The Black Informant

University administrator gets suspended for not buying into the “Gay is the same as being Black” line

University suspends staffer over view of homosexuality
African-American condemned for stating in local paper being ‘gay’ not the same as being handicapped or black
wnd.com

The University of Toledo suspended an administrator for stating in a guest column in a local newspaper that choosing homosexual behavior is not the same as being black or handicapped.

Associate Vice President of Human Resources Crystal Dixon wrote in response to a newspaper editor’s column criticizing a lack of equality for homosexuals that, “I take great umbrage at the notion that those choosing the homosexual lifestyle are ‘civil rights victims.’ Here’s why. I cannot wake up tomorrow and not be a black woman.’”

Her piece in the Toledo Free Press quickly got her a suspension from officials at the University of Toledo, who condemned her beliefs, according to a report in the newspaper.

The newspaper said a spokesman for the college confirmed Dixon had been placed on paid leave but declined further comment. A WND request for comment elicited no response from the office of the president, Lloyd Jacobs.

The situation developed when Toledo Free Press Editor in Chief Michael S. Miller wrote a column boasting of his support for the “gay” community.

“I have been tangentially immersed in the gay culture for so long, it’s a natural and common aspect of life. Three decades of loving these friends and family and sharing their successes in managing careers and raising families has jaded me to the hatred and prejudice many people had against the gay community. … As a middle-aged, overweight white guy with graying facial hair, I am America’s ruling demographic, so the gay rights struggle is something I experience secondhand, like my black friends’ struggles and my wheelchair-bound friends’ struggles,” he wrote.

>>>>Now here is what she wrote in response—

“I respectfully submit a different perspective for Miller and Toledo Free Press readers to consider. … First, human beings, regardless of their choices in life, are of ultimate value to God and should be viewed the same by others. At the same time, one’s personal choices lead to outcomes either positive or negative,” she said.

“As a black woman who happens to be an alumnus of the University of Toledo’s Graduate School, an employee and business owner, I take great umbrage at the notion that those choosing the homosexual lifestyle are ‘civil rights victims.’ Here’s why. I cannot wake up tomorrow and not be a black woman. I am genetically and biologically a black woman and very pleased to be so as my Creator intended. Daily, thousands of homosexuals make a life decision to leave the gay lifestyle evidenced by the growing population of PFOX (Parents and Friends of Ex Gays) and Exodus International just to name a few.

“Economic data is irrefutable: The normative statistics for a homosexual in the USA include a Bachelor’s degree: For gay men, the median household income is $83,000/yr. (Gay singles $62,000; gay couples living together $130,000), almost 80% above the median U.S. household income of $46,326, per census data. For lesbians, the median household income is $80,000/yr. (Lesbian singles $52,000; Lesbian couples living together $96,000); 36% of lesbians reported household incomes in excess of $100,000/yr. Compare that to the median income of the non-college educated Black male of $30,539. The data speaks for itself,” she said. (more…)

Should could have added some more data to the mix to underscore her main point. The biggest difference here is that by choosing a lifestyle that oftentimes does not involve children Gays are at a much better economic advantage that Blacks. So this comparison to the struggles of Black folks is just bogus.

Although I have written about such comparions many times on this site, here is a post I did back in ‘06 that talk a little bit about trend.

Black history is everybody’s history…to use

Black-owned bank reports growth

7th Largest Black-Owned Bank Reports 37% Increase in First Quarter Net Earnings

LOS ANGELES, CA (BUSINESS WIRE) - Broadway Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: BYFC), parent company of the 7th largest Black-owned bank in America Broadway Federal Bank, today reported first quarter net earnings of $607,000, or $0.32 per diluted share, up $163,000, or 36.71%, when compared with net earnings of $444,000, or $0.23 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2007. The increase in net earnings was primarily due to increased interest-earning assets and a higher net interest margin.

Chief Executive Officer Paul C. Hudson stated, “Bank earnings are benefiting from strong loan demand and increasing net interest margins.” He went on to state, “Going forward, we are focusing on deposit growth and asset credit quality.” (more…)

Deconstructing the “Equal Pay” argument

Steve Chapman wrote the following for Reason Magazine in his article entitled “The Truth About the Pay Gap: Feminist politics and bad economics”

[…]

On its face, the evidence in the AAUW study looks damning. “One year out of college,” it says, “women working full-time earn only 80 percent as much as their male colleagues earn. Ten years after graduation, women fall farther behind, earning only 69 percent as much as men earn.”

But read more, and you learn things that don’t get much notice on Equal Pay Day. As the report acknowledges, women with college degrees tend to go into fields like education, psychology and the humanities, which typically pay less than the sectors preferred by men, such as engineering, math and business. They are also more likely than men to work for nonprofit groups and local governments, which do not offer salaries that Alex Rodriguez would envy.

As they get older, many women elect to work less so they can spend time with their children. A decade after graduation, 39 percent of women are out of the work force or working part time — compared with only 3 percent of men. When these mothers return to full-time jobs, they naturally earn less than they would have if they had never left.

Even before they have kids, men and women often do different things that may affect earnings. A year out of college, notes AAUW, women in full-time jobs work an average of 42 hours a week, compared to 45 for men. Men are also far more likely to work more than 50 hours a week.

Buried in the report is a startling admission: “After accounting for all factors known to affect wages, about one-quarter of the gap remains unexplained and may be attributed to discrimination” (my emphasis). Another way to put it is that three-quarters of the gap clearly has innocent causes — and that we actually don’t know whether discrimination accounts for the rest.

I asked Harvard economist Claudia Goldin if there is sufficient evidence to conclude that women experience systematic pay discrimination. “No,” she replied. There are certainly instances of discrimination, she says, but most of the gap is the result of different choices. Other hard-to-measure factors, Goldin thinks, largely account for the remaining gap — “probably not all, but most of it.” (more…)

Over 40 million of us

Minorities reach 34% of population: Census Bureau

The United States grew steadily more diverse last year.

Hispanics held on to their rank as the nation’s largest and fastest-growing minority group — a trend with far-reaching implications for American politics and immigration policies.

Newly released figures from the U.S. Census Bureau show that the nation’s Hispanic population grew by 1.4 million in 2007 to reach 45.5 million people, or 15.1 percent of the total U.S. population of 301.6 million.

African Americans ranked as the second-largest minority group, at 40.7 million people. (more…)

Someone had some sense

Oprah Winfrey was uncomfortable with Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s sermons, Newsweek says
Talk-show host left church, didn’t want to offend her audience, associates say

By Mike Dorning | Tribune reporter

Associates of Oprah Winfrey tell Newsweek that she stopped attending the controversial Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr.’s Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago during the 1990s in part because of the tone of his sermons.

According to two sources, Winfrey was never comfortable with the tone of Wright’s more incendiary sermons, which she knew had the power to damage her standing as America’s favorite daytime talk-show host.

“Oprah is a businesswoman, first and foremost,” said one longtime friend, who requested anonymity when discussing Winfrey’s personal sentiments. “She’s always been aware that her audience is very mainstream, and doing anything to offend them just wouldn’t be smart. She’s been around black churches all her life, so Rev. Wright’s anger-filled message didn’t surprise her. But it just wasn’t what she was looking for in a church.” (more…)

Yeah, bail them out

Living here in ground zero of the sour real estate market (Inland Empire), I can tell you that stories like the following are very common.

Owners trash, strip their foreclosed homes
Fixtures, cabinets, tubs, sinks, even stairways face wrath of dispossessed
By Jerry Kronenberg

Jack O’Leary has seen foreclosed homes where ex-owners put paint on the carpets, anti-bank graffiti on the walls or took everything but the kitchen sink - then stole that, too.

“I’ve gone into houses where the light fixtures are gone, the toilets are gone, the kitchen is gone. And when I say ‘gone,’ we’re talking stripped down to the bare walls,” said O’Leary, a Brockton Re/Max real estate agent who specializes in foreclosed homes.

With a growing number of Massachusetts homes falling into foreclosure, real estate agents say more and more ex-owners and tenants are vandalizing properties on their way out the door.

People rip up walls, kick in doors or take bathroom fixtures or copper wiring - sometimes to sell, other times just to get back at lenders.

Broker John Agostinelli just put a Watertown condo on the market where someone removed all doors, kitchen cabinets, appliances, gas fireplaces - even the light switches.

“This property has the most damage we have seen of approximately 30 properties we’re (currently) listing,” said Agostinelli, who’s selling the place “as is,” knocking down the price some $90,000.

O’Leary has reduced an Easton split-level ranch’s cost by about $200,000 because someone ripped out appliances, sinks, toilets and more. (more…)
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For sale: Local homes left in shambles
By Sam Spatter and Ron DaParma
TRIBUNE-REVIEW

[…]

Watkins and Truong found one of the worst properties they’ve encountered on Yukon-Ruffsdale Road in Ruffsdale, Westmoreland County, a four-bedroom house.

They found debris throughout, such as wood piled on the floor, plaster ripped from walls with large holes and some of the wiring pulled loose.

“Most often we find properties have been trashed or have nonworking appliances, clothing, broken and damaged furniture or garbage on the premises,” Watkins said. “That’s not always the case since some houses are spotless, but the vast majority have these items left in them.”

Broken windows are boarded up, and where the plumbing has been removed, it is not replaced, Watkins said. His work includes cutting the grass, trimming shrubs and trees, and providing yard maintenance. If he finds a workable appliance left in the house, he removes it, and often offers it free to a needy person. Discarded clothes are usually donated to the Salvation Army. (more…)

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Trashed Foreclosed Homes
kold.com
Karla Ronquillo

A new trend is being seen more and more among foreclosed homes. Homeowners are taking out their anger by trashing the home before moving out. Realtors are seeing everything from piled trash in the yard, missing cabinets, to gutted appliances.

It is too costly for banks to fix the damage, so they end up losing money by selling the home “as is”. But when homes are damaged, the property is much more difficult to sell.

Foreclosed homes are usually a bargain for house hunters. In cases of damaged homes, the cost of cleaning, fixing and replacing is up to the buyer.

Some lenders are offering “Cash For Keys” to people who are losing their homes. (more…)

=======

Loan crisis pushes owners to trash homes
By RAY WEISS
Staff Writer

With its English, country-like elegance, the brick house on a hill in Ormond Beach would fit on the cover of Better Homes & Gardens.

But behind the walls is a vacated interior that lacks the most basic essentials, including appliances and toilets. They are gone like the owners who once lived there, a casualty of foreclosure.

“We see people who vacuum and clean when they leave. And then we get other houses that are trashed, stripped,” said Frank Cardarelli, a Port Orange real estate broker who has specialized in foreclosures for 25 years. “Anything that’s built or attached is part of the mortgage, and banks can go after them.”

But broke is broke.

Cardarelli, who works for RE/MAX All Pro Realty, said he has seen air conditioning units, hot water heaters, sinks, closet doors, even heating vents ripped out and taken when owners left their homes, no longer able to pay mortgages.

“It goes from mild to severe. Some people take everything. It’s incredible,” he said. “But there’s not much value for what they’re taking, like a used ceiling fan or rusted water heater.”

Larry Silvia of Ormond Beach said he’s paying the price of living next door to an empty, foreclosed house. High weeds bordering the houses have brought unexpected visitors. (more…)
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Before someone tries to go there, NO I am not suggesting that this is representative of all homeowners who had to go through foreclosure. This is just a friendly reminder of who is included in that proposed wide net of government benevolence.

A whole family ready to adopt (5/4/08)

DEMARCUS, DESTINY, DAHLIA, and DELONTE are darling siblings who need to be placed together. Demarcus is very sweet and charming. A very active child who likes typical boys’ toys and loves superheros, he relishes one-on- one time with his significant adults. He is very fond of baby brother, Delonte, and enjoys holding him during sibling visits; he even parents him a bit. Destiny is very sweet. She likes to dress up and play with dolls and such. While initially shy with strangers, she warms up to new people that show interest in her. She is very kind and likes to share things with her younger siblings. Dahlia is a very active toddler who likes to follow in her big sister’s footsteps. Dahlia loves having her hair done, and has the ability to sit patiently during the braiding or whatever is being done – that’s rather amazing given her age. Of course, Dahlia wants to be right in the midst of things and enjoys “helping.” Although content to play alone, she readily joins in activities with her siblings. Delonte who is just 11 months younger than Dahlia, is growing very quickly and weighs almost as much as she does. He’s learning to walk and loves to pull himself up. Delonte is very quick to imitate what his older siblings do and loves the attention they give him.

Demarcus is benefiting from being in a first-grade behavioral classroom where he has a lot of individiual attention and structure. Overall, he is functioning in the low- average range for his age. While he likes to be helpful, he has difficulty focusing and following directions and instructions. He responds well to praise, yet has to be told multiple times not to do something. Feelings of frustration tend to trigger anger outbursts, which he feels remorse for and sincerely regreats later. His mental health treatment program includes counseling and medication therapy to help him develop better self control in managing his attention difficulties and high energy, and to deal with symptoms of past trauma. He is in good physical health.

Destiny is an adorable little girl. She and Demarcus live together in the same foster home. Destiny is enjoying kindergarten tremendously this year. She is very proud of her work despite having some difficulty retaining information. Her mental health treatment includes counseling through play therapy to help her address her symptoms of past trauma. She, too, has medication therapy to manage her feelings of anxiety and sadness and behavioral issues. Destiny is in good physical health.

Dahlia is a cutie who smiles often. She and Delonte live in the same foster home and have regular visits with their older siblings. While she is within the normal range of behavior for her age, she qualifies for Early Childhood services for receptive and expressive language and social delays. She receives one hour a week for speech therapy. When she came into care in September 2006, she had some symptoms of difficulty with her liver function, seizure activity, and a subdural hematoma on the left side of her brain. While her overall health is good, a neurological exam is being done to see if there are any concerns.

Delonte is a chubby, energetic baby. Developmentally about two months behind children his age, he is receiving physical therapy to increase his gross motor skills. He is in good health.

These children need an adoptive family that has experience with children who have special needs children, especially those who have experienced neglect and trauma. Such experience may be as parents, teachers, therapists, day care providers, etc. The adoptive folks also need to be proactive in advocating for each child’s educational, emotional, and behavioral issues. Demarcus and Destiny respond well to parents who are firm yet flexible and who bring patience and gentle good humor to helping them make behavioral changes. The younger children may have other needs that surface later on; their development will need to be monitored throughout childhood. These children have much to offer a family that can meet their needs. There will be an adoption specialist on hand to help the children during their transition into their new family.

From:adoptuskids.com

Case #: SSNAC014567

Another one of our babies is missing (5/4/08)

MALIK HORTON
Case Type: Endangered Missing
DOB: Sep 8, 1995
Sex: Male
Missing Date: Apr 18, 2008
Race: Black
Age Now: 12
Height: 5′5″ (165 cm)
Missing City: SAN BERNARDINO
Weight: 138 lbs (63 kg)
Missing State : CA
Hair Color: Black
Missing Country: United States
Eye Color: Black
Case Number: NCMC1093889
Circumstances: Malik was last seen on April 18, 2008. He may be in need of medical attention.

ANYONE HAVING INFORMATION SHOULD CONTACT
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST)
San Bernardino City Unified School (California) 1-909-388-6130

I hate I missed this one

Just when I thought I was going to have some time to watch the 60 Minutes report on inmates who had been wrongly accused and freed on DNA evidence, I got caught in a 2 hour conversation with a neighbor—missing the program altogether.

DNA Helps Free Inmate After 27 Years
60 Minutes: James Woodard Owes His Freedom To Project Started By Dallas County D.A.

(CBS) There’s been some bitter soul searching going on in Dallas County, as one man after another is being released from prison after being convicted, years ago, of crimes they did not commit. As correspondent Scott Pelley reports, it happened again just last week with the release of a man who had been proclaiming his innocence, behind bars, for 27 years.

So far, 17 men have been cleared in Dallas - that’s more than most states. All were put on trial by prosecutors who worked for the legendary District Attorney Henry Wade. Wade was Dallas’ top prosecutor for more than 30 years. He never lost a case he handled personally. But it turns out the record of Wade’s office was too good to be true. And now, a new Dallas district attorney is focusing on the Wade legacy - it’s a search for innocent men waiting to be exonerated.

James Woodard went away in 1981, convicted in the murder of his girlfriend who had been raped and strangled. He was prosecuted by the office of District Attorney Henry Wade. For nearly 30 years, he never gave up writing letters, and filing motions. But no one was willing to grant him a hearing-until now.

60 Minutes was there last year when Woodard gave the DNA sample that would determine his true guilt or innocence. Since 2001, there has been a series of men in Dallas County who have walked from prison into freedom. (more…)

Gang Intervention (LA - Style)

Another great example of “good intentions” run amok.

This is a special report ran by a local news station in my area. The clip is about 9 minutes long, but it provides a good example of how throwing money at the problem does squat.

Was Wright Really That Far Off?

Study: Many Blacks Cite AIDS Conspiracy
Prevention Efforts Hurt, Activists Say

By Darryl Fears
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 25, 2005; Page A02
[…]
“As a researcher knowing that these beliefs were out there, I wasn’t as surprised as people I share the study with,“ said Laura Bogart, a behavioral scientist for the Rand Corp., who co-authored the study with Sheryl Thorburn, associate professor in the College of Health and Human Sciences at Oregon State. (more…)

The Continuous Ghost Story That Apparently Has Lost its Ability to Scare

Back in 2004, I created the image to your right to depict how groups like the NAACP were on a mission to link every rumor, folklore, and claim of voter intimidation against Blacks as part of some grand scheme cooked up by Republicans. The mess surrounding the 2000 Presidential elections is really what started the fear-capade that lasted well into the 2004 election cycle.

While most of us will agree that any form of voter intimidation is wrong, the problem that I had with many of these stories was that many of them could not be verified. Plus, in an attempt to convince the public that some devious and racist plan was afoot, Black people were made to look like fools who were too ignorant to know the difference between a real polling station and a homeless shelter. Apparently, even electronic voting machines scared us to death.

Black Voters ‘Afraid’ of Electronic Voting Machines, Activist Says
By Marc Morano
CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer
September 30, 2004

An African-American civil rights spokeswoman said on Wednesday that the new computerized voting machines “terrify” her, and that blacks are “afraid of machines like that.”
Joanne Bland, the director and co-founder of the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute in Selma, Ala., told CNSNews.com on Wednesday that the new computerized voting machines are going to intimidate black voters in Florida and elsewhere and suppress their vote in the November presidential election because many blacks are not “technologically savvy.”
“The computers really terrify me. The electronic voting — the new machines — I think it will turn off a segment in my community, particularly the elderly. We are not as technically savvy, and we are afraid of machines like that, and they (African-Americans) probably won’t go [to the polls] and they probably won’t ask for assistance, said Bland, who spent the last week in Florida.
“It is going to turn them off totally and I want that to stop,” said Bland, who also serves as a spokeswoman for the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Public Accuracy, which predicts that “several million voters” may be “deprived of voting rights again” in 2004.

Back in 2004, the NAACP and the organization People For the American Way teamed up and created the report “The Long Shadow of Jim Crow: Voter Suppression in America” where acts of voter suppression against minorities were highlighted. Despite the fact that ACVR (The American Center For Voting Rights Legislative Fund–a group made up of both Democrats and Republicans) concluded in 2005 that Democrat operatives were far more involved in voter intimidation in ‘04, the NAACP/PFAW report focused heavily on voter intimidation coming from Republican operatives.

Well since that time, the issue of voter intimidation still exists but NOT surprisingly it is no where near being the center stage issue it was back a few years ago. When you consider the players behind these recent acts, the selective outrage mystery doesn’t take long to figure out.

Absentee ballots tainted?
Some Detroit voters are incapacitated, without valid addresses, raising question of mayoral election’s fairness.
By David Josar, Lisa M. Collins and Brad Heath / The Detroit News

A Detroit News investigation raises serious questions about the handling of absentee ballots under Detroit City Clerk Jackie Currie as the city prepares to choose a mayor, City Council and school board Nov. 8.

Currie has been accused of irregular election practices in several lawsuits, and a review of election results, property records and databases of registered voters uncovered procedures that experts and other election officials described as questionable.

Among findings by News reporters were ballots cast by people registered to vote at abandoned and long-demolished buildings; a master voter list with 380,000 incorrect names and addresses — including people who have died or moved out of the city; and a practice of hand-delivering ballots from senior citizens and disabled voters that were filled out in private meetings with Currie’s paid election workers.

If the mayoral race came down to a close vote demanding a recount of absentee ballots, the result could be chaotic.

But the most poignant findings were stories from those in nursing homes who had recently voted absentee.

Among them is Charles B. Allen, a resident at the Passion Caring Home for the Elderly who stared blankly one day last week when asked to name the mayor of Detroit. He’s never heard of Kwame Kilpatrick and can’t recall whether he voted in August.

“I just don’t know,” Allen said. Six years ago, a Wayne County probate judge declared the 87-year-old legally incapacitated due to dementia and Alzheimer’s. (more…)

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Tire-slashing trial to begin
By DERRICK NUNNALLY
jsonline.com

Fourteen months after President George W. Bush was re-elected without carrying Wisconsin, five men who worked for the Kerry-Edwards campaign, including the sons of two prominent Milwaukee politicians, go on trial today on felony counts of vandalism in the tire-slashing of more than 20 vehicles rented by Republican campaigners.

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ACORN Part I
2006

(yahoo news) “Four people have been indicted on charges of voter fraud in Kansas City, officials said Wednesday.

Investigators said questionable registration forms for new voters were collected by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, a group that works to improve minority and low-income communities.

The four indicted — Kwaim A. Stenson, Dale D. Franklin, Stephanie L. Davis and Brian Gardner — were employed by ACORN as registration recruiters. They were each charged with two counts.

Federal indictments allege the four turned in false voter registration applications. Prosecutors said the indictments are part of a national investigation.

ACORN and Project Vote recruit and assign workers to low-income and minority neighborhoods to register people to vote.
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ACORN Part II

8 St. Louis voter registration workers admit to fraud
fortmilltimes.com
2008

ST. LOUIS — Eight workers for a get-out-the-vote effort in St. Louis city and county have pleaded guilty to federal election fraud for submitting false registration cards for the 2006 election, authorities said Wednesday.

The workers were employed by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), gathering voter registrations. U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway said they submitted cards with false addresses and names, and forged signatures.
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ACORN Part III

Phila. Probing Advocacy Group’s Voter Registrations
by KYW’s Mike Dunn

Philadelphia elections officials are accusing the nonprofit advocacy group “Acorn” of filing fraudulent voter registrations in advance of the April 22nd Pennsylvania primary.

Acorn, which advocates on behalf of low-income residents in the city, has mounted a voter registration drive in the past few months. But city election commissioners are complaining that many of the submitted registrations appear to be faulty, and they have forwarded the matter to the district attorney’s office for further investigation.

Krista Holub, Acorn’s political director in Pennsylvania, promised the elections officials that her group will cooperate:

“We’re very committed to helping low- to moderate-income people across the state get registered to vote. And we’re here to work closely with the board of elections to make sure that everyone we’re helping to apply gets on the rolls.”

The city officials say many of the addresses listed on the registrations are invalid, but Acorn blames the post office for not adequately servicing low-income communities.

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Another group might be trying to get into the act: Women’s Voices, Women Vote

NC CUTS OFF SUSPICIOUS POLITICAL CALLS
By MAGGIE HABERMAN

May 2, 2008 — North Carolina’s attorney general has put a halt to automated phone calls that told blacks to register to vote after the state’s registration deadline for Tuesday’s primary had passed.

The suspiciously timed calls were eventually linked to the left-leaning Women’s Voices Women Vote group, which states as its mission signing up female voters to boost Democratic turnout.

Roy Cooper, the North Carolina AG, said this week he had put a stop to the calls, which spurred allegations that the women’s group was trying to confuse black voters, who overwhelmingly support Barack Obama over Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The calls urged people to register, even though the deadline for the primary was April 11.

The group has said it was a genuine mistake, and that it was trying to boost turnout for November’s general election.
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[…]

In Indiana, the chairman of the Democratic party in that state is planning on challenging cross-over voters at the polls.

The challenge process would work like this:

Voters must declare their party affiliation in spring primary elections.

Local party officials watching the polling locations then could check the names of voters against a list of all registered voters that shows past party declarations.

Fajman said any voter whose party affiliation is challenged can either decline to vote for the party in question or sign an affidavit, swearing under oath that they voted in the last election for a majority of the regular nominees of the party. (source)

——->Checking folks voting records to see if they are “legitimate” Democrats or Republicans is intimidation–period.

Sorry, But This Requires More Than A Time Out

Tear that butt up!

Just Tear it up!

Oh, The Irony on May Day

“A PROCLAMATION BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”

WHEREAS it is fitting that the people of this Nation should remember with pride and vigilantly guard the great heritage of liberty, justice and equality under law which our forefathers bequeathed to us; and

WHEREAS it is our moral and civic obligation as free men and as Americans to preserve and strengthen that great heritage; and

WHEREAS the principle of guaranteed fundamental rights of individuals under the law is the heart and sinew of our Nation, and distinguishes our governmental system from the type of government that rules by might alone; and

WHEREAS our government has served as an inspiration and a beacon light for oppressed peoples of the World seeking freedom, justice and equality of the individual under law; and

WHEREAS universal application of the principles of the rule of law in the settlement of international disputes would greatly enhance the cause of a just and enduring peace; and

WHEREAS a day of national dedication to the principle of government under law would afford us an opportunity better to understand and appreciate the manifold virtues of such a government and to focus the attention of the World upon them;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate Thursday, May 1, 1958 as Law Day - USA. I urge the people of the United States to observe the designated day with appropriate ceremonies and activities, and I especially urge the legal profession, the press, and the radio, television and motion picture industries to promote and to participate in the observance of that date.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed.

DONE at the City of Washington this Third Day of February in the Year of our Lord Nineteen Hundred and Fifty-eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the One Hundred and Eighty-second.

(Signed) DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER By the President

JOHN FOSTER DULLES Secretary of State

The White House
February 3, 1958

Zero

320 complaints of racial profiling and not one had merit, LAPD says
The report to the city Police Commission is greeted with skepticism. ‘This is not a racist department,’ Chief Bratton says in defending the report.

By Joel Rubin, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

Los Angeles Police Department officials announced Tuesday that they investigated more than 300 complaints of racial profiling against officers last year and found that none had merit — a conclusion that left members of the department’s oversight commission incredulous.

It is at least the sixth consecutive year that all allegations of racial profiling against LAPD officers have been dismissed, according to department documents reviewed by The Times.

In 2007, the LAPD’s Internal Affairs Group closed 320 investigations into allegations that officers stopped, questioned or otherwise confronted someone solely because of the person’s race. Nearly 80% of the time — 252 of the cases — the claims were dismissed outright as “unfounded,” according to an annual complaint report presented Tuesday to the civilian Police Commission. In the remaining cases, there was either insufficient evidence to reach a conclusion or no misconduct was uncovered.

“A big, fat zero,” said a visibly flummoxed Commissioner John Mack, who is African American and the former president of the Los Angeles Urban League. “In my mind, there is no such thing as a perfect institution . . . I find it baffling that we have these zeros.”

His disbelief, echoed by other commissioners, drew a quick response from Police Chief William J. Bratton. Unsolicited, he told the commission he would have his staff conduct a survey of other large, urban police departments, as well as the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, to back up his belief that the findings in the LAPD are similar elsewhere.

[…]

In 2006, the city contracted with an outside consulting group to look into the issue. The study found that Latino and African American motorists in most areas of Los Angeles are significantly more likely than whites to be asked to leave their vehicles and submit to searches when stopped by police. The firm concluded, however, that its analysis of the data was too broad to determine whether the disparities were a sign of racial profiling. (more…)

There are a lot of bruthas that can identify with this

Good fathers ‘powerless against vengeful mothers’
By Tom Peterkin

Decent fathers are left powerless to see their estranged children if vengeful mothers are determined to prevent access, a senior judge has admitted.

Lord Justice Ward attacked child access law after presiding over a case that saw a “vicious” mother falsely accuse her ex-husband of sexually abusing their child.

He spoke out after telling the father that there was nothing he could do to help him re-establish contact with his daughter after his ex-wife turned her against him.

The man’s 14-year-old daughter, who cannot been identified, had been influenced by a “drip, drip, drip of venom” from his ex-wife, who wanted to deny him his paternal rights.

[…]

In London’s Civil Appeal Court, Lord Justice Ward said: “The father complains bitterly, passionately, and with every justification, that the law is sterile, impotent and utterly useless.

”But the question is ‘what can this court do?’ The answer is nothing.”

The parents were briefly married in the 1990s and their daughter was a baby when they parted.

Lord Justice Ward said it was “impossible” that the girl could remember being abused and it was obvious it was something she had been told and believed.

In 1997 a judge ruled that allegations of sexual abuse were “wholly unfounded”. (more…)

Here We Go Again With Yet Another Conspiracy Theory

Conspiracy theroists have once again hit the virtual street corners of cyberspace peddeling the latest conspiracy theory involving Rev. Wright’s appearence in front of the National Press Club. And as expected, folks are lining up to spend some of their common sense in exchange for a quick fix.

WAS REV. WRIGHT PRESS CONF A CLINTON CONSPIRACY?: Questions raised after organizer is exposed as a Hillary supporter.
EURweb.com

A hot topic among Barack Obama supporters on the Internet and black radio is the political affiliation of the woman who organized Monday’s National Press Club event featuring Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Whether or not one believes Rev. Wright’s statements about AIDS possibly being government-created to kill minorities, or that America’s actions around the world led directly to the 9/11 attacks, there’s no doubt that the comments did more damage than good to Obama’s campaign.

Turns out Rev. Wright’s appearance was organized by Barbara Reynolds, a former editorial board member at USA Today and staunch supporter of Obama’s Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.

“I don’t know if Reynolds’ eagerness to help Wright stage a disastrous news conference with the national media was a way of trying to help Clinton, but it’s safe to say she didn’t see any conflict between promoting Wright and supporting Clinton,” wrote columnist Errol Louis of the New York Daily News.

On a blog linked to her Web site - www.reynoldsnews.com - Reynolds said in a February post: “My vote for Hillary in the Maryland primary was my way of saying thank you” to Clinton and her husband for the successes of Bill Clinton’s presidency.

The same post criticized Obama’s “Audacity of Hope” theme: “Hope by definition is not based on facts,” wrote Reynolds. “It is an emotional expectation. Things hoped for may or may not come. But help based on experience trumps hope every time.” (more…)

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Now, here are two OTHER points that have been left out of this story–

1 - Press Club Chief Disputes Notion That Wright Appearance Was Scheduled to Hurt Obama (foxnews.com) The president of the National Press Club is disputing suggestions that the woman who facilitated Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr.’s speaking engagement Monday did so out of a desire to hurt Barack Obama politically.

A New York Daily News columnist wrote Tuesday that club member Barbara Reynolds, who as head of the speaker’s committee was the club’s point person for Wright’s appearance, is actually a Hillary Clinton supporter. The opinion piece raised the possibility that Reynolds had ulterior motives in bringing Wright to Washington since the pastor “couldn’t have done more damage to Barack Obama’s campaign if he had tried.”

But National Press Club President Sylvia Smith said she doubts politics had anything to do with it.

“I can’t imagine that it would have been (to hurt Obama),” she said. “That would be a pretty convoluted conspiracy theory.”

Smith said Reynolds actually suggested inviting Wright as a speaker two years ago, but that the club declined since he “wasn’t newsworthy.”

She said she thinks somebody other than Reynolds suggested inviting Wright this time around, and that Reynolds was only assigned as point person because she has connections with Wright and his Trinity United Church of Christ. She stressed that Reynolds was not the deciding factor in the invitation, and that Wright was brought in because he was making news. (more…)

2 - Wright’s “performance” (as Obama put it) was not limited to his appearence at the National Press Club. He also made many of the same comments in front of the NAACP chapter in Detroit where he was an INVITED guest. And let’s not forget his appearance in with Bill Moyers where although he was milder in tone, he still accused Obama of saying what he says to score political points.

All in the same weekend.

I guess Moyers and the NAACP were in on the grand scheme as well

Gangs no more

D.C. anti-gang effort: Call them ‘crews’
By David C. Lipscomb
washingtontimes.com

When is a gang not a gang? When it’s based in the District.

D.C. officials insist on describing groups of young males as “crews,” rather than gangs, even when they are held responsible for violent acts such as the wave of killings in the city last weekend. But police officials in other cities say the distinction is counterproductive.

“The very first step in dealing with gangs is denial,” said Capt. Charles Bloom of the Philadelphia Police Department. “Then you get to the point that you can’t deny it any more.”

D.C. police, lawmakers and community activists say the groups are not gangs because their members are mostly teens who band together for personal protection. That, they say, distinguished them from conventional gangs, which are created for a criminal enterprise such as drug dealing.

Capt. Bloom said Philadelphia quit trying to make such distinctions two years ago. Although they once described such bands as “loose groups,” they now use the term “gang-related” for any group that engages in criminal violence. (more…)

Neat Lil’ Tool

While poking around Google last evening, I came across yet another great idea from the company that keeps growing, and growing, and growing.

It’s called Custom Search. And yes, just as the name implies you can create your own search engine that searches sites you want to search. So naturally I created a search engine called BlackTalk (a search engine that searches exclusively Black blogs). I was only able to add 47 sites covering a variety of ideologies and P.O.V.s, but I will add more throughout the week. The only thing I do not like about Custom Search is that the URL is way too long. Just click on the link below and it will take you straight to the page.

[Link]

If You Are Into Polling Data, Check Out This Video

While this guy does appear to be a supporter for Ron Paul, I think he makes some very interesting points on a topic I have had questions on for a long time.

On a side note, I can say that I have seen way more signs (not just the standard blue campaign signs, but creative advertising made by ordinary people) for Ron Paul than McCain and Clinton combined. Obama signs are mainly seen in Los Angeles. But again, that is coming from my vantage point.

Ron Paul’s troops quietly take over some local GOP groups
LA Time Political Blog “Top Of The Ticket”
Andrew Malcolm

If anybody thought the Ron Paul Revolution had expired, they need to rethink that one.

Clearly, the 72-year-old libertarian-minded Texas representative was not going to win the Republican Party’s nomination this year with his 12, 20 or 42 delegates, whomever you believe. Sen. John McCain already has enough to win the GOP nod in St. Paul in September. So Paul has taken his well-funded campaign and gone rather underground to the local level where his loyal Paulunteers are organizing and taking over several numerous county party operations in several states.

Quietly, beneath the political radar of the Republican Party establishment and mainstream media, they’re laboring at the local level. Last month Paul forces read the party rule book in Missouri and elected about a third of the delegates to the state convention that will pick the delegates to the national convention.

Last weekend in Nevada they drove through a rules change in the state party convention that halted the approval of pre-approved slates of convention delegates as a means to eventually substitute their own supporters to travel to St. Paul and boost Paul’s delegate totals for platform and other struggles this fall.

Using sophisticated communications techniques on the Nevada convention floor in Reno, Paul supporters transmitted mass text messaging to maneuver and direct their troops. When Paul appeared to speak, the ovation was thunderous.

At other times they shouted down the convention chair, Sen. Bob Beers. Taken by surprise the convention organizers and the McCain camp, which for instance had no supply of campaign signs to compete with the blizzard of Paul signs, eventually adjourned the convention in chaos without electing any delegates.

The excuse was the expiration of the convention’s contract with the host casino. No new convention date was announced. The Ron Paul crews move on to their next target. (more…)