Spring & Summer Photos

“Rise above the storm and you will find the sunshine.”

 -Mario Fernandez 

 

Police Misconduct Allowed Anywhere Is Police Misconduct Allowed Everywhere

The USA has more imprisoned people per capita than any other nation on earth. This mass incarceration problem can only be solved by policing the police with federal legislation....

China has a population of ~1 billion people with ~1 million incarcerated; while the USA has a population of ~300 million, with over ~2 million behind bars, & ~4 million on probation or parole. -Van Jones

-photo via Twitter

Chicago City Council aldermen vote to terminate the $33 million contract between police & Chicago Public Schools. 
Lack of accountability for SRO's, traumatized & abused children, & tarnished futures have heeded the call for this to happen for years. The education system is to prepare youth for a future which shouldn't include a felony record for minor disobedience...
as too often happens. 

Police don't belong in schools. Most school resource officers have little to NO training in social & behavioral sciences.

Link: Editorial: Police in Chicago Public Schools Operate with No Special Training and Little Oversight

With 75 convictions overturned so far, is this the police department & states attorney office you want in charge of holding police in Chicago schools accountable? We need independent oversight of ALL misconduct, a national registry, 
no immunity from charges for police officers, & no police in schools! 

Link: Editorial: Take the Lid Off Probes of Officers Tied to Wrongful Convictions

Tear gas is a chemical weapon that is banned in warfare by the Geneva Convention. Before a photo op in front of a church, President Trump 'cleared the road' with military police using tear gas on peaceful protesters while giving a speech on National TV. Peaceful protesters were being shoved, trampled, tear gassed, & cornered by military police with flash bangs thrown at their feet while he spoke of being the 'President of Law & Order' & discussed looting. 

-photo of military police in Washington D.C.

Trump's speech fanned the flames of anger, rather than addressing the underlying issues

 of police brutality & cops getting special treatment in our criminal justice system. 

He gave no words of wisdom.

Link: Why Can Cops Use Chemicals Weapons That Are Banned In Warfare During Protests?

Other police brutality instances have been receiving attention 

at the numerous protests for justice reform:

Link: Buffalo Protester Martin Gugino has a Fractured Skull and Cannot Walk

Link: Police Violence Against Protesters Results in More Deaths and Severe Injuries

Link: 'A Disgusting Display': Police Fire Rubber Bullets, Stun Grenades, and Tear Gas
 at Demonstrators Protesting Killing of George Floyd

-photo via Twitter

Reform measures have recently been introduced in cities, states, & at the federal level, 
including the Ending Qualified Immunity Act. Police have been given a get out of jail for free card 
& it has made it difficult to hold them accountable for their misconduct. 

-photo via Twitter

Policy solutions have been in the works for years, but only recently have the measures been not only considered, but began implementation. A couple of them below have their critics, but are considered blueprints for
 legislative solutions to police violence and misconduct. 

Link: Grassroots Law Project-Our Plan

Link: joincampaignzero.org/solutions

Militarized police along with lack of justice for victims of police misconduct is the perfect storm for disaster. Some feel that there is no hope to reform police, and that defunding the police is the only solution-
 by reallocation of their funding for useful social programs for the community.

Link: Editorial: Increases in Police Funding Will Not Make Black People Safe, it is Time City Leaders Listened

-photo via Twitter

Police misconduct allowed anywhere means
 that police misconduct is allowed everywhere. 💔

#PoliceMisconduct

#GeorgeFloyd

#BlackLivesMatter

#PoliceThePolice

#JusticeReformNow

#SchoolToPrisonPipeline

#PoliceFreeSchools

#NoJusticeNoPeace

#EndPoliceTerror

#ProsecuteThePolice

#8CantWait

#JusticeReform

#PolicySolutions

#PoliceAccountability

#JusticeForAll

#KillerCops

Criminal Justice Reform, Angie Style

Who else has dealt with so much #PoliceMisconduct & #ProsecutorMisconduct that when you need to report an emergency you don't call 911 anymore & write an email instead to your local PD?

 Or just me?!

My Reason: when I file a Freedom of Information Act Request (FOIA) for the police report it won't come back a 'garbage report.' That's a term I have coined throughout the years meaning a police report that's so full of inaccuracies, that it's not worth the paper they wrote it up on. Nothing to dispute about what was reported if it's in writing. 

Their response, or lack of response to 'the call' may still be an area of where they can get away with misconduct though, since citizens reporting a crime can't control an unlawful response by police officers. 

That's why I will still write a partial police report narrative IN with my FOIA request like normally for several years to discourage receiving a garbage report by the police department, or at the direction of the prosecutor who failed to do their job. 

That's because of SO MANY bad experiences getting PD reports back that were garbage- and a plethora of corrupt police officers who are not worth the toilet paper in their toilets they wiped their butts with before their shift. 

They tend to follow a #ThinBlueLine when it comes to reporting each other for misconduct too. 

Writing a partial narrative with my FOIA means that my FOIA says what the report SHOULD say at least. I'll just skip the phone call now altogether & just keep everything I report in writing! New rules! That's called #JusticeReform, Angie style. It's gotta be involuntary I guess. They aren't going to act ethical or sane on their own or because I ask nicely!! I've tried that with every police department & court system that I have ever been unfortunate enough to have to call & ask assistance from...since childhood!! 

We can't pick who births us, or raises us, or who we fall in love with,

 but cops are public paid employees and our criminal justice system is publicly funded so I expect better. 

It's meant to protect and serve, not victimize and traumatize.

PFAS Awareness

- photo from Food & Water Watch

"PFAS (including PFOA and PFOS) are man-made chemicals used in non-stick pans, food packaging, fire suppressants and stain-resistant fabrics. They are known as “forever chemicals” because they stay in the soil and water for long periods of time — and do not break down naturally. Long-term exposure to these chemicals has been associated with health problems, including thyroid disease, weakened immunity and certain cancers." -Food & Water Watch

43 states (at least) have been affected by these dangerous chemicals that don't break down over time. PFAS are detrimental to human health, wildlife, & agriculture. Improved EPA standards are being blocked by the GOP in our House of Representatives and Congress. It has taken the Attorney General's of some states to bring forth a real effort to combat the corruption of the EPA exasperated by the Trump Administration.

 Remediation efforts are slow to address this problem due to lack of legislation and funding. Public education has been virtually non-existent until recent months via TV & in newspapers on the health effects of PFAS, but lots of scientific research has been popping up online. Activists have taken to Twitter and other social media platforms to raise awareness. 

Below is an interactive map to see if your watershed or town in affected:

Link: PFAS Contamination in the U.S.- Interactive Map

More detailed information on PFAS, including their origination, what products they are found in, & their health effects are in this document from Food and Water Watch, published in February 2019:

Link: These Chemicals Are Forever: Water Contamination from PFOA, PFOS and other PFASs

Earth Poems

I have never been much of a poet... 

but the time to act on our climate crisis is now, not later.

"Untitled"

Wildfires & Earthquakes.

We cannot easily put out the flames.

The fracking makes the earth shake.

It sets our water on fire.

We drink oil & fracking chemicals.

We are not allowed to know what those chemicals are.

This is the new normal. 

People just look away.

Disbelief, indifference, helplessness.

A Melting North Pole.

Our crops are drowning in floods & roasting in drought.

Plastic flows through our water from garbage. 

In the smallest streams from our oceans.

Bits & pieces too small to see, but small enough to drink.

Our seas are a graveyard for creatures.

This is the new normal. 

People just look away.

Disbelief, indifference, helplessness.

When the sunsets are all gone,

 & replaced with a nuclear winter haze-

will it be another new normal?

Will you look away?

The Global Polluter Money will no longer matter. 

Their profits will not be as self serving as they had hoped.

Harvesting the earth & humans was their business.

Property Damage, Starvation, & Death.

Profits. Immorality. Mortality.

This is the new normal. 

People just look away.

Disbelief, indifference, helplessness.

Capitalism and Crime: Governmental Control Over Resources; the Oppression Over People: Part 2

-Photo from depositphotos.com

The People's Fight for Water and Other Resources:

 The Human Response to Government Race for Fossil Fuels

The people's fight for water and other resources, due to the harvesting of fossil fuels and the global crisis it has caused for our environment, gives rise to all levels of human survivalist instinct. The necessary means to survive has become a diminished prospect or all together unobtainable. Globally, the conditions which humans live in are complicated by lack of housing, lack of economic opportunity, extreme temperatures, increased natural disasters, and lack of food and/or water. 

When the Oppressed Class Seeks Social Justice: 

Those in countries where freedom of speech and freedom of assembly are legal and socially acceptable, often bring their grievances to their government officials in this way. But, the oppressed sometimes have their civil rights violated by the very government that instituted those universal rights as a part of the democracy. This is because when the ruling class feel their interests are threatened, abuse of governmental power has usually followed. This premise is demonstrated by both history and by Richard Quinney's 'Social Reality Theory of Crime': the idea that "criminal law is used by the state and ruling class to secure survival of the capitalist system, and, as capitalist society is further threatened by it's own contradictions, criminal law will be increasingly used in the attempt to maintain domestic order." Capitalism tends to favor the ruling class, which is controlled by money and their special self-serving interests. Oil drilling in the Arctic is a good example. Despite the will of the people to break free from fossil fuels and our votes in a "democracy" against it, our voices and votes are ignored. In America, our basic environmental legislation was repealed by executive order by President Trump. 

Link: U.S. Exits Paris Climate Agreement

Greed also controls his most powerful supporters, leaving punishment for these governmental crimes against humanity and the planet less likely to occur. While the government itself makes the laws, law enforcement is much more likely to be aimed at those on the lower end of the socio-economic scale. This leaves basic democratic values and social movements in accountability, justice reform, and humanitarianism out of reach for social justice advocates and the oppressed class.

Link: "Moscow's Lone Climate Protester: We Need To Talk About It Now"

"People generally do not have the same justice system as those in places of political and monetary power."- J.K. Lieberman, 1973

The bi-lateral control of the natural resources in the Arctic Circle by Russia & the United States, combined with the human response to the climate crisis and ecocide it's causing is a disaster. Totalitarianism throughout history has never worked. Governments that are mismanaged, become corrupted, do not follow their own laws, lack democracy, and partake in mass incarceration or genocide are repeatedly overthrown by the people or taken down by foreign military. Government, while an entity in itself, is made up of 2 basic things: humans and money. The humanity and morality of people is lost when their thoughts and actions are solely controlled by money and the need to exert power and dominance over the people. Militarized police, in combination with a militarized police force allowed to constantly violate the oppressed class and their civil and constitutional rights, creates a fascist government. Until there can be a moral compass installed in governmental policy, focused on human empathy rather than instant gratification, our earth and people will continue to suffer. 

Capitalism and Crime: Governmental Control Over Resources; the Oppression Over People: Part 1

Part 1: Bi-Lateral Military and Political Power of Natural Resources in the Arctic Circle 

Power has unlimited political and monetary control over some of humans most basic resources. A democratic government, by definition, ensures a healthy balance of moral obligations and shows considerations for it's large population. Future projections of consequences are necessary by governments for whatever actions that it, as a governing body, ultimately decide. Maintaining supplies for it's people is one of the main responsibilities of a democratic government, and military defense alone is not the only important duty they have. They are implicated in the outcome, whether bad or good decision making was used beforehand. Basic moral concepts are usually lost on crony capitalist leaders, as we have been finding out repeatedly throughout history. 

There are other sources of power emerging and evolving, that are cleaner, more efficient, more cost effective, longer lasting, and not dependent on oil. However, the fight between superpowers over the last of the earth's natural resources continues despite advancements in technology, as well as the environmental and humanitarian concerns by many. Russian oil giant Rosneft, and U.S. run Exxon Mobil, both profit from Arctic Drilling. Exxon and Rosneft, both have public data, easily researchable on Google. Included in this post are some links, regarding their joint occupation in The Arctic Circle. 

- photo from: http://energy-cg.com/Arctic/Arctic_ChukchiSea.html

Link: "The Energy Consulting Group Business strategy for upstream oil and gas producers and service companies"

Link: "Our Arctic Presence"

Link: "Offshore Projects"

Profits Over Morality and Democracy

"Exxon Mobil stands to regain access to huge reserves of oil if the United States rolls back sanctions on Russia."

Link: "Exxon Mobil Could Tap Huge Arctic Assets if US-Russian Relations Thaw"

When President Donald Trump appointed Rex Tillerson as Secretary of  State, the former CEO of Exxon Mobil criticized U.S. sanctions on Russia that were imposed under the Obama Administration. This was sparked over Russia's invasion of Ukraine and their violation of the International Treaty that gives Ukraine independence from the former Soviet Union.  Rex Tillerson has stated that the cost to Exxon was $1 billion at the end of 2015. He blamed the U.S. imposed economic sanctions for their loss of profits gained by harvesting natural resources in the Arctic. 

Rex Tillerson, now former Secretary of State, was awarded "Russia's Order of Friendship" by Putin in 2013. More recently than the information in the article that I'm paraphrasing from, is the fact that President Trump has stated he wishes to lift the sanctions on Russia. This is only one more example that power and profits are more important to Trump than our environment or international laws, or world populations. Rosneft has said that about 87 billion barrels of oil are in the Kara Sea Project. Jointly, Exxon Mobil and Rosneft discovered over 730 million barrels in their 1st exploration alone several years ago. Exxon has recently pulled out of oil drilling projects offshore in the Arctic, due to the economic sanctions over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The bi-lateral control by Russia and the United States over natural resources will likely continue, at the expense of our earth and people. What good will come from draining and harming our environment for profits, while pushing the masses further into oppression by our governments and further into poverty? For just a few white collar profiteers to achieve bragging rights or world dominance over the rest of the population, a lot of human suffering has occurred already. 

Coming Soon: Part 2:The People's Fight for Water and Other Resources; The Human Response to Government Race for Fossil Fuels

Other Links:

"Exxon Mobil Could Tap Huge Arctic Assets if US-Russian Relations Thaw"

" Exxon, Citing Sanctions, To Abandon Joint Ventures With Russia's Rosneft"

Revisiting Common Core & Other Psychological Considerations

   I began speaking out along with other parents about Common Core over 5 years ago. My hope was that more teachers would begin to join the effort, as the former teacher did in the article I mentioned in my blog in a couple of posts. She went back to school and educated herself in the field of counseling to help students affected by this approach to education, and advocates for children and their families for a more nurturing & common sense based approach to education. She's a rare, yet highly educated advocate with a great sense of morals and values that guide her..

   B.F. Skinner & Seligman based theories taught heavily to educators are 2 reasons why teachers need to stick to their fields, & out of the field of mental health, which they do as a rule. Teachers cannot become psychotherapists very easily without basically 'unlearning' everything they have been taught previously. You never forget how to ride a bike once you learn though as we say! The educational basis for a degreed, licensed teacher focuses on starkly different courses & theories in general in contrast to the protocol of educational requirements for professional counselors, clinical psychologists, clinical social workers, or marriage and family therapists. Schools are of course for education, NOT psychotherapy sessions. Doing that violates a student's fundamental & civil right to an education, and constitutes a violation of parental rights as well.

   Someone practicing as a 'school counselor' in a school setting needs to adhere to the same educational and licensing requirements as 'regular counselors' in order to protect the mental health of students in any case. ALL therapists/counselors are required to be licensed to practice individual counseling or counseling in a group setting, and in order to call themselves a therapist or counselor. The name 'school counselor' itself gives the impression that the school counselor is degreed in a field such as psychology or sociology. Let's hope for our children's sake that they all are & no corners are being cut either to save money or prevent accountability. If a student becomes injured psychologically because of malpractice by one in a school, the consequences for them should be the same as if it occurred in a counselor's private practice. All states, including Illinois, have a state license board to track counseling licenses and file complaints if necessary.

http://angiesstuff-angie.blogspot.com/2013/11/common-core-vs-common-knowledge.html?m=1

https://angiesstuff-angie.blogspot.com/2014/07/common-core-effects-and-background.html?m=1

Ebola: A Forgotten Pandemic

The link below is a case study of a rare relapse of Ebola in a patient from Scotland, initially diagnosed in late 2014, who was released from isolation and treatment in early 2015. A sudden onset of symptoms in late 2015 pointed to relapse of the virus, previously thought to have been fully treated.This study was published about a year and a half ago. It claims it's an independent study with contributors worldwide; that it wasn't sponsored by the CDC, World Health Organization, or any other governmental entity. However, English doctors were funded through their nationalized healthcare program (Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust) for their part in the study.

My initial summary & thoughts after sifting through this thing:

Vaccination is unavailable because the entire viral sequence is still unknown. The specific CNS sites the virus replicated in causing relapse are also still unknown. The full range of symptoms & secondary diseases caused are also unknown.  Various pharmaceutical companies & governments are claiming there is an effective vaccine now available, & it has already been administered to many. According to this study, an effective & safe vaccine on the market is still an impossibility. More viral sequencing research should be required before subjecting populations to a vaccine which is experimental, not evaulated for safety, & appears to immunize against a disease where the RNA sequence is unknown. Worldwide pandemic infection is still a concern, as Ebola is not fully contained. An Ebola outbreak is currently occuring in The Congo in large enough numbers to reach international media attention.

"...the pathogenesis of post-Ebola complications, in particular the presence and role of viral persistence, is unknown...."

"... to our knowledge, no previous reports exist of late severe relapses of Ebola virus with viral RNA redetected in blood."

"We do not know in which specific site or cells the virus persisted, or whether the virus continuously replicated there or reactivated to produce clinical relapse. Sequence comparison at the time of initial illness and subsequent relapse showed no changes in coding regions, excluding an immune escape variant of the virus causing clinical relapse. A potential precipitant for relapse, such as intercurrent illness or use of immunosuppressive drugs, was not identified, and therefore its cause and timing remain unexplained."

"Our patient is the first to be rechallenged with Ebola virus-specific monoclonal antibody therapy following previous treatment, and developed a life-threatening allergic reaction."

"We are unable to assess our patient's risk of further Ebola virus relapse or know whether this has been reduced or eliminated by antiviral treatment."

"Relapse of viral replication in the CNS alone would not pose a risk of onward community transmission, but our patient also had detectable Ebola virus RNA in blood."

"In view of the large number of Ebola survivors in west Africa, the potential for relapse, even if rare, to initiate new transmission chains is a serious public health concern. A small cluster of Ebola cases occurred in Liberia in November, 2015, after human to human transmission was thought to have ended, which WHO has reported was the result of re-emergence of Ebola virus that had persisted in a previously infected individual."

Link to study:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4967715/#__ffn_sectitle

Guns, Speech, Democracy, & Our Constitution

-Photo from freedomsphoenix.com

What Would MLK Think of Police Misconduct & Lack of Accountability?

What would MLK say? MLK would probably say not to blame the victims; not to blame those are aware of the lack of response by our criminal justice system and government. He would also probably call the current lack of response to widespread police misconduct Human Rights Violations and march with protestors.

- Photo from USA Today

The definition of hypocrisy is blaming the bandaid for the hemorrhage it was used for.

-Photo From Africanglobe.net

-Photo From  pininterest.com

Photo From www.mintpressnews.com

Photo from torentai.lt

Maybe MLK would also say that a movement documenting violence towards the innocent and advocating for social justice and peace cannot use violence as a solution or means to achieve a nonviolent policing system.

Thoughts on Mass Incarceration For Profit

-Photo from "Justice for Justin"

A society has failed when Capitalism harvests it's own people through mass incarcerations and imposing large debts on them. Disproportionately the practice is done for petty offenses punished with inhumane and/or draconian laws, for no other logical reason than for profit. The over punishing criminalization laws are enacted by lawmakers with a financial gain or interest in the business model. Other parts of the web necessary for it's survival have included the documented slow degradation of civil rights and lack of basic equal protections under the law by our criminal justice system as a whole. Mass failures to uphold federal Constitutional Rights such as the promise of "innocent until proven guilty" to citizens, abuse of judicial and police authority, and lack of accountability are large contributors. The mentioned systems profit off of violations of due process and false arrests through fines and also stocks they may hold in the prisons or detention centers. While imprisonment for actual offenses remains the majority of subjects, the longer the sentence, and more incarcerations yield the most profits. There is no accountability, very little at best. Quotas are in place to arrest, detain, charge, and convict, and have become a priority for law enforcement and courts, rather than actual criminal justice. It is no longer a democracy and is a fascist police state when mass incarceration and false imprisonment have become Big Business. It is a joint venture of government and the business of imprisonment coming together for profit off of the abuse of people in society. Taxdollars are also being funneled into the pockets of the keyholders and engineers of this- the politicians that support it, the prosecuting courts, as well as judges privately profiting from it. It is estimated that over 100,000 people are falsely imprisoned. There needs to be steps taken to restore freedom. 

Please visit me on Twitter and Google+ for articles I have shared from sources such as the ACLU on the #SchoolToPrisonPipeline injustice being done to our nation's children and their families, via public schools and police. The end of the war on our people starts with knowledge.