Day: February 10, 2022

All That Military Gear

Closing Thought–10Feb22

For years there has been a push to limit the amount of military gear that is given to the local police departments….and as one would think there has been a significant amount of pressure to continue the militarization of our police forces.

Biden in the beginning of his days as president tried to keep a political promise….but as usual he was a failure at this……and as usual it will not be a sweeping effort and riddled with loopholes (like all American bills)……

Since his efforts for a bill to stop this militarization he will resort to a tried and true…..executive order (EO)……

After more than a year in office, Joe Biden may finally take action on police militarization. A leaked draft of an executive order obtained by The Federalist contains a provision that would place restrictions on the federal government’s provision of military equipment to state and local police. Some powerful police interest groups have already publicly expressed opposition to the prospective measure.

Police unions successfully compelled the Biden White House to retract a similar measure a year ago. During the president’s first days in office, the White House announced that he  would sign an executive order that would recall a range of military equipment acquired by police through federal channels. But after a successful lobbying effort by law enforcement interest groups, the order was never issued.

A similar lobbying effort appears to be in the works this time around, too, so there is a chance that Biden will once again cave to the whims of police interest groups. However, there is more pressure for Biden to act now than there was last January. Biden’s signature police reform bill, the Justice in Policing Act, passed the House in March but stalled out in the Senate. By September, negotiations over the bill had collapsed entirely.

With no prospect for legislative action, the bill’s lead negotiators, Sen. Cory Booker and Rep. Karen Bass, have called on Biden to resort to executive orders to ensure that key parts of the Act take effect — among them, a provision that would place strict restrictions on the Pentagon’s 1033 program. Local police forces have acquired at least $1.8 billion worth of excess military equipment through the 1033 program since its inception during the War on Drugs. This influx of combat gear to local communities has contributed to increased police violence and inflated law enforcement budgets

Biden’s clamp-down on military gear to local police has giant loophole

In other words to put a simpler point on this issue….very little will change and the police will continue to use military equipment against its own people.

It is sad that the police need armored cars to deal with local disputes….all we are missing are jack boots…..

My disappointment with Biden continues to grow.

Turn The Page!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

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That Damn Critical Race Theory

Recently there has been an issue that has made the GOP lose their ever-loving minds….that issue is Critical Race Theory…..state after Red State has spent energy and time passing bills the ban the teaching of CRT in their schools.

Lots of controversy has grown up around this issue…..my state of Mississippi has been one of those states that is running scared of anything thing that will shine the light of truth on our history.

I thought that since this issue seems to be so damn important to the GOP in Mississippi I wanted to see what all the hoopla was about…..

Here is the truth about CRT in Mississippi….this is what a student at the University of Mississippi found out about this issue being taught in our schools……

“Critical Race Theory: Law 743” is an unusual course at the University of Mississippi Law School, where most classes teach students about the law or how to argue like lawyers. What makes Law 743 unique is that it teaches a bird’s eye view of the legal system, a framework for understanding the law and its impact on racial minorities. Law 743 is also more diverse than many classes at UM’s law school. In the 13-person class, Murphree is one of four white students. 

Out of all her courses this semester, Murphree was the most anxious to see what Law 743 would be like. On the first day, the professor, Yvette Butler, issued a disclaimer that Murphree took to heart. Critical race theory, Butler said, examines difficult and potentially upsetting topics, but it was important that the class remain a safe, respectful space. Students were going to disagree with the readings and with each other; when they did, Butler asked them to give each other “radical acceptance.”

When Murphree started her readings later that day, she pushed herself to keep an open mind. One of her first assignments was a 1976 article by a professor at Harvard Law School named Derrick Bell, who is often credited as the founder of critical race theory.

In the article, titled “Serving Two Masters,” Bell lays the groundwork for one of his most notable arguments: By and large, school desegregation was a failure. Brown v. Board of Education, he argues, was in many ways harmful to Black communities across the country. As Black schools closed, Black teachers, principals, bus drivers and custodians lost their jobs. Bussed to white schools, Black children were more likely to be beaten, arrested, and expelled than their white peers. As a lawyer for the NAACP, Bell had sued for desegregation; in “Serving Two Masters,” he was wondering if that was the right tactic after all.

https://mississippitoday.org/2022/02/02/mississippi-only-critical-race-theory/

There you have it….the only place this issue was taught was in a law school setting…..and yet the GOP is afraid the rest of us may learn about it.

You tell me why they made this a thing of such importance.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”