Category Archives: ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

ABC News’ Michael Ono reports:

The Department of Justice is reviewing, and has the power to reject a controversial new law passed in South Carolina that requires a registered voter to present a government -issued photo ID before his or her vote is counted.

Gov. Nikki Haley signed the bill into law in May and she’s not alone. Four other states have passed similar voter ID laws in 2011, including Wisconsin, Texas, Tennessee and Kansas. But thanks to the DOJ, South Carolina’s law could still be rejected by federal officials.

And while other states have passed voter photo ID laws in the past, the laws passed in 2011 are by far the strictest with the exception of the law passed in 2005 by the state of Indiana.

Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act empowers the DOJ to review election laws passed in select southern sates as well as Alaska and some counties throughout the country. Crafted in a time of great racial stife, the act was meant to codify the power of the 15th Amendment, which forbids racial discrimination at the polling booth.

South Carolina, which is subject to federal review, is the only state to have petitioned the Obama Justice Department for approval while other states such as Texas opted to clear their law through the D.C. District Court, which is also permitted.

Critics of a stricter photo ID law argue that the requirement will make it tougher for poor and minority voters to cast their ballot while proponents call it a common sense provision.

Voters without the means to produce correct documents or the disabled can verify their identity through an affidavit but many still see the ID requirements as too burdensome.

“A number of state legislatures have taken up these bills and I think that it’s a growing concern nationally that the effect is going to be the suppression of the vote,” said Victoria Middleton, executive director for the South Carolina ACLU.

Republicans, in 2010, swept state legislatures across the country and have used the ensuing authority to pass various controversial measures, including laws that restrict funding to Planned Parenthood at the state level.

As for why the Obama Justice Department might be interested in the South Carolina law, fewer eligible minority voters could hurt the president because they tend to vote Democratic.

“These kinds of voter ID laws could make a difference on the margins and President Obama is fighting for every last percentage he can get,” said David Wasserman, a political analyst for the Cook Political Report.

As many as 11 percent of the voting population, or about 21 million people, do not have access to a government issued ID, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law. Still, studies highlighted by the Heritage Foundation show that photo ID laws have no effect on minority voter turnout.

Wisconsin College students voting in their local college towns might also have trouble voting because the new voter ID law in Wisconsin require the ID to show an address that matches their voting precinct when many students will have an ID that comes from their hometown.

“It’s a significant impediment to a lot more casual younger voters,” Wasserman said.

And the college city of Madison, Wis., generates the state’s largest number of Democratic votes, according to Wasserman.

Still, there are many who like the new voter ID laws and disapprove of the DOJ’s inquiry, arguing that the federal government has no business in “pre-clearing” state election laws.

“It’s a historical artifact of the civil rights era,” said Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch. “The idea that South Carolina needs to be treated today by the federal government is absurd.”

Hans von Spakovsky, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said, “The kind of widespread discrimination that occurred just doesn’t happen today.”

Some Democratic politicians aren’t so sure. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois will hold hearings on the new laws today in the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham is the ranking Republican member on that Subcommittee and will attend the hearing.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Breaking News: More Women in Poverty Than Ever, Tell Congress to Act on President’s Jobs Plan

09/14/2011 Nativegrl77

Trust me: it’s no fun being the bearer of bad news.

I recently told you that since the recession officially ended, women’s unemployment rates have actually increased. But that’s not the only grim reality: today the Census Bureau released new data, and NWLC’s analysis finds that record numbers of women are living in poverty — and extreme poverty.

WWW.NWLC.ORG

With two-thirds of women in the role of head of their household or a contributor to their family’s income, it’s more important than ever to make sure that unemployed women have a chance to get back to work. That’s why President Obama’s plan for job creation, submitted to Congress this week, has come at such a critical time for women and their families. Congress needs to act quickly on these proposals to address the immediate deficit facing this country — the jobs deficit. The numbers released today by the Census Bureau underscore the urgency.

Urge your Members of Congress to act on job creation NOW!

www.nwlc.org

Here are just a few important findings from the new data:

The rise in women living in poverty: Over 17 million women lived in poverty in 2010, including more than 7.5 million in extreme poverty, with an income below half of the federal poverty line — both all-time highs. The poverty rate among women rose to 14.5 percent in 2010 from 13.9 percent in 2009, the highest rate in 17 years. The poverty rate among single mothers climbed to 40.7 percent in 2010; more than half of all poor children lived with single mothers.
The wage gap: The wage gap for women remained as wide as in 2009. Women working full-time year-round were paid only 77 cents for every dollar paid to their male counterparts.
Uninsured women: The rate of women without health insurance rose to 19.7 percent in 2010 from 19.2 percent in 2009 — the highest rate in more than a decade. A total of 19 million women were uninsured in 2010 — an increase of more than 0.5 million women from the previous year.

You can get more details from our press release and check back later this week for our further analysis of what these new numbers mean for women and their families.

WWW.NWLC.ORG

Tell your Members of Congress to take action on the President’s proposals to create jobs, grow the economy, and alleviate hardship for women and families. And tell them not undercut job-creation measures by cutting funding for vital public services, which would destroy jobs and make it harder for struggling families to make ends meet.The President issued the call to action and submitted his plan to Congress. Now it’s up to Congress to act!Sincerely,

Joan Entmacher
Vice President, Family Economic Security
National Women’s Law Center

P.S. You can read about the important provisions for women in the President’s jobs plan here.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Sen.Dick Durbin …

09/14/2011 Nativegrl77

Republicans won back the House by campaigning on jobs, jobs, jobs. Now, President Obama puts forward a real jobs plan, and what do we hear from them? First silence. Then complaints.

Truth is, many of them don’t want to boost the economy. That might interfere with their anti-Obama agenda and winning back the Senate. It’s cynical politics at its worst.

Scary thing is, if we don’t respond, their strategy could work. The Tea Party is engaged, Republicans are more determined than ever, and if we’re not challenging every attack, they will gain momentum. We saw in 2010 what GOP momentum looks like.

Fortunately, we have half a million grassroots donors and a strong plan to hold the Senate. You know that if we miss the goals to raise critical resources, we might lose seats we otherwise could have won. That’s why I know you’ll join me in helping the DSCC meet its crucial September goal.

It won’t be easy – it’s going to take all of us working together to hold the Senate. Karl Rove has teamed up with Haley Barbour and doubled his original Crossroads fundraising goal to more than $240 million. And we’ll also be fighting against laws passed by Republican governors – including Wisconsin’s Scott Walker and Florida’s Rick Scott – that will keep people from voting.

But if Republicans think we’re going to sit by and let them get away with it, they have another thing coming.
Democrats are investigating these undemocratic laws. And Rove’s Big Oil friends can’t hold a candle to our grassroots supporters. By meeting its fundraising goals, the DSCC can surpass its 2010 effort, knocking on 2 million doors, calling 5.5 million swing voters and running TV ads in nearly a dozen states. Every dollar you give helps make it happen.

You know how high the stakes are. If we lose four seats, our Democratic firewall is gone. Rick Perry, Eric Cantor and Jim DeMint would end Medicare, turn Social Security over to Wall Street, gut the EPA, slash education and defund Planned Parenthood. We’re not about to let them.

Can you give $5 or $10 today? The DSCC still needs $743,000 by its Sept. 30 deadline to protect our Democratic firewall and stop the Tea Party trio of Perry, Cantor and DeMint.

Republicans think they’ve got a winning plan. But here’s a newsflash: We’ve only begun to fight. Thanks so much for standing up for the Democratic values we both believe in.

Sincerely,

Sen. Dick Durbin

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Marriage Equality Achieved? Not So Fast! …Michael Keegan, PFAW Foundation

09/14/2011 Nativegrl77

Equality is THE LAW in NY State

This year the State of New York made the decision to recognize the right of same-sex couples to marry. It’s now the law, and public officials must abide by it regardless of their personal prejudices.

WWW.PFAW.ORG

This weekend we demanded that the Town Clerk of Ledyard, New York, Rose Marie Belforti, sign marriage licenses for same-sex couples looking to marry — as the law dictates she must do — or resign.

Belforti had previously stated that she would not sign licenses for same-sex couples and refused to do so for one couple on August 30. Even after numerous residents voiced their objections to the clerk’s position at a town meeting just last night, it was clear that Ms. Belforti is sticking to her refusal to issue licenses and has no intention of resigning.

PFAW Foundation is stepping up the pressure with a petition to Town Clerk Belforti that will help us focus more attention on this issue. Please add your name to it right now! www.pfaw.org

Marriage equality is THE LAW in New York State, and couples like Katie Carmichael and Deirdre DiBiaggio, whom Belforti refused a marriage license, have the RIGHT to wed.

Public officials can’t pick and choose what laws they want to follow. And Ms. Belforti has no place putting her personal prejudices over the hard-won legal rights of New York’s same-sex couples. We’ll pursue all necessary legal action to make sure those rights are protected and are working with the global law firm Proskauer Rose, LLP to achieve a swift remedy. We’ve also brought the issue the attention of New York’s attorney general.

This year the State of New York made the decision to recognize the fundamental rights of gay and lesbian New Yorkers by finally allowing all couples to have equal access to the protections only marriage provides. We must be able to trust in our elected officials to uphold the people’s laws.

Please join us in this fight. Sign the petition to Ledyard Town Clerk Belforti now telling her to do her job, follow the law and sign ALL legal marriage licenses, or else resign. www.pfaw.org

After you take action, it’s critical that you help spread the word. We can’t let elected officials at any level get away with illegally denying Americans’ their rights because of their own personal prejudices.

Thank you for standing for Equality — the American Way.

Sincerely,

Michael Keegan

P.S. Please notify us if you or someone you know has experienced the same problem in New York State. Email legal@pfaw.org.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

$53 Billion For Iraq, $0 For America …Judd Legum, ThinkProgress

09/14/2011 Nativegrl77

For the past decade, Congress has had no problem spending over $120 billion to rebuild schools, roads, bridges and other essential infrastructure in Iraq and Afghanistan. Today, America‘s infrastructure is crumbling and millions of people are out of work. Contact your member of Congress and tell them it’s time to rebuild America.

It just takes a second using our form: http://www2.americanprogress.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=163

All the Republican leaders in Congress voted to approve massive amounts of funding to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan without a penny in offsets. But now they are opposing President Obama’s proposal to rebuild America even though it’s fully paid for.

Contact your member today and demand we invest at least as much in our own communities as we did in Iraq and Afghanistan. And let us know what you hear back from your representatives.

Best,

Judd

Judd Legum
judd@thinkprogress.org
202-682-1611