Coffee Party USA Newsletter

December 1, 2014

Volume 14, Number 3

Radio Shows Schedules

• Lunch with Louden with Jeanene Louden
• Politics Done Right with Egberto Willies
• I take Liberty with my Coffee with Bobby Rodrigo
• The Tim Danahey Show

We are counting down to #GivingTuesday

by Jeanene Kay, Coffee Party USA Treasurer

#GivingTuesday, a global day dedicated to giving: a day to celebrate and encourage those who give their time and their money to make the world a better place.

Coffee Party USA is an all-volunteer organization operated totally on donations from members and supporters. In this season of gratitude, we honor their generosity by expressing our deep appreciation and thanks.

You can honor them, too, by joining them as a volunteer, a member, or a #GivingTuesday donor.

And, your donations will be matched by an anonymous member!

[more]

Coffee Party Statement about the lack of indictment in Ferguson

by Debilyn Molineaux, Coffee Party USA President

Absence of Justice

There is an absence of justice in our country. It is keenly felt in African American, Latino and other communities, where racial profiling has resulted in higher arrest rates, convictions and longer sentencing than caucasian offenders.

We have criminalized mental illness and substance abuse; our largest treatment centers are the jails and prisons. After arrest, many people are retained without bail to await trial and chances for rehabilitation diminish as the “institution-mentality” takes root.

While incarcerated, men and women are treated like animals and bullying is a survival strategy. This is the setting in which the lack of indictment in the shooting death of Michael Brown occurred.

Michael Brown was not a poster child for the cause of criminal justice reform; but [more]

 A message to our members  

 by Tim Danahey, Coffee Party USA Director for Public and Member Relations

Dear Coffee Party Members and Friends,

There is an opportunity for all of us to make a massive change in the way state and local governments disclose how many subsidies they give to Walmart, Amazon, Boeing, and others in the name of economic development.

There is a small but powerful organization called Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) that is considering a rule change that forces state and local governments to reveal how much tax abatement they are giving to corporations to try and attract jobs. They are looking for public comment right now and up to mid-January.

Here's where you can make a difference. [more]

Articles

Ferguson fallout: justice dancing on the head of a pin

by Perry Goodfriend at Prose and Thorn

"Regardless of whether Michael Brown is responsible for the interaction with Officer Darren Wilson that precipitated the tragic events of August 9, as the grand jury seemed to believe, a policeman chose to use deadly force because he could, not because he had to. In that context, “good guys” with guns shooting “bad guys” without guns means, to me, that the so-called “good guys” should not have a gun, at least not until they receive more complete training."  [more]

A 12-YEAR-OLD PROTESTER AND A COP IN PORTLAND SHARE A HUG THAT’S SEEN ROUND THE WORLD

Sgt. Barnum seems to understand the fear, as well as the gap that must be bridged. But Sgt. Barnum is in Portland, Oregon. I don’t think I’m alone in the perception that Portland is not the norm in America.

The officer and the protester are an inspiration. But for the sake of all the Devonte Harts and Trayvon Martins and Michael Browns who don’t live in Portland, I hope the feeling doesn’t disappear with a click of the mouse.

One slight 12-year-old stood up and faced his fears where the world could see. He reached out to what he didn’t understand. Don’t the rest of us owe it to ourselves and to our youth to do the same? [more]