Clinched

So Obama finally clinched the nomination and became the first major Black candidate to win the presidential nomination. Tons of thoughts on the whole thing, more to come later. Hilary is apparently already maneuvering to get on the ticket as his VP. She is ridiculous, but I almost can’t help but be a little impressed by her relentless, ruthless drive.

In other election news, much love to all the Cali voters who got out their and did their thing yesterday, as it appears that Prop 98 was defeated and Prop 99 won. Rent control is saved! This is another reminder that California voters are armed with a tool that not all states have: ballot measures. By drafting policy ourselves and getting enough signatures, we the people have the power to push for a direct vote on direct policy change. Mind you it also means the crazies and the haters can come out and draft their own legislation (cough people trying to outlaw gay marriage in november cough), but still. Something to keep in mind.

November ‘08 Crucial for Cali

My co-worker recently had this to say about the recent California supreme court ruling legalizing gay marriage:

“I am becoming increasingly a conspiracy nut — old age — but the California Supreme Court has been an embarassment for the past 15 years. Now, months before the election, the decision comes out — in just enough time for it to become a california ballot issue — and for every bigot and homophobe to come out to vote this decision down, change the state constitution, and vote for mccain while they are at it. karl rove, i am sure, has never felt so blessed.”

This could be scarily true, so we have to do everything we can to get out the vote this November and make sure we do not let the crazies turn back this historical moment in the state and country’s history.

Set ‘Em Free, Cali

Apparently CA “Governator” Arnold is considering releasing 22,000 people from the state prisons to save money in the face of Cali’s looming budget deficit. This is in stark contrast to Arnold’s usual solutions to the prison crowding issue, which is use more tax dollars to build bigger jails. California loves to lock folks up, as evidenced by the fact that we are the second largest prison system in the country (second only to the federal system!) and are constantly dealing with overcrowding (some prisons are over 200 percent of their capacity).

Let these folks go free! If it takes a budget crisis to get these folks out, so be it. All of them are considered “low risk” and in for nonviolent crimes anyways. We have to face the facts that California is a huge part of the prison industrial complex, which is locking up thousands of people of color so that they can be easily controlled and exploited through a variety of ways, cheap or slave labor being paramount.

Dellums: The Right Way To Speak About Crime

“I am serious about crime and violence, and I’m so serious that I’m saying let’s don’t play games with each other, folks. When crime and violence were constrained to the barrios and the ghettos and the ‘hoods, people didn’t pay any attention. [When it spreads citywide] we’re all concerned about it.

This is not just a question about police. We have to do the best we can, and I’m absolutely and unequivocally committed to do that. But at the same time, I have lived long enough to know we have closed our eyes to the injustices and inequities, and now we are reaping the wild winds of that disregard for a whole range of people.”

~Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums, 10/13/2007

In addressing a North Oakland Town Hall meeting yesterday, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums is consistently setting an example for how progressive big-city mayors should talk about solutions to the issue of crime. He also outlined his vision for the city, which included plans for a citywide zoning plan, high density concentrated in the downtown area, and a mixed-used development of the former Oakland Army base that would produce a minimum of 10,000 jobs. Word.