Happy Friday, Everyone! Hope you’re enjoying Charles Mingus week.
Charles Mingus – Adagio ma Non Troppo
Mingus-“Duke Ellington’s Sound of Love”
Wrap your troubles in dreams
Live in Belgium,Norway & Sweden 1964.Full Concerts
An Argument With Instruments: On Charles Mingus– by Adam Shatz
Even though 3Chics Politico is written and curated by three women: Ametia, Rikyrah, and SouthernGirl2, I must nominate this as one of the most engaging blogs I've found. Devoted to politics and culture, these three shine a light on contemporary life with humor and spirit.
Joy Reid had on BethAnn Hardison talking about Black models in fashion today. Good segment.
DOJ Trolls Jindal With Civil Rights Book Gift After Segregation Remark
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/doj-jindal-civil-rights-book
The Justice Department is responding to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s thinly-veiled comparison of U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to a segregationist by sending him a book about the civil rights movement.
“Walking With the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement” was written by Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), a civil rights icon. The DOJ bookmarked a page in which Lewis writes about Vivian Malone Jones, the first black graduate of the University of Alabama, who was blocked at the door by segregationist Gov. George Wallace when seeking to enroll.
Jones is Holder’s sister-in-law.
“This should help the Governor brush up on his history for the next time he invokes the civil rights movement.” Justice spokesman Kevin Lewis told TPM.
Jindal, a Republican, said Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, “We’ve got Eric Holder and the Department of Justice trying to stand in the schoolhouse door to prevent minority kids, low-income kids, kids who haven’t had access to a great education, the chance to go to better schools.”
Update: Jindal doubled down on his remarks in response to the DOJ.
Here is a link that will take you to videos of the 100 Cities Rally that took place last summer. You can click on various videos and listen to the speeches at the various locations across our country.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=100%20cities%20rally&sm=3
Thanks for reminding everyone, SG2!
“Guest Editorial… Remembering Trayvon Martin”
Mar 7, 2014
Excerpt:
http://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/2014/03/07/guest-editorial-remembering-trayvon-martin/2/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLW8V_NoDzs
As you can see, I’m still fuming about Issa and his TOTAL disregard, disrespect, and racist BEHAVIOR towards, Rep Cummings.
I nearly lost my mind. I’ll be ticked a while.
Issa’s day’s are numbered. KARMA comes when she’s least expected.
Oscar-nominated actress cast as ‘Annie’ is black — and Twitter racists go nuts
By Scott Kaufman
Friday, March 7, 2014 15:20 EST
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/03/07/oscar-nominated-actress-cast-as-annie-is-black-and-twitter-racists-go-nuts/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-1ehDZv6JQ
Keep Ms. Puss clean. ROTFLMBAO
Waiting to see the entire show. I missed it all last night.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhvK9CkjL9g
If only that gavel that Mr. Waxman is banging the table with would have slipped out his hand and flew right over at Issa and landed on his head.
Hey, SG2 can you tweet this?
CPAC AGENDA: America would be just fine, when that black man gets out of our white house.
Corbett averts food-stamp cuts in Pa.
03/07/14 11:38 AM—Updated 03/07/14 11:53 AM
By Steve Benen
After Congress changed food-stamp funding, a couple of Democratic blue-state governors – Connecticut’s Dannel Malloy and New York’s Andrew Cuomo – acted fairly quickly to mitigate the damage. Yesterday, an unexpected third governor joined the club.
As Laura Clawson recently explained, Congress changed the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, mostly targeting blue states through a provision called “heat and eat,” creating new vulnerabilities for those relying on aid.
Few expected Pennsylvania to follow in Connecticut’s and New York’s footsteps, but it did.
In a move that surprised even his most cynical critics, Gov. Corbett on Wednesday night forestalled an estimated $3 billion in cuts to food stamps in the state over the next 10 years.
By doing so, Corbett became the first Republican governor in the country to prevent the cuts ordered by Congress, which is looking to slash $8.6 billion over the next decade to the food-stamp program, now called SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program).
The governor’s decision will preserve benefits for 400,000 Pennsylvania households slated to lose a monthly average of $60 to $65 each in benefits, amounting to $300 million a year, said Kait Gillis, spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Welfare.
Some political cynicism is understandable. It’s an election year and polls show Corbett struggling. The governor hasn’t exactly been a friend to food-stamp beneficiaries – it wasn’t long ago that Corbett connected SNAP eligibility to asset tests – so his critics can be forgiven for thinking this latest move is more the result of electoral desperation than genuine compassion.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/corbett-averts-food-stamp-cuts-pa
Alright now! I’m having a TERMINAL REACTION. Can I borrow your boots, SG2? LOL This is fun.
Loves it too! They’re shaking it down!
So much fun. Imma have to get hubby in on this action. He’s a great dancer too.
New Hampshire’s Medicaid expansion matters
03/07/14 10:58 AM—Updated 03/07/14 11:00 AM
By Steve Benen
It wasn’t easy, but after some fits and starts, New Hampshire is now on its way to joining the half of the country that embraces Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act.
After more than two hours of debate and three failed attempts by opponents to amend the bill, the New Hampshire Senate yesterday voted, 18-5, to expand the state Medicaid program.
Seven Republicans, including Senate President Chuck Morse of Salem, joined the entire Democratic Senate caucus in supporting the legislation. […]
The bill goes next to the House Finance Committee on Monday. The Democratic majority there is supportive of the bill, as is Gov. Maggie Hassan, who would have to sign it before the state can begin submitting necessary paperwork to federal agencies.
The legislative breakthrough comes on the heels of six months of debate, failed votes, and negotiations. Note, the state Senate has a Republican majority, which was not initially pleased with the idea.
The New Hampshire policy comes with a few caveats. For one thing, it relies on the so-called “private option,” similar to the one embraced in Arkansas and Iowa, which uses Medicaid money to subsidize private coverage for those just above the poverty line.
Also of particular interest is the fact that the New Hampshire policy isn’t necessarily permanent – the measure approved by the state Senate yesterday would expire in 2016, when the federal government’s contribution to Medicaid expansion dips below 100%. At that point, state officials would have to reauthorize the policy and decided whether to cut off coverage for those participating in the program.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/new-hampshires-medicaid-expansion-matters
“Johnny Bones” sounds like a made up name this guy uses to post trash talk on Facebook.
His ass need to be in jail.
This week’s new releases on DVD and Blu-ray:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/going-out-guide/wp/2014/03/07/12-years-a-slave-and-other-new-dvds/?wpisrc=nl_movies
Not only do they cut off the mic, to stunt blacks from speaking, they plot and scheme to OBSTRUCT the Black POTUS. Only they’re not smart enough to achieve that infamous “Our number one priority is to make Barack Obama a one term president.”
*LOOKINGSTRAIGHT@YOUMITCH-MCTURTLE*
Keep at it, sG2. If we don’t speak out against the weasels like Issa, they will continue the foolishness.
tell the truth
The Florida Current
The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved a bill today allowing law-abiding gun owners to point a weapon in self defense, even fire warning shots, without fear of facing 10 years or longer in prison for aggravated assault.
“Self defense is not a crime,” Marion Hammer, the long-time lobbyist for the National Rifle Association and Unified Sportsmen of Florida, told the committee. “It’s a constitutional right.”
Hammer was lobbying the Legislature in 1999, when the state adopted its “10-20-Life” law, providing 10 years in prison for using a gun in a crime, 20 if the gun is fired and life sentences if someone is injured or killed. Some prosecutors have charged gun owners with aggravated assault for pulling guns or pointing them at assailants — with the mandatory minimum sentences applying — but Hammer said that was never the intention of the Legislature in passing the law
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/warning-shot-self-defense-bill-advances/nd5Wf/
Why is this law getting so much steam now, after Marrisa shot a gun in self defense and is now facing 60 fucking years for blasting out a wall in her home.
Well, you know what’s next after the law gets passed by the legislature…
“I didn’t mean to kill him, it was just a warning shot, my aim ain’t so good I guess.”
Of course, Liza, these Florida laws aren’t designed for black folks.
They keep doing this, when it involves them:
The people in Florida need to get rid of these right wing extremists that are running their state into the ground. It just keeps getting worse.
Republicans have been trying to disrupt the work of the Civil Rights Division at DOJ for a long time now
Back in early 2011 – when Republicans took control of the House – the NYT wrote this:
When the Obama administration wakes up next month to a divided capital, no cabinet member will be facing a more miserable prospect of oversight hearings and subpoenas than Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.
Mr. Holder is a particularly juicy target because he presides over issues that have served as recurrent fodder for political controversy — including using the criminal justice system for terrorism cases, and federal enforcement of civil rights and immigration laws.
That’s when I declared that I’d have Attorney General Holder’s back and started the tab up above titled “DOJ Watch.” As I kept track of things, it became clear that a central role in all this was being played by Thomas Perez, then the Director of DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. Together he and AG Holder tackled things like police brutality, reverse redlining, going after Arizona’s Sheriff Arpaio, the school-to-prison pipeline and voting rights.
http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2014/03/republicans-have-been-trying-to-disrupt.html
And this IDIOT “Piyush” BOBBY BRADY Jindal insults President Jimmy Carter too
Waiting for Luvvie’s Scandal recap..
Darrell Issa’s disrespect of Elijah Cummings has real repercussions
http://thegrio.com/2014/03/07/darrell-issas-disrespect-of-elijah-cummings-has-real-repercussions/
Congressman Darrell Issa let the power go to his head.
The Republican chairman House Oversight Committee who has spent the better part of three years play-acting every right-wing blog conspiracy about President Obama, found himself in a very uncomfortable position this week when the ranking member of the committee Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) had enough.
Following a long partisan rant from Rep. Issa, who is still trying to make the IRS scandal happen, Rep. Cummings made it known to everyone watching that Issa’s antics were unacceptable and wholly unproductive. Cummings, who as the ranking Democratic member had the right to ask a question, attempted to make remarks as Issa abruptly tried to cut the hearing short.
“Mr. Chairman, you cannot run a committee like this. You just cannot do this. We’re better than that as a country, we’re better than that as a committee,” Cummings said as Issa cut the microphone, leaving the Democrat shouting before a shocked committee room of staff and onlookers.
This isn’t the first time Cummings and Issa have sparred. Last Summer, Issa came under fire for comparing Cummings who is black, to a “little boy.”
“I’m always shocked when the ranking member seems to want to say, like a little boy whose hand has been caught in a cookie jar, ‘What hand? What cookie?’ I’ve never said it leads to the White House,” Issa said about Cummings.
“The Republican chairman House Oversight Committee who has spent the better part of three years play-acting every right-wing blog conspiracy about President Obama…”
Indeed. Issa so desperately wants to invent and nurture a “scandal” that could dominate the airwaves, just like the Lewinsky scandal, and be used to impeach President Obama. He must dream of this the way others dream of winning the lottery.
Rep Cummings confronting Issa spoke for all reasonable people. How much time and taxpayer money has been flushed down toilets while Issa pursues his dream of being the one to unveil the big scandal?
Give it up, Issa. You are a pathetic sleaze hound and a loser. Plus you are very rude.
Slate ✔ @Slate
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Florida justice: George Zimmerman is free. This woman might get 60 years for shooting a wall: http://slate.me/MLObdZ
7:34 PM – 4 Mar 2014
IMPEACH DARRELL ISSA. Enough is enough! Please sign petition.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/512/791/931/impeach-darrell-issa/
DONE! That mofo’s fake apology doesn’t CUT IT.
THANK GOD POTUS & FLOTUS have SECRET SERVICE
Obama Schedule || Friday, March 7, 2014
by Keith Koffler on March 6, 2014, 10:01 pm
10:00 am || Receives the Presidential Daily Briefing
11:05 am || With Mrs. Obama, departs the White House
1:40 pom || Arrives Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida
2:25 pm || Visits a classroom at Coral Reef High School, Miami, Florida
2:40 pm || Delivers remarks; Coral Reef High School, Miami, Florida
All times Eastern
http://www.whitehousedossier.com/
Obamacare Is Giving Medicaid A Significant Boost — Even In The States That Didn’t Expand It
[….] Stento told ThinkProgress that enrollments even in non-expansion states grew by 13 percent from October through January, compared to previous months. Avalere estimates that between 700,000 and 800,000 Americans in non-expansion states who were already eligible for existing Medicaid programs, but never actually signed up for them, enrolled between October through January.
This is a phenomenon that health care experts refer to as the ACA’s “woodwork effect,” wherein eligible populations come “out of the woodwork” amid persistent national and local coverage of the health law’s signup period. Some of these people may simply not have known that they previously qualified for government health care benefits, or didn’t know how to sign up.[….]
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/03/04/3357761/avalere-medicaid-woodwork/
Why the Senate blocked Obama’s DOJ nominee
What’s the real reason why Debo Adegbile wasn’t confirmed? Ben Jealous joins All In to explain.
http://www.msnbc.com/all
A TURTLE & a DOCTOR
Yep these two LOONS were at CPAC yesterday, upholdin’ them second amendment rights.
Filibuster kills Gillibrand’s sex-assault bill
03/06/14 03:52 PM—Updated 03/07/14 12:23 AM
By Steve Benen
As the crisis of sexual assaults within the U.S. military has intensified, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) has pushed for a new policy that would place these assault cases in the hands of prosecutors, not commanders, who would decide which cases to pursue. The proposal has come up several times in recent months, but has struggled to overcome filibusters.
Gillibrand and her allies thought they had a real shot at success today, but once again, the super-majority just wasn’t there.
Military commanders will keep their authority over sexual assault prosecutions, after the Senate blocked a proposal to radically overhaul the way the military justice system deals with serious crimes.
This is a major setback for New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat, who has spent much of the last year holding hearings, talking to survivors, and collecting support for her proposal, which would have removed decisions about serious crimes like sexual assault from the chain of command and placed it with military prosecutors. The vote on whether to move forward failed to cross the 60 vote threshold, 55-45.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/filibuster-ends-gillibrands-sex-assault-bill
Christie to CPAC: I’m one of you
03/07/14 08:00 AM
By Steve Benen
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) carefully cultivated “brand” includes a few key pillars. The first is that he’s a different kind of politician with no use for “politics as usual.” The second is that he’s a tough leader who won’t back down when conditions heat up. And finally, the blue-state Republican has tried to distance himself from much of the extremism that’s come to define contemporary conservatism.
Christie’s multiple, ongoing scandals have effectively destroyed the first pillar. Christie’s approach to governing has knocked down the second, too.
As for the third, the governor threw it out the window with his speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) yesterday.
Before digging in, it’s worth appreciating the context. CPAC is generally considered the premier conservative event in the country held every year, and ambitious Republicans are always eager to curry favor with conference attendees. Last year, Christie wasn’t invited – he was deemed insufficiently conservative.
Yesterday, in his first appearance in the national spotlight since his scandals erupted, the governor did his best to make up for lost time. Benjy Sarlin helped capture Christie’s pitch:
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/christie-cpac-im-one-you
U.S. economy added 175,000 jobs in February; unemployment rate at 6.7 percent
The U.S. economy added 175,000 jobs in February, according to a Labor Department report released Friday morning. The nation’s
unemployment rate was at 6.7 percent.
Analysts expected the report to show that the country had added 149,000 jobs last month, and that the unemployment rate would remain at 6.6 percent.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/03/07/economy-adds-175000-jobs-in-february/?clsrd
Isaiah Washington Back on ‘Grey’s’
Seven years after being canned from Grey’s Anatomy for using an anti-gay epithet on-set toward co-star T.R. Knight, Isaiah Washington will return to the show for a guest appearance in May, according to ABC. Washington’s return comes at the same time as longtime star Sandra Oh’s farewell from the show. Her character was once engaged to Washington’s.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/06/isaiah-washington-return_n_4915782.html
MLK’s daughter agrees to turn over Bible and Nobel Peace Prize in estate dispute
Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter said Thursday she will comply with a judge’s order to turn over the late civil rights leader’s Nobel Peace
Prize medal and personal Bible[….] At the news conference, joined by about 20 supporters including Atlanta City Council president Ceasar Mitchell, Bernice King urged her two brothers to call another vote of the estate’s board of directors on selling the items.
“To my two brothers, whom I love and respect greatly, I implore you
to consider the magnitude of this moment in history and how you want your individual legacies to be defined,” she said.[….]
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/03/07/mlks-daughter-agrees-to-turn-over-bible-and-nobel-peace-prize-in-estate-dispute/
How Democratic Racism Doomed Obama’s Civil Rights Pick
Spandan Chakrabarti| March 6, 2014
Yesterday, the Senate carried out a travesty of justice when they rejected by a 47-52 vote President Obama’s nominee to head the Civil Rights division in the Justice Department, Debo Adegbile. What sinked the nomination this time wasn’t the usual Republican opposition but the ‘No’ votes of seven Democratic senators, many of whom were on record declaring Adegbile a highly qualified nominee. There’s no reason for him not to be. He lead the NAACP’s legal team, currently serves as the Senate Judiciary Committee’s lead counsel, and is an excellent public servant.
Conservatives and police officers organizations went after Adegbile for being the director of NAACP’s legal arm when the organization appealed the death sentence in the infamous case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was convicted of killing a Philadelphia police officer. NAACP’s appeal, by showing a biased jury selection process that kept out African Americans, was able to eventually commute Abu-Jamal’s death sentence to life in prison.
Thirty-two years later, Adegbile faced what his client once did: an overwhelmingly white jury sitting in judgment of a black man. Only this time, the jury was the United States Senate and Adegbile’s crime was representing the best interest of his client, a duty every state’s bar association charges attorneys with. That a black man had the temerity to challenge a death sentence by a jury whose selection process he was able to prove to the court kept out African Americans.
The President was understandably furious at the Senate’s travesty.
Sometimes, I am awed by this president’s ability to use restraint. Mr. President, you know, and I know, and everyone who cares about colorblind justice knows that Adegbile’s nomination was not defeated solely based on his legal representation of a defendant. His nomination was doomed by his legal representation of a black defendant accused and convicted of murdering a white police officer. His nomination was defeated by his legal representation in which he dared to stand up in court and argue for a black defendant’s right to due process when it comes to jury selection. His nomination was turned down by his legal representation of a black client whose death sentence got commuted after he succeeded in proving racial bias in jury selection.
And that – daring to stand up for the Constitutional due process rights of a black defendant who is prosecuted for shooting a white man, let alone a white policeman – is still sure to torpedo your career in the United States Senate, even if the Senate is supposedly controlled by Democrats, and even if the job you are nominated for involves doing exactly what Adegbile did in the Abu Jamal case – protecting the due process rights of minorities.
http://www.thepeoplesview.net/main/2014/3/6/what-really-doomed-obamas-civil-rights-pick-good-ol-racism
Read this yesterday. As per usual, Spanden NAILS the USUAL SUSPECTS!
http://youtu.be/aT77xhri9KQ
GOP derails Senate Dems’ bill boosting vets benefits amid disputes over spending, Iran
Associated PressFeb. 27, 201410
WASHINGTON (AP) — A divided Senate on Thursday derailed Democratic legislation that would have provided $21 billion for medical, education and job-training benefits for the nation’s veterans. The bill fell victim to election-year disputes over spending and fresh penalties against Iran.
Each party covets the allegiance of the country’s 22 million veterans and their families, and each party blamed the other for turning the effort into a chess match aimed at forcing politically embarrassing votes.
Republicans used a procedural move to block the bill after Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., chided GOP lawmakers about their priorities.
“I personally, I have to say this honestly, have a hard time understanding how anyone could vote for tax breaks for billionaires, for millionaires, for large corporations and then say we don’t have the resources to protect our veterans,” said Sanders, the measure’s chief author.
Democrats noted that more than two dozen veterans groups supported the legislation. But Republicans said they still favor helping veterans while also wanting to be prudent about federal spending.
http://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2014/02/27/senate-heads-toward-showdown-vote-on-veterans-bill
Good Morning, Everyone :)
SCANDAL! Mama Pope’s BACK!
Issa Apologizes To Cummings But Still Thinks He Threw A ‘Hissy Fit’
CATHERINE THOMPSON – MARCH 7, 2014, 7:06 AM EST
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) has apologized to the top Democrat on the House oversight committee for cutting off his microphone at a contentious hearing on the IRS targeting scandal.
Issa tweeted Thursday night that he wanted to “just clear the air” with Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) and told the U-T San Diego that he made a personal apology to the congressman.
“I could have offered to reopen the hearing and allowed him to make a second statement,” he told the newspaper. “As chairman, I should have been much more sensitive to the mood of what was going on, and I take responsibility.”
Cummings confirmed in a statement that Issa did reach out to him.
“This evening, Chairman Issa telephoned me and apologized for his conduct, and I accepted his apology,” he said, as quoted by the Los Angeles Times. “My sincere hope is that as we move forward, we will respect the opinions of all members of the committee, we will proceed in a deliberate and considered manner to obtain the facts, we will refrain from making accusations that have no basis in fact, and we will seek resolution rather than unnecessary conflict.”
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/issa_apologizes_cummings
The American story of slavery
by Eugene Robinson, Published: March 6
Hollywood has finally taken an unflinching look at slavery. It’s past time for the rest of the country to do the same.
I wanted to wait a few days before writing about the best picture Oscar for “12 Years a Slave” to see if it still felt like an important milestone. It does. Academy Award recognition for one well-made movie obviously does not make up for a century of pretending that slavery never happened. But perhaps the movie industry’s top prize can give impetus to the efforts of artists and scholars who are beginning to honestly confront this nation’s original sin.
We tell ourselves that we know all about slavery, that it’s ancient history. But we’ve never fully investigated its horrors, which means we’ve never come to terms with them, which means we’ve never been able to get beyond them. Where slavery is concerned, we are imprisoned by William Faulkner’s famous epigram: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”
The success of “12 Years a Slave” may be a significant step toward our collective liberation.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/eugene-robinson-the-american-story-of-slavery/2014/03/06/efd6599e-a56b-11e3-84d4-e59b1709222c_story.html?wpisrc=nl_opinions
It’s OBAMA’s fault!
/snark
Good morning, everyone!
Good Morning, SG2, & Everyone! HAPPY FRY-day. :-)))