Trading Nostalgia for a New Black Activism - News & Views - EBONY

Trading Nostalgia for a New Black Activism - News & Views - EBONY

 

JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
It's not hard to understand why some Blacks in America today long for the icons of the past.  The readily available images of “vintage Blackness” have allowed so many of us to be blessed with the sight of Harry Belafonte, Ralph Abernathy and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s brotherhood, Eartha Kitt’s uncompromising fierceness, and young SNCC activists fearlessness as they stared defiantly into a segregationist’s camera. Hair and suits finely pressed, Black cool and resistance made real in the photographic image. The consumption of such images of undeniably, unabashedly Black glamor is in many ways an act of Black self-recognition, a declaration something like, “We’ve always been this fly, and we’ve always known it.” Black power as aesthetic, self love as revolution.

When I gaze at these elegant Black bodies, frozen in black and white, I cannot help but experience an aching desire to have been there in the thick of an important period in Black artistic production and struggle. The distance between my historical F.O.M.O. and a real belief that we have seen the last of grand Black men and women is small, so I understand when some look at the photographs of these previous versions of ourselves and lament how far we’ve fallen from grace.

The recent deaths of representative figures of this era of supposed Black nobility -- Ruby Dee, Maya Angelou, Amiri Baraka, and Nelson Mandela -- have predictably invited unfavorable comparisons between “us” now and then (the memes say it all). A sense of grief over a fading era of visible, Pan-African, unbought and unbossed Black activism accompanies the loss of these luminaries. Grief turns into condemnation when we who are living are accused of being unworthy recipients of the legacy of Black struggle. Black people in the 21st Century are cowards, the argument goes, sacrificing radical politics for the enjoyment of the few pleasures that we are afforded in a White supremacist society. The public spat between a then 86-year-old Belafonte and Jay Z last year was reduced to this intergenerational conflict: the arrogant young son who thinks his "presence is charity”, and the esteemed elder asking the son to do more, be more.

When we look at our current state of Black activism through the lens of that dispute, then the argument is a seductive one. Who can look at that popular 1991 photograph of Maya Angelou and Amiri Baraka dancing—no, getting down—over the ground that holds Langston Hughes’ remains and not feel a sense of gratitude at having been allowed to experience even a little of the magnificence of these people? Perhaps it is this sense of awe that prompts some to turn back to everyone else with an accusatory finger, asking, “Why can’t we look like that today?” (Oh, right. It’s because too many of us sag our pants and wear weaves).

Read more at EBONY http://www.ebony.com/news-views/trading-nostalgia-for-a-new-black-activism-387#ixzz396wqLha2
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Fox pundit rips Tucker Carlson for shunning child refugees: ‘Have you read the Bible?’

Fox pundit rips Tucker Carlson for shunning child refugees: ‘Have you read the Bible?’

 
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
Fox News host Tucker Carlson has converted to secularism — at least, when it comes to denying help to refugee children who are fleeing violence in Central America.

During a Thursday discussion on the Fox News show Out Numbered, Carlson asserted that President Barack Obama and Democratic lawmakers were “just affirmatively for illegal immigration” because they wanted to deal with the children as refugees instead of deporting them as quickly as possible.

“What the Republicans are trying to do is they are basically trying to take away due process,” Fox News analyst Kirsten Powers pointed out. “It’s taking away from them the opportunity to actually get a fair
hearing to determine whether or not they should be granted asylum.”

“What the Republicans want to do is the opposite of humanitarian, and I think that we need to be clear about that,” she added. “That’s not hawkishness, that’s un-American.”

“So, you’re saying that the United States has an obligation,” Carlson interrupted. “Anyone who’s suffering around the world has a right to come here and be supported by you and me?”

“Hey, have you ever been to the Statue of Liberty?” Powers shot back. “I’m saying, yes, we are a refuge. We are a refuge to the people of the world who look to us as a ‘shining city on the hill.’ Does that sound
familiar to you?”

“So, I have a moral obligation to share my earnings, and my country with people I’ve never met because they are suffering?” Carlson complained.

“Are you a Christian?” Powers quipped. “Have you read the Bible? Because the Bible is crystal clear.”

“This is not a theocracy!” Carlson exclaimed. “No, no. The country is not run according to Christian precept here.”

“I didn’t make this up!” Powers argued. “Our country is based on this. You’ve never heard of America as a refuge of people who are persecuted?”

When Powers asked Carlson if he would have treated Jewish people the same way fleeing violent “pogroms” in the Russian Empire during the 1800s, he refused to compare the situations.

“I’m not even going to engage on that,” he said.

As Powers noted, the Bible is clear in Leviticus 19:33-34 that foreigners “must be treated as your native-born” and to “love them as yourself.”

Last year, the Secular Coalition for America (SCA) named Carlson’s website, The Daily Caller, as the “the most unethical news publication” for its treatment of nonbelievers.

Watch the video below from Fox News’ Out Numbere, broadcast July 31, 2014.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYYp061Ogqc

Why Is The NAACP Siding With Verizon Over Net Neutrality?

Why Is The NAACP Siding With Verizon Over Net Neutrality?

 
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
The NAACP and several other major civil rights groups have emerged as flashpoints in the debate over net neutrality, the idea that all Internet traffic should be treated equally.

More than 40 civil rights groups are supporting broadband providers that oppose strict net neutrality rules. The civil rights groups say they're siding with the Internet giants because it's in the best interest of
minority communities.

Yet critics say many of those groups are against stronger net neutrality rules because they've received
substantial funding from Internet providers. Many of the civil rights groups currently siding with the broadband giants also supported the controversial Comcast-NBC Universal merger, came out in favor of AT&T's failed takeover of T-Mobile in 2011, and supported broadband providers the last time the Federal Communications Commission ruled on net neutrality back in 2010.

While all the civil rights groups say that net neutrality is a good idea, they disagree on how to enforce it. Some groups, including Color of Change and the Center for Media Justice, want the FCC to have more
authority over Internet providers to ensure those providers don't discriminate against certain content. They also say that if net neutrality is weakened and Internet providers are allowed to charge companies to speed up their traffic, it will lead to higher costs being passed on to consumers -- which could have a disproportionate effect on minorities, many of whom already struggle to afford basic broadband connections.

Other groups, including the NAACP and the National Urban League, side with Internet providers and oppose subjecting those companies to greater oversight. They claim strict net neutrality rules would deter broadband companies from expanding service in their communities, preventing more minorities from adopting the Internet.

But some civil rights leaders say the different opinions are more than just an honest policy dispute. Alex Nogales, president of the National Hispanic Media Coalition, a media watchdog group, claims that many
minority groups side with Internet providers on net neutrality because they fear they will lose funding otherwise.

"If you have programs with any of these companies, you feel beholden to go along with what they believe," said Nogales, whose group supports strict net neutrality rules.

Civil rights groups tend to play an influential role when the government makes policy decisions that affect communities of color, so their stance on net neutrality is significant. The FCC has made it a top priority to ensure that minorities have equal access to the Internet and aren't left behind in the digital age.

Earlier this month, the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council, a nonprofit that aims to promote civil rights, filed comments with the FCC on behalf of more than 40 minority groups. The letter
sided with Internet providers in opposing strict net neutrality rules that subject those companies to more oversight.

The Minority Media and Telecommunications Council received at least $725,000 in donations and sponsorships between 2009 and 2011 from net neutrality opponents, including Verizon, Time Warner and the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, according to an analysis by the Center for Public Integrity.

In an interview, David Honig, the group's president, said the funding it receives from the telecom industry was not essential to its operations and did not influence its position on net neutrality. He said the council receives support from companies on both sides of the debate and that it opposes Internet providers on other policy issues.

Honig told HuffPost he found it "saddening" that because his group received funding from Internet providers, critics are saying "somehow we must have been bought."

Another organization that has sided with Internet providers on net neutrality is the League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC. On its website, the group lists Comcast, AT&T and Verizon among the members of its "corporate alliance," an advisory board. In 2006, AT&T gave LULAC $1.5 million to build technology centers in low-income Hispanic communities. In 2008, Verizon gave the group $1 million to improve literacy among Hispanic children.

In an interview, Brent Wilkes, national executive director of LULAC, said that accepting contributions from Internet providers should not prevent minority groups from taking sides on the issue. He also denied that his group's position had been influenced by industry donations.

"We take our stance based on what we believe are the best interests of the Latino community, and we have not been pressured by these companies," Wilkes said.

In 2009, AT&T gave at least $1 million to the NAACP. The NAACP did not return a request for comment from The Huffington Post, but William Barber, president of the group's North Carolina chapter, told Politico in 2011 that the NAACP's endorsement of AT&T's acquisition bid for T-Mobile was unrelated to AT&T's financial contributions to the group.

It's not uncommon for civil rights groups to receive support from companies on both sides of the issue, given that net neutrality affects everyone who uses the Internet and nonprofits often rely on corporate money to support their work in the community.

Nogales, of the National Hispanic Media Coalition, for example, serves on the diversity advisory council for Comcast, which opposes strict net neutrality rules. Nogales' relationship with Comcast has survived despite their opposing views, he said.

But after his group began calling in 2010 for stronger net neutrality rules, Verizon officials stopped returning Nogales' calls and donating money to his organization, he said. Over the course of previous years, Verizon had donated a total of $15,000 to the coalition. Though the contributions were relatively small, Nogales said Verizon's lack of donations since then is evidence of the potential consequences facing civil rights groups that oppose the industry on net neutrality.

"When we took a position on net neutrality, that was the end of the relationship," Nogales said. "If you're on [Verizon's] side of an issue, they're eager to support you. If you're not, they're not going to support you. It's as simple as that."

A Verizon spokesman did not address the company's relationship with Nogales, but said the company
"is proud to support the country's most prestigious civil rights groups."

"Many of those groups disagree with us on some issues," Verizon spokesman Ed McFadden said in a statement to HuffPost. "As we do with other organizations we support, we base our support for civil
rights groups on the integrity of their mission, the effectiveness of their programs and the quality of their leadership."

Michelle Obama: Men Need to ‘View Women As Their Equals’ | EURweb

Michelle Obama: Men Need to ‘View Women As Their Equals’ | EURweb

 
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
*First lady Michelle Obama highlighted the African heritage in her family tree  during a speech to young

Africans on Wednesday, saying the “blood of Africa” runs through her veins as she urged changing traditional beliefs on the worth of educating women.

Her husband didn’t mention his African heritage in his own remarks to the 500 Africans finishing a six-week Washington leadership fellowship on Monday, referencing his Kenyan father only once — and that was during the question-and-answer session. But Michelle Obama said as an African American woman, her discussion with the African youth was “deeply personal.”

“The roots of my family tree are in Africa,” the first lady told the cheering crowd. “My husband’s father was born and raised in Kenya. Members of our extended family still live there. I have had the pleasure
of traveling to Africa many times over the years, including four trips as first lady, and I have brought my mother and my daughters along whenever I can.”

“The blood of Africa runs through my veins, and I care deeply,” Obama said, addressing her listeners as her “brothers” and “sisters.”

The White House is making women’s empowerment a theme in a Washington African leaders summit next week. Michelle Obama said problems with girls’ education often stemmed from traditional “attitudes and beliefs” that exist even in the United States and lead to issues such as the gender pay gap and an underrepresentation of women in leadership.

She said men worldwide needed to “look into their hearts and souls and ask if they truly view women as their equals.”

“I am who I am today because of the people in my family, particularly the men in my family, who valued me and invested in me from the day I was born,” Obama said.

“And as I grew up, the men who raised me set a high bar for the type of men I’d allow into my life – which is why I went on to marry a man who had the good sense to fall in love with a woman who was his equal, to treat me as such – a man who supports and reveres me, and who supports and reveres our daughters as well,” Obama said.

Read more at http://www.eurweb.com/2014/07/michelle-obama-men-need-to-view-women-as-their-equals/#8ASqshqtlgVcLr9s.99

DURHAM: Asst. police chief sues city over racial discrimination - WNCN: News, Weather

DURHAM: Asst. police chief sues city over racial discrimination - WNCN: News, Weather











JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
The attorney for an assistant chief of police in Durham has filed a lawsuit against the City of Durham, Chief Jose Lopez and City Manager Tom Bonfield.

The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, alleges that Lopez overlooked officers for promotions based on race, specifically Assistant Police Chief Winslow Forbes, who had been with the police department
since 1988.

• Click Here to read the lawsuit

In August 2013, Forbes filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against the City of Durham accusing Chief Jose Lopez of racially discriminatory comments and actions.

Caitlyn Thomson, an attorney for Forbes, said the complaint was filed "to rectify a situation that affects the entire city of Durham.

Forbes said Lopez became "defensive and angry" when Forbes confronted him about losing out on a promotion in 2012 to a white applicant. The lawsuit says Forbes also told Lopez that "many black officers has a perception of discrimination."

Forbes claims Lopez retaliated by denying him another promotion to deputy chief in 2013 even though Forbes "was the only remaining candidate for promotion to deputy chief based on the review panel's assessments."

"The usual and customary practice for the police department has been to promote the next individual on the list of qualified applicants from the review panel," the lawsuit says.

Forbes also claims that in 2011 a female black lieutenant was not be a good candidate for promotion to captain "because of her speech." In the filed complaint, her speech was characterized as "African-American vernacular English."

The lawsuit says that rather than promoting the black female lieutenant, Lopez "promoted a white male lieutenant. The White male lieutenant had been ranked below the cut-off by the review panel."

The lawsuit says the male lieutenant was a watch commander.

The lawsuit asks that Forbes be paid damages for "declaratory and injunctive relief, back wages and benefits, promotion or front pay, compensatory damages, attorney's fees, costs, and interest as may be
allowed by law."

Now Fear This | Liberaland

Now Fear This | Liberaland


 JohnButts@JBMedia - Report: The reason the NRA is powerful is because they know that people are scared of them, and they want that.

Most of us know that there is a cause-and-effect relationship between mass murders and access to guns, and we are also aware that nothing is being done
to deal with both the violence and the ease in which any nut anywhere can get his (and it is almost always a him) hands on a gun. So while they march like tin soldiers (but with powerful weapons) around
Starbucks,Target, and Home Depot  frightening average citizens with impunity, they know that Congress won’t do anything because they’ve intimidated them.

And now Larry Pratt and his pals are directly threatening members of Congress:

          You should do your job in constant trepidation that:

* Should your constituents disapprove of your job performance, you will be publicly criticized from the soap box;

* Should you enact unconstitutional legislation in violation of your oath of office, you will be voted out via the ballot box;

* Should criminal charges be brought against Americans for crimes which are not authorized by the U.S. Constitution, these prosecutions will be nullified in the jury box; and

* Should you attempt to disarm Americans the way the British crown tried 240 years ago, the same sovereign people who constituted this government using the cartridge box someday may need to reconstitute it, as clearly anticipated by the Declaration of Independence.

These comments by Pratt and pals are not meant to make anyone feel protected from dictators or mass murderers. They are directed at us.
The ammosexuals want us to know that they are not afraid of legislators. Make no mistake: that was a shot across the bow of our entire form of government. They have declared themselves in charge, and
frankly, they may be right.

Koch Brothers’ New Racial Gambit: What’s Really Behind A Quiet Battle With AFSCME | Roland Martin Reports

Koch Brothers’ New Racial Gambit: What’s Really Behind A Quiet Battle With AFSCME | Roland Martin Reports

JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
UNCF’s decision to accept Koch funding was controversial even before
AFSCME severed ties with the organization and some African-Americans
have raised questions similar to Lee Saunders. On NewsOneNow, 
Roland Martin hosted a discussion on the Kochs’ donation last month that
turned into a polite but sharp debate between Lomax and progressive economist
Julianne Malveaux, the former president of Bennett College for Women,
the oldest historically black women’s college.

“The Koch brothers want a government-free society,” Saunders says.
“Public service has enabled African-Americans to move into the middle
class, but the Kochs are trying to dismantle that.”

The backlash against AFSCME’s decision on the right has led
progressives to come out in support of the union in the last few days.
“We believe that AFSCME is doing what is right for its members who the
Koch brothers have targeted and is working in the interests of students
of color who attend not only UNCF Institutions, but all institutions of
higher learning,” Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network said in a
statement. (Saunders is on its board.) Color of Change’s Rashad Robinson
agreed, insisting that the Kochs, who “spend their lives advancing an
agenda that puts our communities in harm’s way, will never give us
enough money in the name of charity to overturn their agenda.”

Saunders says, once again, that critics are wrong when they insist
AFSCME is taking scholarships away from black students. He promises the
union will continue its scholarship program for students of color.

To read this article in its entirety visit Salon.com.

President Obama Expands ‘My Brother’s Keeper’ Program for Minority Boys | EURweb

President Obama Expands ‘My Brother’s Keeper’ Program for Minority Boys | EURweb












JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
*President Barack Obama is expanding of his initiative to improve the lives of boys and young men of color, with educators, star athletes, companies and foundations announcing partnerships to help minority boys in conjunction with his “My Brother’s Keeper” program.

Obama, who first announced his initiative in February, said Monday they plan to continue to build support for the program around the nation to ensure those who are the most risk will get the help that they need.

“This is a movement that we’re trying to build over the next year, five years, 10 years, so we can look back and say we were part of something that reversed some trends that we don’t want to see,” said Obama, who made the announcement at initiative at the Walker Jones Education Center in Washington, D.C.

Obama unveiled the “My Brother’s Keeper” program at the White House in February. Under the initiative, businesses, foundations and community groups coordinate investments to come up with or support programs that help keep young people out of the criminal justice system and improve their access to higher education. Several foundations pledged at least $200 million over five years to promote that goal.

Obama also signed a presidential memorandum creating a government-wide task force to evaluate the effectiveness of various approaches so that federal and local governments, community groups and businesses will have best practices to follow.

Some of the commitments announced Monday include an effort by the National Basketball Association to recruit 25,000 new mentors and work with at-risk students to increase attendance and performance. AT&T
is also announcing an $18 million commitment to support mentoring and other education programs.

The Emerson Collective and its partners are committing $50 million to collaborate with school districts and educators to launch a competition to find and develop the best designs for next generation high schools.
The Emerson Collective was founded by Laurene Powell Jobs, wife of the late Apple founder Steve Jobs, along with partners from Silicon Valley.

Obama also said leaders of 60 of the nation’s largest school systems have pledged to expand minority boys’ access to better preschools and advanced classes and to try to prevent grade retention, suspensions and
expulsions. The College Board is also investing over $1.5 million all African-American, Latino, and Native American students with strong educational skills enroll in at least one advanced placement class before graduation.

Phi Beta Sigma, one of the nation’s biggest black fraternities, also announced last week during its centennial celebration in Washington that it would train 10,000 men to become mentors.

Read more at  http://www.eurweb.com/2014/07/president-obama-expands-my-brothers-keeper-program-for-minority-boys/#tV4xhzUQRRp2ZHOZ.99

Appeals court: Texas can use race in admissions - Yahoo News

Appeals court: Texas can use race in admissions - Yahoo News













 JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
A federal appeals court panel ruled Tuesday that the University of Texas can continue using race as a
factor in undergraduate admissions as a way of promoting diversity on campus, the latest in an ongoing case that made it to the U.S. Supreme Court last year only to be sent back to lower courts for further review.

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In a 2-1 ruling, judges from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that barring the university from using race would ultimately lead to a less diverse student body in defiance of previous legal precedent that promoting diversity was an important part of education.

"We are persuaded that to deny UT Austin its limited use of race in its search for holistic diversity would hobble the richness of the educational experience," the opinion stated.

The case began in 2008 when Abigail Fisher, who is white, was denied admission to the University of Texas's flagship Austin campus because she did not graduate in the top 10 percent of her high school class — the criterion for 75 percent of the school's admissions. The university also passed her over for a position among the remaining 25 percent, which is reserved for special scholarships and people who meet a formula for personal achievement that includes race as a factor.

The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2013. But rather than issue a landmark decision on affirmative action, it voted 7-1 to tell a lower appeals court to take another look at Fisher's lawsuit. That meant the university's admissions policies remained unchanged.

In November, the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit held a rare hearing in Austin where it again listened to
arguments on both sides of the case.

View gallery

University of Texas president Bill Powers gives the state of the university speech, Thursday, Sept.  …

University of Texas President Bill Powers called it "a great day for higher education nationwide."

"As a teacher and as president of this university I know the value of diversity of all kinds," Powers said at a news conference. "And our state and our nation won't advance unless we're training leaders in all parts of our society."

Between 2000 and 2010, Texas' population increased by more than 4 million with minorities, especially Hispanics, accounting for nearly nine out every 10 new residents, according to census figures.

The University of Texas has become more-diverse — but much more slowly. It's percentage of white students declined from 53.5 percent in 2009 to 47.7 percent last fall. The percentage of Hispanic students increased from 18.5 percent to 21.7 percent over the same period, but lags the 38.4 percent of the Texas population which is Hispanic. Black student enrollment has declined slightly since 2009 and was 4.3 percent last year, compared with 12.4 percent of the Texas population who are black.

Edward Blum, one of the attorneys representing Fisher, called the ruling "disappointing but not unexpected." He said the legal team could next appeal to the full 5th U.S. Circuit, or directly back to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"I think we need a little more time to more carefully study the opinion and weight the pluses and minuses of both avenues," Blum said by phone.

Fisher said in a statement that she too was disappointed "that the judges hearing my case are not following the Supreme Court's ruling last summer."

"I remain committed to continuing this lawsuit even if it means we appeal to the Supreme Court once again," she added.

The NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund was among the groups that helped argue in favor of the University of Texas and its admissions policies. It called the ruling a victory but conceded that the disputes over affirmative action are not over.

"It's going to be a conversation that we need to continue and a difficult one," said Janai Nelson, associate director counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund. "But what this decision emphasizes is that there are ways in which we can use race in a positive and progressive manner."

Nigeria arrests Boko Haram 'butcher' in restive northeast - Yahoo News

Nigeria arrests Boko Haram 'butcher' in restive northeast - Yahoo News














JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
Nigerian police on Tuesday said they had arrested a senior Boko Haram Islamist commander known as "Chief Butcher" during a raid on an insurgent camp in the restive northeast.
Mohammed Zakari, 30, was arrested on Saturday "following the massive onslaught by security forces on the activities of the insurgent group", at Balmo Forest in Bauchi state, a statement said.

Zakari was implicated in "the recent slaughter of seven people, including women and children," it added.

According to police, Balmo Forest is one of several bases scattered across the bushlands of the northeast used by the extremist group blamed for killing more than 10,000 people during a five-year insurgency.

Bauchi has been attacked repeatedly through the conflict. Zakari was not widely known as a prominent Islamist leader, but the group's command structure is seen as fractured, including autonomous cells operating across the north headed by individuals who may not report to the group's recognised leaders.

Boko Haram, which wants to create an Islamic state in the north, is nominally headed by Abubakar Shekau, declared a global terrorist by the United States and sanctioned by the UN Security Council.

Boyd Charges Speaker John Boehner With Wasting Taxpayer Dollars on Nonsense | John W. Boyd Jr.

Boyd Charges Speaker John Boehner With Wasting Taxpayer Dollars on Nonsense | John W. Boyd Jr.

JohnButts@JBMedia @ Reports:
Common sense and decency seem less and less important to Republicans in the House of Representatives as they continue their shameful conduct toward President Barack Obama for trying to do his job.

Americans are facing chaos in the immigration system, a still-recovering economy, heavy-duty foreign policy issues and many other serious challenges. Yet, the Republicans, and their pitiable leader John Boehner sink to new levels of absurdity by the day. On Thursday, Boehner announced that Republicans intend to sue the President for changes to his signature health insurance law, known as "Obamacare."

Speaker Boehner has been talking about his plans to sue the President for over a month. He should proceed with caution. The American people are sick and tired of being sick and tired at this "do-nothing" Congress. House leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) lost his party's primary to a political unknown because he was out of touch with voters in his conservative leaning district in the suburbs of Richmond Virginia. This should be a warning bell for many House Republicans.

The House Rules Committee recently has fallen into line with this sue-the-President scheme by making public a copy of the draft legislation outlining Republican complaints. But where does it stop? Instead of working for the American people as they were elected to do, they are wasting time, money and energy on this kind of
nonsense.

The real issue at hand is a simple one: Republicans in Congress simply are not willing to work with President Obama. The President time and time again has extended an olive branch to Speaker Boehner in efforts to build cooperation.

Republican lawmakers say it's Obamacare that bedevils Congressional cooperation. But wounds run deeper than that. Republicans have been trying to repeal the law for years, claiming it will ruin the country financially and that Americans would refuse to enroll in its coverage. The cynics and critics were wrong. Millions of Americans signed up for Obamacare and the country has moved on with business as usual.

No, this latest fiasco is not about the Affordable Care Act. It is about Midterm elections. Yes, it is about politics, and the reality that Republicans have little progress to report to their constituents. They have little that they accomplished on behalf of the Republican base. They should have thought of that last year while they put their energies blocking any idea the President had to move the country forward instead of doing the business of the people they were elected to serve.

Republican are so desperate they are even speaking of impeaching President Obama. They had better hope they keep their own jobs come November. Meanwhile the president is not sitting on his hands waiting for Speaker Boehner to come to his senses.

I have to commend President Obama for using his executive powers to move the country forward! That's exactly what he was elected to do. Bravo!

Hispanic Lawmakers to Obama: Use ‘Executive Action’ to Stop All Deportations of Illegal Aliens | CNS News

Hispanic Lawmakers to Obama: Use ‘Executive Action’ to Stop All Deportations of Illegal Aliens | CNS News
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
Reps. Luis Guiterrez (D-Ill.) and Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) joined immigration activists Thursday in calling on President Barack Obama to stop deportations and allow illegal aliens to have work permits. It's the latest effort to compel the president to make sweeping changes to immigration law through executive orders.

The Democrats also want Obama's Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy to apply to parents of so-called Dreamers and others, putting them on a path to citizenship as spelled out in the immigration bill (S.744) as passed by the Senate in June 2013. The House has not taken up that bill.

“I believe the president of the United States can take the kind of broad, executive action that can help millions of people stop their deportation and be in deportation proceedings, No. 1, or possibly ever be deported, and give them a work permit,” said Guiterrez, who with Grijalva is also a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC)

“Now it is the authority of the president to provide that security, that comfort to millions and millions of families,” Grijalva said.

In December 2013, Grijalva and 17 other lawmakers sent a letter to Obama asking him to halt all deportations until Congress had passed legislation on “comprehensive immigration reform.”

The letter also called for expanding those eligible for DACA to include “family and neighbors” of children brought here illegally by their parents.

“We cannot continue to witness potential citizens in our districts go through the anguish of deportation when legalization could be just around the corner for them,” the letter states. “We look to you to firmly contribute to advancing inclusion for immigrants by suspending deportations and expanding DACA.”

In April, the CHC sent a 6-page memorandum to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson seeking “administrative relief and more humane enforcement practices” from and of immigration laws.

The list of recommendations basically would protect all illegal aliens except those with disqualifying crimes from being detained or deported and also calls for an end to the Secure Communities program, a highly successful program, according to DHS’s Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement.

“Under Secure Communities, the FBI automatically sends the fingerprints to DHS to check against its immigration databases,” the ICE website said about the program.

“If these checks reveal that an individual is unlawfully present in the United States or otherwise removable due to a criminal conviction, ICE takes enforcement action – prioritizing the removal of individuals who present the most significant threats to public safety as determined by the severity of their crime, their criminal history, and other factors – as well as those who have repeatedly violated immigration laws,” it added.

Both Gutierrez and Grijalva said that the immigration crisis on the border involving a recent surge of illegal aliens crossing the U.S. border with Mexico, including more than 50,000 unaccompanied children, should not stop immigration reforms but encourage it.

“I also want to be sure that we do not allow the humanitarian crisis on our border to impact or somehow deteriorate the momentum of our movement or our petition for the president,” Gutierrez said at the press
conference. “If anything, that humanitarian crisis on the border should urge the president to do more and more quickly and to be broader.”

“The fact of the matter is these kids are here now, and by law and by value, this country has an obligation – both a moral imperative and a legal obligation – to provide custodial care and process these kids correctly,” Grijalva said.

In States That Didn't Expand Medicaid, It's As If Obamacare Doesn't Even Exist For The Poor

In States That Didn't Expand Medicaid, It's As If Obamacare Doesn't Even Exist For The Poor












JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
Twenty-five states didn't take up the Obamacare Medicaid expansion at the beginning of this year, and the results speak for themselves: A new survey shows more than one-third of their lowest-income residents remain uninsured, a rate virtually unchanged from last year, even as millions gained coverage elsewhere.

Nationwide, the share of Americans 19 to 64 years old without health insurance fell from 20 percent to 10 percent, as 9.5 million people got covered by Medicaid or private health insurance, according to a poll of Obamacare enrollees published Thursday by the Commonwealth Fund.

Among adults who earn less than poverty wages in states that didn't expand Medicaid, the uninsured rate is 36 percent, a decline of two percentage points (termed not statistically significant) from last year. That compares to a dramatic drop from 28 percent to 17 percent in states that expanded Medicaid.

The debate over the Medicaid expansion remains arguably the most consequential unresolved matter related to the Affordable Care Act, as the refusal by Republican governors and state legislatures to accept federal dollars to provide health care to poor people is having real effects on the ground.

Medicaid Expansion Decisions By States Have Predictable Results


The authors of the ACA didn't foresee this outcome, which was made possible by a Supreme Court ruling in 2012 giving states the right to opt out of Medicaid expansion and granting GOP politicians another cudgel to use against Obamacare.

















Source: The Advisory Board Company
The law was originally designed to make Medicaid available to anyone who earns less than 133 percent of the federal poverty level, or $15,282 this year for a single person. The law also lets individuals who make
between the poverty level of $11,490 to four times that amount get tax credits to cut the cost of private health insurance. But anyone who makes less than that -- or even nothing -- gets no assistance if they live in Texas, Florida, Louisiana or the other states didn't didn't expand the program.

Law Meant To Cover The Uninsured Is Covering Them

Among Obamacare enrollees with either Medicaid or private health insurance obtained through insurance exchanges, 63 percent didn't have health coverage before. Two-thirds of new Medicaid enrollees were previously uninsured. The greatest gains in health coverage were among young adults, poor adults and Latinos, the survey found.

The Commonwealth Fund poll, conducted through telephone interviews of 4,425 people by the firm SSRS from April to June, focused special attention on the six most populous states.

California, which expanded Medicaid, cut its uninsured rate in half to 11 percent. In Florida, which did not expand the program to more people, the share of uninsured residents declined from 30 percent to 26 percent, a difference deemed statistically insignificant. Texas also didn't expand Medicaid, but its
uninsured rate still fell from 34 percent to 22 percent, the survey found. Texas and Florida still have the highest uninsured rates in the nation.

Big Variations In The Uninsured Rate In The Big States

Dems Strike Back on Hobby Lobby Case With 'Not My Boss's Business Act' - Yahoo News

Dems Strike Back on Hobby Lobby Case With 'Not My Boss's Business Act' - Yahoo News












JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
Democratic Sens. Patty Murray and Mark Udall fought back today against the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby ruling with plans for legislation intended to restore the contraceptive coverage requirement under the Affordable Care Act. Joined by fellow Democrats from both chambers of Congress and women's rights groups, the senators urged Republicans to support the bill they have nicknamed "Not My Boss's Business Act." "We are here to ensure that no CEO or corporation can come between people and their guaranteed access to healthcare," Murray, of Washington state, said, speaking at the Capitol. "I hope Republicans will join us to revoke this court-issued license to discriminate and return the right of Americans to make their own decision about their own health care and their own bodies."

READ: Hobby Lobby Wins Contraceptive Ruling in Supreme Court

It's an issue that Democrats hope will sway voters in the midterm elections. With their control of the Senate in jeopardy, Democrats are trying to energize and awaken liberal voters who tend to sit out congressional elections.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., made clear that politics were at the center of the debate. He
said he intends to bring the bill to a Senate vote as soon as next week, adding that anyone who opposes the measure faces the risk of being "treated unfavorably come November with the elections."

The bill, the Protect Women's Health from Corporate Interference Act, mandates that employers cannot disrupt coverage for contraception or other health services that are guaranteed under federal law. It comes a week after the Supreme Court's controversial ruling that closely held for-profit companies can deny contraceptive coverage under their company health plans if it goes against a sincerely held religious belief.

Although the court issued a narrow ruling focused on contraception in the Hobby Lobby case, some Democratic leaders fear the decision sets a precedent that could allow employers to deny other health care coverage based on religious beliefs. "If bosses can deny birth control, they can deny vaccines, HIV treatment

or other basic health services for employees or their dependents," Murray said.

WATCH: Newt Gingrich Calls 'Hysteria' on Left 'Unbelievable'
Colorado's Udall said women should never have to ask their bosses for a "permission slip" to access birth control or other critical health services. Udall, who is among the Democrats facing a tough re-election
bid, has publicly criticized his Republican opponent for his voting record on birth control and abortion.

The bill is receiving strong Democratic support, with 35 senators signing onto the legislation.

Sen. Tom Harkin, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said today's bill "protects the right of all Americans, men and women alike, to make decisions about their medical care in consultation with their doctor, not their boss."

READ: Hillary Clinton 'Bewildered and Confused' by Hobby Lobby Rulin

Harkin, D-Iowa, authored the health care act's provision to protection contraception coverage.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D- Calif., who has championed women's rights throughout her career, called the Supreme Court's decision an "outrage" at this morning's news conference and threw her support behind the bill as a congressional fix. "The court's majority has decided that corporations are entitled to more

rights than individual Americans," Boxer said, calling the majority's ruling "ideological" and "political."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., suggested that Democrats were simply trying to hold "show votes" to prepare for the November elections. "We'd have a better chance of working our way through the bills that we need to pass if we cut out the show votes and didn't eat up time trying to score points for the fall election," McConnell said.

Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., said she would be introducing companion legislation in the House, joined by fellow Democrats Jerrold Nadler and Louise Slaughter, both of New York, "to ensure that women in American get the health care that they need." Sixty members have already signed on to co-sponsor the bill, she said.

Slaughter said the Supreme Court was "peddling" the country back to the 19 th century with its decision.

The members were joined today by women's rights groups, including Planned Parenthood, who thanked Congress for its decision to stand up for women. "Bosses should stick to what they know best: the boardroom and the bottom line," said Marcia D. Greenberger, co-president of the National Women's Law Center. "Stay out of the bedroom and the exam room."

Rick Perry's Immigration Meeting With Obama Produces Photo for the Ages - Yahoo News

Rick Perry's Immigration Meeting With Obama Produces Photo for the Ages - Yahoo News












JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
So, how did President Obama's meeting with Republican Governor Rick Perry go today? In a statement on

Wednesday, Obama described the meeting as "constructive," but, well, this photo also exists. It's not immediately clear what the context of this photo was — Is Perry sad? Uncomfortable? Telling a funny story?
Happy, but trying to look serious? Hmm. Perhaps someone made a joke at Perry's expense? Or maybe Perry just makes the Robert De Niro shrug face a lot for no reason. Anyway, it doesn't matter right now. Until we know more about the context, the photo will be a Rorschach test. In the future, there will be Midrash about this photo. 

Here's another angle on the moment, which shows Rick Perry still sporting an expression of what appears to be displeasure, as the room laughs around him: 

 
According to Obama, there was little disagreement between the President and Perry during the heart of the meeting (presumably, photographers were not allowed to be present for the jucier bits of the closed roundtable discussion). "The only disagreement I had with Governor Perry," the president said, was that Perry requested Obama move forward with a plan to fix the immigration crisis without additional funds from Congress.