Evanston, Illinois, Approves Nation’s First ‘Reparations’ for Black Residents

The liberal Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois, officially approved the first spending for “reparations” for black residents on Monday evening. It is the nation’s first reparations program, following an 8-1 vote by local aldermen in November 2019.

As Breitbart News noted at the time, the City of Evanston planned to fund the reparations with a new 3% marijuana tax:

Local leaders eye marijuana dispensaries as an attractive source of revenue to reverse what they call the ongoing impact of institutional racist and persisting effects of slavery, according to the Chicago Tribune. “The fund will be capped at $10 million, according to city of Evanston staff reports. City estimates project the marijuana tax could generate $500,000 to $750,000 per year,” the newspaper noted.

On Monday evening, the Chicago Tribune reported, Evanston’s city council finally approved the first payments under the program, targeted at black victims of past housing discrimination:

The specific measure approved Monday in an 8-1 vote establishes a $400,000 housing grant program, the first expenditure of that larger fund.

…

The resolution approved Monday directs initial funding of $400,000 from the city’s Local Reparations Fund to a housing program that will award eligible individuals up to $25,000. That money can be used to help with a home down payment or closing cost assistance within the city; help pay for repairs, improvements or modernizations of an Evanston property; or help pay down mortgage principal, interest or late penalties on Evanston property, according to a memo from Kimberly Richardson, interim assistant city manager.

To qualify, an applicant must have “origins in any of the Black racial and ethnic groups of Africa,” according to the memo. Applicants must also be a Black resident of Evanston between 1919-1969, or that person’s direct descendant.

Applicants also qualify if they experienced housing discrimination due to the city’s policies or practices after 1969.

Evanston is one of the most liberal towns in the nation. It is also home to Northwestern University, and was once an important center of the temperance movement.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/03/22/evanston-illinois-approves-nations-first-reparations-for-black-residents/

Fauci: I Don’t Think U.S. Made Mistakes with Lockdowns

https://youtu.be/tA7hUBf3DGQ

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>>13279861

>>13279781 Evanston, Illinois, Approves Nation’s First ‘Reparations’ for Black Residents

‘You Want Us To Recite This?’: County ‘Social Justice Commission’ Starts Tense With Unannounced ‘Equity Pledge’

The Racial and Social Justice Commission of Prince William County, Virginia held Thursday its first working meeting, where the board members were asked to recite an “Equity Pledge” which had not been circulated beforehand.

The meeting saw a number of tense moments, beginning when chairwoman Shantell Rock requested adding an item to the agenda that would limit commissioners’ speaking time to just three minutes when discussing motions, InsideNoVA reported.

After her motion was passed, Rock proceeded to urge the commissioners and those present in the audience to join her in reciting the “Equity Pledge” that was projected on the screen, only to be interrupted by Coles Commissioner Charles Haddow.

Haddow stated that the pledge had not been circulated before the meeting. Gainesville Commissioner Erica Tredinnick confirmed Haddow’s words, according to InsideNoVA.

“I don’t know what this pledge is. I’m sure it’s well-intentioned,” Haddow said, according to InsideNoVA. “I didn’t come here to do the exercise that’s team-building instead of examining the issues and disparities.”

“Madam Chair, may I just confirm what you are asking us? Do you want us to recite this?” another commissioner queried after skimming the document, video from the meeting shows.

Rock chose to read the pledge on her own but said that the commission could all recite it at the next meeting, according to the report.

The commission was approved Oct. 19 by the county’s Board of Supervisors, according to InsideNoVA. It is tasked with reporting on “the state of racial and social justice for people of color” in the county and making policy recommendations to the local government. The entity’s initial focus is on policing, public education and the “provision of government services.”

https://dailycaller.com/2021/03/22/prince-william-county-virginia-social-justice-equity-pledge/

Germany to impose its harshest Covid-19 lockdown yet for Easter holiday as Merkel asks churches to hold online services only

Germany is set to bring its tightest coronavirus lockdown yet, shuttering all but the most vital of services, including religious gatherings for Easter, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced following a meeting with regional leaders.

Noting the country is in a “race” to combat the pandemic, Merkel outlined the nationwide shutdown during a news conference early on Tuesday, saying that not only will existing restrictions be extended to April 18, but that most businesses will be made to close their doors for at least five days beginning on the first of the month, just before the Easter holiday.

“We are now in a very serious situation,” the chancellor told reporters after a contentious marathon meeting with leaders of Germany's 16 federal states, which lasted nearly 12 hours.

During the five-day period, only shops that sell food, as well as coronavirus testing and vaccination sites, will be open across Germany, in what will likely be the country’s strictest lockdown since the pandemic kicked off in late 2019. Merkel said there should be “quiet days” and reduced social contacts in the time between April 1 and 5.

In addition to the business closures, Germans will be barred from holding private gatherings of more than five adults from two different households, while all travel abroad will be strongly discouraged. Churches have also been asked to hold virtual services only during that time, even on Easter itself.

Moreover, the new measures will make airlines responsible for testing all travelers and crewmembers heading back to Germany, but stopped short of mandating quarantine for anyone returning from abroad.

Though some areas of Germany have slowly started to reopen, Merkel and the regional leaders agreed that anywhere weekly cases per 100,000 residents rise above 100, the reopening efforts must be reversed. The shutdown policies have been controversial for many Germans, prompting a wave of heated demonstrations in several cities, the last of which erupted in Kassel over the weekend and led to clashes with police.

Germany has been in some form of partial lockdown for around a full year, with several states announcing closures before any nationwide measures were implemented last March. To date, the country has tallied in excess of 2.6 million coronavirus infections and nearly 75,000 fatalities, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Around 7,700 new cases were recorded on Monday alone, Germany’s Robert Koch Institute reported.

https://www.rt.com/news/518864-germany-extend-lockdown-easter/

Caitlin Johnstone: Nothing has been done since Iraq invasion to keep US government from deceiving Americans into war again

It has now been eighteen years since the Iraq invasion, and I’m still not done raging about it. Nobody should be.

The reason it’s so important to stay enraged about Iraq is because it’s never been addressed or rectified in any real way whatsoever. All the corrupt mechanisms which led to the invasion are still in place and its consequences remain. It isn’t something that happened in the past.

The Iraq invasion feels kind of like if your dad had stood up at the dinner table, cut off your sister’s head in front of everyone, gone right back to eating and never suffered any consequences, and everyone just kind of forgot about it and carried on with life like it never happened. The US-centralized empire is full of willful amnesiacs pretending they don’t remember Iraq because it’s currently politically convenient, and we must not let them do this.

No institutional changes were made to ensure that the evils of the Iraq invasion wouldn’t be repeated. It’s one of those big, glaring problems people just decided to pretend is resolved, like racism.

https://www.rt.com/op-ed/518835-caitlin-johnstone-iraq-invasion/

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lame af