a growing unaddressed emergency

My interest in Angola is as both a paradigm of the Southern transformation of plantations into prisons and as a prototype for what we now call the prison industrial complex. Many old plantations in the South became prisons after the Civil War. Angela Y. Davis traces the initial rise of the penitentiary system to the abolition of slavery, writing: “in the immediate aftermath of slavery, the southern states hastened to develop a criminal justice system that could legally restrict the possibilities of freedom for the newly released slaves.”

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) announced Monday evening that he will support a Republican-led filibuster over President Barack Obama's nominee to serve on the National Labor Relations Board.

a human tragedy and gross injustice

"At the center of our government lies a b ankrupt institution: Congress."

Honesty is a beautiful thing.

News Junkie Scott's Blog (2/07/10)

Como siempre cuando hay un gran evento o día festivo, agencias de orden público usan el pretexto para aumentar la aplicación de leyes racistas, clasistas, y antimigrantes. Habrá varios retenes, y muchas agencias reportan que van a monitorear con mayor vigilancia las vías públicas. Checkpoint response les avisa de los retenes previstos, no sólo en California, sino en el resto del país también.

As with other holidays and large events, law enforcement agencies use the pretext to heighten enforcement of classist, racist, and anti-immigrant laws. This weekend will see numerous checkpoints, as well as non-checkpoint traffic enforcement. Checkpoint response brings you this warning of the foreseeable checkpoints, and urges the utmost caution on the road.