Washington Watch: "Return of the Old South"

Fannie Lou Hamer in 1964. From Wikipedia.

"I am sick and tired of being sick and tired."

Fannie Lou Hamer was a civil rights activist who fought for the right to vote in the 1960's. She faced many trials including being jailed and severely beaten. She fought not only the racists in the Southern States that did not want blacks to vote...but also her own Democratic Party that did not want to seat her "Freedom Democrats" at the 1964 convention -- instead choosing to appease the all-white Southern delegation.

Hamer was indeed a tireless fighter for voting rights, and her famous quote is: "I am sick and tired of being sick and tired." She is long gone but the fight continues, particularly after the Supreme Court overturned a key section of the Voting Rights Act.

Southern states (and some in the North that are controlled by conservative-leaning Governors or Legislators) are chomping-at-the-bit to restrict voting for large segments of the populace. Specifically, the groups that tend to favor Democrats. They say they are combating voter fraud...although there is little voter fraud taking place.

North Carolina struck last week with their own 'voter restriction bill.' North Carolina Policy Watch summarizes the draconian 'anti-voter' items in the bill:

• "The end of pre-registration for 16 & 17 year olds
• A ban on paid voter registration drives
• Elimination of same day voter registration
• A provision allowing voters to be challenged by any registered voter of the county in which they vote rather than just their precinct
• A week sliced off Early Voting
• Elimination of straight party ticket voting
• A provision making the state’s presidential primary date a function of the primary date in South Carolina
• A provision calling for a study (rather than a mandate) of electronic candidate filing
• An increase in the maximum campaign contribution to $5,000 (the limit will continue to increase every two years with the Consumer Price Index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics)
• A provision weakening disclosure requirements for ”independent expenditure” committees
• Authorization of vigilante poll observers, lots of them, with expanded range of interference
• An expansion of the scope of who may examine registration records and challenge voters
• A repeal of out-of-precinct voting
• A repeal of the current mandate for high-school registration drives
• Elimination of flexibility in opening early voting sites at different hours within a county
• A provision making it more difficult to add satellite polling sites for the elderly or voters with disabilities
• New limits on who can assist a voter adjudicated to be incompetent by court
• The repeal of three public financing programs
• The repeal of disclosure requirements under “candidate specific communications.”

The only provision missing from this list is the infamous Grandfather Clause limiting voting to only those whose ancestors could vote before the Civil War.

The GOP-led state house in North Carolina seems determined to take away the vote from what many call the 'Obama-coalition' of black, brown, elderly minorities, women, and youth voters. Some of these new provisions point to outright intimidation tactics coming to the polls in North Carolina, such as: "allowing voters to be challenged by any registered voter of the county in which they vote rather than just their precinct."

Just prior to the Governor's signature of this bill the UK Guardian headline read: "North Carolina Republicans slammed over 'suppressive' voting bill" and stated:

"North Carolina is set to introduce what experts say is the most "repressive" attack on the rights of African American voters in decades, barely a month after the US supreme court struck down a key section of the Voting Rights Act."

Salon's Joan Walsh reports: "New war begins: Beating voting rights bigots" and suggests Attorney General Eric Holder may be the last line of defense for voting rights for all Americans. She states that the Administration is looking to the Justice Department to fight some of these new measures aimed at restricting voting. Walsh summarizes by saying:

"It’s a shame we have to defend rights we already fought for and won, rather than securing new rights, but history usually involves a two steps forward, one step back kind of progress. I’m hoping that voting rights defenders can put together a bipartisan coalition to restore Section 4 or some other kind of preclearance power to the Justice Department, but even without it, I’m glad the southern triumphalists know they can’t push their agenda without some legal pushback."

I agree with her...it is a shame we are still fighting these battles. However, now is not the time to be "sick and tired." We must continue in Fannie Lou Hamer's footsteps.

Washington Watch: Week 25 -- "Obama Steps Up"

On Week 25 of his second term, President Obama spoke to the nation as a black man living in America. Reminiscent of the speech he gave on race during his first campaign, this 'impromptu' and unexpected talk before an afternoon press briefing surprised even the reporters who were gathered. They did not expect to see him, and neither did we. So glad he showed up.

NPR's "Obama Explains Black America To White America," sums it up best:

The president did something no other holder of his office has ever had the life experience to do: He used the bully pulpit to, as an African-American, explain black America to white America in the wake of last week's acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin.

Appearing unannounced before surprised reporters who were expecting the White House press secretary, it was Obama — "the bridge" as New Yorker editor David Remnick has called him — trying to span a divide. It was Obama trying to help white Americans comprehend black America's reaction to the Martin-Zimmerman tragedy.

READ MORE

The President confirmed what we all know. As an American of African-descent he has experienced racism and profiling. He spoke of instances before he was President, however, many in the black community believe the vitriol and disrespect shown him as President is also tainted by racism.

For goodness sake, he HAD TO SHOW HIS BIRTH CERTIFICATE to quiet the rantings of fools who never should have been taken seriously! He WAS CALLED A LIAR from the House floor while giving a state-of-the-union-address! You had parents in an uproar because he wanted to address students at the beginning of a school year and encourage them to succeed!

But more ominously, you have a group of Republicans in the House who oppose EVERYTHING he puts forward (even if they were once for it) and who go to great lengths to keep the President from succeeding.

Politics as usual? No.

The recent New York Magazine piece "Anarchists of the House" describes this rampant dysfunction. among House Republicans. The subtitle says: "The Republican Congress is testing a new frontier of radicalism—governmental sabotage." In describing GOP strategy at the beginning of the president's first term:

"If some of them supported Obama’s proposals, they would only help the proposals seem more sensible. “It was absolutely critical that everybody be together,” Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell later said, “because if the proponents of the bill were able to say it was bipartisan, it tended to convey to the public that this is okay.”

And so the Republican strategy during Obama’s first two years was almost total gridlock. Republican leaders aggressively pressured their members to withdraw support for any major Obama initiative, even denouncing ideas they themselves had previously endorsed."

READ MORE 

It would be naive to think this anti-Obamanism does not have at least some racial undertones. As do the cartoons and caricatures of the President displayed in conservative-leaning papers across the country.

A large part of the response to President Obama probably has to do with fear of the diverse coalition that elected him.  America is changing. We now live in a multi-ethnic society. Many of us have family members who are of a different race. Census figures show a younger, more diverse nation in the years ahead. These Americans will demand a 'seat at the table'...and the right to walk home without being followed and attacked.

So with this backdrop, the President personalized the plight of black men in this country without castigating the system that gave us the verdict. He simply described the real world -- reminding us who we are and how we got here. Illustrating that even though he has reached the highest office in the land, he understands from personal experience the legacy of discrimination.

Here is the transcript of his speech.  Here is the video:

Touré did a fine job of explaining the risks the President took with the speech in a Time mag op-ed entitled: The Bravery of Obama’s Trayvon Speech, saying:

"It was a treacherous speech politically because for one part of the divide the answer to black pain is: get over it, as Representative Andy Harris recently said. Racism is in the past, white privilege is a myth, profiling is a ghost: Doesn’t Obama’s election prove we’re beyond all that? The President knows better. He asked, in his 19-minute address, that black pain be acknowledged, that internalized bias be taken seriously, that history be understood as not done with us yet."

READ MORE

The President, who was raised by a white mom and white grandparents, understands our differences and the need to 'explain' us to each other. In addition, he continues his quest to unite us. He did so with this recent speech, as with his first speech on race, "A More Perfect Union" in 2008, in which he stated:

"I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton's Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. I've gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world's poorest nations. I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slaveowners - an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.

It's a story that hasn't made me the most conventional candidate. But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of its parts - that out of many, we are truly one."

Washington Watch: Week 24 -- "After Trayvon Does it Matter?"

Following the verdict in the Trayvon Martin murder case, and recent news concerning the status of people of color in the country (particularly African-Americans), we are tempted to wonder if what happens in Washington really matters.

Let's look at both sides of the battle -- what we face, and why we keep going:

Being Black in America Today

There is no doubt we suffered greatly from the effects of the recession. So much black wealth -- mostly tied to home ownership -- was lost.

Here are some recent headlines that bring home our challenges in the years ahead: (Click on links to read full stories.)

Young, black and buried in debt: How for-profit colleges prey on African-American ambition --

Kai Wright, Salon, 6/9/2013

"It’s true that the country’s middle class is collapsing for everyone, but that trend is most profound among African-Americans. In 2008, as black folks flocked into higher ed, the Economic Policy Institute found that 45 percent of African-Americans born into the middle class were living at or near poverty as adults."

Middle Class Jobs, Income Quickly Disappearing (INFOGRAPHIC)

Jan Diehm & Kay Hall, Huffington Post, 6/7/2013

"Deep job losses in occupations such as construction, information technology, manufacturing and insurance are not likely to recover. Middle-class families also saw nearly 30 percent of their wealth disappear over the past decade, while the cost of goods and services they rely upon steadily climbed."

Newsroom Diversity: A Casualty of Journalism's Financial Crisis --  

Riva Gold, The Atlantic, 7/9/2013

"At a time when non-whites make up roughly 37 percent of the U.S. population, the percentage of minorities in the newsroom has fallen to 12.37 percent from its 13.73 percent high in 2006." 

"This means that fewer minorities are getting the opportunity to work in news, and news organizations are losing their ability to empower, represent, and -- especially in cases where language ability is crucial -- even to report on minority populations in their communities."

Racial Diversity Efforts Ebb for Elite Careers, Analysis Finds 

Nelson D. Schwartz and Michael Cooper, New York Times, 5/27/2013

"While about 12 percent of the nation’s working-age population is black, about 5 percent of physicians and dentists in the United States are black — a share that has not grown since 1990, according to an analysis of census data that was prepared for The New York Times by sociologists at Queens College of the City University of New York. The analysis found that 3 percent of American architects are black, another field where the share has not increased in more than two decades.

The share of the nation’s lawyers who are minorities and women, which had been growing slowly but steadily for years, fell in 2010 for the first time since NALP, the National Association for Law Placement, began keeping statistics in 1993."

Black Chefs Dig Into Restaurant Industry's Lack Of Diversity....

Huffington Post, 7/11/2013

"It's difficult to get in the door in a lot of upscale places," sous chef Karl Adams told Redd. "A lot of time, they'll see my resume and when I step in I'll get the eye, like they can't match up the resume to a black person."

And while opportunities aren't handed out to African Americans at the same rate they are to chefs of other ethnicities, they're also often taken away, Adams adds. "We don't get the promotion, we don't get the experience or we're stuck in one station for one year, two years," he said."

My climb out of poverty wouldn’t be possible today
Bernardine Watson, Washington Post, 6/27/2013

"The welfare benefits I received under the old Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program were barely enough to live on, but they paid for housing, food and medical care while I pursued my education. I was poor, but hopeful about the future.

I don’t see the 1970s as a panacea for the disadvantaged in this country. I also know that policy makers and social scientists disagree about whether the social programs of the 1960s and ’70s had much impact on poverty. Still, if I had to be a poor, single mother in this society, I’m glad it was then and not now."

Yet, Still We Rise

In spite of....and BECAUSE of what we as African-Americans face in today's America -- giving up is not an option. Here is why:

If men, women, and children brought here in chains, and treated as chattel, did not give up their fight for dignity, neither will we.

If the civil rights workers who were spat on, beaten, jailed, and killed so that we could have the right to vote, did not give up their fight for equality, neither will we.

If the masses who spent MANY hours in line to vote in Florida in 2012, in spite of those who try to take away our voting privileges...well they did not give up.  Even when they were told Barack Obama had won, they still stood in line to cast their ballot.  They did not give up their right to vote, neither will we.

We will not give up.

For our future....
For our children...
For Trayvon Martin...

We will not give up on the promise of America.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Washington Watch: Week 23 -- "The Greatest"

This past week we celebrated the 237th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence.

Yes...our issues are many, and our Congress is in gridlock, and there are those who will never accept the diversity of our country....still, we can fight for our freedoms in ways others around the world cannot.

And, despite all those who disparage him simply for who he is...America ELECTED Barack Hussein Obama, as our President -- TWICE!!

The ideals upon which our country began are to be remembered, celebrated, and always held in esteem as our battle cry.

As described so eloquently by Jefferson, (who penned the first draft)....and subsequently edited by the Congress at the time, led by chosen editors, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin -- the opening of our Declaration of Independence speaks to our goals as a nation:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Surely, some of the founders of our great country understood the hypocrisy of slavery as juxtaposed with the above line...and yes, they had to have known there would one day be judgment.

Indeed, the famous statesman, abolitionist, and former slave Frederick Douglass described it adequately in his speech and essay:  "What to the Slave is the 4th of July?"

Still -- the document...the words...stand as our goal.  Equal rights for ALL remains our ideal. The fight continues...

Celebrate with Red, White, and Blues

The White House has made available videos of "Performances at the White House" where the East Room of the White House has been transformed into a concert stage many times the past few years..  

Here's are some performances from "Red, White, and Blues" a salute to the blues,featuring: (each performance is a separate video on the White House site)

B.B. King & Ensemble  "Let the Good Times Roll"

Trombone Shorty  "St. James Infirmary"

Buddy Guy & Jeff Beck    "Let Me Love You"
Mick Jagger & Jeff Beck   "Commit a Crime"
Shamika Copeland & Gary Clark Jr.  "Beat Up Old Guitar"
Gary Clark Jr.   "Catfish Blues"
Keb' Mo'  "Henry"
Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks, & Warren Haynes  "I'd Rather Go Blind"
Buddy Guy, Mick Jagger, Gary Clark Jr., & Jeff Beck  "Five Long Years"
Buddy Guy & Ensemble (Finale)  "Sweet Home Chicago"   Watch the President sing.

PBS (not just the home of Big Bird) also has the entire show as well as other White House Performances shows celebrating jazz, Motown, country, classical, Latin, Memphis soul, spoken word, etc.)

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President Obama's First Term

A Look Back at Week 23 - 2009:

National Scene 7/1-7/7/2009

By Linnie Frank Bailey

After celebrating the nation’s birthday with military families at the White House, the Obama family left the country for a trip to Russia, Italy and Ghana. In what will be one of the most moving experiences for people of African descent the world over—in Ghana on Friday, President Barack Obama will visit the Cape Coast Castle, where enslaved Africans were once held before being loaded into ships and traded in the Americas and Caribbean. READ BLOG.

Washington Watch: Week 22 - "What a Week"

"What a Week" -- Major Supreme Court Rulings, Senate Passes Immigration Reform, Obama and family in Africa.

Supreme Rulings

The Voting Rights Act (from 1965) was gutted and southern states quickly reacted to suppress the minority vote. The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California's Prop 8 were struck down and gay marriages immediately resumed in California.

Nan Aron, President of The Alliance for Justice, got it exactly right with her HuffPo piece: "The Supreme Court Takes With One Hand, Gives With the Other."

Says Ms. Aron:

"It's been a bittersweet week in the Supreme Court. On the one hand, the Court's decisions on same-sex marriage left many of us profoundly hopeful, while its voting rights opinion was deeply disappointing. By simultaneously moving in opposite directions on fundamental principles of civil rights, this Court has torn a hole in our political fabric, and once again left the nation part equal and part unequal."    Read More

Before the ink had settled on the Voting Rights ruling, Republicans in Texas got busy. From The CS Monitor:

"Shortly after the decision on Tuesday, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott announced that the state’s new voter ID law would immediately take effect. He also said that the state’s challenged redistricting maps “may” also take effect without prior approval from Washington."  Read More

Supporters of voting rights, such as Democratic Strategist Donna Brazile, are calling on Congress to restore provisions of the act. However, even Ms. Brazile realizes this will be difficult given the current climate in Washington. From her CNN op-ed: "Congress Give us new Voting Rights Act,"

"Don't expect the conservative-controlled House of Representatives to jump at the chance though. Just last year, during the 2012 election cycle, Republican elected officials in states across the country pushed deeply hostile voter ID laws that disproportionately limit minority voters. Sometimes, the Republicans were even explicit that the purpose of these laws was to put victories in the "R" column. And all that took place with a full and complete Voting Rights Act still on the books."  Read More

In brighter news... with the decisions on DOMA and Prop 8, weddings are free to resume in those states which allow gay marriage. As a matter of fact, two of the plaintiffs in the historic ruling--Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, from Berkeley, were the first to be married with California Attorney General Kamala Harris officiating.


Btw.......Did Chris Christie just lose 2016 with this stance on gay marriage?

"New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) blasted the Supreme Court ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act, calling it "wrong."   Read More"

Maybe this is his stance going into the GOP primaries (which depend on the right-wing vote) however, should he become the Presidential candidate I predict he will "see the light" on this issue.

Will the Immigration Bill be Stalled?

The Senate passed a bi-partisan immigration bill this week, now it goes to the House. President Obama has called on Congress to pass the bill before their August recess. (We talked about this likely STALL in our post from week 20.)

Student Loan Rates set to Double

Rates on new student loans will DOUBLE on Monday.  Still, no action from Congress to prevent this.

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President Obama's First Term

A Look Back at Week 22 - 2009:

(Excerpts from my blog National Scene -- Week 22)

National Scene 6/24-6/30/2009
By Linnie Frank Bailey

As the first half of the year ends, the Administration can look back on significant efforts to get America back on track, including -- an economic stimulus, a revamped energy policy, the beginnings of health care reform, and a new approach to international relations. Moreover, the following legislation has been passed and signed by President Barack Obama in 2009:

1. Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act – (fair pay for women) Signed: January 29, 2009
2. Children’s Health Insurance Reauthorization Act –(continue state program SCHIP) Signed: February 4, 2009
3. DTV Delay Act – (delayed implementation of digital TV until June 2009) Signed: February 11, 2009
4. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – (major economic stimulus bill) Signed: February 17, 2009
5. Small Business Act Temporary Extension – (temporarily extends SBA programs) Signed: March 20, 2009
6. Omnibus Public Lands Management Act – (public land conservation) Signed: March 30, 2009
7. Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act – (increases and manages community service programs and funding) Signed: April 21, 2009
8. Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act – (steps to end mortgage fraud and predatory lending) Signed: May 20, 2009
9. Helping Families Save Their Homes Act – (steps to prevent foreclosures and rewrite mortgage loans) Signed: May 20, 2009
10. Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act – (defense procurement reform) Signed: May 22, 2009
11. Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009 – (consumer credit protection) Signed: May 22, 2009
12. Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act – (steps to prevent children and teens from smoking) Signed: June 22, 2009

...Read More on Week 22, 2009  -- Immigration Reform...Pell Grants Extended...FAFSA Simplified

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And Finally.....back to 2013:

The Obamas in Africa:

View the video for a behind the scenes with the President & The First Lady at Gorée Island -- including a visit to the Masion des Esclaves (House of Slaves) Museum. Below Barack Obama stands at the "door of no return" where countless Africans were forced to board ships to the Americas where they were enslaved.
Watch and Listen -- an eloquent narrative by the First Lady.

Washington Watch: Week 21 -- "Full Court Press"

Week 21 -- All eyes on the Supreme Court for landmark rulings; and progressive activists and bloggers gathered in San Jose for Netroots Nation. 

Full Court Press

Rulings were expected from the Supreme Court last week, however it looks as though the major decisions have been left to this week before their summer recess.

Much is at stake in the areas of civil rights, voting rights, worker rights, and gay rights.

We are reminded that ALL areas of our lives are touched by the judicial branch of our government. Not just at this top level. Equally important are the Circuit Courts, particularly the DC Court of Appeals that many times determines what gets passed to the Supreme. Perhaps this is why the President is having a hard time getting his nominations confirmed?

Today, the Supreme Court took action on the affirmative action case.  Well, maybe.


In Slate's excellent summary, The Supreme Court 2013: The Year in Review, Emily Bazelon suggests the court 'punted' in the affirmative action case it sent back to the Circuit Appeals Court for review:

"In a 7-1 ruling (Justice Elena Kagan sat this one out), the court sent back to the lower courts Abigail Fisher’s challenge to the admissions policy of the University of Texas, Austin. Fisher is the white plaintiff who says she didn’t get admitted as an undergraduate because UT Austin considers race, as one factor among many, in admitting part of each entering class. She didn’t win, but neither did UT. Instead, the court made it somewhat harder for schools to defend race-based preferences in admission—but not impossible. Now schools have to show that “no workable race-neutral alternatives would produce the educational benefits of diversity.” In other words, that the use of race in admissions is a last resort." Read More

In other words..this ruling makes it harder for schools to use race as a factor in college admissions.

*****Let me say this....because many middle-aged black folk won't say it: I attended and graduated from UCLA, and began my career as a coder in corporate America BECAUSE OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION. Was I qualified....YES. Was I capable...YES. Would the doors have been open to me without affirmative action...NO.
The question is..."Are the doors fully open now for people of color?"  


On the issue of gay rights, Americans across the country are awaiting the courts ruling on California's Prop 8, which banned gay marriages...and DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act).  Freedom to Marry gives a comprehensive summary of the cases involved in the upcoming ruling.

Although polls show the majority of Americans support gay marriage this has nothing to do with the court. The current court has a conservative leaning (5-4) with members that greatly please the far right. 
For instance, HuffPo reports Justice Clarence Thomas (a man of little words during court hearings), compared affirmative-action to slavery in the ruling issued today. 

And speaking of the GOP-court -- we will never forget Bush versus Gore, although one wonders if we would have President Barack Obama today if we didn't have Bush as President for eight years. Maybe things do have a way of working out?


There are many other cases...some aren't grabbing the headlines...but they are critically important for equality in America. Especially in the area of worker rights.

Another court decision today made it harder for workers to sue on the grounds of discrimination. IBJ reports:

"A sharply-divided Supreme Court on Monday made it more difficult for Americans to sue businesses for discrimination and retaliation, leading a justice to call for Congress to overturn the court's actions.
The court's conservatives, in two 5-4 decisions, ruled that a person must be able to hire and fire someone to be considered a supervisor in discrimination lawsuits, making it harder to blame a business for a co-worker's racism or sexism."   Read More

Yet another Supreme Court upcoming ruling (not this session) will have to do with whether the Obama administration can make recess appointments. Presidents have been able to do this for over 100 years, and the current administration has been forced to do this because of the stall of the GOP in confirming Obama's picks for Executive Branch leadership and the federal courts.  (Which we discussed back in Washington Watch: Week Six)

CNN reports in,  "Justices to rule on Obama recess appointments":

"President Obama's recess appointments to a federal agency-- made without Senate confirmation-- will be reviewed by the Supreme Court, the court announced Monday. It will mark a major constitutional test of executive power.
At issue is whether three people named to the National Labor Relations Board lack authority because the presidential appointments were made while the Senate was technically in a "pro forma" session during the 2011-12 winter holiday break.
The case sets up a high-stakes Supreme Court fight between the other two branches of government. Oral arguments will be held in public session later this year or early next."      Read More

Which AGAIN shows us why we cannot just focus on elections and candidates. The make-up of our federal courts is important and deserves attention!!

This was covered in detail at a Netroots Nation 2013 convention session I attended last week. (See below)

Netroots Nation - "Online Activism"

Last week political activists and bloggers from across the country gathered in San Jose for the eighth annual Netroots Nation convention.  I suppose some might see the conference as the left's version of CPAC (the Conservative Political Action Conference) however, Netroots isn't heavy on the speeches or trotting out the media darlings.

Instead there were over 80 panels and 40 training sessions designed to strengthen grass roots activists and bloggers. These are the folk, the 'progressives,' who are on the front lines fighting on behalf of:
Immigration Reform
Women's rights
Voting rights
LGBT rights
The impoverished
School children
Social Security & Medicare Protection
Gun Control
Fair Wages
Anti-Discrimination

...pretty much the 'supposed' platform of the Democratic Party. 

Speaking of which, a recurring theme at the convention is that there are too many in the Democratic Party who are not fighting hard enough for the middle class or representing the ideals they were elected on.  The word 'wimps' was used a lot in describing fellow Democrats.

Republicans (a despised group at this convention) were nevertheless complimented for their unity. They may not stand for anything...but they are united in opposition to everything the Obama Administration and Democrats in Congress put forth.

I've attended the last two Democratic National Conventions. Those events are more about firing up the base and the main speeches are from office holders. However...the DNC 2012 convention attendees were much more diverse than the Netroots Nation crowd. Even within this liberal, 'progressive' organization, there is still a long way to go in representing today's America. Especially in the tech arena.

I got the most out of the session I attended on the importance of the Judicial Branch of government  entitled: "Organizing Beyond Elections: Judicial Vacancies."   Here is the description of the session:

"Judicial vacancies are rarely talked about in our states. The truth is, while we focus on election cycles that can affect change for two, four or six years, appointing a judge impacts us for a lifetime. Hear about the crisis in our courts as 160 million Americans are affected by judicial vacancies and the opportunities progressives have to create lasting change and diversity in the judicial branch."

We need to focus more on the judicial branch of government. From this session we learned #WhyCourtsMatter and why the GOP has laser focus on maintaining control of the federal circuit courts and not confirming Obama's picks.

Click here for livestream video and list of panel members. (That's me asking a question at around 1:03:00...they didn't have mics in the audience, but basically I wanted their thoughts on Harry Reid's threatened "nuclear option" to end GOP filibusters of nominees.)

Pay attention to the courts!!  Not just THIS week......

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President Obama's First Term

A Look Back at Week 21 - 2009:

(Excerpts from my blog National Scene -- Week 21)

6/17-6/23/2009:  While encouraging volunteerism in America this summer with his “United We Serve” campaign—the President continued to monitor the escalating violence in Iran following the election. Ignoring the calls of his Republican critics who say he should speak more forcefully against the current Iranian leadership, Obama instead found the right tone by expressing outrage, however not allowing America to become as he put it, “the political football” in Iran.

...Read More on Week 21, 2009

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And Finally.....back to 2013:

"The Center of the World"

President Barack Obama and other world leaders walk away after participating in a group photo at the G8 Summit in Lough Erne, Northern Ireland, June 18, 2013. Pictured, from left are: Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council; Prime Minister Enrico Letta of Italy; Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada; President François Hollande of France; President Obama: Prime Minister David Cameron of the United Kingdom; President Vladimir Putin of Russia; Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany; José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission; and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Washington Watch: Week 20 - "The Stall"

"The Stall"
Will GOP delaying tactics torpedo Immigration Reform? Will student loan interest rates be allowed to double? Will the 'stall' last until the 2014 mid-terms..or the 2016 presidential election? Also this week -- MSNBC 'gets it' and will broadcast live from the annual festival hosted by Essence Magazine this July in New Orleans.

Immigration Reform Delay Game

President Barack Obama delivers remarks on immigration reform in the East Room of the White House, June 11, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Calling this time period, "The best chance we've had in years to fix our broken immigration system," President Obama again called on Congress to pass the bi-partisan Immigration Reform bill.

During the East Room address (transcript here), the President was surrounded by business and government leaders including:

• Tom Donohue, President and CEO, US Chamber of Commerce
• Steve Case, Chairman and CEO, Revolution LLC
• Carlos Gutierrez, former Secretary of Commerce
• Richard Trumka, President, AFL-CIO
• Adrian Garcia, Sheriff, Harris County, TX
• William Bratton, former Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department
• Julian Castro, Mayor, San Antonio, TX
• Margaret Mims, Sheriff, Fresno County, CA
• Mary Kay Henry, International President, SEIU

Last but not least, the President was introduced by Tolu Olubunmi, a young woman DREAMer originally from Lagos, Nigeria, who has lived in the United States since age 14. Olubunmi graduated at the top of her class with degrees in chemistry and engineering. She stated:

“I’m a DREAMer. I’ve lived in the U.S. for the past 18 years. This is my home, first and foremost. And I have a chemical engineering degree, one that’s collecting dust and desperately wants to be used to support our economy, to grow our economy. I want to be all that I can possibly be in this great nation that I love. And the way to get there for me, and for millions of others like me, is through immigration reform. It’s good for families. It’s good for me -- it’s good for DREAMers. It’s good for our economy. It’s good for our nation as a whole. And it’s really important that we stand strong and stand together and pursue common-sense immigration reform that really does speak to our American values.”

This week the bill will be debated in the Senate. Time is of the essence with the August recess approaching. Policymic sums it up:

"Why bring up August? That’s when Congress will go on its summer recess. It’s darn near impossible to see Congress taking this up after the recess as some House Republicans face 2014 midterm reelection challenges....

Here’s what you can expect, delays and procrastination by both sides on substantive parts of the bill. House Republicans simply do not want to pass comprehensive reform, the leaders of the Gang of 8 say that there just isn’t any other way to get it done. A go-slow approach is a way for Republicans in the House to avoid attaching their names to parts of immigration reform they don't want to be associated with. It's going to be extremely difficult to talk some of them, especially the ones facing election, to agree to comprehensive reform."

Will the immigration reform bill be stalled or will Republicans who understand the importance of the Hispanic vote break rank?

Student Loan Rates to Double

If there is no action by Congress (a familiar phrase these days), student loan rates are set to double on July 1. Specifically, rates on subsidized Stafford loans, which will go from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. These loans are given to students with financial need. Only NEW LOANS will see this doubling of rate.

The Washington Post's Wonkblog by Dylan Matthews explains how we got here:

"This all started in 2007, when Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Rep. George Miller (R-Calif.) put together the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which gradually reduced the subsidized rate from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent over the course of four years, with 3.4 reached in 2011. But for budgetary reasons that had to sunset. Originally it was going to expire in 2013, which was moved to 2012 as part of a compromise with Republicans.
In 2012, both Mitt Romney and President Obama lobbied Congress to extend the low rates, which it did at the end of June. But they only extended them a year, so they’re due to expire again in a couple weeks."

So...in the run up to the election there was an extension...this year??

Both houses of Congress, as well as both parties, AND the White House, all have plans to tackle this issue. As described in the article, some want fixed rates, others want variable rates tied to indicators such as the US Treasury rate, or as Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) suggests, the rate banks pay for borrowing.

"A Democratic plan, supported by Obama, to extend the 3.4 percent rate for two years got 51 votes and couldn’t break a filibuster. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has somewhat confusingly proposed setting the rate at 0.75 percent for a year, to replicate the overnight penalty rate that the Federal Reserve charges banks for emergency loans."

The clock is ticking.  Will this go the way of the Sequester?  (Does anyone remember the Sequester?)

A Time When Leaders Took Action

For history buffs and those who want to know more about the founders of our nation, there is now a treasure trove of data available online as introduced by whitehouse.gov:

"What was the original intent behind the Constitution and other documents that helped shape the nation? What did the Founders of our country have to say? Those questions persist in the political debates and discussions to this day, and fortunately, we have a tremendous archive left behind by those statesmen who built the government over 200 years ago."

The website is called Founders Online and is described as:

"CORRESPONDENCE AND OTHER WRITINGS OF SIX MAJOR SHAPERS OF THE UNITED STATES: George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams (and family), Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison. Over 119,000 searchable documents, fully annotated, from the authoritative, federally funded Founding Fathers Papers projects."

Look over some of the letters and appreciate a time when letter-writing was an art form.  Long form communication was the norm. Not the 140 characters or less we use today to communicate.

There are gems in these documents. They tell us more about our country's founding fathers than the history books.  Such as these words from Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to Abigail Adams on February 22, 1787: "I like a little rebellion now and then. It is like a storm in the Atmosphere."

This is a wonderful project from the National Archives and the University of Virginia Press.  Here is their summary of what the collection includes:

"Now, for the first time, users can freely access the written record of the original thoughts, ideas, debates, and principles of our democracy. You will be able to search across the records of all six Founders and read first drafts of the Declaration of Independence, the spirited debate over the Constitution and Bill of Rights, and the very beginnings of American law, government, and our national story. You will be able to compare and contrast the thoughts and ideas of these six individuals and their correspondents as they discussed and debated through their letters and documents."

It would take quite awhile to read through all of the documents...but some of them could be good summer reading! 

Perhaps one day future generations will read the tweets of today's political leaders.

MSNBC 'Gets It'

There is no doubt African-American women (a huge voting bloc for the Democratic party) will play a pivotal role in the upcoming presidential election, just as we did in the 2008 and 2012 elections.

Cable news giant MSNBC gets it! In 2012 the network grew it's African-American viewership by 60.5% and remains a top draw in the black community with a diverse line-up of on-air talent that includes: Tamron Hall, Touré, Melissa Harris-Perry, Rev. Al Sharpton, Joy Reid, Goldie Taylor, Karen Finney, Prof. Michael Eric Dyson, Michael Steele, Eugene Robinson, and Jonathan Capehart.

Maybe this is why MSNBC will be broadcasting LIVE from the Essence Festival (hosted by Essence Magazine and formerly called the Essence Music Festival) coming up in New Orleans this July. 

Here is the line-up MSNBC announced:

Friday, July 5: “Now with Alex Wagner” will air at noon ET followed by “Hardball” at 1 p.m. ET., “NewsNation” at 2 p.m. ET, “PoliticsNation" at 3 p.m. ET and then “The Ed Show” at 4 p.m. ET.

Saturday, July 6: “Melissa Harris Perry” will air from 10 a.m. to noon ET followed by “The Ed Show” at noon ET and then “PoliticsNation” at 1 p.m. ET.

Sunday, July 7: “Melissa Harris Perry” from 10 a.m. to noon ET then “The Ed Show” from noon to 1 p.m. ET and finally “PoliticsNation” from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. ET.

In addition, the following MSNBC 'stars' will be participating in seminars and 'meet-and-greets' -- Reverend Al Sharpton, Chris Matthews, Chris Hayes, Ed Schultz, Melissa Harris-Perry, Alex Wagner, Tamron Hall, Joy-Ann Reid, Toure, and Mara Schiavocampo.

If you can't make it to New Orleans, watch the coverage on TV. 

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President Obama's First Term

A Look Back at Week 20 - 2009:

(Excerpts from my blog National Scene -- Week 20)

6/9-6/16/2009:  Health care reform continues to be front and center on the President’s radar screen, and this week he went to somewhat hostile territory—the annual conference of the American Medical Association—to pitch his ideas. The Administration continues to address America’s economic situation, while keeping abreast of troubling events abroad, particularly North Korea’s nuclear threats, and the disputed election in Iran.

• Banks Return Bailout Funds: “A Positive Sign.” The Administration announced that several of the financial institutions, which received bailouts from the federal government, are ready to repay the funds. While acknowledging that the economic crisis is by no means over, the President applauded the return of the funds, saying, “Several financial institutions are set to pay back $68 billion to taxpayers. And while we know that we will not escape the worst financial crisis in decades without some losses to taxpayers, it’s worth noting that in the first round of repayments from these companies the government has actually turned a profit.”
• United Nations Sanctions North Korea’s Nuclear Testing. UN Ambassador Susan Rice, (the first African-American female to hold the post), joined world leaders in condemning recent actions by North Korea and imposing sanctions against the country. She described the unanimous resolution as “a very robust, tough regime with teeth that will bite North Korea.” 
• Obama Addresses Doctor’s Group. President Obama took his health care vision directly to one of the special interest groups most associated with health care – the American Medical Association. The group warmly received the President although some bristled at his suggestion of not reducing malpractice payments to deserving beneficiaries. There was general agreement however on his description of what will happen if we fail to act on health care reform.

....Read More on Week 20, 2009

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And Finally.....back to 2013:

Manhood FIRST....Fatherhood SECOND.

President Barack Obama talks with students from the Becoming A Man (BAM) program, in the Oval Office following the Father's Day luncheon at the White House, June 14, 2013. The President held a roundtable with the BAM students in Chicago earlier this year. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)