Black Unity

Senate Shoots Down FISA Ammendments: Protects Telecoms That Helped Spy On Americans

Tiger Woods is on course to become the first billionaire athlete with the popular U.S. golfer proving a marketing dream, according to Forbes Magazine.

Woods, who won the U.S. Open last month despite a bad knee, is on track to exceed $1 billion in career earnings by 2010 after earning $115 million in 2007, said the American magazine which publishes an annual list of the world's richest people.

Forbes in Wednesday's edition said it would take 32-year-old Woods a bit longer to actually pocket that amount as taxes and management fees eat into his prize and endorsement money.

The calculation was based on Woods' estimated earnings in the annual rich list dating back to 1996, when he turned pro, and also credited the world number one golfer with annualized investment returns of 8 percent.

"Based on those criteria, we project Tiger Woods should join our list of the world's billionaires in 2011," said the magazine. "It will be an unprecedented occurrence."

The magazine said there are plenty of billionaires who have excelled at sports, like Switzerland's richest man and champion sailor Ernesto Bertarelli, but no billionaires who have accumulated their fortune by playing sports.

Woods has been a sports marketing phenomenon.

A golf prodigy as a child, his recent U.S. Open victory was his 14th major championship and he has won 50 tournaments on the PGA Tour faster than any player.

But prize money only accounts for about a tenth of his earnings with the rest coming from lucrative endorsement deals signed by the exceptionally popular player with companies that include Nike, Buick and Gillette.

Sports drink maker Gatorade recently launched a new line of drinks called Gatorade Tiger.

The magazine said Woods would earn about $90 million in endorsement contracts this year. Over the course of his career, he has earned more than $750 million from such deals.

Woods is not playing again this season after undergoing knee surgery a few weeks ago.

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Jul 10, '08 1:01 AM
by Mae for everyone

nubiasx365

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Wednesday affirmed its intention to protect from civil lawsuits telecom companies that helped the government wiretap Americans without court authorization after the Sept. 11 attacks.

It turned back three amendments that were offered during final debate on a bill that overhauls the rules on secret government eavesdropping.

The votes suggest the surveillance bill will pass by an easy margin later Wednesday, and signal an end to almost a year of wrangling between the House and Senate, Democrats and Republicans, and Congress and the White House over the president's warrantless wiretapping program.

The House approved the surveillance overhaul last month.

The long fight on Capitol Hill has centered on one question: whether to shield from civil lawsuits telecommunications companies that helped the government eavesdrop on American phone and computer lines after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, without the permission or knowledge of a secret court created by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

The lawsuits allege that the White House and the companies violated U.S. law by going around the FISA court to start the wiretaps. The court was created 30 years ago to prevent the government from abusing its surveillance powers for political purposes, as was done in the Vietnam War and Watergate eras. The court is meant to approve all wiretaps placed inside the U.S. for intelligence-gathering purposes. The law has been interpreted to include international e-mail records stored on servers inside the U.S.

"This president broke the law," said Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis.

The Bush administration brought the wiretapping back under the FISA court's authority only after The New York Times revealed the existence of the program. A handful of members of Congress knew about the program from top secret briefings. Most members are still forbidden to know the details of the classified program, and some object that they are being asked to grant immunity to the telecoms without first knowing what they did.

The White House had threatened to veto the bill unless it immunized companies like AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc., from wiretapping lawsuits. About 40 such lawsuits have been filed. They are all pending before a single federal district court.

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., compared the senate vote on immunity to buying a "pig in a poke."

Opponents to immunity argue that only in court will the full extent of the program be understood, and only a judge should decide whether the program broke the law.

Just under a third of the Senate, including presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, supported an amendment proposed by Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., that would have stripped immunity from the bill. It was defeated on a 32-66 vote. Presumptive Republican nominee John McCain did not vote.

Specter proposed an amendment to require a district court judge to assess the legality of warrantless wiretapping before granting immunity. It failed on a 37-61 vote.

Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., proposed that immunity be delayed until after a yearlong government investigation into warrantless wiretapping is completed. His amendment failed on a vote of 42-56.

The bill tries to address concerns about the warrantless wiretapping program by requiring inspectors general inside the government to conduct a yearlong investigation into the program.

The new surveillance bill also sets new rules for government eavesdropping. Some of them would tighten the reins on current government surveillance activities, and others loosen them compared with a law passed 30 years ago.

For example, it would require the government to get FISA court approval before it eavesdrops on an American overseas. Currently, the attorney general approves that category of electronic surveillance on his own.

But the bill also would allow the government to obtain broad, yearlong intercept orders from the FISA court that target foreign groups and people, raising the prospect that communications with innocent Americans would be swept up. The court would approve how the government chooses the targets, and how the intercepted American communications are to be protected.

The original FISA law required the government to get wiretapping warrants for each individual targeted from inside the United States, on the rationale that most communications inside the U.S. would involve Americans whose civil liberties must be protected. But technology has changed. Purely foreign communications increasingly pass through U.S. wires and sit on American computer servers, and the law required court orders be obtained to access those as well.

The bill would give the government a week to conduct a wiretap in an emergency before it must apply for a court order. The original law only allowed three days.

The bill restates that the FISA law is the only means by which wiretapping for intelligence purposes can be conducted inside the United States. This is meant to prevent a repeat of warrantless wiretapping by future administrations.

The bill is very much a political compromise reached against a deadline: Yearlong wiretapping orders authorized by Congress last year will begin to expire in August. Without a new bill, the government would go back to old FISA rules, requiring multiple new orders and potential delays to continue those intercepts, something most of Congress did not want to see happen, particularly in an election year.

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Commentary: Don't sanitize Helms' racist past

Jul 9, '08 2:20 PM
by Nya for everyone

Two programs provide early learning opportunities for low-income children

By Roland S. Martin
CNN Contributor

(CNN) -- Death has a way of sanitizing the most virulent and despicable aspects of prominent lives, especially those who trafficked in racial bigotry.

Roland S. Martin says former Sen. Jesse Helms was an unapologetic conservative but also unabashedly racist.

In the last several years, notorious racists such as former Georgia Gov. Lester Maddox and Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina left this Earth, and in efforts to show the humanity of both, tributes poured in, speaking to their Christian faith and unyielding conservative values.

Vice President Dick Cheney spoke warmly of Thurmond at his 2003 funeral, citing his run for president in 1948. But Cheney failed to mention that he ran as an ardent segregationist.

I recall former Sen. Zell Miller holding up a Bible belonging to Maddox as he told the world about Maddox's wonderful faith, never citing how he used that same Bible to deny African-Americans basic rights.

Oh, such good Christian men Maddox and Thurmond were.

Now they are joined in the conservative wing of heaven by former Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina, who died July 4. I'm sure a freedom-loving man such as Helms wouldn't have it any other way: meeting his maker on the same day the United States celebrates its independence.

The tributes were endless and laudatory, hailing him for being a "conservative champion," according to a piece in USA Today. Some mentioned his opposition to various issues of race, including the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Even the Rev. Billy Graham, often called "America's pastor," honored Helms in a 174-word statement, ending it by saying that folks "honor his legendary life and extraordinary legacy."

But to recognize Helms properly in his totality, it's important to add to the list of words and phrases to describe the unapologetic conservative Republican: unabashedly racist.

It's easy in this age to say that Helms, who carried his dislike of African- Americans like a badge of honor for 30 years around the U.S. Senate, was a son of the South who was simply honoring good, old-fashioned Southern values. But when you stand in opposition to a bill that would, for the first time, give African-Americans from border to border the constitutionally guaranteed right to cast a vote, then I refuse to call you a stand-up person for the rights of every man, woman and child.

And don't try to suggest that because Helms hired several African-Americans in his office that he was still a good and decent guy who was misunderstood. No, he was very clear in how he looked at issues, and if you had the wrong skin color, sorry, but you didn't fully count as an American.

As the tributes came in, I wonder if anyone had the audacity to ask former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun what she thought of Helms.

Once when she was on the elevator and he saw her, Helms started to sing "Dixie," a call-to-arms song for lovers of the Old South, and clearly an offensive song to anyone black. He later said he did it hoping it would make her cry.

The two also didn't see eye to eye on the Confederate flag. She was an ardent opponent; he a devout proponent.

It was no surprise that when she was appointed to be a U.S. ambassador by President Clinton, who was her chief blocker? Good ol' Jesse.

Look at the effort to integrate the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by Clinton. Helms was steadfast in his effort to block an African-American's appointment to the seat. He and others claimed it was because the court didn't need an additional judge and spending the money was wasteful. But it was evident that Helms didn't want an African-American sitting on what some called the most conservative federal appeals court in the nation.

And no one can forget the overt racism he displayed when running for re-election for the U.S. Senate against former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt in 1990 and 1996. Realizing he could lose in 1990, Helms agreed to an ad by Republican strategist Alex Castellanos that showed a white hand destroying a job application with an announcer saying that person needed the job but it was given to a minority.

It worked with the bigots in North Carolina. That ad put Helms over the top and kept his Senate seat safe.

Did Jesse Helms have his convictions? Sure. But an ideological conviction displayed in the political arena doesn't mean we are to overlook a history of denying Americans their rights based on race.

Give Helms credit for ushering in a new brand of conservatism in the country. But don't let that cover up his racism.

Roland S. Martin is an award-winning journalist and CNN contributor. He is the author of "Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives on Faith." Please visit his Web site at http://www.rolandsmartin.com/.

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Jul 9, '08 2:17 PM
by Nya for everyone

Two programs provide early learning opportunities for low-income children

By Jennifer Holder
Contributing Writer

Many low-income families have stable and enriching homes, a Wilder research study has found (Early learning conditions: Low-income families in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, April 2008). These families, however, also face challenges and potential barriers in achieving school readiness for their young children.
The study recommends that access to high-quality early child care and education be provided to low-income families.
Researchers also found that race and ethnicity play a part in the early learning conditions of low-income urban families. “Overall, White families fare the best; African-American families fare a little better than Latino and Somali families, and Hmong families experience the most challenges to school readiness.”
This story profiles two local programs that address the recommendations of the Wilder study. The St. Paul Early Childhood Scholarship Program is one of the initiatives of the St. Paul mayor’s education team to ensure that all children are ready for school. The Network for the Development of Children of African Descent is an existing program founded by an individual to meet the culture-specific educational needs of African American youth.

St. Paul Early Childhood Scholarship Program

Christa, a North End resident and parent of a boy age four, is a recipient of the St. Paul Scholarship Program. Since April, her child has received excellent child care at no cost to her.

“The program is fantastic,” she said. “It’s a great program, but there needs to be a greater initiative to get more people who don’t qualify for other funding involved.” She found out about the program from another parent who works for the City.

“There also need to be more childcare facilities in the Frogtown and North End neighborhoods approved and rated on the parent aware program,” added Christa.

Christa also pointed out that after receiving the scholarship, in order for the family to qualify to use the funds, the child must be registered in a childcare facility that is approved and rated by the parent aware program.

The St. Paul Early Childhood Scholarship Program is a four-year pilot proposed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, funded by the Minnesota Early Learning Foundation, and coordinated by City of Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman’s office.

Launched in January 2008, this scholarship program gives families in the Frogtown and North End neighborhoods information and scholarships to help them choose, pay for, and stay in high-quality childcare and early childhood education programs.

“It’s going really well. We’re in the process of getting word to families,” said Lisa Cariveau, early education project coordinator in Mayor Coleman’s office. As of the end of May, 315 children from 201 families, including prenatal, were participating in the program. The City’s goal is to reach 1,100 by the end of the year — and there’s no waiting list at this time.

Cariveau is pleased that the program is reaching out to new immigrants who speak a language other than English at home. Over 50 percent of the families who have applied thus far speak a language other than English at home.

“The overall goal of the education team is that all children are ready for school and ready for life,” said Cariveau, “so that every child has the opportunity to reach his or her fullest potential. So far, we’ve seen a really strong community interest in this goal, and we’re very hopeful about this community coming together to make this happen.”

Network for the Development of Children of African Descent (NdCAD)
NdCAD is a 10-year-old nonprofit organization that serves families throughout the St. Paul-Minneapolis metropolitan area, offering a variety of literacy and cultural enrichment programs and services for children, youth and adults.

“Our work is not just about teaching kids how to read,” said Gevonee Ford, founder and execautive director of NdCAD. “It’s not just about teaching parents how to become their children’s teachers. We are not just about organizing in the community. We are not just about teaching teachers and early childhood providers how to better work with African American children.

“It’s about all those strategies,” said Ford. “It’s a whole comprehensive nature. Our goal is to positively impact the cultural, spiritual and academic development of children by working holistically with young people, parents, educators and the community.”

NdCAD has an in-house and outreach reading program, parent power literacy workshops, and parent support groups. In 2001, they implemented a Book Giving Program whereby free books are given to children weekly.

Ford revels in going out to the community with his literacy program. For example, at the Juneteenth celebration in Minneapolis on June 21, NdCAD hosted a Reading Tent where adults read aloud continuously throughout the day. First-grader Chaim, who sat attentively with his grandmother, was delighted when one of his favorite books, Green Eggs and Ham, was read.

For more information about the St. Paul Early Childhood Scholarship Program, call Lisa Cariveau at 651-266-8536, or go to www.stpaul.gov/early scholarship.

NdCAD is located at 655 North Fairview Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55104. For more information, call 651-209-3355, or go to www.ndcad.org.

Jennifer Holder welcomes reader responses to jholder@spokesman-recorder.com.

Obama on over 30 different magazine covers -- TAKE A LOOK HERE!!!

Jul 7, '08 6:50 PM
by KIRK for everyone

Woman to Woman: A call to arms!

CLICK LINK. BELOW...............CLICK LINK ..BELOW ....................CLICK LINK BELOW...........

http://www.blackvoices.com/blogs/2008/07/03/barack-obama-magazine-covers

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Jul 7, '08 4:14 PM
by NjPanther for everyone

njpanther4life

Significant barriers still faced by women of color in the workplace.

Despite higher levels of formal education and longer time spent in organizational settings, black women and other women of color still lag behind their white women counterparts, as they advance beyond entry level positions.

Research suggests that diverse women employees still face unique challenges in the workplace, such as:
over scrutiny and under management
being labeled as affirmative action hires
lack of mentors and role models
greater interpersonal conflict and harassment
less supportive co-workers or supervisors
training, education and work experience never enough
additional performance pressures
isolation/invisibility
lack of accessible accommodations
heightened perceptions of blocked career paths
stuck in the advancement pipeline
perceptions of not being a "good fit" or a team player.
concrete vs. glass ceilings
These stressful and challenging work conditions are intensified among young entrants into the work force. As their expectations of the job are not met, they and their more experienced diverse counterparts are more likely to leave that organization. Businesses and organizations are experiencing a significant "brain drain" as a result of the departure of their talented, diverse employees, especially women. This turnover is costly in multiple ways to the organization as they experience the loss of:

intellectual capital
cross-cultural skills
knowledge of growing consumer markets
unique contributions influenced by life experiences and perspectives
community networks and outreach sensitivity
creative and innovative talent
Yet these are world-class competencies and awarenesses essential to pilot organizations into the future.

Corporate leaders are speaking out in public statements, corporate policies, recruiting literature and advertisements affirming their commitment to diversity. The message is clear and powerful, setting the tone and clarifying the continuing importance of diversity in organizations, as we complete the first decade of this new century. Leading CEOs across the United States confirm that organizations and individuals seeking competitive advantage are developing or expanding diversity goals-creating an effective and diverse organization as quickly as possible.

Regrettably, women have not shown leadership in diversity recruiting, hiring and retention. The absence of women speaking out on the major gaps in professional employment among diverse women, on their inability to secure loans to develop small businesses and on the continuing lack of acceptance and support for their advancement at all levels in organizations is most discouraging.

As a career counselor/coach, I advise many talented women who are entangled in a web of disadvantage caused by women managers, who are sabotaging their advancement, either by complicity or neglect. Because women do experience discrimination in their own career progression, I believe their actions ought to be far more supportive and their voices far more persistent and forceful in raising concerns and in finding solutions. When white women ask me about the continued need for preferential treatment and affirmative action, describing such as unnecessary crutches for "talented minorities," I am thoroughly incensed. White women continue to reap the benefits of the legislation, without ever asking for it or carrying the stigma attached to it -- thus permitting themselves to be oblivious to the disparities -- despite the preponderance of data from the Department of Labor, the Equal Opportunity Commission and the Catalyst research on Women of Color in Corporations, to the contrary.

For eight years, Black Career Women, implemented our groundbreaking "Can We Talk? National Diversity Forums to illuminate these disparities, but sustained awareness and advocacy for change are slow to come.

In 2007, women-owned businesses and women leaders in our organizations and in the community must move to the forefront and take an affirmative stance on diversity recruitment and advancement for all women. As a group, we must be purposeful and driven in our determination to locate, hire and retain our sisters in our workplaces. We must use our programs and publications, our presence on boards, on committees, in work groups and in our power networks to speak out on the importance of mirroring the diversity that we seek in our consumers. To do less is a disservice not only to women colleagues, but also to our consumers, our business partners to those to whom we supply goods and services and to our community. Let us not end this decade with a continuing passivity or confusion on the 21st century diversity mandate. This is a woman-to-woman call to arms!

Gospel Giant, TIMOTHY WRIGHT is hit by wrong way driver. - WIFE KILLED

Jul 7, '08 12:17 PM
by KIRK for everyone

Gospel Giant Critically Injured, Wife And Grandson Killed
July 7th, 2008 iWrong-way driver strikes Timothy Wright’s vehicle in Pa.
The members of Grace Tabernacle Christian Church in Brooklyn offered up prayers Sunday for their pastor, famed gospel singer Timothy Wright, who was critically injured in a crash Friday on a Pennsylvania highway. “We honor the Lord for his goodness and his kindness,” the Rev. Frank Williams told congregants during the service. “We say, in spite of everything: God is still good. He shall live. He has impacted too many people. He has paid some of our rents when he couldn’t even pay his own.” Wright’s wife and co-pastor, Betty Wright, 58, was pronounced dead at the scene, and their 14-year-old grandson, D.J. Wright, died at a Pennsylvania hospital Saturday night, The Associated Press reports. They were returning from a Church of God in Christ conference in Detroit. Authorities say that John Pick, 44, who was traveling the wrong direction on I-80 in Greene Township, was also killed. Timothy Wright, 61, has released more than a dozen gospel recordings. Timothy Wright and the N.Y. Fellowship Mass Choir were nominated in 1994 for a Grammy for best traditional soul gospel album for Come Thou Almighty King. His other offerings include such discs as “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,” released last year. The Wrights have five sons. Click to offer well wishes to the Wrights.

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Racist HBO

Jul 7, '08 11:31 AM
by Nya for everyone

Floyd article
http://www.boxingscene.com/index.php?m=show&id=14796

General article
http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=14828

The boxers whose names have come up here have been Floyd, Bernard Hopkins, and Winky Wright

Winky Wright called the HBO commentary team racist, for lack of better terminology:

"Black fighters, we have different styles," Wright said. "But the announcers, they want someone that just walks out there face-first. Boxing is supposed to be an art. Black fighters, we've got style, we've got pizzazz. All they want is for us to just go out there and slug.

"I think they're just always looking for the next white hype. They just don't give black fighters the same credit that they do for a white fighter, or a Hispanic fighter like De La Hoya. They definitely have their favoritism."

19 Black men freed from dallas prisons with DNA proving a wrong conviction.

Jul 5, '08 9:31 AM
by KIRK for everyone

There is a misprint, All 19 freed are not black but 15 of the 19 are .

SEE STORY HERE...................................

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/07/03/waller.freed.ap/index.html#cnnSTCOther1

OTHER STORY HERE...........

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/07/03/waller.freed.ap/index.html#cnnSTCOther1

VIEW: Affirmative action works

Jul 2, '08 4:57 PM
by Nya for everyone

VIEW: Affirmative action works
3 Jul 2008, 0002 hrs IST

Affirmative action for blacks has been one of the cornerstones of American public policy since the early 1960s when segregationist laws and racial discrimination were prohibited.

But ever since Barack Obama became the first African-American to win a major party ticket to contest the US presidential elections, the debate over the utility of affirmative actions has heated up.

Ward Connerly, an African-American, has said that Obama's success undercuts the rationale for affirmative action, which is based on the premise that America is a fundamentally racist country.

Connerly and a few others have argued that Obama is evidence that a majority of Americans rejects racial discrimination.

They are, of course, right. Obama is a great example of America having rejected its racist past and creating a level playing field for people of all colours and faiths.

However, this might not have happened if it were not for America's affirmative action policies which allowed minorities equal access to jobs and universities and scholarships for needy black students.

More than four decades of affirmative action has resulted in a situation where all Americans, irrespective of colour, have equal opportunities.

But the American policy of affirmative action shouldn't be mistaken for quotas, which is what we have in India. The American supreme court has consistently shot down quotas or setting aside a fixed number of seats for ethnic groups.

Instead, it has supported affirmative action where race is only one of the factors. This policy has worked remarkably well. Obama is not an exception.

There are several African-Americans who are now leaders in various fields, from showbiz to sports to corporate boardrooms.

Obama's exceptional achievement has a message for India where the government continues to create more quotas and sub-quotas based on caste and religion.

It's time to look beyond this regressive system. A deprivation index, where caste is only one of the factors, could well be a better option to throw up Dalits and minorities who can excel in any field.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What is your take??

Experience Nirvana With Lamar Hill & Nirvana Realized - Weekly Spoken Word Open Mic Night

Jul 2, '08 4:21 PM
by Sonya for everyone

nirvanarealized

Experience Nirvana With Lamar Hill & Nirvana Realized - Weekly Spoken Word Open Mic Night held every Wednesday night from 9 pm - until at Quest Nightclub (1605 N. Claymont St.., Wilmington, DE 19802). Featuring the hottest poets from DEF JAM & BET. Hosted by none other than Def Poetry Jam champion Lamar Hill & Nirvana Realized!! Only $5 cover. For info, contact Nirvana Realized at (302) 507-9708, (302) 777-3678, or @ XanaduEvents@Delaware.USA.com.

To view flyer, click below:

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=321692825&albumID=923992&imageID=8225035

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The 10 Most Awesomely Bad Moments of the Bush Presidency

Jul 1, '08 6:07 PM
by Kenji for everyone

angrynegro

By Brad Reed, AlterNet
Posted on July 1, 2008, Printed on July 1, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/story/89686/

In a lot of ways, choosing the Bush administration's 10 greatest moments -- disastrous failures, all -- is about as pointless as picking out your 10 least favorite hemorrhoids: There are entirely too many of them, and taken together they all add up to a throbbing mass of pain. But unfortunately, history demands that we at least make the effort so that future generations will understand why we perform voodoo rituals cursing Bush's memory before we go to bed every night.

Narrowing down the Bush administration's various debacles to a mere 10 was no easy fete. In fact, I expect that many people will express dismay that their least favorite moment was left off the list. "How could commuting Scooter Libby's sentence not even make the top 10??!!" I can hear some of you shrieking already. Well, I'll tell you. Essentially, I tried to rate each Bush disaster by two main criteria: its body count and its damage to the country's reputation. So while Bush's awkward groping of German Chancellor Angela Merkel may be personally humiliating to everyone, it doesn't have the same heft as, say, the Iraq War.

But for those of you who insist on seeing your least favorite moment get its due, here is list of every honorable mention I could come up with: warrantless wiretapping; Valerie Plame; Scooter Libby's sentence commuted; Bush believes Rafael Palmeiro is innocent; soldiers face neglect at Walter Reed; signing statements; the Kyoto treaty ripped up; loyalty oaths; the fake turkey; a staged teleconference with troops, staged FEMA press conference, extraordinary rendition, support for junk science; endorsement of neo-creationist "intelligent design"; inaction against global warming; record oil prices; record budget deficits; record trade deficits; record number of Americans without health insurance; two recessions; no-bid contracts; bin Laden still at large; the Federal Marriage Amendment; stem cell research vetoed; waterboarding ban vetoed; "Last throes"; "Old Europe"; "It's hard work"; "Bring it on"; "Yo, Blair!"; "I'm the decider"; "I'm the commander guy"; "I'm a war president"; "This is the guy who tried to kill my dad"; "So?"; "Let the Eagle Soar"; John Bolton; Kenny Boy; Harriet Miers; John Roberts; Sam Alito; Blair talks Bush out of bombing al-Jazeera; Cheney shoots some guy in the face; the Military Commissions Act; Jose Padilla arrested and held without charge or access to counsel; endless tax cuts for the rich; let's waste a shitload of money by sending people to Mars and let's hire some Heritage Foundation staffers to rebuild Iraq.

And with that, let's go onto our 10 worst moments.

10: Bush Gets Re-elected

In a way, Bush's re-election was even more depressing than the shady shenanigans the GOP used to get him elected in 2000. See, back then Bush ran as a "compassionate conservative" who promised to be a "uniter, not a divider" who would run a center-right administration like his father did. By 2004, the myth of Bush the Uniter had been demolished by his exploiting the 9/11 terror attacks for political gain, by dropping poison pills into bills to make Democrats vote against their own proposals, and by supporting needless and divisive initiatives such as a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. On top of this, the Bush re-election crew ranaccuse Democratic candidate John Kerry of lying about his service in Vietnam, even claiming in one instance that he intentionally shot himself to get out of the war. one of the nastiest and most negative campaigns in recent memory. The low point in the whole affair came when administration allies and surrogates took to the airwaves to falsely

The reason for this historically negative campaign was obvious: As Paul Krugman deftly observed at the time, Bush had "no positive achievements to run on." But this didn't stop more than 59 million Americans from voting to give Bush yet another four years to build on his already-impressive resume of negative achievements.

9: Alberto Gonzales' Congressional Testimony

One of the Bush administration's favorite pastimes over the past eight years has been gleefully urinating in the faces of the other two branches of government. This tendency is best exemplified by Ex-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee to answer questions under oath about whether a group of eight federal prosecutors had been fired for partisan reasons. Essentially, all of the attorneys in question had exemplary performance records but were targeted because they did not prosecute several so-called "voter fraud" cases to then-presidential adviser Karl Rove's satisfaction. When the Senate Judiciary Committee called then-Deputy AG Paul McNulty to testify about the firings, he claimed that all of them had been dismissed due to "performance-related issues." About a month later, Gonzales penned an editorial for USA Today reiterating McNulty's claim that the attorneys were fired for performance reasons and called the entire controversy an "overblown personnel matter."

After it emerged that six of the fired attorneys had actually been given positive job evaluations, Gonzales rushed up to Capitol Hill to perform damage control. He said he "regretted" saying that the fired attorneys had lost his confidence, and then went on to say that he had no idea why the attorneys had been targeted for dismissal. Additionally, Gonzales said there was nothing at all improper about the firings, despite the fact that he admitted that he had "limited involvement" in the ordeal. Gonzales also responded to questions by answering "I don't recall" a total of 64 times.

Although several GOP senators called on Gonzales to resign in the wake of his testimony, Bush said Gonzales' performance had "increased my confidence in his ability to do the job" and that he would stay on as attorney general.

And the fun didn't stop there. When the Senate Judiciary Committee hauled Gonzales back to testify about his frantic hospital visit to get a fresh-from-surgery John Ashcroft to approve Bush's warrantless wiretapping program, it resulted in the sort of clown show that would have put Barnum and Bailey to shame. The lowlight came during a classic debate between Gonzo and Arlen Specter over whether Ashcroft could have effectively performed his duties as attorney general while he was under heavy sedation. After Gonzales finally stepped down in August 2007, Bush stamped his feet and cried that Gonzo had had "his good name dragged through the mud."

8: North Korea Conducts a Nuclear Test

In his 2002 State of the Union Address, Bush stated forthrightly that "the United States will not permit the world's most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world's most destructive weapons." And to show how serious he was, Bush decided to invade Iraq, a country whose vast stockpile contained precisely zero weapons of mass destruction.

But while Bush was busy freedomizing the Iraqis, North Korea -- a country best known for being home of the world's worst government -- steadily built up its nuclear capabilities and eventually conducted a nuclear test in October 2006.

Oopsie-doodles!

While there is a great deal of dispute over whether the North Korean test was actually a successful test, it seemed clear that Bush's strategic doctrine of ignoring our enemies until they meet every one of his demands has failed somewhat spectacularly. Naturally, Condi Rice declared that the test was actually a significant win for Bush administration policy, thus proving once again that down isn't just up for the Bush administration, but sometimes sideways as well.

7: Colin Powell's Bogus WMD Presentation at the U.N.

For those of you who are too young to remember, there was a time when Colin Powell was an internationally respected diplomat and military leader who was seen as the sort of rare Republican straight-shooter who also had a fine sense for global sensibilities. Indeed, at the time of Powell's appointment to the State Department, the BBC described him as Bush's "trump card" and as "a national hero whose charismatic image bridges America's racial divide." But little did anyone know that Powell's public image as a renowned warrior-scholar would come crashing down to Earth less than four years after his appointment.

In February 2003, Powell gave a presentation before the U.N. Security Council that was instrumental in convincing both the American public and large swaths of the international community that Saddam Hussein had large stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction that posed an immediate threat to global security. During his speech, Powell told scary tales of mobile biological weapons labs, chemical weapons stockpiles and aluminum tubes that could be used in a nuclear weapons program. All of these claims turned out not only to be wrong, but based on sourcing that even Powell acknowledged was "deliberately misleading" in some cases.

And what's more, Powell knew how shaky a lot of the intelligence was before he made his infamous presentation to the United Nations. As Bob Woodward reported in his book Plan of Attack, Powell had deep doubts about an intercept between two senior members of the Iraqi Republican Guard that vaguely sortakindamaybe might have mentioned something along the lines of using vehicles for bioweapons labs. Yet despite reservations about the intel, Woodward reports that Powell "decided to use it" for his U.N. presentation anyway. Ditto for an "inferential" report on Iraqi Scud missiles that Powell acknowledged had not been seen by anyone.

Years after feeding bogus intel to the Security Council, Powell said his performance was a "painful" "blot" on his record. Well la-tee-da. I'm sure that's a fine comfort to the hundreds of thousands of people who died needlessly as a result of Powell's Security Council boo-boo.

6: The Terri Schiavo Affair

In what will no doubt go down in history as one of the craziest things our federal government has ever done, the U.S. House and Senate both passed an emergency law to save the life of a woman who had been near-brain dead for more than a decade. The case of Terri Schiavo, who collapsed in her home and who later lost oxygen to her brain after her doctors misdiagnosed the cause of her collapse, was undoubtedly tragic for everyone involved; it was also undoubtedly none of the federal government's business.

After numerous state courts had sided with then-husband and guardian Michael Schiavo and ruled that Terri's condition was irreversible and that her feeding tube could be removed to end her life, the Christian Right launched into an epic freak-out the likes of which America has not seen since 17th Century Salem. After much Tasmanian devil-style screeching and hollering from the GOP base, the Republican Congress passed a bill transferring jurisdiction of the Schiavo case to federal court. Bush, who seemingly never misses an opportunity to take a naked ride on the crazy train, interrupted one of his frequent Texas vacations to sign the damn thing into law.

Ah, if only he'd been this swift and alert when Hurricane Katrina hit (see Moment #4).

While there were several moments of sheer, unbridled lunacy throughout (Pat Buchanan calls Michael Schiavo and his supporters Nazis! Tom DeLay issues threats against judges who don't rule how he wants them to! Peggy Noonan calls Michael Schiavo supporters part of "culture of death!"), the craziest by far was then-Senator Bill Frist's declaration that Terri had been misdiagnosed after he spent an hour watching a video of her in his office.

5: Bush and Condi's Excellent Gaza Adventure

The Bush administration can be described as a slapstick comedy with an unusually high body count: Picture the Three Stooges and the Keystone Cops duking it out with cruise missiles.

There is no better example of this than Bush and the State Department's wild adventures in the Gaza Strip in 2006. As Vanity Fair's David Rose reported earlier this year, the trouble began when Bush started stamping his feet and throwing a hissy fit about having elections in the Palestinian territories. Essentially, Bush's desire to be seen as a "freedom president" meant forcing various swarthy third-worlders to vote in elections that would presumably result in U.S.-friendly regimes around the world. After Hamas predictably defeated Fatah in the elections, Bush decided he didn't like democracy in the Middle East so much after all, and he had Condi Rice tell Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas that "America expected him to dissolve the Haniyeh government as soon as possible and hold fresh elections." Apparently, Condi believed that having an American-backed leader dissolve a democratically elected government would warm the Palestinians' hearts to American aims. Long story short: The U.S. government decides to bolster Fatah by sending them a bunch of arms. Word of these shipments leaks to a Jordanian newspaper. All hell breaks loose; Hamas defeats Fatah and proceeds to use the American-supplied arms it confiscated from Fatah against Israel. The entire ordeal was an amazing illustration of the administration's complete inability to anticipate entirely predictable outcomes. Or as Khalid Jaberi, a commander with Fatah's al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, put it: "Since the takeover, we've been trying to enter the brains of Bush and Rice, to figure out their mentality. We can only conclude that having Hamas in control serves their overall strategy, because their policy was so crazy otherwise."

Epic, epic fail.

4: "Brownie, You're Doing a Heckuva Job"

Yes, we're getting into Bush's real crowning achievements here. The Think Progress blog has done an admirable job of chronicling the entire affair, so I'm just going to summarize the lowlights from its timeline:

Aug. 29: Katrina makes landfall, then-FEMA chief Michael "Brownie" Brown warns Bush that the levees could overflow, Bush gives John McCain a cake. Brown, a Bush hack who had previously worked as "the chief rules enforcer of the Arabian Horse Association," also preemptively asks Cindy Taylor, FEMA's deputy director of public affairs, if he "can quit now." He also declares himself "a fashion god."

Aug. 30: Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff learns that the New Orleans levees had failed, looters run rampant in New Orleans, Bush plays guitar, then-White House spokesman Scott McClellan says that Bush will return to his Texas ranch for one more night of vacation before returning to Washington.

Aug. 31: Federal relief workers try to evacuate New Orleans residents in what Chertoff describes as "conditions of urban warfare."

Sept. 1: Bush says, "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees." Brownie says he's received "no reports of unrest."

Sept. 2: Karl Rove begins to enact his strategy of blaming local officials for the Katrina disaster, Bush tells Brownie that he's doing "a heckuva job" and also says he's "satisfied with the response" of the federal government but "not satisfied with all the results," and pledges to rebuild Trent Lott's house.

Sept. 4: Chertoff says that "government planners did not predict such a disaster ever could occur."

And so on. While watching Katrina unfold live on my television, I suddenly had the urge to sell all my belongings, purchase several firearms, move out to a remote cabin in Montana and wait for society to fall apart. Because hey: If the entire world was going to completely collapse around me, I might as well have a wise-cracking psychic dog to keep me company.

3: Abu Ghraib

In its May 10, 2004, issue, the New Yorker magazine published an explosive report by renowned investigative journalist Seymour Hersh detailing the systematic torture of prisoners by U.S. military personnel at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Administration apologists used two distinctly different strategies to push back against the inevitable bad press that ensued: One was to condemn the guilty parties but refer to them merely as "a few bad apples" who weren't reflective of American policy; the other was to dismiss the entire scandal as "an out-of-control fraternity prank."

But it turned out, of course, that the crimes committed at Abu Ghraib weren't merely the work of a few rogue soldiers. Indeed, it turns out that the tactics employed in the infamous Iraqi dungeon were first taken out for a test spin at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. And what tactics did those include, you ask? Why, sleep deprivation, stress positions, sexual humiliation and a technique called waterboarding that is meant to simulate the experience of drowning. And where did they get the idea to use these techniques? Why, from senior Bush administration officials, of course! With the full approval of Bush himself! As ABC News reported earlier this year, "the high-level discussions about these 'enhanced interrogation techniques' were so detailed, these sources said, some of the interrogation sessions were almost choreographed."

Amazingly, the Bush administration tried to justify its decisions by claiming that waterboarding was perfectly legal and did not constitute torture. Despite the fact that, you know, it was deemed illegal 40 years ago by U.S. generals in Vietnam.

This particular scandal was so bad that even the John Birch Society (!!!) concluded that the administration and its flunkies were war criminals.

2: 9/11

The terrorist attack of Sept. 11, 2001, was one of the most terrifying and traumatic moments in American history. Thousands of people perished that day, all due to an evil act carried out by a group of religious fanatics who crashed airplanes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville, Penn. But while the loss of life on that day was indeed a major tragedy for all Americans, what happened afterward was in many ways more disturbing: In essence, the politicization of 9/11 caused us to lose our collective minds for a long period of time.

The first shot was fired by Karl Rove in a January 2002 address to the Republican National Committee in which he implored the GOP to "go to the country on (the War on Terror) because they trust the Republican Party to do a better job of protecting and strengthening America's military might and thereby protecting America." And sure enough, by the time the midterm elections rolled around, Bush and his GOP minions were milking 9/11 to get as many votes as they could. When Senate Democrats tried to extend union rights for workers in the newly created Department of Homeland Security, for instance, Bush issued a pissy veto threat, and then-spokesman Ari Fleischer described the Dems' proposal as "a step backward, not forward, in protecting the country."

And that's just a mild example. Here are some other choice GOP attacks that accused Democrats of helping al Qaeda win by not kissing Bush's ass with the sufficient level of enthusiasm:

"America sits and wonders why it is that al Qaeda, this ragtag bunch of terrorists scattered all over the globe, can reorganize themselves. I think the difference is that al Qaeda doesn't have a Senate. Al Qaeda doesn't have a Senator Daschle." -- Dick Armey

"As America faces terrorists and extremist dictators, Max Cleland runs television ads claiming he has the courage to lead. He says he supports President Bush at every opportunity, but that's not the truth. Since July, Max Cleland voted against President Bush's vital homeland security efforts 11 times." -- An attack ad targeting then-U.S. Senator Max Cleland. Cleland is a vet who lost both legs and an arm in the Vietnam War.

"Al Qaeda terrorists. Saddam Hussein. Enemies of America. Working to obtain nuclear weapons. Now more than ever our nation must have a missile defense system to shoot down missiles fired at America. Yet Tim Johnson has voted against a missile defense system 29 different times." -- An attack ad targeting Sen. Tim Johnson. This one was particularly rich, since a missile defense shield would have done precisely nothing to stop the 9/11 attacks.

"How dare Senator Daschle criticize President Bush while we are fighting our war on terrorism, especially when we have troops in the field?" -- Trent Lott, who freaked out because then-Senate majority leader Tom Daschle had the gall to suggest that we'd have to capture Osama bin Laden in order to consider the war on terror successful.

"(Daschle's) divisive comments have the effect of giving aid and comfort to our enemies by allowing them to exploit divisions in our country." -- Virginia Representative Tom Davis, also attacking Daschle's remarks. Who knew that demanding the capture of our enemies was tantamount to treason?

And so on. The Republicans' "The Democrats Want to Help al Qaeda Kill You" gambit worked for two consecutive elections before finally running out of gas in 2006. But even so, the ability of one political party to garner votes simply by yelling about treason incessantly is incredibly depressing.

Pass me that bucket of Freedom Fries, will you?

1: "Mission Accomplished"

A lot has been written about Bush's aircraft carrier stunt over the past few years, and with good reason. After all, no other incident better illustrates how Bush's presidency was built entirely on hubristic arrogance, shameless propaganda and a destructive disregard for reality. In what Noam Chomsky correctly called "the opening of the year 2004 election campaign," George W. Bush delivered a so-called "victory speech" for the Iraq War after landing on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln aboard an S-3B Viking jet dressed in full flyboy gear.

Bush's posturing as a war hero was, of course, laughable. During the Vietnam War, Bush used his family connections to obtain a gentleman draft dodger's assignment flying planes in Alabama for the Air National Guard -- a cushy assignment that he didn't even do very well. But no matter! As long as he gave off an aura of steely resolve, and as long as he wore a ridiculous outfit to emphasize his "manly characteristic," our ever-watchful pundit corps endlessly praised him as the gin-you-wine article.

A sample of the atrocities, painstakingly compiled by Media Matters:

"(T)hat's the president looking very much like a jet, you know, a high-flying jet star. A guy who is a jet pilot. Has been in the past when he was younger, obviously. What does that image mean to the American people, a guy who can actually get into a supersonic plane and actually fly in an unpressurized cabin like an actual jet pilot?" -- Chris Matthews

"A little bit of history and a lot of drama today when President Bush became the first commander in chief to make a tail-hook landing on an aircraft carrier. A one-time Fighter Dog himself in the Air National Guard, the president flew in the co-pilot seat with a trip to the USS Abraham Lincoln." -- Wolf Blitzer

"And two immutable truths about the president that the Democrats can't change: He's a youthful guy. He looked terrific and full of energy in a flight suit. He is a former pilot, so it's not a foreign art farm -- art form to him. Not all presidents could have pulled this scene off today." -- Brian Williams

And in the time since Bush performed this grotesque PR stunt, roughly 4,000 troops have been killed in action along with tens of thousands of Iraqis, with nary a WMD in sight to justify the carnage. Heck of a job, all around.

Brad Reed is a writer living in Boston. His work has previously appeared in the American Prospect Online, and he blogs frequently at Sadly, No!

© 2008 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/89686

Obama To Expand Bush Faith Based Programs

Jul 1, '08 4:27 PM
by Kenji for everyone

angrynegro

by The Associated Press

Posted: July 1, 2007 - 9:00 am ET

(Chicago, Illinois) Reaching out to evangelical voters, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is announcing plans that would expand President Bush's program steering federal social service dollars to religious groups and - in a move sure to cause controversy - support their ability to hire and fire based on faith.

Obama was unveiling his approach to getting religious charities more involved in government anti-poverty programs during a tour and remarks Tuesday at Eastside Community Ministry in Zanesville, Ohio. The arm of Central Presbyterian Church operates a food bank, provides clothes, has a youth ministry and provides other services in its impoverished community.

"The challenges we face today, from putting people back to work to improving our schools, from saving our planet to combating HIV/AIDS to ending genocide, are simply too big for government to solve alone," Obama was to say, according to a prepared text of his remarks obtained by The Associated Press. "We need all hands on deck."

But Obama's support for letting religious charities that receive federal funding consider religion in employment decisions was likely to invite a storm of protest from those who view such faith requirements as discrimination.

David Kuo, a conservative Christian who was deputy director of Bush's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives until 2003 and later became a critic of Bush's commitment to the cause, said Obama's position has the potential to be a major "Sister Souljah moment" for his campaign.

This is a reference to Bill Clinton's accusation in his 1992 presidential campaign that the hip hop artist incited violence against whites. Because Clinton said this before a black audience, it fed into an image of him as a bold politician who was willing to take risks and refused to pander.

"It would be a very, very, very interesting thing," said Kuo, who is not an Obama adviser or supporter but was contacted by the campaign to review the new plan.

Kuo called Obama's approach smart, impressive and well thought-out but took a wait-and-see attitude about whether it would deliver.

"When it comes to promises to help the poor, promises are easy," said Kuo, who wrote a 2006 book describing his frustration at what he called Bush's lackluster enthusiasm for the program. "The question is commitment."

Obama proposes to elevate the program to a "moral center" of his administration, by renaming it the Office of Community and Faith-Based Partnerships, and changing training from occasional huge conferences to empowering larger religious charities to mentor smaller ones in their communities.

He also proposes a $500 million per year program to provide summer learning for 1 million poor children to help close achievement gaps with white and wealthier students. A campaign fact sheet said he would pay for it by better managing surplus federal properties, reducing growth in the federal travel budget and streamlining the federal procurement process.

Like Bush, Obama was arguing that religious organizations can and should play a bigger role in serving the poor and meeting other social needs. But while Bush argued that the strength of religious charities lies primarily in shared religious identity between workers and recipients, Obama was to tout the benefits of their "bottom-up" approach.

"Because they're so close to the people, they're well-placed to offer help," he was to say.

Obama does not see a need to push for a law to make this program work as Bush did, said a senior adviser to the campaign, who spoke on condition of anonymity to more freely describe the new policy.

Bush never got Congress to go along so he conducted his effort to give religious groups equal footing with nonsectarian groups in competing for federal contracts through administrative actions and executive orders.

Obama does not support requiring religious tests for aid recipients nor using federal money to proselytize, the official said.

Obama's announcement is part of a series of events leading up to Friday's Fourth of July holiday that are focused on American values.

The Democratic presidential candidate spent Monday talking about his vision of patriotism in the battleground state of Missouri. With Tuesday's talk about faith, Obama was attempting to settle debate in two key areas where his beliefs have come under question.

He planned to talk bluntly about the genesis of his Christian faith in his work as a community organizer in Chicago, and its importance to him now.

"In time, I came to see faith as being both a personal commitment to Christ and a commitment to my community; that while I could sit in church and pray all I want, I wouldn't be fulfilling God's will unless I went out and did the Lord's work," he was to say.

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Black Lawmakers Seek Restrictions on Menthol Cigarettes

Jul 1, '08 12:00 PM
by Nya for everyone

Experts launch effort to end racial disparity in foster care

Black Lawmakers Seek Restrictions on Menthol Cigarettes

By STEPHANIE SAUL
Published: July 1, 2008

The Congressional Black Caucus is calling for changes to a House tobacco-regulation bill, demanding that the legislation place restrictions on menthol cigarettes, the type heavily favored by African-American smokers.

The 43-member caucus is taking aim at a provision in the bill that would ban candy-, fruit- and spice-flavored cigarettes but that specifically exempts menthol. In recent weeks the exemption has become the focus of controversy because menthol brands are heavily used by black smokers, who develop a large share of smoking-related cancers and other health risks.

Donna M. Christensen, the Congressional delegate from the United States Virgin Islands who heads the black caucus’s health task force, said the caucus was working with Representative Henry A. Waxman, the California Democrat who is House bill’s sponsor, to address concerns about menthol.

“We are very aware and gravely concerned about the disproportionate incidence of lung cancer in the African-American community and, along with so many minority health experts, have long been concerned about the role menthol may play,” Ms. Christensen said in an e-mail response to a reporter’s query.

Ms. Christensen did not disclose the exact wording of any proposed changes to the legislation. But she said the group was working to strengthen the bill’s language on research and reporting about menthol and to give the Food and Drug Administration explicit authority to ban menthol.

On the other side of the debate, Lorillard, the cigarette company that would stand to lose the most from a ban on menthol, is mounting a counteroffensive. In e-mail messages sent on June 22 to smokers of its leading menthol brand, Newport, the company urged them to call their Congressional representatives.

“Urgent! Urgent!,” the message said. “Congress wants to make it illegal to smoke Newports and other menthol cigarettes. Call your member of Congress now and tell them to oppose any amendment to ban menthol cigarettes.”

A spokesman for Lorillard, Michael W. Robinson, said, “We think it’s important that consumers know what’s going in Washington and have an opportunity to make their voices heard.”

The legislation has passed crucial committees in both the House and the Senate, and supporters are hoping for floor votes this year. Mr. Waxman has predicted a House vote after members return from the July 4 recess.

With or without a menthol exemption, enactment of the bill is not a certainty.

Opponents of the proposal are hoping that opposition from the White House, as well as tobacco state senators, along with a series of delays in moving the bill to the House and Senate floors and an abbreviated election-year schedule, might mean the bill would not be adopted this year.

Menthol is a racially charged additive, in part because of the tobacco industry’s heavy marketing of mentholated cigarettes to African-Americans since the 1950s. The flavor helps to mask the harsh taste of cigarettes and may make it easier to start smoking,

Menthol brands account for 28 percent of the $70 billion American cigarette market. While only 25 percent of white smokers choose menthol cigarettes, an estimated 75 percent of African-American smokers do.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other public health officials have raised concerns about the possibility that menthol cigarettes might increase tobacco addiction and possibly cancer rates among black smokers.

There is also evidence that some menthol brands, including Newport, contain among the highest level of nicotine of leading cigarettes. Some experts believe that higher nicotine levels increase the addictiveness of cigarettes.

Some lawmakers have said the decision to exempt menthol from the bill’s flavorings ban was intended to win support for the legislation from Philip Morris, the country’s dominant tobacco company, whose Marlboro Menthol is the second-leading menthol brand.

Some smoking opponents have said they consider the menthol exemption as a necessary compromise to get the legislation passed. They have said that the bill as currently drafted would give the F.D.A. the authority to limit or eliminate additives, including menthol, if proved to be harmful.

The American Medical Association, in its meeting in Chicago in June, voted to ask its board to consider the question of whether menthol should be banned. The decision effectively rebuffed members who had wanted the group to speak out this year against the bill’s menthol exemption. Leaders of the organization cited the possibility that removing the menthol exemption might disrupt the compromise that has engendered broad support for the bill on Capitol Hill.

Some supporters of the bill’s current language on menthol have argued that, because menthol is widely used by many smokers, the effects of banning it outright are hard to predict. Among possibilities they have suggested is that menthol smokers would turn to an illicit cigarette market to obtain menthol cigarettes.

In a letter to several lawmakers on June 11, a coalition of health groups, including the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association, reiterated their support for the bill without changes to the menthol provisions.

“The impact of modifying or prohibiting such a large portion of the current cigarette market is unclear,” said the letter, sent to Mr. Waxman as well as John D. Dingell of Michigan and Frank Pallone Jr. of New Jersey, House Democrats who head the Committee on Energy and Commerce and its health subcommittee.

The Congressional Black Caucus took up the menthol issue in June after Dr. Louis W. Sullivan, an African-American who was the secretary of health under President George H. W. Bush, met with members of Congress and their staffs to voice concerns about the bill’s treatment of menthol.

Dr. Sullivan, president emeritus of Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, was one of nearly a dozen former federal health officials who had signed a letter expressing concern about the bill’s treatment of menthol.

A black antismoking organization, the National African American Tobacco Prevention Network, withdrew its support for the bill in late May, citing the menthol exemption.

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Jun 30, '08 11:04 AM
by Nya for everyone

Experts launch effort to end racial disparity in foster care

By JOHN IWASAKI

The problems with Washington's foster care system run wide and deep, but a first step in reversing the damage is a fundamental one.

"Each child needs to be treated as if they were your child," Julio Carranza, a former foster child, said to applause at a Seattle symposium on ending racial disparity in foster care.

Many foster children are "stars" who only lack someone to zealously advocate for them in court and throughout the system, said Carranza, a Seattle attorney, during a two-day conference organized by the King County Coalition on Racial Disproportionality.

Several hundred participants heard details of a recent state report showing that, compared with white children, Native American and African-American youths in Washington are much more likely to be referred to Child Protective Services, removed from their homes and retained in foster care for two or more years.

Legislation passed in 2007 directs the state's Racial Disproportionality Advisory Committee to produce a plan to remedy that disparity by Dec. 1.

As a first step, symposium participants -- including foster care caseworkers, supervisors, providers and advocates -- began discussing specific problems and possible solutions for their particular region of Washington. The work will continue through the summer and fall.

King County Superior Court Judge Patricia Clark said she had seen numerous instances in which asking basic questions could have averted disruptions in families and young lives.

In one instance, five children with a mentally ill mother were about to be placed in foster homes until the judge heard they had a grandfather. Caseworkers had disregarded him as a potential care provider because he was "old" and "sick."

Clark erupted after learning the man had just the usual health problems for an African-American man in his early 60s.

"To its credit, the Department (of Social and Health Services) moved heaven and hell" to place the children with the grandfather, who was surrounded by other family members for backup support, Clark said. Four of the children have since made the honor roll.

During a panel discussion, foster parents and former foster children of different races and ethnicities detailed their difficulties in getting services.

LaShaunda Harris, who grew up in Tacoma, said she never saw her daughter for more than a decade after she was accused of abusing her.

Although she admits to making some "stupid decisions" as a young mother who had been born to a teen mom, Harris said the state placed her daughter into foster care without checking whether other family members could care for her.

African-Americans are disproportionately represented in foster care in part because of misconceptions, said Carol Spigner, a child welfare expert at the University of Pennsylvania.

Blacks who are struggling with their families need "a sense of hope and expectation that things can change," she said, but the system doesn't engage them.

She said blacks often are considered frightening and disruptive, just because their normal conversation is louder and more direct than whites.

"We make a huge mistake if we think all African-American families are alike," Spigner said during a workshop, as her audience nodded in agreement.

Should Obama trust hilary on reaching out to her On Unity??? - Pre -nump or Divorce settlement

Jun 27, '08 5:20 PM
by KIRK for everyone

H.I.V. Diagnosis Rates Continue to Rise Among Young Men, African-Americans

Ok what are your thoughts on this one. We all know that she has asked him to pay her debt of 21 mill from her campaign. (the winner always pays the others campaign debt)

---Should Obama be fooled into reachin out to racist hillary voters who say they will vote mccain??

--Should Obama believe that Hillary will honestly back him into the presidency.??

--Are you aware they are trying to still vote hillary in to the democratic nominee from the floor at the democratic national convention in late august????

--- Will Bill clinton back Obama more willingly only after his 21 mill is paid off.??

--- Should Obama trust Bill on sincerity when Obama gets in office and bill has a office in the white house??/

--- Can you imagine , Obama , Michelle, Hillary, and bill all working at the white house. No she wont be a vp but a good chance she will be in his cabinet somewhere??

Just some talking points here , go ahead throw in your comments on this one , Im curious to see what everyone thinks. Even the dreamers who dont face the real reality of racist america and dont believe this country is racist to blacks.

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Jun 27, '08 11:41 AM
by Nya for everyone

H.I.V. Diagnosis Rates Continue to Rise Among Young Men, African-Americans

By DAVID TULLER
Published: June 27, 2008

Diagnoses of H.I.V. and AIDS in men who have sex with men rose significantly between 2001 and 2006 while declining in other demographic groups, the federal Centers for Disease Control reported Thursday.

The increase in diagnoses was especially high among males between the ages of 13 and 24, with an annual increase of 12.4 percent, compared to 1.5 percent for men overall. The annual increase was still higher among young African-American men who have sex with men, nearly 15 percent.

Among African-American men of all ages who have sex with men, the annual increase in diagnoses was 1.9 percent.

Experts said yesterday that the new statistics were an ominous -- but not necessarily surprising -- indicator that the epidemic continues to flourish among gay men more than 25 years after it began.

“It’s a grim report,” said Dr. Ronald Stall, an epidemiologist and professor of public health at the University of Pittsburgh. “It means roughly speaking that about half of the American AIDS epidemic is occurring among a few percent of the adult population. And the terrible trends we’re seeing among white gay men are even amplified further among minority men.”

Sex between men accounted for more than 97,000 new diagnoses over the six years, almost half of the total number, according to the C.D.C. report.

In contrast, diagnoses attributed to high-risk heterosexual contact and injection-drug use declined annually by, respectively, 4.4 percent and 9.5 percent.

The findings were published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the C.D.C.’s widely read public health journal. The data were based on reporting from 33 states and did not include statistics from some with large gay and minority populations, including California, Illinois and Georgia.

The agency noted, however, that the racial disparities presented in the report generally reflected national trends in the epidemiology of AIDS.

The agency reported that some of the rise could stem from higher rates of H.I.V. testing among men who have sex with men but added that “available data suggest that these increases cannot be explained by increases in testing alone.”

The C.D.C. recently launched a new H.I.V. reporting system designed to differentiate between recent and older infections. Data from the new effort should become available later this year, according to the agency, and will help experts more accurately track the impact of H.I.V. prevention programs.

Jennifer Hecht, education director at the Stop AIDS Project in San Francisco, said that lack of access to information was a key factor in the increase in infection rates.

“In a lot of ways this is connected to the administration’s policy of emphasizing abstinence-only education,” she said. “And the high rates we see among black men and other minorities indicate that it’s very much connected to larger issues like poverty and racism.”

Dr. Richard Wolitski, acting director of the C.D.C.’s Division of H.I.V./AIDS Prevention, said that several factors could be fueling the increase in diagnoses, particularly among younger men.

“Because of the new treatments, some men perceive it to be a less severe disease than it once was,” he said. “And this is a new generation that hasn’t been personally affected in the same way that older men have been.”

Colleges receive grants to boost minority enrollment and retention

Jun 26, '08 3:30 PM
by Nya for everyone