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activism
DJ Duke, “Blow Your Whistle”, 1993
Lyrics:
Oooh
Oh!
(repeat x ∞)
Blow your whistle!
(repeat)
(da capo)
Monday morning’s Fully Informed Jury Association (FIJA) outreach was pretty uneventful except for again seeing “a total apologist for government aggression and discrimination” who we had first met in April.
The self-identified Tarrant County lawyer, whose name I have yet to discover, gave us a scowling look but did not object as Katy and I passed out pamphlets to prospective jurors while she was waiting at the cross walk across the street from the Tarrant County Justice Center.
We stayed at our regular corner for just over an hour and managed to distribute close to 230 pamphlets of FIJA literature. I would guess that our success rate of getting literature into the hands of everyone we met was pretty high too, maybe 80-plus percent.
We did not get into any debates. One guy was interested if we were lawyers ourselves. I told him we were concerned activists who wanted to inform the public of the rights of jurors to determine the facts of the case and the moral or constitutional legitimacy of the law before them. I said that Katy and I personally would like to see consensual crimes not be enforced but that we also supported nullifying what we believe are unconstitutional laws in order to help keep government in check (as if that were possible).
Saturday’s food drive in Haltom City for Union Gospel Mission was a great time. We did better than even Katy or I thought possible for just two and a half hours of work.
For anyone not familiar, Union Gospel Mission is a private charity in Tarrant County that has helped feed homeless families and adults for the past 130 years. The remarkable thing about this charity is it proudly operates without any government funding.
In all, Katy, Lee and I collected approximately 175 individual non-perishable cans and boxes of food. Conservatively, Katy and I estimate that would be equivalent to about $250 in donations.
We had a tough go of it for the first dozen houses. I think we had one or two donations, and we were both beginning to doubt how effective we would be. I think the turning point came after about 30 minutes. A lady who had initially declined to make a donation changed her mind and met us outside with a sack of canned goods. We were successful at another string of houses, and then a gentleman we had visited more than a block earlier delivered a sack of groceries. He had walked all the way down just to meet us.
Katy met a lady who had once donated her furniture to Union Gospel Mission. As it happened, it was the exact furniture a needy family had requested just the day before. She told Katy that she believed Gospel Mission was the best charity in the Metroplex and that she appreciated our help.
Many we talked with regularly volunteered or gave to the charity. One volunteer told us about a book, Same Kind of Different from Me, that tells the story of just one of the many people who have been saved, literally and figuratively, at the mission. It sounds like an interesting read.
Lee, as always, kept us super motivated. He was not nervous in the least and even wanted to get back to it after lunch. If the heat had not been so overbearing, we might have.
We did learn some things. All the food donated, except for four sacks, was collected on our initial door visit. The others were left on porches for us to pick up later in the afternoon. We are going to think about holding the next food drive at a local supermarket. Saturday morning was good timing, as we met a lot of people still at home.
One process we really refined was our presentation. We found we got the best response by asking for the non-perishable goods right away and not leave the impression that we were looking for money. It might also be helpful to leaflet our designated neighborhood a week prior so residents are aware that we will be visiting in the near future.
Overall, Katy and I would rate this as one of our favorite events, which not only enriched us personally, but will enrich the lives of donors and families facing hard times.
What: Thanks to a generous donation from the Fully Informed Jury Association, we have over 1000 copies of brochures and other literature to give to potential jurors.
We will be informing potential jurors that their primary function is to protect the rights of the accused from tyrannical or immoral laws, not simply to determine the facts of the case. Approximately 700 potential jurors appear at the Justice Center in downtown Fort Worth each Monday morning.
Meter parking is available for about 50 cents. It would also be helpful if someone brought a camera to record the event. The event lasts for about an hour, but if someone can only stay for a few minutes, that would still be helpful.
A copy of the flier being distributed is available for downloading.
Here is a copy of useful tips that FIJA recommends for passing out literature near courthouses. I will also make time for a training session for any newcomers who like to attend FIJA events in the future. If anyone prefer a particular day for training, just let me know.
If you are interested, you may also view the jury selection process as a guest, according to the court bailiff.
The topic of jury rights will be of most interest and relevance to people who may serve on a panel. It will be on the top of their mind, for they are much more likely to read those documents than at any other time. This also provides an opportunity for outreach to meet other like-minded folks and bring them into the fold.
When: Monday, Aug. 23, from 7:15 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.
Where: Tarrant County Justice Center, 401 West Belknap St, Fort Worth, TX 76102, at the Weatherford-Taylor intersection
This is event is being coordinated with the Campaign for Liberty — Tarrant County.
What: Ranked “highly rated” by Charity Navigator, Union Gospel Mission of Tarrant County is a voluntarily funded charity in downtown Fort Worth that serves more than 230,000 meals every year. UGM is independent of financing from government and the United Way.
According to its Web site, “All Mission services aim toward productive independence for each individual, regardless of gender, race, or religious beliefs.”
The plan is to walk preassigned routes in residential neighborhoods of Haltom City and collect canned food and other donations on the initial contact or later in the day. For volunteers, we will have fliers talking about UGM, some suggested donation items, and other notes. For anyone not at home or who is busy, we will have a note asking they leave their donations on their porch for pickup later in the afternoon.
Separately, we will ask to place donations bins at popular locations in the city.
The goal is to show how private charities are better able to provide relief and training to the needy and how the poor might be better taken care of in a free society.
We can meet Saturday morning at Clown Burger and walk for about two hours before eating lunch at the popular burger restaurant.
When: Aug. 14, Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Where: Clown Burger parking lot — 5020 Stanley Keller Road, Haltom City, TX 76117
My online friend, George Donnelly, whom I blogged about previously (here, here, and here), posts an update about his situation and the efforts by the state to punish him for the heinous crime of filming his friend being assaulted by U.S. Marshals. Though his situation has improved, he’s not out of the woods yet. Spread this around so that people begin to learn the true nature of the state: it’s a criminal organization that obtains its funding and seeks its goals through initiatory violence rather than civilized, peaceful exchange and persuasion. It should be viewed not as a ‘necessary evil’ but as an unecessary and unfortunate detour on humanity’s journey toward civilized society. Stop defending it.
The Bradley Manning Support Network has issued a press release announcing the establishment of a legal defense fund for alleged WikiLeaks whistleblower Bradley Manning.
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fightfortruth and I distributed about 270 brochures to potential jurors and some county employees. It seemed to be a light jury pool today. Otherwise, we could have reached more people.
We passed out a different brochure [PDF] this time, “A Primer for Prospective Jurors.” We think it is more professional looking in addition to providing some useful tips on answering private questions during voir dire.
Some of the common questions about jury nullification are also addressed in the brochure. For example, “Once on a jury, must I use the law as given by the judge, even if I think it’s a bad law, or wrongly applied?” There are also historic examples of jury nullification being used to right a wrong, like the trial of William Penn.
We will set another event for next month. I know I said this last time, but I will make time for a training session sometime for any newcomers who like to attend FIJA events in the future.
What: Thanks to a generous donation from the Fully Informed Jury Association, we have over 1000 copies of brochures and other literature to give to potential jurors.
We will be informing potential jurors that their primary function is to protect the rights of the accused from tyrannical or immoral laws, not simply to administer verdicts regarding the guilt of defendants. Approximately 700 potential jurors appear at the Justice Center in downtown Fort Worth each Monday morning.
Meter parking is available for about 50 cents. It would also be helpful if someone brought a camera to record the event. The event lasts for about an hour, but if someone can only stay for a few minutes, that would still be helpful.
A copy of the tri-fold (PDF) being distributed is available for downloading.
Here is a copy (PDF) of useful tips that FIJA recommends for passing out literature near courthouses.
If you are interested, you may also view the jury selection process as a guest, according to the court bailiff.
The topic of jury rights will be of most interest and relevance to people who may serve on a panel. It will be on the top of their mind, for they are much more likely to read those documents than at any other time. This also provides an opportunity for outreach to meet other like-minded folks and bring them into the fold.
When: Monday, July 19, at 7:15 until 8:30 a.m.
Where: Tarrant County Justice Center, 401 West Belknap St, Fort Worth, TX 76102, at the Weatherford-Taylor intersection.
This is event is being coordinated with the Campaign for Liberty — Tarrant County.
Image credit: Albie Girl, with a Creative Commons licenseUpdate: Citizen Link blog notes that Kevin Jennings will be given an additional $45 million for his budget in 2011, bringing the money under his management to $410 million.
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I missed this interesting story at the end of last year, from Gateway Pundit. Strange that child abuse/pedophilia and its promotion is a big story for the [...]