Oct. 24, 2022
The Toronto Star – Rick Salutin, Guest Columnist
In ‘Freedom Convoy’ inquiry, the law is too limited an instrument. That’s why we make governments submit to electorates – There are no guarantees of wise governance aside from a watchful populace who skeptically examine and judge what their duly chosen leaders are up to.
The notion that there are limits to the ability of the law to resolve many of the problems that confront a democracy are frequently noted, especially in conflict where the law may appear as an easy solution for those who appreciate the black and white interpretation we sometimes buttress legal approaches with. “That’s why we make governments submit to electorates and not just courts, where everything’s decided by learned judges according to law. The law is of limited use in life, though some take to it like kittens to catnip. Most normal humans aren’t excessively enamoured by rule of law avowals; they’ve had too much instructive experience. They hope it works, as it sometimes does. But in the end we rely less on it than on politics — rule of the people — dodgy as it too can be.” https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2022/10/21/in-freedom-convoy-inquiry-the-law-is-too-limited-an-instrument-thats-why-we-make-governments-submit-to-electorates.html?source=newsletter&utm_content=a07&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=email&utm_email=404CAADEF7EB839FC77B1B04F0C251E1&utm_campaign=top_150395
Atlanta First News (US) – Adam Murphy
Former inmates now a protected class in city of Atlanta
The question of how to best assist formerly incarcerated persons to get on with their lives and to find employment has the Atlanta city council in serious debate over a proposition to establish the formerly incarcerated as ‘a protected class.’ The motion passed. One in eight people are impacted in the newly defined group of protectees in Atlanta, making the usual re-entry problems more severe simply because of the number. “There aren’t any opportunities, there aren’t any places who are willing to accept people who have served the sentences that they were handed out,” Simpson (co-founder of a nonprofit called Barred Business) said. “I served a 10-year sentence and upon my release, there was nothing for me. I literally had to live underneath a bridge, live in my car, and all of those things but thankfully I was able to pull on my community and they were able to help me get some upward mobility. However, there are a lot of people who can’t.” https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2022/10/17/atlanta-city-council-makes-former-inmates-protected-class/
The Marshall Project (US) – Maurice Chammah
Here is a series of articles on a new awareness in policing circles: the role, and the power, of the local sheriff. The political theory espoused is that a sheriff is directly elected by the people and therefore his decisions, for good or for bad, represent the wishes of the people. The three articles below all invite you to consider the political role of sheriffs and police.
We Surveyed U.S. Sheriffs. See Their Views on Power, Race and Immigration – In an exclusive new survey, The Marshall Project found that sheriffs are key to our debates on policing, immigration and much more.
“Over the last decade, debates about police violence, mass incarceration and other criminal justice issues have generally focused on police chiefs and prosecutors. But sheriffs demand equal attention. In an increasingly partisan America, they lobby state legislatures and Congress. They run jails and carry out evictions. They decide how aggressively to investigate and arrest people on matters ranging from guns to elections to immigration. And they may shape how new abortion laws play out at the local level.” https://www.themarshallproject.org/2022/10/18/we-surveyed-u-s-sheriffs-see-their-views-on-power-race-and-immigration
Does Your Sheriff Think He’s More Powerful than the President? – Richard Mack has built a “Constitutional sheriff” movement to resist state and federal authority on guns, COVID-19 and now election results. A new survey shows just how many sheriffs agree with him.
“One morning last year, around 60 sheriffs and deputies gathered outside Houston for a training that proved to be less about enforcing laws than about subverting them. After a prayer from a pastor dressed like George Washington (wig, frilly collar, musket), the crowd heard from Gary Heavin, the founder of the Curves International fitness chain, who called the 2020 presidential election of Joe Biden “blatantly, in-our-faces stolen.” Then he turned to the reporters in the room (“propagandists”) identifiable by our masks (“diapers”), and said, “I don’t know whether this is going to scare you or comfort you, but just about every person in this room is armed.” The room erupted in cheers.” https://www.themarshallproject.org/2022/10/18/does-your-sheriff-think-he-s-more-powerful-than-the-president
Progressive Sheriffs Are Here. Will They Win In November? A new wave of sheriffs want to make jails less punitive and reject harsh immigration policies.
The small number of sheriffs who identify as progressive tend to come from larger cities or liberal enclaves. A few have gained attention for pursuing more rehabilitative programs in jails or training their deputies to de-escalate potentially violent situations. https://www.themarshallproject.org/2022/10/22/progressive-sheriffs-are-here-will-they-win-in-november
Washington Post – Jennifer Hassan
Texas schools are sending out DNA kits, stark reminders of Uvalde shooting
The Texas Department of Education has what appears to be an embarrassingly tone-deaf and offensive response to the Uvalde shooting of 19 children and 2 teachers. The department has sent each school in the state DNA and fingerprint kits to facilitate body identification after the next school shooting. “After the shooting at Robb Elementary School in May, families of children who were unaccounted for lined up to provide DNA samples to help identify bodies torn apart by bullets. The Uvalde gunman, an 18-year-old, legally purchased two semiautomatic rifles and almost 400 rounds of ammunition to carry out the worst school attack in state history.” Say the critics: “Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is choosing to send DNA kits to schools that parents can use to identify their children’s bodies AFTER they’ve been murdered rather than pass gun safety laws to proactively protect their lives,” Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, tweeted about the Republican leader.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/10/19/texas-dna-kits-schools-shootings/
Tweet from Dr. Nicole LePera: On adult trauma… “There comes a point in life, when we face the reality that no one leaves childhood unscathed. And our parents gave us “stuff” that we need to work through. HOW TO REPARENT YOURSELF.” (Cf string The four pillars of re-parenting) https://twitter.com/Theholisticp syc/status/1582772613171904517?s=03
Centre for Resilience & Social Development (Ottawa) – Crime Prevention Ottawa
“Did you know that young people have special rights protecting them at school and in the criminal justice system? The Centre for Resilience & Social Development (CRSD) has released a series of expert interviews to explain those rights, with support from Crime Prevention Ottawa.
These videos will be useful for families, educators, community workers and other professionals working with young people. The series has a particular focus on supporting racialized, refugee and newcomer families.”
Navigating the youth criminal justice system – Michael Smith, Criminal Defence Lawyer
This video explains young people’s rights when they’re arrested and charged with a crime. It also looks at the support available to help youth rehabilitate. https://youtu.be/3kXtRJgzMPQ.
Navigating the education system – Sabrina Teklab, Student & Family Advocate
Learn about the rights that protect and empower youth at school, as well as how parents can advocate for their child’s needs. https://youtu.be/VosERVwfTFk.
Navigating the education system – Nira Dookeran, Retired Educator
Nira spent 28 years working with newcomer families. She speaks about the challenges they face, from language barriers to systemic injustice. https://youtu.be/W7JZQ7w6qGY.
For more information about the Centre for Resilience & Social Development, visit www.thecrsd.org
The Walrus – Amy Romer
Care System – A six-year-old Gitxsan girl was removed from her community in northern British Columbia. The community brought her back
This article has the sense that what is unfolding is a long term event, even a recapitulation of the Indigenous history for children. It is about a six year old Mia who was placed in the care of the Ministry of Children and Family Development by the child’s mother. From a placement in Prince George – a short distance away and with a white family, and without consulting, the MCFD effected an adoption with a Gitxsan patrilineal relative in Ontario. Despite several efforts to bring Mia home for good the situation led to a confrontation between the MCFD personnel and the community of the Gitxsan who re-asserted the determination to care for the little girl and to help the mother avoid the adoption process. “The Gitxsan people have their own long-standing system of taking care of the nation’s children. The society is matrilineal, so children are born into their mother’s wilp (house group) and are members for life. There may be several lineages in one wilp, and specific connections aren’t always remembered, particularly in larger families. Gitxsan citizenship and membership to a wilp can also be acquired through a process of adoption called ts’imilguudit, typically enacted when a Gitxsan person and non-Gitxsan person are married, or through siisihlguxhlxwst, when a child is raised by someone in her family other than her mother. But this form of adoption is a far cry from the separation of Indigenous children from their communities that often takes place through the provincial and federal foster care systems.” Read how the case played out. https://thewalrus.ca/the-new-residential-school-system-how-a-first-nation-rallied-against-the-foster-care-system/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=A+First+Nation+Rallies+Against+the+New+Residential+School+System&utm_campaign=weekly#newsletter