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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 11, 2017)
M artin L uther K ing J r . January 11, 2017 2017 special edition Precisely the Wrong Man to Lead c onTinued froM P age 30 brutality, Sen. Sessions stands on opposite ground. He has repeated stood against the consent decree, a main tool of the DOJ to reel in racist and unaccountable police departments. In a report by the Al- abama Policy Institute, Sen. Ses- sions called consent decrees: “One of the most dangerous, and rarely discussed, exercises of raw power is the issuance of expansive court decrees. Consent decrees have a profound effect on our legal sys- tem as they constitute an end run around the democratic process.” While under the administration of President Barack Obama, the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division made investigating police departments charged with racism and police brutality a key focus by interven- ing in high-profile cases in Fer- guson, Missouri and Baltimore, Maryland to impose consent de- crees and reforms to correct mis- behavior and the violation of citi- zen’s civil rights. Sen. Sessions would become the Attorney General under a pres- ident who supports nationalizing the racist and disproven “stop and frisk,” strategy. Both Sessions and the incoming president are sup- porters of the DOD 1033 program which allows police department’s access to surplus military equip- ment including tanks, armored vehicles, grenade launchers and more. He also opposes the re- moval of mandatory minimum sentences and blocked efforts to reduce nonviolent drug sentenc- ing despite wide bi-partisan sup- port for doing so. If not enough, Sen. Sessions has repeatedly vot- ed against safe, sane, and sensible measures to stem the tide of gun violence. Given that these are issues our nation the attorney general is sworn to protect and enforce his nomination represents an ongoing and dangerous threat to our civic birthrights –particularly, and the right to vote. We call upon the Senate to reject Sessions and for Presi- dent-elect Donald J. Trump to replace Sessions with a nominee with a record of inclusion and commitment to protecting the civ- il rights of the American majority. The NAACP does not believe that an election where the incom- ing president lost the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes rep- resents a mandate to overhaul the America of the Majority. The vote remains the most important re- source in making democracy real for all people. As we have since 1909, the NAACP will continue to stand against Senator Sessions and any attempts to unravel the progress earned through the blood, sweat and tears of our people to enjoy the same rights under law as all Americans. Cornell William Brooks is pres- ident and chief executive officer of the NAACP. Greater Truth of One Planet, One Humanity c onTinued froM P age 31 threaten our ideals of freedom and equality. We must come togeth- er and fight back before he takes these dangerous, hateful and un- constitutional ideas any further. “We pledge to stand together with Muslims across the country, and around the world. Because when we stand as one, no Amer- ican can be singled out by their race, religion, income, gender identity or sexual orientation.” If such a movement grows, its effect would not be simply to defeat a bad plan and return the country to some sort of pre-Trump normal, but rather to push the nation further beyond the us-vs.- Page 39 them mentality that still imprisons it and keeps it tied to fear and — yes, oh Lord — war. Trump could foment a revolution that is the opposite of the one his campaign rhetoric called out for. I believe a larger consciousness is waiting to lay claim on Ameri- can politics. Trump says build a wall. Even if the wall is mostly a metaphor, the effect of that metaphor is to lock in consciousness, as though “America” is the only truth Ameri- cans are capable of understanding: Fifty states and that’s it. We’re ex- ceptional and the rest of you, keep out. Locked-in consciousness never keeps people safe, but it does keep them scared. You might call it patriotic absolutism, which yields fear, violence and war. Trump or no Trump, this caged thinking has had its day. The pri- mary characteristic of truth, some- one once said, is that it willingly yields to greater truth. It’s con- venient to organize a nation state around the lesser truth of us vs. them and the ever-lurking pres- ence of The Enemy, but the time has come for this truth to yield to the greater truth of one planet, one humanity. Perhaps it begins with these words: “I am a Muslim.” Robert Koehler, syndicat- ed by PeaceVoice, is a Chicago award-winning journalist and ed- itor. Subscribe! 503-288-0033 Fill Out & Send To: Attn: Subscriptions, PO Box 3137, Portland OR 97208 $45.00 for 3 months • $80.00 for 6 mo. • $125.00 for 1 year (please include check with this subscription form) Name: Telephone: Address: or email subscriptions@portlandobserver.com The Law Offices of Patrick John Sweeney, P.C. 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