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  1. #7591
    Ultimate Member Mister Mets's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tendrin View Post
    Unfortunately, reparations for slavery are a non-starter.

    Unfortunately.

    But prison and policing reform would be a good place to start.
    Quote Originally Posted by Shawn Hopkins View Post
    I don't know about top five, but it should certainly be an answer. Voting rights are a huge issue for the black community, especially considering how many black men (about 13 percent) have lost theirs because of past criminal convictions and how hard you have to fight to get them restored. NAACP President Cornell Brooks also just said restoring the Voting Rights Act is his top priority.

    http://www.ohio.com/news/local/naacp...ights-1.537625
    It's a self-serving argument for the Democratic party to brag about how they're making it easier for people who are more likely to vote for them to vote for them.

    Plus, it only applies to individuals who have trouble voting. It's not an issue that applies to everyone in the African American community.
    Sincerely,
    Thomas Mets

  2. #7592
    All-New Member WarmFish's Avatar
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    Chose a side of the same lie.

  3. #7593
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mister Mets View Post
    It's a self-serving argument for the Democratic party to brag about how they're making it easier for people who are more likely to vote for them to vote for them.

    Plus, it only applies to individuals who have trouble voting. It's not an issue that applies to everyone in the African American community.
    I thought we were talking about how the Democratic party should address the black community, not bragging. If you're going to the black community with a list of things you'll do for them, protecting their voting rights and helping the more than 10 percent of black men who CANNOT vote find a way back to full citizenship is a thing worth talking about. No, it doesn't affect everybody in the black community, but it's significant enough to be a factor.

  4. #7594
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    Nail on the head.

    New report details the disastrous municipal court system in St. Louis County



    Further analysis revealed that St. Louis City accounts for 5% of Missouri’s population and 7% of municipal fines collected statewide, while unincorporated St. Louis County accounts for roughly 5% of Missouri’s population and 5% of Missouri’s municipal fines and fees revenue. This seems logical. However, while the combined populations of the 90 municipalities in St. Louis County accounts for only 11% of Missouri’s population, those municipalities bring in 34% of all municipal fines and fees statewide ($45,136,416 in 2013).
    The report found that on average, the municipal courts in the county brought in about three times what it cost them to operate. The average “profit,” about a half million dollars per town, went to the towns’ operating budgets. Under Missouri law, no municipality can bring in more than 30 percent of its revenue from municipal courts. That rather sensible law would seem to be a nod to the dangers of allowing government’s operating costs to become too reliant on fines and citations. When a government’s operations are contingent on fining citizens, governing becomes less about serving citizens and more about finding ways to fine citizens to fund the government.

    But several municipalities are routinely violating the 30 percent law, and some rather egregiously. Better Together found 14 cities where the municipal court was the primary source of revenue in 2013. As the report explains, “Without revenue from fines and fees it is inconceivable that these communities could afford to operate.”

    In Calverton Park, for example, about a fourth of the residents live below the poverty line — and 66 percent of the town’s revenue comes from fines issued and collected by its court. In Pine Lawn, which I visited for my original report, nearly a third of residents are below the poverty line, and nearly half the revenue comes from the court. In Normandy, it’s 35 percent below the poverty line and 41 percent revenue from fines, court fees and citations.

    It’s also worth noting that because the county lacks reliable public transportation and because these towns can be so small, even a drive to the nearest grocery store could take you through several revenue-hungry towns, much less a daily commute into the city. And as has widely been reported, according to a report from the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, blacks in St. Louis County are pulled over at rates that far exceed their proportion of the population. They’re also more likely to be searched, even though white motorists are more likely to have contraband. If you’re more likely to be stopped, you’re more likely to be fined. In other words, even in towns that don’t have high poverty rates, the people in the municipal courts are still likely to be disproportionately poor and disproportionately black.
    The report includes a number of other disturbing details:

    Nearly all these towns have become so reliant on fines from petty infractions that they incorporate the projected revenue into their annual budgets. In other words, they expect their municipal courts to generate revenue well above operating costs. When your operating revenue depends on your citizens committing petty infractions, you run into a number of temptations, none of them consistent with good governing. You’ll be tempted to put a higher priority on policing for those infractions than, say, a style of policing that may be better for public safety but unlikely to generate the same sort of revenue. You’ll be tempted to “find” crimes where none existed or to create crimes by passing vaguely worded ordinances that can be broadly interpreted. In short, you have a government with the strongest of incentives (its very existence) to look at its citizens not as constituents to be served, but as potential lawbreakers.
    In some towns, it’s even worse: The report found towns that actually projected significant revenue increases from their municipal courts in their annual budgets, meaning these towns planned to fund new projects or cover budget shortfalls by issuing more fines and citations. Dellwood, for example, projected a nearly 200 percent increase in municipal court revenue between 2011 and 2013. This is difficult to explain. Did Dellwood officials have advance knowledge of some sort of impending petty crime wave? Perhaps a town could make such a prediction if it had reason to think its population would double, too. But Dellwood is actually losing population. The simplest and most plausible explanation is that the town planned to find new ways to fine and cite people. But that a town could simply decide to double its revenue from traffic fines in the coming year, and then double it again the year after, reveals just how arbitrary these laws can be, either in their content, how they’re enforced or both — and how they’re enforced has very little to do with public safety, highway safety or quality of life.
    If a town must perpetually fine its citizens in order to survive, perhaps it shouldn’t survive. Lowering the cap would force these towns either to operate on legitimate revenue sources, such as property and sales taxes and permit fees, or risk insolvency. It could get messy before it gets better. One could see some towns piling up massive amounts of debt before finally calling it quits. But maybe that’s what needs to happen.
    The protests that followed the Brown shooting also spawned larger discussions about the use of police cameras, and of police militarization and the proper way to respond to protests. This, too, is healthy. And these issues will persist regardless of what we learn in the coming weeks about Darren Wilson and Michael Brown and regardless of what the grand jury decides to do.

  5. #7595
    Were You There? Michael P's Avatar
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    It strikes me that you could get make a lot of media headway by calling these fines a "black tax".
    "It's not whether you win or lose, it's whether I win or lose." - Peter David, on life

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  6. #7596
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shawn Hopkins View Post
    Election tomorrow. I wish it was legal for us to go around to Democrats' homes and hit other Democrats with a stick until they get off their lazy asses and go vote, because that way Grimes could win. But nope, we're so stupid we only pay attention during the Presidential, so more Mitch it will be.
    As a fellow Kentuckian, I understand your pain. How can they not understand how important this race is? We're just so stupid in Kentucky.

  7. #7597

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mister Mets View Post
    If a Democratic politician is asked what he or she is doing to make things better for African Americans, "I'm making it easier for you to vote for me" should not be one of the first five answers.
    That's because the real answer translate to, "We want everyone to be a able to use their sacred right to vote. The one the other party wants to pass laws that will make it harder for everyone (i.e. you) to.

    It's only the Republicans who say they don't care if "lazy blacks can't vote", remember?
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  8. #7598
    Ultimate Member Tendrin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shawn Hopkins View Post
    I thought we were talking about how the Democratic party should address the black community, not bragging. If you're going to the black community with a list of things you'll do for them, protecting their voting rights and helping the more than 10 percent of black men who CANNOT vote find a way back to full citizenship is a thing worth talking about. No, it doesn't affect everybody in the black community, but it's significant enough to be a factor.
    Yeah. This. Making it easier for African Americans (and by extension, everyone else) to vote seems pretty important to me. As for police reform, the institutional power and deference they get doesn't immunize them from the much deserved criticism and, the need for reform of the corrections system is even more dire by far.

    Private prisons are a nightmare and a threat to public health and safety.
    Last edited by Tendrin; 11-04-2014 at 01:57 AM.

  9. #7599
    Old school comic book fan WestPhillyPunisher's Avatar
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    I agree that African Americans need to get out and vote today, to make their voices heard, even if they don't think that's the case. They need to hit their polling places and neutralize the Republican party and their Voter ID scheme, the same holds true for Latinos, Asians and anyone else who's right to vote is threatened by the GOP.
    Avatar: Here's to the late, great Steve Dillon. Best. Punisher. Artist. EVER!

  10. #7600

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    Quote Originally Posted by WestPhillyPunisher View Post
    I agree that African Americans need to get out and vote today, to make their voices heard, even if they don't think that's the case. They need to hit their polling places and neutralize the Republican party and their Voter ID scheme, the same holds true for Latinos, Asians and anyone else who's right to vote is threatened by the GOP.
    Women. All of them. Also, the poor. Also, the working class.


    Pretty much, anyone who's not an old white billionaire, theocrat, or combination of the two.
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  11. #7601

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    It's our latest reminder of what a crock the statement "Nuh uh. Both parties are just as bad," actually is...

    It’s Your Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day!

    (And please, for those who those who really felt the "Both Parties are Just as Bad" statement is defensible, remember, I'm still challenging you to write your own essays each day, to keep pace with me, if it's actually "just as bad". Keep in mind, you have to pick someone from politics who has either ran for, held office within the past 5 years, and have multiple verifiable news sources to any quotes/beliefs they might have to build a solid, established track record of stupid that clearly isn't a fluke. Hell, we'll even accept people who help write party platforms within that time frame. Current crazy/stupid scoreboard, is now 109-2, since this was established on 7-18-14)


    Mike Bost
    Mike Bost will be spending this election day next to a phone, wondering if he’ll be headed to Washington, D.C. to represent Illinois’ 12th District, or if instead, he’ll have to take a bunch of valium to make himself mellow enough to give a concession speech. Because as a member of the Illinois State Legislature, Mike Bost has become a YouTube viral legend for not just one… but a series of psychological meltdowns that make Chris Christie’s temper seem mild in comparison. This got the Chicago press to do some digging, and find out that his track record of mental instability goes back years, and is expressed against both inanimate objects, and living creatures.



    What I’m getting at, is he’s a poster child for anger management issues, and the Republican Party would likely still consider it a “win” if this lunatic doesn’t end up on C-SPAN on the floor of the House on a regular basis. He is a ticking time bomb of rage, the living embodiment of the frothing-at-the-mouth conservative of the 21st century in a microcosm.
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  12. #7602
    Ultimate Member Tendrin's Avatar
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    Seriously? A /beagle/? In a pen?

    I am absolutely livid he was allowed to get away with that.

  13. #7603
    Genesis of A Nemesis KOSLOX's Avatar
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    In just a few more hours I get to vote for "not Joni Ernst". I'm super pumped about it.
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  14. #7604
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    Well, I voted. Turnout looked good. Hoping Democrats in Kentucky don't find better things to do today, but not counting on it. Only bumper sticker I noticed at the polling place said Obama is the worst President ever.

  15. #7605
    Old school comic book fan WestPhillyPunisher's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by worstblogever View Post
    It's our latest reminder of what a crock the statement "Nuh uh. Both parties are just as bad," actually is...

    It’s Your Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day!

    (And please, for those who those who really felt the "Both Parties are Just as Bad" statement is defensible, remember, I'm still challenging you to write your own essays each day, to keep pace with me, if it's actually "just as bad". Keep in mind, you have to pick someone from politics who has either ran for, held office within the past 5 years, and have multiple verifiable news sources to any quotes/beliefs they might have to build a solid, established track record of stupid that clearly isn't a fluke. Hell, we'll even accept people who help write party platforms within that time frame. Current crazy/stupid scoreboard, is now 109-2, since this was established on 7-18-14)


    Mike Bost
    Mike Bost will be spending this election day next to a phone, wondering if he’ll be headed to Washington, D.C. to represent Illinois’ 12th District, or if instead, he’ll have to take a bunch of valium to make himself mellow enough to give a concession speech. Because as a member of the Illinois State Legislature, Mike Bost has become a YouTube viral legend for not just one… but a series of psychological meltdowns that make Chris Christie’s temper seem mild in comparison. This got the Chicago press to do some digging, and find out that his track record of mental instability goes back years, and is expressed against both inanimate objects, and living creatures.



    What I’m getting at, is he’s a poster child for anger management issues, and the Republican Party would likely still consider it a “win” if this lunatic doesn’t end up on C-SPAN on the floor of the House on a regular basis. He is a ticking time bomb of rage, the living embodiment of the frothing-at-the-mouth conservative of the 21st century in a microcosm.
    Lord have mercy, that dude is a straight up madman. That Bost became unhinged enough to shoot a defenseless animal that was penned up is proof positive he's a menace. And yeah, Bost is definitely NOT the sort of person who should be carrying anything more lethal than a five and dime store water pistol. The sooner he's put out to pasture, the better off society will be as a whole.
    Avatar: Here's to the late, great Steve Dillon. Best. Punisher. Artist. EVER!

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