143 detention facilities in the State of Florida? And they say that
crime doesn't pay! Maybe not so much for the little crooks, but for
Big Business...like private prisons and dirt cheap labor, Crime
Benefits are alive and flourishing.
As long as this nation's government continues to embrace Capitalism,
especially Corporate Capitalism, Profit at all cost will dictate the
nation's actions.
But, such dreaming may be only Pie in the Sky at this time in our
history. The current Owners of the United States of America have
managed to stay on top for well over 200 years, and they will not roll
over easily.
Donald Trump is our nation's Poster Boy as an addition to Mother, the
Flag, Apple Pie, and now, the Corporate Role Model. Trump is
everything America's youngsters dream of becoming. Brash, bold,
cocky, willing to cheat and steal and even murder in order to stay on
top.
And by the way, speaking of "on top", president Donald Trump is at
best a Billionaire Wanna Be. Billions of dollars may have passed
through Trump's hands, but his personal account is in the Red. But
there he sits, the envy of a nation of young people who were fed lies
and Fairy Tales, and yearn to grow up to live like their idol.
It actually gets worse, but if I don't stop here I'll puke on my keyboard.
Carl Jarvis
On 10/6/20, Roger Loran Bailey <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Fight continues to overturn Florida prison officials’ ban on ‘Militant’
https://themilitant.com/2020/10/03/fight-continues-to-overturn-florida-prison-officials-ban-on-militant/
BY BRIAN WILLIAMS
Vol. 84/No. 40
October 12, 2020
Supporters of both the rights of prisoners and freedom of the press are
stepping up their efforts to urge Florida prison officials to reverse
the banning of four recent issues of the Militant. The state’s
Department of Corrections Literature Review Committee rejected the
Militant’s appeal over the banning of the first of these issues, Vol.
84, No. 30.
“The and rejection were upheld,” Dean Peterson, the committee’s
administrator, wrote Militant attorney David Goldstein. “As a result of
that decision the issue will not be allowed into Florida correctional
institutions.” This affects all of the state’s 143 prison facilities.
Fight continues to overturn Florida prison officials’ ban on ‘Militant’
Click here to see more messages protesting the ban.
Protests against the impoundments have come from both prominent
political rights groups like the American Civil Liberties Union in
Florida and press freedom organizations like the Reporters Committee for
Freedom of the Press.
“We urge Florida State Prison authorities to cease the arbitrary
impoundment” of the Militant, wrote Justin Mazzola, deputy director of
research for Amnesty International USA, in a Sept. 21 letter to the
committee.
Peterson’s letter informing the Militant of the committee’s decision
was dated Aug. 28, but it wasn’t postmarked until Sept. 16. So the
Militant didn’t even know about it until three weeks after it was made.
As with the three subsequent impoundments of the paper — issue nos. 31,
33 and 34 — the committee’s decision give no clear reason what prison
authorities found objectionable in Militant articles.
They just claim that each of the four issues are “dangerously
inflammatory” and “advocates or encourages riot insurrection, rebellion,
organized prison protest, disruption of the institution, or the
violation of the federal law, state law, or Department rules.”
Issue no. 30 was confiscated because of the article “Prisoners Demand
Release from Overcrowded Jails.” It describes a peaceful rally in
California by inmates’ family members and supporters urging the state
government take steps to relieve the dangerous overcrowding in prisons
there amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It also reports on a letter from a
prisoner describing conditions where he is incarcerated.
The spread of coronavirus amid widespread prison overcrowding has been
widely covered in Florida and nationwide. The Miami Herald, for example,
at the end of July — the same time that the Militant article appeared —
ran articles focused on the abysmal conditions within Florida’s prison
system. The paper’s headlines included, “South Florida Prison Tallies
Most Inmate COVID-19 Deaths Among Florida Facilities” and “‘It’s
Apparent that They’re Failing’: As Florida Inmate Deaths Soar, Families
Feel Dread.”
Issue nos. 33 and 34 were banned for articles reporting on the
Militant’s efforts to reverse the impoundment of issue no. 30. Issue no.
31, however, was banned for an article that opposed violence in
Portland, Oregon, by both antifa and federal cops. These are also
questions that have been widely covered in the press.
The Militant has appealed the banning of these three issues also, but
hasn’t yet received a response from the Literature Review Committee.
The Militant has fought an ongoing series of battles against prison
bans on the paper in the last few years, with growing support, and has
won the vast majority.
“I urge you to lift the ban on the Militant newspaper in Florida
prisons,” Martin Knaeble, a baggage handler for Delta Airlines in
Minneapolis, wrote Sept. 27. “I’m sure you value the constitutional
right of freedom of the press and freedom of speech. Please do the right
thing!”
“More letters are needed to urge Florida prison officials to overturn
their bans,” said Militant editor John Studer. “What’s at issue here
isn’t our reports on prison conditions — this is widely covered and
hasn’t led to Florida officials carrying out wholesale suppression of
the media. The fact is, Florida prison authorities don’t like our
political views.
“The Militant will never stop fighting for the right of prisoners to
read different points of view and form their own opinions,” Studer said.
“Our growing numbers of subscribers behind bars look to us to defend
their rights.”
Fight 'Militant' banOther groups that have sent letters calling for
lifting the ban include the Florida Press Association, News Leaders
Association and PEN America. A growing number of individuals have done
so as well.
Send letters to Dean Peterson, Literature Review Committee, Florida
Department of Corrections, 501 South Calhoun Street, Tallahassee, FL
32399 or via email at Allen.Peterson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, with a copy to
the Militant.
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End Washington’s economic war against Cuba! No to new sanctions!
Fight continues to overturn Florida prison officials’ ban on ‘Militant’
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History comes from class struggle, not the Supreme Court
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‘Imperialism is an arsonist setting fire to our forests’
25, 50 and 75 years ago
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--
_____
Robert G. Ingersoll
“Give me the storm and tempest of thought and action, rather than the dead
calm of ignorance and faith! Banish me from Eden when you will; but first
let me eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge!”
― Robert G. Ingersoll, The Works Of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. Iii
