Tag Archive for Governor

The Human Football

September 1, 2020 Comments Off on The Human Football

We’re all aware of the demonstrations in recent months sparked by the death of George Floyd. And most of us realize that he’s mainly a symbol of the racial discrimination in our country. The demonstrations are NOT, as we’ve been repeatedly told, mismanagement by one party’s governors.  In fact, 26 of those states experiencing these demonstrations have Republican governors and 24 have Democratic governors.  Yes, that’s all 50 states, indicating that this is a concern shared by every state in our union. So, let’s stop making this an election-year political football and get down to the hard work of curing our national black eye.  If you’re interested, here’s the list. 

Republican: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming. 

Democratic: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin.

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Reagan Wisdom

July 18, 2019 Comments Off on Reagan Wisdom

I admit, I wasn’t overjoyed with Ronald Reagan as the governor of my state, and I disagreed with some of his Presidential policies. Often, though, he made good sense, as in today’s Thursday Thought quote.

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What Would You Do?

August 16, 2016 Comments Off on What Would You Do?

Let’s say that, based mostly on a “jailhouse snitch,” you were committed of a crime and sentenced to 40 years in prison.  But you didn’t do it.  And the “snitch” admitted he lied.  And the eye-witnesses admitted that they were wrong when they identified you.  In other words, all the evidence pointed to your innocence.  But nobody was doing anything to get you set free.

Then you were offered a deal: either spend an indeterminate amount of time–more long years–in prison awaiting a new trial or be released now, with time served and the conviction on your record.  Yes, a conviction, even though you’re not guilty.  You know your family is living in a homeless shelter and that you can be out there helping them and reuniting the family.  What would you choose?

That’s where Keith Cooper stood.  He chose freedom and his family. Now he wants and needs his record to be clear.  His prosecutor and the Indiana Parole Board have recommended a full pardon for him.  Indiana Governor (and V.P candidate) Mike Pence has sat on the request for pardon since March 2014–almost 2 1/2 years.

Obviously this is a flaw in our legal system, as this sort of thing is not uncommon. But something can be done for Keith Cooper.  Read a little more about this at the Change.org website and sign their petition to Gov. Pence to grant the pardon.

 

 

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Help Save a Life

August 21, 2015 Comments Off on Help Save a Life

[This is a plea from Susan Sarandon.  I think it’s important enough to get the word out to as many people as possible.]

Sister Helen Prejean, who I played in “Dead Man Walking,” is fighting her every waking hour to save an innocent man Oklahoma plans to execute in just 26 days. We need your help—and we need it right now.

Sign our petition asking Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin to stop the execution of Richard Glossip.

Richard is scheduled to be executed on September 16. He was convicted of murder solely on the testimony of Justin Sneed, who confessed to the murder but claimed Richard had hired him to do it—even though there is not a shred of physical evidence to support his claim. By implicating Richard, Sneed avoided the death penalty himself and is serving a life sentence in a medium-security prison.1

Ten men on death row in Oklahoma have been exonerated in the past 35 years, four of them convicted based on the false testimony of criminals who had their sentences reduced in exchange for their testimony.2

Despite this, Gov. Fallin has said the state will go ahead with the execution.3 Our only hope is that a groundswell of public outrage forces the governor to issue a 60-day reprieve—giving Richard’s pro bono lawyers time to prove his innocence.

Add your voice to help save an innocent man’s life. Click here to add your name, and then pass it along to your friends right away.

Sneed’s own daughter wrote to the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board last October that she “strongly believe[s]” Richard is innocent. “For a couple of years now, my father has been talking to me about recanting his original testimony,” she wrote. “I feel his conscience is getting to him.”4

Decades of research and investigations show that the death penalty is discriminatory and is used disproportionately against people who are low-income (like Richard), and Black, and in cases where the victim is white.5

As Reverend Adam Leathers of Oklahoma City said, “Sixty days is a small price to pay to avoid killing an innocent man.”6

Thanks for all you do.

–Susan Sarandon

Sources:

1. “Save Richard Glossip!” Ministry Against the Death Penalty, accessed August 7, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=305872&id=129822-28025447-Opva7Rx&t=5

2. “What Happened in Room 102: Oklahoma Prepares to Execute Richard Glossip,” The Intercept, July 9, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=305994&id=129822-28025447-Opva7Rx&t=6

3. “Fallin says state is prepared ‘to hold [Richard Glossip] accountable,’ activists plead for his life,” The City Sentinel, August 10, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=305986&id=129822-28025447-Opva7Rx&t=7

4. “Clemency letter from O’Ryan Justine Sneed,” Scribd, October 23, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=306051&id=129822-28025447-Opva7Rx&t=8

5. “Death Penalty 101,” American Civil Liberties Union, accessed August 14, 2015
https://www.aclu.org/death-penalty-101

6. “Fallin says state is prepared ‘to hold [Richard Glossip] accountable,’ activists plead for his life,” The City Sentinel, August 10, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=305986&id=129822-28025447-Opva7Rx&t=9

 

 

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Anti-Anti?

September 22, 2014 2 comments

It’s a little confusing, but it had to happen–pendulums being pendulums.  It seems that people are discovering that all those tax cuts and breaks for the wealthy are destroying their middle-class everyday services, such as police and fire protection, schools, and libraries.  They want those services and are willing to pay for them.

This is leading to a new attitude: anti-anti tax cuts.  It’s so serious in Kansas, a staunch Republican state, that people are saying they’re ready to vote in a Democrat for Governor so they have a chance at recovering the services they want and need.  Kansas farmers are really upset, but many other citizens are also watching their state go broke.  They see less and less money coming into the coffers while all the belts have been tightened so far they’re binding up people’s vital internal organs.

The anti-anti tax cut attitude is spreading.  It will be interesting to see how many of the 30 states currently with Republican governors stay Republican after the next election or if that party decides it would be wise to pull back on their current tax stance.

 

 

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