What should the new President's number one priority be for social justice in 2017 ?

[steve2470]

************African-American Group************** (didn't have room in the subject line)

I don't have an opinion yet, and I want to hear AA members speak their minds. I don't know how true the concept of "political capital" is, but it definitely is a common meme in Washington. Thank you for your time!

Steve

[JustAnotherGen]

1. Revitalizing US Cities

•Double investments in mass transit and affordable workforce housing to empower hard-working families to earn their way up the ladder of success and economic independence;

•Target greater investments in green buildings, energy retrofits, and distributed renewable energy generation to make our urban centers the leading edge in America’s transition to a 100 percent clean energy economy by 2050;

•Double investments in America’s cities and communities through programs like the Community Development Block Grant program.


REBUILD URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE
Provide Mobility And Choice In Transportation For All Americans

Double And Better Target Federal Transit Investment
Overhaul federal funding formulas in order to greatly expand transit investment: prioritizing funding for projects that connect areas of poverty to areas of opportunity, reduce emissions and energy consumption, lower transit costs and increase transit access, or create the most jobs. He



And while doing that - O'Malley needs to ensure as he has shown in the past in Maryland that it is all environmentally sustainable and that people make a good solid wage for completing the work.


We are all in this together.

[randys1]

2. Flexing your political muscle I see. Very astute, extremely reasonable and

insightful ideas.

You know who will HATE all of them?

So we can elect Hillary, Bernie, Bloomberg or my favorite cartoon character, DaFfY DuCk and it wont matter if we cant resolve the outright election thefts occurring in the house visa-vi gerrymandering.

But can you IMAGINE a Democratic House and Senate and your agenda as outlined?

Add tariffs on imports and we reverse ALL of our economic woes in short order.

[JustAnotherGen]

3. We can do nothing

Until 2022 in the House.

I think we have a shot in 2016 at the Senate.


They are playing defense over there.

[lovemydog]

4. Yes!

Modernize cities. Build networks tying them in with non-urban areas. Our nation's success is intimately tied with our great cities.

Reform the criminal justice system.

Martin O'Malley's written plans are a great blueprint for what can be done.

Thank you for all your work in this area.

[Number23]

6. Awesome post, JAG. And I see you used this as yet another opportunity to plug your guy!

He must me amazing to have you as an advocate. You do a fabulous job of touting his credentials, not tearing down everyone else's.

[lovemydog]

11. +1

[OneGrassRoot]

7. Great post. Question for you...

by the way.

My question is about your last line -- We are all in this together. I've used that for years as a hashtag on social media, in recognition of the truth that we are all interconnected.

Recently, a FB acquaintance freaked out -- and I TOTALLY understand why. She listed the ways white privilege manifests and the impact of racism on her children of color, and said, no, we are not all in this together. Not at all.

And she's RIGHT.

I want to tweak that statement to somehow reflect the fact that, at the core, we ARE in this together in many ways but also recognize that in many key ways we're not. Life-threatening ways.

I'm just wondering if you might have any creative suggestions because I'm stumped. Maybe something that is more of a call to action than a statement.

Thanks

[JustAnotherGen]

8. I look at it as a black person

Living in the sixth wealthiest county in America.

Who grew up in a home where my parents could get around redlining and purchase a house in the late 70's in what was at that time was one of the best school districts in NY state.

A father who is a Tuskeegee grad - and that was not 'following the family edict' because he 'should' have gone to Morehouse . . .

And his parents were Morehouse and Spelman grads (born at the turn of the last century)

And whose grandfather was a close personal friend of Booker T. Washington.

When I say it or write it - it means . . .

You may live in the worst part of Camden NJ - or you may be rural in Mississippi - but I was raised to not forget you and I won't forget you. I may have it good but I have an obligation based upon the privileges I had that you didn't - to make sure I pull as many other black folks up as I can in this lifetime.

I found out at my father's funeral - that his dad extended this to poor whites as well. My dad had a good friend (bffs as boys) who came up from Birmingham for his funeral and was a pall bearer. I didn't know until that day he attended Old Miss because he was bright and couldn't afford it - on my grandfather's dime.


When I talk about a '4th year of high school being transformed' as O'Malley has - I'm also talking about the poor white kids in Appalachia that deserve more out of life than an early death from black lung disease (on the rise). Imagine that kid and a kid from Camden NJ (as different from my borough in Horse Country NJ as it gets) working together on something bigger than themselves to make this country better (energy efficient, green, combatting climate change). Imagine them being friends and living and working in close quarters.


It's possible - one of my best friends is a woman I went to college with from West Virginia - her dad died many years ago. Yet - our friendship is genuine and real - and she too is an O'Malley supporter.

[OneGrassRoot]

9. I love that...

Thank you so much for sharing some of your family history here.

When I use that phrase, I also mean to convey a lot of what you share here. You do it so much more eloquently though. There is a deep meaning and intention "we're all in this together" for me.

Still, as a white person, I can see how offense can be taken.

Thanks again.

[Number23]

5. Boy, talk about an easy question to answer!

If I could get one thing done, I would love for there to be SIGNIFICANTLY tougher penalties for those who racially discriminate. Be that via policing or employment or housing discrimination. The Ferguson Report showed how entrenched racist policing is in parts of America and how counties and municipalities actually PAY THEIR BILLS through racism. But what about other areas where racism has literally chained black folks' ability to just... LIVE?

Look at discrimination based on race for unemployment and housing. Black discrimination in housing is damn near as bad in 2016 as it was in the 1970s and we all know that employment and housing have always been key components of anything resembling wealth.

Now, I know that a president has previous little control over this but if there is any way we could get a president that could make this type of focus a priority for the Attorney General's office, I would be very pleased with that.

[lovemydog]

10. Through you & others here I've learned more about redlining -

not only in housing, also in the mortgage and banking business. And of course via policing and the criminal justice system. As you say, we need to extend strict laws against it at every level and they need to be enforced. Thanks.

[The Polack MSgt]

12. Everyone's background informs their opinion...

Of what is highest on the list.

For me first and foremost - reign in the acquisition process in the Pentagon.

We are wealthy enough to do all that's needed to rebuild this country but we squander immense stacks of money for nonsense weapons systems foreign bases and shiny toys for state governors.

With the capabilities the DoD has in USTRANSCOM why are we basing Americans in over 100 countries?

Why has $1 Trillion been wasted on a barely functioning Airframe over the last 20 years?

Every USN Carrier Group is simultaneously a global top 5 Navy and top 10 Air Force - Why do we need a dozen of these?

Why does every state need dozens of Cargo Planes and Helicopters?

I believe that one of the main reasons those in power have been squeezing AA and the working poor - vilifying them in public statements and downplaying the difficulties they face - is to avoid having to justify the DoD budget.

After all - If they don't deserve that money, we can keep spending it to keep Americans "safe".

That much spending warps the government around itself - it needs to stop

[1StrongBlackMan]

14. Sadly, much of the DoD "waste" is, in fact, for ...

Job creation/district support purposes. I live in a town with an airbase, that supports/houses an air group, and where the largest private employer is a military contractor ... a full 60% of the local economy is owed to the DoD.

[The Polack MSgt]

15. This is true...

Military bases raise the economy of the area in which they're located.

Steady paychecks being spent in the local economy. Building projects on the base employing local contractors, civilian jobs on the base etc. Etc.

The same is true where I live. The Base I retired from is the biggest employer in the county and the ripple effect of those paychecks account for more than half of the non-farm income here.

But road and bridge construction/repair would be a more efficient means of boosting the local economy with the added benefit of actually having good roads and bridges at the end of the day.

I'm not advocating cutting the military budget down to the level of European countries - basically reducing it by 80%.

No I am calling out the boondoggles, foreign bases and bloated National Guard spending for reduction

If we simply funded the DoD so that we spent twice what all non allies in the world did combined, we could cut the Pentagon budget by $200 BILLION. BTW that would be a cut of less than 35%

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

13. I am not convinced that there will be a social justice agenda, regardless of who is elected.

Sadly, none of the candidates on either side, gives a damn about social justice.

Bernie Sanders even tells us this on a near-daily basis. His thing is economic justice, which is supposed to "trickle down" and create social justice. Either this guy is naïve or full of shit. I'm coming to the conclusion that it's the latter. I'm turned all the way off by Sanders and his band of cheerleaders.

Hillary Clinton can go shit rocks for all I care. Everyone already knows how much I loathe the Clintons, so there will be nothing done on social justice issues...hell, she even lectured and excoriated the Black Lives Matter representatives on that one.

Martin O'Malley is irrelevant.

The Republicans? We already know what they're about, so I won't even waste my precious time.

I will be voting only for down ticket candidates this year. Bernie was close, but no cigar for me.