News Maker at 18

My blog has been about the News makers, shakers, and bakers; I have spotlighted the usual "suspects" and heroes, most of whom were middle-aged or older. I did post about a six year old that had an impact with governmental authorities regarding Chinese development on Cancun. Today's blog is about another young person that has completely "wowed" me. Her name is Julia Schemmer, an 18 year old student at the University of California. Schemmer is a member of the USA TODAY College contributor network.
Schemmer's article on the USA Today website, that caught my attention, was entitled "Voices: 6 things white allies need to know." She wrote about her thoughts regarding the annual Students of Color Conference, the 27th of which was held last month by the University of California Student Association (UCSA) at UC Berkeley. Her article was about discussions at the conference on what it means to be a white ally. Schemmer wrote, “The student protests over racism on campuses that spread nationwide this fall makes the topic more important than ever. And if you’re white and think you know how to reach out and work with students of color, well, I thought I did, too. But at the conference, I learned six things about allying I hadn’t fully understood.”
All six of Schemmer’s points were thought provoking and her closing point was one that we all must do, not only for persons of color, but all – especially in light of the attacks on Muslim residents of the United States after the recent mass shooting. Schemmer’s point number 6:

Be aware of what happens in your own space. Racism is alive and well. To help fight it, be pro-active. When your friend makes a racist joke, call him or her out. When someone makes fun of someone else’s accent, speak up.

The article can be found at: http://college.usatoday.com/2015/12/08/6-things-white-allies-need-to-know/ and I encourage you to take a few minutes to read her article. The sad thing, for me, is some of the comments posted in response to her six points. Point 5 was about recognizing white privilege for what it is. She included a couple words that just infuriated commenters about not being able to get a bandage to match skin color. Maybe she could have used another example, but I think it was fine. Schemmer was just providing some small illustrations of what it means to be a person of color in places of business and home. My wife has a co-worker who moved here from Tanzania.  He and his wife purchased a home in a rather exclusive, mostly white neighborhood. He has been stopped by police multiple times as he approaches his home and been asked “what are you doing in this neighborhood?”

Eighteen year old Julia Schemmer closes with words for all generations: “It takes a village to raise a child, but to combat institutional racism and irrational prejudice; it’s going to take all of us.”

Climate - Paris talks

I recently read an article written by Josh Marks on the website inhabit.com regarding the climate change crisis- “The fossil fuel industry for years has been purposefully misleading the American public about the scientific consensus on man-made global warming. That is the finding of a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science that analyzed 20 years’ worth of data. The study, titled “Corporate funding and ideological polarization about climate change,” found that ExxonMobil and the Koch family foundations used similarly deceptive tactics as Big Tobacco to create doubt and confusion about human induced climate change. My favorite targets regarding miss-deeds, the Koch brothers continue to wreak havoc on democracy and not caring even a little about the other 99%.

The Paris talks have 7 or 8 more days for world leaders to sign an agreement regarding what actions to take. Based on past efforts, the influence of the Koch brothers, and big oil companies nothing will change. My generation didn’t realize what burning fossil fuel would do, but people a lot smarter than me did and were shouted down. The Marshall Islands are in immediate danger. Take a look at this site: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/12/02/world/The-Marshall-Islands-Are-Disappearing.html?emc=edit_na_20151202&nlid=68089924&ref=cta&_r=0

To my fellow students, sadly, I can only apologize for the damage my generation has done, but together we can pressure our leaders to do something now so that your generation and your children’s generation have a plausible chance of avoiding an apocalypse.

Baltimore’s prosecutor – Marilyn Mosby

Baltimore has the unfortunate distinction of being listed in the top ten most dangerous cities. However, at number 7 it still ranks less dangerous than Atlanta. Baltimore has been in the news more frequently following the death of 25-year old Freddie Gray while in police custody.

A relatively young female prosecutor, Marilyn Mosby, made headlines by bringing charges against six officers involved in Gray’s arrest. One week from today, the first of the six trials will begin. For me this is noteworthy – Ferguson, Missouri and New York City grand juries decided not to indict police officers that had been involved in police-related deaths. Ms. Mosby has been in office for almost two years and has been tough on crime, but, it appears, not to the point of “looking the other way” if she feels police officers have conducted themselves in a possible illegal manner. She was able to get an indictment from the grand jury.

Ms. Mosby grew up in one of the toughest neighborhoods in the Boson area, many members of her family are police officers, and she is married to a candidate for mayor. She has been accused of not remembering her police officer roots, “showboating” to raise her own statue, of being amateurish after some miss-steps in the legal process - to name a few.

A grand jury indictment does not mean that the officers are guilty; it allows for the case(s) to move through the legal process of determining guilt by an impartial jury. This is something that did not occur in the Ferguson or New York City cases. I commend Ms. Mosby for moving the legal process forward in an effort to determine how culpable are the officers regarding Freddie Gray’s death.

Republican candidates and the Paris attacks

The Paris attacks have spotlighted again, unfortunately, the impact a relatively few number of terrorists can have on the free world's comfort level with personal and national safety. In an interview, the French minister of defense indicated that France is a "testing" ground for terrorist's goals of destruction and mayhem and that France is second only to the United States in who "they" hate most.
This act brings focus on the candidates for our presidency. Currently the Republicans are getting more media coverage and my comments are in regard to the comments those candidates have made, but the Democrats are not exempt. Dan Senior, a foreign policy advisor for Republican candidate Mitt Romney in 2012 was quoted "This is a real life crisis situation, and it reminds people of the importance of having a serious person as commander-in-chief." The current candidates have uttered answers that point out lack of knowledge of the difference between Hamas and Hezbollah, mistaken belief that China is involved in the Syrian conflict, or the difference between ISIS and al Qaeda to name a few.
A candidate that I haven't paid much attention to and thought I'd take more thorough look at was John Kasich. Kasich is the current governor of Ohio and previously had spent 9 terms in the House of Representatives. During that time he was also on the Armed Forces committee for almost all 18 years. Unfortunately, some of his other positions are suspect.
So I am still searching for a candidate that will not be in training mode on foreign affairs and has a comprehensive domestic policy.

News Makers - Hope provided by the young

In this era of violence, greater division between the have and have-nots, seemingly disregard for the scientific concerns regarding global warming, I happened across an item that gives a ray of hope that the young will bring about more immediate change.

The item I will reference is regarding a Chinese development project on the island of Cancun.

For some background - from the website "Oceans Futures" written two years ago is the following:
"Situated in the state of Quintana Roo and 36 miles from Cancún, is the historical fishing village of Puerto Morelos. It is known not only for being bordered by fragile mangroves, jungle, and beautiful beaches, but also its close proximity to the world’s second largest barrier reef system: the Mesoamerican. A mere 500 meters from shore lies a reef that is home to such protected and endangered species as the loggerhead, green, and hawksbill sea turtles, as well as elkhorn and staghorn corals. A habitat for over 2,500 marine species, including about 500 species of multicolored tropical fish, it is no wonder that the people of Puerto Morelos have strived to protect their homeland through the establishment of Puerto Morelos National Marine Park...Thus, it has deeply saddened me to learn that this beautiful park is being threatened by a looming development adjacent to Puerto Morelos: the megaproject Chinese Dragon Mart Cancún."

The recent news I read stated that the development had been put on hold by the testimony of Environmental groups and one of the key people testifying before the federal authorities was a 6 year old girl discussing the destruction of the Mangrove trees. While I don't have a transcript of her testimony, these are some facts regarding mangrove trees. "Mangroves, admittedly, are not only important but crucial for the coastal areas. Since estuarine areas are highly populated areas, the slightest ecological imbalance will take a heavy toll. They play a vital role in stabilizing these areas. No engineering and technological solutions can be sought for stabilizing these areas. Even if we negate all benefits of mangroves as forests, their value as "protector of shore-line" is enough to convince us for conserving them."   http://www.mangroves.godrej.com/Whyshouldweprotectmangroves.htm

Koch Bros. - Follow-up to last week

This topic is too important for only one post. Last week, I wrote that a former professor mentioned that the Koch brothers were involved in a little school board election in his town. Hardly made the news. Well, two days ago, national news spotlighted that they were at it again (of course they haven't stopped - just doesn't make the news). In Jefferson county, Colorado, three school board members backed  by a Koch brothers PAC were removed in a recall vote.

I wondered - why are the Koch's involved with a school board or multiple school boards. Jefferson County where this event occurred has approximately 850,000 students whose education agenda is affected by just five individuals on the Board of Education. The conservative agenda can be parlayed across the country school system by school system.

From the Common Dreams website comes an excellent quote from one the newly elected members ""It appears to me public education in Jefferson County is not for sale," school board member-elect Ali Lasell told Chalkbeat Colorado on Tuesday night.

 http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/11/04/victory-public-ed-colorado-boots-koch-backed-school-board

 

The Koch Brothers - Bakers and more

The 2015 elections are a week away and in what will seem like no time at all the 2016, more comprehensive, elections will be here.
The biggest bakers of our politics are already in high gear. The brothers, Charles and David Koch, do their baking with money - LOTS of it. Their ability to pour massive funds into all levels of elections defies the imagination. One of my previous professors provided an example of them being involved in a little tiny school board election in his hometown. Of course, "their" refers to the PACS, SuperPACS, etc. that the Koch's money flows through.
There have been literally thousands of articles about the Koch's, but I would like to quote an article in the Rolling Stone entitled "Together, Charles and David Koch control one of the world's largest fortunes, which they are using to buy up our political system. But what they don't want you to know is how they made all that money"
Excerpts from the article (published just prior to the 2014 elections) "Their political network helped finance the Tea Party and powers today's GOP. Koch-affiliated organizations raised some $400 million during the 2012 election, and aim to spend another $290 million to elect Republicans in this year's midterms." One might wonder what is the reason for the second largest private firm (larger than most public firms, IBM, HP, or Honda) to spend so much on Republicans. I think much of the answer lies in what they produce or invest in to make all their money.

From the article:"The volume of Koch Industries' toxic output is staggering. According to the University of Massachusetts Amherst's Political Economy Research Institute, only three companies rank among the top 30 polluters of America's air, water and climate: ExxonMobil, American Electric Power and Koch Industries. Thanks in part to its 2005 purchase of paper-mill giant Georgia-Pacific, Koch Industries dumps more pollutants into the nation's waterways than General Electric and International Paper combined. The company ranks 13th in the nation for toxic air pollution. Koch's climate pollution, meanwhile, outpaces oil giants including Valero, Chevron and Shell. Across its businesses, Koch generates 24 million metric tons of greenhouse gases a year."

I think this is a great article for a reminder of how massive amounts of money are "baking" our politics and our democracy. It includes some enlightening info regarding the in-fighting within the company prior to David and Charles taking control and the current path of the conglomerate.
(http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/inside-the-koch-brothers-toxic-empire-20140924#ixzz3pmUnmJOC)