Los Angeles - On December 15, 2006 Fourteen year old Cheryl Green garnered national attention when she was fatally shot in broad daylight in Harbor Gateway. While standing with her friends on the corner of 206th and Harbor Cheryl and her friends were approached by a Hispanic man who opened fire killing the young woman immediately and wounding three others. Nothing was done to provoke the attack and Cheryl had no gang affiliations. She was killed because she was a black woman standing too close to an area the gunman considered exclusively Hispanic.
“The Harbor Gateway has been a treacherous place for blacks and Hispanics since the mid- to late-1990s, when blacks started moving into the largely Hispanic area” according to the Daily Breeze (the article is archived now but happens be saved on Playahata.com’s Forum). A decade old turf war between Black and Latino gangs has escalated to the point where even non-gang members are not safe. The front line for this troubled area is the stretch of 206th street between Western and Normandie avenues. North of 206th street is Hispanic, south is Black. Harbor happens to be home of the 204th street gang of which two members responsible for the murder of Cheryl Green are members. (They were reportedly caught and charged with capital murder and 1st degree attempted murder on December 27). Cheryl Green’s death caught national attention but she was not the first victim to befall tragic and senseless targeted killings.
An 11-year-old boy was shot by a Latino gang member in 1997 just a couple blocks away from where Cheryl. In 2002, alleged gang member Marco Milla was convicted of murder and five counts of attempted murder after firing into a group of black people, killing one man at a liquor store near 204th Street and Harvard Boulevard. Residents say they live under a blanket of weariness if not fear. Any African-American that makes their presence in “exlusively” Hispanic parts of town may become the target of harassment. A 1995 police report said "This gang has been involved in an ongoing program to eradicate Black citizens from the gang neighborhood." A 1996 LAPD report on gangs in east Los Angeles stated, "Local gangs will attack any Black person that comes into the city."
After a long time suppression of escalating racial tensions by politicians and other public figures, Last month Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Police Chief William J. Bratton and L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca mobilized to confront and crackdown on the problem.
The importance of the Mayor, Sheriff’s Department and the LAPD’s move cannot be overstated. An alarming trend has been appearing with regard to interracial gang violence. From 2002 to 2006 interracial attacks between Blacks and Latino increased 11% while intra-racial gang attacks fell 23%. Experts such as Tony Rafael, respected writer and gang expert, say they have noticed an increased number of attacks on African Americans and he has gone so far as to describe it as “a policy of ethnic cleansing”. Stats in San Fernando show troubling cases that support this statement. Of 13 attempted murders occurring since July, 10 of them involved Black victims and Latino suspects and in many of these cases the victims were not affiliated with any gang.
These occurrences are a bit odd when one considers there were gangs over a decade ago where African Americans and Hispanics were in the same gang together. Tony Rafael uses the 18th street gang as an example of a gang that was an equal opportunity employer until the Mexican Mafia ordered them to “cleanse” themselves of Black members.
The Mexican Mafia according to Rafael is responsible for these senseless killings. It started in the prisons where the Black Guerilla family and the Mexican Mafia are at odds. One example of the tension is the prison race riots last year. Mexican Mafia, who have control of many Latino gangs outside of prison, instruct gang members who enter the penal system to kill African-Americans outside of prison. The prison conflicts have spilled into the street at the order of “made men” within the Mexican Mafia.
The Mexican Mafia’s attitude is that African-Americans are “infesting” their land. This is not that surprising because the racial division that permeates the California prison is based in centuries of prejudice that began in the times of slavery. It is the same prejudice that permeates the United States. Irony can be seen in the fact that most Mexicans are a mix of European, Native American and AFRICAN descent but the “made men” of the Mexican mafia fail to see it this way. Just as Mexicans are prone to elect a light skinned official into government office they were more than willing to join the Aryan brotherhood in the prisons and in doing so made African-Americans their sole target.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Is The US Ready To Elect A Female President
I was trolling around a forum where a lot of people were asking rhetorical questions and I decided to answer one of them. Actually I am still answering them. This answer had a bit more substance than the others so I graduated it to the blog. I've also included a link at the bottom to HillaryClinton.com and Howard Dean's 50 State Strategy because I can.
Yes, a woman can become president and that woman is Hillary Clinton. When asked who registered voters would be most likely to support for the Democratic nomination for president in 2008 Hillary Clinton overwhelmed the other eleven candidates listed with 34% responding in her favor. Her closest competitor, Barack Obama, had 18%. Hillary Clinton was the front runner in the latest Nationwide ABC News/Washington Post Poll (Jan 16-19) where she edged out Rudy Giuliani 49 to 47 percent and beat John McCain 50 to 45. Every major polling on the Democratic presidential nomination for 2008 showed Clinton ahead of her nearest competitor by double digits. She took the New York Senate seat with double digits (12%) and though it may be closer in polls for the presidential election it must be noted she has been more than competitive. Among potential candidates for the 2008 election Hillary Clinton has even been compared to Franklin Deleanor Roosevelt and Reagan, two of the most popular presidents of both major parties past. Hillary Clinton maintains number power behind her and that is not the only evidence of her ability to win.
Clinton not only has the numbers on her side. She has the Clinton ‘War Room‘ in addition to other political powerhouses that have served in suppressing the Republican machine that unjustly tore down so many Democratic candidates before her. Clinton entered an electoral battlefield in New York where $60,000,000 was spent to defame and defeat her and she emerged on top. She has the aid of James Carville, George Stephanopoulos, and Mark Penn, advisers who have worked on the only two successful Democratic presidential campaigns in the past couple decades. Howard Dean’s grass roots 50 State Strategy can do nothing but aid Mrs. Clinton by embracing people on a more personal level. In addition, she has the greatest living US presidential speaker in her husband Bill Clinton. On top of this non comprehensive list, her War Room is stocked and well oiled with money. Ten million dollars has been in reserve since the 2006 election and as soon as Hillary Clinton declared ‘I’m in’ last Sunday millions more were put in queue.
Even dismissing everything previously said another factor appears to have been overlooked. A presidential candidate is not just ‘a man’ or ‘a woman’ (Though that ‘basic principal’ would have been truer in the past). The presidential candidate is a mass of supporters, a complex set if ideals and ideas and personality that, by the evidence the numbers suggest, attract more than ‘the woman’s vote’, ‘the pro-life vote’, or even the ‘anti-Bush vote’, the last of which will sadly be weaker upon the joyous departure of Bush 43. Hillary Clinton is a former First Lady, a United States Senator, an author, attorney and an active champion for family welfare who fought for women’s rights, expanded child care and early education and in fighting for universal health care she led the creation and design of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which has provided millions of children with health insurance. It is all of this and more that contribute to the ultimate decision of the nation. But most important of all these identities is that she is a Democrat.
A virtual unknown can be placed in either major political party and garner a majority of the nation's votes *cough*recent governor from Arkansas*cough*. What we have here is a Democrat with star power who has spent her life helping people. Short of Jesus giving her an endorsement you’re not getting anything better in politics. The elections were won in 2000 and 2004 by George Bush largely because of an appeal to Hispanics and WOMEN. The increase in women’s support accounted for roughly 2.5% of the 3.5% margin George Bush won by last election. Who better to be empathetically in touch with women, who make up 54% of all voters, than a woman’ Hillary Clinton can easily reverse that advancement that had been so crucial to the Republican Party in recent elections past by taking the edge on the women’s vote away. Especially in this polarized political atmosphere, Hillary Clinton can carry the same states Kerry did and along with one or two others that were marginally won by Bush (if actually at all) in the 2004 presidential race and take the White House to (finally) become our first woman president.
Jay,
Aspiring Incitement
Democratic National Party
Howard Dean's 50 State Strategy
Hillary Clinton for President
***
Yes, a woman can become president and that woman is Hillary Clinton. When asked who registered voters would be most likely to support for the Democratic nomination for president in 2008 Hillary Clinton overwhelmed the other eleven candidates listed with 34% responding in her favor. Her closest competitor, Barack Obama, had 18%. Hillary Clinton was the front runner in the latest Nationwide ABC News/Washington Post Poll (Jan 16-19) where she edged out Rudy Giuliani 49 to 47 percent and beat John McCain 50 to 45. Every major polling on the Democratic presidential nomination for 2008 showed Clinton ahead of her nearest competitor by double digits. She took the New York Senate seat with double digits (12%) and though it may be closer in polls for the presidential election it must be noted she has been more than competitive. Among potential candidates for the 2008 election Hillary Clinton has even been compared to Franklin Deleanor Roosevelt and Reagan, two of the most popular presidents of both major parties past. Hillary Clinton maintains number power behind her and that is not the only evidence of her ability to win.
Clinton not only has the numbers on her side. She has the Clinton ‘War Room‘ in addition to other political powerhouses that have served in suppressing the Republican machine that unjustly tore down so many Democratic candidates before her. Clinton entered an electoral battlefield in New York where $60,000,000 was spent to defame and defeat her and she emerged on top. She has the aid of James Carville, George Stephanopoulos, and Mark Penn, advisers who have worked on the only two successful Democratic presidential campaigns in the past couple decades. Howard Dean’s grass roots 50 State Strategy can do nothing but aid Mrs. Clinton by embracing people on a more personal level. In addition, she has the greatest living US presidential speaker in her husband Bill Clinton. On top of this non comprehensive list, her War Room is stocked and well oiled with money. Ten million dollars has been in reserve since the 2006 election and as soon as Hillary Clinton declared ‘I’m in’ last Sunday millions more were put in queue.
Even dismissing everything previously said another factor appears to have been overlooked. A presidential candidate is not just ‘a man’ or ‘a woman’ (Though that ‘basic principal’ would have been truer in the past). The presidential candidate is a mass of supporters, a complex set if ideals and ideas and personality that, by the evidence the numbers suggest, attract more than ‘the woman’s vote’, ‘the pro-life vote’, or even the ‘anti-Bush vote’, the last of which will sadly be weaker upon the joyous departure of Bush 43. Hillary Clinton is a former First Lady, a United States Senator, an author, attorney and an active champion for family welfare who fought for women’s rights, expanded child care and early education and in fighting for universal health care she led the creation and design of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which has provided millions of children with health insurance. It is all of this and more that contribute to the ultimate decision of the nation. But most important of all these identities is that she is a Democrat.
A virtual unknown can be placed in either major political party and garner a majority of the nation's votes *cough*recent governor from Arkansas*cough*. What we have here is a Democrat with star power who has spent her life helping people. Short of Jesus giving her an endorsement you’re not getting anything better in politics. The elections were won in 2000 and 2004 by George Bush largely because of an appeal to Hispanics and WOMEN. The increase in women’s support accounted for roughly 2.5% of the 3.5% margin George Bush won by last election. Who better to be empathetically in touch with women, who make up 54% of all voters, than a woman’ Hillary Clinton can easily reverse that advancement that had been so crucial to the Republican Party in recent elections past by taking the edge on the women’s vote away. Especially in this polarized political atmosphere, Hillary Clinton can carry the same states Kerry did and along with one or two others that were marginally won by Bush (if actually at all) in the 2004 presidential race and take the White House to (finally) become our first woman president.
Jay,
Aspiring Incitement
Democratic National Party
Howard Dean's 50 State Strategy
Hillary Clinton for President
Labels:
2008,
50 State Strategy,
Election,
Hillary Clinton,
Howard Dean,
War Room
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Hillary Clinton Officially Announces '08 Run
Six years after making history by winning a United States Senate seat as first lady, Mrs. Clinton has set her sights on breaking yet more political barriers in her extraordinary and controversial career.
We all knew she was going to run and now that it's official it's time to see the Clinton machine take down the Republican machine.
Democrats in '08
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