We Are All Troy Davis

We are all Troy Davis.

Given a set of circumstances we could all be Troy Davis. How does an innocent man or woman defend themselves when everyone is out to make sure they are convicted no matter what the facts of the case are? How do you defend yourself when not a shred of physical evidence is used?

Our criminal injustice system is flawed. We should have fixed it long ago. Instead we imprison a higher rate of our citizens that any other nation in the world. We have created a prison-industrial complex.

We have allowed private corporations to run our prisons and use those incarcerated as slaves to enrich themselves.

In the last three days three men have been executed. Troy Davis in Georgia, Lawrence Brewer in Texas and Derrick Mason in Alabama.

In the case of Derrick Mason even the judge that sentenced him asked the Governor to grant clemency.

When will this ever end?

End of the American Empire

As much as I hate the doom and gloom prophets, I am beginning to think that we may see the end of the American Empire in our lifetime.

The Republicans are not going to allow any solution proposed by President Obama and their solutions are what got us into the mess in the first place. Tanking the American economy seems to be their sole objective.

They may get the independent and the progressive voters so marginalized that the only people that could save us just won't vote. If the Republicans gain control of both houses and the White House, it is the end.

This will have an impact on those corporations they serve. If America becomes marginalized in the world, those businesses that depend on our strength to pursue their agenda abroad will lose their power also.

The American people can survive, but at a very high cost.

Racism Alive and Well In Mississippi

Most of us know that racism is still alive and well.  What many do not realize the extent.

I found this footage from a link on Google+

Video has surfaced implicating seven white teenagers in a gruesome June 26 Mississippi hate crime that left one black man mutilated and dead.

The recently released footage shows the teens beating and ultimately running over 49-year-old James Craig Anderson. The suspects reportedly left a Hinds County, Mississippi party together with the intention of finding a black victim and drove to a nearby predominantly black area of Jackson where they attacked Anderson, the first black man they saw upon exiting the highway.

http://colorlines.com/archives/2011/08/video_shows_white_teens_running_over_jackson_mi_black_man.html

Life Before the Internet

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what the world would have been like if we had the Internet in the 60′s.   We only had books,  newspapers, magazines and network TV.  I envy the youth of today.  You have so many more tools to change your world.

Today with all the information available at our fingertips many of us are still mislead by misinformation.  We still have unjust wars, children are still dying of hunger and malnutrition, bigotry and hate are still alive and well.  Most of the problems that many in my generation tried to end are still with us.

My biggest hope is that our youth will learn from our mistakes and use these new tools available today to change their world into a better place for themselves and their children.

Banned Book of the Month Club

This blog was inspired by my good friend Weissdorn from a blog she did on the Illuminati.  Certain books are always banned by the authorities in control of society.

Are there banned books where you live?

Let's make a list of banned books of today and yesterday and discuss them.

I Believe

Before I begin with the laundry list of what I believe, I am going to explain my style of writing. I was taught by the US Army to use the KISS system. Keep It Simple Stupid. We were trained to use few words and sentences to get our point across rather than verbose writing where your points could be lost and misunderstood.

I believe that everyone should have access to universal health care.

I believe that the War on Terror should be stopped and instead use our resources to eradicate the causes of terror.

I believe the War on Drugs should be stopped and instead use our resources to eliminate the dependency on drugs.

I believe our prison industrial complex needs to be dismantled. Privatization of prisons must be stopped. We are imprisoning a greater percentage of our citizens than any other nation in the world and it is not working. Our whole criminal justice system needs to be reformed.

I believe that everyone should have access to shelter, food and other basic necessities of life.

I believe that the minimum wage should be a life sustaining wage and not one that leaves many citizens to a life below the poverty level.

I believe that any tax breaks given to the rich and the corporations should be in relation to how many jobs they have created for Americans to work.

I believe that the wages of the members of congress should not exceed the lowest paid constituent in their state/district. We need statesmen not politicians in positions of power.

I believe that our education system should be overhauled to insure that all children regardless of where they live receive the best education, that our teachers should receive wages commensurate with their job of ensuring that we have the best educated students in the world.

I believe that we must invest in our infrastructure.

I believe that we must invest in renewable/alternative energy sources.

These are my basic beliefs. I'm sure that others will be added.

The Working Poor and American Health Care

They work 40+ hours a week, make just enough to pay rent, utilities and put food on their tables when they are lucky. Their jobs do not provide health care and they make to much money to qualify for subsidized health care.

When they get sick, they go to work anyway because they do not get sick days. They work until they are so sick they can no longer go to work. They go to the emergency room. There they are treated so that they won’t die today and are given a prescription for medicine that they cannot afford to pay for.

They go back to work, having lost a day or two and hope they can pay rent, utilities and put food on their tables because of the lost work.

This is the great health care system our conservative Republican friends think is so great.

Rant

I haven't used blogger.com in several years.  I moved to MySpace after Hurricane Katrina and when it died I moved to FriendBurst.  I'm still at FriendBurst and am checking out Google+.  So far Google+ appears to be a glorified Twitter.  It's still in beta stage so I am sure it will be greatly improved once it is open to the general public.

I will probably blog on political and/or human rights and social justice issues.