We Count: Check It Out!

Check it out!!!!

Contact Your Congressperson!

As promised, here is the information on how to contact your Congressperson.

My Congresswoman is Maxine Waters and those of you who also live in the 35th district of Los Angeles, you can contact her this way:

Congresswoman Maxine Waters
10124 S. Broadway, Suite 1
Los Angeles, CA 90003
Phone: (323) 757-8900
Fax: (323) 757-9506

Here address on the hill is:

Washington, DC
Congresswoman Maxine Waters
2344 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2201
Fax: (202) 225-7854

With modern technology and the phenomenon of Social Networking, you can also add her on Facebook, follow her on Twiiter AND Youtube!

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MaxineWaters

Twitter: http://twitter.com/MaxineWaters

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/MaxineWaters

For those of you OUTSIDE of this district, here's how you find out who your congressperson is:

Step One: Look up your NINE DIGIT zip code here: http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/welcome.jsp
You MUST have all nine digits. The 5 digits most of us use is not enough.

Step Two: Go to: https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml and enter your State, Street Address, and NINE DIGIT
zip code. Click "CONTACT MY REPRESENTATIVE"

Step Three: This will lead you to the option of contacting him/her directly through this website, but I WOULDN'T TRUST IT!
Sooooo.... go to google.com and enter your congressperson's name. The first result should be their official page
with the URL of " THEIRNAME".house.gov/ Click on it!

Step Four: Go to the website and click on the CONTACT or CONTACT ME option... There's the info!


Snail mail, email and write your congressperson your concerns. No matter how small YOU think your concerns are, trust me, they will NOT go unnoticed or unheard. I assure you, your congressperson pays attention to what you think, want and have to say. And believe it or not, they don't get many requests, phone calls or letters from their constituents. He/She will be happy to hear from you, regardless of your reason for contacting him/her.

And don't be afraid to be so bold as making a phone call or even just showing up at their offices! In this case, the only way to get noticed, is to make yourself noticeable.

The Truth About Katrina: The Government Doesn't Like Black People

I know, I know... I've been M.I.A. for a while. But I've been distracted and overcome by writer's block. Plus I just haven't felt compelled to write.

But recently, a funk has come over me, so naturally, I turn to the pen -- or keyboard in this case.

I recently read an article about recent 'discoveries' regarding events following Hurricane Katrina and while it didn't inform me of anything I did not already know, I was no less shocked and appalled.

I'm beginning to think my mood and spirit may be directly aligned with 'the struggle' but that's a topic for future discussion.

For now, I will tell about what I've recently read...



An ex New Orleans police officer, Jeffrey Lehrmann, has recently come forward and confessed to shady dealings in connection with police shootings of civilians on a Louisiana bridge in the days shortly following the Hurricane Katrina tragedy.

Jeffrey Lehrmann -- the ex-officer with the new found conscience -- is a former police detective who now works as a special agent for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.



Lehrmann has plead guilty in federal court admitting that he failed to report a cover-up in the investigation of the Danziger Bridge shootings in New Orleans.

If you are not familiar with this incident, allow me to brief you:

Shortly after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans police officers stepped in in order to 'control the chaos' and 'help' Katrina victims. In the midst of this 'help' and 'support' they provided, however, Six people were shot on Danziger Bridge in east New Orleans. One of the men who was killed is Ronald Madison, a mentally retarded 40 year old; the other, James Brissette, was only 19. Ronald Madison was shot in the back while James Brissette was maimed.


Ronald Madison, age 40

The police claimed they fired in self-defense, yet the men who were shot were all UNARMED.

Furthermore, here is a picture of the autopsy report:



How does shooting a man in the BACK translate to SELF-defense?

I can't help but be reminded of the Latasha Harlins tragedy - the incident that sparked the L.A. Riots:



But I digress (or do I?) So back to the lecture at hand...


The claim that these men on the Danziger Bridge were armed is somewhat odd since shortly after Hurricane Katrina, National Guard units illegally and unconstitutionally seized fire arms held by private citizens who had done nothing wrong -- often at gunpoint.

According to new testimony and confessions, when another police investigator told Lieutenant Lehrmann that he was going to plant a gun under the bridge to bolster the story that the officers were being fired at, Lieutenant Lehrmann went along, and even asked if the gun was traceable, authorities said.

According to federal authorities, however, Lieutenant Lehrmann initially concluded in his reports shortly after arriving on the scene of the shooting that the shooting was "legally unjustified."

But the report was CLEARLY finagled!

Here is a copy of the report:



The last three lines, which read:

"THE PERPETRATOR FLED AND THREW HIS HANDGUN INTO THE INDUSTRIAL CANAL WAS APPREHENDED A SHORT TIME LATER"

are CLEARLY in TOTALLY different handwriting!!!!!!! SMH

When I initially saw this my face immediately squinted in disgust! How is this the slightest bit acceptable?

And how often are things like this done????

I would say that this information suggests a very strong lack of systemic integrity but that statement would be FAR too euphemistic.

What this really is: BACKDOOR GENOCIDE.

We do not hear about incidents such as this where White people are gunned down and shot in cold blood. Why not? Because they aren't the people who were and ARE targeted.

The Danziger Bridge masacre was not an isolated incident either. There are several other cases that are under investigation by federal authorities as well as countless other incidents that have been simply swept under the rug.

One other incident is the shooting death of 31-year-old Henry Glover, whose remains were eventually discovered in a burned car parked behind a police station in the Algiers section of New Orleans.



REALLY?!



Has the belief that the lives of Black people are disposable and worthless become so commonplace and nonchalant that police officers now believe they don't even need to attempt a cover up, but rather simply put a person in an abandoned car and light a match -- without a care of who may find it?

If they feel comfortable enough to be this sloppy and uncalculated, that suggests that these officers have gotten so comfortable because they now believe that there won't be any consequences for their actions.

And the unfortunate truth is that that belief is NOT far-fetched or unreasonable.

People were appalled by the statement "George Bush doesn't like Black people"... But i'll be bold enough to take it one further and say that:

THE GOVERNMENT/SYSTEM DOESN'T LIKE BLACK PEOPLE.

And the incidents reported in this blog entry corroborate that statement.

So what do we do about this?

We hold the people responsible for these injustices and ones like them ACCOUNTABLE!

When you are pulled over for no reason and illegally searched, you WRITE LETTERS of complaints about the officers.

When you see someone being harassed or brutalized by any type of official, you report it.

You call, write or email your CONGRESSMEN/WOMEN and leave messages explaining you want these people held accountable for their actions.

We can NOT take these injustices sitting down.

I will include the information on how to contact your congressman/woman in the following post so that I can make it easier for you all by taking out some of the footwork.

Here are the faces who are accountable for the murder of Ronald Madison and James Brissette and injuring four other Black people:



They should look quite familiar because we see people who look JUST like them every single day.

Also, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE note that another way to combat these injustices is to NOT FORGET about them once the media attention (if any) blows over.

REMEMBER.

and feel disappointed.

feel saddened.

feel disenfranchised.

feel angry.

then feel COMPELLED!

and ACT!

I write this blog in the the memory of James Brissette, Ronald Madison, the four other individuals injured on that bridge that day, Henry Glover, Latasha Harlins and the countless other Black lives that were taken by people who believe we are disposable.



Latasha Harlins 15 years old (1976 - March 16, 1991)

Wishful Thinking...

Longing for the spirit that incited this type of action to resurface.

February has passed, but this propensity and state of mind shouldn't.

The Truth About Haiti

I've been avoiding this topic for some time now, because it is somewhat sensitive to me. I get easily frustrated when discussing it.

But I feel I would be remiss if I do not address the topic, so I will give you all some of my thoughts on the tragedy in Haiti.


Please know, the tragedy in Haiti is not about natural disaster.

It is about poverty.

And a country and people jilted and neglected.

One day in January, Barrack Obama told the people of Haiti, "You will not be forsaken; you will not be forgotten."

But let's be honest.

They were.

And that is why Haiti faces its current situation.

Natural disasters happen. Earthquakes happen. And people survive them.

The natural disaster is not what caused Haiti to crumble and lives to be destroyed and ended. What caused the situation in Haiti today was poorly constructed buildings. Bad infrastructure. Terrible public services and virtually non-existent aid.



We are only now - after the terrible disaster - offering aid to Haiti. Had this financial aid been given BEFORE the disaster and we had invested in Haiti so that they could improve their infrastructure and construct buildings such as hospitals, government offices, homes, and schools that could better withstand an earthquake, it would have cost less so we could have saved a lot of money and, more importantly, it would have saved thousands of more lives.

So why do we wait until a country like Haiti falls to pieces and hearts are shattered before we intervene?

Political analysts' excuse is that America does not know how to use aid to reduce poverty.

Or does the United States simply choose not to use aid to reduce poverty?

Helping Haiti after this major earthquake gives more media coverage and attention, and makes the United States out to be the knight in shining armor that ran to the rescue. A saint. hero. demigod even.

Giving Haiti the help they needed before the earthquake, would've made the U.S. a mere altruist. A lot less glamorous and attention worthy for its taste.

A country with the ability to withstand adversity is not built on its own. Solid countries often need the help of other countries' resources in order to become affluent powerhouses. America, of all countries, knows this well.

So please, donate to Haiti. But don't stop when the commercials do.

Despite whether or not the system or the 'powers that be' care, we as individuals must.

Capitalism may not have room for humanitarianism or even sympathy. But don't get lost in the shuffle of All-Star games, fashion trends, weekend vacations and clubs. Remember individuals exist outside of our microcosm. And they need help. Not AFTER death and destruction.

But now.





donate this way:




or for LARGER donations, go here:

https://co.clickandpledge.com/sp/d1/default.aspx?wid=30961



Peace in Haiti,
élice hennessee