therealnews--2020-05-15--HEROES Act Includes Utility Shutoff Ban, $4 Billion For Broadband Access

Millions of struggling Americans affected by the coronavirus pandemic could see relief under the HEROES Act proposed by House Democrats .
The $ 3.3 trillion proposal features a $ 1200 stimulus check per person , along with increased funding for states and businesses , and increased testing for COVID-19 .
The HEROES Act includes a moratorium on utility shut offs such as water , electricity , and internet services .
It would also create a $ 4 billion Emergency Broadband Connectivity Fund to expand high speed internet access to those who can ’ t afford it and provide another $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for schools and libraries .
On a national livestream hosted by the Center for Biological Diversity on May 12 , Alissa Weinman , Associate Campaign Director of the watchdog group Corporate Accountability , detailed the economic effects of COVID-19 .
“ 22 million in the last month and low-paying jobs in the retail , service and hospitality sectors are being hit the hardest—industries that disproportionately employ people of color , ” Weinman said .
“ As millions of people have been laid off , furloughed , or simply aren ’ t being scheduled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of losing access to electricity , water , or broadband services due to an inability to pay their utility bills.
” The legislation , proposed on May 12 , is expected to be voted on by the House on May 15 .
Supporters acknowledge it faces major hurdles in passing the Republican-controlled Senate .
“ We really need to push the Senate hard , ” Sen. Jeff Merkley said on the livestream .
“ The Senate leadership doesn ’ t think about the world through main street America or ordinary families .
They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and mega corporations and how you help out the most powerful.
” 830 groups signed a joint letter to Congress in support of the mortarium , and have launched a social media campaign with the hashtag # NoShutoff to pressure legislators to retain provisions that protect access to water , power , and broadband .
“ It ’ s more important than ever that Congressional leadership fights hard to keep these provisions in the final bill , ” said Rianna Eckel , Senior Organizer at Food & Water Action .
“ It shouldn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disaster , but we ’ re eager to see a newfound commitment from our leaders on water and other crucial utilities.
” Sen. Lindsay Graham said Republicans opposed HEROES Act provisions “ unrelated ” to the COVID-19 outbreak .
However , a lack of high speed internet access has emerged as the key obstacle preventing students from low income families in rural and urban communities from participating in online learning during the pandemic .
Educators warn the continued lack of access will amplify long standing disparities between the haves and the haves not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fauci , head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases , warned Congress of “ unintended deleterious consequences of having children out of school , ” and said it was too early to determine if it will be safe to reopen schools in the fall .
The HEROES Act could be especially important in cities like Baltimore , where public policy has created a massive wealth and opportunity gap across racial and class lines .
Residents of majority-Black jurisdictions account for the 58 % of COVID-19 fatalities nationally , a new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Baltimore City households lack broadband internet access , and one in three didn ’ t have access to a computer at home , a May 2020 Abell Foundation report found .
Some 200,000 Baltimore households with school-aged children lack access to high speed internet or a computer .
Baltimore ranked 29th out of 32 cities in terms of students ’ access to technology .
Nationally , approximately 4 in 10 low income African American and Latino households lack broadband access , Pew Research found .
“ The internet is essential for students , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Alliyah Abid said on the livestream .
“ Students who have AP exams , people like myself who have projects due this week are taking time away from school to demand these measures are included in the [ HEROES Act ] , ” she said .
Abid , a member of the student-led group Students Organizing a Multicultural and Open Society ( SOMOS ) , said that many students have difficulty completing assignments due to insufficient access , or because they are forced to share a device with family members .
Teachers across @ @ @ @ @ @ @ laptops and technology to students .
Natasha Escobar teaches Spanish at Benjamin Franklin High School , which was able to distribute hundreds of laptops to its students .
But she says some students lack broadband at home which remains a barrier .
“ [ Online learning ] is going to amplify deficits , ” Escobar said .
“ I think the question is if folks are going to work to address those , both in the moment of crisis and on long term scale.
” Abid and Escobar are part of a coalition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ City council to allocate $ 3 million towards expanding broadband access and purchasing laptops for Baltimore City school students .
Some experts say far more needs to be done to equitably distribute resources to those who need them .
“ Even the United Nations recognizes internet access is a basic human right , ” said Abid , “ that it ’ s necessary for people to achieve their full potential and improve quality of life .
This is not being met in the U.S .
”

Millions of struggling Americans affected by the coronavirus pandemic could see relief under the HEROES Act proposed by House Democrats. The $3.3 trillion proposal features a $1200 stimulus check per person, along with increased funding for states and businesses, and increased testing for COVID-19.
The HEROES Act includes a moratorium on utility shut offs such as water, electricity, and internet services. It would also create a $4 billion Emergency Broadband Connectivity Fund to expand high speed internet access to those who can’t afford it and provide another $1.5 billion dollars to expand internet access for schools and libraries.
On a national livestream hosted by the Center for Biological Diversity on May 12, Alissa Weinman, Associate Campaign Director of the watchdog group Corporate Accountability, detailed the economic effects of COVID-19.
“22 million in the last month and low-paying jobs in the retail, service and hospitality sectors are being hit the hardest—industries that disproportionately employ people of color,” Weinman said. “As millions of people have been laid off, furloughed, or simply aren’t being scheduled to work, they face the threat of losing access to electricity, water, or broadband services due to an inability to pay their utility bills.”
The legislation, proposed on May 12, is expected to be voted on by the House on May 15. Supporters acknowledge it faces major hurdles in passing the Republican-controlled Senate.
“We really need to push the Senate hard,” Sen. Jeff Merkley said on the livestream. “The Senate leadership doesn’t think about the world through main street America or ordinary families. They think about the world through Wall Street and mega corporations and how you help out the most powerful.”
830 groups signed a joint letter to Congress in support of the mortarium, and have launched a social media campaign with the hashtag #NoShutoff to pressure legislators to retain provisions that protect access to water, power, and broadband.
“It’s more important than ever that Congressional leadership fights hard to keep these provisions in the final bill,” said Rianna Eckel, Senior Organizer at Food & Water Action. “It shouldn’t have taken a public health disaster, but we’re eager to see a newfound commitment from our leaders on water and other crucial utilities.”
Sen. Lindsay Graham said Republicans opposed HEROES Act provisions “unrelated” to the COVID-19 outbreak. However, a lack of high speed internet access has emerged as the key obstacle preventing students from low income families in rural and urban communities from participating in online learning during the pandemic. Educators warn the continued lack of access will amplify long standing disparities between the haves and the haves not.
On May 12, Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned Congress of “unintended deleterious consequences of having children out of school,” and said it was too early to determine if it will be safe to reopen schools in the fall.
The HEROES Act could be especially important in cities like Baltimore, where public policy has created a massive wealth and opportunity gap across racial and class lines. Residents of majority-Black jurisdictions account for the 58% of COVID-19 fatalities nationally, a new study shows.
Over 40% of Baltimore City households lack broadband internet access, and one in three didn’t have access to a computer at home, a May 2020 Abell Foundation report found. Some 200,000 Baltimore households with school-aged children lack access to high speed internet or a computer. Baltimore ranked 29th out of 32 cities in terms of students’ access to technology. Nationally, approximately 4 in 10 low income African American and Latino households lack broadband access, Pew Research found.
“The internet is essential for students,” Baltimore City College High School Senior Aliyah Abid said on the livestream. “Students who have AP exams, people like myself who have projects due this week are taking time away from school to demand these measures are included in the [HEROES Act],” she said.
Abid, a member of the student-led group Students Organizing a Multicultural and Open Society (SOMOS), said that many students have difficulty completing assignments due to insufficient access, or because they are forced to share a device with family members. Teachers across the country report donating or fundraising for laptops and technology to students.
Natasha Escobar teaches Spanish at Benjamin Franklin High School, which was able to distribute hundreds of laptops to its students. But she says some students lack broadband at home which remains a barrier.
“[Online learning] is going to amplify deficits,” Escobar said. “I think the question is if folks are going to work to address those, both in the moment of crisis and on long term scale.”
Abid and Escobar are part of a coalition of groups that successfully lobbied the Baltimore City council to allocate $3 million towards expanding broadband access and purchasing laptops for Baltimore City school students.
Some experts say far more needs to be done to equitably distribute resources to those who need them.
“Even the United Nations recognizes internet access is a basic human right,” said Abid, “that it’s necessary for people to achieve their full potential and improve quality of life. This is not being met in the U.S.”
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therealnews--2020-05-15--The Secretive Police Commission The Justice Department Doesn’t Want You To Notice

This is a rush transcript and may contain errors .
It will be updated .
Taya Graham : Hello .
My name is Taya Graham and welcome to the Police Accountability Report .
As I never get tired of saying , the point of this show is to hold police accountable and to do so , we don ’ t just focus on the behavior of couple individual , bad cops , but we examine the underlying political economy which makes police malfeasance possible .
And today we ’ re going to report on an example of how that system @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We ’ re also going to talk to a man who was released from jail shortly after we publicized his story .
But before I get started , I want you watching to know that if you have evidence of police misconduct , please email it privately to us at parattherealnews.com or reach out to me directly at Taya ’ s Baltimore on Facebook or Twitter , and please like , share and comment on our videos .
You know I read your comments and I appreciate them .
Now that that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ let ’ s get into it .
One of the key players in the efforts to reform police has been the federal government , or at least it was .
In our city , a Department of Justice investigation determined the Baltimore Police Department practice racist and unconstitutional policing .
The report led to calls for reform and a consent decree between the city and the DOJ .
The results have been mixed at best .
Remember , at the same time the DOJ was in Baltimore investigating the department , the notorious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , dealing drugs and stealing overtime .
Still , even if the process is not always effective , it is a critical tool for holding police to account because at the very least , it gives us some sense of what ’ s going on behind closed doors .
Better to have some information than none at all , which makes the next part of the story even more concerning .
Last week , a lawsuit was filed against the same justice department that I was just talking about .
The legal action @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did something that is in a sense indicative of what this show is all about .
The court filings accused the department of convening a special panel on the future of American policing in secret .
And even more concerning is that every single person on the panel is a member of law enforcement .
For more on this development , I ’ m joined by my reporting partner , Stephen Janis .
Stephen , what is this panel and why is this happening ?
Stephen Janis : Well , this panel is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It was instituted years ago that sort of impanels people to look at complex social problems and solve them .
The problem with what is happening is it actually breaks the law .
The law requires that you have people from both sides and both perspectives .
It also requires that you meet in public .
So that ’ s a problem .
They ’ ve constituted a so-called law enforcement panel that actually breaks the law and is in violation of the process itself .
Taya Graham : Stephen , now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ panel had a much different composition .
Can you talk about that ?
Stephen Janis : Well , you ’ ve been talking about the 21st panel for 21st Century Policing that was put together by the Obama administration , which had people from the community , activists , professors , lawyers , part of the defense bar , so it was a much more diverse committee and it was much more in tune with , connected to the community .
So this panel is completely different .
You have 17 people all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ working panels , about 115 people , only five are not from law enforcement .
This one is completely and unequivocally law enforcement .
Taya Graham : Stephen , we know how critical the DOJ was in helping Baltimore jumpstart reform efforts .
Remind us about the role that DOJ has played in national police reform efforts in the past .
Stephen Janis : Well , since the Department of Justice started working through police reform , they ’ ve had about 50 DOJ investigations of police departments across the country , Cleveland @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Baltimore , and that has led to reports and that has led to consent decrees and that has led to reform .
Without it , it seems like municipal police departments can ’ t reform themselves .
And it shows how the political economy works in cities where police departments are completely immune from the electorate .
So the federal government has to step in and has played a critical role in the past of allowing people to have some sense of what ’ s going on inside their police department and then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Graham : Here we have a clear example of the so-called political economy that fuels policing and how it often works to prevent the type of policy changes that would improve it , and panel a commission to shape the future of law enforcement , but exclude all civilian input .
Then if you do meet , make sure the proceedings are kept secret .
It casts serious doubts on the notion of the heavily touted move towards community policing that has been espoused by political leaders across the country , especially when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the future excludes the people it will most effect .
I mean , how can a government agency funded by the people and empowered by the people meet in secret without the benefit of public scrutiny ?
It ’ s an interesting question that perhaps our next guest will help us answer , not so much about the aforementioned panel , but another facet of the criminal industrial complex that has been under fire for being secretive as well .
We first spoke to Sean Weston last year .
At that time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his convenience store for the ninth time .
Weston says he was being targeted because his business sold items that were legal , like baby laxative , but could be used to cut narcotics .
Weston had never been accused of dealing drugs himself and had successfully sued the city for harassment and won .
But then last year federal investigators arrested Weston and charged him again for yes , selling paraphernalia .
But this time they ’ re trying to tie him to a federal case .
Since being arrested last July @ @ @ @ @ @ @ possibility of bail in part due to the fact the federal system doesn ’ t have it .
So instead the 52 year old with asthma has been sitting in a prison cell during the COVID crisis awaiting his trial , which might not start until next year .
But his dilemma has given him a front row seat on not just how the criminal justice system can detain someone for months , if not years , without their day in court , but also the unfolding disaster that COVID-19 has brought to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ complex .
As you may already know , some of the worst outbreaks of the virus have been inside prisons and jails .
In fact , in one Ohio prison , the Marion Correctional Facility found a whopping 73 % of inmates tested positive for the novel coronavirus .
Throughout the country , prisons in California and New York have also reported facilities with more than half of all prisoners testing positive , which is why last month Weston ’ s fiance said Sean had already received a possible death sentence .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appeared , Sean was released on home detention .
And now he ’ s joining us to talk about what ’ s going on inside .
Sean , thank you so much for joining us .
We ’ re really happy for you and your family that you made it home safely .
Sean Weston : I ’ m glad to be out of there .
Taya Graham : First , you were held at the DC Corrections Facility .
What is it like inside and how are officials handling the outbreak of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scary .
I must say that , just having something like that hanging over your head , a possibility of contracting this virus .
I do have some underlined health conditions , preexisting health conditions that really frighten me , that if I would ’ ve contracted it , it probably could have been a death sentence for me .
Taya Graham : Are inmates being tested ?
If not , how many do you think have contracted the virus ?
Sean Weston : I was never tested for the virus .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to show signs and symptoms of having it before they tested them , the inmates that came down with it .
But what they were doing , they were taking temperature checks twice a day seeing if anything might ’ ve changed there , which would have been one of the first signs , I guess , a fever .
But other than just taking our temperature twice a day , that was it .
But several guys that was on my tier that I was housed in , I was housed in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at least I would say about at least 10 to 15 guys on that unit came down with it .
And there was no more than about maybe , I ’ m going to say 50 of us being housed in that unit at the time .
But all I could do was just try it to just stay inside myself , try to do as much cleaning as I could with the limited chemicals that they did provide us with .
It was just about waiting , hoping that you wasn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at least one person died for certain .
And I believe they shared a second guy had passed .
I can ’ t say 100 % sure , but I am 100 % sure about the first guy it did [ inaudible 00:08:58 ] to it .
Taya Graham : Now Sean , moving on to your case , you ’ ve been in jail since last summer , but your trial isn ’ t scheduled until next year .
How is it possible to sit in prison for months for a crime @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
Sean Weston : From my understanding , what I ’ m getting is that my right to a speedy trial were violated .
I truly believe that ’ s what happened .
They violated my rights to a speedy trial .
The prosecutor , he filed a motion in order to extend the time of limitation pertaining to them violating my right to a speedy trial .
The judge signed off on it , but I just can ’ t leave it on the judge and the prosecutor , because the lawyers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t file anything in opposition pertaining to me objecting to my rights to a speedy trial [ inaudible 00:09:44 ] .
I ’ m not sure , but I do believe that the attorneys I had working on my behalf was compromised .
Yes , I ’ ve been in DC jail for almost 10 months .
I was told that my court date was scheduled for October 2021 .
I was arrested in July of 2019 .
And for me to have been sitting in jail for almost three years before I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which the case or the charges that I ’ ve been prosecuted for , the maximum time I can be sentenced to is three years .
Taya Graham : Sean , I know you ’ re charged with selling paraphernalia , but as you ’ ve said before , it ’ s legal and many other stores in the city sell this .
How do you plan to address these charges ?
Sean Weston : I don ’ t sell paraphernalia .
The things that I sell are legal , marketable products .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ things .
They ’ re listed on my business license , but yet I ’ m the only person that ’ s been prosecuted for selling these over the counter products just about every other store in my community sell these same products plus more .
I just don ’ t get it .
I have been prosecuted , or should I say persecuted , for this for almost 20 some odd years .
This is about the 10th or 11th time I ’ m being charged with this and it doesn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re talking about sugar .
We ’ re talking about vitamin capsules , oil sample vials , things of this sort , every day , legal , marketable products .
You can go buy a gallon of gas from the gas station , fill up your little tank as if you ’ re going home to cut the grass , but go down the street and burn somebody ’ s house down .
Now is the gas station labile for you doing that ?
No .
Taya Graham : Finally , when we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the process of building a community center .
In other words , giving back to the community where you work .
What happened to those plans ?
Sean Weston : My plans haven ’ t changed .
My plans have not changed .
I ’ m not going to let anyone deter me or keep me from the path I was on of trying to help that community .
Everything I ’ ve done is to try to help that community because I feel as though that community has provided for me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ given back .
I haven ’ t been in that community in a while , but when I came back , I purchased a few buildings and I invested .
I ’ m vested in that community , vested my money , my time to try to make it better .
Nothing has deterred me from doing that .
Everything is still a go .
Taya Graham : So think about it , Sean Weston would have sat in jail for two years , two years before having a chance to make his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a cell , unable to support his family , see his kids or contribute to society in a productive or meaningful way .
Whether he is guilty or innocent , his predicament raises a serious question .
If the underlying idea of the American justice system is equal treatment before the law , then how is maintaining that standard even possible if a sentence is meted out before trial ?
How can any person prevail against the government that has the power to incarcerate without due process ?
Remember , when we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the process of building a community center , an effort to give back to the city that has been racked by poverty and neglect , and now those plans have to be put on hold .
Oh , and the murder rate in Baltimore that this [ caneverous 00:13:19 ] justice system is supposed to abate , well that hasn ’ t quite worked out as planned .
In fact , despite orders to shelter in place in the city , we are on a pace to have just as many murders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ already had over 100 murders since January .
The point is there appears to be a disconnect between law enforcement and us , a gulf between what the community says it needs and what the law enforcement establishment deems are its own secretive priorities .
The question we have to ask ourselves as journalists and as citizens is why .
Why does such a pricey and powerful government entity seem so far removed from the people it purports to serve ?
How can an institution that demands we fund it , adhere to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its agents , not solicit the input from those who empower it to exist ?
What is it that makes law enforcement so above the same laws that govern the rest of us ?
This is the fundamental set of questions this show seeks to answer .
It ’ s why we go beyond reporting the facts to talk about ideas that reveal the underlying philosophies that inform these processes .
It ’ s why we discuss concepts like hegemonic policing , the idea that a good deal of law enforcement activity is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ growing income and inequality , or blanket criminality , the strategy that insulates police from accountability by criminalizing communities and thus limiting their political efficacy .
The point is the aforementioned commission and Sean Weston ’ s fight just to have a trial reveal how insular this country ’ s criminal justice system has become , how the people run it and benefit from it are not subject to its worst tendencies .
Maybe that ’ s the problem .
It ’ s easy to bend the rules and warp the law when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It ’ s easy to militarize police if you know they won ’ t show up at your door and it ’ s convenient to impanel a secret commission to shape the future of policing when you know there is no one watching .
Well rest assured we are and we will continue to do so .
I would like to thank our guest , Sean Weston , for joining us today and congratulations for making it home safely .
Sean Weston : Thank you for giving me the opportunity to let @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on with me right now at this point in my life .
You guys have been a huge help and I truly appreciate everything you guys done .
Taya Graham : And I would like to thank reporter Stephen Janis for his investigative reporting , writing and editing on this piece .
Stephen Janis : Thanks Taya .
Thanks for having me , appreciate it .
Taya Graham : And of course I have to thank friend of the show Noli Dee for her support .
Thank you so much Noli Dee .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ you watching to know that if you have evidence of police misconduct or brutality , please share it with us and we might be able to investigate .
Please reach out to us .
You can email us tips privately at parattherealnews.com and share your evidence of police misconduct .
You can also message us at Police Accountability Report on Facebook or Instagram or at Eyes On Police on Twitter .
Of course , you can message me directly at Taya ’ s Baltimore on Twitter and Facebook .
Please like , share @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your comments and appreciate them .
My name is Taya Graham .
I ’ m your host of the Police Accountability Report .
Please be safe out there .

PAR learns about life under lockdown with COVID-19 from a guest just released from 10 months of incarceration, and examines the secretive police commission created by Attorney General Barr.
Story Transcript
This is a rush transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated.
Taya Graham: Hello. My name is Taya Graham and welcome to the Police Accountability Report. As I never get tired of saying, the point of this show is to hold police accountable and to do so, we don’t just focus on the behavior of couple individual, bad cops, but we examine the underlying political economy which makes police malfeasance possible. And today we’re going to report on an example of how that system works at the highest level of government. We’re also going to talk to a man who was released from jail shortly after we publicized his story.
But before I get started, I want you watching to know that if you have evidence of police misconduct, please email it privately to us at parattherealnews.com or reach out to me directly at Taya’s Baltimore on Facebook or Twitter, and please like, share and comment on our videos. You know I read your comments and I appreciate them.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get into it. One of the key players in the efforts to reform police has been the federal government, or at least it was. In our city, a Department of Justice investigation determined the Baltimore Police Department practice racist and unconstitutional policing. The report led to calls for reform and a consent decree between the city and the DOJ. The results have been mixed at best.
Remember, at the same time the DOJ was in Baltimore investigating the department, the notorious Gun Trace Task Force was robbing residents, dealing drugs and stealing overtime. Still, even if the process is not always effective, it is a critical tool for holding police to account because at the very least, it gives us some sense of what’s going on behind closed doors. Better to have some information than none at all, which makes the next part of the story even more concerning.
Last week, a lawsuit was filed against the same justice department that I was just talking about. The legal action from the NAACP came after the DOJ did something that is in a sense indicative of what this show is all about. The court filings accused the department of convening a special panel on the future of American policing in secret. And even more concerning is that every single person on the panel is a member of law enforcement. For more on this development, I’m joined by my reporting partner, Stephen Janis. Stephen, what is this panel and why is this happening?
Stephen Janis: Well, this panel is part a federal advisory sort of process. It was instituted years ago that sort of impanels people to look at complex social problems and solve them.
The problem with what is happening is it actually breaks the law. The law requires that you have people from both sides and both perspectives. It also requires that you meet in public. So that’s a problem. They’ve constituted a so-called law enforcement panel that actually breaks the law and is in violation of the process itself.
Taya Graham: Stephen, now the last iteration of this type of panel had a much different composition. Can you talk about that?
Stephen Janis: Well, you’ve been talking about the 21st panel for 21st Century Policing that was put together by the Obama administration, which had people from the community, activists, professors, lawyers, part of the defense bar, so it was a much more diverse committee and it was much more in tune with, connected to the community. So this panel is completely different. You have 17 people all from law enforcement and of the 15 working panels, about 115 people, only five are not from law enforcement. This one is completely and unequivocally law enforcement.
Taya Graham: Stephen, we know how critical the DOJ was in helping Baltimore jumpstart reform efforts. Remind us about the role that DOJ has played in national police reform efforts in the past.
Stephen Janis: Well, since the Department of Justice started working through police reform, they’ve had about 50 DOJ investigations of police departments across the country, Cleveland, Detroit, and of course, Baltimore, and that has led to reports and that has led to consent decrees and that has led to reform. Without it, it seems like municipal police departments can’t reform themselves. And it shows how the political economy works in cities where police departments are completely immune from the electorate. So the federal government has to step in and has played a critical role in the past of allowing people to have some sense of what’s going on inside their police department and then enforcing ways to reform it.
Taya Graham: Here we have a clear example of the so-called political economy that fuels policing and how it often works to prevent the type of policy changes that would improve it, and panel a commission to shape the future of law enforcement, but exclude all civilian input. Then if you do meet, make sure the proceedings are kept secret. It casts serious doubts on the notion of the heavily touted move towards community policing that has been espoused by political leaders across the country, especially when a process intended to shape law enforcement in the future excludes the people it will most effect.
I mean, how can a government agency funded by the people and empowered by the people meet in secret without the benefit of public scrutiny? It’s an interesting question that perhaps our next guest will help us answer, not so much about the aforementioned panel, but another facet of the criminal industrial complex that has been under fire for being secretive as well.
We first spoke to Sean Weston last year. At that time he was battling police after they raided his convenience store for the ninth time. Weston says he was being targeted because his business sold items that were legal, like baby laxative, but could be used to cut narcotics. Weston had never been accused of dealing drugs himself and had successfully sued the city for harassment and won.
But then last year federal investigators arrested Weston and charged him again for yes, selling paraphernalia. But this time they’re trying to tie him to a federal case. Since being arrested last July, Weston has been held without the possibility of bail in part due to the fact the federal system doesn’t have it. So instead the 52 year old with asthma has been sitting in a prison cell during the COVID crisis awaiting his trial, which might not start until next year. But his dilemma has given him a front row seat on not just how the criminal justice system can detain someone for months, if not years, without their day in court, but also the unfolding disaster that COVID-19 has brought to the country’s massive prison industrial complex.
As you may already know, some of the worst outbreaks of the virus have been inside prisons and jails. In fact, in one Ohio prison, the Marion Correctional Facility found a whopping 73% of inmates tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Throughout the country, prisons in California and New York have also reported facilities with more than half of all prisoners testing positive, which is why last month Weston’s fiance said Sean had already received a possible death sentence.
But last week, shortly after our story appeared, Sean was released on home detention. And now he’s joining us to talk about what’s going on inside. Sean, thank you so much for joining us. We’re really happy for you and your family that you made it home safely.
Sean Weston: I’m glad to be out of there.
Taya Graham: First, you were held at the DC Corrections Facility. What is it like inside and how are officials handling the outbreak of COVID-19?
Sean Weston: It was scary. I must say that, just having something like that hanging over your head, a possibility of contracting this virus. I do have some underlined health conditions, preexisting health conditions that really frighten me, that if I would’ve contracted it, it probably could have been a death sentence for me.
Taya Graham: Are inmates being tested? If not, how many do you think have contracted the virus?
Sean Weston: I was never tested for the virus. I guess what they were waiting for people to show signs and symptoms of having it before they tested them, the inmates that came down with it. But what they were doing, they were taking temperature checks twice a day seeing if anything might’ve changed there, which would have been one of the first signs, I guess, a fever.
But other than just taking our temperature twice a day, that was it. But several guys that was on my tier that I was housed in, I was housed in one of the maximum security block, at least I would say about at least 10 to 15 guys on that unit came down with it. And there was no more than about maybe, I’m going to say 50 of us being housed in that unit at the time. But all I could do was just try it to just stay inside myself, try to do as much cleaning as I could with the limited chemicals that they did provide us with. It was just about waiting, hoping that you wasn’t the next one.
I know at least one person died for certain. And I believe they shared a second guy had passed. I can’t say 100% sure, but I am 100% sure about the first guy it did [inaudible 00:08:58] to it.
Taya Graham: Now Sean, moving on to your case, you’ve been in jail since last summer, but your trial isn’t scheduled until next year. How is it possible to sit in prison for months for a crime you haven’t been convicted of?
Sean Weston: From my understanding, what I’m getting is that my right to a speedy trial were violated. I truly believe that’s what happened. They violated my rights to a speedy trial. The prosecutor, he filed a motion in order to extend the time of limitation pertaining to them violating my right to a speedy trial. The judge signed off on it, but I just can’t leave it on the judge and the prosecutor, because the lawyers that I had, they didn’t file anything in opposition pertaining to me objecting to my rights to a speedy trial [inaudible 00:09:44].
I’m not sure, but I do believe that the attorneys I had working on my behalf was compromised. Yes, I’ve been in DC jail for almost 10 months. I was told that my court date was scheduled for October 2021. I was arrested in July of 2019. And for me to have been sitting in jail for almost three years before I’ve been brought to trial in which the case or the charges that I’ve been prosecuted for, the maximum time I can be sentenced to is three years.
Taya Graham: Sean, I know you’re charged with selling paraphernalia, but as you’ve said before, it’s legal and many other stores in the city sell this. How do you plan to address these charges?
Sean Weston: I don’t sell paraphernalia. The things that I sell are legal, marketable products. I’m licensed to sell these things. They’re listed on my business license, but yet I’m the only person that’s been prosecuted for selling these over the counter products just about every other store in my community sell these same products plus more. I just don’t get it.
I have been prosecuted, or should I say persecuted, for this for almost 20 some odd years. This is about the 10th or 11th time I’m being charged with this and it doesn’t make any sense. We’re talking about sugar. We’re talking about vitamin capsules, oil sample vials, things of this sort, every day, legal, marketable products. You can go buy a gallon of gas from the gas station, fill up your little tank as if you’re going home to cut the grass, but go down the street and burn somebody’s house down. Now is the gas station labile for you doing that? No.
Taya Graham: Finally, when we first spoke to you, you were in the process of building a community center. In other words, giving back to the community where you work. What happened to those plans?
Sean Weston: My plans haven’t changed. My plans have not changed. I’m not going to let anyone deter me or keep me from the path I was on of trying to help that community. Everything I’ve done is to try to help that community because I feel as though that community has provided for me and my family for years, has given back. I haven’t been in that community in a while, but when I came back, I purchased a few buildings and I invested. I’m vested in that community, vested my money, my time to try to make it better. Nothing has deterred me from doing that. Everything is still a go.
Taya Graham: So think about it, Sean Weston would have sat in jail for two years, two years before having a chance to make his case in court, 24 months stuck in a cell, unable to support his family, see his kids or contribute to society in a productive or meaningful way. Whether he is guilty or innocent, his predicament raises a serious question. If the underlying idea of the American justice system is equal treatment before the law, then how is maintaining that standard even possible if a sentence is meted out before trial? How can any person prevail against the government that has the power to incarcerate without due process?
Remember, when we first spoke to Sean, he was in the process of building a community center, an effort to give back to the city that has been racked by poverty and neglect, and now those plans have to be put on hold.
Oh, and the murder rate in Baltimore that this [caneverous 00:13:19] justice system is supposed to abate, well that hasn’t quite worked out as planned. In fact, despite orders to shelter in place in the city, we are on a pace to have just as many murders this year as last. We have already had over 100 murders since January. The point is there appears to be a disconnect between law enforcement and us, a gulf between what the community says it needs and what the law enforcement establishment deems are its own secretive priorities.
The question we have to ask ourselves as journalists and as citizens is why. Why does such a pricey and powerful government entity seem so far removed from the people it purports to serve? How can an institution that demands we fund it, adhere to its laws and follow the commands of its agents, not solicit the input from those who empower it to exist? What is it that makes law enforcement so above the same laws that govern the rest of us?
This is the fundamental set of questions this show seeks to answer. It’s why we go beyond reporting the facts to talk about ideas that reveal the underlying philosophies that inform these processes. It’s why we discuss concepts like hegemonic policing, the idea that a good deal of law enforcement activity is dedicated to heightening the country’s growing income and inequality, or blanket criminality, the strategy that insulates police from accountability by criminalizing communities and thus limiting their political efficacy.
The point is the aforementioned commission and Sean Weston’s fight just to have a trial reveal how insular this country’s criminal justice system has become, how the people run it and benefit from it are not subject to its worst tendencies.
Maybe that’s the problem. It’s easy to bend the rules and warp the law when you know you’re above it. It’s easy to militarize police if you know they won’t show up at your door and it’s convenient to impanel a secret commission to shape the future of policing when you know there is no one watching. Well rest assured we are and we will continue to do so. I would like to thank our guest, Sean Weston, for joining us today and congratulations for making it home safely.
Sean Weston: Thank you for giving me the opportunity to let you guys know what’s going on with me right now at this point in my life. You guys have been a huge help and I truly appreciate everything you guys done.
Taya Graham: And I would like to thank reporter Stephen Janis for his investigative reporting, writing and editing on this piece.
Stephen Janis: Thanks Taya. Thanks for having me, appreciate it.
Taya Graham: And of course I have to thank friend of the show Noli Dee for her support. Thank you so much Noli Dee. So one more time, I want you watching to know that if you have evidence of police misconduct or brutality, please share it with us and we might be able to investigate. Please reach out to us. You can email us tips privately at parattherealnews.com and share your evidence of police misconduct. You can also message us at Police Accountability Report on Facebook or Instagram or at Eyes On Police on Twitter. Of course, you can message me directly at Taya’s Baltimore on Twitter and Facebook. Please like, share and comment. You know I read your comments and appreciate them. My name is Taya Graham. I’m your host of the Police Accountability Report. Please be safe out there.
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therealnews--2020-05-16--Checkpoint Closure By South Dakota Governor An Attack On Tribal Sovereignty

South Dakota ’ s Republican Governor Kristi Noem publicly issued a letter to the Cheyenne River ( CRST ) and Oglala Sioux Tribes ( OST ) on May 8 ordering them to remove health checkpoints on roads crossing their reservations but did not directly deliver it to OST— “ a sign of “ disrespect , ” according to OST President Julian Bear Runner .
The letter , which was dated May 8 , was never actually received by Bear Runner , he explained during a recorded response to Noem .
He learned of Noem ’ s letter through news reports @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to say that it ’ s abnormal for the state to not notify the tribe and called it “ a sign of disrespect for a sovereign nation or another government agency.
” A Bureau of Indian Affairs April 8 memorandum explained that state and U.S. roads couldn ’ t be closed on the reservations .
Those not residing on the Pine Ridge reservation who aren ’ t providing essential services are advised to pass straight through , Bear Runner explained .
No roads have been closed .
The checkpoints were put in place @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the spread of COVID-19 on the reservation .
Everybody who works at the checkpoints on the CRST reservation are deputized under the tribal government .
They ask anyone entering and exiting the reservation a series of health related questions .
All essential business is permitted to cross the reservation .
CRST Chairman Harold Frazier stated in a letter in response to Noem “ we will not apologize for being an island of safety in a sea of uncertainty and death.
” The Rosebud Sioux Tribe have also instituted checkpoints on their roads .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ enforced lockdown until 6:00 a.m. CST on May 17 .
The OST ended a three day lockdown on May 13 .
Noem has claimed the checkpoints on state and federal highways prevent essential services from making their way to areas in need .
The South Dakota Retailers Association also claims that some retailers were turned away at the CRST checkpoints .
The CRST has denied this .
Only those not providing essential services were asked to go around the CRST reservation .
“ Well over 90 % of commercial businesses with truckers or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ already have travel permits , ” Joye Braun , member of the CRST and an organizer with the Indigenous Environmental Network , told TRNN .
“ They show their card and they ’ re waved through.
” Under the Fort Laramie Treaties of 1851 and 1868 the CRST and OST have the right to restrict who passes through their lands .
These are the same treaties that the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe cited when fighting the construction and flow of oil in the Dakota Access Pipeline .
The U.S. government has broken every @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but a 1990 8th Circuit Court of Appeals case ruled that no state has jurisdiction over highways running through Native lands without tribal consent .
On May 10 , a bipartisan group of seventeen South Dakota legislators sent a letter to Noem challenging the governor ’ s claims regarding the checkpoints and sovereignty .
“ Your statement that Tribal governments do not possess the ability to establish checkpoints within the boundaries of their homelands is not accurate , ” the letter said .
“ The Legislature has not passed any bill stating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of South Dakota have the authority to enforce State law within the boundaries of a Reservation.
” The letter went on to say “ We do not wish to be party of another lawsuit that will ultimately cost the people of South Dakota more money.
” A representative from Governor Noem ’ s office told TRNN they haven ’ t initiated any legal action at this time , but hopes that the CRST and OST are “ amenable ” to the plans laid out in letters sent to the CRST on May 12 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state that tribal checkpoints should be removed from U.S. and state highways , but checkpoints on tribal or Bureau of Indian Affairs roads are acceptable : “ tribal interaction with these travelers at checkpoints is unlawful and could actually increase the risk of spreading the virus.
” Noem continued , “ to be clear , the state has no objection to tribal checkpoints on BIA/tribal roads .
The governor ’ s office told TRNN that they believe the U.S. government has jurisdiction over the state and U.S. highways that cross the reservation and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the federal government and the state to create a plan that is amenable to both sides .
Both CRST and OST state that they sent letters to Noem ’ s office explaining their checkpoint system when it began , but they never received a reply .
Regarding the RST checkpoints , Noem has been in contact with the RST , but gave TRNN no other information .
Former U. S. Senator Byron Dorgan defended tribal sovereignty in a May 13 press release from the Center for Native American Youth , where he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the CNAY Advisory Board .
“ In the absence of an effective national testing program in the U.S. , I believe the tribes have every right to be concerned about people coming to their reservation who could spread the deadly virus , ” Dorgan wrote .
“ As a former U.S .
Senator , I ’ ve seen firsthand that state and federal governments have not demonstrated a willingness to spend the time or resources to protect tribal communities .
Tribal officials have a right to do things that are necessary to protect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only a few states that did not issue a stay-at-home order .
Since non-essential businesses have reopened there has been a spike in confirmed COVID-19 infection rates .
As of May 14 , The New York Times reports that South Dakota had 3,792 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 43 deaths .
May 7-9 saw a large spike in contraction rates .
Pennington County , directly north of Oglala Country and home of the OST , and near the CRST reservation , has been especially hard hit with cases doubling every six days .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nations have skyrocketed due to the ongoing legacy of settler colonialism and racism .
The U.S. government has a trust and treaty responsibility to provide a variety of services , such as the Indian Health Services , to Native nations and people .
However , chronic underfunding has led to astronomically high rates of preventable illnesses and deaths .
While the well being of Native people varies across tribal nations and communities , the situation is particularly dire for the OST ; 97 % of those on the Pine Ridge reservation live in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 48 for men and 52 for women .
The Navajo Nation resides on the largest reservation and is larger than West Virginia .
Much of the reservation lacks basic infrastructure such as roads and running , clean water .
They now have the third highest per capita rates of confirmed COVID-19 infections in the U.S .
The first confirmed deaths in Alaska and Oklahoma were Native people and the first death in the Bureau of Prisons , Andrea Circle Bear , was a Native woman who gave birth while on a ventilator .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ many Native people with COVID-19 aren ’ t even being counted as American Indian or Alaska Native and are instead are counted as “ other ” , leaving the community without the actual rates of contractions and deaths across the U.S. , as 71 % of AI and AN people live in urban areas making data collection outside of Native healthcare of particular concern .
These deaths represent the over five hundred years of genocide that the Indigenous people of these lands still suffer .
Being no stranger to pandemics , many Native @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blankets or the 1918 Spanish flu .
In an April press release the Zuni Pueblo said they ’ re facing extinction due to COVID-19 .
The state and federal governments lack of appropriate response to the COVID-19 crisis is a form of genocide .
In March , the Seattle Indian Health Board requested COVID-19 tests , supplies , and personal protective equipment , but were instead sent body bags and toe tags .
Poverty is a substantial barrier to many of the activities , such as social distancing and hand washing , to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people .
In March , the federal government gave two $ 40 million payments to the Center for Disease Control to distribute for Indian Health Services , tribal-run health centers , and urban Indian health centers .
The CDC sat on the money instead of immediately disbursing it .
The federal government only just began this month releasing some of the $ 8 billion appropriated to tribal nations under the CARES Act .
In a press conference on May 14 , South Dakota Secretary Malsam-Rysdon announced the state would begin mass testing that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ begin with the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate nation whose reservation is in both North and South Dakota .
Despite this , some tribal members don ’ t trust Noem .
“ It ’ s really important to go back and look at the history of Kristi Noem , ” Braun stated .
“ She doesn ’ t like Indian people…she wants to get rid of the reservations.
” At the heart of this situation is the inherent right to tribal sovereignty and for tribal nations and their people to quite literally , survive : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people and save lives .
Tribal nations are not merely tribes , but are sovereign nations with the inherent right to self-governance and should have total jurisdiction over matters on their lands .
They don ’ t truly exist in America , but rather are their own nations , their own countries .
The U.S. is a foreign entity .
“ The Oglala Band is ready to stand against foreign intrusion into our daily lives , ” Bear Runner said .
This story is made possible by a grant from the R & @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by and for indigenous communities .

South Dakota’s Republican Governor Kristi Noem publicly issued a letter to the Cheyenne River (CRST) and Oglala Sioux Tribes (OST) on May 8 ordering them to remove health checkpoints on roads crossing their reservations but did not directly deliver it to OST—“a sign of “disrespect,” according to OST President Julian Bear Runner.
The letter, which was dated May 8, was never actually received by Bear Runner, he explained during a recorded response to Noem. He learned of Noem’s letter through news reports and social media.
He went on to say that it’s abnormal for the state to not notify the tribe and called it “a sign of disrespect for a sovereign nation or another government agency.”
A Bureau of Indian Affairs April 8 memorandum explained that state and U.S. roads couldn’t be closed on the reservations. Those not residing on the Pine Ridge reservation who aren’t providing essential services are advised to pass straight through, Bear Runner explained. No roads have been closed.
The checkpoints were put in place as a way to control and track the spread of COVID-19 on the reservation. Everybody who works at the checkpoints on the CRST reservation are deputized under the tribal government. They ask anyone entering and exiting the reservation a series of health related questions. All essential business is permitted to cross the reservation.
CRST Chairman Harold Frazier stated in a letter in response to Noem “we will not apologize for being an island of safety in a sea of uncertainty and death.”
The Rosebud Sioux Tribe have also instituted checkpoints on their roads. They’re currently under tribal government enforced lockdown until 6:00 a.m. CST on May 17. The OST ended a three day lockdown on May 13.
Noem has claimed the checkpoints on state and federal highways prevent essential services from making their way to areas in need. The South Dakota Retailers Association also claims that some retailers were turned away at the CRST checkpoints. The CRST has denied this.
Only those not providing essential services were asked to go around the CRST reservation.
“Well over 90% of commercial businesses with truckers or supplies coming in, most of them already have travel permits,” Joye Braun, member of the CRST and an organizer with the Indigenous Environmental Network, told TRNN. “They show their card and they’re waved through.”
Under the Fort Laramie Treaties of 1851 and 1868 the CRST and OST have the right to restrict who passes through their lands. These are the same treaties that the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe cited when fighting the construction and flow of oil in the Dakota Access Pipeline. The U.S. government has broken every treaty it has signed with tribal nations, but a 1990 8th Circuit Court of Appeals case ruled that no state has jurisdiction over highways running through Native lands without tribal consent.
On May 10, a bipartisan group of seventeen South Dakota legislators sent a letter to Noem challenging the governor’s claims regarding the checkpoints and sovereignty.
“Your statement that Tribal governments do not possess the ability to establish checkpoints within the boundaries of their homelands is not accurate,” the letter said. “The Legislature has not passed any bill stating as such, nor does the State of South Dakota have the authority to enforce State law within the boundaries of a Reservation.”
The letter went on to say “We do not wish to be party of another lawsuit that will ultimately cost the people of South Dakota more money.”
A representative from Governor Noem’s office told TRNN they haven’t initiated any legal action at this time, but hopes that the CRST and OST are “amenable” to the plans laid out in letters sent to the CRST on May 12 and OST on May 13. They state that tribal checkpoints should be removed from U.S. and state highways, but checkpoints on tribal or Bureau of Indian Affairs roads are acceptable: “tribal interaction with these travelers at checkpoints is unlawful and could actually increase the risk of spreading the virus.” Noem continued, “to be clear, the state has no objection to tribal checkpoints on BIA/tribal roads.
The governor’s office told TRNN that they believe the U.S. government has jurisdiction over the state and U.S. highways that cross the reservation and that OST and CRST need to work with the federal government and the state to create a plan that is amenable to both sides. Both CRST and OST state that they sent letters to Noem’s office explaining their checkpoint system when it began, but they never received a reply.
Regarding the RST checkpoints, Noem has been in contact with the RST, but gave TRNN no other information.
Former U. S. Senator Byron Dorgan defended tribal sovereignty in a May 13 press release from the Center for Native American Youth, where he serves as a founder and chairman for the CNAY Advisory Board.
“In the absence of an effective national testing program in the U.S., I believe the tribes have every right to be concerned about people coming to their reservation who could spread the deadly virus,” Dorgan wrote. “As a former U.S. Senator, I’ve seen firsthand that state and federal governments have not demonstrated a willingness to spend the time or resources to protect tribal communities. Tribal officials have a right to do things that are necessary to protect themselves.”
South Dakota is one of only a few states that did not issue a stay-at-home order. Since non-essential businesses have reopened there has been a spike in confirmed COVID-19 infection rates. As of May 14, The New York Times reports that South Dakota had 3,792 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 43 deaths. May 7-9 saw a large spike in contraction rates. Pennington County, directly north of Oglala Country and home of the OST, and near the CRST reservation, has been especially hard hit with cases doubling every six days.
The rates of infections and deaths within tribal nations have skyrocketed due to the ongoing legacy of settler colonialism and racism. The U.S. government has a trust and treaty responsibility to provide a variety of services, such as the Indian Health Services, to Native nations and people. However, chronic underfunding has led to astronomically high rates of preventable illnesses and deaths. While the well being of Native people varies across tribal nations and communities, the situation is particularly dire for the OST; 97% of those on the Pine Ridge reservation live in poverty. The life expectancy is only 48 for men and 52 for women.
The Navajo Nation resides on the largest reservation and is larger than West Virginia. Much of the reservation lacks basic infrastructure such as roads and running, clean water. They now have the third highest per capita rates of confirmed COVID-19 infections in the U.S.
The first confirmed deaths in Alaska and Oklahoma were Native people and the first death in the Bureau of Prisons, Andrea Circle Bear, was a Native woman who gave birth while on a ventilator. Coupled with the lack of tests, many Native people with COVID-19 aren’t even being counted as American Indian or Alaska Native and are instead are counted as “other”, leaving the community without the actual rates of contractions and deaths across the U.S., as 71% of AI and AN people live in urban areas making data collection outside of Native healthcare of particular concern.
These deaths represent the over five hundred years of genocide that the Indigenous people of these lands still suffer. Being no stranger to pandemics, many Native ancestors didn’t survive the smallpox blankets or the 1918 Spanish flu. In an April press release the Zuni Pueblo said they’re facing extinction due to COVID-19. The state and federal governments lack of appropriate response to the COVID-19 crisis is a form of genocide.
In March, the Seattle Indian Health Board requested COVID-19 tests, supplies, and personal protective equipment, but were instead sent body bags and toe tags.
Poverty is a substantial barrier to many of the activities, such as social distancing and hand washing, to control the rates of contraction for Native people. In March, the federal government gave two $40 million payments to the Center for Disease Control to distribute for Indian Health Services, tribal-run health centers, and urban Indian health centers. The CDC sat on the money instead of immediately disbursing it. The federal government only just began this month releasing some of the $8 billion appropriated to tribal nations under the CARES Act.
In a press conference on May 14, South Dakota Secretary Malsam-Rysdon announced the state would begin mass testing that would include tribal governments. Testing will begin with the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate nation whose reservation is in both North and South Dakota. Despite this, some tribal members don’t trust Noem.
“It’s really important to go back and look at the history of Kristi Noem,” Braun stated. “She doesn’t like Indian people…she wants to get rid of the reservations.”
At the heart of this situation is the inherent right to tribal sovereignty and for tribal nations and their people to quite literally, survive: Tribal nations are attempting to defend their people and save lives. Tribal nations are not merely tribes, but are sovereign nations with the inherent right to self-governance and should have total jurisdiction over matters on their lands. They don’t truly exist in America, but rather are their own nations, their own countries. The U.S. is a foreign entity.
“The Oglala Band is ready to stand against foreign intrusion into our daily lives,” Bear Runner said.
This story is made possible by a grant from the R&M Lang Foundation in support of reporting by and for indigenous communities.
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therealnews--2020-05-18--Climate Music To Soothe And Terrify You

Climate Music To Soothe And Terrify You

Imagine if the climate crisis was a musical composition oscillating between musical highs and lows , between hope and despair .
The ClimateMusic Project , in collaboration with Richard Festinger , a music composer and educator , has written the “ science-guided ” musical composition “ Icarus in Flight ” using environmental datasets spanning two centuries .
The composition was recently performed by San Francisco ’ s Telegraph Quartet to celebrate Earth Day on April 22 in collaboration with the National Academy of Sciences ( NAS ) .
“ Icarus in Flight ” premiered in 2018 as the second musical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a small San Francisco-based organization harnessing the power of music to motivate public action .
The datasets used in this musical piece correspond to three main human drivers of climate change : fossil fuel use , population growth , and land use change between 1880—2080 .
The data used in the composition was sourced from projections developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) —the international organization tasked with coordinating global climate research and actions .
Richard Festinger , the composer of “ Icarus , ” says music is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the urgency of climate change compared to scientific lectures and graphs , or data .
Talking to TRNN , Festinger said “ through ‘ Icarus in Flight , ’ I wanted to emotionally convey the problems that climate change poses and motivate people to take action.
” To Laurie Goldman , director of public engagement for the ClimateMusic Project , the idea behind these compositions is to show two likely scenarios : the business-as-usual approach where we don ’ t take enough action and the mitigation scenario where we take appropriate action @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tool because everybody listens to some kind of music no matter where they are , ” she added .
From lifeless data to living piece of music “ Icarus in Flight ” is a nearly 30-minute long performance piece and is divided into three equal parts , each representing a range of years : 1880 to 1945 , 1945 to roughly the present day , and present day to 2080 .
Festinger says the composition is the result of a collaboration between himself and a small team of scientists which turned lifeless data @ @ @ @ @ @ @ music .
“ When we started discussing my piece with the ClimateMusic Project and their science team , we made the decision to use data reflecting human drivers of climate change.
” Therefore , datasets corresponding to population growth , carbon emissions , and increasing land use projected over 200 years became the basis for the composition .
The real question was how to use these datasets to organize certain aspects of the music , Festinger said .
Putting it simply , population growth is notated by the density of music , while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ higher frequencies signify the increase in carbon emissions .
Finally , non-standard playing techniques which produce unusual musical tones represent the percentage of land adapted to human use .
“ Each year of historical time is represented by about eight seconds of musical time , ” he added .
Emphasizing that the melodic content of “ Icarus in Flight ” was left entirely to his choosing , Festinger said it was a team decision how the beginning of the piece would depict the evolution of the IPCC data .
For the third part @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out to 2080 , “ we made the decision that the music would alternate in a kind of best-case scenario and the worst-case scenario.
” This alternation between the two possibilities gave the piece its musical progression between hope and despair , the hopeful and the damned .
Goldman told TRNN “ the intention was to perform this piece for the audiences that enjoy chamber music .
The idea is to create new insights for them so that they ’ re motivated to action .
We also have action partners that will allow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to have a pathway to action.
” Who is ‘ Icarus in Flight ’ meant for ?
The technical details and musical prowess that went into composing the piece also prompt a critical question : Who is this music really meant for ?
The complex science of data modeling and layers of musical instrumentation make it challenging for any non-expert to appreciate “ Icarus ” fully .
Does this not make it music by the elite and for the elite—at the expense of the millions , mostly in the Global South , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the form of deforestation , drought , water scarcity , and seasonal shifts with little hope in sight ?
Addressing this point , Goldman said the ClimateMusic organization has reached thousands of people but the intention is to reach millions of people in order to scale up action and convince people that it ’ s a really important issue .
“ We have only scratched the surface .
So , our next step is to create a tool to allow musicians from around the world to do climate music and engage their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ future the organization intends to expand into schools and museums to reach out to wider community with their message .
In his response , Festinger said the musical performance was accompanied by an explainer video illustrating the increase in carbon emissions , land usage , and population increase over time to make sure the audience understood the context .
“ Personally , I write the kind of music I write .
I don ’ t really think so much about who I ’ m writing for as thinking about what I need to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to think music is a universal language and anyone listening with open ears and an open mind might be able to tune in to the emotional qualities of the music and be able to follow the sense of catastrophic increase in different datasets.
” Jeremiah Shaw of the Telegraph Quartet drove a similar point , saying “ there are so many languages in the world .
You might not understand the language but you can appreciate it.
” The talented cellist said the manner in which a word is spoken or a piece @ @ @ @ @ @ @ audiences .
“ You can kind of feel the emotion behind it .
If we can affect them , if we can make them smile or get a tear in their eye , those things you can ’ t really explain how that happened and that ’ s what we love about performing , ” he added .

Imagine if the climate crisis was a musical composition oscillating between musical highs and lows, between hope and despair. The ClimateMusic Project, in collaboration with Richard Festinger, a music composer and educator, has written the “science-guided” musical composition “Icarus in Flight” using environmental datasets spanning two centuries.
The composition was recently performed by San Francisco’s Telegraph Quartet to celebrate Earth Day on April 22 in collaboration with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).
“Icarus in Flight” premiered in 2018 as the second musical composition commissioned by the ClimateMusic Project, a small San Francisco-based organization harnessing the power of music to motivate public action. The datasets used in this musical piece correspond to three main human drivers of climate change: fossil fuel use, population growth, and land use change between 1880—2080.
The data used in the composition was sourced from projections developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)—the international organization tasked with coordinating global climate research and actions.
Richard Festinger, the composer of “Icarus,” says music is a better way to get people to act on the urgency of climate change compared to scientific lectures and graphs, or data. Talking to TRNN, Festinger said “through ‘Icarus in Flight,’ I wanted to emotionally convey the problems that climate change poses and motivate people to take action.”
To Laurie Goldman, director of public engagement for the ClimateMusic Project, the idea behind these compositions is to show two likely scenarios: the business-as-usual approach where we don’t take enough action and the mitigation scenario where we take appropriate action. “Music is definitely the right tool because everybody listens to some kind of music no matter where they are,” she added.
From lifeless data to living piece of music
“Icarus in Flight” is a nearly 30-minute long performance piece and is divided into three equal parts, each representing a range of years: 1880 to 1945, 1945 to roughly the present day, and present day to 2080. Festinger says the composition is the result of a collaboration between himself and a small team of scientists which turned lifeless data into a living, breathing piece of music.
“When we started discussing my piece with the ClimateMusic Project and their science team, we made the decision to use data reflecting human drivers of climate change.” Therefore, datasets corresponding to population growth, carbon emissions, and increasing land use projected over 200 years became the basis for the composition.
The real question was how to use these datasets to organize certain aspects of the music, Festinger said. Putting it simply, population growth is notated by the density of music, while progression of musical notes from lower to higher frequencies signify the increase in carbon emissions. Finally, non-standard playing techniques which produce unusual musical tones represent the percentage of land adapted to human use. “Each year of historical time is represented by about eight seconds of musical time,” he added.
Emphasizing that the melodic content of “Icarus in Flight” was left entirely to his choosing, Festinger said it was a team decision how the beginning of the piece would depict the evolution of the IPCC data. For the third part of the piece representing the future projected out to 2080, “we made the decision that the music would alternate in a kind of best-case scenario and the worst-case scenario.” This alternation between the two possibilities gave the piece its musical progression between hope and despair, the hopeful and the damned.
Goldman told TRNN “the intention was to perform this piece for the audiences that enjoy chamber music. The idea is to create new insights for them so that they’re motivated to action. We also have action partners that will allow people who are motivated by these performances to have a pathway to action.”
Who is ‘Icarus in Flight’ meant for?
The technical details and musical prowess that went into composing the piece also prompt a critical question: Who is this music really meant for?
The complex science of data modeling and layers of musical instrumentation make it challenging for any non-expert to appreciate “Icarus” fully. Does this not make it music by the elite and for the elite—at the expense of the millions, mostly in the Global South, who are bearing the brunt of climate change in the form of deforestation, drought, water scarcity, and seasonal shifts with little hope in sight?
Addressing this point, Goldman said the ClimateMusic organization has reached thousands of people but the intention is to reach millions of people in order to scale up action and convince people that it’s a really important issue. “We have only scratched the surface. So, our next step is to create a tool to allow musicians from around the world to do climate music and engage their own community.” She added that in future the organization intends to expand into schools and museums to reach out to wider community with their message.
In his response, Festinger said the musical performance was accompanied by an explainer video illustrating the increase in carbon emissions, land usage, and population increase over time to make sure the audience understood the context. “Personally, I write the kind of music I write. I don’t really think so much about who I’m writing for as thinking about what I need to write as a composer. I like to think music is a universal language and anyone listening with open ears and an open mind might be able to tune in to the emotional qualities of the music and be able to follow the sense of catastrophic increase in different datasets.”
Jeremiah Shaw of the Telegraph Quartet drove a similar point, saying “there are so many languages in the world. You might not understand the language but you can appreciate it.”
The talented cellist said the manner in which a word is spoken or a piece of music performed can communicate with the audiences. “You can kind of feel the emotion behind it. If we can affect them, if we can make them smile or get a tear in their eye, those things you can’t really explain how that happened and that’s what we love about performing,” he added.
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