Mood:  bright

What happen on the 13th floor

There was a hearing today dealing with police accountability. These are my own thoughts and could be off the mark, feel free to critique this report. The hearing was in Federal Judge Michael Simon’s court and lasted about 1 hour or so.

Going to the federal courts is always an adventure in patience; security is almost a phobia. This time was not bad, the bus ride was longer than I expected but I did get to the courthouse on time. Judge Simon’s court is on the 13th floor, I was surprised that building even had a 13th floor, never mind holding hearings there. The judge did most of the talking and I will attempt to give you some idea of what happened. I was under the impression we would be given a scheduled date for public input on the settlement that was made behind closed doors. During a previous city council hearing the public did get about 90 seconds to comment, the last few were cut down to 60 seconds. We did not get to say anything today. The settlement will now go to a mediator as soon as one is selected. The problem is that the four groups who will have some say on what is the final settlement do not get along. The groups are:

1. Department of Justice,

2. The city of Portland,

3. The union representing the cops, 

4. The Albina Ministerial Alliance, made up of 125 Portland area churches. The AMA has less influence than the other three. I was surprised by this as I thought the AMA requested the investigation of Po Po in the first place. The judge decided that the AMA will have a place at the table, but they may have to wash the dishes after each meeting and will be sitting on shorter stools. (My thoughts.)

The judge started off good, announcing his desire to have this exercise open to the public but ended up closing most meetings down. The public can/maybe give testimony but will have to go to the courthouse during normal working hours and go through security. I was asked for a picture ID today and gather that will be the norm. JoAnn asked that a place be selected away from the cops and held on a Saturday or after work hours---Nope!

The AMA wanted the Justice Department to investigate race profiling, how the cops deal with homeless and in general a police department accountable to the people of Portland---Nope!

Where are we now?

The next step will be for the four groups to pick a mediator or, if they cannot agree on one, to submit 3 names to the judge and he will pick one. After that it gets very fuzzy, we may never see a police department that is concerned about killing a person. We just experienced another shooting in the last few days, a man was already a patient at Adventist Hospital and the reports so far say he had a gun and was threatening security at the hospital. There will be more on this in the coming days as the man was shot and killed. My impressions were mixed, Judge Simon seems to care about resolving this settlement and in the coming weeks and months it may get interesting. I was glad that I went, got to see some friends and let them know they do have support from Individuals For Justice. I will continue to monitor

Back to City Hall tomorrow and on Friday back to the Hawthorne Bridge, busy week for me.

author: Lone Vet    

http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2013/02/421992.shtml 

Posted by individuals4justice at 11:28 PM PST

Updated: Tuesday, 19 February 2013 11:38 PM PST

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Mood:  on fire

“To The Bridge I Say”

Individuals For Justice will be returning to the Hawthorne Bridge on February 22, 2013 to fight against adding toxic waste to our wonderful pure water by the 5 shi-s in the City Council. The vote will be in May and we must win this one for the sake of our children and senior citizens.

We spent two years fighting against drones and now they are being talked about by the MSM. We also fought to retire our wonderful and noble horses who were being used by the Po Po to hurt protesters. They are now being faded out and we are talking to the city council on how to retire the horses and not just sell them off.

We fought against the Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya wars and they are winding down, we hope. 
We hate the camping ban, covering of our reservoirs, sit lie/lie and rejoining the JTTF. 

So, will you join our little group of troublemakers to fight this stupid, dangerous, ill conceived idea of putting toxic waste in our drinking water? I will be there every Friday that I can to hold a sign against adding toxic waste to our drinking water. We may move around a little but our home will be the Hawthorne Bridge. Sometimes we may go early in the morning to greet people going to work, will let you know each Wednesday where we will be.

We will still try to attend the city council meetings with our shirts asking why they are so removed from the citizens. 

It will be a time on the bridge and you can be sure Joe-Anybody will be videoing from time to time, we do laugh a lot but take this issue very seriously. Try to help if you can.

Location: Westside on 1st and Madison (or where announced on Wed)
Time: about 4:00 PM until we get tired, 5:30 PM
Only rule, be proud of what you say on your sign or use one of ours.

[copied from Face Book on 2/12/13] 

Posted by individuals4justice at 11:16 PM PST

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In May 2007: A study of European public opinion on water fluoridation, published in the journal Community Dentistry & Oral Epidemiology, reports that the “vast majority of people opposed water fluoridation.” According to the study, Europeans opposed fluoridation for the following reasons:

“Many felt dental health was an issue to be dealt with at the level of the individual, rather than a solution to be imposed en masse. While people accepted that some children were not encouraged to brush their teeth, they proposed other solutions to addressing these needs rather than having a solution of unproved safety imposed on them by public health authorities whom they did not fully trust. They did not see why they should accept potential side effects in order that a minority may benefit. In particular, water was something that should be kept as pure as possible, even though it was recognized that it already contains many additives.” (See study summary)

November 2004: After months of consulation, Scotland - which is currently unfluoridated – rejected plans to add fluoride to the nation’s water.

April 9, 2003: The City Parliament of Basel, Switzerland voted 73 to 23 to stop Basel’s 41 year water fluoridation program. Basel was the only city in Switzerland to fluoridate its water, and the only city in continental western Europe, outside of a few areas in Spain.

^{-Lone Vet}  2/12/14 - originally posted on FaceBook 

Posted by individuals4justice at 9:17 AM PST

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Mood:  on fire

Portland City Council Commissioner fish, is up for re-election in 2 years 

The fish-man, (aka commissioner fish) is up for reelection in 2 years, we should find a candidate that will kick his ass.

We should make it very clear that if the council does not represent us, we will run them out of office. Do not listen to what they say, watch what the do and respond.

I would love to see all of us engaged, I know the meetings are boring but being a citizen means participation and letting them know that there are consequences for their actions---now they get a free ride.

Call to actions for all of you, post this on your pages, send it out to all and let us start to change this gang of hypocrites! I will attend and report on most meetings, but my health continues to give me fits and from time to time I will be in bed watching them on TV and yelling. It would be good to have more people engaged every week.

I want to see the Overpass Light Brigade illuminate the night sky with a message that says something like, “The 5 shi-s are at it again.”

HA! (1.29.13 The Lone Vet)

Posted by individuals4justice at 9:22 AM PST

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Mood:  chatty

 We Were There!

We attended the Portland, Or. City Council meeting on 1/23/2013..... and the five shi-s have not seen the light, they remain in the darkness. I was joined by a wonderful and gentle monk from Vietnam; that was amazing. Most of you know that I am not a holy or gentle type of guy, so sitting next to this man was a joy for me. The rest of this report will not be so good.

We need to pack this chamber every week, if you can will you join Individuals For Justice and hold these people to some rational standard of humanity? We need you to attend and challenge what they are doing week after week. If you can't go to the meetings would you send the 5 shi-s an email after watching the video of the meeting. It is important that we have a presence and tell them what we think should happen. Many of you know that I believe a nervous politician is a good politician. We need to do more.

Just think of what the last council did and what this new council is continuing:

1. Rejoined the Joint Terrorist Task Force, even though most of us asked them not to join forces with the FBI.

2. Sit-Lie Lie bullshit!

3. Want to add poison to our water, cover the reservoirs and close Right to Dream Too.

4. Camping Ban

4. In coordination with the FBI raided Occupy Camps!

5. Spent money on buildings without asking any homeless/houseless people what they really need.

6. Make promises and then break them almost immediately.

7. Arrest peacemakers but promote rogue cops.

8. Make up their minds before the first public testimony is given.

9. If you watch closely, you will see half the time one or more members don't have a clue what staff is talking about.

10. Spend money on overtime like there is no shortage of funds.

I could go on and on but you should get the picture by now, they just laugh at us.

I could go on and on but you should get the picture by now, they just laugh at us.

The fish-man is up for re-election in 2 years, we should find a candidate that will kick his ass. We should make it very clear that if the council does not represent us, we will run them out of office. Do not listen to what they say, watch what they do and respond. I would love to see all of us engaged, I know the meetings are boring but being a citizen means participation and letting them know that there are consequences for their actions---now they get a free ride. Call to action for all of you, post this on your pages, send it out to all and let us start to change this gang of hypocrites! I will attend and report on most meetings, but my health continues to give me fits and from time to time I will be in bed watching them on TV and yelling. It would be good to have more people engaged every week. I want to see the Overpass Light Brigade illuminate the night sky with a message that says something like, "The 5 shi-s are at it again."

HA! 

Agenda for Council Meeting 1/23/2013

Council meeting 1/23/2013 video

Call members of the 5 shi-s

Elected Officials Portfolios and Liaison Responsibilities

Charlie Hales, Mayor

Commissioner of Finance and Administration

City Hall @ 1221 SW 4th Ave, Room 340, 97204

Phone: (503)823-4120

e-mail:  mayorhales@portlandoregon.gov

Amanda Fritz

Commissioner of Public Utilities, Position Number 1

City Hall @ 1221 SW 4th Avenue, Room 220, 97204

Phone: (503) 823-3008

E-mail:  amanda@portlandoregon.gov

Nick Fish

Commissioner of Public Works, Position Number 2

City Hall @ 1221 SW 4th Ave, Room 240, 97204

(503) 823-3589

e-mail:  Nick@portlandoregon.gov

Steve Novick

Commissioner of Public Safety, Position Number 4

City Hall @ 1221 SW 4th Ave, Room 210, 97204

Phone: (503) 823-4682

e-mail:  Steve.Novick@portlandoregon.gov

Dan Saltzman

Commissioner of Public Affairs, Position Number 3

City Hall @ 1221 SW 4th Avenue, Room 230, 97204

Phone: (503) 823-4151

E-mail:  dan@portlandoregon.gov

LaVonne Griffin-Valade

City Auditor

City Hall @ 1221 SW 4th Avenue, Room 140, 97204

Phone: (503) 823-4078

E-mail:  LaVonne@portlandoregon.gov

"It Is Time"

Joe Walsh-Lone Vet

 homepage: http://IndividualsForJustice.com

Posted by individuals4justice at 2:16 PM PST

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Mood:  chatty

 We Were There!

We attended the Portland, Or. City Council meeting on 1/23/2013..... and the five shi-s have not seen the light, they remain in the darkness. I was joined by a wonderful and gentle monk from Vietnam; that was amazing. Most of you know that I am not a holy or gentle type of guy, so sitting next to this man was a joy for me. The rest of this report will not be so good.

We need to pack this chamber every week, if you can will you join Individuals For Justice and hold these people to some rational standard of humanity? We need you to attend and challenge what they are doing week after week. If you can't go to the meetings would you send the 5 shi-s an email after watching the video of the meeting. It is important that we have a presence and tell them what we think should happen. Many of you know that I believe a nervous politician is a good politician. We need to do more.

Just think of what the last council did and what this new council is continuing:

1. Rejoined the Joint Terrorist Task Force, even though most of us asked them not to join forces with the FBI.

2. Sit-Lie Lie bullshit!

3. Want to add poison to our water, cover the reservoirs and close Right to Dream Too.

4. Camping Ban

4. In coordination with the FBI raided Occupy Camps!

5. Spent money on buildings without asking any homeless/houseless people what they really need.

6. Make promises and then break them almost immediately.

7. Arrest peacemakers but promote rogue cops.

8. Make up their minds before the first public testimony is given.

9. If you watch closely, you will see half the time one or more members don't have a clue what staff is talking about.

10. Spend money on overtime like there is no shortage of funds.

I could go on and on but you should get the picture by now, they just laugh at us.

I could go on and on but you should get the picture by now, they just laugh at us.

The fish-man is up for re-election in 2 years, we should find a candidate that will kick his ass. We should make it very clear that if the council does not represent us, we will run them out of office. Do not listen to what they say, watch what they do and respond. I would love to see all of us engaged, I know the meetings are boring but being a citizen means participation and letting them know that there are consequences for their actions---now they get a free ride. Call to action for all of you, post this on your pages, send it out to all and let us start to change this gang of hypocrites! I will attend and report on most meetings, but my health continues to give me fits and from time to time I will be in bed watching them on TV and yelling. It would be good to have more people engaged every week. I want to see the Overpass Light Brigade illuminate the night sky with a message that says something like, "The 5 shi-s are at it again."

HA! 

Agenda for Council Meeting 1/23/2013

Council meeting 1/23/2013 video

Call members of the 5 shi-s

Elected Officials Portfolios and Liaison Responsibilities

Charlie Hales, Mayor

Commissioner of Finance and Administration

City Hall @ 1221 SW 4th Ave, Room 340, 97204

Phone: (503)823-4120

e-mail:  mayorhales@portlandoregon.gov

Amanda Fritz

Commissioner of Public Utilities, Position Number 1

City Hall @ 1221 SW 4th Avenue, Room 220, 97204

Phone: (503) 823-3008

E-mail:  amanda@portlandoregon.gov

Nick Fish

Commissioner of Public Works, Position Number 2

City Hall @ 1221 SW 4th Ave, Room 240, 97204

(503) 823-3589

e-mail:  Nick@portlandoregon.gov

Steve Novick

Commissioner of Public Safety, Position Number 4

City Hall @ 1221 SW 4th Ave, Room 210, 97204

Phone: (503) 823-4682

e-mail:  Steve.Novick@portlandoregon.gov

Dan Saltzman

Commissioner of Public Affairs, Position Number 3

City Hall @ 1221 SW 4th Avenue, Room 230, 97204

Phone: (503) 823-4151

E-mail:  dan@portlandoregon.gov

LaVonne Griffin-Valade

City Auditor

City Hall @ 1221 SW 4th Avenue, Room 140, 97204

Phone: (503) 823-4078

E-mail:  LaVonne@portlandoregon.gov

"It Is Time"

Joe Walsh-Lone Vet

 homepage: http://IndividualsForJustice.com

Posted by individuals4justice at 2:14 PM PST

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Mood:  sharp

^{[This full blog reposted below is from a public Email]}

[I'm forwarding this because it's good to know one's opponents (or in this case, affirm what we know of this political animal.)  

I hope no one is inspired to begin an ad hominem attack of Mr. Novick, as that would be a waste of energy.   

It has already (from his campaign) become apparent to many of us that his reputation re  Love Canal is so raggedy and threadbare that it cannot even serve as a figleaf...    Pam]

Thanks, Beth. Please keep me updated on developments, but I don't
have a blast list on coal so I could FW.
Let me tell you what new PDX commissioner Steve Novick told me and
Joe Walsh this a.m. after the city council's Wednesday morning
meeting. We both know him from the 2010 campaign and jumped him today
about his pro-coal views. He told us "I need data" which he indicated
was not sufficient enough for him. That he wanted to see what
MultnomahCounty's environmental folks came up with. I laughed out
loud and pointed out we wanted the feds/state to do a deep study. To
depend on any county data is laughable because they have neither the
money/staff equipped to do such a study. His next comment having to
do with diesel train engines spewing that stuff (including cyanide)
was that "You might as well ban gas stations, then." (!!!)

This from the guy who was among the feds attorneys that shut down Love Canal because of the toxic wastes Occidental, et al. left behind.

From the guy who more recently was working for the health folks until Commissioner Randy Leonard indicated he wasn't

going to run for re- election and gave the nod to Steve (who won unopposed in last spring's primary).

Lawyer's logic above environmental health, in short, is his credo. When I left, Joe and he were still in heated discussion.

Over and out for now.
Barbara

Posted by individuals4justice at 3:29 PM PST

Updated: Saturday, 12 January 2013 3:49 PM PST

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Mood:  loud

Portland City Council Meeting

^{http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2013/01/421263.shtml}

author: Lone Vet       lonevet2008@comcast.net

we should always be watching

Individuals For Justice homepage:  http://IndividualsForJustice.com

Posted by individuals4justice at 12:01 AM PST

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Mood:  don't ask

The Ruling Class Without Any Class.

By The Lone Vet,

From sea to sea, from city councils to the President of these United States, the ruling class has one thing in common; disrespect for the voting public.  When we take the time to attend council meetings and give our opinions we are limited to giving 3, and sometimes 2, minutes of opinions.  We are told that we can write up something and also offer that in place of or with our citizen’s input.  The body of representatives will then vote on the issue and most times it is against what the attendees have asked for.  Portland City Council spent hours listening to organizations representing legal and community groups and many individuals who told their horror stories during the hearing that asked the question should Portland rejoin the *JTTF.  Most, maybe 90% of the testimony said do not rejoin, yet the council voted unanimously to rejoin the feds. 

We have a constitutional lawyer as president, and he violates the Bill of Rights at will.  He has announced that he can arrest anyone, at anytime, without charges and without trial.  He has announced that he can kill anyone, anywhere in the world including American citizens at his will.  Congress might want to hold hearings on this but is too busy in the war against women.  The ruling class tells you to go to hell everyday and you say---OK!

Now we have a president who has been re-elected and the biggest deal in DC is the “Fiscal Cliff” we are about to go off.  Ha! What a bunch of BS!  This was set up by the congress because they did not have the brains to work out a system of taxation during the bush Administration.  They did what they always do and kicked any decision down the road.  You will see it happen again as this bunch of creeps kick the decision until after the new Congress is in place next January.  The ruling class is busy working on cutting programs for the poor and what is left of the middle class.  Millionaires and their friends, billionaires have said no to raising any taxes on them.  Unions, once a voice of reason for the middle class, have now been reduced to whining.  It is shameful to watch union leaders talk just like the owners of the company or leaders of the city.  We, on the other hand, have our heads in the sand and just want to get the bargains at Walmart.  Even the groups who are the usual suspects fighting for equality are in a trance, called “Obama Stupor.”  So what do we do from here?

For all you faith based people, pray---we need help from any god.  For all you democrats who have sold your souls to the party of murder, pray, there is a price to be paid and you might not have enough capital.  For all you crazy republicans just go away, don’t care where, just go, there is no hope for you.  For all you occupiers, wait for the system to collapse, and rebuild it from scratch.  Protests may be effective if there are good people in power, we have none----so just wait for the collapse, it is coming soon. (I write this acknowledging I have been in many protests and will continue to try.) 

There is not one political person whom I trust, none!  Even Bernie Sanders is corrupt, he is just less corrupt than the others.  Ever hear Sanders criticize Israel?  He will only do it when also telling us how bad the Palestinians are when they rebel against occupation. 

http://bullshitphilosophy.wordpress.com/2009/02/07/statement-from-bernie-sanders-on-gaza/

There are lesser of evils in the congress, the members seem to go from the crazy like congresswoman Bachmann to someone I kind of like, DeFazio.  They all have their price, just some are cheaper than the others.  If you put your values in any politician, stand by to be disappointed.  Is all lost, yes!  We need to rebuild from scratch, and no one I know will accept this picture of the future.  Would it not be wonderful to be wrong.

* Joint Terrorist Task Force  

  

Picture was during a controversial hearing in Portland
 

For Justice,Peace and *Laughter,
Joe Walsh-Lone Vet
Individuals for Justice  http://individualsforjustice.com
Proud member of Oregon Progressive Party,  http://progparty.org/

Posted by individuals4justice at 6:17 PM PST

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Mood:  celebratory

Joseph Walsh

city council-cops

It Was A Time

 

[ this was copied from the original post by Joe Walsh on a Facebook post ]

 

^{http://www.facebook.com/groups/occupypdx/permalink/517292228281105/}

 

 

11/2/12

 

We gathered at city hall at 2:00 PM, November 1, 2012 to hear what the Dept.. of Justice and the City Attorney had put together as a settlement concerning the actions by the Portland Police Bureau. The report is very long and complicated and I fear that is by design.
http :// www . portlandcopwatch .org/ copwatch _analysis_ doj _1012. html

I don’t trust the Justice Department, City Council or the City Attorney to come up with a good settlement, so I decided not to testify and tried to listen to what the mayor and members of the council had to say. The first thing I noticed was the absence of Commissioner Saltzman . I wondered what it would take for me to miss this meeting if I was in Saltzman ’s shoes. Since I was there and it is always a big deal for me to sit for 3 hours listening, why was he missing? One of the things I hate about this council is how much time they spend congratulating each other on the job they are doing; this was no exception.

The problem with this settlement was made visible by Dan Handleman when he used a plastic hammer to demonstrate why this settlement was garbage in garbage out. (My words not Dan’s) I just love simple demos and this was right on the money, as Dan spoke about the settlement and the lack of enforcement he banged a metal nail with a kids plastic hammer; it was priceless.

http :// www . portlandcopwatch .org/

There was very good information offered to the council but the only one who seemed to pay attention was Commissioner Fritz, the other three shi-s looked like they just wanted this to be over. Commissioner randy left a few times, I imagine to scream in the men’s room. JoAnn was JoAnn at her best and she always makes me proud that I know and like her so much. The ACLU gets a bad rap from the cops and I can never understand why, they seem logical to me, sometimes a little too logical, I wish they had more passion. The ministers were there and polite but strong, and wanted adams to take some more time with this and do it right. All and all most people could not understand how the public was left out of the process until today. It would have been much better to involve the standing committees, and other organizations before today. This is not the first time the council has presented something that was half-assed and I fear it will not be the last time.

So it looks like adams will have to revamp many of the items to satisfy the people of Portland. The next step is next week and as stated, will be for amendments to the settlements. The mayor also announced that if you wanted to comment on the issue at hand he would keep it open for another week. Here is an article about what the msm reported.
http :// www . oregonlive .com/ portland /index. ssf /2012/11/ portland _activists_others_say. html

I am glad I did not present my arguments because I think I would have thrown my shoes at the council.

I was disappointed that many of the activists from Occupy were not there, many of the clean water people, and anti-war people were also not present. This is a very important meeting that will shape our police force for many years. JoAnn said it well, what are we going to get for our $25,000,000+ in the next five years. You all should be there during this process, next week and until it is over. I will go if my health is ok but that is not always possible.

For Justice,Peace and *Laughter,
Joe Walsh-Lone Vet
Individuals for Justice http :// individualsforjustice .com
Proud member of Oregon Progressive Party, http :// progparty .org/

War is failure, occupation a disgrace!

“Funding these wars is killing our troops”
http :// www . mfso .org/

* Why laughter?? Because without it I would have gone insane years ago.

Sen. ** harry reid must be replaced as Majority Leader, call me when you agree or just go away!

An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.
Mohandas Gandhi

Thoreau may have also brooded over the reaction of Emerson, who criticized the imprisonment as pointless. According to some accounts, Emerson visited Thoreau in jail and asked, “Henry, what are you doing in there?” Thoreau replied, “Waldo, the question is what are you doing out there?”

Molly Ivins , "It's like, duh. Just when you thought there wasn't a dime's worth of difference between the two parties, the Republicans go and prove you're wrong."

"I have no country to fight for; my country is the earth,
and I am a citizen of the world."
Eugene V. Debs

"So keep fighting for freedom and justice, beloveds..." -- Molly Ivins

Posted by individuals4justice at 1:07 PM PDT

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