5 things you should be talking about

What’s up fam,

I wanted to hit a variety of topics today.

1) First off, why is there not more coverage of the relief efforts of people impacted by the earthquakes in China and Myanmar? In case you hadn’t read, nearly 70,000 people died in this earthquake and millions more are now homeless. To help put it in context, imagine instantly losing 7 people in your life without being able to say goodbye and multiply that grief by 100,000. I guess coverage of the earthquake is worth far less than what the DNC RBC planned to do with the Michigan and Florida delegates.

Make lower crack sentencing guidelines retroactive!!!

What’s up fam, 

As you prepare to wrap up the year, I want to alert everyone to a very important event regarding drug sentencing. On December 11, the U.S. Sentencing Commission plans to hold a public meeting where they are expected to vote on whether to make the new, lower crack cocaine guideline retroactive.

On May 1, 2007, the U.S. Sentencing Commission proposed an amendment to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines to reduce the sentencing ranges for crack cocaine offenses by two levels. The amendment went into effect on November 1, 2007, and will affect 70 percent of crack cocaine cases sentenced in federal courts, reducing sentences by an average of 15 months. 

Retroactivity is vital because for nearly twenty years now, no group has been hit harder with mandatory minimums than Black folks. But don’t take my word for it.

The Danger of hope dashed

Hope is a very delicate feeling that if damaged, can cause irreparable damage. Bush and the RNC’s strong arm tactics scuttled the hope of many minority voters as tried to vote in hopes of seeing real change. The one thing that people hate more than a bad situation is being denied the choice for something better. That is why we here at The SuperSpade are teaming up with our good friends from Color of Change to oppose the nomination of Hans von Spakovsky to the Federal Election Commission. This man helped engineer the “felon” voter purge in Florida that disenfranchised thousands of Black people. The last thing we need are guys like Spakovsky having positions of great influence where he can dash the hopes of more people of color. The dangers of more conservative lunacy is like living in a real-life nightmare.

Go to this link and sign the petition.

Stay up fam,

Brandon Q.

Is racial integration required?

Honestly now, how much is racial integration (work, where you live, social life, etc.) important to you? I ask that because my take is that racial integration in is not vitally important and it would be…(hold your breath) OK if groups more or less kept to themselves while having the freedom to experience different races/cultures. It seriously has to be alright to be with your own sometimes. And for Black people, it pains me when we praise the solidarity of other races/cultures but scoff at the notion of having such solidarity amongst ourselves. Something has to give, can you help me understand?

Stay up fam,

Brandon Q.

Palestine matters…

I am sure many of you have heard about the recent fighting between Hamas and Fatah in Palestine. I don’t claim to be an expert on this issue but the hypocrisy of the United States and the West is beyond the pale.

Education’s Open secret

I don’t have any kids but I know many people that read this site either will be mothers or fathers in the near future or already have young ones probably tugging at you right now. And as you consider different educational options, the lines are often drawn over to send your kids to public, charter, or private schools, with you choosing the best option available to your family. But as a New York Times magazine article by Elizabeth Weil so elegantly explains, perhaps a bigger factor in your child’s academic and social development may hinge greatly on your kid’s birthday and when they start kindergarten.

Why don’t we care about Africa?

I borrowed the title of today’s post from Presidential Candidate, Governor Bill Richardson. In a story that was grotesquely swept under the rug, “US warships fired navy missiles at foreign fighters in Somalia.” We have wrote about military operations directed towards Africa before but this ups the ante…a lot.

Blackle what?

I have written about environmental issues here on the site and the more I try to make a positive impact, I realize how much it requires a completely different approach to almost every aspect of our lives. I am at the point where I don’t even keep my alarm clock plugged in until I get ready for bed. What is the purpose of wasting energy by keeping small appliances plugged in during the day when you are not at home?