Tag Archives: politics

A bit of a background: there’s a city council special election in LA today, pitting a biking rights activist, Josef Bray-Ali, against incumbent Gil Cedillo. It came out today that Bray-Ali, who has touted his progressive bonafides in the run-up to the election, has been a frequent poster to far-right and racist forums on Voat and the misogynist “Red Pill” forum on Reddit.

But this article from an activist in this council district talks about his past problematic behavior, both online and offline, against those who advocate for intersectional justice in biking rights advocacy.

African-Americans and the Eternal War Between the States and the Feds

Politics, Uncategorized,

Vent:

I wish White conservatives and libertarians could understand that African-Americans are perhaps most skeptical to this constant tug of war between federal and state governments.

We don’t really see state governments as the arbiter of liberty against the federal monster that they’re made out to be by White conservatives and White libertarians.

People like us have never been in the position of a majority clinging jealously, desperately to their corner of regional power against federal will.

I wish they could explain to us why state government autonomy should be as important and obsessive to us as it is to them, even at the expense of healthcare and other human services which are taken for granted elsewhere but which horrify the sensibilities of federalist ideologues in this country.

We can understand the role of cities, counties and federal governments. You have Black mayors, aldermen/councilmembers and county execs and commissioners all over the country within the limit of your typical majority-Black municipality. We have Black congressmembers from numerous regions of mostly-urban and some rural import.

But states? Governors? States usually do their damnedest to screw us over. States have never been the friend of Black people in this country. States don’t have much of a purpose to us except as a double-enforcer of government violence, as an expression of suburban and rural anxiety about the “crime-infested” urban locales, as a burdensome middleman between us and the federal government. States lease the majority of prisons in this country to the highest bidder and execute the vast majority of death row inmates.

If all states were abolished tomorrow and this country became a centralized, unitary republic, Black Americans wouldn’t miss the states nor their power over our lives. Not Georgia, not Alabama, not California, not Illinois. No more Electoral College to placate the rural areas.

We’d have to deal with a much closer relationship between the federal government and cities, between feds and counties. Mayors wouldn’t have to go through the state to receive federal help, nor would feds have to go through states to intervene in municipal affairs.

this may yield some unintended consequences, but I think I can live with those better than this terrible system we have now.

But in the meantime, I simply can’t sympathize with, nor understand, this constant need for distance between state and federal government when it comes to the governance of individual citizens. It’s harming the American working class as a whole, and minority suspect classes (like those of us who did not “immigrate” to this country) in greater intensity. It is harming the accountability of this federal government to the citizenry while hiding the hand of state-level fiefdoms in depriving the citizenry of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”.

You know what I saw a lack of last year?

1-on-1 video debates/discussions between the most hardcore of both Hillary supporters and Bernie supporters.

We continue to litigate last year in remote textual debates, but not in person, not in real time.

We’re talking about impeachment when we don’t even have fully-acceptable candidates to lead Dems to a majority in Congress.

Get your shit together, progressives and liberals. talk to each other! Reach out!

Legalizing Weed Leaves the Glass Half-Full

Politics, Uncategorized, , , , ,

I think the states where initiatives and referendums are legal – most of which are out West – will see the greatest advancements against criminal justice abuses in the coming years.

I can’t see Georgia or most other Southern states legalizing recreational marijuana anytime soon. Florida could, since they almost did not long ago.

I’d say that legalizing marijuana and de-felonizing state drug laws is the great cross-racial, cross-religious, cross-class criminal justice struggle of the moment.

But even as more states out West legalize possession and regulate distribution, the racial disparity has persisted in Colorado and Washington with police now targeting predominately young Black/Latino male street dealers for felony distribution instead of possession. I expect a similar report from California in the near future now that weed is legal there.

If racial justice, economic justice and marijuana legalization can intersect anywhere, it’s at this location. Street sales need to be decriminalized, amnesty should be granted to past arrestees, taxes should be temporarily reduced to undercut the underground market, and arrestees should be provided job counseling.

I want to see 0 arrests for anything marijuana-related, 0 people denied jobs for anything​ marijuana-related, 0 people having to sell weed on the street to feed their family.

In the UK’s local elections over last weekend, the only left-wing party to do well was the Green Party of England and Wales.

Why is Labour doing so terrible under Corbyn? Why did the Lib Dems do so poorly under Farron?

Greens under Lucas+Bartley are doing well where other center-left parties are doing poorly. Why?

Reading the translated responses to Christiane Taubira’s post that she will vote for Macron in the runoff, I’m getting vibes of #BernieOrBust from Melenchon voters pissed at her support of Hamon over “true left” Melenchon in the first round. The most vocal pro-Melenchon anti-Macron voters are using the hashtag #SansMoiLe7Mai, blasting “liberals” like Macron.

This shows that France, without an electoral college nor party duopoly, is better than the U.S. in presidential voting, but not by much.

YDG Minority Caucus(es) Questions

Politics, Uncategorized,

Here’s my feelings and questions about breaking up the YDG Minority Caucus. If this steps on toes, I apologize in advance.

First off, I think it’s not the best name. Like, who’s idea was it to name it the “Minority” Caucus? Should have rolled w/ POC Caucus or something like.

Second, breaking up this caucus into AA/Black, AAPI and Latinx caucuses would mean that we’ll have more narrowly-purposed caucuses with their own leadership. What will be the purpose of these caucuses relative to YDG? How will the YDG’s mission and target demographic – engaging progressive-minded youth into electoral politics – be better served with more narrow ethnic caucuses over a “Minority”/POC Caucus?

Will these caucuses, like the GALBC, be structured in a way that will address the range of issues which face Black, AAPI and Latinx people (i.e., committees)? Will these caucuses provide vital resources for not only the caucuses or YDG, but for the DPG as a whole?

Also, I’m assuming that Afro-Latinx would find a home in both Black and Latinx caucuses?

I can see narrow YDA caucuses existing since there is also a wider demographic distribution of each of these demographics in the U.S. population and among Democrats across the country. But Georgia?

So that’s it.

#YDG