Welcome once again to $27 Quotes — a weekly place where you can sit back, relax, enjoy some inspiring quotes and good music, and (most importantly) spend time gazing at a picture or two of foresterbob’s cat Noble Fur.
It’s been thunderstormy here all this past week and will continue thunderstormy here for almost all of the next 10 days. There are large branches littering the roads from very heavy winds and rains, there’ve been quite a few power surges, my internet was out for 5 hours yesterday, and it looks like it’s about to start thunderstorming again in the next hour. I’m tentatively titling tonight’s diary Thunderstorm Edition, and I’m going to queue this up now so that if I need to turn my computer off abruptly, or if my power or internet goes out, at least there’ll be an explanation of why it’s such an abbreviated edition and why it may seem to end in the middle of something.
(Plus this way even if I get cut off abruptly there’ll be at least one picture of Noble Fur for folks who come to these diaries for that reason to enjoy.)
If I have time to put a different title on tonight’s diary, the title quote will be: “Each and every senior CBP official, all the way to the top should be prosecuted...”
And here the quote itself is:
Each and every senior CBP official, all the way to the top should be prosecuted, and that includes the president, on whose orders the fundamental human rights of these children have been violated.
~ Subir Grewal
You can read details of some of the recent incidents which add to the reasons why such prosecution in this story, Border Patrol took kid's blankets, forced them to sleep on concrete floor, because they lost a comb.
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When a powerful entity is trying to grow a system of human rights abuse (which is what this is) it’s on ALL of us, from smallest to biggest, to throw sand in the gears and stop it.
We cannot be compliant with child abuse.
~ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
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The GOP has supported building mass concentration camps on the southern border. Kids and families are dying.
Now they want money for more - with ZERO negotiation on how the money is spent.
We can’t do that. They‘ve shown that when they get more money, they build more camps.
A reminder: this admin is CHOOSING to round up refugees seeking asylum, fighting to not give children toothpaste or soap, and making people sleep on dirt floors.
They say it’s because of a lack of money. You know what saves money? Not putting masses of people in internment in the first place.
~ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
And regarding the use of the term “concentration camps” in quotes like that:
DHS ripped 1000s of children from their parents and put them in cages with inhumane conditions.
They call their cells “dog pounds” & “freezers.”
I will never apologize for calling these camps what they are.
If that makes you uncomfortable, fight the camps — not the nomenclature.
~ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
My heroes are the ones who stood up when it wasn’t easy.
Kids are dying in cages on our border. Families are being put in “freezers” and “dog pounds.”
Years from now, people will look for the journalists, officials, and everyday people who stood up for what was right in real-time.
We are calling these camps what they are because they fit squarely in an academic consensus and definition.
History will be kind to those who stood up to this injustice.
So say what you will. Kids are dying and I’m not here to make people feel comfortable about that.
~ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
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There are a number of good people running for office in the criminal justice system. One of them is Tiffany Caban, a Queens NY public defenderwho is running to be Queens NY district attorney. For those looking for good candidates to support, I recommend visiting her website and reading some of the things she stands for and plans to do. Here are a few items from her issues page which I especially like:
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There is no evidence harsher sentences make communities safer; all they do is keep more people in jail longer and waste resources.
Too many people die in prison. Indefinite incarceration is wrong; parole should be presumed when there are no serious disciplinary issues.
Our District Attorneys must focus on putting the work in to obtain the best and safest outcomes for the community, not convicting the greatest number of people. As District Attorney, Tiffany Cabán’s office will use its prosecutorial discretion to decline to charge sex work, recreational drug use, and racist laws.
Tackle Corporate Crimes
- Investigate and Prosecute Abusive Landlords. Bad landlords should not be landlords. If they have property in Queens, they will be held accountable in Queens. Bad landlords will be forced to provide adequate housing.
- Hold Drug Companies Accountable for Overprescribing. Prescriptions motivated by profit, not public health, rake in billions of dollars in blood money. Companies and doctors that over-marketed or overprescribed these drugs despite knowing their dangers must be brought to court.
- Establish Corporate Crime, Consumer Protection, Wage Theft and Antitrust Units.Discriminatory, monopolistic practices and fraud can destroy neighborhood economies. Employers stealing wages forces people to make drastic choices to survive. With Amazon declaring its intention to move in, the most vulnerable communities are likely to get disrupted and marginalized again unless we pursue innovative and proactive enforcement against discriminatory, monopolistic policies and practices that destroy our neighborhood economies.
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The best way to prevent repeat offenses is to provide people leaving prison with the basics every person need to live in society, such as housing, job help and education.
And getting back to the subject of tonight’s title quote:
Immigration is not a crime; it is the foundation of our country. Too many abuse our immigrant communities and use fear of deportation against them. ICE is an abusive, renegade agency. Families have a right to be together, and District Attorney Cabán will fight for that right…
DA Cabán will prosecute ICE agents who exceed their authority and endanger our communities under all of New York's relevant statutes and ordinances. Abusive conduct by ICE illegal under New York law will be prosecuted.
Ah! Stormy weather seems to have passed. Maybe time to insert a little music…
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As usual, Elizabeth Warren has put forward several good policy proposals this week. One is a plan to guarantee good quality childcare and good quality early education to all families, not just the wealthy:
Right now, the average cost of child care for one child can take up to 36% of a family’s total income. My plan for Universal Child Care would make child care free for millions of families and affordable for everyone.
~ Elizabeth Warren
Another is her plan to end corrupt profiteering by the corporations which get Pentagon contracts:
Trump’s new Acting Secretary of Defense is a former Raytheon lobbyist who wouldn’t commit to fully recusing himself on matters related to his former employer when I questioned him 19 months ago.
The Trump admin has outsourced leadership of the Pentagon to the defense industry. My bill to End Corruption Now would slam shut the revolving door so there wouldn’t be any question that the Pentagon is working for our national security, not the profits of giant defense companies.
~ Elizabeth Warren
And still another — getting back, once again, to the subject of tonight’s title quote — is ending the use of private prisons to profit off the exploitation of prisoners:
Private prison companies have spent millions to turn our criminal and immigration policies into ones that prioritize making them rich instead of keeping us safe—with terrible consequences. Today I’m announcing my plan to end this private profiteering off of cruelty.
The private prison population has grown rapidly since 2000. And with Donald Trump in the White House, private prison companies saw an opportunity to make millions off of his cruel immigration policies. Today, 73% of detained immigrants are held in private detention facilities.
The companies running prisons and detention centers regularly sacrifice safety to boost their bottom line. Private contractors in both public and private centers regularly cut corners to maximize margins and come up with schemes to make millions off of incarcerated people.
And the exploitation doesn’t end when people leave these facilities. For-profit supervision companies (which are often run by the same private prison corporations) get rich by charging outrageous fees for monitoring and supervision services like ankle monitors.
Our criminal and immigration systems are tearing apart communities of color and devastating the poor, including children. Women—especially women of color—are particularly saddled with the financial burden.
The government has a basic responsibility to keep the people in its care safe—not to use their punishment and detention as an opportunity for profit. As president, I'll ban all private prisons and detention facilities.
First, I'll end all contracts between the Bureau of Prisons, ICE, and the U.S. Marshals Service and private detention providers. There should be no place in America for profiting off of putting more people behind bars or in detention.
Next, I'll prohibit contractors from charging service fees for essential services, like phone calls, bank transfers, and health care. Companies shouldn’t be able to treat incarcerated individuals as captive profit centers.
Finally, I'll hold contractors accountable by expanding oversight, transparency and enforcement. It’s time to shine sunlight on the black box of private services that receive taxpayer dollars.
Washington hands billions to corporations profiting off of inhumane detention and incarceration policies while ignoring the families that are destroyed. It's corruption, plain and simple. Incarcerating and detaining millions for profit doesn’t keep us safe. We must do better.
~ Elizabeth Warren
If you’d like to read more about Warren’s plan to end the use of private prisons, you can find it in her article on Medium: “Ending Private Prisons and Exploitation for Profit”.
And still storm-free! So here are a few more quotes:
Education is a right, not a privilege.
~ Pramila Jayapal
Special interests just launched a $4 million campaign to attack Medicare for All.
They want to protect the current system which makes huge profits for executives and leaves 34 million without care.
~ Bernie Sanders
Americans are lining up in the middle of the night at temporary clinics, in parking lots and cafeterias, to get the health care they desperately need. That is an international disgrace. We must pass Medicare for All.
~ Bernie Sanders
The corporate wing of the party thinks we're an “existential threat” because we want to:
- -Make health care a right
- -Break up big banks
- -Save the planet
- -Make college tuition-free
- -End endless wars
- -Make the wealthy pay their fair share
If that makes us a "threat,” so be it.
~ Bernie Sanders
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Just Say No To a War With Iran
Mr. President,
As a survivor of war, I want to tell you: going to war does not make you strong. It makes you weak.
Sending teenagers to die, or return with lifelong wounds seen and unseen, does not make you a bigger person. It makes you smaller.
Risking a regional or even global armed conflict does not strengthen our country. It weakens us.
I have seen firsthand the effects of war. Even in the best of cases, it never has the outcome you expect.
War is death, displacement, and terror. War is hell.
So I urge you: be strong. Do not listen to the warmongers and war profiteers whispering in your ear.
Do not send our men and women into harm's way.
And I urge the American people to make your voice heard. Organize. Call your member of Congress.
Let all our leaders know that a war with Iran would be a catastrophe.
~ Ilhan Omar
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Just as in Iraq, aggressors are using illegitimate pretexts to beat the drums of war.
Just as in Iraq, our media is taking these claims at face value.
Just as in Iraq, children will die, American lives will be lost, and the world will be less safe.
~ Ilhan Omar
Mark my words. A war with Iran would be an unmitigated disaster.
I need your help to stop this disastrous war.
Sign our petition to tell Congress to pass legislation that would prohibit military action against Iran without Congressional approval.
~ Bernie Sanders
If you’d like to join with Ilhan Omar and Bernie Sanders and other good folks in opposing war with Iran and prohibiting Donald Trump from simply starting one on his own, here’s a link to the petition.
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And returning one more time to the topic of tonight’s title quote:
Trump's immigration policies are sickening, disgusting and everything that this country does not stand for.
We need a humane policy at the border, not locking up children in cages.
We need to protect the 1.8 million eligible for DACA.
We need comprehensive immigration reform…
Here is my promise: As President I will
✅ protect the undocumented
✅ pass comprehensive immigration reform
✅ reinstate legal status for DACA recipients and their parents.
~ Bernie Sanders
And in that spirit, here’s a song by Sydney Carter to close tonight’s diary out:
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