Philly Polticis: The Good, The Bad, and the STUPID!

The Good:

1. Ballot Battles! 

Milton Street, despite most likely forging his petitions as well as not even living in Philly, was somehow approved to be on the ballot. The upside? The Nutter Campaign is battling his petition and residency! I was recently harassed by one of his petitioners before the deadline (I'll leave it there, maybe tell the story one day soon), and on top of the fact that I don't think he should be elgible to run at all... Well, it's a red-letter day for me!


Czar, pardon me, City Councilman Darrell Clake has just had his petition challenged as well! You may know Darrell Clarke as the City Councilperson from the 5th District who's chief accomplishment's are trying to track when you buy cigarettes, alcohol, and Sharpie Markers, wanted to ban Satellite Dishes, passed a hate crime bill that was simply redundant and pointless, as well tried to pass a promoters bill that would have harmed Philly only because he didn't like the fact he couldn't park closer to his house. 


His petition is being challenged by his only challenger, Suzanne Carn, who's husband is former state Rep. Andrew Carn. I hope it works and we see Clarke have to pack his bags and go!


2. The Corrupt Establishment Is LEAVING!


Councilpersons Joan L. Krajewski , Donna Reed Miller, Frank DiCicco, and Anna Verna are GONE! Their done! Retired! Adios! For the record, I met Anna once when I was running, and she was very nice, same with Frank DiCicco who tried to help me lower the age requirement. That aside, politically, I am glad to see all four of these people go. We need some fresh blood in City Council, and a more progressive governing body to challenge Nutter!

The Bad: 

1. The Philadelphia Republican's can't seem to get their stuff together!


WHAT THE HELL?! Come on, it's wide open! You're up against someone who promised hope and change, and instead all we got were new tax ideas that were terrible and stupid and treated us like kids! He lied to the city about stopping casinos! The guy is as popular as a wet sock, but no one is really challenging him because, frankly, who wants this mess?! The Democrats in Philly are about as progressive as a donkey stuck in mud, and the best the Republican's can do is somebody no one's heard of?!
 
 Plus, they never even bothered to give me a call or send me an e-mail! I'm on Facebook! Call me!


2. Charles Ramsey might be leaving. 

Even though I was tough as hell on the guy before he got here, I have to admit, he's done a good job, and he's tried his damnedest to try and clean up the local police department. If he goes, hopefully we'll get someone who's just as good, if not better.


The STUPID: 

Simply put: The fact that Milton Street was allowed to get on the ballot without the Election Office VERIFYING everything first! WHAT THE HELL!

Oh: And ANYONE who thinks Milton running is "entertaining"! What the hell is wrong with the people in media thinking it's a GOOD thing? The guy's a criminal, a jerk, and an incompetent politician!

Czar Clarke Target of Hate Crime: Irony In Play!

I've written a few posts about 5th District Councilman Darrell Clarke a few times. He's written bills that would have tracked everything from beer, to cigarettes, to spray paint and even Sharpie markers. He's even tried to pass zoning laws that would classify restaurants the same way as STRIP CLUBS!

And people wonder why I don't trust City Council. YEESH!

But all of this hate started when I found out last fall that he wanted to basically do away with the First Amendment and ban displaying swastika's, nooses, and burning crosses in public. If you don't agree with the symbols, fine, but just wearing these images on a shirt, putting it on an album cover, etc, isn't exactly wrong. I went into detail on this before, and you can read that blog post here.

So when I found out Czar Clarke was the target of a hate crime, the irony... well, poetic justice, of the situation wasn't lost on me.

City Councilman Darrell L. Clarke was the victim of an apparent hate crime, police and Clarke just told Philly Confidential.

Clarke said he walked outside his house this morning and found Nazi symbols and the letters "KKK" spray-painted on his car, a vehicle belonging to a relative of one of his staffers and another local resident's car. Crime Scene Unit investigators are currently dusting his car for prints while detectives try to determine what motivated the incident.

"Some idiot decided for whatever reason they needed to paint a swastika and 'KKK' all over my car," Clarke said. "I couldn't believe it."

Police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore said investigators "are treating this as a hate crime. It's disgusting and we're trying to get to the bottom of who is behind it."

SOURCE: Philadelphia Inquirer

Oh the sweet poetic justice of it all!

Well, it may be a hate crime, Czar Clarke, but was it because of your race or because of your idiotic bills? ....OK, it's most likely is race. Eh. You still suck.

CZAR CLARKE AT IT AGAIN!!

Ill be honest: It's getting to the point where the lack of attention I'm getting is annoying. I've written every friggin blog I could, as well as newspapers and City Council members about how Clarke is trying to take away freedoms by tracking purchases of Cigarrettes, Beer, and Sharpies, but it's constantly ignored. So when he tries something big, it FINALLY gets noticed. I just wished people would actually listen to me sometimes.

Ranting aside about that, lets get to the point: CLARKE IS AT IT AGAIN!

No longer content with simply tracking your purchases and banning "offensive" images, he now wants to personally oversea where restaurants go. I'll simplify the bill for you; If you have a take-out restaurant, then your going to be zoned just like if you were a strip club! In order to get a variance from the city, you would need to talk to your City Council rep. And, oh look, Clarke is in control of half of Center City! Namely, the WESTERN HALF! Considering that means everything west of City Hall, the business district and the places where the most revitalization has happened, it's obvious that this bill is here to make life hell for anyone running a business.

Credit where's Credit Due, City Council President Anna Verna is also sponsoring the bill.

If your mad as hell about this, WRITE CITY COUNCIL:

1st FRANK DiCICCO Dicicco-1st-District@phila.gov
2nd ANNA C. VERNA verna-2nd-district@phila.gov
3rd JANNIE L. BLACKWELL blackwell-3rd-District@phila.gov
4th CAROL ANN CAMPBELL cambell-4th-district@phila.gov
5th DARRELL L. CLARKE Clarke-5th-district@phila.gov
6th JOAN L. KRAJEWSKI krajewski-6th-district@phila.gov
7th DANIEL J. SAVAGE savage-7th-district@phila.gov
8th DONNA REED MILLER miller-8th-district@phila.gov
9th MARIAN B. TASCO tasco-9th-district@phila.gov
10th BRIAN J. O'NEILL oneil-10th-district@phila.gov

Councilmembers-At-Large
W. WILSON GOODE, JR. goode-at-large@phila.gov
WILLIAM K. GREENLEE greenlee-at-large@phila.gov
JACK KELLY Kelly-at-large@phila.gov
JAMES F. KENNEY Kenney-At-Large@phila.gov
JUAN RAMOS Ramos-at-large@phila.gov
BLONDELL REYNOLDS BROWN brown-at-large@phila.gov
FRANK RIZZO rizzo-at-large@phila.gov

Also, feel free to buy some Czar Clarke Merchandise. I would love to make some cash off his incompetence!

http://www.cafepress.com/larrysshop/4278795

Darrell Clarke STILL Hates Your Civil Rights!

Saw this in the Metro Blog today, Thanks! More on it tomorrow!

It's been, in no short terms, a weird day. I woke up to protest against Darrell Clarke's bill. The idea for the protest was very simple: Clarke wants to ban being able to display nooses, burning crosses, and swastikas in public. Being a fan of the First Amendment, as well as belonging to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, a First Amendment group, I oppose it with every American bone in my body. It doesn't mean I entirely agree with these symbols, but at the same time, let's consider that the Swastika alone has a VERY long history of non-violence before the freakin' Nazi's bastardized it.

Here is the proposed Bill No. 070914.

So to protest, the plan was to draw these three symbols. Not just "draw" them, but make them interesting and put them into some cool contexts. I won't lie, it wasn't a well thought-out plan since I had no clue what to draw and no signs to tell people why I was out there. Plus, I didn't know the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony was tonight, so they were getting that done while I was out there as well.

The best part? On the subway ride to City Hall I came up with an idea based on the Anthrax song "Startin' Up A Posse". In it, Scott Ian sings about how Censorship is a cancer, and goes against what America stands for. The entire song is just a cartoony rip and tear of Tipper Gore, and I decided that that was the best way to go with this protest.

Now, my plan was to not only show the picture, but also make flyers to hand out at City Hall WITH the drawing on it, and explain why it was done and what you could do if you felt the same way about censorship as me.

Now, I learned that two other measures he wants (Both which would create electronic tracking of beer, alcohol, spray paint containers, indelible markers and etching acid) are on the docket FOR THE SAME MEETING!

Bill No.: 070875 - The bill that would track cigarettes and beer:
http://www.hallwatch.org/councilnotices/bills/1192803462538

Bill No.: 070876 - The bill that would track spray paint:
http://www.hallwatch.org/councilnotices/bills/1192803462937

The meeting is scheduled for Dec 5, 2007 10:00 am at Room 400, City Hall from the Licenses and Inspections Committee.

Now, I'm sure that a LOT more people agree that all of these measures are, well... INSANE! Czar Clarke, this isn't Oceania and we are not the Proles from Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four! This is the USA in 2008, Councilman, and before you decide to take more rights away from us and start tracking up like cattle, realize a few things!

1. WE ALREADY HAVE HATE CRIME LAWS! Your entire proposal to "ban" these images violates the First Amendment! Not only that, but anyone with some basic legal knowledge knows that it is incredibly difficult to prove intent, and in a case like this, where you can not always tell the intent of an artist who uses any of these symbols, your are going to cost the city millions in lawsuits!

Councilman, why create a new law that can hurt the city to create this awareness that this is already a crime to do in order to commit hate? There is hate crime legislation already that covers this!

2. WE ALREADY CHECK IDS! Clarke's legislation to "electronically scan ID's" come down to tracking these legal purchases. There are already laws in effect to make sure that this doesn't happen, so why the extra move? Why track law-abiding citizens?

In essence, everything Czar Clarke wants is MORE government in your life! Is that what you and I need?

What we NEED, Councilman, is more ENFORCEMENT OF EXISTING LAWS! We need to make sure that the citizens of Philadelphia are aware that we do have these laws. Your selective laws and enforcement (I can only suspect your behind the recent run of shut downs of First Friday) have hurt Philadelphia and continue to do so!

If YOU oppose these ideas just as much as me, feel free to contact him:

5th DARRELL L. CLARKE
Clarke-5th-district@phila.gov

Philadelphia City Council Member Darrell Clarke hates the First Ammendment

Did you ever get so angry you can't think straight? That's the case for me...

Whatever happened to the saying, "I may not agree with what you say,but I'll defend to the death your right to say it."? Day after day, I'm left asking this question as I see more and more people deny the right of letting others express themselves. Today, I learned that Czar, pardon, City Council Member Darrel Clarke is trying to ban the image of burning crosses, swastikas, and hanging nooses.

http://willdo.philadelphiaweekly.com/archives/2007/11/city_council_to_1.html

While many of us will agree that those symbols are linked to years and years of racism and oppression, so are the following:

The Southern Flag
The Cross
Black Face
Pentacles and Pentagrams
Satan
Mohamed
Jesus
Whips
Chains
Swords
Guns
The Bible
The Koran

Ask yourself if you can say for a second that anything in that list hasn't meant someone didn't felt excluded. Ask yourself if anything on there, when you saw it in real life, didn't make you recoil a bit because you had to look at it, hear about, was told about it, or knew about it.

Myself? I'm offended more by people who don't give me room to breath on the train or bus than anything else. That, and people who click their gum. I think there should be a law banning both. Why not? Their offensive to me! Doesn't that stuff annoy you, too?

I went to Councilman Clark's office earlier today and spoke to his legislative aid. We went into a discussion about this and it came down to this conversation:

Staffer: "This is about public places. What if you had to go to work everyday and someone kept putting a noose around you?"
Me: "Well, it would be funny the first time, but it would get old fast."
Staffer: "Exactly!"
Me: "You know, back in high school, I had this guy who constantly tried to set me on fire every single day. He would take out his lighter and go, 'I'm going to set you on fire!' It was funny the first time, but it got old fast!"
Staffer: "That really happened?"
Me: "Yep. It was annoying as sin! And there's a law against that, too, right?"
Staffer: "Yeah."
Me: "So why are we creating a new law to do the same thing an existing law does?"

Yes, a classmate of mine DID try to set me on fire daily in high school. He didn't really intend to hurt me, just light my sweater on fire (It wouldn't burn, so it was annoying when he tried), and I honestly didn't care. He was more like a fly than someone out to kill me.

My point is this: There are laws on the book that ban a lot of this stuff already. The text of what Clarke wants to amend is this:

"No person shall display, with the intent to intimidate another person or incite violence, a symbol of racial or ethnic animus, such as a noose, burning cross or swastika, in a place of employment, in a public accommodation, in a public facility, on public property or in the public right-of-way."

So, in a sense, anywhere but your house. It's a bit silly, really. Let me give you another example: I have a t-shirt with a swastika crossed out on the back. Here it is on the right. It's obvious my intent is to piss off Neo-Nazi's. So, under Clarke's bill, this shirt is now banned.

If you own a Bad Religion shirt with the cross crossed-out (The "No Cross" shirt), it would be banned, wouldn't it? Your intent is to say you don't like the cross as a symbol, but someone else could simply say your intent is to piss off people. Maybe it is. Doesn't matter, IT'S BANNED!

I can also only assume that Marilyn Manson's "Last Tour on Earth" album cover would be banned, too. A flaming cross of TV's. It's a burning cross all right! Would a performance including this act be banned, too? It's done in a public space with the intent of inciting violence, although for the purpose of entertainment.

What about simple classes and lectures on this topic? Are kids now banned from learning about Nazi Germany and the Civil Rights movement because they contain these symbols? What about college courses where the teacher can use these subjects with the intent of inciting a form of violence, of making students angry about the events of the past and use it to make their communities better by eliminating hatred and racism?

The entire point of this boils down to this: You don't have a right to not be offended. In fact, you have a right TO be offended.

That's why I love democracy! It gives you a chance to be challenged, to make you ask questions, and to re-kindle why you are who you are. If I was walking down the street and someone had on a "Stop Snichin'" t-shirt on, I would be a offended by that more than someone wearing a shirt with a burning cross or a noose.

Honestly, why did the noose become racist? It's been used to kill people for centuries! Not just blacks, but everyone! What, just because a bunch of idiots in the South decide to make it racist, BAM, it's racist? One year I wanted to have skeletons hanging from nooses for Halloween, and that was when I was 10. I thought it would be scary, but I took it down because I couldn't do it right. I know I saw it at a haunted house or something.

The noose has a been a symbol for centuries, one that reminds people of execution, death, and even the lost of rights. It has a long history of making people think.

Am I trying to say all of these things are right? Not really. In this country, groups like the KKK, Neo-Nazi's, the Nation of Islam, and countless other racists are allowed to march in freedom. You may not like what they have to say, but it's safe to say we all agree that they have a basic right to say it.

We also have a right to call them idiots for it, too.

If you don't like something, you can either ignore it or call it names back. That options always open, too. I know I do! Someone doesn't like the way I dress, I just flip them off and go on my way. Its life, isn't it? Someone is always bound to disagree with you or do something to annoy you, and you either ignore them or do something.