Monthly Archives: February 2014

Why Only a Month?

Author Unknown [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

February is known as Black History Month. We hear politicians proclaim that we live in a “post racial society” in this country, and everything is as balanced as it can be. Caucasians take comfort in knowing anti-discrimination and equality laws have given them a blind excuse to pay no attention to the people who would say otherwise.

But they are wrong. Open discrimination, racial profiling, preferences in education and employment opportunities and staggering statistics prove we are at an all-time high in our actual racial misconceptions. Here’s a few statistics to prove the point:

In 2012, four percent of whites ages 16 to 24 were not enrolled in school and had not completed high school, compared with nine percent of blacks and 13 percent of Hispanics. Source: Child Trends Data Bank
African Americans now constitute nearly 1 million of the total 2.3 million incarcerated population. and are incarcerated at nearly six times the rate of whites. Together, African American and Hispanics comprised 58% of all prisoners in 2008, even though African Americans and Hispanics make up approximately one quarter of the US population. Source: NAACP
According to a recent study conducted by the Institute on Assets and Social Policy (IASP) at Brandeis University, “The wealth disparity between white and black households has more than quadrupled, regardless of income bracket.” Source: Madame Noire
The unemployment rate among blacks is about double that among whites, as it has been for most of the past six decades. Source: Pew Research

This is just the tip of the iceberg. What is important is that while we celebrate our progress since the Civil Rights era, we need to pause and question what this current period of our history should be called in retrospect. When future generations ask if we did all we could, how can we say yes with the current status quo being what it is?

I have always thought of Rosa Parks, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall and the Little Rock Nine as being heroes, among many, many others – worthy of respect and high esteem. We now add names like Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis and George Stinney to this list. How long will the list become?

Occupy World Writes believes all Americans need to be more colorblind. We believe the future of Black History Month might include a whole bunch of white folks drinking some humble tea and seeing people as people, not as segments of the population based on skin color. We hope it comes sooner rather than later.

How to be a Total Ash

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By wabeggs (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Photo by wabeggs (Own work) CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

On Monday afternoon, the United States’ largest electricity provider reported a spill of “50,000 to 82,000 tons” of coal ash into the Dan River near Eden, North Carolina. An estimated 22 million gallons of coal ash could have already have been in the river by the time the spill was reported.

Duke Energy said Wednesday that hundreds of people using heavy equipment were working day and night to try to solve the situation. But the company’s statement did not provide a timetable for when the leak will be fixed. Regulators are still trying to work out if the ash, which can contain toxic chemicals, including lead, arsenic, mercury and radioactive uranium, is a hazard to people or wildlife, according to an Associated Press report on Thursday.

The coal ash was being stored in a waste pond at the Eden, N.C., power plant, but it started flowing into the Dan River on Sunday when a storm-water pipe running under the pond began to leak. Duke officials had originally said on Tuesday that the leak was unexpected, because it was unlikely a reinforced concrete pipe would break. However, the pipe that broke turned out to be corrugated metal instead of the reinforced concrete they originally claimed. A Duke spokesman said on Wednesday that “knowing the material helps inform the engineers who are designing a permanent solution.” I have to wonder how much they actually know about the rest of the pipes, etc. if they weren’t aware of what the drain pipe was made of, though.

Brian Williams, a program manager with the Dan River Basin Association, told the AP he is worried that the extent of the damage might not be understood for years.

“How do you clean this up?” he told the news agency. “Dredge the whole river bottom for miles? You can’t clean this up. It’s going to go up the food chain … Everything in the ecosystem of a river is connected.”

So far, it appears that the cities who draw their drinking water from the Dan are either successfully filtering out the contaminants or just not using reservoirs fed by the river. Duke’s senior vice president for environmental health and safety says the test results are “not surprising, because this is the same message we’ve had for closing these ash basins … it’s just not water soluble,”

Incidents of energy companies polluting our waterways are becoming more and more commonplace. Sadly, the companies themselves aren’t being held responsible, as shown by Freedom Industries managing to shirk its responsibilities after last month’s West Virginia chemical spill by declaring bankruptcy for the company, thus putting any lawsuits on hold while finances, ownership, etc. are sorted out- something that could delay any settlement for decades. We need to be able to hold these industries responsible for poisoning one of our most essential natural resources; clean water.

Meanwhile, Congress continues to defund the EPA…

Unintended Consequences

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Photo by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

In the rush to drill, baby, drill and frack every drop of shale oil from wells throughout America, we have managed to overlook a severe and disastrous consequence – water. According to a recent report in the Guardian, “It can take millions of gallons of fresh water to frack a single well, and much of the drilling is tightly concentrated in areas where water is in chronically short supply, or where there have been multi-year droughts.”

Oil wells currently just happen to be near areas that are already experiencing drought. California announced emergency water levels as of last week. Texas has been in drought for years. This does not take into account the needs of communities and farming, the two largest users of fresh water.

Of the nearly 40,000 oil and gas wells drilled since 2011, three-quarters were located in areas where water is scarce, and 55% were in areas experiencing drought, the report by the Ceres investor network found.

It seems obvious to most of us that these sort of consequences should be debated and realized before consent is given for drilling. But oil and gas companies fund their own studies and then pay to rush permits and quicken the process, hoping science does not catch up before they have secured the ability to keep fracking over America.

Oil and water have never mixed.

One Bad Apple

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Photo by Joe Ravi [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

While we were being distracted over the last couple months by stories of bridge closings, sporting events and the like, a few outlets actually found the time to do some real reporting on real news. One of the stories you probably missed is that of Michael Bromwich. You’re probably thinking “Michael who?” Michael is the Washington lawyer appointed by a Federal judge to monitor Apple to make sure they comply with antitrust regulations.

Last summer, Apple was caught conspiring with five publishers to fix prices for e-books. This in turn led to Judge Denise Cote assigning Bromwich to monitor Apple for compliance with antitrust laws. As part of his investigation, Bromwich has done what you’d expect him to do if he was doing his job by requesting interviews with Apple management (including Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO).

This has Apple up in arms. They’re arguing that by requesting these interviews, Bromwich is “interfering with their daily operations”, and is acting like an “unchecked independent prosecutor.” They also claim that he is “using the inquiry as a way to make money for himself and his consulting firm.” This charge’s logic escapes me to be honest; I thought that’s why lawyers were in the business- to make money.

And, Apple’s enlisted some strong allies in their fight against this “unwarranted interference.” The Wall Street Journal published an article screaming about government overreach and how Bromwich would be wanting to “disinter Steve Jobs” if he wasn’t stopped. But, why the panic? Why are Apple and their investors so determined to stop the investigation?

Maybe it’s because price fixing is just the tip of the iceberg. For example, Apple has a system in place where any apps for their mobile devices not purchased through the App Store can lead to Apple shutting off your device. They use special screws so that only Apple or your local Apple Care rep can open your device, thus eliminating competition when it comes to simple repairs like replacing a battery. Their practice of patenting everything under the sun to stifle competition in the smartphone market is well documented. They’ve also locked schools into using certain texts due to their dominance of the tablet market. We could also talk about Apple’s deplorable record as far as labor rights and safety in the Foxconn plants used to manufacture their devices go, but that’s a different subject (and future post).

At a hearing three weeks ago, Judge Cote told Apple to stop wasting time with its complaints and cooperate with Bromwich. She further said that if Apple had any problems with Mr. Bromwich, it was up to Apple to settle them with the Justice Department, and not for the court to do so. Will she hold firm? Let’s hope she does. Between banking most of its profits overseas to avoid paying taxes, its callous disregard of antitrust laws and its exploitation of its work force, Apple is the prime example of a good company gone bad.

It only takes one bad Apple to spoil the lot…

Wildcats Strike, not Wildcat Strike?

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By Gretschman for Occupy World Writes

By Michael Barera (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

By Michael Barera (Own work) CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The football players at Northwestern University in Evanston Illinois are attempting to form a union. The College Athletes Players Association (CAPA) has petitioned the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to recognize them as a union which would enable them to negotiate with the University on the players behalf.

In a Huffington Post sports article, Leo Gerard, the President of the Steelworkers Union, which is covering CAPA’s legal expenses – but will not represent the players nor collect dues from them – asserts that the student athlete’s ARE in fact employees of the University based upon the number of hours per week the athletes spend in training or games.

The NCAA disputes this claim, saying that athlete’s are NOT employees, and that they DO get paid via scholarships. NCAA rules currently prohibit athletes from being paid with the exception of said scholarships which are often revoked if injuries prevent the athletes from competing in their sport. The NCAA can also levy punitive fines against the athletes and restrict the players from competition for changing schools.

Yet the NCAA is a multi-billion dollar per year enterprise, and the top tier college football programs generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for their respective schools.

Sadly, the one part of the student-athlete equation that the NCAA has no mandates for is whether or not the student athletes earn a degree. Over 40 percent of college football and basketball players do not graduate from the schools who benefit from their athletic prowess.

Thankfully enough of these athletes are learning about strength in numbers – not only on the field, but at the bargaining table as well.

We Fought This War Already

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Photo by Harris & Ewing [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Women in America are fortunate. At least that what the laws will would tell you. Enforcement of those laws and the very rights of women are so threatened in today’s landscape that we have reached a new level in our oppression of over half the US population.

This is not about just contraception and health care rights. It is not a question about abortion alone. It is not just about our right to equal pay for equal work. It is more than about our right to live in a society where we can be safe in our homes and on our streets from domestic violence and rape. It goes beyond the voter ID laws that target women who have changed their names.

This is about control. Today’s atmosphere is so ripe for the oppression of women that ALEC and certain lawmakers are now introducing stone-age era legislation – here’s just some of the latest highlights in the battle:

Legislation making it harder for women to escape abusive marriages by labeling single mothers as “child abusers,” locking them up and awarding custody to either the father or the state.
Not enforcing current laws that are supposed to keep abusers behind bars – instead, they are released and their anger is unleashed on the victim.
Debates and committees in Washington meet to discuss women’s healthcare, “legitimate” rape and other issues, yet women are barred from the committees or from testifying.
Some communities are no longer prosecuting domestic violence because of budget cuts, yet this crime continues to skyrocket as economic and social conditions worsen.
SNAP, WIC and other programs are being slashed at both state and federal levels, worsening conditions for struggling women who earn .23 cents less an hour than their male coworkers..
Numerous laws at state levels are designed to make it difficult if not outright impossible for women to exercise their rights to control their own bodies.

One must question what men fear so much that causes the same approach to handling women’s issues as is orchestrated in anti-trust monopolies. If SCOTUS can rule that corporations are people, than women should be considered corporations. Then we could file a class action lawsuit on the merits of an oppressive monopoly that denies us our right to compete, to function safely and to protect our interests.

I declare myself a non-profit so I no longer have to pay taxes to a government that suppresses me.

Rome Didn’t Fall in a Day

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By Andreas Tille (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

By Andreas Tille (Own work) GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

When I became involved in this movement, I was asked why. My answer is that if we are to have any hope for the next generation, we need to fix this. So I started looking at the next generation, and found kids today have an much more intuitive instinct for social justice and equality than we give them credit for. They want to grow up to invent and discover things that benefit people overall, not just a segmented group.

Not too long ago, I was privileged to host dinner for some family friends. Among our guests was an 11 year old boy, who we will call “Billy” in this story.

Billy chatted as any eleven year old will. I asked him what his favorite subject in school was. He replied that it was social studies, not the usual Math or English response most children will give. As we talked, he said something very interesting.

“Rome was a great and wonderful society,” he explained. “They had everything figured out, and it was working perfectly. Then, some of them got greedy and wanted more for themselves than what everyone else had. Before long, the whole thing crumbled and nobody had anything any more.” Then he put his silverware down and his shoulders slumped. He looked like he was almost ready to cry, and he said, “I see the same thing happening in our country, and it scares me. I don’t want America to crumble, but the greed we have going on will make it all crumble.”

Now, I don’t know about you, but in my eyes, if an 11 year old kid can figure this out, we have two options:
1: Be like Rome
2: Let the kids run Congress.

School Teaches Kids How to Bully

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By U.S. Department of Agriculture (Girls Smiling) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

By U.S. Department of Agriculture (Girls Smiling) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Salt Lake City Elementary School District in Utah has reached a new level in their curriculum. They have added teaching approximately 40 children how to be a bully by setting an example, and are now on track for a highly developed and successful “Future Activists of America” (FAA) program.

According to CBS News, after acknowledging a failure in the school’s notification system to let parents know balances of the school lunch program’s students were low, the school made the decision at Tuesday’s lunch line to teach these kids a very important lesson. As the kids moved to the end of the line with their food, staff took the lunches and threw them in the garbage in front of the students. Kids said they felt the staff was angry at them, and for reasons they were not aware of or able to understand.

What is easy to understand is that children can not be treated with discriminatory behavior by adults that are supposed to be in charge of their education and well being. To do so in front of other children is even more reprehensible, as it sends the message that there is something so inherently wrong with these particular children that they do not deserve to eat lunch. Kids don’t understand clerical errors and computer glitches, nor should they become victims when a school fails to establish adequate billing or communication systems.

Bully for you, Salt Lake City Elementary School. Let’s hope your program isn’t force-fed to other schools across America.