying insult the female coaches by asking the personal questions or trying to do match maker with the female coaches. DeMarko French kept promoting sexual activity talking about girls as female dogs and getting their private parts. DeMarko French even felt comfortable enough to start asking me personal questions about family, having children, wanting children, how to make a baby, etc. DeMarko French was dismissed from lunch club because TRDC moved to a new room where higher achievement or teachers stored stuff. DeMarko French took items from boxes and threw them into the cafeteria kitchen when no one was paying attention or looking. The cafeteria ladies had to tell me what was going on. Malik Johnson is an internal processor of information. Malik Johnson took a minute to process thought before he could speak an answer. If it was not an answer or topic he did not like, Malik Johnson will get up and leave. Malik Johnson earn a TRDC shirt and he gave the shirt away. Christopher Fisher came TRDC because of Jovan Miles. Christopher Fisher is one of those "I do not know what I want to be kids". Christopher Fisher did not participate in afterschool. Christopher Fisher, Nassir Walker, Elijah Harvey and Jovan Miles kept disrupting the after school program by bullying the younger kids. Security had the cameras and janitors saw what was happening. All I could say, "It was inappropriate and not right." Antoine Lewis presents himself like the victim and yes, he is bullied by other kids, but he is the first to assault a girl. I never saw him fight or step up to any of the guys. Antonio Sinclair is a quiet guy and attentive, who do not mind putting the work a different way. For example, at after school practice, I have all attendees do laps around Eastern Sr High School track, but Antonio Sinclair prefer to do sprints or runs up and down the football field. Elijah Harvey was a very talented artist in the school and he listens to commands when he want to. Jakhai Pone came to lunch club and participated, then he did not return. Nassir Walker kept being picked on because everyone claimed he and I looked alike or I could have been his daddy. Rashaun Bazemore, a TRDC alum, participated in lunch club. Rashaun Bazemore and his twin brother RaQuan Bazemore wore those TRDC sweatshirts religiously to school. I met Melissa Diggins, who supposed to be after school programs coordinator, and she did absolutely nothing to support me or TRDC. Ms. Sherry Epps was a funny lady and always talked about my lunch choices. She, I guess, wanted me to be fat. Ms. Kimberly George was giving me good tips on how be a better instructor or classroom management techniques that worked for her. Mr. Christopher Grenier was the track coach and had good attendance when I saw them practice in the same places TRDC practice. Ms. Patricia Harris was the track coach too and had pleasant personality so it seemed. Ms. Tara Harris was an interesting social worker who had interest in the kids, but took special interest in Jayden Parker whenever she attended TRDC lunch club. Ms. Tara Harris is the one I sent the bullying email incidents to. Mr. Joscelin Lockhart, do not know his sexuality, but if girls could talk...LOL...he was the queen bee next to Ms. Latisha Cooper. Mr. Travis Loggins-Santiago, I kept watching how he was doing crazy and keep me guessing what island he came from. Mr. Bennisha Lucas is a very intelligent and always fashionable on-point lady. Mrs. Marlene Magrino, I kept speaking to her like a teacher, I did not say anything uncanny, and did not know she was the principal until February 2019. Mrs. Ophelia Morgan was the one I thought was the principal because everyone kept sending me to her. Now, I see why TRDC flyers never got out for the annual fun run or after school practice. Mrs. Pamela Prescott is kind person and does most of what anyone ask of her. She deserves a big retirement party whenever that comes. Mr. Christopher Vann was a cool guy and level headed. Mr. Christopher Vann did let me know when one of my TRDC students got out of line. Brian, a new coach, seems like he was timid, introvert, and shy. Taylor, a Howard Univ. cheerleader, came with full made up face and hair every TRDC event, meeting, or volunteering. Taylor had a car and did not want to use it for the kids. Sasha, another Up2Us coach, did what she wanted to, had outside employment, had a boyfriend, and kept all her job. Zachary Thal, a Jewish and Avodah coach, was trying to suck up everyone's hours and work to meet his organization's full time agreement. Stephanie, a Jewish and Avodah coach, was at TRDC for a month before her cancer returned and she went back home. Yassah, a Yoga instructor, was off the chain with her life experiences, bartending experiences, and when TRDC started messing up her outside employment income, she straight up quit. Romeo, a California boy and Howard Univ student, was at TRDC and shared his experiences with the kids, but I always wondered how he paid rent, rarely came to any TRDC event, he was a member of DC Front Runners, and I do not know his sexuality. After I got terminated, I sent the termination back all the way down the kids and told them I already had two restraining orders filed. I am always seeking how and where to file the third restraining order. This same information is being formulated to be thrown in the court(s) of law for wrongful termination about all organizations, and not receiving the AmeriCorps education award from Up2Us Sports Inc (New York, NY). I could not get DC unemployment because not enough time passed and income earned.

POSITION #49 - United Parcel Service I gave this a second chance. This work environment was definitely different from the 1998. Jarvis Raynor, HR, gave a realistic presentation of the new UPS in 2019. As a preloader, package handlers had to handle three (3) trucks and range 200 packages to 700 packages per truck. You have thirty days to qualify as preloader. UPS literally was going through people like water and it was a never ending cycle. My overall manager, William Thompson Jr, known as "JR", was annoying as hell as he kept reiterating stats and procedures to follow. It was impossible to load 75lbs to 130lbs package with 2 or 3 steps inside a truck. It was insane. I was calm, cool, and collective. Julia Barbarczuk, Trainer/Supervisor, was informative and kept following up with plenty of paperwork while on the job. Angie and Emma, the belt supervisors, were cool and very helpful when the load was light or heavy. Angela was the Army sergeant in her commands. Emma was the repeater and coach. This job was located in Springfield - Newington, VA area. Cooper was another manager like JR and did crazy by sending me to various workpiles to try and solve them including a truck with payload of 750 packages using a stair to step up in the truck. The HR manager Jarvis D. Raynor talked to all my references and tried to throw the same game back at me. I did become eligible for unemployment because of a different rule and did not violate any company policy. However, if there is an ineligible status on the same claim, then you can keep filing, but have to appeal the ineligible status in order to get paid. My unemployment compensation with Virginia is still pending.

POSITION #50 - Federal Express I applied for the Handler position. It was good to go to familiar ground of Dulles Airport. I met most of everyone and did the paperwork. They are very integrated with the United States Postal Service. United States Postal Service does have a clearance process. I did go through the Washington Dulles Airport training to pick up my identification badge. Unfortunately, I did not go to Federal Express because of the travel distance of 35-40 miles one way for a part time and crazy hours. I will take Federal Express as a possible employer in South Carolina.

POSITION #51 - Abercrombie and Fitch I reapplied for this position. Met two managers Mecca and Luen and made the interview. It was a great location in the Georgetown community, but I was not hired.

POSITION #52 - PeaPod / Giant Delivery LLC I applied for a delivery driver position. I had this position along with the AmeriCorps and UPS jobs. It was another blue collar job. My hands and fingers were going through slams, pinches, and smashes. I went to Hanover, MD to have my initial interview. I got on the PM schedule. It was fun earning cash tips and meeting the customers. The challenge was the routes or navigating the truck in Washington, DC streets. In 90 probationary period, you cannot miss any item delivered to customer and cannot have any accidents. I did have two minor accidents and they came fast. The first one was not my fault with a latino lady was driving someone else's car and backed directly into the truck. The second one was I parked too close to a parked car on one way street and the rear bumper outside lip caught the front end of the car. I did train with the #1 and #2 drivers of the Springfield warehouse. I do think about PeaPod / Giant Delivery LLC every time I see those green trucks. Despite everything, I do miss this job because it was so different, a blue collar job, and driving as a career was not even thought of in my field options. The uniforms were good and brand new. The pay was decent. I got a chance to look at the beauty of Virginia especially when I thought Manassas, Ashburn, Great Falls, etc. were far places. The job did give me flashbacks to old stomping grounds of Chantilly, Herndon, Centreville, Fairfax, Alexandria, Arlington, Springfield, etc. I did become eligible for unemployment because the company did not respond. However, if there is an ineligible status on the same claim, then you can keep filing, but have to appeal the ineligible status in order to get paid. My unemployment compensation with Virginia is still pending.

I had to file US Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration complaints against the following:

United Parcel Service On my final week April 15-18, 2019, UPS made me very sick the entire week and with the weather 65 to 75 degrees. On the belt in my area, UPS ran the warehouse heaters at 90 degrees making it very unbearable. UPS terminated me the day before graduating. I did the job, but the only appreciation I received was attendance on coming in every day. I filed a grievance regarding the situation, but OSHA stated the complaint could not be filed because it has no control on warehouse temperature conditions.

Amazon After crazy termination debacle, I filed a complaint on most of the major conditions of the warehouse from carbon monoxide detectors not working to other issues. This complaint was accepted and filed as an informal complaint since I was no longer there.

US Department of Defense I filed this compliant, but OSHA stated time lapse. I was in a long discussion with the OSHA officer discussing all the issues of workplace violence, etc. It was a very good and informative conversation.

ABBTECH Professional Services I filed this compliant, but OSHA stated time lapse. It was brought up in the civil case on both Plaintiff and Defendant's testimony.

PeaPod - Giant Delivery LLC I filed this complaint against the trucks I drove and other issues in the warehouse. This complaint was accepted and filed as an informal complaint since I was no longer there.

Yoh Services LLC I filed this complaint, but OSHA stated time lapse.

AmeriCorps / Up2Us Sports / TeensRunDC / District of Columbia Public Schools I filed this one, but OSHA stated it was out of their jurisdiction.

Birthday Month Festivities I planned major and minor activities for my birthday month, but it seems someone or people did not want me to enjoy it. This is what happened. 1992-1993 - accidentally lost keys and took no issue with it because replacements were made. In South Carolina, I accidentally lost wallet and replaced everything....nothing really was in it since I was just a kid.

2015 - In New York City, keys were lost and given back to me; even though, I already paid to have the keys replaced. I was elated and superbly surprised for as large as this city is...that I got something back.

2016 - In Chicago, I became ill and could not control the loss of my wallet and other original identification documents....nothing came back to me. One out of my set of three keys went missing.

2019 - In Washington, DC, keys were purposely taken from me in March 2019....I already had a backup or 2nd pair. My bicycle seat cover stolen twice for no apparent reason. Life kept on trucking. Then in June 2019, my wallet was purposely taken from me and fraudulent activity occurred immediately. Nothing materialistically came back to me. The banks, credit card companies, and I fixed the fraudulent activity. In my sacred home of Washington, DC, I am confused and baffled on the purpose of harming or hurting me in that way in a sacred place of the gym. Questions unanswered: Is it to just repeat the same incidents that already happened with family and do it with a bunch of strangers? Is it to ensure I was physically in the city? Is it to ruin the happiness and enjoyment I do around my birthday month? Is it because I talk about everything to the public? Is it to say we hate you and the way I carry my life? Is it just do because it is happening to other people? Is it to do it just to get another police report? Is it to prevent me from getting a job with WMATA as a special police officer? Is it to see whether or not I commit crimes without identification or access to money? Is it to say I cannot physically f*ck up the person that does the harm/hurt for a self-defense plea? Yes, I felt anger towards me when I went to the Nationals vs another team (2x) and announced it via twitter that Nationals won both games. Either way it goes, 30 years of having the gym/fitness centers as a sacred place has been violated. 40 years of church as a sacred place is being changed to ensure nothing happens there. I am still on schedule on moving away from Washington, DC. I stayed still long enough. After the wallet incident, I will not be renewing anything regarding Washington, DC...let it all expire next year or whenever they expire...join the State of Connecticut. I will only leave Washington, DC with my corporation headquarters. I was genuinely asked by some of my organizations to run for Mayor again, and I seriously gave it a thought, but nah....

Another thing, DC tried to reproduce what Atlanta already did on Flag Day. DC (NYC) had a red and grey taxi with an ethopian/black driver run me down or hit me from the back at an K St NW & 6th St NW intersection and I am on a bicycle, and knock me to the ground sending me to the George Washington University hospital. Thanks to the bicyclist and witnesses for taking care of me until ambulance, MPD, and DC Fire and EMS arrived while everyone was calling 911. After five hours, full examination and x-rays, the doctors and nurses cleared me that I was okay to go home. At least the white woman driver with her SUV immediately compensated me for ruining my bicycle and the Atlanta bike accident did not send me to the hospital.

Another thing, DC MPD decided to attempt to take credit for giving me someone else's empty, very dirty wallet along with my five (5) cards I cannot use. It was in an evidence bag with things listed on it that was never in the bag. The incident report quickly reviewed stated their research and contact attempts to reach me. I am very sorry for poor, poverish, or non-intelligent people, who cannot get themselves out of the legal process or criminal law. I personally apologize what people do that have power over your life do. It does give me some sort of relief I did not win Mayor for real and question how some candidates' or incumbent promote, such positive numbers, to retain office.

Here is the backdrop or background of the wallet situation at Sport and Health Northwest (Tenleytown) - my letter of termination and cancellation:

After 30 plus years of fitness and working out in gyms across any city and any state, Capitol Hill Sport and Health showed twice that they can pick locks, then I went Tenleytown Sport and Health. I thought with the 55 plus gray hairs senior folk that it would be okay to workout there. I did bring a guest one day to show him the gym and his similar kinfolk, and he got chastised by the Tenleytown sales personnel. On Wednesday, June 5, 2019, I happened to show up late in the evening around 6:30 PM and trying to catch at least one group fitness class and get a workout in. I did see some minority faces I never saw before in the gym so I did not question. I prepared to leave and get my normal shower in. I went to the Men’s Locker Room. My locker number was 50. I insert my key and the entire lock fell apart. I asked the front desk if it was an accident that my lock was cut. He (a young white man front desk clerk) informed me to check for my wallet and other valuables. Sure enough, my entire wallet from my pants and my checkbooks were stolen directly from my bag. The front desk stated he was the only one on duty to run entire gym. He stated some people came to check out the gym and did it in less than 5 minutes. No camera footage and no discernment of the individuals especially if he is paid minimum wage individual with no manager on staff. At Sport and Health, mid-range price point was to keep rift-raft out. DC Metropolitan Police Department was called and report is made. I am locking down my cards. DC MPD had the nerve to reiterate this happens a lot in the Tenleytown area.

So based on this rollup of a situation, this is my decision. Capitol Hill, I am terminating my membership on Thursday, June 6, 2019. No termination fee is charged. No monthly membership fee is charged. If any fee is charged without my consent July 2019, then I will inconvenience you and all employees’ names at Capitol Hill and Tenleytown, and send it through every system in the United States and the District of Columbia, and at the end send you a bill that you will have to pay. Thanks for your attention to this matter. My weapon of choice: Tell everything to everybody. At least, I do give the courtesy of telling your first.

Civil Action Suits ABBTECH Professional Services ABBTECH stayed in the State of Virginia and defended their position in Arlington County Circuit Court. The initial case was dismissed and workplace violence was permissible based on the configuration told. The configuration is one company invites you in, another company assaults you, and the government hosts the place where it can happen....if you report it, the company that (holds your clearance) invited you in files an incident report on your clearance....then the government files a decision on your clearance...thus leaving you without a clearance.

YOH Services LLC, a Day and Zimmermann Company Emailed copies of everything that was happening in Arlington County (Virginia) Circuit Court was sent to all Yoh offices. Their offices were moved out of Virginia to escape a Class 1 Misdemeanor of Simple Assault and Battery.

United States Department of Defense The Arlington County (Virginia) Circuit Court case was upgraded to United States District Court. It is currently in progress. Two US Department of Justice United States Attorneys and a special assistant attorney are defending US DOD. My motions are being heard on June 14, 2019, which is Flag Day, or making a decision on the papers. In relation to the ABBTECH situation, if you are non-military personnel holding a clearance and assaulted or violated, you have two years from the date the incident occurred to file an administrative review with the Department of Army, Navy (Marines), Air Force, or Coast Guard. You have to google or search the internet for the information....this is not general public knowledge and it is not covered in any of its training for any project. I am still working the case.

EuroMotors Montgomery County (Maryland) Circuit Court heard the case. It was a good and long testimonial discussion with the judge to connect EuroMotors to the incidents that happened with my Mercedes-Benz. However, the initial case was dismissed, but I can re-filed on basis of harm with the repossession.

PODS Middlesex County (New Jersey) Superior Court has this case. No response, yet. Still in discovery period.

More civil cases to file, but one to three at a time.

Class Action Suits Postmates I complied and got a response.

Grubhub I complied and got a response.

Uber I complied and got a response.

Caviar I complied and got a response.

Walmart I complied and pending response.

Wells Fargo I complied and got a response because proof of evidence was not supplied.

A Recruitment Process Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority I got notification in April regarding the Special Police Officer position with Metro Transit Police. I did not go in April 2019 because I did not have all my documents together. Then, I got another notice regarding a May recruiting event. I paid quite a bit of money to get originals and copies of all identification. I went attended the recruiting and got to the first interview. First interviewer stated they needed the original birth certificate with seal embossed on it. First interviewer (a white man) did question why someone like me with all this education would want a $36,000 job. I left and purchased birth certificate again. I filled out the online application again and got a June 2019 notice day of recruitment. I went and attended. Second interviewer (a white lady) looked at my questionnaire and I had all the pages. She stated I needed another work reference, more neighborhood references and everyone has to be local to area. She stated to reschedule. Guess what I did? I walked straight the door and did not look back. People that were to the recruiting event have been doing it for months and did not get through.

Please see all attachments regarding the cases.

#party #wmata #civil #suits #class #lsat #lawsuit #jobs #osha #keys #wallet #bikeseat #police

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elizabethleslie7654 · 7 years ago

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How Jews Gave America Gay Marriage

all kinds of cool jewelry and no shipping or getting mobbed t the mall

Since gay marriage was legalized in 2015 the American public has seen that the slippery slope from legal gay marriage to trannies in girls locker rooms to troubled children given hormone blockers is real. And Americans aren’t too happy about it: as Alyssa Rosenberg lamented in the Washington Post, the number of Americans who express discomfort around LGBT people has risen for the first time since 2014.

In light of this, it’s worth looking back at how this slippery slope began and how gay marriage was legalized in the first place.

An interesting perspective on this subject can be found in an article published in 2014 by Tikkun Magazine titled “How Jews Brought America to the Tipping Point on Marriage Equality” which details how “Jewish activists gathered enough force to help push the state-by-state dominoes over to legalizing same-sex marriage” and how “Jews can claim a fair share of the credit for bringing Americans to a tipping point of accepting marriage equality.”

This may sound like a shocking anti-Semitic accusation to some, especially to those Evangelical Christians who seem to think Jews are God’s Chosen People who can do no wrong, but this article was written by a Jewish activist in a Jewish magazine. Tikkun Magazine is named after the Jewish concept of “tikkun olam,” which means “repair the world” in Hebrew.

In the article, Amy Beam explains not only how Jewish activists and social organizations pushed the gay marriage issue, but also how their victories can serve as a blueprint for other “social justice” issues—which in the near future will probably include such things as taking “trans” children away from parents who refuse to allow them to transition genders and labeling anyone with a conservative view of sexual morality a mentally ill sexist, homophobe or bigot.

The first lesson from the Jewish fight for gay marriage, Amy Beam explains, is taking a clear moral stance:

“By coming out early with a clear moral position rooted in religious values and coordinating their message at the national and state levels, Jewish leaders helped reassure voters who may have been unsure about the religious implications of voting for marriage equality.

As early as 2007, Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, wrote in an op-ed in the Washington Post: “We have reached a point in American society where the obvious is clear: neither my marriage nor anyone else’s is threatened by two loving individuals of the same sex. And it is increasingly difficult for religious leaders to envision that the loving God of the Universe does not welcome such faithful relationships.”

The shift in attitudes is a deep one, according to a recent poll cited in a report in The Atlantic this past summer: “Even among the most conservative Christian group in America, 51 percent of white evangelicals aged 18 to 34 now support gay marriage.” And polls say Jews themselves now support marriage equality to the tune of over 80 percent. Susskind suggests it is no accident that Jews embraced same-sex marriage. “As the narrative on marriage equality in the country has moved,” he says, “Jews—as people who value equality, value civil rights, and have a long historical understanding of what it means to be discriminated against—are consistently at the front of that.”

First, note how Jews here utilize religion to their own political ends. They realize that many Christians in America, who erroneously and often unknowingly follow a dispensationalist theology, view Jews as a uniquely holy people, as a people who have their own covenant with God. So Jews use their own status to couch their left-wing political opinions in religious terminology, and then they sell those opinions as uniquely moral to American Christians. Most American Christians, unfortunately, are more than willing to gobble it up. After all, God’s Chosen People couldn’t be wrong, could they?

This is a view that we have to be willing to challenge on a fundamental level. The correct Christian worldview is that the Jews aren’t God’s Chosen People any longer, they lost their covenant with God the moment they rejected Christ and killed Him.

Second, note how Jews view their own influence in society and how they explain why they champion left-wing causes: “Jews – as people who value equality, value civil rights, and have a long historical understanding of what it means to be discriminated against.” In other words, their support for left-wing “social justice” issues like gay marriage, Black Lives Matter, open borders, and so on isn’t a mere political opinion—it is inherent to their ethnic and religious identity, an identity shaped by being a minority in every country that they lived in for well over 1,000 years.

In their own eyes, the Jews are on a crusade against all forms of discrimination, real or perceived. And it doesn’t matter how reasonable the discrimination they’re fighting is, e.g. discrimination against trannies in girl’s locker rooms or unvetted migrants from radical Muslim countries flooding into the West.

This mentality isn’t held by a small Jewish elite but by a majority of rank-and-file Jews, as the article mentions later:

“Noting the recent Pew poll that showed that 70 percent of Jews vote and 56 percent say that being Jewish means working for justice, Abby Levine, director of the Jewish Social Justice Roundtable wrote in a November 22 op-ed in Zeek magazine that she sees a rise in Jewish involvement in “projects dealing with economic justice, women’s rights and community organizing.” Jewish social justice organizations are primed to train and mobilize even more faith-based activists to take on this next wave of struggles.

“We [Jews] bring a different paradigm than the typical paradigm of the policy marketplace, which is a paradigm of morals,” says Susan Lubeck of Bend the Arc’s Bay Area office in California. “Of what’s fair and right and good, and not just what is politically appetizing.”

Unmentioned here is that the vast majority of Jews vote for liberal Democrats, regardless of whether or not they think that “being Jewish means working for justice.” Their support for left-wing “social justice” politics is rooted in their understanding of their own identity, which is why any attempt to win over Jews to the right will be doomed to fail.

But to get back to the meat of the article, Amy Beam explains the other “lesson” from the Jewish fight for gay marriage and other social justice issues in America, the necessity of a solid ground game:

“Jewish activists and leaders at both the national and local/regional levels spearheaded the recent wave of victories for marriage equality (such as state-by-state legalizing of same-sex marriage and the defeat of the Defense of Marriage Act). “We did it in a variety of smaller ways,” says Susskind. “[We had to] get rabbis signed on, get other community leaders signed on, do calling drives, get people engaged with their state legislators.” Susskind cites the work of regional Jewish groups as key to winning in several states; these include Jewish Community Action (JCA) in Minnesota, Jews United for Justice in Maryland, and Bend the Arc’s regional offices in Los Angeles and the Bay Area in California.

State Senator Scott Dibble of Minnesota said the work of JCA was “very important” in two major recent fights there: defeating a 2012 amendment to the state’s constitution that would have banned same-sex marriage, and the subsequent passage of a state law that legalized it. “They provided lots of organizational support.” Dibble said. “The support came in many forms, a lot of it very practical and tangible. JCA arranged for meeting space in several different synagogues as we were getting underway.” Beyond providing such material assistance, Dibble said JCA was “also just a real key force and driver in the aspect of the campaign that relied on bringing the faith voice to the forefront.”

Again, Jewish organizations played a “very important” role in pushing for gay marriage. So no, it’s not an anti-Semitic conspiracy.

The article goes on to mention several other ways that Jewish organizations lobbied their local and state governments for gay marriage as well as “economic justice” issues like higher minimum wages:

“In the Washington, DC, region, JUFJ worked alongside workers’ rights groups to pressure the city council into scheduling the December 17 vote to pass an $11.50 an hour minimum wage. DC councilmember Tommy Wells, who is currently running for mayor on a progressive platform, said, “Right off the bat, I was impressed” by JUFJ’s organizing on paid sick days and the minimum wage. “They held some events that I went to. And they met with me. I appreciated how clear they were on exactly what they wanted to happen.”

What they wanted to happen was for the city council to bring DC’s minimum wage into alignment with the surrounding Maryland region of Prince George’s and Montgomery counties. There, the county councils in November passed the same increase—to $11.50 by 2017—following intense organizing by JUFJ and other groups. “We organized a lot of ways for Jewish people to contact their representatives,” said Ennen. “Jews, like anybody else, don’t necessarily participate that much in local politics. Jews do tend to be pretty hooked into progressive politics nationally, or national issue campaigns, but lots of people who are involved in JUFJ had never called their actual county representative. It turns out,” she went on, “that county elected leaders aren’t used to the level of lobbying that Congress is. So it doesn’t take hundreds of phone calls and thousands of petition signatures. They’re receptive to hearing from their constituents. So we did a lot of work to mobilize people to have those meetings and make those calls. That was one of the ways that we were able to win in Montgomery County.”

This highlights an important lesson that the right-end of the political spectrum needs to learn from: politics doesn’t end at the ballot box.

Notice how in addition to voting a certain way, pushing out certain messages through the media and religious organizations, etc. these Jewish organizations actively engage in large-scale and well-organized grassroots lobbying campaigns. They encourage their members to call and write their representatives, participate in petition drives, etc.

This is something that the right-wing has to do more of. Too often we’re satisfied by donating some money to our favorite candidates, voting, and then sitting at home and occasionally sharing something on Facebook or Twitter. Worse still, on the rare occasion that a relatively good guy like Donald Trump wins, we satisfy ourselves by thinking that no follow up is needed, “he’s got it in the bag.” But that isn’t enough.

Just like these Jewish lobbies, we have to learn to start engaging more with our elected officials, local, state, and federal. When important votes for issues come up, call your Congressman, Senator, or county representative. Tell them how they have to vote if they want your support next election cycle. The thing is legislators actually listen because they do want to get re-elected at the end of the day. And the more feedback they get from their constituents, the more likely they are to vote with them.

If we do not start engaging more heavily with this kind of grassroots lobbying then we’re letting the groups that do win the game completely unopposed.

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biodefensenews · 7 years ago

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U.S. not prepared to identify perpetrators of biological attacks: Expert panel

See on Scoop.it - Biodefense News

When violent attackers use biological agents to inflict harm, not only must law enforcement attribute the crime to the correct perpetrator, they must also identify the pathogens used and their sources exactly and quickly. That was the focus of a special meeting last week hosted by the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense. Called Biological Attribution: Challenges and Solutions, the objective of the Panel meeting wa to better understand the ability of the U.S. government to correctly identify pathogens and their sources; attribute the use of biological weapons with scientific and other forms of evidence; and explore the processes used for investigative, legal, policy, and political decisions involving biological attribution.

“Effective prosecution depends on the ability to quickly and accurately attribute crimes to their perpetrators,” said Ken Wainstein, meeting chair, and former Homeland Security Advisor and United States Attorney. “In the aftermath of a biological attack, we need to find out who did it, how they did it, what disease agent they used, and where they obtained it. The biological threat is real and growing, and the Nation needs this attribution capability now.”

Adds former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, whose office received some of the anthrax letters in 2001, “We face some major challenges in microbial forensics and biological attribution, but we can overcome many of them. We need to do what we can to eliminate them now, before we find ourselves under attack again. We can’t afford to have another investigation drag on for years.”

In addition to Wainstein and Daschle, former Senator Joe Lieberman, who co-chairs the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense, attended the event.

The Bipartisan Policy Center notes that the panel addressed the impact of the President’s FY 2018 budget request which would eliminate critical biological attribution and other biodefense functions of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense in June 2017 raised serious concerns about the proposed closure of the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC) in Maryland.

“NBACC is the only facility in the United States with the bioforensics capability needed to assist the FBI in its investigations,” Lieberman said at the time. “Terminating funding would leave the country without a core investigative tool for biocrimes and bioterrorism.”

The Bipartisan Policy Certain says that the National Bioforensics Analysis Center (NBFAC), part of the NBACC, conducts technical analyses in support of federal law enforcement investigations and attempts to coordinate multi-agency biological forensic efforts. The NBFAC has not become the resource for biological forensics the United States needs. The DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), which administers the NBFAC, has struggled to coordinate with and serve other agencies, because it is not an operational organization and because its scientific goals sometimes run at cross-purposes to those of the operational communities it could serve. As a result, agencies sometimes decline to work with or utilize NBFAC. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is by far the primary user of the NBFAC, and the facility should have been under the purview of the FBI from its inception.

The panel addressed these issues in “A National Blueprint for Biodefense, Recommendation 9: Better support and inform decisions based on biological attribution.” The panel stated that the United States has yet to fully establish biological attribution capability due to the inherent challenges associated with microbial forensic techniques and related analyses. No formal apparatus exists that uses biological attribution information to inform decisions. The Panel continues to advocate for the following action items:

· Establish a national biological attribution decision-making apparatus. The Vice President should direct the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Homeland Security, the Attorney General, and the DNI to establish and formalize this apparatus. They should inform this apparatus with: 1) standards/ burdens of proof in the U.S. criminal justice system; 2) evidence, information, and intelligence regarding the source; 3) accuracy, reliability, timeliness, credibility and defensibility of that evidence, information, and intelligence; and 4) national security considerations. This apparatus should be exercised to inform decisions and to ensure that these decisions are defensible.

· Place the Federal Bureau of Investigation in charge of the National Bioforensics Analysis Center. The FBI is the primary customer of NBFAC and has the needed credibility and influence to allow NBFAC to fulfill its role in biological forensics and attribution. Congress should amend The Act to Enact Title 5 of the U.S. Code, “Government Organization and Employees,” and make the FBI responsible for the NBFAC, its administration, and its activities, including interagency support and coordination. Congress should reallocate appropriations accordingly. Congress should also increase its oversight over NBFAC activities.

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the-record-columns · 7 years ago

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Oct. 11, 2017: Columns

Charles Gilliam, a gentleman

By KEN WELBORN

Record Publisher

On the front page of this edition of “The Record” there is a photograph of Mr. Charles Gilliam, who, along with his daughter, Jan, visited our offices during the Apple Festival on Saturday.

Our connection with Mr. Gilliam goes back several years when he made a random visit to The Record and it was as though a huge library of information had just opened its doors to me.

Mr. Gilliam, the long time owner of the Ronda Hardware store, told me that he had retired and that the window displays in our offices caught his eye. In no time it was obvious that this man knew more about my old stuff than I did, and from there we had one of the most pleasant and educational visits ever.

In addition to discussing the items of history on display here, we soon realized that we knew some of the same people. One of Mr. Gilliam's favorite people turned out to be none other than the late Ray Stroud, the president of the Wilkes Savings and Loan Association in Wilkesboro. He referred to Mr. Stroud as a great kid and a great adult who was very appreciative for the opportunities he had been afforded, and was glad and thankful to be able to be in a position to give back to others. I told Mr. Gilliam my own story about buying my first home in the early 1970’s and my dealings with Ray Stroud, and the loan I had applied for. When he found that I didn't have a job, he threw his pencil in the air and assured me I was going to have to find one to get a home loan. It is a long story, but the short version is that he got me in touch with Paul Cashion, who hired me to work at his sheet metal shop, later gave me a job at his radio station, and even helped me begin Thursday Magazine, predecessor to The Record.

So, in effect, Ray Stroud is why I have the job I have to this day.

We swapped stories for a good while that day and I was truly sad to see Mr. Gilliam leave.

However, it wasn't too many weeks until he stopped by again. This time, he laughed and said he didn't have all day, but that he had noticed something on his previous visit that caught his eye. He was referring to a black and white porcelain sales display for Black-Draught (pronounced drohft), a vegetable laxative which has been around since 1840. An interesting aside, a young Dolly Parton sang a jingle for the laxative which included the line “Black Draught makes you smile from the inside out.”

Honest.

At any rate, if you look again at the photo on the front page, you can see the display in question. Looking closer you can see it still has three individual doses of Black Draught “for sale” at the bottom. The customer would pull one out and the others would drop down for the next customer. Many, many years ago, they sold for 20 cents each, not a small amount of money for the time. Mr. Charles Gilliam gave me those three packages to put in display on the occasion of his second visit. “Makes it look complete, doesn't it.” he said with a smile.

Mr. Gilliam's daughter, Jan, told me on Saturday that her dad wanted to make sure he made it to The Record if he didn't make it anywhere else. I took that as a great compliment and assured them they were as welcome as a summer breeze, and we truly had a great time reminiscing and reliving the days when things were slower and we all knew everybody in town. He tried to apologize for taking up so much time and I assured him that clearly, my time was his time, as long as he chose to stay. My mind kept going back to his wonderful comment on his initial visit to “The Record” years ago, “Like being in my old store again.”

Always the gentleman, there is just no downside to a man like Charles Gilliam. My only complaint about him is that I haven't had the pleasure of knowing him all my life.

Good versus Evil

By LAURA WELBORN

We all can be either good or evil.

Case in point, the recent Las Vegas shootings.

There does not seem to be any answers as to why someone would do something so horrific. Maybe we all have the potential for evil. Maybe when we don’t judge others and include them in our community we bring forth the good that lives in us all. I truly believe there is no excuse for bad behavior but I will be more aware of others in everyday situations to not be judgmental and to be inclusive with my body language and words.

Acknowledging people with a smile, watching for signs of distress can be a way of not judging and including them in our community. I am not saying we can stop evil but maybe we can tip the scales towards good. How often do we get so absorbed in our own world that we don’t look up and see the people around us? How often do we lend a helping hand? Say a kind word? I do believe it is part of mindfulness and intentional living within a community that cares has the ability to combat evil. So how do we stop our own rage and stress?

The first step is to stop judging others, even the most difficult ones- that means not to label people but to look towards the good and bring that out.

Knowing what our own hot buttons and prejudices are goes a long way to not letting others trigger our behavior. Thubten Chodron writes in working with Anger that our buttons are our responsibility. Mindfulness self-analysis can help us be prepared to recognize our own triggers of judgement and anger so that we can stay in our “good” zone. It makes me wonder what this Steven Paddock person had that triggered such a violent reaction and how does one go from being annoyed to violence? The quote from a Buddhist teacher “Someone tells you to go to hell and you are foolish enough to go there?” is a good reality check to responsive anger. Pausing and not having an immediate response is a way to stop anger and escalation of conflict. The RAIN technique developed by Michelle McDonald to let go of stress so that we don’t over react to conflict:

R- Recognize what is happening. This is particularly important to recognize what we are feeling and how our bodies are reacting. This keeps us from directing blame and judging immediately what we perceive as the problem.

A: Accept it as it is. Allow it to happen and acknowledge the truth of what is happening without judging it, trying to push it away or trying to control it.

I: investigate with attention. What emotions are you experiencing? Are these emotions helping you let go of the stress or bringing up more unpleasant emotions and painful feelings? This step is important to recognize what it is that you need to let go of the emotion that is causing you distress. The next part of this step is to give yourself what it is you need in order to let go- this could be feeling love, friendship, acceptance to the part of you this is hurting.

N- Non- Identification. Part of recognizing, accepting and investigating is understanding it is not you, it doesn’t define you. It is like a passing cloud that you can watch without response and stay in a calm peaceful place.

Mc Donald’s book “Mindful driving” is about the RAIN technique that was inspired when she observed taxi drivers in traffic and felt that there was a lot of stress around time. Its all about what “trips our trigger” to rage and stress. Maybe if more of us use it there will be less rage or evil in our world. We can only hope.

Laura Welborn, Mediator and Counselor

Radical Islamic Ideology--a plague against humanity

By EARL COX

Special to The Record

In 2004, an alert Maryland police officer saw an Islamic woman in an SUV videotaping a bridge’s support structures. He arrested the driver, Ismail Elbarasse—a Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood operative. An FBI raid on Elbarasse's home unearthed a trove of Islamic doctrinal books and key Muslim Brotherhood documents—which became evidence in the largest terrorism-financing trial in U.S. history.

Islam’s books are “the real bomb,” Muslim reformer Islam al-Behery said. Its ideology is “its blueprint” for world domination. A document from the Elbarasse raid outlines the Muslim Brotherhood’s phased plan to destroy Western civilization from within:

Phase One: Secret establishment of leadership.

Phase Two: Gradual public profile by infiltrating government, the judiciary, finance,

intelligence, police, prisons, military, education and religious institutions.

Phase Three: Escalation prior to conflict and confrontation with rulers using mass media.

Phase Four: Publically confront the government using political pressure. Weapons training

domestically and overseas in anticipation of zero-hour.

Phase Five: Seize power to establish the Islamic state.

Other documents outline the plan to replace the U.S. Constitution with sharia (Islamic law). Sharia is based on the Quran and other Islamic writings. Moderates see it a spiritual struggle, or outwardly observe it for fear of reprisal. But for radicals, sharia is the legal and political foundation for jihad and global rule, a power play to force Islam on the world. The D.C.-based Center for Security Policy calls it a “totalitarian ideology” controlling all legal, political, military, economic and social life. No other laws or governments may coexist with sharia. It’s primarily political, not religious; though in America it masks itself as a religion to manipulate the First Amendment as a front for seditious activity.

The Quran requires all Muslims to wage jihad (holy war) against infidels (non-Muslims). Jihad calls for multiple stages and platforms—violent and pre-violent. An Elbarasse memorandum calls the pre-violent “settlement process” in North America “civilization jihad” to destroy the Western way of life. In jihad’s final, violent stage, non-Muslims convert or die. Though jihad is obvious in North America and Europe, it’s not limited to the West.

The phased plan is a template for radical Muslim subjugation. Indonesia, a secular, mostly moderate Muslim-majority democracy, is a case in point. Its motto, “Unity in Diversity” reflects its six religions and 300 ethnicities. Though religious parties’ gains in national elections have been paltry, locally elected lslamists passed more than 400 sharia ordinances, according to economist.com. Christian incumbent Basuki Tjahaja “Ahok” Purnama lost a recent governor’s race when radical Islamists told Muslim voters that Islam forbids voting for Christians. A video of Ahok’s rebuttal was edited to appear he was insulting the Quran. Charged with blasphemy, he lost the election and was sentenced to jail.

Ahok’s conviction—accompanied by violent rallies and death threats--shows the chilling influence on pluralism by “hardline Islamism that the government and judiciary are reluctant to oppose,” said Time reporter Nicola Smith. In Indonesia, radical Islamists have advanced their plan for global dominance to Phase Four.

Then there’s Iran, whose visceral anti-Semitism and poisonous Ideology infuses jihad and sharia, but with a twist. The late Ayatollah Khomeini, and his successor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sidestepped Shi’a belief that the Mahdi (12th Imam), a quasi-messianic figure, must return before waging jihad, and adopted an ideology promoting a senior Shiite cleric to theocratic political power over Shiites worldwide. Khomeini offered himself as successor to the 12 Imams, thus “inherit[ing] the mantle of leadership directly from Muhammad,” said expert Clare Lopez.

Khomeini inserted his doctrine into the 1989 constitution, in which the regime’s objective is global conquest under sharia rule and nuclear dominance is a surefire path to achieve that goal.

Iran and its proxies not only menace Israel’s existence and portend regional upheaval; the “bomb” of Islamist ideology threatens the lives and freedoms of every sovereign nation in the world.

Pass the pinto beans please

By Carl White

Have you ever walked into the kitchen and been taken over with the smells of a pot of pinto beans on the stove and golden-brown cornbread just coming out of the oven?

Maybe it’s a memory from the past or it happened a few days ago. For me, it’s both! Growing up around great cooks, it occurred often. I realize that people eat beans around the world; however, I believe that we have our own culinary and hospitality twist in the south.

The perfect bean recipe is important, the right high oven temperature is important for the cornbread and then the special additions must be considered. Chopped onions are a common garnish for the top of your beans and having the right Chow Chow relish can make all the difference in the world. There are many recipes and over time, if you are lucky enough to try several, you will settle on a favorite.

Fall get togethers often feature food, I was recently invited to attend Ken and Laura Welborn’s annual gathering before the Brushy Mountain Apple Festival. Pinto beans are the featured entrée. Laura follows a more traditional recipe that includes the addition of a ham hock for added flavor.

Cornbread was prepared three different ways and there were at least three Chow Chow relishes available. Without a doubt the best Chow Chow was made and brought by Margie Roberts. She said she mixed grated cabbage, onions, green, red and yellow sweet peppers with a small hot pepper, “just enough hot to let you think it might be there.” Then add a little salt, sugar and white vinegar and when it’s all stirred together, put it in a half gallon mason jar and refrigerate, no heat required. It will last up to three months, that is if you don’t eat it all in the first week.

Someone brought Sorghum Cane Molasses which was tasty on a piece of cornbread. Someone else brought Molasses Cookies which are heavy in texture and have a chewy taste from the past that makes you want to travel back in time. The conversations were pleasant and everyone seemed to have a great time. We did not have steak, hamburgers, hotdogs or lobster. We enjoyed the humble and gracious Pinto Bean. Southern hospitality at its best.

On Sunday, I was at a covered dish family gathering. There were all sorts of fine looking food that I knew very well was going to taste great. A few people were running a little late due to the distance of their drive. But when they arrived and opened the back of their SUV a large crock pot was retrieved. It was carried in such a way that you knew it was still hot. As they got closer to the table to set down their covered dish, one of the guests said, “I know what that is, it’s Pinto Beans and that’s my favorite.” Well sure enough she was right. A big hot pot of pinto beans and a large tray of cornbread.

It was a fine gathering! It was good to see everyone and there is always some food left over in case you want to take something home; however, the pinto beans were all eaten. There were a few conversations about memories of pinto beans and the good old days.

Well, for me, this week has joined the list of the good old days. A week that I witnessed the power of southern hospitality brought to life by a rehydrated bean and the value of companionship.

Pass the Pinto Beans and please don’t forget the Chow Chow.

Carl White is the executive producer and host of the award-winning syndicated TV show Carl White’s Life In the Carolinas. The weekly show is now in its eighth year of syndication and can be seen in the Charlotte viewing market on WJZY Fox 46 Saturday’s at 12:00 noon. For more on the show, visit www.lifeinthecarolinas.com or you can email Carl White at [email protected].

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johnielanglands-blog · 7 years ago

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robertvasquez763 · 8 years ago

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Proposed Laws May Favor General Motors’ Self-Driving Cars and Sideline Competitors

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A high-profile skirmish between prominent developers of self-driving technology begins next month in a California courtroom, when arguments in Waymo’s lawsuit against Uber over allegations of stolen trade secrets gets underway. Another one, which involves some of the autonomous-vehicle industry’s biggest players, so far overlooked, is already occurring in state capitals across the country.

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Lawmakers in at least five states are considering legislation that, if passed in current form, could prohibit companies that are not traditional motor-vehicle manufacturers from deploying autonomous vehicles.

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Just as the outcome of the Waymo-Uber lawsuit promises to play a key role in determining winners and losers in the race to deliver self-driving technology, the upcoming legislative debates are likely to have serious ramifications in the intensifying competition for a slice of an autonomous market experts say may be worth as much as $70 billion by 2030.

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In Massachusetts, Maryland, Georgia, Tennessee, and Illinois, lawmakers have proposed legislation that contains provisions that would limit the deployment of self-driving fleets to automaker-led or automaker-affiliated projects. At least three other states have mulled similar proposals, but resulting bills have not contained the restrictive provisions.

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“We don’t believe that manufacturers or any one industry, or any one company, for that matter, should have a monopoly on this.” – Chan Lieu, Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets –

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“There’s a lot here that embraces one vision of autonomous driving to the exclusion of other visions, and that’s why you’ve seen some companies speaking out aggressively about their concerns,” said Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor who specializes in autonomous vehicles and new technologies.

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The legislation worries the likes of Uber and Waymo (the company spawned from Google’s self-driving-car project). But it would be a boon for General Motors, which holds a $500 million investment in ride-hailing service Lyft. The two companies are currently testing autonomous Chevrolet Bolt EVs. That vehicle has become a central component in their planning for the era of autonomous travel.

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It’s no surprise, then, that General Motors has been instrumental in pitching and promoting the legislation. There are slight differences in the bills depending on the state, but they’re all based on draft versions of a Michigan law known as the Safe Autonomous Vehicles Act (SAVE). Given the contentious nature of the legislation, GM’s role in the proliferation of proposed SAVE Acts popping up in state houses across the country raises questions.

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Emails obtained by Car and Driver via a public-records request in Colorado show the company and the Capstone Group, a lobbying firm working on GM’s behalf, urging lawmakers to use the SAVE Act as model legislation there. In one dated October 2016, Hal Lenox, a GM regional director for state government affairs, thanks Colorado Department of Transportation officials “for your time and interest in GM’s involvement in autonomous vehicles in general, and the SAVe Act in particular.” Colorado later introduced an autonomous bill not based on the SAVE Act.

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Further, the Associated Press details campaign contributions GM made to state lawmakers, who subsequently all sponsored SAVE Act legislation. Multiple lawmakers told the news outlet that GM lobbyists requested they introduce the bills.

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The tactic seems to echo GM’s earlier state-to-state strategy of endorsing legislation that ensured only dealerships could sell cars, which has effectively prevented Tesla, which does not operate dealer networks, from selling cars in states that enacted the legislation.

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Harry Lightsey, an executive director of federal affairs for GM, says the company has only presented the SAVE Act as a starting point for legislative discussions. He disputed the idea the company is attempting to elbow competitors aside and said GM is amenable to removing provisions that would render other companies ineligible to compete.

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“There has continued to be this drumbeat of allegations that somehow we’ve been engaged in a public-policy environment not conducive to certain companies participating, and I think that’s disingenuous,” he said. “We do not support any legislation that would restrict who could offer self-driving technology.”

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“There’s a lot here that embraces one vision of autonomous driving to the exclusion of other visions.” -– Bryant Walker Smith, University of South Carolina –

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Competitors are still crying foul. Fighting the legislation has become a key priority for the Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets, an autonomous-technology lobbying group of which Waymo, Uber, Lyft, Ford, and Volvo are members.

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In Michigan, those efforts were successful. The version of the law ultimately enacted by Michigan lawmakers scrapped the provisions that restricted autonomous-vehicle deployment. Nonetheless, the draft version of that bill, complete with the provisions that have raised objections, has become the blueprint for the legislation in Massachusetts, Tennessee, Maryland, Georgia, and Illinois.

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While the changes in Michigan showed the coalition’s efforts can reap rewards, Chan Lieu, senior legislative adviser for the group, says that’s no guarantee of success elsewhere, although potential compromises are afoot in Tennessee and Georgia. If anything, he says his job has grown more complicated as the number of bills has grown.

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“The unfortunate thing is that maybe politicians or policymakers weren’t fully briefed on what the [anti-competitive] provisions or implications are,” said Lieu. “Maybe the initial thinking is, ‘This makes sense,’ but once you understand the industry and recognize there are a lot of major stakeholders who are not traditional manufacturers—they’re the ones coming in and disrupting this—then you have a greater appreciation for what this language means.”

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The specific language varies by state, but it generally calls for “participating fleets” to be part of something called a “SAVE project.” That sounds innocuous, but it’s at the crux of what the Self-Driving Coalition finds alarming.

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In Maryland, for example, Senate Bill 902 calls for autonomous and connected vehicles operating on state highways to be part of SAVE projects—which are owned and controlled by automated- and connected-vehicle manufacturers. In Illinois, Senate Bill 1432 would authorize “eligible motor-vehicle manufacturers” to make self-driving vehicles available for public use if they are part of a “SAVE project initiative.”

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These SAVE projects govern autonomous operations in certain geographic areas, such as university campuses or certain downtown corridors or retirement communities—exactly the type of limited-scale deployments where most experts say autonomous vehicles will first be launched. By limiting deployments to traditional manufacturers, states could tilt the race to put self-driving cars on the road.

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There are some ambiguities in the way SAVE projects are presented, but whatever the obfuscations, Lieu said it’s easy to read between the lines and see their intent.

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“We disagree with the idea states can just stand by and let people put vehicles on the road. We think that’s a huge risk.” -– Harry Lightsey, General Motors –

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“If you look at who is advocating and supporting this and who’s against it, it becomes abundantly clear,” he said. “We don’t believe that manufacturers, or any one industry or any one company, for that matter, should have a monopoly on this. It should be about innovation and the technology.”

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The SAVE Act–based bills are a small slice of the overall activity in statehouses working on legislation related to self-driving vehicles. Twenty-eight states currently have legislation pending on autonomous transportation technology, according to records kept by the National Conference of State Legislatures. Eleven states, plus the District of Columbia, have already enacted laws or regulations, while two have authorized autonomous testing via executive orders.

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In recent years, tech companies and traditional automakers alike have been wary of any legislation that attempted to set parameters for self-driving deployments, and they have campaigned against much proposed legislation. Companies such as Google and Uber, for two examples, flocked to Texas, Colorado, and Arizona because they found it advantageous to test in areas that had no laws whatsoever rather than in states that had passed laws related to autonomous driving—even laws intended to encourage testing.

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General Motors, however, takes exception to the idea that autonomous testing is best served by an unregulated approach. “We think legislators have an important role to play in making sure these vehicles are being put on the road in a safe way,” said GM’s Lightsey. “We disagree with the idea that states can just stand by and let people put vehicles on the road. We think that’s a huge risk.”

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Waymo Sues Uber, Alleging Top Executive Stole Self-Driving-Tech Trade Secrets

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Michigan Enacts Sweeping New Driverless Car Legislation

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Federal Government Releases Automated Vehicle Policy

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Safety may be GM’s stated reason for supporting the legislation, but USC law professor Bryant Walker Smith sees an additional motivation. He says the company’s new eagerness to push legislation is a signal that it’s ready to deploy.

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“For a long time, automakers have said this should be addressed at the federal level, and in some ways, that’s legitimate,” he said. “But what it seems to say is, ‘Don’t do anything until we’re ready.’ At a point when a company figures out what it wants, that’s going to change. And now you have a company that’s seeking specific language for a specific deployment concept.”

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In that respect, the significance of SAVE Act laws could lie not only in provisions that may be anticompetitive, but in the sudden rush to introduce the legislation itself.

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stellacarrierimaginationbuilders · 8 years ago

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Two Secrets of Communications From Beyond Freestyle Story by Stella Carrier

Affirmations

I certainly know how to open doors in all areas of my life for myself.

I successfully learn to enjoy my life at all times regardless of whether I am a supporter in the role of life or thrust into the limelight.

I put forth my best efforts in a harm-free manner regardless of how they are judged.

I put forth my most creative and enthusiastic efforts regardless of how many supporters or critics there are of my methods

I successfully transform all challenges into opportunities for greater learning and positive spiritual evolution.

My psychic/intuitive abilities and my wisdom expand each day.

My writing abilities improve even more each day.

I am creating heaven on earth

https://www.orindaben.com/pages/rooms/affirmations_room/

My ability to look at the future with clear vision is increasing.

My value and worth are increased by everything I do.

Everything I do adds beauty, harmony, order, and light to the universe.

Two Secrets of Communications From Beyond Freestyle Story by Stella Carrier- Start time; 400 am

End time 500am

High school counselor Leticia Ali enjoys her job as a school counselor at a popular high school in Los Angeles, California. In her free time, Leticia Ali makes a living as both a model and a psychic career coach. Currently, Leticia Ali is in her 50’s but she is blessed with good looks similar to the physical appearance of one of the models in Austin Mahone’s Mmm Yeah music video feat. Pitbull.

Leticia Ali is able to generate a good living from the prosperous living she has made as both an accomplished school counselor and a psychic career coach specializing with helping older women in their late 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s creating a blueprint of their career goals in alignment with their life purpose. Leticia had a dream similar to the music video of Yeah by Steve Angello that made her realize that her life mission is to help other older women create more prosperous livelihoods. What makes Leticia Ali’s expertise unique in this aspect is that she is able to intuitively see the careers and professional paths that are wide open and have bright futures for the female clients that see her.

Leticia also keeps an open mind to helping other age groups as well. For instance, Leticia has helped her twin daughters aged 18 get into popular colleges in the Washington D.C. area that gave them full ride scholarships. Both Leticia’s friends and even her politician husband named Ronald thought she was crazy to send both her daughters back east until one daughter got a job as a college instructor at George Washington University. The other daughter worked as a housekeeper while going to college also in the Washington D.C. area, transferred to another school as an event planner, and then successfully switched paths to a school administrator at the school she was originally employed as a janitor for.

Both daughters are making a prosperous living with paid for houses. One daughter lives a mile from George Washington University while the other daughter lives a mile from Georgetown University. However, it is three different success stories of three women in their 30’s, 40’s and 50’s that Leticia Ali helped that transformed the lives of the both the women seeking her advice and that of Leticia’s.

The first client of Leticia Ali is a 39 year old woman who is a native of San Diego California and looks like one of the female models in David Guetta’s sexy chick music video feat. Akon named Maureen Cooper. Maureen Cooper’s parents Evie and Keith Cooper have been married for 40 years now. Evie Cooper is a retired former store manager turned public relations specialist for Costco Wholesale while Keith Cooper is a retired Event planning manager and former CVS associate. Both parents hired Leticia to advise Maureen on her future life path. A vision of the song Around the World by ATC and a Switzerland sign gave Leticia the idea to advise Maureen to take a 6 month academic program in Switzerland related to getting a certificate for her marketing interests.

Despite the concern about Maureen being 34 years old, she went ahead to Switzerland and she succeeded in getting both a job in Switzerland through her 6 month internship program and making an income that was twice what she made two years earlier. Maureen turned her life around despite the doubts from others and her parents. Maureen figured out to how to transform this doubt both from others and from within herself for important creative energy to succeed in her goals.

The second client Sharon Macdonald was a 47 year old woman who lived in Bethesda Maryland but heard of Leticia through a friend. Sharon Macdonald looked like Jes known for singing the upbeat and haunting Heaven (Myon Remix) and she had been happily married for 27 years to a good man named Paul Thompson who resembles country singer Josh Turner known for such songs as You’re Man. Paul Thompson works as an Intelligence Officer for the U.S. Navy and was concerned about his wife Sharon who made a good living as a middle school teacher but was ready for a change.

Leticia had an intuitive breakthrough in her dream that allowed her to help Sharon via a dream where Madonna was performing the Physical Attraction song up on stage and she was surrounded by other celebrities in the audience also watching the performance such as Taylor Swift and Eddie Sheeran. Sharon overheard Ed Sheeran asking Taylor Swift do you think Madonna would be up for me singing Shape of You during one of her performances.

This realization in the dream made Leticia Adams realize that hearing about this song gave her an important clue that Sharon needed to heal her weight to help her get ahead not just professionally but on a spiritual level. The concert and dialogue she noticed caused Leticia to see another door in the concert to go through.

Leticia waited until the end of the concert to go through the door in this dream. Leticia went through a yellow and red door that had her go through the outdoors where she noticed people camping outside in tents but in a background forest setting similar to what she spotted on a Scando nova cd cover in waking life.

Leticia comes up towards thirty three people holding hands and circling around a large purple and blue tent. Leticia Adams tries to ask at least one of the people dancing around the tent what they are doing. However, she gets no answer just smiles from the thirty three men and women dancing around. Yet, she sees two silhouettes of two people hugging inside of a tent transform into a screen that helps her understand what is going on; Leticia sees that some of the social media links and comments, as well as reviews that Sharon has posted online have affected her life both for the overall good but a few that she posted innocently that are harboring clues on what she needs to go do move forward that are separate from her weight. Less than a few seconds later, she feels a benevolent female and male spirit approaching her but with a sense of mystery when they both gently place a book in front of Leticia that Sharon wrote and submitted for publication.

Leticia glances at the book, which is also a compilation of some of Sharon’s blog posts. She realizes that Sharon has been able to decipher messages from her spirit from some of the songs that pop up in her mind and start to play on local radio andor online less than 5 minutes later or less. Her own spirit has been trying to direct her towards what to write about and Sharon’s book and blog, even though it is about other characters completely different from her own are influencing Sharon to experience the same parallels in her own life. As the two silhouette figures in the tent proceed to come out and join the group, Leticia is awoken by her politician husband who came to innocently wake her up for “quality time”. Leticia tries to decide if she ought to tell her husband the following discoveries she figured out from her recent dream; i.e. the key to greater wisdom is increased focus on gaining that in real life regardless of judgment accrued, even a person living in obscurity has the potential to write stories, blog posts, and even reviews that influence their life outcome but they can positively change/transform it around by aiming for goals close to what has been experience during their high points and the older a person gets/the longer they are alive-a person’s higher self sends them essential yet vital message clues through songs that are randomly played on their favorite radio stations, and last but not least even some of the miniature items related to personal goals that a person comes across are signposts of attention that the higher self/soul is trying to direct a person towards.

Songs For March 25, 2017: Sexy chick by David Guetta feat. Akon, Yeah by Steve Angelo, Your Man by Josh Turner, Heaven (Myon Remix) by Jes, Shape of You by Ed Sheeran, Mmm Yeah by Austin Mahone feat. Pitbull, Physical Attraction by Madonna, Around The World by ATC (A Touch of Class)

Resources

The book Law of Attraction For Business by Rebecca Hanson page 50

I have been blessed to always attract enough money through both good times and challenging times since the time I was at least 18 years old. I have experienced what it is like to make 3,000 a month after taxes (during my time in the military), 2100 a month after taxes (multiple times since residing in the Washington D.C. area legally), and other after tax amounts of income that are too personal for me to discuss, yet were fortunately always at least no less than 772 dollars a month after taxes and an average of at least over 1000-1200 dollars or more after taxes a month. As a result, I have learned to understand how blessed I am yet finding realistic mainstream media articles tailored to the situation of my husband and I are tricky at times. Coming across this article, inspirationally reminds me to count my blessings because the woman sharing her story has succeeded in thriving on a modest income with a family of four.

http://humbleinaheartbeat.com/how-we-lived-on-less-than-1500-a-month/

How We Lived on Less than $1,500 a Month for Over a Year I Saved $5,000 by Renting Everything From Cars to Clothes

By Taylor Milam

https://grow.acorns.com/2016/05/i-saved-5000-by-renting-everything-from-cars-to-clothes/

These Super Savers Are Socking Away at Least 20 Percent (and You Can, Too) by Natasha Burton

https://grow.acorns.com/2016/04/these-super-savers-are-socking-away-at-least-20-percent/

These Super Savers Are Socking Away at Least 20 Percent (and You Can, Too) by Natasha Burton

http://spartantraveler.com/how-i-saved-15000-for-world-travel/

How I saved $15,000 in 15 months on a $29k Salary

https://grow.acorns.com/2016/05/want-to-be-a-millionaire-it-all-about-hitting-your-splits/

15 Simple Ways to Save (Without Being a Social Recluse)

http://www.businessinsider.com/where-to-learn-critical-life-changing-skills-3-2017

18 places to learn critical skills that will change your life

http://www.businessinsider.com/25-websites-that-will-make-you-smarter-2014-11

25 Websites That Will Make You Smarter

http://www.businessinsider.com/strategies-quick-learners-use-to-pick-up-anything-2014-4

10 Strategies Quick Learners Use To Pick Up Anything

http://www.businessinsider.com/robert-greenes-mastery-2012-11

27 Tips For Mastering Anything

https://www.benzinga.com/media/cnbc/17/03/9209087/5-daily-habits-highly-successful-people-cant-live-without?utm_campaign=partner_feed&utm_source=yahooFinance&utm_medium=partner_feed&utm_content=site

Psychic Anne Jirsch’s recent discussion on social media shares

Psychic Lynn Robinson’s guide on my career and long-term residence dreams

Psychic Colette Baron Reid in regards to the positive message she sent that stated When I allow spirit to work through me I am strong enough to move mountains and overcome any obstacle, inside or out

The fun facebook exercise; You’re Meant For Great Things

5 Daily Habits Highly Successful People Can't Live Without

Reviews I decided to incorporate into my story

https://events.musepaintbar.com/welcome/index/gaithersburg?_ga=1.157565369.264374587.1489262204

https://www.yelp.com/biz/cvs-pharmacy-washington-97

I was at this CVS Pharmacy store ( near the Foggy Bottom metro/George Washington University in Washington D.C.)less than 36 hours ago. The pros; there were some unique items that I hadn’t previously seen inside of a CVS store before such as; a 10.2 ounce Garnier Fructis Curl Nourish Butter Cream (leave in treatment conditioner with coconut, jojoba, and macadamia oils), Garnier Whole Blends coconut oil and coconut butter leave in hair conditioner, a decent set of affordable earings, nutella cups to go, and some Quaker brand girl scout thin mint granola bars. One of the employees near the hair section came up to me in an enthusiastic manner to see if I needed any help. The self-checkout machine I used worked ok.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/wiseguy-pizza-washington

I had some pizza from Wiseguy Pizza (near the Foggybottom metro/George Washington University in Washington D.C.) less than 36 hours ago. The pros; the employees were nice and easily accommodated my request to have the two pizza slices I requested to go (I had a slice with mushrooms which I think was the mushroom truffle and I saved the Backyard slice-comes with kalamata olives, green pepper, mozzarella etc. for my husband). In addition to the good customer service, the pizza slices were reasonably priced.

Less than 18 hours ago, my husband decided to eat some food inside the Wheaton Mall food court before getting some groceries from Costco that was close by. I decided to eat at Subway inside the mall food court and had a 6 inch spicy Italian sandwich with onions, pickles, tomatoes, black olives, sweet onion sauce, red pepper topping, oregano, some salt on Italian cheese herbs bread. I had a Barq’s rootbeer to drink with 2 of their cookies (chocolate chip and raspberry cheesecake flavored). The food came out tasting good and both the employee making my sandwich and the cashier were friendly.

The latest trip to Costco inside the Wheaton mall (near the Wheaton metro in Wheaton Maryland) occurred less than 17 hours ago. My husband and I decided to get some groceries in bulk such as the following; a pack of hotdogs similar to what they sell in the Costco food court as listed on the package, some El Montrey brand chicken and cheese taquitos, Premio brand sweet Italian sausage, Kirkland brand Italian sausage and beef lasagna, Meal Mart brand beef brisket, Mon Cuisine Natural Rib Eye. Both the cashier who scanned our groceries and the front entrance person who looked over our receipt were friendly. The overall total of what my husband and I got came out to 95 dollars and 52 cents for food supply amounts that are going to easily hold us over for at least 2-3 weeks.

Theme message; song spirit message, people creating realities through the links they share and stories generated

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