In spite of the rain, JUNETEENTH 2010 was a huge success. With JUNETEENTH 2010 complete, it's time for a little R&R. I'll be back next month with a new ARTIS BLOG. Until then, enjoy the pictures of JUNTEENTH 2010 I have posted on the "JUNETEENT 2010" page of JeffArtis.com.
I HOPE TO SEE YOU AT JUNETEENTH 2010. FREE FOOD, FREE ENTERTAINMENT, A FREE GOOD TIME.
WE THE PEOPLE
I'LL SEE YOU NEXT WEEK.
THE ARTIS BLOG
6/9/10
A MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT OBAMA
Yesterday, I visited Caminada Bay in Grand Isle, Louisiana -- one of the first places to feel the devastation wrought by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. While I was here, at Camerdelle's Live Bait shop, I met with a group of local residents and small business owners.
Folks like Floyd Lasseigne, a fourth-generation oyster fisherman. This is the time of year when he ordinarily earns a lot of his income. But his oyster bed has likely been destroyed by the spill.
Terry Vegas had a similar story. He quit the 8th grade to become a shrimper with his grandfather. Ever since, he's earned his living during shrimping season -- working long, grueling days so that he could earn enough money to support himself year-round. But today, the waters where he has worked are closed. And every day, as the spill worsens, he loses hope that he will be able to return to the life he built.
Here, this spill has not just damaged livelihoods. It has upended whole communities. And the fury people feel is not just about the money they have lost. It is about the wrenching recognition that this time their lives may never be the same.
These people work hard. They meet their responsibilities. But now because of a manmade catastrophe -- one that is not their fault and beyond their control -- their lives have been thrown into turmoil. It is brutally unfair. And what I told these men and women is that I will stand with the people of the Gulf Coast until they are again made whole.
That is why, from the beginning, we have worked to deploy every tool at our disposal to respond to this crisis. Today, there are more than 20,000 people working around the clock to contain and clean up this spill. I have authorized 17,500 National Guard troops to participate in the response. More than 1,900 vessels are aiding in the containment and cleanup effort. We have convened hundreds of top scientists and engineers from around the world. This is the largest response to an environmental disaster of this kind in the history of our country.
We have also ordered BP to pay economic injury claims, and this week, the federal government sent BP a preliminary bill for $69 million to pay back American taxpayers for some of the costs of the response so far. In addition, after an emergency safety review, we are putting in place aggressive new operating standards for offshore drilling. And I have appointed a bipartisan commission to look into the causes of this spill. If laws are inadequate, they will be changed. If oversight was lacking, it will be strengthened. And if laws were broken, those responsible will be brought to justice.
These are hard times in Louisiana and across the Gulf Coast, an area that has already seen more than its fair share of troubles. The people of this region have met this terrible catastrophe with seemingly boundless strength and character in defense of their way of life. What we owe them is a commitment by our nation to match the resilience they have shown. That is our mission. And it is one we will fulfill.
Thank you,
President Barack Obama
WE THE PEOPLE SEE YOU AT JUNETEENTH 2010
THE ARTIS BLOG
6/7/10
Drug dealing. Auto theft. Identity theft. Extortion. Prostitution. Credit card fraud. Immigration fraud. Social security fraud. Home invasions. Shop lifting. Theft. Vandalism. Beatings. School violence. Shootings. Robbery. Murder. Arson. Tax fraud. Witness intimidation. Rental property fraud. Rape. Recruiting elementary school children for gang membership. These are just some of the activities that Roanoke Va.‘s home grown and national gangs participate in. Business is not good for Roanoke’s gangs. Business is booming.
Roanoke’s gang problem affect all of us. There is a direct correlation between Roanoke’s gangs and crime in our neighborhoods, the prison rate, depressed property values in certain sections of the city, the ever growing demand for resources concerning public safety, the teenage crime rate, the teenage pregnancy rate, the unwed mother rate and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases as girls are “sexed into” gangs. Being “sexed” into a gang means to join a gang, a girl must have unprotected sex with several male gang members at the same time as other gang members watch and videotape this act.
There is also a direct correlation between Roanoke’s gangs and the city’s drop out-graduation rate. Gang members ask why they should go to school when they can make hundreds of dollars a day working for their gang? In all of these circumstances, our tax dollars are being used to fight community problems heavily influenced by the proliferation of gang activity in the Roanoke Valley, especially in Roanoke, Va.
Former Roanoke City Police Chief Joe Gaskins refused to clearly say gangs exist in Roanoke, preferring to call them “organized groups.” As a consequence, the Roanoke City Police Department can ignore Virginia’s outstanding legislative package that specifically deals with all types of gang activity.
Since Roanoke’s gangs are not being recognized and gang members are not being arrested specifically for their gang crimes, gang members are not being prosecuted for these gang crimes by Don Caldwell’s Commonwealth Attorney’s office. This problem is made worse by Roanoke, Virginia, House of Delegate member Onzlee Ware, whose legislative district is ground zero for gang activity in the Roanoke Valley. Ware is soft on crime. Outside of participating in political fluff, Ware has done little to address the gang problem in his district. In addition, some of the people Ware has represented in his law practice have questionable backgrounds at best, a clear conflict of interest.
Community hypocrisy cannot be ignored when discussing Roanoke’s gang problem. If White gang members did their business in Roanoke’s Black and Hispanic community instead of their own, and vice-versa, there would be a public outcry the angels in heaven could hear. Instead, excuses are made by these three communities for their community’s gang activities. Plus, there has been no public outcry over the actions, or lack of action by Gaskins, Caldwell and Ware concerning Roanoke‘s gang problem.
Yes, business is booming for Roanoke’s gangs. Until Roanoke attacks it gang problem head on, business will continue to boom for years to come.
WE THE PEOPLE
SEE YOU AT JUNETEENTH 2010
THE ARTIS BLOG
6/2/10
When we talk about the issue of gangs, gang activity and gang violence in the Roanoke Valley, especially in Roanoke, Va., sometimes I feel like I am living in a parallel universe; a universe of make believe that thinks if we ignore our gang problem long enough, the valley's gang problem will simply go away.
This is a shame. It is important to realize that no matter what, gangs in the Roanoke Valley are not going to go away. However, when talking about the issue of gangs in the Roanoke Valley, it is equally important to recognize that because of the socioeconomic makeup of the Roanoke Valley, the problem of gangs here can be effectively dealt with through a concerted and concentrated effort by local governments and the communities that these gangs effect.
Given that, there are several realities and myths we must first confront if we are to effectively deal with the problem of gangs in the Roanoke Valley. The first reality is the dynamics of gang membership has changed drastically over the past 10 years. As such, the old stereotypes and reasons for gang membership no longer apply as they once did. For example, today's gang members see themselves as businessmen and businesswomen who are providing a "service" to others. As such, gang members will use any excuse to justify their criminal activities, including the charge of racism, single parent households, and poverty.
Many of today's gang members are gang members simply because they want to be. Some want the thrill of belonging to a gang. Others view the gang lifestyle as the quickest and easiest way to make what they consider to be "big money," or as any gang member will tell you, "It's all about the Benjamins." Also, we must realize that gang members come from or are supported by all socioeconomic levels. Gang membership is not just the exclusive domain of the poor and minorities as many people think.
That said, it's also interesting to note that as gang members get older, they often renounce their past gang activities, as in the case of Stanley "Tookie" Williams, founder of the Crips street gang. In addition to renouncing their former gang crimes, former gang members will also tell you they wished there was a stronger anti-gang presence in the communities they lived to help prevent other young people from throwing their lives away.
Fighting gangs in any community is like a math equation; A+B+C+D= Success. A, equals recognizing there is a gang problem in your community. B, equals educating the community on how to deal with and how to react to the community's gang problem. C, equals sending a strong message that gang activity will not be tolerated in the community beginning with prosecuting gang members to the fullest extent of the law for their gang activities. D, equals providing and funding alternative activities, as well as, education programs for young people to keep them from joining gangs. This funding should begin at the day care level where local and state governments should make every effort to make sure day care centers have the sufficient funds and means to institute anti-gang education in their day care centers, especially in those day care centers serving at-risk youths in high crime/gang areas. Simply put, the earlier we educate our children about the dead ends of gangs and the gang lifestyle, the better. The more children we will save.
Once again I call upon Roanoke Valley Governments to institute the following plan of action to attack the Valley's growing gang problem. The City of Roanoke, Va. should lead the way.
1) We must enforce all anti-gang laws in the Roanoke Valley. The record clearly shows that this simply isn't being done across the board. According to Virginia's anti-gang legislation, it makes no difference if a gang is a "homegrown" gang or a national gang. According to Virginia's anti-gang legislation it makes no difference if a gang is a "real gang" or a so-called "wannabe gang." In Virginia, a gang is a gang.
While the Roanoke Valley has somewhat acknowledged that gangs exist here, such acknowledgement of a gang problem means little without the will to prosecute gang members to the fullest extend of the law for their criminal activities. Gang members should be and must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for their crimes. In doing so, we will accomplish two things. First, we will send a clear message that gang activity is not welcome here and will not be tolerated. Second, we will send a clear message to our law abiding citizens who have been the victims of gang crimes that they will be protected.
2) We must have a comprehensive community education program on the issue of gangs and gang violence in the Roanoke Valley. Much of this information is covered in my "A Parent's Guide To Gangs." However, I am quite sure there is information out there known to law enforcement that can be used to supplement "A Parent's Guide To Gangs." The community is ready to take on this issue head on. However, in order to fight against gangs in the Roanoke Valley, the community first needs all of the information on what the community is fighting.
3) We must establish a 24-hour Gang/Drug Activity Hotline to better document the problem of gang activity and to improve the collection of data on the problem of gang activity in the area. In order to gain the full support from the community in fighting gangs, there must be a safe and secure way for members of the community to give information to law enforcement about gangs without fear of retribution from the gang members themselves. As it stands now, this system is not in place. In fact, there have been situations where gang members have shown up at a house to threaten law abiding citizens for calling the police to report gang activity before the police even arrive.
We must do several additional things in our fight against gangs in the Roanoke Valley. We must establish a Roanoke Valley Gang Task Force to address the problem of gangs in the area and to pool information about the problem. This task force must include civil rights organizations, community groups, crime watch organizations and such to pool information about the problem of gang activity and to establish a public database on the problem.
Finally, it is time to end the silliness many express when talking about gangs in the Valley. It is flat out silly to say that because Roanoke's gang problem isn't as bad as Northern Virginia's gang problem or isn't as bad as Southeast Virginia's gang problem that the Roanoke Valley's gang problem isn't as bad as people think. It is equally as silly to say that today's gangs aren't as bad as yesterday's gangs. A gang is a gang. If anything, today's gangs are smarter and more savvy about what they do and how they do it.
Gang membership in the Roanoke Valley is now a lifestyle choice. Most people here join the gangs because they want to. As such, the gangs here are responsible for murder, shootings, theft, home invasions, taking part in multi-million dollar drug enterprises, running prostitution rings, identity theft, arson and a host of other criminal enterprises. In addition, we must not forget the negative influences gangs have on our youth in the Roanoke Valley. Gangs heavily influence the school drop out rate, the teenage pregnancy rate, the teenage crime rate, and other problems facing the youth in the Roanoke Valley. Gang activity in the Roanoke Valley is the main influence of every negative statistic associated with our youth in the Roanoke Valley.
The question is, what are we going to do about the Roanoke Valley's gang problem? Are we going to continue to play public relations and engage in political spin to avoid the problem, allowing the Valley's gangs to get stronger? Or, are we going to be progressive and pro-active, aggressively attacking the problem of gangs in the Valley in order to solve it? I hope we get progressive and pro-active about the Valley's gang problem. We must save our children.
