 |
|||
Gonzalo Vizcardo via Change.org The private prison company the GEO Group has been found to run some of the most disgusting prisons in America. One judge called a GEO prison a “cesspool of unconstitutional and inhuman acts and conditions” — places where children were placed in solitary confinement, guards sexually assaulted inmates, and prisoners regularly attempted suicide. The GEO Group makes $1 billion a year running private prisons like these — and now they want to spend some of that money to put their name on a stadium on my college campus, Florida Atlantic University. This is not okay with me. I’m a student at FAU, and I will not see my university help a notorious prison corporation whitewash its name on the side of the tallest and most prominent building on my campus, which can be seen from the highly-trafficked I-95 highway and from the many office buildings and residential neighborhoods near my university. I started a petition on Change.org calling on FAU’s President and Board of Trustees to reverse their deal with the GEO Group to license naming rights for a stadium on campus — will you click here to sign? Private prisons are hugely problematic, because they run prisons based on profits, not what’s best for prisoners or for society. For example, an NPR investigation in 2011 found that GEO Group prisons have far fewer guards than government-run prisons. Prisoners have even died waiting for medical attention. In fact, the GEO Group’s prisons are so bad that the state of Mississippi kicked them out of the state entirely, as did Australia in 2003. I don’t want their name on my university’s stadium if an entire state and country kicked them out. Students and professors on campus are angry — we’ve staged protests at the university president’s office, and she’s even agreed to meet with us this Friday. I know that if enough people sign my petition, she and the Board of Trustees will see that giving the GEO Group good PR isn’t worth all the bad PR they’ll get for making this deal. Click here to sign my petition calling on FAU’s President and Board of Trustees to reverse their deal with the GEO Group to put their name on the side of a stadium on campus. Thank you, Gonzalo Vizcardo Lake Worth, Florida |
Tag Archives: NPR
wicked Weather Wednesday &Some News
just another rant …
I listen to mostly left of center radio by choice if my radio device(s) will let the reception through. However, lately the airwaves seem filled with a lot of progressive talk that is less than tolerable at least for me. I got it progressives and or the professional elite have control of the airwaves and have decided to put the rest of us who lean left at risk … well, maybe i don’t get it because as a shusterbot says Mr. Obama will run on the things could be a lot worse if you don’t vote for me platform. If it were up to me progressives would all take a huge chill pill and stop assuming you know what President Obama has decided to do before it actually happens. It is offensive not to mention who you are willing to give more credit to than the President .. Come on -get informed first, hear the plan and then have a tantrum, rant rave and then do all those things that are against your and the Democratic Parties best interest if you can. I support President Obama and while I do not always agree with him, I do wait for the facts and his move to change healthcare was great even with all the blue dogs siding and voting with republicans. The fact is President Obama has had Republicans blocking our move toward the 21st Century living and the Political Party of NO wants to hold the middleclass hostage. The response from my fellow leftie, well, maybe not my friends but people who call themselves progressives and or liberals told Americans to sit out the 2010 midterm elections and here we are. Oh – Oh i am quite sure they know who they are but some seem to act as if they have no responsibility at all. Unfortunately, these people are stirring up all kinds of negative nonsense, which as a voter makes absolutely no sense to me. Btw, I am so tired of the word capitulation and its use by so-called Obama supporters. I have to ask – is anyone else offended by those radio jocks who have been suggesting the left primary President Obama or that they will sit out 2012 out, they sound like childish BS and the obvious question is. In my opinion, if you are so easily swayed by folks you just might be a part of those waiting for President Obama to fail all along. I ask, do they all suffer from amnesia and what about all those people they stir up that listen and decide they are done with President Obama just because they heard some radio or TV host, talking head, pundit or whatever say this that and the other ? Will people please use your own brain and maybe ask yourself what did your member of Congress do to help the President or our left of center causes. I am only a human being but progressive talk is not always right, not always sincere and some not all get personally jazzed if they see their own voice can change what others are feeling or saying while others get paid to divided and conquer the Democratic Party. The problem is, well among several problems is that we need to circle the wagons not vote against our own best interest and make sure that President Obama gets an opportunity to change the faces of the Supreme Court as well as widen what the Democratic Party stands for.
The other thing that has been out there for a while and offensive is NPR maybe others like them have been addressing President Obama as Mr. Obama in most if not all their stories. I don’t know about you but I sincerely feel that “the media” address Obama as President Obama. I am only one American but it sure seems as if “the media” was given orders to say Mr. Obama because most lean right of center and if not they need to be told they are being disrespectful to President Obama and of the office of President. The biggest group of our population having a problem with it was minorities but as we reach President Obama’s 3rd year in office others are noticing the somewhat subtle nuance and in some cases, the use of Mr. Obama becomes a tool for bashing him with a club filled with nastiness. I really feel your station and employees should address him as President Obama not Mr. Obama. So, I wrote to NPR and their response is below.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you for contacting NPR.
We appreciate your thoughts regarding NPR protocol in referencing the President of the United States.
For decades, it has been the broadcast practice of NPR to refer to the President by title on first reference and simply by “Mr. (last name)” or as “the President” for subsequent references within the same report. Such practice bestows optimal, non-partisan, respect upon America’s leader.
We encourage you to view this column by the NPR Ombudsman for additional information about our policy: http://www.npr.org/ombudsman/2009/12/why_do_you_call_him_mr_obama.html
Thank you for listening, and for your continued support of public broadcasting. For the latest news and information, visit NPR.org.
Sincerely,
Alan
NPR Services
202-513-3232
www.npr.org
Other News …
UN declares famine in Somalia: How to help
Comic-Con 2011: Emma Stone: ‘Spider-Man’ Trailer Is ‘Amazing’ (Video)
Rights Group Fears Syrians Tortured After Mass Arrests
Flotilla activist: Arrest in Israel was humiliating
Birth control should be fully covered under health plans, report says
Tiny fourth moon discovered in Pluto’s orbit
Minn. governor signs budget to end government shutdown
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CSPAN …
House Passes Bill to Cap, Cut and Balance Budget; Senate to Take It Up
‘Gang of six’ release $3.7T deal
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cameron Addresses House of Commons
P.M. vows to ‘clear up this mess”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Senators Get Update on Oil Spill in Yellowstone River
Share this:
The Struggle in Wisconsin …
The struggle in Wisconsin is still ongoing, but MoveOn members like you have already played a pivotal role in fighting back against Governor Scott Walker‘s radical attack on workers’ rights.
Walker expected his budget bill to sail through, but instead, it’s sparked a national backlash and energized millions of people. And that’s thanks, in part, to you.
Since the fight began:
Thousands of Wisconsin MoveOn members attended the massive demonstrations in Madison, made calls to their state legislators, and sent almost 10,000 messages to Governor Walker, which protesters plastered all over the walls outside Walker’s office when he refused to accept them. http://www.moveon.org/r?r=206612&id=26435-17809870-dEjiEix&t=1
MoveOn members contributed more than $100,000 to the Wisconsin 14, the brave Democratic state senators who left the state to prevent Republicans from jamming through Walker’s proposal—providing them a huge boost to fight back against Republican attacks. http://www.moveon.org/r?r=206615&id=26435-17809870-dEjiEix&t=2
MoveOn members sent more than 260,000 statements of support to the Wisconsin 14. We delivered the statements—all 5,700 pages of them—to State Senator Chris Larson. He was thrilled to share them with his colleagues and posted on Facebook: “Thank you for standing with us! (And yes, people actually do get paper copies of those forms you fill out online. Thank you MoveOn.org).”
MoveOn members nationwide contributed more than $445,000 to support the efforts to recall the Republican state senators who refuse to negotiate. http://www.moveon.org/r?r=206613&id=26435-17809870-dEjiEix&t=4 The folks running the recall report they’re off to an amazing start, beating their signature goal in the first weekend by 35%, and they’re hugely grateful for the early fundraising.
MoveOn members held solidarity rallies in every state capital—our biggest in years, and on just four days’ notice—to say that we are all Wisconsin and we won’t stand by while Republicans try to kill the American Dream. http://www.moveon.org/r?r=206323&id=26435-17809870-dEjiEix&t=5
It’s an amazing and inspiring list. And this fight is far from over. Even if Governor Walker manages to push through his disastrous proposal, the recall efforts targeting Republicans are already off to an amazing start and several of those who support Walker could be thrown out of office as soon as June.
With similar fights happening across the country and in Washington, we’ve got a long way to go before we put the American Dream back in reach for all Americans. But Wisconsin has sparked a national uprising and given us the strength to fight back.
For the moment though, we just wanted to take the time to say thanks, for all you do.
–Daniel, Joan, Kat, Lenore, and the rest of the team
P.S. With Republicans in Washington pushing devastating federal budget cuts—to education, student loans, NPR, environmental protection, family planning, health and nutrition programs for pregnant women and small children, and more—we’re looking to highlight the stories of those who’d be affected by the cuts. If any of the Republican budget cuts would affect you or your family.
Share this:
PBS and NPR
The budget fight in Congress is really just beginning and it’s going to be a big one. Republicans are claiming they’ll shut the government down if they don’t get their way. They’re willing to cost even more Americans their jobs — just so Republicans can make a political point and attempt to hold Obama hostage.
What Republicans don’t understand is if Democrats stand together, we’ll win this fight.
That’s why DFA members are demanding a budget that has no cuts to vital programs, invests in jobs, and makes the rich and corporations pay their fair share.
And when we talk about vital programs, we’re not just referring to Social Security, Medicare, or the many aspects of our social safety net that keep the struggling middle class and poor Americans from poverty and homelessness. We’re also talking about education, the Environmental Protection Agency, and of course, NPR and PBS.
Our fiends at CREDO action are calling on Congress to fully fund National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting System, please join them right now.http://act.democracyforamerica.com/go/504?akid=474.1480546.8I3SJ5&t=1
Our fiends at CREDO action are calling on Congress to fully fund National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting System, please join them right now.
House Republicans, when deciding how they want to fund the government for the remainder of the fiscal year, immediately attacked NPR and PBS. They cut all funding — that’s right, all of it — for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the nonprofit responsible for funding public media including NPR, PBS, Pacifica and more.
If the funding is not restored in the Senate, it would be a tremendous blow to the entire public interest media sector.
House Republicans disingenuously claimed that they needed to cut funding for public media because of budgetary constraints. But what they failed to highlight is that national public broadcasting is remarkably cost effective, providing local news and information, free of charge, for millions of viewers while only receiving about .0001% of the federal budget.
More to the point, it’s nearly impossible to put a price tag on the actual value of public broadcasting.
We cannot allow congressional Republicans to destroy public media.
Tell Congress: Fully fund NPR and defend public service media! http://act.democracyforamerica.com/go/504?akid=474.1480546.8I3SJ5&t=2
Public media is one of the last bulwarks against the corporate media, where the combination of consolidation and profit motive has long since shifted the focus to infotainment rather than substantive news. In many rural and less affluent communities, broadcasters rely on federal funding to provide the only available high-quality news and public affairs programming.
Without public media, corporate media monopolies would increase their already large control of what we see on television, hear on the radio or read in the newspaper.
The increased accumulation and consolidation of corporate power is a threat to our democracy. And nowhere is this more evident than in our media. It’s important that we stand up to stop this today. America simply cannot afford to lose what public media brings to the table.
Tell Congress: Fully fund NPR and defend public service media!http://act.democracyforamerica.com/go/504?akid=474.1480546.8I3SJ5&t=3
Conservatives have longed for any opportunity to defund NPR, PBS and other public media, and now it looks like they may finally get their wish — unless we stop them.
Tell the Senate to reject cuts to public broadcasting today.
Thank you for everything you do,
-Charles
Charles Chamberlain, Political Director
Be a Seed for Change 