On this Thursday, Dec. 3, episode of Sundial:
Federal Stimulus Package And The Biden Transition
President-elect Joe Biden is continuing to name members of his cabinet as the transition of power continues in Washington, D.C. This comes as President Donald Trump continues to insist that there was widespread voter fraud in the presidential election, an unfounded claim that has yet to be proven in the courts.
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“It's a desperate attempt to try to overturn an election that was won by Joe Biden. The courts, one after another, after another, have said the same thing in the strongest possible terms, shutting down every attempt by the current president to try and hold on to power,” said Democratic Congressman Ted Deutch, who represents Florida's 22nd District, which includes parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties.
We also spoke with Deutch about the prospect of a $908 billion stimulus package, which was approved by the House and has received support from members of the U.S. Senate.
It currently awaits the president and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s approval.
“He [President Donald Trump] is threatening vetoes left and right. But ultimately, if there is an overwhelming vote in the House and Senate for COVID relief and there's a package that his own team helped to negotiate, it's going to be really hard for him to go against them. And that's why I'm hopeful,” said Deutch on Sundial.
Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony On ‘Bad Apples’
Law enforcement officers — regardless of race — display racial bias at higher rates than the general public, according to a recent study from the University of Miami.
The research dispels the “bad apples” argument that is often heard after incidents of police brutality. It’s a phrase that was heavily used following the racial justice protests over this past summer.
The idea is that police departments have just a few bad officers, negating that racism is an issue within law enforcement as a whole.
Sundial spoke with one the authors behind this report. Listen to that conversation here.
“The notion that a single bad apple spoils a bunch has been overly abused not only in this profession but in many professions,” said Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony on Sundial. “We need to get away from that premise because there's much more that we need to do speaking to administrators in this profession and more to some of the things that we are doing to try to help reduce these real issues of discriminatory, systemic and institutional racism that exist in this profession.”
He added that his goal is to be much more reflective of Broward County, where roughly 60 percent of the population is composed of racial minorities.
“Understanding and also recognizing that there is a long-standing, institutional level of racism and prejudice and discriminatory practices that exist in this profession to no fault of anyone who is currently running these agencies or currently working as law enforcement officers. But it is part of the deep-rooted history of very vile slavery and Jim Crow,” Tony said.
He has demanded that officers throughout Broward County undergo annual racial equity and implicit bias training.
“It’s a good stepping stone, but it by no means is it the conclusion of what we need to do here,” he said.
