Tell President Obama to Reinstate Shirley Sherrod

This blog joins with ColorOfChange in demanding that the Obama Administration reinstate Shirley Sherrod.

The Obama administration just caved in to the right-wing smear machine, firing a Black USDA official after she was smeared by far-right blogger Andrew Breitbart and his friends at Fox News Channel.

On Monday, Andrew Breitbart (a blogger who works closely with FOX News and has a long history of launching deceptive, racially charged smear campaigns) posted a deceptively edited video of USDA employee Shirley Sherrod speaking at an NAACP function. The video shows Sherrod telling a story about how she once was asked for help from a White farmer, and how she didn't "give him the full force of what I could do" to help him, because of his race.

Breitbart touted the video as evidence that the NAACP and the Obama administration tolerated racial discrimination against White people, saying that it showed Sherrod's "federal duties are managed through the prism of race and class distinctions." Breitbart's doctored video and false storyline moved quickly to FOX News, where on-air personalities called for Sherrod's firing.

The truth is that Sherrod was telling a 24-year old story about her work for a non-profit organization whose mission was to help Black farmers. Discrimination against Black farmers was rampant, and she described how she was first reluctant when approached by a White farmer named Roger Spooner for help (Sherrod also says that her father was killed by a White farmer 45 years ago). But after seeing that no one wanted to help Spooner, she worked to save his farm, and eventually became good friends with his family.

Yesterday, Roger Spooner said that Sherrod saved their farm and kept them out of bankruptcy. He told CNN, "I don't know what brought up the racist mess. They just want to stir up some trouble, it sounds to me in my opinion."

The NAACP was snookered.   They joined the attack on Shirley Sherrod based on the the edited video.  They should have simply watched the full speech before they rushed to judgement.   The full video is shown below:





It took less than 24 hours for the lies to be debunked. But by that time, it was too late — Sherrod was forced to quit.

Once the truth became known, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack issued a statement saying that whether or not the smear campaign against Sherrod was based in lies, it was necessary to fire her because the "controversy" would make it hard for her to do her job.

The Obama administration is essentially saying that they will always back down in the face of dishonest, race-baiting smear campaigns launched by right-wing propagandists. They've ended the career of someone who did nothing wrong, and by handing a victory to the people who launched this deception, the administration is encouraging them to launch even more smears. All to avoid "controversy." It's pathetic, it's shameful, and it has to stop.

It's not the first time this has happened. Several members of the Obama administration have lost their jobs or been demoted, and nominees to cabinet positions have either stepped down or withdrawn their nominations after becoming the target of smear campaigns launched by FOX News and Breitbart.

It's bad enough that we have to fight the constant smear campaigns and appeals to racial paranoia from FOX and the right-wing media. But it's completely shameful and outrageous for the Obama administration to throw innocent public servants under the bus just to avoid having to fight back against the lies.

Please join us in calling on the White House to immediately give Shirley Sherrod her job back, and to stop bowing to the will of right-wing propaganda artists.

Budget Director Peter Orszag is Leaving Obama Administration

President Obama is being bombarded with a never-ending list of challenges and issues. Today, we learn that his Budget Director Peter Orszag is resigning.

In the midst of fielding comments about Gen. Stanley McChrystal's insubordinate comments, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Orszag will be leaving the administration next month.

"It's an enormous task," Gibbs said of the budget director. "Peter has been instrumental in, for instance, this year's plan to freeze non-security discretionary spending for three years and has decided to leave before we get into the creation of the next budget. He's been here for two budgets."

Orszag was the 37th person to serve as the director of the Office of Management and Budget. Most of his predecessors were never heard from again on a national level. However, some left this position to go onto to higher public service.

• Rob Portman (OMB, 2006-2007) is now running for the US Senate in my state of Ohio.
• Mitch Daniels (OMB, 2001-2003) left the office and successfully ran to become governor of Indiana.
• Franklin Raines (OMB, 1996-1998) is the only African American to serve in this office. He went on to serve as CEO of Fannie Mae during a time of great distress for that company.
• Leon Panetta (OMB, 1993-1994) is currently serving as Obama's CIA director.

The administration is looking at a number of "talented candidates" to replace Orszag. That new budget director's challenges will include billions and trillions or projected budget deficits and federal debt.

Sen. Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn., praised Orszag, and noted that his successor "will face tremendous challenges in righting our long-term fiscal imbalance and starting to close our enormous gaps in the debt and deficit. I look forward to working with whoever that Director is to tackle these historic problems facing our country."

President Obama is accepting Orszag's resignation today. It is likely that he will accept another resignation tomorrow from Gen. Stanley McChrystal.

Our president needs our prayers as he handles the nation's business.

Do You Think That Erroll Southers is 'Dead Man Walking' in Washington DC?

Seven Senate Republicans sent a letter to the White House yesterday, saying that they had "serious reservations" about the nomination of Erroll Southers to lead the Transportation Security Administration. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) also "placed a hold on the nomination, pending the White House response to the senators' questions." Southers' nomination had previously been held up by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC).

Southers is under fire for making two mistakes. First, he abused his powers to spy on an ex-boyfriend of his wife:

Southers first described the episode in his October affidavit, telling the Senate panel that two decades ago he asked a San Diego Police Department employee to access confidential criminal records about the boyfriend. Southers said he had been censured by superiors at the FBI. He described the incident as isolated and expressed regrets about it.

Second, he lied about it:

The committee approved his nomination Nov. 19. One day later, Southers wrote to Lieberman and Collins saying his first account was incorrect. After reviewing documents, he wrote, he recalled that he had twice conducted the database searches himself, downloaded confidential law enforcement records about his wife's boyfriend and passed information on to the police department employee, the letter said.

Ain't it always the case that the cover-up is worse than the underlying crime? Anyhow, what do you think about Erroll Southers ... will he become head of TSA? Or will he become a casualty of the political warfare in Washington DC?

Carlos Allen is the Black Man Who Crashed Through White House Security (video)

I imagine that it will be quite awhile before President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama host a state dinner at their crib again. The one they held in November 2008 turned out to be a security nightmare.

It turns out that Carlos Allen, who runs an event business called Hush Galleria in the nation's capital, is the third person not on the guest list who managed to enter the event.




You can see in this video how Mr. Allen entered the event separately from the uninvited couple, Tareq and Michaele Salahi, who captured headlines for penetrating security at the Nov. 24 event to honor Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife.

“The subject traveled from a local hotel, where the official Indian delegation was staying, and arrived at the dinner with the group, which was under the responsibility of the Department of State,” the agency said in a statement. “This individual went through all required security measures along with the rest of the official delegation at the hotel, and boarded a bus/van with the delegation guests en route to the White House.”

Apparently this uninvited guest didn't get as far as the reality television wannabes. He was not on the dinner guest list, however, it appears that he didn't get to meet the president or first lady.

I just hope that this guy who breached White House security doesn't turn out to be a relative of the Christmas bomber or a recent visitor to Yemen.

What are your thoughts on this new information?

The Van Jones that Glenn Beck Doesn't Know

I haven't talked much about Van Jones. He's the young guy that resigned earlier this month from his position as an advisor to the President. His resignation was a direct result of videotapes and petitions from a number of years ago being brought to public attention by Fox News. Some call it nothing more than right-wing smears.

Jones was forced to leave the White House quietly and without any fanfare. There are many who feel that his career as a voice for the poor is legendary. In fact, the folks at the Brave New Foundation featured him as part of their Brave Nation series. Check it out:




What are your thoughts on Van Jones? Or on the circumstances surrounding his resignation?

Katrina: Four Years Later

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck Florida and the Gulf Coast, breached New Orleans’ levees in multiple locations and flooded 80 percent of the city. For days thousands of mostly Black residents languished on rooftops, in leaky boat flotillas, and in flooded government buildings and civic centers. The storm killed more than 1,800 people and left the city of New Orleans a shell of its former self. Damage estimates hover around $80 billion. Four years later rebuilding continues.

One of the positive outgrowths of the devastation is that the New Orleans public school system is substantially improved from its horrible situation in advance of Katrina.

There is evidence of the growing success of the schools in many areas. First, the city attracted a nationally known reformer, superintendent Paul Vallas, and so many teachers that it has 10 applicants for every opening. Second, New Orleans now spends twice as much as it did before Katrina -- $15,500 per pupil –- far above the national average.

The proof is in the pudding: Scores have risen on both state and national exams.

The Obama administration recently provided New Orleans’ HBCU, Southern University, with $32 million to replace four hurricane-damaged buildings.

The Brookings Institution and the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center summarize their report as follows:

"The nation’s deepening economic recession has produced dissolution and despair across the country as many communities grapple with the social and economic ramifications of massive layoffs, prolonged unemployment, shuttered businesses, and home foreclosures. By contrast, rebuilding from the woes caused by Hurricane Katrina has helped cushion greater New Orleans from the ravages of the downturn. As New Orleans ends its fourth year since the hurricane and levee failures, the region has been buoyed by post-disaster recovery efforts and its fortunate industry mix."

The release entitled ‘The New Orleans Anniversary Edition: Four Years after Katrina’, says Congress and the Obama leadership must commit and sustain its partnership with Louisiana state and local leaders by “delivering on key milestones in innovation, infrastructure, human capital and sustainable communities to help greater New Orleans move past 'disaster recovery' and boldly build a more prosperous future”.

The 24-page 'New Orleans Index' documents some key findings that include:

• The New Orleans economy is weathering the recession relatively well due in part to its industry composition. The New Orleans metro area lost 0.9 percent of its jobs since last June, compared to the 4.1 percent lost nationally. The industries hardest hit — manufacturing and construction — comprise relatively small shares of the New Orleans economy and since last June have shed few jobs. The four largest sectors of the region’s economy — trade and transportation, government, leisure and hospitality, and education and health services — either stagnated or added jobs. The New Orleans metro area’s unemployment rate rose to 7.3 percent while it climbed to 9.5 percent for the nation.
  
• Ongoing rebuilding activities are attracting people, jobs, and investments, further shoring up the greater New Orleans economy. New Orleans added more than 8,500 households (actively receiving mail) in the past year, the biggest one-year expansion since 2007, reflecting a mix of new and returning residents. While home rebuilding has slowed dramatically since 2007, post-disaster infrastructure investments in the levee system, schools, police stations and other public facilities have continued apace. Since July 2008, FEMA has paid over $800 million for infrastructure repair projects across the five-parish area. In the city of New Orleans, 94 facilities and public works projects were completed as of April 2009, and 113 more were under construction.
  
• Yet New Orleans is not immune from the economic crisis. Like many metropolitan areas, the housing market has stalled, with home sales down 39 percent and new construction down 48 percent. The slowdown in consumer spending has contributed to a plunge in city sales tax revenues with 21 percent fewer receipts from general sales, motel/hotel stays, and motor vehicle purchases in April and 6 percent fewer receipts in May compared to the previous year.
  
• Further, massive blight, affordable housing for low-income workers, and significant flood risk remain the area’s major challenges. While there are fewer unoccupied residences in Orleans, St. Bernard and Jefferson parishes this year, the scale of blight remains high— 65,888, 14,372, and 11,516 residences, respectively — posing significant challenges for local governments. Steep rent increases have abated, but at 40 percent higher than pre-Katrina, rents remain out of reach for many critical workers. Typical rent for an efficiency apartment is $733 per month, unaffordable for food preparation, health care support, and retail sales workers.

According to a 'Katrina Pain Index, the Louisiana landscape is dotted by nearly 2,000 temporary FEMA trailers (many of them contaminated and uninhabitable) 65,888 unoccupied residences and countless weed-filled lots and molding houses. The murder rate in New Orleans topped all cities nationwide last year, although the overall rate of violent crime dropped in the city in 2007 and 2008.

Engineering and construction work rebuilding Louisiana after Katrina has cushioned unemployment at 6.8%. The nation’s rate is 9.4%. Still the state ranks No. 2 in the nation for the highest jobless rate (13.2%) among African Americans and people living in poverty trailing Mississippi, despite billions in post-Katrina recovery dollars.

Nearly a third of the city’s children live in poverty. The vast majority of these children live in single-parent homes; many are being raised by siblings, foster parents or are on their own.

Recently Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) told her congressional colleagues that it is high time to get serious and get beyond just talking about doing something to help the people of New Orleans.

“Four years after Hurricane Katrina we still have individuals living in trailers, seeking additional benefits, dispersed throughout the country in unfamiliar cities, and disconnected from their families, friends and their hometown.”

Some online activists feel that we need to take actions that will prevent a future where disasters like Katrina become the norm. They want to see President Obama push for a strong clean energy bill that seeks to correct long-term structural energy issues.

The images from Hurricane Katrina are painful. They remind us that America is willing to abandon an entire city when it was inconvenient to save them. We saw images of desperation, racism and hopelessness.

Nothing happens as quickly as we want. Four years later we see rays of light -- new levees, new buildings, returning residents, grassroots organizers and achieving school children. Methinks that we have a chance to see New Orleans regaining its worldwide gleam if we stay the course.

I would be interested to see what villagers have to say about New Orleans: Four Years After Hurricane Katrina...

Mary Frances Berry’s 'And Justice For All' Calls For Change

I was on a conference call with Dr. Mary Frances Berry the other day. She is an American legend who currently serves as the Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania, where she teaches history and law.

Many villagers know Berry from her years as chair of the US Commision on Civil Rights. She now thinks that the Civil Rights Commission is outdated and needs to be blown up and re-started. She doesn't think that the current commission can deal effectively with issues like Torture, Immigration, Police misconduct, Marriage inequality, Educational achievement gap, Racial profiling and Hate crimes.

These tough and thorny issues populate a civil and human rights landscape that demands federal action, says Mary Frances Berry. Drawing upon a tenure on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights that traversed five administrations, Berry maintains that the Eisenhower-era panel established as a federal watchdog is sorely out of step with today’s challenges.

Berry calls for abolishing the existing Commission and beginning anew with a more muscular body that can effectively respond to the clamoring for justice. In her recently released book, And Justice For All, The United States Commission on Civil Rights and the Continuing Struggle for Freedom in America (Knopf, 2009), Berry offers lessons for the Obama administration and Congress.

"There’s a whole new set of realities that need to be addressed, our conversation has to be about race, but also about gender, immigration, sexual orientation, disability, national origin and religious affiliation," says Berry, "We need a Commission that will vigorously fight for everyone’s right to be treated fairly because of their humanity."

New Vision for Commission - Berry’s vision is of a Human and Civil Rights Commission with greater independent power to investigate rights violations and demand corrective action.

"One of the Commission’s historic strengths has been that we’ve been an equal opportunity annoyance," declares Berry, of the independent panel. "We’ve angered Democratic and Republican administrations alike for exposing problems they wanted kept hidden and for giving a voice to the most vulnerable among us. A robust Commission needs to be able to enforce subpoenas without the president’s permission, regardless of who sits in the Oval Office."

Individuals and private organizations will have the power to file suit if an enforcement agency refuses to act on CRC findings within a specified time under Berry’s reimagining of the Commission. Berry also proposes clarifying the length of Commissioners’ terms and requiring Senate confirmation for those appointed by the president. Bitter legal battles erupted in the past when Commissioners (including Berry) and the White House fought over term expirations.

The current public outrage over torture demonstrates why we need a Human and Civil Rights Commission to scrutinize compliance with international human rights covenants, Berry insists. The existence of an independent and forceful Human Rights Commission to act as a watchdog on U.S. compliance can lessen complaints about the U.S. holding other nations to human rights standards that America does not observe.

The Last Five Years - Berry calls the present Commission virtually invisible and points to its silence on explosive issues including the police shooting of Sean Bell, the lack of funding for No Child Left Behind, the U.S. Attorney firings scandal, and the racially disparate treatment of Katrina victims.

By 2006, Berry argues, the Commission had even lost influence among their conservative congressional allies who ignored the CRC’s advice by overwhelmingly voting to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act. Many observers noted that the enormous turnout of African American and Latino voters in 2008 that led to the election of the nation’s first African American president would not have been possible without the Voting Rights Act.

Race in the Age of Obama - Berry offers a ringing dissent to the notion that the election of President Obama means we have become a post-racial society, and argues that his election makes a more universal and revitalized Human and Civil Rights Commission more possible.

"Obama’s success could inspire a renewed determination to end denials of opportunity in our society," she says. "Or it could also result in self-satisfied stagnation if people choose to tell themselves that the successes of Oprah Winfrey and President Obama prove that discrimination no longer exists."

A reinvigorated Commission with a bold mandate could also repair some of the damage to civil rights inflicted by recent Supreme Court decisions.

Race and the Roberts Supreme Court - The Supreme Court term that ends in June may radically transform our racial landscape. The Court heard three cases that are integral to civil rights: on affirmative action, mortgage discrimination, and Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.

"A reversal of Section 5 could be a potentially devastating blow for the protection of minority voting rights. If the Court hands down an adverse ruling we will need a revitalized and independent Human and Civil Rights Commission more than ever," Berry opines.

I enjoyed listening to Dr. Berry during the 1-hour conference call. Her deep commitment to issues of civil and human rights was self-evident throughout the call. During our conference call she suggested that the Obama Administration should appoint an envoy to deal specifically with the crisis in Darfur.

I plan to read her book. How about you?

Could Charles Bolden be First African American to lead NASA?

A former astronaut who has made four trips into space is reportedly a leading candidate for the top job at NASA ... the real one, not the Negro Space Program!

If selected by President-elect Barack Obama, Charles Bolden Jr. , 62, a retired Marine Corps general who makes his home in Houston's Bay Area, would be the first African American to head the space agency.

Read the rest of the media story at the Houston Chronicle.

Could Al Gore be the Next Secretary of Energy?

I understand that President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden plan to meet with former Vice President Al Gore today.

In a statement, Obama spokesman Nick Shapiro said the three men would “discuss energy and climate change and how policies in this area can stimulate the economy and create jobs.”

Gore is a political superstar in the Democratic Party. He served for two terms as vice-president; earned more votes in presidential loss to George Bush in 2000; won Nobel Prize for his work on climate change in 2007; won an Academy Award for his about global warming film, 'An Inconvenient Truth'; and he is now a rich man as a result of his various tech-based partnerships.

Obama pledges to create millions of 'green jobs' over the coming years. How cool would it be for Obama to offer the job of Energy Secretary in his cabinet to Al Gore?

Obama is building a cabinet of stars. Do you think he can get Al Gore to join the mix?