Jack & Jill Politics

In case you hadn’t heard, CNN is going there again. Beginning this Sun at 8pm  & 11pm EST/PST, Soledad O’Brien’s Black in America series goes deep inside colorism within our community. Black gets abstract – the One Drop Rule and the Paper Bag Test both get deconstructed. Please consider this post an Open Thread so we can discuss as a community your reactions to the special and to the reality of colorism in America.

Soledad O’Brien and other people profiled in the special ask the questions:

• Who is Black?
• What is Black?
• Who Decides? You – or Society?
• Is Black big enough to cover all shades?

A young woman profiled in Who Is Black in America?, Nayo Jones, who is bi-racial says she’s often asked: “Girl you are so pretty! What are you?”

Sound familiar? It might – whether you have been the asker or the receiver. This special explores all the emotions and history surrounding Americans’ continuing need to define one another via skin color.

I think this particular special is relevant for all black folks whether you are high yellow or deep black. As someone who is light-skinned and comes from a family with a wide range of skin tones, I dealt with this question early. So did Soledad O’Brien as it turns out. Soledad and I sat down earlier this week to chat about the special and its themes.

I asked Soledad – who is bi-racial like Nayo and light-skinned – whether this special had any personal resonance for her. Here’s what she had to say about Who is Black in America?

“I look at Nayo who is tortured and squirming in her chair about her identity. The question is: Is it you who decides you are black or society?

I have a similar background but my parents were clear and articulate. My experience was almost the opposite of hers. Growing up: we were black!

I’m grateful that my parents helped us form an identity – they gave it to us. They helped us to navigate society.

I never thought bi-racial was an identity. My identity is black. I thought (the fact that one parent was white and another was black) that it was a math equation of how I came to be.

Both girls (profiled in the documentary) would say I get to decide (what I am). But the fact is that the decision has been made for them.

Our documentary isn’t there to give you the answers. We want to raise the questions about how we value and judge each other on skin color. We’re not post-racial and there is a real penalty – the data shows – for skin color. Yet some people still don’t believe that.”

A lot of that resonated with me. Even though my family is mixed-race genetically, everyone in my extended family no matter their skin tone was always proud to be identify as black. Yet how would my great-grandmothers who were Native American feel about their contribution to my identity being tossed aside, I sometimes wonder? The One Drop Rule doesn’t apply to Indians.

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Good Morning.

As you spend this weekend with family and friends, don’t forget JJP.

Drop those links. Engage in debate. Give us trivia and gossip too.

And always, have a peaceful day.

President Obama continued his weeks-long campaign to extend middle-class tax cuts while also pursuing higher rates for the most wealthy Americans. In his weekly address, President Obama made it very clear that higher rates for the wealthy is a sticking point for any deal that comes across his desk:

“But if we’re serious about reducing our deficit while still investing in things like education and research that are important to growing our economy – and if we’re serious about protecting middle-class families – then we’re also going to have to ask the wealthiest Americans to pay higher tax rates. That’s one principle I won’t compromise on.

After all, this was a central question in the election. A clear majority of Americans – Democrats, Republicans and Independents – agreed with a balanced approach that asks something from everyone, but a little more from those who can afford it the most. It’s the only way to put our economy on a sustainable path without asking even more from the middle class. And it’s the only kind of plan I’m wiling to sign.”

President Obama’s Weekly Address:

Good Morning.

As you spend this weekend with family and friends, don’t forget JJP.

Drop those links. Engage in debate. Give us trivia and gossip too.

And always, have a peaceful day.

hat tips-The Obama Diary, Daily Mail:

See how the First Daughters have grown.

WH Xmas Tree 2009

WH Xmas Tree 2010

WH Xmas Tree 2011

Christmas Tree Lighting 2012

Good Afternoon.

As you go through the rest of your day, don’t forget JJP.

Drop those links. Engage in debate. Give us trivia and gossip too.

And continue to have a peaceful day.

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‘What $2,000 Means to My Family’

TGIF and Good Morning.

As you go through your day, don’t forget JJP.

Drop those links. Engage in debate. Give us trivia and gossip too.

And always, have a peaceful day.

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In memory of Dave Brubek, who passed away at the age of 91.

Good Afternoon.

As you go through the rest of your day, don’t forget JJP.

Drop those links. Engage in debate. Give us trivia and gossip too.

And continue to have a peaceful day.

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(I apologize for the repost. Something funky happened and the rough draft of the article was posted. It was impossible to replace so it was trashed and the correct version below is up now. Sorry for the mix up.)

John Boehner has won. He’s convinced me. And, frankly folks, I was a tough sell. We need to close loopholes as a means of raising revenue. Oh, AND we need to raise the tax rates or people making 250,000 a year. I bet that wasn’t the point Boehner was trying to make. In fact, I’m sure of it. But, like most things John says, I don’t really care what he’s trying to do. I know, with a high degree of certainty, that if John Boehner is for it, it is beneficial for rich people, bad for America, and especially bad for any people making less than 100,000 a year. It is almost as if John Boehner is at war with the middle class. But this time, I’m going to accept his very generous offer. Close loopholes on rich people folks. I’m now all for it. But, and this is key, we’re still going to raise those rate.

Remember during the campaign when Romney oh so cleverly started throwing out numbers, “let’s cap the deductions at say $25,000.” Those loopholes of which the rich take advantage are spectacularly unfair after a point. They so greatly benefit them at the cost to the general population that they are crazy. Simple solution? Cap those deductions and eliminate some loopholes so that the effective rate for people making over 250,000 is what we now argue it should be, 39.6%. Closing the loopholes and raising the rates doubles their effective contribution over 10 years. That means it will be about 1.75 trillion dollars over 10 year. Hmmmmm, that is suspiciously similar to the number President Obama demanded in his opening salvo against the GOP. Do you think the President is going to slam them with the double whammy of rates and loopholes? Because frankly, I am starting to.

Do you want to play anymore John? Because, if you do, the President seems to have limitless energy to take you to the woodshed. Frankly, I can do this all day. Let’s expand the debate again to include capital gains. Cap Gains is about to increase. When the Bush tax cuts end in 2013 the cap gains rate goes from 14 to 28. Good. I want it to double for five years and then double again for the next five. That pushes another trillion over 10-12 years.

Let’s find those alternative revenue sources because right now we’re looking at close to three trillion over 10 years. Tax rate, close loopholes, and now cap gains. See, the GOP is so used to reasonable being defined as giving them what they demand, that they aren’t prepared as a party actually to have this fight. We are Dems and we believe in government, we believe in education, we believe in spending money to get out of recession. We aren’t Trickle-down charlatans.

If John and the GOP want to have this discussion, if they want to play these Reindeer Games, let’s play, but please understand this isn’t the first term. No more Obama elections to come, no more governing with a divided congress. This is politics writ large; this is blood sport. We’re ready. Are the Republicans?

To recap, here is what I propose. We raise a trillion in revenue by capping deductions for rich people, people making 250,000 and above. We also raise their tax rate, which provides another 500 billion to 1 trillion depending on a lot of factors. Third, we allow for the cap gains and the death tax recalibration that come with the end of the bush tax cuts. In fact, I want all the revenue from the bush tax cuts on wealthy people back, in addition to the rate increase.

By my calculations, that is around 3.2 to 3.6 trillion dollars over 10-12 years. The GOP has such a weak hand that I am loath to bail them out. The GOP, by pretending the election didn’t happen, and by attempting to re-litigate these insane proposals of theirs, opens the door to more aggressive policy positions from the left. Every time they threaten on the debt ceiling, I will propose further increases in revenue. We aren’t locked at 39.6%. We can go all the way back to pre-Reagan rates of 55%.

We aren’t negotiating against reasonable people, these are hostage takers, bomb throwers, and these are the lunatic fringe pols that have seized control of their party. If they want to go to the mattresses I say let’s go. We’ll never have a better time. This could be a defining moment in America. A break with the entire superstructure of Republican bullcrap economic policy. This could be a war worth fighting and as they say a hostage worth taking.

I feel comfortable doing more than laughing at their proposal; I am going to accept their revenue side in addition to the rates. We’ve already made cuts, including 716 billion in Medicare. That means we’ve done our part. I am completely comfortable raising revenue, rates, and doing no more cutting. Thanks John, you convinced me.

Peace,

J.

Follow me on Twitter @JCWPolitics

It’s been over a year since I started writing for the Moms Clean Air Force. And what a difference a year has made in my life and my family!

I came to know about MCAF from another mom, Ana Flores. I saw Ana at a social media conference and she told me about her work with MCAF. She told me about the difference that it made in her life, and about her work to help clean up air pollution for children. She thought it would be a great fit for us (my husband and I), and she thought that our “voice” would be an excellent addition to hundreds of thousands of other “voices” that were speaking up for children and their right breathe clean air.

It piqued my interest, but I told her that I was a little intimidated about being involved. Because lets face it, I was no environmentalist. So I said that we were interested, and when I got home, I took some time to review the site and read some of the posts, including Ana’s posts.

And that’s when I thought, I can do this. There is so much that I have to learn. And I was sure there were other moms/parents like me,that could benefit from taking this journey with us. We may not be experts in this area, but I know that our voice can make a difference.

I that know our voice can make a difference because of the feedback that we receive every day on our website, BlackandMarriedwithKids.com, where we promote positive images of marriage and parenting in the African American community. Every day, Lamar and I receive messages like these:

“Thank you for your site. Your articles mean so much to me.”
“I’m not married yet, but your site has given me hope that I will one day have a healthy marriage.”
“Today, I was going to give up on my marriage. Thank-you for encouraging me to keep trying.”

It took just that one conversation with Ana to make a huge difference in my life. In the past year, my family has changed the way that we do things around the house. Our entire family is involved in conserving energy and resources. This is a new way of life for us that will carry into our kids’ adulthood and will be passed on to their kids and so on.

Importantly, I’ve changed the way I vote. I am definitely researching a candidate’s position on clean air regulations before I make a choice. I want to know that those who represent me are going to protect the environment before I give them my vote.

Yes, that one conversation with Ana really did all that!

So. please know that your voice…your one voice does count. It’s powerful. And when we join together, as we do when we sign Mom’s Clean Air Force petitions it’s exponentially powerful.

Watch Ana’s inspiring video and please encourage others to pass the baton and join Mom’s Clean Air Force.

TELL THE EPA TO SET STRONGER LIMITS ON SOOT POLLUTION

Michelle Obama ‘85 models for a fashion show to benefit Ethiopian famine victims during her time as a University undergraduate.

From The Maddow Blog:

Dems unveil ‘FAST Voting Act’
By Steve Benen – Fri Nov 16, 2012 9:56 AM EST.

In the days and weeks leading up to Election Day 2012, it became painfully clear that voting problems have reached scandalous levels in many parts of the country. The fear was, once the election was over, attention would shift, policymakers would move on to other issues, and memories of voters waiting seven hours to cast a ballot would fade.

Fortunately, it looks like some members of Congress are keeping the issue alive.

Yesterday, Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) unveiled a bill they’re calling the “Fair, Accurate, Secure and Timely (FAST) Voting Act.” Under their proposal, states that “aggressively” pursue election reforms would be rewarded with federal grants.

And what kind of reforms are proponents looking for? It’s not a short list, but the Warner/Coons bill calls for flexible registration opportunities, including same-day registration; expanding early voting; “no-excuse” absentee voting; and “formal training of election officials, including state and county administrators and volunteers.”

As best as I can tell, because the FAST Act is roughly modeled after the Race to the Top education initiative — it’s a competitive grant program, not a set of federal mandates.

——————————————————————————–

In the House, Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) unveiled a related proposal, the “Streamlining and Improving Methods at Polling Locations and Early (SIMPLE) Voting Act,” which is even more ambitious. Most notably, it would require 15 days of early voting in all states for federal elections — and because Congress has authority over regulating federal elections, the assumption is states would simply apply identical standards for all down-ballot races.

The introduction of these bills now appears intended to lay the groundwork for future efforts. This Congress will wrap up next month, and given its to-do list, and the fact that every new Congress starts over with a blank slate, we’ll almost certainly have to wait until the new year before voting reforms are considered. That said, it’s encouraging to see some worthwhile proposals on the table.

Good Morning.

As you make it through the day, don’t forget JJP.

Drop those links. Engage in debate. Give us trivia and gossip too.

And always, have a peaceful day.

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From The Maddow Blog:

The plan the right is pretending not to like
By Steve Benen-
Tue Dec 4, 2012 9:58 AM EST.

House Republican leaders presented a debt-reduction “plan” to the White House yesterday, which GOP officials insist is a “serious” offer. To help underscore why it’s so very difficult to take the Republican proposal seriously, I put together this image, showing what each side would get as part of this attempt at “compromise.”

If you’re thinking this looks a little tilted in one direction, and that no sane person could characterize this as a balanced attempt to reach a bipartisan agreement, we’re on the same page.

But here’s the kicker: conservative activists are criticizing the GOP offer, or at least, they’re pretending to.

Scoot over Democrats. The far right is launching its own attacks against Speaker John Boehner’s “fiscal cliff” counter proposal — a sign that unrest could be brewing within his House GOP Conference.

“Sadly this plan leaves conservatives wanting,” declared Tim Phillips, president of Americans for Prosperity, the advocacy group partially backed by billionaires David and Charles Koch, in a statement Monday.

Meanwhile, Heritage Action, the Heritage Foundation’s lobbying wing, alerted its members in an e-mail: “Not only are Republican leaders asking their members to go back on their promise not to raise taxes on the American people, but they appear unwilling to fight for the bold entitlement reforms that won them the House in 2010.”

So, as far as the right-wing GOP base is concerned, a debt-reduction deal in which Republicans make no concessions at all represents an enormous sellout.

Except, in this case, I don’t really believe the base is sincere.

——————————————————————————–

We’ll probably never know for sure what leading far-right activists are thinking, but by complaining about a deal in which GOP gives up nothing, they seem to be engaged in some political theater.

In other words, the Koch brothers’ operation and the Heritage Foundation’s lobbying wing are trying to offer some cover for House Speaker John Boehner and the Republican leadership — if the left and right both claim to oppose the GOP’s so-called “counteroffer,” then maybe it’s the moderate solution between two extremes.

Don’t believe it. The offer from Republican leaders yesterday is a silly, far-right fantasy.

Good Afternoon.

As you go through the rest of your day, don’t forget JJP.

Drop those links. Engage in debate. Give us trivia and gossip too.

And continue to have a peaceful day.

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Despite President Obama’s election victory, the Republicans are acting like they’re the leaders around Washington. The Huffington Post’s Howard Fineman and The Grio’s Joy Reid discuss.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Tweety talks about how the GOP is still shocked by the 47% showing up to vote November 6th.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

“We, the nobodies.”

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

After referring to the White House debt plan as a “La La Land” solution, Republicans have offered their version of a debt plan. They’re proposing a 2.2 trillion dollar debt reduction that puts Social Security on the table and would increase the eligibility age for Medicare. Michelle Cottle of Newsweek Daily Beast and Ezra Klein of the Washington Post join Rev. Al Sharpton.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Good Morning.

As you make it through Hump Day, don’t forget JJP.

Drop those links. Engage in debate. Give us trivia and gossip too.

And always, have a peaceful day.

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Good Afternoon.

As you go through the rest of your day, don’t forget JJP.

Drop those links. Engage in debate. Give us trivia and gossip too.

And continue to have a peaceful day.

Read the rest of this entry »

In his beautiful song entitled A New World Order, Curtis Mayfield said, “The hunt is on, and brother you’re the prey.” Sadly, that remains true today. We are hunted by vigilantes like Zimmerman. We are hunted by racist police officers. And yes, we are even hunted by some of our own misguided brothers and sisters.

Earlier this year, George Zimmerman hunted and shot down Trayvon Martin for being a black teenage in a white neighborhood. After killing Trayvon, Zimmerman was free as a bird for over forty days. If we did not protest, Zimmerman would probably be free today. At least for a brief moment in time, we were outraged. We mobilized, organized, wrote, marched and spoke. Once the killer was finally arrested, we were pacified. We took off our t-shirts, put away our protest signs and went back to sleep. As Ayesha says on Lupe’s new cd, “and two weeks later, it was back to normal.” After all was said and done, the Stand Your Ground law remained in place as a license to kill black people. If black people formed self-defense groups and openly brandished firearms, perhaps then Florida would repeal that law.

Now, a white man has lynched another brother, Jordan Davis. More specifically, when a group of black teenage boys refused to turn down their music, Michael Dunn fired 8 shots into the car striking Jordan Davis twice. Again, the people have righteous indignation. Again, the bloggers will blog. The civil rights spokespersons will speak. The activists may march and protest. Then, the people will go back to sleep, and “it will be back to normal.” How long will we be angry this time?

To make matters worst, African Americans are frequently the victims of police harassment and brutality. Instead of fulfilling their oath to protect and serve, many police officers are agents of oppression. They have joined the hunt to kill black men. Remember Sean Bell, Amadou Diallo, Oscar Grant, Malice Green and countless other victims. For a comprehensive list, please read Shanika’s Daily Kos article entitled Hey America! Can you please stop killing our (usually) innocent Black male children?

In addition to being hunted by racist vigilantes and police officers, we are hunted and killed by our own. Such fratricidal killings are far more frequent than attacks by racists Klansmen, Nazis, self-appointed neighborhood watchmen and wannabe Dirty Harrys. Regardless of which political party is in the White House, the same cycle of violence continues. Although there are plenty of stop the violence organizations, marches and rallies, the violence continues.

On the local news, we constantly hear tragic stories about black males killing black males. For example, as reported on WBAL TV, “a man stabbed in the neck overnight early Saturday has died, and two others were shot in separate weekend incidents in Baltimore, police said.” As reported in the Chicago Tribune, “last night in the South Shore neighborhood in Chicago, five people were hospitalized after a shooting.”

Here are a few sobering statistics cited in a Wall Street Journal article.

Overall, more than half the nation’s homicide victims are African-American, though blacks make up only 13% of the population. Of those black murder victims, 85% were men, mostly young men.

Despite the declining U.S. murder rate, killings remain stubbornly high in poor pockets of cities large and small. In some cases, the rate is rising sharply. That increase is draining resources from police, prosecutors, social workers and hospitals.

As of Friday, Philadelphia police had been called to 223 homicides, compared with 198 last year. Chicago has recorded 337 murders, compared with 263 in the year-earlier period, a 28% jump. Public outcry there escalated after June 27, when stray bullets fired by an alleged gang member killed 7-year-old Heaven Sutton in a poor area on the city’s West Side. Uproar over the little girl’s death led Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to announce a gang crackdown in neighborhoods with high murder rates.

Our communities have become killing fields. Murders are so frequently that we have become desensitized to the violence. Even civil rights activists have become numb to the violence. Over twenty years ago, we listened to songs like Self Destruction and Stop of the Violence. Unfortunately, such songs remain relevant today. In contrast to the conscious music of the past, today’s popular music glorifies guns and murder. This violence has become the new normal. Rest in peace t-shirts, rest in peace murals and makeshift memorials are common in the hood. When we do muster up the energy to hold to stop the violence rallies and marches, it is temporary. Again, things go back to normal until the next senseless killing.

As long as black men are hunted in the streets like animals, things should never go back to normal. It is time to take a real stand. We do not need anymore “here today, gone tomorrow” protests. We must develop and sustain a true movement that addresses the systemic causes of the violence. We need leaders who will be around when the cameras leave. We must lobby to end the Stand Your Ground laws in Florida and elsewhere. We must lobby state legislatures, Governors, Congress and the White House to enact stronger anti-racial profiling laws. Instead of building prisons, we need to build minds. We must empower our youth with the education that they need to build their future.

This article is cross-possed on New Possibilities. Feel free to follow me on Twitter @NewPossBlog.

hat tip-The Obama Diary:

Good Morning.

As you go through your day, don’t forget JJP.

Drop those links. Engage in debate. Give us trivia and gossip too.

And always, have a peaceful day.

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