Word: contract
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Dorothy Parker once dismissed Oakland, California, by saying "there's no there, there." The same can be said of the Contract with America. For 100 days, Americans were treated to a tale told by a demagogic second-rate history professor "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." For America, this is a very sad situation. The Republicans were given the control of Congress last November by an American people horribly frustrated with a does not respect their ideals and interests, and does not make the tough decisions necessary to put this country back on the right track...
Budget cuts are never easy to make. But this year, Harvard has singled out one of its most direly needed programs for cuts. In renegotiating its contract with the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers (HUCTW), Harvard has slated workers earning less than $15,000 per year for cuts in benefits...
...Contract With America is a perfect example of the nasty effects of conservatism on Black America. High ranking Republican officials have admitted that this Contract offers little for Blacks, but it is far more damaging than they will concede. The Contract is a brutal legislative club that House Republicans would like to wield against some of America's most marginalized communities. The Contract calls for cuts in benefits to the poor, and while Blacks make up 12 percent of America, they make up 30 percent of the poor. Therefore, Blacks will feel the brunt of these spending cuts, which target...
...Republicans' proposed crime bill "reform" is another facet of their Contract that has chilling implications for Blacks. These crypto-fascists plan to strip away basic constitutional guarantees that protect Americans from unreasonable search and seizure. They intend to allow evidence illegally obtained by the police to be admitted into court proceedings if the police acted in "good faith," that is, if they believed they were acting properly. This measure is perverse even by conservative standards. Instead of constraining police with the strict provisions of search warrants and the Fourth Amendment, a plea of "good faith" could excuse egregious behavior...
...Contract also proposes cutting crime prevention and drug treatment programs designed to keep people out of prison, using the money saved to build new prisons. America already leads the world in the number of citizens it incarcerates, and a disproportionate number (almost half) of these inmates are Black. The criminal justice system is obviously not a level playing field. For example, Blacks and whites use illegal drugs at the same rate, but Blacks are far more likely to be arrested and imprisoned for such behavior...