30 Years: Justice for P/O Daniel Faulkner

On December 9, 1981, young Police Officer Danny Faulkner was murdered in the line of duty by Mumia Abdul-Jamal.   Thirty years and multiple court appearances later, Abdul-Jamal's conviction still stands; yet his sentence has yet to have been carried out.  Mumia's cause has been championed by celebrities and activists from as far as California and France, yet those of us in Philadelphia are still angrily awaiting justice in the name of Officer Faulkner and the thousands of men and women from all racial backgrounds who take the low-paying, at many times thankless job of Police Officer in the city of Philadelphia. 

Thursday night, December 8, 2011 at the Keswick Theater in Glenside, PA; there will be a showing of Tigre Hill's critically acclaimed documentary "Barrel of a Gun" followed by a panel discussion hosted by WPHT radio's Michael Smerconish to discuss the Faulkner case and the many political and social issues associated with it over the last 30 years.  The discussion panel includes:

Michael Smerconish Talk Show Host and Co-Author of Murdered By Mumia

Maureen Faulkner Widow of Daniel Faulkner and Co-Author of Murdered By Mumia

Seth Williams Philadelphia District Attorney

Joseph McGill Attorney with the Lock Law Firm in Philadelphia, former Assistant District Attorney, Philadelphia

Hugh Burns Chief Assistant District Attorney, Appeals Unit, District Attorney’s office, Philadelphia

Tigre Hill Documentary Filmmaker, Barrel Of A Gun

Tickets are just $20 and can be purchased by clicking here.  I will be in attendance because I believe this case represents a notable piece of Philadelphia history, yet the story has still not concluded. 

Please join us to mark the 30 year anniversary of Daniel Faulkner's murder; and to show the world that Philadelphians stand behind those who protect us.

When did public housing get so luxurious?

Question: Is it an effective use of space for PHA to build green, single family public housing with public funds?

As someone who works hard to afford my first single family home, which I bought just three years ago after renting apartments over my whole adult life - it bothers me to think that my tax dollars are going for single family homes with island kitchens and lawns when there are many more needy people who'd be happy (and warm) living in apartments that could have been built on the same space.

The idea with low-income housing is to give poor people a home while they work to improve their circumstances to the point where they can buy or rent a home of their own, that they can choose and modify to fit their needs and tastes - to participate in the American dream of home ownership.  Therefore, what does it say of a Public Housing Authority who builds homes that exceed the expectations of many non-section eight first-time home buyers?  If the public housing is better than what can be afforded otherwise, why would anyone leave public housing to open it up for the next needy family? 

Coming from New York, home of the high-rise housing project; I've seen many crime and public health problems involving public housing, but one has to recognize that a cluster of 10 to 20-floor apartment buildings puts a roof over far more heads than a cluster of 3-bedroom single family homes.  Isn't that the objective of public housing?

One has to wonder why our Public Housing Authority fails to see why that objective is so important when building properties with OUR MONEY. 

School District CFO owes over $8,000 in delinquent municipal taxes.

This story is as much an indictment on the SRC as the disfunctional, corrupt Philadelphia Sheriff's Office.  Is it any wonder that the School District lost $627M and the Sheriff's Office lost $56M?

Ackerman files for unemployment?!

Today's revelation that recently-terminated Schools Superintendent Arlene Ackerman filed for unemployment after receiving a $905,000 public-payout is yet another key example of why we need viable checks and balances to the corrupt system, currently run by Bob Brady and Mike Nutter, in which appointees like the SRC, PHA, Arlene Ackerman and Carl Greene are selected and terminated in this city!

Occupiers call Mayor Nutter's bluff.

A line was drawn.  Permits were issued.  The protesters refused to comply.  Yet our lame duck Mayor has failed to act in the best interest of our city - thinking politically and in the interest of preserving a legacy.  What will it take for our Mayor to enforce the laws of our city?

For more, click here.

OCCUPY PHILLY - Go home and spare our working class city the expense of your protests!

As someone whose marched and protested for tangible things, such as the preservation of the City University System in New York, a proper memorial for fallen law enforcement officers; I think that the lack of focus for the entire occupy movement serves to alienate those of us in the 99% who are busting their ass to succeed in society and create legitimate change by making a valid, salient argument. If you speak to 5 occupiers (as I’ve done in NY, DC, and Philly) and ask them what they are protesting for, you’ll get ...5 different answers. More disturbing is that the occupiers have no direct set of demands…as you can’t just “End Greed”. You have to demand conditions, policies, regulations, or concessions that will bring your demonstration to an end. As with our wars, you can’t demonstrate without an exit strategy.

Occupiers have none and should therefore stop being a drain on our nonexistent municipal resources.  Often you hear the occupiers compared to hippies.  The "hippies" that they are often compared to were protesting for civil rights, equal rights for women, and to end the war in Vietnam.  They had clear messages as to what they were asking for.  Furthermore, the hippies grew up to participate in the society they were protesting in, often becoming success stories (Ben and Jerry, et al).  The occupiers do not have a clear voice - and seem to be increasingly synonymous with the Anarchists arrested annually at WTO/IMF and Global Trade meetings worldwide.  They clearly have no respect for the law, property, or the thousands of working-class Americans that have had to live with them over the last couple of months.

In my opinion, it's time to go.  I work too hard to pay my increasing taxes to a municipality that can't afford to properly manage public safety or schools; so pardon me for having a problem with my tax dollars going to police overtime in the babysitting of folks who obviously don't have jobs or classes to attend.

Don't Miss The Battle for City Hall - WEDNESDAY, 10/19/11

Philadelphians for Ethical Leadership is proud to host the last bipartisan moderated debates of the 2011 election year!

Join us for a spirited evening of debates that will help you cast an INFORMED vote in the upcoming Muncicpal Elections!!

Food will be provided, Drink Specials to include $2 beers are available.