Haley Barbour refuses to denounce Mississippi license plates commemorating KKK leader
February 17, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media How many times can Haley Barbour stick his foot in his mouth when it comes to race in America? Recently he said he was proud of being a lobbyist and earlier has been exposed as a lover of the ol’ White Citizens Councils , which made him go into serious damage-control mode. Both Mr. Mott and Mr. Kelly had told me that Yazoo City was perhaps the only municipality in Mississippi that managed to integrate the schools without violence. I asked Haley Barbour why he thought that was so. “Because the business community wouldn’t stand for it,” he said. “You heard of the Citizens Councils? Up north they think it was like the KKK. Where I come from it was an organization of town leaders. In Yazoo City they passed a resolution that said anybody who started a chapter of the Klan would get their ass run out of town. If you had a job, you’d lose it. If you had a store, they’d see nobody shopped there. We didn’t have a problem with the Klan in Yazoo City.” In interviews Barbour doesn’t have much to say about growing up in the midst of the civil rights revolution. “I just don’t remember it as being that bad,” he said. “I remember Martin Luther King came to town, in ’62. He spoke out at the old fairground and it was full of people, black and white.” Just to stipulate: In reality, the Ku Klux Klan in the South, both immediately after the Civil War and in its post-1915 reincarnation, in fact always was an organization of town leaders — but secretly. The White Citizens Councils were merely their public face. So I don’t really understand this one. Haley Barbour in KKK plate uproar In the latest racially charged incident in his home state, Haley Barbour on Tuesday drew fire when he refused to condemn a proposal honoring a Ku Klux Klan leader and Confederate general on a state license plate. “I don’t go around denouncing people. That’s not going to happen,” Barbour, who is considering a run for the White House in 2012, said when asked about the plate, the Associated Press reported. “I know there’s not a chance it’ll become law.” The state NAACP has denounced the proposal from the Mississippi Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans to honor Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, who went on to become an early leader of the KKK. Forrest , a Tennessee native, is revered by some as a military genius and despised by others for leading an 1864 massacre of black Union troops at Fort Pillow, Tenn. Forrest was a Ku Klux Klan grand wizard in Tennessee after the war. Derrick Johnson, president of the Mississippi NAACP, ripped the planned license plate “absurd,” blasted Forrest as a “racially divisive figure,” and has called on Barbour to denounce the plan. “I find it curious that the governor won’t come out and clearly denounce the efforts of the Sons of Confederate Veterans to honor Nathan Bedford Forrest,” he said Tuesday. “As the head of the state, he shouldn’t tap dance around the question.” This is actually Barbour’s MO whenever the issue of his coddling his state’s racists comes up. When he pussyfooted around with the descendants of the WCC, the Council of Conservative Citizens, h e again refused to make clear his disapproval of their racism . And when a number of Southern states, including Mississippi, held Confederacy commemorations without any mention of slavery, he ardently defended it. I wonder how he’ll do with the African American vote if he runs for president? I guess the saying that “a leopard can’t change its spots” fits ol’ Haley to a tee.
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Click here to view this media Tucker Carlson was all too happy Tuesday to help fuel Sean Hannity’s rant about the dangers of Michelle Obama and the “nanny state.” “Michelle Obama’s putting herself on the front lines,” Hannity began. “I try to stay away from presidential families and children but if she’s going to tell us what food to eat, if she’s going to tell us what we can put in our school cafeterias — now she’s promoting breast feeding as ‘IRS gives tax breaks for nursing.’” “We don’t need a nanny state,” he complained. “That’s called the nanny caretaker state.” “It takes a lot of time to make those kind of decisions,” Carlson added sarcastically. “Why would you want to raise your own kids when Michelle Obama will do it for you? In fact, she’ll do it at gunpoint.”
Continue reading …Leftist Journalism Prof Nir Rosen Resigns After Insulting CBS’s Lara Logan
February 16, 2011 No Comment
Nir Rosen, one of the more rabidly left-wing foreign policy commentators out there has finally gotten some just desserts after he ridiculed CBS News correspondent Lara Logan after she was assaulted by a mob in Egypt. After learning the news of the attack on Logan, Rosen took to Twitter to ridicule her and in the process revealed his deep anti-Iraq war bias. “Lara Logan had to outdo Anderson. Where was her buddy McCrystal,” he wrote, apparently wishing that former U.S. general Stanley McCrystal and CNN anchor Anderson Cooper had been also sexually assaulted by a mob. Rosen's disgusting comments got worse from there, even as the fellow at New York University’s Center on Law and Security attempted to rationalize his hatred. “Yes yes its wrong what happened to her. Of course. I don't support that. But, it would have been funny if it happened to Anderson too.” That wasn't enough for Rosen who continued his ranting as he stated why Logan was the target of his hate-filled, sexist tirade: She was not sufficiently against the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. “Jesus Christ, at a moment when she is going to become a martyr and glorified we should at least remember her role as a major war monger,” Rosen tweeted. Moments later, Rosen started to backpedal: “Look, she was probably groped like thousands of other women, which is still wrong, but if it was worse than [sic] I'm sorry.” Finally he admitted his error, albeit in a profane manner: “Ah f— it, I apologize for being insensitive, it's always wrong, that's obvious, but I'm rolling my eyes at all the attention she will get.” “As someone who's devoted his career to defending victims and supporting justice, I'm very ashamed for my insensitive and offensive comments.” That apology and Rosen's deletion of his hate-filled tweets wasn't enough to save him, however as they had been captured by a number of bloggers already. We don't know fully what happened behind the scenes today but a few hours ago, the NYU Center on Law and Security released a statement saying that Rosen had resigned his position: Nir Rosen is always provocative, but he crossed the line with his comments about Lara Logan. I am deeply distressed by what he wrote about Ms. Logan and strongly denounce his comments. They were cruel and insensitive and completely unacceptable. Mr. Rosen tells me that he misunderstood the severity of the attack on her in Cairo. He has apologized, withdrawn his remarks, and submitted his resignation as a fellow, which I have accepted. However, this in no way compensates for the harm his comments have inflicted. We are all horrified by what happened to Ms. Logan, and our thoughts are with her during this difficult time. This looks like a rare moment where a leftist media commentator has had to pay the price for truly outrageous remarks. Put it on your calendar. Let's hope that Logan and her family did not see Rosen's hateful remarks as well. PS: Rosen has a long record of trying to promote an American withdrawal from Iraq based on false assertions about how well the war is going there. In late 2006 when the war was starting to turn and the surge was working, Rosen was preaching the gospel of failure : Nir Rosen: “Unfortunately, there's no good news in Iraq. There's no corner that's been turned, there's no milestone. The civil war began intensively in 2005, and it's continuing. This ethnic cleansing, Sunnis from Shia neighborhoods, Shias being expelled from Sunni neighborhoods, dead bodies on the street every day, tortured and killed because they're Sunni or because they're Shia. Events inside the Green Zone just don't really matter….The green zone is just a theater for people outside of Iraq. The militias are on the street in Iraq. They are the ones killing each other every day. And I just feel very depressed and hopeless. I think the civil war is going to intensify. ”
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Click here to view this media Stuart Varney is getting tingles up his leg over the fact that Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is ramming through legislation to strip Wisconsin workers of their bargaining rights. He’s practically breaking open the champagne over it. I guess he hasn’t seen the images I’m seeing, of thousands gathered at the State Capitol in Wisconsin, protesting Walker’s attempt to strip them of all bargaining rights. Meanwhile, Walker is doubling down on his promise to call out the National Guard if there’s a walkout, while dismissing the protests. Today is the second day of demonstrations. These people are not going anywhere. Scott Walker would do well to look at what happened in Egypt when the government dismissed protesters and threatened them. I am not saying he is the equivalent of Hosni Mubarak, but I am saying that when thousands gather outside your office to let you know they object to your strong-arm tactics, risking their health and possibly having to face down the National Guard, they’re not doing it for fun and giggles. They’re as serious as he is. Here’s a photo. People stayed overnight there, despite the cold. Dismiss them at your own peril, Governor Walker. enlarge Credit: Artemis47 If that doesn’t impress you, I highly recommend Talking Points Memo’s wonderful slide show.
Continue reading …Egyptian activists condemn brutal attack on CBS reporter in Tahrir Square
February 16, 2011 No Comment
Serious assault on Lara Logan of CBS took place in middle of crowd at height of celebrations after Hosni Mubarak resigned Women’s rights activists and pro-change protesters in Egypt have rallied to condemn a serious sexual assault on an American news reporter, Lara Logan, which took place in Cairo’s Tahrir Square in the moments following Hosni Mubarak’s resignation last Friday. “Lara Logan … and her team and their security were surrounded by a dangerous element amidst the celebration,” Logan’s employers, CBS news, said in a brief statement. “It was a mob of more than 200 people whipped into frenzy. “In the crush of the mob, she was separated from her crew. She was surrounded and suffered a brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating before being saved by a group of women and an estimated 20 Egyptian soldiers.” Logan, a 39-year-old foreign correspondent, had previously been detained by the Egyptian police while covering the anti-government uprising. She has now flown back to the US and is “recovering at home”, CBS said. The incident has provoked a storm of comment in both the Egyptian and American blogospheres, with many protesters in Cairo keen to show that Logan’s attackers were not representative of the pro-change crowds. “It’s incredibly sad that this has happened, and it’s something that the spirit of Tahrir and the spirit of revolution was resolutely against,” Ahdaf Soueif, an author who spent a great deal of time in Tahrir Square, told the Guardian. “Women in the square were rejoicing that they felt freedom on the streets of Cairo for the first time, and [this is] definitely something that we want to stamp out alongside corruption and all the other social ills that have befallen Egypt during Mubarak’s regime.” Mahmoud Salem, a well known Egyptian blogger, was one of many of the January 25 activists to express outrage. “Lara Logan, what happened to you was reprehensible, & I hope u don’t judge the egyptian people or Tahrir because of it,” he tweeted under his moniker Sandmonkey. Some activists have suggested that the assault may have been the work of pro-Mubarak gangs, whose use of sexual harassment as an intimidation tactic was extensively documented during the revolution, as was their targeting of foreign reporters. But the investigation and prosecution of sexual harassment cases is already low in Egypt, and the detention of those responsible amid the country’s current institutional turmoil appears unlikely. The harassment of women on the streets has long been a major issue in Egyptian society, although efforts to curb the problem have often met resistance from government officials. Scepticism about the extent of the harassment extended as far as the former first lady, Suzanne Mubarak, who once accused the media of exaggerating the problem to tarnish the country’s reputation. A survey by the independent Egyptian Centre for Women’s Rights in 2008, however, revealed that 83% of Egyptian women and 98% of foreign women had been exposed to some form of sexual harassment, including groping, verbal abuse, stalking and indecent exposure. Contrary to popular opinion, the incidents did not appear to be linked to the woman’s style of dress, as three-quarters of victims had been veiled at the time. Throughout the 18 days of mass unrest that brought millions to Tahrir Square, many women reported that the level of sexual harassment there was far lower than they had expected. Protesters maintained a disciplined internal security system and, apart from clashes with police and pro-Mubarak militants, no violence was recorded inside the square. “We Egyptian youth are so proud of this revolution, and the first thing we will do is demand that all people stop sexual harassment,” said Marwa Mokhtar, a women’s rights campaigner. “This is our country now, not Mubarak’s country, and we will not allow harassment to continue in the new Egypt.” An Egyptian Facebook group set up to condemn the attack on Logan carried similar sentiments. “We should have continued guarding Tahrir even in the day of celebration,” posted Ahmad Fahmy, a pro-change demonstrator. “I don’t know what to say. Nothing we can do or say can make up for what happened. I guess for now I can just say ‘Sorry’ to Lara and for all women Egyptians or non-Egyptians who were harassed or assaulted in Egypt before.” Another group of bloggers set up an online petition headlined ” Walk Free! Stop Sexual Harassment in Egypt & Apology to Lara Logan “. In the US, debate over Logan’s assault has been fierce, after some commentators made light of the incident. Nir Rosen, an American journalist, was forced to resign from his fellowship at New York University following a series of posts on Twitter which drew jokey comparisons between Logan and CNN correspondent Anderson Cooper, who was assaulted by thugs in Egypt earlier this month, claiming “it would have been funny if it happened to Anderson too.” He has since apologised for the remarks. Right-wing blogger Debbie Schlussel also drew ire, after a post on her website blamed Logan herself for the attack. “So sad, too bad, Lara,” wrote Schlussel. “No one told her to go there. She knew the risks. And she should have known what Islam is all about. Now she knows …” Her words were met with a chorus of outrage online. “Lara Logan’s assault is horrifying, but shouldn’t be an excuse for the rightwing to twist this into a story about Arab misogyny,” argued Democracy Now correspondent Anjali Kamat on Twitter. An article published in the Colombia Journalism Review in 2007 claimed that the sexual abuse of female foreign correspondents is under-reported because many victims do not come forward for fear of losing out on future assignments. “In the mounting rhetoric, what is getting lost is the fact that a reporter has been sexually assaulted,” said Laila Lalami in the Nation magazine. “[By coming forward] Lara Logan has broken a powerful taboo.” Heather Blake, of Reporters Without Borders, said that the incident should not be used to prevent female correspondents from going out into the field. “Female journalists have distinct voices to male journalists and it is vital that those very different concerns and outlooks continue to be heard,” she argued. “The attack on Lara Logan highlights the fact that there needs to be gender-specific protection and training of journalists. “At the moment, female and male journalists have the same training. The truth is that female journalists need to be taught about different cultures and the ways in which men behave in those cultures. They need to know about gender-specific expectations in different countries, from what they wear to how they interact with those they met.” Paul Steiger, chairman of the Committee to Protect Journalists, of which Logan is a board member, said: “We have seen Lara’s compassion at work while helping journalists who have faced brutal aggression while doing their jobs. She is a brilliant, courageous, and committed reporter. Our thoughts are with Lara as she recovers.” Egypt CBS United States Middle East Jack Shenker guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …This is the first post in a series I am writing as a blogging fellow for the Strengthen Social Security Campaign , a coalition of more than 270 national and state organizations dedicated to preserving and strengthening Social Security. Do you have a mother? Is she over 65? How is she set financially? How would she fare if she was entirely on her own? Now answer that question and take her Social Security out of the equation. How would she fare if she was entirely on her own? You may not realize it, but Social Security is the single most effective program to keep women out of poverty in their retirement years that the nation has ever created. Here are some facts about women and Social Security that you may not know, but should: 26% of women aged 65-69 are reliant upon Social Security for virtually all of their income (90% or more) and that number climbs as women age. Although women are more reliant on Social Security to provide their basic needs in retirement, men receive benefits that are about 25% more than those of women. The average benefit for a woman is around $12,000 per year, while for men it is about $16,000 per year. This is especially important for women, because far more American women than men — 11% versus 7% — lived in poverty in 2009 (the last year for which complete numbers are available.) It becomes even more important for people who live alone. When older people live alone, the likelihood that they live in poverty jumps dramatically, to 17% for women and to 12% for men. Minority women are hit especially hard, with more than 20% of African-American, Hispanic and Native American women 65 and over living in poverty. The poverty rate is 8% for non-Hispanic white females in this age group, and 15% for Asian women. Without Social Security, one half of all women over 65 and two-thirds of women over 65 who live alone would live in poverty. 3.1. million children received Social Security survivors benefits after losing the support of a parent to death or disability, and those benefits lifted 1.1 million of those children out of poverty. Since Social Security became the law of the land in 1935, it has frequently been the only thing standing between women and the proverbial poor house, and that is not a pattern that shows any signs of changing any time soon. While the gender-iniquities that were part of the program at it’s inception have been righted, much of the labor performed by women is uncompensated. Women still sacrifice large amounts of our prime earning time providing care for young children, aging parents and eventually young grandchildren. This negatively impacts the amount of monthly benefit they receive in retirement. Schemes to divert Social Security contributions into so-called “individually held private accounts” would hit women especially hard, because returns on such accounts would depend on volatile markets and would not have COLAs built in to safeguard against inflation or provide spousal and dependent benefits. And that uncompensated labor that already impacts women’s benefits in the current system? Privatization schemes would devastate any hope for economic security in retirement, because without the shared risk pool that Social Security represents, many women — especially those who took a time out of the work force to raise families and take care of aged or ailing family members — would quickly outlive their assets and be destitute. Women are not worthless, nor is the labor we provide to our families, not merely free-of-charge, but at great detriment to our own best interest — and the older I get, the crankier I get about the fact that we are discounted, dismissed and disrespected with distressing frequency. Who can forget Alan Simpson firing off a condescending email to Ashley Carson, the executive director of the Older Women’s League, sneering that Social Security had “become a milk cow with 310 million tits” and finishing with the admonition to “Call when you get honest work!” Instead of dismissal and disrespect, why not look at Social Security and ways to strengthen it through women’s eyes? Not only because we tend to be especially bent on equitable, mutually beneficial solutions, but because a system that works well for American women will be a system that works well for all Americans. Sources: Women and Social Security: Key Facts published by the National Women’s Law Center, January 2011 and The National Jobs For All Coalition website. Many thanks to John or offering me his megaphone to spread the message and to Blue Gal for helping me navigate the site the very first time.
Continue reading …NY Times: NJ GOP Gov. Christie ‘Blustery and Bellicose’, CT Dem Gov. Works Hard Sparing ‘Most Vulnerable’
February 16, 2011 No CommentDavid Halbfinger’s Wednesday New York Times profile of Connecticut’s newly elected Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy favorably compared him to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who is winning fans for his insistence on budget discipline and his outspoken challenges to unions: “ In Tackling Connecticut’s Finances, New Governor Criticizes Peer’s Approach .” Reporter Halbfinger let Malloy hypocritically pat himself on the back for civility while taking pot shots at Christie. Halbfinger played along, portraying Christie as “blustery and bellicose” compared to the “polite” Democrat Malloy, flatteringly portrayed as closing a deficit while spending “much of his energy finding ways to spare the most vulnerable” and considering tax increases. (Halbfinger is not crazy about New Jersey Republicans; a May 30, 2009 story on the Republican primary for the governor's race (won by Christie) described Christie’s opponent Steve Lonegan as an “ultraconservative former small-town mayor” pushing Christie “far to the right.”)
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enlarge Philadelphia attorney Irv Ackelsberg. Doesn’t this story warm your heart? I know it does mine. The attorney on this case is my friend Alex’s father, a lifelong public interest lawyer who’s really, really good. Philly represent! Patrick Rodgers, an independent music promoter in Philadelphia, has won a judgment against his mortgage lender, Wells Fargo, which Wells hasn’t paid, and so he’s foreclosed on them and arranged for a sheriff’s sale of the contents of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, 1341 N. Delaware Ave to pay the legal bill. Rodgers made all his mortgage payments on time, but Wells decided out of the blue that he had to carry insurance for the full replacement value of his home — $1 million — and started to charge him an extra $500 a month in premiums. When Rodgers sent a formal letter to the lender questioning this, they did not answer in good time, so a court awarded him $1,000 in damages, which Wells wouldn’t pay. So the court is allowing him to sell the contents of the lender’s office to make good on the bill. Hoo-ah! “It’s a completely unreasonable demand,” says Irv Ackelsberg, a mortgage expert at the Philadelphia law firm Langer, Grogan & Diver. “Their interest is in protecting their mortgage, not ensuring that the house is rebuilt.” Rodgers’ next step put him at some risk, he concedes now. He refused to renew the higher-cost policy. Instead, Wells Fargo bought him so-called forced-placement insurance – a policy that typically costs much more than ordinary coverage and only protects the mortgage-holder’s interests. But he fought back with his suit under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). Last month, Wells Fargo sent him more than $1,000, and Menke says it intended to fully satisfy the judgment. “We had considered this matter closed,” he says. What about Rodgers’ four-page letter demanding answers about how much Wells is trying to charge him – charges that have added $500 a month to his statement? Menke says Wells Fargo sent a written response “within the last month.” As of Monday, Rodgers hadn’t seen it.
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