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Editorials/Column
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Florida Inmates’ Lives Matter
ight now, as far as leg-
islation goes, the idea of prison reform is gaining a lot of momentum. Across the country, states are starting to realize that locking people up and throwing away the key isn't the best way to deal with every crime.
Prison systems from Vir- ginia to California are experi- menting with alternative ways to deal with offenders; includ- ing home confinement, more rehabilitation programs and opportunities for job place- ment. Many are attempting to re-write laws in an effort to make sure that the punish- ments administered accu- rately fit the extent of the legal violation.
Even the federal govern- ment has joined the move- ment by introducing its own Justice Reform Bill that is slated for vote in front of the House of Representatives in September. The bill, that is designed to lessen the severity of sentencing for low level and non-violent drug offend- ers, is expected to be followed by a host of other bills that will be introduced with the sole purpose of reducing the federal prison population by
half.
Sadly, in the midst of this
sea of change, there remains one state committed to main- taining its hard-line status when it comes to criminal jus- tice.... Florida.
While everyone else seems to be on the same page in re- gards to reducing the fiscal and social burden that mass incarceration places on com- munities the so-called "Sun- shine State" keeps packing them in like it's still 1992. And, unfortunately for the thousands of men and women languishing inside of Florida's overcrowded prisons, there doesn't appear to be any relief on the horizon.
The irony of this is that Florida typically follows the lead of the feds in the way they operate. When the feds did away with parole, Florida followed suit. And when the federal government started making their inmates serve 85% of their time, Florida was right behind them on that move also.
Now that the feds are dis- covering that those tactics weren't as effective as they thought they would be, and have proven to be racially
bias, they've decided to go in a different direction. But, this time, Florida doesn't look in- terested in continuing to play its usual game of copy cat.
This is one of those causes that I would love for a group like Black Lives Matter to take up. In between their marches that demand justice for Black people, whose lives were un- justifiably lost to police bru- tality, it would be great to see them take on the fight for those Black lives slowly dying behind bars as well.
I mean, when you have men and women serving 30- 60 years for selling dime bags of marijuana because they were labeled habitual offend- ers, isn't that injustice just as damaging as an unwarranted bullet?
Hopefully, Florida's legis- lators will take notice of this growing reform trend and re- alize how critical it is for them to get with the program. Oth- erwise, when it comes to their daily prison operations going forward, they may eventually have the unenviable task of contending with the after- math of what normally hap- pens when heat is applied to a pressure cooker for too long. And I'm sure that's something no one truly wants to see.
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We Disagree!
ust the other day, a good friend said, “If you don’t
control the news, the news will control you.” Maybe that’s why on most daily newspapers (in-print and on- line) the most recent front page didn’t feature Michelle Obama’s DNC address, which experts say was one of the most excellent speeches given by anybody else in the his- tory of American public speaking.
Instead, front pages were plastered with a speech and response by Bernie Sanders and his supporters who were obviously still fired-up and still smarting from the rough- knuckles of a fair fight. . . or was it fair?
Even in the midst of accusations of espionage regard- ing emails against – of all things – Bernie Sanders being Jewish, and just when it seemed the DNC would go down in flames, First Lady Michelle Obama – looking ten times the model of Melania Trump -- stepped up and took the mike.
And what Mrs. Obama said has not been said since So- journer Truth stepped before a bunch of white abolition- ists and demanded, “Aren’t I a woman?” When our First Lady, misty-eyed, gave witness to more than 500 million Americans as to what it was like to be a Black woman waking up in a White House that slaves built, or what it was like seeing her two daughters play with their dogs on the White House lawn, any Democrat who was truly a De- mocrat forgot divisions and sang in unison the key of “Unity.”
Then came the following day wherein the daily news re-wrote history to fit sensationalism and ratings. And they said Bernie Sanders took the spotlight. Well, for the sake of History and Democracy, we disagree.
The iPhone Is Still King
et’s face it, the market is
saturated with smart phones. Samsung and Apple have been at each other’s throats for several years now. The Apple products may have undeniably taken a step back since the death of Steve Jobs, but the company has shown they are still the best designers of cell phones.
Magazines all over the country have reviewed the new six series of Apple iPhones and they admit, the iPhone is still the most attractive smart phone on the market. Apple has wowed us all by featuring gold and white iPhone like never before.
Give Apple credit for im- proving the battery life of the iPhone 6, 6 plus which has got- ten a lot better than its prede- cessor the iPhone 5, 5s. By turning off unnecessary apps such as location finder and
weather apps you can extend the life of the battery even fur- ther.
Consumers new to the iPhone have declared they are using their iPhone through the whole day before the need to recharge the battery. The iPhone has become so popular new cars are being made that feature the Apple CarPlay as a standard option. Just plug your iPhone in the console and there is no need for navigation, or music software.
You can even receive text or email straight to the iPhone from the car’s console. Bear in mind CarPlay will only work with iPhone 5 and up, so if you still own an iPhone 4 or 4s you might want to trade it in or give it to a family member as a backup phone.
These vehicles either fea- ture Apple CarPlay or will soon release vehicles with CarPlay.
Buick. LaCrosse. Regal. Cadil- lac. ATS. CTS. Chevrolet. Ca- maro. Colorado Canyon. Sierra 1500. Honda Accord (EX, EX- L and Touring) Civic (EX, EX- L, EX-T and Touring). Hyundai Sonata. Kia. Optima. Mercedes-Benz. Apple’s inten- tion is to get more consumers using their iPhones while driv- ing. Smart move, Apple. Sam- sung, however, is not far from increasing their own market share of smart phones.
The government an- nounced recently they are switching from Blackberry phones to the Samsung Galaxy. All politicians and gov- ernment officials in Washing- ton will be given the option to carry the Samsung Galaxy. Federal employees are already using the iPhone and iPad for every day work purposes.
In the weekend of the re- lease of the iPhone 6s and 6 plus Apple sold over 13 million units. The iPhone may be very expensive unless you have a smart plan to receive a new iPhone every year from Sprint at no extra charge.
The iPhone is still the most attractive and reliable smart phone to buy.
Political Parties And Diversity
N o doubt, Black viewers watching the Republican Na- tional Convention looked high and low to find Black Republican delegates. Indeed, sources estimated that the 18 Black representatives out of 2,472 delegates in total represented less than one percent of the total attendance. Consequently, the Joint Center for Political and Eco- nomic Studies (JCPES) compiled data that shows that the number of Black delegates attending the Republican con- vention is the lowest since approximately 1900. In fact, their data showed that the number attending this year’s convention is even lower than 1964 figure when Barry
Goldwater ran for office.
Therefore, when viewing the Democratic National
Convention, the contrast to the RNC was stark. There is no doubt that the number of women, Blacks, Latinos, Asians, and LGBT delegates far exceeded those attending the RNC convention in both on-stage appearances and the delegate audience. Of the total 4,766 delegates, 2,887 were women, 1,182 were Black, 747 were Latino, 633 were LGBT and 292 were Asian.
The question as to which party is more prepared and liable to champion the interests of women and minority groups was answered at the DNC convention. Further-
more, the question as to which party has the most inclusive platform was also answered at the DNC convention. There is no question as to which party cares about citizens with disabilities, will leave the strict Dodd-Frank regulations of the banking and financial in- dustry alone, and will maintain build international relationships.
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