Sources: CNN
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Monday, February 6, 2012
Congressional Black Caucus Launches "Voter Suppression" Tour For Re-election NOT BLACK Upward Mobility!
Congressional BLACK Caucus Members Will Launch A "Anti- Voter Suppression Tour" In March.
Of Course!
Its Only Because They Want To Be Re-elected.
Any Other Time They Can't Be Found Unless....
You Are A Member Of Their Fraternity Or Sorority.
CBC Members Push For Re-election Just To Warm Seats On Capitol Hill (Personal Gain) & Help Keep Most BLACK People As A Permanent American Under Class.
That Is Unless You Fit Into Their Personal Inner Circles.
More Poor BLACK People = More Social Safety Net Programs = More BLACK Social Worker Jobs For Friends Of BLACK Congress Members.
Versus....
More BLACK Entrepreneurs & More BLACK Tech Start-Up Owners Which = More JOBS For BLACK & Latinos = Self-Sufficiency = Fewer BLACK People Living Off The Federal Government.
I Will Support Pres. Obama's Re-election, However I Haven't Yet Decided The Political Fate Of Most BLACK Congressional Democrats.
Do They Actually Deserve My Valuable BLACK Vote?
For What????
Excuse Me If I Sound Somewhat Cynical About The Congressional BLACK Caucus.
I Promise To Cheer Up When The Number Of BLACK Entrepreneurs & BLACK Tech Start-Up Owners, Surpasses The Number Of BLACK People On Unemployment, Welfare, Food Stamps & Those Working For Someone Else Rather Than Work For Themselves.
Peace.
Sources: CBC, Youtube
NY Giants Rule: 21-17! Mayor Bloomberg To Host Ticker Tape Parade For Team! Congrats!
Giant parade awaits Super Bowl winners
A ticker tape parade awaits the New York Giants this week when the team returns home as Super Bowl champions after defeating the New England Patriots 21-17 on a last-minute touchdown.
The Super Bowl victory Sunday night was the fourth for the Giants; the team defeated the Patriots 17-14 in the 2008 title game.
New England fans who had hoped their team would avenge the 2008 loss were left crestfallen. But for Giants supporters, the celebration was just beginning.
Early Monday, the Empire State Building was bathed in Giants blue. Later in the day, New York City will conduct a public giveaway for 250 winners for a post-parade ceremony on Tuesday at City Hall Plaza where the team will be given keys to the city.
"After nearly missing the playoffs, the Giants have made history by becoming the first NFL team to win the Super Bowl after going 9-7 in the regular season," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said after the Sunday night win. "I look forward to celebrating this victory with all New Yorkers."
Clutching the championship trophy, Giants quarterback Eli Manning, the MVP award winner, said "I just stayed positive" during the seesaw struggle.
Assisted by crucial late receptions by Mario Manningham, Manning marched the Giants down the field in the closing minutes of the game. The go-ahead touchdown was scored by running back Ahmad Bradshaw from 6 yards out with 52 seconds remaining.
But the Patriots and Tom Brady, who was vying for his fourth championship ring, weren't quite done. They moved the ball, but had only enough time for a "Hail Mary" pass that bounced away from receivers in the end zone.
After trailing the Patriots 17-9 early in the third quarter, the Giants put up the last 12 points of the game to win 21-17.
In the final three minutes of the game, Twitter saw an average of 10,000 tweets per second, the company said.
An estimated 111 million U.S. TV viewers were expected to tune in to the game. Exact figures were not available early Monday morning.
As in years past, many watched as much for the ads and the halftime show as for the game itself.
Halftime entertainer Madonna provided an eclectic set, morphing from a Roman Empire theme to a high school cheerleader, complete with pom poms and a marching band.
She led a collection of performers through a medley that included "Vogue," "Music," "Like a Prayer" and "Give Me All Your Luvin.'"
But it was a guest performance by artist M.I.A. that generated most of the show's buzz. She gave network cameras a middle finger salute, while rapping "I don't give a sh*t."
The apologies from the NFL and the broadcaster, NBC, came quickly -- they blamed each other.
"There was a failure in NBC's delay system," said Brian McCarty, the league's vice president of communications. "The obscene gesture in the performance was completely inappropriate, very disappointing, and we apologize to our fans."
"The NFL hired the talent and produced the halftime show," NBC said. "Our system was late to obscure the inappropriate gesture and we apologize to our viewers."
The episode was reminiscent of the 2004 Super Bowl when singer Janet Jackson's nipple was briefly exposed during a performance with singer Justin Timberlake.
The American president who saved football
A bevy of celebrities, including Jerry Seinfeld, Clint Eastwood and Elton John, showed up in commercials during this year's broadcast.
David Beckham provided eye candy in an H&M underwear ad, which tended to spend more time on his chiseled and tattooed looks than the briefs he was wearing.
Another commercial featured a slimmed-down dog chasing after a Volkswagen Beetle.
The ads went for a record $3.5 million per 30-second spot.
Pop singer Kelly Clarkson started off the festivities with a rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner," managing to get through the lyrics without a hitch, unlike Christina Aguilera, who caught flak after botching the words at last year's game.
What does Indianapolis have to offer?
The city itself strove to prove it could be a major player.
It kept one key goal in mind.
"I honestly think the best report would be people saying, 'The game was great and -- oh yeah, by the way, Indianapolis was really nice. I had a really good time,' " said Tom Griswold, longtime co-host of the Indy-based syndicated radio program "The Bob & Tom Show."
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Sources: CNN, ESPN, Wikipedia, Google Maps
Friday, February 3, 2012
Komen Reversal On Planned Parenthood Decision FALSE! Board Member: "No Reversal"! WashPo Reports
From 1973 through 2008, nearly 50 million Legal ABORTIONS occurred!
Sources: Guttmacher Institute
Jones RK and Kooistra, K., Abortion incidence and access to services in the United States, 2008, Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2011, 43(1):41-50.
Komen Board Member Official Statement Per Washington Post
As you may have heard, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation just announced that it was reversing its decision to ban Planned Parenthood from applying for grants to cover breast cancer screenings — after a massive outcry that spread from women’s groups to social media to Capitol Hill.
The question now is what its announcement actually means.
I just got off the phone with a Komen board member, and he confirmed that the announcement does not mean that Planned Parenthood is guaranteed future grants — a demand he said would be “unfair” to impose on Komen.
He also said the job of the group’s controversial director, Nancy Brinker, is safe, as far as the board is concerned.
As some were quick to point out, the statement put out by Komen doesn’t really clarify whether Planned Parenthood will actually continue to get money from the group. The original rationale for barring Planned Parenthood was that it was under investigation (a witch-hunt probe undertaken by GOP Rep Cliff Stearns).
Komen said today that the group would “amend the criteria to make clear that disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political.”
Does that mean Planned Parenthood will get Komen grants in the future?
I asked Komen board member John Raffaelli to respond to those who are now saying that the announcement doesn’t necessarily constitute a reversal until Planned Parenthood actually sees more funding.
He insisted it would be unfair to expect the group to commit to future grants.
“It would be highly unfair to ask us to commit to any organization that doesn’t go through a grant process that shows that the money we raise is used to carry out our mission,” Raffaelli told me. “We’re a humaniatrian organization.
We have a mission. Tell me you can help carry out our mission and we will sit down at the table.”
Pushed on whether this means the new announcement wasn’t really a reversal, Raffaelli pushed back, arguing that Komen, in response to all the criticism, had removed politics from the grant-making process. “Is it really unclear that we’re changing the policy to address criticism?” he said.
Others have pointed out that Komen’s handling of this issue should lead to skepticism of its announcement. Brinker had repeatedly said Komen’s funding decision was rooted in a larger policy change and wasn’t directed at Planned Parenthood in particular, suggesting the decision wasn’t related to the fact that Planned Parenthood was under assault by the GOP.
This was contradicted by at least one account. More broadly, the group’s rationale for the decision shifted over the last week.
Pressed on whether Brinker had been forthcoming, Raffaelli insisted: “Nancy was not trying to mislead anyone.”
Asked if there would be an internal look at how Brinker handled the episode, Raffaelli only said there would be some kind of general look at how to prevent the politicization of grant-making in the future.
Raffaelli blamed himself for the failure to handle the politics of this mess adequately, and stressed that Brinker’s career had been devoted to breast cancer prevention, and not politics.
Asked if Brinker’s job was safe, Raffaelli said: “Yes.” He added that the board “unequivocally” stood behind her.
Though Komen had hoped today’s announcement would defuse the politics of this fight, it seems plausible that pressure from both sides will only continue.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Is the Susan G. Komen Foundation backing down?
The Susan G. Komen Foundation has just released a new statement from CEO Nancy Brinker. The first line is a mea culpa: “We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women’s lives.”
But what does this mea culpa mean?
Brinker goes on to make clear that they will amend their guidelines so only “criminal and conclusive” investigations affect their funding decisions.
They will ensure that “politics has no place in our grant process,” and they will “continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants, while maintaining the ability of our affiliates to make funding decisions that meet the needs of their communities.”
So they are, perhaps, backing down. Or perhaps not. Yesterday, the Komen Foundation said the investigation was not the cause of their reduced support for Planned Parenthood, and that the real issue was that Planned Parenthood did not directly provide mammograms. This statement doesn’t address that concern at all.
So it would appear to leave open the possibility that the foundation intends to reject Planned Parenthood’s future grant applications — albeit on less overtly political grounds.
I posed these questions to Leslie Aun, vice president for communications at the Komen Foundation. “I think our statement speaks for itself,” she replied. You can be the judge of that. The statement follows in full:
Statement from Susan G. Komen Board of Directors and Founder and CEO Nancy G. Brinker:
We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women’s lives.
The events of this week have been deeply unsettling for our supporters, partners and friends and all of us at Susan G. Komen.
We have been distressed at the presumption that the changes made to our funding criteria were done for political reasons or to specifically penalize Planned Parenthood. They were not.
Our original desire was to fulfill our fiduciary duty to our donors by not funding grant applications made by organizations under investigation.
We will amend the criteria to make clear that disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political.
That is what is right and fair.
Our only goal for our granting process is to support women and families in the fight against breast cancer.
Amending our criteria will ensure that politics has no place in our grant process.
We will continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants, while maintaining the ability of our affiliates to make funding decisions that meet the needs of their communities.
It is our hope and we believe it is time for everyone involved to pause, slow down and reflect on how grants can most effectively and directly be administered without controversies that hurt the cause of women.
We urge everyone who has participated in this conversation across the country over the last few days to help us move past this issue. We do not want our mission marred or affected by politics – anyone’s politics.
Starting this afternoon, we will have calls with our network and key supporters to refocus our attention on our mission and get back to doing our work.
We ask for the public’s understanding and patience as we gather our Komen affiliates from around the country to determine how to move forward in the best interests of the women and people we serve.
We extend our deepest thanks for the outpouring of support we have received from so many in the past few days and we sincerely hope that these changes will be welcomed by those who have expressed their concern.
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Sources: CNN, Susan G. Komen Foundation, L.A. Times, MSNBC, Washington Post, Wikipedia, Youtube, Google Maps
Komen Foundation: I Stand With Komen! Fighting Breast Cancer NOT Fund Abortions!
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Is the Susan G. Komen Foundation backing down?
The Susan G. Komen Foundation has just released a new statement from CEO Nancy Brinker. The first line is a mea culpa: “We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women’s lives.”
But what does this mea culpa mean?
Brinker goes on to make clear that they will amend their guidelines so only “criminal and conclusive” investigations affect their funding decisions.
They will ensure that “politics has no place in our grant process,” and they will “continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants, while maintaining the ability of our affiliates to make funding decisions that meet the needs of their communities.”
So they are, perhaps, backing down. Or perhaps not. Yesterday, the Komen Foundation said the investigation was not the cause of their reduced support for Planned Parenthood, and that the real issue was that Planned Parenthood did not directly provide mammograms. This statement doesn’t address that concern at all.
So it would appear to leave open the possibility that the foundation intends to reject Planned Parenthood’s future grant applications — albeit on less overtly political grounds.
I posed these questions to Leslie Aun, vice president for communications at the Komen Foundation. “I think our statement speaks for itself,” she replied. You can be the judge of that. The statement follows in full:
Statement from Susan G. Komen Board of Directors and Founder and CEO Nancy G. Brinker:
We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women’s lives.
The events of this week have been deeply unsettling for our supporters, partners and friends and all of us at Susan G. Komen.
We have been distressed at the presumption that the changes made to our funding criteria were done for political reasons or to specifically penalize Planned Parenthood. They were not.
Our original desire was to fulfill our fiduciary duty to our donors by not funding grant applications made by organizations under investigation.
We will amend the criteria to make clear that disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political.
That is what is right and fair.
Our only goal for our granting process is to support women and families in the fight against breast cancer.
Amending our criteria will ensure that politics has no place in our grant process.
We will continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants, while maintaining the ability of our affiliates to make funding decisions that meet the needs of their communities.
It is our hope and we believe it is time for everyone involved to pause, slow down and reflect on how grants can most effectively and directly be administered without controversies that hurt the cause of women.
We urge everyone who has participated in this conversation across the country over the last few days to help us move past this issue. We do not want our mission marred or affected by politics – anyone’s politics.
Starting this afternoon, we will have calls with our network and key supporters to refocus our attention on our mission and get back to doing our work.
We ask for the public’s understanding and patience as we gather our Komen affiliates from around the country to determine how to move forward in the best interests of the women and people we serve.
We extend our deepest thanks for the outpouring of support we have received from so many in the past few days and we sincerely hope that these changes will be welcomed by those who have expressed their concern.
Susan G. Komen drops funding for Planned Parenthood
The Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation revealed Tuesday it was cutting funds to Planned Parenthood, sparking an outcry from abortion rights advocates blaming “political pressure” and praise from an anti-abortion group.
The major breast cancer research group cut funds to the prominent family planning organization after Planned Parenthood has come under increasing scrutiny from Congress over how it provides abortion services.
The Komen Foundation gave few details on the reasons behind the decision, attributing the announcement to "changes in priorities and policies" and the need to "most fully advance [its] mission."
"It is critical to underscore that the women we serve in communities remain our priority. We are working directly with Komen Affiliates to ensure there is no interruption or gaps in services for women who need breast health screening and services,” the group said in a statement.
The Komen Foundation did not respond to repeated requests for more information about the decision.
Nancy Brinker, the founder and CEO of the Komen Foundation, was a political appointee of the George W. Bush Administration, in which she served as U.S. Ambassador to Hungary and as Chief of Protocol. Susan G. Komen was Brinker's sister.
Planned Parenthood, meanwhile, was clearly disappointed with the foundation's decision.
"We are alarmed and saddened that the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation appears to have succumbed to political pressure. Our greatest desire is for Komen to reconsider this policy and recommit to the partnership on which so many women count," Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, said in a statement.
Planned Parenthood said funding from the Komen Foundation has largely paid for breast exams at local centers. In the last five years, grants from the group have directly supported 170,000 screenings, comprising about 4% of the total exams performed at Planned Parenthood health centers nationwide, according to the group.
The family planning organization announced a recent "emergency fund" from a different group, the Amy and Lee Fikes' Foundation, that will go towards making up for lost funds from Komen. The gift totaled $250,000.
Planned Parenthood said Komen began notifying local affiliates recently that their breast cancer initiatives would not be eligible for new grants. In a statement, the group said the foundation's leadership did not respond to requests to meet with Planned Parenthood officials about the decision.
In September, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce began an investigation of Planned Parenthood over the organization's "compliance with federal restrictions on funding abortions."
In a letter sent to Planed Parenthood, the committee asked the group to provide information on how it segregates family planning from abortion services, as well as its policies on reporting cases of sexual abuse, rape and sex trafficking.
The committee, chaired by Republican Rep. Cliff Stearns, also asked for all internal audit reports from 1998 to 2010.
Funding for Planned Parenthood came under the spotlight in April, when a GOP push to strip $317 million in federal funding for the group failed in an eleventh hour budget deal to avoid a government shutdown.
Reacting to the news Tuesday, Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington pointed to the House investigation as the cause behind Komen's decision, saying in a statement she was "extremely disappointed that politics is once again coming between women and their health care needs."
Democratic Rep. Mike Honda of California also sharply criticized the moved and called on the Komen foundation to reconsider its decision.
"This is just the latest casualty in a misguided and harmful campaign started by House Republicans to demonize the life-saving health services delivered by Planned Parenthood health centers," Honda said in a statement.
But the decision was applauded by some in the anti-abortion community, which has long called for the dismantling of Planned Parenthood.
Tony Perkins, a major social conservative leader who heads the Family Research Council, quickly praised the Komen Foundation's decision Tuesday as “good news” for women seeking help with breast cancer, as well as for the “lives of many unborn babies.”
"Susan G. Komen can chose to stop subsidizing the abortion giant, surely Congress can redirect its resources to those helping women, not making a profit off the lives of unborn children," Perkins said in a statement.
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Sources: CNN, Susan G. Komen Foundation, L.A. Times, MSNBC, Washington Post, Wikipedia, Youtube, Google Maps
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Jim DeMint To Mitt Romney On Poor People: "Backtrack Mitt!"
DeMint Calls on Romney to Reframe Comments on Poor
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said today that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney needs to “backtrack” and reframe comments in which the former Massachusetts governor said he was worried about the middle class and “not concerned about the very poor.”
DeMint defended Romney against any suggestion that he doesn’t care about the poor and lauded the former governor’s focus on the middle class.
But the Senator indicated that Romney’s comments, made during a CNN interview this morning, were problematic because Democrats might easily use them against him.
Romney, explaining his position, said the poor have access to government “safety net” programs that aren’t available to the middle class.
DeMint said that portion of Romney’s comments also need to be reframed.
While Democrats have been using Romney’s comments to argue he is callous toward the poor, conservatives have expressed concern that the former governor might be OK with having Americans who are dependent on government-subsidized social programs.
“He needs to address it,” DeMint told Roll Call.
“Because I know he does care about the poor. But I think he was trying to make a case that they’re taken care of. But, in fact, I would say I’m worried about the poor because many are trapped in dependency, they need a good job; they don’t need to be on social welfare programs.
I think he needs to turn that around because — the middle class is key, and we have to focus on that. And, really, the problem with the middle class is not successful people, it’s politicians — but the key to making our country successful it to get everyone on that economic ladder.
“I think all of this is a teachable moment for America,” DeMint continued.
“I think Bain Capital was, and I think he finally turned that around and showed some confidence in his success, and we need to do that here.
We do worry about the poor when they’re trapped in government dependency programs and the education system’s not producing the skills [and] character for them to succeed, and I think it is an important thing for him to backtrack on that.
I don’t think anyone thinks he doesn’t care about the poor, but I think he’s trying to say they’re taken care of right now with these programs. Those are the programs that are hurting, not just the poor, but our country. We need to address it at every level.”
Romney told CNN today, “I’m in this race because I care about Americans. I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I’ll fix it. I’m not concerned about the very rich, they’re doing just fine.
I’m concerned about the very heart of the America, the 90, 95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling, and I’ll continue to take that message across the nation.”
DeMint has not endorsed a candidate in the 2012 GOP presidential primary, but he did back Romney in 2008.
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Sources: CNN, Robocall, Google Maps
Charlotte's Elizabeth Community Wealthy Residents vs Low Income Housing (Another Battle?)
Low income housing hoping to move in to Elizabeth
People who build low income housing want to move into Charlotte's Elizabeth neighborhood.
The proposed development would be right behind a school and next to a park, so neighbors want to make sure the apartments will be a good fit.
Elizabeth is considered one of the Queen City's hidden jewels, and neighbors want to keep it that way.
“It’s pretty much the closest I think you can be to a small town in Charlotte,” said Beth Haenni, the Vice President of the Elizabeth Community Association.
“We have an eclectic neighborhood, smart, and lots of people who are thinking hard about this project and want to know a lot more details about it before we'll blindly support it.”
The new project is low income housing that would be built right near Elizabeth Traditional Elementary School. There’s already a similar complex on North Davidson Street.
“Residents come here, they lease an apartment, they are able to stay as long as they want and we wrap supportive services around them to help them be successful,” said Pam Jefsen with McCreesh Place.
It’s called permanent supportive housing. People at risk for homelessness pay 30 percent of their income to live here and get a one bedroom apartment.
We are very selective about who can come here and live in a community like this one,” Jefsen added.
Jefsen says crime is a non-issue.
NewsChannel 36 checked and found very few calls for service to the facility.
Elizabeth Area Plan Moves Forward
The tree lined streets, the beautiful old homes, the walkability to bars and restaurants. Charlotte's Elizabeth neighborhood is one of just a few of its kind in the Queen City.
There are many stakeholders, from the residents to the nearby hospitals to the colleges to the businesses. Many have the same goal: growth. "We said we need to take a step back and make sure that we've got an overall picture for the community that we wanna push forward in the next 25 years," says Andy Misiaveg, the president of the Historic Elizabeth Neighborhood Foundation.
This week, the Elizabeth Area Plan was adopted by Charlotte city council. It's been in the works for four years. Its focuses include preserving residential areas close to busy streets and promoting the commercial development of Elizabeth Avenue. That's good news for Mike Dawson, co-owner of Crown Station Coffee House. He says, "A lot of things are directed toward Uptown businesses and it's nice to see them take care of the businesses on the outskirts of the Uptown area."
Independence Park is another important part of the Elizabeth Area Plan. Community leaders want to enhance the green space and protect it. Misiaveg says, "We feel like the park is in a pretty precarious position between the Elizabeth Avenue development, the hospital, CPCC, all encroaching right around the park land."
Leaders will try to secure a historic preservation designation for the park to permanently protect it from development.
Elizabeth Community Association President Monte Ritchey says the entire 25 year plan is a model for other Charlotte neighborhoods, as this area tries to grow responsibly but maintain it's unique identity. He says, "We still tend to get nipped away at year after year at the edges, we lose 2, 3, 4 structures a year."
Another priority in the Elizabeth Area Plan is pedestrian improvements along 7th street, especially after the recent deaths of people trying to cross the busy road. For starters, they want to add more cross walks ASAP.
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Sources: Charmeck.org, Fox Charlotte, WCNC, Google Maps
Mitt Romney vs Soledad O'Brien: He Checks Her & Slams Poor People! "Safety Net"
Soledad O’Brien v. Mitt Romney: Gotta be toughter than that
CNN’s Soledad O’Brien had a gift fall in her lap this morning. She was interviewing Mitt Romney on camera, and the now-prohibitive front-runner made news of the highest order.
The words from Romney:
“By the way, I’m in this race because I care about Americans. I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs a repair, I’ll fix it. I’m not concerned about the very rich — they’re doing just fine. I’m concerned about the very heart of America, the 90-95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling. I’ll continue to take that message across the nation.”
To her credit, O’Brien stopped Romney, even though she was in a rush. She said: “You just said I’m not concerned about the very poor because they have a safety net. And I think there are lots of very poor Americans who are struggling who would say, ‘That sounds odd.’ ”
Romney parried well.
“Finish the sentence, Soledad,” said the candidate in perhaps the most Anglo pronunciation of “Soledad” ever heard on CNN.
“I said I’m not concerned about the very poor that have a safety net, but if it has holes in it, I will repair them.”
With that, the CNN host appeared appeased, instead of perturbed. A moment like this is precisely when we expect O’Brien to flip her bulldog switch, bashing her interviewee with tough question after tough question. Here are just a few examples that I expected to hear from O’Brien:
“OK — you say that if there are holes, you’ll fix them. But are there holes in the safety net?”
“Would you say a homeless person is struggling less than a middle-income person?”
“You and your party have complained that President Obama is practicing class warfare in this country. How is this any different?”
Instead of putting such questions to Romney — or just interrupting him and saying, “Really? Really?” — O’Brien allowed Romney to drone on with his talking points for almost another minute.
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Sources: CNN, TMZ, Washington Post, Google Maps
Romney vs Poor People; He's Focused Only On Middle Class! "Safety Net"
Mitt Romney: 'I'm Not Concerned About The Very Poor'
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said on Wednesday that he's "not concerned about the very poor," citing the social safety net in place for that segment of the populace and adding that he's focused on the middle class.
"I'm in this race because I care about Americans. I'm not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I'll fix it," the Republican front-runner said Wednesday on CNN, following his victory in the Florida primary. "I'm not concerned about the very rich, they're doing just fine. I'm concerned about the very heart of the America, the 90 percent, 95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling."
CNN's Soledad O'Brien pressed him on his comments, adding that they may sound odd for Americans who are very poor.
"Well you had to finish the sentence, Soledad," he replied. "I said 'I'm not concerned about the very poor that have a safety net but if it has holes in it, I will repair them.' The challenge right now -- we will hear from the Democrat party the plight of the poor. And there's no question it's not good being poor and we have a safety net to help those that are very poor. But my campaign is focused on middle-income Americans."
"We have a very ample safety net," said Romney. "And we can talk about whether it needs to be strengthened or whether there are holes in it. But we have food stamps, we have Medicaid, we have housing vouchers, we have programs to help the poor."
Programs in the "safety net" are also suffering during the economic recession. Medicaid, for example faces cuts as states attempt to balance budgets at a time when more people are using the program. GOP lawmakers have also eyed cuts in food stamps as food prices rise, even though more Americans are using the the program as a consequence of the economic recession.
Romney's policies call for cutting federal spending and reconfiguring the social safety net. He calls for an immediate five-percent cut to non-discretionary spending, which would hit the safety net hard. He proposes turning Medicaid into a block grant program and undertaking a "fundamental restructuring of government programs and services." He also calls for capping spending at 20 percent of GDP -- a significant cut -- and adds that he "will pursue further cuts" as spending comes "under control."
Romney's statement is part of a pattern of previously poorly-phrased remarks that give his competitors fodder to call the former Bain Capital founder -- who is worth between $190 million and $250 million -- out of touch with the economic recession.
"Don't try and stop the foreclosure process. Let it run its course and hit the bottom," he said last October in Las Vegas, the hardest-hit metro area by the foreclosure crisis.
In January, Romney said, "I like being able to fire people who provide services to me" to explain why he favored competition among health insurers. "If someone doesn't give me the good service I need, I want to say I am going to get somebody else to provide that service to me."
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Sources: AOL, CNN, HuffPost, TMZ, Google Maps
North Carolina's Unemployment Rate Creeps Up Again; Many Have Given Up!
Triangle's unemployment rate creeps up to 8 percent
Unemployment in the Research Triangle area increased to 8 percent in December, up slightly from November and four-tenths of a percentage point higher than a year earlier.
The seasonally adjusted rate was even higher at 8.3 percent, according to data provided by East Carolina University.
Statewide, the number of people working fell by 32,021 to just over 4 million. The number of those unemployed climbed by 12,412 to 440,022.
The number of initial claims for unemployment benefits climbed to 39,445, up 1,368 from November. A year ago, new claims were 47,056. In December 2009, initial claims totaled 54,989.
The difference in the numbers of working and unemployed includes factors such as people who have dropped out of the work force, are no longer seeking work or receiving benefits, or retired or moved out of state.
Durham-Chapel Hill market added a net 300 jobs in December, but the number of jobs was down 1,500 from a year ago.
In Raleigh-Cary, employers cut a net 300 jobs. Employment was down 7,700, or 1.5 percent, from December 2010.
Fayetteville (600) and Rocky Mount (200) added jobs in December. Goldsboro lost 200.
The jobs numbers from the N.C. Department of Commerce’s Labor and Economic Analysis Division as reported Wednesday are not seasonally adjusted. Economists consider numbers adjusted for seasonal factors as a more reliable indicator of the job market’s real condition.
The unadjusted jobless rate for the Triangle in November was 7.8 percent. The adjusted rate was 8 percent.
Across the state, unemployment increased in 93 of 100 counties. The jobless rate was 9.8 percent. The adjusted rate was 9.9 percent.
Unemployment climbed in 13 of the state’s 14 major metropolitan areas. Only in Burlington did the rate decline, dropping to 9.7 percent from 10.3 percent.
The Durham-Chapel Hill metro area had the lowest rate at 7.5 percent. Raleigh-Cary's unemployment rate was 8 percent.
Rocky Mount’s rate of 12.9 percent was the highest.
The jobless rate for January will be released on March 13.
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Sources: WRAL, Google Maps
Don Cornelius Dead At 75 From Self-Inflicted Wound; Troubled By Marital Problems. He'll Be Missed! (R.I.P.)
Don Cornelius The Creator Of "Soul Train" & Founder Of The American Soul Movement, Is Dead At Age 75 From A Self-Inflicted Wound To The Head.
Police Say His Death Occurred At His Home In Sherman Oaks, Ca, however apparently he was pronounced DEAD at the hospital.
Today Is The First Day Of BLACK History Month & Don Cornelius Is DEAD!
Let's Please Have A Moment Of Silence To Honor Him & What He Did For The American Music Industry.
Were It Not For Don Cornelius There Would Be NO MTV, VH-1, VIBE, Source, Sony, American Music Awards, Video Awards, TRL, BET, 106 & Park, NAACP Image Awards, Hip Hop, Warner Bros Music, Island Def Jam, No Michael Jackson, No Jay-Z, No Beyonce, NOTHING!
He Also Launched The Music Careers Of Thousands Of BLACK & White Singers & Musicians.
Like Michael Jackson, Don Cornelius Can NEVER Be Replaced!
NEVER!
Don Cornelius Also Taught BLACK America How To Become Business People, By Copyrighting & Licensing Your Stuff.
In Fact Before BRANDING Came On The Scene, Don Cornelius Was Already Branding His Stuff.
Let's Hear It For A GREAT BLACK, Businessman From Chicago!
Was He Ever Invited To The White House? I Don't Know. I'm Sure Pres. Obama & Michelle Are Saddened Today By His Death.
Brother Don Cornelius You Will Be Missed!
Your GREAT Legacy Lives Forever!
A Moment Of Silence Please.
R.I.P.
Don Cornelius, creator of Soul Train, found dead in apparent suicide after 'gunshot wound to the head'
Don Cornelius has been found dead in an apparent suicide this morning, according to police.
The creator of Soul Train, 75, was discovered at his home in Sherman Oaks, California with a gunshot wound to the head which was reportedly self-inflicted.
He was pronounced dead in the hospital and had died around 4am, according to authorities.
In 2008, Cornelius was arrested at his Mulholland Drive home on suspicion of domestic violence.
He appeared in court on November 14, 2008 charged with spousal abuse and pleaded not guilty before changing his plea to no contest the next year and was placed on 36 months probation.
Cornelius' second wife, Viktoria Chapman-Cornelius, a Russian model, filed for divorce in 2007. She had filed two restraining orders against her former husband.
Soul Train was a dance-variety show which ran from 1971 for 35 years. It mainly featured R&B, soun and hip-hop artists.
The series was created by Don Cornelius, who was both its host and executive producer. It holds the title of the longest, continuously running syndicated program on TV.
He was known for his catchphrase at the end of every show: '...you can bet your last money, it's all gonna be a stone gas, honey! I'm Don Cornelius, and as always in parting, we wish you love, peace and soul!'
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Sources: CNN, Daily Mail, LA Late, NY Daily News, Youtube, Google Maps
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Romney Takes Florida By A Slim Margin! 51% - 48%! CNN Called It!
CNN projects Romney will win Florida
Mitt Romney will win the Florida primary, CNN projected Tuesday in a result that will cement the front-running status of the former Massachusetts governor for the Republican presidential nomination.
The CNN projection was based on unofficial returns and exit polling that showed Romney with a double-digit lead over his closest challenger, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
With 51% of the unofficial count, Romney had 48% of the vote compared to 31% for Gingrich, 13% for former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and 7% for Texas Rep. Ron Paul.
Final polls closed at 8 p.m. ET, and the early trend for Romney -- buoyed by strong support among more than 632,000 voters who cast absentee or early ballots -- indicated a solid victory to blunt any momentum Gingrich gained from last week's victory in South Carolina.
According to exit poll information, Romney led in most categories to show his appeal to Republican voters who said their main concern was choosing a candidate who can defeat President Barack Obama in November.
The victory gives Romney all 50 of Florida's convention delegates, and more importantly, new momentum heading into a series of caucuses and primaries in the next month building up to Super Tuesday on March 6, when 10 states will hold nominating contests.
"I think the winner of Florida is in all likelihood going to be the nominee of our party," Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio told CNN Tuesday. "Florida is a mini America."
In the final Florida poll of likely GOP primary voters, released Tuesday by the American Research Group, former Massachusetts Romney had a 12-point lead over Gingrich, with Santorum and Paul far behind.
The poll, conducted Sunday and Monday, has a margin of error of four percentage points.
Of the early voters surveyed in the ARG poll released Tuesday, 51% reported voting for Romney and 29% said they voted for Gingrich.
But among voters planning to cast their ballots Tuesday, Romney's lead was tighter, with 39% saying they would vote for him and 32% throwing their support to Gingrich. Santorum was the choice of 14% of election-day voters.
Paul came in fourth, with 10%, according to ARG.
"The GOP contest may end in Florida, but that doesn't mean it will be over," said Alex Castellanos, a GOP strategist and CNN contributor. "With a win, Romney puts the nomination firmly in his grip. But it appears Gingrich and Santorum will keep trying to rip it from his hand."
"Romney's relentless and disciplined effort should get more credit," added Castellanos, who was a top media adviser for Romney's 2008 nomination bid but is not taking sides this cycle.
"No long passes, just three yards a play and a cloud of dust. But with a win on Tuesday, he'll have gotten the nomination the old-fashioned way: He'll have earned it."
Gingrich held several events Tuesday, including a morning trip to the First Baptist Church of Windermere in Orlando, Florida, where he shook hands and took pictures with supporters. Romney held a mid-morning event at his Tampa headquarters.
The former House speaker stormed into Florida 10 days ago on a roll off of his double-digit victory over Romney and the rest of the field in the South Carolina primary.
But his momentum quickly faded after Romney's campaign went on the offensive. Romney turned in two strong debate performances in the Sunshine State and unleashed a barrage of ads targeting Gingrich.
Negative ads accounted for 92% of political ads airing in Florida over the last week -- a record rate for political campaigns, according to the Campaign Media Analysis Group, which tracks advertising content and spending.
"I spent much of my academic career telling reporters, 'Relax, this is not the most negative campaign ever,' " CMAG President Ken Goldstein said. "Well, this IS the most negative campaign ever."
Romney told reporters Tuesday that he had learned his lesson from his South Carolina loss.
"If you're attacked, I'm not going to just sit back," he told reporters in Tampa, repeating a refrain he's used regularly recently. "I'm going to fight back and fight back hard."
On the day before the primary, Romney and Gingrich continued to clash, with Gingrich accusing Romney of dishonesty but conceding that a wave of attack ads by the former Massachusetts governor and his supporters had been effective.
"Frankly if all that stuff were true I wouldn't vote for myself," Gingrich said in Jacksonville Monday, referring to what he called "dishonest" Romney ads.
He later told a crowd in Pensacola that "we will only win if the American people decide that they are sick and tired of the New York and Washington establishment thinking that we are dumb enough to let them try to buy an election by telling us things that we all know are just plain not true."
The Romney campaign and an independent super PAC supporting his bid have greatly outspent Gingrich and pro-Gingrich super PACs on ad buys in Florida.
Romney acknowledged the turn to the negative, saying that his campaign was forced to respond to a negative salvo that helped Gingrich win in South Carolina.
And Romney said Gingrich's vow over the weekend to take his presidential campaign all the way to the Republican convention is a sign of desperation.
"That's usually an indication that you think you're going to lose," Romney told reporters on his campaign charter on Monday. "When you say 'I'm going to go on no matter what happens,' that's usually not a good sign."
Gingrich "has been flailing around a bit trying to go after me for one thing or the other," Romney said later Monday to a crowd in Dunedin. "You just watch it and shake your head. It has been kind of painfully revealing to watch."
While Tuesday is election day, voting began weeks ago. As of Monday morning, more than 632,000 people had cast ballots in early voting, which began statewide 10 days ago, or absentee ballots, according to statistics from the Florida Department of State, which oversees elections.
To put that into perspective, that's more than the 601,577 who voted in the South Carolina primary, and far outpaces the combined 360,000 that took part in the New Hampshire primary and the Iowa caucuses earlier this month.
While Romney and Gingrich will be in Florida on Tuesday night to watch election returns, Santorum and Paul, knowing they're out of the running for the 50 delegates, have moved on to the next contests.
Santorum campaigned in Colorado and Nevada on Tuesday, while Paul was in Maine over the weekend and was spending Tuesday in Colorado and Nevada.
Nevada's caucuses take place Saturday, when Maine starts its week-long caucuses.
Minnesota and Colorado hold their caucuses on February 7, the same day that Missouri holds its non-binding primary.
In Lone Tree, Colorado, Santorum called on voters to consider questions that have arisen about the character and discipline of Gingrich, his main rival for support from conservatives.
"It's an issue of trust," Santorum said when a man at his Tuesday event challenged the character of Gingrich, who has been divorced twice and cited for a violation of House ethics rules.
Personal mistakes don't automatically disqualify someone from seeking high office, Santorum said, noting Gingrich has sought forgiveness.
"I don't question his sincerity of his repentance, but as I have said many times there is two areas that are open for concern and that is -- the issue of trust and whether someone who has a record of that is someone you feel comfortable has truly changed and you forgive them," Santorum continued. "That doesn't mean they necessarily have changed their ways."
The Paul and Santorum campaigns are strategically looking to states in which they can pick up delegates.
"Ultimately they're conceding in advance in Florida, while trying to shore up future states," said Doug Heye, a GOP strategist and Republican National Committee communications director.
"Unfortunately for Paul and Santorum, that generally has not been a winning strategy. It's not being done out of a position of strength."
A convincing win for Romney in Florida, coupled with an unfriendly calendar for Gingrich in February with more friendly Super Tuesday states more than a month away, could put Gingrich in a bind.
Gingrich campaign lowers Nevada and Michigan expectations
"If he loses Florida, February doesn't look good for Newt Gingrich.
He'll lose Nevada, with its large LDS (Mormon) population and lose Michigan (February 28), where Romney's father was governor.
Newt will have a long march across the desert with no debates to revive his campaign," Castellanos said. "Newt has to hold his breath all the way to Super Tuesday, March 6th, raise 30 or 40 million dollars for advertising and fix his problem with female voters to catch Romney. Those are grandiose problems, even for Gingrich."
But even after Florida's 50 convention delegates are claimed in the winner-take-all primary, neither candidate will have more than 10% of the 1,144 delegates needed to win the nomination at the August convention.
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Sources: CNN, Google Maps
Lanier Cansler Leaves North Carolina's DHHS Due To Partisan Politics & Professional Frustration
Outgoing DHHS chief: Politics led to frustration
Lanier Cansler stepped down Tuesday as secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, saying that he expects the frustration of running the state's largest agency to increase in an election year.
Cansler, who has headed DHHS since the beginning of Gov. Beverly Perdue's administration three years ago, announced Jan. 13 that he would leave at the end of the month to start a consulting business focusing on finding better ways for health care to work in North Carolina.
He said he's used to challenges – he was a four-term Republican lawmaker who has served for a Democratic governor. Still, reconciling the differences between the executive and legislative branches of government became tougher than ever in recent months.
"It does get frustrating whenever you're working on the issues and you get caught in the political contest," he said. "In each of their minds, I think what they're thinking is the best thing for the state, but there's great philosophical differences."
Republican legislative leaders and Perdue have been at odds in recent weeks, for example, over how to handle a growing budget hole at DHHS.
The agency's budget was cut by more than $350 million last summer, but difficulties in making those cuts – the federal government didn't approve of many moves – has left DHHS with a $150 million deficit. It's projected to grow to more than $240 million by fiscal 2012-13, which starts in July.
"I realize politics are always going to be there, but to the extent you can let the right decision rule the day rather than let politics rule the day, that's the goal, because that's when you can achieve the most for the state," Cansler said.
Throughout his tenure, Cansler also dealt with allegations of neglect and abuse at the state's psychiatric hospitals. Months before he took over, a patient at Cherry Hospital in Goldsboro fell and was left in a chair, neglected for nearly 24 hours before he died.
One of his first actions in 2009 was to establish a zero-tolerance policy for patient abuse, yet a May 2010 incident at Cherry Hospital prompted him to order intensive retraining for all employees of the facility.
Cansler said he's proud of the strides made to change the culture inside DHHS, such as better training, to fight Medicaid fraud and to stabilize the state's mental health system. He said, however, that the state needs to invest more in mental health.
Perdue has named senior policy advisor Al Delia acting secretary of DHHS. Cansler has agreed to be chairman of Perdue's new Commission on Affordable and Sustainable Healthcare, and he said he would be available to help Delia as needed.
"I'll still be in the mix. I just don't have to worry about the crisis of the day," he said.
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Sources: WRAL, Google Maps
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