Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire !

The way I see it it's all over but the shoutin for
Atty. Gen. Albert Gonzales. His integrity has
been compromised and when that happens to
a public official in his capacity it's time to start
sending out resumes for other employment.
Now look at the other side of the coin, how
many hispanics has he let down especially
latino kids who viewed him as a role model.
The top cop in the land is a liar and he's hispanic.
Thats what people see and will remember the
most about Alberto Gonzales.


Despite his earlier denials, Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales was deeply involved in discussions that led to the firing of eight U.S. attorneys, his former chief of staff testified Thursday.D. Kyle Sampson told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the attorney general had participated in "at least five" meetings on the subject over the course of more than two years, and had other encounters in which the "strengths and weaknesses" of prosecutors were discussed.

"I don't think the attorney general's statement that he was not involved in any discussions of U.S. attorney removals was accurate," Sampson said.Sampson's testimony could be a major blow to Gonzales, who is struggling to hold on to his job in the face of growing criticism from Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill.

Sampson also disclosed how he and a small band of young lawyers at the Justice Department and the White House decided which U.S. attorneys should be replaced last year.In one revelation that seemed to startle some senators, Sampson described how he proposed replacing the U.S. attorney in Chicago, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, who was at the time investigating White House political strategist Karl Rove and others to discover who exposed the identity of a covert CIA operative."I said, 'Pat Fitzgerald could be added to this list,' " Sampson said. He was in a meeting with then-White House Counsel Harriet E. Miers and Deputy Counsel William Kelley.

"They looked at me like I had said something totally inappropriate, and I had. Immediately after I did it, I regretted it."Fitzgerald, regarded as one of the top prosecutors in the nation, subsequently won the conviction of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, for perjury in the CIA operative case.Sampson also disclosed that one of the fired U.S. attorneys, David C. Iglesias of New Mexico, was not pegged for dismissal until October, just as two Republican members of Congress were inquiring about his handling of a public corruption investigation of state Democrats.





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"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
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Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
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program,click here:
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Scandulous Prez !

History may and I hope, record that President Bush
turns out to be the most scandulous person (I say person
because Hillary is looking better every day.) to ever occupy
the Oval office. But after all according to the article below
should we expect anything less? Your more than welcomed
to tell me.


THE SCANDAL unfolding around the firing of eight U.S. attorneys compels the conclusion that the Bush administration has rewarded loyalty over all else. A destructive pattern of partisan political actions at the Justice Department started long before this incident, however, as those of us who worked in its civil rights division can attest. I spent more than 35 years in the department enforcing federal civil rights laws — particularly voting rights.

Before leaving in 2005, I worked for attorneys general with dramatically different political philosophies — from John Mitchell to Ed Meese to Janet Reno. Regardless of the administration, the political appointees had respect for the experience and judgment of longtime civil servants. Under the Bush administration, however, all that changed. Over the last six years, this Justice Department has ignored the advice of its staff and skewed aspects of law enforcement in ways that clearly were intended to influence the outcome of elections. It has notably shirked its legal responsibility to protect voting rights. From 2001 to 2006, no voting discrimination cases were brought on behalf of African American or Native American voters.

U.S. attorneys were told instead to give priority to voter fraud cases, which, when coupled with the strong support for voter ID laws, indicated an intent to depress voter turnout in minority and poor communities.At least two of the recently fired U.S. attorneys, John McKay in Seattle and David C. Iglesias in New Mexico, were targeted largely because they refused to prosecute voting fraud cases that implicated Democrats or voters likely to vote for Democrats.




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Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/

Television Upgrade ?

When I saw this article in this mornings paper
I was really blew away by it. I had no idea that
such an event existed and I'm sure there are
millions and millions of people in this country
that are as ignorant of the facts as I was. I just
thought I'd be missing out on a better quality
picture by the changes but instead unless I
upgrade I won't get a picture at all. This all
seems funny to me but on the other hand it's
scary too! Can you imagine one day waking up,
turning on the old TV to catch a dose of morning
news and nothings there but snow and on all
channels. Read the article below to find out what
you need to do before it's too late.


For millions of Americans, the digital revolution might not be televised.One in 5 U.S. households — more than a million in the Los Angeles area — depends on rabbit ears or a rooftop antenna to watch TV. Without converter boxes, most of their sets will go blank the day in 2009 that federal law requires broadcast stations to turn off analog signals and transmit only in digital.The shift is being hailed as broadcast television's most dramatic upgrade since it bloomed to color from black and white half a century ago.

The technology gives free TV viewers vastly sharper pictures and enables networks such as ABC and PBS to offer a wider range of channels.The 80% of Americans with cable or satellite service won't be affected by the change. Neither will those who have newer, digital TV sets. If you do have an old analog TV hooked up to an antenna, you need only buy a converter box, which will probably cost about $50. The federal government is going to hand out subsidies to help pay for it, and you have two years to get ready.Civil rights leaders and lawmakers are uneasy anyway.

A recent poll found that 61% of people who rely on broadcast TV aren't aware of the digital shift. What's more, households without cable or satellite service tend to have lower incomes, and blacks and Latinos are more likely to receive only over-the-air TV than whites. The worry isn't that people will miss vital episodes of "American Idol." It's all about staying connected. Even today, with news a 24/7 affair on the Internet and pay TV, nearly two-thirds of viewers say broadcast news is the main way they find out what's going on in the world."When I walk into people's houses, they're tuned in to the news," said Alex Nogales, president of the Los Angeles-based National Hispanic Media Coalition.

He is testifying on the digital-TV transition before a House subcommittee today. "Am I concerned that our community is going to be left out? Of course."Federal law requires broadcast stations to turn off analog signals and transmit only in digital on Feb. 18, 2009.TV networks, cable providers and consumer electronics makers have joined to raise public awareness through websites and an estimated tens of millions of dollars worth of televised public service announcements to begin airing next year.





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Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/

45 Million And Still Rising !

More and more insurance companies are getting
out of the healthcare business now that they've made
billions of dollars. But is it their fault that medical
expenses continue to soar? I think not. 45 million
americans are without health insurance, thats
almost 1 in every 6 persons. Lame politicians are
failing big time to solve this crisis. The story below
adds another saga to the growing problem that our
leaders are avoiding.


A major source of health insurance for people who work for themselves is disappearing, casting thousands of contractors, freelancers and solo practitioners into the ranks of the uninsured with little hope of obtaining new coverage. Health plans offered by professional associations were once havens for millions of people who couldn't get coverage anywhere else. But as medical costs have soared, groups representing professions as varied as law and golf have been forced to stop offering the benefit or been dropped by insurers.

More than 8,000 people with coverage through the California Assn. of Realtors could be next if Blue Shield of California succeeds with its plan to cancel the group's health coverage."It's a real stab in the heart," said Marcy Garber, 62, an Encino real estate agent whose history of breast cancer makes her an almost-certain reject if she seeks similar coverage on her own.Although no one tracks association coverage to know how many plans have disappeared, the experience of Marsh Affinity Services is telling. A decade ago, Marsh, which brokers and administers the health plans, had 142 such clients.

Today, all but three have shut down.Over the same period, the nation's uninsured population, now estimated at 45 million, rose dramatically, fueled in part by the dearth of affordable options for the self-employed, experts say. Among uninsured workers, nearly 63% are self-employed or work in small firms, Todd Stottlemyer, president of the National Federation of Independent Business, told Congress recently. Fewer than a quarter of 1,020 professional and small-business associations surveyed in February offer medical coverage, even though a majority of the groups said they would like to. The American Society of Association Executives, which commissioned the survey, views the issue as a crisis.




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Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/

Still Can't Get It Right !

For over fifty years now the government has known that
the post war baby boomers were going to mean increases needed
in health related areas and now that the time nears politicians want
to pit young against old in who will get and who will not in health
care. Things don't have to be this way where one generation
versus another. This is unexceptiable and the American people
should not bow down to fence straddling politics. Read the article
below. Feel free to comment not only here but to your local
congressman. Health care in this country should be available to
everyone!


The Democratic Congress, eager to do something that would be popular with voters, is moving to provide healthcare coverage to millions of uninsured children this year, but there's a catch: Senior citizens enrolled in a popular Medicare program may have to help pay the bill.That could turn what started as a feel-good plan to help the children of the working poor into a tricky exercise in shifting generational burdens.

Such trade-offs may soon become a central theme of American politics, experts say, because the federal deficit is large and the bills for supporting baby boomers in retirement are about to start coming due."The budget squeeze is on, and in some ways this is the first salvo," said Adam Carasso, an analyst at the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan policy research group in Washington. "It's getting to the point where you are going to have to ask the dreaded question:

Is it children or the elderly?"He added, "The way we have allocated our spending, it's coming down to an either-or proposition."Lawmakers want to provide coverage to as many as 6 million of an estimated 9 million uninsured children, by increasing federal spending as much as $60 billion over the next five years. But budget rules designed to curb the deficit require new expenditures to be offset by tax increases or cuts in programs.To help meet the cost, Congress is considering trimming payments to Medicare managed-care plans.

The privately run alternatives to traditional programs serve about 8 million senior citizens, including those in health maintenance organizations. If funding is reduced, the plans may cut dental, vision and other benefits.The new funding for children would be used to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, as well as Medicaid. Known as Medi-Cal in California, Medicaid provides coverage for the poor. SCHIP is called Healthy Families in California, and serves children in low- to moderate-income working families.Expanding the programs could help people like 5-year-old Kayla Cervantes of East Los Angeles, a second-generation Californian who has had no health insurance for about half of her life.

Her parents make too much money to qualify for insurance through SCHIP and other government programs, but not enough to afford private coverage.Their backup plan if Kayla gets sick is to take her to a doctor in Mexico, where they have relatives.Maria Rosales, Kayla's mother, said her husband paid $600 a month at one point for family coverage through his employer. (The company pays only for the father's insurance.)

"We can afford about $200 a month," Rosales said. "He had to cancel it."When Kayla caught a bad cold in December, with a cough that wouldn't let her rest at night and a fever that hit 102 degrees, the family went to the doctor in Mexico. It cost about $40 for an examination and prescription antibiotics."Today she can play with her friends, but anything can happen," Rosales said. "She could fall, and that would be a big bill."





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Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/

Small Town Takes On Immigration Problem

For about the next two months the residents of
both the town of Hazelton, Pa. and the country
will be on pins and needles awaiting the judges
decision in a case that could set a precedent.
At risk is weither landlords and employers can
be penalized for renting or employing illegal
immigrants. The defense argues that only the
federal government can enforce immigration policy.

Read the article below and then serve up your ownopinion on this hot issue.Attorneys for Hazleton, Pa., told a federal judge Thursday that the town's efforts to crack down on illegal residents would reinforce U.S. immigration policies, but civil liberties lawyers argued the issue should be left in the hands of Congress instead of local governments.The arguments closed the nation's first trial testing cities' right to enforce local laws against illegal immigration.U.S. District Judge James M. Munley's decision, which is not expected for at least two months, could set a national precedent for about 70 other communities that have or are considering similar measures.

The Illegal Immigration Relief Act approved by Hazleton City Council last year seeks to penalize landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and businesses that employ them. Munley put enforcement on hold for the challenge to its constitutionality; otherwise it would have taken effect Nov. 1, 2006.Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups filed the suit against Hazleton.The trial began March 12. Hazleton's ordinances were intended to protect residents from rising crime, gangs and a drain on social services caused by illegal immigrants, said lead Hazleton attorney Kris W. Kobach. Its act supports federal prohibitions on harboring or hiring illegal immigrants, he said.

Congress expects states and local governments to help the federal government detain and deport illegal immigrants, but the federal government has not done enough to stop illegal immigration, Kobach said."How can we participate if we don't know" who is in the country illegally? he asked. One Hazleton provision would require people to register with the city to prove their citizenship.Lawyers for the plaintiffs said illegal immigration was a complex issue that, if left to local governments, could harm international relations and the U.S. economy."This is not only about Hazleton," said Witold J. Walczak, lead lawyer for the ACLU of Pennsylvania.

"They want other towns to follow Hazleton's lead."The federal government considers whether an illegal immigrant was a victim of human trafficking or political persecution, or whether they have family responsibility in the U.S., he said, whereas "Hazleton's ordinances consider none of this.





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Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top.
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/

Small Town Tackles Immigration Problem

For about the next two months the residents of
both the town of Hazelton, Pa. and the country
will be on pins and needles awaiting the judges
decision in a case that could set a precedent.
At risk is weither landlords and employers can
be penalized for renting or employing illegal
immigrants. The defense argues that only the
federal government can enforce immigration policy.
Read the article below and then serve up your own
opinion on this hot issue.


Attorneys for Hazleton, Pa., told a federal judge Thursday that the town's efforts to crack down on illegal residents would reinforce U.S. immigration policies, but civil liberties lawyers argued the issue should be left in the hands of Congress instead of local governments.
The arguments closed the nation's first trial testing cities' right to enforce local laws against illegal immigration.

U.S. District Judge James M. Munley's decision, which is not expected for at least two months, could set a national precedent for about 70 other communities that have or are considering similar measures.
The Illegal Immigration Relief Act approved by Hazleton City Council last year seeks to penalize landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and businesses that employ them. Munley put enforcement on hold for the challenge to its constitutionality; otherwise it would have taken effect Nov. 1, 2006.

Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups filed the suit against Hazleton.
The trial began March 12. Hazleton's ordinances were intended to protect residents from rising crime, gangs and a drain on social services caused by illegal immigrants, said lead Hazleton attorney Kris W. Kobach. Its act supports federal prohibitions on harboring or hiring illegal immigrants, he said.

Congress expects states and local governments to help the federal government detain and deport illegal immigrants, but the federal government has not done enough to stop illegal immigration, Kobach said.
"How can we participate if we don't know" who is in the country illegally? he asked. One Hazleton provision would require people to register with the city to prove their citizenship.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs said illegal immigration was a complex issue that, if left to local governments, could harm international relations and the U.S. economy.
"This is not only about Hazleton," said Witold J. Walczak, lead lawyer for the ACLU of Pennsylvania. "They want other towns to follow Hazleton's lead."

The federal government considers whether an illegal immigrant was a victim of human trafficking or political persecution, or whether they have family responsibility in the U.S., he said, whereas "Hazleton's ordinances consider none of this."




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Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/

Celebrate Or Party?

Celebrating has become synonymous with partying
and having a festive time. In the case of Black History
month it's a time for rememberance of black people
that contributed their hard work, efforts and even their
lives that have helped make this country what it is today.
Emmett Till's death was a tradgedy and one that should
never be forgotten and for a school to say that his murder
was too graphic is to border on censorship. Will these same
people also say that the holocaust is too graphic? To use
this lame excuse is to sweep piece of black history under
the rug. So let us not forget the real meaning of Black History
Month.

The award-winning author of "A Wreath for Emmett Till," a poetic memorial to the teenage civil rights icon murdered in Mississippi, said Wednesday it was "unconscionable" that a planned presentation of the work by students at a Los Angeles charter school sparked the firing of two teachers.Marilyn Nelson, a former poet laureate of Connecticut and National Book Award finalist, wrote to the school, Celerity Nascent, and said that she was "troubled" and "shocked" at the events and urged that teachers Marisol Alba and Sean Strauss be reinstated.

Controversy erupted last month when the school canceled a special Black History Month presentation by the seventh-grade class that was to include the reading of a poem and laying of a wreath of flowers inspired by Nelson's book. School officials had contended that the Till case — in which the black teenager was beaten to death in 1955 after allegedly whistling at a white woman — was too graphic for younger children and did not fit the mood of what was to be a celebratory event. The students had been learning about Till and planning the presentation for two weeks, and many wrote letters of protest to urge administrators to reconsider their decision.

Alba, who helped students prepare the presentation, and math teacher Strauss signed one of the letters and were later terminated."It's a terrible injustice," said Nelson, a professor of English at the University of Connecticut. "I wanted them to know that they're not alone. They raised their voices and that took courage."In her letter, Nelson wrote, "Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks and Mamie Till-Mobley would have been proud of your students' passionate and clear view of your decision to cancel their program. They would have signed the students' letters of protest too."





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Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/

Antiabortionist Making Moves

The abortion issue with African Americans has
long been tied into the economics of Blacks and
therefore the stance on abortion has leaned towards
the right to choose. Now antiabortion activist are
courting Blacks in an effort to get us into their ranks.
How do you feel today about abortion and do economics
still play into the equation?

Antiabortion activists are reaching aggressively to draw more African Americans into their movement, targeting urban communities that they have long considered hostile turf.
They are opening crisis pregnancy centers in minority neighborhoods, establishing partnerships with black pastors and distributing provocative leaflets to raise suspicion about Planned Parenthood, a longtime provider of reproductive healthcare and abortions in poor urban areas.

Framing their cause as the new frontier in civil rights — an effort to stop "black genocide" — these activists have turned to revered names in black history. A niece of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. tours the nation, speaking out against "the war on the womb." The great-great-granddaughter of Dred Scott recently compared Roe vs. Wade to the 1857 Supreme Court decision declaring blacks so far inferior that they had no rights.

"Often the inner-city, the immigrant and minority populations are invisible when we think of the whole abortion issue," said Peggy Hartshorn, president of Heartbeat International, which runs nearly 900 antiabortion counseling centers across the nation — almost all in mostly white suburbs.
The nonprofit launched an initiative last year to stake out a presence in cities, where abortion clinics tend to be clustered. "It's only recently that we've realized we need to be there," Hartshorn said. Her initial goal is to open three to five crisis pregnancy centers in Miami over the next several years.

The intensifying outreach to African Americans is not a coordinated strategy but a series of projects by independent ministries. Heartbeat focuses on steering one woman at a time away from abortion. The black activist group LEARN tries to rally political outrage by touring colleges with the Genocide Awareness Project — giant murals that juxtapose photos of aborted fetuses with images of slaughter in Rwanda.
A single statistic underlies all these efforts: African Americans make up 13% of the population but account for 37% of all abortions in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.




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Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/

Principal Oversteps Authority ?

What a student does in a classroom and on school
property is one thing but outside on a public sidewalk
is another. This principal should have known where to
draw the line. So yes I think the student's right to free
speech were badly trampled on by the school principal.
People in positions of authority should be aware of where
their powers begin and end. What's your opinion on this
issue. Read the article below and offer up your comments.


High school students may have a right to free speech, but that does not include the freedom to unfurl a banner promoting "bong hits" during a school activity, the Supreme Court was told Monday. An unusual case from Alaska tests whether principals and teachers can punish students for banners, buttons or other messages that conflict with the goals and policies set by school officials. During Monday's argument, former U.S. Solicitor General Kenneth W. Starr and a Bush administration attorney urged the justices to defer to school officials when deciding what messages were appropriate on and around a high school campus.

"Illegal drugs and the glorification of the drug culture are profoundly serious problems for our nation," said Starr, dean of Pepperdine University School of Law. He represents a school principal from Juneau, Alaska, who was sued for ripping away the banner and suspending the student who unfurled it. Permitting the banner to be displayed would be "interpreted as an encouragement of the drug culture," Starr said. Deputy Solicitor General Edwin Kneedler, representing the Justice Department, added, "A school does not have to tolerate a message that is inconsistent with its basic educational mission."

But a lawyer representing the student said the right to free speech should prevail so long as the message did not disrupt classrooms or the education process. "This is a case about free speech. It is not a case about drugs," said Douglas K. Mertz, a lawyer from Juneau. His client, Joseph Frederick, was an 18-year-old senior in 2002 when the torch for the Winter Olympics was scheduled to pass in front of the high school. Frederick was standing on a public street as the TV cameras came into range. He and several other students then unfurled the 14-foot banner that said, "Bong Hits 4 Jesus."

The school's principal, Deborah Morse, ripped it away from the students and sent Frederick to the office. She planned to suspend him for five days, but when he invoked Thomas Jefferson and the 1st Amendment, she doubled the suspension to 10 days. Frederick sued, alleging Morse had violated his constitutional rights. A federal judge rejected his claim, but the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled for the student and said the principal could be forced to pay damages.





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Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
ells the story of the Civil Rights
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rum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/

To Apologize Or Not

Here's my thinking on the matter of an apology for
the enslavement of my ancestors. It wouldn't mean
a whole lot to me cause I wasn't there but as a result
of it having happened, I have felt reprecussions
as a result. Such as discrimination, insults and police
harrassment. So I want to be compensated in some
sort of way that it will benefit future generations of
African-Americans. So there it is, now I'd love to
hear your opinion but first check out the article below.


More than 140 years after slavery was abolished, Congress and a growing number of elected officials in states and cities are wrestling with whether to formally apologize.The movement began in the former Confederate capital, Richmond, Va., with state legislators last month unanimously passing a resolution expressing "profound regret" over Virginia's role in slavery and the Jim Crow era. Now, lawmakers in Georgia, Maryland, Delaware, New York, Missouri, Massachusetts and Vermont are considering similar measures that would express regret, apologize or create commemorative days.The wave of contrition has spread to cities too.

In Macon, Ga., the mayor issued an executive order last month apologizing for the city's role in slavery. And in the former slave port of Annapolis, Md., the City Council has proposed an apology for "perpetual pain, distrust and bitterness" caused to African Americans. On the federal level, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) has introduced a House resolution for a national apology."America has never apologized for the enslavement of millions of Africans," said Tyrone Brooks, a Democratic Georgia state representative, noting that Congress had apologized to Japanese Americans interned during World War II and to native Hawaiians for the 1893 U.S. coup.

"An apology is just long overdue."There is wide agreement that such apologies would be largely symbolic political gestures, but there appears to be little consensus on what exactly they would mean.Some believe official legislative remorse could be cathartic to the nation, showing that it is mature enough to confront its past. But others accuse lawmakers of picking an easy battle: Apologizing for blatant historical wrongs such as slavery, they say, only detracts from addressing present-day injustices.

"The value of such an apology is up for debate," said history professor James Cobb of the University of Georgia. "Certainly, for many people, it's not much of an emotional concession to apologize for something you don't really feel responsible for."In Virginia, critics note, one of the legislators who voted for the apology was Frank Hargrove, a Republican who incensed African American leaders a month earlier by saying black citizens should "get over" slavery.




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Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/

Dead Woman Walking!

Here's a woman that needs her dose of weed to stay
alive and the U. S. government appeals court has
reaffirmed that that the government has the right
to prosecute her and 100,000 other patients for
medical-marijuana use. What a bummer so can
someone out there tell me that why in the 21st
century that smoking a little pot is a criminal
offense in this country?


Medical marijuana patient Angel Raich's latest bid to win protection from federal drug laws went down to defeat Wednesday in U.S. appeals court despite her claim that cannabis is the only medicine that keeps her alive. The ruling by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is the second big legal loss in two years for Raich, 41, an Oakland mother of two who suffers from more than a dozen chronic illnesses, including an inoperable brain tumor.

"I feel like I'm a dead man walking because I'm the first person in the country who has been told they do not have a right to life," a sobbing Raich said after learning of the ruling. "I'm trying really hard to remember the word 'courage' — because courage is nothing more than well-concealed fear. "In 2005 the U.S. Supreme Court rebuffed Raich, who has never been charged with a crime but sought to make her plight a test case to win protection for the nation's more than 100,000 medical-marijuana patients.

The high court reaffirmed the right of the U.S. government to wage criminal prosecutions against patients and suppliers, even in California and 10 other states where cannabis is a legal medicine.Raich renewed her case before a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit, focusing her arguments on the "medical necessity" of her marijuana use. Her physician says pot, which Raich inhales every two hours, is the only drug that assuages her afflictions, which include a seizure disorder and chronic pain.In a 32-page opinion, Judge Harry Pregerson said Raich failed to prove her case for an injunction that would bar U.S. drug agents from lodging a criminal case against her.

But the judge expressed sympathy for Raich's medical plight and need for marijuana, asserting that she probably would meet the requirements to claim a medical necessity if she were ever criminally prosecuted by the U.S. for her pot use.Pregerson wrote that Raich was faced with a choice between "the lesser of two evils." The judge said she probably met the legal criteria for a medical necessity defense: establishing that her illnesses put her in imminent harm, showing that pot managed her pain and demonstrating that she had been unable to find legal medical alternatives to cannabis, Pregerson wrote.




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"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/

Politics In The Justice Department?

So Bush is not feeling his Attorney General on
the handling of the fired prosecutors. Well thats
too bad cause those peoples should never have
been fired in the first place, at least not on the
grounds that they were not loyal to the Bush
administration. That in itself is dangerous in
light of all the legal problems and setbacks
the Bush administration has been having.
When these prosecutors were fired was a
signal being sent to remaining lawyers.
I've made my conclusions and would like
to hear yours.


President Bush said today he is "not happy" about how the Justice Department handled the dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys last year, and said Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales has "got some work up there" in better explaining the events to Congress."Mistakes were made, and I'm frankly not happy about it," Bush said during a joint news conference with Mexican President Felipe Calderon in Merida, Mexico.

Gonzales acknowledged Tuesday that "mistakes were made" in the dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys last year, but he rejected calls for his resignation from Democrats incensed by fresh evidence that the Bush administration testified inaccurately about its role in the controversy.Noting that U.S. attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president, Bush said that what Gonzales did in firing the prosecutors was "appropriate. What was mishandled was the explanation of the cases to the Congress, and Al's got some work to do up there.

"The increasing pressure on Gonzales to resign coincided with the House Judiciary Committee's release of e-mails between Justice Department officials and the White House detailing a quiet two-year campaign to oust U.S. attorneys who had fallen out of favor with the administration.The e-mails undercut the sworn congressional testimony of several Justice Department officials, including Deputy Atty. Gen. Paul J. McNulty, the department's No. 2 official, about the circumstances of the departures. The release of the messages put the White House and the Justice Department on the defensive and fueled the burgeoning controversy on Capitol Hill.

On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee stepped up its investigation into the dismissals as well, sending letters seeking cooperation from past and present White House officials, including President Bush's top political strategist, Karl Rove. The panel also sent letters to Gonzales and to White House counsel Fred F. Fielding seeking documents relating to the firings.Gonzales sought to contain the firestorm at a hastily called news briefing Tuesday, accepting responsibility for the ouster of the eight prosecutors and acknowledging that the situation had been poorly handled.

But he said he would continue in the job and pinned most of the blame on the failure of his chief of staff, D. Kyle Sampson, to keep him and other department officials informed. Sampson resigned Monday."I am here not because I give up," Gonzales said. "I am here because I've learned from my mistakes, because I accept responsibility, and because I'm committed to doing my job, and that is what I intend to do."





This Article Continues Here:





Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top.
"It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/

Politics In The Justice Department?

So Bush is not feeling his Attorney General on
the handling of the fired prosecutors. Well thats
too bad cause those peoples should never have
been fired in the first place, at least not on the
grounds that they were not loyal to the Bush
administration. That in itself is dangerous in
light of all the legal problems and setbacks
the Bush administration has been having.
When these prosecutors were fired was a
signal being sent to remaining lawyers.
I've made my conclusions and would like
to hear yours.


President Bush said today he is "not happy" about how the Justice Department handled the dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys last year, and said Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales has "got some work up there" in better explaining the events to Congress."Mistakes were made, and I'm frankly not happy about it," Bush said during a joint news conference with Mexican President Felipe Calderon in Merida, Mexico.

Gonzales acknowledged Tuesday that "mistakes were made" in the dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys last year, but he rejected calls for his resignation from Democrats incensed by fresh evidence that the Bush administration testified inaccurately about its role in the controversy.Noting that U.S. attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president, Bush said that what Gonzales did in firing the prosecutors was "appropriate. What was mishandled was the explanation of the cases to the Congress, and Al's got some work to do up there.

"The increasing pressure on Gonzales to resign coincided with the House Judiciary Committee's release of e-mails between Justice Department officials and the White House detailing a quiet two-year campaign to oust U.S. attorneys who had fallen out of favor with the administration.The e-mails undercut the sworn congressional testimony of several Justice Department officials, including Deputy Atty. Gen. Paul J. McNulty, the department's No. 2 official, about the circumstances of the departures. The release of the messages put the White House and the Justice Department on the defensive and fueled the burgeoning controversy on Capitol Hill.

On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee stepped up its investigation into the dismissals as well, sending letters seeking cooperation from past and present White House officials, including President Bush's top political strategist, Karl Rove. The panel also sent letters to Gonzales and to White House counsel Fred F. Fielding seeking documents relating to the firings.Gonzales sought to contain the firestorm at a hastily called news briefing Tuesday, accepting responsibility for the ouster of the eight prosecutors and acknowledging that the situation had been poorly handled.

But he said he would continue in the job and pinned most of the blame on the failure of his chief of staff, D. Kyle Sampson, to keep him and other department officials informed. Sampson resigned Monday."I am here not because I give up," Gonzales said. "I am here because I've learned from my mistakes, because I accept responsibility, and because I'm committed to doing my job, and that is what I intend to do."





This Article Continues Here:





Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top.
"It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/

Fred's Blood Money

Well it looks as if Fred GoldMan is finally
gonna see some cash from the lawsuit of
O J Simpson. I'm wondering how this is
gonna play out in the media since there
was a big stink about the original publishing
and selling of the book "If I did it." It's a win-
win situation all around. Fred gets somes blood
money and the public behind Fred gets to be
happy for him. What are your thoughts on this?

A judge ordered on Tuesday that rights to O.J. Simpson's aborted book, "If I Did It," be sold at auction to help satisfy a civil judgment against the former football star -- meaning the book could find its way into stores.

The ruling comes four months after Simpson's book about how he could have committed the 1994 murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ron Goldman, was scrubbed by News Corp. media tycoon Rupert Murdoch.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Gerald Rosenberg's decision comes at the request of Ron Goldman's father, Fred Goldman, who expressed outrage at the original publication of "If I Did It" and now finds himself putting the manuscript back into circulation.

"The Goldmans were horrified as to the content, but the real horror was that Simpson was profiting," Goldman's lawyer, David Cook, said. "O.J. is now on the block. On the right hand we get to sell the book, and on the left we get the money."
Cook said Goldman did not necessarily want the book published but had determined that the rights to "If I Did It" were one of Simpson's few "visible assets." The auction could be held within 30 days, Cook said.




This Article Continues Here:




Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top.
"It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/

Time Warp?

How does a town that has a 48% hispanic population
fail to get one of it's own elected? Well like the saying
goes something is rotten in Denmark. Check out the
article below cause for those of y'all that were not
yet born this is the sort of thing black folks went
through in this country during the civil rights era.


PORT CHESTER, New York (Reuters) - A dispute over voting rights reminiscent of the U.S. civil rights era has broken out in this New York town, where the federal government has thrust itself into the debate and a judge suspended an election. The U.S. Justice Department told the village of Port Chester to rewrite its election laws because they have denied Hispanics a seat in the local government, and the all-white board is fighting back. At issue is whether Port Chester is violating the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a hallmark of the black struggle for equal rights, by insisting its board of trustees be elected by a villagewide vote.

Although they make up 46 percent of Port Chester's population, no Hispanic has been elected to the board governing the town of 28,000 people. The Justice Department sued Port Chester in December, after a complaint by Cesar Ruiz, a Hispanic who made an unsuccessful bid to be a trustee in 2001. Unlike the turbulent 1950s and 1960s, there are no water cannons or dogs unleashed on protesters, no federal troops.

The judge who halted the March 20 election called his action an ''extraordinary remedy'' that should not be routinely granted.'' Many of the Latino immigrants whose rights are at stake remain at the margins of the debate, whether due to a language barrier, economic hardship or fear of deportation. The board of trustees of the New York City suburb last year refused to adopt the Justice Department's recommendation to divide the town into districts, which might give Hispanics a better chance to elect one of their own.

U.S. District Judge Stephen Robinson then suspended the March 20 election for two trustee spots, pending a trial on the merits of the Justice Department's recommendation.Robinson found the government was likely to win at trial, but the board still declined to settle.``We've never had a problem with our elections or anything else. Now all of a sudden we have the federal government coming here, dictating to us they want us to have districts,'' said Port Chester Mayor Gerald Logan.

There's such greater issues that the federal government could be working on, like what we are doing with our borders,'' he said, a reference the influx of immigrants -- many of them Spanish speakers from Latin America -- into the United States.





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Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top.
"It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:

http://www.kingprogram.net/

All Is Not Equal In Veterans Affairs

With the thought that there is a question about who's
watching my back I'd be hard pressed about wanting
to serve in this countries military. Again the Bush
administration can chalk up another failure in it's
handling of the current situation with our veterans.
It seems that every day there is something new to
report on how verterans are being mistreated and by
all things their own government.


Staff Sgt. Gregory L. Wilson, from the Texas National Guard, waited nearly two years for his veterans’ disability check after he was injured in Iraq. If he had been an active-duty soldier, he would have gotten more help in cutting through the red tape.

Allen Curry of Chicago has fallen behind on his mortgage while waiting nearly two years for his disability check. If he had filed his claim in a state deploying fewer troops than Illinois, Mr. Curry, who was injured by a bomb blast when he was a staff sergeant in the Army Reserve in Iraq, would most likely have been paid sooner and gotten more in benefits.
Veterans face serious inequities in compensation for disabilities depending on where they live and whether they were on active duty or were members of the National Guard or the Reserve, an analysis by The New York Times has found.

Those factors determine whether some soldiers wait nearly twice as long to get benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs as others, and collect less money, according to agency figures.
“The V.A. is supposed to provide uniform and fair treatment to all,” said Steve Robinson, the director of veteran affairs for Veterans for America. “Instead, the places and services giving the most are getting the least.”
The agency said it was trying to ease the backlog and address disparities by hiring more claims workers, authorizing more overtime and adding claims development centers.
The problems partly stem from the agency’s inability to prepare for predictable surges in demand from certain states or certain categories of service members, say advocates and former department officials.

Numerous government reports have highlighted the agency’s backlog of disability claims and called for improvements in shifting resources.
“It’s Actuary Science 101,” said Paul Sullivan, who until last March monitored data on returning veterans for the V.A. “When 5,000 new troops get deployed from California, you can logically expect a percent of them will show up at the V.A. in California in a year with predictable types of problems.”
“It makes no sense to wait until the troop is already back home to start preparing for them,” Mr. Sullivan said. “But that’s what the V.A. does.”

Veterans’ advocates say the types of bureaucratic obstacles recently disclosed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center are eclipsed by those at the Veterans Affairs division that is supposed to pay soldiers for service-related ills. The influx of veterans from the Iraq war has nearly overwhelmed an agency already struggling to meet the health care, disability payment and pension needs of more than three million veterans.





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Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top.
"It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
ttp://www.kingprogram.net/

Is NCLB Flunking ?

The No Child Left Behind program may needs it's
own tutor. According to reports on the commissions
report unless you read the commissions report yourself
you won't find out that the No Child Left Behind program
is failing and badly. The reasons why the program is failing
may also surprise you too. Take a gander at the article below.

New Haven, CT - The Commission on No Child Left Behind does not tell America what it really needs to know: Is the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) working? If it isn't working, will it succeed by the 2014 deadline? The answers to both of these questions, unfortunately, are no.

Beyond NCLB, the title of the Commission's report issued last month, would be more accurately titled Bolstering NCLB. The report is a defense of the Act against its critics. It is filled with anecdotes about NCLB success stories, and its recommendations are structured within-not beyond-the framework of the existing law. Because Beyond NCLB is aimed at shoring up the Act, the important questions are not asked or answered.

The commissioners state, "there is growing evidence that NCLB is producing some results where it counts: in improved student achievement." But the test results included in the report show that student scores increased more before NCLB was implemented in 2002, not after it. This finding raises the possibility that NCLB might be inhibiting student achievement instead of increasing it. An evaluation of NCLB by the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University concludes that so far NCLB has not significantly improved test scores or reduced racial achievement gaps.

Given NCLB's underwhelming performance, is 100 percent proficiency on exams by 2014 attainable? The answer to this question appears in a startling table on page 69 of the report which the commissioners do not discuss. The table shows how many states are expected to reach 100 percent proficiency by the deadline. For elementary school students in reading, only seven out of the twenty-one states analyzed are expected to make it. These are the highest results listed in the table. For elementary school students in math and for middle school students in both reading and math, the prognosis is worse. There is no way that we will achieve 100 percent proficiency for all students by 2014.

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Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top.
"It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from thistreasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/

Is There A Doctor In The House?

North Carolina Department of Corrections has a problem.
It's own state medical board has threatened to discipline
any doctor that participates in an execution. State law says
that a doctor must be present at executions. I think this is
a wonderful turn of events if your against capital punishment.
But check out the article below because it get better.



In an unusual development, the North Carolina Department of Corrections sued the state's medical board Tuesday, asserting that the board's threat to discipline doctors participating in executions had prevented the state from getting a physician to be present at lethal-injection executions. The suit was filed in Raleigh the same day that Superior Court Judge Donald W. Stephens called off an imminent execution after state officials informed him they had been unable to obtain the services of a doctor, as required by state law.Inmate Allen R. Holman, 47, was scheduled to die Friday in the execution chamber at Central Prison in Raleigh.

He was convicted of killing his wife in 1997.Legal experts said the suit marked the first time a state agency had sued a medical association stemming from the controversy over doctor involvement in capital punishment.North Carolina law requires that a doctor be present at executions. However, the state medical board said in January that although a doctor could be present, any other participation in the process violated its ethics policy. Last month state officials adopted procedures mandating that a physician monitor an inmate's vital signs and gave doctors the responsibility of halting an execution if the inmate appeared to be suffering excessively.

North Carolina, like California and 35 other states, uses a three-drug combination to execute inmates, who are strapped to a gurney. Lawyers for condemned inmates around the country have asserted in lawsuits that lethal-injection procedures violate the constitutional bar on cruel and unusual punishment.Executions have in effect been halted in 11 states as a result of lethal-injection challenges.Last April a federal judge in Raleigh initially blocked an execution but allowed it to proceed after prison officials agreed to use a machine to monitor an inmate's level of consciousness. Judge Malcolm J. Howard said the execution could proceed if medical personnel were present to ensure that the inmate was unconscious before the lethal injection was administered.




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Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top.
"It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from thistreasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/

Is The NAACP Pulling Up Lame? Part 2

So the struggle continues according to Mr. Julian Bond
and other NAACP board members. Well from my
perspective down here on the ground what other
gains can be made from a political stance. More
laws? I think that in this day and age things now
come down to being prepared and ready to handle
the opportunities once they come your way. The
dragons of the past have been slain and now all that
remains are the small bugs. It's time for a new
direction for the NAACP. Check out the article below.


NEW YORK (AP) -- Bruce S. Gordon quit as NAACP president after clashing with the board over the group's modern-day mission, a move that highlights a stubborn problem for activists: how to do civil rights work in an era decades after the movement's peak.
Should the NAACP have allowed Gordon, as Chairman Julian Bond put it, to ''pull (them) into the post-civil rights period?'' Bond firmly rejected the idea.

''We're not post-civil rights,'' he said. ''The struggle continues.''
Bond and other members of the 64-person board he leads believe that, though dramatic gains have been made in race relations since the 1950s, the movement has not yet completed its task -- and won't until persistent racial gaps in achievement and opportunity disappear.

Few American blacks would quibble that equality remains an unfulfilled dream.
Gordon recognizes that, too. He often sparked applause among NAACP rank-and-file when he paraphrased Charles Dickens, telling them that, ''for African-Americans, this is the best of times and the worst of times.''

But how to address the ''worst'' part?
The Baltimore-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, since its founding in 1909, has focused on advocacy -- raising public awareness of inequality -- not service. For instance, to combat black unemployment, the group would hold protest marches, gather signatures and lobby elected officials for better public policy. It would not offer skills training or make job referrals.

But from the start of his presidency, Gordon made clear he wanted to do more of the latter -- and he repeatedly resisted being reined in by the NAACP's traditional mission or its enforcement body, the board of directors.
He rankled many board members when he traveled the country with a power-point slide show detailing his plans for providing social services.

''We are going to be very outcome-oriented, very results-oriented,'' he said last July, ''as opposed to activity and effort-oriented.''
Gordon's goals of closing racial disparities in wealth, education and on prison rolls were, he admitted then, ''high bars.''

''But if we don't engage in addressing the fundamental issues that, to me, represent the civil rights struggles of the 21st century, then we shouldn't exist.''
Gordon is leaving, Bond said, because the organization is ''resisting philosophical change. We're staying the course.''
It's not that NAACP hasn't considered changing. Starting in 2000, board members re-evaluated the group's mission and strategic plan with experts at Harvard University's School of Business, said Rupert Richardson, a board member from Baton Rouge, La.

''We spent four years studying how we could effectively bring about change in this country,'' Richardson said. ''We came to the conclusion that advocacy was the way we should focus. Other organizations do service. We felt we were created to advocate for justice.''
But Gordon, a retired Verizon Corp. executive, questions the wisdom in that -- and so do others.
''The NAACP struggled for almost 100 years to get basic citizenship rights (for blacks),'' said Robert C. Smith, a political scientist at California State University at San Francisco. ''They won that. ... We are now in the post-civil rights era.''




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Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top.
"It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this
treasuredprogram,
click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net

Is The NAACP Pulling Up Lame?

It's said that the one thing people fear the most is change.
Has that fear taken root in the NAACP? I've felt for a long
time that the organization needed a change of leadership
as well as direction. In order to better service the membership
and the people the current leadership needs to be on the
forefront of social issues as well as being in the trenches.
The current leadership seems to be unable or unwilling to
get their hands dirty with todays social issues. The only time
of late that you hear of the NAACP is when there is internal
issues and in house fighting which seems to be happening now.
Read the article below and please feel free to let me know
what you think.


Bruce S. Gordon, a longtime business executive who took the helm of the NAACP less than two years ago, surprised followers of the civil rights organization Sunday night by announcing his resignation as president and chief executive. Reached by telephone at his Manhattan home Sunday night, Gordon, 61, said he stepped down because he was at odds with the organization's board about his role as chief executive. He also said he faced resistance to his aim to shift some of the organization's focus from political advocacy to social service.

"I did not step into the role to be a caretaker, to be dictated to," Gordon said. "I stepped into the role to understand as best I could the needs of the African American community and then to propose strategies and policies and programs and practices that could improve conditions for African Americans…. The things I had in mind were not consistent with what some — unfortunately, too many — on the board had in mind."Gordon added that he does not believe it is enough for the NAACP "simply to push the government … to institute policies that matter.

I think it's also important for us to step out into our communities and … deliver services.""To be totally reliant on what the government does for us, instead of also doing for ourselves what we have the capacity to do for ourselves, is, to me, too narrow a focus," he said.Gordon said he informed the executive committee of the NAACP board two weeks ago of his plans, but that talks were initiated to work out a way for him to stay. Once he became convinced those talks wouldn't succeed, Gordon said, he decided to step down.

NAACP board Chairman Julian Bond said late Sunday that he and Gordon had known for some time that "it was a bad fit." Bond declined to elaborate other than to say that he was "sorry he has left us. I was supportive when he was hired, and he had many qualities that we need." One official of the organization, who requested anonymity, acknowledged that there were several vigorous discussions about the role of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People and whether it should continue to fight racial discrimination as its primary purpose or push more aggressively into social service projects such as tutoring, mentoring and pregnancy counseling.

In addition, the source said, Gordon received attention for meetings with top White House officials. The board supported that outreach, but some members were frustrated that Gordon had not brought other members of the organization with him. Bond said the NAACP, which is based in Baltimore, would immediately search for a successor who could ensure that "our mission of social justice advocacy strengthens and grows" approaching the organization's 100th anniversary in 2009. He said the search would include candidates from the nonprofit, corporate and civil rights communities.




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Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top.
"It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program, click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net

Got Identification?

By May 11, 2008 your identification will require that
it have a home address as well as other personal info.
By that time will LA and other cities have their
homeless situation taken care of? If not what's
a homeless person to do about I.D. Read on
and let me hear from you on this.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that states will have until 2013 to issue the ID cards and proposed creating the equivalent of a national database that would include details on all 240 million licensed drivers.
Included in the draft regulations, which were mandated by Congress in the 2005 Real ID Act, was the requirement that the Real ID cards include all drivers' home addresses and other personal information printed on the front and in a two-dimensional barcode on the back. Also, states must submit a plan as to how they'll comply with the Real ID Act by October 7, 2007. If they don't, their residents will not be able to use IDs to board planes or enter federal buildings starting on May 11, 2008.

Proponents of the Real ID Act say it's designed to implement proposals suggested by the 9/11 Commission, which noted that some of the hijackers on September 11, 2001, had fraudulently obtained state drivers licenses.
"They knew the people would never let this pass but we are too damn busy or lazy to do anything about it."
The draft rules, which are not final and will be subject to a public comment period, also include a more detailed estimate of how much it will cost to comply. The National Conference of State Legislatures and other state groups estimated last year that states will have to spend more than $11 billion. But Homeland Security says the total cost--including the cost to individuals--will be $23.1 billion over a 10-year period.

The draft regulations arrive amid a groundswell of opposition to the Real ID Act from privacy groups, libertarians and state officials. Dozens of state legislatures are debating whether to stand up to the federal government and oppose federalized IDs, a step that Maine's legislature took in a vote last month.
"In states across the country, legislators are moving to reform the Real ID Act," said Jim Harper, director of information policy studies at the Cato Institute and a member of a Homeland Security advisory panel.

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, a Texas Republican who has created a presidential exploratory committee, took aim at what he described as his colleagues' lack of respect for privacy rights and civil liberties. "This is what has happened in Washington," he said. "There is no rule of law. There is no respect for the Constitution."

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Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top.
"It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement sqtsrayand the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program, click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/

Curses !

A woman is challenging an Orange County California
law that bans disorderly conduct, obnoxious behavior
at the airport. The law is being challenged in federal
court on the grounds that it violates her 1st
amendment rights. How do you think this will turn
out? Read the article below and then let me know.



If a "Snakes on a Plane" sequel is ever filmed at John Wayne Airport, actor Samuel L. Jackson had better watch his tongue — unless a potty-mouthed dance student wins a free-speech lawsuit filed against Orange County this month. Last summer, Elizabeth Venable of Riverside was cited for disorderly conduct after she allegedly yelled numerous obscenities to a friend while exiting the airport's baggage claim area. An Orange County sheriff's deputy, noticing several families with small children nearby, had asked Venable to "please watch her language while at the airport," according to court documents.

Venable allegedly responded with an expletive-filled question about whether it was illegal to use expletives. Yes, it is, the deputy advised. Venable, who is studying for a PhD in dance history and theory at UC Riverside, was charged with violating an Orange County law that bans "disorderly, obnoxious [or] indecent" behavior at the airport, a misdemeanor. Prosecutors later added a disturbing-the-peace charge based on her allegedly "loud and unreasonable" noise.Venable, 26, is fighting back on two fronts: a 1st Amendment lawsuit in federal court and a criminal defense in Orange County Superior Court.

The federal suit, filed against Orange County, Sheriff Michael S. Carona and two deputies, seeks an injunction against enforcement of the county law. It contends that the law governing conduct at airports is unconstitutionally vague and improperly squelches free speech. A motion filed by Venable's attorneys in Superior Court echoes the federal lawsuit in more detail. In particular, it outlines a U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning a "disturbing the peace" charge against a man who wore a jacket that said, "[Expletive] the draft," inside a Los Angeles County courthouse where women and children were present.





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Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top.
"It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement sqtsrayand the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program, click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/