Newsletter 6.23.20

Hi all, 

Here is this fortnight's newsletter. Thank you so much for your continued support. We hope you are having a healthy and relaxing summer thought this is probably unlikely. But we hope for it and wish it. Thanks again,

-- Marco, Adam, Florence, Julianne, and Nima 

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How Our Bloated Military Strengthens the Police State Shireen Al-Adeimi, Sarah Lazare, In These Times (June 17, 2020)

U.S. policing has come under increased scrutiny following the killing of George Floyd. One under-discussed aspect of policing is how the U.S. military helps to strengthen the police state. The military has provided tactics, surveillance and reinforcement to the police. 

The Rush to Redefine “Defund the Police” Melissa Gira Grant, The New Republic (June 9, 2020)

As calls to defund the police have gained traction, politicians and pundits have rushed to redefine what the term means when activists call for it. They ignore the history of abolitionist theory where the idea of defunding the police sprung from to instead interpret it as a call for meager reforms.  

After Barr Ordered FBI to “Identify Criminal Organizers,” Activists Were Intimidated at Home and at Work Chris Brooks, The Intercept (June 12, 2020)

Attorney General William Barr ordered the FBI to investigate protesters to try to find connections to antifa, even though the bureau itself could not find evidence that antifa was coordinating violence during the George Floyd protests. FBI agents made unannounced visits to protest organizers in a bid of intimidation. 

Undocumented Farmworkers Are Refusing Covid Tests for Fear of Losing Their Jobs Michelle Fawcett, Arun Gupta, In These Times (June 19, 2020)

Coronavirus is exploding in farmworker populations and advocates are worried that undocumented farm workers are refusing to take tests for fear of losing their job. Weak labor protections and anti-immigrant policies have exacerbated the desperation that would lead to workers having to choose between their health and their jobs.

In Federal Jail, Sick Calls Amid Pandemic Answered Weeks Later, Nick Pinto, The Intercept (June, 21, 2020)

Sick calls from a federal prison in Brooklyn reveals how desperate prisoners were to receive medical treatment in the middle of a pandemic and how negligent the Bureau of Prisons was. Requests for medical treatment would go unanswered for weeks at a time. 

Judges Must Also Be Centered In Demands To Defund and Divest from Mass Criminalization Gina Clayton-Johnson, The Appeal (June 17, 2020)

Judges must also be part of efforts to divest and defund a system that promotes mass criminalization. Judges have the executive authority to make decisions everyday to set high bail prices that could put people at risk without them even being convicted of a crime. 

The Police Can’t Shake Their Persecution Complex Libby Watson, The New Republic (June 17, 2020)

The fake scare over police officers being poisoned at a Shake Shack is just one part in a pattern of cops claiming victimization by people who serve them food. These stories reveal the siege mentality of American policing where cops have to devise ways that they are the ones under attack from the low-wage workers that they often harass.

After 17 Years, Bureau Of Prisons Set To Resume Federal Executions Lauren Gill, The Appeal (June 16, 2020)

Attorney General William Barr announced that he ordered The Bureau of Prisons to schedule four executions, the first executions ordered by the federal government since 2003.   

The Ghost in the Machine  Stephen Kearse The Nation (June 15, 2020)

Ruha Benjamin’s book Race After Technology examines how racism was built into modern technology and how the tech sector is shaped by racism. The book argues that racism in the tech industry is less the product of a few bad apples and more a product of the way the sector developed.

How the New York City School System Failed the Test of Covid-19 Sarah Jaffe, The Nation (June 16, 2020)

School employees blame New York City’s foot dragging on closing schools for the spread of coronavirus in the school system and the subsequent deaths of several education professionals. They now worry that the schools will reopen with the same lack of care made worse by budget cuts.

Celebrating Juneteenth, Labor Finds Its Voice for Racial Justice Hamilton Nolan, In These Times (June 20, 2020)

Several labor unions have shown solidarity with the protests following the death of George Floyd. That solidarity coalesced on Juneteenth, when the ILWU shut down west coast ports.  

The Camden Police Department Is Not A Model For Policing In the Post-George Floyd Era Brendan McQuade, The Appeal (June 12, 2020)

Camden, New Jersey’s reorientation of their police force has received praise as a model of community policing. A growing surveillance state and a continued adherence to the broken windows theory of policing lies underneath the shiny veneer of spin that Camden law enforcement has placed on their model for change.