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Bakersfield
Volume 47 Number 3
Serving Kern County for Over 47 Years
Observer Group Newspapers of Southern California
RBG’s Death Could be Fatal to American Democracy By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent Ruth Bader Ginsburg – affectionately known as The Notorious R.B.G. (after the famous moniker of the late hip-hop star, The Notorious B.I.G.) – held on as long as she could while fiercely battling metastatic pancreatic cancer. At 87, the popular Supreme Court Justice had battled cancer and several other maladies, for some time. Just days before her death, as her strength waned, Ginsburg dictated this statement to her granddaughter Clara Spera: “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.” Echoing the sentiments of many, both inside and outside of the political spectrum acclaimed novelist Terry McMillan stated, “I was praying she could hold on.” The author and many others realized that, in sphere of today’s of American politics, where one of the two dominant parties is essentially wholly controlled by President Donald Trump and the hard-hearted Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, if they choose to ignore the Justice’s dying wishes, the Republicans, who control the Senate, have the votes to quickly confirm Ginsburg’s replacement. This is the case even as the president – and possibly McConnell – head toward lame-duck status. In spite of the an result from the impending confirmation process and it’s connectivity to an election that will occur in less than 45 days, the life and achievements of Ruth Bader Ginsburg are to be celebrated. America’s loss of one of its notable and most courageous jurists is palpable. “We have lost a champion of justice, an icon and patriot, a woman who lived the concept of building a more perfect union,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser affirmed. “Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg fought for us until the very end, and it is that fighting spirit – that we were fortunate as a nation to benefit from time and time again – that made us love, respect, and admire her. We are heartbroken.” Hillary Shelton, the Chief Lobbyist of the NAACP, called Ginsburg’s death a sad day for America. “We are losing a real champion for Civil Rights, Voting Rights, Women’s Rights and Human Rights on our Supreme Court,” Shelton posited. Shelton honored Ginsburg for breaking through
Ruth Bader Ginsburg portrait. (Photo: Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States, Photographer: Steve Petteway)
many barriers to the full participation of all Americans and demanded that Republicans wait until after the election to confirm a successor. “It is our hope that whoever fills her position would have her same values. We also urge that the president withhold the nomination to fill that position until after the election,” Shelton exclaimed.
“It was Mitch McConnel who insisted not to allow President Obama to fill a position in his last year in office. We urge that there not be a nomination or consideration by the U.S. Senate until after the November election.” Through her cancer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg fought to the end with unwavering faith in our democracy and its ideals, and that’s how she’ll be remembered, Obama expressed in a written statement. “But she also left instructions for how she wanted her legacy to be honored,” the popular former president observed. Obama recalled when Republicans refused to hold a hearing or an up-or-down vote on his Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, and they invented the principle that the Senate shouldn’t fill an open seat on the Supreme Court before a new president was sworn in. “A basic principle of the law – and of everyday fairness – is that we apply rules with consistency, and not based on what’s convenient or advantageous in the moment,” Obama demanded. “The rule of law, the legitimacy of our courts, the fundamental workings of our democracy all depend on that basic principle. As votes are already being cast in this election, Republican Senators are now called to apply that standard. “The questions before the Court now and in the coming years – with decisions that will determine whether or not our economy is fair, our society is just, women are treated equally, our planet survives, and our democracy endures – are too consequential to future generations for courts to be filled through anything less than an unimpeachable process.” Sixty years ago, the Brooklyn born Ginsburg applied to be a Supreme Court clerk. She’d studied at two of the country’s finest law schools and had ringing recommendations. But because she was a woman, she was rejected, Obama recalled. Ten years later, she sent her first brief to the Supreme Court – which led it to strike down a state law based on gender discrimination for the first time. And then, for nearly three decades, as the second woman ever to sit on the highest court in the land, she proved a warrior for gender equality – someone who believed that equal justice under the law only had meaning if it applied to every single American.
Continued on page A8
Weeks Before Early Voting in California,
Young Activists Target Black and Brown Millennials, Gen Z-ers
(Photo: PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)
Quinci LeGardye California Black Media Early voting in California will begin Monday, October 5. Registered voters will be able to either mail in or drop off their ballots from that day until the day before Election Day, Monday, Nov. 2. In a deeply divided American electorate, both Democrats and Republicans have been pushing efforts to motivate their respective party bases to get out and vote. And in an election year when a few votes in a handful of swing states will likely determine who will win the U.S. presidency, poll watchers are predicting that young people could be the deciding vote in several places. “Don’t let anyone keep you from exercising your sacred vote. Make your plan to vote. Grab your vote and head to the polls the first day they are open,” said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, calling out young people in his speech at the Democratic National Convention in August.
Across California, young voters are speaking out about the issues that concern them this election, and decisions that will affect their future. On Sept. 11, Power California, a civic engagement organization that encourages young people of color to participate in government, hosted their “Fight For Our Future Campaign Kick-Off.” Young activists from all corners of California spoke about issues coming up in the November election to launch he campaign, which aims to reach more than 150,000 California voters between the ages of 18 and 35 through virtual phone banking and texting. Annie Gonzalez, the actress known for her role as Lidia Solis on Netflix’s comedy-drama series “Gentefied,” hosted the virtual event. She addressed the struggles that young people of color are facing in the lead up to the election. According to Power California’s 2020 Youth Poll, 46 % of young people surveyed had difficulty buying food, household supplies or medicine during the COVID-19 pandemic, and 67 % said their state government is not
doing enough to address the impact of COVID-19. “Young people of color have been hit hard by these crises, and their needs and futures must be centered in this election, and always during the recovery, from young essential workers risking everything to take care of us to college students unsure about their future to everyday young people struggling to afford rent,” said Gonzalez. Kendrick Sampson, activist and actor known for his role as Nathan Campbell on HBO’s popular comedydrama series “Insecure,” addressed the young people watching the event as well. He stressed the importance of activism and participation. “I’m inspired by all the young people. It’s what keeps me going and motivated, because y’all are leading the movement across the country. Young people like yourselves are rising up and fueling movements for justice, from Black Lives Matter and calls to defund the police to climate change and immigrant rights. You are the leaders and the moral compass of our nation in every major movement for justice that has been true in our past, and it is still true today.” Tyler Okeke, a 19-year-old organizer with Power California, asked young people to sign a letter asking Gov. Newsom to endorse Proposition 15. The ballot measure would require commercial and industrial properties to be taxed at their market value. According to Ballotpedia, 40 % of the revenue generated will fund school districts and community colleges. “It will require decisive action from our elected leaders, especially leaders like Governor Newsom,” he said. “We need leaders who will put people over corporations and take steps to meet California’s most essential human needs while recognizing that young people are the central force of this future that we want for this state.” Ixchel Arista, a 15-year-old youth organizer with Oakland Kids First, advocated for Measure QQ, a ballot initiative in Oakland which will allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in school board elections. “Students feel the most impact as we spend most of our lives at school, yet have no say in decisions being made for our education. We need to be able to decide who is making these impactful decisions,” said Arista. Te’Ausha Garcia, a civic engagement organizer with Californians for Justice in Fresno, said, “It’s important that we fight for the solutions that we need, because who else will fight for us? We have to be willing to stand up and fight for what we want. Otherwise the change we desperately need will not be showcased. We must stand up for our rights and really name what it is that we need.” “We must continue to fight for our right to the future that we deserve. The right to have our most basic human needs met: Clean and fresh air and water, housing, healthcare and education. The right to be free and to live with dignity and without discrimination, the right to determine the future of our democracy and our economy, and we will not stop until we secure these rights. We will not stop until we secure these rights,” said Eugene Vang, a 19-year-old activist from Merced, who organizes with 99 Routes and Power California.
Free!
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
Mayors Vow to Launch Guaranteed Income Programs Across US By ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – A growing number of mayors across the country support giving cash to low-income families with no restrictions on how they can spend it _ part of a growing movement to establish a guaranteed minimum income to combat poverty and systemic racism. Mayors in at least 25 cities _ from Los Angeles to Paterson, New Jersey _ have pledged to support such programs as part of the group Mayors for a Guaranteed Income. They are led by Michael Tubbs, the 30-year-old mayor of Stockton, California, who launched one of the country’s first guaranteed income programs last year with the help of private donations from Silicon Valley. The idea of guaranteed income programs has been around for decades, but it got a lot of attention in the U.S. as the centerpiece of Andrew Yang’s failed bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. Critics have scoffed at Yang’s plan, which would have cost $2.8 trillion a year while giving every American $1,000 a month. Pilot programs launching in some cities across the country are covering just a few hundred people at most. The goal, Tubbs said, is to convince the federal government to launch a guaranteed income program by providing “the stories and the cover to do what is right.” “It has to be a federal solution,” he said Wednesday. “We understand that a guaranteed income is not a panacea for everything (but) is a powerful tool that provides a floor for everyone.” Mayors have work to do to win over critics, including Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, a fiscally conservative advocacy group. “Socialism is great until you run out of other people’s money,” he said, loosely quoting former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. “The concept of universal minimum income is foolish. It disincentivizes work and that is socially destructive.” Stockton’s program began in early 2019, giving $500 a month to 125 people. It was supposed to end in August, but Tubbs extended it through January because of the pandemic. The program is funded entirely by private donations. But some of the other programs outlined Wednesday by mayors at a news conference would rely on a mix of public and private money. In St. Paul, Minnesota, Mayor Melvin Carter plans to use money from the federal CARES Act to fund the first phase of that city’s program, which will provide $500 a month to as many as 150 low-income families with young children. In Los Angeles, the country’s second-largest city, Mayor Eric Garcetti has pledged to launch a program that includes a mix of public and private money. He hinted the program could also help immigrants living in the country illegally “who have been written out of federal legislation.” “At a moment of racial injustice, we see this as a way forward,” Garcetti said. In Hudson, New York, a city of about 6,000 people, Mayor Kamal Johnson said about 25 people are getting $500 a month for five years. That program is funded by private donations and will benefit people who are at least 18 and make $35,000 a year or less. “We live in a city right now where people feel like they just work, pay bills and die,” Johnson said. “Being in one of the most powerful nations in the world, that shouldn’t be the way that people are living.” In Pittsburgh, Mayor William Peduto is launching a program later this year to give $500 a month to 200 families. Half of that money would go to families headed by Black women. Researchers will compare the impact on that group versus the impact on the 100 families not headed by Black women to measure the impact of systemic racism. Other programs are planned in Oakland, California; Mount Vernon, New York; Tacoma, Washington; Paterson, New Jersey; and Long Beach, California.
California Coronavirus Death Toll Passes 15,000 Mark LOS ANGELES (AP) – California’s death count from the coronavirus surpassed 15,000 on Sunday even as the state saw widespread improvement in infection levels. A tally by Johns Hopkins University put California’s death toll at 15,026, the fourth highest in the country. New York has suffered by far the most deaths -- 33,081 -followed New Jersey, which has about half as many. Texas is third. California, which is the nation’s most populous state, has the most confirmed virus cases in the U.S. with about 775,000, but key indicators have fallen dramatically since a spike that started after Memorial Day weekend prompted statewide shutdowns of businesses. The state’s infection rate has fallen to 3% in the last week, the lowest level since the first days of the pandemic. Hospitalizations have dropped below 2,700, the lowest since early April, and the number of patients in the intensive care unit has dropped below 850. Falling ICU counts should help lower the death rate since those patients are the most likely to succumb to the virus. For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some _ especially older adults and people with existing health problems _ it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death. With figures falling, California last month instituted a new four-tier system for counties to reopen more businesses and activities. Most counties -- including Los Angeles, the state’s most populous with 10 million residents-- remain in the most restrictive level but some could move to a lower level when the state updates the ratings on Tuesday. A notable exception is San Diego County, the state’s second-largest, which has seen a spike of cases fueled partly by an outbreak among San Diego State University students. It is poised to return to the most restrictive level.