Sweet Nothings

"Run, n-----, run" Yells Missippi Justice Court Judge

noreply@blogger.com (Celestine Green) — Sat, 31 May 2014 21:01:00 +0000

MS Judge Bill Weisenberger

It’s sometimes necessary to check the date on an article, if for no other reason than to make sure a piece from years ago wasn’t accidentally re-published. This Clarion-Ledger piece from the weekend, for example, may sound like news from a bygone era, but it deals with accusations of alleged behavior from this month in Mississippi.

In an echo of Mississippi’s past, a Justice Court judge here is accused of striking a mentally challenged young man and yelling, “Run, n—–, run.”

The family has filed a complaint with police against Madison County Justice Court Judge Bill Weisenberger, who is white, alleging he struck their 20-year-old African-American son, Eric Rivers, on May 8 at the Canton Flea Market.

“This is 2014,” said former Canton Mayor William Truly, president of the Canton branch of the NAACP, “not 1960, where someone could slap a young man and call out, ‘Run, n—–, run.”

In the wake of recent racial controversies surrounding Cliven Bundy and Don Sterling, it’s been an ugly spring. But if the allegations involving Weisenberger are accurate, this is arguably the most disgusting incident of the bunch.

Some of the details are a little fuzzy, though Wonkette did a nice job of summarizing the available information: “The incident occurred at a flea market in the town of Clarion on May 8. The young man, 20-year-old Eric Rivers, was hanging around the vendors as they unloaded their wares, hoping some of them would pay him a few bucks to help. Rivers was confronted by Madison County Justice Court Judge Bill Weisenberger who, for reasons no one seems clear about, did not take kindly to the young black man’s presence. Hence the slap and the shouted racial slur as Rivers ran off.”

The allegations come not from the young man himself, but from an unrelated witness participating in the flea market.

The local NAACP said the judge should either resign or at least agree to stop hearing cases until the matter is resolved.

“No citizen should have to face justice before a judge who holds such a high degree of racial animus and hatred,” the NAACP’s William Truly said in a news conference Friday.

The Clarion-Ledger report added that the executive director of the state Judicial Commission said if the allegations are true, they would “violate multiple canons” of the Judicial Code of Conduct.

I should certainly hope so.

Reprinted from the Rachael Maddow/ Maddow Blog, Steven Benen

Related articles:

The Raw Story

Huffington Post

Talking Points Memo

GOP “Ballot Security”: Efforts Weaken Voter Rights

noreply@blogger.com (Celestine Green) — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 21:34:00 +0000

Are you concerned about growing Republican efforts to suppress voter turn-out? After sweeping State government seats across the nation in the 2010 mid-term, voter suppression legislation is on the rise, including restrictive voter ID laws in 33 states and laws requiring people to show proof of citizenship before registering to vote. These new laws coupled with the recent Supreme Court decision that weakened the 1965 Voting Rights Act result in our election system taking a beating and seriously weakens your right to vote. What you need to realize is that this is not a new movie. Unfortunately, you are just coming in long after the movie has already started.

We recently celebrated President Johnson’s successful effort to extend the right to vote to all citizens with the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. But, conservative anti-voter fraud efforts were already in full swing. Republicans attributed President Kennedy’s narrow win in the 1960 presidential election to alleged voter fraud in Illinois and Texas. Before the 1964 presidential election, the Republican National Committee (RNC) launched Operation Eagle Eye, the nation’s first large scale anti-voter fraud campaign. Volunteers were recruited to challenge voter’s eligibility at polling places and to intimidate them with cameras, 2 way radios and calls to GOP friendly sheriffs for assistance.

In 1981 the RNC instituted “caging”, a technique that sent hundreds of thousands of sample ballots to voters in African American and Latino neighborhoods. If ballots were returned as undeliverable, the information was used to strike many eligible voters from the rolls. Another effort in New Jersey, the RNC recruited squadrons of men, often off duty policemen, to descend on African American and Latino precincts wearing National Ballot Security Task Force armbands. The men carried walkie-talkies and in some cases guns. Signs were posted warning in large red letters that the areas were being patrolled. This was another effort to intimidate legitimate voters.

After the election, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) filed a federal law suit based on violations of the Voting Rights Act. The Case was settled in 1982 when the RNC signed a consent decree to end all “ballot security” programs targeting minority precincts.

Four years later in Los Angeles, the RNC was caught “caging” black voters in an effort to “keep the Black vote down”. After the DNC filed suit again, the court required the RNC to submit all plans for anti-voter fraud campaigns to the court for approval before implementation.

After Bush v Gore, political strategist increased their efforts, trying to alter rules and tinker with election administration to gain partisan advantage. The results helped George Bush defeat John Kerry in his bid for a second term in the White House. “Ballot security” programs have tipped the balance of some elections, giving Republican “razor-thin margins of victory” in recent years.

In 2008, the RNC appealed to the court to abolish or modify decades old consent decrees barring certain anti-voter fraud activities. The court declined to lift the ban on these programs designed to keep minority voters from casting their ballots. Now an organization called True the Vote wants to pick up where the RNC left off, by building a nationwide army to root out voter fraud—or, some would say, to suppress voter turnout through intimidation and legal maneuvers which strip voter eligibility.

Yes, the movie goes on and the stakes are high. Since Republicans can’t win your vote with policies you can embrace, they are hell bent on kicking minorities off the voter rolls. Watch and listen for “ballot security” measures designed to steal your vote. Keep an eye on your state legislation that might make voting more difficult or even impossible for some minority voters. Don’t be swayed by empty promises and attempts to sell you on fewer hours and reductions in the number of locations where you can vote. Prepare to fight for your right as a citizen to cast your vote.

Related articles:

The Ballot Cops, Mariah Blake, The Atlantic

Republicans Admit Voter-ID Laws are Aimed at Democratic Voters, Jamelle Bouie, The Daily Beast

How Voter Supression Works, Dave Roos, How Stuff Works

Rebel Flag Outside the White House

noreply@blogger.com (Celestine Green) — Tue, 15 Oct 2013 05:20:00 +0000

Why can't some folks get over the fact that the President of the United States is a Black man? He's number 44 and was been elected by the majority of the American people to serve this country for two terms as it's leader, the most powerful man in the world. Barack Obama, his wife Michelle and his two daughters, Sasha and Malia, reside at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington D. C. It is their home.

When Michael Ashmore of Hooks, TX (pictured above) waved the confederate flag outside the gates of the White House, it was just as if he had put on his white sheets and burned a cross on their lawn. He attended the "Million Vets March" which was supposedly to protest the government shutdown and he listened to Republican Senators Mike Lee (Utah) and Ted Cruz (Texas) spew hostility against the President. I guess Ashmore and the others in the Tea Party crowd weren't aware that Lee and Cruz were prime architects of the Shutdown, although they sought to blame Barack Obama. Joining in with her usual toxic speech, ex-Governor(R-AK) and Fox News associate Sarah Palin charged the President with using Veterans for political gain. Of course, that's an old trick...you do something, then blame others for your actions.

Needless to say, I was appalled and offended to see the symbol of political resistance and white supremacy, accompanied by a rebel yell, displayed at the home of our President. Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic and Bloomberg View summed it up by saying "In many parts of America, waving a confederate flag outside the home of a black family would be considered a hostile act".

To add insult to injury, Freedom Watch Founder Larry Klayman encouraged the Tea Party crowd "to use civil disobedience, and to demand that this president leave town, to get up, to put the Koran down, to get up off his knees, and to figuratively come out with his hands up." I guess they still "want their country back". They'll never learn that this country belongs to all its people, not just to a select few.

There are always those who find no fault with displaying the confederate flag. They fail to understand that it is a symbol of hate and persecution to people of color, just as the Swastika evokes the same distaste for Jews. They can keep whistling "Dixie" until the cows come home or at least until 2016. Then, all the AWORMs (angry, white, old Republican males) can try to regain the Presidency with the likes of Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Paul Ryan, John Boehner and Mitch McConnell. What a sad state of affairs that will be.

Scandal, Censure and Rebirth: The Fall of Dinesh D'Souza

noreply@blogger.com (Celestine Green) — Sat, 07 Sep 2013 16:54:00 +0000

Last year, conservative author and Obama critic Dinesh D'Souza resigned as President of King's College, an evangelical Christian Liberal Arts school, amid scandal. He was embroiled in controversey over his marital infidelity to his wife of 20 years when he sahred a hotel room with another woman while attending the Truth for a New Generation gathering.

D'Souza wasn't considered an asset to the college since he spent most of his time promoting his documentary and books. His high profille in the media as a critic of the Obama Administration wasn't perceived as beneficial to the college.

Obviously, D'Souza is concentrating on his rebirth with a new documentary to be released next July. “America,” D’Souza said, will extoll American exceptionalism, celebrate American values, and counter the vision offered by President Barack Obama. The new film will build on the case against the Obama agenda, he said, although it is not intended as a sequel to ‘2016.’

D'Souza says his new film, scheduled for completion in June 2014, takes the next step, by offering a debate between the competing visions of America's 1776 Founding Fathers and "Obama's America," which he traces to the radical upheavals of 1968.

"2016" pulled in $33.4 million, the second-highest-grossing political documentary in history. Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11", released in 2004, grossed more than $222 million.

In "2016," D'Souza used arguments made in his bestselling 2010 book "The Roots of Obama's Rage" to argue that Obama had deep-seated anger against the country he leads, a feeling that he absorbed from his father, a Kenyan who resented British colonialism.

While D'Souza's first film exposed what he saw as Obama's philosophy for the nation, "America" will look at the great debate "over the meaning of America," he said, and ponder the notion of what the world would be like today if America had not come into existence.

D'Souza, 52, a native of Mumbai, India, came to the United States as a foreign student. He earned a degree from Dartmouth, gaining notoriety for his conservative writings — he famously coined the term "political correctness" — and is the author of several influential and best-selling books, including "Letters to a Young Conservative" and "What's So Great About America."

D'Souza said the "film will very clearly show what are the principles that built America, but will also show the tendencies that are taking America down."

D'Aouza seems to be a "one-trick pony". It'll be intereting to see how he makes his money when President Obama leaves office.

Ted Cruz Plays Hardball on Defunding Obamacare

noreply@blogger.com (Celestine Green) — Sun, 25 Aug 2013 22:06:00 +0000

(Photo by Gage Skidmore)

Rafael Eduardo "Ted" Cruz, junior United States Senator from Texas, is the darling of the Tea Party Movement and is one of the leading Republicans proposing the defunding of Obamacare.

Although Cruz was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada of a Cuban father and Irish-Italian American mother and is a citizen of Canada, little is mentioned about this part of his background. No Birthier Movement on Ted Cruz...he punches all the right buttons for the right wing G. O. P. faithful. He's a gun rights supporter, stands against additional background checks at gun shows, and voted against the Manchin-Toomey Amendment insuring that the legislation never got the sixty votes needed for cloture.

Although he took his senate seat in 2013, Cruz intends to be heard and some suspect he has his eyes on the Republican Presidential nomination in 2016. He challenged Chuck Hagel's nomination for Defense Secretary, blocked Senate Budget negotiations because of concerns over a debt ceiling hike and fought with FL Senator Marco Rubio over a bi-partisian immigration bill. Each of these actions gained him legion of fans within the right wing of the G.O.P.

Senators Cruz and Rubio both support defunding Obamacare as a condition of moving forward to fund the government. He calls his opponents the "surrender caucus", calling them "scared" to wage a fight. Cruz relishes intro-party warfare, pushing for party purity and advocates pulling the Republican Party further to the right. If the government is shut down due to lack of funding, the G.O.P. establishment believes the party will take the lion's share of blame and that such a move would be disastrous for the Republican Party.

Many people believe that Cruz's positions are not about principles or party, but rather about boosting his own brand and a possible future presidential bid. Senators John McCain and Lindsay Graham, along with party staple Karl Rove don't support Cruz's position on defunding Obamacare. Mike Lee (R-UT) has the support of 12 other Senators against Cruz's "defund Obamacare push".

It'll be interesting to see how the struggle will play out and, if a government shutdown occurs based on G.O.P. strategies such as defunding Obamacare, if the American people will penalize Republicans at the polls.

More Obama Bashing Coming from Filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza

noreply@blogger.com (Celestine Green) — Sat, 10 Aug 2013 15:30:00 +0000

A new “documentary” from filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza , co-director and writer of the "2016: Obama's America”, is to be released July Fourth 2014. The film is in its early stages now and should be completed by June 2014. You can expect the film to be anti-Obama, as with every other work D’Souza produces.

D'Souza, 52, a native of Mumbai, India, came to the United States as a foreign student. He earned a degree from Dartmouth, gaining notoriety for his conservative writings and is the author of several influential and best-selling books, including "Letters to a Young Conservative" and "What's So Great About America."

“America,” D’Souza said, will extol American exceptionalism, celebrate American values, and counter the vision offered by President Barack Obama. The new film will focus on D’Souza’s case against the Obama agenda. He said it is not intended as a sequel to ‘2016.’
In "2016," D'Souza used arguments made in his bestselling 2010 book "The Roots of Obama's Rage" to argue that Obama had deep-seated anger against the country he leads, a feeling that he absorbed from his father, a Kenyan who resented British colonialism. These are continuing themes of the Tea Party and Conservative Right.

D'Souza says his new film takes the next step, by offering a debate between the competing visions of America's 1776 Founding Fathers and "Obama's America," which he traces to “the radical upheavals of 1968”.

"2016" pulled in $33.4 million, the second-highest-grossing political documentary in history. Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11", released in 2004, grossed more than $222 million.

Michael Moore

D'Souza says he hopes supporters and conservatives will come out in droves to help it surpass liberal Michael Moore's film as the nation's top documentary on record. I'm sure he won't mind putting more coins in his own pocket.

D'Souza jokes of Moore, his outspoken movie-making counterpart on the left: "We have to dethrone the fat guy. It's too embarrassing to be right behind him. I sometimes joke that he's a symbol of the federal government, overweight and out of control. We want to give him a run for his money."

D'Souza adds: "Since Hollywood isn't going to give us any Oscars, it would be extremely satisfying to beat him at the box office."

One thing you can say about D'Souza, he has hit upon a theme in his books and movies that allow the Tea Party and the conservative right wing to feed their hatred of President Obama while keeping D'Souza's pockets lined with coins. He tapped right into the financial side of "the American Dream", know little of what America is really about.

The Road to Freedom: Truman Ends Segregation in the Armed Forces

noreply@blogger.com (Celestine Green) — Fri, 26 Jul 2013 23:38:00 +0000

During the years 1947-1954, America struggled to preserve freedom in a dangerous world. The fight abroad led to renewed demands by Black Americans back home.

In 1947, Civil Rights Activist A. Philip Randolph, along with colleague Grant Reynolds, renewed efforts to end discrimination in the armed services, forming the Committee Against Jim Crow in Military Service and Training, later renamed the League for Non-Violent Civil Disobedience Against Military Segregation. Randolph warned that “Discrimination and segregation in the Armed Forces is ...a grave threat... to the internal stability of our nation.”

Although President Harry S. Truman wanted to ensure access to education, decent housing, and better jobs, he couldn’t get Congress to act. Although Truman did not push for passage of civil rights laws, he used his executive authority to move the country ahead. Sixty-five years ago today, on July 26, 1948, President Truman issued Executive Order 9981 which abolished racial discrimination in the armed forces and eventually led to the end of segregation in the military.

Truman's Order expanded on Executive Order 8802 by establishing equality of treatment and opportunity in the Armed Services for people of all races, religions, or national origins.

The Order's operative statement is:

It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin. This policy shall be put into effect as rapidly as possible, having due regard to the time required to effectuate any necessary changes without impairing efficiency or morale.

The order also established a committee to investigate and make recommendations to the civilian leadership of the military to implement the policy.

The order eliminated Montford Point as a segregated Marine boot camp. It became a satellite facility of Camp Lejeune. The last of the all-black units in the United States military was abolished in September 1954.

Kenneth Claiborne Royall, Secretary of the Army since 1947, was forced into retirement in April 1949 for continuing to refuse to desegregate the Army nearly a year after President Truman's Order.

Fifteen years after Truman's order, on July 26, 1963, Robert S. McNamara issued Directive 5120.36 obligating military commanders to employ their financial resources against facilities used by soldiers or their families that discriminated based upon sex or race.

Watching the Criminal Justice System: Matthew Weaver-Identity Theft

noreply@blogger.com (Celestine Green) — Sat, 20 Jul 2013 15:16:00 +0000

Twenty-two year old business major Matthew Weaver wanted the student president title at Cal State San Marcos. He wanted the $8,000 stipend that came with it and control of the $300,000 annual budget. He rigged the vote, got caught, and is heading to prison for one year.

Weaver admits to using small electronic devices that record a computer's key strokes to steal 745 passwords and then used that stolen information to cast 630 votes for himself and his friend who were also on the ballot.

Weaver pleaded guilty to felony charges, to stealing log in information for 700 fellow students so that he could cast phony votes to elect himself class president. He pleaded guilty to 3 counts of wire fraud, unauthorized access to a computer, and identity theft. Although he was sentenced to one year in jail, 27 months is the low end of the spectrum for federal identity theft cases.

Interestingly enough, Weaver's attorney felt his client's crimes really didn't warrant a felony conviction. "Mr. Weaver is a very bright guy and this was really, really stupid. But, does it warrant having a felony conviction for the rest of his life?"

The criminal justice system is full of prisoners who did something really stupid, like holding a small amount of marijuana for their personal use, that netted them a felony conviction. It seems to matter how the victim is "perceived" and how that perception result is light or stiff penalties.

30,000 CA Prisoners Stage Hunger Strike

noreply@blogger.com (Celestine Green) — Fri, 19 Jul 2013 17:15:00 +0000

More than 12,000 California prison inmates are now taking part in a hunger strike launched to demand better conditions and a reduction in the use of solitary confinement, corrections officials and organizers said last Thursday.

The protest began Monday, when organizers said as many as 30,000 inmates refused food. By Thursday, a total of 12,421 prisoners had skipped nine consecutive meals -- the official definition of a hunger strike, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation -- and another 1,300 others have skipped work assignments or classes, prison officials reported.

Organizers say the strike is a resumption two similar protests in 2011, one of which lasted for three weeks.

"I would say if the demands have been met, they wouldn't be going on a hunger strike," said Kamau Walton, a member of the Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition. "People don't starve themselves for no reason."

Inmate demands include an end to long-term solitary confinement and halting what's known as the "debriefing" policy, in which inmates are required to provide information on prison gangs to get out of solitary.

Other demands include warmer clothing, better mattresses and better food. In a letter to Gov. Jerry Brown and Corrections Secretary Jeffrey Beard, protest leaders say the quality of prison food "dramatically decreased" since the California Prison Industry Authority began supplying the cafeterias.

The strike's leaders are in the maximum-security prison at Pelican Bay, near the Oregon state line, Walton said, but inmates in other participating lockups are encouraged to add their own demands. The Corrections Department said the strike is organized by prison gangs and that inmates will face disciplinary action for taking part.

An update on the situation is available through Southern California Public Radio.

Another Side of the Criminal Justice System: Colin Small-Let Off the Hook for Discarding Voter Registration Forms

noreply@blogger.com (Celestine Green) — Fri, 19 Jul 2013 16:05:00 +0000

The young Republican who grabbed national headlines after being arrested for throwing voter registration forms into a dumpster before the 2012 election won't be facing any legal consequences. (He tossed voter registration forms in the dumpster behind a strip mall down the street from the Republican headquarters.)

A judge in Virginia dropped several misdemeanor charges against Colin Small on Wednesday, meaning the 23-year-old will not face any penalties for discarding a number of voter registration forms. Felony charges were dropped back in April, but Small was still facing five misdemeanor counts until this week.

During a four-hour court hearing on Tuesday, Small's lawyer John C. Holloran argued that Small simply made a mistake and wasn't trying to purposefully prevent anyone from registering to vote. Small, a friend from college and Small's former tennis coach all testified.

While Small tossed eight voter registration forms, he was only charged with discarding four, because some of the voters were already registered and one was a felon and not allowed to vote. Holloran said the voters who were prevented from voting were Republicans and blamed Democrats for making Small's case seem like part of a conspiracy.

"It's amazing that common sense and wisdom and mercy don't have a more stellar place in our justice system," Holloran told The Huffington Post.

"They're not from the hood, where you go 'hey man, don't deal with the man, the cops don't play it straight up and don't trust prosecutors.' They trust cops and they trust prosecutors because they believe they're going to do justice. It's a very difficult education for them," Holloran said.

Small is now living back at home in Pennsylvania and working at a restaurant. "He's back home living with mom and dad, and his life has been on hold, basically, ever since the charges came out," Holloran said. "The bigger picture is that before Oct. 15 of last year, that mother and father and Colin and his sister never hit anything other than good grades, Eagle Scout, successful athletics, good reputation, high moral character, that's what they knew in life. And then all the sudden he became a national figure. They took an awful booking photo of him, he looks almost evil. He's just a nice kid, and they just rolled over that family and that family has been traumatized."

The experience has left Small's family skeptical of the judicial system, Holloran said.

Holloran should talk to Sabrina Fulton and Traci Martin, parents of Trayvon Martin.

US Eugenics Victims Wait for Compensation

noreply@blogger.com (Celestine Green) — Tue, 09 Jul 2013 16:06:00 +0000

Much attention was been paid in recent years to America’s silent eugenics program. Originally conceived in the 1920s, eugenics was viewed by many as a way to alleviate economic pressure on welfare programs across the US by giving the state the right to remove individuals deemed unfit for reproduction from the gene pool. Of those labeled “feeble-minded” or “promiscuous” or victims of rape, tens of thousands were subjected to sterilization under the cold blade of the US government’s knife, often without consent or knowledge that the state had decided to deprive them of their ability to have children.

As reports of similar programs across 32 states have come to light over the past years, North Carolina’s program has the distinction of being the most aggressive and prolonged. Operating from 1933 to 1977, the Eugenics Board of North Carolina quietly sterilized an estimated 7,600 people, targeting minorities and poor young women due to their low income and education.

Of course, North Carolina is not the only state with such a dark past. Eugenics cast a dark shadow over the 20^th century in the United States. At least half the states in the Union have had programs similar to North Carolina’s whereby certain people who were deemed unfit to procreate by the government were either forced or cajoled into being sterilized for the sake of “racial betterment.” However, it was most often the poor, the undereducated, the physically or mentally disabled, and minorities who were targeted by these programs. Among the worst was California, where 20,000 people were forcibly sterilized between 1906 and 1963.

In June 2012, North Carolina has voted down the first attempt to compensate the victims of its eugenics program, one of 32 such programs that sterilized tens of thousands without their knowledge or consent across the US from the 1930s to the 1970s.

Opponents cited budgetary restraints and concerns of setting an unfair precedent for other groups that claim to have been victimized as the main reasons for their vote, according to the Associated Press.

North Carolina senator Austin Allran said "The state has no money anyway and the teachers would like to have a pay raise, and state employees would like to have a pay raise and you're dealing with a $250 million shortfall in Medicaid.”

North Carolina would have been the first state to grant restitution to the victims of its program, as Governor Bev Purdue sought to include $10 million (roughly $50,000 per victim) in the 2012 state budget for the survivors.

Several North Carolina lawmakers were dismayed, saying they were “ashamed” to be part of the general assembly. Republican Thom Tillis, speaker of the North Carolina House, called the decision “a personal failure”, and pledged to continue his support of the measure. Tillis has advocated heavily for the plan throughout his term.

Elaine Riddick

However, the defeat weighs heaviest on the surviving victims. One of the most vocal, Elaine Riddick, was raped as a young girl, deemed “promiscuous”, and sterilized without her consent immediately after giving birth. She was 14.

"I have given North Carolina a chance to justify what they had wronged," she said. "I gave them up until the last moment, but now I have no other choice. These people here don't care about these victims. … I will die before I let them get away with this."

Riddick is now planning legal action on behalf of all the victims, both living and deceased.

“I have to carry these scars with me. I have to live with this for the rest of my life.”

The bill resurfaced in January 2013, but the public's attention span is short. If you wait through a news cycle of three or four days, the issues falls from the table and is buried in other day to day struggles. so it seems is the problems of these eugenics victims. I wonder what will make the issue resurface again in the era of budget deficits, the Tea Party, Republican obstuction and the Sequestor.

Thirty Pieces of Silver Buys Senate Immigration Bill

noreply@blogger.com (Celestine Green) — Thu, 04 Jul 2013 19:19:00 +0000

All I ever hear the Republicans say is "spending is out of control", "fiscal issues have robbed America of its future"...you know the rhetoric. Yet, they just convinced the Senate to spend $38 billion on the "Border Surge" which is simply a way to appease the paranoid right wing base of their party. The bill passed 69-29 with 14 Republicans joining Democrats.

In June, before the Corker-Hoeven Amendment, the Congressional Budget Office reported that "revenues under the proposed (immigration) legislation would decrease federal budget deficits by $197 billion over the 2014-2023 period and roughly by $700 billion over 2024-2033 period".

As much as the G.O.P. says it's against stimulus, you can consider "the Border Surge" amendment a new public works project: 20,000 border patrol officers, construction of 700 miles of new border fencing, and mass expenditures on electronic enhancements at the entry/exit points. It $30 billion dollars for rich people and letting it trickle down to the poor. is this what they mean when they say jobs, jobs, jobs?

Among its provisions is increasing funding for border security to a total of $46.3 billion, to be paid for from a Comprehensive Immigration Reform Trust Fund financed through immigration and border crossing fees and fines. The amendment would also use $30 billion of that total to increase the number of Border Patrol agents stationed in the southwest to 38,400 total--on average one for every 1,000 feet of border, Hoeven notes in a statement. Another $4.5 billion would go toward high-tech border crossing detection systems, and $7.5 billion would go to deploy another 350 miles of fencing, for a total of 700 miles.

Spending $30 billion on enhanced border security is a waste of taxpayer money. It's the age old trick of screaming national security before telling the public the price tag. Would you be surprised to know that while net immigration from 1995-2000 was 200,000, from 2005-2010, net immigration was 0. Pew Research reports the following numbers for those periods:

1995-2000 Migration
US to Mexico      670,000
Mexico to US 2,940,000

2005-2010 Migration
US to Mexico    1,390,000
Mexico to US    1,370,000

Would you believe the fear and paranoia about immigration has us spending $18 billion on a problem that doesn't exist and now the Senate has voted to spend an additional $30 billion with no offset for the new expense. Senator Ted Cruz says "Fundamentally, this is about political cover. It's not about solving the problem.

Anthony Foxx Confirmed as Secretary, Transportation

noreply@blogger.com (Celestine Green) — Thu, 27 Jun 2013 18:22:00 +0000

It's wonderful to report that the U. S. Senate can agree on something. Charlotte, N. C. Mayor Anthony Foxx was confirmed as Secretary, Transportation on Thursday with a vote of 100-0.

Foxx (42) rose to national prominence as an ally and key supporter of President Obama when the Democratic Convention was held in Charlotte last year. He will succeed Ray LaHood in the position of Transportation Secretary where he will oversee the agencies that regulate the nation's aviation, rail, transit and highway systems, as well as auto safety. He will face the challenges presented by large spending cuts and a deteriorating infrastructure including roads, airports, air traffic control systems, rail and ports.

Safety will be his top priority, Foxx told the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee at a nomination hearing a month ago. Since then, a major highway bridge partially collapsed in Washington state, two freight trains collided in Missouri, another freight train derailed and caught fire in Maryland and two commuter trains crashed in Connecticut.

His other priorities, Foxx said, will be improving the efficiency and performance of the existing transportation system, and rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure “to meet the needs of the next generation of Americans.”

Foxx is no stranger to Washington, D. C., having served as a Justice Department attorney and a Democratic aide to the House Judiciary Committee.

Why The Farm Bill Matters

noreply@blogger.com (Celestine Green) — Sat, 22 Jun 2013 17:50:00 +0000

The song says "it's hard out here on a pimp", but the truth is it's hard on everybody. Folks are struggling to keep a roof over their head and food on the table. Often times, we don't have time to follow everything that the Federal Government and Congress are doing that effects our lives. So it's no wonder many of us pay little attention to something like the Farm Bill which failed to pass the House of Representatives by a vote of 195-245.

Let me tell you why the Farm Bill matters.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor says the failure of the Farm Bill "proved the Democrats can't govern". Once again, he lied since one fourth of House Republicans voted against the legislation.

Let's go back and understand that the Farm Bill is the primary legislative tool which food and agricultural policy is made in our country. Throughout history, passing the Farm Bill has never been a problem and was a bipartisan effort.

The Republican controlled House of Representatives failed to pass a $500 Billion five year bill. The Senate bill would reduce spending by about $2.4 billion annually, compared with $3.8 billion in the failed House bill. Almost half the savings in the House bill would have come from a reduction in food stamp spending — the first major overhaul to the program since 1996.

The Senate and House Farm Bills both had provisions streamlining conservation programs, expanding the federally subsidized crop insurance program and slashing subsidy payments — including the elimination of the $5 billion a year in direct payments doled out to farmers regardless of whether they grow crops. In a bid to help Southern growers who depend on direct payments, each bill would set higher support prices for rice and peanut farmers, meaning growers would see subsidy payments kick in sooner.

But the divide between the Senate and the House on food stamps, now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), will likely continue to be a sticking point in determining whether the farm bill passes.

Conservatives at the Heritage Foundation charged the Farm Bill was designed to "bankroll President Obama's food stamp agenda". Many Democrats say they could not support the bill which is built on drastic cuts to the most vulnerable Americans. House Republicans claim that even $20 million (over ten years) in SNAP cuts were not deep enough.

Once again radical conservative Republicans in the House failed to support a bipartisan effort to legislate to help low income families, including Black and Latino growers of fruits and vegetables, family farmers bringing healthy food to schools and farmer markets, and Native American farmers who bring healthy food to schools on the reservations.

The Senate has approved cuts of about $400 million a year and the House bill included a reduction of more than $2 billion. Republicans have pushed for even deeper cuts while Democrats have argued that a major spending reduction would hurt the 48 million Americans who depend on the program. Opponents of trimming food stamps have said millions of American senior citizens, people with disabilities, children or working moms and dads of those kids would no longer be able to participate in the program.

Farm groups expressed disappointment at the surprise defeat that has left their members struggling to plan ahead without knowing what agricultural policy will be. "Today's failure leaves the entire food and agriculture sector in the lurch," said Danny Murphy, president of the American Soybean Association. "Once again, the nation's soybean farmers and the 23 million Americans whose jobs depend on agriculture are left holding the bag."

Scott Faber, senior vice president for government affairs with the Environmental Working Group, said the failure to pass a new farm law should be a wake up call to lawmakers. "The full House was right to reject a bloated farm bill that increases subsidies for the largest and most successful farm businesses, while needlessly cutting programs designed to help feed the hungry and protect the environment," he said. "Many lawmakers simply couldn't support a bill that lacked real reforms."

Keep watching as the Republicans continue to wage war on the poorest Americans while funding bills that favor the richest and wealthiest citizens.

Stuck on Stupid: Congressman Paul Broun (R-GA)

noreply@blogger.com (Celestine Green) — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:27:00 +0000

Congressman Paul Broun (R-Ga.) says that evolution and the big bang theory are "lies straight from the pit of Hell" and calls Global Warming "a hoax".

"God's word is true. I've come to understand that. All that stuff I was taught about evolution and embryology and the big bang theory, all that is lies straight from the pit of Hell," said Broun, who is an MD. "It's lies to try to keep me and all the folks who were taught that from understanding that they need a savior."

He continued:
"You see, there are a lot of scientific data that I've found out as a scientist that actually show that this is really a young Earth. I don't believe that the earth's but about 9,000 years old. I believe it was created in six days as we know them. That's what the Bible says."

According to NBC News, Broun's comments were part of a larger speech given at the 2012 Sportsman's Banquet at Liberty Baptist Church in Hartwell, Georgia.

One week after the 2008 presidential election, Broun drew national attention when he criticized President-elect Barack Obama's call for a civilian national service corps, suggesting that Obama might use it to establish a Marxist dictatorship. In an interview with the Associated Press, Broun said, "That's exactly what Hitler did in Nazi Germany and it's exactly what the Soviet Union did. When he's proposing to have a national security force that's answering to him, that is as strong as the U.S. military, he's showing me signs of being Marxist." The following day Broun seemingly backed away from his statements.

In June 2009, Broun received a standing ovation when he said that global warming is a "hoax". He said "Scientists all over this world say that the idea of human induced global climate change is one of the greatest hoaxes perpetrated out of the scientific community. It is a hoax. There is no scientific consensus.

When Broun spoke in June 2010 to the John Birch Society, he said that the entire concept of man-made global warming is a conspiracy perpetuated by certain members of the scientific community to "destroy America".

Broun is a high-ranking member of the House Science Committee, of which Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) is also a member. Akin made headlines last month for suggesting that women don't get pregnant from "legitimate rape" because their bodies have "ways to try to shut that whole thing down."

Broun announced that he plans to run for the U.S. Senate in the United States Senate election in Georgia, 2014 being vacated by Saxby Chambliss.

What frightens me is that Broun currently serves on the Committee on Homeland Security and is the Vice-Chair of the Sub-Committee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence. He's also on the Committee on Science and Technology and serves as Chairman of the committee's Investigation and Oversight.

How can we "Stop the Madness" with these Republican choices to handle the public's business through these committees in the Congress?

"Dark Girls": Battling the Stigma and Beauty Standards

noreply@blogger.com (Celestine Green) — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 03:45:00 +0000

After spending two years developing the project, Directors Bill Duke and D. Chandish Berry produced “Dark Girls”, a film which addresses the issue of colorism among blacks and some of the challenges dark-skinned women face. Women of “the darkest hues” are interviewed and discuss their experiences battling the stigmas and standards of beauty many African-Americans attach to skin color. The film serves as an expose into the lives of dark-skinned African-American woman and the racism some encounter within their own community.

Originally premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2011, Dark Girls has now made its way to the small screen and will be debuting on TV nationwide this Sunday.

Oprah will be broadcasting the documentary on her television network OWN from 10 p.m. – midnight, following an episode of Oprah’s Next Chapter at 9 p.m. where she will be talking with stars Gabrielle Union, Alfre Woodard, Viola Davis and Phylicia Rashad on the challenges they face in as black actresses in Hollywood.

Dark-skinned Black American women from all walks of life will be covered with a key focus trained tightly upon women struggling for upward mobility in the workplace of Corporate America. Additional interviewees for “Dark Girls” include White men in loving intimate relationships with Black women that were passed over by “their own men,” as well as dark-skinned women of Latin and Panamanian background to bring a world perspective to the issue of dark vs. light.

Susan Rice's Revenge

noreply@blogger.com (Celestine Green) — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 16:22:00 +0000

U. N Ambassador Susan E. Rice is set to become the next National Security Adviser. Senate Republicans won't be happy about this, but can't stop her appointment.

Thomas E. Donilon resigned the post this week and the resignation will be effective next month.

Rice had to withdraw her name from consideration as secretary of state late last year after Senate Republicans continually blasted her for her response in the aftermath of Benghazi. Her new post, however, does not require Senate confirmation, something John McCain who led the assault on Rice appears to be making his peace with. He tweeted that he disagreed with her appointment, but would make every effort to work with her on important issues.

Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican with designs on seeking his party's presidential nomination in 2016, was sharply more critical.
"I can’t imagine that we would be keeping Ambassador Rice in any significant position, much less promoting her to an important position," he said on Fox News.

Congratulations Susan Rice. You survived the lynching with honor and grace, living to use your talents and skills to serve our country as National Security Adviser.

President Obama nominated Samantha Power, a longtime foreign policy adviser, to take over Rice’s role at the United Nations.

"I support President Obama's nomination of Samantha Power to become the next U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations," McCain said in a separate statement. "I believe she is well-qualified for this important position and hope the Senate will move forward on her nomination as soon as possible."

Voted Off the Island: Michele Bachmann

noreply@blogger.com (Celestine Green) — Fri, 31 May 2013 15:35:00 +0000

I didn't expect an early Christmas gift in May, but I got one when MN Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann announced her retirement from politics.

Bachmann won an open House seat in the 2006 Congressional race and has served for the past eight years, representing the 6th Congressional District of Minnesota. She was reelected in 2008. Previously, she served in the Minnesota State Senate. Prior to that, she spent five years as a federal tax litigation attorney. Bachmann and her husband, Marcus, who have five children and have opened their home to 23 foster children, live in Stillwater, Minn., and own a mental health care practice.

Although her impact on Congress has been limited to sponsoring the Tea Party Caucus and beating the drum for the repeal of Obamacare, her profile in national politics is notable. Her bid for G.O.P. Chair in 2010 garnered no support from the Republican establishment, but she was able to activate and mobilize conservative primary voters. She was first to nationalize her House race via innovative on line and social media techniques. In 2000 Bachmann raised $13 million dollars and in 2012, she raised $15 million for her re-election race. This was the most money raised by any House candidate in both cycles.

In 2011, Bachmann gave her infamous State of the Union rebuttal to President Obama's State of the Union message. She became the queen of the Sunday talk show circuit and won a seat on the House Intelligence Committee. She launched the first campaign to repeal Obamacare. When Bachmann entered the 2012 presidential race, expectations were low, but to the surprise of many, she won the Ames (Iowa) Straw Poll. After a rapid ascent to fame marked by a series of mistatements, gaffes and outright lies, she began to crash and burn. Politifacts.com rated 14% of her statements as mostly false, 36% as false, and 25% as "pants on fire" (lies). Many said that her antics damaged the long term health of the GOP brand. Dogged by allegations of financial impropriety in her presidential campaign and threats of a House ethics review, Bachmann threw in the towel.

All I can think of is the chant from a Chicago Bulls game-na na na na, hey hey hey, good bye. So long Michele Bachmann, thanks for your service and for lessons learned. You've been voted off the island.

Fighting for Freedom: A History of Service

noreply@blogger.com (Celestine Green) — Thu, 30 May 2013 16:15:00 +0000

Dorrie Miller

African-Americans have every reason to celebrate Memorial Day. Blacks held their first Memorial Day parade in 1865 and recognize the services of our men and women in uniform throughout our country's history. Craving freedom, just as every other American, we have demonstrated our willingness to fight and die for it.

A runaway slave of African and Native American heritage fell to his death on March 5, 1770 while standing up to the British against unfair taxation policies from the British Parliament.Crispus Attucks is considered by some to be the first American, of any color, to fall in defense of what would come to be seen as our American ideals.

During the American Revolution, 5000 African Americans fought against the British. Five per cent of the American Soldiers fighting at Bunker Hill were Black. Among these, Salem Poor, a Black man was commended for acts of bravery and was later honored by the United States Postal Service with a postage stamp.

Charles Young was the first Black man to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point. He was the first of his race to achieve the rank of colonel in the U. S. Army and when he died, he was the Army's highest ranking Black soldier. Roscoe Robinson Jr., class of 1951, U. S. Military Academy, became the first African American officer to rise ti the rank if 4 star General.

Ruben Rivers and Charles L. Thomas received the Medal of Honor in 1997, 50 years after their heroism during World War II. Dorrie Miller, a cook in the U. S. Navy, distinguished himself during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He was the first to be awarded the Navy Cross. The Tuskegee Airmen, nicknamed the Red Tails, were America's first Black military pilots. On 29 March 2007, the
Tuskegee Airmen were collectively awarded a Gold Medal by Congress at a ceremony in the U.S. Capitol rotunda for outstanding and dedicated service.

Colin Powell served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and retired from the military as a 4 star General. He went on to become the 65th Secretary of State.

Last, but not least is Grey Gadson, who served in Iraq in 2007. Grey is a double amputee who lost his legs to a roadside bomb, but went on to a role in the recent movie "Battleship".

These are but a few of the nation's heroes. Today we honor and appreciate the sacrifices and service of all who served. May God bless our men and women in the armed forces.

African Americans: 2013 Financial Progress and Challenges

noreply@blogger.com (Celestine Green) — Wed, 22 May 2013 17:27:00 +0000

According to Prudential’s 2013 "African American Financial Experience" study, the African American community is continuing to make financial progress and to feel confident about the future, with a confidence score significantly higher than the general population. But this community is still facing significant challenges, including debt, competing financial priorities, and greater support of family.

Financial Progress

The African American community is a growing economic force fueled by an increasingly powerful middle class.

Middle Class and Affluent Continue to Grow

Approximately four in 10 surveyed have an annual household income of $75,000 or more, and nearly 25% earn six figures.
About one-third (35%) of African Americans surveyed have $50,000 or more in financial assets, including savings, investments, and employer-sponsored retirement accounts.

Personal Progress Made in Difficult Economic Times

Despite feelings that the U.S. economic downturn is still ongoing, primarily due to high unemployment, half of African Americans feel better off financially than a year ago, while only 19% feel worse.

More Confidence and Preparedness than General Population

Forty-six percent of African Americans compared with 35% of the general population feel very well prepared to make financial decisions.
Compared with the general population, African Americans feel significantly more confident (42% v. 30%) and optimistic (30% v. 21%) when making decisions about their money. Consistent with this confidence, African Americans feel less uncertain (22% v. 31%), anxious (18% v. 28%), and intimidated (5% v. 10%) about financial decisions.

Financial Challenges

The emerging middle class shares many of the financial challenges of the larger community, including debt reduction, supporting more family members on a single income, and achieving retirement security.

Reducing Debt

African Americans are significantly more likely to have some type of debt (94%) compared with the general population (82%). Credit card debt, student loan debt, and personal loans are all significantly higher in the African American community.
Non-mortgage debt, particularly student loan debt, is significantly higher than the general population. College-educated African Americans report student loan debt at a ratio of nearly 2:1 compared with all college-educated Americans.
One in four African Americans has felt anxiety or depression as a result of debt.

Supporting Family Members

African Americans are more likely to live in female-headed households. Two-thirds of African American women surveyed are working compared with 58% of women in the general population. African American women are less likely than the general population to have a spouse or partner present (60% v. 74%), and thus more likely to carry the financial responsibilities of the household on a single income.
Multi-generational households–with parents, adult children, and grandparents–are more common among African Americans. Moreover, African American families are also particularly likely to provide support for extended families regardless of whether they live under the same roof. About six in ten African Americans provide financial support to someone else. They are significantly more likely than the general population to financially support parents and other relatives.
The so-called “sandwich generation”–those supporting both younger and older family members–is especially prominent in the African American community. One-third of African Americans are financially supporting children under 18 or grandchildren, and 9% are supporting parents or grandparents–both higher than the general population (25% and 4%, respectively).

Achieving Retirement Security

One in five African Americans says that concern about their ability to retire keeps them up at night, and one in four is worried about the future of Social Security.
On average, African Americans expect to–and do–retire earlier than the general population, despite lower retirement savings. One in four non-retired African Americans expects to retire before age 60, compared to one in five of the general population. The expectation of an earlier retirement aligns with the experience of the current retirees surveyed; the average retirement age for African Americans (56) is significantly lower than for the general population (59).
Nearly half of African Americans have a workplace retirement plan, such as a 401(k), and eight in 10 eligible to contribute are doing so. Yet, many continue to contribute less than their employer match or take loans from their plan.

Source: Prudential 2013 Study, NBC News, CNBC.com, The Grio

The 27th Amendment Impacts Money Issues

noreply@blogger.com (Celestine Green) — Tue, 07 May 2013 16:11:00 +0000

Okay, here's your question: What is the 27th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution? Is that a blank stare I see on your face? It was ratified on May 7, 1992 and probably isn't as well known as some other amendments.

It reads:
“No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.”

In short, a sitting Congress can’t change its pay while it is in session for two years. But it can give the next Congress a raise. The amendment was proposed back in 1789 by James Madison along with other amendments that became the Bill of Rights, but it took 203 years for it to become the law of the land.

Members of the House and Senate are immune to pay cuts and furloughs, unlike many other government workers, because such cuts would change their pay while Congress is in session—in violation of the 27th Amendment.

Congress hasn’t seen a pay hike since 2009. Its members are now paid $174,000 per year on average.
If Congress had accepted a cost-of-living raise for the past four years, its average compensation would be $183,000 a year based on COLA estimates, or an 8 percent raise from 2008.

In March, some House representatives introduced bills that would cut the pay of the next Congress by at least 8 percent, an amount equivalent to the cuts to other workers’ pay triggered by the sequester. In April, Don Barber, a U.S. House representative from Arizona, pushed for a 20 percent pay cut for Congress in its next term.

Despite Congress’ low approval ratings, not everyone thinks Congress deserves a pay freeze or pay cut. One person who endorsed a small pay raise for Congress was President Obama, who signed an executive order late last year that gave House and Senate members a 1 percent raise as part of hike for federal workers. Just as they do for everything the President proposes, Congress rejected the offer.

Time will tell whether the sequester, budget battles and other congressional issues impact views on compensation for legislators.

New Hampshire's Big Mistake: Kelly Ayotte

noreply@blogger.com (Celestine Green) — Sat, 04 May 2013 02:30:00 +0000

Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) strolled into the national spotlight when she was mentioned as a dark horse Republican VP candidate to run with Mitt Romney and then again when she joined with Senator John McCain and Lindsay Graham in the "rape and assassination" of United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice. Now, Ayotte makes news again with her vote against the bipartisan Manchin-Toomey bill to expand gun background checks. What I've seen and heard from this Senator makes me think that New Hampshire voters made a big mistake in sending Kelly Ayotte to Washington.
Ayotte is a graduate of Penn State University and Villanova University School of Law. She became New Hampshire's first woman attorney general, serving from 2004 to 2009, until she campaigned for the Senate seat vacated by three term incumbent Judd Gregg.

Ayotte is pro-life and believes that abortion should be prohibited except in cases of rape, incest, or life of the mother. She same sex marriage and increasing the minimum wage. Ayotte questions the findings of scientific studies that human activity has caused significant climate change. Ayotte states that she supports an individual's right to bear arms and Second Amendment rights. She supported the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the Washington, DC and City of Chicago gun ownership bans. As Attorney General, Ayotte fought against the reauthorizing the Federal Assault Weapons Ban. Ayotte opposed the confirmation of Justice Elena Kagan, stating that Kagan is unqualified.

"I wouldn't have supported the TARP or the bailouts," Ayotte told a reporter. "Let the market adjust and pick the winners and losers. I do not think we should have bailed out the private sector. You start a business and when you succeed, the fruits of that is profits and when you fail, you pay the price.

Ayotte voted with 40 Republicans and 5 Democrats to stop the passage of the bill which would have expanded background checks for all buyers. She told New Hampshire voters in recent town hall meetings that she feared the bill would lead to a federal gun registry even thought the bill itself called for a felony punishment of 15 years imprisonment for anyone trying to create a permanent registry. Polls show that 90 percent of Americans favor expanded background check.

Ayotte's rating has slumped by 15 points since the vote and the NRA is running radio ads in her defense. The public won't forget the callousness in her confrontation with Erica Lafferty, the daughter of the slain principal of Sandy Hook. She had the temerity to lecture Ms. Lafferty, in mostly patronizing tones, all on national television. "In a single stroke, Ayotte committed perhaps the swiftest and most devastating act of political suicide in recent history" says Huffington Post journalist Hoyt Hilsman.

Keep your eye on this Senator. She seems prone to playing fast and loose with the truth, is firmly a member of the GOP's fringe right wing, and creates national press by taking arbitrary stands on a variety of issues. It seems that some feel that's the best way to get attention, but voting day is the day of reckoning and some folks don't forget.

New Obama Nominees: Melvin Watt and Tom Wheeler

noreply@blogger.com (Celestine Green) — Wed, 01 May 2013 18:25:00 +0000

President Barack Obama intends to nominate Rep. Melvin Watt to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the government regulator that oversees lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

If confirmed by the Senate for the FHFA post, Watt, D-N.C., a 20-year veteran of the House, would replace Edward DeMarco, an appointee of President George W. Bush who has been a target of housing advocates, liberal groups and Democratic lawmakers.

Watt represents the Charlotte area, home base of behemoth Bank of America Corp. He becomes yet another high-profile African-American and the second North Carolinian nominated by Obama in three days to a top government post. On Monday, Obama nominated Anthony Foxx, mayor of Charlotte, to head the Transportation Department.

Watt, who has a consistently liberal voting record, is expected to face Republican opposition to his confirmation. The White House was already lining up supporters who might hold some sway with GOP senators.

Watt’s nomination comes at a crucial time for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two government sponsored mortgage-finance enterprises that the government rescued at the height of the financial crisis in September 2008 as they teetered neared collapse from losses on soured mortgage loans.
Taxpayers have spent about $170 billion to rescue the companies. So far, they have repaid a combined $55.2 billion.

Fannie and Freddie together own or guarantee about half of all U.S. mortgages, or nearly 31 million home loans. Those loans are worth more than $5 trillion. Along with other federal agencies, they back roughly 90 percent of new mortgages.

The nomination also comes as the housing industry is making a comeback. Home prices are up, foreclosures are down and housing construction is on the rise. Moreover, Fannie Mae had its biggest yearly profit last year, earning $17.2 billion.

This nomination comes nearly a year after DeMarco, who has been acting director, stood by a decision to bar Fannie and Freddie from reducing principal for borrowers at risk of foreclosure, resisting pressure from the administration. DeMarco long has opposed allowing the mortgage giants to offer principal reduction.

In March, attorneys general from nine states, led by Democrats Eric Schneiderman of New York and Martha Coakley of Massachusetts, sent Obama a letter saying that under DeMarco, Fannie and Freddie have been a “direct impediment to our economic recovery.”

White House Officials say that President Obama plans to nominate Tom Wheeler as the country’s top telecommunications regulator. He is expected to name FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn to serve as acting chairwoman while Wheeler awaits Senate confirmation.

Wheeler is former head of the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association and the National Cable Television Association. Since 2005, he has been a venture capitalist at Core Capital Partners. Wheeler would replace outgoing chairman Julius Genachowski, who announced in March he would be stepping down.

Charlotte Mayor Foxx: Nominated to Join Obama's Cabinet

noreply@blogger.com (Celestine Green) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 01:43:00 +0000

Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx will be nominated Monday by President Obama to become the new Secretary of Transportation, according to a White House official. Obama will make the formal announcement, citing Foxx’s work in expanding Charlotte’s airport and light rail system in explaining the selection.

Foxx, 41, will replace former congressman Ray Lahood (R-Ill.), who was one of a handful of Republicans President Obama picked for his first-term cabinet. Foxx will be the first African-American to be selected for a cabinet post in Obama’s second term, although Susan Rice (U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations) and Eric Holder (Attorney General) are remaining in their current roles.

Foxx, an attorney who has worked in several positions with the federal government, was first elected mayor in 2009 and won reelection in 2011. He was a top ally of the president in a key swing state in 2012 and helped organize the Democratic National Convention, which was held in Charlotte last summer.

Foxx has led efforts to improve his city's transit infrastructure to expand economic opportunity for businesses and workers. During Foxx's term as mayor, Charlotte has broken ground on several important transportation projects, including the Charlotte Streetcar Project to bring modern electric tram service to the city as well as a third parallel runway at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport. The city has also moved to extend the LYNX light rail system to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Foxx could be confirmed easily by the Senate, as transportation issues are traditionally not as partisan as others. He will manage an agency of more than 50,000 employees, with a budget of more than $70 billion. It should be noted that the transportation secretary manages agencies such as the Federal Aviation Administration, which drew headlines this week for delayed flights which the agency attributed to furloughs of air-traffic controllers caused by the sequester.

The “New” Face of the G.O.P.-Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Celestine Green) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 16:15:00 +0000

The 97-page Growth and Opportunity Project report was commissioned in the wake of the 2012 election debacle by Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee. In his N Y Times op-ed Tom Edsall sums the report as follows:

“The G.O.P. report is an extraordinary public acknowledgment of internal discord and vulnerability, which has intensified the battle between the deeply committed conservative wing and the more pragmatic, pro-business wing for control of the Republican Party. With just a few exceptions, it does not mince words.

At the federal level, it says, the party is “marginalizing itself,” and, in the absence of major change, “it will be increasingly difficult for Republicans to win a presidential election in the near future.” Young voters are “rolling their eyes at what the party represents.” Voters’ belief that “the G.O.P. does not care about them is doing great harm.” Formerly loyal voters gathered in focus groups describe Republicans as “ ‘scary,’ ‘narrow-minded’ and ‘out of touch’ and that we were a party of ‘stuffy old men.’ ”

After the report was released, strange sounds were heard from many different quarters within the party. The message came from different sources, but the substance was the same. The autopsy called for a “new face” for the G.O.P. The Republican National Committee spent weeks trying to figure out what they did wrong in 2012, but Politico Playbook tells the story in 90 seconds in just a few buzzwords: stale, moss-covered, and anti-everything?

The R.N.C. report calls for abandonment of the party’s anti-immigration stance, flatly declaring that “we must embrace and champion comprehensive immigration reform.” In an equally radical challenge to Republican orthodoxy, the Priebus report states:

We have to blow the whistle at corporate malfeasance and attack corporate welfare. We should speak out when a company liquidates itself and its executives receive bonuses but rank-and-file workers are left unemployed. We should speak out when C.E.O.s receive tens of millions of dollars in retirement packages but middle-class workers have not had a meaningful raise in years.

The report also warns that Republicans need to mute, if not silence, anti-gay rhetoric if they are to have any chance of regaining support among voters under the age of 30. Accordingly, the issue of same-sex marriage is on course to become a source of significant division within the Republican Party. At the same time, the Republican Party risked alienating a large block of loyal voters if it moved to the left on same-sex marriage.

Many within the G.O.P believe that the party’s message is not the problem, but rather the party’s messengers. Prime examples were Todd Adkins of Missouri and Richard Murdock of Indiana. Some say they need to look at candidate selection and the influence of super-pacs on primary voters. Since the American business community has the most to lose in continued election losses, they argue for moderation. But, it’s obvious that there’s “a significant escalation in the battle between the center and the right over the soul of the Republican Party”.

In a future post, I'll take a look at how the party is responding to the items in the report. Stay tuned.