The House has passed HR 4213, The American Job and Closing the Tax Loophole Act, which includes funding for the Black Farmers settlement of 1.25 billion dollars. Now the Senate has to vote before the May 31st deadline. The irony, the Senate has finished work for the holiday and will not be back in session before Monday.
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele says, ” the fact that they won their suit, the fact that congress has been instructed by the court to pay them, than that needs to be honored and the commitment needs to be kept.”
John Boyd, head of the National Black Farmers Association says, ”The White House needs to extend the deadline, or come up with the money.”
The black farmers have been waiting for the settlement for 15 years. Steele contends, “It is a lot of money, and they should get the money. If it has been appropriately adjudicated 15 years ago, with the judgment in favor of the farmers, It is a shames the federal government has taken 15 years to make the payment. The deadline is on Monday, make the payment.“
President Obama proposed the Settlement funding in his 2011 budget to end the inaction on the issue. The Presidet is also looking to fund the Cobell Indian Land misuse Settlement at a cost of 1.4 billion dollars.
Boyd says, ”even though Congress missed another deadline, he still wants to talk with the President. The White House has yet to grant Boyd’s continued request. Officials are firm that President Obama strongly supports the Black Farmer settlement funding.
80 to 90 thousand black farmers are awaiting financial restitution from discrimination in the Department of Agricultures Farm Loan Program 20 years ago.
President Obama said at the the BP presser in the East Room Thursday, all but a few of the Gulf Coast Beaches were clean, safe and open. Michael Steele head of the Republican National Committee spoke on the BP oil spill and its affect on tourism in the Gulf. Michael Steele head of the Republican National Committee spoke on the BP oil spill and its affect on tourism in the Gulf Coast. Steele said, “You take your kid to the beach you don’t have to worry about suntan lotion because you have this oil slick all over them from the oil spill.”
There is movement on the Black Farmer settlement and the Cobell Indian land misuse settlement. In a written statement, The Administration applauds the Congress for including provisions in the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010.
White House officials say, “the bill would fulfill the obligations set forth in the Cobell and Pigford II settlement agreements. The settlements that have been achieved are historic and provide full and final resolution to two long-running disputes - a case involving the management of individual Indian trust accounts related to Indian lands and claims of prior discrimination brought by black farmers against the Department of Agriculture.” The president allocated 1.25 billion dollars for the black farmers and 1.4 billion for the Cobell settlements in the 2011 budget. What remains now is passage of the bill.
The black farmers are a step closer to getting their pay out after 15 years of waiting. The House is voting on the bill this week and the Senate is set to take it up at the same time. Meanwhile, congress must approve the monies by the May 31, 2010 deadline for the settlements to be funded.
President Obama was in the Rose Garden Thursday delivering a very serious message on Wall Street reform. The setting was very presidential with all eyes and ears on him. The attention was diverted as something scurried across his podium. President Obama was unaware of the appearance of a rodent until informed by Robert Gibbs Friday Morning.
No one knows what the animal is. Gibbs quipped at the Friday briefing it was “rat”. Reporters said it was a Vole. Reggie Love, President Obama’s body person said it was a “field mouse.”
No word on if the exterminator is being called. But pest professionals says mice are attracted to dog droppings and other things like a garden. Those two items are at the Obama White House.
Md. second-grader gives first lady pop quiz on immigration
By Michael D. Shear and Michael Birnbaum
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, May 20, 2010; A01
As much as they might want to defer the conversation, the politically charged issue of illegal immigration continues to dog members of the Obama administration.
On Wednesday, with TV cameras rolling during an event to promote healthy eating, a second-grader at a Silver Spring elementary school asked first lady Michelle Obama why the president was “taking everybody away that doesn’t have papers.”
Sitting in front of a dozen schoolchildren, with the first lady of Mexico by her side, Obama told the girl: “That’s something that we have to work on, right? To make sure that people can be here with the right kind of papers.”
“But my mom doesn’t have any papers,” the student blurted as soon as the first lady had finished.
In an instant, the spontaneous exchange crystallized the power of the immigration debate, sparking hours of cable news chatter, a rolling Twitter conversation and urgent questions about what, if anything, might happen to the girl’s mother as a result of the unscripted moment.
On the day of a carefully choreographed state dinner with the Mexican president, it was another reminder of outside factors intruding on the Obama administration’s careful and paced pursuit of a bipartisan agreement on immigration reform.
Last month, it was the passage of Arizona’s immigration law, which forced the often divisive issue back into the national conversation and put pressure on the president to take action on behalf of angry pro-immigrant activists. More recently, embattled Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) has pushed comprehensive immigration legislation onto the congressional agenda, a popular issue in his heavily Hispanic state.
The administration has sought to walk a fine line — expressing a desire to move forward but acknowledging the fierce opposition that remains among Republicans, as well as some members of the president’s party, on the issue.
Standing next to Mexican President Felipe Calderón in the Rose Garden on Wednesday, President Obama said, in essence, that the ball is in the GOP’s court.
“I don’t have 60 votes in the Senate. I’ve got to have some support from Republicans,” Obama told reporters. “I don’t expect to get every Republican vote, but I need some help in order to get it done.”
That position has inflamed some advocates of immigration reform, who accuse Obama of failing to keep the campaign promise he made to pass a comprehensive overhaul.
“This heartbreaking exchange says more about the current state of the immigration debate than the remarks of the two presidents in the Rose Garden,” said Frank Sharry of America’s Voice, a pro-immigrant group. “With comprehensive immigration reform stalled, and Arizona taking matters into their own hands, this young girl gives voice to the growing frustration and desperation in immigrant families and communities.”
Among conservatives, the girl’s comments became fresh fodder for criticism of the administration’s handling of border security. Talk show host Rush Limbaugh accused the White House of planting the question from the little girl, saying that she then botched the delivery.
“This second-grader was supposed to say ‘Arizona,’ not ‘Obama,’ ” Limbaugh said on his show Wednesday afternoon. “I don’t think there’s any doubt it was a setup question.”
But even those who advocate the harshest treatment for illegal immigrants were declining to call for an investigation into the status of the girl’s mother. In an interview, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said, “I think it’s hard to start an investigation on a statement from a 7-year-old.”
A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said, “While ICE continues to work with Congress to enact reform, we remain focused on smart, effective immigration enforcement that focuses first on convicted criminal aliens who pose a threat to our communities.”
Michelle Obama had taken her Mexican counterpart, Margarita Zavala, to Montgomery County’s New Hampshire Estates Elementary School to show off the school’s fitness program, diverse student body and family-style lunches. The two women joined 14 second-graders for their gym class. After hopping, skipping and running — as well as flinging balls around in a giant parachute — they all sat in a circle, and the children asked questions.
Principal Jane Litchko said later that the school’s policy is not to ask about children’s immigration status and that the topic of immigration is not covered in their classes. “They’re only 7,” Litchko said, adding that she did not feel comfortable discussing the exchange between the first lady and the girl, who remained unidentified Wednesday evening. “The parents trust me that this is a safe place,” she said.
Litchko said that the school had called the girl’s parents to let them know what had happened and that the girl had gone home after school “the regular way.”
Washington - President Barack Obama’s Kenyan aunt can stay in the United States, a U.S. immigration judge has ruled, ending a more than six-year legal battle over her status.
Judge Leonard Shapiro made the decision Friday, court officials told CNN.
Two government sources confirmed Monday that the ruling will give legal status to Zeituni Onyango, allowing her to remain in the country.
Onyango’s attorneys plan to hold a press conference at 2 p.m. in Ohio.
Onyango, who is the half-sister of the president’s late father, applied for political asylum in 2002 due to violence in her native Kenya. She was a legal resident of the United States at the time and had received a Social Security card a year earlier.
NAACP backs Kagan, others wary
The storied National Association for the Advancement of Colored People endorsed Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan Saturday in a statement that offered praise for her devotion to civil rights. The group also adopted one of the White House’s key arguments for her confirmation: that she can build a consensus to support liberal decisions on the court. However, as I noted in a story out today, some civil rights activists remain skeptical about President Barack Obama’s choice.
“Elena Kagan has demonstrated a commitment to civil rights and equal justice under the law throughout her career,” NAACP President Benjamin Jealous said. “Kagan drew her inspiration from NAACP former counsel and Supreme court Justice Thurgood Marshall who she considers a hero and mentor. During her tenure at the White House, Kagan worked on issues such as strengthening hate crimes legislation and civil rights enforcement. As a law school Dean, she worked to ensure a diverse student body and faculty.”
“Elena Kagan has a track record of bringing people together. She is skilled at forging legal consensus on contentious issues,” NAACP Chairman Roslyn Brock added. The organization cited as evidence of Kagan’s civil rights views her decision to authorize legal briefs opposing an anti-affirmative action education lawsuit in Texas and in favor of a challenge African-American firefighters brought to a hiring test in Chicago.
The NAACP said its endorsement came in an unanimous vote of the organization’s board, but one former NAACP official said the decision was misguided and said more about the political allegiances of the group than about Kagan.
“This is so craven,” Michael Meyers, a former NAACP assistant national director, told POLITICO Saturday. “The NAACP is brain-dead and morally bankrupt. Its mission is photo ops and access to the White House…and headline grabbing gimmickry, not any longer principled civil rights advocacy. The NAACP is a political organization now, an appendage of the Democratic Party and apologist for Obama’s cowardice on civil rights issues.”
“This is an example of tortuous reasoning, to say the least, and can’t be based on any honest or careful evaluation and analysis of Kagan’s judicial philosophy or her paper-thin civil rights record,” said Meyers, a former American Civil Liberties Union board member who is president and executive director of the New York Civil Rights Coalition.
(While Jealous called the group’s review of Kagan’s record “careful and thorough,” the NAACP’s statement refers to the federal “Department of Civil Rights” filing briefs authorized by Kagan. There is no such department. The organization may be referring to the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, which likely played a role in one of the cases, or to Justice’s Civil Rights Division.)
NAACP STATEMENT
NAACP ENDORSES SUPREME COURT NOMINEE ELENA KAGAN
May 15, 2010 Hollywood, Florida-The NAACP, the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization, unanimously endorsed Elena Kagan, President Barack Obama’s choice for the Supreme Court, today at their quarterly board meeting.
The organization reviewed Kagan’s available record on civil rights including her recent authorization for the Department of Justice and the Department of Civil Rights to file an amicus brief supporting the constitutionality of the University of Texas’ affirmative action program in Fisher v. University of Texas and her brief in support of African American firefighters who challenged a hiring test used by the City of Chicago under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (Lewis v. City of Chicago).
“After a careful and thorough review of Elena Kagan’s record, we have unanimously voted to endorse her nomination,” stated President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous. “Elena Kagan has demonstrated a commitment to civil rights and equal justice under the law throughout her career. Kagan drew her inspiration from NAACP former counsel and Supreme court Justice Thurgood Marshall who she considers a hero and mentor. During her tenure at the White House, Kagan worked on issues such as strengthening hate crimes legislation and civil rights enforcement. As a law school Dean, she worked to ensure a diverse student body and faculty. And as Solicitor General, Kagan has vigorously defended the nation’s equal opportunity and civil rights laws. We look forward to actively supporting her nomination,” Jealous said.
“Elena Kagan has a track record of bringing people together. She is skilled at forging legal consensus on contentious issues,” stated NAACP Chairman Roslyn Brock. “Civil rights is a bipartisan issue. It is central to the core of our American values. We believe Elena Kagan has the ability to use her fine legal mind, her commitment to diversity and her ability to build bridges to effectively advocate in the Court for the civil rights and democracy enshrined in our constitution.”
Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its more than half million members and supporters, throughout the United States and the world, are the premier advocates for civil and human rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and advocating for equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.
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President Obama, a married man who wears his wedding ring constantly, was hit on by a fan in Buffalo, New York.
The woman who openly admired President Obama’s physique during his visit to Buffalo on Thursday has found herself catapulted into the national spotlight, with lots of buzz — and criticism — on the Internet and a “you’re a hottie” joke in the opening monologue of Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show.”
“People tell me I should think before I open my mouth,” Luann Haley, a single mom who works as a bill collector, told WGZR-TV in Buffalo. She said she was “just trying to be funny, and I almost regret that now.”
The television station said Haley turned down a request to appear on a national morning news show Friday morning.
According to reports, the woman said to President obama, “You’re a hottie with a smokin’ little body.” Luann Haley, is 45 and made the comments to the leader of the free world, with cameras capturing every moment as the president made an unannounced stop at Duff’s Famous Wings for a quick bite to eat.
Obama responded with a big hug, which made Haley swoon. (”He gave me a squeeze,” she said afterward.) And Obama reminded her that Michelle — his wife — would be watching on television.
“That’s alright,” Haley said.
Asked what he got at Duffs, Obama said, “Wings! This is the wing capital.”
Obama ordered his wings medium, but later called out to the restaurant staff that he would have five regular, five extra spicy. They cost $10.82
The nation is paying attention to the President’s latest Supreme Court nominee, Elana Kagan. Kagan has few papers for people to pour through to get an idea as to how she would render a decision on the highest court in the land. Entertainment Icon, Lionel Richie even chimed in on Kagan, the night after she made the Senate rounds on Capitol Hill.
NEW YORK TIMES
May 12, 2010
On Capitol Hill, Kagan Gets to Know Her Voters
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
WASHINGTON - Elena Kagan’s lack of judicial experience and her stance on the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy emerged Wednesday as potential flashpoints in her confirmation hearings. The top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee said he was not satisfied with her explanation of why she had briefly barred military recruiters from using Harvard Law School facilities when she was dean.
“It seemed to me a little bit out of touch,” the Republican, Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, said after about an hour with Ms. Kagan. “That you think you could disagree with a legal policy of the military, and that would allow you to in any way inhibit their ability to come to your campus, I think indicates some of the dangers of being in the rarefied atmosphere of the academy.”
Their private talk was one of eight meetings that Ms. Kagan, President Obama’s nominee to succeed Justice John Paul Stevens, had with senators on Wednesday as she began paying traditional courtesy calls to some of the 100 men and women who will vote on whether she is qualified to sit on the Supreme Court.
In her job as solicitor general, Ms. Kagan does plenty of talking; she is the lawyer who represents the government before the Supreme Court. But now, as she concentrates exclusively on winning Senate confirmation, Ms. Kagan is practicing a different skill: keeping her mouth shut.
The White House and its allies are casting Ms. Kagan, 50, as a trailblazer and a brilliant academic. An umbrella group of liberal advocacy organizations, the Coalition for Constitutional Values, is running a national television spot that serves up a gauzy vision of her life story: daughter of a lawyer and a teacher, graduate of Princeton and Harvard Law, public servant in the Clinton and Obama administrations.
On Capitol Hill on Wednesday, it quickly became clear that Republicans were trying to paint a very different picture, of a woman in an ivory tower who lacks the requisite experience to serve on the highest court in the nation.
