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[#1]

[PacificKnots]

Now supposedly he is in the black face but he is doing a Michael Jackson impersonation. That is the third version so strike three and you're out.

[pixiebell]

He said "I am deeply sorry for the decision I made to appear as I did in this photo and for the hurt that decision caused then and now". He's one or the other, but I am certain someone said that since you can't tell which is him, then he might just as well try and say neither are him. Even if neither were him, which I don't believe, having this photo on a page that is supposed to represent you in a yearbook is still cause for concern. It was 1985, not 1885. I don't buy the argument that it was acceptable in 1985. It wasn't.

At this point he should just resign and go away, as it's just become a spectacle.

[VibrantSoulWellness]

I have mixed feelings on this.  I think everyone does stupid things in their past, And hearing that racism was part of the environment VA in the 80s make it somewhat more understandable. I grew up in Los Angeles in the 80s and racism was still a little bit of a thing, athough getting way better than it had been. I don't know anything about this guy except for this photo. If he had just apologized and shown how he has grown and been an advocate for minorities, I would say he should stay. But I've read comments on twitter that he hasn't exactly been pro minority over the years, and has had a few incidents of racism, and this is what disturbs me and makes me think he should resign. I haven't done any factchecking on those stories though, so I don't know if they're true. 

[GemsAndKnots]

Still struggling with the new forum but happy I found you guys. Carry on!

[marandydesigns]

This jail is 10 blocks from where my daughter lives and she said they had a 2 minute blurb about it last night. Trying to keep this really secret. This country has become awful. This a Federal prison................................

"The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons" Fyodor Dostoevsky

No Heat for Days at a Jail in Brooklyn Where Hundreds of Inmates Are Sick and ‘Frantic’

More than a thousand inmates at a federal jail in Brooklyn are said to have had limited heat and power for at least this week, when the temperature plummeted to 2 degrees in New York.CreditCreditStephen Speranza for The New York Times

By Annie Correal

[The latest: “A nightmare” — inside the Brooklyn jail with little heat or electricity.]

More than a thousand inmates have been stuck in freezing cells at a federal jail on the Brooklyn waterfront that has had limited power and heat for at least this week, according to federal public defenders and leaders of the union representing the jail’s corrections officers.

“They just stay huddled up in the bed,” said June Bencebi, a case manager at the jail and the treasurer of the local chapter of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents about 500 corrections officers at the jail.

The jail, the Metropolitan Detention Center, houses more than 1,600 inmates and lies in an industrial swath near the waterfront in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Some inmates are linked to high-profile drug trafficking and terrorism cases, while others are comparatively anonymous New Yorkers awaiting trial.

The accounts of conditions at the jail were described to The New York Times by six lawyers and paralegals with local Federal Defenders offices, who had spoken with around three dozen inmates at M.D.C.; two union leaders; and an employee at the jail who was not authorized to speak publicly.

A spokeswoman for Herman Quay, the jail’s warden, said in an email that the building experienced a partial power outage on Saturday but denied that it had affected heat and hot water in the jail’s housing units.

In an emailed statement, the federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed that the jail was “experiencing a partial power outage” and operating on emergency power. “Cells have heat and hot water, there is lighting in the common areas and inmates are receiving hot meals,” the agency said.

The Bureau of Prisons indicated that the electrical failure was related to Con Edison, which it said had been “dealing with numerous power emergencies in the community.”

A spokesman for the utility, Robert McGee, disputed the characterization and said Con Edison had not had problems in New York during the cold spell. “It’s an internal problem, and their electricians will have to fix it,” Mr. McGee said. “End of story.”

Union leaders and defense lawyers also rebutted the account of the jail’s warden and the Bureau of Prisons.

Federal defenders said they were flooded with calls from inmates this week as temperatures began to drop. “Our phone was ringing off the hook,” said the lead federal defender in Brooklyn, Deirdre von Dornum. She said inmates, using a dedicated line that connects the jail to federal defenders offices, had gathered around the telephones on their floors to report poor heating, little to no hot water and no lights in their cells.

On Thursday, Rachel Bass, a paralegal at the Brooklyn office of the federal defenders, said that she had fielded calls from about 15 inmates. “In the past hour I have gotten 11 calls,” she said. “People are frantic. They’re really, really scared. They don’t have extra blankets. They don’t have access to the commissary to buy an extra sweatshirt.”

She said many inmates complained of congestion and sore throats.

The president of the local chapter of the union, Anthony Sanon, said the problems began around Jan. 5 when the jail first lost power. The heating issues began last week, leaving inmates and staff to face freezing weather for the first time. “We didn’t have heat in the building, we didn’t have light,” Mr. Sanon said. “The weather was actually unbearable.”

The heat and power issues were unrelated, according to union leaders who spoke to facilities workers. The heating issues began when units that draw water up from the boilers froze. The workers said that the heat was on, but several units had been disabled.

The electrical problems originated in an electrical panel that blew out last month, the union leaders said. Although the panel was initially repaired, it caught fire on Sunday.

The jail switched over to emergency power, leaving the corridors lit only by dim lights, the cells dark and inmates confined to poorly heated cells during the coldest days of the winter so far. This week, the temperature plummeted to 2 degrees in New York City, as frigid weather swept over the Midwest and Northeast.

“The heat isn’t coming out properly,” Mr. Sanon said.

One inmate told a federal defender that a corrections officer had taken the temperature in a housing unit, which was warmer than the cells, and it was 34 degrees. 

New York City’s Fire Department confirmed that it responded to a small electrical fire in the jail’s control room on Sunday.

But the warden’s spokesperson, who signed the name V. Logan, said in the email the power outage had “minimally impacted” housing units.

“All housing units have functional lighting,” the email said. “Heat and hot water has not been impacted. Likewise, inmate meals are not impacted; inmates are receiving regularly scheduled hot meals each day.”

Taken together, the accounts of nearly three dozen inmates given to federal defenders painted a different picture of conditions inside the jail.

Heat was the main complaint. The heat was spotty to nonexistent, depending on the floor. Hot water was scarce. Hot food had not been served for several days, with canned food handed out cell by cell. One inmate, who kept kosher, said he had only been given canned sardines.

The inmates were promised extra blankets, but they never came. The commissary, because of the limited electricity, was closed.

“All said they were wearing whatever they could to stay warm,” said Randi Chavis, a federal defender in the Central Islip, N.Y., office who spoke to several people. “Extra pairs of socks, towels wrapped around their heads, durags, thermals if they have them.”

The conditions were aggravated by the lack of electrical power, inmates told the lawyers and paralegals. The jail had abandoned its usual routines, with inmates kept on partial lockdown for safety reasons.

Because power outlets were not working, the inmates could not use the computers that usually allow them to communicate with relatives and place requests for prescription refills.

“One man takes anti-seizure medication which he is allowed to keep with him,” Ms. Chavis said. “He takes two pills a day and is down to his last three pills.”

Legal visits and family visits had been canceled since Sunday, the lawyers said.

The recent events come on the heels of the government shutdown, which impeded the ability of lawyers to visit their clients in federal jails, including at M.D.C. It did not immediately appear that the power and heat issues were related to the shutdown.

On Thursday, the federal defenders filed an emergency motion to remove from the jail an inmate whose asthma had worsened from the cold. The inmate, Dino Sanchez, a Brooklyn man in his 40s, had recently entered the jail, a federal defender, Benjamin Yaster, said.

Mr. Yaster said in an interview that his client had been among those left in a dark cell, illuminated only by sunlight from the windows, virtually around the clock. “The population was kept in their cells for 23 hours,” he said. “He’s stuck in these cold conditions in a short sleeved jumpsuit and a short sleeved undershirt.”

“He feels short of breath and is wheezing and coughing more than he normally would,” said Mr. Yaster.

The federal defenders initially requested that the M.D.C. management provide backup heating or more blankets. They later requested that inmates be moved to an adjacent building, now empty but for a few dozen female inmates.

They said they received no response. “Not only have the conditions been disgraceful but we have peppered them with questions and we get nothing but silence,” said David E. Patton, head of the federal defender office. The office represents thousands of indigent defendants.

“They might say, ‘an incident occurred,’ or ‘visiting is canceled’ but when we follow-up to ask if people have heat, hot water, or adequate access to their families or attorneys, they stonewall us,” Mr. Patton said.

The building next door, also run by the jail, has full power and heat.

Mr. Sanon, the labor union leader, said he contacted the warden beginning early last week and toured the jail with him. He was assured heat would be monitored. “To no avail,” he said on Thursday.

“This morning again I got a call,” he added. “It was freezing.”

Ms. Bencebi, the union treasurer, said she was particularly concerned for older inmates. “I have several inmates that are very elderly,” she said. “One of them complained that he’s been sick for the last few days. He looks sickly. He’s walking slower. Talking slower.”

On Friday, local elected officials reacted to news reports of the conditions inside the jail. Brad Lander, a Brooklyn Democratic councilman, said on Twitter, “The freezing prisoners at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Sunset Park are banging out SOS for all of us to hear.”

Representative Nydia M. Velázquez visited the jail on Friday, writing on Twitter that there was some restored heat in the facility, along with hot water and hot meals.

But she said she was continuing to watch the situation closely: “Still not at full capacity. Still cold & dark.”

[TheShoppingMoll]

Republicans really cannot say anything. They have had pedophile candidates & Kavanaugh. I remember trump followers saying that what happened decades ago shouldn't affect a person's career today. They cannot have it both ways.

[BrokenGhostClothing]

Yet they continually have it both ways. 

[JMOldeVintage]

Trump is full of indignation about Governor Northam yet I don't remember him saying or tweeting anything about Rep. Steve King & his many recent comments. I cannot condone what either said or did, but the Trump hypocrisy is amazing.

[VibrantSoulWellness]

That's what is getting to me about this situation. How dare the repubs say anything about racism, when they have several racist members, and have not insisted they resign. What is really amazing is that some of them are trying to say that the dems are not doing anything and trying to cover it up. I guess there are some who will believe this regardless of the calls of just about every dem house member for this guy to resign.

[TillaBeee]

Happy to find everyone! The new forums are a mess. Etsy team search brought up nothing, so I had to go to google.

[marandydesigns]

Trump is currently selling ad space in the #StateOfTheUnion address! Yes, your name will appear “LIVE” during the State of the Union if you give him $5.

[marandydesigns]

I hate these forums. nothing works right

[PillowDetails]

Aww - it's ok, Brandy!

Well I just edited about 16 times here, because I really thought the call for donations was a joke.  When will I ever learn?  I guess names of donors will be shown on screen during the SOTU - how?  The crawls are done by the networks, right?  Ugh!  I give up trying to make any sense of it all!

[Marianne26]

I didn't believe even he would sink so far, I thought it was a joke. But Snopes rates it as true. Surely using the State of the Union to raise money for his re-election campaign must contravene some electoral law or other?

[deeshandmades]

I have changed my mind, I don't think that the governor should resign.

[NgetalChildStudios]

I don't know how I feel personally about it yet. I'm super torn. Do you mind me asking why you changed your mind?

[Former_Member]

After I saw the clip where Northam's wife had to tell him it would be inappropriate to do the moonwalk, I thought she should be Governor.

[marandydesigns]

I still think he should resign and the reason is because, not that he made a mistke when he said it was himself but that he thought it was because he knew he would have done that. If he hadn't been that kind of person he would have immediately said that wasn't me.

[Former_Member]

Exactly!  The fact that his immediate reaction was to own up to it says to me that this sort of behavior was not beyond the realms of possibility for him.

[PacificKnots]

If he had said something like "I was young and dumb. I made the mistake of hanging out with the wrong crowd." I think most people would have went "okay I can understand that". A lot of us (myself included) hung out with the wrong crowd because we wanted to fit in with some group. Luckily, with age and some wisdom, we get more selective in who we hang out with.

[Former_Member]

It seemed like that was the road he was heading down at first when he owned up to it, but then he backpedalled.  I'm not sure if his PR people or advisors panicked or what, but now on top of it all he looks like a liar.

[TheShoppingMoll]

His owning up to it says alot about his change in views over the decades. If he had continued to deny it, then I would consider that he still had a problem that he needed to address. I do feel blackface is totally unacceptable no matter when this was done.

Denial is consistent with narcisstic personalities, who feel that they have done nothing wrong & have no need to change. I don't feel that he needs to resign.

He needs to show to his constituents that he has changed.

[DiBeauDesigns]

He was 25 at the time.  He was an adult who should have known better, not a young kid. He has made up too many excuses by now and this has gone too far for him to recover. He should resign immediately.

[deeshandmades]

I am reading that Melania has invited a sixth grader to her husband's address tonight that is getting bullied because his last name is trump.  

[pixiebell]

While I feel bad for the kid, what about the asian kids being called Rocket Man, the indian girls being called Pocahontas, the black kids being called Low IQ, all because kids heard our president say these things and now they think it's acceptable. No, pick the kid with the same last name and make it all about himself.