**** Bernie Sanders- Official Campaign Website
This posting will serve 3 series of this journal/ blog ... "From The FOXHOLE with Bernie", "Incarcerated American", and "Aggressive Progressive" ... I also linked a couple related series below ... "Citation Violation Nation", and "Police Brutality". This will focus on Senator Bernie Sanders new criminal justice reform plan, which is a must read, it is a drastic overhaul of the so called "Criminal Justice System". Bernie is also again running for President, and one of the 3 candidates I choose, that have shown to be most progressive and aggressive out of the list that are running, the other 2 are Elizabeth Warren and Tulsi Gabbard. A system long past due for repair, a system where a significant percentage of those in it, or been through it, are not criminals, or even a threat to our society. A system that created a private prison industry and market, that kicked off around 1984, and a decade later was enhanced through a 1994 crime bill that was devastating to so many Americans of colour, immigrants, youth, and the poor ... and has escalated in damage and misery up to this current day. A system that has destroyed millions of lives, directly and indirectly, financially and socially, as well as incarcerated so many that only violated laws designed by corporate lobbyists, investors, and banks, through their pre- paid politicians, to profit from. This proposal and blueprint seems bold, and needs to be, because again, in these times and circumstances, you must have a full plate, because after any of it is negotiated due to the lobby money influence in Washington, you will only get a fraction of it, but any is a plus.
***** DAILY KOS | costello7: OUR 4- TIERED JUSTICE SYSTEM ... (newsread)
This is another issue that Americans have been asking to fix for too long anywayz, and for decades have not been given a fair amount of consideration. Instead, administration after administration, both democrats and republicans, has only tiptoed around it, and giving Americans a few dog biscuits, out of political fear of backlash from big money interests. This plan doesn't ask, but takes an axe to the whole bloody damn system top to bottom. This is the only reasonable and sane way to approach this, we have tried so much else and failed ... because what you have in our current criminal justice system, is clearly an organized racket of crime in itself ... an organized crime ring. When we're dealing with a corrupted criminal justice system like this one, you have to take also various methods in trying to get some justice ... even if it takes civil disobedience in the streets, disruption of business in any way possible, etc ... take some lessons from the French here, and the reasons you/ we should fight ... or here in Hong Kong (CNN). We need to listen less, to this candy- ass politipop- neoliberal shit, that civil disobedience/ violence is not the answer, that you should be peaceful at all times ... hope, pray, reach across the isle, hold hands, give out olive branches, etc. All types of resistance are justified, in courts, petition, legislatively, business disruption, strikes, and physical resistance ... many of these politicians in Washington sitting on their asses, make this legislation to brutalize the American people on a daily basis, in more wayz than one, too.
Below, you have Bernie's "Justice and Safety for All" plan, which is a great piece of work. I also included his video below it, where he discusses it and gets input from locals, as well as a man, Donald, who been in the system, and some input from the audience. This meeting is in the Greenview Neighbourhood of Columbia, South Carolina ... and more of a one on one type intimate setting with the people, which is very importante, because you are sitting down with people and asking for their input and grievances, that is the best way to deal with issues in a democracy, and especially a campaign. I suggest to hear these men out that are the panelists, they sum it up straight. I never even realized, until after listening to these panelists, just how bad the system is in South Carolina, or even in Florida ... but all states have their unique circumstances. I started the video after 15 minutes into it, because the first 15 minutes was just a sort of intro. Below that, I included some links and video of importance, to look further into the problem. The last video below, I wanted to add, to be open about Bernie and his record ... because Bernie also voted for the 1994 crime bill. But before he voted for it, he argued and questioned it tooth and claw, and was very accurate, as far as predicting what this bill would do, back in 1994, as you can see today, the results of it.
The way he got sucked into voting for it, appears to only be, because he was so strong for supporting the part to protect women from violence, and that's the way they pull opposition to their bills into voting for them, they add one little piece or clause, that gets the opposition to vote for it. It's like a marketing gimmick and trick, no different ... companies do it all the time, when they want to sell you tech/ tele/ communications bundles/ packages you don't need, by offering one thing you "do need" in the package, eh? I remember a CNN video news clip, when Hillary was running for President, and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, who was campaigning for her, took heat from angry folks in the audience, concerning his 1994 crime bill ... and Bill Clinton responded to the audience, by blaming the bill on Joe Biden directing it, and the black community pressuring him to sign it (CNN YouTube). But, Bill Clinton has reason to put part blame on Joe Biden, according to this article (Vox News), and other documentation/ articles/ videos I read and viewed, Joe Biden's policies on the drug war and pushing for mass incarceration, were more draconian than Clinton, Bush, and Reagan combined ... even President Reagan and some Republicans rejected Biden's proposals back in the day. I knew none of this previously about Biden, because I never looked into his background. I'm sure that Bernie will own up to what he did though, and why ... when he is confronted again, for voting for the 1994 crime bill. After, at the bottom, I will add a few more of my own views.
***** BERNIE SANDERS: Justice and Safety for All ... (reform blueprint for broken criminal justice system)
Bernie Sanders Unveils Justice and Safety for All Plan ... Thanx to Bernie Sanders
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Private prison businesses make big money ... Thanx to CBS News
AXIOS | STEF W. KIGHT & DAN PRIMACK: Private companies are making money off the private prison system in every way imaginable ... (newsread)
***** FOCUS FOR HEALTH | BARRY & DOLLY SEGAL: Private Prisons; Profits Before Purpose ... (article)
***** CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS | RANYA SHANNON: 3 Ways the 1994 Crime Bill Continues to Hurt Communities of Color ... (article)
***** THE GUARDIAN US | MAX SIEGELBAUM: Millions in US taxpayers' money invested in private prison firms ... (newsread)
The Truth about Bernie Sanders and the 1994 Crime Bill ... Thanx to Progressive Blacksmith
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***** PD/ RCJ: "From The FOXHOLE with Bernie" ... PART'S 36 THRU 1
***** PD/ RCJ: "INCARCERATED AMERICAN" ... PART'S 35 THRU 1
***** PD/ RCJ: "AGGRESSIVE PROGRESSIVE" ... PART'S 5 THRU 1
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***** PD/ RCJ: "CITATION VIOLATION NATION" ... PART'S 14 THRU 1 (a related series) **** the first link here, is very importante, as far as being pulled over or stopped by police in the U.S.
***** PD/ RCJ: "POLICE BRUTALITY" ... PART'S 32 THRU 1 (a related series)
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Thomas Hudson Pickering/ Ranch Chimp
First of all ... as far as sentencing, crime bills and the rest ... much of this results from drugs, basically. Focus on this issue started to intensify 1971, as the "war on drugs" with President Nixon, expanded by Reagan VP and Pres. George H.W. Bush in the 80's, as far as trying to do something about what was seen as a growing drug epidemic, and the drug problem goes back way before that. Running (IV/ needle) morphine goes back to the Civil War, from treating soldiers that became addicts. Later you had so many addicts when they started selling over the counter heroin for all kinds of ailments into the early 20th century, even for children ... millions of American's addicted. Later you had a big street market, which I heard about from old timers of the Great Depression era, in towns like New York and Chicago (I lived in both towns for a period years ago). I had an older second cousin, late 1960's (RIP), got back from Nam (Vietnam/ US Army), stone cold dope fiend, his addiction was maxed out, his arm's vein trax were in such bad shape, he had to start running dope in leg veins too. He made decent money too, he ran a gypsy cab (not licensed or legal) out of the airport, all cash, damn near all his money, besides rent, went to the boy/ heroin. Seeing this as a kid, him getting dope sick, and skitzing to get well/ fix, is what made me refrain from IV/ needle ... although, when I did do opium, I smoked. But the so called drug epidemic, goes back over a century, and is all connected in large part, as well, to capitalism.
Damn near all over New York in the late 60's/ early 70's, nickel bags of boy/ skag (heroin) could be bought openly on the street corner, as easy as a hot dog, or big pretzel from a corner cart ... and every major city across the U.S. had sales. Early to mid 1980's, the discovery of crack (cocaine cooked with baking soda and additive, expanded and rocked solid), hit the cities in U.S. ... a most easily produced/ manufactured, and lucrative drug in years ... because of the quick rush from one hit/ puff/ toke/ bump. This is when urban gangs started becoming more organized, and domineering territorial wise. In Dallas for example, the 1970's/ 1980's gangs locally of Dallasites, were less organized and younger high schooler types, than the long generational gangs of towns like New York and LA ... NY/ LA gangs seen Texas cities as a fresh open market for drug business. Well established street gangs moved into Dallas from LA, as well as other established gangs moved into Dallas from NY, at the same time. NY and LA gangs started fighting each other on Dallas turf, while also fighting to take over the less organized local gangs of Dallas ... this resulted in alot of bloodshed, while trying to run out Dallas gangs and local dealers of product ... after it stabilized over the years, it balanced out between various gangs and new territories started and alliances, and it became much more organized. It was harder for LA/ NY gangs to move into Chicago for instance, because it was more organized and generational, and Chicago gangs controlled much of that, with an iron fist.
The reason I point all this out above, is to show much of why, for the escalation in new crime task force implementation, being drugs ... which led to increased gang wars and other crimes, too. Today you have meth/ ice to add to the list, plus a huge black market of pharma opioids and synthetics ... meth, as far as criminal charges can carry stiffer penalties, because it's ALL chemically made, so simple possession in some states, can fall into "manufacturing/ distribution" category, and viewed different by courts (like the powder or crack/ rock cocaine controversy, as far as criminal charges), unlike heroin (opium) or cocaine (coca), that are from a natural plant ... this can strongly differentiate offense and penalty. With the increase of addiction starting in the 1980's crack epidemic, also came an increase in crime, mostly petty crimes, stealing to sell or trade stolen items or materials, such as copper wiring for drugs, in urban areas across the country ... those with jobs, and good jobs, support their habits off their incomes, of course. It also led to a rise in trafficking of girls and prostitution, because of the addiction factor, common guys became overnight wannabe macks/ pimps with no finesse, and a new wave of young gangs, some that also went into selling young prostitutes, as well as drugs. Many girls/ women got strung out, and had to support their habit, some sought out these guys for supply and protection ... some went solo, yet still, addiction played a big role. This also is why many street prostitutes of today, are unsafe, unclean, unbathed, and physically ran down, to where they look very bad ... because the addiction is their life source and priority of the day, to these harder drugs.
All of these things, and the use of semi- auto weapons growing by gangs, to protect territories, product, and properties (including human property), also intensified these crime bills and task forces ... so it's much more deep than the surface. When Bill Clinton said that communities of colour were coming to them, and asking for help to deal with the high crime rates, it's true, this was going on all over America's inner cities. Here in the South Central Dallas area back in the late 1980's, which is primarily a black lower income working class community, people were so fed up with the gang violence, they had to start community militias and crime watch type groups, just to try to protect their community, because the police and City Hall, basically didn't protect them, or other low income communities, regardless of race. Everything was based on class, as far as who got priority atencion, services, protection. Gang violence was on the increase, and common everyday kids and innocent people were sometimes caught in the crossfire, many killed ... like this 9 yr old girl the other day in East Dallas (CBS DFW). Thus, they were asking for more police protection ... as gangs and criminals grew more sophisticated, and the weaponry, police had to beef up their arsenal and methods too. This also led to communities being now policed by cops, that knew nothing about the community, or ever been there, fresh out of college, maybe white, and didn't have proper training in race relations or understanding the communities, some becoming alienated and rogue.
This fell strongly on urban poor communities, and anyone who was poor, including poor whites ... there was just higher amounts of poverty among people of colour in urban areas, and systemic racism contributed to that. Where so many young people are caught in a cycle, and some feel hopeless, as far as trying to make a good living and becoming successful, these communities strongly lack resources, that other more well off communities get. Monetary and material success today, is also strongly commercialized, and greed, glorified, through media, and even some arts, and if you don't achieve what some others have, they make you feel like losers ... the extreme capitalism goal and mindset contributes to this psychologically. Some that feel lost and behind, start to look up to and follow those they see that are making money hand over fist illegally ... the whole mindset can be self- destructive. Add the urban blight, lack of opportunity, lack of proper public funding that other more higher income communities and areas of better opportunity get, deepens the cycle. This is why help in these communities that are getting poorer by the year is importante, instead of all help/ revenue going to communities that are not lacking any, with much better public amenities, housing, and incomes. And it's why these poor communities are targeted by so many predatory businesses, because they see, a majority of the outside population don't care about them, they're easy targets.
At the same time, as you intensify these penalties, fines, and petty laws, at the direction and request of corporate lobbyists, with hardly any regulation or oversight, it adds to the abuse, and out of control predation on these people that are most vulnerable, and this should be realized first and foremost by lawmakers from cities to Washington ... since the history of such shows that this happens every time. When Bernie Sanders back in 1994, pointed out what can happen from this crime bill as is ... he didn't have any special insight, or some sort of crystal ball, he was pointing out what history shown us time and again ... it doesn't fail to happen. Yet many politicians turn their head to it, for political campaign funding reasons, or some kind of personal gain, even though they know what can happen. The initial purpose of the bill, with parts like 3 strikes laws, was to go after the most violent offenders ... however, investors/ companies over the years (because of lack of oversight, and lobby money), seen opportunity to make big bucks from state to state, and started going after everyone for anything, to increase revenues. You can't tell me that you cannot make a crime bill that has protections in it, to clean up much of our problems ... many of these politicians are the ones who are letting these predatory companies and industries draft this legislation. Now, we allow these businesses, like so many others, to get so large, and the profit intake ... that our markets and GDP become dependent on it, and all these crooks at the top that operate not much different than criminal gangs themselves, design this, know this ... they want us not to have protection or government, or even taxation for ourselves, so they can control all aspects of our lives, and to make us more dependent on their corrupt and inferior wayz.
This criminal justice reform plan of Bernie's is a broad view of a whole range of issues that need reform ... you can make many modifications, there is alwayz room for improvement on anything, without going hogwild, and getting everyone's panties in a bind. It's so serious, even corporate MSM is covering it more, which is another plus. And on an issue like this, probably get some significant bipartisan support. Of course, the lobby groups will fight much of this tooth and claw ... and many fear that it would hurt business, rolling down to markets, banks, etc. But it's a full plate, and an excellent blueprint to dissect, and study piece by piece ... and push to get as much as possible, because these are the actual problems. And of course many politicians will fight against much ... but the positive to this ... is that it's all available to the public eye to examine, which educates and inspires people and groups to organize and act. Meaning, this also inspires importantly our younger generations, as far as what needs changing, and how to do it ... they will be the ones increasingly running for political positions from City Hall to Capitol Hill ... many will make new waves to change things. This moves people to look more closely at where their retirement accounts are being invested too, and by who ... and where we are spending our taxes, and for what. This movement also shows prisoners, that prison labour strikes are in order as well, over conditions and pay ... as well as consumers boycotting businesses/ products, taking it to the streets, and walkouts themselves, periodically ... so those at the top, who know nothing about the impact on us, get a taste.
Word Out ...
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***** RANCH CHIMP JOURNAL "WELCOME" POST
***** RCJ MUSIC/ ART'S HONOUR ROLL SOCIETY (my hand- selected music/ arts picks)
***** "THE RESISTANCE | PERILS OF THE POWER POSSE" ... ( a 2 part futuristic Ranch Chimp Journal dream to dream on )
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