http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/8484773
Immigration enforcement under the Obama administration has continued almost unchanged from the “enforcement-only” regime perfected by the Bush administration, applying criminal enforcement tactics to the civil immigration system.
APAC invites all concerned citizens to join the movement whether online or in person. This message is from APAC to all residents of Austin:
We are a group of organizations and individuals who are dedicated to common principles of meaningful police transparency and accountability for the Austin Police Department. We want to see APD provide safety for all residents of Austin.
Problem
"We want to know when our city leaders are going to settle with the people of Austin and fix our broken system of police accountability so this does not happen again."
- The Austin Police Accountability Coalition (APAC)
Austin city council members have a choice to make on Thursday, July 29.
At 11:45am APAC is hosting a Rally for Reform at City Hall. At noon, John Bush will address council about police accountability as part of citizens communications. Later in the afternoon or evening, the city council will vote on whether to accept the $750,000.00 Sanders family settlement for the death of their son at the hands of Officer Quintana. Citizens of Austin can sign up to address city council regarding the settlement and public comment is expected.
Here are links to two different authors thoughts on the subjects. Enjoy and let us know what you think!
The Relationship Model for Modern Couples
(Lifetime Commitment Not Included)
It's time for the nation's largest drug education program to get its facts straight when it comes to the world's two most popular recreational substances.
In a guest column in opposition to the marijuana reform initiative on the ballot in California, DARE America Chairman Skip Miller goes off about how marijuana "mushes up your brain," "lowers inhibitions," and "makes users engage in risky behavior." Meanwhile, the DARE America website discusses how "[s]ocial drinking is an acceptable and pleasurable activity for millions of Americans," which "relaxes you, curbs stress, and chases away inhibitions."
DARE instructors from across the nation are gathering this week for the DARE International Training Conference. We can't help but assume they will be instructed to continue spreading this misguided and potentially dangerous message that alcohol is an acceptable form of intoxication for adults, yet marijuana is just too harmful, cannot be consumed responsibly, and thus should never be allowed as an alternative.
As a result, SAFER and Chelsea Green Publishing are offering every DARE instructor in the nation a FREE copy of Marijuana is Safer: So why are we driving people to drink? In order to reach Mr. Miller and the DARE organization as a whole, however, we need your help...
Take action today and send DARE a message!
CLICK HERE or visit http://tinyurl.com/3yfsw5e to send DARE America Chairman Skip Miller an e-mail, calling on him and DARE to admit that marijuana is safer than alcohol and incorporate this important fact into the DARE's curriculum.
In fact, Mr. Miller essentially challenged you to do so in his column:
As the chairman of DARE America... I have yet to see one [e-mail from a marijuana reform supporter] that overcomes the body of scientific research demonstrating that smoking marijuana is harmful and does just one thing well: It gets people high...
We have provided you with an editable e-mail to Mr. Miller that includes links to all the information he should need to arrive at the conclusion that marijuana is far safer than alcohol. We hope you will take a minute to fill out the quick form, send him an e-mail, and then encourage others to do so, as well. Needless to say, SAFER will also be sending Mr. Miller a complimentary copy of Marijuana is Safer.
Today is the last day to vote in the Austin Chronicle's SOUND WARS Competition, and one of our favorite hip hop duo's Riders Against the Storm (RAS) is pretty close to winning but they need YOUR VOTES TODAY before midnight!
If you vote by midnight Texas time tonight you will win a FREE DOWNLOAD of the RAS album Speak the Truth by following these steps:
1. Create an account(s) and register to VOTE in the SOUNDWARS contest HERE, then vote for RAS.
2. Click this link to send an email to RAS with your new username and password so they can make sure you're registered.
3. Wait for a confirmation email from RAS with the album download link/code.
Please CLICK THIS LINK to register and submit one vote per as many email accounts as you want to enter. And you don't have to live in Austin to vote so spread the word!
SOUND WARS is a digital song competition between local Austin bands competing for notoriety, exposure, and a chance to play the 20th annual Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival on Sunday, August 29 at Waterloo Park.
So please register and PLACE YOUR VOTES for Riders Against the Storm, one of the freshest new hip-hop groups in Austin!!!
Firstly lemme say that I have been on the road a bit this past week and slacked on email for about 48 hours, getting caught up now. Also, I am taking a bit of a break from Facebook and Twitter. Both sites are starting to make me feel real silly. I may turn this site here into my personal twitter page, fuck it. Short punchy bullshit, well I don't know. Maybe not.
ANYHOO! TONIGHT AUSTIN TEXAS YOU GOT TO BE AT THE ND! I done told you before and tonight is the night for - ALMOST FAMOUS! (Click flyer now to see full size)
A lot of times we take some pretty hard swipes at folks who don't do right by our communities and we make no bones about it. This week we wanna shower someone with praise and a bit of caution.
We're talking about the top law enforcement officer in the land US Attorney General Eric Holder. In the past few weeks he's been on a roll. First he filed a law suit against the Neanderthals who sit in office in the Apartheid state of Arizona. Holder like many of us sees the new immigration bill SB 1070 that is not only too far reaching, but also not within the rights of the people trying to enforce it.
Everyone is talking about Lebron James and the brouhaha he has with Cleveland Cav’s owner Dan Gilbert. Adding to the mix is Jesse Jackson. Lemme just say for the record this is not Hip Hop beef. It’s a beef between 3 men who have more money and resources than most of us could ever dream for… It’s important to not this because their beef becomes are distraction as we discovered the other night when Lebron’s ‘Decision’ where to make his next millions overshadowed the ‘Decision’ to slap an out of control cop on the wrist with manslaughter for the killing of unarmed Oscar Grant at the hands of the police.
Jasiri X has released a video called “What if the Tea Party was Black?” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtH7vH4yRcY
The Hip Hop artist says that he got the idea when Paradise Gray, a member of the pro-black rap group X-Clan, forwarded him a copy of Tim Wise’s article. “I saw the article and I liked the concept,” says the rapper. So Jasiri hit the studio with producer Cynik Lethal while Paradise grabbed his video camera and they went on their mission to defeat the Right Wing propaganda machine.
