2014-01-31

Radio gears up for the Super Bowl

Story by Inside Radio

It’ll be a mash-up of marketing, music and sports for Sunday’s Super Bowl. More than 700 stations in 175 countries will broadcast WestwoodOne’s coverage of Super Bowl XLVIII this weekend, including the American Forces Radio Network. For the 27th consecutive year, and the 41st time since the Super Bowl began, the network will carry what’s become a mash-up of marketing and the biggest sporting event in the U.S.

Westwood One will go on the air with its pre-game coverage at 12pm ET on Sunday with a mix of sports talk, expert analysis and a bit of fun — it’ll broadcast from a tailgate party at the neighboring Izod Center. Once again this year the network will add a musical soundtrack to its coverage with Hollywood Records alt-rockers Redlight Kings using a live performance to launch the day’s coverage. Their song, “Born To Rise,” will also be mixed with highlights and sound bites from the 49ers and Seahawks.

Kevin Harlan will handle play-by-play duties for the Super Bowl for the fourth straight year with Boomer Esiason, serving as the color analyst — his 14th consecutive year with the network. Mark Malone and Hall of Famer James Lofton will once again report from the sidelines. Jim Gray will anchor the pregame and halftime coverage, with appearances by both Arizona wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and New England quarterback Tom Brady. Scott Graham and Hall of Famer Rod Woodson will also contribute to the coverage. Also of note: Howard Deneroff is the executive producer of WestwoodOne Sports, and this marks his 25th Super Bowl with the network. Larry Costigan is the coordinating producer.

Spanish-language game rights belong to ESPN Deportes, which will kick-off its coverage at 3pm on Sunday. Play-by-play duties go to Kenneth Garay, who’ll work alongside color analyst Sebastian Christensen with Marcelo Sandrin reporting from the field.

Not holding the Super Bowl play-by-play rights doesn’t mean other networks are ignoring the big game. ESPN Radio says it will air 115 hours of programming, encompassing 11 live studio shows this week in New York including coverage from New York flagship “ESPN NY 98.7” WEPN-FM. Several of the shows are also being broadcast on ESPN cable networks like ESPN2 and ESPNU. It’s a similar story for Fox Sports Radio which will mark its 14th year at the Super Bowl by broadcasting from several locations throughout New York City.

CBS Sports Radio says it will air more than 75 hours of programming from the Super Bowl site, basing most of its talk shows from the big game’s media center. “With the Super Bowl, the premier sporting event in our country, happening right in our back yard, there was no doubt that CBS Sports Radio would go wall-to-wall covering all of the pre-game stories, news, and interviews,” CBS Sports Radio director of programming Eric Spitz says. Local hosts from CBS-owned sports stations in New York, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Boston, Washington and Tampa will also be on hand to cover the pre-game action.

Hometown sports outlet WFAN is also adding a musical element, presenting a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert on Saturday. “If you look at the relationship between musicians and athletes, they are all commingled as part of that pop-culture phenomenon, and they all want to hang out with each other,” CBS Radio EVP of programming Chris Oliviero tells the New York Times.

2014-01-30

Ukraine’s President Takes Sick Leave; Crisis Talks Stalled


Protesters remained in Independence Square in Kiev on Thursday. Maxim Shipenkov/European Pressphoto Agency

Story by New York Times
Written by Andrew E Kramer

KIEV, Ukraine — Viktor F. Yanukovych, the president of Ukraine, went on sick leave on Thursday, stalling negotiated efforts to resolve the country’s political crisis.

A statement on the president’s website said Mr. Yanukovych, 63, was taking time off because of a respiratory illness and fever. It offered no indication of how long he was expected to be absent. The statement was attributed to a deputy director of the presidential department for medical affairs.

Mr. Yanukovych has faced pressure from Russia to take a harder line with protesters opposing his government, rather than continue negotiations that could lead to his ceding some power to pro-Western members of the opposition.
Related Coverage

Mr. Yanukovych went on leave without signing into law a bill repealing the harsh restrictions on freedom of speech and assembly that were enacted earlier this month. The repeal was passed by Parliament on Tuesday with support from the pro-government Party of Regions, a significant concession to the opposition but one that means little unless the president signs it. The prime minister, Mykola Azarov, also resigned on Tuesday.

The developments followed negotiations in Parliament between opposition leaders and the government over concessions, and protesters vacated one of the government buildings they had occupied, belonging to the Ministry of Agriculture.

In Berlin, the German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, on Thursday called in unusually blunt terms for Mr. Yanukovych and his allies to stop “playing for time.”

“Just finally get serious and do what you have promised the opposition,” Mr. Steinmeier said, addressing the Ukrainian authorities in an appearance before reporters and using a colloquial, familiar form of “you” not routinely associated with intergovernmental relations.

Germany has followed the drama in Ukraine closely, with 24-hour news channels reporting the latest developments and several news media outlets and politicians hastening to Kiev.

Last week, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany was “outraged to the utmost” by Ukraine’s insistence on limiting freedom to demonstrate and by the use of violence against protesters.

On Wednesday, she opened a speech to Parliament with a renewed appeal to Ukrainians to stick to peaceful resolutions and demanded that the Ukrainian government not ignore the “many people who have shown in courageous demonstrations that they are not willing to turn away from Europe.”

“They must be heard,” Ms. Merkel added, to applause.

There were signs in Kiev late on Wednesday that negotiations were unraveling. The Party of Regions passed a version of an amnesty law for protesters that lacked support from opposition lawmakers. It stipulated that the amnesty would not take effect until the prosecutor general certified that protesters had vacated all occupied administrative buildings, including provincial capitols that were seized last week, and it set a 15-day deadline, requiring police action after that to clear the buildings.

Mr. Yanukovych was still at work on Wednesday evening, attending a Party of Regions caucus meeting, though at least one report indicated that he was “pale” and said he felt sick, adding credence to the report on Thursday of his illness.

Attendees at the meeting said he told lawmakers that if they did not vote for the amnesty law, he would schedule a televised address to the nation, a phrase some interpreted as a threat to declare a state of emergency.

Russia said on Wednesday that it was halting financial aid that has helped Ukraine avoid defaulting on its foreign debts, and would resume the aid only after a new government is formed. The Russian step was a signal of displeasure with the negotiations in Ukraine to resolve the crisis by bringing the pro-Western opposition into a coalition government to replace Mr. Azarov’s cabinet, which was dismissed when he resigned.

The statement on the president’s website Thursday morning said that Mr. Yanukovych “is going on sick leave because of acute respiratory illness accompanied by a high temperature.”

There was no immediate reaction from the opposition politicians who had led the negotiations with Mr. Yanukovych.

Under the Constitution, if the president is incapacitated or dies, the prime minister serves as acting head of state. After Mr. Azarov resigned, Serhei Arbuzov became acting prime minister; both men are allies of Mr. Yanukovych. There was no indication on Thursday that Mr. Yanukovych intended to hand over authority to Mr. Arbuzov, even temporarily, because of the illness.

One Ukrainian opposition journalist, Vitaly Portnikov, suggested in a Facebook posting that the sick-leave announcement indicated that Mr. Yanukovych had lost power to a hard-line faction in his government.

“I don’t remember official statements of Viktor Yanukovych having colds,” Mr. Portnikov wrote. “But I remember well that on the 19th of August, 1991” — the date of a short-lived coup d'état in Moscow — “the vice president of the U.S.S.R., Gennady Yanayev, announced a serious illness of Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev.”

One day later, Mr. Gorbachev was arrested.

Interview with Radio One's President Chris Wegmann

Story by Inside Radio

Radio One began the New Year with a new head of its 55-station radio division. But Chris Wegmann is no newcomer to the urban media specialist. He worked as a regional VP for the company for nearly five years, overseeing stations in Washington, Atlanta, Baltimore, Philadelphia and St. Louis. Known for turning around under-performing properties, the broadcast vet previously managed high-profile stations for Cox Media Group in Atlanta and Houston in a career arc that has spanned more than three decades.

IR: After 35 years in the business, how does it feel to be running an entire radio division?
CW: It’s very exciting and very rewarding. When I first got in the business in 1976, this was a goal that I set for myself, to own a station or run a group of stations.

IR: You’re known for a disciplined but people-friendly approach. How would you describe your management style?
CW: People want leadership, they look to leaders for decisions. They won’t always agree with you but they have to respect your decisions. Something I learned early on was that until you sit at that desk, you don't have all the facts and you can’t ascertain whether someone made the right or wrong decision.

IR: Radio One has separate divisions for radio, TV and interactive. What is the company doing to break down barriers and help them work together as one?
CW: The main thing is communication. We have set up committees and have a common goal with our One Vision philosophy. When you put together all our assets, we reach over 80% of the African-American population. We’re not bundling by any means but we are showing marketers the opportunity of putting put our various assets together to give them choices.

IR: Is that more holistic approach helping you grow revenue?
CW: It has grown each year as we approached and partnered with various clients. And other clients are starting to take notice of what our capabilities are. It hasn’t grown by leaps and bounds but the growth has been very solid.

IR: Is it helping you bring new clients on board?
CW: Not necessarily new clients but it has helped us with a number of established clients. We now have a multi-year deal with Wal-Mart that crosses all of our assets.

IR: How are digital extensions helping Radio One grow business?
CW: If you’re not in the digital field you’ll be left behind. It’s the fastest growing field in media and an important part of our business going forward. We’re still trying to figure out new ways to utilize and sell it. We thought we could take our traditional radio sellers and have them talk to their advertisers about digital. It’s a whole new world for us and there’s a big learning curve. We’re still in the process of learning how to best utilize our assets to reach the consumer.

IR: Did you realize you needed to bring in more digital experts?
CW: There were a certain percent of AEs that picked it up pretty quickly. There were some that kind of got it and some who didn’t get it at all. They were almost equally divided into thirds. I saw the same thing at Cox, where some AEs just picked it up and ran with it, both new and seasoned AEs. You can’t stereotype anyone based on their tenure in the business as to whether they’ve embraced selling the One Voice multiplatform concept.

IR: Did you restructure sales?
CW: Not a restructure. We brought digital sales managers into a number of our markets to assist the sellers. In a couple of markets we have plans to hire digital-only sellers.

IR: Do you still have a digital-first sales approach with new clients?
CW: When we review the customer needs analysis with clients, digital is very much up front. Have we moved radio second behind digital? No, we still sell radio but we have these great digital assets that we can use to help marketers.

IR: Radio One now owns 80% of Reach Media. Do you see the company investing more in the network radio sector, such as launching new shows?
CW: Yes, we just recently launched DL Hughley and early indications are extremely encouraging. We're very excited. He’s a funny guy, a smart guy who gets radio. He goes to markets and works it, he’s seeing clients and doing appearances. He still does his comedy shows on the weekends. It’s a terrific expansion for Reach. They have other shows we’re working on and other ideas we’re looking at.

IR: You have a background in news and helped launch “News 92” KROI, Houston. But it’s been slow out of the gate in terms of ratings.
CW: Revenues have recently been increasing but ratings have been a slow climb. We did a recent research piece and it’s a lot better than what we’ve seen in the ratings and we’re encouraged by what we’ve seen.

IR: Radio One has had success with general market formats. How do you see the company adjusting its mix of African-American targeted stations versus general market?
CW: We evaluate each of our properties in each market in an ongoing process. We know the African-American audience and our track record shows that we do it well. But in some markets we already have that covered. If we have a station that’s under-performing, we start looking at where the potential opportunity in the market is and how we can best utilize our assets. But our primary focus is serving the African-American community.

IR: What efforts is Radio One making to raise the profile of urban radio?
CW: Five or six years ago, a number of our markets signed up with the Center For Strategic Sales. All of our markets now, except Houston and Atlanta, subscribe to CSS, which I consider the best sales consultant. They have helped raise the level of education and professionalism. I feel we’ve raised the quality of sales talent considerably in the five years that I will have been with the company in March.

IR: As member of the Nielsen Audio Advisory Committee, what pros and cons do you see from its acquisition of Arbitron?
CW: I’m very excited. I attended the first advisory board meeting in Baltimore and it was encouraging to see their enthusiasm to be involved again in radio and to see their vast research resources.

IR: Will being measured alongside TV and the internet give radio a more prominent seat at the sales table?
CW: I think it will but it’s going to take a little bit of time to get integrated into their systems, to get everything together. But from what I’ve seen so far, I’m very encouraged.

IR: If you were to create a highlight reel of your career, what would you put in it?
CW: I was hired by Gulf Star in the early ‘90s to run four stations in Baton Rouge and after going through Gulf Star, Capstar, AMFM and Clear Channel, I ended up overseeing stations in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Alexandria, Shreveport and Beaumont. I was recruited by Cox to run their Houston properties and set a plan in place to take on KILT, the big CBS country station. We went after them with KKBQ [“93Q”] which now dominates KILT in all the demos. When I was in Houston, “Kicks” dropped country and went modern AC and we immediately took our top 40 station and flipped it to classic county, which was a big success. That combo is still in affect with KKBQ. After two years in Houston, Cox transferred me to Atlanta to take over [news/talk] WSB, one of the premier stations in the country.

IR: What’s your outlook for 2014?
CW: I’m excited and very optimistic. In almost of all our markets we have solid programming. We consolidated our national sales efforts last year under Sam Rogers, the longtime CBS-Washington market manager who also spent time with Cumulus in DC. He’s done terrific job of getting our national sales more focused. We hired a DC-based political position to help with DC and national political dollars. We have the midterm elections in 2014. In the last midterm elections, the Democrats took the African-American voters for granted. I don’t think they can afford to do that again this year. So there’s the potential for political, although we were very modest in our political budgeting. We’re getting better at selling our digital assets as we learn more about them. We have a lot of positivity going for us.

Statement of Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Presidetn A. Shuanise Washington on State of the Union address

WASHINGTON - A. Shuanise Washington, president and CEO of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. (CBCF) today released the following statement on President Barack Obama's State of the Union address.

"The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) shares President Obama's optimism and concurs that this will be a breakthrough year for America. By working together in a bipartisan manner, legislators, business owners, educators, local leaders and everyday Americans can all contribute to the betterment of our country. In 2014, we are poised to strengthen the middle class, build new ladders of opportunity for the next generation, ensure quality health care and most importantly, create more and better employment opportunities.

"President Obama's speech was a clear call to action. His decisive action to increase the minimum wage paid to federal contractors and low-wage workers, policy to invest in our infrastructure and calls to guarantee access to a world-class education for all Americans were major touch points of the President's message and of particular importance to African Americans.

"CBCF is committed to continuing to support communities nationwide by developing research and programs to eradicate the social, economic, health and educational disparities that plague African Americans and other underserved populations as well as its public outreach efforts in encouraging civic participation. We invite those who share a sense of common purpose and these values to join us."

CLYBURN STATEMENT ON FARM BILL PASSAGE



WASHINGTON -- Assistant Democratic Leader James E. Clyburn today released the following statement on the passage of the Farm Bill:

“I am very pleased that the Farm Bill we passed today contains many important provisions for rural America and communities of need. One of these provisions, the Rural Energy Savings Program, which I have championed for several years, will provide loans to American families in rural communities to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. Loans for upfront costs of energy efficiency upgrades will be guaranteed by participating electric cooperatives to minimize any risk to the taxpayer. Utilizing “on-bill financing,” consumers will realize energy savings immediately on their electric bill, which will then be used to repay the loan over 10 years.

“These loans will enable working families to finance energy efficiency investments in persistently impoverished areas. This will create jobs in rural communities, provide significant savings for homeowners, and help protect the environment for all Americans.

“Electric cooperatives in South Carolina developed this model several years ago. I have proudly promoted this homegrown idea, and I thank the Agriculture Committee leaders for including it in the final bill.

“I also support the final compromise on the nutrition provisions. The House-passed Farm Bill would have slashed $40 billion from SNAP food stamp assistance. This outrageous proposal would have had devastating effects on low income American families. This compromise bill contains a much smaller reduction of $8 billion, achieved through reform of the system that will protect beneficiaries from cuts. I worked with CBC Chair Marcia Fudge and Senator Stabenow on these provisions, and I thank them for their leadership in protecting this vital lifeline for people in need.

“I have often said that compromise means nobody gets everything they want but enough people get what they can accept. I certainly didn’t get everything I wanted out of this Farm Bill. But it contains many worthy provisions and reasonable reforms, and I can accept this compromise.”

2014-01-29

2014 State of the Union Address by President Barack Obama


2014-01-28

Watch: President Obama prepares for State of the Union


Watch behind-the-scenes footage of President Obama as he works on his 2014 State of the Union. Then, be sure to watch on Tuesday, January 28th at 9 p.m. ET.
Link: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sotu

President Obama to Raise Minimum Wage for Contractors to $10.10

President Barack Obama will raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour for federal contractors hired in the future, an initiative to be unveiled tonight in his State of the Union address.

Obama will issue an Executive Order for the contract workers -- including janitors and construction workers -- and repeat his call to reluctant lawmakers to increase the minimum wage for all employed Americans.

Federal contract workers are paid $7.25 an hour, the rate for private-sector employers, White House spokesman Bobby Whithorne said today in an e-mail. He said he didn’t have a cost estimate for increasing the minimum by 39 percent.

“We believe that this action will produce good value for the federal government,” Whithorne said. “Higher wages will attract higher-quality workers who are more productive, reduce turnover, which can significantly offset the cost of providing higher wages.”

Be Interactive, Participate with the 2014 State of the Union Speech tonight


Tonight 9 pm ET, join in for an exclusive enhanced broadcast of President Obama's address to the nation. Find out now how you can participate during and after the speech.
Link: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sotu

Folk singer, activist Pete Seeger dies in NY

Pete Seager in New York during a concert on May 3rd, 2009 while celebrating his 90th birthday

Story by AP / Yahoo Music
Written by Michael Hill and Chris Talbott
Photo by Reuters

Buoyed by his characteristically soaring spirit, the surging crowd around him and a pair of canes, Pete Seeger walked through the streets of Manhattan leading an Occupy Movement protest in 2011.

Though he would later admit the attention embarrassed him, the moment brought back many feelings and memories as he instructed yet another generation of young people how to effect change through song and determination — as he had done over the last seven decades as a history-sifting singer and ever-so-gentle rabble-rouser.

"Be wary of great leaders," he told The Associated Press two days after the march. "Hope that there are many, many small leaders."

The banjo-picking troubadour who sang for migrant workers, college students and star-struck presidents in a career that introduced generations of Americans to their folk music heritage died Monday at the age of 94. Seeger's grandson, Kitama Cahill-Jackson, said his grandfather died peacefully in his sleep around 9:30 p.m. at New York Presbyterian Hospital, where he had been for six days. Family members were with him.

"He was chopping wood 10 days ago," Cahill-Jackson recalled.

With his lanky frame, use-worn banjo and full white beard, Seeger was an iconic figure in folk music who outlived his peers. He wrote or co-wrote "If I Had a Hammer," ''Turn, Turn, Turn," ''Where Have All the Flowers Gone" and "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine." He lent his voice against Hitler and nuclear power. A cheerful warrior, he typically delivered his broadsides with an affable air and his fingers poised over the strings of his banjo.

In 2011, the canes kept Seeger from carrying his beloved instrument while he walked nearly 2 miles with hundreds of protesters swirling around him holding signs and guitars. With a simple gesture — extending his friendship — Seeger gave the protesters and even their opponents a moment of brotherhood the short-lived movement sorely needed.

When a policeman approached, Tao Rodriguez-Seeger said at the time he feared his grandfather would be hassled.

"He reached out and shook my hand and said, 'Thank you, thank you, this is beautiful,'" Rodriguez-Seeger said. "That really did it for me. The cops recognized what we were about. They wanted to help our march. They actually wanted to protect our march because they saw something beautiful. It's very hard to be anti-something beautiful."

That was a message Seeger spread his entire life.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/folk-singer-activist-pete-seeger-dies-ny-065217408.html;_ylt=A0LEVjgzwOdSzD8Ad0UPxQt.;_ylu=X3oDMTBybnV2cXQwBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMgRjb2xvA2JmMQR2dGlkAw--

Congressional Black Caucus slams President Obama for lack of African-American judicial nominees

Story by the Grio

The Congressional Black Caucus have long been some of President Barack Obama‘s staunchest supporters on Capitol Hill — but not anymore.

The African-American lawmakers have grown increasingly frustrated with the lack of African-American judicial nominees put forward by the president.

This week they plan to hold a press conference calling attention to the “appalling lack of African-American representation” in heavily black-populated states like Georgia, Florida and Alabama.

“We have very grave concerns [with certain nominees] given disparities that are particularly common in the South,” Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said Thursday in a telephone interview with The Hill.

Georgia in particular has been contentious because issues like voter ID and whether or not to allow displays of the Confederate flag have come before the courts there.

President Obama had nominated an African-American woman, Atlanta attorney Natasha Silas, to the federal bench in Georgia in early 2011 but her nomination was blocked by Republicans.

The black population in Georgia is 31 percent, well above the national average.

“They have the right to nominate someone,” Rep. John Lewis of Georgia said. “But black women in Georgia hold a higher [voting] percentage than any group – higher than white women, higher than white men, higher than black men. And there’s a lot of Democratic [black] women – members of the bar – that are very, very good. And they should have been taken into consideration.”

Leader of the Congressional Black Caucus not happy with President Obama's Federal Judicial picks - particularly the South's 11th Circuit

Story by the Hill
Written by Mike Lillis

Leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) plan to publicly rebuke President Obama over a lack of diversity in his federal judicial picks.

The lawmakers are organizing a Capitol Hill press conference as early as this week to decry what Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) called “the appalling lack of African American representation” among Obama's nominees, particularly in the 11th Circuit, which includes Georgia, Florida and Alabama.

The Democrats also contend several of the President’s nominees have championed policies that either discriminate against minorities, or are just plain racist.

“We have very grave concerns [with certain nominees] given disparities that are particularly common in the South,” Norton said Thursday in a telephone interview.

The outcry is a rare public split between Obama and his staunchest allies.

Yet the President’s relationship with black lawmakers on Capitol Hill is more complicated that it sometimes appears.

While the CBC’s underlying support for Obama has been unwavering, many have also expressed disappointment that he hasn't fought harder for the liberal policy priorities that propelled him twice into the White House.

Norton, who heads a CBC panel focused on judicial nominations, said the group has met with other CBC members representing the 11th Circuit states to discuss an opposition strategy to Obama's picks. While “no decisions have been made” about specifics, she said, the exasperation within the CBC is general.

“This is a caucus-wide concern,” she said.

The focus will likely be on Georgia, where most within the Democratic delegation – including Rep. John Lewis, the civil rights icon – have been up in arms since Obama named a handful of nominees for the federal bench just before Christmas.

One of them, Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Michael Boggs, had voted years ago as a state legislator to keep the Confederate battle emblem a prominent part of Georgia's state flag – a move to preserve “one of the most vicious symbols of hate and white supremacy” in the country's history, Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.), a CBC member, charged earlier this month.

Another nominee, Atlanta lawyer Mark H. Cohen, helped to defend Georgia's voter ID law, which the Democrats say is designed to discourage the participation of poor and minority voters at the polls.

“You tell me, how can you have the Justice Department fighting the voter ID, voter suppression law in Texas and at the same time put on the court for life the man who defended that same law in Georgia?” Scott asked, referring to the DOJ’s lawsuit against Texas’s new voter ID law.

Reached by phone Friday, Cohen declined to comment, citing the ongoing nomination process. Boggs did not respond to a similar request.

A third pick, DeKalb County State Court Judge Eleanor Louise Ross – the only African American in the group – has raised the Democrats' eyebrows for a different reason.

“Most of us never heard of her, don't know anything about her,” Lewis said earlier this month, “and I understand she's a Republican.”

The White House did not respond to questions for comment for this story. But last month the administration pushed back against the criticisms, arguing that President Obama had nominated an African American woman, Atlanta attorney Natasha Silas, to the federal bench in Georgia in early 2011, only to see her blocked by the state’s GOP Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson.

The White House said 18 percent of the President's confirmed judges have been African-American – higher than the 8-percent rate under President George W. Bush and the 16-percent figure under President Clinton.

The defense has done little to comfort CBC members and other civil rights advocates, however. They say neither the Senate's archaic “blue slip” system — which essentially empowers home-state senators to veto judicial nominees — nor Obama's track record excuses the push for an overwhelmingly white court in Georgia, where the road to civil rights was often paved in blood and the black population, at 31 percent, is well above twice the national figure.

“They have the right to nominate someone,” Lewis said. “But black women in Georgia hold a higher [voting] percentage than any group – higher than white women, higher than white men, higher than black men. And there’s a lot of Democratic [black] women – members of the bar – that are very, very good. And they should have been taken into consideration.”

The clash comes as the result of negotiations between the White House, Chambliss and Isakson over federal judgeship nominees in the state.

Last year, the sides reached an agreement wherein the Republicans would drop their opposition to attorney Jill Pryor, one of President Obama nominees for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, in return for allowing the senators to pick three nominees for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. A Bush appointee, Julie Carnes, the chief judge of the Northern District, would also be elevated to the 11th Circuit as part of the deal.

The nominees must be approved first by the Senate Judiciary Committee, headed by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), and then by the full Senate. No hearing has yet been scheduled on Georgia's controversial picks.

Leahy, true to form, has not weighed in on the controversial picks ahead of their nomination hearings.

Scott said his frustration has much less to do with the policy records of Boggs and Cohen than with the choice by Obama – the nation's first black president – to nominate the pair to positions they’d hold long after the White House has another occupant.

“When you look at what these two men represent, to put them on the court for life …,” Scott said, trailing off.

“Do you think a white president, a George W. Bush, a Republican president – any white president – would appoint these kinds of nominees with the confederate flag background? With the voter suppression background? That White House would have been maimed by people crying out.

“It is a very strange situation,” he said.

2014-01-27

Columbia, Maryland Mall shooter identified by police



Story by CBS Interactive / AP
Video by CBS

COLUMBIA, Md. - The gunman who shot two people to death at a Maryland mall was a skateboarding enthusiast with no criminal record, police said Sunday, but little else is known about the 19-year-old and whether he knew his victims before he killed them.

Darion Marcus Aguilar of College Park, Md., carried out Saturday's attack with a 12-gauge shotgun at a skateboard shop at the Mall in Columbia in suburban Baltimore before killing himself, police said.

Howard County Police Chief William McMahon said investigators are trying to determine whether Aguilar knew either of the victims, who were both employees of a shop called Zumiez, which sells skateboards, clothing and accessories and is on the mall's upper floor.

Police identified the victims as 21-year-old Brianna Benlolo of College Park, and 25-year-old Tyler Johnson of Mount Airy, Md.

Benlolo, a single mother, lived half a mile away from Aguilar in the same College Park neighborhood, but police said they were still trying to determine what, if any, relationship they had.
McMahon said police had obtained a journal in which Aguilar expressed general unhappiness. The police chief did not provide any specifics, and he did not offer a motive.

"There are a lot of unanswered questions," McMahon said at a news conference.

Aguilar purchased the shotgun legally last month at a store in neighboring Montgomery County, McMahon said

It took hours to identify the gunman since he was carrying ammunition and a backpack containing homemade explosives, McMahon said. Officers searched the home where Aguilar lived with his mother, recovering more ammunition, computers and documents, police said.

The home is a two-story wood-frame house in a middle-income neighborhood called Hollywood, just off U.S. Route 1 and near the Capital Beltway. No one answered the door Sunday morning at the house, which had a Christmas wreath on the front door, signs that read "Beware of Dog" and advertised an alarm system.

Aguilar and his mother were renters at the home. Sirkka Singleton, who owns the property with her husband and lives a block away, said they use a property manager to find tenants and they have never met the Aguilars. She declined to say who the property manager was.

Residents described the neighborhood as a mix of owners and renters, including some University of Maryland students.

Katie Lawson, director of communications at the University of Maryland, said campus police told her that Aguilar was not and never had been a student there. She said she had no information on the two victims.

Aguilar graduated in 2013 from James Hubert Blake High School in Silver Spring, Md., said Dana Tofig, a Montgomery County schools spokesman.

A person who attended the high school with Aguilar told The Associated Press that he was an avid skateboarder.

Tydryn Scott, 19, said she was Aguilar's lab partner in science class and described him as tall, skinny and quiet. She said he was interested in skateboarding and hung out with other skaters.

Scott said she was stung by the news that he was the shooter.

"It was really hurtful, like, wow - someone that I know, someone that I've been in the presence of more than short amounts of time. I've seen this guy in action before. Never upset, never sad, just quiet - just chill," Scott said. "If any other emotion, he was happy, laughing."

A man who answered the phone at Tyler Johnson's residence in Mount Airy, northwest of Baltimore, said the family had no comment. But the victim's aunt told a local television station that she did not believe her nephew knew Aguilar.

Sydney Petty, in a statement to WBAL-TV, also said she did not believe her nephew had a relationship with Benlolo outside work.

"Our prayers are with him, the other victims and all the people who have been touched by this senseless violence," Petty said. "Tyler didn't have anything beyond a working relationship with this girl and he would have mentioned it if he did, and we're just as confused as anybody."

Petty said her nephew also worked at a drug rehabilitation center in Mount Airy, for which she served on the board.

Five other people were hurt in the attack and its aftermath, but only one was hit by gunfire. All were released from hospitals by Saturday evening, police said.

At the time of the shooting, the mall was filled with weekend shoppers and employees.

"There were a lot of people very close to where this happened," Howard County Executive Ken Ulman said.

Police searched the mall with dogs overnight, and stores were to remain closed through Tuesday.

Benlolo's grandfather, John Feins, said in a telephone interview from Florida that his granddaughter had a 2-year-old son and that the job at Zumiez was her first since she went back to work after her son's birth.

"She was all excited because she was the manager there," he said.

He said she came from a military family that had moved frequently and had been in Colorado before moving to Maryland about two years ago. He said his granddaughter was on good terms with her son's father, and they shared custody.
"I mean what can you say? You go to work and make a dollar and you got some idiot coming in and blowing people away," he said.

Grammy Winners


Grammy Logo and Winners courtesy of Grammy.com
Grammy Winners Link: http://www.grammy.com/nominees

2014-01-24

A week being President Obama


This week, the President announced important reforms to the National Security Agency and new measures to prevent sexual assault, honored Martin Luther King with a service project at DC Central Kitchen, signed the 2014 appropriations bill into law to fund the government, and hosted a conference of mayors. That's January 17th to January 23rd

2014-01-22

Be a Part of The State of The Union


White House Chief of Staff, Denis McDonough, previews all the ways you can get involved with the 2014 State of the Union.

Link: http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/be-part-state-union?utm_source=snapshot&utm_medium=email&utm_content=012214-video

2014-01-21

State of the Union 2014


Hello, everyone --

In just one week, President Obama will head to the Capitol to lay out his plan for the upcoming year of action, and what we need to do so that every working American can succeed.

It will be the President's fifth State of the Union address since taking office -- part of a tradition that dates back to our Founding Fathers.
Now, I've attended dozens of these events, and it's a big moment for the country.

White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough sat down to give you a look at this tradition. Watch the video, then RSVP to watch next Tuesday.
This year, there will be more opportunities than ever for you to take part in the State of the Union: brand new ways to interact with the speech on the night of the address and during the days that follow it, and a glimpse beforehand of interesting behind-the-scenes content.

Over the next week, stay tuned for updates on what's going on around the White House. It will be quite a week, and I want you to take part in it.
Be part of the tradition. RSVP now.

Thanks,
Vice President Joe Biden

2014-01-19

Amiri Baraka Memorial


Memorial Link: http://www.scribd.com/doc/200650520/Celebrating-The-Life-of-Amiri-Baraka

Proposed Tobacco Settlement Excludes Black Media

Story by NNPA
Commentary by George E. Curry - NNPA's Editor-in-Chief

The U.S. Justice Department and the Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund have reached an agreement with the four major tobacco companies that requires them to spend more than $30 million advertising with the three major television networks and run full-page ads in 35 White and Hispanic newspapers as well as purchasing space on their respective websites but not make a single purchase from a Black print or broadcast media company.

The 24-page proposed consent agreement, reached Friday, was scheduled to go before U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Wednesday, Jan. 15, for final approval. However, that proceeding was delayed until Jan. 22.

“We are shocked and deeply disappointed that the Justice Department, the Tobacco-Free Action Fund and the tobacco industry would all agree to sign off an advertising plan that totally disrespects the Black community,” said Cloves C. Campbell, chairman of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), a federation of nearly 200 Black newspapers. “The industry’s past efforts to target African-American consumers have been thoroughly documented. It is sad that an industry that sought to exploit our community with a product that is harmful to our health now seeks to further devalue African-Americans by ignoring the Black media when it is being forced to atone what a federal judge determined was a deliberate effort to deceive the American public.”

Peter S. Hamm, director of communications for the Tobacco-Free Kids Action, said on Monday that the media outlets were selected by Judge Kessler and disclosed in an order issued Aug. 17, 2006. Hamm said he did not know how she determined what media outlets would be utilized to carry the newspaper ads and television commercials.

A telephone call Monday requesting comment from the Justice Department was not returned.

The story of the agreement was first disclosed by Target Market News, published by Ken Smikle. The Chicago-based publication said an advertising source placed the value of the total buy at $30 million to $45 million.

The advertising campaign, which won’t go into effect until all appeals have been exhausted by the tobacco companies, was agreed to as part of a settlement that found tobacco companies mislead the public about the dangers of smoking. The four defendants are: Altria, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, Lorillard and Philip Morris USA.

The U.S. Justice Department filed suit against the cigarette manufacturers on Sept. 22, 1999 charging that they had violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corruption Organizations Act (RICO). They were found guilty at the conclusion of a trial that lasted from Dec. 21, 2004 to June 9, 2005.

Judge Kessler wrote a stinging opinion saying, that the case “is about an industry, and in particular these Defendants, that survives, and profits, from selling a highly addictive product which causes diseases that lead to a staggering number of deaths per year, an immeasurable amount of human suffering and economic loss, and a profound burden on our national health care system. Defendants have known these facts for at least 50 years or more. Despite that knowledge, they have consistently, repeatedly, and with enormous skill and sophistication, denied these facts to the public, to the Government, and to the public health community… In short, Defendants have marketed and sold their lethal products with zeal, with deception, with a single-minded focus on their financial success, and without regard for the human tragedy or social costs that success exacted.”

The judge prohibited the companies from committing similar acts going forward and ordered them to make “corrective statements” about the lies they had told about the dangers of smoking.

Kessler’s ruling was unanimously upheld March 22, 2009 by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. On June 28, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to accept an appeal.

Carefully-crafted “corrective statements” that include the wording, placement and timing of TV commercials and the content, type and size of fonts to be used in newspaper ads were covered in the agreement reached Friday. The statements will acknowledge that the advertising is being done under court order and that companies had misled the public on the health effects of smoking, the addictiveness of smoking and nicotine and the health effects of secondhand smoke.

The companies will also admit that they falsely sold and advertised low-tar and light cigarettes as less harmful than regular cigarettes and designed cigarettes to enhance the delivery of nicotine.

Under the agreement, each company will decide whether to place commercials on CBS, ABC or NBC.

“The TV spots will run a total of five times per week, subject to the availability of network time and upon approval of the network (s) on which the spots will air,” the agreement stipulates. “The five TV spots to be run each week will be run by each Defendant at its choice between 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. in the time zone in which the spot airs, between Monday and Thursday for one year.”

In the event the desired time slot is unavailable, the companies must continue to purchase spots until they have run the corrective statements at least 50 times and have aired a total of 260 spots.

For newspapers, the tobacco companies are required to purchase a full-page ad in the first section of the Sunday edition of each newspaper. Each ad will contain one of the five corrective statements in their entirety. The companies are also required to advertise on the newspapers’ web sites. Those same requirements will run in Spanish in Spanish-language newspapers.

The ads and commercials will state, “A Federal Court has ruled that Altria, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, Lorillard, and Philip Morris USA deliberately deceived the American public and has ordered those companies to make these statements. Here is the truth:” Texts, of the corrective statements will then be provided.

Under Judge Kessler’s 2006 order, ads will be placed in the following newspapers: Atlanta Journal Constitution, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Charlotte Observer, Chicago Sun Times, Chicago Tribune, Dallas Morning News, Florida Times Union, Fresno Bee, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, Houston Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, New York Daily News, New York Post, New York Sun, New York Times, Orlando Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Sacramento Bee, San Diego Union-Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, St. Petersburg Times, Tallahassee Democrat, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, LA Eastern Group Publications, San Francisco La Oferta Review/El Vistaz-Combo, NAHP, Chicago Lawndale Group News and NAHP Houston – Que Onda!

It is ironic that the tobacco industry is bypassing Black media while complying with a federal order to disclose its deception when in the past it used the Black media to target African-American consumers.

“The tobacco industry has gone to great lengths to target the African-American community over the past 30 years,” the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids stated. “Through market research and aggressive advertising, the industry has successfully penetrated this population. The industry’s ‘investment’ in the African-American community has had a destructive impact: African Americans suffer the greatest burden of tobacco-related mortality of any ethnic or racial group in the United States.”

The anti-smoking group also explained, “…There is compelling evidence that tobacco companies not only advertise disproportionately in communities with large African-American populations, they also create advertising specifically targeted to these communities. Cigarette ads highly prevalent in African-American communities and publications are often characterized by slogans, relevant and specific messages, or images that have a great appeal among those in the black community, or that depict African Americans in an appealing light. Contrary to
how blacks are typically portrayed in the media, cigarette ads portray images of African Americans who are happy, confident, successful and wealthy, in love, attractive, strong and independent.”

The tobacco industry was among the first to make inroads into the Black community by contributing to Black causes and developing close personal relationships with Black leaders.

For example, A. Shaunise Washington, president of executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, was Vice President for Government Affairs, Policy and Outreach for Altria. Prior to joining Altria, she was Director of Washington Relations for Philip Morris. In addition to serving on the CBC Foundation’s Corporate Advisory Council, Washington was chairwoman of the CBC Foundation Board of Directors from March 2012 to February 2013.

Jim Winston, Executive Director of the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters, told Target Market News: “The health of the African American community has suffered disproportionately from the advertising campaigns of the tobacco companies, and Black owned media has been demonstrated to be the best way to engage the African American community. Yet, now that the tobacco companies are being required to educate the public about the harm that tobacco products have caused, the companies and the DOJ have no plan to direct any educational advertising to our communities.”

Both Winston and Cloves Campbell said they plan to contact the Justice Department and ask it to direct tobacco companies to include Black-owned print and broadcast media in their public education buys. If that fails, Campbell said, NNPA will take stronger action.

He said, “If our newspapers aren’t good enough to advertise in, their products – including the non-tobacco ones – aren’t good enough for us to consume.”

Day of non-violence urged to remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr

Story by Reuters
Written by David Beasley

People worldwide should honor the memory of Rev. Dr Martin Luther King Jr. by making Monday a "no shots fired" day and ringing church bells in support of non-violence, urged the daughter of the slain U.S. civil rights leader.

Church services and tributes will be held across the United States to commemorate King's 85th birthday on Monday, a federal holiday. At the same time, there is a push for a new monument and possibly a major movie production from director Oliver Stone.

"Dr. King's philosophy of non-violence is more relevant, I believe, than it was 10 years ago," King's daughter, Bernice, told Reuters.

In a time of school shootings and increasingly violent movies, television shows and video games, his message of non-violence should continue to resonate, said his daughter, chief executive officer of the Atlanta-based Martin Luther King Center which promotes his philosophy of non-violence.

"America has an enormous appetite for violence. I don't know why we have such an affinity for that, but I do know it has to stop," she said.

As part of the birthday tributes, the Atlanta branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) began a gun buyback program, hoping to get 1,000 weapons off the city's streets.

King, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, was assassinated four years later in Memphis, Tennessee.

MOVIE MOOTED

As this year's holiday approached, lawmakers in King's home state of Georgia introduced a bill to erect a new statue honoring him on the steps of the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta, five blocks from where he was born on January 15, 1929.

The statue would replace another of the late Georgia Senator Thomas Watson, who was known for his racist, anti-Semitic and anti-Catholic views. The Watson statue was moved late last year to a park across the street from the Capitol.

In another project aimed at examining King and his role in American history, movie director Oliver Stone said in late 2013 he was interested in directing a film about King, with actor Jamie Foxx playing the lead role, according to media reports.

Crowds are expected to gather on the National Mall in Washington, where a 30-foot (9-meter) statue of King was unveiled in 2011. Park ranger Jan Buerger said talks and tours were planned there to commemorate King's birthday.

The city of San Marcos, Texas, will honor what it sees as two great civil rights pioneers, King and the late President Lyndon Johnson, by inaugurating a monument at the intersection where streets named after the two figures meet.

Johnson went to college at Texas State University in San Marcos from 1927-1930.

In what has been dubbed the Crossroads Memorial Project, an oval plaque will be put up on the corner where streets named after King and Johnson join, bearing the phrase "To Stand up for Another's Freedom Is To Free Yourself", written in English and a host of other languages.

"NON-VIOLENT REVOLT"

As a young minister in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955, King led a bus boycott that was sparked when Rosa Parks, a black woman, refused to relinquish her seat to a white passenger.

In his autobiography, King called the Montgomery bus boycott "the first flash of organized sustained mass action and non-violent revolt against the Southern way of life."

He later moved back to Atlanta, where he led the national civil rights movement as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

For the first time, the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, which includes the Lorraine Motel where King was assassinated, will publicly play a recording of a 1960 interview with him discussing the civil rights movement.

Magician David Copperfield donated the tape to the museum in 2012.

"The national holiday is always a big visitation day," said Barbara Andrews, the museum's education director. "Thousands of people will come to pay their respects to Dr. King and the civil rights movement."

2014-01-17

Celebrate the Life of Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr., (January 15, 1929-April 4, 1968) was born Michael Luther King, Jr., but his first name was later changed to Martin.

His grandfather began the family's long tenure as pastors of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. From 1960 until his death King acted as co-pastor alongside his father.

King attended public schools in Georgia, graduating from high school at the age of fifteen. He received a B.A. degree in 1948 from Morehouse College, a distinguished institution located in Atlanta from which both his father and grandfather had graduated. After three years of theological study at Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania, where he was elected president of a predominantly white senior class, he was awarded a B.D. degree in 1951. With a fellowship won at Crozer he enrolled in graduate studies at Boston University, completing his residence for the doctorate in 1953 and receiving the degree in 1955.

In Boston he met and married Coretta Scott.

In 1954, King became pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.

Always a strong worker for civil rights, King was, by this time, a member of the executive committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

He was ready, then, early in December 1955, to accept the leadership of the first great nonviolent demonstration of contemporary times in the United States, the bus boycott. The boycott lasted 382 days. On December 21, 1956, the Supreme Court of the United States declared unconstitutional the laws requiring segregation on buses. During the boycott, King was arrested, his home was bombed, and he was subjected to personal abuse, but at the same time he emerged as a leader.

In 1957 he was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization formed to provide new leadership for the now burgeoning civil rights movement. The ideals for this organization he took from Christianity; its operational techniques from Mahatma Gandhi.

In the eleven-year period between 1957 and 1968, King traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times, appearing wherever there was injustice, protest, and action; and meanwhile he wrote five books as well as numerous articles.

In these years, he led a massive protest in Birmingham, Alabama, that caught the attention of the entire world, providing what he called a coalition of conscience and inspiring his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail", a manifesto of the civil rights struggle.

Dr King planned the drives in Alabama for the registration of voters; he directed the peaceful march on Washington, D.C., of 250,000 people to whom he delivered his address, "I Have a Dream". Dr. King conferred with President John F. Kennedy and campaigned for President Lyndon B. Johnson.

He was arrested upwards of twenty times and assaulted at least four times; Dr. King was awarded five honorary degrees; was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963; and became not only the symbolic leader of American Blacks but also a world figure.

On October 14, 1964, at the age of thirty-five, King was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. When notified of his selection, he announced that he would turn over the prize money of $54,123 to the furtherance of the civil rights movement.

In 1965, Dr King and the SCLC helped to organize the Selma to Montgomery marches and the following year he took the movement north to Chicago.

In the final years of his life, King expanded his focus to include poverty and the Vietnam War.

In 1968 Dr King was planning a national occupation of Washington, D.C., to be called the Poor People's Campaign, when he was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.

King was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal posthumously.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a U.S. federal holiday in 1986.

Today is First Lady Michele Obama's 50th Birthday - Sign Card, and Meet Troy...


Sign First Lady 50th Anniversary Card
Link: http://kirktanter.blogspot.com/2014/01/sign-first-lady-michelle-obamas.html
__________________________________________________________________________________________

First Lady Michele Obama:

Hello, all -- Today, I met a young man named Troy.

Troy comes from New Orleans, where his family lived through the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. He couldn't read until he was twelve, and would regularly cut school because the other students would tease him. When he did attend, he'd shove desks, start fights -- anything to get him out of class.

But then Troy saw his younger siblings start down a similar path. And he decided to make a change. He connected with his fifth-grade teacher, and enrolled in a program called the Urban League College Track. With the support of College Track and his teachers, he worked hard and made his way into high school -- and today, he's a sophomore at Bard College, studying American Literature.

There are a lot of kids like Troy out there -- kids with all the potential in the world -- but far too many of them are slipping through the cracks. They're not making their way to college -- maybe because their parents never went, or because they've never been encouraged to believe they could succeed there.

It's on all of us to help change that.

That's why today, Barack and I hosted college and university presidents, business leaders, philanthropists, and representatives from organizations around the country who are helping more of our kids see their potential and pursue their education. They're helping them navigate the financial aid and college admissions process. They're working with them to find schools that match their ability and interests. And they've made real, concrete commitments to help make college a reality for more kids.

And here's the thing: You don't have to be a university president or an executive to do that. There is something that each and every one of us can do in our communities to help make sure our kids realize their potential and make their way into higher education. That could mean having a conversation with a young neighbor or a relative, serving as a mentor, or volunteering at a local high school to help students fill out their college applications.

So I'm asking you today to make a commitment of your own -- and learn more about the commitments that universities and organizations from around the country are making, too: http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/college-opportunity?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=email284-text1&utm_campaign=education&utm_expid=24505866-13.IJb-Fl9LRwCTj-0dZegBEg.0

I'm passionate about helping our young people because I see my story in theirs.

Neither of my parents graduated from college, but they always encouraged me to pursue my education and told me that college was possible. And I know that there are so many kids out there just like me: kids who have a world of potential but need some encouragement and support to make it through college.
That's why I was so inspired by some of the commitments I learned about today.

Universities are taking steps like helping under-served students with financial literacy, or finding innovative ways for academic advisers to better support students who could use a helping hand. And many colleges are working with organizations like the Posse Foundation to give kids the social and academic support they'll need to graduate.

These kinds of programs aren't just good for these young people. They're good for all of us. Because after everything these kids will have overcome to get to college -- and get through college -- they'll have all the skills they need to thrive in our businesses, and law firms, and labs. And that's not just good for them and their families, it's good for their communities and our country. That's why Barack is working every single day to expand opportunities to every single young person in America. And that's why we're working to rally the country around his "North Star" goal – that by 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.

Reaching that goal begins with each of us doing our part as parents, students, educators, and citizens.

We can all help a young person realize his or her potential, so I hope you'll learn more about the commitments that organizations and schools around the country are making -- and then make a commitment of your own: http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/college-opportunity

Thanks in advance for everything you will do on behalf of America's young people.

First Lady Michelle Obama

2014-01-16

Amiri Baraka dead at 79


Newark, N.J. poet and social activist Imamu Amear Baraka speaks during the Black Political Convention in Gary, Ind., March 12, 1972. (AP Photo/Julian C. Wilson)

Amiri Baraka (born Everett LeRoi Jones; October 7, 1934 – January 9, 2014), formerly known as LeRoi Jones and Imamu Amear Baraka, was an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays and music criticism. He was the author of numerous books of poetry and taught at a number of universities, including the State University of New York at Buffalo and the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He received the PEN Open Book Award, formerly known as the Beyond Margins Award, in 2008 for Tales of the Out and the Gone.

Baraka's poetry and writing has attracted both extreme praise and condemnation. Within the African-American community, some compare him to James Baldwin and call Baraka one of the most respected and most widely published Black writers of his generation. Others have said his work is an expression of violence, misogyny, homophobia and racism. Baraka's brief tenure as Poet Laureate of New Jersey (2002–03), involved controversy over a public reading of his poem "Somebody Blew Up America?" and accusations of anti-semitism, and some negative attention from critics, and politicians...

Biography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amiri_Baraka

Story below by NewsOne

Amiri Baraka, former poet laureate of New Jersey and an icon in American literature, has died, according to The Star-Ledger. He was 79-years-old.

The literary legend was hospitalized at Beth Israel Medical Center last month for an undisclosed illness. And while Baraka has a history of battling diabetes, the cause of his death was not disclosed.

Newark Mayor Luis Quintana said Baraka expressed his condolences.

“I went to visit him at the hospital about two weeks ago,” Quintana said by phone. “He was more than poet he was a leader in his own right. He’s going to be missed and our condolences go out to his family today.”

Mildred Crump, Newark City Council President and a longtime friend of the Baraka family, said the world lost a literary giant.

“Not only has New Jersey, but the United States of America, has lost a great human being. He was a legend in his own lifetime,” Crump told The Ledger. “It is such a loss, such a great loss.”

2014-01-14

First Lady turns 50 - Sign First Lady Michelle Obama's Birthday Card


Sign First Lady Michele Obama's birthday card.
Link: http://my.democrats.org/Happy-Birthday-Michelle

D.M.V. (DC, Maryland, Virginia) United calls out WKYS, WERQ, and WPGC, large FM Rhythmic/Hip Hop/R&B formated radio stations in the Washington DC Metro market

Story by Examiner.com

Three local media organizations (Moviehood TV, Organically Grown Radio and The Eddie Kayne Show) have come together to create DMV United, a movement to promote independent musicians. The ultimate goal of DMV United is to force the major urban contemporary radio stations (WKYS, WPGC and WERQ) to show more support for DC, Maryland and Virginia artists.

A common and long-standing complaint from local rappers and R&B artists is that the mainstream DJs will not play their music.

Eddie Kayne, who hosts a weekly radio program on WLVS and a television show on The CW50, says the DMV United strategy is to hurt WKYS and WPGC financially.

"We will use various methods of non-violent protest," says Kayne. "We are collecting signatures for petitions, and we have boycotts planned. We are going to make their clients and advertising partners aware that WKYS and WPGC are not supporting the talented musicians in the DC metropolitan area. We hope that will make them think twice about spending marketing dollars with these stations."

EZ Street, a respected and influential radio personality at WKYS, takes exception to the allegations made by DMV United. He says his station does support local artists, and they are always looking to discover new talent.

"We have Fat Trel, Wale and Fatz Da Big Fella currently in rotation, and we play go-go (music) every night. DJ Gemini meets with different DMV artists every week. And personally, I have probably featured and interviewed over 100 artists from the city. Have you heard of the "Trending with EZ" listening party on YouTube?"

EZ Street went on to say that many musicians don't understand how radio works.

"I've said this a million times - this is a business. We play the songs that people want to hear. Does DTLR sell every shoe available? No, they put merchandise on the shelves that's going to sell. A lot of (DC) artists are just remaking songs that already exist. They need to create music that can compete with Drake and Rick Ross. Make music so good that we have to play it. That's what Fatz did with "Shake It Out"."

EZ Street also explained how certain songs are selected for rotation.

"You can't just give a song to a DJ and expect it to get played. All songs must first be submitted to the program director (PD) and the music director (MD). The PDs and MDs pick every song, including the songs in the mix shows. Our PDs are local, and it's their job to select music that works and gets ratings. Every market is different - there's not just one playlist, but this is the basic process that every station in America uses."

I asked EZ what an independent artist could do to get airplay at WKYS, and he said it's very important to deliver a quality recording.

"High quality is a must, and you have to create radio (friendly) music. People will send us songs with curse words and wonder why it doesn't get played - it has no radio appeal. It's also good to have a video with the songs before you come in. Did you see what Beyoncé just did? She produced a video for each song. When you do have a finished product, meet with DJ Gemini and he'll listen and advise you. Then be prepared to wait, there are a million other artists trying to get on too."

DMV United and Eddie Kayne remain dedicated to their agenda, "We have artists with (video) placements on BET and MTV and they still can't get local radio airplay," he said. "And what about the artists on the WKYS Best of the DMV list, like Reesa Renee, Logic, Slutty Boyz, etc.? How many of them are getting airplay? Support and allegiance for our cause is growing every day - this is just the beginning."

For more information about DMV United, contact MoviehoodTV: moviehoodmd@gmail.com, Eddie Kayne: eddiekayneshow@gmail.com, or Organically Grown Radio: OGRadioMusic@gmail.com.

Republicans’ War on the Impoverished

Story by the Pittsburgh Courier
Written by Raynard Jackson, NNPA Columnist

I have written about the huge opportunity Black dissatisfaction with Obama presents to the Republican Party. It’s time to speak directly to Black Republicans and GOP congressional leadership about dissatisfaction with the loyal opposition.

Last week marked the 50th anniversary of President Johnson’s “War on Poverty,” legislation that Johnson outlined during his State of the Union address on January 8, 1964. This was Johnson’s response to the poverty rate at the time hovering around 20 percent. Talk of poverty normally conjures up images of Black faces, but the reality is that in raw numbers, there are more Whites in poverty than Blacks. But, as a percentage of the population, the poverty rate of Blacks exceed that of Whites.

According to the U.S. Census of 2010, the overall poverty rate is 15.1 percent of the population. For non-Hispanic Whites, it is 9.9 percent, 12.1 percent of all Asians, 26.6 percent of all Hispanics persons of any race) and 27.4 percent of all Blacks.

The War on Poverty was a logical program if you believed in big government. Also, to my conservative Republican friends (Black and White), please understand the historic context behind the Black community’s seemingly embrace of big government.

While many conservatives were aggressively embracing Jim Crow, segregation, and racial discrimination, our only ally was the federal government. Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 are but three examples.

So, it’s not so much that Blacks are in love with big government, but without big government, Blacks would still be in slavery, have separate but unequal schools, would not be able to vote, or be able to eat in the restaurants of our choosing. Those are undeniable facts.

Yet, last week, I saw and heard many Black Republicans on TV, radio, and in newspapers criticizing Johnson’s War on Poverty. While I was in agreement with the substance of their message, I didn’t hear or see any workable alternatives to address intractable poverty.

I saw Republican congressional leaders giving major policy speeches at conservative White think tanks; but they never appeared before Black organizations. Even when it comes to optics, Republicans tend to be tone deaf.

Increasing the minimum wage is not the solution to poverty; more preferable is enhancing job skills through education (college or vocational). When will congressional Republicans take this message to an HBCU with the launch of a major policy initiative? Obama’s record with the HBCUs is abysmal and can be exploited politically.

Another issue is the plight of small business, the economic engine of our country. They are the job creators, not the Fortune 500 companies. Yet, small business owners are finding it almost impossible to access credit from the very banks the federal government bailed out only a few years ago.

Congressional Republicans, what is your policy solution? When will congressional Republicans visit a successful business such as World Wide Technology (WWT) in St. Louis to give a major policy speech on small business issues? WWT is the largest Black-owned business in the U.S., with annual revenues in excess of $ 5 billion and led by David L. Steward, a major donor in Republican politics.

When will congressional Republicans partner with the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, led by Robert L. Woodson, Sr., to address the values issue within the Black community? He is doing some things with Congressman Paul Ryan, but our leaders need to do more, especially in terms of private funding.

So, to my Black Republican friends and congressional leaders, always remember that it is easy to be against something. But what are you for? Blacks are thirsting for answers to the problems facing them. As a graduate of Oral Roberts University, I am reminded of what Oral would always tell us, “Go into everyman’s world and meet them at the point of their need.”

If you truly believe the Republican message can really turn around the lives of those that have been hurt by liberalism and big government, when will you take your solutions to the marketplace of ideas in those communities?

Just think back to your elementary school days when the teacher asked a question and you knew the answer. You threw your hand up in the air and could not wait for the teacher to call on you; and when she did and you gave her the right answer. Remember how good you felt inside?

Well, Jeremiah had a similar experience in the Bible in Jeremiah 20:9, “…But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.”

Blacks’ disenchantment with the Democrats and Obama is the match that should ignite a fire within the Republican Party in regards to the Black vote. But there won’t be a spark among those ranks until Republicans present a genuine program for Black America, not an endless list of what they are against.

Raynard Jackson is president & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC., a Washington, D.C.-based public relations/government affairs firm. He can be reached through his Web site, http://www.raynardjackson.com. You can also follow him on Twitter at raynard1223.

2014-01-13

President Obama's Weekly Address: Ensuring 2014 is a Year of Action to Grow the Economy


In this week’s address, President Obama calls 2014 a year of action, which should start with Congress quickly passing emergency unemployment insurance for the 1.3 million Americans who lost this vital lifeline as they fight to find jobs and make ends meet.

2014-01-09

War on poverty? Not so much

Story by Miami Herald
Op-Ed by Joy-Ann Reid
Email:joyannreid@gmail.com

Suddenly, Republicans want to talk about poverty.

Rep. Paul Ryan, known to most Americans only as Mitt Romney’s 2012 running mate, and the guy who’d like to convert Medicare into a voucher program (and who was famously rebuked by Catholic nuns for the severity of the cuts he wanted to wring from federal anti-poverty programs), suddenly can’t talk enough about poverty.

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida reportedly plans to give a major speech on the subject, and he’s sure to include many warm allusions to the American Dream and Horatio Alger and his immigrant parents, while declaring that in his words, the “big government war on poverty” has failed.

Now, it is true that 50 years after President Lyndon Johnson launched the “war on poverty” in his 1964 State of the Union address, there still are poor people. And the poverty rate has dropped from around 19 percent back then, to around 15 percent today. Not a dramatic dive.

But by every measure, poverty in America is both less rampant, and less cruel, than it was in Johnson’s day, when parts of Appalachia looked like the Third World. That’s not to mention the era today’s Ayn Randian GOP views as ideal: pre-New Deal America, before Aid to Families with Dependent Children and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (otherwise known as food stamps); before Medicaid, and Medicare; and before Social Security, which by itself is keeping 22 million Americans from falling below the poverty line, according to Census figures; mostly seniors, but also more than 1 million kids.

SNAP, which Republicans would like to see slashed by $39 billion, has by itself kept about 4.7 million people out of poverty, half of them children, since 2011, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Incidentally, the program acts as a de facto subsidy to businesses (80 percent of the meager benefit is spent within the first two weeks of the month) and to minimum-wage employers like McDonald’s and Walmart, whose workers disproportionately rely on the supplemental assistance in order to afford to buy food.

Indeed, in the decade immediately following Johnson’s declaration, when the bulk of the federal programs that so offend conservatives were passed, the percentage of American families with children living in poverty dropped from just over 20 percent in 1959, to an historic low of 10.8 percent in 1969, according to the Census bureau.

Poverty crept up in the inflationary years that followed, but it really shot up during the 1980s, going from 15.9 percent in 1981, when the United States was in the midst of a recession, to 17.9 percent at the end of 1983, following the draconian Reagan budget cuts that slashed social programs (and cut taxes for the rich). The percentage of American families in poverty fell again during the booming 1990s, hitting 12.7 percent by the end of Bill Clinton’s presidency. But multiple hits to the economy, from the Sept. 11 terror attacks in 2001 to the Great Recession that occurred on George W. Bush’s watch, drove poverty rates up again. Not surprisingly, given the slow recovery, they’ve remained high.

This while the deficit has been steadily falling; Republicans have successfully blocked new stimulus spending and slashed funding for everything from food stamps to Meals on Wheels. And still, Republicans want more cuts to anti-poverty programs. No extension of unemployment insurance for 14 million Americans. No expansion of Medicaid in the states they control. And no increase in the minimum wage (in fact, one popular conservative anti-poverty idea is a lower minimum wage.)

Rubio, Ryan, Sen. Rand Paul and others act as if we have been pursuing progressives’ preferred prescriptions to fight poverty over the past 50 years. In fact, during the Reagan years, under George W. Bush and after the 2009 stimulus, which itself was composed of one-third tax cuts, we have been pursuing conservatives’ preferred economic strategy, especially since the tea party took over the House of Representatives in 2010-11. We have been cutting spending, imposing austerity and forcing out-of-work and out-of-luck Americans to go it alone, to turn to food pantries or to throw themselves on the mercy of private charities, just as conservatives desire.

We’ve also been cutting taxes for all but the super-rich. The stock market is soaring. CEOs and 1-percenters have been making out like robber barons.

Republican governors are choking off the last vestiges of union representation. And Republicans at the state and federal level have rejected public investments in the kind of jobs the unemployed desperately want: rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, expanding high-speed rail or creating the high technology we now pretty much only buy from Japan.

We’ve been doing precisely what conservatives want done.

And shock of all shocks, poverty is winning.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/01/08/3859448/war-on-poverty-not-so-much.html#storylink=cpy

2014-01-08

LBJ’s ‘War on Poverty’ turns 50: Is America losing the war?

Commentary by The Grio's David A. Love
Photo of President Lyndon Johnson signing the War on Poverty Bill by Arnold Sachs/Consolidated News Pictures/Getty Images

Today marks the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon Johnson’s iconic War on Poverty. Sadly, half a century later, a new war is needed more than ever.

America can point to the legacy of that ambitious program—with all its successes and failures— even as the country today is apparently losing that war.
On January 8, 1964 in his State of the Union address, President Johnson took the first step of tackling the ever present national problem of poverty in the United States. At that time, as the President noted, one in every five families earned incomes too small to meet their basic needs. And he seemed to realize the impact that poverty had on the country as a whole.

“Unfortunately, many Americans live on the outskirts of hope — some because of their poverty, and some because of their color, and all too many because of both. Our task is to help replace their despair with opportunity,” Johnson said. “It will not be a short or easy struggle, no single weapon or strategy will suffice, but we shall not rest until that war is won. The richest Nation on earth can afford to win it. We cannot afford to lose it. One thousand dollars invested in salvaging an unemployable youth today can return $40,000 or more in his lifetime.”

President Johnson articulated his new initiative as a cooperative approach, a joint effort requiring national organization and support, with direction and support from the state and local level. His goal was to attack poverty wherever it existed, whether in cities or small towns, among blacks or whites or Native Americans on the reservations, sharecroppers or migrants workers, the young or the elderly.
Moreover, Johnson wanted to not only relieve the symptoms of poverty, but to prevent it as well.

“Very often a lack of jobs and money is not the cause of poverty, but the symptom. The cause may lie deeper — in our failure to give our fellow citizens a fair chance to develop their own capacities, in a lack of education and training, in a lack of medical care and housing, in a lack of decent communities in which to live and bring up their children,” President Johnson declared in his speech. And he identified the best weapons for attack, including better schools, health and homes, as well as better jobs opportunities and training to allow Americans to escape from their miserable condition.

Johnson’s War on Poverty consisted of a number of initiatives, including the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, which created local Community Action Agencies to serve the needs of low income people. The Act also established programs such as Head Start, a program promoting school readiness for young children, the Job Corps, which provided education and training to young people, and Volunteers In Service to America, or VISTA, a national service program to fight poverty.

Under the Food Stamp Act of 1964, the nation’s largest food program, the federal government provides currency-type benefits for food for needy people, while the states cover the cost of determining who is eligible and distributing the stamps. Further, the Social Security Act of 1965 created Medicare and Medicaid, health insurance programs for the elderly and the poor, while the elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 became the largest form of federal aid to primary and secondary or K-12 schools.

Looking back at the broad, ambitious agenda set out by LBJ half a century ago, there is ample evidence that his efforts were a success for the most vulnerable in society. For example, according to the Census Bureau, the safety net kept 41 million people, including 9 million children out of poverty in 2012. Further, new research suggests the safety net created by the War on Poverty helped cut the poverty rate from 26 percent in 1967 to 16 percent in 2012. Further, 29 percent would be in poverty today without those programs. The study, however, suggests the economy has done little to better the lives of the most destitute, pointing to the need to make structural changes to the economy.

Despite its successes, Johnson’s War on Poverty was a victim of misplaced priorities. The war in Vietnam diverted resources from anti-poverty programs, as there simply was not enough money to pay for two wars. Martin Luther King understood this. “I knew that America would never invest the necessary funds or energies in rehabilitation of its poor so long as adventures like Vietnam continued to draw men and skills and money like some demonic destructive suction tube,” Dr. King said. “So I was increasingly compelled to see the war as an enemy of the poor and to attack it as such. Perhaps the more tragic recognition of reality took place when it became clear to me that the war was doing far more than devastating the hopes of the poor at home.”
unfortunately, over the years politicians have waged a war against anti-poverty programs and have scapegoated the poor themselves.

In 1988, President Ronald Reagan—who had scored political points by conjuring up the image of the black “welfare queen” getting rich from government handouts—declared that poverty won and the war was over. Further, in August 1996 President Bill Clinton said that “Today, we are ending welfare as we know it” when he signed a bill ending the federal guarantee of cash assistance to the poor and turning over welfare to the states.

Now, welfare is known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or TANF. Two-thirds of poor children received welfare in the mid-1990s. Today that number has fallen to 27 percent. What’s worse is that 6 million people have no other source of income other than food stamps. The U.S. safety net is far less generous and less comprehensive than that of other nations and, as a result, America is not as effective at fighting poverty and inequality as it could. This is why poverty is higher in the U.S. than in other prosperous nations.

And poverty in America remains high—very high in fact, at 50 million people (including 13 million children) or 16 percent, the highest rate since President Johnson was in office. In 1964 the poverty rate was 19 percent, and in 1969 it had fallen to 12.1 percent. In addition, 100 million Americans, or 1 in 3, live at twice the poverty level, which is $23,000 for a family of four.

Fifty years after the War on Poverty, U.S. economic inequality is now the highest since 1928, thanks to policies that have redistributed income at the expense of the poor. In 1928, the top 1 percent of families made 23.9 percent of the income. In 1944, this fell to 11.3 percent, with the bottom 90 percent receiving 67.5 percent. In 2012, the top 1 percent claimed 22.5 percent, and the bottom 90 percent fell below 50 percent (49.6) for the first time in history.

Unfortunately, in post-recession America, the majority of new jobs are low paying, and wages have been stuck for the bottom half of workers since 1973. Further, 20.5 million people earn incomes below half the poverty line, a disturbing increase of 8 million since 2000. Union membership has steadily dropped over the years, and millennials are stuck in a low wage existence, shut out of the middle class with enormous student debt to pay off. However, a movement of low wage workers is calling for minimum wage hikes and calling out abusive employers, in the hopes of turning the tide of public opinion and changing socioeconomic policy.

The circumstances in which America finds itself cry out for a War on Poverty 2.0. Tackling endemic poverty and eradicating the structural inequities in society are necessary in order to allow the nation to live up to its full potential. People need a more effective safety net, and good jobs with a living wage. Is there enough political will to fight the war? Possibly, but ultimately, it will take a national movement and public pressure to make that happen.