C-SPAN: State of Black America....On Today

C-SPAN: "FROM HOUSTON
State of the Black Union
Tavis Smiley presents 'The 7th Annual State of the Black Union.' Three dozen African-American leaders join author and broad-
caster Tavis Smiley and radio personality Tom Joyner to discuss economic issues facing Black communities. Airs in three parts today, at 9am, 2pm, and 4:30pm. Reair: Mon., C-SPAN2, 8:30pm. "

Think Progress » Bush Ignored Warnings Of Iraqi Civil War

Think Progress » Bush Ignored Warnings Of Iraqi Civil War

The Seattle Times: Nation & World: White House civil-liberties panel created in 2004, still hasn't met

The Seattle Times: Nation & World: White House civil-liberties panel created in 2004, still hasn't met: "White House civil-liberties panel created in 2004, still hasn't met

By Richard B. Schmitt

Los Angeles Times

WASHINGTON — For Americans troubled by the prospect of federal agents eavesdropping on their phone conversations or combing through their Internet records, there is good news: A little-known board exists in the White House whose purpose is to ensure that privacy and civil liberties are protected in the fight against terrorism.

Someday, it might actually meet.

Initially proposed by the bipartisan commission that investigated the Sept. 11 attacks, the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board was created by the intelligence overhaul that President Bush signed into law in December 2004.

More than a year later, it exists only on paper.

On Thursday, after months of delays, the Senate Judiciary Committee took a first step toward setting up the fledgling watchdog, approving the two lawyers Bush nominated to lead the panel. But it may take months before the board is up and running.

Critics say the delay shows the administration is going through the motions when it comes to civil liberties. The administration counters that vetting and presenting the nominees takes time.

'They have stalled in giving the board adequate funding. They have stalled in making appointments,' said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y. 'It is apparent they are not taking this seriously.'

The Sept. 11 commission also has expressed reservations about the commitment to the civil-liberties panel."

Think Progress » The Department of Disenfranchisement

Think Progress » The Department of Disenfranchisement: "While President Bush proclaims his support for democracy around the world, his Justice Department is busy stifling it here at home. The Department of Justice recently approved Georgia’s plan to force voters to show a state-issued ID that can be obtained in only 59 of the state’s 159 counties, none of which are in the six counties with the highest percentage of African Americans.

This is especially troubling because of the apparent racist motivations of the bill’s backers. The chief sponsor of Georgia’s bill told the Justice Department that “if there are fewer black voters because of this bill, it will only be because there is less opportunity for fraud.” Even the Justice Department’s own experts believe this will disenfranchise eligible voters.

Today, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) announced that he would veto similar legislation in his state because “it would disenfranchise some of the state’s most vulnerable residents.”

The Department of Justice used to focus on expanding minority voting rights — now they are approving plans to restrict them. There was a time when conservatives would balk at disenfranchising voters — today it’s standard practice.

– Sam Davis"

Rumsfeld: Planting Stories Under Review - Yahoo! News

Rumsfeld: Planting Stories Under Review - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Tuesday that the
Pentagon is reviewing its practice of paying to plant stories in the Iraqi news media, withdrawing his earlier claim that it had been stopped.

Rumsfeld told reporters he was mistaken in the earlier assertion.

'I don't have knowledge as to whether it's been stopped. I do have knowledge it was put under review. I was correctly informed. And I just misstated the facts,' Rumsfeld said at a Pentagon news briefing."

Bush Stands Behind Port Deal

Bush Stands Behind Port Deal: "Position Distances President From Growing Number of Republicans

By Daniela Deane and Jim VandeHei
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, February 21, 2006; 4:09 PM

President Bush today strongly defended plans to allow a company controlled by the United Arab Emirates to assume management of key U.S. ports, a stance that distanced him from a growing number of Republicans, including the congressional leadership that has threatened to pass legislation to stop the move.

In a 20-minute impromptu meeting with reporters aboard Air Force One, Bush said he would veto any legislation to hold up the port deal. He warned that if the United States derailed the deal, it would send 'mixed signals' because no criticism was raised when a British company was in charge. Lawmakers, he said, must 'step up and explain why a Middle Eastern company is held to a different standard.'"

Court Allows Church's Hallucinogenic Tea - Yahoo! News

Court Allows Church's Hallucinogenic Tea - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON - A small branch of a South American religious sect may use hallucinogenic tea as part of a ritual intended to connect with God, a unanimous Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

In its first religious freedom decision under Chief Justice John Roberts, the court said the government cannot hinder religious practices without proof of a 'compelling' need to do so.

'This is a very important decision for minority religious freedom in this country,' said lawyer John Boyd, who represents about 130 U.S. members of O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal who live in New Mexico, California and Colorado.

The tea, which contains an illegal drug known as DMT, is considered sacred to members of the sect, which has a blend of Christian beliefs and South American traditions. Members believe they can understand God only by drinking the tea, which is consumed twice a month at four-hour ceremonies."

Don't Punish the Palestinians

Don't Punish the Palestinians: "Don't Punish the Palestinians

By Jimmy Carter
Monday, February 20, 2006; Page A21

"As the results of the recent Palestinian elections are implemented, it's important to understand how the transition process works and also how important to it are actions by Israel and the United States. ...

Unfortunately, these steps are already underway and are well known throughout the Palestinian territories and the world. Israel moved yesterday to withhold funds (about $50 million per month) that the Palestinians earn from customs and tax revenue. Perhaps a greater aggravation by the Israelis is their decision to hinder movement of elected Hamas Palestinian Legislative Council members through any of more than a hundred Israeli checkpoints around and throughout the Palestinian territories. This will present significant obstacles to a government's functioning effectively. Abbas informed me after the election that the Palestinian Authority was $900 million in debt and that he would be unable to meet payrolls during February. Knowing that Hamas would inherit a bankrupt government, U.S. officials have announced that all funding for the new government will be withheld, including what is needed to pay salaries for schoolteachers, nurses, social workers, police and maintenance personnel. So far they have not agreed to bypass the Hamas-led government and let humanitarian funds be channeled to Palestinians through United Nations agencies responsible for refugees, health and other human services."

Venezuela's Chavez warns Rice, 'Don't mess with me' - Yahoo! News

Venezuela's Chavez warns Rice, 'Don't mess with me' - Yahoo! News: "CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday warned Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice not to 'mess with' him days after Rice described Venezuela as a menace to regional democracy in the midst of tense diplomatic relations between the two countries.

'Don't mess with me Condoleezza. Don't mess with me, girl,' Chavez said during his weekly Sunday broadcast, sarcastically offering her a kiss and jokingly referring to her as 'Condolence.'"

Yahoo! Top Stories - Spears Fears Princess Di Fate

Maybe she didn't watch the news that day...maybe she was too young to remember. Princess Diana was killed in a car crash after the car she was riding in crashed as they were attempting to get away from photographers. The photographers didn't kill her, per se. Their attempt to get away...It was driving at a high rate of speed to get away from photographers and crashing the vehicle that killed them. Their... the driver's actions helped seal their fate. I wished that Diana would have just posed for the fricking picture instead of crashing and dying that night. If Britney doesn't want to be the next Princess Di, she shouldn't drive with her infant son on her lap in an attempt to get away from photographers. Recklessness is the quickest way to become like Princess Diana.

Yahoo! Top Stories - Spears Fears Princess Di Fate: "Britney Spears has a simple explanation for driving around with her baby on her lap: She doesn't want to become the next Princess Diana.

As she attempts to rehab her image after getting caught on film behind the wheel while holding an otherwise unrestrained Sean Preston--and in the process becoming an unwitting poster girl for how not to transport an infant--the pop tart plays the paparazzi card in a new People magazine interview.

'I don't really go out with him,' Spears, 24, says in the issue, on newsstands Friday. 'And it's kind of sad because I can't walk down the street with a stroller. I'm not expecting people to pity me. I'm just telling the truth.'

She continues: 'I've pulled over and asked the cops, 'Could you please help me? They've been driving recklessly back there.' And they say, 'Sorry, ma'am, I can't help you. This is how it is.' '

'I mean, Princess Diana got killed by one of these people. They're crossing the line.'"

Faith, Seeds...

The universe provides. Trust and be faithfull...it is real. It does work! If negativity keeps showing up ask yourself what are you silently asking for? What thoughts are you incubating in the mind field that you aren't so aware of? It's science. It's mathematical. It's not spooky. Plant the seeds you want to see grow. If you don't want what's been growing (manifesting), check your package of seeds (thoughts). There is no discrimination in the sub-conscious mind. What ever you plant GROWS!!!!!!!!

Lawyers Group Says Bush Exceeds His Powers - Yahoo! News

Lawyers Group Says Bush Exceeds His Powers - Yahoo! News: "CHICAGO - The American Bar Association denounced
President Bush's warrantless domestic surveillance program Monday, accusing him of exceeding his powers under the Constitution.

The program has prompted a heated debate about presidential powers in the war on terror since it was disclosed in December.

The nation's largest organization of lawyers adopted a policy opposing any future government use of electronic surveillance in the United States for foreign intelligence purposes without first obtaining warrants from a special court set up under the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act."

CBS News | Reporting Lag In Cheney Shooting | February 13, 2006 16:34:38

CBS News | Reporting Lag In Cheney Shooting | February 13, 2006 16:34:38: "McClellan said he first learned Saturday night that someone in the Cheney hunting party was involved, but he didn't know that Cheney was the shooter until the next morning, the spokesman said.

McClellan said when he learned, around 6 a.m. Sunday, he urged the vice president's office to get the information out 'as quickly as possible.'

CBS News White House correspondent Peter Maer reports Texas authorities are complaining that the Secret Service barred them from speaking to Cheney after the incident. Kenedy County Texas Sheriffs Lt. Juan Guzman said deputies first learned of the shooting when an ambulance was called. "

Cheney Accidentally Shoots Fellow Hunter - Yahoo! News

AP Photo
Cheney Accidentally Shoots Fellow Hunter - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON - Vice President
Dick Cheney accidentally shot and injured a man during a weekend quail hunting trip in Texas, his spokeswoman said Sunday.

Harry Whittington, 78, was 'alert and doing fine' after Cheney sprayed Whittington with shotgun pellets on Saturday at the Armstrong Ranch in south Texas, said property owner Katharine Armstrong.

Armstrong said Cheney turned to shoot a bird and accidentally hit Whittington. She said Whittington was taken to Corpus Christi Memorial Hospital by ambulance.

Cheney's spokeswoman, Lea Anne McBride, said the vice president was with Whittington, a lawyer from Austin, Texas, and his wife at the hospital on Sunday afternoon."

Conflicting Needs at Md. School

Conflicting Needs at Md. School: "A Restraining Order Is Keeping a Boy With Down Syndrome From Classes, But His Parents Dispute the Frederick System's Claim That He's Dangerous

By Fredrick Kunkle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, February 11, 2006; Page B01

Bill Hutchison stands 4 feet 2 inches in his sneakers. He weighs 65 pounds. As of Tuesday, the 10-year-old is prohibited by court order from entering his elementary school because he's considered a danger.

The Frederick County public schools took the unusual step of obtaining a restraining order because Bill, a fourth-grader with Down syndrome, has had repeated violent outbursts that threatened himself and others, county Circuit Court filings say."

Olympics Opening Ceremony

Photo from Washington Post

WTOP: Politician Sorry for Stem Cell Comment

WTOP: Politician Sorry for Stem Cell Comment: "By KRISTEN WYATT Associated Press Writer

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Lt. Gov. Michael Steele apologized Friday for comparing embryonic stem cell research to Nazi medical experiments, saying, "in no way did I intend to equate the two." Steele had made the remark to the Baltimore Jewish Council on Thursday after speaking about a recent trip to Israel. One of the audience members had asked for his thoughts on stem cell research.

'You, of all folks, know what happens when people decide to experiment on human beings, when they want to take your life and use it as a tool,' Steele said in remarks reported by The (Baltimore) Sun.

'I know that as well in my community, out of our experience with slavery,' added Steele, who is black. 'And so I'm very cautious when people say this is the best new thing, this is going to save lives.'

The council's executive director, Art Abramson, said the audience was quiet after Steele's remark. The lieutenant governor, who is seeking a Senate seat, left soon afterward.

Steele's Democratic opponents denounced the remarks, even after Steele issued an apology. 'It was really quite horrifying,' said Myrna Cardin, a member of the council and the wife of Steele's Senate race opponent.

Abramson said Steele called him Friday to apologize.

'The Holocaust was a unique event in the history of mankind, and the kinds of experiments that were conducted on human beings by Nazis and their henchmen ... are beyond comparison, and I think the lieutenant governor would agree with that,' Abramson said."

Yippeee!!!! weather.com - Storm Watch Details

weather.com - Storm Watch Details: "A weekend winter storm will target parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Heavy snow will overspread the Mid-Atlantic States Saturday and Saturday night including West Virginia, Virginia minus the Tidewater area, Maryland, Delaware, southern and eastern Pennsylvania and finally southeast New York. The heavy snow will shift from the Mid-Atlantic, through southeast New York, to southern New England, coastal New Hampshire and Down East Maine Saturday night and Sunday. The southern Mid-Atlantic, south of the Mason-Dixon Line, could pick up anywhere from 6 to 8 inches of snow with localized 12-inch amounts. The zone from Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Trenton, Newark-New York City, Hartford and Boston to the coast as well as coastal New Hampshire and Down East Maine could see anyway from 6 inches to over a foot of snow."

CNN.com - Brown says he's been made Katrina scapegoat - Feb 10, 2006

CNN.com - Brown says he's been made Katrina scapegoat - Feb 10, 2006: "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The embattled former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency portrayed himself during testimony Friday as a scapegoat who had fought for emergency aid to New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.

'I was as frustrated as everyone' at 'the slowness of the response. I was screaming and cussing,' Michael Brown told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which is probing the government's sluggish response to the disaster.

Before Katrina's landfall, he said he had pushed the appropriate officials 'to cut every piece of red tape ... to do everything they humanly could to respond to this.'"

Think Progress » 23 Administration Officials Involved In Plame Leak

Think Progress » 23 Administration Officials Involved In Plame Leak

Think Progress » CNN: Abramoff E-mails ‘Tell A Different Story’ From The White House

Think Progress » CNN: Abramoff E-mails ‘Tell A Different Story’ From The White House

ContraCostaTimes.com | 02/06/2006 | Los Angeles jail riots underscore rising violence among prisoners

Where are the white and asian Prisoners?

ContraCostaTimes.com | 02/06/2006 | Los Angeles jail riots underscore rising violence among prisoners: "'The Sheriff's Department simply does not have the personnel to adequately staff the jails,' said Merrick Bobb, a Los Angeles lawyer hired by the Board of Supervisors to monitor the Sheriff's Department.

'Too few deputies are being called upon to do too much,' said Bobb, who called the system's ratio of prisoners to deputies 'impossibly high.'

On a typical Saturday night, 77 deputies are scheduled to watch the 4,000 prisoners at the North County facility in Castaic, about 50 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, sheriff's Sgt. Michael Waldman said. That ratio of about 50 inmates for every deputy is one of the highest in the country, Baca said.

As a result of the melee, which took four hours to quell, the Sheriff's Department on Sunday segregated black and Latino inmates at the facility.

Baca is considering expanding the segregation of black and Latino inmates to other jail facilities because of the long history of violence between the ethnic groups.

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court said prison officials cannot segregate inmates by race except under extraordinary circumstances in which segregation is the only way to maintain inmate safety. Baca said he believes the county is justified in separating the two groups because of their history of violence."

CNN.com - Two groups sue over NSA wiretap program - Jan 17, 2006

CNN.com - Two groups sue over NSA wiretap program - Jan 17, 2006: "'On this, the day following Martin Luther King Day, we are saddened that the illegal electronic surveillance that once targeted that great American has again become characteristic of our present government,' Bill Goodman, CCR legal director, said in the statement.

'As was the case with Dr. King, this illegal activity is cloaked in the guise of national security. In reality, it reflects an attempt by the Bush administration to exercise unchecked power.'

Both suits ask the courts to stop the program."

Four presidents and a rowdy funeral for a King - Yahoo! News

Four presidents and a rowdy funeral for a King - Yahoo! News: "LITHONIA, Georgia (Reuters) - Speakers seized on the presence of
President Bush to attack his policies on Tuesday at the funeral of Coretta Scott King, the first lady of the U.S. civil rights movement.

Jimmy Carter, one of four presidents to speak, took a jab at Bush's domestic eavesdropping program during six hours of sermons, speeches and song for the late widow of Nobel peace laureate Martin Luther King Jr., assassinated in 1968."

Chief of CIA's Counter-Terror Center Ousted - Los Angeles Times

Chief of CIA's Counter-Terror Center Ousted - Los Angeles Times: "WASHINGTON — The head of the CIA's counter-terrorism center was forced to step down Monday over concerns that he was not aggressive enough in leading the agency's pursuit of Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations, current and former intelligence officials said.

The sudden departure of Robert Grenier, who had held the position for about a year, was described by intelligence officials as part of an effort to reinvigorate counter-terrorism operations that have had mixed results during his tenure."

Think Progress » White House Abramoff Stonewall, Day 32:

Think Progress » White House Abramoff Stonewall, Day 32:

Bush Spending Plan Sparks Protest - Yahoo! News

Bush Spending Plan Sparks Protest - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON -
President Bush, constrained by wars, hurricanes and exploding budget deficits, has sent Congress a 2007 spending plan that is garnering howls of pain from farmers, teachers, doctors and a wide array of other groups with special interests.

Democrats, as expected, pronounced the Republican president's budget plan dead on arrival. But many Republicans were equally sharp in their reservations about the $2.77 trillion spending blueprint the administration unveiled on Monday.

Sen. Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record), R-Pa., called Bush's proposed cuts in education and health 'scandalous' while Sen. Olympia Snowe (news, bio, voting record), R-Maine, said she was 'disappointed and even surprised' at the extent of the administration's proposed cuts in Medicaid and Medicare."

AlterNet: Belafonte on Bush, War and Wiretaps

AlterNet: Belafonte on Bush, War and Wiretaps: "'No matter what the greatest tyrant in the world, the greatest terrorist in the world, George W. Bush, says, we're here to tell you: Not hundreds, not thousands, but millions of the American people -- millions -- support your revolution, support your ideas, and yes, expressing our solidarity with you.'"

Denial/Honesty

I've been thinking about denial and honesty a lot over the past day or so. I'm working on a case at work... a sad case. I won't go into too much detail in this space, but I will say that we need to share with his parents the fact that testing shows that cognitively and adaptively he's functioning in the mentally retarded range. It's pretty clear to the professionals working with him that this was probably the case prior to completing the testing. I cannot believe that this will be the first time that the parents have heard this about him. He's seven. In fact, I know it's not because recommendations were made to evaluate him previously but there was no follow up from the parents. Maybe they were trying to keep hope alive. Maybe they thought he'd get better, show more, learn more. Well, he isn't... and in the meantime we have a youngster who is languishing in a regular first grade classroom. Where could he be by now if his parents had followed up with previous recommendations? While they've been ignoring, looking the other way, this young man has lost some needed specialized instruction. Instead, he's been languishing.

This case led me to think more about denial and the lack of honesty many of us have with ourselves and others. Why is the truth so painfull to accept? Are we so used to the lie, the untruth that we don't know the truth when it is staring us in the face?

I sometimes take it for granted that others aren't like me. I've always wanted honesty even if it hurt. I've always wanted to deal with what is, not what I conjure up in my head because I've always felt that honesty, dealing with truth is the best way for me to understand who I really am. I don't want me...anything about me to be built or based on a foundation of lies. I want to be solid. I've seen first hand as a child the results of living in denial. I've seen what happens when people choose to ignore the truth and live with their heads in the clouds.

I've learned long ago that I don't have a lot of patience with people when they aren't honest with themselves. I recognize that life is a process, and people are where they are for a reason. Patience is a virtue that I appreciate though. I have to appreciate where others are... My life has been a process, an unfolding. A good one too!

It ticks me off sometimes that our unhappiness and happiness is in our own hands and we don't realize it. Our choices make and break us! Unfortunately, sadness and unhappiness have become the norm and we don't know what happiness feels like. We've never experienced it. I understand that... I've been there. Thank God that did not remain my reality. We have to get to the point where numbness is no longer an option.

If we are unhappy, what is our plan to make it better? We cannot become or maintain complacency with feeling bad, sad, mad... there is always something we can do, some place to go for assistance, for help. I don't want to sound like I've blaming the victim here. There are many reasons why some people cannot access services. But there are many who are well aware of the services. They have the information and don't use it... or can't use it... I don't know.

I guess if nothing else I'm saying that we need to check ourselves... Be about the business of taking care of ourselves. Our whole selves. When we know we need to do something for ourselves to take care of ourselves, let's do it. If you need help, tell someone you need help and allow others to help you.

For me, Stagnancy is the equivalent to death. Sometimes our treadmill, our chasing our tail is our attempt to avoid stagnancy when we don't know what else to do. While it may not serve us positively, it does keep us alive, afloat for the time being. We can't forget that life can always be better... we are all in the process of becoming, but what are we becoming? Only I can honestly answer that for me, and only you can answer that honestly for you. It is a question we should ask ourselves from time to time.

AOL News - Chappelle Opens Up After Silence

AOL News - Chappelle Opens Up After Silence: "Feb. 3) -- Comedian Dave Chappelle said Friday he walked away from his hit cable TV show because he felt stressed out and manipulated but would return if more of the show's revenue can be given to deserving causes.

In an interview with Oprah Winfrey billed as his first since he stunned the entertainment industry last April by abandoning 'Chappelle's Show' after signing a $50 million contract, Chappelle denied he was crazy, had been on drugs or spent time in an African psychiatric hospital.

Winfrey asked him if he had 'lost his mind' when he left the show, which was the top-rated attraction on the Comedy Central cable network.

'No, not exactly,' he said. 'When you're a person who makes money, they have a vested interest in controlling you.'"

A Sisterhood of Support: The Pillars of Civil Rights

A Sisterhood of Support: The Pillars of Civil Rights: "By Wil Haygood
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 1, 2006; Page C01

In churches throughout America, small and large, urban or 'in the country' -- as the Southern folk like to say -- they're known as 'Sisters.' As in Sister King. As in Sister Lowery. As in Sister Baskin.

They're the women who gave so much to the civil rights movement over the years. Women who set the tables -- because the kids had to eat -- when husbands were traveling through the pine woods to register voters. Women who closed the living room curtains and fretted into the night about bomb throwers."