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We faced an apparent act of domestic terrorism this past weekend. Let us hope that the terrorists will be brought to justice.
Also, as we think about the racist and misguided efforts of the Arizona Legislature and Arizona's Governor, we must demand that the leadership of Major League Baseball should immediately move the 2011 All Star Game from Phoenix, Arizona to Citi Field in Queens.
Times Square Scare
The past weekend's attempted car bombing in Times Square was amateurish but nonetheless frightening. The fertilizer chosen by the terrorist(s) in this case was not combustible and would not have been able to be used in the manner that a different type of fertilizer was used in the 1995 attack Oklahoma City. Authorities are suggesting that they are seeking a white male in his 40's in connection with the case, but they are also pointing out that the white male they are seeking might be completely innocent. Let us hope that the attempted car bombing doesn't create copy-cats, and let us hope that the terrorist(s) in this case is quickly captured and faces severe punishment.
Arizona vs. America
Arizona has enacted legislation allowing local law enforcement to take on the role traditionally undertaken by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). Local law enforcement in Arizona has been authorized, starting 90 days from the date of the signing of the legislation, to demand proof of immigration status from anyone they encounter whom they suspect might be in the United States illegally. Anyone who cannot show proof of citizenship or legal immigration status will be arrested.
The new Arizona law is a bold-face anti-immigrant effort, and it has a decidedly anti-Latino tone. All Latinos in Arizona will be treated as suspects, and all Americans should be outraged by the new Arizona law.
Anyone who has lived in the United States knows that it is highly unnatural for a US citizen to carry proof of his or her citizenship or to be prepared to defend himself or herself against accusations of illegal immigration.
Anyone who has lived in the United States knows that a meaningful number of illegal immigrants in the US are non-Hispanic white people. But, it is only illegal immigration from Latin America that is the focus of the elected officials in Arizona and across the US.
With Arizona's declaration of war against Latinos, the rest of us must take action to oppose Arizona's attacks.
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball has an opportunity to stand against the anti-Latino stance of Arizona.
The 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star game is scheduled to be played in Phoenix. The Mets have been seeking an opportunity to show off their new baseball stadium by hosting an All Star Game. The perfect solution is for the 2011 All Star Game to be moved to Citi Field in Queens, the home of the New York Mets.
By taking this action, Major League Baseball would show that it refuses to promote discrimination based on race or ethnicity. Major League Baseball would embrace the progressive image it promotes each April when it celebrates the first Major League game played by Jackie Robinson.
The change of venue for the 2011 All Star Game would only allow Major League Baseball to match what has already occurred in the National Football League. The NFL moved the Super Bowl out of Arizona to California when Arizona stubbornly refused to adopt the Martin Luther King holiday that had been embraced all over the United States. Surely, Major League Baseball is not less progressive or less committed to opposing discrimination than the NFL.
The decision to move the 2011 All Star Game should be made immediately. Fans and news outlets reserve hotel rooms and airline tickets well in advance, and New York City and the New York Mets need time to prepare. Arizona had plenty of opportunities to choose to walk away from the disgusting route they've chosen. Now, the loss of the Mid-Summer Classic should be one of the first consequences of Arizona's move toward a Jim Crow society.
Showing posts with label Terrorism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Terrorism. Show all posts
Monday, May 3, 2010
Monday, November 16, 2009
The Terrorists are Coming! and GED's are Not Coming
Last week, we learned that September 11th conspirators captured by the US government will face a criminal trial in lower Manhattan. We've also learned recently that New York State and New York City are the worst performing jurisdictions in the US in terms of GED passing rates and GED preparation.
Manhattan Hosts the Terrorists
The President has been criticized by many Republicans and by some members of the families of the September 11th families for choosing to prosecute the September 11th conspirators in Manhattan. While the tragedy of September 11, 2001 remains a fresh memory and an unhealed wound for so many Americans and for a large number of New Yorkers, the tragedy of George W. Bush's mishandling of the aftermath of the tragedy remains front in center in our memories as well.
President George W. Bush promoted and supported the use of torture against those captured in the post-September efforts to combat Al Qaeda. He created military courts as venues for prosecuting captured conspirators. He had foreign captives taken to secret prisons outside of the US in order to escape the requirements of the US Constitution related to accused criminals.
The Bush Record is a potent ingredient in the Obama decision to bring these terrorists to Manhattan. Instead of running from the US Constitution and violating international law, President Obama is boldly re-asserting America's role in the world as an example to all nations. He is demonstrating that we are a nation that follows its own laws and believes that it can provide its enemies with guarantees of human rights protections while also holding the world's worst terrorists accountable for their actions.
Manhattanites should take pride in being the venue for the re-emergence of the US as a world leader in the rule of law, human rights, and justice. When these terrorists receive their sentences, they should be sentenced in Manhattan. We are ready for justice to flow down on these terrorists like a mighty stream and wash away both the stain of the Bush abuses and any lingering doubt amongst Americans regarding whether our criminal justice system is adequate in the age of Al Qaeda.
GED Disappointment
New York City is failing the GED. With enormous numbers of New Yorkers living without a high school diploma, the failures of New York City are creating hurdles to GED test-taking and resulting in very few successful GED testing performances.
As stated in the New York Daily News:
New York City needs a coordinated effort to draw New York City residents into GED programs, drive them toward the test, and get them positioned to pass the test. If our NYC schools are going to leave more than 1 million of our residence without a high school diploma, our city must provide its residents with a path to opportunities, and passing the GED is a key place from which our city's residence can launch themselves forward. Thus far, New York City is failing.
Manhattan Hosts the Terrorists
The President has been criticized by many Republicans and by some members of the families of the September 11th families for choosing to prosecute the September 11th conspirators in Manhattan. While the tragedy of September 11, 2001 remains a fresh memory and an unhealed wound for so many Americans and for a large number of New Yorkers, the tragedy of George W. Bush's mishandling of the aftermath of the tragedy remains front in center in our memories as well.
President George W. Bush promoted and supported the use of torture against those captured in the post-September efforts to combat Al Qaeda. He created military courts as venues for prosecuting captured conspirators. He had foreign captives taken to secret prisons outside of the US in order to escape the requirements of the US Constitution related to accused criminals.
The Bush Record is a potent ingredient in the Obama decision to bring these terrorists to Manhattan. Instead of running from the US Constitution and violating international law, President Obama is boldly re-asserting America's role in the world as an example to all nations. He is demonstrating that we are a nation that follows its own laws and believes that it can provide its enemies with guarantees of human rights protections while also holding the world's worst terrorists accountable for their actions.
Manhattanites should take pride in being the venue for the re-emergence of the US as a world leader in the rule of law, human rights, and justice. When these terrorists receive their sentences, they should be sentenced in Manhattan. We are ready for justice to flow down on these terrorists like a mighty stream and wash away both the stain of the Bush abuses and any lingering doubt amongst Americans regarding whether our criminal justice system is adequate in the age of Al Qaeda.
GED Disappointment
New York City is failing the GED. With enormous numbers of New Yorkers living without a high school diploma, the failures of New York City are creating hurdles to GED test-taking and resulting in very few successful GED testing performances.
As stated in the New York Daily News:
Although 1.6 million city residents older than 16 are not in school and lack a high school diploma, only 28,000 took the high school equivalency test last year to get a General Equivalency Diploma. Just half of the test-takers passed. Statewide, just 60% test-takers passed - making New York's pass rate dead last.
A recent Community Services Society (CSS) report found that there is no single phone number or Web site to find a program or test site, no citywide data that track which programs work and no link between funding and success. "There are really no standards for the prep courses," said David R. Jones, president of the CSS. "Even somebody who couldn't pass the GED themselves could be an instructor."
New York City needs a coordinated effort to draw New York City residents into GED programs, drive them toward the test, and get them positioned to pass the test. If our NYC schools are going to leave more than 1 million of our residence without a high school diploma, our city must provide its residents with a path to opportunities, and passing the GED is a key place from which our city's residence can launch themselves forward. Thus far, New York City is failing.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Preventing Terrorism in Manhattan
The NYPD is planning to install permanent license plate scanners at each of the 20 crossings into Manhattan.
While many respected members of our community have opposed the tracking of all vehicles entering and leaving Manhattan, I view the project as an important piece of creating a safer Manhattan that is more attractive for business activity as well as for raising our children. http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/08/12/2008-08-12_aclu_sez_city_plan_to_scan_license_plate.html
Challenge of Privacy
We need to be vigilant in protecting the privacy of Manhattanites. We do not want our every movement tracked by the authorities. We do not want a public record of every telephone conversation we've had or a video recording of how we've reacted to everything that has occurred in our lives each day. Some of our privacy has already been lost due to EZ Pass. The government has access to information regarding where our vehicles have been, and the government can use our Metro Cards to track our movements as well.
For me, this latest proposed loss of liberty (not having the government know whether or not my vehicle is in Manhattan) is outweighed by the deterrent effect on criminals and terrorists. I respect the concerns about a slippery slope (if we allow the government to track every vehicle that enters Manhattan, how will we avoid the government's intrusion into every aspect of our lives with cameras and tracking devices?), but we can choose to look at this proposal on its merits and distinguish it from the recent Federal wiretapping and the potential for ubiquitous video taping of our movements as people. This proposal is focused on tracking which vehicles are here in our home county - the most important county in the world.
A vehicle was used as a deadly weapon in Oklahoma City in 1995, and we should be eager to invest in preventing such a tragedy here in Manhattan, which is now, more than ever, the center of the world for commerce, finance, arts, culture, international affairs, etc. We will always be a terrorist target, and we must engage in efforts to defeat the terrorists' schemes.
Protecting All of Manhattan
Early versions of the proposal for license plate readers focused on Lower Manhattan. The latest plan includes all of Manhattan. We should not encourage terrorists to view attacks in certain parts of the borough to be more acceptable than attacks in other parts. To the extent that we sacrifice some liberty to promote safety, it must be safety for all of our people and not only for those now living and working in close proximity to the location of the 2001 terrorist attacks. In Upper Manhattan, we expect that the NYPD and its law enforcement colleagues will show no less determination to prevent attacks and track the movements of those legitimately identified as threats when those potential attacks and identified threats are in the northern reaches of our borough.
Holding the NYPD Accountable
The NYPD has been unsuccessful in eliminating racial profiling, excessive use of force, and other forms of policy misconduct. It has supported rules protecting officers who engage in misconduct, and it has been able to avoid any real oversight from outside of its own ranks. As the NYPD gains the ability to track vehicles throughout Manhattan, we must unite to demand that the NYPD live up to its commitment to purge its records of the movements of those vehicles after 30 days in the absence of evidence of associated criminal or terrorist related activity. We will have an obligation to demand that the tracking data be used only to prevent violent crimes and terrorist activities - not to embarrass critics of the NYPD and not for general detective work and broad investigations.
I recommend that a special citizens oversight committee be established to review, on at least a quarterly basis, the work of the NYPD with regard to the tracking of the movement of vehicles into and around Manhattan. This committee would, at a minimum, prevent the widespread abuse of the acquired data by the NYPD from going unchallenged or unnoticed. The Borough President, Scott Stringer, would be the natural person to appoint the members of this committee and to ensure that the committee is a mixture of those with knowledge of law enforcement and those dedicated to preserving our civil liberties - all working together and with the NYPD to keep our borough safe and to protect our precious civil and Constitutional rights, simultaneously.
While many respected members of our community have opposed the tracking of all vehicles entering and leaving Manhattan, I view the project as an important piece of creating a safer Manhattan that is more attractive for business activity as well as for raising our children. http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/08/12/2008-08-12_aclu_sez_city_plan_to_scan_license_plate.html
Challenge of Privacy
We need to be vigilant in protecting the privacy of Manhattanites. We do not want our every movement tracked by the authorities. We do not want a public record of every telephone conversation we've had or a video recording of how we've reacted to everything that has occurred in our lives each day. Some of our privacy has already been lost due to EZ Pass. The government has access to information regarding where our vehicles have been, and the government can use our Metro Cards to track our movements as well.
For me, this latest proposed loss of liberty (not having the government know whether or not my vehicle is in Manhattan) is outweighed by the deterrent effect on criminals and terrorists. I respect the concerns about a slippery slope (if we allow the government to track every vehicle that enters Manhattan, how will we avoid the government's intrusion into every aspect of our lives with cameras and tracking devices?), but we can choose to look at this proposal on its merits and distinguish it from the recent Federal wiretapping and the potential for ubiquitous video taping of our movements as people. This proposal is focused on tracking which vehicles are here in our home county - the most important county in the world.
A vehicle was used as a deadly weapon in Oklahoma City in 1995, and we should be eager to invest in preventing such a tragedy here in Manhattan, which is now, more than ever, the center of the world for commerce, finance, arts, culture, international affairs, etc. We will always be a terrorist target, and we must engage in efforts to defeat the terrorists' schemes.
Protecting All of Manhattan
Early versions of the proposal for license plate readers focused on Lower Manhattan. The latest plan includes all of Manhattan. We should not encourage terrorists to view attacks in certain parts of the borough to be more acceptable than attacks in other parts. To the extent that we sacrifice some liberty to promote safety, it must be safety for all of our people and not only for those now living and working in close proximity to the location of the 2001 terrorist attacks. In Upper Manhattan, we expect that the NYPD and its law enforcement colleagues will show no less determination to prevent attacks and track the movements of those legitimately identified as threats when those potential attacks and identified threats are in the northern reaches of our borough.
Holding the NYPD Accountable
The NYPD has been unsuccessful in eliminating racial profiling, excessive use of force, and other forms of policy misconduct. It has supported rules protecting officers who engage in misconduct, and it has been able to avoid any real oversight from outside of its own ranks. As the NYPD gains the ability to track vehicles throughout Manhattan, we must unite to demand that the NYPD live up to its commitment to purge its records of the movements of those vehicles after 30 days in the absence of evidence of associated criminal or terrorist related activity. We will have an obligation to demand that the tracking data be used only to prevent violent crimes and terrorist activities - not to embarrass critics of the NYPD and not for general detective work and broad investigations.
I recommend that a special citizens oversight committee be established to review, on at least a quarterly basis, the work of the NYPD with regard to the tracking of the movement of vehicles into and around Manhattan. This committee would, at a minimum, prevent the widespread abuse of the acquired data by the NYPD from going unchallenged or unnoticed. The Borough President, Scott Stringer, would be the natural person to appoint the members of this committee and to ensure that the committee is a mixture of those with knowledge of law enforcement and those dedicated to preserving our civil liberties - all working together and with the NYPD to keep our borough safe and to protect our precious civil and Constitutional rights, simultaneously.
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