Category Archives: Fiscal Freedom

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Friday that the Florida Defense Support Task Force Program awarded $722,400 to further three community infrastructure projects at military instillations across the state.

The Florida Department of Military Affairs, the Bay County Board of County Commissioners and the City of Jacksonville are recipients.

Florida is the most military-friendly state in the nation and Im proud to announce over $722,000 to support community infrastructure projects at Florida military installations, DeSantis said. We thank the Florida Defense Support Task Force for supporting Floridas military communities and military installation and defense industry, which represents a $95 billion impact to our state.

The $722,400 compliments earlier awards and raises the total awarded amount to over $1.4 million this fiscal year.

This grant supports the commitment the Florida Department of Military Affairs has made toward the Guard and Reserve mission in the State of Florida, and will allow the Florida National Guard to grow force structure in a key demographic area, said Maj. Gen. James Eifert, The Adjutant General of the State of Florida.We are pleased the FDSTF members recognize the value of this partnership and or our military installations.

The grant funding is intended to help diversify local economies, support local infrastructure projects and strengthen Floridas military basses and surrounding communities.

Notably, Jacksonville was awarded $322,500 to further protect naval bases and promote compatible land use in the Duval County Military Influence Zone.

Support from the State of Florida, through the Florida Defense Support Task Force will allow for the City of Jacksonville in partnership with the US Navy, to protect the vital military missions of our bases and installations, said Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry. This proactive effort, which could not happen without support from the FDSTF, will ensure that our bases and installations are protected from development that is incompatible with the missions that protect our freedom.

The Florida Defense Support Task Force is a legislatively-mandated council whose mission is to preserve, protect, and enhance Floridas military missions and installations.

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Over $722,000 awarded to protect and improve Florida military installations - Florida Politics

Chinese President Xi Jinping (front, bottom) attends the opening ceremony of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 22, 2020. (Kyodo)

The number of people in the United States infected with the new coronavirus is approaching 2 million, and the death toll has exceeded 110,000. In late May, the assault and death of a black man by a police officer in the state of Minnesota led to protests spreading across the country, with some vandalism and looting occurring. President Donald Trump has asked governors to mobilize the National Guard and has taken a hardline stance, saying he will send federal forces to the areas if needed. What's happening in the U.S., particularly around this time of the year, brings to mind the so-called Tiananmen incident in Beijing on June 4, 1989.

In Beijing back then, some generals were disciplined for refusing to obey the order to point guns at the protesters. This time in Washington, it was the current Secretary of Defense, Mark Esper, who spoke out against the deployment of federal troops. Former Defense Secretary James Mattis, in his scathing criticism of Trump, almost likened the president to a Nazi and accused him of not uniting, but dividing the American people during the past three years Trump has been in office. These developments indicate that social fissures have reached the highest levels of the administration.

The current spread of demonstrations in the United States can largely be attributed to widening social disparities amplified by the coronavirus disaster and deep-rooted racism. African Americans earn less than 60% of the annual income of whites, and the number of deaths from the coronavirus per 100,000 black people is 2.4 times that of whites. The unemployment rate showed a slight improvement in May but remains at a high level of 13.3%, and the black unemployment rate even rose to 16.8%.

Despite the global financial crisis triggered by the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 and the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011, the rich and powerful in the United States have not been willing to work on social reform. Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, who called for major reforms, have already lost the Democratic presidential nomination. But after the devastating blow of the new coronavirus, what is at stake in November's presidential election will be the balance between freedom and equality and the issue of growth and distribution.

Since the global financial crisis, there has been a heightened debate over immigration, and as some authoritarian states have shown remarkable growth, democracy has faced intensified criticism. But the core of the problem appears to be not in democracy, but rather in post-Cold War capitalism with excessive economic freedom.

It is ironic that a similar problem exists in China, a self-proclaimed socialist state. On May 22, the National People's Congress, which had been postponed for two and a half months due to the new coronavirus, kicked off. President Xi Jinping would have wanted to make the gathering an opportunity to mark his administration's victory over the infectious disease following strong measures such as the lockdown of Wuhan, the city where the outbreak was first reported, despite widespread damage caused by its initial delay in responding to the virus. However, the country had not completed the task of bringing the epidemic under control, as Jilin Province had to keep some cities on lockdown. On the platform in the Great Hall of the People, only those seated in the front two rows, including members of the Standing Committee of the Politburo, wore no masks, while the rest of the participants donned them -- a scene that symbolized the complex psychology of the Chinese leadership.

The annual target for gross domestic product (GDP) was not announced, while the figure for the first quarter is officially minus 6.8%. Premier Li Keqiang said at a press conference that GDP would actually grow this year if employment, people's livelihood and businesses were protected. However, the situation is especially tough on employment. A goal was set to create 9 million new employment opportunities this year, but university graduates alone number 8.74 million. The target unemployment rate was set at 6% in cities, but as of April it was already at 6%.

Even when jobs are available, late or missing wages have been further exacerbated by the new coronavirus, and now almost daily, worker protests are breaking out across China. The problem here is inequality. Premier Li said there are 600 million people in China with an average monthly income of only around 1,000 yuan (about 15,500 yen), and those figures were surprising even to the Chinese themselves. According to one prominent economist, a third of China's personal savings are concentrated in just 1,000 accounts, and those in the bottom 40% of income levels have little or no savings.

According to Premier Li, the central government will cut unnecessary and deferrable spending by more than half to maintain local government operations and protect small- and medium-sized businesses and people's livelihoods. But it is the local governments that will actually spend the funds transferred from the central government. Will the local governments really use the money to provide for the people? Will they pour the money into unreasonable investment projects and increase their debts, as they have in the past? The lack of fiscal discipline in local governments continues to be the Achilles' heel of China's economy.

In this year's budget, revenue will go down by 5.3% over the previous year. Despite these difficult financial circumstances, the defense budget is set to increase by 6.6%. According to the spokesman for the People's Liberation Army and Armed Police delegation to the National People's Congress, in determining the defense budget, the security ledger is more important than the economic books. In his emboldened reference to the current instability of the world China has to consider, the spokesman mentioned what he described as the hegemony and unilateralism of the United States and his observation of the move by the Democratic People's Party government in Taiwan toward national division. I can't shake the impression that China has chosen guns over butter. History makes it clear that it is a dangerous choice.

Taiwan hosted an inauguration ceremony for re-elected President Tsai Ing-wen on May 20, where a congratulatory message from U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was unveiled. Two days later, the report of government activities conducted at the National People's Congress talked about "promoting reunification" with Taiwan, but the usual words of peace had been dropped from the phrase "promoting peaceful reunification." Moreover, the decision that Beijing promulgate national security legislation applicable to Hong Kong has led to a strong backlash from not only the citizens of Hong Kong, but also the United States and West European nations.

China's hardline stance, which has been derided as "wolf warrior diplomacy," has been prominent, but the Trump administration has also been highly critical of China. It is likely that both sides are aiming to turn their peoples' attention away from the turmoil in domestic politics. Meanwhile, the rest of the world has been deeply troubled by the fierce dispute between the United States and China. There are surprisingly high expectations for Japan to do something about it. Now that the U.S. and China are both on shaky ground, the time has come for us to think deeply with the rest of the world about what can be done.

(By Akio Takahara, Professor, Graduate School of Public Policy, The University of Tokyo)

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Global Perspective: As US, China lock horns, Japan, others must think about ways ahead - The Mainichi

Caven Point must remain public land

I have lived in the Lafayette neighborhood next door to Liberty State Park for several decades. I would like to know just who does the Liberty National Golf course think we area bunch of dupes and hicks who dont understand the value of real estate? I dont mean to sound harsh, but the owner, a Mr. Paul Fireman, who already owns or has access to plenty of adjacent property, somehow feels entitled to annex our public land at the Caven Point peninsula in order to locate 3 holes at the waters edge, for no other reason than the exclusive luxury of it.

He is either prevaricating, delusional or indulging in wishful thinking if he believes his golf course will ever contribute to the local economy. Have you seen the parade of cars fleeing onto exit 14 at the end of a tournament day? These people are not spreading out into the community to dine at restaurants or spend their money locally. They are getting out of Dodge by the quickest possible route. And furthermore, there is a whole other contingent who are ferried over on the launch from Manhattan, or dropped in by helicopter.

The facts remain: After a long history of hard use by industry, this land finally belongs to the people again. It is also a critically sensitive littoral zone that supports a variety of wildlife. The land they want to take is unique and irreplaceable; it is NOT underutilized as has been claimed; it is a rare, urban, public natural areathe last remaining beachfront access for ordinary citizensthat is you and me, our neighbors and our families.

For the state to allow its sale or lease to a private for-profit concern, owned by one of the largest land-owners in the United States of America (look it up), in exchange for what amounts to pocket-change-in today's market, is an obscenity. I am offended by his "offer" when there remain so many more-important issues: of nature-education, the re-emergence of habitat, inclusivity, the healing of old woundsspiritual, psychic and environmental.

I guess this billionaire just thought he could do an end-run around us by dangling the patronizinglyinappropriate bauble of a completely-redundant golf school so that he could fulfill his own personal & corporate ambitions. I say NO to any transfer of the people's land at Caven Point to any private enterprise. The loss would simply be too great.

That the park, like all public resources, could benefit by more fiscal support goes without saying: we do need more amenities, programs and accessibility, but at what cost? and with whose input?

Whatever glossy, impractical and unrealizable promises that we may hear from the golf course proponents could never make up for the loss of this irreplaceable public asset that belongs to us all. If these precious acres are handed over, the next generation is going to wonder how in heaven they were betrayed in this odious manner when they look over at the pesticide-laden greens OFF-LIMITS that were once theirs. The youth of our community deserves better than to be stripped of this natural resource. I urge the council to pass the Resolution for the Liberty State Park Protection Act on June 24 without amendment or diminution.

Thank you for your time and attention,

Agnes de Bethune, Jersey City

Sunday is Flag Day

June 14 is Flag Day. The Stars and Stripes symbolizes our great nation and everything for which it stands: Liberty, freedom, and equality for all.

We should respect and honor our flag; many have fallen to defend it. Regardless of race, ethnic origins, social and economic status, political affiliations, and / or religious beliefs, many Americans have shed their blood to protect and preserve "The Star-Spangled Banner, our way of life, and our enduring and endearing values as a united, self-determined group: Americans.

Some pompous, callous-minded people pretentiously claim that the First Amendment gives them the constitutional right to disgrace, desecrate, dishonor, and disrespect our flag. And yet, as a nation, we fought wars to protect that very right. Indeed, America is the bastion - the great citadel of and for individual rights, democracy, and personal freedoms, ironically, even the right and freedom to defile our flag.

On Flag Day, everyone should fly Old Glory with pride, dignity, and reverence. It is time for Flag Day to be more than just another day of huge sales at the local mall.

John Di Genio, Albert J. Cupo, Jersey City

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Golf course move on Caven Point is obscene; Honor the flag | Letters - nj.com

Its 2009 again, or feels like it.

That was when spontaneous, grassroots protests against overweening government sprang up and were widely derided in the media as dangerous and wrong-headed.

The protesters then were inveighing against Obamacare; the protestors now are striking out against the coronavirus lockdowns.

The anti-lockdown agitation shows that, despite the revolution in Republican politics wrought by President Donald Trump, opposition to government impositions is deeply embedded in the DNA of the right, and likely will reemerge even more starkly if former Vice President Joe Biden is elected president.

The tea party that was so powerful in the Obama years, roiling Republican Party politics and making stars out of the likes of Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, sputtered out and was subsumed by the Trump movement in 2016.

The emphasis on constitutionalism, opposition to deficit spending, and American exceptionalism gave way to an emphasis on American strength, opposition to immigration, and nationalism.

The differences shouldnt be exaggerated the tea party was opposed to amnesty for undocumented immigrants and Trump has faithfully nominated constitutionalist judges. The tea party, like Trump, hated the mainstream media with a passion. But the shift from an overwhelming focus on fiscal issues to Trumpian cultural politics was very real.

The change was exemplified by the House Freedom Caucus, founded in 2015 and defined by its hard line on government spending, reliably lining up behind Donald Trump who has pursued a notably expansionary fiscal policy with huge budget deficits even before the coronavirus crisis.

The intellectual fashion among populists and religious traditionalists has been to attempt to establish a post-liberty or post-liberal agenda to forge a deeper foundation for the new Republican Party. Instead of obsessing over freedom and rights, conservatives would look to government to protect the common good.

This project, though, has been rocked by its first real-life encounter with governments acting to protect, as they see it, the common good.

One of its architects, the editor of the religious journal First Things, R.R. Reno, has sounded like one of the libertarians he so scorns during the crisis. First, he complained that he might get shamed if he were to host a dinner party during the height of the pandemic, although delaying a party would seem a small price to pay for someone so intensely committed to the common good.

More recently, he went on a tirade against wearing masks. Reno is apparently fine with a much stronger government, as long as it never issues public-health guidance not to his liking.

Reno has published vituperative attacks on the conservative writer (and my friend and former colleague) David French, supposedly for having a blinkered commitment to classical liberalism. But it is the hated French who has actually tried to thoughtfully balance liberty and the common good during the crisis, favoring the lockdowns at first and favoring reopening now that the lockdowns goals have been achieved.

Whats happened during the lockdowns is that the natural distrust that populists have of experts has expressed itself in opposition to government rules. Being told what to do by epidemiologists and government officials wielding all-caps SCIENCE as their authority has been enough to bring tea party-era liberty back in vogue.

Weve also seen a return of the glue that has held moral traditionalists and libertarians together in the conservative coalition for so long the belief that big government is a threat to traditional institutions. Hence, the focus on resuming church services.

In retrospect, the tea party wasnt as much a purely liberty movement as it seemed at the time. A populist anti-elitism was an enormously important factor, which is why it faded into the Trump movement so seamlessly. On the other hand, Trumpian populism has a big streak of liberty to it.

All it has taken to bring it to the fore is extraordinary government intrusion into our lives. If Biden is elected president, theres more where that came from.

Rich Lowry is on Twitter @RichLowry

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The return of the tea party | News, Sports, Jobs - Minot Daily News

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday reiterated his resolve to turn the Covid-19 crisis into an opportunity to make India self-reliant, and emphasised a policy shift from a command and control to a plug and play economy.

Addressing the 95th annual plenary session of the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Kolkata over video conference, Modi asked the industry to focus on people, planet and profit to create globally competitive supply chains.

Noting that the world is grappling with the Coronavirus crisis, he said: But amid all these, every [Indian] citizen is also having a resolve to transform this disaster into an opportunity, to make this into a major turning point.

He defined this turning point as a self-reliant India. He said this has been the aspiration of Indians for several years, and it is being pursued through policies and actions for the past five to six years.

Now the Corona crisis has given us a task to accelerate this process and Atmnirbhar Bharat Abhiyan [self-reliant India initiative] is an outcome of that, he said.

Modi gave a call for an Atmanirbhar Bharat in his address to the nation on May 12, when he announced a package of more than Rs 20 lakh crore to revive the economy battered by the pandemic.

According to the latest official data, the Indian economy grew 3.1% in the three months ended March 31. The growth rate in the full fiscal 2019-20 is expected to be 4.2%, the slowest in 11 years on the back of falling investment and consumption.

Growth in the last quarter was sluggish despite only the last seven days of the period being impacted by the nationwide lockdown since March 25. A sharp fall in gross domestic product (GDP) growth is expected due to the 68-day lockdown. Fitch Ratings on Wednesday forecast a 5% contraction in GDP this fiscal, but it expected growth to rebound to 9.5% next year.

The next fiscal appears promising for India as S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday said the countrys economy is likely to achieve a strong 8.5% growth, following a 5% contraction in the current fiscal.

These estimates came almost a week after Moodys Investors Service downgraded Indias sovereign rating one notch to the lowest investment grade, with a negative outlook, saying the Indian economy would face a prolonged period of slower growth.

S&P on Wednesday hoped recent structural reforms announced by the government, along with fiscal incentives in the Atmanirbhar Bharat package, would boost the economy. While risks to Indias long-term growth rate are rising, ongoing economic reforms, if executed well, should keep the countrys growth rate ahead of peers, it said.

Key structural reforms announced recently include expansion of the scope for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), allowing marketing freedom to farmers, liberalisation of commercial mining, a comprehensive disinvestment policy, and opening up the defence and space to private entrepreneurs. In September 2019, the government slashed corporate tax rates to make India a manufacturing destination, which, according to S&P, should reinforce growth alongside additional fiscal and monetary easing.

In his address to the industry on Thursday, Modi said his government will take steps to reduce import dependency and encourage local manufacturing. He asked industry to focus on three factors people, planet and profit because all are interdependent.

He gave the example of LED bulbs, once unaffordable to the common people. Five years ago, a LED bulb cost Rs 350. But it is now available for Rs 50. This helped provide relief to people, saved electricity worth Rs 19,000 crore and protected the environment, he said.

So, the planet has also benefited. And of course... manufacturers profits have increased, he added.

Modi urged businessmen to set up globally competitive domestic supply chains. This is not the time for a conservative approach. It is time for bold decisions and bold investments, he said.

He said every citizen has resolved to face adversity with determination and this will be a turning point in the countrys history. Atmanirbhar Bharat is the manifestation of the dream every Indian has seen for all these years, he said.

India can lead in manufacturing of products such as medical equipment, defence hardware, solar panels, batteries, chips and aviation, he said.

On June 2, while addressing Indian businessmen, Modi had voiced confidence in the economys ability to return to rapid growth, listing it among his governments top priorities and pledging his commitment to systematic reforms. Yes! We will definitely get our growth back, Modi said in his speech to a conference on Getting Growth Back organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

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PM Modi says command and control regime over, lets plug and play - Hindustan Times

One reader gave a primer for RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki, seen here on April 20, 2020, 'on what constitutes systemic racism.'

Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

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Re RCMP Head Disputes Systemic Racism (June 11): RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki shamefully joins the chorus of people at the head of various state institutions denying the existence of systemic racism in her organization. She clearly does not understand what it is.

The existence of systemic racism does not depend on intentional, overt attempts to discriminate. It is not reflected in the unconscious bias of a few members, as she puts it. Rather, it describes the structural inequalities built into the system that create and then perpetuate disadvantage for people of colour and Indigenous people.

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If you head a state organization and you can only see a few bad apples, but fail to see the rot that has beset the trees, it is time to go.

Nicole Chrolavicius Toronto

Here is a primer for Brenda Lucki on what constitutes systemic racism: If the management team is not representative of the people they serve, then that is a systemic issue based in racism. If the rank and file do not represent the people they serve, then that is also systemic racism. If the rank and file along with management havent been properly screened to block those with unconcious bias, then that is systemic racism. If the organization does not offer adequate training to deal with those of different cultural backgrounds, then that is systemic racism.

It is disappointing to see people in positions of great responsibility and power have such a poor grasp of the social implications in their approach to leadership.

Bruce Henry Waterloo, Ont.

Re Mayor Open To Renaming Dundas Street Over Concerns of Namesakes Racism (June 11): I was surprised to read that Dundas Street was named after a certain Henry Dundas. I had always understood it to be so named because when Toronto was Muddy York, it was the road to Dundas (and still is), just as Kingston Road was and still is the road to Kingston.

It appears the real issue is whether Dundas, Ont., should be renamed; if so, then we should consider following suit. The irony is that the controversy has so far served to revive the memory of an invidious individual who was hitherto long dead and forgotten.

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Andrew Leith Macrae Toronto

It is difficult to know if a man blinded by values of his time should be erased from our street names. Until you remember others were not. William Wilberforce fought to abolish the slave trade. William Wilberforce Street please.

Chris Stoate Oakville, Ont.

Re Parliament Has Sat Only 38 Days In Nearly 12 months. What Now? (June 10): I dont agree with the wholesale suspension of Parliament, but Canadas situation has a bit more complexity compared with that of Britain. It is a relatively compact country with multiple options for MPs to return to London for regularly scheduled sittings, plus it has near universal high-speed internet connectivity for remote sittings. Canada is geographically massive with greatly reduced options for travel to Ottawa, and internet connections for many ridings are not as robust. With the higher COVID-19 incidence rate in Central Canada, I can see how Ottawa may not be the best choice for everyone.

Maybe a different hybrid model should be considered: one in which MPs gather regionally to sit concurrently with MPs in Ottawa and have video links joining everyone. These hubs would have best-of-class video conferencing hardware and displays (not like Zoom meetings), with rooms large enough so members would maintain physical-distancing protocols. Travel would be restricted within safe zones (such as the west/north to one location, Maritimes to another, Ontario/Quebec travel to Ottawa), so the dynamics of live Parliament are partially restored.

Surely there is a Canadian compromise that can work to bring Parliament back.

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Tom Muirhead Vancouver

Re The Nine Principles of Good Policing (June 9): Almost 200 years after its first publication, Sir Robert Peels principles offer the perfect, elegant description of what we call consent policing. The rules lay out both practical and philosophic foundations of community policing. But in founding the first modern police service, he never absolved us (the public) of our own obligations.

Principle 7 describes the correct police/public relationship, but many of us skim the last bit: the police being the only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties that are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence. Put simply, Sir Roberts bobbies werent doing anything about crime and disorder that the public were not obliged to do already.

So, todays challenge is to reform our own preferences and attitudes, not simply to impose changes we want on police services. Are Canadians prepared to do the hard work of improving community policing, by performing those duties incumbent on us in the interests of community welfare and existence?

Andrew Mizen Toronto

Re Former Envoy Urges Boycott Of Beijing Olympics (June 11): Boycotting the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics would be counterproductive and discriminatory. Counterproductive, because if Canada is absent, China will win more medals to brag about. Discriminatory, because the advocates of a boycott are not offering their own personal sacrifices, but instead expect athletes who have trained for years to forgo their Olympic dreams and miss out on medals that open doors for future careers in sports.

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David McLellan Orleans, Ont.

Re Ralph Klein Would Build The Green Line (June 8): Your editorial suggesting that former Calgary mayor Ralph Klein would build the Green Line in the city suggests The Globes lacking of the history of Calgary and a knowledge of the issues facing Calgarians.

We are considering the expenditure of a $5-billion investment of taxpayer money for a rapid transit system that is ill-considered and has the potential of large overruns. Mr. Klein would not build the Green Line.

Your forget that he closed two hospitals, backed off the construction of another, reduced the funding for teachers, doctors and nurses. The Ralph Klein that Albertans knew was a fiscal hawk.

Ron Ghitter Calgary

Re Goodell Tries To Say Sorry About Kaepernick (June 8): Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernicks kneeling protest during the U.S. national anthem raised the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump, who claimed the act to be unpatriotic and disrespectful to military veterans. To be clear, no U.S. soldier ever fought or died for their national anthem. They fought and died for the freedom it represents, including, by the way, the freedom to kneel in protest during the national anthem.

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David M. Williams Ottawa

Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Try to keep letters to fewer than 150 words. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@globeandmail.com

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June 12: She clearly does not understand what it is. Readers react to RCMP head disputing systemic racism, plus other letters to the editor - The...

OLMSTED FALLS, Ohio Governments that wish to deter citizens from exercising their right to assemble have their choice of tactics. They could go with tear gas or pepper spray, rubber bullets or mass arrests. They could intimidate demonstrators by deploying the National Guard.

But in Olmsted Falls, a predominantly white suburb on Clevelands West Side, city officials have chosen a more subtle approach to maintaining a complacent community: Hanging the citys cost of patrolling a peaceful protest over the heads of organizers.

Like many Americans, Ash Clark and Jamie Bridle, both 19 and lifelong Olmsted Falls residents, were enraged by the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, after a white police officer in Minneapolis knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. The young activists decided to organize a protest outside the Olmsted Falls Police Department last Saturday under the banner of the Black Lives Matter movement.

They contacted City Councilwoman at-large Jennifer Jansen, who offered her support. And they spoke with Police Chief Odis Rogers to discuss their plan and logistics. Clark and Bridle said Rogers was professional and encouraging. He let them know they wouldnt need a permit for the protest, provided the group agreed not to march in the street.

But about a half hour after that conversation, Clark said she received a call from Olmsted Falls Law Director Andrew Bemer. He told her that the city would have to deploy additional police to patrol the demonstration, and he wanted her to understand how much that costs up to $300 per additional officer on the streets. Clark said Bemer implied that the organizers and Jansen might end up receiving a $5,000 bill.

After I got off the phone with him, I called Jamie and we freaked out, Clark said. We didnt know what to do. Even though the cause is important, I knew we couldnt afford that at all.

Clark and Bridle did some research to find out if billing for police presence during a protest is legal in this nation where the right to peaceably assemble is memorialized in the very first amendment to the Constitution. Surprisingly, to me at least, the answer is a little complicated.

According to the ACLU of Ohio, if a city does charge a fee, it must be uniformly applied, without discriminating against certain groups or causes. However, even if city officials can legally attempt to recoup the costs, they must make exceptions for grassroots organizers who cant afford to pay.

Clark and Bridle decided to move ahead with the demonstration, despite the citys attempt at intimidation. About 180 people attended the two-hour event, they said. They peacefully carried signs and chanted. At the top of each hour, they silently took a knee for eight minutes and 46 seconds, the length of time Floyd suffered.

Meanwhile, the group was surrounded by law enforcement officers from Olmsted Falls and neighboring cities, SWAT team members, a K-9 unit, sheriffs deputies and members of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

In a Facebook post this week, Mayor James Graven said he was relieved that the protest was peaceful, in contrast to a demonstration that devolved into riots the weekend before in downtown Cleveland. He said nothing of the righteous cause underlying the protest, nor did he align himself with its message, condemning police violence. Instead, his post focused on the potential threat of outside agitators and the large monetary cost involved in keeping everyone safe.

I appreciate the intentions of the protest organizers, who were two young adults living in our city, he wrote. However, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, this protest cost our already cash strapped city considerable expense.

Olmsted Falls residents were incensed. Hundreds responded on Facebook, excoriating the mayor for completely missing the point of the demonstration. They argued that Graven seems to care more about money than black lives and is attempting to suppress free speech by shaming the demonstrators about the cost.

In an interview this week, Graven said he never intended for his message to be taken that way. He acknowledged Clarks and Bridles right to organize a demonstration, and he said the increased police presence was meant to keep the protesters safe from threats they were receiving on social media. He added that he would never try to send the protesters a bill or deter them from exercising their rights.

But Councilwoman Jansen disputes Gravens explanation and said intimidation was his goal. The day before the protest, she said, she was called to a meeting with the mayor, police chief and Council President Paul Stibich to talk about the event. She took fellow Councilwoman Lori Jones with her. Jansen said the meeting became hostile when Graven accused her of helping to organize the protest and failing her fiscal responsibility to the city.

Jansen said she left after Graven refused to let her record the conversation. But as she walked out the door, she said, Graven yelled, Youll be getting the bill!

Jones, who remained in the meeting, said Graven then announced he would have Law Director Bemer call the organizers and let them know that they, too, might have to pay.

Bemer acknowledges that he called Clark and told her the event would require additional police resources that could be expensive. But he denies using the cost in an attempt to bully her into canceling the protest.

I never said, Were going to send you a bill, Bemer told me. I only said, Theres a cost involved here. Whos going to pay for that?

Whether the threat was overt remains in dispute. But whats clear is that city officials did not want the demonstration to take place. Council President Stibich told me this week that he wishes the citizens could find another way to express themselves. He suggested writing letters to the editor or speaking at a City Council meeting.

Fine ideas, but not nearly as powerful as filling a public space with sign-wielding protesters, forcing every passerby to confront their own biases and the status quo especially as we see, for the first time, the message of the Black Lives Matter movement permeating insulated white communities. There isnt a more noble use of taxpayer dollars than protecting our right to assemble. Its stunning that Olmsted Falls officials would consider it a waste of money.

During my conversation with Graven, the mayor defended his controversial Facebook post and its focus on the cost of the protest by invoking the phrase, Freedom isnt free. The idiom traditionally is used to express gratitude for military sacrifices in the name of our Constitutional freedoms. What it doesnt mean is that your freedom to protest police brutality in America is contingent upon whether you can afford the bill.

You can reach columnist Leila Atassi at latassi@cleveland.com.

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Shame on Olmsted Falls mayor for his rant about the cost of policing George Floyd protest - cleveland.com

Amid worldwide protests against the police killing of George Floyd, activists around the US have raised demands for specific policy measures, such as defunding the police. Justifying these demands are the images emerging from the protests, with police officers ramming protesters in vehicles, indiscriminately attacking protesters with pepper spray and exerting excessive force. Local and state policing budgets have nearly tripled since 1977, despite declining crime rates. Even people unfamiliar with the police and prison abolitionist movement are starting, rightly, to envision that public spending could be used in more socially responsible ways.

But beyond the fiscal argument is an ethical one: policing in America cannot be reformed because it is designed for violence. The oppression is a feature, not a bug.

That seems like a radical sentiment only because policing is so normalized in American culture, with depictions in popular media ranging from hapless, donut-chugging dopes to tough, crime-fighting heroes. We even have a baseball team named after a police organization the Texas Rangers.

But its time to look beyond the romanticization of American police and get real. Just as America glorifies the military and Wall Street, and some Americans whitewash the confederate flag and plantation homes, the history of policing is steeped in blood. In fact, the Texas Rangers are named after a group of white men of the same name who slaughtered Comanche Indians in 1841 to steal indigenous territory and expand the frontier westward. The Rangers are considered the first state police organization.

Likewise, as black people fought for their freedom from slavery by escaping north, slave patrols were established to bring us back to captivity. Many researchers consider slave patrols a direct forerunner of modern American law enforcement.

In northern free states, police precincts developed in emerging industrial cities to control what economic elites referred to as rioting, which was the only effective political strategy available to exploited workers. But, as described in the text Community Policing, this rioting was:

actually a primitive form of what would become union strikes against employers, [and] [t]he modern police force not only provided an organized, centralized body of men (and they were all male) legally authorized to use force to maintain order, it also provided the illusion that this order was being maintained under the rule of law, not at the whim of those with economic power.

In other words, police were never created to protect and serve the masses, and our legislative and judicial systems from Congress to the courts to prosecutors have made this clear. Congresss 1850 Fugitive Slave Act, for instance, incentivized law enforcement officials to capture Africans suspected of running away from slavery, paying officials more money to return them to slave owners than to free them.

Instead of expanding the American political project to embrace black people as free citizens, our institutions made caveats to exclude them from the countrys founding principles. Historically, most black people were not considered human, let alone citizens worthy of police or constitution protections. We were property. Even free blacks were, at best, second-class citizens whose status could be demoted at any white persons whims and who fundamentally had no rights which the white man was bound to respect, as the supreme court affirmed in 1856.

Modern court rulings have steadily eroded civil liberties to give police more power and permit racially discriminatory policing, convictions and sentencing. This entrenched history of violent white supremacy is a lot to attempt to reform. So just as 19th-century abolitionists set the terms of their fight beyond incremental improvements to slavery, abolitionists today assert that policing and incarceration must move past modest proposals that fundamentally maintain the system.

The billions of dollars that governments spend on increasingly militarized police can be better used to address the underlying socioeconomic conditions that contribute to police encounters. We should divert resources towards investments in mental health, public education, drug prevention programs, homelessness prevention, community-centered crime prevention and jobs development.

The immediate aftermath of George Floyds killing felt like another police encounter that would lead to yet another viral hashtag with little police reform. But the work of abolitionists has set the bar even higher. We should move past calls for criminal justice reform and instead make demands for freedom.

Malaika Jabali is a writer, attorney and activist whose first short film, Left Out, examines the economic crisis facing black midwesterners

On Tuesday 9 June at7pm BST (2pm EDT) the Guardian isholding a live-streamed eventabout the meaning of George Floyds killing,featuringGuardianjournalists includingUS southern bureau chiefOliver Laughland, reporterKenya Evelyn, writerChris McGreal and columnistMalaika Jabali.Book tickets here

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If youre surprised by how the police are acting, you dont understand US history - The Guardian

In the midst of a global pandemic, many around the world have been deeply disturbed by the alleged murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in broad daylight. Even more shocking was the fact that three of his fellow officers actively participated. Second-degree murder charges have been laid against the officer who pressed his knee on Floyds neck, and the others have now been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder. The debate that has ensued in Canada in the aftermath has been mixed, with some acknowledging that racism exists in Canada, and others outright denying it.

The reality is that Canada, much like the United States, has a history of social injustice and economic inequality between different racial groups. This goes as far back as the first contact between Europeans and Indigenous peoples. Over the centuries, the economic and political imbalances between communities have been redefined with each new wave of immigration, as evidenced by the fact that we scrapped and denounced the head tax, only to impose another variant of it a now normalized right of landing fee.

Racism towards various minority groups exists in Canada still, and anti-black racism is a real problem and is certainly a cause of frustration, but we believe that there is hope. Through solid political and civic engagement with our democratic institutions, social and economic justice can be achieved. Canadian values and, in particular, true conservative principles, have and will continue to shape a fairer and more inclusive Canada. An essential first step is to recognize and admit that there are social and economic challenges to overcome.

Take the current COVID-19 crisis, for example. Data shows that visible minority groups in Canada have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic and the economic fallout resulting from the tough social-distancing measures that have been put in place. This is coming on top of endemic economic and health crises in these communities, yet Canada still refuses to collect ethnicity-related health and mortality data, in contrast to many other OECD countries, including the U.S.

According to Statistics Canada, approximately one in four Canadians could become financially vulnerable due to work interruptions and economic lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is particularly concerning for visible minority groups. The Ontario Anti-Racism Directorates 2017 community consultations found that black-Canadians face major obstacles when looking for employment. Even though the black community has achieved much success in many sectors, systemic discrimination puts a significant section of the community at risk. This is especially true during periods of great economic uncertainty, such as we find ourselves in today.

Marginalized communities are negatively impacted in many other ways, as well, including: over-representation in the criminal justice system; lower levels of educational attainment; poorer health and quality of life; restricted access to capital and less property ownership. These outcomes reinforce systemic barriers.

The Association of Black Conservatives (ABC) actively promotes civic engagement and political participation because these are the proven pathways towards reform. It is only through active engagement in democratic politics at all levels municipal, provincial and federal that real and lasting systemic change can be achieved.

Moreover, it is critical that all communities, particularly disadvantaged communities, engage with all political parties and not just left-leaning parties that act as though they are entitled to the visible minority vote. It is essential that marginalized communities are not just in the room, but are also in decision-making positions. This is not about quotas; it is about diversity.

Canada needs to come to terms with the fact that our standards regarding diversity and equity fails to meet acceptable standards in 2020. Sound conservative values, such as fiscal responsibility, an economy that works for all, fairness, opportunity, self-reliance, respect for the rule of law and personal freedom are essential if we hope to level the socioeconomic playing field and allow communities and individuals to thrive.

Economic inequality and social injustice are enduring problems that require sound policies and political commitment. ABC believes in advancing the principles of equity and inclusion for the black-Canadian community and all Canadians. As we look to build a better and stronger country after COVID-19, persistent socioeconomic inequalities in visible minority groups can no longer be overlooked. The True North is stronger and freer when individuals can reach their full potential. We are, after all, our brothers and sisters keepers.

National Post

Ako Ufodike is the chair, and William Luke is a board member, of the National Council of the Association of Black Conservatives.

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Opinion: The conservative path to a fairer country - National Post

Darrow Montgomery

For too long, I have seen and heard the pain and tragedy of a complete devaluing and dehumanization of black men and black people in this country, says Steven Jumper, a 35-year-old black man and D.C. native, as he marched alongside hundreds of protesters to the White House on Sunday. Absolutely, the coronavirus is a real tragedy that is impacting black and brown people at exponential rates, however this is a turning point for this country. Clearly, you can see people are tired. They are sick and tired of being tired.

Jumper knows there are good copshis mother worked for the Metropolitan Police Department for a number of years and has seen them in action. But he also knows that the police treat black people differently. It boils down to structural racism.

Thousands of people have protested in the streets of D.C. for nearly a week, prompted to act after a Minneapolis police officer killed a black man named George Floyd on May 25. Those gathering in the streets risked contracting COVID-19, getting pepper sprayed, and getting arrested because they know police abuse and violence is a regular occurrence in America. The killing of black individuals is the worst manifestation of this type of brutality.

Protesters want law enforcement to be held accountable, as it would appear that police oversight is too meager even though department budgets balloon year after year. And while the protests are not a referendum on any one agency, the D.C. chapter of Black Lives Matter, along with other groups, is calling for local leaders to defund MPD. [Washington Teachers Union demands] greater investment in communities, not policing, says its president, Elizabeth Davis. Organizers are also circulating an online petition to defund the police.

A budget is a moral statement, says Sean Blackmon, an organizer with Stop Police Terror Project D.C. It comes down to a question of who gets this money and resources and why do they deserve it?

It is not enough to simply not give the money to the cops, Blackmon continues. That money and resources need to be redirected intentionally to community-based programs, because it is our opinion that the people in those communities already have everything that they need to keep themselves safe and to keep themselves whole, they just need the resources to do so.

D.C. allocated more money to police and corrections than to programs for jobs, young people, and mental health combined in Fiscal Year 2019. Even though D.C. is facing a $1.5 billion revenue loss for the current and upcoming fiscal years due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Metropolitan Police Department could see its budget increase to well over half a billion dollars if the D.C. Council approves Mayor Muriel Bowsers proposal.

Those calling for divestment point to the agencys own record to back up their position. Images of D.C. police in riot gear deploying pepper spray, surrounding protesters for breaking curfew, and forcing them to seek shelter in a mans Logan Circle home are just a few recent examples. Stop-and-frisk data recorded between July and December 2019, which MPD was slow to release, reveals more than 70 percent of individuals stopped were black. (For context, 46 percent of D.C.s total population is black.)

In 2018, use of force incidents increased by 20 percent and more than one-third of MPD officers reported using force, according to the Office of Police Complaints most recent report on use of force. 90 percent of all reported uses of force involved black community members, and 41 percent of all uses of force involved white officers and black residents. That same year, MPD officers killed three black menDQuan Young, Jeffrey Price,and Marqueese Alston.

Michelle Young, DQuan Youngs aunt, has mixed feelings about the demonstrations taking place downtown and across the country, and questions whether they will bring meaningful change. Her experience with MPD and the departments refusal to release details and evidence leave her feeling cynical.

Its been more than two years since an off-duty officer shot and killed DQuan. Federal prosecutors decided not to charge the officer, and MPD continues to refuse to identify him. Michelle Youngs lawyer submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for video footage of the fatal incident, but MPD has yet to hand it over.

Without the video, George [Floyd] would have gone murdered without anything happening to him, Michelle Young says. It would have been the same thing were going through: he says, she says, and nothing happens.

***

When asked about the defund police movement during a Wednesday press conference, Bowser said, You have my budget, and my budget invests in making sure we have the officers around the city that we need to keep D.C. residents safe. Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice Kevin Donahue followed the mayor by defending the budget increases. One of those elements among the many that go into a good police force is recruiting locally, said Donahue, pointing to investments in D.C.s cadet program.

Bowsers proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2021 includes a 3.3 percent increase for the Metropolitan Police Department, bringing its total budget to nearly $580 million. Bowsers proposal allows MPD to continue hiring uniformed officers to offset attrition. The proposal mentions a specific increase of $280,000 for ballistic shields. Her budget also asks for $1.7 million to expand the MPD cadet program from 100 to 150 cadets.

While police represent the traditional approach to addressing crime and public safety, programs within agencies such as the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement and the Office of Victims Services and Justice Grants represent part of D.C.s commitment to alternative approaches.

Bowsers budget includes some investment in alternative programs, such as the Leadership Academy, which is based at Anacostia High School and provides mentors and wrap-around services to address behavioral issues.

But the mayor has nearly cut other programs that councilmembers and advocates say are more necessary now than ever, as tensions between police and residents escalate. The Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants, for example, saw a cut of $3.6 million from last years approved budget to a total proposal of $50.5 million. The office houses programs that support trauma-informed services and victim services, and provide low-income and underserved people with access to civil legal services.

ONSE, which houses the Leadership Academy, has a total budget of $7.6 million for Fiscal Year 2020. Bowsers proposed budget reduces that to $6.7 million, an 11 percent reduction. One cut in particular$805,000 to ONSEs violence interruption programfrustrated councilmembers during the mayors budget presentation last month. The program, aimed at reducing violent crime without police intervention, is still relatively new, and in response to questions from several councilmembers, City Administrator Rashad Young said the mayor opted to fund a different violence prevention program with better data to support its results.

In the case of violence interruption, the data is a little bit mixed, Young said. We have violence interrupters in communities where we havent seen the kinds of declines in violent crime that we would like.

At-Large Councilmember Robert White expressed his frustration with the mayors decision not to fund the violence interruption program, saying its perhaps too early to cut as opposed to look to improve.

Following President Donald Trumps inflammatory statements over the weekend, in which he threatened protesters with vicious dogs and ominous weapons, White posted a video to Twitter expressing his disgust that the president was antagonizing black communities, deliberately provoking violence against them for protests born out of the belief that the criminal justice system wont work.

In the same video, he called out Bowser for her proposed cuts to the violence interruption program, which he believes is effective at reducing violence while avoiding dangerous interactions between law enforcement and communities.

If in a city like Washington, D.C., one of the most progressive jurisdictions in the country with a majority African American leadership, we cant shed light on a better path, then what hope is there? he says in the video. Every one of us is responsible for turning the tide. Just as racism is not confined to one individual who puts his knee on the neck of another man until he dies, neither is justice the result of one policy, one procedure, but a culmination of many.

One of Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allens top priorities this budget cycle is to significantly increase funding for violence prevention and intervention as D.C. copes with another public health crisis: gun violence. With 67 homicides to date, the city has seen a 10 percent increase in murders compared to this time last year. As Allen and others have said time and time again, policing isnt the only way to resolve public safety problems that are rooted in poverty, housing, and education.

When you see a police budget continue to grow and yet we see violence prevention has to take an 11 percent cut to their budget, somethings not right there, Allen tells City Paper.

Allen, who chairs the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, says he will not only look to restore funding for violence prevention, but to find savings within MPDs budget. The councilmember knows this will likely elicit a strong reaction, as it did last year when he reduced MPDs budget by cutting empty positions and diverting vacancy savings to other public safety initiatives. MPD called out his actions on Twitter.

Gearing up for the political battle is a big one, Allen says. What I also am hearing from my colleagues in recent days is much more willingness to be able to support, whether we ask those tough questions and when we propose those budget changes and obviously well see how this goes over [the] next several weeks from a budget process standpoint. But thats one of the biggest challenges is being able to overcome that.

Bowser also incorrectly stated on WAMUs Politics Hour last week that she funded a similar violence interruption program out of the Office of the Attorney General, called Cure the Streets. The mayor did not replenish the nonrecurring $3.8 million in the OAGs budget to support the program. An OAG spokesperson says the office will look to fund the program out of their litigation support fund.

***

Jonathan Smith, the executive director of the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, strongly supports reducing funding for D.C. police. MPD is one of the 10 largest local police agencies in the country, and its officers are far from the only ones policing D.C. residents. The U.S. Capitol Police, Secret Service, U.S. Park Police, and Metro Transit Police also patrol portions of the District.

Were the most policed jurisdiction in the country, Smith tells City Paper. We dont need more police. What we need are the kinds of interventions that are going to change lives for people. So if you have a choice between putting a cop in school or an art teacher, an art teacher is going to give you more public safety than a cop is going to.

D.C. has modern use-of-force policies and accountability structures, thanks to reforms over the past two decades that began when the Justice Department investigated MPD in 1999. Among those accountability structures is a civilian oversight body called the Office of Police Complaints that conducts investigations that are independent of MPD. Though, the OPCs budget is far less than MPDsnot even 5 percent of the polices total budgetand OPC sees a 6.4 percent decrease in the mayors proposed budget.

The problem is theyre not working, Smith says. And its not entirely clear what the issue is other than its a cultural problem inside the department.

Evidence of fractured police-community relationships is borne out in conversations with young people living in gentrifying neighborhoods. You talk to young people of color in those neighborhoods and they talk about how its very much like a stop-and-frisk policy. If theyre out on street corners, the cops will come up and roust them off those corners, or theyll come up and make it more challenging and uncomfortable for people to be there, Smith says.

Nassim Moshiree, the policy director for the ACLU-DC, says her organization regularly hears from people who MPD officers confront. It is these daily interactions with police that are motivating individuals to protest day after day.

Children are walking from school and have police cars drive up next to them and flash lights at them and ask them to lift up their shirts without any sort of reasonable suspicion or purpose. Theres a lot of degrading interactions that arent leading perhaps to violence or escalation, but what we keep hearing is that people feel theyre living in a police state in some neighborhoods, like Deanwood or Congress Heights, Moshiree says.

There are some concrete actions that can be immediately taken to further shore up independent oversight of MPD. For example, Moshiree argues that individuals should be able to make anonymous complaints to the Office of Police Complaints, as they arent able to now, and that MPD needs to publicly release the body-worn camera footage that its currently restricting.

But the public also needs to see meaningful discipline when there is police misconduct, organizers and experts say. Reformists disagree about whether police should be in charge of their own discipline, as is the case now, but the process should be transparent.

Of the 473 investigations conducted by the Office of Police Complaints that were completed in 2019, according to a recent report, nearly half of the cases were dismissed based on the merits, while 29 percent were dismissed because a complainant did not cooperate with the investigation or mediation process. Complaint examiners sustained at least one allegation of misconduct in 23 cases. Of those 23 cases, MPD suspended officers without pay in nine of them. Ten were resolved with dereliction of duty reports, which read like a slap on the wrist; some of those cases involved harassment.

A lot of complaints dont make it to this stage because they just give up, Moshiree says.

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The Movement To Defund DC Police - Washington City Paper