Wealth Disparities between White, Black and Latino Households

Melissa Harris-Perry discusses the Pew Study about the disparities in wealth between White, Black and Latino Households, and how that disparity is rooted in racism.

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Journal of Voter Suppression, 2012 -South Carolina Edition

How long will our elders have to CONTINUE TO PAY for living under Jim Crow?

From The State.com:

Many face fight to prove ID
No birth certificate, no photo ID, no registering to vote:A dilemma for tens of thousands born in ’40s, ’50s, ’60s
by DAWN HINSHAW - dhinshaw@thestate.com


Ruth Johnson remembers being sent to the pay phone in the middle of the night to call the midwife when her mother’s labor pains started.

“I called the midwife. She said she was coming. She never did show up,” Johnson said, thinking back to life as a 12-year-old in Barnwell County in the late 1950s.

Before long, Ruth’s mother sent her back to the pay phone at the Hilda grocery store. The second time, the midwife admitted she had no intention of coming to help with the birth. “She said, ‘Your mama, she owes me $25 for the last baby.’”

And so the baby was born in the family home, without a birth certificate — a common practice in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s in rural South Carolina, but one that is causing problems now for an older generation required to have proof of identification.

Before the government began discouraging midwifery in the 1970s, a lot of women in rural South Carolina didn’t go to hospitals to have their babies, either because of the cost, discrimination or culture. Often, the births were unrecorded, whether a midwife was in attendance or not. In some cases, names were misspelled by illiterate midwives or recorded incompletely when parents couldn’t settle on a first name right away.

But having no birth certificate, or having one where the name conflicts with other legal documents, can cause problems today proving one’s identification — and getting the photo ID required to get a job, travel, go into public buildings and, in a recent and controversial change in South Carolina, register to vote.

In some cases, people who have never had a problem before must now go to family court to authenticate the names they have used all their lives.

Joseph Williams, a physician who sees mostly elderly patients in Sumter, guessed as many as 20 percent of his 3,000 to 4,000 regular patients have problems with identification. Some only know the year they were born.

“It’s extremely common for people who are over 50,” said Williams, who is 60. “Record-keeping was poor in our age group.”

And a birth certificate is considered the “seed document” for establishing one’s identity, making it more important to own — and protect — than in years past, said Adam Myrick, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Environmental Control, which oversees the state’s vital-records division.

No one knows how many South Carolinians don’t have a birth certificate. One indicator may be a tally by the S.C. Election Commission, which shows 178,175 voters do not own a photo ID, according to the latest available figures.

Earlier this year, the General Assembly passed a law requiring voters to show a photo ID — either a driver’s license, passport, military ID, new voter registration card or a state-issued ID.

But getting a state-issued ID requires a birth certificate.

For those who don’t have a birth certificate, the state’s vital-records division requires at least three documents from a list that includes marriage and school records, military and medical records, the birth certificates of siblings and children and voter registration documents.

But there’s a hitch.

The name must be identical on each document used as proof of identification: no nicknames, middle initials or other variations.

“The law is very specific: The name has to be the same,” said DHEC spokesman Thom Berry. “This is not a South Carolina issue; this is a national issue.”

Mr. Berry is indeed correct - this is a NATIONAL issue.

Because, our Black Elders who lived under Jim Crow, and this kind of lack of record keeping, live all over the country, and I wonder how many live in these states where these Voter ID laws have been enacted.

And now, in their twilight years, the people who actually FOUGHT, and got their asses beat to get the right to vote, can now see that right taken away because of these VOTER SUPPRESSION VOTER ID LAWS.

IF you have elders with this situation, you need to sit them down, and help them get their papers together. It's more than just voting, though voting rights are important. This could mess with their Social Security and other things.

Contact your Congressperson

Like the man said
by Tim F.

Last night Obama asked us all to contact our Representatives and tell them to do the right thing for America. I could not have said it better myself.

Have a Republican congresscritter? Call him and tell him to pull his head out of his ass. Or her ass as the case may be. Democrats could use some support as well, of course, but at this moment in time Republicans need your input more than anyone else. Their staff genuinely may not know that you exist.

As always, use a phone. Email has the same impact as yelling at clouds.

Find your Congresscritter here.

Switchboard: (202) 224-3121

Guide for first-timers here.

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my update: if you are from:
MARYLAND
TENNESSEE
VIRGINIA
NEW MEXICO

tell the Rep or Senator that Moodys has said these STATES ARE FIRST OFF THE CLIFF IF A DEFAULT HAPPENS.

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UPDATED: HOW TO SEND A FAX FOR FREE

From Balloon Juice:

How To Send a Fax for Free
by mistermix

I like to fax my representatives, but I no longer have a fax machine. Here’s how I do it for free using only an Internet connection.

1. Write a respectful, fact-based, and original letter in Microsoft Word. (Or, write it in some other word processing program that creates a .DOC, .DOCX or .PDF file for output). Open Office is a free program that writes Word output.
Be sure to mention that you live in the district and vote.

2. Look up the representatives’s fax number here.

3. Go to FaxZero and create a fax. Attach your Word doc or PDF to the fax. You can send 2 free faxes per day, so do your Member of Congress and most intransigent Senator today, and the lesser asshole Senator tomorrow.

Also, if you’re a Facebook user, lots of representatives have a Facebook page where you can leave comments. I’m sure that amounts to something.

Update: As requested, a letter suggestion after the break.


Here’s my take on a good letter:


Dear Representative/Senator :

I live in your district [, I voted for you – nice to add if it is true, and maybe even if it isn’t]. I’m writing to ask you to vote to increase the debt ceiling.

I know that my job as a [insert your daily toil here] is in danger if the economy gets worse. I also know that the economy will suffer if the United States defaults, and that may mean that I can’t put food on my family’s table. I can’t afford to lose my job over a political food fight.

I think our national debt needs to be addressed, but I also know that when I miss credit card payments, the bank lowers my credit rating and raises my interest rates. If we lose our good credit because of a default, that will only make the deficit bigger.

No matter how I’ve voted in the past, I just can’t vote for anyone who would risk our economy and cost our country billions of dollars in interest in order to make a political point.

Sincerely,

[Your name and Address]

Presidential address on GOP debt-ceiling crisis

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

Voter Suppression 2012 Update - Wisconsin Version

hat tip-Miranda

from progressivetoo:

WI Governor Scott Walker to cut DMV centers in Democratic districts

The Wisconsin legislature is finalizing a bill to close ten Department of Motor Vehicle centers located in Democratic districts within the state. The money saved will be used to extend operating hours at DMV centers in Republican districts. These cuts come on the heels of new voter ID laws that require voters to present a state-issued photo identification card at the poll booths.

The Wisconsin Republicans, led by Governor Scott Walker, have passed a myriad of unpopular bills that have alienated the public, specifically the public employees whose right to collectively bargain was stripped, their pensions cut and many of their jobs lost. Walker, who has strong ties to Koch Industries, Americans for Prosperity and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has served as the poster child for conservative policy in the nation.

This story shows just how stupid neoconservatives think the public really is. Walker and his ilk pass a bill requiring voters to present valid photo identification at the polls. Then, in the same breath, Walker and his ilk propose a bill to close the identification issuing centers (the DMV’s) in the Democratic districts, making ID’s more difficult for low-income voters to obtain.

so, for those who said the ID Laws aren't really voter suppression, now that they've made it harder for folks to get IDs, what say you NOW?

Black Unemployment and Underemployment at an All Time High

Hear a great discussion from NPR about Black unemployment... from a few weeks ago.

A must listen.

Final Mission

Loved the shuttle when I was a kid. Not all that enthused by idea of private industry taking over a large portion of space missions in the future.

Eligible, Black, Male, and Hopelessly Single - Are Women to Blame or is This a Societal Issue?

As a man, I’d feel a certain way if I had a girlfriend but I wasn’t able to take care of her. Nothing special, but you’d like to be able to at least go the movies every weekend and buy her nice things. Yeah, I’m in school now and working towards something. but I’ve actually stopped dating a woman I was interested in because I wasn’t where I needed to be financially. It’s a pride thing.

The quote above is from a great article over at the Good Men Project webpage, entitled Eligible, Black, Male, and Hopelessly Single. This is a great read… so much truth in this article.

I can relate to many of the comments in the article, especially the one above. The exact same epiphany occurred to me several years ago. I stopped dating a young lady (cute Mexican accounting student in her mid 20’s), because I could not court her the way that I wanted to. The relationship was probably not going to go anywhere anyway, but I called it quits early. My obstacles, or what I saw as obstacles, always came down to a lack of money & resources. That was 8 years ago & I haven’t dated since. I don’t see myself as good enough (not for the women I find interesting).

I decided that I had to work on building myself professionally/financially if I was going to date seriously, and be successful. Yes, my pride played a big role in that decision and is a big reason why I don't date today.

But I’m torn about that way of thinking. On one hand, I think dating should be about compatibility, shared values/interests, and the connection between two people. It should not be all about the superficial - the status chasing, the big job, nice car, expensive condo, etc. However, on the other hand, I recognize (& hate) the fact that the real world of dating has a system of rules set up, rules mostly established by women, that forces me to play that game (the superficial game) whether I want to or not.

It’s just interesting to see money as being not only the reason people are divorcing, but now it also seems to be a big reason why singles have a hard time meeting and connecting in the first place. Also interesting to see that my experiences are not unique. I want to say women are to blame for this… but it comes down to society and a pop culture that has warped the minds of Generation X (My Generation) and Generation Y even more. People (women in particular) are watching too much TV. Men are expected to be well-to-do from the first date. There is no building anything together anymore. Today, women consider the man who isn’t fully established monetarily as a loser…. And they move on to the next one, and the next, until they find the attorney, the Barack Obama, the CEO, the Banker, the doctor, the entertainer, or professional athlete that they want. Women aren’t even looking for personality and character anymore… things about the inner core of the man himself… those items are secondary to her. Today, women are searching for titles…status, money…. It’s all about what you do for a living. Whatever it is that you do either has to be raking in cash…or has to have the potential to do so.

When you are a Black man almost exclusively interested in interracial dating, like myself, the problem doesn’t go away.

The article is a great read… the comments section is also very interesting.

Today's Update of Voter Suppression 2012 -Louisiana Version

hat tip-GreenLadyHere

Feds: Louisiana Not Providing Voter Registration Forms At Public Assistance Offices

Federal officials are suing the state of Louisiana for failing to provide voter registration forms at public assistance and disability services agencies. The Justice Department said that the state is in violation of section seven of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.

Louisiana officials, the feds asserted, have failed to provide voter registration opportunities as required under NVRA because they haven't designated all offices in the state that provide public assistance as voter registration agencies (including the Office of Aging and Adult Services); failed to provide sufficient supplies of voter registration applications at the designated agencies; and failed to train and monitor employees to make sure they assist in processing voter registration forms."

There are 1.17 million Louisiana residents enrolled in Medicaid programs, but only 6,037 voter registration applications were received from public assistance offices from 2009 to 2010, according to data provided to the Election Assistance Commission and included in the Justice Department's lawsuit. That represents just 1.1 percent of all voter registration applications received in 2009 and 2010.

While Louisiana processed over 3.1 million Medicaid applications, renewals and address changes from Jan. 2007 to Jan. 2011 as well as 2.4 million food stamp applications, the agencies registered just 14,725 voter registration applications.

"The voting process begins with registration. Therefore, it is essential that all citizens have unfettered access to voter registration opportunities," DOJ's Thomas E. Perez said in a statement. "The department is committed to enforcing the National Voter Registration Act so that neither income nor disability status stands in the way of equal voter registration opportunities for all citizens."

Read more »