[mpen-dayton4] FW: "(Dayton Local) FW: International Happy Family Dinner" & Tell Ohio's senators to vote 'no'" & "Free resources available - Are you covered" and more
FYI. Best, Munsup
P.S. Please reply back to me with 'unsubscribe' on the subject line if you no longer want to receive my e-Newsletters. The convenient link to unsubscribe is no longer available due to security reasons to protect my email servers.
P.P.S. "He who dares not offend cannot be honest" - Thomas Paine
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· (Dayton Local) FW: International Happy Family Dinner on 12/4
· (Dayton Local) FW: Healing Communities National Reentry model on 12/6
· FW: Tell Ohio's senators to vote "no" (please read)
· FW: Internet in Ohio is at risk because of Congress
· FW: Information on free resources available - Are you covered?
· FW: Obamacare: 2016 coverage that's right for you
· FW: SPLC: Anti-refugee campaign reaches new height as governors seek to halt Syrian resettlement
· FW: An update on our refugee work this week
· FW: These Republicans really must hate you
· FW: [JVP-NewsAndUpdates] updates!
· FW: How Police Became Part of the Public School System and How to Get Them Out
· FW: WATCH: MoveOn's 2016 Presidential Forum
· FW: An open letter to President Obama by abagond
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From: london_coe
Subject: International Happy Family Dinner
Peace on Fifth hosts it's International Happy Family Dinner Friday 12/4 at 234 S. Dutoit from 6:30-9 p.m.
This is a casual dinner meant to shake up the normal circles of friends we keep and challenge us to become more of am international happy family. Bring a dish, leave with a friend. In the past years people have broiggt dishes from their cultural, ethnic, national or familial heritage. Learn more and RSVP at the link below. Everyone is welcome.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/international-happy-family-dinner-tickets-19397067150
From: Sherry Gale; To: Munsup Seoh
Subject: FW: Healing Communities National Reentry model
Munsup,
Thanksgiving greetings! Below please find a message I sent today to some of the persons I work most closely with relative to returning citizens in Montgomery County.
Please forward this information regarding the activities of Dec. 4 - 6 to your friends and colleagues. Please note that the lunch on Sunday, Deceber 6 will be provided. There will be no charge. Donations will be accepted.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!
Pastor Sherry
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From: Sherry Gale
Subject: Healing Communities National Reentry model
The West Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church is making ministry with returning citizens a high priority for our United Methodist congregations. A first step in this re-prioritizing is helping equip congregations for this important work. Grace Church is fortunate to be hosting part of an upcoming Healing Communities Overview and Training weekend, December 4 - 6, 2015. Dr. Harold Trulear, professor at Howard University School of Divinity and National Director of Healing Communities, will be preaching at Grace Church Sunday morning, December 6 for our 10:30 worship service. After worship, at noon, Dr. Trulear will present an overview of Healing Communities for a "Lunch and Learn" experience at Grace Church. Lunch will be provided. Healing Communities is a national research and demonstration project mobilizing congregations to support returning citizens through the establishment of family and social support networks.
Dr. Trulear will also be leading an overview in Columbus area on Friday, Dec. 4, and a full day training in Cincinnati on Saturday, Dec. 5. Please see the flyer, copied below, for further information. I wanted to make you aware of this opportunity for looking at a national model for some of our work here in Montgomery County. We would be honored to have you participate in worship and the Lunch and Learn here at Grace Church on Dec. 6.
From: Monique Teal; Daily Kos
Subject: Tell Ohio's senators to vote "no" (please read)
Sign and send a petition to your senators, urging them to vote "no" on anti-refugee legislation.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has started a fast-track process to bring up the anti-refugee legislation passed by the House last Thursday, November 19. The action bypasses the legislative process through committees and brings the bill directly to the floor.
Republicans and some Democrats have rallied around halting the acceptance of refugees in the wake of the Paris attacks--due to hyperbolic and inaccurate claims that we should fear terrorism from refugees.
Misguided paranoia should not and cannot trump compassion.
Click here to tell your senators to reject the politics of fear by voting "no" on any legislation that would halt or otherwise interrupt the acceptance of refugees into the U.S.
From: Rachel Colyer; Daily Kos
Subject: Internet in Ohio is at risk because of Congress
Ongoing negotiations are happening right now that threaten to undermine one of our biggest victories this year—protecting a free and open internet with net neutrality.
We need you to call Congress with a simple message about the budget and appropriations process—We will accept no ideological riders, especially any that threaten net neutrality or undermine the ability of the Federal Communications Commission to protect an open internet. Click here for the script.
Here are the phone numbers of your Senators: Please, click here for the script:
Sen. Sherrod Brown at (202) 224-2315; Sen. Rob Portman at (202) 224-3353
Hi, my name is _________ from (town/city), and I am calling today to urge Sen/Rep
to stand strong against ideological riders in the budget and appropriations process,
especially any deal that would undermine net neutrality or the ability of the Federal
Communications Commission to enforce the rules and protect consumers.
Click here to report out any response or intelligence you received from the office, and to simply report the number of calls you made.
Can't call? Click here to send an email.
We're counting on the grassroots to protect the FCC. As the netroots, over 4 million of us stood up for the internet, and we need to do it again, before our victory gets traded away in a backdoor deal.
Please call your senator and representatives with a simple message—No ideological riders, especially any that threaten net neutrality or undercut the FCC's ability to protect consumers. Click here for the script.
Can't call? Click here to send an email.
From: Urvi Patel; Account Supervisor, Paul Werth Associates
Subject: Information on free resources available - Are you covered?
Are you covered?
Need affordable health insurance? Exploring your options for health coverage in 2016? Trained assisters are working in every county in the state, providing Ohioans with free information and assistance with signing up for health insurance and Medicaid. We can answer questions, point you in the right direction or sit down with you and go through the process step-by-step.
Open enrollment on the Health Insurance Marketplace is from November 1, 2015 – January 31, 2016.
Whether you are signing up for the first time or looking into your options for next year, visit the Get Covered Connector to find local help.
Please let me know if you any questions.
From: HealthCare.gov Reminders
Subject: 2016 coverage thats right for you:
Coverage that's right for you
Now's your chance to find 2016 coverage that fits your needs and your budget. |
Now's the time to sign up for health coverage! Visit HealthCare.gov to join the millions of people, like Dolores, who have found quality and affordable coverage.
When Dolores's husband started a new business, saving money and keeping an eye on her history of breast cancer were top priorities. Now she has the coverage she needs so she and her family can stay healthy.
|
Get covered and save: 8 out of 10 people who enrolled in a health insurance plan qualified for financial help. In fact, most people can find plans for $75 or less per month.
Submit your application and see what you could save in 2016.
Don't miss your chance to get affordable coverage -- sign up for a 2016 plan today!
DEADLINE: December 15
From: Southern Poverty Law Center
Subject: SPLC: Anti-refugee campaign reaches new height as governors seek to halt Syrian resettlement
Governors campaign against Syrian refugee resettlement, contribute to Islamophobia
Over half of the nation's governors have joined a xenophobic anti-refugee campaign following the tragic terrorist attacks on Paris. Twenty-six governors have halted the resettlement of Syrian refugees within their respective states. By doing so, these elected officials are linking refugees to the terrorism from which they are trying to escape. READ MORE
From: Anna, Josh, Corinne, Ben W., and the rest of the team MoveOn.org Civic Action
Subject: An update on our refugee work this week
Over the last week, in the wake of the horrific attacks in Paris and Beirut, we've seen many of our nation's politicians rush toward fearmongering and bigotry. We have also seen MoveOn members and our partners at their very best—fighting fear with compassion on the streets, on the phones, in the halls of Congress, and all across America, from college campuses to community meetings.
Here's an update on where we've been, together, over this last week—and where we are bringing our fight for justice in the weeks ahead.
While many of us reacted to the tragic events in Paris, Beirut, and around the globe with shock and grief, some American elected officials and candidates responded by waging a propaganda war against the very people who need our help most: refugee families fleeing from the same violence.
At least 30 governors declared they didn't want to welcome refugee families into their states.1 The House of Representatives voted on Thursday to block resettlement of Syrians seeking safety in America.2 Presidential candidates suggested religious tests for refugees and shuttering mosques, and local politicians suggested internment camps.3
The genuine fear that arose after the attacks has, tragically, curdled into bigotry and backlash, fueled by fearmongers and stoked by xenophobes.
It's frankly far worse than where we stood a week ago. Then, we were asking Congress to expand the Syrian refugee resettlement program to serve 100,000 people—still just a fraction of the 5 million refugees displaced by violence in Syria.
Now, we are struggling for the very right of refugees to be welcomed to our country, period. It feels, in a way, we're struggling for the soul of our nation.
But although the ground has shifted, there is hope: MoveOn members and Americans of good conscience are speaking out, opening their hearts and their homes, and choosing compassion over fear. President Obama and Vice President Biden have shown tremendous leadership.4 Senate Democrats have so far stood together.
We are heading into a showdown when Congress returns from the Thanksgiving recess—and if we work together, we can be ready for it.
As we head into Thanksgiving week, here's some food for your soul: a few highlights of the brave and important work MoveOn members were a part of this week.
- We took out a full-page ad in the French newspaper Le Monde expressing our grief for the victims of Daesh (commonly known as ISIS) in Paris, as well as for the victims in Beirut, Ankara, Baghdad, and elsewhere—and calling for justice, not vengeance. With several other MoveOn-style organizations in Europe, we collected over half a million signatures supporting the ad's statement. And we held vigils at all of the French consulates in the U.S. within 24 hours of the terrible news from Paris.
- We made over 7,000 phone calls to Congress to demand safe harbor for people seeking refuge from unspeakable violence in Syria and around the world. And these calls helped turn the tide—pushing Democratic Senators to declare their support for refugee families, thus forcing the Senate to stop short of passing the same anti-refugee bill that passed the House.
- We gathered over 150,000 signatures, made phone calls, and held rapid-response events to push back against the 29 Republican governors—and New Hampshire Democratic Governor Maggie Hassan—who declared their states' borders closed to Syrian refugees.5 In Michigan, MoveOn member Julie Quiroz organized an event to deliver 4,500 signatures on her petition to Governor Snyder—drawing media coverage from public radio to Fox News.6
- We praised—and criticized—our members of Congress via social media. We circulated customized messages via Facebook and Twitter for members of Congress to make sure we were publicly celebrating champions—and keeping the pressure on people who'd let down families that need our help. Our messages have been seen by hundreds of thousands of people.
- Today and tomorrow, we're supporting #RefugeesWelcome rallies on nearly a dozen college campuses and at the Capitol in Washington, D.C.—to provide a visible presence to the pro-refugee sentiment shared by so many Americans.
- And tomorrow, MoveOn's own Ben Wikler will be on Fox News in the 2 p.m. ET hour to talk about our refugee work—because we can't only be speaking to the choir right now.
And in the coming days, MoveOn members—and a range of partners, from online organizations to groups that focus primarily on refugee resettlement and integration, and even evangelical Christian groups—will:
- Host and attend special Thanksgiving-week dinners being planned around the country to bring refugee families, members of Congress, and MoveOn members together to break bread in the spirit of peace and solidarity.
- Continue to confront governors and members of Congress directly, demanding compassion from our nation's elected leaders.
- Elevate the voices of refugees in America and around the world. Refugee families can't hire their own lobbyists. But they can find partners in those of us who want America to be a welcoming nation.
Our voices and collective action have never been more important than in this very moment.
In many of our emails, we ask you to do something: to sign a petition, donate to a campaign, call your representative, or attend an event. This time, we just wanted to share this report on the range of work we have already tackled together—and some of what we intend to do next. This is a big moment for our country and for the world. There is reason to feel despair at the events of the past week. And there are also so many reasons to feel hopeful—and to keep striving to make America a country that lives up to its values.
Sources:
1. "30 Governors Call For Halt To U.S. Resettlement Of Syrian Refugees," NPR, November 17, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=308235&id=&t=3&id=135436-1195276-PaTYK2x&t=1
2. "House OKs GOP Bill To Curb Syrian Refugees With Veto-Proof Majority," Talking Points Memo, November 19, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=308281&id=&t=1&id=135436-1195276-PaTYK2x&t=2
3. "Ted Cruz's Religious Test for Syrian Refugees," The New Yorker, November 16, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=308272&id=&t=3&id=135436-1195276-PaTYK2x&t=3
1. "Donald Trump: 'Strongly consider' shutting mosques," CNN, November 16, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=308255&id=&t=6&id=135436-1195276-PaTYK2x&t=4
2. "Roanoke mayor apologizes for suggesting internment for Syrian refugees," The Washington Post, November 20, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=308310&id=135436-1195276-PaTYK2x&t=5
3. "Obama calls idea of screening Syrian refugees based on religion 'shameful,' defends White House strategy," The Washington Post, November 16, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=308227&id=135436-1195276-PaTYK2x&t=6
4. "Hassan criticized for position on Syrian refugees," New Hampshire Union Leader, November 17, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=308311&id=135436-1195276-PaTYK2x&t=7
5. "Activists demand Snyder accept Syrian refugees" The Detroit News, November 19, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=308293&id=135436-1195276-PaTYK2x&t=8
Want to support our work? MoveOn member contributions have powered our work together for more than 17 years. Hundreds of thousands of people chip in each year—which is why we're able to be fiercely independent, answering to no individual, corporation, politician, or political party. You can become a monthly donor by clicking here, or chip in a one-time gift here.
From: Ben Betz; Online Engagement Director, People For the American Way
Subject: These Republicans really must hate you
This is long, but please read it.
All the GOP candidates have many things in common: right-wing extremism; a dangerous agenda for women, minorities, religious freedom, civil liberties, and working families; and the fact that every. Single. One. Of them says that they will support the Republican nominee no matter who it is.
That is really a remarkable statement in this election, because several of the leading candidates are SO extreme, SO ill-equipped to lead, and, frankly, SO dangerous to the health and safety of our country and our world.
Do candidates like Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio and Chris Christie and John Kasich REALLY think that Donald Trump or Ben Carson or, for that matter, Ted Cruz would be a better president and better for the country than any Democrat?
It's hard to believe.
Closer to the truth is that every Republican, to a candidate, is willing to completely sabotage America and lay waste to our nation's cherished institutions, the rights of millions, and our standing in the world just for the sake of party politics and kowtowing to the agenda of the Radical Right and corporate special interests.
If for no other reason, this fact makes every GOP candidate unfit to lead.
Think about it.
Then say you'll stand with PFAW to stop these extremists with a much-needed donation to close out the month of November strong>>
Donald Trump said he wanted to register every Muslim in America and track them in a database, and spends his days pandering to racists by promoting widely debunked "statistics" and outright lies from the most fringe right-wing conspiracy sites.
Ben Carson is an apocalyptic Religious Right extremist who, despite being a doctor, is one of the biggest science deniers in American politics and fabricates his own fantastical personal beliefs -- for example, that the pyramids in Egypt were built by the biblical Joseph to store grain -- that fly in the face of objective reality. (At least he has an active imagination, but so do little kids, and no one is suggesting that we elect a toddler as president.)
Ted Cruz, whose pandering to every faction of the Radical Right base is paying off with endorsements by leading Religious Right, xenophobe, and gun extremists, is even hated by most of the Republican establishment, for leading major Tea Party revolts in Congress and the 2013 government shutdown, among other things.
None of this is stopping any of the GOP candidates from pledging allegiance to their party EVEN IF one of these dangerous and unstable demagogues captures the nomination!
AND, the more the mainstream press points out the shocking ridiculousness of these leading Republicans candidates, the more the petulant far-right base digs in its heels and the stronger these candidates become!
We're at a very precarious time in American politics. And make no mistake, every Republican will try to exploit the public's recently inflamed fears about terrorism to get elected and push even more policies that defy our core national principles. And they already are -- from Trump, Carson, and Cruz to Rubio, Bush, Huckabee, Fiorina, and the rest of them.
Elections have never been more important and that's why we're going all out to stop ALL of these radical candidates, who are dead set on leading America over the cliff of extremism.
But we need your help. Please, support our work to defeat right-wing extremists -- from the presidential candidates all the way down the ticket -- with a much-needed donation today>>
From: Rebecca Vilkomerson; Executive Director, Jewish Voice for Peace
Subject: [JVP-NewsAndUpdates] updates!
Hello everyone, after such a difficult and frightening week.
I wanted to make sure you know how we are responding to the enormously distressing escalation in Islamophobic rhetoric and scapegoating of refugees in the wake of the attack on Paris. As JVP Artist's Council member Aurora Levins Morales illustrated in this poem better than I ever could, the disparity in the public reaction to Paris, as compared to Beirut, or Mali, or Ankara, or Baghdad, is breathtaking.
Early this week we put out a statement in solidarity with Muslim communities facing discrimination and oppression here in the U.S. and encouraging people to join our Network Against Islamophobia (nai@jvp.org). Throughout the week, story after story of Muslims being targeted on the streets, at school, on planes, and finally by Presidential candidates have been coming out, so our obligation to speak out both individually and as an organization is abundantly clear.
In response to 28 Governors in the U.S. vowing not to allow Syrian refugees into their states, we put out a petition telling our own governors that refugees are welcome. We are also supporting this petition from our allies at MPower Change (a coalition of Muslim grassroots organizations) saying yes to refugees, no to collective punishment. You can follow/support that effort by using the hashtag #LiftMyLamp.
And on Friday, after the House on Thursday passed a shameful bi-partisan bill that would effectively end the admittance of the pitifully few Syrian refugees who are now being let into this country, we asked our members to call their Senators to defeat the bill. It's not too late, you can still do the same--click here!
We also now have a page on our website specifically about the Syrian refugee crisis which includes basic facts, the specific situation of Palestinian refugees in Syria, and organizations where you can donate money to help refugees.
In more positive news, our artist's council has a beautiful new online gallery up--check it out here!
And the JVP Blog, in addition the poem and statement mentioned above, has some nice new entries about JVP-Milwaukee's recent action against AIPAC and the JVP student network statement of solidarity with the University of Missouri. If you or your chapter or council is interested in submitting a piece to the blog, please email jesse@jvp.org.
Many of our chapters in California have been involved in the fight against the UC Regents adopting a definition of anti-Semitism that includes criticism of Israel. JVP Academic Advisory Council member Chanda Prescod-Weinstein has a great article calling out the white leaders of UC Santa Cruz who are trying to use the struggle of Movement for Black Lives as a way to silence pro-Palestinian activists who advocate for BDS.
A report back from our week of action in DC when Netanyahu was visiting last week: In addition to the actions I mentioned in my last update, our letter to CAP, co-sponsored by the Arab American Institute and signed by well over a hundred progressive leaders and organizations really helped shape the narrative around Netanyahu's visit to CAP--two of the best articles were in the Washington Post and Foreign Policy, but it was covered very broadly.
And our D.C. Chapter was part of a broad coalition of organizations including the US Campaign, Code Pink, AMP, and over 30 other organizations that protested at the American Enterprise Institute while Netanyahu was receiving an award there. You can see a video here.
Finally, the Fall 2015 issue of Tikkun Magazine is out, featuring a special section on What's Next for Israel/Palestine, including pieces by me, JVP Board Member Rebecca Subar, JVP Rabbinical Council member Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb, as well as pieces by JVP'ers Ian Lustick and in another section of the magazine, a piece by JVP'er Wendy Somerson, as well as essays by many others.
***
In this hard time I can only return to a Grace Paley quote that I think of as one of the core precepts of JVP's existence:
"The only recognizable feature of hope is action."
All the work that so many of you are doing around the country gives me hope!
From: Prof. Vernellia Randall
Subject: [SchooltoPrisonPipeline] How Police Became Part of the Public School System and How to Get Them Out
How Police Became Part of the Public School System and How to Get Them Out
Saturday, 21 November 2015 00:00 By GS Potter, Truthout | News Analysis
Police officers with the Los Angeles United School District stand outside Venice High School in Venice, Calif., March 16, 2015. (Photo: Monica Almeida / The New York Times)
Help Truthout keep publishing stories like this: They can't be found in corporate media! Make a tax-deductible donation today.
Charges have yet to be brought against Ben Fields, the white police officer in South Carolina who slammed a 16-year-old Black student to the floor of her classroom at Spring Valley High School, injuring her face and neck and breaking her arm.
Nearly a month has passed since the video of the October 26 incident went viral, and while Fields was fired from his job on October 28, he has not been arrested or charged with assault or battery under South Carolina law.
Fields had previously been sued for use of excessive force and currently faces a federal lawsuit in which attorneys claim that he "recklessly targets African-American students." A federal investigation to determine whether or not any federal laws were violated during the incident is underway.
While questions regarding what charges can and should be brought against former deputy Fields are being investigated, there are other questions that deserve attention. Under what authority were the teacher and administrator allowed to call the police in response to a nonthreatening behavior in the first place? Why are police in classrooms anyway? And how do we get them out?
A Brief History of Law Enforcement in Public Schools
There is no law stating that schools are required to hire law enforcement. The relationship between police and schools has largely been an initiative of local and state authorities. In recent decades, though, this relationship has found significant support at the federal level.
Momentum is still gaining at the federal level to increase the number of police officers in schools.
Between the founding of the first recognized school resource officer program in 1958 and the 1980s, police involvement in schools was adopted by only a handful of school districts and largely supported by local and state funding. In the 1990s, though, police presence in public schools nationwide grew exponentially. During this decade, both the National Association for School Resource Officers was formed, and the US Justice Department developed their COPS in Schools grant program. This federal support dramatically increased the number of law enforcement officers in classrooms across the country. For example, according to a report published in Justice Quarterly, "As of July 2005, COPS has awarded in excess of $753 million to more than 3,000 grantees to hire more than 6,500 SROs through the CIS program and more than $10 million to hire approximately 100 SROs through the Safe Schools/Healthy Students program."
Momentum is still gaining at the federal level to increase the number of police officers in schools. For the 2014 fiscal year, the Obama administration called for an additional $150 million to add up to 1,000 new school resource officers through the Comprehensive School Safety Program. The administration also announced that the Department of Justice would develop a model of best practices for using school resource officers. Funding is also provided through state formula grants under the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act. This increased support has facilitated the placement of over an estimated 17,000 police officers in schools nationwide. This support has not increased monitoring or regulations of numbers or behaviors of police in schools, though. Policies surrounding school resource officers are largely still left up to the discretion of the police force, the school district and the state. This lack of regulation has ushered in system-wide abuses against students, especially disadvantaged students, across the country.
Law Enforcement and the Targeting of Disadvantaged Communities
There is no shortage of evidence to back the claim that people of color, people living with disabilities and people forced into poverty are disproportionately targeted by law enforcement for interaction, abuse and arrest. They are also subject to unfair treatment in the court system and overrepresented in the prison population. Despite calls by advocates to decrease interactions between police and community members and end the school-to-prison pipeline, limited effort has been made to ensure that students, especially students of color, and disabled and poor students, are protected from abuses by law enforcement. As a result, the same abuses of authority and violations of civil rights are carried over from the community into classrooms.
For example, according to a joint letter written by the US Department of Education and the Department of Justice, "certain racial or ethnic groups tend to be disciplined more than their peers." Similarly, the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights reports that Black students are suspended and expelled three times more frequently than white students, and that Indigenous students are also punished disproportionately. The report also states that students with disabilities "represent 12% of the student populations, but 58% of those placed in seclusion or involuntary confinement and 75% of those physically restrained at school.... Black students represent 19% of students with disabilities ... but 36% of these students who are restrained at school ..."
The unfair treatment received by disadvantaged students in the classroom has only been reinforced by law enforcement agencies that also have records of unfairly targeting members of disadvantaged populations in their communities.
Police weren't always in schools. They don't need to be there. They can be removed.
The National Center for Education Statistics reports, "Many safety and security measures tended to be more prevalent in high-poverty public schools ... than in low-poverty schools." Schools with student populations that are mostly nonwhite have the highest percentages of campus law enforcement in the country. Over half of the students referred to law enforcement or arrested at school are Latino or Black. And according to activist and author Leroy Moore Jr., "At least one in three students arrested has a disability, ranging from emotional disability such as bipolar disorder to learning disabilities like dyslexia. Some estimate it's higher than one in three.... students with emotional disabilities are three times more likely to be arrested before leaving high school than the general population."
The Justice Department has been forced to recognize the existence of law enforcement abuses in the school system and has sued a few school districts that routinely used police to enforce disciplinary infractions. Former Attorney General Eric Holder commented, "A routine school disciplinary infraction should land a student in the principal's office, not in a police precinct." Even so, there are no regulations in place to ensure that schools that have a record of disproportionately targeting poor students, students of color and students living with disabilities are banned from receiving funding for school law enforcement. In addition, there are no system-wide regulations in place to ensure that police entities with records of targeting these same populations in the community at large are kept out of the school system.
So what can we do to protect disadvantaged children and communities from the police? How can we get them out of our schools completely?
Student Rights and Ways to Protect Them
According to Tinker v. Des Moines (1969), students do not "shed their constitutional rights at the school house gate." Even so, students' rights are restricted under the principle of in loco parentis, which states that school officials are allowed to act "in place of the parent." For example, according to the Fourth Amendment, a police officer cannot conduct a search without probable cause. As a result of in loco parentis, though, school officials are allowed to search a child's locker with only reasonable suspicion. In the case of school resource officers, there is no federal consensus on whether a police officer is acting as a law enforcement official or as a school official.
As a result, some states have protected students by ruling that officers must uphold the Fourth Amendment and abide by probable cause standards. Others have left students vulnerable by saying that school resource officers are acting in the capacity of school officials, have the authority to invoke in loco parentis and as a result can abandon probable cause in favor of reasonable suspicion. Similarly, in states where police officers are granted in loco parentis, students are placed under arrest without being read their Miranda rights. This has put into question the Fifth Amendment rights of students nationwide.
While federal protections for students have not yet been secured, and state and local rights are still largely ambiguous, there are local and statewide efforts that have functioned to protect the rights of students and protect students from police contact. For example, the Pacer Center reports that in some states and school districts parents can "[w]rite into the IEP [individualized education program] that your child may not be interviewed by the police or the school's police liaison officer without a parent present." Additionally, local and state initiatives have been put into place by community members and advocates working to protect children from police contact.
At the local level, the Justice Policy Institute describes how the cooperative agreement implemented in Clayton County, Georgia, ensures that misdemeanor acts must be responded to with a warning and a mediation referral before a referral to the juvenile legal system. Similar steps were taken in Jefferson County, Alabama. The school discipline code was revised in Baltimore, Maryland, to implement different levels of response to different levels of offense and dictate that only the most serious offenses be reported to law enforcement. In Oakland, California, restorative justice programs have been put in place as a buffer between students and law enforcement. At the state level, less has been accomplished, but legislation was passed in Florida, Colorado and Texas discouraging arrests for basic discipline, misdemeanors and minor offenses.
Other strategies may also prove successful in terms of fighting police presence in public schools. For example, funding restrictions and redirection may prove to be another effective way to disincentivize police presence in schools. Grant application requirements can be implemented to ensure that schools engaged in disproportionate disciplining of disadvantaged communities or law enforcement agencies with disproportionate arrest numbers are disqualified from receiving funding. Officers with any history of misconduct, aggression or civil rights violations can also be disqualified from participating in school programs through hiring policies. Funding for law enforcement can be eliminated altogether and redirected into community education programs. Civil rights advocates can also organize to pass legislation that ensures that police officers are still considered police officers once they pass the schoolhouse gate, in order to safeguard the Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights of students. These efforts can be made at the local, state and federal levels.
Ultimately, though, all students in every state and every school district need to be protected from police contact. These protections need to be secured not only at Spring Valley High School and not just in South Carolina - they need to be secured in every school across the country. Nationwide protections require federal legislation. In the short term, this legislation should protect students from police contact while law enforcement is still allowed in schools. In the long term, it should remove police officers from school grounds completely and implement safeguards to prevent them from returning.
Police weren't always in schools. They don't need to be there. They can be removed. If we are going to protect disadvantaged students from unnecessary arrests and take steps to deconstruct the school-to-prison pipeline, police must be removed from the public school system.
Copyright, Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.
From: Victoria Kaplan, Ben W. Victoria, Ben O. Maria and the rest of the team, MoveOn.org Political Action
Subject: WATCH: MoveOn's 2016 Presidential Forum
The MoveOn 2016 Presidential Forum is now live—click here to watch!
This isn't the kind of thing you see on the major network debates, with questions crafted carefully by TV studios focused on ratings. This is a grassroots forum—with questions coming entirely from MoveOn members.
On the forum website, you can search for answers to the issues you're most interested in—like money in politics, climate change, racial profiling, gun violence—and watch a short program with some of the most revealing conversations with the candidates.
You'll find questions from remarkable people like Josué—an MIT graduate student in the midst of a 34-day sit-in at the university president's office—as he and fellow students demand their campus divest from fossil fuels.
Click here to watch Josué and other MoveOn members in the 2016 Presidential Forum. Then rate the candidates' answers to the questions, and share your favorite videos with your friends.
More than 11,000 MoveOn members submitted questions for the presidential candidates in video and in writing. MoveOn members—everyday people asking the questions that are important to them and their communities—are the real stars of this forum.
You'll find questions from Fatima, a 17-year-old high school student from New York who recorded her question about the Syrian refugee crisis in her school library; Jennifer, a school teacher, mother, and aspiring homeowner who wants to know how the different candidates will approach our economy; and Beth, a 69-year-old living off the Social Security benefits she paid for throughout her career, wondering if the Democratic candidates will commit to not cutting benefits.
Ready to take a look—and see how the candidates responded? Click here to watch the forum today.
Of course, you'll also find real gems from the candidates themselves—like these quotes from Senator Bernie Sanders and Governor Martin O'Malley:
"We've got to expand [Social Security] benefits, we've got to extend benefits, and we do that by lifting the cap." —Sen. Sanders
"There are other ways to be a moral leader in this world rather than at the opposite end of a drone strike."—Gov. O'Malley
Sen. Sanders and Gov. O'Malley took this prime opportunity to speak directly to grassroots progressives about their vision and plans for the future. Secretary Hillary Clinton was invited but chose not to participate.
From: khalfani718
Subject: An open letter to President Obama by abagond
An open letter to President Obama
Sat 21 Nov 2015 by abagond
In the wake of the Paris attack that killed 129, four former US Air Force drone operators wrote an open letter to the US president, his secretary of defence and the CIA director:
President Barack Obama
The White House
Washington, D.C.
Secretary Ashton B. Carter
Department of Defense
Director John O. Brennan
Central Intelligence Agency
Dear President Obama, Secretary Carter and Director Brennan:
We are former Air Force service members. We joined the Air Force to protect American lives and to protect our Constitution. We came to the realization that the innocent civilians we were killing only fueled the feelings of hatred that ignited terrorism and groups like ISIS, while also serving as a fundamental recruitment tool similar to Guantanamo Bay. This administration and its predecessors have built a drone program that is one of the most devastating driving forces for terrorism and destabilization around the world.
When the guilt of our roles in facilitating this systematic loss of innocent life became too much, all of us succumbed to PTSD. We were cut loose by the same government we gave so much to sent out in the world without adequate medical care, reliable public health services, or necessary benefits. Some of us are now homeless. Others of us barely make it.
We witnessed gross waste, mismanagement, abuses of power, and our country's leaders lying publicly about the effectiveness of the drone program. We cannot sit silently by and witness tragedies like the attacks in Paris, knowing the devastating effects the drone program has overseas and at home. Such silence would violate the very oaths we took to support and defend the Constitution.
We request that you consider our perspective, though perhaps that request is in vain given the unprecedented prosecution of truthtellers who came before us like Chelsea Manning, Julian Assange, and Edward Snowden. For the sake of this country, we hope it is otherwise.
Sincerely,
Brandon Bryant | Cian Westmoreland | Stephen Lewis | Michael Haas |
Cian Westmoreland, Michael Haas, Brandon Bryant and Stephen Lewis.
The United Nations calls the drone killing "indiscriminate".
The Pentagon wants to increase the number of daily drone flights by 50% by 2019.
The four servicemen together have over 20 years experience of operating drones. Among them, Bryant took part in killing Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, a 16-year-old boy, a US citizen. Even if al-Awlaki committed treason, he still had the right to a trial. The president is not judge, jury and executioner.
Fun fact: President Obama solemnly swore to preserve, protect and defend the US Constitution on the Bibles of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr.
– Abagond, 2015.
Source: Mainly The Guardian (2015).
End of MPEN e-Newsletter
posted by lucas at 4:25 PM
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