Impressions of Day One of the Democratic National Convention

 

 

Day One - Democratic National Convention

July 26, 2016 - New York, John A. Smith Founder/Editor 

It Looked Like Day One Was Going To Be More Chaotic Than Republicans

     Watching the first day of the Democratic National Convention unfold it looked like it was going to be even more chaotic than the Republicans convention. First, the release of over 20,000 e-mails by Wikileaks showing that the DNC was not only favoring Hillary Rodham-Clinton (D-NY) but actually working against Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) campaign. This did not sit well with supporters of Bernie Sanders and riled up Bernie-or-Bust supporters even more. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL) had to step aside as Chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) amid the news. The emails also reveal a close relationship between mainstream media outlets and the DNC. She initially resigned but said her resignation would become effective after the convention, and that she would still gavel the convention open and would close it as well. She addressed delegates from her home state of Florida at a breakfast and was shouted down by Bernie supporters booing her and holding up signs that read "e-mails." Donna Brazile, a veteran Democratic political strategist, adjunct professor, author, and syndicated columnist who was announced as the interim Chair of the DNC. It became clear that Debbie Wasserman Schultz would not be able to appear on stage at the convention without problems so finally she had no choice but to announce that she would not be appearing at the convention. Then it was announced that Marcia Fudge (D-OH) was to be the permanent Chair and would gavel open the proceedings. Bernie Sanders also addressed the Philadelphia delegates early in the day, possibly to allow the "steam-valve" to release some of the pressure and was himself booed by his own supporters when he said they should vote for Hillary Clinton.

The Democratic National Convention Officially Opens

     So the convention was opened by Marcia Fudge with the Bernie-or-bust supporters being quite loud  and the new Chair said she wanted to hear everyone's opinions and that she will "respect everyone and expects to be respected." A MSNBC reporter at one point said that the California delegation, who had the most, and loudest, Bernie-or-bust supporters, planned to rip up the "Stronger Together" signs when speakers asked for supporters to vote for Hillary Clinton or come together in unity. Bernie-or-bust supporters continued to heckle and distract as speakers said to come together and support Hillary Clinton. 

Speakers Who Shined and Turned it Around

     First it must be said that the first relief came in the form of comedy by Al Franken (D-MN) who showed he still has it telling the crowd that "we will have fun this week, but come Monday we must work hard." He said that people with children need to make calls and knock on doors, "the children will be fine." He said "8 year-old children know how to use a microwave, and 8 year-old children can teach 4 year-old children how to use the microwave." "They'll be fine." Then Sarah Silverman, an American stand-up comedian, actress, producer and writer, a strong Bernie Sanders supporter in the primary, from the beginning of his campaign, came out to address the convention and told the crowd "I'm with her," in requesting unity in the party. As Silverman was told to "stretch" meaning Paul Simon an American musician, singer-songwriter and actor. was not quite ready to come out and sing Bridge Over Troubled Water, Al Franken came out and joined her. The California delegation Bernie-or-bust supporters were again getting loud and Sarah Silverman was getting visibly upset and said to those supporters "can I just say to the Bernie-or-bust supporters - "your being ridiculous." A line that will surely be in the reports of the conference. Then came Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) who gave the most energetic and powerful speech of the night, bringing up a lot of history and making former President Bill Clinton smile, a lot. His speech, said Eugene Robinson, a Pulitzer-prize winner and MSNBC contributor was "reminiscent of then Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, the United States of America speech where he said "there's not a blue state America, there's not red states of America, there's only a United States of America". Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) did her part speaking about Donald Trump's (R-NY) many, many, faults and incompetence. First Lady Michelle Obama once again hit it out of the park. Talking about her, and President Barack Obama's, daughters, calling them "two beautiful black young women," and to children "across the nation," she said "don't let anyone ever tell you this country isn't great, that somehow we need to make it great again, this right now is the greatest country on earth." When the first lady came on stage, the heckling, and loud outbursts, stopped, and the arena became quiet. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) did what he needed to do with much grace and intensity. At times sounding like his stump speech he came through and gave good reason to get on board and said "we must elect Hillary Clinton the next President of the United States. He didn't get booed as he did when he spoke to the Philadelphia delegates earlier in the day, or at least it wasn't as noticeable on this broadcast. He did say to his supporters he was looking forward to the 1800+ committed delegates voting for him today, meaning there will be a roll call of all the states voting for their candidates.

What to Expect Tonight

     The roll call votes of delegates may again cause some contention but hopefully it will again end with more unity. The schedule for tonight, reported by Politico is as follows:

Tuesday:
Democratic National Committee Vice Chair of Voter Registration and Participation Donna Brazile
Former State Senator Jason Carter (Georgia)
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (California) and the Democratic Women of the House
Planned Parenthood Action Fund President Cecile Richards
President Bill Clinton
Gavel time expected at 4:30 p.m.
Also scheduled Tuesday are Mothers of the Movement members Gwen Carr, Mother of Eric Garner; Sybrina Fulton, Mother of Trayvon Martin; Maria Hamilton, Mother of Dontré Hamilton; Lucia McBath, Mother of Jordan Davis; Lezley McSpadden, Mother of Michael Brown; Cleopatra Pendleton-Cowley, Mother of Hadiya Pendleton; Geneva Reed-Veal, Mother of Sandra Bland.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/dnc-2016-schedule-of-events-and-speakers-225617#ixzz4FWIRQo00

      The Grand Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police produced a statement yesterday that said in part "We are shocked, angered and saddened the convention planners have invited the survivors of several who have tragically, died as a result of altercations with police officers to speak at the convention, while totally ignoring the survivors of brave officers who were gunned down in ambushes in places like Dallas, and Baton Rouge, and Kansas City.

     It looks like it will be another interesting night. Until then

11 Dallas Police Officers Shot - 5 Dead - 1 Civilian Injured - Enough Is Enough!

July 8, 2016, New York, John A. Smith, Editor and Founder of Get Involved For A Better America blog, and Facebook page Stop The Obstructionist Tea Party    
  
     Working in New York City's Emergency Medical Services I had occasion to come in contact with police officers immediately after they were involved in a shooting. I transported some of them, included one that had shot himself in the foot from the extreme amount of adrenaline released in your body when someone shoots at you. And yes, I transported the body of a dead police officer, Ray Canon of Smithtown, NY. who was killed by four 16 and 17 year old who were robbing Frenchie's Bike Shop on 108th St. and Flatlands Ave.

     My first comments must be that my heart and sincere condolences go out to the families and friends of those officers shot, and killed. We MUST  do some things to try to prevent the things that are happening in this country. The hatred, racism, gun violence, unjust shootings, and a host of other problems that lead to events like what happened in Dallas, Louisiana, and Minnesota.

     I came in contact with, and/or transported, at least 10 police officers immediately after they were involved in a shooting. I can tell you this, not ONE of them were "happy" to be involved in the situation. I had a partner in the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) left to go to the NYPD academy. After 9 months of training he graduated and was put on the streets of New York City (NYC.) After only one month on the streets he found himself in a shoot-out. The massive amount of adrenaline released when he was shot at caused him to draw his weapon and start firing. He missed his foot but emptied the gun BEFORE he was able to raise his arm up to a level position! He quit the next day and returned to EMS.

     The officers I treated and transported were in varying states of shock, one was staring into space and couldn't speak, all were shaking uncontrollably. I was once stopped at a light at Springfield Blvd. in Queens when a car passed by rapidly with an unmarked police car right behind. The first car stopped abruptly about 100' past where we were. The driver got out and started firing at the police officer in the unmarked car. My partner and I realized the bullets had to go by our ambulance really close. That was sobering. The point is no police officer is looking forward to being in a situation where their life is in danger.

     We must ask ourselves the following questions and come up with reasonable and effective solutions. We must be honest with ourselves. Here are some questions I would like discussed along with my beliefs:

1.      Q: Are some Police Officers racist? Yes. In any profession with as many people as the police departments you are bound to have some that are racist.  Action needed: There must be better screening, action taken when an officer does things that are racist and superiors that know of a racist cop must get them out of law enforcement. As a Paramedic I treated every patient as if they were a family member. Once in awhile I would get a partner who was clearly not in the right place as far as how they treated certain patients, I refused outright to ride with them. 
2.      Q: Do police officers perceive people of color to be more dangerous and therefore a bigger treat? Yes. I believe that there are some officers who perceive people of color to be a bigger threat. I think that one reason is that out of all the most dangerous situations officers have been in a majority is with people of color and therefore feel when they are in a dangerous situation with a person of color they are more at risk. But this goes for other people as well. For instance, when PCP ( a hallucinogenic drug) was popular I would encounter someone high on PCP, they were many times presenting with eyes bulging, sweating profusely, and  often would not feel any pain, even when hurting themselves. You can bet that officers who had to deal with people in this state also perceived that the person presented a bigger threat. Action needed: There is no way stop someone from perceptions that they have or get. However, training could help officers recognize their perceptions and try to deal with them. People need to understand that police officers are often confronted with real threats and sometimes only have a split second to react. However, training might suggest that the first thing a police officer does when presented with a threat is to assess whether they have a way to back away, deescalate the situation so that they can process the situation and threat. This won't be the case in some situations. If the officer has a few seconds to assess the threat and situation there may be a different outcome.
3.      Q: Why are officers on the street after they have been recognized to use excessive force on numerous occasions? Action needed: Administration and Supervisors must also be assessed. There are indeed departments that have systemic problems where the administration itself is bad. They, the administrative personnel and Supervisors that  have to be removed if they themselves are racist or have a mentality that is not conducive to good policing.

          These are just a few questions that I have, there are many more.  We must understand that the large majority of police officers go out everyday, putting their lives on the line, deal with the most dangerous and violent people, and have the mentality that they are there to protect and serve their communities. For the families that lost a police officer in Dallas, a father, a husband, a brother, ( I don't know if a female officer was killed, if so, a wife, a mother, a sister, etc.) it's a horribly sad event that happened.