Former Rep Corrine Brown Sentenced to 5 Years

The CBC’s Party Queen has met her just end….

Corrine Brown sentenced to 5 years in federal prison

A federal judge in Jacksonville on Monday sentenced former Democratic Rep. Corrine Brown to five years in federal prison after she was convicted last May on corruption charges for her role in using a scam charity to bilk donors and use the money for personal expenses, the Florida Times-Union reported.

The 71-year-old disgraced congresswoman’s chief of staff, Ronnie Simmons, got 48 months in prison, while the founder of the charity, One Door for Education President Carla Wiley, received a 21-month sentence for her role.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan said Brown abused the public trust to carry out a criminal conspiracy, the newspaper reported.

“This is a sad day for everyone,” said Corrigan after sentencing Brown to prison. “I was impressed with all the outpouring of support for you, and I think it’s a tribute to all the work you’ve done over the years. That’s what makes this all the more tragic.”

“This was a crime born of entitlement and greed, committed to supporting a lifestyle that was beyond their means,” said Corrigan. “Just think of the good that could have been done with that money if it would have been used for its intended purpose.”

Brown was also given three years probation. Brown’s attorney says her client plans to file an appeal.

The prison sentence marks the end of a legendary figure in Florida politics.

In 1992, Brown, of Jacksonville, was the first African-American from Florida to be elected to Congress since Reconstruction. She was best known for her slogan “Corrine Delivers,” a nod to the fact that she had knack for securing federal funding for her district.

In the 2016 Democratic primary, she was defeated by former state Sen. Al Lawson. The corruption case haunted her on the campaign trail. Her loss was also attributed to the fact that she joined state Republicans in opposing changes to her 5th Congressional District, which became a national poster child for gerrymandering. For years, the district snaked from Orlando to Jacksonville, picking up pockets of black communities and cities along the way. The seat was politically good for Brown, but made the surrounding congressional districts whiter and more Republican-leaning.

After a lengthy court battle over the newly drawn seats, Brown’s congressional district was redrawn to stretch east-west from Jacksonville to the Tallahassee region. It’s still overwhelmingly Democratic, but Brown departed from near Democratic consensus to oppose the changes because it lowered the number of black voters in the seat.

 

CBC Refuses Second Meeting with Chumph

Not sure why they even bothered to send representatives to the first meeting – but it seems they have finally recovered from their usual comatose state.

What I would like to see is some disruption, delay, and delegitimization of the entire Republican House and the Chumph.

One of the ways that could start is with a walkout until Sessions is gone. A complete refusal to participate in a process which is inherently and purposefully racist.

 

All Y’all Colored Folks Know Each Other in DC!

I grew up in the DC area. I certainly know of the various high level people from the News, run into Congressmen and Senators on the street, and have even met with some in business matters.

DC, like almost any Urban area has cliques. There is nothing some black folks love more than setting up, or being a part of an “exclusive” group, which – pretty much like the Emmy’s and Academy Awards…They get to pat themselves on the back telling each other how great they are.

I have never attended a CBC Cabaret, and generally, unless roped into it, avoid such throw downs. I do, and have attended major charity events, and political fundraisers for specific politicians…Life in the City.

Now, the way things work in this city, is the most powerful clique in the city surrounds the President and Congress. When the President wants to meet with someone in Congress, he tells his staff to make a call. The  old “My people will be in contact with your people”.Under most circumstances the underlings coordinate schedules, set up time and place, and mark calendars – with the unwritten understanding that said invited Congressmen and Senators will make room on heir schedules to resolve conflicts.

Asking a reporter from a news organization is out of line. Not only that, but it is an insult to the CBC, in that somehow they don’t belong in the group of other Congressmen and Senators at the President’s beck and call – and thus need to be treated as an outside organization. The racial implications of that are equally horrendous in that it goes back to the old “All y’all look alike” racist syndrome.

 

 

“Pig” Painting to Be Removed From Capitol

In yet another stunning hypocrisy, the student painting which led to hate acts by Republican Congressmen has been ordered to be removed from the Art Display.

As if the Statues of Former Confederate President and Vice President Jefferson Davis and Alexander Hamilton Stephens, and Confederate General Robert E. Lee – as well as the architect of the Civil War John Calhoun….aren’t divisive.

Painting at Center of Censorship Debate to Be Removed From Capitol

A controversial painting depicting policemen as pigs will be removed from the U.S. Capitol after the Architect of the Capitol concluded on Friday that it violates standards set by the House Office Buildings Commission. The racially charged student painting, which focuses on the riots that erupted in Ferguson after Michael Brown was fatally shot in 2014, has already triggered a battle between lawmakers. Rep. Lacy Clay, who decided to hang the painting in the U.S. Capitol, had faced off against GOP lawmakers who said the painting was too disrespectful to law enforcement to have on display. Late Friday, Rep. David Reichert’s complaint against the painting appeared to bring the whole saga to a close. Reichert’s office said the Architect of the Capitol has ordered the painting to be removed because it violates a rule that bans artwork depicting “contemporary political controversies.” The painting is now due to be removed Tuesday, according to POLITICO. Reichert praised the decision to take down the artwork that he described as a “slap in the face” to law enforcement. Clay, who has argued that it would be nothing short of censorship to remove the paining, has not yet commented on the news.

Confederate Traitors in the Capitol –

Jefferson Davis – President of the Confederacy

Robert E, Lee General of a Confederate Army which slaughtered escaping slaves

Alexander Hamilton Stephens – VP of the Confederacy

John C Calhoun, slaver, author of confederacy and Civil War, murderer

 

 

Is the Congressional Black Caucus Finally “Getting It”?

It appears that a painting done by a teen from Ferguson may have touched off “fighting words” between racist Republicans and members of the Congressional Black Caucus…

Perhaps the CBC is belatedly growing a spine.

Perhaps they should remove some of these confederate pictures and statues which hand in the Capitol?

House battle over controversial student painting spirals out of control

A young Missouri student’s painting of civil unrest has sparked a proxy battle among lawmakers in the halls of the U.S. Capitol, between black Democrats concerned about what they call a legacy of unjust policing and several white Republicans who are defending law enforcement.

The tiff spiraled out of control Tuesday, with House Republicans acting on two separate occasions to pull the artwork down from a tunnel in the Capitol complex, after it was rehung by Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-Mo.), whose young constituent painted it.

The painting, by recent high school graduate David Pulphus, depicts a scene inspired by the 2014 events in Ferguson, and other recent protests against police led by African Americans. Several figures are depicted as animals, and some pro-police activists have said the rendering evokes derogatory images of police as pigs.

It is part of a national art competition, one of 435 artworks chosen by local panels of artists to hang in the underground tunnel between the Capitol and the Cannon House Office Building.

[Cops didn’t like a student painting hanging in the U.S. Capitol. So a congressman took it down.]

Clay appeared in the tunnel with fellow members of the Congressional Black Caucus on Tuesday morning to rehang the painting after it had first been removed Friday by Rep. Duncan D. Hunter (R-Calif.) — who took it down, in a spokesman’s words, to “make a statement” about his support for law enforcement and delivered it to Clay’s office.

For more than two years, the national debate about the policing in African American communities has largely bypassed Capitol Hill, which has been under the control of Republican lawmakers wary of wading into the controversy. Rather, it took an 18-year-old’s painting to unleash lawmakers’ passions.

Clay and others defended Pulphus’s right to free expression, and to have his views represented on the walls of the U.S. Capitol — a building, they pointed out, that contains numerous statues of Confederate leaders and other racist historical figures.

Clay said he was “not anti-police” and said his family included many law enforcement members. But he said that Pulphus had a right to express his impression of the struggles black Americans have experienced with police.

The painting hung in the Capitol for several months without incident before a conservative website, Independent Journal Review, wrote about it, and a Fox News personality highlighted it on air in late December.

Several law enforcement groups have called for the painting’s removal, and they have gotten backing from several Republican lawmakers. Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Wash.), a former county sheriff, called it “disheartening to see this depiction of law enforcement hanging in the hallway of our nation’s Capitol” and has taken a leading role in urging House leaders to take the painting down. But it was Hunter’s decision to take matters into his own hands that has turned matters into a full-blown media spectacle.

After Clay rehung the painting Tuesday, Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) took it down and, like Hunter, returned it to Clay’s office. Clay once again rehung the painting, but later in the afternoon, Reps. Brian Babin (R-Texas) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) again removed it.

For more than two years, the national debate about the policing in African American communities has largely bypassed Capitol Hill, which has been under the control of Republican lawmakers wary of wading into the controversy. Rather, it took an 18-year-old’s painting to unleash lawmakers’ passions.

Clay and others defended Pulphus’s right to free expression, and to have his views represented on the walls of the U.S. Capitol — a building, they pointed out, that contains numerous statues of Confederate leaders and other racist historical figures.

Clay said he was “not anti-police” and said his family included many law enforcement members. But he said that Pulphus had a right to express his impression of the struggles black Americans have experienced with police.

The painting hung in the Capitol for several months without incident before a conservative website, Independent Journal Review, wrote about it, and a Fox News personality highlighted it on air in late December.

Several law enforcement groups have called for the painting’s removal, and they have gotten backing from several Republican lawmakers. Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Wash.), a former county sheriff, called it “disheartening to see this depiction of law enforcement hanging in the hallway of our nation’s Capitol” and has taken a leading role in urging House leaders to take the painting down. But it was Hunter’s decision to take matters into his own hands that has turned matters into a full-blown media spectacle.

After Clay rehung the painting Tuesday, Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) took it down and, like Hunter, returned it to Clay’s office. Clay once again rehung the painting, but later in the afternoon, Reps. Brian Babin (R-Texas) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) again removed it.

Silent through all of this has been House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), who said at a news conference last week that he was not familiar with the painting. A spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment on whether Ryan considered it appropriate for members to personally remove works of art from the Capitol walls.

Reichert is planning to move through official channels to have the painting removed, petitioning the Architect of the Capitol in a forthcoming letter that cites rules of the yearly Congressional Art Competition. They stipulate that “exhibits depicting subjects of contemporary political controversy or a sensationalistic or gruesome nature are not allowed.”

Clay said Pulphus’s painting, in his view, comported with those rules: “The African American community has had a painful, tortured history with law enforcement in this country,” he said. “That’s not contemporary, that’s historic.”

Notably, another winner of the competition — by a Georgia teen — depicts two white police officers of another era harassing a black person playing checkers. Another piece, by an Arizona teen, has an undeniably contemporary subject: It’s a portrait of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

Clay said he was open to an independent review but not to individual members taking matters into their own hands: “If there’s a process to remove this painting, well, let’s start the process and let’s discuss it. But you just don’t walk up here and remove a painting because you are offended by it.”

 

One More Thing For the CBC

If the CBC is serious about opposing the Chumph – then I have one more suggestion – Play the Lee Atwater Republican game against them.

Pass a Law which allows anyone convicted of a minor drug or other crime to have the choice of joining the military for 4 years, or going to prison to serve their sentence. Make it applicable at the State and Federal Court level, which I think you can do because of a tweak in the law concerning the Military. Should such such prisoner serve their Military term and receive an Honorable Discharge then the should receive all the benefits accrued by their service, as well as a full restoral of any Voting Rights they may have lost, both while doing their service, and after. Their criminal record should be expunged.

Should the commit a crime while serving, then they are subject to any Military Justice that applies and penalties, as well as after serving those penalties, the will have to serve whatever time they were original sentenced to minus time thy have served in the active Military.

Politically this should be easy to defend. And very difficult for Republicans to defeat.

What it accomplishes is a couple of things which are important.

1. It short circuits the school to jail pipeline.
2. It kneecaps the private prison system
3. It opens up training a job opportunities for youth
4. The Military experience will definitely install some discipline
5. It provides a pipeline for education where none existed before

And even better from my view in fighting the Chump Reich

1. It increases the number of minorities in the Military, which…Prevents the Chumph from using the Military against Minorities
2. Trains young folks in self-defense methods and how to use guns to defend their neighborhoods from Trump racist thugs
3. It gets some of the hardheads off the street an into something productive

Now – the Rethugs are going to use every dirty trick in the book to fuck over minorities, You – the CBC, need to be their Achilles heel.

 

Will the CBC Grow a Backbone?

An organization best known for throwing the most lavish parties in Washington, DC – the Congressional Black Caucus…Has announced they are black folks “last savior” under the Chumph Reich.

Not sure how these folks are going from being completely ineffectual to actually mounting anything more than symbolic resistance for the press. But let’s assume some of these folks actually want to do something…And actually have the courage to act. Then the issue is plan of action. If they really are going to do more than whimper and wine – thwen they are going to have to figure a few things out –

1. There is no such thing as bipartisanship
2. “Comity” is something inadequate fools do in Congress
3. This is a war, not only against the Chumph, but Republicans – No Justice, no Peace…Period.
4. You are going to have to trade for some things you don’t want for some you do. State your demands clearly, and please focus on something that actually affects the lives of minorities like stronger enforcement of Civil Rights laws in finance, jobs, and housing.
5. Nothing can be off the table, including completely shutting down Congress by any means necessary

With the basic ground rules in place, you need to use the same sort of “Moment of clarity” you used in the Gun Filibuster… Except you have to be prepared to disrupt and disable the House for at least 4 years. Nothing in…Nothing out.

My suggestion are –

• Day 1 – start a filibuster, and don’t shut it sown until there is a rules change. What you are looking for is Minority Control over “Special Committees” to investigate. The first committee’s purpose being a full and complete investigation of the Chumph’s communication with Putin, and Russian interference with the election — including the vote.
• Day 2 – File Articles of Impeachment, and refile them every single day until the Chumph is gone.
• Day 3 – Do not allow the Chumph to appoint anyone to the Judiciary…Period. Until the day he is Impeached, resigns, or is carried out in a body bag – he gets nothing. Should Obama be stupid enough not to make recess appointments in the next week, do not let the Chumph so much as a Gavel to the Supreme Court.
• Day 4 – Propose legislation stripping funding from Federal Agencies to do the “Conservative Agenda”. Shut the door on any funding.
• Day 5 – Institute a legal examination of the Chumph’s conflicts of interest.
• Day 6 – Start filing cases before the Supreme Court.
• Day 7 – Force the Republicans to pass legislation with no Democrat Representatives present. If your fellow Democrats won’t support you – then you need a new Party. Leave the Democrat Party, and come up with something nice and clean for your new party name – “American Civil Rights for All Party?” Ask the other minority caucuses to join.
• Disrupt, stall, yell, shout, scream, and utterly ignore the illegitimate Republican Party control of both houses.
• I believe you can invite guests. Now I don’t know what the penalty is for disrupting proceedings – but I would set up a defense fund, and fill the galleries with everything from Aretha Franklin singing “Let Freedom Ring” to 40 Gang bangers off the streets of LA.
• Having worked on the hill some years ago, I am fully aware there are only 6 spare parking spaces – have protesters block the parking garages.Make them walk.

And from where I sit, that is just the start.Disrupt, destroy, derail the process any way you can.

And until I see some version of real active resistance… You are nothing but a pack of Cabaret dolls.

Black pols plan Trump resistance

‘Our community is counting on us as the last line of defense between Donald Trump and the worst of what America could offer,’ one African-American lawmaker says.

After eight years of the nation’s first African-American president, black lawmakers were in for an adjustment no matter who won the White House.

But members of the Congressional Black Caucus say they’re bracing for the worst in Donald Trump, fearing a presidency that could set minorities back decades.

Leaders of the group told POLITICO they have already begun discussing strategies to deal with Trump and any policies they believe would disenfranchise African-Americans — from public school funding to low-income housing to voting restrictions. Though the president-elect’s supporters call the alarm unwarranted, black lawmakers say Trump’s campaign and his Cabinet picks more than justify their concern.

“The stakes are incredibly high and our community is counting on us as the last line of defense between Donald Trump and the worst of what America could offer,” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said.

“This is not the normal incoming president,” added Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.). “We had no plan for George Bush. I think Charlie Rangel and John Conyers would tell you they didn’t even have a plan for Richard Nixon. But this is not the norm.”

Incoming CBC Chairman Cedric Richmond (D-La.) is expected to outline his priorities for the new administration when he officially takes the reins of the caucus on Tuesday. Some members suggested challenging Trump on his home turf — Twitter — while others advocated nonviolent protests reminiscent of the civil rights movement.

Trump has tried at times to appeal to the African-American community. He talked about “a new deal for black America” on the campaign trail and predicted his plans to revive the economy would pay big dividends for minorities.

But Trump also often showed a deep misunderstanding of the socioeconomic makeup of black America and at times touted wildly inaccurate claims about African-American poverty and employment levels. His appeal to black voters for their support — “What the hell do you have to lose?” he said at one August rally in Michigan — was offensive to many.

Trump proposed blanket policies targeting ethnic and minority groups, like banning Muslims and building a wall to keep out Mexican immigrants. And he was at the forefront of the “birther movement,” which CBC members viewed as a racially motivated attempt to delegitimize the nation’s first African-American president.

“The campaign that we saw over the last 12 months is very frightening. And there’s been no effort on his part to even temper his comments since being elected,” said outgoing CBC Chairman G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.). “It’s going to be very contentious, I suspect, if Mr. Trump even follows through on half of his promises during the campaign.”…Read the rest Here…

 

Donna Edwards, Rogue Democrat

Donna’s problem with the Congressional Black Caucus is she is more like Bernie, than Hillary. The CBC, which has sold their souls to the old guard, won’t support one of their own. Donna is refusing to be bought out by the old guard Democrat Party supporting a do-nothing CBC…

She apparently also isn’t real big on being a participant in the CBC Cabaret Circuit of expensive galas put on with taxpayer and donor money.

And that’s a problem.

Edwards confronts black lawmakers over refusal to back her

Locked in a surprisingly competitive Senate race with party favorite Chris Van Hollen, Edwards is pressing for more support from the Congressional Black Caucus.

On the verge of a possible upset of the Democratic Party’s longtime golden boy, Rep. Chris Van Hollen, in Tuesday’s Maryland Senate primary, Rep. Donna Edwards has a question for her fellow members of the Congressional Black Caucus: Why aren’t more of you endorsing me?

POLITICO has learned that Edwards met privately last week with several CBC members to voice her frustration that so few African-American lawmakers had offered her their support, according to five sources familiar with the meetings.

Only four of the 46 CBC members — Reps. Gwen Moore of Wisconsin, Lacy Clay of Missouri, Robin Kelly of Illinois and Hank Johnson of Georgia — are backing Edwards over Van Hollen, an unusually small number for a group known for standing by fellow African-American lawmakers. Meanwhile, Van Hollen has been making hay over his growing number of endorsements from black political leaders in Maryland, including some in Edwards’ district, though he has yet to be endorsed by a CBC member.

Edwards, who won her House seat by defeating Al Wynn, a popular member of the CBC, in a Democratic primary in 2008, has had a strained relationship with many black lawmakers from the start. But with she and Van Hollen running nearly neck-and-neck in a primary that many expected Van Hollen to win easily, Edwards has been reaching out over the past two weeks to members of the CBC to ask why they’re not backing her bid to be only the second black woman elected to the U.S. Senate. She’s also pressed her case with lawmakers at the Democratic Club restaurant, where members often eat.

Sources close to the CBC and lawmakers familiar with the conversations said some of Edwards’ CBC colleagues responded to her in frank terms. Members of the CBC have long considered her abrasive and said she’s not an easy colleague to work with.

“She has not developed good relationships with the members of the CBC, quite frankly,” said a source familiar with the CBC. “A lot of people find her difficult.”

 

 

Even the CBC Has Heartburn With Obama SCOTUS Choice

Support among Progressives and even old line Liberal factions of the Democrat party is tepid for Obama’s “compromise choice” for the vacant seat on the Supreme Court. This does not portend well for an all out confirmation fight. Would be nice if the CBC exhibits some cajones for a change. Sick of this one-way “compromise” shit. Obama may well find himself out in the cold with progressive support on this one, especially in view that the pending election is shaping up to be an all out donnybrook.

The CBC – Not Feeling the Love on Obama’s SCOTUS Pick

Black lawmakers irked by Obama’s Supreme Court choice

Some African-American lawmakers are urging their Congressional Black Caucus colleagues to skip a meeting with Valerie Jarrett because of discontent with President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee.

Several black lawmakers are irked by Obama’s selection of a moderate judge instead of a progressive who could rally the base, according to three lawmakers and senior aides familiar with the meeting. They also don’t feel as if their input was adequately sought by the administration before Merrick Garland was nominated.

A source said members are asking themselves “what is the point” of attending the meeting now that Garland has been nominated.

And some black lawmakers questioned why Garland, who is white, was selected over a minority who could have made the court more diverse.

Jarrett, a senior advisor to Obama, was on the Hill Thursday to meet with the CBC about Garland’s nomination and other topics, according to a source.

The process to fill the late Antonin Scalia’s seat has been sharply acrimonious. Senate Republican leaders are refusing to hold confirmation hearings for Garland, saying Obama should not be able to influence the ideological bent of the court so close to a presidential election.

Progressives have expressed tepid support for Garland. National progressive groups said they wished the selection was more liberal but they still planned to back Obama in his fight with congressional Republicans.

 

 

 

 

Silicon Valley Funds CBC Parties for “Diversity”

Perhaps I am a bit too cynical, but HTF does funding yet another cabaret make jobs for underemployed, and unemployed black tech workers?

And HTF is it that with 12% of the graduates in Computer Engineering being black, there is a “shortage in the school pipeline”?

Bullshit!

The way things are done in the tech business is you hire some competent recruiters (“headhunters”) to go and get what, and who you want to hire. There is no shortage of minority middle managers, tech staff, and senior tech staff – although you may have a hard time getting them to move to the West Coast whitopias anymore. That shouldn’t be an issue – because most of these companies have data centers and offices all over the east coast, and a lot of companies hire “virtual” workers…

I been in this business over 20 years, working in senior positions for startups, as well as big players and hold patents in the technology…I haven’t heard jack shidt from these people – although I do get calls from big eastern based companies.I know a couple of guys who read my blog are senior techies like myself…When exactly was the last time you got a recruiting call from Google or Amazon?

But I guess it is just easier to buy off the CBC with a couple of parties.

Under diversity pressure, tech courts minority groups in D.C.

Congressional Black Caucus chairman G.K. Butterfield warned that “talk is not enough,” in diversity in tech.

Some of Silicon Valley’s biggest tech companies are quietly funneling money to minority groups in Washington, including those affiliated with black and Hispanic lawmakers — a move that comes as the firms face growing criticism about the lack of diversity in their workforce.

The donations, known as “honorary expenses,” fund events like dinners and cocktail receptions where members of Congress and federal regulators are the guests of honor. The leader of the pack is Google, which spent a record of more than $490,000 on such expenses last year — devoting most of it to minority groups like the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, according to newly filed federal ethics reports.

Apple chipped in $1.2 million for an awards gala for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, and Uber wrote a $10,000 check to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, the disclosures show. It marked the first time either Apple or Uber reported any honorary expenses.

The recent uptick in these donations coincides with growing political pressure on the tech industry over diversity, as companies struggle to address complaints that their employees are largely white and male. The debate has taken root in Washington, including with members of the Congressional Black Caucus, which sent a delegationto Silicon Valley in August to demand that the industry recruit more African-Americans.

The tech industry’s newest tactics don’t appear to have quelled the outcry from Capitol Hill, and they don’t sit well with some diversity advocates.

“We’ve had years now of campaigning and advocacy around the diversity problem … [but] the only thing that’s gotten better with these companies are their talking points,” said Rashad Robinson, the executive director of ColorofChange, a nonprofit that works on civil rights issues. The problem, he added, is “not going to be solved by throwing money at the CBC and other institutions.”

Asked about their spending, Apple and Uber declined to comment for this story. A Google spokeswoman said the company believes it’s important to “help policymakers understand our business and the work we do to keep the Internet open and encourage economic opportunity.”

The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute serve as the educational and policy arms of their respective caucuses on Capitol Hill. While they’re technically separate organizations, many black and Hispanic lawmakers serve as board members for the nonprofit groups. The Thurgood Marshall College Fund, meanwhile, is a nonprofit that provides scholarships and other support for African-American students at historically black colleges and universities.

The CBC Foundation, for one, stressed that the tech industry’s donations have gone to a good cause. They’ve allowed for “professional development briefings for our interns offering them real-world, first-hand exposure to careers” in key tech fields, Shrita Sterlin-Hernandez, a spokeswoman for the group, said in a statement. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund did not comment for this story.

But the checks can also double as powerful forms of leverage in Washington, where influence often is measured in dollar signs. “There are many ways companies and other organizations can establish a presence in Washington, and gain access to politicians. And one way to do that — that some people pay less attention to — is by giving money to a charitable cause that a politician is associated with,” said Viveca Novak, a spokeswoman for the Center for Responsive Politics.

Such contributions are a “well-trodden path,” in the words of Novak, for established industries in Washington, from big tobacco companies to telecom giants like AT&T and Comcast. The donations, in addition to supporting nonprofits, provide lobbyists with greater access to lawmakers and regulators.

And Silicon Valley certainly could use more allies in Washington when it comes to diversity issues.

Apple is almost 70 percent male globally and 54 percent white in the U.S., according to the company’s most recent diversity report, though the company emphasized that many of its new hires have been women, Asian, Hispanic and African-American. Google’s workforce is also 70 percent male globally and 60 percent white in the U.S., despite its own efforts to diversify. Uber, for its part, has not released a report detailing the composition of its employees.

Those poor report cards prompted the Congressional Black Caucus last May to launch an initiative dubbed Tech2020, hoping to pressure tech companies to add more African-Americans to their ranks. The CBC later dispatched top lawmakers to the Valley — including its chairman, Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) — to make that point directly to executives at Apple, Google, Intel and other firms.

Butterfield sounded the theme again in September at the CBC Foundation’s annual legislative conference, where he warned that “talk is not enough. And we need more than an amen from the choir. … We want to see results.”

Tech companies have pledged to fix the problem, but as they invest in hiring initiatives, they’re also pumping big money into Washington. Over the course of last year, Google covered $150,000 in honorary expenses for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, and provided an additional $95,000 in multiple checks to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, according to an analysis of the ethics records.

Another roughly $150,000 in spending went to “various vendors” that aided events with women, black and Latino lawmakers, the records indicate. At the CBC Foundation’s annual legislative conference in September, Google played a key sponsorship role at a reception that featured FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, according to an invitation for the event.

Google has donated to the CBC Foundation before, but its “honorary expenses” for the group and other minority organizations have increased in recent years. Asked whether this amounts to a form of lobbying, the CBC Foundation stressed in a statement that the support benefits the organization’s mission: “Our sponsors and partners provide support to our organization because they share our goals of providing important opportunities for the communities we serve.”…More…

 

 

Calling Bulls**t on the Congressional Black Caucus

The battle over the replacement for deceased SC Justice Scalia has nothing to do with race…

And a hell of a lot to do with the politics of which side of the political spectrum controls the Supreme Court, and get away with (or stop) criminal actions like Bush v Gore and Citizen’s United.

So while more than few of the Republican conservatives who are fighting against Obama replacing Scalia may indeed be racists – that is not the driving reason for the fight.

Rep. G.K. Butterfield, (D-N.C.), chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus

Black Lawmakers Say GOP Supreme Court Obstruction Is Racist

“It’s more than a political motive — it has a smell of racism.”

Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said that the backlash President Barack Obama currently faces around naming a Supreme Court nominee would never happen to a white president.

Speaking to The New York Times, Butterfield took issue with conservative comments in the wake of the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Several GOP politicians have said the vacancy shouldn’t be filled until a new president is in the White House.

“It’’s more than a political motive — it has a smell of racism,” Butterfield said.

“I can tick instance after instance over the last seven years where Republicans have purposely tried to diminish the president’s authority,” Butterfield continued. “This is just really extreme, and leads me to the conclusion that if this was any other president who was not African-American, it would not have been handled this way.”

In an interview with The Huffington Post, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) said he agreed with the chairman’s comments.

“It is extremely alarming, and most African-Americans — and many others — believe that there is race involved in these pronouncements by the Republicans,” he said Thursday morning.

“The GOP has consistently tried to demean this president,” he added. “They have attacked him for everything from the color of suit he wears, to the Affordable Care Act — which they were for at one time.”

GOP senators, led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have said they won’t even consider any nominee put forward by Obama because they want to let the next White House occupant choose — hoping, of course, that a Republican wins the presidential election.

Democrats, however, have hit back hard, publicly shaming Republicans for declaring their intent to obstruct in advance. And a few Republicans have started to break from the party line and say they’d be willing to vote on a nominee.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also implied that racism was in play this week, saying that Republicans are making statements about Obama as if “he wasn’t a real president.”

“Many Republicans talk in coded racial language about takers and losers. They demonize President Obama and encourage the ugliest impulses of the paranoid fringe,” Clinton said at the Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture earlier this week in Harlem. “This kind of hatred and bigotry has no place in our politics or our country.”

 

The CBC…Again

Donna Edwards is a pretty decent politician, and unlike some folks in the House and Senate has a pretty clean reputation…I would have to believe she would have a pretty good shot at winning a Senate Seat in Maryland.Looks to me like some “small wiener” politics on the part of a certain Caucus member.

Congressional Black Caucus PAC passes on Edwards nod

The political arm of the Congressional Black Caucus has decided not to endorse Rep.Donna Edwards for Senate — despite the fact that the Prince George’s County Democrat would be the first African-American elected to the chamber from Maryland.

The CBC’s political action committee decided to table Edwards’ endorsement during a meeting late Thursday night, multiple sources with knowledge of the decision told The Baltimore Sun. It is not clear whether the board will take up the matter again.

The decision, first reported by Politico, is a blow to Edwards, who has made the historic nature of her potential election a central component of her message, and who is hoping to turn out a high share of black voters in her campaign to succeed retiring Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski.

But that effort has been undercut by her opponent in the race, Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Montgomery County, who has secured endorsements from some of the state’s best known African American leaders, including Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker.

An Edwards campaign spokesman dismissed the decision, noting that former Rep. Al Wynn is a board member of the CBC’s political action committee. Edwards defeated Wynn in a 2008 primary  that was among the most closely watched House races in the nation at the time.

“This result does not come as a surprise given that former congressman turned lobbyist Al Wynn, whom Donna defeated in a Democratic primary in 2008, is an active member of the PAC board,” Edwards spokesman Ben Gerdes said in a statement.

Wynn, who represented Maryland’s 4th Congressional District from 1993 to 2008, declined to comment.

Several members of the Congressional Black Caucus have endorsed Edwards, including Democratic Reps. Lacy Clay of Missouri, Robin Kelly of Illinois, Hank Johnson of Georgia and Gwen Moore of Wisconsin. The caucus itself does not endorse candidates and the PAC’s board is made up of only a small number of CBC members.

Still, Edwards has received the support of only a fraction of the CBC’s 46 members.

There was initially a sense that some members were waiting out of respect for Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, a Baltimore Democrat and former CBC chairman who had considered a run for Senate himself. But when Cummings announced this month he would not seek the seat, there was no groundswell of CBC support directed toward Edwards.

A poll released in January by Gonzales Research & Marketing Strategies found a close race, with Van Hollen ahead only slightly and within the survey’s margin of error. Among black voters, however, Edwards led 65 percent to Van Hollen’s 15 percent.

 

Congressional Black Caucus Endorses HIllary

No big surprise here. Whichever candidate Clyburn supports will likely win South Carolina. He has remained neutral so far. What this likely means is that Hillary will get a boost in South Carolina, although with Sanders inroads into the millennial generation, it certainly does not mean a slam dunk for Hillary. One of the things unknown at this point is how large the groundswell is against the Old Skool Politics of getting nothing done in the black community. I

Hillary attending what the CBC does best – throwing expensive parties for themselves.

Congressional Black Caucus backs Hillary Clinton

The Congressional Black Caucus’ political action committee endorsed Hillary Clinton Thursday, just as the Democratic presidential candidate is set to battle with rival Bernie Sanders at a PBS-hosted debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The CBC PAC formally announced its support of Clinton at a news conference near the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C.

“We must have a president who is knowledgeable on both domestic and foreign policy,” CBC chair Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-North Carolina, said Thursday. “Black lives are being lost on the streets of America because of police misconduct and gang violence…and so we must have a president that understands the racial divide.”

“After considering the entire field, there is no question in our mind and in our minds that one single candidate — one — possesses the patience, experience and temperament,” Butterfield continued, naming Clinton.

CBC members will hit the trail for the candidate in states where African Americans could swing the outcome of the primary, focusing particularly on South Carolina, where Democrats will gather to vote on Feb. 27.

One South Carolina member of the CBC, Rep. James Clyburn, has decided to remain neutral, despite the caucus’ choice to endorse.

But Clyburn, the third-ranking Democrat in the House and a giant in South Carolina politics, recently told MSNBC in an interview that he may change his mind.

“We’ll be meeting with family and friends this weekend when I get down to South Carolina and I’ll make some decision after that,” Clyburn said Thursday. “I won’t be making any endorsements today or this week.” Clyburn remained neutral in 2008, as well.

Last month, the CBC chairman Butterfield announced his endorsement for Clinton.

Butterfield penned an editorial for African American news outlet The Grio in January saying it “was not a hard decision” to back the former secretary of state.

“The black community matters, and black votes matter, which is why I publicly and proudly support Hillary Clinton for president,” Butterfield wrote. “From fixing the criminal justice system and reforming the voting process to creating jobs and promoting a diverse workplace, Clinton’s ambitions match our own.”

Clinton has courted minority voters throughout her campaign, which has led to her popularity in states with large African American and Latino populations.

That support has not helped Clinton in the nation’s first nominating contests, since Iowa and New Hampshire have little racial diversity.

 

BLM vs Congressional Black Caucus (CBC)

As I have said before, the CBC is misnamed. The acronym really means the Congressional Black Cabaret, as they seem to have no problems putting on expensive extravaganzas to their benefit, and getting absolutely nothing done legislatively.

Is there a “generation gap” between the CBC and BLM?

Wrong question.

Black Lives Matter Would Like To See A Little More Help From Congressional Black Caucus

Both groups agree a dual-pronged attack on racism would work best.

It’s no secret that many Black Lives Matter and other African-American activists feel disconnected from members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

From Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) telling protesters in Baltimore to “go home” after Freddie Gray’s death to Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) scolding protesters for drowning out Hillary Clinton’s remarks in Atlanta, the generation gap is clear.

The Black Lives Matter movement has reignited a long-ignored conversation about police brutality, pushed two Democratic presidential candidates to releasecriminal justice platforms, and even infiltrated pop culture as a topic on “Law & Order: SVU.”

Meanwhile, younger activists wonder what the CBC is really doing for black people.

“I had no idea it was actually a group in Congress,” said Kwame Rose, a 21-year-old Baltimore activist best known for confronting Fox News anchor Geraldo Rivera.

“Are they relevant? I don’t think a lot of people are relevant in the form that they aren’t effectively creating change for the people they are representing,” Rose added. “A lot of people get attention for putting ‘black’ or ‘activist’ in front of their name, but if they aren’t on the ground doing work, they aren’t relevant.”

Several CBC members who spoke with The Huffington Post were surprised to hear suggestions about a generation gap.

“You’re questioning the relevance of the Congressional Black Caucus? Therein lies a problem right there,” said Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-N.J.), who granted that the caucus may need to better explain its work. “We are fighting every single day for the things they are talking about. We have been at it for years. We know how important this is. They’re our children. They’re our babies. They’re our grandchildren. They matter to us.”

Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), the chairman of the caucus, said the CBC embraces the Black Lives Matter agenda, supports the movement and is willing to partner with and learn from millennial leaders in communities of color.

“I don’t want to accept the argument of the generational gap between the Congressional Black Caucus and our young leaders — and if there is one, we need to remove it,” Butterfield said. “Many of us are products of the [civil rights] movement. When you are a product of that, it’s in your DNA. It’s what you believe about and fight for every day. We want millennials and Black Lives Matter to understand we are engaged at a different level.”…Read the Rest of “The Wrong Question” Here…

 

President Obama’s Speech to the CBC Focusing on Black Women

The CBC threw itself another party, which seems to be the principal function of their “charitable” Foundation.DC was a “Cabaret Town” in the days of segregation and several decades after. Whether as a result of that segregation, or in spite of it – the center of black social life in the city was based on the sometimes half a dozen “Cabarets” thrown by some social or greek organization every weekend. Washington had the largest black middle class in America at the time, driven by post-WWII Federal employment, Black folks still have a higher percentage of people working for the government than any other group in America. The Cabarets drove a vibrant music scene, and supported the first black superstars such as Duke Ellington, Shirley Horn, and Billy Taylor. With open access to facilities post-1965, these eventually died out.

So the CBC Cabaret is just part of a long tradition in this town.

A visual example of change…this is the H Street Corridor after the ’68 riots.

Last weekend (BTX3 is the guy in the yellow shirt wearing a Fedora hat)

President Obama cuts loose (Finally) in this speech..

Obama urges focus on black women in Congressional Black Caucus speech

President Obama pressed on Saturday night for a greater focus on helping black women who are more likely to be stuck in minimum wage jobs, have higher rates of illness and face higher rates of incarceration than other women.

His speech delivered to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s annual gala was short on hard policy prescriptions aimed directly at black women. Rather Obama said that many of the proposals that his administration has championed, such as raising the minimum wage and criminal justice reform, would help close the gap between black women and their peers.

The president briefly acknowledged Hillary Clinton, his former secretary of state who was in the audience and is campaigning for the presidency. Obama called her “outstanding” and noted that she could relate to first lady Michelle Obama’s concerns over the pay gap that women face compared to their male counterparts.

“We are going to have to close those economic gaps,” Obama said.

Obama spent a significant portion of his remarks making the case for criminal justice reform, which has become a core part of his agenda during his remaining days in office. His push to pare back the prison population by reducing mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent offenders has garnered some Republican support, but still faces a tough odds in Congress.

Obama, spurred by a series of high profile cases of apparent police abuse, has spoken far more forcefully in recent months about the impact of racial bias on policing. He bristled, though, at some media depictions that suggested that he was anti-law enforcement.

“We appreciate them and we love them,” Obama said of police officers. “They deserve our respect. I just want to repeat that because somehow this never gets on television. There is no contradiction between caring about our law enforcement officers and making sure the laws are applied fairly.”

He paused and looked out at the crowd. “Hope I am making that clear,” he said. “I hope I am making that clear.”

The focus of his remarks, though, was on helping black women. Black women are one of the Democratic Party’s most loyal constituencies and consistently vote at higher rates in national elections than any other demographic group. In 2012, they turned out at a rate of 70 percent for the presidential election and were crucial to Obama’s victories in key states like Florida, Ohio and Virginia.

Obama described the important and too often anonymous role that black women played during the civil rights movement and praised the recent push to put a black woman’s picture on the $10 bill. But he insisted that such symbolic actions fell short of what was needed. “We’ve got to make sure they are getting some ten dollar bills,” he said, “that they are getting paid properly.”…More…