Arts and Culture

U.S. Comptroller General Accused of Involvement in False Imprisonment of African Americans

Published

9 years ago

July 15, 2015

Special to the Post

U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro may be running into troubles, along with ousted former DEA head Michelle Leonhart, over allegations that the Government Accountability Office (GAO is helping to cover up a massive judicial scandal.

Critics claim Dodaro has failed to overrule a GAO employee who refused to investigate the ongoing false imprisonment of thousands of African Americans by members of California’s federal judiciary.

This story is documented in a new book at Amazon.com by legal researcher Conrad Baldwin, “The Void Generation: How a Generation of Void Restraining Orders Voided the Lives of a Generation.”

Between 1999 and 2007, according to the book, the California Judicial Council published a “whole generation” of void restraining order forms.

These void forms violated due process, and the 1999 Senate Bill 218 by requiring restraining order respondents to give up their firearms without a hearing and by failing to warn respondents they are prohibited by law from “owning or possessing” a firearm.

When the Judicial Council’s legal staff discovered their mistakes and omissions, they refused to provide the courts with corrective forms because “attaching the warning to every restraining order might be bothersome to court clerks and individuals.”

With no valid forms available for their use, California’s judges were compelled to issue all their restraining orders on void forms for from two to eight years, which resulted in the false arrest and ongoing false imprisonment of thousands of young African American men without a statutorily required warning notice or a prior court hearing, as detailed in the YouTube Video, “A Chat with Candyman/The Void Generation. “

For the last 15 years, California’s state and federal courts have tried to cover up these void forms and their tragic consequences by issuing fraudulent decisions that claimed that these void forms are valid, according to the book’s author.

But under federal law, any judge who upholds a void order is acting without jurisdiction or authority, and without immunity from prosecution, so the federal judges who have been covering up this scandal are now both civilly and criminally liable for the damages their fraudulent decisions have caused the African American community, the book alleges.

Since there are no statutes of limitations that apply to void orders, anyone who was affected by these fraudulent decisions can sue the responsible courts at any time, even twenty years down the line, to have these void restraining orders set aside – and for damages for false imprisonment, says the book.

The U.S. Comptroller General is responsible for investigating wrongdoing committed by federal officials, including frauds committed by members of the federal judiciary, and Dodaro has long been lauded for encouraging citizens to report suspected fraud to the GAO at fraud@gao.gov or the FraudNet Hotline at 1-800-424-5454.

But now Dodaro is under fire for allegedly failing to overrule a GAO investigative analyst who responded to citizen complaints about these frauds by refusing to authorize a GAO investigation of the complaints and by falsely advising complainants their only available route to justice was through these same corrupt federal courts, according to the book.

Unlike the DEA’s Leonhart, who frequently quarreled with the administration on drug policy, Dodaro enjoys a friendly relationship with President Obama, who nominated him for the office of U.S. Comptroller General in 2010.

It remains to be seen if that relationship will survive implications the GAO is helping to cover up a judicial scandal that victimized thousands of African Americans.

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Arts and Culture

Kedrick Armstrong: New Music Director for the Oakland Symphony

The Oakland Symphony Announced Kedrick Armstrong as its Next Music Director. In addition to conducting the orchestra’s public concerts, Armstrong will also actively participate in the Oakland Symphony’s many education and community engagement programs, designed to inspire a love of music in people of all ages.

Published

4 days ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Kedrick Armstrong is the new music director for the Oakland Symphony. Photo credit Scott Chernis.

By Post Staff

The Oakland Symphony Announced Kedrick Armstrong as its Next Music Director.
In addition to conducting the orchestra’s public concerts, Armstrong will also actively participate in the Oakland Symphony’s many education and community engagement programs, designed to inspire a love of music in people of all ages.

Armstrong is the successor to previous music director and Conductor Michael Morgan, who passed away in 2021 after a 30-year tenure at the Symphony.

Armstrong will open the Oakland Symphony 2024-2025 season on October 18.

Armstrong, who is 29 and hails from Georgetown, South Carolina, is currently the creative partner and principal conductor of the Knox-Galesburg Symphony.

The Chicago Tribune has praised Armstrong for his ability to “simply let the score speak for itself.” He enjoys a wide range of repertoire, spanning early music to premiering new works, using his joy and curiosity for all music to cultivate understanding and collaboration within diverse communities.
“I am deeply honored and grateful for the opportunity to serve as the new music director of the Oakland Symphony,” Armstrong said. “As a Black conductor, I find it humbling to stand on the shoulders of both Michael Morgan and Calvin Simmons,” the most recent and the first African American music directors of the Symphony, respectively.

Armstrong led three programs at the Symphony between 2022 and early 2024, which showcased his broad knowledge of the classical repertoire and enthusiasm for spotlighting diverse voices.
On his Oakland Symphony subscription debut on Feb. 16, Armstrong led the world premiere of “Here I Stand: Paul Robeson,” an oratorio by Carlos Simon on a libretto by Dan Harder, commissioned by the Oakland Symphony.

Armstrong was selected unanimously by the Oakland Symphony’s board of directors and musicians after an extensive two-year search. “The search committee was overwhelmed by Kedrick’s scholarship and curiosity about all kinds of music, from classical and jazz to gospel and hip-hop,” said. Dr. Mieko Hatano, executive director of the Oakland Symphony. “We are thrilled to have him join us at the Oakland Symphony.”

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Arts and Culture

Faces Around the Bay Dr. Carl Blake, Pianist

Born in Liberty, Missouri, Carl Blake, a virtuoso and respected pianist, made his most recent migration to the East Bay in 1999. One might have seen him performing recently at Noontime Concerts in San Francisco, or at the Piedmont Center for the Arts in Oakland. He is Director of Music at The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco. He was also co-organizer and collaborative pianist at Herbst Theater for The Majesty of the Spirituals concert in 2022 and has held several church positions in the Bay Area.

Published

1 week ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Dr. Carl Blake

By Barbara Fluhrer

Born in Liberty, Missouri, Carl Blake, a virtuoso and respected pianist, made his most recent migration to the East Bay in 1999.

One might have seen him performing recently at Noontime Concerts in San Francisco, or at the Piedmont Center for the Arts in Oakland. He is Director of Music at The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco. He was also co-organizer and collaborative pianist at Herbst Theater for The Majesty of the Spirituals concert in 2022 and has held several church positions in the Bay Area.

Blake obtained a Bachelor of Music from Boston University and continued post-baccalaureate studies in Jamaica before earning a Master of Arts in Music at San Jose State University. He was the recipient of two Fulbright residencies in Honduras and completed a third residency at the University of St. Petersburg in Russia. He has a Doctor of Musical Arts from Cornell University.

At age 19, Blake, then an undergraduate piano major at Boston University, was “discovered” by Impresario Dr. W. Hazaiah Williams, who is the Founder and Director of Today’s Artists/Four Seasons Arts.

Williams honored Blake by awarding him the first Marian Anderson Young Artist Award. Anderson personally presented the award at the Masonic Auditorium in S.F. Subsequently, Blake was presented by Dr. Williams in his San Francisco debut at The Herbst Theatre. Williams subsidized a year of study abroad for Blake at the Paris Conservatory of Music. Additionally, Williams sponsored Blake’s New York Weill Hall debut, where he has performed twice since. Blake performed several times at the Yachats Music Festival in Oregon.

Blake continues to perform nationally and abroad. His hobbies are reading, baking and travel. He says, “I’m still pumping ivories, as Belgian pianist Jeanne Stark described the disciplined practice of concert piano.”

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Arts and Culture

Oakland Jazz Great Offers Master Class as City Declares “John Handy Day”

World-renowned jazz master saxophonist John Handy, a McClymond’s High School graduate, was presented with a Mayor of Oakland Proclamation declaring Feb. 12, as John Handy Day in the city. Handy is most notably known as the featured saxophonist for Charles Mingus on “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” from the album “Mingus Ah Um” (1959) and on “Hard Work” from his own album “Hard Work” (1976).

Published

2 months ago

February 24, 2024

Oakland Post

(L-R) Del Handy, John Handy, Roger Glenn, and Joe Warner celebrate John Handy Day at Geoffrey’s Inner Circle, Oakland. Photo by Lady Bianca.

By Conway Jones

World-renowned jazz master saxophonist John Handy, a McClymond’s High School graduate, was presented with a Mayor of Oakland Proclamation declaring Feb. 12, as John Handy Day in the city.

Handy is most notably known as the featured saxophonist for Charles Mingus on “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” from the album “Mingus Ah Um” (1959) and on “Hard Work” from his own album “Hard Work” (1976).

“John Handy is a jazz icon and an inspiration to musicians everywhere,” said Ayo Brame, a 16-year-old Oakland tenor saxophone player who is enrolled at the Oakland School for the Arts.

In celebration of this day, the reception in downtown Oakland at Geoffrey’s Inner Circle was a gathering of artists, young and old, coming together in his honor and celebrating his 91st birthday.

Handy presented a Saxophone Colossus free masterclass for musicians. This class afforded a rare opportunity to learn about the saxophone from an aficionado. The class was free and open to all – saxophonists, vocalists, aficionados, students, and casual listeners.

“As a longtime friend for over 60 years, and fellow musician who has had numerous opportunities to share the stage with John, it has always been a pleasure performing with him and hearing his creative interpretations of the music and his gift of ease inspiring the next generation of jazz musicians,” said Roger Glenn, a multi-instrumentalist.