It seems like everyone in Motown heard about this song “through the grapevine” before it was finally recorded. The classic about a man who finds out his woman is cheating on him was written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. Strong came up with the idea and asked Motown writers Holland-Dozier-Holland to work on it with him. They refused to credit another writer, so Strong took it to Whitfield, who helped put it together. The song eventually became a Motown classic, but it had a rough start, as executives at the company thought it was too bluesy and lacked hit potential. Smokey Robinson and the Miracles were the first to record the song, but their version wasn’t released until years later on an album called Special Occasion. The Isley Brothers then took a crack at it, but their version wasn’t released. Whitfield and Strong then had Marvin Gaye record the song but still no luck: Motown head Berry Gordy chose Holland-Dozier-Holland’s “Your Unchanging Love” over “Grapevine” as his next single. Finally, a new Motown act Gladys Knight and the Pips recorded the song as a gospel rocker. Their version was a hit, entering the Top 40 in November 1967 and going to #2 in America.
Marvin Gaye’s version was included on his 1968 album In The Groove (later re-titled I Heard It Through The Grapevine). After E. Rodney Jones, the Chicago disc jockey at WVON, started playing it on the air, Berry Gordy reconsidered and released Gaye’s version as a single, which became even more popular and known as the definitive version of the song. Gaye’s “Grapevine” pounded the charts about a year after Knight’s, going to #1 in America on December 14, 1968.
By 1966, Barrett Strong, the singer on Motown Records’ breakthrough hit, “Money (That’s What I Want)”, had the basics of a song he had started to write in Chicago, where the idea had come to him while walking down Michigan Avenue that people were always saying “I heard it through the grapevine”. The phrase is associated with black slaves during the Civil War, who had their form of telegraph: the human grapevine. Producer Norman Whitfield worked with Strong on the song, adding lyrics to Strong’s basic Ray Charles influenced gospel tune and the single chorus line of “I heard it through the grapevine”. This was to be the first of a number of successful collaborations between Strong and Whitfield.
The lyrics tell the story in a first person narrative of the betrayal of the singer’s romantic partner, how he heard about it indirectly via gossip from other people (through the “grapevine”), and the emotional pain and disbelief he is suffering
https://twitter.com/ReignOfApril/status/515669791647215617
Breaking: Justice Kagan Asks OH Early Voting Challengers to File SCOTUS Response by Tomorrow at 5
The order reads:
IT IS ORDERED that in light of impending deadlines and uncertainty about when the Sixth Circuit will act on the emergency petition for rehearing en banc filed by the Ohio Attorney General and Secretary of State, respondents should file a response to this application by 5 p.m. on Saturday, September 27, 2014.
—
This seems prudent. At this point, no matter what the en banc Sixth Circuit does, there is a decent chance this ends up before the Supreme Court, and this way it will be teed up for decision in time.
http://electionlawblog.org/?p=65900&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electionlawblog%2FuqCP+%28Election+Law%29
Holder’s Legacy: Steering Away From the Drug War and Mass Incarceration
Posted: 09/25/2014 3:55 pm EDT Updated: 09/25/2014 3:59 pm EDT
When it comes to criminal justice reform, Attorney General Eric Holder — who announced today he will soon resign — waged a revolution from within. Taken individually some of his work seems incremental. Seen as a whole it’s quite bold.
In a pivotal 2013 speech to the American Bar Association, Holder said that “too many Americans go to too many prisons for far too long, and for no truly good law enforcement reason.” He boldly worked to change that and could very well go down in history as the Attorney General who began unwinding the war on drugs and steering our country away from mass incarceration.
From rolling back punitive sentencing laws to permitting state-level marijuana reforms to move forward, Holder shifted the U.S. away from some of the failed criminal justice policies of the past generation. I can only hope that this momentum continues to translate into new policies – and that President Obama replaces Holder with someone who is going to carry on his legacy of reform.
Of course, there’s no good reason why Holder’s Justice Department couldn’t have done more during Obama’s first term, as tens, perhaps hundreds, of thousands of Americans have suffered unjustly as a result of their delay. Though the Obama administration’s shift can be criticized as too little and too late, its historic significance cannot be denied.
Holder’s accomplishments include:
— Calling on policymakers at all levels to find ways to reduce the number of people behind bars.
— Supporting efforts in Congress and the U.S. Sentencing Commission to reduce punitive sentencing.
— Supporting policies that made the sentences of thousands of prisoners shorter and fairer
— Changing how the Justice Department charges people to reduce the application of draconian mandatory minimum sentencing.
— Establishing guidance allowing states to legalize and regulate marijuana with less federal interference.
— Establishing guidance to make it easier for banks to deal with state-legalized marijuana businesses.
— Promoting efforts to re-integrate formerly incarcerated individuals into society and eliminate barriers to successful re-entry.
— Working to end the “school-to-prison pipeline”, including working with the Departments of Education to scale back “zero tolerance” school discipline policies.
— Advocating for the restoration of voting rights for the formerly incarcerated.
— Urging federal law enforcement agencies to identify, train and equip personnel who may interact with a victim of a heroin overdose with the overdose-reversal drug naloxone.
The U.S. is at a pivotal moment right now where fundamental change to our bloated, racially-biased criminal justice system is possible. But change isn’t inevitable. It will take significant leadership by President Obama, Holder’s successor, and Congress to actually reduce mass incarceration instead of just tinkering around the edges.
Now is the time for President Obama to double-down on this legacy by replacing Attorney General with someone who will be as bold or bolder.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-piper/eric-holder-resignation-drug-war_b_5883950.html?utm_hp_ref=tw
https://twitter.com/GrooveSDC/status/515644814193618944
No One Puts Shonda Rhimes In A Corner
Somewhere above this post are links to the two articles in the New York Times by media writer Alessandra Stanley that I’ll reference, plus two more pieces (9/22 and 9/24) by Margaret Sullivan, the paper’s Public Editor. Check them out. The common denominator is a piece that Stanley wrote about Shonda Rhimes, one of the most successful writer/creator/show runners in television today, and her strong female lead characters in three ABC drama series: two returning ones, “Scandal” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” and a new one, “How To Get Away With Murder.” (“Wrought in Rhimes’ Image,” which ran on Sunday 9/21/14). And the leading ladies from Rhimes’ dramas are all African-American.
What’s interesting is both of Stanley’s pieces were dated 9/18/14; maybe Stanley pulled an all-nighter? Or maybe the assignment began as a longer article that she “repurposed” as two shorter pieces. In any case, both of her stories cover television dramas with strong, independent women as lead characters. But the contrast in the two articles is striking. When the leading women are white, they are described in complex terms; when they are African-American, they are described in stereotypical “angry black women” code words: threatening, intimidating, fearsome. With very few other colors (pun intended).
Here are some examples. (Bear with me. I tried to format this with indentations, italics, bold quotes..and it all went to hell. So here we go. Thanks.) First, from the Friday article, is Stanley’s description of “Madame Secretary’s” fictional lead character, and the actress who plays her, Tea Leoni:
“Leoni, who has a husky voice and a loose, engaging manner, is an unusually likable beauty. As Elizabeth McCord, she has all the brains and determination
of the original and none of the political ambition and baggage.”
And here’s is one of the reasons Stanley says that after five seasons, “The Good Wife” is still a good watch:
“..another reason for (“The Good Wife”) enduring popularity is that Alicia Florrick, the betrayed wife played by Julianna Margulies, has guile as well as gumption. She is sympathetic but also devious and not beyond using connections, deceiving friends and twisting the truth to get what she wants, including, last season, her own firm.’
Are you with me so far? These powerful white women are complex and have many qualities: brains and determination; guile and guts; they are sympathetic yet devious; truth-twisting and ambitious. All at once. They’re all over the place. They’re intriguing, right? And somehow, they remain anger-free. And a few paragraphs later, Stanley references another new show on NBC, “State of Affairs,” that will star Alfre Woodard and Katherine Heigl. Here’s what she writes:
“State of Affairs…” doubles down by stealing a bit from “Scandal” and a bit from “Homeland.” Alfre Woodard is the president, and Katherine Heigl is her most trusted, though personally troubled, national security adviser.”
Did you catch that? Stanley blows right by Alfre Woodard, an African-American, Oscar nominated, Emmy award- winning film actress who plays the president. No quirks, no adjectives, no mention that the character is black even. But she manages to give an intriguing description of the Katherine Heigl’s character. “Personally troubled.” Hmm. Wonder what that means? Heigl is white. Am I crazy? Am I “harping” on race? I mean..DAMN!
http://nancygiles.tumblr.com/post/98430689094/no-one-puts-shonda-rhimes-in-a-corner
Does our Atty General have some health problems? I thought that I heard that today.
https://twitter.com/TVMoJoe/status/515517337509052416
A Family Looks for Black Culture
By John Jurgensen
Sept. 25, 2014 8:28 p.m. ET
As its title declares, the new ABC comedy “black-ish” tackles issues of race that most modern sitcoms handle gingerly or ignore completely.
The series, which made its debut Wednesday night, stars Anthony Anderson as Andre, a black advertising executive raising a family in a
predominately white, upper-class world in Los Angeles. He’s mortified by the difference between his childhood and that of his offspring,
including a son who wants to play field hockey at school (not
basketball) and asks for a bar mitzvah.
Andre sees this as part of a blurring of identity that he defines as
“black-ish.” “In order to make it,” his character worries, “we’ve all
dropped a little of our culture.” His overzealous plan, to indoctrinate
his family into a more authentic African-American lifestyle, comes under scrutiny from his old-school father (Laurence Fishburne) and his more politically correct wife (Tracee Ellis Ross).
http://online.wsj.com/articles/black-ish-is-tv-comedy-with-black-culture-on-its-mind-1411691313
https://twitter.com/EricBoehlert/status/515502002022125571
Wisconsin’s new voter ID law could keep me from voting at age 87
I’ve been registered to vote since 1948. But once Republicans passed the law, I was asked to prove I’m not an ‘illegal alien’
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/24/wisconsin-new-voter-id-law-woman-denied-right-87?CMP=twt_gu
ICYMI: Cadillac Leaves Michigan for NYC; Snyder Admin: “It’s Not a Big Deal”
Following news that Cadillac is leaving Michigan for New York, Rick Snyder’s senior auto adviser said: “It’s not a big deal.”
“I don’t know what’s worse: The fact that Rick Snyder’s administration was asleep at the wheel, that they didn’t bother to fight to keep these auto jobs in Michigan, or that they think ‘it’s not a big deal,’” said Mark Schauer, Democratic candidate for governor. “When I’m governor, I’ll fight like hell for each and every auto job, just like I did in Congress. Michigan’s auto industry is a very big deal, providing thousands of jobs for Michigan workers so they can support their families and put food on the table. We need a governor who understands this, instead of one whose administration shrugs its shoulders at the loss of an iconic Michigan brand.”…
http://markschauer.com/icymi-cadillac-leaves-michigan-for-nyc-snyder-admin-its-not-a-big-deal/
Any idiot would know it’s taking jobs away.
Holder Outlines New DOJ Initiative To Help Minority Kids
Outlines new efforts for stronger support for juvenile offenders that will be part of President Obama’s “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative.
posted on Sept. 26, 2014, at 10:47 a.m.
WASHINGTON — Outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder Friday announced a set of new juvenile justice reforms designed to reduce the number of minority underage Americans in the criminal justice system, pledging to continue working on the issue even after he leaves the Department of Justice.
“Although my time at the Justice Department will draw to a close in the coming months – once my successor has been nominated and confirmed – I want you to know that my commitment to this work will never waver,” Holder said Friday morning at a gathering of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference in Washington.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/darrensands/holder-juveniles-in-first-remarks-cbc?utm_term=4ldqpia#39oicsj
@TriniPrincess: Airing next Friday, October 3rd, First Lady Michelle Obama makes debut appearance on ABC’s ‘The Chew’ http://t.co/iSIDgM85Ky📺
@MatthewACherry: Sadder than Wiz & Amber to me RT @WLBT
Celebrity chefs, Gina and Pat Neely file for divorce: http://t.co/rZP6iY5C1hhttp://t.co/ZPBSD8zjHm
Koch brothers’ group targets voters – and cats – in North Carolina
09/26/14 12:35 PM
By Steve Benen
As much as I love cats, I think it’s probably not a good idea to send them voter-registration materials.
Hundreds of North Carolinians – and one cat – have received incorrect voter registration information, according to the N.C. State Board of Elections.
The information – an “official application form” – was sent by Americans for Prosperity, a national conservative group with a state chapter based in Raleigh.
The News & Observer in Raleigh talked to Joshua Lawson, a public information officer for the state Board of Elections, who said the Koch brothers’ group has “caused a lot of confusion for people in the state.”
Well, yes, if someone sent my cat voter-registration materials, I’d be confused, too.
Of course, the problem goes much deeper than feline foul-ups. The far-right group also provided voters with contradictory information about the registration schedule, mislabeled envelopes, incorrect contact information for the state Board of Elections, and incorrect information about county-clerk notifications.
The materials go on to encourage North Carolinians to refer questions to the Secretary of State’s elections division. In North Carolina, the Secretary of State’s office doesn’t have an elections division.
When the News & Observer asked an AFP spokesperson how many voters were sent these materials – which claim to be “official” forms – he refused to say. AFP also never reached out to the state Board of Elections before conducting the mailing.
Imagine that.
It’s worth noting that it is a felony in North Carolina to intentionally mislead voters about voter registration, if it suppresses voting.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/koch-brothers-group-targets-voters-and-cats-north-carolina
Where are Susana Martinez’s emails?
09/26/14 11:34 AM—UPDATED 09/26/14 02:06 PM
By Steve Benen
When an IRS official experienced a hard-drive crash that led to some missing emails, much of the right immediately assumed the worst. Obviously, they argued, this is proof of an elaborate cover-up, intended to hide the truth about a devastating scandal. If the emails weren’t incriminating, the theory goes, they wouldn’t be missing.
Reality points in a different direction, of course, and sometimes a crashed hard drive is just a crashed hard drive.
But if missing emails are necessarily evidence of nefarious wrongdoing, I’ll be eager to hear what the right has to say about New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez (R).
Earlier this year, Mother Jones published a piece on Martinez’ background and her apparent paranoia. Of particular interest were revelations about Martinez’s 2010 gubernatorial campaign, when the Republican’s aides tracked license-plate numbers on cars possibly belonging to opposition-research trackers. The aides would then pass along the information to an investigator in Martinez’s district attorney’s office – which seemed like a pretty blatant misuse of public resources.
Not surprisingly, this news prompted New Mexico Democrats to file an open-records request with the DA’s office, seeking emails from Martinez, her chief deputy DA, Amy Orlando, and the office’s senior investigator. Andy Kroll reported this week on what happened next.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/where-are-susana-martinezs-emails
Starz Offers Layup for Consumers – Free Sampling of 1st 2 Episodes of Original Series ‘Survivor’s Remorse’ Starting Sept 27
By Press Release | Shadow and ActSeptember 26, 2014 at 12:37PM
Starz is offering multi-platform, nationwide sampling of the first two episodes of the new STARZ Original Series, “Survivor’s Remorse,” beginning Saturday, September 27. The six-episode first season of the half-hour scripted comedy series executive produced by Tom Werner, Maverick Carter, LeBron James, Mike O’Malley, Paul Wachter and Victor Levin and premieres Saturday, October 4 at 9 pm ET/PT on STARZ.
Select multichannel video distributors will offer linear, on-demand and online sampling opportunities of the episodes on September 27, one week in advance of the STARZ series premiere. Approximately 78 million multichannel video households will have access to the sampling opportunities through select cable, satellite and Telco affiliates in the United States, as well as online through select websites including Starz.com, the “Survivor’s Remorse” Twitter page, the “Survivor’s Remorse” YouTube page, “Survivor’s Remorse” Facebook page, STARZ ON DEMAND and the free STARZ PLAY app for all users in the United States. The episodes will also be available onAmazon Instant Video, Vudu, Sony Entertainment Network and Xbox Video.
Mike O’Malley, consulting producer and Emmy-nominated actor for his role on “Glee,” serves as executive producer and showrunner for “Survivor’s Remorse.” Tom Werner, Chairman of the Boston Red Sox and LeBron James executive produce with Maverick Carter, sports marketing executive and LeBron James’s business partner; Paul Wachter, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Main Street Advisors, and Victor Levin (“Mad Men,” “Mad About You”).
http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/starz-offers-layup-for-consumers-free-sampling-of-1st-2-episodes-of-original-series-survivors-remorse-starting-sept-27-20140926
Simon Rosenberg@SimonWDC
1/In 1st year of #ACA, 1/3rd of Hispanic adults w/o health insurance gain coverage. One third. In one year.
Simon Rosenberg @SimonWDC
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2/The scale of this success is extraordinary. Perhaps most important legislation for Hispanic Americans in US history.
11:16 AM – 26 Sep 2014
9 Retweets 7 favorites
https://twitter.com/nikkidarling/status/515363088582053888
Shonda Rhimes Night Is a Big Success for ABC. ‘How to Get Away With Murder”
Wow! What a night for Shonda Thursday as it’s been labeled apparently! Specifically, the season premiere of her latest contribution to ABC’s primetime lineup, “How to Get Away With Murder,” drew a whopping 14 million viewers total (live+SD), even beating out the other 2 ABC Shonda Rhimes dramas, “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal” last night, which attracted 9.8 million and 11.9 millions viewers respectively.
A heck of a start for the new Viola Davis starrer, suggesting heavy interest in the series. Now the question is whether it has legs – how many of those 14 million viewers will return for episode 2, 3, 4, 5 and so on. Will it strengthen as the season continues, or will some of you gradually stop watching for one reason or another?
Read Abdul’s recap of last night’s premiere here, and share your thoughts on the episode.
A great night for ABC certainly, because, during every hour (8pm, 9pm, and 10pm), it beat the competition (except for CBS’ Thursday Night Football, which started at 8:30pm).
I expect that relationship (between Rhimes and ABC) to blossom even more. Next, she might create/produce new series for other nights on the network, beyond Thursdays.
http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/shonda-rhimes-night-is-a-big-success-for-abc-how-to-get-away-with-murder-draws-14-million-viewers-total-20140926
Simon Rosenberg @SimonWDC
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Uninsured rate among #Latinos plummets from 36% to 23% in just 1st year of #ACA. http://www.latimes.com/health/la-na-obamacare-latinos-20140925-story.html … Even w/o FL, TX Medicaid expansion.
11:03 AM – 25 Sep 2014
GOP Backs Early Voting—Just Not for Blacks
Republicans have blocked efforts to allow early voting, particularly on Sundays, in a number of areas with large, black voting blocs, but are pushing it where it helps their cause.
By: Charles D. Ellison
Posted: Sept. 26 2014 3:00 AM
Before 2008, early voting was the “in thing” for wealthier, whiter, educated Republican voters. Then the Obama-campaign nerds mobilized it into a black thing, too. Go to church, get on a bus, go vote. And look who we got as president.
Can’t have that, right? So instead of playing the long game and making a “big tent” bid for black votes, Republicans are weaving this elaborate and costly national legislative strategy to (in the immortal words of Todd Akin) “shut that whole thing down.”
Early voting is a Republican thing … and you can’t have it anymore.
Perception coupled with cynical strategy and narrowed, racial, knee-jerk reactions have prompted a wave of poll taxing unseen since Jim Crow and the advent of the Voting Rights Act. GOP strategists have dug deep into the racial recesses of mostly white Republican minds, fanning fears of a black electorate and urging legislators in multiple states to design elaborate barriers to the voting process. It would get that much harder to get to a polling place. Much more difficult to vote on a weekend, with some states going out of their way to make Sunday early voting extinct.
An interesting example blows the strategy’s racial spot up in the Show-Me-Racism state of Missouri, where the Republican-led legislature managed to push a “six day” early-voting proposal into a ballot referendum for November. Missouri Republicans want early voting—just on the kind of terms that a mostly Republican demographic would want: six days minus the weekend. That includes the infamous Sunday that white Republicans have castigated as a get-out-the-black-vote day for Democrats.
The GOP-led initiative essentially blew a hole in a 300,000-signature grassroots petition drive by actual citizens demanding six weeks of early voting. Said the retired pipe fitter who started it all and spent a few weeks collecting names for the pro-early-vote effort: “To me it just seems like they’re coming in and trying to cut our effort out from underneath us.”
And in Georgia, GOP state Sen. Fran Millar, whose district includes Atlanta, just kept it real about efforts to keep DeKalb County (aka African-American) residents from showing up en masse at the polls. When some floated the idea of an early-voting place at a mall “dominated by African-American shoppers and … near several large African-American mega-churches,” Millar promised to block it, claming in an email that “Michele (sic) Obama comes to town and Chicago politics comes to DeKalb.”
http://www.theroot.com/articles/politics/2014/09/gop_backs_early_voting_to_help_themselves_but_makes_it_tougher_for_black.html?wpisrc=newsletter_jcr%3Acontent%26
Controversy over history curriculum goes national
09/26/14 10:59 AM
By Steve Benen
In mid-August, it seemed as if the controversy popped up out of the blue. Members of the Republican National Committee gathered for a regularly scheduled meeting, but instead of the expected election-year efforts, RNC members voted to condemn Advanced Placement U.S. History classes for presenting a “consistently negative view of American history.”
By way of an example, the RNC said the AP curriculum portrays early U.S. colonists as “oppressors and exploiters while ignoring the dreamers and innovators who built our country.” Republicans said they want the classes to put a more deliberately patriotic spin on history.
As culture-war issues go, this one was barely on anyone’s radar, though Right Wing Watch explained that the RNC’s interest wasn’t a fluke: activists in the religious right movement, most notably groups like the Eagle Forum and Concerned Women for America, have been steadily pushing the issue for a while.
It seems the Republican National Committee’s interest had its intended purpose: the story went national. GOP lawmakers in Tennessee immediately took a keen interest in AP history classes, and soon after, Republicans in Texas followed suit. Conservative media piled on, with National Review calling AP history “an attempt to hijack the teaching of U.S. history on behalf of a leftist political and ideological perspective.”
This week, it’s contributed to an especially contentious fight in Colorado.
A new conservative school board majority here in the Denver suburbs recently proposed a curriculum-review committee to promote patriotism, respect for authority and free enterprise and to guard against educational materials that “encourage or condone civil disorder.” In response, hundreds of students, teachers and parents gave the board their own lesson in civil disobedience.
On Tuesday, hundreds of students from high schools across the Jefferson County school district, the second largest in Colorado, streamed out of school and along busy thoroughfares, waving signs and championing the value of learning about the fractious and tumultuous chapters of American history.
The dispute in Colorado is multi-faceted, but as the New York Times’ report noted, the ongoing controversy stems from a proposed review committee that would be tasked with – you guessed it – “evaluating Advanced Placement United States history.”
The protests in the Rocky Mountain State reached a fourth day yesterday. Meanwhile, the religious right’s interest in the issue continues, with Family Research Council President Tony Perkins arguing last week that the AP exams teach “anti-Americanism” and contribute to “a jihad in the classroom.”
Seriously, that’s what he said.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/controversy-over-history-curriculum-goes-national
Koch-backed group mails out misleading voter registration info in NC
NC residents mailed incorrect voter registration information
BY AMANDA ALBRIGHT
September 25, 2014 Updated 6 hours ago
RALEIGH — Hundreds of North Carolinians – and one cat – have received incorrect voter registration information, according to the N.C. State Board of Elections.
The information – an “official application form” – was sent by Americans for Prosperity, a national conservative group with a state chapter based in Raleigh.
Since then, hundreds of people who received the forms have called and complained to the State Board of Elections, said Joshua Lawson, a public information officer for the board.
“It’s unclear where (Americans for Prosperity) got their list, but it’s caused a lot of confusion for people in the state,” Lawson said.
One resident even received a voter registration form addressed to her cat, he said.
“The phone calls have consistently been all day, every day,” Lawson said.
http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/09/25/4181779_voters-mailed-incorrect-information.html?sp=/99/102/105/&rh=1#
450,000 in Va. may lack proper ID needed to vote
By Antonio Olivo and Jenna Portnoy September 25 at 8:18 PM
About 450,000 voters in Virginia may lack the proper identification needed to cast a ballot in the November midterm elections, the Virginia State Board of Elections said Thursday.
Under a state law that took effect this year, Virginia voters must present a driver’s license or some other form of photo identification at their polling stations before they cast a vote.
Although voters who lack such proof would be allowed to fill out provisional ballots on Nov. 4, election officials hope more people will obtain state ID cards or some other valid form of identification so that their votes could be more easily counted — particularly in the event of close contests.
“It’s so much easier if there’s a live vote,” said Cameron Quinn, the voter registrar in Fairfax County, where 13,690 registered voters lack state driver’s licences.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/450000-in-va-may-lack-proper-id-to-vote/2014/09/25/9724f584-44db-11e4-b437-1a7368204804_story.html?Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm_twitter_washingtonpost
[hulu id=5hzur5qm8upkzqdpdyudgq width=512]
AG Holder’s swagger is on 100.
I have a lot of respect for AG Holder. I’m really sorry to see him go and hoping the next AG is of the same mind and carries on.
Me too, Liza. I’m just wondering what will Eric Holder do next? What IF? Are you thinking what I’m thinking? :)
I thought about it. But then I read somewhere this morning that his wife is concerned about his health. I think that means he is going to find a less stressful way to work on the things that he is passionate about and where he is most needed. He’s a good man.
The Associated Press ✔ @AP
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BREAKING: Economy grew at 4.6 percent rate in April-June quarter, strongest pace since late 2011.
7:32 AM – 26 Sep 2014
Ladies, I hope we get a post for AG Holder that contains the following videos:
Joy Reid
Rev. Al’s segments on Holder from Yesterday.
This Maddow piece:
Attorney General Eric Holder rebuilt DOJ from the ground up
Rachel Maddow discusses Eric Holder’s long legacy as Attorney General of the United States, and takes a look at how Holder was perceived by both the left and the right during his consequential tenure now that he is set to retire.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/watch/ag-eric-holder-rebuilt-doj-from-the-ground-up-333673027686
Holder set a tone unlike any other Attorney General
Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, joins Rachel Maddow to discuss Eric Holder’s enduring legacy and divisive term as Attorney General.
http://on.msnbc.com/1usYozL
from Kay at BJ
https://twitter.com/RantingOwl/status/515335918979653633/photo/1
https://twitter.com/cscoatesjr72/status/515335051631153153/photo/1
The backstory of how Obama lost his ‘heat shield’“:
t’s oddly fitting that Attorney General Eric Holder – a stubbornly independent career prosecutor ridiculed by Barack Obama’s advisers for having lousy political instincts— would nail his dismount.
But Holder, who began his stormy five-plus-year tenure at the Justice Department with his controversial “Nation of Cowards” speech, has chosen what seems to be the ideal (and maybe the only) moment to call it quits after more than 18 months of musing privately about leaving with the president and senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett, a trio bound by friendship, progressive ideology and shared African-American ancestry.
It was now or never, several current and former administration officials say, and Holder – under pressure to retire from a physician wife worried about a recent health scare, checked the “now” box. “It was a quit-now or never-quit moment,” one former administration official said. “You didn’t want confirmation hearings in 2015 if the Republicans control the Senate. So if he didn’t do it now, there was no way he could ever do it.”
Holder—described by associates as President Obama’s “heat shield” on race and civil rights—sprung it on the president over the Labor Day holidays. Obama didn’t bother to push back as he has in the past, even though staffers say he winces at the prospect of a long confirmation battle, whomever he chooses for the nation’s top law enforcement job.
Holder’s announcement gives Obama several weeks to pick and vet a successor who would face confirmation hearings in the lame-duck session after the midterms. Holder has “agreed to remain in his post until the confirmation of his successor,” a top Justice Department aide said, as an insurance policy against GOP foot-dragging.
His timing also has a personal dimension. The keenly legacy-conscious Holder has never been in better standing, leaving on arguably the highest personal note of his tenure, after a year of progress on his plan to reform sentencing laws and just after his well-received, calming-the-waters trip to Ferguson, Missouri, during the riots in August. In a background email to reporters, a senior Justice Department official struck a victory-lap tone, writing, “The Attorney General’s tenure has been marked by historic gains in the areas of criminal justice reform and civil rights enforcement. The last week alone has seen several announcements related to these signature issues.”
That’s a striking contrast to the defensive posture of the last few years, when Holder became the first sitting Cabinet official to be found in contempt of Congress. Hill Republicans, who have warred with Holder for years, greeted his departure with don’t-let-the-door-hit-you-on-the-way-out glee. “I welcome the news that Eric Holder will step down as Attorney General,” said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, in an email. “From Operation Fast and Furious to his misleading testimony before the House Judiciary Committee regarding the Department’s dealings with members of the media and his refusal to appoint a special counsel to investigate the IRS’ targeting of conservative groups, Mr. Holder has consistently played partisan politics with many of the important issues facing the Justice Department.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/09/why-holder-quit-111333.html#ixzz3EQRaCksE
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