Empty holding for migrant children in Homestead, Florida, costs $720,000 a day – CBS News
Jeezus….
Category: Race,
Slavery, black history, DNA genealogy: Learnings from a trip to Africa
In a land that had tried to rob their people of dignity, strip them of their identity and steal their labor, the Tuckers knew they were somebody.
As she grew up, Wanda came to realize that history was an ever-changing story, and it depended on who was telling it.
…Two Angolans named Anthony and Isabella, along with 20 or so others, staggered off a ship into Point Comfort in what is now Hampton, Virginia. They’d been taken from the Ndongo kingdom in the interior of Angola and marched to the coast. They’d endured months packed in the bottom of a ship named the San Juan Bautista. When raiders attacked in the Gulf of Mexico, the captives were rerouted to Virginia aboard the White Lion, changing the course of a nation.
Anthony and Isabella probably weren’t their real names. Their Angolan names were likely subbed out by whichever Catholic priest baptized them for the journey.
The reason they are remembered and other Africans are not is the anomaly that someone bothered to record their names at all. A 1625 census noted that they belonged to the household of Capt. William Tucker and that they had a child named William. Wanda and her family believe they are descended from William, the first named African born in what would become America. An American forefather most history ignores.
…Anthony and Isabella came from the powerful Ndongo kingdom, whose descendants still lived in the Angolan interior near the Lukala and Kwanza rivers. Many from the kingdom were skilled iron workers and farmers.
…Angola was barely mentioned in most histories of the slave trade, but this was where it had begun. Historians had learned fairly recently that the first Africans had been captured here.
…In the time of Anthony and Isabella, Wanda also learned, the slave trade had been dominated by the Portuguese. The Portuguese would stoke tensions between African tribes and reap the captives from those battles. The English were not yet as involved – they were plundering gold and silver from Ghana.
…Father Gabriele Bortolami, an Italian Capuchin priest and professor of anthropology ….took a thick book from a wooden cabinet. The cover barely clung to the binder, but the words – in Italian – were bold against the white pages. “Istorica Descrittione De’ Tre Regni Congo, Matamba Et Angola.”
Historical description of the three kingdoms of Congo, Matamba and Angola.
It was written in 1690.
…Njinga, queen of the Ndongo and Matamba kingdoms, fought to defend her people from Portuguese conquerors in the 1600s.
Njinga, who came to power five years after Anthony and Isabella were captured, is the most awe-inspiring of the Angolan ancestors.
…Njinga demanded the Portuguese treat her as an equal. When they showed up to a meeting with chairs only for themselves, expecting her to sit on the floor, she had a servant kneel on all fours and used his back as a stool. She made the Portuguese look her in the eye.
But even Njinga has seen her legacy questioned. She submitted to baptism by the Portuguese – a political move some saw as weak. She gave up prisoners of war to placate the Portuguese, who betrayed her.
…The elders spoke a mix of Portuguese and Kimbundu, the Bantu language Anthony and Isabella likely spoke. They told of villagers captured and sent away. They told her they had a word for the sea: kalunga – death. No one who crossed those waters ever returned.
“We suffered a lot,’’ said the soba, whose name was Antonio Manuel Domingos. The slave trade devastated communities, and many never recovered.
Wanda asked what she should tell fellow African-Americans back at home.
“You have relatives here,” he replied.
Slavery, black history, DNA genealogy: Learnings from a trip to Africa
hmmm
Border wall book details turbulent week of Donald Trump’s directives
Trump had at times privately talked about “fortifying a border wall with a water-filled trench, stocked with snakes or alligators, prompting aides to seek a cost estimate. He wanted the wall electrified, with spikes on top that could pierce human flesh.”
Additionally, after aides told him that his public suggestion of soldiers shooting migrants if they threw rocks was illegal, he backed down. But, he later suggested that they “shoot migrants in the legs to slow them down.”
“That’s not allowed either, (staff) told him,” according to the excerpt.
…The comments came around the same time [that Trump] publicly threatened to close the border, saying he would if “Mexico doesn’t get with it.” [He] later backed off from that threat.
Border wall book details turbulent week of Donald Trump’s directives
Trump administration privatizing migrant child detention
“The United States is the country in the world that detains the most children for immigration reasons, and probably for the longest period of time. No other country comes close,” said Michael Bochenek, a Human Rights Watch attorney who serves on a United Nations research team examining the global detention of children. “To have private companies move into the area of the care and custody of children in detention-like settings is especially troubling.”
…Nonprofit providers, however, have faced criticism of their own. Earlier this year, a review of 38 legal claims obtained by the AP — some of which have never been made public — showed taxpayers could be on the hook for more than $200 million in damages from parents who said their children were harmed while under care from nonprofit foster providers and other shelters.
…The Trump administration has started shifting some of the caretaking of migrant children toward the private sector and contractors instead of the largely religious-based nonprofit grantees that have long cared for the kids.
So far, the only private company caring for migrant children is CHS, owned by beltway contractor Caliburn International Corp. In June, CHS held more than 20% of all migrant children in government custody. And even as the number of children has declined, the company’s government funding for their care has continued to flow. That’s partly because CHS is still staffing a large Florida facility with 2,000 workers even though the last children left in August.
…DC Capital Partners bought CHS, a company with a troubled past. The firm agreed in 2017 to pay out $3.8 million to settle an investigation involving allegations that it double billed and overcharged the federal government for medical services.
Despite the fraud settlement, CHS went on to win a no-bid contract to operate Homestead. At the time, federal officials said they didn’t have to open the bidding to competitors, typically the way taxpayer dollars are spent, because there was “unusual and compelling urgency.”
…No-bid contracts can lead to higher costs. CHS, a contractor, typically hires locally, staffing up as quickly as it can, hiring hundreds of people through online ads and at community job fairs. In contrast, nonprofits typically are paid through grants. They have screened staffers on call, who can be flown in if a shelter needs to care for a sudden increase of children for a short period.
…Former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly joined Caliburn’s board this spring after stepping down from decades of government service; he joined the Trump administration as Secretary of Homeland Security, where he backed the idea of taking children from their parents at the border, saying it would discourage people from trying to immigrate or seek asylum.
Critics say this means Kelly now stands to financially benefit from a policy he helped create.
…Kelly and other corporate directors including Retired Gen. Anthony C. Zinni, Retired Admiral James G. Stavridis and Retired Rear Admiral Kathleen Martin could have received at least $100,000 a year for their service and advice, and a $200,000 bonus if the company went public.
…CHS’s business plan going forward depends on having more kids in their shelters, according to a prospectus its parent company Caliburn filed last year to go public with a $100 million stock offering.
…Overall, the federal government spent a record $3.5 billion caring for migrant children over the past two years to run its shelters through both contracts and grants.
…The government doesn’t disclose the names of individual shelters, nor how many children are in each one. But confidential government data obtained by the AP shows that in June nearly one in four migrant children in government care was housed by CHS. That included more than 2,300 teens at Homestead, Florida, and more than 500 kids in shelters in Brownsville, Los Fresnos and San Benito, Texas. For each teen held at Homestead at that time, it cost taxpayers an average $775 per day.
Trump administration privatizing migrant child detention – MarketWatch
sigh….
Pete Buttigieg met with Black Lives Matter after Eric Logan shooting
Members of Black Lives Matter …say the 37-year-old Democratic mayor brushed off their concerns about police violence in the city he has led since 2012.
“He seemed to have already taken a side. It did seem that he was prioritizing who he thought was important, and it didn’t seem to be black people.”
…Activists pushed Buttigieg to address the disparities …between the national figure …campaigning on a forceful pledge to go after systemic racism, and the local public official who …caved to bureaucratic obstacles and political opposition.
…“He tried to argue that there was support for the chief, and that there were members of the public who wanted more police. …When you think about these issues, who is the public that you’re thinking about? The white public or the black public?”
…The mayor had pledged to attend some of the community meetings the city had scheduled in the wake of the shooting to review police policies, they said. But there have been six so far, and he hasn’t showed.
Instead, they said they were met by police officers openly carrying weapons.
…The activists …pressed Buttigieg …to deliver on promises that he had made …concerning providing mental health resources to Logan’s family members, and releasing data about how members of the police department fared in an online test administered by Harvard University that measures racial bias.
…[Buttgieg’s] promises [to members of Black Lives Matter] fizzled, as they were passed along to more city officials who ultimately turned them down.
…“If you ask black South Bend what they think of Mayor Pete, I don’t think he has a very big fan base,” she said. “So if he hasn’t been able to win the support of black South Bend, I don’t think he should win the support of black America.”
Pete Buttigieg met with Black Lives Matter after Eric Logan shooting
Despite what the progressive community would like to think, being a member of one minority does not automatically make you sensitive to the positions and issues of another group.
If the Mayor was doing more than giving lip-service, if he really understood and empathized with the position of the black residents of South Bend, if he truly cared about criminal justice reform and parity under the law for black citizens, these promises would have turned into action instead of empty air.
Tamarac, Florida official shames cop for ‘false’ arrest at ceremony
Minutes earlier, Gallardo was honored with a Deputy of the Month award for the month of April for arresting a man wanted for a murder committed in El Salvador.
“You probably don’t remember me, but you’re the police officer who falsely arrested me four years ago,” Gelin, who is black, told Gallardo. “You lied on the police report. I believe you’re a rogue police officer, you’re a bad police officer and you don’t deserve to be here.”
[The Tamarac mayor] shamed Gelin for his remarks, which she told the station could have violated the city’s civility code, and might result in his censure.
…Gelin said that the current County Sheriff Gregory Tony reached out after the ceremony and offered “for us to work constructively together to bring about positive change.”
Tamarac, Florida official shames cop for ‘false’ arrest at ceremony
The mayor was more concerned about the fact that someone criticized a police officer than the fact that the police officer made a false arrest then lied about it in official documents? Can you say, c-u-l-p-a-b-l-e?
Live updates: Ex-cop Amber Guyger found guilty in murder of Botham Jean – CNN
Live updates: Ex-cop Amber Guyger found guilty in murder of Botham Jean – CNN
A jury gets it right. When a police officer kills someone without cause it is called murder.
School officials have yet to take action after New Jersey teacher’s Facebook post on Mexican ‘culture’ about missing 5-year-old
Jennifer Hewitt Bishop, a Vineland School District teacher, said in the comment, “They’re Mexican, it’s their culture. They don’t supervise their children like we do,” according to NJ.com.
hmmm
White man admits he’s ‘a racist’ after telling a Latina to ‘speak English’
Cristina Riofrio, 19, called the man “a racist” after he lashed out at her for speaking Spanish with a friend.
“I know I am,” he responded.
…Chatham County Sheriff John T. Wilcher said Thursday that the man was Walter Browning, employed at the sheriff’s office jail as a maintenance mechanic.
Wilcher said in a press release that the man was fired and that the county office would “have no tolerance for this type of behavior and will not allow any person to knowingly be mistreated.”
White man admits he’s ‘a racist’ after telling a Latina to ‘speak English’
hmmmm
Congress and candidates, take note: Anti-Muslim sentiments are unpopular | TheHill
An elected official’s support for this policy scores them few points with most voters, our organization has found. And, in fact, the sentiment that fuels such support is bad for both our nation’s security and freedom.
,,,Majorities in all major faith and non-faith groups say support for the Muslim ban would either decrease their support or make no difference in their support for a candidate for office.
…We weren’t surprised when we found low support for the ban, because our data also show that most Americans (86 percent) want to live in a country where no one is targeted for their religious identity. Moreover, the majority (66 percent) think negative rhetoric about Muslims is harmful for America.
…Those who endorse anti-Muslim stereotypes were more likely to support suspending checks and balances and limiting freedom of the press in the wake of a terrorist attack.
Ironically, those who hold Islamophobic views, while claiming Muslims are prone to violence, also were more likely to say targeting civilians with lethal force is “sometimes justified,” both by the military and even by non-state actors. Bigotry is a danger, not only to its target group but to the freedom and safety of our entire nation.
After learning what Islamophobia is tied to, you may be relieved to know that our data show that only about 15 percent of Americans harbor anti-Muslim sentiments.
Congress and candidates, take note: Anti-Muslim sentiments are unpopular | TheHill
mmhmmm
Prison Gerrymandering Suit Can Proceed | New Haven Independent
Connecticut’s practice of counting incarcerated people in the places they are locked up instead of the place they reside, for the purposes of redistricting. The suit argues that at least five state House of Representative districts and possibly as many as nine districts — Districts 5, 37, 42, 52, 59, 61, 103, 106, 108 and Senate District 7 — have an inflated amount of political power because of this practice.
That means white and rural areas gain political power at the expense of cities.
Prison Gerrymandering Suit Can Proceed | New Haven Independent
Jeezus….
Hate crime trial launches today for former Bordentown Township police chief Frank Nucera Jr. – CBS News
For officers who are charged over excessive force, courts and juries are often reluctant to second guess an officer’s actions on the job, according to Stinson. But Stinson said he’s not sure whether that will hold true in the Nucera trial because of the “allegations of blatant racial discrimination and violence based on race by a police chief.”
…Racism and bigotry in law enforcement “destroys the integrity of the judicial system as a whole” because any an officer’s racist beliefs would likely drive who they choose to arrest or target, said Beirich, of the Southern Poverty Law Center.
…”There’s nothing more dangerous than a person who has a gun and has authority over someone who is motivated by hate,” Beirich said.
hmmm
Black Voters Sue Over Mississippi’s Jim Crow-Era Election Law
Since Reconstruction in Mississippi — the state with the highest percentage population of African-Americans — there has not been a single black statewide office holder.
…The framers explicitly stated, “It is the manifest intention of this Convention to secure to the State of Mississippi ‘white supremacy,’ ” according to the journal of the proceedings.
…To that end, they adopted a two-tiered path to win statewide office, like governor or attorney general. Candidates must get both a majority of the popular vote, and win in a majority of Mississippi’s 122 state house districts, (only 42 of which are majority black). Otherwise, the state house of representatives gets to decide who wins.
Black Voters Sue Over Mississippi’s Jim Crow-Era Election Law : NPR
New Jersey Police Chief Who Called Donald Trump ‘Last Hope For White People’ on Trial For Hate Crime
A police chief in New Jersey who allegedly said he wanted to “mow down” African Americans and claimed Donald Trump was “the last hope for white people” is currently being tried on hate-crime charges.
…[An] officer testified that retired Bordentown Police Chief Frank Nucera Jr. routinely used racial slurs and said black people should be shot.
…Nucera, who retired abruptly in 2017, has been charged with hate-crime assault, as well as civil rights violations and lying to the FBI.
…Roohr also said Nucera directed K-9 officers to use police dogs to intimidate black people.
New Jersey Police Chief Who Called Donald Trump ‘Last Hope For White People’ on Trial For Hate Crime
Who cares if the officers testifying are doing because they ‘knew his behavior was wrong’ or if they just don’t like him.
Anytime an officer provides evidence to the courts of an other officer stepping outside the lines of common decency and their job purview it’s more than a good. thing.
Without consequences for bad behavior police officers are nothing more than armed gang.
American Airlines sorry after ‘telling woman to cover up’ – BBC News
She alleged a flight attendant first asked her to step off the plane, then described her outfit as “inappropriate” to fly and asked if she had a jacket to “cover up” with.
…After attempts to defend her outfit apparently failed and her son become upset, Dr Rowe said she felt forced to wrap a blanket around her waist and return to her seat feeling “humiliated”.
…”Our bodies are over sexualized as women and we [are forced to] ADJUST to make everyone around us comfortable.”
“I’ve seen white women with much shorter shorts board a plane without a blink of an eye.”
On Tuesday the airline said they had apologised to Dr Rowe and her son and refunded their travel.
American Airlines sorry after ‘telling woman to cover up’ – BBC News
Screw the apology. Why does that flight attendant still have a job???
Cop Charged With Punching Black Student, Lying About It
When police arrived, the school resource officers already had one juvenile in custody and the aunt of the child who was attacked was at the scene. The second video shows the officer approaching the aunt while yelling: “You want to go to jail? You want to go to jail? Let’s go!”
When the teen steps in between his aunt and the cop, Lawson punches the kid squarely in the face, sending the boy to the pavement.
When the cops wrote up the incident report, they claimed that the student “attempted to assault the officer,” and that he only delivered an “open palm” to the student. According to a federal lawsuit filed by the victim’s parents, Lawson ordered the child’s aunt to stop recording the incident and tried to confiscate the aunt’s phone. Lawson arrested the 17-year-old, charging resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.
….[Lawson] told internal investigators that the child had balled up his fists, “bladed his body” and gave him an angry look.
…although the child’s face wasn’t visible in the footage, both hands were open and not making a fist. Lawson’s incident report also said that he immediately handcuffed the youngster but the video shows him kneeing the high-schooler in the chest.
….Lawson will turn himself in to authorities and face the charges of misdemeanor battery, false information (a misdemeanor), felony perjury, felony obstruction of justice and official misconduct—a felony.
[and then the prosecutor said some petty shit, casting aspirations at the Aunt of the boy was originally attacked. Because… douchebag’s gonna douchnozzle and nothing say douchenozzle like getting all patronizing and Trump level self-righteous in an attempt to divert attention away from the real asswipe in the situation.]
Cop Charged With Punching Black Student, Lying About It
hmmmm
Philly Police Investigating Alleged Racial Profiling Incident in Viral Video
Philly Police Investigating Alleged Racial Profiling Incident in Viral Video
Another officer who should lose his badge
Virginia removes requirement to declare race on marriage forms – BBC News
Marriage licence applicants can now choose to opt out of the question stating their race.
…A lawyer for the couples welcomed the move but said they wanted to fight on to remove the law altogether.
…Some options on forms included Aryan, Moor, Octoroon and Mulatto.
…Virginia is one of eight states in the US with the legal requirement to identify race prior to marriage.
Virginia removes requirement to declare race on marriage forms – BBC News
hmmm
In Alaska hometown, Native women say police ignored rapes
Susie reported to Nome police that she had been assaulted and went with the investigating officer to the hospital, where a forensic nurse was prepared to perform a sexual assault exam.
But the officer told the nurse not to bother, according to a hospital record that Susie released to The Associated Press.
…Rape survivors and their supporters told the AP that the city’s police department has often failed to investigate sexual assaults or keep survivors informed about what, if anything, is happening with their cases.
Survivors and advocates contend that Nome police pay less attention and investigate less aggressively when sexual assaults are reported by Alaska Native women. More than half of Nome’s population is Alaska Native, largely of Yupik heritage or — like Susie — of Inupiaq heritage. All of its police department’s sworn officers are non-Native.
In Alaska hometown, Native women say police ignored rapes – ABC News
sigh…
Comments From The Peanut Gallery 