Weekly Address: President Obama on Judge Sotomayors Experience

The President discusses the breadth and depth of experience held by his nominee for the Supreme Court. In the course of a life that began in a housing project in the South Bronx and brought her to the pinnacle of her profession, Judge Sonia Sotomayor accumulated more experience on the federal bench than any incoming Supreme Court Justice in the past 100 years, touching nearly every aspect of our legal system. May 30, 2009.

The 'DWB Movie' is Back - and All Women Should Avoid Them

By: Gregory P. Kane

It’s baaacckk!

What’s back -- if indeed it ever left -- is that genre of movie call the “DWB film.” No, it’s not Driving While Black. Not in this case.

This particular “DWB” has a different meaning. The D stands for deranged. The W stands for white. The B stands for the dreaded B word that usually causes controversy.

You know the word I’m talking about. The one that’s a synonym for a female dog. Yeah, THAT B-word.

Well, the DWB movie is back, and has been raking in box-office bucks for the last few weeks. Indeed, “Obsessed” was number one at the box office before the summer blockbuster “Star Trek” hit the screen. But the latest entry in the DWB genre is still hanging in there.

I’m old enough to remember when this foolishness started. It was a well-done and seemingly innocuous 1971 film called “Play Misty for Me.” It starred Clint Eastwood, also in his directorial debut, as a disc jockey who has an obsessed -- see where the title of the latest DWB flick comes from? -- female fan who constantly calls him up to say “Play 'Misty' for me.” The Eastwood character has a brief affair with the fan, leading to disastrous and predictable consequences.

The 'DWB Movie' is Back - and All Women Should Avoid Them....

Canadian radio Obama assassination joke criticized

MONTREAL (AP) — A broadcast industry council slammed Canada's French-language radio broadcaster for airing a comedy sketch that suggested that Barack Obama would be easy to assassinate because the first black American president would stand out against the White House.

The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council issued a public reprimand of Radio-Canada Monday, after the government's regulatory agency asked the private industry council to look into the matter before it begins its own investigation.

Canada's broadcast regulator, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, received 210 complaints about Radio-Canada's controversial "Bye Bye 2008" New Year's Eve sketch.

The CRTC asked the council to examine the show even though Radio-Canada is not a member of the private industry council.

"The panel finds nothing redeeming in the allegedly comedic notion that an American president should be shot, still less that this would be easier to achieve because of the color of the president's skin," the council said in its decision.

"It was a disturbing, wounding, abusive racial comment."

Canadian radio Obama assassination joke criticized....

Mike Tyson's Young Daughter Dies

Police say the 4-year-old daughter of boxer Mike Tyson has died a day after her neck accidentally was caught in a treadmill cord while she was playing at home.

Ordinary Woman: Sonia Sotomayor and the Fight Over ‘Empathy’

By: Calvin Woodward

WASHINGTON (AP) — A black president introduced his Hispanic Supreme Court nominee while his white vice president watched. It was a custom-made American tableau, the politics of biography.

The flags in the East Room around Barack Obama, Sonia Sotomayor and Joe Biden on Tuesday were almost superfluous. Everything else spoke of red, white and blue as the curtain rose on the president's first Supreme Court nomination.

The scrutiny is just beginning of Sotomayor's thick record as a federal appeals judge, trial judge, prosecutor and corporate attorney. But it's not enough for a high court hopeful to be a creature of the law.

She must also be a recognizable member of the human race. She must be one of us even as she prepares to leave us for the rarefied pinnacle of judicial power.

"I am an ordinary person," she said, "who has been blessed."

Obama attributed to Sotomayor, a child of Puerto Rican transplants and a Bronx housing project, the "wisdom accumulated from an inspiring life's journey."

Some Republicans scoffed when Obama foreshadowed the selection saying he wanted a justice with a common touch and "the quality of empathy." What matters, they say, is judicial skill and fealty to the Constitution.

But the politics of biography is a game played by all sides in Washington and did not begin with Obama and his own compelling life story.

Ordinary Woman: Sonia Sotomayor and the Fight Over ‘Empathy’....

GOP Decrying Sotomayor’s Experience? Look at Clarence Thomas

By: Tonyaa Weathersbee

So now, a Puerto Rican woman from the Bronx is President Barack Obama’s pick for the Supreme Court.

And already, some wingnuts are so apoplectic that they can’t even get her name right.

“The appointment of Maria Sotomayor to the Supreme Court is the clearest indication yet that President Obama’s campaign promises to be a centrist and to think in a bipartisan way were mere rhetoric,” said former Arkansas governor and GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. “Sotomayor comes from the far left and will likely leave us with something akin to the ‘Extreme Court’ that could mark a major shift.”

Ahem. Somebody should have told the governor that the nominee’s first name is Sonia. Not Maria.

Not a character out of “West Side Story,” but an appellate court judge whose accomplishments transcend the stereotypes that Huckabee and other right-wingers love to wallow in.

GOP Decrying Sotomayor’s Experience? Look at Clarence Thomas....

Obama Taps Former Astronaut As NASA Chief

The nation's turbulent space program will be run by one of its own, a calming well-liked former space shuttle commander.

5/23/09: Your Weekly Address

President Barack Obama calls on the American people to join him in paying tribute to Americas veterans, servicemen and women particularly those who have made the ultimate sacrifice - and their families.

Police: More and More Juveniles Sexting

Police in Dallas are investigating a case in which a 12-year-old was caught with so-called sext messages on his cellphone.

Report: GOP Support Spiraling in Nearly Every Demographic

By: Denise Stewart

The Republican Party has lost support in almost every demographic subgroup, with the exception of regular churchgoers, according to a Gallup analysis released on Monday.

In 2001, the first year President George W. Bush was in office, 47 percent of Americans identified themselves as Republicans, and 46 percent identified themselves as Democrats.

Spring forward to 2009 - after eight years of a Bush presidency - and the election of President Barack Obama, and the numbers change to 52 percent identifying as Democrats and 37 percent identifying as Republicans.

“Most of the loss in support actually occurred beginning in 2005, after Hurricane Katrina and Bush’s nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court – both of which created major public relations problems for the administration,” the Gallop organization said.

Carol Swain, a Vanderbilt University law professor and frequent political commentator on national newscasts, said she is not surprised with the drop in Republican support.

“There are so few choices. You either support Democrats or you stay at home,” Swain told BlackAmericaWeb.com. In the last election, a lot of Republicans stayed at home, and many have not returned, she said.

Report: GOP Support Spiraling in Nearly Every Demographic....

Dozens Arrested During Obama's Notre Dame Visit

As President Barack Obama delivered his commencement address at the University of Notre Dame, hundreds gathered at the Indiana school's front gate to express their anger over Obama's support for abortion and embryonic stem cell research.

At Notre Dame, Obama delves into abortion debate

By JULIE PACE

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- Facing protests and controversy, President Barack Obama pressed for a change in tone in the nation's divisive debate over abortion.

Addressing the issue head-on at the University of Notre Dame, one of the leading Catholic universities, Obama told graduates on Sunday that while the two sides may never agree on the issue, there is some common ground.

"We can still agree that this is a heart-wrenching decision for any woman to make, with both moral and spiritual dimensions," Obama told the university's 2,900 graduates.

Obama called for "open hearts. Open minds. Fair-minded words" in the public debate over the issue, arguing that there was no reason to reduce the other side to caricatures.

At Notre Dame, Obama delves into abortion debate....

5/16/09: Your Weekly Address

The President discusses breakthroughs on two issues where stakeholders from all sides, once opposed, are coming together for real reform. On health care and energy, solutions would provide key pillars for a new foundation for the country. May 16, 2009.

Mayor Nagin gets caught up in vacation controversy

By BECKY BOHRER

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — They've already begun the countdown to Mayor Ray Nagin's last day in office a year from now. He is mocked on bumper stickers, even booed at the opera.

Now Nagin, whose career was nearly wrecked by Hurricane Katrina 3 1/2 years ago, has seen his approval ratings sink to their lowest level ever, amid anger over the city's slow recovery and recent ethics questions about his vacations to Jamaica and Hawaii.

Allegations that Nagin didn't pay for at least part of the trips were raised in a lawsuit over his once highly touted city crime camera system, now known more for cost overruns than catching criminals.

"It's been cleverly portrayed as, 'There's something wrong here,' and nobody's been able to prove that yet," Nagin recently told reporters. "And it further creates doubt about government and government officials, and ... I don't know how to deal with it other than to try and get through it."

Mayor Nagin gets caught up in vacation controversy....

Mad the President Isn't Identified as Biracial? Get Over It

By: Gregory P. Kane

A word of advice to those white people who resent President Obama being called black: Please get over it!

The latest whiner was a letter writer to the Baltimore Sun. (Make that what’s left of the Baltimore Sun; owner Smilin’ Sam Zell and Tribune Company mismanagers continue to run what was once a great newspaper into the ground.) As a white American, she wrote, she resented the constant reference to Obama as black. He’s “biracial,” she insisted, with a white mommy and those white grandparents who lived out in Kansas.

I rolled my eyes and chuckled as I read the woman’s whimpering screed. “Now, this character knows that if Obama were an ax murderer and not president of the United States, he couldn’t be black enough for her,” I said to myself, then added, “So, the one-drop rule has finally come back to bite white folks in the butt, has it?” And it has.

Mad the President Isn't Identified as Biracial? Get Over It....

5 Convicted in Sears Tower, FBI Attack Plots

Five Miami men have been convicted of plotting to join forces with al-Qaida to topple Chicago's Sears Tower and bomb FBI offices. The verdicts came in the third trial of the 'Liberty City Six.'

Cheney and Limbaugh Cut from the Same Stupid, Racist Cloth

By: Tonyaa Weathersbee

No one should be surprised that Dick Cheney would pick his chicken hawk chum, Rush Limbaugh, over Colin Powell as the best hope for leading the GOP out of the political wilderness.

They do, after all, have a lot in common.

This week, the former vice-president generated his own version of shock and awe when he told “Face the Nation” host Bob Schieffer that he believes the polarizing radio talker offers Republicans a better way back to relevancy than the former secretary of state.

That statement left some folks aghast.

Powell is, after all, a military hero who, in spite of the subterranean poll numbers of Cheney and his former boss, George W. Bush, is still popular and respected. Limbaugh, on the other hand, is basically an entertainer who appeals to prejudice rather than reason; a man who has run little more than his mouth.

But as I said, no one should be shocked at Cheney’s preference for Limbaugh – as they are virtually doppelgangers in the ways of hypocrisy and intolerance.

Both men, for example, believe that bluster is sound defense policy. They measure patriotism through leaders’ willingness to wage war, yet when they had a chance to prove theirs by going to Vietnam, they didn’t.

Cheney managed to get five deferments. In fact, he even once said that he had other priorities besides military service.

Obviously, he didn’t give the same consideration to thousands of other young men and women as he urged Bush to wage an unnecessary war in Iraq.

Cheney and Limbaugh Cut from the Same Stupid, Racist Cloth....

Michael Steele's First 100 Days as GOP Chairman a Mixed Bag

By: Michael H. Cottman

For Michael Steele, the embattled, slang-talking chairman of the Republican National Committee, life in the first 100 days of his tenure has been hard out there for a pimp.

Steele, under fire from GOP conservatives since he took the job in January, has surprised and angered many by risking overexposure in the media and making a series of high-profile gaffes during nearly every national interview.

Many Republicans argue that Steele should cut back significantly on his media appearances while others are not comfortable with Steele’s continued use of hip-hop slang in response to serious questions about the GOP’s vision for the nation.

Steele, the first African-American to be elected as the Republican Party’s chairman, has offered these samplings in his first 100 days in office: He referred to President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus plan as “bling bling;” said his public relations plan to recruit younger voters is “off the hook;” said he wants to send out some “slum love” to Republican Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who is of Indian descent, and recently told a reporter, “that’s how we roll,” when answering a question about the RNC. In challenges to Obama, Steele has asked, "How do you like me now?"

And last week, in yet another volatile Steele controversy, the GOP chairman agreed with a radio caller’s characterization of Obama as “the magic Negro.”

Obama Busts Chins, Guts on Court, at Correspondents Dinner

By: Frederick Cosby

President Barack Obama’s basketball buddy may have gotten a busted chin during a pick-up-run with the Hoopster-in-Chief, but it was the president whose game got busted later in the day.

Comedian Wanda Sykes rained long-range bombs on Obama’s basketball prowess as the headline act at Saturday’s White House Correspondents Association Dinner, humorously telling the president that he shouldn’t thump his chest about his game.

Obama, whose basketball nickname in high school was “Barry O’Bomber,” is a hoops enthusiast who played pick-up faithfully during last year’s presidential campaign and entertained his hometown NBA Chicago Bulls at the White House earlier this year.

“I bet you think your game is really nice right now, don’t you? Yeah, you really think you got good moves,” Sykes told a packed hotel ballroom with Obama sitting near her. “C’mon, nobody’s gonna give the president a hard foul with the Secret Service standing there.”

“He’s probably bragging and everything,” Sykes continued, “’You should have seen me today, baby, I was ballin’! They’re just stroking your ego, like ‘Ohh, Mr. President, you really shook me that time! I thought you were going this way, I saw Secret Service do this, so I went that way, right to the hole, right to the hole.’”

Obama Busts Chins, Guts on Court, at Correspondents Dinner....

President Obama Pokes Fun at Washington, Himself

The White House Correspondents' Association's annual dinner got underway Saturday night. It's a chance for President Barack Obama to jab at the Washington establishment and perhaps chide his critics.

5/9/09: Your Weekly Address

This week the President recaps a busy week, from strides on fiscal discipline, to financial stability, to cracking down on tax havens and tax breaks for shifting jobs overseas. For his next big step, he calls for a credit card reform bill: "Americans know that they have a responsibility to live within their means and pay what they owe. But they also have a right to not get ripped off by the sudden rate hikes, unfair penalties, and hidden fees that have become all-too common in our credit card industry." Watch Your Weekly Address to find out what he plans to do about it.

President Obama to propose $1.25B for black farmers

By BEN EVANS

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is proposing that the government provide $1.25 billion to settle discrimination claims by black farmers against the Agriculture Department.

The White House said the money would be included in the president's 2010 budget request to be unveiled Thursday.

President Obama had taken criticism earlier this year from black farmers and lawmakers who said the federal government was neglecting the need for more money to fund claims under a decade-old class-action lawsuit against the government.

In a statement, Obama said the proposed settlement funds would "close this chapter" in the agency's history and allow it to move on.

"My hope is that the farmers and their families who were denied access to USDA loans and programs will be made whole and will have the chance to rebuild their lives and their businesses," he said.

John Boyd, who has spearheaded the litigation as head of the National Black Farmers Association and has been particularly critical of Obama recently, called the proposal a "step in the right direction."

But he said more money would be needed.

President Obama to propose $1.25B for black farmers....

Obama Prompts Makeover for Run-down School

A rundown South Carolina school has gotten a makeover, after President Barack Obama brought national attention to the school courtesy of an eight-grader's plea for help.

Africans have world's greatest genetic variation

By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID

WASHINGTON (AP) — Africans have more genetic variation than anyone else on Earth, according to a new study that helps narrow the location where humans first evolved, probably near the South Africa-Namibia border.

The largest study of African genetics ever undertaken also found that nearly three-fourths of African-Americans can trace their ancestry to West Africa. The new analysis published Thursday in the online edition of the journal Science.

"Given the fact that modern humans arose in Africa, they have had time to accumulate dramatic changes" in their genes, explained lead researcher Sarah Tishkoff, a geneticist at the University of Pennsylvania.

People have been adapting to very diverse environmental niches in Africa, she explained in a briefing.

Over 10 years, Tishkoff and an international team of researchers trekked across Africa collecting samples to compare the genes of various peoples. Often working in primitive conditions, the researchers sometimes had to resort to using a car battery to power their equipment, Tishkoff explained.

Africans have world's greatest genetic variation....

Steele's Antics Invite More Eye-Rolling than Eye Opening

By: Deborah Mathis

Saw a woman on the subway the other day wearing Timberland boots, huge, baggy jean shorts that hit below the knee; a bandana and a cap; and a T-shirt with a likeness of reggae great Bob Marley.

It was not the hip-hop uniform per se, but the woman’s age that made her look, as they say, “a hot mess.” She was with her fully grown daughter and granddaughter and looked to be at least my age, 55.

Two questions sprang to mind: (1) Why, sister? And (2) Do you know Michael Steele?

Ever since he won the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee, Steele, who is 50, has been slinging slang with abandon. He criticized the stimulus bill for being overloaded with “bling.” He offered “slum love” to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, whose parents are from India, the setting of the Academy Award-winning film, “Slumdog Millionaire.”

And, last week, on MSNBC, there was this expository on diversity among Republicans: “You wear your hat one way. You like to wear it, you know, kind of cocked to the left, you know, because that's cool out West,” Steele said. “In the Midwest, you guys like to wear it a little bit to the right. In the South, you guys like to wear the brim straight ahead. Now, the Northeast, I wear my hat backwards, you know, because that's how we roll in the Northeast.”

Good heavens.

Steele's Antics Invite More Eye-Rolling than Eye Opening....

5/2/09: Your Weekly Address

In this Weekly Address, the President discusses the government's response to the 2009 H1N1 flu virus, urging that there is no need to panic but explaining that the federal government and American people nonetheless should take the necessary precautions.

The 100th Day Threat to Voting Rights

While the press was reviewing President Obama’s scorecard and Senate Democrats were welcoming Arlen Specter, the Supreme Court was weighing scaling back voter protections. Here’s why the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is in serious jeopardy.

By: Sherrilyn A. Ifill

On the 100th day of the first term of the first black president of the United States, lawyers for a small utility district in Travis County, Texas, walked up the steps of the Supreme Court Building to ask the nine justices of the court to dismantle a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Ironies abound.

Without the Voting Rights Act, there would be no President Obama. When it was passed, the Voting Rights Act, known as “the crown jewel of the civil rights movement,” began the process of fully realizing the promise of the 15th Amendment of the Constitution, which in 1870 extended the right to vote to African Americans, or at least to African-American men. In the years between 1870 and 1965, however, the vast majority of blacks were largely disenfranchised by Southern legislators and jurisdictions that used intimidation, arcane registration practices, gerrymandering, poll taxes and violence to keep the black population from exercising the franchise. The Voting Rights Act was a result of the literal blood, sweat and tears of civil rights activists, among them Medgar Evers; Fannie Lou Hamer; Andrew Goodman, James Cheney and Michael Schwerner; and a young John Lewis, who nearly lost his life on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., in 1965.

The enactment and enforcement of the Voting Rights Act ensured the enfranchisement of black voters across the South and, over the years, made possible the election of over 10,000 black officials at every level of public office, from school boards to Congress, including Lewis. Over the past 40 years, black elected officials have become an integral part of the political landscape of the country. Consequently, white voters have become accustomed to the experience of black political leadership, and black voters have been organized and mobilized at unprecedented levels. These key developments laid the groundwork for the impressive, if unsuccessful, runs of Jesse Jackson for president in the 1980s and the ultimately successful candidacy of Barack Obama last year.

The 100th Day Threat to Voting Rights....