From The Ed Show:

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From Lawrence O’Donnell:

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From Tweety

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More from the Lawrence O’Donnell show.

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Please do read the whole piece – it’s a hot one. Here’s a small slice.

Trayvon committed no crime — he was merely walking home one fateful night after a trip to 7-11 for Skittles — yet was accosted by a stranger as suspicious in part, it’s claimed, because of his hoodie. When Mark Zukerberg wore a hoodie to launch Facebook’s public stock offering, he was praised as an icon of a new generation representing the best of American values.

We can see this mirror in law enforcement practices. Study after study shows that young whites are more likely to use marijuana than blacks or Latinos, yet blacks are at least seven times more likely to get arrested for the same offense. Mark Zuckerberg was probably not a victim of New York City’s terrible “Stop and Frisk” policy during his recent trip to Wall Street’s halls of power. But who’s the real gangsta here?

Some Wall Street analysts are questioning possible unethical behavior by Facebook’s executives and its partner Morgan Stanley in “selective dissemination of information” that gave insider knowledge to some large investors but not others. FB’s stock is being called “muppet bait for the masses” who didn’t know that Facebook’s quarter one earnings estimates had been cut mid-launch. The stock is now sinking like a stone in the NASDAQ stock exchange. It’s not clear how much Zuckerberg himself knew about the alleged financial shenanigans and shakedowns. But we all must be left wondering — who would Geraldo name as the hood wearing “thug wear” now?

It’s a tale of two hoodies where guilt and innocence are turned upside down, where one young man ends up rich and another ends up dead — depending on whether you’re white or you’re black.

It’s a shame that our society in the 21st century remains so distorted. This bias inevitably leads to market inefficiency & justice perverted, which ultimately impacts us all. The faster we can assume that we are all innocent until proven guilty no matter what you’re wearing or the color of your skin, the sooner we are all living in a safer and more prosperous society IMHO.

From The NYTimes:

The Campaign Against Women
Published: May 19, 2012

Despite the persistent gender gap in opinion polls and mounting criticism of their hostility to women’s rights, Republicans are not backing off their assault on women’s equality and well-being. New laws in some states could mean a death sentence for a pregnant woman who suffers a life-threatening condition. But the attack goes well beyond abortion, into birth control, access to health care, equal pay and domestic violence.

Republicans seem immune to criticism. In an angry speech last month, John Boehner, the House speaker, said claims that his party was damaging the welfare of women were “entirely created” by Democrats. Earlier, the Republican National Committee chairman, Reince Priebus, sneered that any suggestion of a G.O.P. “war on women” was as big a fiction as a “war on caterpillars.”

But just last Wednesday, Mr. Boehner refuted his own argument by ramming through the House a bill that seriously weakens the Violence Against Women Act. That followed the Republican push in Virginia and elsewhere to require medically unnecessary and physically invasive sonograms before an abortion, and Senate Republicans’ persistent blocking of a measure to better address the entrenched problem of sex-based wage discrimination.

On Capitol Hill and in state legislatures, Republicans are attacking women’s rights in four broad areas.

ABORTION On Thursday, a House subcommittee denied the District of Columbia’s Democratic delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton, a chance to testify at a hearing called to promote a proposed federal ban on nearly all abortions in the District 20 weeks after fertilization. The bill flouts the Roe v. Wade standard of fetal viability.

Seven states have enacted similar measures. In Arizona, Gov. Jan Brewer signed a law that bans most abortions two weeks earlier. Each measure will create real hardships for women who will have to decide whether to terminate a pregnancy before learning of major fetal abnormalities or risks to their own health.

These laws go a cruel step further than the familiar Republican attacks on Roe v. Wade. They omit reasonable exceptions for a woman’s health or cases of rape, incest or grievous fetal impairment. These laws would require a woman seeking an abortion to be near death, a standard that could easily delay medical treatment until it is too late.

All contain intimidating criminal penalties, fines and reporting requirements designed to scare doctors away. Last year, the House passed a measure that would have allowed hospitals receiving federal money to refuse to perform an emergency abortion even when a woman’s life was at stake. The Senate has not taken up that bill, fortunately.

ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE Governor Brewer also recently signed a bill eliminating public funding for Planned Parenthood. Arizona law already barred spending public money on abortions, which are in any case a small part of the services that Planned Parenthood provides. The new bill denies the organization public money for nonabortion services, like cancer screening and family planning, often the only services of that kind available to poor women.

Gov. Rick Perry of Texas and the state’s Republican-dominated Legislature tried a similar thing in 2011, and were sued in federal court by a group of clinics. The state argues that it is trying to deny money to organizations that “promote” abortions. That is nonsense. Texas already did not give taxpayer money for abortions, and the clinics that sued do not perform abortions.

Last year, the newly installed House Republican majority rushed to pass bills (stopped by the Democratic-led Senate) to eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood and Title X. That federal program provides millions of women with birth control, lifesaving screening for breast and cervical cancer, and other preventive care. It is a highly effective way of preventing the unintended pregnancies and abortions that Republicans claim to be so worried about.

EQUAL PAY Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, the epicenter of all kinds of punitive and regressive legislation, signed the repeal of a 2009 law that allowed women and others to bring lawsuits in state courts against pay discrimination, instead of requiring them to be heard as slower and more costly federal cases. It also stiffened penalties for employers found guilty of discrimination.

He defended that bad decision by saying he did not want those suits to “clog up the legal system.” He turned that power over to his government, which has a record of hostility toward workers’ rights.

President Obama has been trying for three years to update and bolster the 1963 Equal Pay Act to enhance remedies for victims of gender-based wage discrimination, shield employees from retaliation for sharing salary information with co-workers, and mandate that employers show that wage differences are job-related, not sex-based, and driven by business necessity.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE Last month, the Senate approved a reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, designed to protect victims of domestic and sexual abuse and bring their abusers to justice. The disappointing House bill omits new protections for gay, Indian, student and immigrant abuse victims that are contained in the bipartisan Senate bill. It also rolls back protections for immigrant women whose status is dependent on a spouse, making it more likely that they will stay with their abusers, at real personal risk, and ends existing protections for undocumented immigrants who report abuse and cooperate with law enforcement to pursue the abuser.

Whether this pattern of disturbing developments constitutes a war on women is a political argument. That women’s rights and health are casualties of Republican policy is indisputable.

This cannot be repeated enough. It’s not in the female imagination that the GOP wants in our vaginas, to control our bodies, and is working against us at every turn in our quest for equality. This is why JJP tries to bring to you, whenever we can, articles and videos showing how the GOP is against women. Sad to say, we are not running out of material supplied by the GOP.

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Some videos on the latest by the GOP to combat the ‘ imaginary’ War on Women.

From Martin Bashir:

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From The Ed Show:

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Prime Minister of the United Kingdom David Cameron (L) and President of the United States of America Barack Obama confer at the top of the Heads of Sate and Government meeting on Afghanistan in Chicago, Illinois, during the NATO 2012 Summit May 21, 2012 .
—-SAUL LOEB/AFP/GettyImages

Prime Minister David Cameron of the United Kingdom, President Barack Obama, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, and others watch the overtime shootout of the Chelsea vs. Bayern Munich Champions League final, in the Laurel Cabin conference room during the G8 Summit at Camp David, Md., May 19, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama meets with Eurozone leaders on the Laurel Cabin patio during the G8 Summit at Camp David, Maryland, May 19, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama throws a football on the field at Soldier Field following the NATO working dinner in Chicago, Illinois, May 20, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Cory screwed up. That much is clear.

Cory knows he screwed up. That much is also clear.

The celebrated Superman Mayor of Newark (he who rescues women from burning buildings and shovels everybody else’s sidewalks on cold winter days) appeared on Meet the Press this past Sunday morning and announced how nauseated he was by the Obama campaign ads targeting Mitt Romey’s tenure at Bain Capital, even going so far as to compare those ads to the ill-advised and now aborted (last I heard) approach by the right to re-link Obama to his ex-Pastor Jeremiah Wright. I’m sure Mayor Booker can still hear the wind whistling by his ears as he tumbles swiftly from grace. And, as might be expected, Booker has been on a relentless save-my-ass campaign to explain and re-explain himself pretty much from the minute he stepped off the set at Meet the Press, woke up, and then realized “Oh shit…”

Forgive me Obama. I knew not what I done did.

Of course the Republicans quickly manufactured an ad taking full advantage of Booker’s screw-up; “We Stand With Cory.” To which Cory quickly responded in the following manner (as reprinted From USA Today):

“Anybody in the GOP wants to stand with me, please stand with me. Stand with me for marriage equality, as Barack Obama stands up for,” he said. “Stand with me for not turning the clock back on women in terms of medical issues, like Barack Obama is standing again. Stand with me on making healthcare more accessible to all. Stand with me for making college more affordable as President Obama is doing.”

Not bad. Just goes to show that Cory didn’t go into politics for nothing. He knows what he has to do – what he better do – to mend fences with The Family. But that being said, considering how good of a politician Booker is, and him knowing this is an election year where many observers predict the presidential race will be a close one – the question still lingers like a persistent stench in the air; what was the brother thinking? How could he slip up (if that’s what it was) and equate criticism of Romney’s tenure at Bain Capital with the Republican attempt to use Rev. Jeremiah Wright as their own Obama heat-seeking missile?

Consider the following from Slate

But what about the job losses? According to the Wall Street Journal, 22 percent of the 77 companies the paper analyzed from Romney’s tenure (at Bain) went bankrupt or closed their doors. Another 8 percent lost Bain money. How did Romney decide winners and losers? What does that tell us about how he’ll make choices as president? If the market dictated the winners and losers, what should people conclude about the way government might change under his stewardship? If this unpleasant portion of his business experience isn’t relevant to the skills he’ll need as president, which skills are relevant? Where does he draw the line?

In other words, Mitt Romney’s tenure at Bain makes it pretty hard for him to claim he’s anybody’s idea of a jobs creator. And Booker, who I believe to be a pretty well-informed individual, has to know this about the relationship between Bain and Romney, right? But hey, even if he (remarkably) didn’t know anything about it, every Democrat with even a hair’s breadth of aspiration knows that it is virtual suicide to openly criticize the Top Dog during campaign season, especially when you’re criticizing one of the strongest weapons in his arsenal. That there is Politics 101. It’s also common sense. If you have an issue with how the campaign is doing things, then contact the campaign. I’m sure they would return his calls. But Meet the Press?

(Hopefully) this issue will die down relatively soon, and Booker will once again be on the same page with the rest of the team. But somebody needs to tell the man that when you’re a politician? Sometimes it’s a good idea to keep your honest opinions to yourself.  Because politics is all about being a team player. And because, as the rest of us have learned, honesty is not always the best policy.

This is being cross-posted on Black Liberal Boomer

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…………………………………………..

President Obama Delivers Commencement Speech At Joplin High School

A Billionaire says the 1% doesn’t create jobs.

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Melissa Harris-Perry on misconceptions on Rev. Wright.

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Another panel on Rev. Wright.

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The GOP-led House strips protections from Violence Against Women Act.

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……………………………………………………………………..

The world of Citizens United.

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Some more about Citizens United.

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The recall in Wisconsin.

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Melissa Harris-Perry, host of “Melissa Harris-Perry” on MSNBC and political science professor at Tulane University, talks with Ezra Klein about the Mitt Romney supporters recycling tactics from the failed McCain campaign.

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How the improving economy undermines Willard’s message.

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How INCOME INEQUALITY perpetuates OPPORTUNITY INEQUALITY.

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The right thinks it’s fair to tie President Obama to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and ask how sitting in Wright’s church influenced the president’s character and policies. But Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith is off-limits?

Ed will ask Michael Eric Dyson, Professor of Sociology at Georgetown University and author (“Can You Hear Me Now?”), and radio and television talk show host Armstrong Williams if Romney’s Mormonism is off limits for Democrats.

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Oh and btw, more whites tend to get arrested for crimes than blacks in America. See the chart below. According to 2010 FBI statistics:

From BuzzFeed (thanks, Ben Smith):

If you’ve spent much time consuming conservative media lately, you’ve probably learned about a slow-burning “race war” going on in America today. Sewing together disparate data points and compelling anecdotes like the attack in Norfolk, conservative bloggers and opinion-makers are driving the narrative with increasing frequency. Their message: Black-on-white violence is spiking — and the mainstream media is trying to cover it up.

[...]

This notion isn’t necessarily new to the right, which has long complained about stifling political correctness in the media and the rising tide of “reverse racism.” But the race war narrative has gained renewed traction during the Obama years, as various factors — from liberals’ efforts to paint the Tea Party as racist, to the widely-covered Trayvon Martin shooting — have left conservatives feeling unfairly maligned, and combative.

“I wouldn’t call it political correctness, I would call it lying,” said Tucker Carlson, editor-in-chief of The Daily Caller, describing what he considers to be the media’s racial double-standard. “To the press, the only hate crimes are straight white men somehow committing acts of violence against people who are not straight white men. When in fact, the real world is a lot more complicated than that.”

[...]

Indeed, the irony of the race war narrative’s latest flare-up is that it comes at a time when national crime rates have reached historic lows — including reported hate crimes against whites. According to a report released by the FBI, there were 575 anti-white bias crimes reported in 2010 — up slightly from the 545 reported in 2009, but distinctly lower than the 716 reported in 2008. Overall, the past decade has seen a downward trend in anti-white bias crime. What’s more, hate crimes against blacks have continued to outstrip those against whites by about four-to-one: In 2010 alone, there were 2,201 reported. Violent crimes across the spectrum reached a four-decade low in 2010.

But to conservatives, the argument is less about a spike in the actual statistics — or in the eternal, low-profile neighborhood tensions that have been part of the American story since Irish and Italian kids were clashing in the New York City slums of Five Points — than it is about changing the politics of race and the right.

Dan Riehl, a conservative blogger who runs Riehl World View and contributes to Breitbart News, said that black-on-white violence isn’t as predominant as other criminal-victim dynamics, but he still argued the news media have a special incentive to over-report stories of white criminals.

Soooo crazy! Here’s my bottom line quote from the post:

And Cheryl Contee, founder of the left-leaning black blog Jack and Jill Politics, blasted this type of coverage as fear-mongering propaganda.

“Pushing the notion of a ‘race war’ or raising the specter of black on white crime serves to frighten those who might be considering voting for Obama in November,” she said, adding, “It’s perhaps the most naked attempt to date to use fear of The Other to bring back those who may be increasingly alienated from conservative policies.”

I see the pushback even in the mainstream media, which seems fascinated by the wounds suffered in the altercation by George Zimmerman but we have yet to hear a word about the injuries suffered by Trayvon Martin aside from the point blank gun shot that took his life. Some are even pushing for charges against Zimmerman to be dropped. Look, if you were a 17 year old kid walking alone at night and a man 100 lbs bigger than you jumped you or otherwise tried to detain you, wouldn’t it be logical to fight for your life against who knows what – a pedophile? A robber? A killer? Hasn’t anyone ever heard the phrase: “you shoulda seen the other guy!”? I’m guessing poor Trayvon suffered more than a few vicious blows in his attempt to get away from a random psycho who accosted him for no reason. It saddens me deeply when people choose to divide us as Americans rather than seeking truth and justice for all.

Who’s starting the race war — Obama? Or conservative pundits on the right? Unfortunately, we are just in the start of election-era race-baiting. Hold on, it’s about to get bumpy. I recommend reading the whole BuzzFeed article – it’s well-written and well-researched…

This is a big boost for Barack Obama — and is likely to cause a fair amount of discord within the ranks of those who are older and more…well, intolerant. My guess is that the NAACP is about to lose some members — and gain some new ones. That’s a good thing. The average age of an NAACP is, I believe, officially crotchedy. Think — Bill Cosby.

From NAACP.org:

“The mission of the NAACP has always been to ensure the political, social and economic equality of all people,” said Roslyn M. Brock, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the NAACP. “We have and will oppose efforts to codify discrimination into law.”

“Civil marriage is a civil right and a matter of civil law. The NAACP’s support for marriage equality is deeply rooted in the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and equal protection of all people.” said Benjamin Todd Jealous, President and CEO of the NAACP.

The NAACP has addressed civil rights with regard to marriage since Loving v. Virginia declared anti-miscegenation laws unconstitutional in 1967. In recent years the NAACP has taken public positions against state and federal efforts to ban the rights and privileges for LGBT citizens, including strong opposition to Proposition 8 in California, the Defense of Marriage Act, and most recently, North Carolina’s Amendment 1, which changed the state constitution’s to prohibit same sex marriage.

Apparently it did take some time to win over a quorum of board members (from NY Times):

Maxim Thorne, a former high-ranking official with the organization, said that “for certain people, it was a very long evolution and a very long process of reconciling their faith with this, and coming to a very civil rights understanding of marriage equality versus a theological understanding of marriage.”

That reflects some conflict within the community. From the same NY Times article:

Black and white Americans are divided on same-sex marriage in similar numbers, according to the results of four aggregated polls conducted by The New York Times and CBS News over the past year.

Yet there is greater opposition among black Democrats than white Democrats. Sixty-one percent of white Democrats supported legalizing marriage for same-sex couples, compared with 36 percent of black Democrats, while 35 percent of black Democrats opposed any legal recognition, compared with 18 percent of white Democrats.

Since around 95% of African-American voters voted for Barack Obama, that’s a significant gap. If you’re wondering what Martin Luther King would say about all this, look no further than his wife, Coretta Scott King who was always quick to remind bigots within the black community what’s up. She always pointed to the great work of Bayard Rustin who was instrumental in organizing the great March on Washington in 1963 where her husband gave his most famous speech: “I Have a Dream”. Here’s some other things she had to say about the issue of LGBT rights before she died (via AlterNet).

“I still hear people say that I should not be talking about the rights of lesbian and gay people and I should stick to the issue of racial justice… But I hasten to remind them that Martin Luther King, Jr., said, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere’ … I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream to make room at the table of brotherhood and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people.” -March 31, 1998

“Gay and lesbian people have families, and their families should have legal protection, whether by marriage or civil union. A constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages is a form of gay bashing and it would do nothing at all to protect traditional marriages.“- March 24, 2004

In other words, got a problem with same sex marriage? Coretta said consistently, feel free to shut up and sit down. I’m paraphrasing of course. I salute the NAACP’s decision which is going to be controversial for sure. It shows real leadership on an issue that unnecessarily divides us and has brought out hate among those  who should be more sympathetic to discrimination against others. Whether you’re gay or lesbian or if you’re heterosexual like me, it’s best that we all as a people support the right of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness all Americans are promised. Both the NAACP and Coretta Scott King agree with me. If you still are uncomfortable with full rights for all citizens, I’d suggest you watch the video above dramatizing Coretta Scott King & Bayard Rustinand re-consider the roots of your opposition. Mrs. King quotes Rustin in the clip saying: “History is not an accident. History is a choice”.

Why do you care so much what other people do? And if you had been born gay or lesbian — how would you wish society would treat you? Think about it…

It’s time for Willard’s Lies of the week.

Once again, I will point out the site on the blog roll: Romney The Liar: because there are Liars, Damn Liars, and then there’s Mitt Romney.

Steve Benen, now at The Maddow Blog:. Here’s last week’s entry of Chronicling Mitt’s mendacity:

The opening:

Chronicling Mitt’s Mendacity, Vol. XVIII
By Steve Benen – Fri May 18, 2012 2:52 PM EDT.

Back in February, Paul Krugman argued that Mitt Romney is “running a campaign of almost pathological dishonesty.” Was this an intemperate analysis? Perhaps. Three months later, does it seem fair? Put it this way: take a look at the 18th installment of my weekly series, chronicling Mitt’s mendacity.

1. Romney promised in a speech this week, “I will lead us out of this debt and spending inferno.”

Given that his stated agenda would add trillions to the debt, and Romney refuses to say how he’d pay for his tax cuts and increased Defense spending, the claim seems pretty misleading.

2. Romney claimed in the same speech that Obama has “bailed out the public-sector.”

I really wish that were true. It’s not.

3. Romney also argued that Obama has “added almost as much debt as all the prior presidents combined.”

That’s not even close to being true.

Willard Romney says that the reason he is qualified to be President of the United States is because he knows how to take care of the economy and President Obama doesn’t.

He’s not saying that he had executive experience because he was the Governor of Massachusetts – something that he has completely run away from. Look at Willard’s campaign – it’s like his time as the Governor of Massachusetts just doesn’t exist.

He’s not running on foreign policy experience – remember the articles from last week about him ‘forming a foreign policy after the election’.

No. He’s staked his claim on why he should be President because he’s a rich White man, and the crux of that is Bain Capital.

I’m fine if he wants folks to judge him on his time at Bain Capital.

LET US DISCUSS HIS TIME AT BAIN.

Let us discuss the American workers that were given the shaft by Willard and Bain.

Let us discuss the fundamentals of how Bain made money. They weren’t about making jobs. They were about making money.

But, they don’t want to discuss that. They don’t want to talk about:
1. the jobs he shipped overseas
2. the companies he bankrupted
3. the people whose economic lives he ruined.

They wanna bullshyt and call that the President’s attempt at ‘character assassination’.

Just once I wish someone from the Obama campaign to retort – you’d actually have to HAVE CHARACTER in order for it to be assassinated, but I know they can’t.

It’s not character assassination to break it down to the American people that Willard and Bain didn’t give a rat’s ass about ‘creating jobs’. They were all about ‘ making money’. And, they rigged the game, so, whether the company succeeded OR FAILED – Bain made money.

The whole 99% vs. 1% isn’t about the 99% being ‘envious’. They just know unfair bullshyt when they see it.

People understand – if a company is doing successful, then yes, people should make money.

But, it’s hard to explain, in anything other than 1% ridiculousness, how, if you run a company INTO BANKRUPTCY, how your ass should walk away with MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.

And, that is EXACTLY what Willard and Bain did – time after time.

Time after time, bankrupting companies, walking away from the pension and medical benefit obligations of employees and retirees, while making MILLIONS for themselves.

On top of that, not only walking away from those worker and retiree obligations, but putting the AMERICAN TAXPAYER on the hook for them.

All while Willard – AND BAIN – walked away with MILLIONS.

THIS is why Bain is fair game.

Willard has said he should be President because of his ‘ business experience’.

Therefore, every inch of what was done at Bain is part of what the American People have a RIGHT TO KNOW.

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Viviette Applewhite is 93-year-old and has voted in nearly every election for the last 60 years. She marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in Georgia. She has tried for years to obtain photo ID to no avail. Under Pennsylvania’s new voter ID law, Ms. Applewhite’s vote will not be counted. She is a plaintiff in our lawsuit to stop voter ID.

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Rev. Al talks about the GOP Voter Suppression.

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From The People’s View:

House Democrats fight back against voter suppression
Thursday, May 17, 2012 |
Posted by Deaniac83 at 2:49 PM

Today, House Democrats did something really important. Something fundamental to our democracy. Today, House Democrats unveiled the Voter Empowerment Act – a legislation that would roll back many GOP state-sponsored efforts and laws to suppress the vote.

The bill will protect voters from restrictive voting measures that have been enacted in states across the country over the last year. These measures make it harder for millions of eligible voters to register or vote, and disproportionally affect our service members, the disabled, minorities, young people, seniors, and low-income Americans.
The Voter Empowerment Act would use Congress’ power to enforce the 19th, 24th and 26th amendments to the Constitution by instituting a few simple things: easy access to registration (including online registration) and voting for everyone who is eligible – including same day registration, prohibiting the practice of targeting military personnel’s right to vote on the basis of returned mail when they are deployed overseas (voter caging), and protecting the integrity of the voting process by properly training poll workers and protecting against voter intimidation.

At the head of the push for this bill is the legendary American hero Rep. John Lewis.

“The ability to vote should be easy, accessible and simple. Yet there are practices and laws in place that make it harder to vote today than it was even one year ago. … We should be moving toward a more inclusive democracy, not one that locks people out,” said Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), one of the bill’s sponsors and a 1960s civil rights icon.
In state after state, Republican lawmakers and governors have restricted the right to vote for seniors, minorities, working people and college students. Their combined effect may be the disenfranchisement of 5 million eligible voters, according to the Brennan Center. The House Democrats have a plan to counter the GOP attempt to suppress the vote.

But Democrats will not sit idly by. To that end, we have put forward the Voter Empowerment Act, which:

Opens access to the ballot box by:

•Modernizing the voter registration system
•Authorizing an online registration option
•Authorizing same-day registration and permitting voters to update their registration data onsite
•Providing additional tools to alleviate any additional burdens for people with disabilities
•Requiring all universities that receive federal funds to offer and encourage voter registration to their students
•Simplifying registration and ensuring that ballots from all military personnel serving overseas are counted
Ensures integrity of process by:

•Authorizing funds for training poll workers and setting standards for polling place practices
•Requiring provisional ballots be available and counted at all polling places
•Prohibiting voter caging and designating it as a felony
•Protecting against deceptive practices and intimidation
Protects accountability of result by:

•Establishing a national voter hotline to ensure timely reporting and corrective action of voting related issues
•Setting standards for voting machines to ensure accurate tabulation and confirmation of voter intent paper copy verification
•Reauthorizing the Election Assistance Commission to ensure that the highest standards are being met nationwide to guarantee fair elections

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Financial regulations took center stage in both the news, and this week’s address as President Obama focused on attacks against Wall Street Reform. In what appeared to be a reference to JPMorgan Chase, President Obama warned that the events of this week serve as a reminder of why Wall Street Reform is so important:

“And yet, for the past two years too many Republicans in Congress and an army of financial industry lobbyists actually have been waging an all-out battle to delay, de-fund and dismantle Wall Street reform.

Recently, we’ve seen why we can’t let that happen. We found out that a big mistake at one of our biggest banks resulted in a $2 billion loss. While that bank can handle a loss of that size, other banks may not have been able to. And without Wall Street reform, we could’ve found ourselves with the taxpayers once again on the hook for Wall Street’s mistakes.”

The President called on Congress to finish implementing Wall Street Reform, warning that the country can not afford to go back to the days of what he called, “you’re on your own” economics, a time of little oversight and weak regulation:

“We can’t afford to go back to that brand of ‘you’re on your own’ economics — not after the American people have worked so hard to come back from this crisis.

We’ve got to keep moving forward.

We’ve got to finish the job of implementing this reform and and putting these rules in place.

These new rules say that if you’re a big bank or financial institution, you now have to hold more cash on hand so that if you make a bad decision, you pay for it — not the taxpayers.

You have to write out a living will that details how you’ll be winding down if you do fail.

The new law takes away big bonuses and paydays from failed CEOs while giving shareholders a say on executive salaries.

And for the first time in our nation’s history, we have in place a consumer watchdog whose sole job is to look out for working families by protecting them from deceptive and unfair practices.”

President Obama’s Weekly Address:

Good Morning.

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I spent part of my youth in too many clubs–or too much time in the same one—featuring Donna Summer songs. So of course I reminisced some, as did a lot of baby boomers, when I heard she died. Like others of my generation, I was saddened too. She was rare in that she actually had a few great pieces—like “Bad Girl” and “Last Dance.” She didn’t get all that much credit as a singer during her heyday. Part of that was her fault. She moaned a lot during her first hits. Part of it was beyond what she could control. She came along when ’Retha was around. That was bad enough. But then there were also Stephanie Mills and Melba Moore. And Natalie Cole. And Roberta Flack. Later came the incomparable Whitney. As that singer—Sylvester, I think his name was– once bellowed, introducing his back-ups: “These girls can sing, y’all.” But I always thought Summer had a good strong distinctive voice and she seems to be getting credit for that now.

What about that Danny Granger? He’s always in LeBron’s face. So is that certified Laker nutcase, the Metta World guy. LeBron’s a kind of oddity. Big and strong and from the streets. But his instincts are not those of a street fighter. Just this really sweet guy. (My grandson, another sweet guy, follows LeBron’s every move.) Who knows? Maybe he’s afraid he’ll hurt someone. He’s strong as an ox. But he is going to get a reputation for not hitting back. And people hit in the playoffs. Hitting back helps you to win.

Man, a lot of white people are going bat-feces crazy about Obama being president, aren’t they? We’re back to Jeremiah Wright. And Obama being born in Kenya. And he didn’t floss all last week although he told Michelle he did. And on and on. I’m sure Sean Hannity will have a breakdown on television soon. (If that guy’s not a member of some white supremacist group, my name isn’t Lee Haven.) But hey, when all is said and done, Obama is a politician. So he did throw Wright under the bus. And Wright, understandably, is upset. Upset enough to give an interview to a guy he had to know would pop up on Fox to keep the bat-feces craziness going. C’mon, Obama didn’t hear one of those sermons? And double c’mon, Wright’s not telling the truth when he says white men have run the world for awhile? OK. He’s indelicate. He’ll use words like “greedy.” This one’s for Wright: Did you really think Obama would allow himself to be associated with a man so critical of America and still expect to win? It would be interesting to have heard the conversations between the two when Obama told him he would run.

OK, I’ll say it. I didn’t like Donna Summer’s, well, hairs. Those damn wigs. Why were they so big? And unnecessarily ambitious—all those twists and turns and huge doses of frizzy or slick? They swallowed her natural good looks, her mostly sartorial elegance, and her shapely body. I know that I’m treading on sensitive ground talking about women and hair—especially sisters and theirs, given what they’ve been subjected to with the West’s insistence of white woman features as the standard of beauty. I suppose I remain partial to the natural. But even in the 60s, an activist like me understood that a sister didn’t always want to wear an afro. And I’ve learned to become OK with perms, extensions, etc. And I suppose I even like wigs—when they don’t look like a costume on your head.

Maybe Jeremiah Wright has to see it this way: Obama’s snub of him underscores what Wright has long said about America. Too many in this country are too racist to confront their racism and especially to stand a black guy telling them they are. Obama is admitting, then, by severing ties with the rev, that, in his heart of hearts, he knows this country—all that high-minded, we’re all decent Americans theme notwithstanding—is not what he tells them it is.

Whitney’s death made me think-sing a couple of her songs sadly for a day or two. Summer’s “Last Dance,” which I can’t get out my head, is giving me this energy. I didn’t plan on writing this piece. I had to write something. I’m humming, think-singing, and actually vocalizing “Last Dance” at this very literary moment. Wow. Rest in peace, Donna.

Pacer power forward David West flung LeBron to the ground the last game between Indiana and Miami. This for LeBron: Stick with Granger. Or as I said, someone your size or bigger. You shouldn’t go after David West. I understand he’s also a boxer. You need to acquit yourself, LeBron, but ain’t no sense in being a damn fool about it.

Rachel Maddow on the continuing GOP War on Women: Washington, D.C. edition.

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, who represents the District of Columbia, talks about how House Republicans are bullying her district into radical anti-abortion laws it can’t vote against, after attempting to undermine the Violence Against Women Act.

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Ed Schultz has Vice-President Biden fighting for the middle class.

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12-Year Old Child Reveals One of the Best Kept Secrets in the World
12-year old exposes the immorality of the global banking system and why sound money is essential to freedom and stopping the spread of misery on this planet

Lawrence O’Donnell of The Last Word takes on Mitt Romney’s job creation record and the bogus notion that the rich create jobs. Trickle down is totally debunked. He interviews Nick Hanauer. Bottom line, consumer demand rules everything.

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Good Afternoon.

As you go through the rest of your day, don’t forget JJP.

Drop those links. Engage in debate. Give us trivia and gossip too.

And continue to have a peaceful day.

…………………………………….

Tweety on Orange Julius threatening to destroy the economy for the debt ceiling raising.

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Ed Schultz on Orange Julius’ latest threats on the debt.

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Michael Eric Dyson vs. Sophia Nelson on the President’s announcement in support of SSM.

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Lawrence O’Donnell on VP Biden going after Willard about Bain.

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hat tip-The Obama Diary:

What More Do We Want This Man To Do For Us”

The New York Times just ran a story a few days ago based on a US Census Bureau report announcing that, for the first time in American history, white folks are the nationwide minority among the newborn. In other words, us colored are birthin’ more babies than white people. So naturally, the response among some (in the declining majority camp) has been to frustrate themselves over what this means about America’s future. Does this mean that we’re now becoming a minority majority country, someone asked? And what does that mean? Should we round up all the women and children and lead them to a safe white place?

OK, first thing. If we weren’t a minority majority country for all those centuries that white folks had us by the numbers, then why should America suddenly be labeled a ‘minority majority’ country once the former minorities become the majority? Sounds to me like somebody just can’t let that ‘minority’ designation go. Gotta find some way to keep that in there, right?

Except that no. Time to face up to the new dawn, people. To those of us who have been following this issue, this isn’t exactly news. The writing has been on the walls (on the wombs..?) for quite some time now. The US Census predicts that by the year 2050 whites will not only be the minority among the newborn population but among the entire US of A population (see video above). Look out y’all, here we come.

But I’m sure the concern about what to call this latest development isn’t the largest concern among some of our more paranoid brethren. The Big Concern is what happens to White Power once the numbers decline? And does the (possible) deterioration of White Power mean that whites will become targets of revenge for all that pent up anger going back to slavery?

Who knows, man. I’m trying to leave the prediction game alone. I predicted that Obama was going to wait until after the election before he openly supported gay marriage, and that this was the best course to take. Within about a day after I wrote that post here on JJP, here comes Obama making his announcement that he supports same sex marriage, right? So enough with the predictions. But I will say that, historically speaking, just because whites are due to  become the minority in a relatively brief amount of time hardly means they will switch places with the poor and dispossessed. Globally speaking, white people have been the minority pretty much forever and a day. And globally speaking, they have pretty much been running things for just about that long. Just take a look at how colonialism worked. That wasn’t the work of a majority population taking over a minority. Quite the opposite. Just sayin I think white folks are pretty good at holding their own when it comes to power.

Does this mean things will remain the same? Hell no. I seriously doubt it. The so-called minorities throughout the world – and here at home – have been paying attention to how the game is played, and I suspect there will be some rule changes taking effect. But don’t expect whites to be evicted from Wall Street anytime soon, if you catch my meaning.

As for the whole vengeful chickens full of pent-up anger coming home to roost thing, I doubt that as well. At least insofar as the non-white population rising up as one righteously angry mob to make the White Man pay for past injustices. To be honest, I’d like to believe we all have better things to do than revenge. If Nelson Mandela can come to such a conclusion in favor of moving forward, after all of the sheer hell white folks put him and his beloved South Africa through, then I believe such a necessary direction is instructive for the rest of us.

So rest easy white folks. See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?

This is being cross-posted at Black Liberal Boomer and Detroit Life.

From The NYTimes.com:

G.O.P. ‘Super PAC’ Weighs Hard-Line Attack on Obama
By JEFF ZELENY and JIM RUTENBERG
Published: May 17, 2012

A group of high-profile Republican strategists is working with a conservative billionaire on a proposal to mount one of the most provocative campaigns of the “super PAC” era and attack President Obama in ways that Republicans have so far shied away from.

Timed to upend the Democratic National Convention in September, the plan would “do exactly what John McCain would not let us do,” the strategists wrote.

The plan, which is awaiting approval, calls for running commercials linking Mr. Obama to incendiary comments by his former spiritual adviser, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., whose race-related sermons made him a highly charged figure in the 2008 campaign.

“The world is about to see Jeremiah Wright and understand his influence on Barack Obama for the first time in a big, attention-arresting way,” says the proposal, which was overseen by Fred Davis and commissioned by Joe Ricketts, the founder of the brokerage firm TD Ameritrade. Mr. Ricketts is increasingly putting his fortune to work in conservative politics.

The $10 million plan, one of several being studied by Mr. Ricketts, includes preparations for how to respond to the charges of race-baiting it envisions if it highlights Mr. Obama’s former ties to Mr. Wright, who espouses what is known as “black liberation theology.”

The group suggested hiring as a spokesman an “extremely literate conservative African-American” who can argue that Mr. Obama misled the nation by presenting himself as what the proposal calls a “metrosexual, black Abe Lincoln.”

A copy of a detailed advertising plan was obtained by The New York Times through a person not connected to the proposal who was alarmed by its tone. It is titled “The Defeat of Barack Hussein Obama: The Ricketts Plan to End His Spending for Good.”

The proposal was presented last week in Chicago to associates and family members of Mr. Ricketts, who is also the patriarch of the family that owns the Chicago Cubs.

Don’t let anyone sell you the bill of goods that this was just some ‘ discussion’. ‘Discussions’ don’t have 40+ page proposals, which you can read here.

Lawrence O’Donnell talks about this- Part One.

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Part Two

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TGIF and Good Morning.

As you go through your day, don’t forget JJP.

Drop those links. Engage in debate. Give us trivia and gossip too.

And always, have a peaceful day.

…………………………………

In recent history, the GOP has launched character attacks against opponents, like the famous Willie Horton ad against Michael Dukakis in 1988. A conservative billionaire’s proposed strategy against President Obama would push the envelope even further. Mitt Romney condemned the plan, but does that match his actions in the past? Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., and Dana Milbank of the Washington Post talk with Rev. Al Sharpton.

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Tweety deals with it.

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Ed Schultz talks about it

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Donna Summer, Dead at 63:

Donna Summer, Queen of Disco, dies at 63
By Mesfin Fekadu, Associated Press

Disco queen Donna Summer, whose pulsing anthems such as Last Dance, Love to Love You Baby and Bad Girl became the soundtrack for a glittery age of sex, drugs, dance and flashy clothes, has died. She was 63.

Her family released a statement, saying Summer died Thursday morning and that they “are at peace celebrating her extraordinary life and her continued legacy.”

“Words truly can’t express how much we appreciate your prayers and love for our family at this sensitive time,” the statement read. She had been living in Englewood, Fla., with her husband, Bruce Sudano.

Summer came to prominence just as disco was burgeoning, and came to define the era with a string of No. 1 hits and her beauty-queen looks.

Disco became as much defined by her sultry, sexual vocals — her bedroom moans and sighs — as the relentless, pulsing rhythms of the music itself.

Love to Love You Baby, with its erotic moans, was her first hit and one of the most scandalous songs of the polyester-and-platform-heel era.

Unlike some other stars of disco who faded as the music became less popular, Summer was able to grow beyond it and later segued to a pop-rock sound. She had one of her biggest hits in the 1980s with She Works Hard For The Money, which became another anthem, this time for women’s rights.

Good Afternoon.

As you go through the rest of your day, don’t forget JJP.

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