The Challenge of Change

–Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Our experiences define us, events we’ve witnessed as well as those that have impacted us directly. They inform us and guide our decision-making process in the future, helping us to avoid making the same mistakes.

As a young man, I lived in an apartment with a hard-working guy who drank like a fish and love loud music… and so did all his friends. One night, sometime after midnight, one of our neighbors called the cops because of the noise, and they came out to shut the party down.

My friend Chris didn’t like the way the situation was unfolding, so he decided to jump off our second-story balcony and try running from the police. I don’t know exactly what happened, but it wasn’t long before one of those officers escorted him back into the living room of our apartment.

Winded, he sat down on the floor with the rest of us. Unharmed.

And he is STILL alive to this day. Well… I haven’t spoken with him in quite a while, so I can’t say that with certainty. But after that night, he lived to see another sunrise.

He ran from the cops and lived to see another DAY.

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Why did he run? We were all underage… he didn’t want to lose his JOB or ruin his chances of going to SCHOOL… he worried about the expense of legal fees and diversion… he didn’t want to face the look of SHAME from his family…

I doubt he ever feared being killed by a Law Enforcement Officer while being held in custody.

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As a child, I was taught to respect Law Enforcement. “… to Protect and Serve.” That means all of us, criminal AND civilian. Once the cops come, they have a JOB to do, and it should be ‘Yes sir/No sir/Thank you sir’ until they’ve secured the situation. Whether you’re in the wrong or not, once they’ve been called to the scene… they are in control. They’re the ones with the WEAPONS.

In essence… submit. Have FAITH in the Justice System.
Have FAITH in Our Rule of Law.

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https://youtu.be/XFKUYdm2HBg

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After watching that footage… of Law Enforcement Officers, beating an UNARMED man… how could anyone recommend that course of action? Those officers… they made the mistakes that aggravated that situation. They sprayed themselves with pepper spray, and as more officers drove by the scene of the initial encounter, they saw one of their own in distress.

**They roused themselves into anger.**

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All based on assumptions… about who Tyre Nichols was, about the events that had just transpired, as well as the potential ongoing threat posed by Mr. Nichols to his community.

IF Mr. Nichols was driving recklessly, then the potential threat to the community was resolved the minute they pulled him from his CAR… but he was STILL perceived to be a threat. Why.

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What would motivate someone to RUN. Whether you’re in the wrong or not, why run? Why make the situation worse… for yourself and the officers involved. They’re just trying to make it through their day as well.

But TWO THINGS can be true at the same time. What motivates someone to do what was done to Tyre Nichols, whether he was in the wrong or not. What crime did he commit that justified that response? What will happen when we are allowed to see ALL the evidence, and fully understand why that encounter took place.

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https://youtu.be/aEHi6vACDWQ

Convenient spy camera, spying on a residential neighborhood… is convenient. Where’s the footage from the camera where the initial encounter took place.

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Because you heard them… they thought he was on drugs. Erratic driving. Crossing the yellow line. What happens if that turns out to be TRUE? What if there’s evidence that justifies the stop?

My mother-in-law was hit by a drunk driver 15 years ago and she will spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair… must we now stop pulling over drivers who show signs of intoxication? The man who did that to her… he lived to see his court date. So, what’s the difference?

The Officers who encountered Tyre Nichols that night, threw him into a silo. They decided who he was based on the information they had, then filled in the rest of the story based on stereotypes they had learned, utilizing their base of knowledge and experiences.

They made an assumption based on LIES, and it led to the death of Tyre Nichols.

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https://theconversation.com/juries-are-subject-to-all-kinds-of-biases-when-it-comes-to-deciding-on-a-trial-176721

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The profile they painted of Mr. Nichols was based on facts and evidence… facts and evidence that were skewed from the start. From the very moment they were collected.

They acted on instinct… and their instincts were wrong.

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“Catching errors should be built into what a crime lab does. This is required for clinical laboratories because LIVES are at stake… For crime laboratories, these types of quality controls have never been required.”

Biased facts will lead to biased acts.https://t.co/S6htX3mCF2

— Jack Charbonneau (@MrJLCharbonneau) January 28, 2023

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Evidence collected, manipulated through omission and selective interpretation. To benefit the needs of the few… over the needs of the many.

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“About 55 percent of fatal encounters with the police between 1980 and 2018 were listed as another cause of death.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/30/us/police-killings-undercounted-study.html

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https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/15/us/african-americans-sickle-cell-police.html

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https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/08/warrior-cop-class-dave-grossman-killology.html

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I am no saint… far from it. I am merely a man, susceptible to fallacy and vice like all the rest. But that is the genius of our system… these faults are to be expected. Justice. Rehabilitation. Perfection is Of Divinity alone. The rest of us… we must seek forgiveness for our mistakes.

How many more mistakes will we allow before we hold our Elected Officials accountable and demand the changes we need. If it can happen to ONE of us, it can happen to us ALL.

We thought the answer was CLEAR… white cop murders black citizen… must be racism. Obviously, we were wrong. Law Enforcement Officers of all stripes… from all backgrounds… and the outcome continues to be the same…

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https://jackcharbonneau.com/2021/04/24/justice/

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It’s not the COPS, it’s the TRAINING.

The problem is SYSTEMIC… and it must change.

-JC

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It is with deep sympathy and respect that I write these words. I will not patronize anyone with thoughts and prayers, but I do pray our Elected Officials… the people who actually have the power to make change happen… will do more than just pray.

I hope they will ACT.

The Promise of Renewal

What allows the opinion of the MINORITY to rule the day…
It’s nothing more than the appearance of DOUBT.

Another possibility. Alternative facts. That legal grey area… where in one instance, if one person shoots another in the middle of 5th Ave, that person goes to JAIL. But of course… there are some instances where that doesn’t happen.

Because the shooter has a BADGE and LEGAL AUTHORITY.
Those people… they get TIME OFF.

With pay.

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https://www.vox.com/2022/7/7/23197430/jayland-walker-police-shooting-akron-ohio-footage

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I’m not a Branding Expert. I’m not a Media Guru or a Messaging Consultant.
I’m not an expert, period. Always a student… never the teacher.

But THIS? This is a branding exercise… this is a message.
When you see this, you know what it’s about.

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https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/05/us/jayland-walker-handcuffed-autopsy-report/index.html

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That didn’t just happen. That wasn’t an accident. That wasn’t done out of fear for the safety of others. There was no judge. There was no jury.

There was no Enforcement of LAW… just an execution.
No one to hold accountable for their crime, and no one held to account.

Has anyone stopped and considered the consequences of our just carrying on like nothing ever happened? You know, back to business as usual. Nothing to see here! Just move along to the next shiny object…

Never mind that gaping WOUND we’re walking around with… the soft underbelly exposed for all to see.

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Why does our Democracy STILL STAND?

Because there was someone there, to PUSH BACK against the depravity. To uphold Righteous Values. Because evil prevails when men of HONOR stand silent… and this Nation is worthy, of every ounce of effort called for in this moment.

To be SILENT is to be COMPLICIT in Her demise.

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Every year we till the fields, in anticipation of the bounty we will receive. With patients and practice, our gifts continue to grow. Our work only rewarded once the harvest is done.

Every year we toil and every SPRING we start anew, but every year brings with it new challenges. In the blink of an eye, our hard work can be washed away or left to whither… all dependent upon the desires of the STORM.

But every year regardless of the outcome… if we CHOOSE to start anew… our fields must be cleared, the remains turned back into the soil. With hope that someday… maybe this year… our bounty and our harvest will only GROW.

I believe in the Promise of Renewal.
I believe in the Infinite Potential of what might BE.

I long for our FUTURE with the same nostalgic passions, that some people harbor for our PAST. Our Better Days may still be ahead of us, but I question embracing a strategy of inaction, as the means of making it come to be. Watching. As TIME passes… just hoping someday, those dreams might become reality.

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It’s one of the fundamental laws that govern our physical reality. The pendulum will swing TRUE… because it must. That energy doesn’t just go away. It remains. It must be released. Like a hammer striking chisel or a sledge raining down destructive blows… that choice is always OURS.

**The American People retain the POWER to do BOTH.**

-JC

Variations On a Theme: D.S. al finé

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IF I were to sit down and think about it hard enough… I’ll bet I could come up with a list of at least 100 reasons why I cannot vote for anyone running as a Republican this fall. Chief among them, the delegitimization of the Office of President of the United States.

Because of that, they delegitimize the continued relevance of their own Political Party… so I will vote accordingly.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/04/14/rnc-debates-commission/

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On the flip side of that, right now I can’t seem to come up with a list of 10 reasons why I should vote FOR the Democratic Party. Yes, the GOP is running on NO national agenda, other than to OPPOSE. Their dog whistles have now become blow horns. They champion causes that disturb the MAJORITY of Americans and they slow any attempt to further the causes of Social Justice and Equality, even as their party holds a MINORITY in Congress.

The Democrats can’t protect a Woman’s Right to CHOOSE. The Democrats can’t protect our Right to VOTE. A Police Officer murdered a man with his knee while he had his HANDS in his pockets… yet the Democratic Party can’t pass a Justice Reform Bill that has that man’s name on it.

ONE PARTY is doing everything they can to roll back the clock, denying us that More Perfect Union, while the OTHER PARTY can’t seem to tie their OWN SHOES. And when they lose this fall, they’ll say it’s all OUR fault… THE VOTERS.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Bro

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I guess they’ll have to spend more MONEY on “voter education” next time around.

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I have no desire to vote FOR the Democratic Party. They have NO AGENDA. No message. No unifying principle that defines who they are… other than pleasing their DONORS at all cost… and yet somehow they say, it’s not THEIR fault.

It’s the VOTERS’ fault.

Yes, it is the voters’ fault… because we’ve allowed this BS to go on for way too long. The charade is UP. The jig is OVER… the “BIG LIE” walks hand-in-hand with the “BIG GRIFT” and we are ALL being taken for a RIDE.

The Democratic Party has become the Neville Chamberlain to the Republican Party’s Adolph Hitler. The President continues to seek bipartisan solutions to problems caused by the OTHER PARTY… while the other party won’t even recognize him as the legitimate President of the United States.

And why do we feel like it’s all our fault? WE VOTED! Just like they told us to.

But it always seems just out of reach… ‘Not this election, but the NEXT! Next time, with YOUR HELP… your financial support… we’ll get this DONE!’

… tick tock tick tock…

Time passes, and the narrative rolls along.

The conversation moves on, and the crisis de jure dominates the front page. War. Terrorism. Climate change. Inflation. Jobs. Jobs. Jobs…

Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was.

The People haven’t moved on… the Politicians have. Leaving in their wake a mountain of DEBT. A heaping PILE of unfinished business and unresolved problems, many of which they’ve raised MONEY on while they were in office.

Don’t talk to me about being a PRO-CHOICE party if you can’t pass a bill protecting a Woman’s Right to Choose. If the ACA can continue to STAND because it’s seen as Congress exercising its power to levy TAXES, then there must be a legislative path forward that will secure the support of all 50 Democratic Senators.

Yet one Senator still stands opposed.

And NO ONE seems surprised! He’s just doing what his “constituents” want him to do. He works for the people he represents… THE DONORS.

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Women are the MAJORITY in West Virginia Senator…

STAND UP for the rights of your constituents.📢⚖️🙌 #RoeVWade #AbortionIsHealthcare #MenForERA #ERANow #CEDAW pic.twitter.com/2BIi8C8t7A

— Jack Charbonneau (@MrJLCharbonneau) May 11, 2022

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https://www.vice.com/en/article/jgmwqp/greg-abbott-baby-formula

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This isn’t a story of US vs THEM. This is a story of preparedness. This is a story of an inability to anticipate the consequences of enforcement of rules and regulations. This is a story about the real-life impact bad government has on ALL our lives.

This is a story demonstrating how incompetent our government has become, as they can’t even get the SIMPLE THINGS right.

It’s as if we must TEACH our government how to WALK all over again.

I can SEE the problem, just as clearly as everyone else. We’re stuck with no alternatives. BOTH parties contributed to this crisis… and it’s not as if this crisis couldn’t have been anticipated.

It was the Federal Government that enforced the law, shutting down that producer. It was the Federal Government that failed to anticipate the downstream impact of shutting down only ONE PRODUCER… knowing that they produce 1/3 of our domestic supply of formula.

And it was the Federal Government that crafted the legislation, that turned a BLIND EYE to the rise of a monopolistic takeover of our FOOD SUPPLY.

From the FIELD to the TABLE. Every aspect of our agricultural industries, from production to logistics has been SLIMMED DOWN. Cutting the FAT. Leaving more meat on the BONE at the end of the day… for less mouths.

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https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2020/03/09/climate-tariffs-debt-and-isolation-drive-some-farmers-suicide/4955865002/

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All we have to do is read the news and everyone can SEE it. It should have been a Presidential priority from DAY ONE. Where’s the Democratic Party? Where’s the party that supposedly represents our FARMERS… the GOP?

IF we assume that our legislators work for the DONORS, then it is clear that they are getting exactly what they want.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/12/us/politics/meatpackers-trump-covid.html

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One party is BEHOLDEN to the DONORS while the OTHER party is hesitant to ACT, because it might scare away their DONORS… and that’s why nothing gets done.

They can’t FUNDRAISE on a problem that’s already been SOLVED.

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Madam Speaker, @amazon has a plan for women who will be effected by this decision… they’re not waiting til Nov.

In 2018, this issue gave you the gavel.
In 2020, this issue gave your party the hat trick.

In 2022… your party needs to EARN our #vote.🎯 #ERANow📢⚖️🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/Wqvry7UJ5C

— Jack Charbonneau (@MrJLCharbonneau) May 6, 2022

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Our two-party system is now BROKEN, and the parties will not seek to reform themselves. They continue to thrive on the dysfunction. They’ve become masters of the GAME they’ve created… and the losers of past political contests become the LEADERS of their party.

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@3:58 in the video: “I know folks- Republicans, Democrats, Independents; purple people, blue people, white people…”

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And why is that? Because he raised a massive amount of MONEY.

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https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/11/politics/jaime-harrison-fundraising-record-south-carolina-senate-race/index.html

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In my experience… the phrase ‘purple people’ is a dog whistle.
I can now see why he lost.

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https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/27/harris-attacks-bidens-record-on-busing-and-working-with-segregationists.html

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… be sure and “Get out the VOTE” this fall.

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And so now we’ve come ‘round FULL CIRCLE. It was the ultimate catalyst that drove me to start my political endeavor back in February 2018, and the crisis continues to this day… unchanged.

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https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/15/us/buffalo-supermarket-shooting-sunday/index.html

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And it’s all like variations on a theme… I swear I’ve heard this song before. The People demand it with their VOTE, but after the election the conversation starts to change.

The answers we seek as a Nation can be found… but only if we stand UNITED. As EQUALS. MY rights are not secure unless YOUR rights are secure. My Liberty is not secure unless your Liberty is secure as well…

And right now, neither Political Party is doing what’s necessary to secure our Democracy.

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That needs to change.

-JC

Choose Your Own Adventure

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How do we allow Judicial Discretion without ceding the continuation

of discriminatory intent? It all starts at the TOP.

It’s a pyramid scheme.

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https://www.npr.org/2021/12/08/1062369646/a-federal-judge-dismisses-rose-mcgowans-lawsuit-against-harvey-weinstein

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https://wjct.org/uncategorized/2019/01/judge-dismisses-ashley-judds-sexual-harassment-claim-against-harvey-weinstein/

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Those judges are on the bench because they were nominated and confirmed by elected officials, who hold their office because of a discriminatory system. A system that is not representative of The People overall, but only a segment of the population.

A poll is a scientifically accurate snapshot of the electorate because of the deliberate attention paid to BIAS and efforts made to minimize its influence…

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C72A0BF5-C42A-4695-B1C2-A2CB3FA89413 — Credit: Breaking Points w/ Krystal and Saagar

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… and any politician worth their salt, pays attention to the polls.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/05/us/amir-locke-minneapolis-police-shooting.html

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Our response to crime isn’t what eliminates crime or deters people from committing crime in the first place. What drives someone to commit a crime.

The overall societal elements that drive someone to pick up a GUN instead of a PHONE… the dire straits that lead someone to STEAL just to pay the BILLS… the conditions that lead one to find more in common with a criminal organization than with a worker’s union…

That is what changes. That’s what makes fertile ground. Not the actions of police. The police officers are only doing what they’re TOLD to do— Enforce the Law.

The Law… as created, by elected officials who are BEHOLDEN to campaign contributions.

You got a GOOD IDEA? Great! Let’s run it past the DONORS and see what they think… ’cause if they don’t agree, you might not get re-elected. If it hurts their BOTTOM LINE or stands opposed to their ideology, they might not DONATE to your campaign. Worse still, they might DONATE to your political opponent.

Hell… they might back a PRIMARY CHALLENGER for that election.

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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/gop-primary-challenger-against-liz-cheney-raises-over-1-million

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They might even back a candidate that doesn’t EXIST.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/11/20/florida-election-trump-senator-rodriguez/

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And why not? If that legislation were to pass, it would cost them MORE MONEY than it would for them to fund a non-existent candidate.

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https://nicic.gov/private-prisons-united-states-2021

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Don’t step outta line or the man will come for YOU next.

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https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jan/30/alexa-factory-whistleblower-i-was-tortured-and-jailed-now-amazon-should-apologise

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Did Stop and Frisk work? Crime went DOWN during that period in time, so elected officials took credit for that progress… until it was found to be locking up BLACK MEN disproportionately, then it was shunned and disavowed.

Does the beating and killing of MORE BLACK MEN by police reduce crime?

Unequivocally… no.

Then why does it continue to happen? During periods in time where crime rates are HIGH. During periods in time where crime rates are LOW. Whether we create MORE LAWS or REPEAL THEM. When our Nation’s economic activity is soaring AND when our economic activity is dismal… some things just remain CONSTANT. Some things are just a given.

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https://jackcharbonneau.com/2021/04/24/justice/

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Getting Tough on Crime is kabuki theater of the Highest Order… an enterprise, worth BILLIONS of dollars.

Throwing BILLIONS at crime does not address the underlying conditions that give rise to the criminality in the first place. So why would we associate a reduction in crime with MORE COPS, MORE LAWS, and MORE JAILS? Because they can’t STOP the crimes already in-progress.

There’s a delay effect… a temporal echo. What was PASSED by previous legislatures creates what we see TODAY. More cops, more policing, more violence does not solve the problem NOW. It only addresses the product of their inadequate and flawed legislation. It’s a parallel to Trickledown Economics.

You want people to NOT do crime? Then you have to present them with a viable alternative to a life of crime.

If life keeps biting you in the ass, eventually you stop caring about all the other noise and just focus on yourself. Me against the WORLD. Do or die…

We must avoid getting to that place.

And that doesn’t happen overnight. You can’t hire MORE COPS and solve a financial crisis. You can’t stop and frisk people and expect to solve the problem of increased murder rates. If you tell someone their JOB depends on them finding CRIME… then they WILL find it. Whether it exists or not.

Because they wouldn’t want to lose their JOB now. That could lead them down a dangerous spiral… and we all know where that could lead.

So why would we allow it to happen in the first place.

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So NOW… let’s reduce crime. Let’s make MORE laws. Let’s get rid of LAWS. Let’s stop enforcing laws or shift the threshold of what constitutes a breaking of the law…

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https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/01/economy/us-job-openings-quite-december/index.html

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If we do THIS, or if we do THAT. If we tweak it around the edges. If we look into the problem… let’s form a panel. A committee… an Investigative Body. MORE COPS. MORE POLICING. ‘I’m outraged!’… by the apparent result of their own INACTION? By the inability to anticipate the consequences of their legislative actions?

By the intentional limiting of options, caused by their need to FUNDRAISE for their re-election.

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So, how do we fix it? How do we get back to NORMAL… without going back to Business as usual? More SUNLIGHT is always the answer.

How do we CLEARLY interpret the Will of The People? Is it with LESS participation? Will we find it through practices of exclusion and disenfranchisement? One man should not rule over a FREE PEOPLE, but should a small handful of elected elites be allowed to decide FOR US who is worthy of that position?

Again, unequivocally… no.

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https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/SeventeenthAmendment.htm

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More participation equals BETTER GOVERNANCE. Everyone has a role to play, and everyone’s VOICE should matter equally.

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With each successive HOUR, with each passing DAY… the generation that came after the LAST, now knows more than their predecessors… BECAUSE of the work they have done. What we have now was unimaginable to them… and what will come, is beyond our wildest dreams.

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https://www.darpa.mil/about-us/timeline/tiros

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TIROS-1

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… because they asked WHY.

Because they knew the answers COULD be found, if only we look hard enough. If we refuse to be fooled by those who cling to old ideas and false pretenses…

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https://www.weathernationtv.com/news/a-satellite-look-back-at-50-years-of-earth-day/

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https://phys.org/news/2019-02-latest-weather-satellite-western-alaska.html

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When we push the boundaries and expand our horizons… when we step outside our own little world… we find the answers. We gain KNOWLEDGE. And, of course… we find the answers to questions, we never even knew existed.

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If THIS is the image we wish to SEE…

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https://twitter.com/maxar/status/1269382265320214528?s=21

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… then how can we expect to find it with resolution like THIS.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2020_United_States_presidential_election_results_map_by_county.svg

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And what will we SEE? The fine points, the details, the minutiae… at the heart of it all, is our LIVES. When the Rule of Law reigns Righteously and Equally, we will know what the opinion of the MAJORITY is. It’s the difference between thinking we know what The People want, and actually knowing what they want.

The answers to these problems exist. The question now becomes—

Do we have the COURAGE to find them?

CLARITY. Above all else. MORE SUNLIGHT is always the answer.

-JC