Citizens' Oversight Maryland---Maryland Progressives
CINDY WALSH FOR MAYOR OF BALTIMORE----SOCIAL DEMOCRAT
Citizens Oversight Maryland.com
  • Home
  • Cindy Walsh for Mayor of Baltimore
    • Mayoral Election violations
    • Questionnaires from Community >
      • Education Questionnaire
      • Baltimore Housing Questionnaire
      • Emerging Youth Questionnaire
      • Health Care policy for Baltimore
      • Environmental Questionnaires
      • Livable Baltimore questionnaire
      • Labor Questionnnaire
      • Ending Food Deserts Questionnaire
      • Maryland Out of School Time Network
      • LBGTQ Questionnaire
      • Citizen Artist Baltimore Mayoral Forum on Arts & Culture Questionnaire
      • Baltimore Transit Choices Questionnaire
      • Baltimore Activating Solidarity Economies (BASE)
      • Downtown Partnership Questionnaire
      • The Northeast Baltimore Communities Of BelAir Edison Community Association (BECCA )and Frankford Improvement Association, Inc. (FIA)
      • Streets and Transportation/Neighbood Questionnaire
      • African American Tourism and business questionnaire
      • Baltimore Sun Questionnaire
      • City Paper Mayoral Questionnaire
      • Baltimore Technology Com Questionnaire
      • Baltimore Biker's Questionnair
      • Homewood Friends Meeting Questionnaire
      • Baltimore Historical Collaboration---Anthem Project
      • Tubman City News Mayoral Questionnaire
      • Maryland Public Policy Institute Questionnaire
      • AFRO questionnaire
      • WBAL Candidate's Survey
  • Blog
  • Trans Pacific Pact (TPP)
  • Progressive vs. Third Way Corporate Democrats
    • Third Way Think Tanks
  • Financial Reform/Wall Street Fraud
    • Consumer Financial Protection Bureau >
      • CFPB Actions
    • Voted to Repeal Glass-Steagall
    • Federal Reserve >
      • Federal Reserve Actions
    • Securities and Exchange Commission >
      • SEC Actions
    • Commodity Futures Trading Commission >
      • CFTC Actions
    • Office of the Comptroller of the Currency >
      • OCC Actions
    • Office of Treasury/ Inspector General for the Treasury
    • FINRA >
      • FINRA ACTIONS
  • Federal Healthcare Reform
    • Health Care Fraud in the US
    • Health and Human Services Actions
  • Social Security and Entitlement Reform
    • Medicare/Medicaid/SCHIP Actions
  • Federal Education Reform
    • Education Advocates
  • Government Schedules
    • Baltimore City Council
    • Maryland State Assembly >
      • Budget and Taxation Committee
    • US Congress
  • State and Local Government
    • Baltimore City Government >
      • City Hall Actions
      • Baltimore City Council >
        • Baltimore City Council Actions
      • Baltimore Board of Estimates meeting >
        • Board of Estimates Actions
    • Governor's Office >
      • Telling the World about O'Malley
    • Lt. Governor Brown
    • Maryland General Assembly Committees >
      • Communications with Maryland Assembly
      • Budget and Taxation Committees >
        • Actions
        • Pension news
      • Finance Committees >
        • Schedule
      • Business Licensing and Regulation
      • Judicial, Rules, and Nominations Committee
      • Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee >
        • Committee Actions
    • Maryland State Attorney General >
      • Open Meetings Act
      • Maryland Courts >
        • Maryland Court System
    • States Attorney - Baltimore's Prosecutor
    • State Comptroller's Office >
      • Maryland Business Tax Reform >
        • Business Tax Reform Issues
  • Maryland Committee Actions
    • Board of Public Works >
      • Public Works Actions
    • Maryland Public Service Commission >
      • Public Meetings
    • Maryland Health Care Commission/Maryland Community Health Resources Commission >
      • MHCC/MCHRC Actions
    • Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition
  • Maryland and Baltimore Development Organizations
    • Baltimore/Maryland Development History
    • Committee Actions
    • Maryland Development Organizations
  • Maryland State Department of Education
    • Charter Schools
    • Public Schools
    • Algebra Project Award
  • Baltimore City School Board
    • Charter Schools >
      • Charter Schools---Performance
      • Charter School Issues
    • Public Schools >
      • Public School Issues
  • Progressive Issues
    • Fair and Balanced Elections
    • Labor Issues
    • Rule of Law Issues >
      • Rule of Law
    • Justice issues 2
    • Justice Issues
    • Progressive Tax Reform Issues >
      • Maryland Tax Reform Issues
      • Baltimore Tax Reform Issues
    • Strong Public Education >
      • Corporate education reform organizations
    • Healthcare for All Issues >
      • Universal Care Bill by state
  • Building Strong Media
    • Media with a Progressive Agenda (I'm still checking on that!) >
      • anotherangryvoice.blogspot.com
      • "Talk About It" Radio - WFBR 1590AM Baltimore
      • Promethius Radio Project
      • Clearing the Fog
      • Democracy Now
      • Black Agenda Radio
      • World Truth. TV Your Alternative News Network.
      • Daily Censured
      • Bill Moyers Journal
      • Center for Public Integrity
      • Public Radio International
      • Baltimore Brew
      • Free Press
    • Far Left/Socialist Media
    • Media with a Third Way Agenda >
      • MSNBC
      • Center for Media and Democracy
      • Public Radio and TV >
        • NPR and MPT News
      • TruthOut
  • Progressive Organizations
    • Political Organizations >
      • Progressives United
      • Democracy for America
    • Labor Organizations >
      • United Workers
      • Unite Here Local 7
      • ROC-NY works to build power and win justice
    • Justice Organizations >
      • APC Baltimore
      • Occupy Baltimore
    • Rule of Law Organizations >
      • Bill of Rights Defense Committee
      • National Lawyers Guild
      • National ACLU
    • Tax Reform Organizations
    • Healthcare for All Organizations >
      • Healthcare is a Human Right - Maryland
      • PNHP Physicians for a National Health Program
      • Healthcare NOW- Maryland
    • Public Education Organizations >
      • Parents Across America
      • Philadelphia Public School Notebook thenotebook.org
      • Chicago Teachers Union/Blog
      • Ed Wize Blog
      • Educators for a Democratic Union
      • Big Education Ape
    • Elections Organizations >
      • League of Women Voters
  • Progressive Actions
    • Labor Actions
    • Justice Actions
    • Tax Reform Actions >
      • Baltimore Tax Actions
      • Maryland Tax Reform Actions
    • Healthcare Actions
    • Public Education Actions
    • Rule of Law Actions >
      • Suing Federal and State government
    • Free and Fair Elections Actions
  • Maryland/Baltimore Voting Districts - your politicians and their votes
    • 2014 ELECTION OF STATE OFFICES
    • Maryland Assembly/Baltimore
  • Petitions, Complaints, and Freedom of Information Requests
    • Complaints - Government and Consumer >
      • Sample Complaints
    • Petitions >
      • Sample Petitions
    • Freedom of Information >
      • Sample Letters
  • State of the Democratic Party
  • Misc
    • WBFF TV
    • WBAL TV
    • WJZ TV
    • WMAR TV
    • WOLB Radio---Radio One
    • The Gazette
    • Baltimore Sun Media Group
  • Misc 2
    • Maryland Public Television
    • WYPR
    • WEAA
    • Maryland Reporter
  • Misc 3
    • University of Maryland
    • Morgan State University
  • Misc 4
    • Baltimore Education Coalition
    • BUILD Baltimore
    • Church of the Great Commission
    • Maryland Democratic Party
    • Pennsylvania Avenue AME Zion Church
    • Maryland Municipal League
    • Maryland League of Women Voters
  • Untitled
  • Untitled
  • Standard of Review
  • Untitled
  • WALSH FOR GOVERNOR - CANDIDATE INFORMATION AND PLATFORM
    • Campaign Finance/Campaign donations
    • Speaking Events
    • Why Heather Mizeur is NOT a progressive
    • Campaign responses to Community Organization Questionnaires
    • Cindy Walsh vs Maryland Board of Elections >
      • Leniency from court for self-representing plaintiffs
      • Amended Complaint
      • Plaintiff request for expedited trial date
      • Response to Motion to Dismiss--Brown, Gansler, Mackie, and Lamone
      • Injunction and Mandamus
      • DECISION/APPEAL TO SPECIAL COURT OF APPEALS---Baltimore City Circuit Court response to Cindy Walsh complaint >
        • Brief for Maryland Court of Special Appeals >
          • Cover Page ---yellow
          • Table of Contents
          • Table of Authorities
          • Leniency for Pro Se Representation
          • Statement of Case
          • Questions Presented
          • Statement of Facts
          • Argument
          • Conclusion/Font and Type Size
          • Record Extract
          • Appendix
          • Motion for Reconsideration
          • Response to Defendants Motion to Dismiss
          • Motion to Reconsider Dismissal
      • General Election fraud and recount complaints
    • Cindy Walsh goes to Federal Court for Maryland election violations >
      • Complaints filed with the FCC, the IRS, and the FBI
      • Zapple Doctrine---Media Time for Major Party candidates
      • Complaint filed with the US Justice Department for election fraud and court irregularities.
      • US Attorney General, Maryland Attorney General, and Maryland Board of Elections are charged with enforcing election law
      • Private media has a responsibility to allow access to all candidates in an election race. >
        • Print press accountable to false statement of facts
      • Polling should not determine a candidate's viability especially if the polling is arbitrary
      • Viability of a candidate
      • Public media violates election law regarding do no damage to candidate's campaign
      • 501c3 Organizations violate election law in doing no damage to a candidate in a race >
        • 501c3 violations of election law-----private capital
      • Voter apathy increases when elections are not free and fair
  • Maryland Board of Elections certifies election on July 10, 2014
  • Maryland Elections ---2016

March 31st, 2016

3/31/2016

0 Comments

 
I WILL FINISH THIS WEEK ON BUILDING PUBLIC JUSTICE BY REVISITING THE US CONSTITUTIONAL LAW REGARDING NATIONAL, STATE, AND LOCAL SOVEREIGNTY WHICH IS GROUND ZERO IN REVERSING THIS HOLD OF US INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ZONES AND GLOBAL CORPORATIONS.

We talked of public justice in building legal oversight that actually looks for fraud, corruption, and moves citizen complaints forward in the courts----we talked about public justice as VOIDING Maryland and Baltimore laws passed that act as barriers to our access to Grand Jury and Baltimore State's Attorney handling of ALL legitimate civil and criminal claims by citizens because they are unconstitutional and violate Equal Protection----we talked how WAR ON GUNS is yet another far-right Reagan Republican neo-liberal war on people's civil rights and liberties being pushed by Clinton and Obama neo-liberals----social Democrats address the social issues of impoverishment, employment, and community stability as the platform in reducing violence and crime.  We do not look for ways to increasingly criminalize people.  Zero tolerance was another Reagan/Clinton far-right Republican policy pushed by an O'Malley as Clinton and a Rawlings-Blake as Obama neo-liberal. 

WE ALL KNOW THESE POLICIES DO NOTHING TO REDUCE DRUG USE-----CRIMINAL ACTIVITY----AND NOW GUN USE.

Yesterday we talked of building small media in each community to allow citizens to hold power accountable as central to PUBLIC JUSTICE.  REAL social Democrats have been doing that for decades and Bernie Sanders has as well---I will take Bernie's funding to create media competition locally and make sure each community has TV, radio, and print media businesses.


Bernie Sanders on Why Big Media Shouldn’t Get Bigger
December 7, 2012

In 1983, 50 corporations controlled a majority of American media. Now that number is six. And Big Media may get even bigger, thanks to the FCC’s consideration of ending a rule preventing companies from owning a newspaper and radio and TV stations in the same big city. Such a move — which they’ve tried in 2003 and 2007 as well –would give these massive media companies free rein to devour more of the competition, control the public message, and also limit diversity across the media landscape. Senator Bernie Sanders, one of several Senators who have written FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski asking him to suspend the plan, joins Bill to discuss why Big Media is a threat to democracy and what citizens can do to fight back.

Sanders also expresses his dismay that such a move would come from an Obama appointee. “Why the Obama Administration is doing something that the Bush Administration failed to do is beyond my understanding,” Sanders tells Bill. “And we’re gonna do everything we can to prevent it from happening.”


________________________________________________
When Congress thought it could pass laws designating US cities as International Economic Zones and call them global  FREE MARKET and TAX-FREE Zones they did so OUTSIDE of US Constitutional law because Congress does not have that ability to control state and city economic or development policy. It regulates global trade-----it can pass national taxes----but it cannot force a state or city to adhere to global trade policies that everyone knows is against public interest and national security and sovereignty and it cannot force a state or city NOT TO TAX-----and then there are the anti-monopoly laws built right into our Constitution and Federal law.

Then we have the level of sovereignty coming from our Maryland State Constitution which states that Maryland is a sovereign state, it does not tolerate monopoly, and it gives each county/city its sovereignty in issues as central to real estate development and economy.

THE ONE ISSUE THAT ACTS AS THE CATCH-ALL FOR EVERY ISSUE OF WHICH I SPOKE THIS WEEK----CITY/NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY.  CITY/NATIONAL SECURITY.

Now, if you have Wall Street global pols controlling both Republican and Democratic Parties then you have pols thinking they can IGNORE THE GORILLA IN THE ROOM OF US CONSTITUTIONAL LAW AND WE THE PEOPLE AS LEGISLATORS------they are of course acting illegally in doing so and a Mayor of Baltimore can move to VOID and ignore these policies of International Economic Zone and Trans Pacific Trade Pact as we head to Federal court to fight this.

One way a Mayor of Baltimore ignores these threats to our city and national security is to REMOVE all global corporations from government and to stop the development around global corporate campuses.  I do this because it is only global corporations able to use International Economic Zone and Trans Pacific Trade Pact policies to the great detriment of the American and Baltimore citizens.  Small business economies are not tied to these international policies which while illegal will take time to reverse.  Until we do-----US cities simply need to KEEP GLOBAL CORPORATIONS AND MARKETS AT BAY.

Now, Clinton/Obama/Bush/Hopkins Wall Street global corporate neo-liberals and neo-cons are trying as hard as they can to undermine social Democratic control of the Democratic Party in US cities like Baltimore designated International Economic Zones for just this reason.
 

Sovereignty

The supreme, absolute, and uncontrollable power by which an independent state is governed and from which all specific political powers are derived; the intentional independence of a state, combined with the right and power of regulating its internal affairs without foreign interference.
Sovereignty is the power of a state to do everything necessary to govern itself, such as making, executing, and applying laws; imposing and collecting taxes; making war and peace; and forming treaties or engaging in commerce with foreign nations.
The individual states of the United States do not possess the powers of external sovereignty, such as the right to deport undesirable persons, but each does have certain attributes of internal sovereignty, such as the power to regulate the acquisition and transfer of property within its borders. The sovereignty of a state is determined with reference to the U.S. Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land.




Executive Order 13083 - Federalism
May 14, 1998


  Bill Clinton and now Obama

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents
Font Size:




By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to guarantee the division of governmental responsibilities, embodied in the Constitution, between the Federal Government and the States that was intended by the Framers and application of those principles by the Executive departments and agencies in the formulation and implementation of policies, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Definitions. For purposes of this order:
(a) "State" or "States" refer to the States of the United States of America, individually or collectively, and, where relevant, to State governments, including units of local government and other political subdivisions established by the States.
(b) "Policies that have federalism implications" refers to Federal regulations, proposed legislation, and other policy statements or actions that have substantial direct effects on the States or on the relationship, or the distribution of power and responsibilities, between the Federal Government and the States.
(c) "Agency" means any authority of the United States that is an "agency" under 44 U.S.C. 3502(1), other than those considered to be independent regulatory agencies, as defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(5).
Sec. 2. Fundamental Federalism Principles. In formulating and implementing policies that have federalism implications, agencies shall be guided by the following fundamental federalism principles:
(a) The structure of government established by the Constitution is premised upon a system of checks and balances.
(b) The Constitution created a Federal Government of supreme, but limited, powers. The sovereign powers not granted to the Federal Government are reserved to the people or to the States, unless prohibited to the states by the Constitution.
(c) Federalism reflects the principle that dividing power between the Federal Government and the States serves to protect individual liberty. Preserving State authority provides an essential balance to the power of the Federal Government, while preserving the supremacy of Federal law provides an essential balance to the power of the States.
(d) The people of the States are at liberty, subject only to the limitations in the Constitution itself or in Federal law, to define the moral, political, and legal character of their lives.
(e) Our constitutional system encourages a healthy diversity in the public policies adopted by the people of the several States according to their own conditions, needs, and desires. States and local governments are often uniquely situated to discern the sentiments of the people and to govern accordingly.
(f) Effective public policy is often achieved when there is competition among the several States in the fashioning of different approaches to public policy issues. The search for enlightened public policy is often furthered when individual States and local governments are free to experiment with a variety of approaches to public issues. Uniform, national approaches to public policy problems can inhibit the creation of effective solutions to those problems.
(g) Policies of the Federal Government should recognize the responsibility of--and should encourage opportunities for--States, local governments, private associations, neighborhoods, families, and individuals to achieve personal, social, environmental, and economic objectives through cooperative effort.
Sec. 3. Federalism Policymaking Criteria. In addition to adhering to the fundamental federalism principles set forth in section 2 of this order, agencies shall adhere, to the extent permitted by law, to the following criteria when formulating and implementing policies that have federalism implications:
(a) There should be strict adherence to constitutional principles. Agencies should closely examine the constitutional and statutory authority supporting any Federal action that would limit the policymaking discretion of States and local governments, and should carefully assess the necessity for such action.
(b) Agencies may limit the policymaking discretion of States and local governments only after determining that there is constitutional and legal authority for the action.
(c) With respect to Federal statutes and regulations administered by States and local governments, the Federal Government should grant States and local governments the maximum administrative discretion possible. Any Federal oversight of such State and local administration should not unnecessarily intrude on State and local discretion.
(d) It is important to recognize the distinction between matters of national or multi-state scope (which may justify Federal action) and matters that are merely common to the States (which may not justify Federal action because individual States, acting individually or together, may effectively deal with them). Matters of national or multi-state scope that justify Federal action may arise in a variety of circumstances, including:
(1) When the matter to be addressed by Federal action occurs interstate as opposed to being contained within one State's boundaries.
(2) When the source of the matter to be addressed occurs in a State different from the State (or States) where a significant amount of the harm occurs.
(3) When there is a need for uniform national standards.
(4) When decentralization increases the costs of government thus imposing additional burdens on the taxpayer.
(5) When States have not adequately protected individual rights and liberties.
(6) When States would be reluctant to impose necessary regulations because of fears that regulated business activity will relocate to other States.
(7) When placing regulatory authority at the State or local level would undermine regulatory goals because high costs or demands for specialized expertise will effectively place the regulatory matter beyond the resources of State authorities.
(8) When the matter relates to Federally owned or managed property or natural resources, trust obligations, or international obligations.
(9) When the matter to be regulated significantly or uniquely affects Indian tribal governments.
Sec. 4. Consultation. (a) Each agency shall have an effective process to permit elected officials and other representatives of State and local governments to provide meaningful and timely input in the development of regulatory policies that have federalism implications.
(b) To the extent practicable and permitted by law, no agency shall promulgate any regulation that is not required by statute, that has federalism implications, and that imposes substantial direct compliance costs on States and local governments, unless:
(1) funds necessary to pay the direct costs incurred by the State or local government in complying with the regulation are provided by the Federal Government; or
(2) the agency, prior to the formal promulgation of the regulation,
(A) in a separately identified portion of the preamble to the regulation as it is to be issued in the Federal Register, provides to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget a description of the extent of the agency's prior consultation with representatives of affected States and local governments, a summary of the nature of their concerns, and the agency's position supporting the need to issue the regulation; and
(B) makes available to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget any written communications submitted to the agency by States or local governments.
Sec. 5. Increasing Flexibility for State and Local Waivers. (a) Agencies shall review the processes under which States and local governments apply for waivers of statutory and regulatory requirements and take appropriate steps to streamline those processes.
(b) Each agency shall, to the extent practicable and permitted by law, consider any application by a State or local government for a waiver of statutory or regulatory requirements in connection with any program administered by that agency with a general view toward increasing opportunities for utilizing flexible policy approaches at the State or local level in cases in which the proposed waiver is consistent with applicable Federal policy objectives and is otherwise appropriate.  'THIS IS THE MAIN CLAUSE THAT HAS ALLOWED A COMPLETE DISREGARD TO US CONSTITUTIONAL EQUAL PROTECTION AND FEDERAL LAWS IN PLACE FOR OVER A CENTURY----NOTICE IS STATES---'CONSISTENT WITH APPLICABLE FEDERAL POLICY OBJECTIVES'.


___________________________________________
Clinton's Federalism Act by Executive Order was the source of total disregard of Federal law and US Constitutional rights and led in the dismantling of all Federal agencies under SMALL GOVERNMENT.  This is a states right issue and as Clinton/Obama/Reagan neo-liberals are far-right politicians-----they are indeed state's right.  Social democracy was of course killed by this stance BUT AS WE READ THIS EXECUTIVE ORDER----we see over and over again that the states and cities have the power to interpret Federal and US Constitutional policy.  Now, states like Maryland -----controlled by WALL STREET GLOBAL CORPORATE CLINTON/OBAMA NEO-LIBERALS AND BUSH/HOPKINS NEO-CONS of course brought the interpretation of ANYTHING GOES ergo these few decades of absolutely no oversight and accountability and dismantling of all public justice.

Republican think tanks always talk out of two sides of the mouth.  They condemned Clinton for using Executive Order as did Reagan-----and they promoted the idea of UNFUNDED MANDATES FROM CONGRESS meaning if the Federal government does not send the funds then states do not have to embrace these policies.  Bush's NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND was an unfunded mandate and yet no mention here.  So, in these few decades of defunding and cuts all Federal agencies that once funded our environmental, labor and justice oversight and policy dried up and states said NO MONEY NO ENFORCEMENT.

Republican voters may have liked that these decades but these last several years have Bush/Obama simply saying I SEE NO FRAUD----I SEE NO MONOPOLIES------I SEE NO THREATS TO NATIONAL SECURITY BY PRIVATIZATION OF ALL OUR MILITARY AND HOMELAND SECURITY AND ALL OUR VITAL NATIONAL, STATE, AND LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE TO GLOBAL CORPORATIONS----- which of course is ridiculous and has no connection to what our US Constitution says.  Indeed, we have seen excessive abuse of Executive Order from Clinton/Bush/Obama----

A MAYOR OF BALTIMORE HAS THE POWER TO ENFORCE FEDERAL LAWS AND US CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS----A MAYOR HAS THE POWER TO BRING FEDERAL AGENCIES IN TO ENFORCE FEDERAL AND US CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS
.

National, state, and local sovereignty issues are the greatest of threats in regard to public justice, civil rights, and our rights as citizens to create our own vision of Baltimore as an American city with a stable, healthy, local economy.



Below you can imagine the ignoring of EPA laws surrounding the building of Harbor Point on a toxic waste dump came with LOCAL OFFICIALS talking to an Obama corporate EPA to determine it was not a health or environmental risk.....and we all know it is.


90th Anniversary Series
Protecting Federalism: Still the Battle Cry of Cities


Posted on
September 8, 2014
by Carolyn Berndt



The year 1995 was a time of “reinventing government,” with both the Clinton Administration and the new Republican majority Congress pledging to streamline government, balance the federal budget, and shift policy responsibilities to states, local governments and the private sector.
Fundamental questions about the roles and responsibilities of government took center stage in Washington. One that NLC was particularly concerned about was whether federal programs could be reduced or eliminated without shifting the costs to local governments in the form of unfunded mandates.
Then NLC Executive Director Don Borut said cities are essential partners in federalism discussions. “This national discussion on governance provides an important opportunity to restructure the relationship between local government and the federal system.”
The renewed focus on federalism was at time when cities were seeing a rise in regulatory or “coercive federalism” through regulations, mandates and preemptions and a decline in fiscal federalism, as Borut noted years later. From 1945-1995, the number of federal mandates on state and local governments increased from less than 10 to more than 100 (and probably more so today). Since the late 1970s the federal government’s share of city budgets has declined from about 15 percent to 5 percent (and probably less so today).
Thus, NLC developed a framework of principles through which to engage, initiate, and respond to specific structural and programmatic changes in government. One of the principles focused on “effective federalism,” meaning “not leaving national problems on the doorstep of local governments.”
Cities saw a major victory on the unfunded mandates front in 1995. The culmination of nearly two years work by NLC was celebrated at the 1995 Congressional City Conference with the news that the House and Senate Conference Committee had reached agreement on the final version of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA). In fact, President Clinton’s speech to NLC members was his first public endorsement of the bill and he guaranteed his signature.
NLC Second Vice President Greg Lashutka, Mayor, Columbus, OH said, “What was once the battle cry of overburdened cities and towns – no more unfunded mandates – is now on its way to becoming law of the land.”
A few days after the conference, President Clinton signed the landmark legislation before a jubilant crowd of state and local leaders from across the nation, including then NLC board member Clarence Anthony.
“As the long-awaited moment approached, sunshine broke from behind a wall of clouds, the Rose Garden was flooded with light, and clear skies graced the ceremony – an appropriate atmosphere for the signing of legislation that for the first time holds Congress accountable for the mandates it imposes on state and local governments and aims to prevent future unfunded mandates,” described an NLC news article.
With such optimism in 1995, the question then becomes, has the law lived up to its expectations? Hold that thought.
Over the course of the next several years, NLC joined with the other “Big Seven” state and local organizations in working with the Administration on additional guidance for implementing laws and developing rules that affect cities.
To that end, in August 1999, President Clinton issued Executive Order 13132: Federalism to “further the policies of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act” and to “ensure that the principles of federalism established by the Framers guide the executive departments and agencies in the formulation and implementation of policies.”
In addition to enumerating the basic principles of federalism, the Executive Order directed federal agencies to set up a consultation process “to ensure meaningful and timely input by State and local officials in the development of regulatory policies that have federalism implications.”
Under UMRA, an annual regulatory cost of over $100 million, in aggregate, to state and local government triggers an intergovernmental consultation process between the agency and elected officials.  Under the Executive Order, federal agencies adopted guidance consistent with UMRA—a $100 million threshold for triggering the consultation process.
UMRA and the Executive Order in Review – EPA Does it Right
So, how effective has UMRA and the Executive Order together been in curtailing unfunded mandates and promoting the intergovernmental partnership?
Since 1997, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has assessed whether legislation considered by Congress contains unfunded mandates and whether any unfunded mandate costs exceeds the UMRA threshold.
According to CBO, in the 17 years since UMRA became effective, there have been 13 laws with intergovernmental mandates that had costs estimated to exceed the statutory threshold, the last of which was enacted in 2010. Examples include increases in the minimum wage; minimum standards for issuing drivers licenses, identification cards and vital statistics documents; and requirements on rail and transit owners and operators.
As an elected or city official, you might say to yourself, “I know there have been more unfunded mandates placed on local governments than that!”
Well, there are limitations to how UMRA defines an unfunded mandate, and some federal requirements that are not considered mandates under UMRA have still imposed burdens or costs on local governments. Congress has been pretty careful in the way it structures laws to avoid creating mandates in a technical sense. For example, the No Child Left Behind Act has obligations that must be met as a condition for receiving federal grants, but it is not considered an unfunded mandate under UMRA.
While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), perhaps more than any other agency, has been criticized for imposing a significant number of costly unfunded mandates on state and local governments, it is a model for effective federalism in that the process it uses today for developing rules serves to strengthen the intergovernmental partnership.
Since the Executive Order was issued in 1999 through 2008, only two EPA regulations were found to have aggregate costs to state and local governments above the $100 million threshold for triggering the intergovernmental consultation process. Yet, state and local governments know that the costs of complying with federal environmental rules and regulations are high and the number of unfunded regulatory mandates is growing.
In 2008 the agency undertook a review of its Federalism guidance, including soliciting comments on whether to lower the threshold for intergovernmental consultation. NLC, along with the other “Big Seven” state and local government groups supported lowering the threshold in order to have more regular consultation with elected officials, earlier in the regulatory process.
In November 2008, EPA announced that it was lowering the intergovernmental consultation threshold to $25 million in the “spirit” of federalism to improve the way the agency defines, conducts and makes regulatory decisions.
“By lowering the threshold, local governments could be consulted on a more regular basis on issues of mutual importance to the quality of life in the communities we both aim to serve and the fiscal impact of those decisions,” said NLC President Kathleen Novak.
“State and local officials often serve as the ‘front line’ managers of federally mandated environmental regulations,” said EPA Deputy Administrator Marcus Peacock. “If we want good rules, early consultation with these partners is crucial.”
Since the new, lower EPA Federalism guidance went into effect, NLC and the other state and local government groups were consulted with on 16 different rulemaking procedures before a proposed rule was even written, an opportunity that rarely existed before.


Building on Success

EPA’s action came at a time when state and local officials were calling for a stronger working relationship with federal partners in solving major environmental challenges.
The consultation is important. The early input is the rulemaking process gives cities a seat at the table and a say in shaping a rule from the beginning, which NLC has long advocated for and which strengthens the intergovernmental partnership.
Federal preemption of local authority and unfunded mandates from Congress and all the federal agencies are still serious concerns for local governments. UMRA was a victory for cities, but it has not stopped unfunded mandates in a broad sense. The lower EPA threshold for intergovernmental consultation was a victory for cities, which all agencies should follow.
With the midterm elections a few months away and as the nation gears up for the next presidential election, perhaps it is time for a new, new national discussion on federalism for the 21st Century.

_________________________________________
I am not going into the long talk about Baltimore's privatization of all that is public-----but this is central to city sovereignty....and it all contains global corporate control.

If you have followed national public policy discussions for decades you know that several years ago after 2008 crash and Obama's advancement of global corporate policies especially in our US citizens designated International Economic Zones----you would have read financial journalism that stated-----IN ORDER TO MOVE GLOBAL CORPORATE INTERESTS INTO STATES AND CITIES WE HAVE TO HAVE BRANCHES THAT LOOK LIKE INDEPENDENT LOCAL BUSINESSES.  That is what global pols do to make it appear there is no monopoly and in moving forward---no global corporate monopoly.  This is why PEPSI owning most junk food and drink brands hides that fact by people thinking each brand is a separate company.  It is one big monopoly of junk food and drink.

That is what is now happening with our US city vital infrastructure.  They are hiding who owns what with global investment firms tied to venture capitalists tied to IVY LEAGUE endowments tied to multi-national corporations ----all of which now are tied to local branches posing as Maryland or Greater Baltimore companies.

THAT IS BECAUSE----IT IS A THREAT TO NATIONAL, STATE, AND LOCAL SOVEREIGNTY TO HAVE GLOBAL CORPORATIONS TIED TO OUR VITAL INFRASTRUCTURE---AND VIOLATES US MONOPOLY LAWS FOR NATIONAL UTILITY CORPORATIONS TO CONTROL ALL OUR UTILITIES.


Business & Developmentby Danielle Sweeney8:36 amSep 17, 201430


Concern and confusion as city promotes water pipe warranties from one company


Residents have been getting letters from Public Works encouraging them to buy water and sewer line protection from HomeServe.

Part 1 of a two-part series.


Above: The city wants residents to buy water and sewer line coverage from this Connecticut company.
By now, if you live in Baltimore City, you’ve likely received in the mail an official-looking letter signed by Rudolph S. Chow with the city’s black-and-yellow municipal seal in the upper left hand corner.
Chow, director of the Department of Public Works (DPW), invites you, the homeowner, to enroll in a service plan to protect your pocketbook from the cost of potential pipe repairs. Specifically, on the water and sewer pipes between the street and your house that you – and not the city – are responsible for repairing.
A utility line break can cost property owners thousands of dollars.
Not only does Chow urge you to get coverage, he recommends a particular company with whom the city has signed a two-year contract – HomeServe USA, a leading provider of home emergency service plans that serves 1.6 million active policies in the U.S. and Canada.
The solicitation has set off a ripple of anxiety in households and online discussion forums across town, in part because one company has been endorsed by city government.
“I, too, got the letter from the city with the recommendation, but am I the only one who thinks the city endorsing one company is a serious conflict – and reminiscent of Sheila Dixon and those illegal back scratching issues. . .?” a Patterson Park area writer posted to Facebook.
Another writer said he would check to make sure his homeowners insurance doesn’t already cover it,” but was suspicious of the timing of the insurance push.
“Along with the major water infrastructure upgrades,” he wrote, “[it] really smells like ‘we know we’re going to break some stuff, and we are going to do our level best not to fix it, so here, buy some insurance, and it’ll be somebody else’s problem.’”
A Marketing Partnership
DPW has yet to respond to these concerns, but said in an earlier release that HomeServe “offered the lowest single premium cost to consumers and other quality services that will benefit city homeowners.”

The marketing partnership allows HomeServe “exclusive rights” to establish and provide a residential water and sewer service line protection program for Baltimore residents.
The letter from Chow says that for $5.99 a month for the first year (and a to-be-determined renewal price thereafter), Baltimore homeowners will get exterior water and sewer line coverage with no deductible.
The sewer service line’s annual benefit limit is $10,000; the water service line has no annual benefit limit. Customers can also purchase either water or sewer line coverage separately.
As part of its agreement approved last May by the Board of Estimates, the city would provide HomeServe a list of water and sewer customers for direct marketing purposes, and allow them to use city and DPW logos for “co-branding” products and services. Hence, the city seal on the solicitation from Chow.


Like Another Tax?



Why, though, is the city promoting pipe insurance?
The insurance idea was first publicly revealed last November after the Board of Estimates approved an $83.5 million contract to start the process of installing “smart,” or wireless, water meters across the city.
Timothy Krus, city purchasing agent, said the meter upgrades and related construction by the city could have an impact on aging pipes on private property. As a service to homeowners, he said, his office and DPW were preparing an RFP (Request For Proposals) to solicit private companies to offer warranty protection for residential water and sewer breaks.
At the time, City Comptroller Joan Pratt said purchasing the warranty was “like another tax.”
DPW now says that its partnership with HomeServe is separate and distinct from the city’s upcoming water meter replacement program.

“The replacement of a meter is very unlikely to impact water service to a home,” the department said in a statement. “If a city contractor’s negligent actions are the cause of damage to a citizen’s pipes, the contractor will be held responsible for the city’s costs.”


“We’re Not Making Any Money on This”



DPW spokesman Jeff Raymond also states that the city is not making money on this HomeServe contract.
In fact, “HomeServe will provide a pool of money for a hardship fund that will be used to offset the cost of repairs on properties owned by indigent residents. But even this money [$150,000 per year] does not go to city coffers, as it is held by and administered by HomeServe,” Raymond said in an email to The Brew. “Baltimore City is not making any money off of its agreement with HomeServe.”
But an “administrative compensation fee” to the city was originally on the table – it was a requirement in the RFP to bid on the contract.
The RFP stated that “For exclusive rights to establish and provide a Residential Water and Sewer Service Line Protection program for City customers, Proposer shall pay the city a monthly Administrative Compensation Fee based on the number of active customers. . . during that monthly period.”
According to Raymond, “The RFP did mention it [the administrative fee],  but by the time we got done, there was no administrative fee.”
A document on file at the Comptrollers Office confirms that the city will “forego the acceptance of any administration commission fee in favor of maximizing the available fund to city residents.”
Why the city first required an administrative compensation fee, but then chose not to accept it, is not clear.

Confusing Letter

Chow’s solicitation letter to city residents is a little confusing as well.
The missive clearly states that “HomeServe is an independent company separate from the city of Baltimore.” But it is the city’s – and not HomeServe’s – logo on the letter. (HomeServe’s logo does not have to be present, because the city is in a partnership with the company, said the Better Business Bureau of Connecticut, which reviews member advertising on an ongoing basis.)
Chow’s letter does state that the sewer and water line service is optional. It also tells customers that their “choice to participate in the service plan will not affect the price, availability, or terms of service from the City of Baltimore.”
Additionally, it notes that HomeServe is headquartered in Norwalk, Conn., and that homeowners should make their checks payable to HomeServe USA – not to the City of Baltimore.
And yet, Chow writes: “if you are interested in purchasing coverage for only one of your service lines [instead of the bundle] call us at the above number.” The “above number” is HomeServe’s.
Warranty, not Insurance
Whatever the city’s rationale for the partnership, an insurance policy for old pipes in Baltimore City, at least in principle, might make sense for some Baltimoreans.
But HomeServe’s policy is not insurance. It’s a warranty.

“HomeServe USA Repair Management Corporation. . . offers this optional service as an authorized representative of AMT Warranty Corp., the contract issuer.”

The difference between an insurance company and a warranty company likely has little to do with the quality of repair service a subscriber receives (The Better Business Bureau of Connecticut gives HomeServe an A- rating), but it’s an important distinction in terms of oversight.


No State Oversight


“We have no standing to regulate them.” Joe Sviatko, spokesman for the Maryland Insurance Administration, which enforces insurance laws and protects consumers, said. “They are not an insurance company.”
Who would help consumers with problems with a warranty company?
“We would refer any concerns to the Maryland Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division,” Sviatko said.
The Attorney General’s office has not reviewed HomeServe’s warranty.
“The OAG doesn’t ordinarily review warranties unless there is a complaint or complaints and a reason to do so,” said AG spokesman David Paulson.

0 Comments

March 30th, 2016

3/30/2016

0 Comments

 
TODAY'S PUBLIC JUSTICE ISSUE------TOP PRIORITY IS BUILDING SMALL BUSINESS MEDIA OUTLETS IN EACH COMMUNITY SO CITIZENS CAN HOLD POWER ACCOUNTABLE!

Yesterday I showed a list of organized crime systems in the US and as everyone knows it involves all groups of citizens.  These ties to Wall Street and global corporations represents that 5% of Americans working to administer all this systemic fraud and profiting from it.  With that 5% comes white, black, and immigrant citizens playing the SHOW ME THE MONEY GAME to advance all these frauds over a few decades and sadly----THEY ARE ALL RUNNING AS DEMOCRATS TAKING OUR PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC PARTY TO WALL STREET GLOBAL CORPORATE NEO-LIBERALISM.

SHAKE THE WALL STREET GLOBAL CORPORATE POLS----CLINTON/OBAMA NEO-LIBERALS AND BUSH/HOPKINS NEO-CONSERVATIVES OUT OF OUR DEMOCRATIC PARTY AT ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT.

Social Democrats never endorsed WAR ON DRUGS-----THREE STRIKES ------and now WAR ON GUNS policies.  They came from Reagan/Clinton far-right neo-liberalism ----Bush continued ----and Obama super-sized this with doubling-down on WAR ON DRUGS AND WAR ON GUNS.  Every Maryland Assembly and Baltimore City Hall pol pushed all this Obama policy through our state house and city hall giving us yet another expanding level of criminalization....

This is to what the article I posted yesterday on gangs refers---back in 2003 it was known these WAR ON DRUGS policing and gang strategies failed and created huge US Constitutional and US Rule of Law issues.  Yet Obama and Clinton neo-liberals doubled-down on these policing policies and expanded it to a WAR ON GUNS using the same model.


Into The Abyss:
A Personal Journey into the World of Street Gangs


Just as Reagan and Clinton far-right Republicans did with drug policy---posing progressive with how these policies would rid underserved communities of crime and drug dealing----the national media is again allowing Obama to pose progressive while installing far-right wing gun policies with the same escalating criminality and the same suspension of US Rule of Law and US Constitutional rights this time seeking to get guns out of underserved communities and we all know this will fail as well because Wall Street global corporate neo-liberals doubled-down in making underserved communities more impoverished, more unemployed, and filled with soaring black market economies bringing more and more guns and violence.

OBAMA AGAIN INSTALLED NYC BLOOMBERG WAR ON GUN POLICIES WRITTEN BY JOHNS HOPKINS AND PLAYING OUT IN BALTIMORE JUST AS WAR ON DRUGS DID.

They are making this seem like an anti-NRA issue but who wins big with the growing black market and third world economic structures in US International Economic Zones? THE NRA AND MORE GUN AND ASSAULT RIFLE SALES as now gun smugglers enter the picture.  Social Democrats support background checks, ending sales of assault rifles---we do not support SWAT teams breaking down the doors of people's homes with citizens having absolutely no control over police actions that rarely find gun or drug crime. This is very, very far-right wing stuff from Obama and Clinton neo-liberals and Bush/Hopkins neo-conservatives.

Obama plans curbs on guns

By Juliet Eilperin
January 2

In a New Year's Day message, President Obama said his resolution for 2016 was to complete "unfinished business," adding that tackling gun violence was at the top of the list. (Reuters)
HONOLULU — President Obama will press ahead with a set of executive actions on guns next week despite growing concerns in the United States over terrorism that have dampened some Americans’ enthusiasm for tighter firearms restrictions.
The president will meet Monday with Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch to finalize a series of new gun control measures and will announce his package of proposals soon after, according to several individuals who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plan is not yet public.
One of the main proposals Obama is poised to adopt would require some unlicensed gun dealers to get licenses and conduct background checks on potential buyers. The change is aimed at occasional dealers, including some who sell online frequently or rent tables at gun shows but do not have a storefront.

Obama began examining how he could tighten the nation’s gun rules after October’s mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore. Administration lawyers have spent months reviewing various proposals to make sure they can withstand legal challenges.
The idea of requiring informal gun dealers to obtain a license from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and of conducting background checks came up two years ago when White House officials drafted a proposal for dealers who sell at least 50 guns annually.
The idea was shelved because of legal concerns but gained new momentum after the Roseburg shooting. At that point, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said she would pursue such a requirement by executive action if elected. Administration officials gave the proposal another look and determined it could be done in a way that was legally defensible.
The White House review has been conducted in relative secrecy, soliciting input from gun safety groups without specifying which policies the administration might ultimately adopt. In the past month, Obama has met with former representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), who was gravely injured in a 2011 mass shooting, and her husband, Mark Kelly, and with former New York City mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the president of Everytown for Gun Safety, which Bloomberg helped start.


In Obama’s weekly radio address, released a day earlier than usual, the president said he was moving unilaterally because Congress had failed to address the growing problem of gun violence.
“A few months ago, I directed my team at the White House to look into any new actions I can take to help reduce gun violence,” he said. “And on Monday, I’ll meet with our attorney general, Loretta Lynch, to discuss our options.
“Because I get too many letters from parents, and teachers, and kids to sit around and do nothing,” Obama continued. “I get letters from responsible gun owners who grieve with us every time these tragedies happen; who share my belief that the Second Amendment guarantees a right to bear arms; and who share my belief we can protect that right while keeping an irresponsible, dangerous few from inflicting harm on a massive scale.”
[President Obama on current level of U.S. gun violence: 'This is not normal.']
In reviewing its options, the administration has shut out congressional Republicans, who joined with some Democrats in helping block legislation to expand background checks after the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
“The administration has not communicated with us, and we have not been briefed,” Doug ­Andres, a spokesman for House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), said in an email. “We will consider options once we have information, but what seems apparent is none of these ideas would have prevented the recent atrocities. Our focus should be on the consistent causes of these acts — mental illnesses and terrorism — rather than infringing on law-abiding Americans’ constitutional rights.”
While most Republican presidential candidates did not provide immediate reaction to Obama’s announcement, they are expected to talk about it in the coming days. Former Florida governor Jeb Bush is scheduled to attend a gun show in Orlando on Sunday, where he will discuss the high marks he has received from the National Rifle Association.
Catherine Frazier, a spokeswoman for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), said that “President Obama is trying to distract Americans from his failure to address the true threat of radical Islamic terrorism, and instead going after the rights of law-abiding American citizens — it is complete lunacy. If Ted Cruz is elected president, the lawlessness will end on Day One, and Americans’ personal liberties will be restored and protected.”
Obama will make his case for additional gun restrictions in a number of forums in the coming month, according to aides, including during his Jan. 12 State of the Union address.
While beefing up background checks has strong support — a Quinnipiac University poll in December found that 89 percent of Americans supported checks for purchases at gun shows and for online sales — Obama’s actions also come as Americans have grown more fearful about the prospect of terrorist strikes and are expressing an openness to having ordinary citizens carry guns.
A Washington Post/ABC News poll conducted last month in the wake of the San Bernardino, Calif., terrorist shootings, for example, found that 53 percent of respondents opposed a ban on assault weapons ban, a record high. When asked which is the better reaction to terrorism, 47 percent said encouraging more people to carry guns legally, while 42 percent preferred enacting stricter gun control laws.

Federal law requires that those who are “engaged in the business” of dealing in firearms to have a federal license — and, therefore, to conduct background checks of potential buyers. But it exempts anyone “who makes occasional sales, exchanges, or purchases of firearms for the enhancement of a personal collection or for a hobby, or who sells all or part of his personal collection of firearms.” The administration wants to narrow that exemption so that more gun sellers will have to get licenses.
It is unclear how many possible deals a change in the rule would affect, since these activities are not formally tracked and the administration has not disclosed what criteria it has selected to judge which gun sellers would have to register for a federal license.
The guns used in several recent mass shootings — including the ones in Roseburg and Lafayette, La. — were purchased legally, and their buyers were subject to background checks.
Everytown spokeswoman Erika Soto Lamb said the current interpretation of what it means to be “engaged in the business” of selling firearms is “a hazy definition that allows high-volume sellers to transfer thousands of guns without background checks, no questions asked.”
[This is what the White House wants to do on guns]
The administration has been weighing other proposals, including requiring federally licensed gun dealers to report any lost and stolen guns to the National Crime Information Center; providing guidance on restricting dangerous individuals from carrying guns within a specified distance of a school; clarifying that convicted abusers are prohibited from having guns regardless of their marital status; and instructing federal law enforcement to identify and arrest criminals who attempt to buy illegal guns.
The final package will contain at least half a dozen measures, and possibly more, according to those who have been briefed on it.
Any action by the president is sure to trigger a major backlash from gun-rights activists and Republican officeholders. Jennifer Baker, an NRA spokeswoman, said in an email that the president “is doing what he always does when he doesn’t get his way, which is defy the will of the people and issue an executive order.”
“This is nothing more than a political stunt to appease anti-gun billionaire Michael Bloomberg and will do nothing to increase public safety,” she said, adding that a dozen high-profile mass shooters passed background checks, including Jared Loughner, who shot Giffords and 19 others in Tucson; Dylann Roof in Charleston, S.C.; and James Holmes in Aurora, Colo.
Even as Obama made his radio pitch, a Texas law letting licensed handgun owners carry their weapons openly in public took effect.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) mocked the president’s latest push in a tweet, writing, “Obama wants to impose more gun control. My response? COME & TAKE IT.”
But groups such as MoveOn.org have begun to mobilize firearm owners to support expanded background checks and other measures aimed at curbing gun violence.
David Mark Williams, a farmer in Halfway, Ore., described guns as “a tool. If you’re hunting or living a rural lifestyle, you’re going to have a firearm.” But Williams, who came to Washington this fall with MoveOn.org to meet with members of Congress from both parties, said he resigned his NRA membership after the group’s president opposed stricter gun laws in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook killings.
“I’m also a supporter of rational reasonable gun control measures,” Williams said.
Arkadi Gerney, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, said in an email Friday that “while public opinion on completely banning particular types guns is more mixed,” there’s no question that an overwhelming majority of Americans “favor proposals, like universal background checks, that are aimed at keeping guns out of the wrong hands. And, notably such measures have been the primary focus of the administration’s legislative and executive action efforts.”

___________________________________________
The several years of Obama's terms started immediately with heightened privatization of our US military to global corporate military ----it brought the hundreds of billions of dollars to Homeland Security that funded growing community militarized policing.  With this it brought our US police departments tied to global military security corporations training our local community police forces.  Obama even started the transition from a National Guard in each state being public to slowly outsourcing that public military protection to more global military security corporations.  Our State National Guards are moving towards being outsourced.

All of this moved through Maryland Assembly and down into Baltimore City Hall through the network of Maryland Democrats who are all Clinton/Obama neo-liberals and in Baltimore----Bush/Hopkins neo-conservatives running as Democrats.

Now that all these laws are in place in state and city government-----we hear Wall Street neo-liberals saying we must end this militarized cult.  Keep in mind, US cities designated International Economic Zones under a Trans Pacific Trade Pact that Obama is pushing as hard as he can through Congress-----makes all of what he says INVALID because----these zones will operate in the US as they do overseas where there are nothing but global corporate militarized security----the same tied to our US city police departments today.



Things are calming down over this 2016 election year but if we keep sending Wall Street global corporate neo-liberals back as Democrats at national, state, and local level they will simply resume these global corporate policing policies.



Obama: US Must Avoid 'Militarized' Police Culture
Associated Press | Dec 02, 2014 | by Nedra
Pickler
WASHINGTON --

President Barack Obama said Monday he wants to ensure the U.S. isn't building a "militarized culture" within police departments, while maintaining federal programs that provide the type of military-style equipment that were used to dispel racially charged protests in Ferguson, Missouri.

Instead, the president is asking Congress for funding to buy 50,000 body cameras to record events like the shooting death of an unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown and look for ways to build trust and confidence between police and minority communities nationwide. He announced the creation of a task force to study success stories and recommend ways the government can support accountability, transparency and trust in police.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was to announce on Monday new Justice Department plans aimed at ending racial profiling and ensuring fair and effective policing.
"In the coming days, I will announce updated Justice Department guidance regarding profiling by federal law enforcement, which will institute rigorous new standards — and robust safeguards — to help end racial profiling, once and for all," Holder said in prepared remarks he was to deliver in Atlanta.
With protests ongoing in Ferguson and across the country, Obama spoke to reporters at the end of a White House meeting with police, civil rights activists and local leaders and acknowledged the participants told him that there have been task forces in the past and "nothing happens."




"Part of the reason this time will be different is because the president of the United States is deeply invested in making sure that this time is different," Obama said. He said he was upset to hear the young people in the meeting describe their experiences with police. "It violates my belief in what America can be to hear young people feeling marginalized and distrustful even after they've done everything right."
At least for now, Obama is staying away from Ferguson in the wake of the uproar over a grand jury's decision last week not to charge Darren Wilson, the police officer who fatally shot Brown. The U.S. Justice Department is investigating possible civil rights violations that could result in federal charges, but investigators would need to satisfy a rigorous standard of proof. Justice also has launched a broad investigation into the Ferguson Police Department.
Obama is proposing a three-year, $263 million spending package to increase use of body-worn cameras, expand training for law enforcement and add more resources for police department reform. The package includes $75 million to help pay for 50,000 of the small, lapel-mounted cameras to record police on the job, with state and local governments paying half the cost. Estimates vary about the precise number of full-time, sworn law enforcement officers in communities across the U.S., though some federal government reports in recent years have placed the figure at roughly 700,000.
Brown's family wants to see every police officer working the streets wearing a body camera. The Rev. Al Sharpton told reporters afterward he would convey to Brown's parents what had occurred in the meeting and expressed confidence it would bring change because Obama put his "full weight behind it."
"What happens after the meeting will determine whether we just had a feel-good session or whether we're moving toward change," Sharpton said.
Cameras potentially could help resolve the type of disputes between police and witnesses that arose in the Ferguson shooting. Some witnesses have said Brown had his hands up when Wilson shot him. The officer who shot him said he feared for his life when Brown hit him and reached for his gun. But there are issues to be worked out — including privacy concerns for police, suspects, victims and bystanders; legal questions over who has access to the recordings; and training to make sure officers are using the cameras and don't have them turned off at a critical time.
The White House said those are the types of concerns that could be addressed by Obama's newly created Task Force on 21st Century Policing, which will include law enforcement and community leaders. The task force is being co-chaired by Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey and Laurie Robinson, a professor at George Mason University and former assistant attorney general at the Justice Department.
After the Brown shooting and resulting protests in August, critics questioned why police in full body armor with armored trucks responded to dispel demonstrators. Obama seemed to sympathize when ordering a review of the programs that provide the equipment. "There is a big difference between our military and our local law enforcement and we don't want those lines blurred," Obama said in August.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the president concluded he does not want to try to repeal the programs that are authorized by Congress because they have proven to be useful in many cases, citing the response to the Boston Marathon bombing. "But it is not clear that there is a consistency with regard to the way that these programs are implemented, structured and audited, and that's something that needs to be addressed," Earnest said.
The White House review shows the wide scope of the programs — $18 billion in the past five years from five federal agencies, including the departments of Defense, Justice, Homeland Security and Treasury, plus the Office of National Drug Control Policy. The report says most of the equipment the programs provide are routine — like office furniture, computers and basic firearms — but about 460,000 pieces of equipment primarily used for military purposes have been provided to local police, including 92,442 small arms, 44,275 night-vision devices, 5,235 Humvees, 617 mine-resistant vehicles and 616 aircraft.
Obama said he will issue an executive order that will require federal agencies that run the programs to consult with law enforcement and civil rights and civil liberties organizations and recommend changes within four months to make sure the programs are accountable and transparent.
"We're going to make sure that we're not building a militarized culture inside our local law enforcement," Obama said. He said the goal instead is to ensure that "crime goes down while community trust in the police goes up."
Demands for police to wear the cameras have increased across the country since Brown's death. Some officers in the St. Louis suburb have since started wearing the cameras, and the New York Police department became the largest department in the U.S. to adopt the technology when it launched a pilot program in early September.
A report from the Justice Department, which had been in the works before the Ferguson shooting, said there's evidence both police and civilians behave better when they know there are cameras around. In a recent Cambridge University study, the police department in Rialto, California — a city of about 100,000— saw an 89 percent decline in the number of complaints against officers in a yearlong trial using the cameras. The number of times the police used force against suspects also declined.

_________________________________________
Although these militarized laws sent down by Obama and neo-liberals in Congress and passed by our Maryland Assembly pushed by Baltimore pols hits black communities hardest-----it has most citizens across Maryland mad----Republican and Democrat because it is OVER-KILL AS A WAR ON GUNS WILL BE.

Just because Obama says during an election year he is now wanting to stop this militarization means HE IS PROGRESSIVE POSING.  There is no intent to stop this WAR ON GUNS.

I was at the Maryland Assembly when Baltimore pols introduced all these militarized policies and many pols from other counties were amazed that Baltimore pols would want these kinds of laws.  Well, they do work for Wall Street Baltimore Development and a very, very, very neo-conservative Johns Hopkins and the Master Plan of Baltimore as a US International Economic Zone under Trans Pacific Trade Pact DON'T THEY?

The point is this------- a Mayor of Baltimore controls these policies----the mayor and city council writes these policing laws unless they simply install laws written by Wall Street Baltimore Development.  Cindy Walsh for Mayor of Baltimore will remove all of these structures and work to VOID the laws in Maryland Assembly that created this militarized structure because IT IS ALL UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND VIOLATES THE RIGHTS OF WE THE PEOPLE IN THE BILL OF RIGHTS.

Citizens are being made to think if a politician is not installing all these repressive laws they are SOFT ON CRIME.  THEY ARE NOT SERIOUS ABOUT GETTING GUNS OUT OF COMMUNITIES.  Social Democrats are all about protecting citizens and creating healthy, safe communities so we do not allow violent criminals and guns to flow through our communities.  We simply use common sense policing policies and rebuild communities with employment, housing, and food security so people do not have to go into the black market to earn money and we SERIOUSLY FIGHT BLACK MARKET ECONOMIES.


Maryland State Police, FBI SWAT Teams Thwart ... Guy with a Few Guns
By Bob Owens December 4, 2012

You are forgiven for thinking that a major terrorist attack was thwarted in Sharpsburg, Maryland, this past Thursday. A Maryland State Police helicopter was in the air over 4433 Mills Road most of the day, as police, FBI SWAT teams, armored vehicles, and K-9 units converged upon the residence of Terry Allen Porter, 46.
Porter, however, wasn't home.
Nor, it turned out, was Porter on any "Most Wanted" lists.
Terry Allen Porter's home was raided using all the power of the state security apparatus not because he was terrorist, a bank robber, serial killer, or a relative of the Kennedy clan, but because of an anonymous tip that he was an avid outdoorsman:


Officers investigating a weapons complaint have removed guns from a home in Sharpsburg, ending a tense situation that stretched for hours Thursday afternoon.

Maryland State Police troopers were trying to serve a warrant against Terry Porter, a welder and avid hunter, after getting a tip that he had illegal weapons in his house on Mills Road, according to sources familiar with Porter and the investigation.


Even the "illegal weapons" reference in the story was misleading. Porter had run-of-the-mill shotguns, an old lever-action .30/30, and .22 LR rifles anyone might easily buy at Walmart or their neighborhood sporting goods store.
No, Terry Allen Porter required the attention of Maryland State Police, Washington County Sheriff’s Office deputies, a helicopter, K-9 units, a heavily armed FBI SWAT team, and two armored vehicles because he had guns and a twenty-year-old conviction for dealing cocaine that landing him in jail for six months in 1992.
An anonymous informant and a common sentiment of disgust with the results of the 2012 election were apparently enough to bring down the government's militant wrath:


A person wishing to remain anonymous contacted state police in early November, telling them that Porter “has been getting crazier and crazier over the past several years,” the charging document said. The person told police that Porter had 10 to 15 “machine gun-style firearms,” six handguns and up to 10,000 rounds of ammunition, the document said.

The person told police that Porter was a doomsday prepper who had a bunker under his driveway, as well as surveillance cameras around his property, the charging document said.
Two searches of Porter’s property -- one Thursday by warrant and a consent search Friday -- turned up four shotguns, a .30-30-caliber rifle and two .22-caliber rifles, the charging document said.
A state police corporal went to Porter’s home Nov. 16, posing as a customer for the business Porter runs from his home, the charging document said. Porter got “very irritated” during a discussion of the recent presidential election and “openly admitted to being a prepper,” the document said.


Porter has now been charged for the few otherwise legal weapons found in his home.

_________________________________________


This brings me to the next layer of public justice needed as we really build public justice in each community and court access to civil and criminal complaints
------BUILDING SMALL MEDIA BUSINESSES IN EACH COMMUNITY---boy, do those captured Wall Street player really hate that policy and will not allow it to be given media or election forum attention.

I have spoken much on how Baltimore media is completely captured to Wall Street global corporate policies----whether Clinton/Obama or Bush/Hopkins and in Baltimore that is the O'Malley machine. Whether RADIO ONE for black media or now REAL NEWS as a right-leaning billionaire much like FOX NEWS poses as a justice media----it is the inability of citizens in each community to have a real voice that keeps the needs of the people silent.  THIS IS DELIBERATE.

This is why my platform centers not only on rebuilding construction and fresh foods economies in all communities but as well cultural arts small businesses, SMALL MEDIA BUSINESS INCLUDING RADIO, TV, AND PRINT MEDIA for all voices in a community.  This is especially critical for those being denied access to public justice.  The first step in identifying and addressing crime in a community are the venues where citizens can openly OUT PEOPLE IN THEIR COMMUNITIES----INCLUDING POLITICIANS who are involved in all these frauds, corruptions, misappropriations, and giving real voices to all of the black market activities in their communities.  When media openly gives voice to all of this----the people creating this mass black market and corruption are no longer able to do it with impunity. 

SEE WHY BALTIMORE FIGHTS SO HARD TO CONSOLIDATE MEDIA CONTROL TO ONLY OUTLETS WORKING FOR WALL STREET BALTIMORE DEVELOPMENT AND JOHNS HOPKINS?


I just showed how the Baltimore Bernie movement is totally in the hands of the same NAACP, Urban League, 15 minister group that have decades of partnering with the worst of Wall Street Baltimore Development policies....REAL NEWS among others are central in this promotion.


'"The Real News" is the flagship show of IWT and The Real News Network. All original content on this site is copyright of The Real News Network'. 


This media outlet centered in Baltimore and Toronto----Toronto being more Wall Street global corporate neo-liberal than the US-----seeks to replace REAL local media development -----and social Democrats need to stop that drive.  REAL community media comes from a Baltimore City Hall that subsidizes small media businesses in each community----that funds BALTIMORE PUBLIC ACCESS and that buys public airwaves at low frequency to assure Baltimore citizens ALWAYS HAVE ACCESS TO THESE VITAL LOW-FREQUENCY AIRWAVES and not be tied to a growing online media presence as media like REAL NEWS promotes.


In Baltimore all new local media is tied to social media and is driven by non-profit control.  We have no real small media businesses and we have no expansion of REAL public media outlets.  We have a very corporate Johns Hopkins controlling much of public media in Maryland and a WEAA that is Morgan State-----school of journalism ----but each of these takes from real community voice.

How Community News is Faring

A Part of the Community


At the hyperlocal level, some now see greater benefits in going the for-profit route rather than the nonprofit.
McLellan, who co-wrote a report last year for the Knight Foundation entitled “Getting Local: How Nonprofit News Ventures Seek Sustainability,” said she sees a viable business model for smaller, hyperlocal sites that rely heavily on local advertising – if publishers bring the right skills to the task.
One example of this is DavidsonNews.net in Davidson, N.C.  With an intensely local approach to news, the site’s owners started a companion site in nearby Cornelius last year and hope to be able to launch more in the years ahead. Founder David Boraks said the dynamics of his small community, a college town not far from Charlotte, required a different economic calculus than the nonprofit approach adopted by some regional sites. He felt he needed to look at his startup as a small business reaching out to people and other businesses in the community.
“My research convinced me for-profit was the only way to go,’’ Boraks said. He sees nonprofit status as more advantageous in areas where a site owner can tap into community foundation money and a larger potential base of paying members. “In a small town like Davidson with 10,000 people, that won’t work,” he said. “At the very local level, that kind of money is hard to come by.”
But he found he could make his business model work by keeping expenses low – he works out of his home, by selling local advertising, soliciting contributions from readers, holding fund-raisers and offering extra services such as web design. With strong local ties to the community, the site is growing. Boraks used his own money to open the second site last year. He hopes he will be better able to borrow money to start additional sites as the business grows.
Another development is that to make up for limited resources these small sites are organizing to share information. Some 45 sites, including DavidsonNews, Baristanet in New Jersey and NoozHawk in California, banded together in May 2011 to start Authentically Local, a trade association that promotes the virtues of local ownership.
The group’s founders also launched a branding campaign emphasizing that member sites are locally produced and financed, and stressing that the best local journalism emerges from people deeply engaged in their communities.
One key motivation for the organization is to fend off competition from Patch, the hyperlocal news operation run by AOL.  The Patch model was designed to match the best of hyperlocal news — content produced at the neighborhood level — with a national sales force that would leverage that local content for national advertisers. So far, most Patch sites are not turning a profit, despite some optimistic projections in 2011, but the company says it expects revenue to grow substantially in 2012.

More Niche Sites
Those watching this landscape seem to agree that there may be opportunity in specialization — or focusing on a single topic. In a sense, hyperlocal is another form of that. “You will see people picking slivers of the ecosystem that they think are important,’’ Newton said.
Funabiki agreed, saying that it is likely to be easier to raise the needed revenue when promoting coverage of specific issues and beats – such as the statehouse, schools, the environment or investigative reporting – than a general news site. “I think you can really start to narrow your operation,” he said. “The public is often very interested in specific issues and funders are often interested in specific issues.”
Schaffer said niche sites are coming on strong, offering a list of examples, including thenotebook.org, which focuses on public education in Philadelphia, Health News Florida and Oregon Arts Watch. Health News Florida focuses on health issues and policy in the state and is a member of the Investigative News Network, a national consortium of nonprofit news sites started in 2009. Oregon Arts Watch started in 2011 with 11 arts organizations in the Portland area as partners.
Another area of growth is sites covering state governments, McLellan said, citing NJ Spotlight as an example. The site, which is focused on New Jersey state government, won an award for general excellence last year from the Online News Association.

Student Journalism
The industry watchers also see an increase in news operations – both hyperlocal and those with a broader focus – affiliated with colleges and universities. Journalism students at schools such as the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Wisconsin, the University of Miami and the University of Southern California all provide news to nearby communities as part of training for student journalists.
In Florida, Miami students produce Grand Avenue, a site that focuses on community news for Coconut Grove. In Los Angeles, U.S.C. students tackle local news for the diverse communities of South Los Angeles with their Intersections site. At the U.C. Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, students have created websites to cover two underserved communities. And the list is growing.
Professors at U.S.C.’s Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism thought their students could get real-world experience in an under-covered community not far from their campus. Started in 2009, the site has been funded by the university and grants.
But there are challenges to these university models as well. The funding equation is not easy, said Willa Seidenberg, the Annenberg professor who directs the site. Making matters more difficult, broadband access in the community is limited, forcing website managers to consider other ways of reaching readers – whether through mobile devices such as smartphones or possibly a print quarterly to showcase the students best work.
“We are kind of at a crossroads,’’ Seidenberg said, “trying to think about what we can and what we should do.’’

____________________________________________

Obama and Clinton Wall Street global corporate neo-liberals with Republicans have created in all states this system of start-up and innovation with all kinds of terms like incubator as below with a very corporate appointed committee charged with handing out funds.  Remember the good old Small Business Adminstration?  That entire Federal structure is now tied to these STATE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT commissions all geared towards global markets and creating businesses that will simply merge into global corporations if successful.  This is the goal of Wall Street global political policy with small business.

A Mayor of Baltimore does not have to take this approach if not working for Wall Street Baltimore Development.  Cindy Walsh will reverse this stance on Small Business Administration to being what it always was-------funding for citizens wanting to open simple small businesses providing products and services for that community and this would include SMALL BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY PUBLIC MEDIA---RADIO, TV, AND PRINT MEDIA.

Baltimore pols are all tied to this Wall Street global corporate small business as global market policy and we need to have a city council wanting to instead built media structures in our communities that are free from corporate non-profits----that are tied to remaining local and serving each community----and tied to our K-12 in providing opportunities for students to grow into these media businesses.


Main Content

What is an Incubator?

An incubator is a business support process designed to assist start-up and emerging businesses. While emphasis is on providing flexible space for tenants, business support via coaching, access to financing and a host of other services are available. The SIUC Small Business Incubator provides traditional incubation support services and now includes affiliate and shared equipment lab support.

What is Incubation?
According to the National Business Incubation Association, business incubation is a dynamic process of business enterprise development. An incubator is an organization that is set up to help foster business enterprise development. Incubators help young firms get started and survive at times when they are most vulnerable.

The primary goal of a business incubator is to produce successful businesses that graduate into the region. They offer shared services, access to equipment, flexible leases, and expandable space. Many incubators are located near other services that are valuable to an incubating business. For example, the SIUC Business Incubator Program has the Office of Economic and Regional Development, the Illinois Small Business Development and International Trade Center, and the Illinois Manufacturing Extension Center housed in the Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center.
Why should I join the SIUC Small Business Incubator Program?
The SIUC Small Business Incubator Program is here to provide the guidance and consulting necessary to make sure your start-up or expanding business has the right tools necessary to succeed. As a member of the National Business Incubation Association, the SIUC Small Business Incubation Program has the experience necessary to take your business under our wing. With more than 50 successful graduates emerging from this program, we are one of the most successful business incubation programs in southern Illinois.

Affiliate Incubator Program
The Affiliate Incubation Program is a new program of the SIU Carbondale Small Business Incubator. It will allow entrepreneurs and small businesses to utilize all the resources available within the Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center without requiring tenancy. All affiliate clients must submit an application and meet eligibility requirements. For more information, check out our flyer.

_________________________________________

I looked at the event agenda for Greater Baltimore Urban League centered on a Mayoral Forum in which Cindy Walsh was not invited-----and this one corporate non-profit has a huge network and process of moving Baltimore citizens through this Wall Street global corporate neo-liberal and Republican 'innovation/startup/venture capital funding/incubator system for our Baltimore citizens and especially our youth. This is where they are taught all these Wall Street global corporate neo-liberal talking points ------and the amount of money spent on just creating these networks----as opposed to simply having a Baltimore Small Business agency that hands a citizen in a community funds to help with simple small businesses INCLUDING SMALL BUSINESS MEDIA is RIDICULOUS. It gives all the power of employment in Baltimore to these national corporate non-profits and not to a city hall and citizens in communities.

YOU KNOW THESE NATIONAL CORPORATE NON-PROFITS ARE NOT GOING TO BUILD REAL SMALL BUSINESS MEDIA----THEY ARE TIED TO THE CAPTURED MEDIA IN BALTIMORE.


Below you see how the Clintons maintain control in US cities tied to International Economic Zones and black communities are tied to these organizations.  Below you see the original mission of National Urban League that was taken by Clinton neo-liberals in the 1990s to now to being building cities with global corporate campuses and for the affluent----and that fails to meet the goals of this corporate non-profit does it not?  One of the most resounding messages from all citizens in Baltimore is that WALL STREET BALTIMORE DEVELOPMENT FOR DECADES IS NOT REBUILDING OUR COMMUNITIES----and this is why----critical civil rights and liberty non-profits that used to act locally are now filled with all this Wall Street global corporate neo-liberalism.  Sure, a percentage of black citizens in Baltimore are getting richer and richer-----we understand how small that percentage is----and it is to all citizens' detriment that it has occurred these few decades----and it is to all citizens' detriment if these national Clinton corporate non-profits continue to move US cities like Baltimore FORWARD AS US INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ZONES.


This connection right here is why Baltimore media outlets are so captured to only Wall Street Baltimore Development Corporation candidates during elections.  Social Democrats would break this hold on Baltimore public policy and work to fill these supposed civil rights organizations to meeting their ORIGINAL MISSION----of lifting up all communities for the citizens in these communities.

WHY HAVEN'T THESE NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS REBUILT SMALL BUSINESS MEDIA IN EACH COMMUNITY?


Who We Are

The National Urban League is a historic civil rights organization dedicated to economic empowerment in order to elevate the standard of living in historically underserved urban communities. Founded in 1910 and headquartered in New York City, the National Urban League spearheads the efforts of its local affiliates through the development of programs, public policy research and advocacy. Today, the National Urban League has 95 affiliates serving 300 communities, in 35 states and the District of Columbia, providing direct services that impact and improve the lives of more than 2 million people nationwide.


Clinton to tackle race again at National Urban League conference

By Nia-Malika Henderson, Senior Political Reporter

Updated 5:45 PM ET, Thu July 2, 2015


(CNN)Hillary Clinton will once again turn to the topics of race and inequality when she speaks at the National Urban League's annual conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, later this month.

The speech, set for July 31, will give Clinton a chance to reach one of the largest gatherings of African-Americans of the cycle, with an expected attendance of over 10,000 people over the course of the 3-day event.
The address comes as Clinton continues to make race and inequality central to her campaign for the Democratic nomination.
In April, she used her first major policy speech to address racial disparities in the criminal justice system.

And in the wake of the killings of nine African-Americans in a racially motivated attack in Charleston church, Clinton called for gun control and appealed to white Americans to honestly confront the problem of racism. She also traveled to Missouri, where the death of Michael Brown almost a year ago sparked nationwide protests and a national focus on police brutality.
Led by Marc Morial, the National Urban League is non-partisan and its annual conferences often draw top business and political leaders.
Sen. Rand Paul, who is currently pursuing the GOP presidential nomination, spoke at their conference in 2014.
Polls show that Clinton has an edge with African-American voters, a constituency that helped Obama defeat her in 2009. Sen. Bernie Sanders, Clinton's nearest competitor, is starting to introduce himself to African-American voters, an acknowledgment of the importance of this bloc to his chances in the primary and beyond.
Notably, the convention is in Florida, an important swing state where black voters made up 13% of the electorate in 2012.
Clinton is also scheduled to address the National Council of La Raza on July, where she will have an audience of 2,000 Latino community leaders.

________________________________________



This is critical in building PUBLIC JUSTICE in Baltimore. Citizens must have access to free and open media in their communities to hold power accountable...

This is what Baltimore's labor and justice organization leaders are supporting when they continuously keep Baltimore's elections captured to establishment Wall Street Baltimore Development and the Master Plan of US International Economic Zones in cities like Baltimore.
If Baltimore had a functioning small business media free from all these corporate non-profit captures------citizens would have known all this a few decades ago and stopped allowing Wall Street global pols capture our Baltimore and Maryland Democratic Party.

There will always be a small percentage of SHOW ME THE MONEY people across all population groups that will partner with these Wall Street global corporate wealth and profit 1%.

Unfortunately, the Democratic voters have allowed this small percentage to fill our city halls, state houses, and Congressional seats.  WE CAN REVERSE THIS EASY PEASY----JUST GET RID OF WALL STREET GLOBAL CORPORATE POLS



Thursday, Mar 21, 2013, 5:59 am

Haitian Sweatshops: Made in the U.S.A.

BY Fran Quigley
When the shift changes in the late afternoon, thousands of Haitians stream out from under an arched entrance labeled “Parc Industriel Metropolitain” toward the traffic-choked streets of Port-au-Prince. Among them is David, a thin 32-year-old man in a short-sleeve dress shirt and slacks, who works at one of the many garment assembly factories here, sewing pants for export to the United States. Through a Creole interpreter, David says the way he and his co-workers are treated is pa bon—not right. 
Yet a lot of high-powered people with a stake in Haitian affairs think jobs like David’s represent the answer to Haiti’s problems. The U.S. State Department, the Inter-American Development Bank and the government of Haitian President Michel Martelly recently pulled together more than $300 million in post-earthquake subsidies to create another industrial park just like this one but in northeast Haiti, with Korean textile manufacturer Sae-A as its anchor tenant. Then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton both spoke at the park’s opening ceremony, hailing it as the centerpiece of U.S. efforts to help Haiti recover from the devastating 2010 quake. Secretary Clinton echoed President Martelly’s mantra that Haiti “is open for business.”
As the Haitian plant of Sae-A began filling its first order--76,000 T-shirts for Walmart—the politicians smiled in satisfaction. More than a thousand Haitians had been put to work—a significant step for a nation where 80 percent of the ten million citizens lack jobs in the formal sector.  
At least that was the theory behind the enormous amount of effort and money invested in bringing these jobs to Haiti. In 2008, the U.S. Congress passed the Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act of 2008 (HOPE II), providing customs exemptions that strongly incentivize corporations to import goods to the US. assembled by the Haitian textile and garment industry. This policy received a prominent imprimatur in 2009, when Paul Collier, an Oxford professor of economics and former director of the World Bank’s Development Research Group, prepared a report on Haiti at the request of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The key to Haiti’s economic recovery, Collier concluded, is the Haitian garment industry and its potential to create hundreds of thousands of Haitian jobs.
Collier expressed no concerns over the likelihood that those jobs would pay sub-poverty salaries. In fact, Collier and others see the key to Haiti’s future in the large supply of desperate Haitians willing to work for rock-bottom wages. “Due to its poverty and relatively unregulated labour market, Haiti has labour costs that are fully competitive with China, which is the global benchmark,” he wrote in the report.
The U.S. has worked hard to keep them that way. Diplomatic cables obtained by Wikileaks show that the U.S. State Department assisted contractors for Fruit of the Loom, Hanes, and Levi’s in a successful campaign to block a planned minimum wage increase unanimously approved by the Haitian Parliament in 2009. That increase, driven by a series of worker strikes and demonstrations, would have compelled the contractors to pay 62 cents per hour (about $5 per day) to Haitians sewing clothing for sale overseas. But Haitian government leaders caved in to U.S. pressure and dropped the textile industry minimum wage to about $3/day. The U.S. then provided more assistance to Haitian garment companies through duty exemptions in the Haiti Economic Lift Program (HELP) Act in 2010. Though this legislative largesse cut overhead for the companies, Haitian workers are still the lowest paid in the hemisphere.
David explains what that pay scale means in real terms. Gesturing in the direction of the workers leaving the industrial park, he says that most of them earn about 200 Haitian gourdes per day. The typical exchange rate is 40 Haitian gourdes for one U.S. dollar, so their salary equals about $5 each day. By the time they pay for transportation to work and a simple meal of plain spaghetti and juice during the workday, they head home with only 40 gourdes, about one U.S. dollar. And they have not yet paid for dinner or housing. Yet unemployment is so pervasive here that the companies count on a reliable supply of Haitians willing to do the work at these sub-poverty wages—just as Paul Collier predicted.
David’s cost of living analysis was backed up by other Haitians I talked with. In 2011, the AFL-CIO-supported Solidarity Center conducted a study estimating the living wage for apparel workers in Port-au-Prince. Factoring in the costs of necessities like food, housing, cooking fuel and child care, the Solidarity Center estimated a living wage for an adult with two dependents to be 1,152 gourdes (about $29) per day.
The current wave of global support for garment-export-based economic development in Haiti has a precedent, as does the resulting struggle by Haitian workers to make ends meet. Under the dictatorship of Jean-Claude Duvalier in the '70s, the U.S. Agency for International Development launched a campaign to transform Haiti into the “Taiwan of the Caribbean,” i.e. the supplier of the cheapest export-assembly labor in the Western Hemisphere.
Wages were held down by enormous unemployment and by little prospect of worker activism under a repressive regime. Duvalier, politically and financially indebted to the U.S. and the International Monetary Fund, agreed to a neoliberal economic regimen that eliminated nearly every obstacle to free trade. By 1984, Haiti had become the 9th-largest supplier of goods to the U.S., mostly assembled products such as baseballs, clothing and toys.
The assembly companies and their U.S. consumers benefited from the arrangement. But a host country does not get much value from an industry where raw materials are imported in and the assembled products are shipped out. The coveted “multiplier effect,” produced when goods are produced and purchased locally, is absent from this export-only model. Combined with sub-poverty wages that provided little purchasing power to workers, the result was that all of the bustling export-assembly activity did not move the economic needle for the Haitian people.
Haiti certainly needs economic development, but there are other models to pursue, including agricultural practices the Haitian people successfully followed for generations. Separate from the often-dysfunctional government, rural Haitians adhered to the lakou system of property management that divided former plantations into small plots and yielded crops that supported the extended families living there. Haiti met its own food needs and exported to other countries.
But heavy-handed U.S. policies destroyed that legacy. Beginning in the 1970s and 1980s, the IMF, with the U.S. as its largest shareholder and dominant voice, forced Haiti to dramatically reduce tariffs on imported staples. The Haitian tariff on rice, for example, was dropped from 50 percent to the current rate of 3 percent, compared to a regional average of 20 percent. Haitian farmers can no longer compete with food imports from the U.S. and other countries, where crops are highly subsidized by their governments. As a result, hundreds of thousands of Haitians have migrated from the countryside to Port-au-Prince, where they compete to provide cheap labor for garment-assembly companies under harsh conditions.
David says his workplace, at a company called Interamerican Woven, is brutally hot—a literal sweatshop—with little ventilation and limited potable water. An October 2012 report, produced by the International Labor Organization as part of the Hope II legislation, confirms that the company and several others failed to meet baseline requirements for workplace conditions, such as high temperatures and clean drinking water. The report includes similar findings for several other garment assembly companies.
Jackson works for one of those companies, Global Manufacturers and Contractors, assembling T-shirts with tags like Hanes and Champion. Jackson and his wife have two young children. To make ends meet, both parents work six days per week in garment factories. Jackson’s wife skips church on Sunday to report to an additional part-time job. Yet they still must borrow from family and friends to pay the rent and keep food on the table.
Like David, Jackson is an active member of a syndicat of workers advocating for better wages and conditions. Company management pushes against the union, they say, harassing its members whenever possible. Recent investigations by the International Labor Organization and Haiti Grassroots Watch confirmed widespread union-busting in the Haitian apparel industry. “The people fired for being part of the union make a list this long, “ Jackson says, holding his hands two feet apart. “They find a different reason to let them go, but they are tagged because they are part of the syndicat.”
The companies could easily pay their employees better, Jackson says. His position is backed up by economic analysis by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation, which reviewed the competitiveness of the Haitian garment assembly industry in 2011. The report concluded that preferential market access to the U.S. provided by HOPE II and HELP, along with comparatively low sea freight costs, provide a distinct market advantage to these companies. “The argument that factories in Haiti can't raise wages is bogus, as they have some of the most competitive costs in the world already,” says Jake Johnston, a researcher on Haiti issues for the Center on Economic and Policy Research.
The T-shirts Jackson makes for GMC are shipped to Etazini—the U.S.—so I ask him if he has any message for Americans. He thinks for a moment, then replies in Creole. “Wi. I appeal to their conscience and hope they ask questions about what they are buying. We make T-shirts for cents, they buy them for dollars,” he says. “That is the reason we come together to support each other; to fight for fairness.” 

__________________________________________
Obama's FCC created the conditions for US media outlet consolidation to soar and expanded US media to global status by ignoring all kinds of US Constitutional and Federal laws surrounding monopoly, free speech and journalism, and turning our National Public Media and American Media into global US Chamber of Commerce----completely Wall Street global corporate public policy and news.

Yes, Obama did have control over this as Congress worked to defund all these public media sources because there are tons of ways to fund local media.  As well, Obama and Clinton neo-liberals in Congress are deliberately tying all new local media to ONLINE SOCIAL MEDIA knowing our access to internet and high-speed internet is being attacked.

This is a top priority for any Democrat and especially one running as a Bernie Sanders social Democrat----we do not allow this silencing of voices holding power accountable.


Something's happening to local news

Sinclair Broadcast Group leads the wave of runaway consolidation


November 06, 2013|By Jenn Topper and S. Derek Turner


So far this year, 223 local TV stations have changed hands. This is the biggest wave of media consolidation ever — and it's all happening in small and mid-level markets, involving companies most people have never heard of.

Leading this wave is Hunt Valley-based Sinclair Broadcast Group. Sinclair alone is behind seven deals this year, including a $985-million deal to buy nine stations from Allbritton Communications. But it's not alone; other media companies are also racing to gobble up stations.
And these companies are doing everything they can to maximize profits. Just last month, Sinclair fired nearly 30 employees from Seattle's KOMO and Portland, Ore.'s KATU. This is par for the course for Sinclair, where the average number of employees per station has declined by nearly 20 percent since 2001.
The Federal Communications Commission has limits on how many stations one person or company can own in a given market. But, as a new report from public interest group Free Press shows, companies like Sinclair are using outsourcing agreements and shell companies to skirt the rules and create media fiefdoms in markets all over the country.
In a response to the report, Sinclair said it "completely complies" with the law and objects to claims that it uses shell companies and shady tactics to dodge FCC rules.
But in nearly all instances, the only asset a Sinclair shell company owns is a station license. Under FCC rules, Sinclair is able to claim that the shells are separate entities despite clear evidence to the contrary.
Consider Sinclair's longtime shell, Cunningham Broadcasting. Like many of the companies created to sidestep the FCC's rules, Cunningham has no physical presence, and is even headquartered at Sinclair's flagship station WBFF in Baltimore. Sinclair, through Cunningham, controls Baltimore's WNUV.
Furthermore, under Securities and Exchange Commission rules, Cunningham is considered the same company as Sinclair. And when it communicates with investors, Sinclair refers to its shells, which include Deerfield Media and Howard Stirk Holdings, as "our sidecar companies." Similarly, it refers to stations nominally operated by these shells as "our stations." (Sinclair, through Deerfield, controls Baltimore's WUTB.)
As is typical of parent companies in this situation, Sinclair is usually the sole financier of its shells — and it generally reaps all of the shells' profits.
The impact of this covert consolidation on local news is being felt across the nation. Companies like Sinclair are closing newsrooms, laying off journalists — and in many cases, airing the same broadcast on multiple stations in a single market. In these communities, viewers can change the channel, but they'll find the exact same anchors and stories.
If the FCC continues to turn a blind eye to Sinclair's control over these stations, this trend is only going to get worse. It's time for the agency to acknowledge that broadcasters like Sinclair are violating its rules — and to step in to promote greater competition and diversity in the local TV market. Sinclair's fake companies shouldn't get to hold real licenses to the public's airwaves.

The FCC should take a serious look at whether companies like Sinclair, which get these valuable airwaves for free, are truly serving the public interest. It should close the numerous loopholes that have allowed Sinclair and others to dodge its rules — and stop the wave of consolidation before the damage is irreversible.
Jenn Topper is the media manager and S. Derek Turner is the research director for Free Press, a nonpartisan organization that advocates for diverse media ownership, universal and affordable Internet access, vibrant public media and quality journalism. Email them at jtopper@freepress.net and dturner@freeopress.net.
0 Comments

March 29th, 2016

3/29/2016

0 Comments

 
The #2 priority in building public justice in Baltimore and all US cities left to decline and to be made into International Economic Zones is what happens when a city the size of Baltimore is deliberately kept in an economic stagnation for decades with high unemployment and chronic long-term unemployment?  Everyone knows what happens-------a black market economy grows to bring money to those unable to get money from a functioning mainstream economy.  This as well brings all of the crime and violence----all of the interactions with police and jailing----and it is all deliberate as all US cities could have rebuilt small business local economies after the big industries left.  That is what a social Democrat would have done.

Instead these cities had as mayors Wall Street global corporate neo-liberals or in Baltimore's case----a very, very, very neo-conservative Johns Hopkins and Baltimore Development keeping the economy stagnant.  In cities like Baltimore the use of race and class is huge in elections so we need to look towards public justice to bring those two issues from a dominance in politics.  I have had on a few occasions had black community leaders ask WHAT DOES BLACK MARKET ECONOMY MEAN since I use this term all the time to describe what is the largest economy in Baltimore under this extreme economic stagnation-----and this black market economy is what keeps Baltimore mired in MOBTOWN/TAMMANY HALL politics and is central in reversing this hold and REALLY addressing oversight and accountability and ending fraud, corruption, and misappropriation.


Black financially, means profit.
The black market, being the illegal market, never had to worry about paying taxes.
Therefore all profit!
In the Black!
Black Friday!



Below you see one trace of the word origin for black market----there are several but none of them are tied to RACE or CLASS.  It is simply an economy that exists outside of a legal economy and has just as many white rich men as poor black or brown men.  The definition of word origin I embrace is the use as meaning RED INK======BLACK INK=====meaning a business is profitable or in the black or it is failing or in the red.  When you have no economy ------people will move to create any business that will move them into the BLACK INK.

REMEMBER---IT IS WHAT CANDIDATES DON'T SAY THAT TELLS YOU THEY ARE SIMPLY TALKING THE TALK.


Posted by Lewis on June 19, 2003
In Reply to: Re: Black market posted by James Briggs on June 17, 2003
: : : Do you know the origins of the term black market?
: : BLACK MARKET ? ?as originally used during World War II meant the market in buying and selling stolen military supplies, such as clothing, blankets, food, and truck tires?The term had also seen some use in World War I, when it entered English as a translation of the German ?Schwarzmarkt.?? From ?I Hear America Talking? by Stuart Berg Flexner (Von Nostrand Reinhold Co., New York, 1976). Another source says the phrase got its start in 1931 and meant ?unauthorized dealing in commodities that are rationed or of which the supply is otherwise restricted. After a slow start in the 1930s, mainly in the area of currency dealing, the term really took off in the disrupted economic circumstances of World War II?? From ?20th Century Words: The Story of New Words in English Over the Last 100 Years? by John Ayto (Oxford University Press, New York, 1999).
: The term was well recognised at the start of WW2 and was familiar to the public - at least in the East End of London. Only very rarely did it involved military items, mainly consumer goods that were very hard to find, and often stolen.
: Two related terms spring to mind;
: 1.'Under the counter' where goods in short supply were kept away from display and only made available to special/regular customers.
: 2. 'Spiv' - said to be a reversal of 'Vips' - persons who touted suspect goods, often in street makets. Became common just after WW2.

My grandmother (b.1892) spoke of spivs as being wartime hustlers - not after the war. A spiv could have been back-slang as it was called for VIPs, but that doesn't quite work. I know that "yob" for unruly "boy" is back-slang and I wondered about 'slag' for 'gal' although it is literally the rubbish created in mining coal.
The "Black economy" is also related to all this - "black" in this sense meaning undocumented/undeclared/unofficial. I have some vague memory that "black" market might have had started with "fire damaged" goods - or rather goods that were supposed to have been lost in a fire, but were really sold through unconventional outlets.

_____________________________________

Today in the US the black market is petty theft, organized cartels, drug dealers, prostitution, and hustlers.  In Baltimore no one does black market better than rich white men.  This is the high-level corporate fraud, corruption, and misappropriation.  Then in all underserved communities----black, white, brown-----there is the other side of black market.  The national and international crime cartels are somewhere in between......they are rich and poor.

This has been Baltimore's major economy for decades since industry left and that economic void was allowed to filled with tons of black market activity.

Public justice does not exist when these black market economies at all levels flourish.  Building a court system and a legal structure in all agencies to stop this IS THE ONLY SOLUTION TO THESE PROBLEMS IN BALTIMORE.  People are afraid in Baltimore to take this on but you know what?  ALMOST EVERYONE IS SICK AND TIRED OF THIS AND THEY ARE MORE AFRAID OF GLOBAL WALL STREET BALTIMORE DEVELOPMENT AND WHAT THEY ARE PUSHING.  Know what International Economic Zones look like in the third world?  They have black market economies surrounding these global corporate campuses and global FOXCONN sweat shops----just as in Baltimore.


Everyone understands that Wall Street is known all over the world and in the US as a criminal cartel.  It feeds the black market activities in our US cities as well in the effort to keep politicians in office ready to continue the bad policies that allow them to keep fleecing our government coffers at city, state, and national level.  If you do not openly state this as the #1 public justice issue in rebuilding oversight and accountability a candidate is not going to do anything.  This is why Baltimore Development and global corporations are trying so hard to dismantle the #1 public justice issue-----all avenues to attaining lawyers and public access to what the legal process is and how to use it.


IF YOU KNOW WALL STREET HAS BEEN ACTING SYSTEMICALLY CRIMINAL FOR A FEW DECADES THEN WHY WOULD YOU KEEP TYING BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, AND OUR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO WALL STREET LEVERAGE AND FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS LIKE THESE BOND DEALS?


This is why we know a $1 billion school building bond leveraged for decades is not in the public interest and public justice will not allow this.  A city like Baltimore may not have the muscle to bring all this fraud back but it certainly has the ability to STOP TYING THE CITY TO MORE WALL STREET FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS.



Wall Street Trading ‘Cartel’ Warned Initiates ‘Mess This Up And Sleep With One Eye Open’


Yesterday the Department of Justice announced guilty pleas from Barclays, Citigroup, JPMorgan and the Royal Bank of Scotland for manipulating international currency markets. The banks also agreed to pay fines totaling $5.8 billion.
In order to rig the markets in their favor the banks formed a group known as “The Cartel” where traders from Citigroup, JPMorgan, UBS, RBS, and Barclays conspired to rig LIBOR and currency exchange rates. The Cartel’s reach was extensive and the group was able to shift global currency exchange and interest rates by acting in collusion through their respective financial institutions.
To join the group, which operated an exclusive chatroom to conspire on trades, a trader would go through a gang initiation process of sorts complete with a probationary period and a threat.
The trader, who was the main Euro trader for Barclays in 2011, made various arguments about how he “would add value” to the chatroom, according to the NYDFS. Ultimately, they let him join for a one-month trial, but allegedly with a pretty ominous warning:
“[M]ess this up and sleep with one eye open at night.” Fortunately for that trader (but probably not so fortunately, in the end), he was allowed to stay in the group until it was dissolved in 2012.
Banksters truly play the part sometimes. The sleep with one eye open threat is just one of many quotes from traders rigging the market that display a criminal mindset.
The banks in question claim to have terminated all the traders involved in the Cartel though they offered little in the way of evidence to prove it. Of course, we could all just trust them to do the right thing. What could go wrong?

_________________________________________
As we see below----black market has nothing to do with race-----but yes, black citizens have their own black market activities as does all groups.  This is what the 2016 election is about.  Will the O'Malley machine steeped in all this Tammany Hall politics combined with the Clinton/Obama neo-liberalism at a national level maintain control of our people's DEMOCRATIC PARTY.

Citizens in Baltimore and all US cities know this dynamic and almost all citizens want to break away.  I know immigrant families do not want this in their communities---I know black citizens do not want this in their communities-----and I know white citizens do not want their top level leadership tied to all this mess.

THIS IS WHAT A BLACK MARKET ECONOMY LOOKS LIKE.


So Wall Street has been allowed to connect itself openly with all kinds of cartel activity because in naked capitalism-----you win anyway you can with only winners and losers.  National media loves to use the terms 'haters' and 'losers' to describe the 95% of Americans fleeced during these few decades.



In Baltimore Wall Street works through Baltimore Development Corporation and in the last few decades through a NYC MAYOR Bloomberg who has a strong hold on the board of Johns Hopkins and has driven many of these global neo-liberal/neo-con policies in Baltimore.




Cannes 2010: ‘Inside Job’ Director on How Wall Street Has Become a ‘Criminal Industry’

By
Anthony Kaufman

May 13, 2010 9:00 am ET


  • 1 Drug cartels
    • 1.1 Latin America
      • 1.1.1 Colombian cartels
      • 1.1.2 Mexican cartels
    • 1.2 Asian drug cartels
  • 2 Organized crime in Canada
    • 2.1 Canadian mafia families
  • 3 Organized crime in the United States
    • 3.1 American Mafia
      • 3.1.1 Active crime families
      • 3.1.2 Defunct mafia families
    • 3.2 Jewish mafia
    • 3.3 African-American organized crime
    • 3.4 Irish Mob
_________________________________________

We know for example that the Latino drug cartels are far more powerful and widespread than our black drug kingpins and it is this dynamic that creates much of the violence and shootings between gangs in the city.  Immigrant families are not tied to these drug cartels---they follow the movement of immigrants into states across the nation.  When Maryland and Baltimore opened the door to immigrants----we saw this drug and human trafficing of sex slaves et al move in as well.

We have black pimps, brown pimps, and white pimps-----and many women in Baltimore being subjected to the worst of all this----as well as children having to watch families torn apart by all this BLACK MARKET ACTIVITY.

So, when a candidate for any office in Baltimore but especially for Mayor of Baltimore NEVER MENTIONS ALL OF THIS----are they really going to address this?  NO.

This is the vital piece to helping our immigrant families successfully settle in Baltimore and to do this they need access to a functioning public justice system to make civil and criminal complaints against these cartels, against police abuse, and against workplace abuse and wage theft as does our low-income citizens.

YOU ARE NOT A WOMEN'S RIGHT CANDIDATE IF YOU ARE NOT SHOUTING AGAINST WHAT THE BLACK MARKET DOES TO FAMILIES AND ESPECIALLY WOMEN AND CHILDREN.

So, is the rent fraud systemic in Baltimore black market and does it involve a criminal cartel?  This is a top public justice issue and we have to look at it from the BIG PICTURE.


All candidates talk so superficially about reforming the police department and auditing public agencies but no candidate talks of addressing these issues as individual public justice problems and that is because Baltimore forums only allow 1 minute for a candidate to say the same superficial answers.

Mexican cartel on trial in Baltimore drug caseInformant describes driving cross-country with cocaine-filled mobile home
February 02, 2011|By Justin Fenton, The Baltimore Sun


In April 2009, Mexico's ruthless Gulf Cartel had a Baltimore problem.

Officers with the Drug Enforcement Administration had found an associate of the cartel in an Inner Harbor hotel room with more than $600,000 in alleged drug proceeds.
When the officers seized the money, prosecutors say, the cartel wanted answers. But the man they sent to investigate would himself be busted by the FBI.
Alex Mendoza-Cano would turn informant — and federal prosecutors say his testimony in U.S. District Court this week against two men charged in a cocaine conspiracy provides insight into how Mexican cartels are operating in Baltimore and other U.S. cities.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter M. Nothstein told jurors Tuesday that during the course of the trial they would hear things "you've only seen on TV and in movies."
Mendoza-Cano described driving across the country in a mobile home packed with millions of dollars' worth of cocaine. Testifying through an interpreter on Wednesday, he discussed staying in fancy hotels and dining at fine restaurants to set up contacts, and outlined how drugs are smuggled into the country by boat, personal watercraft and tractor-trailer, directed from Mexico by cartel members with two-way radios.
"The Mexican impact is here, and it's not just in the past six months," Carl J. Kotowski, special agent in charge of the DEA's Baltimore field office, said in an interview. "Increasingly, they have people they can call up here to get product into the city."
Complicating the case is the participation of disgraced Baltimore Police Officer Mark Lunsford, a DEA task force member who has since been convicted and sent to prison for skimming money from informant payouts.
Lunsford is believed to have taken an expensive watch and clothing belonging to one of the defendants in the 2009 arrest, and defense attorneys have repeatedly invoked his name in an attempt to cast doubt on the quality of the larger investigation.
The defendants, an East Baltimore phone store owner named Wade Coats and a Dallas car dealer named Jose Cavazos, are charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Coats is also charged with using a firearm in a drug trafficking crime.
To prosecute Coats, 45, and Cavazos, 43, authorities have attempted to sandwich them with testimony from two men on opposite ends of the alleged distribution chain who have already pleaded guilty.
Defense attorneys say the witnesses are criminals who will say anything to save themselves. Not having found drugs on the defendants, attorney Thomas M. Donnelly said, prosecutors are relying on "huge inferences."
The witnesses were "caught red-handed, and they've made a deal to save their own skin," said Donnelly, who is representing Coats.
Neither defendant on trial this week was on the radar of local law enforcement on April 28, 2009, when city officers assigned to work with the DEA established surveillance near the Milan restaurant and club in the 1000 block of Eastern Avenue.
Their target: Ronald Brown, 44, a convicted drug dealer who confidential sources said was distributing large amounts of heroin and cocaine on the city's east side.
Brown was seen meeting with a man unknown to law enforcement — later determined to be Coats — and exchanging what authorities say was cash. When the men parted, prosecutors say, Detective David Clasing tailed Coats to the Marriott Waterfront Hotel.
Detectives led by Officer Brian Shutt obtained search warrants for a hotel room booked in Coats' name, and encountered Cavazos, prosecutors say. Inside they found several phones and a suitcase containing heat-sealed bricks of cash wrapped in aluminum foil. The total: $275,000.
"I am just the money counter — no drugs in the room," Cavazos told authorities, according to court records.
In the parking garage, officers located a vehicle with Texas license plates registered to a relative of Cavazos, prosecutors say. They found another $335,000 in heat-sealed bricks in a suitcase in the trunk.
Agents swarmed Coats, an unassuming man with glasses and a mustache who is of Jamaican descent, in East Baltimore. Prosecutors say he was carrying $7,000 in cash and a firearm, and was taken into custody.
Authorities had tons of cash, and drugs were recovered from Brown. But a broader link would come with the arrest of Mendoza-Cano in an unrelated investigation in Texas.
The men testifying against Coats and Cavazos offer insight into the lifestyles of those at either spectrum of the world of drugs.
Brown, who at 6-foot-6, 240 pounds has earned the nickname "Truck," described how he tried to live a clean life after being released from prison. He worked as a forklift operator for years, until his company filed for bankruptcy and he lost his job.
He went back to selling narcotics, he said, through a contact of his estranged daughter. He winced in court each time defense attorneys called him a "drug dealer."
______________________________________
Maryland and Baltimore are ground zero for every predatory business scheme in the book especially as regards check cashing/rent-to-own/slum landlord and rent frauds and all of this kills any ability of our Baltimore citizens to gain and keep wealth.  It is deliberate as Wall Street Baltimore Development does not WANT CITIZENS IN BALTIMORE GAINING WEALTH.

If you are going to rebuild all communities in Baltimore with small business economies we must be sure that these economies are stable and healthy-----and that means they can operate in an economy free from all this predatory and fraudulent activity.  People who are small business owners WANTING TO BE HONEST cannot operate in a city full of fraud and corruption and citizens in communities cannot keep wealth long enough to be consumers for their neighborhood businesses----whether citizen or immigrant.

THESE ARE BLACK MARKET ACTIVITIES THAT PREY ON EVERY LEVEL OF CITIZEN----MIDDLE/WORKING CLASS AND POOR----

To fuel a local economy in Baltimore we must have public justice that protects all citizens' wealth---so they can be the consumer fueling our local Baltimore economy.  Stopping this predation-----recovering the worst of abuses-----will bring more revenue to our Baltimore City coffers as more people can afford being homeowners and small business owners.

When a candidate makes it seem as though lower taxes is the only issue for small business and says nothing about all of the above-----they will not create a healthy small business economy.



Maryland Rent-to-own Scam Dupes Hundreds

March 25, 2011
March 25, 2011

Car rental scheme lures hundreds


Lured in by attractive ads in neighborhood newspapers and on the Internet, as many as 1,500 people may have been tricked into paying money to a man who told them they could rent-to-own a car despite having poor or no credit.
Federal authorities called the opportunity a scam and arrested the man and an alleged accomplice, and now they're looking for more victims. "It's a devastating scheme," said U.S. Secret Service Special Agent Daniel Bongino, one of the lead investigators in the case. He said one victim lost his life savings to rent a 2010 Ford Focus.
Read the full criminal complaint.
One of the suspects had tried this before. In 2005, he was convicted of running a similar scheme, only this time with apartments instead of cars. Anyone who thinks they're a victim is urged to call 443-263-1000. Here's how the scheme worked:

Law enforcement officials say those behind the scheme charged people as much as $5,000 on top of monthly payments of up to $500 to participate. They then accompanied clients to car rental agencies and persuaded them to sign what victims believed were long-term leases with options to buy.

Police said the victims actually were renting the cars for just a few days. When the contracts ran out, the rental agencies went after the unwitting clients to get the cars back and collect late fees. By that time, police said, the organizers had stopped returning calls, and the renter was left responsible.

___________________________________________
Baltimore has been held hostage to every NYC Mayor Bloomberg policy for decades and that is especially true of our current education, health care, and policing policies.  They are written by a very, very neo-conservative Johns Hopkins and Wall Street Baltimore Development who brings the same policies from NYC to Baltimore.  NYC's approach-----ignore Rule of Law, US Constitutional rights and simply force citizens to evacuate a community slated for global corporate and affluent development.  Now, Americans who thought that was good policing decades ago in NYC and LA-----are now being shown how all of this ignoring of US Constitutional rights grows under global corporate and International Economic Zone rules. 

IT ENDS BADLY FOR ALL CITIZENS WHO ARE NOW CALLED HUMAN CAPITAL.

I read recently an article written by Baltimore Black Charities that called citizens HUMAN CAPITAL-----and yes, Black Charities is tied to Wall Street Baltimore Development and International Economic Zone policies.  They are tied to the US FEDERAL RESERVE-----and all this very bad public policy development in Baltimore.

This article below is not definitive but it does a good job at identifying the problems existing in our policing of gangs for decades and it shows good ideas for goals in rebuilding our Baltimore City Police Department to be one geared towards REAL COMMUNITY POLICING and moving from the militarized strategies being send down by Obama and Clinton neo-liberals in Congress and guess who wrote those policing strategies?  A very, very, very neo-conservative Johns Hopkins.  They have written a strategy that is simply a WAR ON GUNS that is used to target gangs and individual citizens with a loss of all rights as citizens in this effort towards gang control.  As a social Democrat I support common-sense gun control but not this WAR ON GUNS with escalating criminality with a goal of creating the next SCHOOL TO PRISON PIPELINE ISSUE.

COMMUNITY POLICING DOES NOT DECLARE A WAR ON GUNS OR DENY CITIZENS THEIR RIGHTS----IT BUILDS STRUCTURES IN COMMUNITIES TO IDENTIFY WHAT MOVES PEOPLE TO GANGS, HOW TO MITIGATE PROBLEMS BEFORE THEY OCCUR, AND HOW TO REMOVE THE MOST VIOLENT AND UNREPENTANT OF CRIMINALS FROM COMMUNITIES.

Are there no WHITE GANGS?  Of course there are white gangs right here in Baltimore so there is a failure in this article and that is why I say it is not definitive.





Into The Abyss:
A Personal Journey into the World of Street Gangs





by Mike Carlie, Ph.D.        

Chapter 14:
The Police Response to Gangs



Field Note: I sent a letter to the San Francisco police department in hopes of being able to ride with their gang unit. Shortly after sending the letter I received a phone call from one of the gang unit officers. The officer asked "So, what would you like to ride?" "I'm sorry," I replied, "I thought I wrote to the department about riding with the gang unit." "You did," he said. "We just want to know if you want to ride Hispanic, Black, or Asian." That was my first introduction to big-city gang units.


In 2007 the Justice Policy Institute published a report entitled "Gang Wars: The Failure of Enforcement Tactics and the need for Effective Public Safety Strategies." It is the product of a scientific and objective enquiry into law enforcement practices aimed at gangs and concludes that many, if not most, of those efforts have been ineffective. The report identifies alternative approaches which should be of interest to anyone and any neighborhood/community wanting to find more effective ways to reduce gang activity. You can read any of the follow to learn more about what the Justice Policy Institute found:




Executive Summary

Full (108-page) Report

Condensed Version




In April of 2004, Charles M. Katz and Vincent J. Webb conducted a rather remarkable and very useful study of police gang unit responses to gangs. It is entitled Police Response to Gangs: A Multi-Site Study, and was funded by the United States Department of Justice. In an email dated December 31, 2004, Dr. Katz indicated that the book will eventually be published by the Cambridge University Press.
The police gang units Katz and Webb observed were those in Inglewood (CA, population 112,580), Phoenix (AZ, population 1,321,945), Las Vegas (NV, population 478,434), and Albuquerque (NM, population 448,607. The size of those departments' gang units (in 2004) ranged from 4 officers (Inglewood) to 41 officers (Las Vegas) while the number of sworn officers in the entire police organization ranged from 210 in Inglewood to 2,532 in Phoenix (the 10th largest police agency in the United States. (Katz and Webb, 2004, p. 35)
In addition to reading newspaper articles and documentation provided in official reports and interviewing external stakeholders (people in the community who had a vested interest in the gang phenomenon), Katz and Webb interviewed a total of 65 of the 90 gang unit officers available in their research cities and an additional 20 police managers and supervisors. (Katz and Webb, 2004, p. 43)

One of the key differences about Katz's and Webb's study is that the gangs in the cities they studied were predominantly comprised of Mexican Americans and Mexican Nationals, as opposed to the African-American or Asian gang populations found in other cities. Due to the rapidly increasing size and diffusion of Latino peoples throughout the United States, Katz's and Webb's study is both timely and relevant.
Because I believe the findings of Katz's and Webb's research are so important, I will summarize their findings here, although there are many more of their findings reported throughout Into the Abyss. What follows is a brief summary of the highlights of Katz's and Webb's study. It includes the goals and objectives of the study, its five major findings, and a statement on how to improve the effectiveness of police gang units.


Katz and Webb stated the goals and objectives of the study (Katz and Webb, 2004, p. i) as follows:

1. To identify and examine the factors that have led to the creation of specialized police gang units, and to examine how those factors have influenced the units' responses to the gang problems in their communities;
2. To examine alternative ways in which police agencies have organized resources to respond to their local gang problems;
3. To examine the relevant beliefs of gang unit officers, and how their beliefs might have affected the police response to gangs;
4. To identify the activities that gang unit officers have been engaging in, and to clarify conceptually the roles of specialized police gang units within their departments;
5. To assess the goodness of fit of the police response to gangs with the community-oriented policing paradigm.

The study concludes with five major findings, all of them of significance for law enforcement agencies hoping to effectively deal with the gang problems they face. (Katz and Webb, 2004, p. ii)  As will be seen in the remaining pages of this chapter, the problems noted in the major findings above have, to a significant degree, crippled or otherwise hindered law enforcement's efforts to gain a stronghold on the gang phenomenon.

First Finding: Police gang units were an indirect response to an objective problem

Although all cities in our study had gang problems at the time that their respective police departments established gang units, in creating the gang units, the police departments typically were responding to political, public, and media pressure - not directly to the objective reality of the gang problem. (Italics in original.) (Katz and Webb, 2004, p. ii)
When reading research on gangs, one will find the argument that police officials, the media, and city administrators may create an image of gangs for the community that "demonizes minority and other marginalized youth, in an effort to campaign for additional resources." (Katz and Webb, 2004, p. ix)  In the four cities Katz and Webb studied they found no evidence of such manipulation.
Furthermore, we found no evidence suggesting that police had created the gang units to control marginalized populations who they perceived as threatening; rather, we found evidence to the contrary. Much of the data suggested that minority communities played a major role in shaping the nature of the police organization's response to gangs. (Katz and Webb, 2004, p. ix)
In reality, the researchers found that community members were criticizing police for not taking enough action to reduce the gang problems in their respective communities.

Second Finding: There was an absence of control and accountability over the gang unit.

The data showed that few formal mechanisms had been instituted for controlling and managing gang units and their officers, or for holding them accountable. (Katz and Webb, 2004, p. ii)
At three of the four research sites the researchers found a lack of gang-unit-specific "policies, procedures, or rules guiding officer behavior, and the few policies and procedures that did exist were modest in scope and nature." (Katz and Webb, 2004, p. x)
As a result, they found gang unit officers were poorly trained on gang-related matters. On-the-job experience was what passed for "training" and, as might be expected, resulted in producing several problems affecting investigations, the handling of intelligence, and their ability to provide any meaningful insights to policy planners and members of the community.
As if to compound matters and make them worse, the researchers found that "the gang units ... lacked adequate performance measures ... and were hard pressed to offer specific evidence of the units' effectiveness." (Katz and Webb, 2004, p. x) As a result, "this casual approach to performance measurement ... contributed to a sense of autonomy and lack of accountability within the gang units." (Katz and Webb, 2004, p. x)

Third Finding: Information was the principal commodity of gang units.


The most important benefits to actors in the gang units' environments were related to the production and dissemination of gang intelligence. (Katz and Webb, 2004, p. ii)
Other than the gang unit officers and other law enforcement stakeholders, "almost no one ... believed that gang unit suppression efforts were effective at reducing the communities' gang problems." (Katz and Webb, 2004, p. xii) In fact, the researchers found that the gang unit officers they studied averaged only one to three gang member contacts for every eight hour shift worked. And most of those contacts did not result in an arrest. Instead, intelligence was gathered - the commodity most valued by internal stakeholders (members of other units, divisions, and bureaus within the police department).

Fourth Finding: Decoupling of gang units from the rest of the police organization was problematic.


The police had structurally and strategically decoupled gang control efforts from the rest of their police organizations. (Katz and Webb, 2004, p  ii)

The researchers found that the decoupling (disconnecting) of the gang unit from the rest of the enforcement agency was the most typical long-term outcome of the creation of a gang unit. As they note, "This resulted in several negative consequences, limiting the capacity and effectiveness of the units." (Katz and Webb, 2004, p. xiii)

Operational activities carried out by the officers tended to be decided upon in accord with the unique workgroup subculture that existed within each gang unit, a subculture that reflected internally shared beliefs about the nature of the local gang problem and the appropriate response to that problem. (Katz and Webb, 2004, p. xiii)

The gang unit's perception of the "nature of the local gang problem and the appropriate response to that problem," however, often did not match the community's perception of the problem and what it would consider the "appropriate response."



Field Note:  In a community of 100,000 with a police department of nearly 300 officers, the only departmentally-assign gang officer (a Sergeant) had never spoken with officers in the department's narcotics unit about the gang situation. "The narcs," he said, "aren't in our offices. They move their offices around town to keep the bad guys off guard." The problem is, they are also decoupled from the department, including the gang officer.


The researchers found that the decoupling of the gang units from the rest of the police organization led gang unit officers to isolate themselves from the rest of the department and from the community. It reduced the unit's ability to provide needed information and to receive information from other units in the department. This is a near-fatal flaw.

The police gang unit's use of "off-site and secretive locations promoted gang unit and officer autonomy, to the detriment of all. It resulted in the organizational character of the gang unit being shaped by default by the workgroup subculture, which was sometimes at adds with the mission of the larger law enforcement agency, or sometimes even with the law itself. (Katz and Webb, 2004, p. xiv. Italics added for emphasis.)

As Katz and Webb note, the exploits of the Los Angeles Police Department's CRASH (Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums) gang unit resulted from the development of its own subculture within the police department - a subculture that defined practically any means as appropriate to reach the desire end - reducing gang activity. In this case, however, that meant violating the rights of citizens and breaking the law.

"CRASH officers began resisting supervision, flagrantly ignoring policies and procedures that they believed were inhibiting their ability to respond to the gang problem. This subculture eventually gave rise to the Rampart Scandal, in which Rampart CRASH unit officers in Los Angeles were found to be engaging in hard-core criminal activity." (Katz and Webb, 2004, p. 3)

As Katz and Webb note, violations like those committed by the L.A. Police Department's gang units were not unique to that city. Other police in gang units in other cities, including those in Katz's and Webb's study, exhibited equally unprofessional and illegal behavior. (Katz and Webb, 2004, p. 4)

Fifth Finding: Police gang units did not practice community policing.


Traditional local law enforcement finds police in a reactive mode. That is, they wait for a call for service and react by arriving on the alleged crime scene and, when appropriate, making an arrest. The emphasis today in law enforcement circles is to become more proactive - to prevent crimes from occurring. Community-policing is a proactive form of policing (while still including reactive law enforcement). The core features of community-policing include "citizen input, geographic focus (on a crime-ridden neighborhood, for example), emphasis on prevention, partnerships (with community organizations and citizens), formal problem solving" (such as the SARA Model), and greater officer discretion. (Katz and Webb, 2004, p. 467)
Gang units and gang unit officers were not practicing community- or problem-oriented policing. (Katz and Webb, 2004, p. ii) In general, we found that the gang units that we studied rarely sought citizen input, and had rarely formed partnerships with community groups, local businesses, or other local or state agencies." (Katz and Webb, 2004, p. xv)
Given the importance of prevention within the community-oriented style of policing, it was disappointing to find so few gang unit officers participating in prevention activities. Klein found that only about eight percent of gang units are involved in prevention activities. (Klein, 1995) Likewise, Katz and Webb found that the gang unit officers in the four gang units they studied
believed their responsibilities did not include addressing underlying problems related to gang crime." (Katz and Webb, 2004, p. 470) The gang units we studied rarely formed intentional partnerships with community groups, local business, or state and other local agencies. When they did, the partnerships typically were with criminal justice personnel for the purpose of exchanging gang-related intelligence. (Katz and Webb, 2004, p. 472)
One of the major premises of Into the Abyss is that, for police to be effective with gangs, there must be a police-community connection. A partnership. In its absence, the police are working alone and fail to obtain needed information, cooperation, and other resources available to them from most communities.
I have worked with a community-wide gang task force for several years and continue to find information-sharing in the group of great value, as do most of the law enforcement personnel who serve on that task force. What Katz and Webb found, however, is indicative of too many law enforcement agencies in the United States. They state that "None of the gang unit officers in any of the study sites appeared to value information that non-criminal justice agencies might provide, nor did they recognize potential value in sharing their own information and knowledge with non-criminal justice personnel." (Katz and Webb, 2004, p. xv. Italics in the original.) I believe devaluing any source of information as an error - particularly if the sources are agencies with knowledge of gangs.
And failing to share intelligence with non-criminal justice personnel leaves many in the community without any direction or guidance as to what it is the community needs to do to effectively address the gang phenomenon.   TRANSPARENCY
None of the gang units Katz and Webb studied participated in prevention or problem-oriented policing. The gang unit officers did not believe those activities were their responsibility. Addressing the problems underlying the gang phenomenon fell out of their purview. Instead, the gang units took a reactive view to policing gangs rather than a proactive one. "We found that the gang units simply did not routinely consider formal problem-solving strategies as a means to address their local gang problems." (Katz and Webb, 2004, p. xvi.)

How to Improve the Effectiveness of Police Gang Units

Interestingly, we found none of the police departments engaging in any form of analysis to better understand their cities' gang problems. Community gang control activities most often were planned and implemented in accord with popular beliefs about problems, rather than being grounded in thoughtful analysis. (Katz and Webb, 2004, p. 473)
Given the problems identified above, Katz and Webb suggest the following steps be taken to improve the effectiveness of police gang units and enhance their legitimacy in the eyes of the communities they serve. (Katz and Webb, 2004, p. xvi)



Gang units need to be tightly coupled with the entire law enforcement organization - both physically and operationally - so as to enhance the flow of intelligence.
 

Gang units need more managerial controls and accountability. With better direction in the form of policies, procedures, supervision, and training, gang units will have greater direction and capacity to focus their resources and skills on community gang problems.
 

Gang units should incorporate many of the organizational features and operational strategies found in community policing including, but not limited to, community embeddedness (level of participation with the community), formal problem solving, and geographic accountability.


0 Comments

March 28th, 2016

3/28/2016

0 Comments

 

Citizens of Maryland and Baltimore need to be sensitive to this dynamic when it comes to building economic power across Maryland.  Montgomery County has over a few decades been taken as simply a suburban Washington DC county filled with the global corporate headquarters surrounding our Capitol.  It is rich because of this and has far more power than it should in the governance of Maryland and counties.  Baltimore is rebuilding and to do so in the way all Baltimore citizens want-----free from global corporate campuses and International Economic Zone status----we need Baltimore to protect vital infrastructure not only public services and works---but our public universities/hospitals/and yes, University of Maryland Carey School of Law.

We already know Ferguson and Anderson are leading this move for global corporations and Baltimore as an International Economic Zone----we know more Baltimore Maryland Assembly will pose progressive and pretend to fight for Morgan State as a reason to hand UMMS and Carey Law School to College Park.  I have many citizens across Maryland following me in all counties so I say this----we need a Baltimore City as a strong, LOCAL ECONOMY to keep state and city sovereignty in place.  Please see that Democrats in all counties vote against this merger.

Maryland is a very small state with a limited University of Maryland system.  College Park and Baltimore City are the powerhouses of this system.  If College Park controls Baltimore it controls the entire system.  Those thinking a status of public IVY LEAGUE is a positive you must understand that IVY LEAGUE is not now an academic standing---it is a global Wall Street corporate institution----a product mill.  There is no status in being called IVY LEAGUE in the US currently.  It simply captures our state university system to this international economic zone structure.


Our University of Baltimore has a public justice law center geared to help with the needs of citizens and Carey Law School does have a progressive side although in Maryland it is hard to allow that progressive light to shine.  A Mayor of Baltimore could subsidize many two year law degree students to fill EVERY BALTIMORE CITY AGENCY FOR OVERSIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY including moving cases to court when they are identified.  This is the platform to building public justice geared towards addressing the cases our Grand Jury and Baltimore State's Attorney refuse to move forward.

This one issue below made industrial BIG AG AND BIG MEAT mad----but we have a law university writing on these critical social issues.


Manure in the Bay: A Report on Industrial Animal Agriculture in Maryland and Pennsylvania

Rena I. Steinzor
University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law; Center for Progressive Reform


Ling-Yee Huang
affiliation not provided to SSRN

June 1, 2012

Center for Progressive Reform Briefing Paper No. 1206
U of Maryland Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2012-32

Abstract:     

This report provides a substantive and detailed look at the concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO) and other animal feeding operations (AFO) programs in Maryland and Pennsylvania, as well as a general overview of the federal CAFO program. The information in this report was gathered through publicly available resources as well as a series of interviews with agency officials and other individuals who work with the animal agricultural sector. This report identifies concrete and practical recommendations for improving how the waste generated by animal industrial agriculture is managed and controlled by EPA, the Maryland Department of Environment (MDE), and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The report provides general recommendations that apply to each of these agencies and specific and distinct recommendations applicable to these three agencies that are primarily charged with protecting human health and the environment, along with recommendations for state agricultural agencies that also manage manure and AFOs. Most of these recommendations require no legislative action and could be implemented by the agencies under their existing authorities.

In the United States, the romantic image of the Jeffersonian farmer tending the field has long given way to industrial production of food. Nowhere is this more evident than in the animal agriculture sector, where the decline of the family farm and the subsequent rise of large-scale animal operations and the manure they generate have been dramatic. In the badly impaired Chesapeake Bay watershed, animal manure contributes around 19 percent of the total nitrogen and 26 percent of the total phosphorus to the Bay, or 53 million pounds and 5 million pounds, respectively. Manure also contains an unappetizing slurry of pathogens, antibiotics, and other pollutants such as cleaning fluids, heavy metals, synthetic fertilizers, and pesticides. In the United States, EPA estimates that the largest of these concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) generate three times the amount of waste generated by humans annually. Unlike human waste, which is subject to extensive biological and chemical treatment, animal waste is most frequently spread onto land without treatment.


___________________________________________

As the article above showed, our Carey School of Law and University of Baltimore public justice write on this one issue-----progressive environmental law.  The City of Baltimore has in its Public Works Department an environmental department having a mission of protecting our environment and public health.  Raise your hand if you know this branch is not doing its job?

When the goal is rebuilding public health and cleaning our communities of environmental pollution and keeping development from communities that will bring this harm---you need lawyers and legal staff wanting to actually STOP BAD POLICY THAT WILL HARM OUR ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH.  The status of International Economic Zone with the coming of Trans Pacific Trade Pact would have Baltimore and surrounding region looking like China with global corporate campuses and global FOXCONN factories all known to devastate our environment so why do we not hear this from our Baltimore City agencies tasked with environmental protection?

THE O'MALLEY MACHINE----INCLUDING RAWLINGS-BLAKE AND ALL BALTIMORE CITY HALL POLS APPOINT PEOPLE WHO DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT.  THEY ARE NOT LOOKING TO PREVENT THESE PROBLEMS.  THE LEGAL TEAMS ONLY LOOK TO PROTECT THE CITY FROM FAILURES OF BAD POLICY.


Below you see an article from 1993 talking about Baltimore City Board of Estimates and city lawyers all working simply to hide all of the fraud, corruption, and misappropriation only today this has been super-sized and now global corporations have their lawyers in city hall fighting to hide this same mess.

How much revenue has the city received over these few decades for watershed protection? 

City of Baltimore

Subscribe

Department of the Environment

DPW Receives Grant to Support Watershed Restoration

Dec 17th, 2014
The Baltimore City Department of Public Works has been selected to receive a $58,000 grant from the Watershed Assistance – Two-Year Milestone Support grant program.



A new mayor will bring fresh legal faces into Baltimore City agencies knowing they are committed to enforcing law and not at hiding failures.   Each Baltimore City agency has these law teams and has the ability to pursue legal complaints as public servants serving our citizens and communities.


Baltimore's Board of Estimates: Is It Minding the Store?



December 26, 1993|By JOAN JACOBSON


Three months ago, City Comptroller Jacqueline F. McLean said she was shocked to hear that a woman hired under a consulting contract had done no work for the city.

Mrs. McLean said she had trusted information the mayor gave her when she and other Board of Estimates members approved the contract for fired Pratt Library chief Anna Curry to do consulting work for the mayor's office.
"I'm floored," said the comptroller when told Mrs. Curry was getting paid but doing no work.
Now it comes to light that Mrs. McLean herself pushed a contract through the Board of Estimates in September 1992 to hire a public relations consultant who also apparently does no work for the city.
The checks to the mystery worker went to a hair salon owned by Ms. McLean's relatives and were deposited in two bank accounts -- one apparently set up by the comptroller herself.
She also rushed a lease agreement by the board for a city agency to rent a building she and her husband were selling.
Initially, board members asked no questions, but later rescinded the lease when they discovered the comptroller's family owned the building.
How could this keep happening?
How could questionable transactions get past a board that is made up of the mayor, the city solicitor, the public works director, the city council president and the comptroller?
The questions aren't new. During the mayoral heyday of William Donald Schaefer, the Board of Estimates approved questionable grants to politicians, mortgages to city workers, and multimillion-dollar loans to politically well-connected developers -- that were later never repaid. Council members and others questioned whether the Board of Estimates was scrutinizing contracts adequately.

The board often gives approval with little or no public discussion.

Their public meeting used to follow a secret meeting where they hashed out details for spending tax dollars in a little room on City Hall's second floor. Then, the board filed into the stately Board of Estimates room, where portraits of former mayors look down from the walls, and quickly ran through the agenda.

(The private meetings have since been opened to the press.)
Even today, the Wednesday morning meetings can be confusing to a newcomer, as the board rushes through much of a 50-page-plus agenda, stopping only to hear long-winded complaints from contractors and their lawyers who lost bids to sell the school system a computer or the police department an air conditioning system.
At the end of every meeting there are always a few items -- called "added starters" or "walk-ons" -- that are not on the pre-printed agenda.
Mrs. McLean brought both the contract for the mystery worker and the lease agreement for her family's building to the board as walk-ons at the tail end of regular meetings.
The lease agreement -- to find new offices for health department workers -- appeared so routine that the board secretary turned off the tape recorder -- leaving no formal record of the deal.
It wasn't until after the meeting that Council President Mary Pat Clarke discovered that the address given for the building was phony and that the real address belonged to Mrs. McLean's family business.
Mrs. Clarke -- who also presides over the Board of Estimates as its president -- doesn't like walk-ons because she can't read the fine print in advance.

The Schmoke administration recently had the board approve a $10 million walk-on to hand over financial management, cafeteria and maintenance services in two city schools to a private company. She said she was given no time to read the amended contract before voting.

"I abstained on that vote. It's a multimillion-dollar contract. The ink was fresh," she said.
Ironically, said the council president, the one board member who tried to put a stop to the last minute walk-on items was Mrs. McLean.

"The comptroller had made a big issue of not permitting walk-ons. It's been a big, big issue of hers that everyone has tried to observe," said Ms. Clarke.
Last week, in light of the allegations against Mrs. McLean, Mr. Schmoke sent a memo to city agencies telling them to stop rushing items to the board at the last minute unless they are truly emergencies.
The Board of Estimates -- founded in 1900 -- is mandated by the city charter to approve all city financial transactions, as well as contracts for construction and purchasing.
Mayors have used the board to push through their own agendas, since the mayor controls three of the five votes -- his own, as well as those of his appointed city solicitor and public works director.

___________________________________________

The Baltimore School Building bond was so bad a public policy for the City of Baltimore that they had to hide yet again the details of these bond deals even not allowing citizens to know what investment firms and individuals were tied to this super-sized leverage deal for a $1billion dollars that the city already had in revenue to send to school building for decades.

BALTIMORE CITY HAD THIS BILLION AND COULD HAVE REBUILT ALL PUBLIC SCHOOLS HAD WE STOPPED THE $1-2 BILLION A YEAR LOSS OF REVENUE TO FRAUD, CORRUPTION, AND MISAPPROPRIATION.

My organization Citizens Oversight Maryland went to the Comptroller's Office----the Mayor of Baltimore's Office----I went to public justice to file lawsuit trying to get access to the details of this bad bond deal including the names of who are tied to the next boondoggle for Baltimore.

The mayor's lawyer heard me asking around city hall for this information and he stated right in front of me-----SHE IS GOING TO COURT WITH THIS-----that is the point I ran into nothing but closed doors for something required to be transparent.

THIS IS WHAT IS MEANT BY NEEDING LEGAL TEAMS IN BALTIMORE CITY HALL THAT WANT TO WORK TO PROTECT PUBLIC INTEREST AND NOT SIMPLY TO HIDE FAILURES.


This deal is what ties all of our K-12 to tons of non-profits all telling students, parents, and teachers what they need to do because-----the bond was handed to a non--profit and not the City of Baltimore and our Baltimore Public Schools.  All Baltimore needs is a City Hall that provides oversight and accountability---and we don't need corporate non-profits with ties to global education corporations coming in to create massive debt tied to our public K-12.

No legal team working in public interest would have been part of these kinds of Wall Street financial deals taking billions of dollars in just Wall Street fees and fraud from our Baltimore coffers. This kind of debt structure is being tied to all US International Economic Zones cities like Baltimore. This is how you build public justice in Baltimore where for decades it has not existed. If a candidate is simply saying they are going to audit, audit, audit----they are going to build oversight in agencies but never talks openly about all of this-----they are not going to build oversight and accountability and end fraud, corruption, and misappropriation of our revenue.

A big build for city schools

Creative bond financing proposal could infuse billions into Baltimore for school construction and renovation

October 25, 2011|By Heather R. Mizeur and Thomas E. Wilcox



No heat in the winter. No air conditioning in the summer. Windows painted shut since the 1950s trap stagnant air that triggers infections and asthma attacks. Broken water fountains sit rusted outside crammed, crumbling classrooms.
The U.S. Constitution protects prisoners from ever facing such conditions. Yet a letter to the Baltimore Sun on Oct. 16 revealed that Baltimore's schoolchildren suffer these indignities every day. The writers were neither parents nor teachers but a group of middle school students themselves. They channeled their daily anger and said "[this] makes us feel unwanted."
We've seen their school, Holabird Academy, and we can't expect these kids to feel otherwise. They want to come to school to focus on learning, but their miserable building "doesn't offer this," as they put it. Nor do more than a hundred buildings like it in Baltimore. Instead, academic achievement suffers, students skip school and drop out, top-quality teachers leave the system and proud neighborhoods lose their economic backbone. The city and its people deserve better.
The estimated cost to get there: $2.8 billion. In these tough budget times, that's far more than what Baltimore and Annapolis can afford with traditional resources. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and schools CEO Andrés Alonso bring a sincere desire to solve this problem. We need to give them more innovative tools with which to work — and we need to do it now.
That's where a new breed of public-private partnership (P3) comes in. Governments around the world have recently deployed so-called "63-20" bonds to raise massive amounts of money for infrastructure improvements. Available only to nonprofit entities, these bonds encourage cities to partner with community groups to get more out of underused real estate assets like schools and libraries. Taking advantage of creative upfront financing options, the partnership can then leverage its resources to fund a sweeping transformation. In a traditional municipal bond program, cities can only afford to renovate a handful of schools at a time. That process would take decades.
This aggressive and proven solution would also instantly bring with it thousands of construction-related jobs.
The concept: A nonprofit corporation, having partnered with the city, issues the tax-free 63-20 bonds backed by a dedicated revenue source — such as the yearly operating and capital budgets for the schools — and other resources such as a potential new sales tax or community-generated revenue from use of school facilities. The nonprofit has effectively loaned the amount of the bond to the school system, which, over the course of the repayment term, can either lease back the asset or create a buy-back partnership.
A 63-20 partnership also provides a unique opportunity to improve efficiency and city planning. Packaging several facility renovations into one project yields economies of scale in construction and the ability to make real a new vision for an entire community.
Once these schools are improved, we can open them after hours and in the summer, or share space with local groups and businesses like daycare centers. Schools serving as local anchors — with their libraries, pools or auditoriums — can potentially bring in new private revenue from the community and help revitalize neighborhoods. If we make energy efficiency a priority, as we should, facility operating costs will drop drastically for decades to come.
These are not untested approaches. P3 initiatives for school construction have succeeded in places as diverse as Greenville County, S.C.; Niagara Falls, N.Y.; and Washington, D.C.
We ask for the city to consider forming such a partnership and developing a long-term maintenance plan that ensures these buildings remain in peak condition far into the future. We need to hold city government accountable, but we also need to expect more from our other leaders. At the same time, the state should explore how the Board of Public Works, the Interagency Committee on School Construction, and other public resources might make this program work. The state should also give the city and its residents the freedom to vote on its own dedicated funding mechanism to supplement the cost.
Colleges and universities can help by creating alumni booster campaigns to promote the program; collecting and sharing surplus equipment from their campuses; and sending their brightest minds to help execute such a large-scale program. They will reap the reward of better-educated incoming students who will not need to be provided remedial support.
Finally, corporate leaders should think about how their participation in this program would yield dividends for their workforce and bottom line. There is shareholder value in improved schools and strengthened communities.
The only limits on our opportunities are the limits on our creativity.
__________________________________________
Every city agency has its legal teams hired SUPPOSEDLY to be guarding against fraud, corruption, and misappropriation AND to see that policies are enacted in the public interest meeting Federal and state laws and US Constitutional rights.  None of that has occurred in Baltimore for decades.  Now, if you think it is OK to ignore Federal equal protection in housing and education as is the history in Baltimore then you are opening the city for wider fraud and corruption and this is why we are now seeing global corporations connected to Baltimore City agencies doing on a grand scale what existed as local graft over decades.  EVERYONE IS NOW BEING FLEECED AND BALTIMORE CITIZENS ARE NOW PAYING HIGHER AND HIGHER TAXES, FEES, AND FINES as all this corruption and now global corporate subsidy leads to more and more greed.

The article below has a Republican slant because what Republican Grassley is shouting against in Baltimore exists all over the nation and ESPECIALLY IN REPUBLICAN STATES AND COUNTIES.  Remember, Baltimore is NOT DEMOCRATIC-----the politicians run as Democrats and then serve a very, very, very neo-conservative Johns Hopkins and Wall Street Baltimore Development----NOTHING DEMOCRATIC ABOUT THIS.

So, rebuilding public justice in Baltimore means a legal team in Baltimore Housing would have long ago challenged the existence of this QUASI-governmental status----would have decades ago stopped the misappropriation of all of our public housing and affordable housing funding.  This was to every communities benefit as this would have allowed surrounding communities to stabilize and citizens working as small business owners hiring citizens in their communities to work and all kinds of housing development would have tons of new revenue coming into Baltimore's coffers.  We would have ONE BALTIMORE for the people living in Baltimore and not be moving towards ONE WORLD BALTIMORE where Baltimore is simply an International Economic Zone like all others in third world nations.


This article simply states Maryland's and Baltimore's propensity to ignore paying court awarded settlements.  Even citizens winning lawsuits against businesses and landlords simply see these businesses IGNORING COURT AWARDS.  This negates any existence of a public justice system.  So, it is the legal team in the Housing Agency who makes sure all this happens for citizens from start to end.

"What the hell yal doing over there in Baltimore?"

Baltimore’s Housing 'corruption allegations' investigated by Iowa Senator

September 30, 2011 9:46 AM MST

What's really going on over at this house?!
GCOMM Media Co



Did Maryland’s congressional delegation refuse to address a situation brought forth by multiple requests of area residents?

According to documents, emails and letters obtained by this Examiner, sent to higher authorities in regards to the possible conflicts of interest and corruption being alleged in three different agencies surrounding Baltimore’s Housing Authority; though members of the Maryland congressional delegation were copied on these emails alleging such corruption, neither ever followed up on such requests, the ranking Republican member of the United States Senate’s Judiciary Committee has. Senator Charles E. Grassley, one of the Senate’s most aggressive federal agency watchdogs, has recently requested documents pertaining to Baltimore’s public housing agency, along with the Department of Housing and Community Development and the highly criticized quasi-public agency known as the Baltimore Development Corporation – which is the financial arm of the housing agency and city government.

Baltimore’s Housing 'corruption allegations' investigated by Iowa Senator

September 30, 2011 9:46 AM MS




What's really going on over at this house?!

GCOMM Media Co
Did Maryland’s congressional delegation refuse to address a situation brought forth by multiple requests of area residents?


According to documents, emails and letters obtained by this Examiner, sent to higher authorities in regards to the possible conflicts of interest and corruption being alleged in three different agencies surrounding Baltimore’s Housing Authority; though members of the Maryland congressional delegation were copied on these emails alleging such corruption, neither ever followed up on such requests, the ranking Republican member of the United States Senate’s Judiciary Committee has. Senator Charles E. Grassley, one of the Senate’s most aggressive federal agency watchdogs, has recently requested documents pertaining to Baltimore’s public housing agency, along with the Department of Housing and Community Development and the highly criticized quasi-public agency known as the Baltimore Development Corporation – which is the financial arm of the housing agency and city government.
The letter sent by the Iowa Senator to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which oversees the housing authorities from all around the country, while directing millions of dollars to the City of Baltimore for urban renewal and housing programs; requested detailed billing records and legal services, especially pertaining to years of outside legal fees paid ($4-million) while also addressing why the authority has since refused to pay the funds owed ($12-million) in a court-ordered judgment, to former public housing residents who were illegally exposed to lead paint poisoning. In a detailed letter, specifically aimed at answering questions that raised the eyebrows of many both in Baltimore, as well as those Senator’s sitting on the Judiciary’s Oversight Committee; Sen. Grassley asks questions such as ‘Why the housing authority is now "one entity" with the city housing department?’ and ‘Did HUD approve this?’ It also states as to the Department providing detailed information as to how they spent $67 million in federal stimulus funds, as well as providing the names and detailed payments made to the outside law firms contracted to represent the city during many of these lead-paint cases - as a previous Baltimore Sun article stated that $228,000 was paid out to these firms between May and June alone?

“It seems as though someone got caught with their hand(s) in the cookie jar,” said GCOMM Media Co. political analyst Shaun Louis. “I’m astonished that the entire state delegation - made up of eight congressional representatives and two state senators – seem to know about these many in-depth and serious allegations yet chose to ignore such?”
Which is what should really be examined, as while the majority of the delegation is Democrats who would not want such an investigation to exist and make their golden girl city administrator to look bad; two of the representatives are Republicans [Congressman Andy Harris (1st) and Roscoe Bartlett (6th)], who would seemingly be pleased to pick up such alleged abuse? “According to the documents sent to us both Hassan, they would seemingly prove that the ENTIRE delegation knew the same exact information provided to Senator Grassley, therefore there is NO excuse as to why these members were not at least willingly to assist the Senator’s efforts, or sign onto the letter submitted to the HUD Secretary,” questioned Louis.
Multiple attempts to contact each representative went unanswered, however according to close sources within the Senator’s office and the national Republican Party, its been said that ‘both the GOP members from Maryland were quiet effective in showing their disdain for such a practice, and were willing to take the back road in supporting Senator Grassley’s office in any way necessary?’ Yet the allegations made should now be examined thoroughly, from not only the Maryland delegation but also the Mayor’s Office, who apparently has put out a strong statement regarding possible wrongdoing being found. Ryan O'Doherty, spokesman for Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, said the Mayor "very much encourages Senator Grassley to share and disclose any specific allegations of wrongdoing so that they can be fully investigated immediately."
However, not everybody is so sure about this early tough talk? “It’s ridiculous that now these officials want to act as if this is some sort of surprise; however everyone in this city, especially those in the black community utilizing these HUD dollars, have know for years that [Paul] Graziano is a do-nothing drunk who should never have been allowed to obtain the lead position at both of these agencies, making more money than the Mayor without doing nowhere near the amount of work as our city’s chief executive,” said community leader Bill Friendly, who has previously fought against the housing mess during past administrations, with no resolution forcing him to move to Baltimore County. “This situation was dropped on the doorstep of Mayor Rawlings-Blake, as Graziano is O’Malley’s mess,” stated Friendly. Paul Graziano, the Director of Baltimore’s Housing Authority as well as the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Community Development, was brought in by former Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley; who came to Graziano’s aide years ago when Graziano was arrested for public intoxication and disturbing the peace charges – in which then Mayor O’Malley reportedly went in to the city’s Central Booking and Intake Facility to personally get the Housing Authority director released from incarceration.
This on-going investigation will most certainly make people aware of what has been going on over there in the City’s Housing Department(s), as well as possibly opening the window to the most criticized, and possibly corrupt, quasi-public agency known as the BDC. Below are some other bullet points made in the letter sent by Senator Grassley to HUD in regards to this inquiry:
•Provide documentation outlining steps federal officials took after a critical 2008 audit found numerous housing violations in residential units leased by the Baltimore authority for tenants.
•Provide names and financial reports for the housing authority's nonprofit affiliates, including lists of officers and employees, their yearly salaries and compensation, and any conflict of interest statements submitted to HUD.

_____________________________________________


'Articles of the Baltimore City Code
These are the fundamental units of the Baltimore City Code'.


When I say that a major research and government document facility like Johns Hopkins fails to update its only volume of Baltimore City Code since 2003-----this was several years in the making of time Baltimore was designated an International Economic Zone----and International Economic Zone will ignore US Rule of Law, US Constitutional rights, public justice, and the concept of city, state, and national sovereignty. If you understand this timeline---you see the growing dismantlement of all of the above in Baltimore and the policies installed over a few decades removing all oversight and accountability----taking away all public policy voice from citizens and tying all Baltimore agencies to first corporations and now global corporations------

THIS IS HOW YOU FIX THE PROBLEMS OF PUBLIC JUSTICE IN BALTIMORE AND IF A CANDIDATE NEVER MENTIONS ALL THIS---THEY ARE NOT GOING TO FIX THESE PROBLEMS.

Even if we attended to our Baltimore City Code---it is written so vaguely----as is all new statutes passed by Maryland Assembly these few decades-----as to not having TEETH in any venue of government.


WHAT???????  WRITING OUR CITY CODE AND MARYLAND STATUTES SO VAGUELY AS TO HAVE NO TEETH FOR CITIZENS WANTING JUSTICE!


*******************************************************************

Articles of the Baltimore City Code

These are the fundamental units of the Baltimore City Code.


01
Mayor, City Council, and Municipal Agencies
02
Consumer Protections
04
Community Relations
05
Finance, Property, and Procurement
06
Historical and Architectural Preservation
07
Natural Resources
08
Ethics
09
Fire Suppression and Prevention
10
Harbors, Docks, and Wharves
11
Labor and Employment
12
Municipal Labor Relations
13
Housing and Urban Renewal
14
Special Benefits Districts
15
Licensing and Regulation
16
Markets
18
Educational and Cultural Programs
19
Police Ordinances
20
Railroads
22
Retirement Systems
23
Sanitation
24
Water
25
Sewers
26
Surveys, Streets, and Highways
27
Stormwater Fees
28
Taxes
31
Transit and Traffic

______________________________________________
Sadly it is mostly Republican citizens shouting out against this dismantling of our US Constitutional rights and capture of our government on all levels by global corporations.  Below you see such an article that has a right-leaning stance in that it tends to emphasize the corporate side of regulatory interpretation.  He states that it was 1990 being the point that regulations be interpreted by those affected by the regulation and that was when policy turned from being public interest to corporate and profit-interest----right at the Reagan/Clinton era.  Republicans pushed this and now it is global corporations using this NRA to their benefit----fleecing the US of all wealth and assets as regulations are totally ignored.

The point is this-------the Negotiated Rulemaking Act of 1990 only states------stakeholders will have voice in interpreting these regulations towards policy-making.  Every time in Baltimore and Maryland these STAKEHOLDERS never seem to be the citizens in our communities.  So, stakeholders can be defined ANY WAY A BALTIMORE CITY HALL WANTS-----just as the structure of a BALTIMORE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION can be that of community small businesses, community banks, citizens from all communities, and community labor and justice activists. 

THESE ARE THE STAKEHOLDERS TO WHOM DEMOCRATS LISTEN.


A Mayor of Baltimore has the power to INTERPRET how legislation is written, enforced, and who the STAKEHOLDERS really are in the city. 

ONE BALTIMORE FOR THE COMMUNITIES AND CITIZENS LIVING IN THEM TODAY WOULD RESTRUCTURE BALTIMORE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION WITH THAT FACE.



'In 1990 the regulatory landscape was changed yet again by passage of the Negotiated Rulemaking Act of 1990 (NRA) [currently codified to 5 U.S.C §§ 561-570]'.


'As stated in the opening paragraph, regulations are intended to elaborate on the working details of a statute. It is beyond Congress' ability to be experts in every field concerning which it may be called upon to legislate. The US Supreme Court has referred to the text of Congressional legislation as "the broad language of the statute", which often times requires more detail to be properly placed into effect. These "details" are found in the "implementing regulations" promulgated by the agencies that must administrate and/or enforce a statute. Federal agencies are charged with faithful implementation and enforcement of the laws [statutes] through the regulations they promulgate. Although properly speaking, regulations are not law, rules and regulations have the full force and effect of the law'.


Code of Federal Regulations
Regulations are created and used by executive agencies to "clarify" the intent and scope of federal statutes, which an agency is charged with administrating or enforcing. Statutes are the actual laws passed by Congress; regulations are the "who, what, when, where, and how" involved in administrating and/or enforcing the statute.


Modern History
As the New Deal unfolded in the early 1930's and Congress began to increase both the number of agencies and the scope of the authority of those agencies, the agencies began promulgating voluminous regulations. There was no mechanism for publishing, codifying, accessing or updating these regulations. There was considerable confusion about which regulations were in effect at any given time. In several 1934 Supreme Court cases involving administrative law violations, difficulty in keeping abreast of the current body of administrative law became obvious. Neither the defendants nor the government correctly understood which regulations were currently in effect. In response, Congress passed the Federal Register Act (ch. 417, 49 Stat. 500 (1935)). The Act mandates the daily publication of the Federal Register, whose purpose is to serve as a central repository of the publication of all newly adopted rules and regulations. Furthermore, publication in this periodical is constructive notice to all who may be affected by a regulation.
Although the Federal Register was helpful in notifying the government and people of changes and additions to federal regulations, the regulations were still not codified. Congress amended the Federal Register Act in 1937 to require codification and subject access to the regulations through publication in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The first CFR was published in 1939.
The purpose of the CFR was/is to provide a system of categorization whereby all the regulations promulgated [created] by a federal department or agency on a given subject can be located and tied to the corresponding statute. The CFR does an admirable job of providing that service.
As stated in the opening paragraph, regulations are intended to elaborate on the working details of a statute. It is beyond Congress' ability to be experts in every field concerning which it may be called upon to legislate. The US Supreme Court has referred to the text of Congressional legislation as "the broad language of the statute", which often times requires more detail to be properly placed into effect. These "details" are found in the "implementing regulations" promulgated by the agencies that must administrate and/or enforce a statute. Federal agencies are charged with faithful implementation and enforcement of the laws [statutes] through the regulations they promulgate. Although properly speaking, regulations are not law, rules and regulations have the full force and effect of the law.
[Editor's Note - It should be noted that federal statutes, as well as their associated regulations, only have force and effect upon those persons who are properly within federal jurisdiction, and has no force or effect upon anyone else. See the section, Federal Jurisdiction, within this website for more information on federal jurisdictional limitations.]
In 1946 the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) was passed clarifying the process of making regulation, allowing for greater accessibility and participation by all citizens. The APA required the publication in the Federal Register of all proposed rule changes and a period for public comment. Proposed and final regulations that have general applicability and legal effect are required to be published in the Federal Register. The administrative regulation-making process requires that proposed regulations be published and that a comment period be provided. When the comment period closes, the agency may finalize the regulation. Once the regulation becomes final, it is published again in the Federal Register and then codified into the Code of Federal Regulations.
In 1990 the regulatory landscape was changed yet again by passage of the Negotiated Rulemaking Act of 1990 (NRA) [currently codified to 5 U.S.C §§ 561-570]. The NRA allows for greater involvement by affected parties in the drafting of regulations. Changes under NRA are more procedural than substantive and need not be addressed further in this document.


Regulations Control the Law
The power of regulations is that they control the application of the statute.


"... we think it's important to note that the Act's civil and criminal penalties attach only upon violation of regulations promulgated by the Secretary; if the Secretary were to do nothing, the Act would impose no penalties on anyone".
California Banking Association v. Schultz, 416 US 21 (1974)

While not all statues require regulations, for practical purposes it can be generally considered that a statute for which an implementing regulation has never been created has no administrative or judicially cognizable consequence for failing to follow the statute.


"Although the relevant statute authorized the Secretary to impose such a duty, his implementing regulation did not do so. Therefore we held that there was no duty to disclose..."
United States V. Murphy, 809 F.2d 142, 1431
"The reporting act is not self-executing; it can impose no duties until implementing regulations have been promulgated."
California Bankers Ass'n v. Schultz, 416 US 21

"For federal tax purposes, federal regulations govern."
Lyeth v. Hoey, 305 US 188, 59 S. Ct 155

"...failure to adhere to agency regulations may amount to a denial of due process if the regulations are required by constitution or statute."
Arzanipour v. Immigration and Naturalization Service, 866 F. 2d 743 746 (5th Cir. 1989)


Although regulations are controlling in most circumstances, and they have the full force and effect of law, it is important to note that regulations can never expand upon the powers vested in the agency by a statute. Here is how the California Supreme Court phrased it:


Administrative agency may not, under guise of its rulemaking power, abridge or enlarge its authority or act beyond powers given it by statute which is source of its power; administrative regulations that alter or amend statute or enlarge or impair its scope are void.
San Bernardino Valley Audubon Soc. V. City of Moreno Valley, 51 Cal.Rptr.2d. 897 (1996, Cal.App. 4th Dist)

On this issue the federal courts have stated:


"...power to issue regulations is not power to change the law..."
US v. New England Coal and Coke Company 318 F.2d 138 (1963)


Making Sense of the Code of Federal Regulations
As one can clearly see, the regulations are preeminent in their significance. When attempting to understand the specifics of a law, one should always research not only the applicable statutes, but also the associated regulations. To overlook the regulations would be a critical mistake.
Statutes are generally (but not always) codified into the United States Code (USC). [See the section, United States Code, within this website for more details on the United States Code.] The CFR is a much larger compendium than is the USC. This is because the CFR provides all the intricate and/or technical details that are required to properly administrate or enforce a statute. As an example, a statute may be only three paragraphs in length, but the implementing regulation(s) may be eight pages long! Additionally, there may be numerous regulations associated with just one statute! This reality makes the CFR many times larger than the USC. In the average law library the USC (annotated lawyer's edition) takes up a modest size bookcase. The CFR usually takes up the better part of a wall.
The CFR, like the USC, is separated into 50 distinct "titles". Each "title" addresses a distinct subject matter. Examples are; Title 26 - Internal Revenue; Title 27 - Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; Title 28 - The Judiciary; Title 8 - Immigration and Naturalization; Title 19 - Customs. These titles are then broken down into Parts and Subparts. As we stated earlier, the regulations are voluminous - Title 26 of the CFR has 799 Parts (although some are reserved for future use).
There is a numerical relationship between the subject matter in the Titles of both the USC and CFR. For instance, in the USC, Title 8 deals with Immigration matters - so does Title 8 of the CFR. Title 26 of the USC addresses taxes; so does Title 26 of the CFR. This type of number-to-subject relationship between the USC and CFR exists in all but a few of the titles.
The format that is generally used to designate a section within the CFR is exemplified by this citation: 26 CFR 301.6012.
That citation is broken down as follows: 26 CFR means the 26th Title of the CFR. "301" is a reference to Part 301 within Title 26. "6012" is the section of the USC that this section of the CFR is expanding upon. Don't let that last sentence confuse you - the numbers that appear after the decimal point in a CFR citation are always the same as the section number of the USC to which the regulation pertains. However, since the regulations are more detailed than the statute, the section number for the regulation may be broken down into numerous "sub-sections" that do not appear in the USC.
As an example, within Title 26 of the USC there is §641. For the CFR to expand on that section properly, Part 1 of the CFR offers the following sections:


1.641(a)-0
1.641(a)-1
1.641(a)-2
1.641(b)-1
1.641(b)-2


You can easily see why the CFR is a larger compendium than the USC when there are five sub-sections in the regulations to clarify just one statute.
Each "Part" within a Title of the CFR addresses a specific aspect of the subject matter of the Title. We wish we could tell you that there is a standardized system in place for determining which aspects of the subject matter get codified to which Parts of a Title, but such is not the case. Each title deals with such diverse issues that no hard-and-fast rule can be constructed for how areas are broken down and assigned into the various Parts of each Title.
In order to find the precise location of a regulation within the CFR one might find the "Contents" section at the front of each CFR Title to be useful. Additionally, the publisher of the CFR [the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)] has been kind enough to publish an appendix to the CFR, called the "CFR Index and Finding Aids". Inside that volume one will find (amongst other things) the "Parallel Table of Authorities and Rules". This "table" lists all of the sections of the USC and then provides you with the CFR location of the regulations that have been promulgated for any specific USC section. [The "table" also provides this same cross-reference system for Statutes-at-Large and Executive Orders.]
In order to clarify the formatting we've just discussed, we'll examine some CFR Parts. Here is a small sample of the Parts from Title 26 [CFR]:


Taxes upon individuals   Part 1
Estate taxPart 20
Gift taxPart 25
Employment taxPart 31
Taxes on wageringPart 44

It should be noted that there is also a numerical relationship between the individual section of the USC and the corresponding section of the CFR. Let's look at an example. Section 6001 of the USC is the section that requires the keeping of books and records. The purpose of the regulation is to specify who needs to keep such books and records, and under what circumstances.
Keeping in mind from the list above that different Parts address different taxable activities and types of taxes, one must ask if §6001 applies to all taxes, or just some taxes and/or taxable activities. The way we can make that determination is to examine the CFR to see which types of taxes (or taxable activities) require the keeping of books and records, and which do not. After examining the CFR and its Parts, we find that the Secretary of the Treasury [who creates tax regulations] has promulgated only the following regulations concerning §6001:


Title 26 [CFR] - Parts 1, 31, 55, 156
Title 27 [CFR] - Parts 19, 53, 194, 250, 296

So…§6001 (the requirement to keep books and records) has been made enforceable by the Secretary of the Treasury upon only 4 types of taxes in Title 26, and 5 specific taxable activities in Title 27 (Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms).
In Title 26, those taxes (Parts) are:


Part 1Taxes Upon Individuals
Part 31Employment Taxes.
Part 55Excise Taxes on Real Estate Investment Trusts and Regulated Investment Companies.
Part 156   Excise Taxes on Greenmail.

In Title 27, those taxable activities (Parts) are:


Part 19Distilled Spirit Plants.
Part 53Manufacturers Excise Taxes-Firearms and Ammunition.
Part 194Liquor Dealers.
Part 250Liquors and Articles from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Part 296   Misc. Regs Relating to Tobacco Products and Cigarette Papers and Tubes.

Therefore, according to the regulations promulgated by the Secretary of the Treasury, if you are not involved in one of the activities listed above (Parts 19, 53, 194, 250, & 296), or liable for one of the taxes listed above (Part 1, 31, 55, & 156), there is no legal requirement for you to keep books and records.


When There Are No Regulations
It should be kept in mind that the government routinely attempts to use a regulation for matters concerning which a regulation has no applicability.
Our editor was once called by friends who own a tanning salon. Not long after they opened, an FDA official visited their business and demanded to inspect the tanning beds. The owners (a husband and wife who are not Patriots) were taken aback and refused to allow the inspection. The official left saying that he would return at a later date. Our editor researched the FDA regulations for the owners and found that the only regulations promulgated on the subject of "tanning devices" dealt with tanning devices used for medical purposes. In other words, tanning devices used by a doctor's prescription, or administered directly by the doctor's staff. Obviously there was no regulatory authority for the FDA to inspect "recreational" tanning beds. The owners wrote a succinct letter to the FDA official informing him of his complete lack of jurisdiction to inspect the beds in their business. Two weeks later the official returned to their business and stated that if they did not allow the inspection right then, he would return later in the day with a team of armed US marshals and close their business down and take their 12 month-old infant (who was present at the business with them) into "protective custody". While the owners capitulated and allowed their beds to be inspected, the FDA official never presented any evidence of FDA jurisdiction. He simply used crude threats of violence to create fear and gain compliance.
Of course the underlying reality is that the FDA official was initially relying on the "medical" regulations until the owners called him to accountability on the issue. Once the official's misrepresentation was exposed, he chose the path so common to petty tyrants - he chose to toss the law out the window and use threats and coercion to accomplish what the law would not support.
The regulations can be a powerful tool, but one must recognize that courage is an essential element when facing a dishonest government.


What If There Are Regulations?
Many times there are regulations concerning a matter that the government has contacted you about. Does this mean you must comply with the regulations? Maybe "yes" and maybe "no". One must remember that regulations only clarify the implementation of a statute. Therefore the question becomes, "Under what authority did Congress pass the statute?" In other words, if a statute was passed under the federal government's interstate commerce authority, the regulations still apply only to matters over which the US has interstate commerce authority. Accordingly, if a government official shows up at the local shoe repair shop and attempts to impose their authority by presenting regulations that were written for a statute that relies on US interstate commerce authority, it is extremely unlikely that the regulation has any lawful applicability to the local shoe repairman.

Although today most Americans prefer to let the government "tell them" what is right or wrong, the US Supreme Court has held that it is the duty of each Citizen to determine for himself if the government actually has the authority it claims in any given situation. This dovetails perfectly with one of the founding principles of our form of government, which is that all government power is derived from the consent of the governed [that's you]. Since the government's authority to act is derived from the Citizens, there is no better person to determine the truth about the government's authority than you!
0 Comments

March 26th, 2016

3/26/2016

0 Comments

 
I WILL BE CONTINUING THE DISCUSSION OF EDUCATION THIS WEEK BY TYING IT TO PUBLIC JUSTICE IN MARYLAND AND BALTIMORE.


Duane gives a very good assessment of accessing the Baltimore Grand Jury and how Maryland likes to say citizens in Baltimore have the same rights as all other counties in Maryland we absolutely DO NOT HAVE the same rights and it is because Maryland Assembly passes laws that place barriers to that access and as Duane says -----if the Baltimore Grand Jury does not want a citizen to have access they do not have it. This is what places all power of access in Baltimore to a Baltimore State's Attorney in deciding which citizen is allowed to move forwards complaints of civil and criminal harm and that is NOT WHAT THE US CONSTITUTION STATES AS RIGHTS OF WE THE PEOPLE.

This happens because Baltimore City Hall allows it. A city council and mayor would be shouting about these laws creating barriers and would be building the public justice structures around a Baltimore State's Attorney's office that is allowed to pick and choose crimes pursued in Baltimore. This is why citizens cannot pursue ANY WHITE COLLAR AND POLITICAL CORRUPTION JUSTICE in Baltimore and it is deliberate as Duane is trying to state. In this case he describes a law with a goal of protecting a Baltimore State's Attorney from misconduct in failing to pursue crimes known to have occurred.
Now, if citizens in Baltimore think all this is about keeping poor, black citizens from what is constant injustice from seeking justice we need to think again. This is how all of the fraud and corruption in the City of Baltimore is allowed to flow unfettered----billions of dollars lost to our annual budget -----we do not seek justice from only white collar crime but access to all citizens for any civil and criminal harm as the US Constitution says.

Maryland Attorney General Frosh did the same thing when he first came to office-----submitted a bill to Maryland Assembly that posed progressive in pursuing corporate fraud but that had a goal of making only the State's Attorney's Office as having the ability to pursue cases of fraud and government corruption taking it from the realm of private lawyers and pro se representation.


I was questioned at a mayoral forum by a moderator saying the same as this government official----'citizens have the right to approach the Grand Jury in Baltimore'. REALLY???????   When Cindy Walsh for Mayor of Baltimore speaks of building a public justice system in Baltimore----this is central.

Please take time to look at this You Tube video---it is great in showing the citizens speaking truth and government acting surprised and perplexed by the truth.

Below you see the concern by Maryland lawyers on what is a state version of this Baltimore City move to place barriers for citizens wanting to pursue fraud and corruption.  Now, the goal for citizens is not giving private lawyers more power in these pursuits----it is to get our State Attorney's Offices to do that job they are required by law to do. 

WE NEED EVERYONE ON BOARD TO STOP, PROSECUTE, AND RECOVER FRAUD.

 

The People Demand Access to the Grand Jury in Baltimore City

Baltimore BLOC

Published on Feb 6, 2014
February 4, 2014 - Duane "Shorty" Davis before the House Judiciary Committee
*************************************************************
Md. False Claims Act needs qui tam provision
Julie Grohovsky
Brian Frosh's proposed changes to Maryland's False Claims Act need to include a qui tam provision.
It's welcome news that Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh is proposing legislation that will expand Maryland's False Claims Act (the current law addresses Medicaid fraud only), but the proposed legislation falls short because it lacks a vital element to the success of the federal False Claims Act: a strong, private qui tam provision.
The current federal False Claims Act has been hugely successful in fighting fraud against the federal government. One key to its success is that it allows private individuals, known as qui tam relators, and their lawyers to file a lawsuit on behalf of the federal government against alleged fraudsters. These qui tam relators are often industry insiders who witness fraud first hand. In most cases, the government would likely never discover the fraud without the help of these brave individuals.
The proposed Maryland law, like the federal False Claims Act, allows qui tam relators to file suit, but unlike the federal law, it does not allow the qui tam relator to prosecute the case on her own if the government does not choose to intervene.
By way of background, the federal False Claims Act requires a qui tam relator to file her lawsuit under seal, and that suit remains under seal for 60 days or longer while the government investigates and determines whether it wants to intervene. If the government intervenes, it assumes primary responsibility for prosecuting the case, although the qui tam relator remains an important part of that investigation.
In the federal system, when prosecutors decline to intervene in a False Claims Act case, they allow private qui tam relators to pursue the fraudsters on their own. When this happens, the federal prosecutors continue to monitor the progress of the investigation and trial preparation and may intervene in the case at a later time in order to settle or try it. Regardless of whether the government eventually intervenes or allows the private qui tam relator to take the case to trial, if the qui tam relator is successful, the government gets the lion's share of the money recovered (between 70 percent and 85 percent). What this means is that the federal False Claims Act allows the federal government to harness the power of the private qui tam relator and her lawyers to fight fraud in cases where the government lacks the time and/or resources to do so.
Maryland's proposed law lacks this provision and would not allow private qui tam relators to go forward in cases where the government did not intervene, thus forgoing the resources of the private qui tam relators and their attorneys in recovering money stolen from the state and forgoing the recovery of perhaps millions of dollars stolen from its treasury.
So why does Maryland's proposed law lack this important provision? No doubt, fears of trial lawyers run amok may be one reason. Those fears, however, are unfounded. Like the federal False Claims Act, the Maryland False Claims Act could include provisions to prevent qui tam relators from going forward when the government, for example, shows that certain actions by the relator will interfere with an ongoing civil or criminal investigation or where important national security issues are implicated. Additionally, Maryland, like the federal government, could ensure that regardless of the stage of the pending litigation, the government is always free to step in and dismiss, settle or pursue the case. Likewise, as in the federal system, the cost of litigation and the heightened scrutiny placed on fraud cases by judges will also help to deter frivolous or vexatious suits in Maryland.
By allowing private qui tam relators to go forward under the watchful eye of Maryland state prosecutors, the state would be able to expand its prosecutorial resources and recover more money stolen from its taxpayers. It will also encourage more individuals who witness fraud to come forward with their evidence, and it will bring Maryland in line with the federal government and the governments of a number of other states who have qui tam provisions that mirror the federal law. Without such an expansion of the current proposed law, Maryland risks leaving millions of hard earned taxpayer dollars in the pockets of thieves.

____________________________________________

When I came to Baltimore this first thing I do as an academic researcher is find what research library venues exist in the city and what they offer.  The first thing I noticed is a very small selection of law books aimed at a general audience giving broad legal history on individual subject matter and especially all that information on civil law.  We have some criminal law analysis----not much civil law.  If you go to the Pratt Library you can access the Code of Maryland and Code of Baltimore but to get the West legal analysis you go to the librarian.  West Publishing is the best book for those needing to know legal history on an individual law and you need to know this if you are going to build a court case.  Lawyers I am sure have access to these legal books---citizens not so much.  How does a citizen know a lawyer is doing there best?  How does a citizen who cannot get a lawyer or Baltimore State's Attorney to represent their case get information to go to court PRO SE----SELF-REPRESENTING?  The answer is ----they rarely can.

Even the Johns Hopkins Library which is the strongest research library in the city does not have this collection of legal books geared towards educating the public on the history of national and local laws and court rulings setting precedent.  This is what a lawyer uses to build a case----recently I checked to see what Hopkins had representing Maryland Code of Law and Baltimore Code of Law.  I found Baltimore Code had not been undated for over a dozen years with no updates in hard copy or online.  There has been many changes to code but if you looked in these books you would see 2003 as the last update to Code of Baltimore.

The point is this.  There is a concerted effort by the powers that be in Baltimore and we identify that as Wall Street Baltimore Development and Johns Hopkins to see not only that the Baltimore court system is inaccessible to citizens but that the ability of citizens to peruse a wide selection of legal books to know deeply what the state of an individual issue is legally is not there.


WE ARE SEEING ALL OF BALTIMORE CITY HALL GOING ONLINE AND WITH THAT HARD COPIES OF LEGAL AND GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS DISAPPEARING AT THE SAME TIME ACCESS TO ONLINE DATA WITH LARGE PDF FILES-----MEANING LOTS OF INFORMATION----GETTING MORE EXPENSIVE AND HARDER TO ACCESS.




Law books
Backed by the legacy of West Publishing, Thomson Reuters delivers current, authoritative law books and publications to fuel your success.


Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Litigation: The Law of Section 1983, 4th
Availability:
In stock
(details)
Email this page
One time purchase (Full set)
$511.00
Purchase the current version only, no updates will be sent.

****************************************************************
THOMSON REUTERS PROVIEW eBOOK EDITION

State and Local Government Civil Rights Liability (Liability Prevention Series)



Hornbooks are one-volume treatises written primarily for law students on subjects typically covered by law school courses. Unlike casebooks, which are collections of cases (or parts of cases) chosen to help illustrate and stimulate discussion about legal issues, hornbooks attempt to summarize and explain the law in a specific area. Perhaps the best-known hornbooks are those published by West in "West's Hornbook Series," which are easily identifiable by their distinctive green bindings and include titles such as Civil Procedure by Professors Friedenthal, Kane and Miller, and Uniform Commercial Code by Professors White and Summers.Study supplements such as West's Nutshell Series and Black Letter Series, and Aspen Publisher's Examples and Explanations Series, also try to explain the law in a much more straightforward manner than casebooks. Study supplements, though, are written in a less scholarly manner than hornbooks and tend to focus on the basic issues without providing detailed analysis. For example, hornbooks are often heavily footnoted, whereas many supplements do not contain any footnotes at all.
Neither hornbooks nor supplements are intended to serve as substitutes for casebooks, but many students find these resources helpful in learning the fundamentals, which, in turn, makes it easier to understand the more complex questions discussed in class and presented on law school exams. Whether to consult a hornbook or a study supplement and, if so, which one, will depend on the individual's particular needs, tastes, and circumstances. No title is perfect for every situation. You will probably want to experiment with a variety of hornbooks and supplements in order to find the ones that work best for you.
Set forth above and arranged by subject are some hornbooks and study supplements that you may find useful in your studies. All of these books are located in the D'Angelo Law Library Reserve Room, and earlier editions of some titles may be available in the stacks under the same call number.
_____________________________________

The other issue starting to grow and it will get worse if we do not have a Baltimore City Hall that stops this march towards global corporate capture is the ability to access what has been for a century ordinary citizen access to academic databases. Usually it is the public universities many academics use to access these critical databases but as we all know-----all these online databases are getting more and more expensive.  We saw last decade the cost of print copies of ordinary professional journals soar-----making them too expensive for libraries to buy these hard copies and now those journals are only accessible online.

I'm not a rocket scientist but I see the goal-----all of this academic research is now being called PROPRIETARY----MEANING THESE UNIVERSITIES SEE THESE AS PATENTED WORK WITH NO PUBLIC ACCESS so they do not want the public seeing much of this research even as it is heavily TAXPAYER funded.  As Obama spent several years about making it impossible for LIBERAL ARTS AND HUMANITIES universities stay open ---these are our public universities and with it comes that access to the public to vital research databases and Federal, state, and government documents.  Johns Hopkins is required to be open to the public for that access you say?  Well, Hopkins is already lowering its data download capacity as telecommunication rates continue to rise libraries will be using this excuse to not be able to afford public access online service for much of these data heavy documents.

The goal of global corporations and pols is to have only these Ivy League universities having access to what will be most of the research funded by Federal and state revenue----that is what Obama and Clinton neo-liberals in Congress funded these several years as our public universities are starved and told get ready to close.

IF YOU WORK AT AN IVY LEAGUE----GO TO SCHOOL AT AN IVY LEAGUE---YOU WILL ACCESS ALL THIS DATA ALWAYS OPEN TO EVERYONE IN THE US.


Currently I can pay membership annual fees to access Johns Hopkins library but how long will that be offered and how long will it be affordable?  I may be fine for the short time I have left as a professional but the 95% of future adults-----WAKE UP TO ACCESSING LEGAL BOOKS AND CODES.

LexisNexis® Academic
With this online academic research database, college faculty and students can find the critical news, legal and business information they need.








A simply better research experience …
Researchers can quickly and easily search full-text documents from over 17,000 credible sources of information and pinpoint relevant information for a wide range of academic research projects.

More than 2,000 U.S. universities choose LexisNexis Academic for its:

  • Comprehensive, authoritative news content, including current coverage and deep archives.
  • Extensive legal sources for federal and state cases and statutes, including U.S. Supreme Court decisions since 1790
  • Unparalleled business information on over 80 million U.S. and international companies and more than 63 million executives
  • Powerful search capability that operates behind simple, fill-in-the-blank search forms
  • Fast, easy—anywhere—access that can support unlimited users
  • Reliable on-demand support and training for librarians

- See more at: http://www.lexisnexis.com/en-us/products/lexisnexis-academic.page#sthash.PHAaPTkg.dpuf


__________________________________________
As an academic studying state public policy across the US I have for decades been able to download and review all government documents especially documents tied to public state universities.  This is how I know what one state is doing and what that state has as a goal as compared to another state.  These several years of Obama has seen states becoming PROPRIETARY------meaning all these ties of global corporations to our state and city agencies has made all government documents now not accessible to citizens.  So, the same issues of behind-closed-doors public policy discussions with the likes of Baltimore Development Corporation is filling all Maryland and Baltimore agencies tied to economics and development.

Ability to know where economic stimulus ends----what corporations and people are tied to state and city deals-----none of that is known in this world of International Economic Zone politics in regions of states like Maryland.

The Maryland Assembly has worked hard to move Maryland as a colonial entity to global corporate tribunal rule with International Economic Zone and Trans Pacific Trade Pact installation----they know where all this leads----

THIS IS WHY A HEALTHY POLITICAL SYSTEM DOES NOT ALLOW POLITICIANS FOR LIFE----WE NEED TERM LIMITS TO KEEP POLS FROM INSTALLING THEMSELVES IN DEALS THAT MAY ENRICH A FEW -----


Even University of Maryland sees itself as global corporate and proprietary ----and this brings little value to citizens in Baltimore.  I know the staff at UMMS is growing concerned over the change from being a simple state university to feeling it is a global player competing worldwide.

One thing I heard personally while attending Maryland Assembly committee meetings is our Maryland Legislative Services reporting again that Enterprise Zones are not bringing value for the cities, counties, neighborhoods and they repeated this has been the case for over a decade. So, what does this article mean when it identifies enterprise zones as the financing pulse? Nothing to do with Baltimore as a local city.


Financing Pulse: Insights on Maryland Enterprise Zones


Emiko Kawagoshi · December 23, 2014
0 0 132 2
December 2014


Financing Pulse: Insights on Maryland Enterprise Zones



Emiko Kawagoshi is Senior Tax Specialist at the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development.

Maryland Enterprise Zones are boosting economically distressed areas

Sustainable economic development is a goal shared by a variety of stakeholders throughout Maryland. For this reason, the Maryland Enterprise Zone Tax Credit program brings together multiple State agencies, counties and municipalities to work together to improve economically distressed communities. Maryland was one of the first states to adopt this collaborative economic development program, which first gained traction in the United States in the early 1980s.

The Enterprise Zone (EZ) program provides income and property tax credits to firms locating and/or expanding their businesses in Enterprise Zones. The program can be utilized by companies of all sizes, from mom-and-pop stores to the Fortune 500 companies. For example, a business may be qualified to receive the income tax credit by hiring just one new employee.
The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) plays an important role as the program administrator. DBED designates EZs, making sure that they meet all statutory and regulatory requirements. DBED also works with local EZ administrators to help attract businesses to the areas.
Recently, DBED Secretary Dominick Murray redesignated the Prince George’s County Enterprise Zone Focus Area and the City of Frostburg Enterprise Zone. About 80 percent of the Enterprise Zone Focus Area in Prince George’s County was not eligible for the redesignation because the area no longer met the Enterprise Zone Focus Area eligibility criterion. In other words, 80 percent of the severely economically distressed areas made measurable economic growth within just five years of the previous designation period.
Currently, we have 28 EZs across the State—two fewer zones than a couple of years ago because of improvements in the economic conditions of the communities where EZs were located.
We are looking forward to working with more local jurisdictions to achieve further economic growth in Maryland.
Find more information on the Maryland Enterprise Zone Tax Credit program through DBED.
___________________________________________

"It is a takeover by College Park of UMB," Brady said. "At the first opportunity there will be one president, and it will not be the Baltimore president, I assure you."


If you know University of Maryland College Park is working hard to be that public university campus that is IVY LEAGUE-----like Rutgers and Berkley----then you know why Mike Miller and his band of Baltimore Maryland Assembly pols are pushing hard to hand control of our Baltimore University of Maryland campus to COLLEGE PARK-----it would be the mirror of Johns Hopkins as an Ivy League and act the same way.  It is already moving towards being global and identifies as a corporate campus and not a public campus.

What makes UMMS in Baltimore so valuable to College Park and equally so for citizens of Baltimore is it is a strong medical school and law school and we need both as a strong PUBLIC MARYLAND UNIVERSITY and not drawn into the College Park as global corporate campus.  This is ground zero in the fight to keep our public universities working in the public interest and Mike Miller and his Baltimore Maryland Assembly pols are working hard for a Johns Hopkins goal------our University of Maryland being only a global corporate campus acting just like Hopkins.  Citizens have for a few decades seen the control Hopkins has on our UMMS campus-----this needs to diminish----not get stronger.

What I know is this----Mike Miller and these two global corporate Baltimore pols----FERGUSON AND ANDERSON----who do anything Hopkins and Baltimore Development tells them -----is telling our black citizens that if they do not send UMMS to College Park then Maryland Assembly will defund Morgan State and Coppin----the Historically Black Universities.  Know what citizens are saying? 

THEY ARE GOING TO DEFUND MORGAN STATE ANYWAY-----BALTIMORE CITIZENS KNOW THE GAME BEING PLAYED.


So, Catherine Pugh is shouting she is not going to allow Morgan State be defunded no doubt as she uses this excuse to back Mike Miller and Baltimore Development's plan to move control of UMMS to College Park-----that is the goal.  Obama is the one defunding Historically Black Colleges and by extension Maryland Assembly has already committed to this----the current leadership said just a few years ago Morgan State would not be around as Ivy League research campuses get all the Federal and state funding.  THAT IS THE GOAL.



Simply stopping the misappropriation, fraud, and corruption will add a few billion to Baltimore's annual budget and we will keep our public universities open with Federal and city funding----WE DON'T NEED THE STATE'S TO KEEP ALL OUR PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES OPEN.


Renewed push to combine UM College Park and UM Baltimore gains steam

Carrie Wells

The Baltimore Sun

Plan to combine two universities would lead to closer partnership and more innovation.
A renewed push by state lawmakers to combine the flagship University of Maryland, College Park with the health- and law-focused University of Maryland, Baltimore could give the state a dual-campus powerhouse that would leverage the strengths of both institutions to launch new programs, discoveries, and businesses, supporters say.
Legislation sponsored by Sen. Bill Ferguson and Del. Curt Anderson and backed by Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller would move the 80-employee headquarters of the state university system from Adelphi to Baltimore and establish a ventures office to help faculty and students market their inventions commercially.
The measure is controversial. The presidents of the two institutions disagree on the plan — one supports it; the other doesn't — and the governing board of the University System of Maryland is also divided.
The Board of Regents, which oversees 12 of the state's public universities, met Wednesday to discuss the matter, but opinions were "all over the spectrum," spokesman Mike Lurie said, and no consensus was reached. Several regents plan to testify at a hearing on the bill on Tuesday, Lurie said.
A similar effort five years ago drew criticism from Baltimore leaders, who thought it would shift power away from the city. It was rejected by the regents. Instead of merging, the two universities agreed to work more closely in a partnership called "MPower," now widely viewed as a success, in which they share some faculty and programs.

UM regents approve alliance for College Park and Baltimore campuses
As it did five years ago, the new proposal prompted concern in Baltimore. Jay Perman, president of the Baltimore university, was among those raising questions about the impact of combining the two universities.
Ferguson and Anderson are Baltimore Democrats. Ferguson said the bill contains many provisions to strengthen the city. It would allot $1 million annually to encourage businesses growing out of the ventures office to locate in Baltimore, and ensure that the Baltimore university's professional schools — the medical school, the law school and other graduate programs — remain in the city.
"The old-world way of thinking for Baltimore has really focused on circling the wagons and protecting what we have," said Ferguson, a graduate of the law school. "I think that we have to approach the next two decades with a very different mentality. Having a campus of the flagship in Baltimore can only help us move forward."
Supporters say the flagship universities in most states include medical and law schools. A combined university would rise up the national rankings in research spending.
Supporters also say it would be easier to attract top faculty and students to a combined institution, and bringing together separate fields of study, such as the engineering department in College Park and the medical school in Baltimore, could lead to new discoveries that could be commercialized.
The bill calls for keeping separate presidents for the campuses in College Park and Baltimore and would allow — but not require — the regents to appoint a single president if one of the presidents stepped down.
Perman said he favors the increased collaboration that came out of the MPower agreement, but a merger would cost his university its unique identity as an anchor institution. He also said it could jeopardize recent collaboration between his institution and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
"I strongly believe, whether it's me or anybody else, that you need to look out at West Baltimore every day, engage with the community every day, you need to live in Baltimore as I do, and feel Baltimore and be concerned about Baltimore," he said.
That can't happen, he said, if leadership is based in College Park.
A merger would be a reunification: The two institutions were a single university from 1920 until 1970.
Miller, a graduate of both College Park and the law school, was behind the previous merger proposal. He has co-sponsored Ferguson's legislation.
He said the 30 miles that separate the two campuses are less of a barrier in the Internet age.
"This is about the state of Maryland," he said. "It's not about promoting one campus over another. It's about moving our research forward, moving our startups forward, making Baltimore the place it once was and can be again."
House Speaker Michael E. Busch backs the concept but has some concerns about executing it, his chief of staff said.
"The speaker is certainly open to the idea," Chief of Staff Alexandra Hughes said. "He wants to ensure the universities maintain a strong Baltimore presence and continue to serve as being some of the best in the country."
Supporters steered clear of calling it a merger, preferring "strategic partnership." But the surviving institution would be known as The University of Maryland, and some overlapping administrative jobs at the two colleges would be combined.
University system officials said it was too early to say how many positions could be combined, or lost.
Anderson said the legislation would ensure that the structures of the two institutions remained intact. Some Baltimore leaders feared that the previous measure would have meant the medical and law schools would move out of the city.
Wallace Loh, president of the College Park institution, said the legislation could build on the successes of MPower.
Under that agreement, an engineering professor in College Park and a neurosurgeon in Baltimore collaborated to invent a tiny robot that can remove brain tumors. The invention has been patented and is on its way to commercialization, he said.
The universities have grown from one joint faculty appointment to 60, and those professors have generated $70 million in research funding.
Loh said he wasn't concerned about whether one or two presidents would lead the combined institution.
"We have lost as a state 40 years of research opportunities and advances because we were separated," he said. "Once we bring the two together, there's far more that we can do."
The president of the student body in College Park agreed.
"It's something that's really beneficial to students of College Park and UM Baltimore," Patrick Ronk said. "It can keep the highest-ranking Maryland high school students in the state, and we would attract more really qualified out-of-state students as well."
University system Chancellor Robert Caret said in a statement that he was still reviewing the legislation and would offer an opinion at a later date.

Regent James Brady said he feared the Baltimore institution would be "totally subsumed" by College Park, which he said would hurt Baltimore at a time when the city is in "crisis."
"It is a takeover by College Park of UMB," Brady said. "At the first opportunity there will be one president, and it will not be the Baltimore president, I assure you."
Regent Gary Attman called the bill "MPower on steroids."
"I think we all want to be protective to Baltimore City," he said. "But I don't see any downside."
_________________________________________________
Since I am talking public justice this week this is the reason I am bringing this issue up now ----not only for the public education aspect. U of M Law School is the most critical structure in Baltimore in moving our public justice agenda forward. Sure, we have University of Baltimore Law School but it is too small to handle the needs of Baltimore as regards both small business law, city economics, and public justice law. We need law school grads with focus on issues in Baltimore and as these leaders are saying-----Baltimore is in crisis and needs our strong UMMS and Law School.

Know what Cindy Walsh as Mayor of Baltimore will do immediately once in office? I will subsidize scholarships for as many college grads in Baltimore to get their law degree in public justice and city economic law AND TO ATTEND MEDICAL SCHOOL AT UMMS.

UMB President Perman says proposed merger with UM could 'dilute' work in Baltimore


Mar 11, 2016, 10:44am EST
University of Maryland, Baltimore President Jay Perman says he looks out of his wide office window each day at a part of the city deeply in need.
"What I see is West Baltimore," Perman said of the area his campus impacts daily as an anchor institution.
Enlarge Dr. Jay Perman is president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore.
Jaclyn Borowski
The UMB campus is a large portion of that side of town with its professional schools of medicine, law and dentistry and a successful and growing BioPark.
In addition, the university has established outreach programs in the communities of the westside like Upton, Poppleton, Pigtown and Sandtown-Winchester and is a part of the ongoing economic development push to redevelop portions of the area like Lexington Market.
But Perman said in an interview Thursday he worries that UMB could lose its power in the community it has worked so hard to build outside of its campus.
"I don't want that impact of ours to be diluted in any way," he said.
Proposed legislation in the General Assembly would merge the University of Maryland, Baltimore and the University of Maryland, College Park into a single institution. The bill was proposed much to Perman's surprise last month, and its initial focus to have one president heading the newly merged campus was amended this week to keep two presidents.
Advocates say a combination of the two universities would create more of an alliance between the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., regions and would bring benefits to Baltimore.
The bill, being pushed by state Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, seemingly came out of the blue during this General Assembly session, with state Sen. Bill Ferguson, D-Baltimore, sponsoring it. It is scheduled for a final vote in the senate early next week.
In 2011, the two universities agreed to create a partnership, nicknamed MPower, to address areas such as grants where they could work together. So far, there are 60 joint faculty appointments and $70 million in research dollars.

"I've never felt the issue was dead in terms of unification," he said.

0 Comments

March 25th, 2016

3/25/2016

0 Comments

 
  The citizens of Baltimore have a long history of avoiding the US Constitutional Equal Protection laws and the Federal laws to Equal Protection that comes with this----especially education and housing.  I believe many citizens in Baltimore realize the importance of having a Mayor of Baltimore who WILL ENFORCE EQUAL PROTECTION because these days under Wall Street global corporate neo-liberals and Bush/Hopkins neo-cons---NO ONE HAS RIGHTS AS CITIZENS.  As we rebuild Baltimore as ONE BALTIMORE for all communities and citizens----let's move towards Equal Protection for all.  Any Mayor of BAltimore who does that will fight for all the Federal funding that is due the city and our public schools.  It will fight for the State of Maryland funds due to our city schools.  Did you know that over $1 billion of Federal funding never made it to Baltimore Public Schools these few decades?  Did you know that the Maryland education policy of Thornton supposedly passed to address state issues for equal protection with Maryland funds have over a decade failed to be fully funded and are likely not reaching Baltimore?

Baltimoreans for Education Equity had a great education forum shouting out for just such education equity and I believe whether community charter proponents or strong public school proponents------

CITIZENS IN BALTIMORE WANT EDUCATION REVENUE TO ARRIVE IN BALTIMORE----WANT REVENUE TO REACH OUR CLASSROOMS----AND WANT THE CITY OF BALTIMORE TO COMMIT WHAT THEY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN ABLE TO TOWARDS CITY PUBLIC SCHOOL FUNDING.

Below you see a cut from a Baltimore City lawsuit against the State of Maryland and if you read this lawsuit you will see this is a decades-old problem.  The Maryland Supreme Court awarded Baltimore City Public Schools $700 million which the Maryland Assembly refuses to pay.....they are in contempt of court.




'The funding of the system has also been, and remains, a joint effort between the State and its political subdivisions.   In 1979, Baltimore City and three counties filed suit in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City seeking a declaratory judgment that the then-existing system for financing the public schools, which required the counties and Baltimore City to shoulder approximately 46% of the current expenses needed to operate the public schools, violated both Article VIII of the Maryland Constitution and the equal protection guarantees of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article 24 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights'.


Students Rights -- Equal Protection And Discrimination


“. . . No state shall . . . deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
-- U.S. Constitution, Amendment XIV, Section 1


In the United States, all young people have the right to a free public education. Each student must have equal access to the opportunities his or her school provides. Reasonable restrictions may be based on access to certain classes or activities (for example, you may have to take algebra before you can take trigonometry, or to be in good physical condition before you can play soccer). In the 1997 Brigham v. State decision, the Vermont Supreme Court said that the Vermont Constitution also required all Vermont schoolchildren to have substantially equal educational opportunities. The result of the Brigham decision was to change the way schools are funded so all districts have equal access to school funds.
Even non-citizens who are in the United States illegally have the right to attend public school. Youth who do not speak English also have the right to attend public schools, and schools are required to provide them with English language instruction or a bilingual education or both. Students who think they or someone they know is being discriminated against in school should talk to an adult who can help, such as a teacher, school counselor, or lawyer. Or contact the ACLU.


1. Can schools discriminate against students because of their race, gender, religion or sexual orientation?


No. In 1955, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Brown v. Board of Education , established that racial discrimination in public schools is a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. This applies to all school activities including enrollment in classes, extracurricular activities, and clubs.
Sexual discrimination is also illegal. Title IX of the federal Education Amendments of 1972 as well as Vermont law prohibits sex discrimination in schools. Public schools cannot offer academic classes that are only for one sex. Girls and boys must be provided with all the same educational and extracurricular opportunities, including equal athletic opportunities. However, many courts have allowed separate athletic teams for boys and girls, so long as schools provide both sexes with the opportunity to participate in a particular sport.
The First Amendment protects students’ right to free exercise of religion. Students can’t be prevented from attending public school, excluded from any school group, or denied access to school property because of their religion. Students also have the right to wear symbols of their religion and cannot be sent home for doing so.
Vermont’s Public Accommodations Act bars discrimination in places that provide public services, including schools. It, along with other laws, contains provisions designed to prevent discrimination and harassment. These provisions say a student can’t be treated differently, or harassed, because of his or her race, religion, color, national origin, marital status, sex, sexual orientation or preference, or disability. (These classifications are sometimes referred to as “protected classes” because people within these groups have special protections from discrimination under the law.)
Before schools can take steps to stop discrimination or harassment, though, they have to know about it. When a school receives a complaint of harassment, it is required to look into it and take steps to protect you from further harassment. Remember to look at your school’s policy and follow the process for raising a complaint. Keep careful notes about what happened, when it happened, who was involved, and when you reported it.
Note that harassment is different from bullying or hazing. Investigations of complaints about each of these kinds of misconduct vary, as do possible consequences -- something even some school officials are sometimes not aware of.
Generally speaking:
  • Harassment is conduct (speech and actions) intended to disparage someone based on their race, gender, religion, ethnic origin, sexual orientation or preference, marital status, or disability.
  • Hazing is humiliating and demeaning acts forced on others before they are accepted into a group, such as a sports team or a fraternity.
  • Bullying is conduct meant to hurt or humiliate any student in any way.
Efforts to protect students from offensive conduct can sometimes collide with First Amendment rights. A federal court ruled in a Pennsylvania case, Saxe v. State College Area School District, that a Bible passage condemning homosexuality could not be considered harassment when printed on a student’s T-shirt. A gay student may find the slogan demeaning and offensive, but the other student’s religious expression rights trump perceived harassment, the court said. Other courts have ruled differently in similar types of cases, however. More litigation is likely.
If you have reported harassment by a student, teacher, or staff member and the school has done nothing, contact the Vermont Human Rights Commission or the ACLU for assistance. You may also contact us if you think your free speech rights have been violated.


2. Can schools offer certain sports programs only to boys or girls?



Sports programs remain one of the few areas in which schools may operate separate programs for boysand girls. If a school chooses to maintain separate athletic programs, federal and state laws require the school to ensure that boys and girls have an equal opportunity to participate. Illegal discrimination can result if your school does not provide the same number of opportunities or roster spots proportionate to the number of boys and girls enrolled at the school.
A school that offers separate athletic teams for male and female students must also ensure that both boys and girls receive “equitable treatment.” This means that all student athletes should have comparable benefits regardless of gender: locker rooms, practice and competitive facilities, publicity, equipment and supplies (i.e., uniforms), transportation, coaching, scheduling of games, and practice times.
If you believe you or your team is not being treated the same as another team of the opposite sex, you may have a discrimination complaint. Speak with others on your team to see if they feel the same way. Every school is required to have a written procedure for responding to discrimination complaints filed by student athletes. There should be information posted in your school and also printed in your handbook about how you can make a complaint. If you cannot find it, ask a teacher or principal to give you a copy and explain the process to you.
If you have filed a complaint about discrimination in an athletic program and the school has done nothing, call the Vermont Human Rights Commission or the ACLU for assistance.


3. What about other kinds of programs? Can classes be segregated by sex?


U.S. law (Title IX of the federal Civil Rights Act) forbids sex discrimination in academic and other high school programs. All courses and other school-related activities must be open to both boys and girls.


4. Can I bring a date of the same sex to the school prom?



If your school allows couples at the prom or other school functions, it should allow same-sex couples. Additionally, you should be able to wear what you wish, so long as it does not cause substantial or material disruption. Dress choices apply to transgender individuals as well.
 
5. Can I be denied a public education because of my immigration status?



All children living in the U.S. -- whether they are U.S. citizens or not -- have a right to a public education.Schools cannot refuse you admission based on your immigration status. In fact, the school cannot require you or your parents to provide a green card, Social Security number, or other proof of citizenship or immigration status for you to go to school. If you do not have a Social Security number, the school can assign you a number generated by the school for identification purposes. U.S. immigration laws are enforced by federal officials, not local school officials.


6. What if my primary language is not English?



Students who are still learning English have the right to transitional bilingual instruction or an alternative program designed to help them learn English. “Transitional bilingual instruction” means instruction where concepts are introduced in a student’s primary language and reinforced in English. Students are then tested in English. Whatever program a school provides, the student should be able to keep learning in other school subjects, such as math, history and science, while learning English.
Schools are also required to send letters and notices to parents in their primary language whenever it is practical. Parents should get written notices in their primary language, especially important notices relating to school discipline, school attendance, and special education. Parents should also be able to talk with a student’s teacher or principal, with a translator if necessary.


7. What if I have special needs or am disabled?


Students with mental, physical, or learning disabilities are entitled to a free and appropriate education. A federal law called the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) requires schools to provide special education and related services to students with disabilities. Schools are required to try to make the school, as a whole, accessible to all students, and must provide evaluations, free of charge, to determine whether a child is eligible for special education services. Schools must develop Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) for students with disabilities, tailored to their particular needs. To the extent practicable, schools must provide services that allow students with disabilities to learn in the regular classroom alongside their peers.

_________________________________________________
If you understand that Clinton and Obama are far-right Reagan Wall Street global corporate neo-liberals who think they can simply ignore enforcement of all Federal laws and US Constitutional rights then you know why these few decades states like Maryland were allowed to simply ignore distribution of Federal and State funds designated to Baltimore City Schools.  It is not legal for Clinton and Obama to use Executive Order to state they are going to ignore all Federal and US Constitutional enforcement---they just do it because Congressional and Maryland Assembly 'Democrats' who are simply Wall Street neo-liberals allow them to ignore all this.

That does not mean a Mayor of Baltimore must ignore all this and can take to Federal court and to Federal agencies tasked with enforcement to say---JUST DO IT.  Baltimore City has all the revenue it needs to fully fund our schools without this help if a mayor actually built oversight and accountability and removed global corporations from each city agency as I say I will.  Adding $1-2 billion each year to our annual budget is that funding that will come to our schools.  As important though is securing those state and Federal funds owed to the city and making sure they go to our classrooms and not misappropriated to all kinds of for-profit and non--profit fraud and corruption.


Below you see Baltimore posing progressive as is Maryland as they PRETEND Baltimore is getting all kinds of funding.  No city has the worst tiering policies aimed against special needs and underserved students than Baltimore and it has gotten worse these several years under the national charter chain movement to make our public K-12 into corporate campus schools.  From Alonzo----who was NYC Bloomberg's key man towards installing national charter chains in that city-----to today's Thornton who was again the key man to installing national charter chains----and has been linked for years to these corporate schools----the goal has been to build a strictly corporate K-12 structure that will be global corporate education in no time flat.


Below you see Baltimore media always providing headlines allowing Maryland and Baltimore pose progressive when all citizens in Baltimore understand the conditions being built for all students but especially special needs and underserved are very, very, very bad.

These funds are supposed to get to our schools but they do not and the quality of education structures being built by a corporate school model creates the cheapest mode of education with the cheapening of people's wages and salaries tied to this global education policy.  You mean these Wall Street global corporate universities are now creating data that says we can spend less on education and do just as well-----
Baltimore second in per-pupil spending, Census Bureau says

But 2011 figures show first decrease nationally since 1977
May 21, 2013|By Erica L. Green, The Baltimore Sun

The Baltimore school system ranked second among the nation's 100 largest school districts in how much it spent per pupil in fiscal year 2011, according to data released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The city's $15,483 per-pupil expenditure was second to New York City's $19,770. Rounding out the top five were Montgomery County, which spent $15,421; Milwaukee public schools at $14,244; and Prince George's County public schools, which spent $13,775.
The Census Bureau also noted the first decrease in per-pupil spending nationally since 1977, the year the figures were first tracked.
The per-pupil expenditures were calculated based on taking the districts' current spending on day-to-day operations and deducting payments to charter schools and capital funding. The remaining money was divided by the number of students enrolled in traditional schools. The amounts were not adjusted for inflation.
Baltimore schools CEO Andrés Alonso said the city's total could have reflected large infusions of cash to the district, including millions in federal stimulus dollars and federal Race to the Top funds.
He also credited state lawmakers for maintaining funding.
"As many states pulled back on spending, with many districts losing funding, Maryland held the line on education, which is why you see three districts at or near the top," he said.
On Monday, the school board passed a $1.2 billion budget that includes per-pupil funding of $5,190. That amount is different from what the Census Bureau reported because the school system takes out other expenses, such as transportation costs and special-education services, before allocating money to individual schools. In addition, the school system provides extra funding for certain groups of students, such as those in special education and dropout-prevention programs.


__________________________________________
HERE IS WALL STREET GLOBAL HARVARD NEO-LIBERALS AND WALL STREET GLOBAL STANFORD NEO-CONS TELLING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WHAT THEY NEED TO DO NEXT AFTER BEING PART OF THESE FEW DECADES OF MISAPPROPRIATION OF ALL FEDERAL AGENCY FUNDING.


Remember how I stated Congress has been shouting about how US health care is spending hundreds of billions more in Medicare and Medicaid expenditures with failing public health and showed for years this is because almost 1/2 of that Federal funding was lost to health industry fraud and profiteering?  This is well known and the same has occurred with our Federal funding for higher education and K-12.  So, as the media makes it seem like all kinds of revenue is coming to schools in US cities----it actually isn't----it is moved to misappropriation and fraud.  Today's education policy has special needs and underserved in such cheapened online lesson models---we know the revenue intended for these classrooms does not GIVE VALUE ------

When did the US move to this PER-PUPIL FUNDING and away from simply giving each public school a close proximity to equity in funding to meet all the community needs for special needs, underserved, and advanced placement----WHICH EVERY COMMUNITY HAS NEED OF?

There is the Reagan/Clinton years coming up with this scheme to weaken not only Equal Protection for these students but setting the stage to deregulate how funds are distributed to our K-12 that no one can follow where these funds go. 

THIS IS WHY ALL THIS PER-PUPIL FUNDING SOUNDS GREAT AND DOES NOTHING TO IMPROVE THE CONDITIONS FOR SPECIAL NEEDS, UNDERSERVED, AND I WOULD INCLUDE OUR ADVANCED PLACEMENT STUDENTS.

There is media questioning whether throwing all that revenue at per-pupil funding is good policy----we can send less say Wall Street global corporate pols.


Do Baltimore Schools Need More Money?


By Jason Bedrick On 5/6/15 at 4:43 PM

REUTERS/Stefanie Loos


Opinion Education Public Schools
Is the problem with Baltimore’s district schools a lack of funds?
The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart argued as much during a recent interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos:


If we are spending a trillion dollars to rebuild Afghanistan’s schools, we can’t, you know, put a little taste Baltimore’s way? It’s crazy.

However, under even cursory scrutiny, Stewart’s claim falls apart like a Lego Super Star Destroyer dropped from 10 feet. As economist Alex Tabarrok explained:
Let’s forget the off-the-cuff comparison to Afghanistan, however, and focus on a more relevant comparison. Is it true, as Stewart suggests, that Baltimore schools are underfunded relative to other American schools? The National Center for Education Statistics reports the following data on Baltimore City Public Schools and Fairfax County Public Schools, the latter considered among the best school districts in the entire country:


The National Center for Education Statistics


 
Baltimore schools spend 27 percent more than Fairfax County schools per student and a majority of the money comes not from the city but from the state and federal government.

OH, REALLY??????????

Thus, when it comes to education spending, Baltimore has not been ignored but is a recipient of significant federal and state aid.

Clearly, as Tabarrok shows, Baltimore’s schools are not lacking for funds. According to the most recent NCES data, the national average district school per-pupil expenditure was about $12,000 in 2010-2011, which is about $12,500 in 2015 dollars.
However, one could object to Tabarrok’s comparison: Perhaps it’s simply more expensive to educate low-income students in Baltimore than the generally well-off students in Fairfax County. To see if money really makes a difference, we would need an apples-to-apples comparison.
One way to test the “more money equals better results” assumption is to see and look at the funding changes across different states to see if there is any correlation between increased funding and improved results.
In 2012, researchers from Harvard, Stanford and the University of Munich released a report on international and state trends in student achievement that addressed this very question, finding that “just about as many high-spending states showed relatively small gains as showed large ones…. And many states defied the theory [that spending drives performance] by showing gains even when they did not commit much in the way of additional resources.”
They concluded:
It is true that on average, an additional $1,000 in per-pupil spending is associated with an annual gain in achievement of one-tenth of 1 percent of a standard deviation. But that trivial amount is of no statistical or substantive significance.

_____________________________________________

Ohio under a far-right Kasich has been installing one of the most corporate charter chain policies for several years-----much like Baltimore's policies.  Read complaints from citizens in Ohio---both Republican and Democrat----and they are all shouting to stop these corporate charter policies as we are in Maryland and Baltimore. Baltimore brings people from Ohio to install these policies here----and Johns Hopkins sends its privatized K-12 team to other cities.

As you see here, these few decades of deregulating how Federal funding reaches our K-12 with all this tiered funding making it seem to help the students it harms-----now we further deregulate how Federal funds reach our K-12 by adding different funding for corporate charter chains vs public schools.  Of course it is all about quality of education and now that these corporate charter chains will be listed on the NY Stock Exchange for profits.


This is why it is critical to all citizens, parents, students that we return to the original system of sending Federal and state funding as a whole to each school making sure each public school is resourced to handle all special needs, underserved, and advanced placement students every community has----this will work as well for REAL community charters that meet the same standards for Federal Equal Protection and funding as our public schools.



You mean the goal all along was to move more and more Federal, state, and local funding to K-12 to what will be national/global corporate charter chains listed on the global stock exchange? Who would think Wall Street global corporate neo-liberals and Republicans would do such?


Confusing Formula for Ohio Charter School Funding

Friday, May 15, 2015 at 11:15 AM


Governor Kasich proposed this year to spend almost one billion dollars a year on charter schools in Ohio.
In his budget, if the student population remains the same, every charter school would get an increase while about half of the traditional public schools would see a loss in funding.
The state legislature has since been working on a budget that would provide raises for most traditional schools.
How Ohio funds charter schools has caused some dispute.
The billion dollar mark illustrates how important the charter -or community school-  system has become in Ohio.
Not only is state spending on charter schools going up, nationwide investors think there is profit to be made.  The real estate company Entertainment Properties Trust usually builds movie theaters, ski resorts, and retail properties.  But here was the CEO, David Brain,  a couple years ago on CNBC saying charters schools are the strongest part of their portfolio.
“The industry is growing about 12-14% a year so it’s a high growth,  very stable, recession resistant business.  It’s a public payer.  The state is the payer on this category. And you do business in states with fiscally sound treasuries, then it’s a very solid business.”
But how the state funds charters is a matter of some dispute in Ohio. The state sends money to each public school district for its own schools but also for any charter school that kids in that district may attend.  Ohio starts by earmarking a foundation of $5800 for each and every public school student and then holds back some of that.  The Ohio Department of Education Budget Director Aaron Rausch says the percentage a district gets to keep will vary.
“There is a state share percentage that is applied to the calculated aid for a traditional public school that is between 5 and 90%.”
A poor district might get more than $5 thousand dollars per student in state aid while a rich district could get less than $500 a student.  But if a child in that district goes to a charter school, the district may have to pass along more than it gets from Columbus.  Damon Asbury of the Ohio School Boards Association says charters will get the full $5800.
“So that charter school student is taking with him or her a lot more money than the kids who remain in the district.  They therefore have fewer resources for the remaining students because the charter school is taking a disproportionate share.”
So where do districts get the extra money to send to charter schools?
“Local tax revenues.”
Darlene Chambers, the head of the Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools, says charter students should get the full $5800 of state foundation grant money.
“The student is given the money.  It’s not the institution that’s funded through foundation money but the actual student.  So, yes, I think it’s fair that if the charters only get foundation money and not local share money that the 58 go to that particular student.”
But again some of that local money does go to charters.

Public schools do get extra state and federal funding known As targeted assistance funding for certain categories like low-income kids, pupils learning English as a second language,  or special education kids. Add it all up and per pupil funding can be higher than $5800.
But because charter schools on average are assigned more state aid than traditional public schools,  districts have to dip into their local levy money to give charters what the state demands.  That prompted this exchange at last month’s Board of Education meeting between board member AJ Wagner and Budget Director Rausch.
Rausch noted all the extra funding that local districts cobble together.
“When you look at what a community school spends on a per student basis it is still less than what is spent at a traditional public school – on a per student basis.”
WAGNER      “It’s [state aid per charter pupil] more than twice -  it’s twice as much now as compared to what the state spends on a kid in a regular traditional school.”
RAUSCH  I mean, ultimately that is because the community school does not have access to local levy dollars.”
Other ways local districts help charters is by providing all the transportation, as they do for private school students.  The treasurer of Akron Public Schools Ryan Pendleton says that has become a serious burden as state transportation funding does not keep up and charters open all over town.
“Where we’re now transporting to our 50th non-Akron Public School site.”
Local schools are supposed to be saving money by not teaching kids who go to charter schools but Damon Asbury of the school boards association says there’s little savings to be had when those students are scattered across grades.
“Because you know you have a certain base of students, teachers, facilities, operational costs, maintenance costs.  Those don’t go down because one or two students transfer.”
The trend at the statehouse has been to make local schools pick up a greater share of their own cost and the cost of charters.  Asbury would like the state to stop using public schools as a fiscal agent for charters and just fund them directly.  The head of the charter school alliance, Darlene Chambers wouldn’t argue with that.  She even quotes a study by the charter critic Innovation Ohio.

“The one sentence I agree 100% with is ‘The Current funding pits traditional districts against charters and charters against traditional districts.’”
There are now more than 370 charter schools in Ohio with about 125,000 students.

0 Comments

March 24th, 2016

3/24/2016

0 Comments

 
I've spoken a great deal about the corporatization of our public universities and when that exists----everything from course offerings to what books are promoted to students are affected.  If you notice Baltimore and other US cities have linked BARNES AND NOBLE as the source for university textbooks so students peruse these shelves for augmentation of course work.
I visited the University of Baltimore library while waiting for a Mayoral forum and the first thing I saw was a kiosk highlighting the newest books purchased by that library.  Low and behold there was BEN BERNANKE MEMOIRS.  Now, everyone in the entire world knows the fraud, corruption, cronyism that is the US FED for these few decades especially and that the FED is fueling all of the movement of tens of trillions of dollars to Wall Street and global corporations for expansion.  None of what is being done is legal---it violates the mission of the FED and violates many US Constitutional rights and laws.


I have written since 2009 when it was obvious that Obama was to serve as the Wall Street President and not as the social Democrat he posed during 2008 primaries how Congressional laws passed----Obama policy stances----and the FED actions under Bernanke and now Yellen are all working to increase wealth only for the 1%.

So, I asked the reference librarian this question-----WHY DO YOU NOT HAVE A BOOK RIGHT NEXT TO THIS BERNANKE MEMOIR THAT EDUCATES AS TO WHY ALL HE SAYS IS QUESTIONABLE?  That is what university libraries have done in modern history----presented books with broad political and public policy positions.  I walked through Barnes and Noble university bookstores and I see the same ONE book by Bernanke and I don't see criticism.  The librarian did her duty by explaining how I might request such a book. 

Bernanke defends Fed against international criticism

by Charles Riley   @CRrileyCNN October 15, 2012: 1:28 AM ET

The world of university textbooks has never been ideal-----professors have tended towards promoting their texts or an associate but the objective of a university library was to broaden this exposure.  Attaching Barnes and Noble to our university text distribution was the first step in moving this process away from our public universities and tying it to what is a global corporation.  Since it is not a money-maker now Barnes and Noble will step away and look what is now happening------this venture is being sold off to any global investment firm or venture capitalist group wanting to bid. 

WHO WANTS TO CONTROL WHAT AN AMERICAN UNIVERSITY BOOKSTORE ALLOWS ON ITS SHELVES?  YOU BETCHA----GLOBAL EDUCATION CORPORATIONS.




Barnes & Noble Files Plan for Spinning Off Campus Bookstores
Matt Townsend
June 29, 2015 — 7:30 AM EDT Updated on June 29, 2015 — 4:22 PM EDT

Barnes & Noble Inc. filed plans for the previously announced spinoff of its college unit, a move intended to help the largest U.S. bookstore chain focus on navigating a changing market.
Investors will receive 0.632 of a share of Barnes & Noble Education Inc. for each share of the bookstore chain that they hold, the New York-based company said today in a filing. Barnes & Noble plans to list the spinoff on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BNED. The company didn’t give a record date of ownership to be part of the distribution.
Barnes & Noble is spinning off the college unit so it can focus on strengthening its retail business, which has been hurt by the rising popularity of digital books and online shopping. The move also may help the college division drive sales gains because it can now seek acquisitions on its own.
“Pursuing such growth opportunities will be greatly facilitated with a capital structure that is tailored for the company’s needs, separate from those of Barnes & Noble,” the retailer said in the filing.
The spinoff is the culmination of a years-long effort to break up Barnes & Noble, which has fallen from a dominant force in bookselling to a company in survival mode thanks to the rise of Amazon.com Inc. For a time, there was speculation that it would divest its college and Nook digital divisions and keep the bookstores as a publicly traded company. Founder and Chairman Len Riggio also considered taking the retail stores and website private.
Spinoff SpecialistA driving force behind the change has been Michael Huseby, who was hired as chief financial officer in 2012 and promoted to chief executive officer last year. Huseby, who was tasked with overseeing the company’s capital structure, had spun off two units in his previous job with Cablevision Systems Corp. At the time he joined Barnes & Noble, some investors wanted to sell the fast-growing Nook division, which sold e-readers, tablets and digital content.
But the Nook’s promise quickly faded against competition from tech heavyweights like Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Nook sales tanked, and CEO William Lynch was replaced by Huseby in January 2014.
The college unit runs 724 campus bookstores nationwide as of May 2, reaching about 24 percent of the U.S. college-student population. Barnes & Noble College doesn’t hold any leases, and instead enters multiyear agreements to operate stores. The schools then get a cut of the sales.
The spinoff was announced in February, and Barnes & Noble said at the time that it would complete the transaction by the end of August.
Stock ImpactBarnes & Noble shares fell 1 percent to $25.79 at the close. The stock has gained 11 percent this year. The company said it expects its shares to trade lower immediately following the spinoff because the price will no longer reflect the value of the college unit.
That division had sales of $1.77 billion and net income of $19.1 million in the fiscal year ended May 2, accounting for about 30 percent of companywide sales and half of profit. Earlier this month, Barnes & Noble said it expected comparable-store sales at the college unit to increase about 1 percent this year.

_______________________________________________

See how all of this DEREGULATION OF OUR PUBLIC SERVICES is hidden behind what they pretend is greater 'democracy'----  that is all this step had as a goal----to take from a public university control of what is stocked in its bookstores.  This was once where the broadest of publications existed-------

Then I attended a Baltimore City community health education event that did a great job of showing the many areas of public health concerns in the city.  I want to explain two issues that were not discussed in this event venue to show how taking the public interest keeps a broad education on health issues from occurring.  Again, it is not the staff who are the problem----it comes from leadership who is then forced to work for Wall Street Baltimore Development/Johns Hopkins.  Remember, Hopkins is the most profit-driven global health corporation in the nation----and all its public policies in health care are based on profit and not public interest.  Remember as well all of Baltimore pols both Maryland Assembly and Baltimore City Hall advance all policy written by BAltimore Development and Johns Hopkins.

ALL OUR BALTIMORE PUBLIC AGENCIES SHOULD BE EDUCATING BROADLY ON PUBLIC POLICIES TIED TO THAT AGENCY AND NOT ONLY PROMOTING ONE POLICY PATHWAY.


Maryland Assembly pol Tarrant among others pushed a policy that deregulates who can administer medical procedures especially tied to PHARMA allowing the general public to do what has always been in the jurisdiction of medical professionals.  Hopkins has been deregulating and creating a tiered level of health care for decades and each time it lessens the quality of care Baltimore citizens receive. Tarrant sells this as empowering a family of a known drug user when the data shows no value overall other than to a global corporation patenting these procedures.

There is nothing wrong with medical professionals like firefighters and EMTs trained professionally to use this new procedure-----the problem is Baltimore's policy of allowing the general public to do so under the guise of GOOD SAMARITAN.  As you see other US cities are allowing their emergency responders to use this drug---


THIS IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PUBLIC AGENCIES EDUCATING BROADLY-----SO FOLKS KNOW IT IS NOT NECESSARILY IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST.

It is the politicians in BAltimore working for BAltimore Development driving all these bad health policies that the BAltimore Public Health Department must then adopt as their mission.


Treating a Drug Overdose With NaloxoneIn this article
  • How It Works
  • Rising Overdose Deaths
  • Using Naloxone
  • Side Effects
  • Access to Naloxone


A medication called naloxone can reverse the effects of an overdose of heroin or some types of painkillers. Paramedics and emergency room doctors have used it for years to save lives.
In some states, if you, a family member, or a friend is addicted to heroin or narcotic painkillers known as opioids, you can carry naloxone. A pocket-size device that contains an injectible form of naloxone is available for use. A nasal spray version has also been approved for use and requires no special training to administer.


How It WorksNaloxone blocks the effects of drugs made from opium, or opioids. These include:
  • heroin
  • morphine
  • oxycodone
  • methadone
  • fentanyl
  • hydrocodone
  • codeine
  • hydromorphone
  • buprenorphine
Opioids slow your breathing. If you take too much of one, your breathing may stop and you could die. If given soon enough, naloxone can counter the overdose effects, usually within minutes.
_________________________________________
The biggest health issue in Baltimore outside of drug addiction is HIV and the disease vectors spreading this disease in BAltimore.  I have written for years about the failure of BAltimore's HIV programs but especially recently when I shouted the BALTIMORE CITY JAIL DOES NOT DISPENSE CONDOMS.  The jail is the epicenter of HIV disease vector and ignoring prevention there means allowing it to spread and grow without real preventative measures.  When you ask a Baltimore City Public Health Department why this happens they will tell you-----

THE STATE OF MARYLAND CONTROLS BALTIMORE CITY JAIL SYSTEMS.  INDEED, THAT IS THE PROBLEM FOR BALTIMORE IN HAVING EFFECTIVE PUBLIC HEALTH.

A Mayor of Baltimore would take the State of Maryland to FEDERAL COURT for promoting a city-wide HIV public health crisis in its handling of something as simple as condom-dispensing.  You are not going to stop sex in jail----you cannot stop conjugal visits----so you must provide condoms as the preventative measure.  The costs for this annually is pennies on the dollar for what Baltimore spends in all other aspects of prevention, treatment, and hospice for those affected.

WHY IS BALTIMORE CITY PUBLIC HEALTH NOT EDUCATING AS TO STATE OF MARYLAND BEING THE PROBLEM AND TAKING THIS ISSUE TO FEDERAL HEALTH AGENCIES AND COURTS WILL BE THE SOLUTION?

Because Baltimore Development controls Baltimore City Hall and pols will not take this critical step against Wall Street and Johns Hopkins.  See how all public education is captured when our Baltimore City Hall and Maryland Assembly pols are captured to Wall Street Baltimore Development?



Baltimore City Detention Center



From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Baltimore City Detention Center
Location401 E. Eager Street
Baltimore, Maryland


Opened1801
Managed byMaryland Department of Corrections
DirectorRicky Foxwell


Baltimore City Detention Center (BCDC, formerly known as the Baltimore City Jail) is a Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services state prison for men and women. It is located on 401 East Eager Street in downtown Baltimore, Maryland. It has been a state facility since July 1991.[1]
In July 2015, Maryland governor Larry Hogan announced the men's facility would be permanently closed, and the 750 inmates redistributed among other more modern facilities.[2] The exact date of the closure was not made known.
Correctional campusThe Center is one element of a correctional campus that also includes:
  • the Baltimore City Correctional Center at 901 Greenmount Avenue, also a state facility
  • Maryland's Metropolitan Transition Center at 954 Forrest Street, first established 1811 as the Maryland Penitentiary, site of the state's (now-decommissioned) execution chamber
  • the Chesapeake Detention Facility at 401 East Madison Street, formerly known as the Maryland Correctional Adjustment Center
The BCDC ranks among the top 20 largest detention facilities in the United States.[3] With a working capacity of 4,000 prisoners, the five buildings of the BCDC also represent one of the oldest prisons in the country. About 90% of detainees are pretrial detainees.[4]

____________________________________________
The reason this corporate capture of all public agency communications, whether BAltimore City, Maryland Assembly, or Congress, has occurred is the consolidation of our national media and complete capture of all local media to those same media outlets.  We no longer as citizens are educated through media broadly on public policy and what public interest vs profit interest policy means.

Most US citizens KNOW there is a movement towards handing all broadband frequency for high-speed internet to global corporations and their global online businesses-----this is especially true in Baltimore with Hopkins and our now for-profit hospitals selling their global health tourism and telemedicine.  It is true as well for Baltimore being made central in global online education----
ALL OF WHICH HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH PUBLIC INTEREST----IT IS BAD FOR BALTIMORE CITIZENS AS REGARDS QUALITY OF SERVICE IN THESE AREAS AND EMPLOYMENT.

If you know the trend in telecommunications will be prohibiting small telecommunications businesses and end as an avenue for communications----you don't want all focus on building small media outlets in our Baltimore communities to be SOCIAL MEDIA AND ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS.

Below you see again a corporate university promoting this kind of small business in communities to the exclusion of a broad media ---TV, radio, and print media needed in each community to assure voice for all----to assure an outlet to provide broad discussion on public policy in each community.  Maybe Cindy Walsh would be allowed to speak in that community media where I cannot in main stream Baltimore media.

REAL SMALL BUSINESS MEDIA BUSINESSES MEAN BROAD VOICE AND BROAD MODES OF COMMUNICATIONS!  THIS IS WHEN WE REBUILD COMMUNITY EDUCATION.


It's not that these events are not useful----it is that they are the only media promoted.



Student-created marketing competition helps local businesses


Nov. 12, 2014

The UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication has become a regular host to hackathons – events that gather students from across campus to solve particular communication problems over the course of a weekend.

The trend continued Nov. 7-8 with "Crash Campaign" — a 24-hour student-created and student-led competition that brought together more than 70 students from across various campus majors to help four local businesses solve their marketing dilemmas.
Joanna Sanfilippo, a senior journalism and mass communication major specializing in advertising and a Hispanic Studies double major, and Matthew Hurley, also a senior specializing in advertising and double majoring in business administration, have invested countless hours over the course of a year in planning "Crash Campaign" — all in hopes of getting students relevant marketing experience and helping them build a portfolio to land internships and jobs.
The event did just that, putting students in a high-pressure, quick turnaround environment — one parallel to that of a creative communications agency — to create near professional level work.
The students — broken into 12 teams — received their briefs from clients Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. and promptly set out researching their businesses and target markets, sending out surveys, holding focus groups and interviewing people on the street.
By the wee hours of the next day, students were in full-on panic mode, crafting strategic marketing plans which included professional level graphic identities and social media campaigns.
"The most amazing part about this for Matt and me was at 3, 4, 5 a.m. we were consoling all of the panicked groups, not knowing where they were going to be in the end," Sanfilippo said. "And then they do a complete 180 in the presentations. I was so impressed by the final products."
Seven judges — advertising, public relations and marketing creatives — trotted out adjectives like "cohesive," "seamless," "professional," "dynamic," "magical" and "genius" after the students presented their marketing campaigns on Sunday, Nov. 9.
"You gave [clients] something they could implement overnight," McKinney senior art director Jordan Eakin said to students. "That's a very difficult thing to do even if you have two weeks."
'Planned like clockwork'
The idea for "Crash Campaign" came together during the summer of 2013. Sanfilippo was interning at a local advertising agency, gaining professional experience and putting together a portfolio to position herself for the job market after graduation.
When a portfolio of a fellow intern caught her eye, she asked about his work and found out that some of it was created during a short-term, intense advertising competition.
That same summer, Sanfilippo met Hurley for the first time through a mutual friend and after talking about the need for a portfolio-building event, "Crash Campaign" was born — sort of.
"When someone tells you an idea, you say 'oh cool' or 'that sounds great' and you move on, but she was very passionate about it," Hurley said. "We were on the same page about it, agreeing that it was necessary and we needed to do it."
The following fall, they both went abroad – Sanfilippo to Spain, Hurley to the Netherlands  – and emailed ideas back and forth, preparing to hit the ground running when they returned to campus in January.
They emailed every advertising and public relations faculty member about advising the project, getting a sympathetic and enthusiastic ear in associate professor and public relations specialization leader Lois Boynton.
"We had never met her before," Hurley said. "She's a powerhouse of a personality. I think she was 10 times more excited [about 'Crash Campaign'] than we were."
Providing a marketing experience for fellow students  was a marketing and branding exercise in itself for Sanfilippo, Hurley and their leadership team. And according to Boynton, they had the project mapped out before they ever came to her.
"Matt and Joanna had this thing planned like clockwork," Boynton said. "They had it nailed. What they needed was access to the school and guidance."
A mention of the project from Boynton to Dulcie Straughan, James Howard and Hallie McLean Parker Distinguished Professor, and Crash Campaign had a sponsor. Straughan had been looking for a meaningful, outside-the-classroom project to support.
"You can't keep an idea to yourself if you want to make it happen," Hurley said.
No one was keeping "Crash Campaign" a secret and for good reason.
'A big resume builder'
"It took us 20 minutes to get over the whole 'we don't know each other' thing," said Shand Thomas, a senior majoring in advertising and a member of the winning team that created a campaign for Rumors, a thrift clothing boutique in Chapel Hill.
There was no time for icebreakers, but judges lauded the team's natural chemistry.
Thomas and her five team members donned clothing from the shop while pitching their final recommendations. They received a $500 prize and a yearlong membership to the American Marketing Association.
Other clients included A Ban Against Neglect (ABAN), a Chapel Hill-based nonprofit dedicated to empowering young mothers in Ghana by selling handmade products from recycled materials; Hillsborough Yoga & Healing Arts; and Native Beverage Company, a local, sustainable pecan milk company founded by Rachel Atkinson, a city and regional planning major and entrepreneurship minor expecting to graduate in May 2015.
"I was looking for a new graphic identity," said Atkinson, who plans to launch her business in earnest after graduating. "I've been really impressed by what I’ve seen. Everyone was excited about my product."
"Crash Campaign" students gave her a new logo, packaging ideas, marketing strategies and a potential slogan for Native Beverage Company. Professor of the practice and judge Dana McMahan, who is also chief marketing officer for TOPO Brands, said she would "put that bumper sticker on [her] car right now," referring to the slogan.
"You've created a big resume builder here," judge and McKinney copywriter David Sloan said to students. "You're on a great road, a great path to do great things."
That’s exactly why Sanfilippo and Hurley had worked so hard.
_________________________________________
Raise your hand if you know the institution below has been a national and now a global health corporation for decades------MOST PEOPLE.  I talk often of how all information we received in public policy once came from humanities-based public universities where broad data development, analysis, and research conclusions originated.  It was not LIBERAL data----it allowed all regions of the nation to look at data as was their view of public interest.  Today, all universities are corporate and only giving out data for corporate profit-----no public interest data.

When you have that system of HOLDING POWER ACCOUNTABLE in our public universities you also control corporate non-profits like the one below.  KAISER started as a health research non-profit and today it is the most profit-driven health system in the nation.  Yet, that is from where much health industry research data derives and it is what has Baltimore area health data and health policies captured.

Would KAISER be front-and-center in shouting out against the method of Baltimore development that allows 'sick' houses filled with lead and asbestos be demolished with no remediation----no structures to contain lead and asbestos DUST from filling the air and floating over all surrounding communities? 

YES!  IT DOES NOT BECAUSE IT DOES NOT WANT THIS EXCUSE USED BY CITIZENS WHEN THEY COME TO A HOSPITAL OR DOCTOR WITH LUNG OR HEALTH DAMAGE.

This is what a social Democrat means when they say they will rebuild BAltimore City public agencies out into all communities to allow citizens to create the public policy----to build small business media to give all citizens a voice and then ---these corporate entities to not have a lock on all discussion on public policy in a US city like Baltimore.


Public education does not begin and end in our K-12 and university system-----it is community education platforms that are lifetime learning vehicles------we need them strong and independent.

KAISER PERMANENTE-----


About the Division of Research

Founded in 1961, the Division of Research’s research program is built on a base of rigorous epidemiologic investigation in a large, well-characterized population. Many of the division’s major contributions have been in the areas of risk factor identification, prevention, and drug safety. However, this is an exciting time in biologic, medical, and health services research, and the division is contributing to progress in many new areas including: research looking at the role of genes and the environment in health, clinical trials, and research to help answer the critical questions of how to implement and use health informatics, manage chronic illness, and motivate self-care and disease prevention.



Newly Funded Research Studies

The Division of Research currently has more than 250 studies underway. Find out more about recently funded studies in cancer, heart disease, diabetes, health care delivery, women's and children's health, behavioral health and more.
New Clinical Research ToolsThe Virtual Research Office (VRO) is a new tool for physicians, nurses, researchers and staff conducting clinical research at Kaiser Permanente. This one-stop shop connects researchers with potential collaborators, training resources, project assistance and more.

Participate in a Research StudyFind out how participating in research studies benefits participants and society at large, and learn which studies are looking for participants.






0 Comments

March 22nd, 2016

3/22/2016

0 Comments

 
PLEASE EDUCATE OUR IMMIGRANT FAMILIES AS TO WHAT AMERICAN AND US CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRATIC STRUCTURES ARE----THEY OFTEN COME TO THE US WITH A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT VIEW OF DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES AND WHAT LEFT-LEANING POLITICAL STANCES REALLY ARE!

 Back to education policy this week.  I will start by bringing this political discussion into education policy.  A left-leaning political action group allows all people in a gathering the power of voice on how the issue at hand unfolds-----they can say anything they want as long as it is not abusive----and it is the people who create the structure determining what is important and what the solutions will be.  A REAL left-leaning moderator for such a gathering SAYS LITTLE ----THEY DO NOT WANT TO TALK VERY MUCH.  They will organize the introduction of the topic----then step back and simply see that people stay on topic-----NOT JUST ONE ISSUE OF A TOPIC------and not be abusive.  So, left-leaning moderator says---we are going to talk about housing issues in Baltimore and then steps back and allows twenty people in the gathering talk for an hour simply stopping any one person from too much of the conversation.  That moderators' job is to be writing down on a board all issues brought up by the people during that hour.  Then, the second hour will use that discussion to open the floor again to all people at this gathering to offer solutions to those problems and again, the moderators simply write on the board what these people in the gathering say.

THE MODERATOR AT LEFT-LEANING GATHERINGS DO NOT COME TO A SESSION WITH AN AGENDA-----ONLY A TOPIC AND DOES NOT SET THE DISCUSSION TO A VERY LIMITED FORMAT OF DISCUSSION.

This is what all political discussion groups in Baltimore that claim to be left-leaning do-----the moderators do much of the talking---they bring one or two guests that do the rest of the talking----and then when the people at the gathering are allowed to talk----the issue becomes very micro-managed.

  THAT IS RIGHT-LEANING CONTROL OF LEFT-LEANING TOPICS.


What we see in Baltimore is corporate moderation with the panels and set agenda.  It looks just like the corporate event gatherings I attended as a young adult employed as a manager for United Parcel Service.  Left-leaning gatherings have no hierarchy in moderation----the events are not structured but encourage broad thought on an individual topic.  Yes, a moderator does need to keep the conversation on focus, but their voices are rarely heard during a gathering.

Below you see how this corporate structure for activism has developed into structured committees and commissions with appointed leadership that now does all the talking on issues of social, left-leaning activism.


I AGREE WITH TINA MINKOWITZ WRITING THIS ARTICLE-----NO, NO TASK FORCE IDENTIFIED BY CLINTON/OBAMA WALL STREET NEO-LIBERALS WILL TALK FOR ME!


NCMHR Does Not Speak for Me


By Tina Minkowitz, Esq.

Featured Blogs January 19, 2013I am appalled to read a press release by the National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery that lauds the proposals emerging from the Vice President's Task Force and accepts in principle a national database of individuals with mental health diagnoses that is "limited to those with a known history of violence."
The headline reads "National Coalition Representing Individuals with Psychiatric Diagnoses  Lauds President Obama's Recommendations to Contain Gun Violence."
The Coalition notes that "several of the recommendations will increase the fear of, and discrimination against, individuals with mental health conditions," including expanded reporting by mental health professionals to local authorities, but does not suggest that the President reconsider and revoke those recommendations.  Instead, the Coalition makes a number of suggestions for development/application of the President's executive actions, of which six deal with preferred approaches in mental health, and number 7, the only one to address civil liberties issues, reads:
"Limiting a national database of persons labeled with mental health diagnoses to those with a known history of violence."
It astounds me that the Coalition accepts in principle a national database of persons labeled with mental health diagnoses that have also committed acts of violence.
How will it be determined that an individual has a "known" history of violence?  Will hearsay accusations by family members and mental health system workers, routinely included in mental health records, be used to deem an individual to be violent, just as it is used and accepted in civil commitment hearings?
And why stop there?  Why limit a database only to people with a "known history of violence" who also have mental health diagnoses?  Mental health diagnoses have nothing to do with violence, so why not go right to the heart of the matter?  Again, what would count as evidence of a "known history of violence"?

Such profiling would certainly be used against anyone and everyone who is out of favor with local authorities for whatever reason.  And it would almost certainly involve the "expertise" of mental health professionals.  Remember the racist "Violence Initiative," which Peter Breggin helped to expose - a series of initiatives by the federal government to fix the blame for violence in genetic predisposition?
Profiling is always wrong.  Scapegoating is always wrong.  Our community is alarmed that it hasn't even mattered to our President and Vice President that we are no more violent than anyone else; that really if society wanted to profile anyone as violent, it should be males from particular states.  Profiling that is not only stereotyped but flies in the face of all rational evidence can only mean that there is an intentional policy to create an enemy that the rest of society can unite against.  We have seen this so many times, in the anti-Muslim profiling after 9/11, and so much more.  Now we are the ones targeted, and NCMHR by supporting the President's policies and endorsing in principle a "limited" database will allow the Administration to claim that it has the approval of our community.
I call on NCMHR to reconsider and revoke its support for the President's recommendations on gun violence and in particular to oppose any database of persons labeled with mental health diagnoses.  If NCMHR truly is in favor of those recommendations, including a "limited" database, I call on them to make known the votes of its membership on these policies, so we know whom to hold accountable.


_____________________________________________
I had a great question at a recent mayoral forum hosted by a local high school.  She said this......'everyone speaks of creating jobs but they never talk about how we get those people in the communities that hang on street corners into this process.  How will you get everyone in a community into the workforce'? She knows the problem.  Citizens in Baltimore have been left for a generation without the ability to attain employment and are literally without concept of reporting to work daily to an environment being highly structured.  The past decade has Wall Street global corporate neo-liberals and Republicans using this need for exposure to build a huge VOLUNTEERING platform we are told will grow those skills and for a decade people have volunteered and most have gotten no job.  Now of course people do not want to volunteer because they want paid work. 

THEY HAVE FIGURED THIS RIGHT-WING SCHEME OF FREE LABOR AND NO PAID WORK.

Life-skill education is the same as work-skill education-----you expose citizens to ordinary socialization structures and allow them responsibilities as they can handle this.  First they are participating in a venue----then they have a part-time employment----then they are hired into the venue. You start with venues people see as entertaining and capture their interests----that is what I intend when I say I will build a local, small business economy in each community that is broad.  If you are going to build a cultural arts venue, a small business media venue, a recreational venue, and a fresh food venue as community economies-----there are lots of opportunity to first be a participant and then socialize to meet the needs of a job.  See how that is different than being told to pick up trash----clean vacant lots----stencil 'do not dump' on street drains?  One is simply work for which a person should be paid----and the other brings people's cultural and leisure interests together into a business climate.

THAT PERSON HANGING ON THE STREET CORNER MAY NOT WANT TO 'VOLUNTEER' TO CLEAN A COMMUNITY----BUT THEY ARE OFTEN INTERESTED IN BUILDING A CULTURAL OR RECREATIONAL VENUE IN THEIR COMMUNITIES.

This is what employment training should look like in Baltimore underserved communities---


The Importance of Incorporating Local Culture into Community Development

Mark Brennan, Muthusami Kumaran, Randall Cantrell, and Michael Spranger


This paper is part of a series of discussions on community development. This series includes specialized papers on civic engagement, community action, and other topics important to the development of community.


Introduction

Developmental trajectories of communities are usually explained by reference to economic history and trends, human capital deficits, and/or the local labor market structure. Local culture is rarely seen as playing a significant role in development outcomes. Nor does empirical research routinely consider the role of local culture in fostering a more complete understanding of community development. Instead, culture is often viewed as an outgrowth of a particular region and is dependent upon social and other experiences, rather than an independent force.
Such perspectives miss an important aspect of the community development process. The culture of a community significantly shapes debate and action that lead to development. Local culture also presents unique options for locally based economic, social, and other developments. Local understandings and interpretations of a community's history reflect past events that feed into and are partially driven by the demands, sentiments, and interests of those in the present. This makes it crucial for community development practitioners to consider the cultural importance of efforts to improve local well-being. By paying attention to and incorporating unique cultural values, traditions, value systems, and related factors, more efficient and effective development efforts can be achieved.
Local culture provides a sense of identity for communities and residents. This identity facilitates common understandings, traditions, and values that are all central to identifying plans of action to improve well-being. Culture contributes to building a sense of local identity and solidarity. It influences the confidence that communities have for coming together to address specific needs and problems. This local commitment among residents, regardless of economic or political conditions, can serve as a valuable tool in shaping the effectiveness of development options and local actions. Such commitment, based on culture and common identity, can be seen as a potentially important tool in sustaining local government, development, and social improvement efforts.
Providing a local linkage and cultural basis for development is important. People are likely to take part in and remain committed to development efforts to which they have a direct connection. Development efforts that consider or focus on cultural aspects of communities provide a mechanism for linking local residents to the development process. Through such efforts, local residents can encourage development that preserves or promotes their culture. This is particularly important in development efforts that seek to elicit local participation, philanthropy, volunteerism, and community action. In understanding the place of culture in the development process, consider the social basis of culture, its relationship to interaction, and the types of development and local actions it can contribute to.


Role of Local Culture


The concept of culture has many definitions and interpretations. In social settings, it is often used broadly to represent entire ways of life. Included in such ways of life are rules, values, and expected behaviors. At its most basic level, culture can be seen as the shared products of a society. These products have a common meaning that accumulates over time and also reflects shared attachments among community members.

Culture can be seen as consisting of ideas, beliefs, rules, and material dimensions. Ideas include things such as the values, knowledge, and experiences held by a culture. Values are shared ideas and beliefs about what is morally right or wrong, or what is culturally desirable. Such values are abstract concepts and are often based in religion or culture in that they reflect ideals and visions of what society should be. Such values often shape expected behavior and rules. These rules are accepted ways of doing things and represent guidelines for how people should conduct themselves and how they should act towards others.
Values and rules are often taken for granted and assumed to reflect a common understanding. Both, however, have direct origins and developed in response to conflicts or needs. At the core of such values and norms is a process of interaction that led to their emergence and acceptance. This process shapes the actions of individuals and social systems within their communities. Culture provides a sense of belonging and an arena in which residents can make a difference. At the same time, culture contributes to exclusionary practices and has been seen as an impediment to overall community development efforts. Regardless, it is clear that culture plays a critical role in local community action.


Applied Uses of Culture in Treatment

inclusion of culture into community and economic development models can take many shapes and forms. Culture can serve as the central focus. Included would be tourism and other efforts that focus largely on the promotion, preservation, or enhancement of local or regional cultures. Culture can also be a factor that needs to be addressed to determine its impact on new or existing development programs, such as resource management or environmental protection. In facing development, the programs that communities are willing to accept and embrace are likely to depend largely on cultural factors. It is therefore vital that problems and potential solutions be defined in a manner consistent with the local culture.


Culture as a Focus of Development

Regional or local culture can serve as a basis for development. Such efforts can serve to promote the local identity, regional languages, and minority cultures. Efforts can focus on preservation or promotion of a culture, but they can also use culture to mobilize the local population. Examples of cultural preservation or efforts focusing solely on a culture are often seen in relation to tourism and conservation efforts. Included are renovation of villages (architectural rehabilitation), highlighting the architectural heritage of an area (restoring historic sites to serve as a focal point for tourists), cultural venues (local heritage centers and traditional cultural events), traditional craft and artistic skills (development of industry and employment based on producing crafts that symbolize local culture), and cultural-based entertainment and cultural dissemination (organization of cultural activities, festivals, and permanent exhibitions). Equally important is the environmental aspects of culture in which traditional uses of natural resources or events symbolize local cultural ties to environmental processes (solstice festivals, harvest festivals, and agriculture progress days).

These efforts serve as a basis for development, but they also serve to maintain cultural traditions and ways of life. Furthermore, such forms of development highlight the importance of rural cultures and identify their role in shaping wider society. Finally, through such development, community and cultural identities are reinforced and collective identities strengthened. Such interaction can lead to an improved state of community and social well-being.


Culture and Territorial Development

It is argued by some that development should focus clearly on specific sectors of the economy, while others argue that community development should be more tailored to the unique cultural characteristics of specific geographical areas and highlight their territorial elements. These sectored approaches have been central to most top-down or government-led development. However, sectored programs have received criticism, because such programs are often seen as being too broad in scope and in application to account for a community’s diversity and unique needs.
In response to such conditions, a shift from sectored to territorial community development policy has been suggested. In such policies, social cohesion and comprehensive planning have been included. Territorial approaches are best suited to meet the unique and complex conditions present in communities. The local culture is part of this later development model. As a result, increasing attention is being given to local level and bottom-up approaches that focus on culture, territory, local diversity, and optimizing local resources. Territorial approaches seek to enhance the particular strengths of a community by developing the potential of local resources such as individuals, businesses, and social groups. Such perspectives tend to include recognition of the total environment in which community development operates. Such methods attempt to address the interdependencies of people, the environment, and the communities within a locality. Enhancing or focusing on local culture serves this process.

Conclusion and Implications for Extension Programming


The perceptions of rural and urban areas, their economic bases, and means for their development will need to be more closely considered in future policy efforts. This is particularly true when considering the changing character of rural areas and the diversity of communities there. Local culture plays a central role in shaping community development, local character, and responses to needs. Continuing to ignore culture's critical role will constrain development efforts, rendering them little more than short-term solutions for endemic community issues and needs.

The relationship between culture and community development is vast. However, this important relationship is rarely given a significant role in the design of development efforts. Using an interactional approach to community development provides opportunities for incorporating insights into the role and place of culture. Furthermore, it means conceptualizing development to highlight the importance of establishing and enhancing social relationships. Aligning such development with cultural promotion and preservation can serve as a tool for successful development. Focusing on the erosion of solidarity or culture can also provide insight into the lack of progress or the presence of obstacles impeding existing development efforts.
Future decisions will need to be made about the types of development activities pursued. In this light, territorial perspectives that focus on local cultures and their attributes appear to provide a more comprehensive approach than those that focus on specialized economic sectors. Local culture is a fundamental component of community life that shapes its unique character, needs, and opportunities. Indeed, it differentiates communities, making one-size-fits-all policies and programs largely irrelevant.
Culture and cultural attachment can be used as a motivating factor in opposing anti-local-development activities, such as extra-local development and exploitation. Using culture to motivate community members can serve as a tool for policymakers and others interested in encouraging development at the local level.
Culture can be seen as presenting both the means and ends of development. To a great extent, it emphasizes the wealth and diversity of their cultural heritage, so communities will be able to develop activities that enhance social and economic well-being. Community development planners and practitioners need to understand and learn to capitalize on the strengths of community solidarity and culture.

_____________________________________________
As is true with all that is Baltimore we have a structure trying to do the above but as always it is completely controlled by the same Wall Street Baltimore Development/Johns Hopkins as anchors in communities non-profits.  The funding will not go to a community for cultural arts development unless someone tied to these structures is a director of a non-profit and we do not see a thriving economic system of small businesses resulting.  I mentioned Johns Hopkins engulfing all of what used to be Baltimore's liberal arts and music schools and I think these academic bodies would want a different approach to growing cultural venues in each community. 

Our academic campuses are not the only source of what is right or best in our community cultural venues will be.  The source of creative talent comes from the community and an academic campus simply acts to facilitate what communities need. 

HERE WE HAVE THE SAME SITUATION AS ABOVE---THE DIFFERENCE IN LEFT-LEANING MODERATION IS THE SAME AS WHAT LEFT-LEANING DEVELOPMENT OF CULTURAL VENUES WOULD APPEAR.

I think Baltimore cultural academies get this and would easily move away from a very, very, very neo-conservative Johns Hopkins and Wall Street Baltimore Development model of hyper-control of funding and written policy.


Citizens in Baltimore always complain that people come to their communities to tell them what to do and this includes our cultural arts and media.......people know what they want and what to do----they simply need help in facilitating their ideas.


New GBCA Board Members Announced!


Posted on February 22, 2016 by Lauren Saunders
Executive Director's Letter
February 16, 2016



The Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance (GBCA) board of directors announced today the election of seven new members, as well as the appointment of Julia Marciari-Alexander (Executive Director of the Walters Art Museum) as President, and the appointment of Sheri Parks (Associate Dean for Research, Interdisciplinary Scholarship and Programming, University of Maryland) as Vice President.
The 2016 GBCA new board members are:
Chuck Adkins, Chief Financial Officer, Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts

Chuck Adkins serves as Chief Financial Officer at the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts, the official arts council of Baltimore. He has worked in nonprofit finance for over 15 years, first at Maryland Nonprofits and in subsequent positions including Chief Operating Officer and Director of Finance at Episcopal Community Services of Maryland. Adkins holds an M.A. from the University of Maryland, where he is an adjunct professor teaching graduate courses in nonprofit management.

Kevin Apperson, Chief Information Officer, Maxim Healthcare Services

Kevin Apperson serves as Chief Information Officer at Maxim Health Care, where he supports Maxim's strategic initiatives and manages business risks from an information technology standpoint. A thiry year veteran in the information technology field, Apperson’s previous leadership roles include ten years as chief information officer at Allegis Group. Apperson has also been recognized by Career Communications Group’s as one of the “most important blacks in technology” during the annual Black Engineer of the Year Awards for four consecutive years. He serves on the Board of Trustees at Baltimore Clayworks and Board of Directors for the St. Francis Neighborhood Center.

Randi Benesch, Senior Managing Director, Gordon Center for Performing Arts

Since 2012, Randi Benesch has served as the Senior Managing Director of the Gordon Center for Performing Arts at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore. A graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, Randi has worked as a programmer and fundraiser at theaters and performing arts organizations including the Edison Theater in St. Louis, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Columbia Festival of the Arts (Maryland), and Center Stage in Baltimore.

Navasha Daya, performing artist, Co-Founder/Director, Youth Resiliency Institute

Navasha Daya is a singer, songwriter, producer, performing arts curator, certified holistic wellness practitioner, and spiritual and cultural arts activist. As a singer, Daya has performed all over the globe sharing the stage with artists such as South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela, Beninese singer Angelique Kidjo, Japanese pianist Hajime Yoshizawa, and American artists such as Joan Baez, India Arie, Michael Franti, and Roberta Flack. In 2010, with educator/musician/organizer Fanon Hill and two youth mentees, Daya co-founded the Youth Resiliency Institute (YRI), a social benefit organization that provides arts and cultural-based training, workshops, services, and mentorship to children, youth and young adults in Baltimore. Daya is a member of the Baltimore Arts Education Coalition Steering Committee.

Hana S. Sharif, Associate Artistic Director, Center Stage
Hana S. Sharif is has worked as a director, playwright, and producer for over fifteen years and is currently the Associate Artistic Director at Center Stage. Previously, Sharif was part of the artistic staff of Hartford Stage for nine seasons, holding positions such as Associate Artistic Director, Director of New Play Development, and Artistic Producer. Sharif served as Program Manager of the ArtsEmerson Ambassador Program, as well as Producer and Tour Manager for Progress Theatre. Her regional and international directing credits include: Pride and Prejudice (DCArts: Best Director/ Best New Play);Gem of the Ocean (six Connecticut Critics Circle nominations); and Gee’s Bend(Connecticut Critics Circle Award for Best Ensemble). Sharif is the recipient of the 2009-10 Aetna New Voices Fellowship for her work as a playwright and director as well as the Theatre Communications Group (TCG) New Generations fellowship.

Lee Kappelman, Principal, m/Oppenheim Associates


Lee Kappelman has a 30-year career focused on nonprofit management, executive search, fundraising and organizational consulting with a strong emphasis on art, media and culture. She currently is a Principal with m/Oppenheim Associates, a national executive search firm. She previously headed the search and fundraising practice at Arts Consulting Group and led fundraising efforts at the Baltimore Symphony, held executive positions at CBS Television and King World Entertainment, and was a literary agent with Agency for the Performing Arts and Renaissance Literary Agency in Los Angeles and New York. In 2012, Kappelman formed a healthcare non-profit, CaringOn, selected by Points of Light Foundation as an incubator project for capacity-building investment.

Ron M. Melton, Chief Operating Officer, Visit Baltimore
Ronald M. Melton has served as Chief Operating Officer at Visit Baltimore since September 2012, where he oversees administrative, information technology, research, human resources, accounting, finance and hospitality operations. An established leader in the hospitality industry, Melton has 25 years of experience, including previous leadership roles such as: Executive Vice President of Services and Operations for Travel Portland; Director of Finance for the Conference Meeting & Assistance Corp. (CMAC) in Dallas, Texas; Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau; and Director of Finance and Administration for the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau. Melton has served as the chairman of the Host Committee for the National Coalition of Black Meeting Planners.

______________________________________________
'Prescriptions of Ritalin for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have quadrupled in a decade, prompting fears it is being pushed on children at the expense of alternative treatments and without appreciation of long-term effects'.

Another great question asked recently during a call-in show for Marc Steiner was this------'will you as mayor stop the use of PHARMA in addressing behavioral problems in black citizens and students?  Baltimore has made prescription drug treatment so prevalent in the black community that a super-majority of citizens are placed on some kind of prescription drug-----more drug use than black market drug dealing'.

Now, you would not hear this question asked in a mayoral forum and the limits of 1 minute in many forums for responses does not allow candidates to broach all these educations deeply.  Indeed, Baltimore uses PHARMA far too much ----and may be the #1 in the nation drug pusher in all of its health approaches.  When you have no public health or mental health structures in communities----you dose people.

This is a vital issue in regards to rebuilding our public education in Baltimore.  Students need to be clear headed and free from feeling labelled for what is often behavior that is outside of a very narrow description of NORMAL.  I am not saying that PHARMA is not at times necessary---because it is.  We do not need to dose our children to make it easier and cheaper to move them through our K-12 education system.


This is what the public structures inside our public schools supplied---that network of support for students having many personalities and physical and mental abilities.  Baltimore may never have had that public school structure but all across the nation our K-12 public schools were filled with staff for just this support.  This is what Cindy Walsh means when she says she will rebuild the public structure in all of our public schools.



Ritalin use for ADHD children soars fourfoldPupils as young as three are at risk from untested drug cocktails, warn experts as prescriptions soar

More youngsters are being prescribed Ritalin for ADHD despite clinical guidelines to the contrary, say child psychologists Photograph: Murdo Macleod for the ObserverJamie Doward and Emma Craig


Saturday 5 May 2012 19.07 EDT Last modified on Friday 15 January 2016 11.22 EST




Prescriptions of Ritalin for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have quadrupled in a decade, prompting fears it is being pushed on children at the expense of alternative treatments and without appreciation of long-term effects.
Figures released by the NHS business services authority to the Liberal Democrat MP Tessa Munt reveal the number of prescriptions of methylphenidate hydrochloride, the generic name for Ritalin, rose in England from 158,000 in 1999 to 661,463 in 2010.
Ritalin is a psychostimulant drug most commonly approved for treatment of ADHD in children. It is also used to treat conditions such as narcolepsy and in certain cases may also be prescribed for lethargy, depression and obesity.
The Association of Educational Psychologists said its members were reporting an increase in children with behavioural difficulties being prescribed the drug in conjunction with antidepressants, despite the fact there was "little to no evidence about the effect which these cocktails of drugs are having on the development of children's brains".

Read moreThe association claims clinical studies show the "beneficial effects of psychostimulant medication are not sustained over the long term, necessitating stronger and stronger dosages to be prescribed over time" and that it is "becoming a common practice for children to be prescribed stronger dosages than recommended in the morning as a 'top-up' or 'kickstart' dose so that medication lasts the full school day".
Munt, who until recently sat on the education select committee, said there were natural alternatives that could help combat ADHD. She highlighted a report commissioned by the RSPB that suggested activities in a natural environment appear to improve children's symptoms by 30% compared with urban outdoor activities, and threefold compared to playing indoors. But Munt said many young people were prevented from enjoying the outdoors because of reasons such as lack of school playing fields and the distractions posed by video games, smartphones and social networking.
"It is extremely alarming that in the decade up to 2010, prescriptions for Ritalin quadrupled," she said. "Statistics show that 90% of prescriptions for this powerful drug in 2004 were used to combat behavioural problems in school-age children. I am shocked that there has been such a huge explosion in use."
ADHD is believed to affect between 5% and 10% of schoolchildren in the UK. Symptoms include overactive and impulsive behaviour and difficulty paying attention. The increase in Ritalin prescriptions appears to mirror the US where there was an 83% increase in sales of the drug between 2006 and 2010.
How many children are being prescribed the drug is difficult to quantify from official data. Munt said: "Unless the Department of Health collects vital statistical data about prescribing habits, no one will know what is happening.
"We hear teachers tell of their students' lack of ability to concentrate, from police about increasingly disruptive and antisocial behaviour, and from parents unable to control the actions of young family members. We need to show young people how to deal with the normal stresses and strains of growing up. Resorting to powerful drugs only stores up trouble for the future."
The Association of Educational Psychologists said it believed guidelines were not being followed. The guidelines recommend that ADHD medication should not be prescribed to pre-school children for the long term.nor in isolation from other therapeutic interventions, without consultation But the association said it was aware of a substantial increase in the number of children aged under six, and in some cases as young as three, being prescribed ADHD drugs. It said an informal survey of educational psychology practitioners across the West Midlands had revealed there were more than 100 children under six on the medication in the area. "This is reaffirmed across the country by our members," the association said.

___________________________________________

If you have black citizens as children with a high prevalence of prescription drug use----then it is easy to see where all of this will lead to abuse of some sort for at-risk children----whether in their own abuse and addiction or in wanting to earn money in a black market situation.  We all know this has been an epidemic for a decade and we know we need to stop this heavy reliance on PHARMA especially with our children.

Baltimore has what is called ADHD for many socio-economic reasons.  Lead and asbestos exposure-----problems from pre-natal exposures----or simply eating lots of that fast food and food in plastic and metal can containers all known today to have adverse affects on our health including mental/behavioral health.  Of course underserved communities have this higher exposure ergo the higher incidence of behavior swings.

First, for all of the cost of Ritalin prescription over a decade we could have addressed all of the environmental cleanup needed in Baltimore as a public health crisis ensued.  So, the first step to prevention and treatment is doing just that.  If you are rebuilding all communities that would be the focus in development.

Second, just as all our Federal agencies having been taken by corporate leadership----so too is our agencies tasked with creating public health policy around these kinds of treatment.  The definition of DEPRESSION was lowered in the Affordable Care Act setting the stage for the same kinds of over-use that occurred with our other PHARMA----who has patented lots of new DEPRESSION PHARMA?  Bill Gates and his new global PHARMA corporation.  We simply need to recognize that government controlled by corporations are going to place corporate profit over public interest in all public health policy. 

I WILL LOOK CAREFULLY AT HOW DECISIONS ARE MADE IN PRESCRIBING PHARMA TO CHILDREN ESPECIALLY AND CREATE THAT STRUCTURE IN SCHOOLS FOR HANDLING BEHAVIOR WITH LITTLE PHARMA WHEN APPROPRIATE.




HOW RITALIN ABUSE STARTS



It seems so simple at first. A student gets a little behind in his studies. An exam comes up and he needs to prepare. He’ll have to stay up late to have even a chance of making the grade. Coffee gives him the jitters, but many of his friends use these pills to give the extra energy they need. Why not? A couple of bucks; one pill; an entire night of study; a feeling of “focus.”

That may be where it starts, but it is very often not where it ends.
Some students are chopping up Ritalin and snorting it like cocaine for faster absorption. “It keeps you awake for hours,” said one.
And just like cocaine or any other stimulant, that nice “up feeling” is inevitably followed by a “crash,” a feeling of fatigue, depression and decreased alertness. One student on Adderall, another stimulant widely abused on college campuses, recounted that a feeling of “utmost clarity” turned into a state of being “crashed out and overdone” the next day. As one user put it, “I usually go into a crash coma afterwards.”
And, of course, the user soon comes to know that this “crashed out” feeling can be relieved with the “help” of another pill that gets him back up again. And so it goes.
Next may be larger doses, or snorting it for a bigger rush. Tolerance increases, so one has to use more. In these larger doses, Ritalin can lead to convulsions, headaches and hallucinations. The powerful amphetamine-like substance can even lead to death, as in the many tragic cases of children who have died of heart attacks caused by damage linked to the drug.


“I first tried Ritalin when I was in seventh grade. It was prescribed to me—they thought I had slight ADD [attention deficit disorder], because I pretended to so I could have an excuse for not doing well in school (I was just lazy). I never realized that I was getting myself addicted, and then I was no different than any other habitual drug user.
“I took about 40 mg a day and I felt it put me at the top of my game. I would stay up for days in a row, to the point I suffered a severe psychotic episode. It was terrifying! Everything seemed to be melting and morphing and I was terrified.” —Andrea


_______________________________________________

Because Baltimore City Hall allowed Johns Hopkins to grow a global corporation by re-appropriating all Federal, state, and local funds that would have rebuilt and maintained our communities and infrastructure-----we have another public health crisis-----lead poisoning.  Baltimore's pols in Maryland Assembly and Baltimore City Hall are passing laws as fast as they can to make it harder for citizens damaged to seek help and to protect landlords who are well-known to ignore lead inspection laws on the books for decades.

As such we indeed have a generation of citizens with learning disabilities created by environmental exposures.  Baltimore City Hall under a Wall Street Baltimore Development is addressing these problems by installing TIERED EDUCATION SYSTEMS----claiming the damage is done and we do not want to expend revenue on people with little possibility of increased learning skills.  This is what these several years of education reform in Baltimore have been about----slowly pushing and warehousing children with special needs and learning challenges. That is very right-wing to do----cost over public interest.

What makes this even worse is this global corporate education reform that pushes for more and more improvement in students and makes hyper-competition and winners and losers of our children in public schools.  None of this is wanted by most parents, teachers, and students--but it is doubly bad for these large numbers of Baltimore citizens coming through our education system victim from a government failure to protect public health.


WE ACKNOWLEDGE THIS SITUATION AND ACCEPT STUDENTS WHERE THEY ARE AND BUILD THE STRUCTURES THAT WILL ALLOW THEM TO INTEGRATE AND EXCEL TO THE BEST OF THEIR ABILITY.


Baltimore City Hall is building the most hyper-competitive winner and loser education system while knowing large sectors of citizens will be left behind----AND THEY DO NOT CARE.



The link between lead poisoning and underperforming students With mounting evidence that lead poisoning results in lower test scores, more children repeating grades, and worse, why has so little been done in Chicago to reverse the damage?

By Megan Cottrell 1 in 12: The odds that a Chicago child will have enough lead in his or her blood to be considered lead-poisoned


Worried about lead poisoning?


Here's what to know if you think your home is at risk.Patricia Robinson recalls a time when she fondly watched her son, Michael, then a toddler, sit in the windowsill of her Englewood home, completely engrossed. Matchbox car in hand, he would run the toy back and forth over the brown painted surface, making little vrooms and beep-beeps as he played.
Ten years later, Robinson's warmth for that moment has long faded. That was where it started—where she believes Michael ingested the lead-filled dust that poisoned him, leaving him with lifelong learning disabilities. "There isn't a day I don't think about it," Robinson says. "It's taken over my life."
Doctors, organic food, costly tutors, special ed teachers—Robinson has tried whatever she can to help her son get ahead, despite the difficulties he's faced because of lead poisoning. But Michael's struggles to learn, to pay attention in school, and to get along with other children continue.




While there's no doubt that the number of children affected by lead poisoning has dropped precipitously since the 70s (when lead was taken out of paint and gasoline), Chicago has the distinction of being home to more cases of lead toxicity than any large city in the U.S.
A recent study out of the University of Illinois at Chicago examined the blood lead levels of third graders between 2003 and 2006—students now likely to be roaming the halls at CPS high schools. It turns out that at three-quarters of Chicago's 464 elementary schools, the students' average blood lead level was high enough to be considered poisoned, according to standards set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And although lead poisoning is rarely mentioned in the debate on how to improve schools, the UIC research shows just how much it may be damaging kids' ability to succeed. According to the study, lead-poisoned students in Chicago Public Schools are more likely to fail the third grade and score notably lower on their yearly standardized tests.
Lead paint, which was banned in 1978, is still present in thousands of older homes and apartment buildings across Chicago, particularly on the south and west sides, where the housing stock is older. And though lead hazards are clearly identifiable and inexpensive to eradicate, the city's budget for lead-poisoning prevention has plummeted in recent years.
"Lead poisoning is one of the few causes of social and learning problems that we know how to solve," said Anita Weinberg, director of Lead Safe Housing Initiatives at Civitas ChildLaw Center at Loyola University. "We can resolve this problem within a generation, but it's not a priority for the city."
As money has dried up, the burden to get the word out has fallen on parents like Robinson. She tells parents about the dangers of lead poisoning every day as she helps Englewood residents obtain health care access and child care through her work at Children's Home and Aid.
"I try to warn them," says Robinson, who figured out what happened to her son through bloodwork and environmental tests of their home. "I want to let them know so they won't have to go through what I have gone through."
How do kids become lead poisoned? It's not usually from eating paint chips. Instead, lead is typically ingested as dust—dust that's created when old windows and doors are opened and closed, scattering a fine layer of the invisible stuff on a home's floors and walls. As is presumed to be the case with Michael, children get this dust on their hands, then put their hands in their mouths. It doesn't take much: a sugar packet's worth of lead dust scattered over an area the size of a football field is enough to poison a child.
Once lead is in the body, it crosses the blood-brain barrier and can settle in the bones. It disrupts normal brain function, making a child more likely to suffer from learning disabilities, antisocial tendencies, and even violent behavior.
It's a problem Anne Evens first became aware of when she was working on improving housing on Chicago's west side in the 80s.
"I was sort of struck by the fact that so many low-income families and building owners were stuck with this situation of having so much lead in the environment—this huge burden that caused children to get sick and building owners to be stuck with the cost of removing the lead," Evens says.
The problem bothered her so much that she joined the Chicago Department of Public Health and started working as an epidemiologist in the department's lead-poisoning-prevention program. A few years later, she became the program's director. In her ten years with the department, she revolutionized the city's efforts to combat lead, turning the program from a slow-going effort that only helped children after they had already been poisoned to a proactive movement that aimed to prevent poisoning in the first place. Evens helped file a class action lawsuit in 2002 against the paint industry—an effort that later failed—to get more money to remove lead from Chicago's homes.
Evens felt that to attract the money and attention necessary to rid Chicago of lead hazards, someone needed to quantify how much damage was being done. So she left the health department and got her PhD in environmental health. Her dissertation project? The largest study ever done on how lead poisoning affects schoolchildren.
___________________________________________
If you know Baltimore has a right-leaning approach to education policy with no history of equal protection as regards poverty or disability----you know the current stance on MAINSTREAMING SPECIAL NEEDS AND BEHAVIORALLY CHALLENGED STUDENTS will not be done in public interest.

The current system is staged to move families with students so challenged into underserved public schools already dealing with all that comes from impoverished households with no revenue and resources to add to yet more teacher challenges in classrooms.  The teachers in public schools where all of this centralization of behaviorally challenged and special needs children are being pooled are overwhelmed ------are stressed by the inability for them to help all students in their classrooms------and on top of that---they are subjected to these useless student/teacher evaluation and testing results.

THIS ENTIRE BALTIMORE PUBLIC EDUCATION REFORM IS THE WORST IN THE NATION WITH NO OBJECTIVE OTHER THAN TO TIER SCHOOLS ACCORDING TO ABILITY AND THEN TIE THEM TO VOCATIONAL TRAINING.


New families to Baltimore are rightly concerned with such a high population of citizens with learning and behavior challenges in each school.  They worry the teachers' ability to provide quality education will be affected----they worry students are more prone to violence and disturbance and they are right.  There is a difference between allowing all students attend a public school in their community with no resources or funding to address these issues----and allowing them to attend their community schools WITH THE RESOURCES AND FUNDING to do so.  The idea of separate or equal inside one school is measured not by outcomes but by resources available to provide all students with choices and opportunity.  Disruptive students do not have to be mainstreamed----moving challenged children towards mainstreaming has always been the goal.


Having professional in our public schools knowing how to deal with students with behavioral challenges along with security staff trained to prevent, having facilities in schools where students can have time outs and counseling, spot activity before it occurs, and then address behavioral lapses----are far better than creating tiered schools and opportunity.


Examining the Pros and Cons of Mainstreaming

written by: Kathy Foust • edited by: Elizabeth Wistrom • updated: 10/15/2012
When we make a decision, what we are actually doing is comparing the pros and cons in order to achieve the best outcome. Mainstreaming, placing special education students into a regular education setting, is no different. Let's take a look at some advantages and disadvantages to mainstreaming.
  • Many students with special needs are placed into a self-contained classroom or multi-classroom program in which they learn alongside peers who have disabilities as well. This is sometimes referred to by the number of student to teaching staff ratio, such as a 12:1:1 classroom environment; 12 students, 1 teaching assistant, 1 teacher. Placing students with special needs into the regular education classroom is known as mainstreaming.
    Placing students into either of these classroom environments may or may not be the right decision for that particular student. Each student's abilities and deficits must be examined against the pros and cons of mainstreaming to come up with an optimal choice on a case by case basis.
    Although the law is currently pushing for more students to be mainstreamed, it does sometimes come with resistance. There are regular education teachers that do not want students with special needs placed into their classrooms. Conversely, there are special education teachers who feel the best environment for a student is one in which all teaching staff have specialized training specific to a student's special needs.
    We all know that mainstreaming has to happen and is an increasingly common practice, especially as school budgets shrink, but when resistance is met, it can make the students' classroom environment that much harder to deal with.
  • Pros of MainstreamingSocial Advantages:
    Students get to receive their education with their non-disabled peers who are the same age as them. By doing so, students get to interact with their peers in ways that the special education classroom wouldn’t do. Many students with special needs often have an identified need to improve their social skills. Placing them into classes with a diverse group of students can certainly help increase those skills.
    It also helps self-esteem as well, because the students know that they are in "regular" education classes with their peers. No matter how hard we work to break down walls and build acceptance, the social stigma of being different still exists. By blending students of differing abilities into one classroom, not only does it help the students with special needs, but it also helps the regular education students as well, by teaching them how to work with others who are different from them. It teaches all students compassion, acceptance, collaboration and patience, life-long skills that will better prepare them for the future.
    Academic Advantages:
    Another advantage of mainstreaming is that the students are receiving the same curricula material as their non-disabled peers. Although they may receive accommodations and modifications to the curriculum, they are still learning what everyone else is learning. It gives these students a chance to learn something that they may not have had a chance to learn in a special education classroom.
    Tolerance:
    If classrooms aren't mainstreamed, then a great majority of the student population will not be exposed to students with special needs. This means that they will never get to learn or promote the kind of tolerance that will carry with them through adulthood.
    Mainstreaming special needs students with the rest of the population exposes all students to all types of people, whether they have disorders or not. As the other students learn tolerance, the students with special needs will learn what behaviors are acceptable and which ones aren't.
  • Cons of MainstreamingSocial Disadvantages:
    Some students with special needs have behavioral issues that will need to be addressed in the classroom. These issues are not only disruptive to the rest of the class, but can also be embarrassing to the student, causing more damage to their self-esteem and social world than would happen if the student was not mainstreamed.
    Academic Disadvantages:
    While the students with special needs are able to use the same curricula as students without special needs, they may not be able to keep up with the work. This can result in them feeling like the odd man out. The extra effort that teachers have to put into ensuring everyone understands the work may also take away from the rest of the classroom. This can impact the pace of the classroom as a whole. While some mainstreamed students with special needs will have pull-outs into a resource room or some other means of individualized tutoring, any slowdown in the classroom pace that can impact reaching specific goals is a concern.
    Tolerance:
    Tolerance is a wonderful thing to learn, but it can also backfire. Students who do not have special needs may be under the impression that the student with special needs "gets away" with more than the rest of the class because of his or her disability. This can lead to resentment and it can also lead to the other students acting out.
  • Weighing the Pros and ConsYou've looked at the pros and cons. Mainstreaming offers enough of both for those involved to be able to form a clear and informed opinion on what is the right path for a particular student.
    As stated before, more and more students with special needs are being placed into regular education classes because of a general belief that it is the best placement for them, based on their needs.As with anything, this placement omes with a lot of work for the students, parents, and teachers involved in the process.
    The IEP team needs to make the decision based on what is best for the student. The decision needs to be carefully thought out, and if the student is mainstreamed, they need to be carefully monitored and also need to make sure that they have all they need to be successful in the regular education setting. The pros and cons need to continue to be weighed so that the plan works to the benefit of the student and does not cause a decrease in achieving the academic goals of either the individual or of the other students in the class.


0 Comments

March 21st, 2016

3/21/2016

0 Comments

 
I have election events all day today so just a quick post.

GLOBAL GREEN PARTY IS TIED TO GLOBAL CLINTON NEO-LIBERAL 'SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC' PARTY ALL OVER ASIA----if you understand that global corporate campus will be where workers live, eat, are schooled, and work 15 hours a day----you understand the concept of CORPORATE SOCIALISM or as the rebrand for Clinton neo-liberalism being made today-----DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM.  All this is far-right global policy.  The GREEN PARTY sees itself as the 'socialist' half of this  global corporate socialism model.  It works in the US to move social Democrats---80% of the Democratic Party over to GREEN PARTY so our Democratic Party WILL REALLY BE ONLY ABOUT WALL STREET GLOBAL CORPORATE NEO-LIBERALS!



MYANMAR STUDY TOUR


A Myanmar study tour was jointly organized by the Green Institute of Hong Kong, the Green Party of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong New Territories West & Industries & Commerce Associations


Remember when Obama and Clinton neo-liberals ran in 2008 on the issue of bringing GREEN ECONOMIES to US cities in underserved communities?  Van Jones with Clinton's political action group MOVE ON pushed this in urban neighborhoods.  Flash forward several years and Clinton neo-liberals sent hundreds of billions of dollars in stimulus funding to this issue----and every US city across the US will say none of this happened.  Again, Wall Street global pols pose progressive by sending a few million in funding to the poor communities pretending to do something and then they spend hundreds of billions overseas handing that money to US global corporations to expand their corporate power.  In this case all that GREEN business funding went to global corporations geared to clean up decades of International Economic Zone environmental devastation.  So, GLOBAL GREEN PARTY is attached to those global green corporations which is just another Wall Street pipeline for taxpayer money.  It's fine they are cleaning up-----but no new businesses that are not branched from the global corporations earning trillions of dollars making that mess.

THIS IS HOW YOU KNOW A GREEN PARTY IS WALL STREET GLOBAL HARVARD AND JOHNS HOPKINS-----and not environmental activists locally trying for decades to stop this devastation.


They throw a few bones at local businesses but these several years went to building huge global green corporations ready to eat all that economic control on what was always a local green activism. 

SustainableBusiness.com

provides global news and networking services to help green business grow, covering all sectors: renewable energy, green building, sustainable investing, and organics.



The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)

is a CEO-led organization of forward-thinking companies that galvanizes the global business community to create a sustainable future for business, society and the environment. Through its members, the Council applies its respected thought leadership and effective advocacy to generate constructive solutions and take shared action to drive business action on sustainability in the coming decade and beyond. The WBCSD aims to be the leading voice of business that will support companies in scaling up true value-added business solutions and in creating the conditions where more sustainable companies will succeed and be recognized.
 


THIS IS WHAT THE GREEN PARTY/CLINTON/OBAMA NEO-LIBERAL GLOBAL CORPORATE RULE PARTNERSHIP IS ABOUT AND STOPPING THE SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT THAT WOULD BE THE REAL GREEN MOVEMENT IS A COMMON GOAL.

_____________________________________________

National leadership whether justice or environment have known for decades of this Clinton/Bush/Obama US cities as International Economic Zone and global corporate campuses and global FOXCONN factories.  I am not a rocket scientist----I am simply informed and so are they.  As black leaders embraced Obama's fake GREEN and EDUCATION for underserved communities they knew most of those communities were slated to disappear next decade with Trans Pacific Trade Pact and International Economic Zone policies being installed so there is no intent by global pols to rebuild US city communities except with these global corporations and the world's immigrants and rich.

Now we are seeing the national leaders working hardest through Clinton/Bush/Obama breaking down all FDR New Deal, War on Poverty, public justice system and privatizing all that is public-----FEELING THE BERN.....THEY ARE FEELING LIKE SOCIAL DEMOCRATS.

Now, anyone can change directions but this is what we know-----THEY NEED TO BE IN A MOVEMENT FOR A LONG TIME BEFORE THEY START PUTTING THEMSELVES IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS AND TELLING PEOPLE FOR WHOM TO VOTE IN ORDER TO FEEL THE BERN.


Ben Jealous is the national NAACP leader who used local NAACP chapters to move these few decades of massive frauds against our Federal, state, and local agencies as part of this system of non-profits I speak about often.  It is this NGO system that allowed tens of trillions of dollars in corporate fraud----and NAACP was central in our US cities in moving Clinton/Obama Wall Street global corporate neo-liberal policies.  Ben Jealous was silent as NAACP while the entire New Deal, War on Poverty, US Constitutional rights of Equal Protection were dismantled and ignored----because he is a raging global corporate rule person.  After leaving NAACP at the beginning of Obama's term----he went to a million dollar job with GOOGLE in California where he is now----FEELING LIKE A SOCIAL DEMOCRAT AND FEELING THE BERN.  The code word for making the NAACP more relevant was MOVING FROM CIVIL RIGHTS TO THE RIGHT FOR A FEW PEOPLE OF COLOR TO GET VERY RICH.

OH, REALLY????????????


Van Jones: Bernie Was For Civil Rights When Hillary Was For Goldwater


2:06 PM, Feb 23, 2016 | By SHOSHANA WEISSMANN

On Tuesday, Van Jones and Bakari Sellers discussed the democratic presidential race on CNN.
Jones emphasized that Bernie Sanders sounds like a one-issue candidate, but he doesn't have to. He added, "It is ironic [Hillary Clinton has] taken so many of his issues and now says he has one issue."
Jones later added, "Sanders does have a great civil rights story to tell. In the sixties he was for civil rights. Unfortunately, Hillary Clinton was for Barry Goldwater. He can talk about other issues, and I think he should, especially when he's talking to an African-American audience. Tell your story about civil rights."


First on CNN: Former NAACP head to endorse Bernie Sanders

By Nia-Malika Henderson, Senior Political Repo

(CNN)Ben Jealous, the former head of the NAACP, will endorse Bernie Sanders, a source familiar with the campaign told CNN.
The endorsement is a potential boost to Sanders who has struggled to gain traction among African-American voters, though he has made small gains on Democratic presidential rival Hillary Clinton, according to recent polls.
Political Prediction MarketBernie Sanders
to win New Hampshire Primary

100%
live odds
Will the odds go up or down?

Jealous, 43, is set to appear with Sanders in New Hampshire ahead of the February 9 primary to announce his support.
Elected to the NAACP post in 2008, Jealous was the youngest person to head the civil rights organization. Credited with re-invigorating the organization and making it more politically relevant, Jealous served for four years.


__________________________________________
The Empowerment Temple has been for a long time directly connected to Wall Street Baltimore Development and the Master Plan and stands with these Johns Hopkins mayoral pols for decades knowing it is these policies killing our communities, our economy, our rights as citizens, our voice in public policy, and for black citizens the police brutality.  Bryant controls the communities as the injustice gets too much to bear.  He is a player for global Wall Street as long as I have been in Baltimore and it was the group BUC----which I outed for a Mayor of Baltimore forum filled with only Wall Street Baltimore Development and establishment rich candidates and NOT CINDY WALSH FOR MAYOR OF BALTIMORE WHO WOULD ACTUALLY DO ALL OF WHAT BALTIMORE CITIZENS WANT DONE FOR THEIR COMMUNITIES.

I could tell at the beginning of this Bernie rally these black leaders held control of the Bernie Sanders rally by where the rally was held----Baltimore Development Corporation told these black leaders to keep protests out of downtown and created this route for what has been every protest and rally since the riots.  It is fine to have people in housing scheduled to be closed with the Freddie Gray corporate footprint called Hogan's C.O.R.E see people supporting them----but we need candidates elected who are telling them the truth and not simply planning to be Obama Wall Street global corporate neo-liberals.  So, the Baltimore leader of Bernie didn't know the Statewide Bernie organizer who organized for over a year all the Bernie community events-----I'm betting he may not have even known there were events----didn't know or would not recognize Cindy Walsh shouting for years about social democracy and Bernie for President.  Instead they had the Green Party and Obama neo-liberal candidates at the front of this rally who never mentioned Bernie's name until these few weeks and throw in Joshua Harris as Green Party Bernie just as a spoiler to a campaign by a strong social Democrat----CINDY WALSH

IT IS PLANNED----AND IT IS VERY, VERY, VERY BAD TO KEEP GLOBAL WALL STREET POLS IN OFFICE OVER A SOCIAL DEMOCRAT WANTING TO REBUILD ALL COMMUNITIES WITH LOCAL ECONOMIES.



Pastor and Founder of the Empowerment Temple Dr. Jamal Bryant Endorses Sanders



MARCH 11TH, 2016

LISLE, Ill. — U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders picked up the endorsement of pastor and founder of Empowerment Temple African American Episcopal Church, Dr. Jamal Bryant.

“I endorse Sen. Bernie Sanders because he speaks to aiding the poor when Hillary Clinton speaks to the shrinking middle class,” Bryant said.



__________________________________________
When we arrived at the rally's destination it was clear the people tied to the Clinton/Obama Wall Street neo-liberal camp and the GREEN PARTY camp were in and gone quickly amongst real Bernie Sanders followers.  Josh Harris was hanging around----I found soon to be the only Mayor of Baltimore candidate to speak as feeling the BERN. 

The other group present were the organization below----I went early on to a meeting with Munk's group to see what they were about and there were the Clinton/Obama MOVE ON  neo-liberals and GREENS as the core.  They haven't grown much but somehow they were the voice at a BERNIE rally.  I followed as Munk praised Martin O'Malley over and over again----praised Obama over and over again-----stated Hillary was a fine stateswoman ----100% Wall Street neo-liberal the group pushing all the Obama talking points until a few months ago-----it was now BERNIE.  I met personally with MUNK---he hated my platform and voice saying I needed to go-----and he said one thing that made me very concerned ----I THINK PUBLIC LIBRARIES SHOULD BE CLOSED----PEOPLE CAN USE SCHOOL LIBRARIES.  So, this guy is really right-leaning and he was the voice at the end of the Bernie Sanders rally in Baltimore shouting there were two Bernie candidates for Mayor of Baltimore embracing JOSHUA HARRIS.


THESE GROUPS ARE SIMPLY A CONTINUATION OF THE O'MALLEY HOLD ON DEMOCRATIC POLITICS IN THE AREA.

PLEASE KNOW YOUR CANDIDATES AND REALIZE THESE NATIONAL GLOBAL WALL STREET LEADERS ARE DETERMINED TO STOP THIS SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT LOCALLY, STATEWIDE, AND IN NATIONAL ELECTIONS.


Southern Maryland Organizing Project-------Matthew Munk

Baltimore Organizing Project
Community Organization


0 Comments

March 20th, 2016

3/20/2016

0 Comments

 
BE ENGAGED IN THIS 2016 BECAUSE THE STAKES ARE HIGH FOR REAL SOCIAL DEMOCRATS. TWO DAYS OUTING BERNIE BUSTERS.

I will be posting on education again this week.

Baltimore is a product of a Johns Hopkins that has for decades specialized on infiltrating overseas national elections to install candidates that work for Wall Street interests so you know they have Baltimore and its politics as crony as can be.  Everyone knows it and I post about that all the time.  All kinds of corporate non-profits created by Hopkins to pose progressive---people filtering through justice actions to observe and or divert the goals of that social justice mission if it works against the Master Plan of Baltimore Development.  This has been in place maybe for all of Baltimore's history but it has intensified especially as Clinton/Bush/Obama moved forward the global corporate campus and International Economic Zone policies in US cities.  This is why it has been so hard for the 80% of social Democratic base to get rid of less than 20% of Wall Street global corporate Clinton/Obama neo-liberals these few decades. It is why only 20% of Baltimore registered Democratic voters come to the polls---

THERE ARE NO POLITICAL PARTIES----JUST PEOPLE RUNNING TO WORK FOR WALL STREET BALTIMORE DEVELOPMENT.


This condition will be spreading to your neck of the woods if it has not already occurred as that is what life in a International Economic Zone will be----pretend Democratic elections.


IT IS CRITICAL FOR ALL SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC BERNIE SANDERS VOTERS TO KNOW THE GREEN PARTY AND CLINTON/OBAMA NEO-LIBERALS ARE INFILTRATING TO UNDERMINE HIS ELECTION.

The Maryland political scene has been busy for two years with Green Party Shadow Government---which I like on many issues---being the ones sending all the bad press about Bernie including Baltimore.  Below you see how contested this issue is-----the Green Party wants to be the 'social issue' party because it is a

GLOBAL GREEN PARTY CONNECTED TO ONE WORLD NEW WORLD ORDER.

The Green Party in the US looks just like the Democratic Party----it went from a strictly environmental group with strong eco--activism to replacing the social Democratic wing once Clinton neo-liberals captured the Democratic Party. So as Clinton was silencing the democratic base with nothing but far-right neo-liberal economic policies------the Green Party at the same time adopted some of our social Democratic platform issues.  It is right-of-center on many of those social issues----while being strong on civil liberties   It's job was to move the democratic base to Green Party and leave the Democratic Party strictly for the global Wall Street pols.



To the Green Party supporters upset with Bernie Sanders decision to run for the democrats nominations. self.SandersForPresident
submitted 9 months ago * by [deleted]
The hardcore green party advocates on this subreddit are just reactionary sheepdogs for Jill Stein. A bit of the kettle calling the teapot black. Jill Stein lost my vote with her recent personal attack on Bernie. I will vote Green Party in local and state elections, but I never again will vote for Jill Stein.
What those who are on the Left think is going to happen is that for some reason Bernie Sanders woke up, and thought
"Hey, The Democrats are the petite bourgeois party, and well I think I can capture some of this Progressive frustration, and bring it into the Democratic party for Hillary Clinton, because I have no real chance of winning, but Hillary does."
Yeah, that's what alternative lefts argument is, and that is what the alternative left voices are saying. Bernie Sanders after 40 years in politics has suddenly abandoned Democratic Socialism as Philosophy and his Independent position in senate, and thrown in the towel for the Capitalists.
That's their narrative, and they are pissed off that Bernie ran for Democratic nomination. What is so condescending for people like me and millions of other supporters of liberal, socialist and progressive causes is, that think we are too stupid to choose ideas over a party.
They think many of us will stay in the Democratic party after the election, and won't go back to supporting what ever local 3rd party we can. They don't see Bernie's logic in not being a spoiler in a system he knows is rigged. To them it's not so much about the ideas of Bernie Sanders, oh they all agree he has the right ideas.
It's his execution that they are pissed off with, and the fact that for a brief moment in time, people will have to change their party affiliation. They are afraid we will all be brainwashed and not change it back to pre-election.
While I can understand their concerns, having Jill Stein open her mouth and say "A vote for Bernie is a Vote for Hillary" isn't only fucking stupid, it's reactionary.
Green Party, you want on the Ballot? Start getting involved in Election Reforms. Now is the time to start a grass-movement for it. Bernie Sanders tried the small party tactic way back in the 70's. He got 4% of the vote. Oh and get rid of Jill Stein, I don't wanna vote for someone who is so fractured and desperate to be my president. Going on Fox News of all websites to discredit Bernie is reactionary.
Those on the left, this election is important for the fact that Bernie IS a democratic socialist, and if he wins the election, which I think he will, because he is very lucky to be running during the right economic conditions, and era. Socialism will be a valid political option in the United States. It is all over the world, except here. Bernie will be able to take it into the mainstream.
I have seen a lot of comparisons to past era elections, however none of the past left elections had one thing, they didn't have globalization and the Internet. More millennials today see the difference between the Communism of the USSR, and the Democratic Socialism of the Nordic Model. They see it, they hear about it online, and they want it. Past goverments didn't have a single country on earth that actually had a working representation of Socialism, and now we do. They couldn't go online and research something for themselves, and now they do.
So to argue that Bernie Sanders is a democratic shill, despite 40 years of consistent values is not only illogical, it's down right stupid. And, to those saying "Why Bernie Sanders reminds me of past candidate x,y,z and he will lose like them." Well I can only say to you, I believe the times are different, I believe the demographics are different, and I believe these voters are different. They will vote Bernie Sanders, because HE IS DIFFERENT.
P.S.
and, take this from someone who suffers from Hypervigilence, I see no reason to doubt Bernie Sanders. I personally would have noticed any bullshit.

________________________________________
The GREENS connect with World Workers and International Labor groups because they too are ONE WORLD.  This is why Green look towards these global labor organizations in the US -----called socialist----to partner with GREEN PARTY.  Remember, labor organization overseas is driven by this very MARXIST movement we saw in Latin America and it was NOT LEFT-LEANING.  It is tied to the International Economic Zones and neo-liberalism.  This is where US socialism is different that that spread around the world with Clinton neo-liberalism and Bush neo-conservatism. 

You do not see our US labor unions going to GREEN PARTY---THEY ARE GOING WITH BERNIE SANDERS AND SOCIAL DEMOCRACY.



The Green Party has campaigned against Bernie for two years----they have been painting him as a corporate sellout up until a month ago when Bernie showed he can win the primary election.  Then the Green Party reassessed the campaign and started a COALITION----meaning they partnered with Clinton neo-liberals in many areas locally to make sure Bernie candidates do not win and allowed a Green Party candidate to pose as FEELING THE BERN. Why would they do this?  If voters register GREEN PARTY to vote for Bernie Sanders--they are then only allowed to vote Green for all other primaries.  Why would Clinton/Obama neo-liberals allow a candidate who started as an Obama neo-liberal candidate in Baltimore move to Green Party?  Everyone knows Hillary would win against Green Party in a national election so they don't want Bernie to knock Hillary out of the primary.

This is the coalition against Bernie Sanders in US cities designated International Economic Zones all over the nation.
 
**************************************

'If and when Bernie drops out, the group will rally behind Stein and the Green Party as “Plan B;” Socialist Alternative backed her in 2012'.

'(Other socialist candidates already announced are Gloria La Riva of the Party of Socialism and Liberation and Monica Moorehead of the Workers World Party'.

'Lacking complete unity on the farthest left flank, Stein sees a huge bounty just around the corner in the form of soon-to-be disgruntled Sanders voters'.

Conflict erupts in Green Party after censorship of Sanders supporters



July 13, 2015
HomeBernie Sanders, Jill Stein, Maine, Maine Green Independent Party, Portland
By Chris Shorr


Over the past several days, censorship of Maine Green Independent Party members who support US Senator Bernie Sanders in his run for the White House has caused bitter dissension in party ranks.
Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks to a crowd of about 9,000 at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland on Monday. Photo- Troy R. Bennett, BDN.
As a member of the MGIP, and recipient of the party’s “Green of the Year” award in 2013, I am one of many party members who hope to see Sanders win the Democratic Party’s nomination to the presidential ballot over Hillary Clinton, which would all but guarantee a win for him in the presidential election- in my opinion.
I’m also one of the many party members who have openly expressed my frustration with MGIP leadership for the censorship.
I was contacted this past weekend by Daniel Stromgren, who is the state party treasurer, member of the party Steering Committee, and 2014 recipient of the “Green of the Year” award.
In response to the ordeal, Stromgren collaborated with other party members (not including myself) to write a press release explaining how the conflict went down and the ensuing fallout- which includes the likely scenario of a brand new political party being started in Maine that would be modeled after the Progressive Party of Vermont.


Here’s what they had to say:
The Great Divide: Recent Conflict in Maine
Green Party Highlights Serious Cracks
in Maine’s Most Viable Progressive Movement.
The Maine Green Independent Party faced one of its greatest challenges in years as a discussion about supporting Progressive Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders, the Independent Senator from Vermont, or Presumptive Green Party Presidential Candidate Jill Stein erupted in vitriol from party activists and threats to leave the party from mainstream and locally elected Greens.
Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein. Photo- Jonathan Ernst, Reuters.
The ruckus ended in party moderators removing posts from discussion forums as many Greens made accusations of censorship, stifling of free political speech and openly made threats to leave the 30 year old party.
The flare-up began with the creation of a Greens for Sanders Facebook page by State Party Treasurer and the MGIP’s ‘Green of the Year” for 2014 Daniel Stromgren, and escalated when Stromgren posted links to the group in both MGIP and USGP discussion forums.
“I was supporting Sanders in private forums and outside my leadership role in the MGIP because I believe he is the candidate with the best chance to win the 2016 Presidential Election and will best represent the interests of progressive politics. I have nothing against Jill Stein except that she has very little chance of being elected and most voters outside the Green Party have never heard of her,” said Stromgren.
“I was also trying to provide a safe place and representation for Greens who support Bernie Sanders to avoid the ghosts of Dennis Kucinich in 2004 which saw a mass exodus of Greens so they could participate in the Democrat Party’s nominating process.”
It was not long after the group was posted in these forums that the conflict erupted into a contentious and sometimes bitter debate that saw Greens for both candidates begin to passionately and sometimes angrily attack each other while showing a large ideological split in the party and with some members of the Stein camp demanding the resignation of Stromgren as Party Treasurer.
In response, Sanders Greens threatened to leave the party or stop financial contributions.“I was told to resign my leadership position by a fellow Steering Committee Member and Former Green Party Chair yet I was elected by the membership of the MGIP. This bullying pushed me to finally push back against censorship and elitism in the MGIP,” Stromgren continued.
Daniel Stromgren campaigning for Maine House District 54 in 2014. Photo- Troy R. Bennett, BDN.
“I was rebuffed and again they insisted that I step down. Yet the majority of our 40,000 voter membership is going to vote for Sanders if he beats Hillary. I refused and others in the party started to publicly indicate that they also supported Bernie Sanders and found the actions of a select few Portland activists unacceptable. A large portion of the party feels like I do but a small portion has the centralized power. I for one am sick of it.”
One would have thought this was enough but the divide didn’t stop there.The following morning Greens logged onto their computers to find the debate thread missing. In its place was a message that the moderators had removed the messages and the posts without issuing warnings or consulting with party leadership.
This created a new round of heated debates, threats and innuendos with the discussion leading to accusations of censorship and limiting free political speech in a party that prides itself on being open to differences.
State Party Senior Advisor Benjamin Meiklejohn addressed the problems associated with any perception of censorship and disenfranchisement of Greens who want to support Sanders and understand why he is running as a Democrat:
“Statistically speaking, if you look at the numbers, between 80 and 97 percent of our own party’s members will not vote for the Green presidential candidate in the general election. When the party purists reprimand and attack other party members who are not loyal to the party’s presidential candidate, they are essentially turning off and turning away 80 to 97-percent of our own party.”
Delegates show their support for presidential candidates Dr. Jill Stein and actress Roseanne Barr at the Green Party presidential nominating convention in Baltimore, Md., July 14, 2012. Photo- Jonathan Ernst, Reuters.
In addressing campaigns like the Kucinich Campaign of 2004 he continued, “In the 1990s and early 2000s, we recognized that this was just a fact of the nature of our own base and membership. While we always encouraged people to support the Green candidate, we also refrained from attacking the vast majority of our members who choose not to.”
Discussions of censorship and references to the Bernie Sanders/Jill Stein issue for the Greens continued to rock the party to its foundations through Sunday.
Although it appeared that there was a cooling off period in the public discussion forums, several party members indicated that the attacks had simply moved to private messages and individual confrontations among members.
The question lying in the wings is how will the Party resolve this issue and can it survive in the wake of one of its most difficult conflicts in years?There is certainly anger and resentment in both the Sanders and Stein groups with some minimal apologies being offered but also with an obviously great deal of tension between the two factions of the party.
It’s up to the Greens to resolve this problem and decide who they will support in 2016 and how they will do it but the events of the last four days highlight significant challenges for the progressive movement and particularly the Maine Green Independent Party in the coming months.
There has even been talk of a schism in the Green Party with some activists discussing the formation of a Progressive Party in Maine modeled after the successful third party in Vermont. This party was interestingly started after a similar ideological division within the Green Party of Vermont.

“We have to look at what is best for this country and not worry about who takes the credit for it.” Stromgren concluded.
“We will not be censored. We can tone down the message but the message is, “we are Greens. This is our forum too.” I am a registered member and officer of this party. If our posts are censored again, I will ask the leadership to take immediate action against those who remove it.”
It will be interesting to see if Bernie Sanders can maintain and build enough momentum to defeat Hillary. It will be equally interesting to see how the Maine Green Independent Party weathers the progressive dilemma and makes its way through the world of big league politics as a small market team.

____________________________________________
Below you see a Taiwan political race and you see Green Party partnered with what in Taiwan is called social Democratic Party.  Remember, nations around the world use all kinds of names like progressive or democratic that has nothing to do with our US politics.  Clinton neo-liberalism in Asia would be called social Democratic.  Think how Bill Clinton took our US Democratic Party at the height of being SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC IN THE 1980s-1990s when Reagan Republicanism brought right-leaning Democrats to Reagan----Bill Clinton sold himself as a great, bit SOCIAL DEMOCRAT----AS DID OBAMA IN 2008.

In all nations with International Economic Zones there is this dynamic-----a party calling itself social Democratic and one calling itself GREEN PARTY and they are often partnered.

If you see the global Green Party as simply the policies tied to NEW WORLD ORDER---- creating the global social structures ----you see they complement the neo-liberals focused on the Wall Street and building of global corporate campuses.   This is why GREEN PARTY in Baltimore push the Land Trust policies that will simply become worker housing on global corporate campuses like UnderArmour......they are fine with corporatized K-university-----they never talk about international economic zone policy for Baltimore.  


Taiwan is a very corporate and right leaning society-----

Social Democratic Party, Green Party form political union to increase chanceses
CNA
August 18, 2015, 12:01 am TWN




TAIPEI -- Taiwan's Green Party and Social Democratic Party (SDP) announced Monday that they have formed a political union to increase their chances of winning legislative seats in the election next year. Representatives of the two parties signed a memorandum of understanding that day, agreeing to form the alliance and jointly field candidates for district and legislator-at-large seats in the ninth legislative elections to be held on Jan. 16, 2016.
"We hope to move into the Legislature by uniting 'third-party forces' that share similar ideals," the parties said in a joint statement.
The parties said their goal is to ensure that neither the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) nor the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) gains a majority in the Legislature, in order to "change the old politics that favor corporations and have no regard for the disadvantaged and the minorities."
Over the past 15 years, both the KMT and DPP have leaned toward large corporations, and have harmed the environment and human and labor rights, the parties said, adding that Taiwan needs opposition parties that stand with the laborers, environment, sexual minorities and other disadvantaged groups.
"We are uniting together to safeguard Taiwan, safeguard our homeland and safeguard our values (to stand with) the disadvantaged," Fan Yun (范雲), convener of the SDP and associate professor of sociology at National Taiwan University, said at a press conference.
Green Party Taiwan co-convener Lee Ken-cheng (李根政) said it took over six months of negotiations before the parties agreed to form the union.
The legislative elections will be held next year along with the presidential election.
A political party or union of parties must win at least 5 percent of the valid votes to win any of the 34 legislator-at-large seats in the 113-seat Legislature. The "constituency" legislators will account for 73 of the total, with the remaining six going to aboriginal representatives.
The Social Democratic Party was formed on March 29 of this year and has not yet gone through any elections. Its members include professors, lawyers and representatives of non-profit organizations.
It supports higher wages for workers, higher taxes on business magnates and the wealthy, equal rights for gays, and fairness and transparency in politics, and is against capital punishment.
The Green Party Taiwan, established on Jan. 25, 1996, has fought in many elections but has won only two local council seats — in Hsinchu County and Taoyuan City — during the local government elections late last year.

The Green Party Taiwan is a member of the Asia-Pacific Greens Federation and is focused on fighting against environmental, labor and other injustices.

_____________________________________

I outed Joshua Harris as being tied to Wall Street Baltimore Development early on---when I spotted him at none other than the Johns Hopkins Mayoral Forum ----you don't get invited to this one if not a team player.

The second thing I saw right away was -----he is an Obama hometown recruit!  I knew he was an Obama candidate in the race right away-----and that was his connection to the inside track of Baltimore Development election events.  Below you see where Harris started as a Obama neo-liberal before changing to the GREEN PARTY.


Joshua Harris, a recent entrant into the race for the Democratic nomination for mayor of Baltimore.

Harris, a Chicago native, came to Baltimore almost four years ago,

Statement from 2016 Mayoral Candidate Joshua Harris on Political Party Change


Posted by Andy Ellis 57sc on February 19, 2016Joshua Harris, Green Party candidate for Mayor of Baltimore has released a statement explaining why he changed his party affiliation and joined the Green Party. You can read the whole statement on Joshua's website. 

Harris joins Emanuel McCray and David Marriott as candidates in the Baltimore Green Party primary process. 
Harris will be having a community conversation Saturday 2/20/2016 at 11:00 AM.


***************************************
Joshua Harris has used the same Clinton neo-liberal talking points throughout----they are made to sound social Democratic but they are the same corporate structures-----never talks against the current conditions for schools in Baltimore and using the far-right policy of WRAP-A-ROUND as the dismantling of the public structures in our school system.  So, he came on as a raging Obama neo-liberal early on----and black voters interested in him did not understand why he changed parties.  He wants to win----so he made himself the top of a smaller group of candidates in the Green Party----I think all the others are no longer promoted----as Margaret Flowers is the Maryland spokeswoman for the Green Party in Baltimore.

So now Joshua is all about Jill Stein for President and all of the Green Party platform----having NEVER MENTIONED BERNIE SANDERS UNTIL THIS BALTIMORE RALLY FOR BERNIE THIS WEEKEND.  There Joshua Harris and his wife are----right at the front of a Bernie Sanders rally carrying the Bernie sign----FEELING THE BERN.  He was announced at the end of the rally by a group tied to Wall Street Baltimore Development and Obama neo-liberals----the BERNIE candidate for Mayor of Baltimore.  Cindy Walsh had to demand to speak at this event----as the only candidate having even mentioned Bernie Sanders in Baltimore ever.



But focuses a lot of his attention on big business and pushing developers to truly invest --------Wall Street all the way.

↑ 'Joshua Harris


City Paper doesn't endorse candidates but in the vast field of 29 candidates running for mayor, many of them seeking elected office for the first time, a few candidates caught our attention. Joshua Harris, who CP reporters first ran into at The Crown, is a smart, provocative reformer who works in the arts.................................................................. but focuses a lot of his attention on big business and pushing developers to truly invest in the community. He's a long-shot, but we're watching him. (Click here for details.) 


Doesn't sound very social Democratic to me------I never felt the Bern with Joshua!

Joshua Harris for Mayor: Time to End One-Party Rule In Baltimore

Posted by Margaret Flowers for Senate 36sc on March 10, 2016Joshua Harris is a rising star in Baltimore politics and could up-end one-party rule that has existed in Baltimore since the 1940s. Harris is seeking the nomination of the Green Party in a three way race in a primary that begins April 2nd and will be completed on May 1st.

Margaret Flowers said: "The CityPaper did Baltimore a great service by recognizing that Joshua Harris could bring the kind of fresh ideas that are needed in Baltimore. Harris works with the people of Baltimore at the community level and will bring bottom-up ideas to the city. Rather than being stuck within the confines of the thinking of the Democratic Party, which has led the city in a downward spiral for decades, Joshua is translating the views of people at the community level into new policies that will transform the city, so the government no longer serves only wealthy developers but puts the people and communities first."




The Baltimore CityPaper published its power rankings for mayoral candidates in Baltimore and put Joshua Harris on top, describing him as "a smart, provocative reformer who works in the arts but focuses a lot of his attention on big business and pushing developers to truly invest in the community." They gave him the strongest arrow up. The only other candidate of 29 running to get an arrow up was Elizabeth Embry.

In a longer article about Harris they show he understands the roots of the crises Baltimore faces. Harris says "What caused the uprising in April was a juxtaposition of massive amounts of wealth up against massive amounts of poverty." And he points to why this year's election is Baltimore is so important because it "is one that will determine how we move forward as a city...It will determine whether or not our institutions and elected leadership are serious about creating One Baltimore or will it forever be an elusive dream blocked by corporate interest only concerned with profit margins and institutional expansion."

Harris is running for the Green nomination against Emanuel McCray - who works with United Workers on housing, fair development and living wages - and David Marriott, a former police officer and entrepreneur who seeks to reform the police department.

The Green Party does not have a tax-payer funded primary. It begins the process with mail-in ballots on April 2nd and ends it on May 1st with in-person voting. The procedures for how the Green Party votes can be seen on their website.


0 Comments
<<Previous

    Author

    Cindy Walsh is a lifelong political activist and academic living in Baltimore, Maryland.

    Archives

    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012

    Categories

    All
    2014 Economic Crash
    21st Century Economy
    Affordable Care Act
    Affordable Care Act
    Alec
    Americorp/VISTA
    Anthony Brown
    Anthony Brown
    Anti Incumbant
    Anti-incumbant
    Anti Incumbent
    Anti Incumbent
    Attacking The Post Office Union
    Baltimore And Cronyism
    Baltimore Board Of Estimates
    Baltimore Board Of Estimates
    Baltimore Development Corp
    Baltimore Development Corp
    Baltimore Recall/Retroactive Term Limits
    Bank Fraud
    Bank Fraud
    Bank Of America
    Bank Settlement
    Bank-settlement
    B Corporations
    Bgeexelon Mergerf59060c411
    Brookings Institution
    Business Tax Credits
    California Charter Expansion
    Cardin
    Career Colleges
    Career Colleges Replacing Union Apprenticeships
    Charters
    Charter School
    Collection Agencies
    Common Core
    Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
    Consumer-financial-protection-bureau
    Corporate Media
    Corporate-media
    Corporate Oversight
    Corporate-oversight
    Corporate Politicians
    Corporate-politicians
    Corporate Rule
    Corporate-rule
    Corporate Taxes
    Corporate-taxes
    Corporate Tax Reform
    Corporatizing Us Universities
    Cost-benefit-analysis
    Credit Crisis
    Credit-crisis
    Cummings
    Department Of Education
    Department Of Justice
    Department-of-justice
    Derivatives Reform
    Development
    Dismantling Public Justice
    Dodd Frank
    Doddfrankbba4ff090a
    Doug Gansler
    Doug-gansler
    Ebdi
    Education Funding
    Education Reform
    Edwards
    Election Reform
    Election-reform
    Elections
    Emigration
    Energy-sector-consolidation-in-maryland
    Enterprise Zones
    Equal Access
    Estate Taxes
    European Crisis
    Expanded And Improved Medicare For All
    Expanded-and-improved-medicare-for-all
    Failure To Prosecute
    Failure-to-prosecute
    Fair
    Fair And Balanced Elections
    Fair-and-balanced-elections
    Farm Bill
    Federal Election Commissionelection Violationsmaryland
    Federal Election Commissionelection Violationsmarylandd20a348918
    Federal-emergency-management-agency-fema
    Federal Reserve
    Financial Reform Bill
    Food Safety Not In Tpp
    For Profit Education
    Forprofit-education
    Fracking
    Fraud
    Freedom Of Press And Speech
    Frosh
    Gambling In Marylandbaltimore8dbce1f7d2
    Granting Agencies
    Greening Fraud
    Gun Control Policy
    Healthcare For All
    Healthcare-for-all
    Health Enterprise Zones
    High Speed Rail
    Hoyer
    Imf
    Immigration
    Incarceration Bubble
    Incumbent
    Incumbents
    Innovation Centers
    Insurance Industry Leverage And Fraud
    International Criminal Court
    International Trade Deals
    International-trade-deals
    Jack Young
    Jack-young
    Johns Hopkins
    Johns-hopkins
    Johns Hopkins Medical Systems
    Johns-hopkins-medical-systems
    Kaliope Parthemos
    Labor And Justice Law Under Attack
    Labor And Wages
    Lehmann Brothers
    Living Wageunionspolitical Action0e39f5c885
    Maggie McIntosh
    Maggie-mcintosh
    Martin O'Malley
    Martin O'Malley
    Martin-omalley
    Martin-omalley8ecd6b6eb0
    Maryland Health Co Ops
    Maryland-health-co-ops
    Maryland-health-co-ops1f77692967
    Maryland Health Coopsccd73554da
    Maryland Judiciary
    Marylandnonprofits
    Maryland Non Profits
    Maryland Nonprofits2509c2ca2c
    Maryland Public Service Commission
    Maryland State Bar Association
    Md Credit Bondleverage Debt441d7f3605
    Media
    Media Bias
    Media-bias
    Medicaremedicaid
    Medicaremedicaid8416fd8754
    Mental Health Issues
    Mental-health-issues
    Mers Fraud
    Mikulski
    Military Privatization
    Minority Unemploymentunion And Labor Wagebaltimore Board Of Estimates4acb15e7fa
    Municipal Debt Fraud
    Ndaa-indefinite-detention
    Ndaaindefinite Detentiond65cc4283d
    Net Neutrality
    New Economy
    New-economy
    Ngo
    Non Profit To Profit
    Nonprofit To Profitb2d6cb4b41
    Nsa
    O'Malley
    Odette Ramos
    Omalley
    O'Malley
    Open Meetings
    Osha
    Patronage
    Pension-benefit-guaranty-corp
    Pension Funds
    Pension-funds
    Police Abuse
    Private-and-public-pension-fraud
    Private Health Systemsentitlementsprofits Over People
    Private Health Systemsentitlementsprofits Over People6541f468ae
    Private Non Profits
    Private-non-profits
    Private Nonprofits50b33fd8c2
    Privatizing Education
    Privatizing Government Assets
    Privatizing-the-veterans-admin-va
    Privitizing Public Education
    Progressive Policy
    Progressive Taxes Replace Regressive Policy
    Protections Of The People
    Protections-of-the-people
    Public Education
    Public Funding Of Private Universities
    Public Housing Privatization
    Public-libraries-privatized-or-closed
    Public Private Partnerships
    Public-private-partnerships
    Public Transportation Privatization
    Public Utilities
    Rapid Bus Network
    Rawlings Blake
    Rawlings-blake
    Rawlingsblake1640055471
    Real Progressives
    Reit-real-estate-investment-trusts
    Reitreal Estate Investment Trustsa1a18ad402
    Repatriation Taxes
    Rule Of Law
    Rule-of-law
    Ruppersberger
    SAIC AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
    Sarbanes
    S Corp Taxes
    Selling Public Datapersonal Privacy
    Smart Meters
    Snowden
    Social Security
    Sovereign Debt Fraudsubprime Mortgage Fraudmortgage Fraud Settlement
    Sovereign Debt Fraudsubprime Mortgage Fraudmortgage Fraud Settlement0d62c56e69
    Statistics As Spin
    Statistics-as-spin
    Student-corps
    Subprime Mortgage Fraud
    Subprime-mortgage-fraud
    Surveillance And Security
    Sustainability
    Teachers
    Teachers Unions2bc448afc8
    Teach For America
    Teach For America
    Technology Parks
    Third Way Democrats/new Economy/public Union Employees/public Private Patnerships/government Fraud And Corruption
    Third Way Democratsnew Economypublic Union Employeespublic Private Patnershipsgovernment Fraud And Corruption
    Third-way-democratsnew-economypublic-union-employeespublic-private-patnershipsgovernment-fraud-and-corruptionc10a007aee
    Third Way/neo Liberals
    Third-wayneo-liberals
    Third-wayneo-liberals5e1e6d4716
    Third Wayneoliberals7286dda6aa
    Tifcorporate Tax Breaks2d87bba974
    Tpp
    Transportation Inequity In Maryland
    Union Busting
    Unionbusting0858fddb8b
    Unions
    Unionsthird Waypost Officealec3c887e7815
    Universities
    Unreliable Polling
    Unreliable-polling
    Van Hollen
    Van-hollen
    VEOLA Environment -privatization Of Public Water
    Veterans
    War Against Women And Children
    War-against-women-and-children
    Youth Works

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.