Always

Vote like the lives of your children depend on your doing so!

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Smile...You are on Candid Camera!

The City Council voted tonight 4 to 1 to accept $400,000.00 for the purposes of installing surveillance cameras on Palisade Avenue.

Page 1 of 2 City Council Agenda. Click here.

Definition of Forfeited Properties

We were told that we are allowed to use Forfeited DEA Account money to install Surveillance Cameras. In my research, it has become clear that the use is specified in an application for procurement of Forfeited DEA Funds. You are only allowed to use the money in the way it was requested in the application. The money must be used for surveillance cameras, because that  is the way our police applied to use it.

The Adoptive Forfeiture Process

The process begins with a request for adoption, which is then reviewed by the appropriate federal agency. If a forfeiture is adopted, the process continues to unfold as follows:
An agreement is signed, in which the local law enforcement agency promises the proceeds "shall be used for law enforcement purposes in accordance with the statutes and guidelines that govern equitable sharing" and also that 23
they will be used as the local agency specified in the application it submitted requesting
equitable sharing in that case. The agreement also states that "the misuse or misapplication of shared resources is prohibited" and will subject the local agency to sanctions.
When the proceeds from an adoptive forfeiture are shared with the participating local agency (or agencies), this is known as equitable sharing. Equitable sharing proceeds are considerable. During FY2007, for example, more than $400 million was paid out by the U.S. Justice Department's Assets Forfeiture Fund to state and local police agencies.
Despite the possible windfall that can result from an equitable sharing payout, there are a few restrictions on how the proceeds can be spent. First, payments are intended to enhance and supplement police resources and activities. Second, property and funds awarded must be used in accordance with specific federal guidelines: 
"Permissible uses of shared property include activities designed to enhance future investigations, such as payment of overtime, provision of police training, purchase of equipment, improvement of police facilities, upgrading of detention facilities, and conducting drug education awareness programs."
24 Third, there is an express requirement that the funds not be used to supplant agency resources.

Monday, November 4, 2013

Opportunity Is Knocking!!!


Two Small Women Against The Odds!!

I call that about even...



We give you 2 small powerful women. 

Now give them your votes and watch them 

be transformed 

into millions of smooth stones.

Get Out and Rock the Vote!

YOU KNOW YOU CAN!

PROVE THEM WRONG! DOWN WITH APATHY!


"They are predicting low voter turnout 

in the minority community." 


 Who are "they" and what 

"minority community" 

are they talking about? 


 They are definitely NOT talking about me. 

 Are they talking about YOU? 

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Everyone Owns The Information...

    Dr. Dierdre Paul's update from northjersey.com was not allowed to populate on Facebook. This is a problem. She raises some very important questions about issues that need to be addressed. These issues are non-partisan in concept and should not be shoveled under the rug by the publishers of the Record or the politicians in question. Is there an obvious attempt to control information? It has not gone unnoticed. People all over this state are being manipulated in this upcoming election. How many people from both parties are not going to the polls because of this? Republicans & Democrats need to call it quits with the subversive control of Voters. The South is not the only place where voters are being manipulated and suppressed. Information must be allowed to flow regardless of the outcome. That is the American Way. Those who are actively participating in destroying this institution need to just STOP. Money cannot be allowed to rule. This is not a Feudal Society. 

    Dr. Dierdre Paul's comments are important to all Englewood Residents.
    For Example: At Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood right now...

    There will be 2 pep rallies
             There will be 2 homecoming kings and Queens
    WILL THEY PLAY THE HOMECOMING GAME TWICE ALSO?

    It is time for these apartheid practices to be eliminated. Enough already...
    I am not pleased with the fact that we were never privy to debates between candidates for the 37th District. I would like to hear the answer to questions posed by Dr. Paul.

    Dr. Dierdre Paul's concerns as stated on northjersey.com should be heard:
    Dierdre Paul · Professor at Montclair State University College of Education and Human Services


    It is truly interesting to see that which The Record values with its endorsements. With Sen. Weinberg's endorsement, I can see that The Record appreciates the apartheid schooling she brought to Englewood with the introduction of the Englewood Academies. Please note that the Academies have actually hurt Dwight Morrow High School by starving it of necessary school funding and resources. It has created a two-tiered educational system like those that even the New York Times have decried.
     With Gordon Johnson, I see that The Record values his letter in support of outsourcing nearly 100 jobs of teacher aides and school secretaries who predominantly reside in Englewood. While Gordon should be bringing jobs to Englewood, he seems intent on taking jobs from African American and Latino women who are heads of households (in many instances).... With Gordon's endorsement as well, I see that The Record values his push to locate one of the light rail's stations in between The Grieco and McCloud Schools...and in the process, exposing our children to stranger danger. Whose interests does Gordon actually serve? Those of the African American and Latino people who most need for him to "man up" or those who permit him to keep his good-paying job while selling his own people out? 
    And last but not least, I applaud the endorsement of Valerie Huttle by The Record for authoring the worst piece of legislation in the contemporary history of the New Jersey State Legislature. That which Valerie has done with her anti-bullying legislation has been to reinforce zero tolerance educational policies that most severely impact males of all races, but African American and Latino males in particular. For communities of color, legislation such as that of which Valerie feels proudest does little more than feed the school to prison pipeline for African American and Latino males. It makes it all but certain that their earning potential and professional viability are compromised. In the end, all they can do is "check the box" and pray that minimum wage ballot initiatives are approved, so they can get possibly a quarter more in paychecks at dead end jobs. One can't even buy an item from the $1 menu at McDonalds with this so-called Democratic gift of increasing the minimum wage. It is smoke and mirrors. While I mistakenly thought that The Record was progressive, these endorsements actually tell a different story. Although lacking in quality, Weinberg, Johnson and Huttle are "good enough" for the people of District 37. And to that, I'll say: "Let's see if that sentiment is reflective of the will of the people on Election Day."  Dr. Dierdre Paul
    Reply · 2 · Unlike
    Dr. Dierdre Paul is a 4th Ward Resident

    Relevant Links:
    On the Subject of Apartheid Educational Practices
    http://plumwalk2-justsaywhen.blogspot.com/2011/06/mr-garrison-and-other-board-members-who.html

     http://plumwalk2-justsaywhen.blogspot.com/2011/10/are-our-schools-in-crisis-what-is-pep.html