Here’s your weekly quick look at few developing stories in the political arena:

• In 2012 news, Mitt Romney won the Florida primary on Tuesday night, cementing himself as the GOP front-runner for the 2012 nomination. Up next are the Nevada caucuses on Saturday. The rest of February has some caucuses and primaries without many delegates at stake. Super Tuesday is on March 6, where seven states will have primaries and three will have caucuses on the same night is the next real big date in the 2012 primary season. Mitt Romney was also endorsed by Donald Trump on Thursday, which means you don’t have to worry about the Donald running for president as an independent.

• Democrats in Oregon retained their house seat on Tuesday night in a special election. Suzanne Bonamici won the special election, which occurred because of the resignation last year of David Wu. You’ll remember that Wu resigned over accusations of making unwanted sexual advances toward a fundraiser’s 18-year-old daughter. He’s also the guy in the tiger outfit.

• On Wednesday, Democrats formally announced the Buffet Bill legislation that would ensure all millionaires would pay a minimum federal tax of 30 percent. It is named after billionaire American businessman Warren Buffet, who supports the act. Most Republicans oppose this and the Democrats have not yet decided when they will push for a vote on the Buffet legislation, also called “Paying a Fair Share Act of 2012.” (CNN)

• On Thursday, the Senate overwhelmingly passed an insider-trading bill that is supported by most in both parties and the president. The bill, which President Obama mentioned in his State of the Union address, makes clear that it’s illegal for members of Congress, including their staff and executive-branch employees to trade stocks/other securities based on inside information learned on the job. The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) act now goes on to the House to be voted on. (CNN)

• Finally, in marriage equality news, the Washington State Senate has passed a same-sex marriage bill, which the Washington House of Representatives is expected to pass within a week. The governor of Washington is an advocate of marriage equality and Washington state stands to become the seventh state in the country to legalize marriage between same-sex couples. A New Jersey same-sex marriage bill also passed an assembly committee this week, however it still faces a vote in both houses of legislature and conservative Gov. Chris Christie has vowed to veto the bill if it arrives on his desk.

Lidiane Carmo woke up in a Florida hospital bed with IVs in her frail arm and did not remember how or why she got there. Shortly after, Carmo learned that she was the only survivor of a tragic car accident that claimed the lives of several other passengers, including both of her parents and only sister.  She was returning home from a three-day church-related conference in Florida when her vehicle (a church van) was impacted in a multiple-car collision that was caused by a thick fog of smoke.

The devastating news was accompanied with a surprising discovery: she is undocumented and therefore not a legal citizen of the United States. Earlier this week, it was reported by many news outlets that she was at risk of being deported back to Brazil after being released from the Florida hospital. Brazil is a place that Carmo has not been to for more than 12 years.

Given the circumstances, it has been a struggle for her church to both pay for her hospital bills and have burial services for her immediate family. However, as a result of the massive media coverage, many organizations have came to Carmo’s financial aid. Additionally, immigration officials have announced that they will not deport her. Florida Gov. Rick Scott has also reached out to help the young victim.

It is stories like Carmo’s, which cause me to deeply ponder about the rationale and logic of our immigration laws. Would the immigration officials have deported Carmo if her story had not been broadcasted in so many major news outlets?

Carmo was a toddler when her parents came to the Unites States on visas from Brazil. Once the visas expired, her parents never returned to their native country and Carmo grew up in America. Carmo is a freshman student attending Sprayberry High School near Marietta, GA. She lost her mother, father, sister and uncle in the fatal accident.

Raw footage from the wreck:

Is it our moral responsibility and civic duty to protect all youth that are in the US illegally?

Don Trip has proven to be one of the South’s best kept secrets. While he continues to deliver with the energy of a freshmen emcee, the maturity of the subject matter in his music puts him in a separate lane.

He begins the track making reference to his fight for parental rights, and proceeds with making a toast to never give up or never let go!

Shouts out to @SpittyWill of DirtyGloveBastard.net for the assist.

Mitt Romney has won the Florida Republican Presidential Primary, strengthening himself as the clear favorite to win the 2012 Republican nomination and face President Barack Obama in November. Florida is a winner-take-all state, so 50 delegates go to Mitt Romney, which is the most so far this primary season. Newt Gingrich finished in a distant second, losing all the momentum that his campaign has gained recently. Newt Gingrich has said that he plans to stay in the race until the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida in August. Rick Santorum finished third and Ron Paul finished fourth.

Romney ‘s campaign and an independent super PAC supporting him greatly outspent New Gingrich and pro-Newt PACs in Florida. Romney has also been accused of dishonesty and negative campaigning in Florida.  Rick Santorum and Ron Paul have already moved on to other states, focusing this week on Colorado and Nevada. How long Santorum and Ron Paul stay in the race remains to be seen.

Next up is the Nevada caucuses, which take place this Saturday. Maine has a week-long caucus from February 4-11, but February is a light month with only one debate scheduled and not a lot of delegates at stake in other caucuses. This win in Florida is a decisive victory for Mitt Romney, although the race is not yet over.

The next big date to know is Super Tuesday on March 6, where seven states will have primaries and three will have caucuses on the same night. After Super Tuesday, it will probably be clear who the nominee is going to be.  Right now that person looks likely to be Mitt Romney, although anything can happen in the world of politics.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has been a perennial flavor-of-the-week for the Republican Party since winning his seat in 2009. The charismatic governor’s name was tossed around as potential Republican presidential nominee throughout the last year.

Since last week, his comments on marriage equality have him in hot water. When asked whether the New Jersey state legislature should pass a law legalizing marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples, the governor did what all politicians do best: he passed the buck.

Gov. Christie stated that he would rather put the initiative on the ballot for New Jersey voters to vote on. It sounds like a good idea – let good old-fashioned democracy sort if out.

However, if you’ve been paying attention to the fights for equal rights for same-sex couples – the ballot is the place that marriage equality legislation is sent to die.

Mayor Cory Booker eviscerated Gov. Christie’s position by saying:

“Equal protection under the law – for race, religion, gender or sexual orientation – should not be subject to the most popular sentiments of the day,” Booker said. “Marriage equality is not a choice. It is a legal right. I hope our leaders in Trenton will affirm and defend it.”

Check the video:

Rockie Fresh is one of the newer artists hailing from Chicago. With less than three years in the game, he has already established a presence in hip-hop that seems to only be getting stronger. If you’re an early adopter, you’ve checked Fresh out at SXSW and AC3 and can vouch that homie has been putting in work.

The Midwest emcee teams up with his partner from DC, Phil Ade, whom has contributed on joint records in the past. This specific collaboration is off of Rockie’s most recent project, “Driving 88.” On “Where I Wanna Be,” the two go back and forth about being at peace with their decision to follow their aspirations. This ain’t no Donnell Jones record!

Although, D’Angelo has been seen on the scene recently, Frank Ocean provides us with his own definition of voodoo.
Oh, so you thought they stopped making baby-making music when you made yours? Not quite and in fact, we need more of this type of love-making music. Overall, we need love and thanks to Frank, there is a soundtrack!

Mr. Peter Parker and DJ Whoo Kid have joined forces to produce for some and introduce to others, “FRATRAP.” Mac Miller is a perfect addition to the ensemble. While Jay-Z was so adamant about bringing death to auto-tune, Mac is more focused on the emcee. Don’t spoil your dinner, but get a taste of what’s more to come!

The mainstream media is going to have to change its narrative. How can you say that we’re apathetic and lazy when 33,000 tune in to watch the president address the nation?

On Tuesday, the League put on #BarackTalk, our second annual State of the Union panel and watch party. From hip-hop stars to journalists, the panelists discussed some of the most pressing issues of our time in the context of the speech. More importantly, twenty-somethings from around the country tweeted at a mind-blowing rate about what the state of our union is.

From unemployment to college affordability to the prison industrial complex, you spoke up; and when 33,000 people get together, the powers that be can’t afford not to listen.

What makes politicians quake in their boots is that we don’t simply pay attention to what’s going on it our world. We vote.

(Don’t forget, if you need to update your voter registration to your new address, do it online right now).

Missed the live broadcast? Check it out here.

Here’s your weekly quick look at few developing stories in the political arena:

• Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords officially resigned from Congress on Wednesday. She resigned to focus more on her recovery from being shot in January, 2011 at a political event in Arizona. Giffords’ pledged to return one day saying, “Everyday, I am working hard. I will recover and will return, and we will work together again, for Arizona and for all Americans.” (NBC)

• In 2012 news, this week Mitt Romney released his tax returns from the past two years. Mitt has made $42.7 million the past two years and payed $6.2 million in taxes.  Romney had been attacked for not releasing his tax returns and some still want Mitt to release years further back. (CNN Money). One poll this week shows that Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are now tied in Florida, which is the next GOP primary on January 31st. This is news because until recently, Mitt Romney was the clear front-runner and now the 2012 GOP race looks to be a close two-man race between Romney and Gingrich.

• President Obama gave his State of the Union address on Wednesday night where he said that state of the union is getting stronger. President Obama defended his policies and called keeping the American Dream alive “the defining issue of our time.” In what could be his last State of the Union address if he’s not re-elected this year, the president proposed letting the Bush tax cuts expire, having the wealthy pay more in taxes, more refinancing for homeowners in trouble, and more clean energy initiatives among many other things in his speech. (Full CNN Speech Transcript)

• Finally, if President Obama is re-elected in 2012, his staff could look a little different for his second term. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said this week that he does not expect to remain in office if the president is re-elected. Geithner is the last remaining member of Obama’s original economic team. (BusinessWeek) . It is also being reported that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will not stay on the job if Obama is re-elected. Mrs. Clinton is reported to have said she is tired of the “high wire of American politics.” She has also previously denied that she will pursue another run for the presidency in 2016. (First post)

]]> http://99problems.org/2012/01/political-quick-hits-january-27th-edition/feed/ 0 http://99problems.org/2012/01/victory-in-la/ http://99problems.org/2012/01/victory-in-la/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:26:25 +0000 LaNisha http://99problems.org/?p=20945

History made. The MTA board approves project labor agreement. from Mark Ridley-Thomas on Vimeo.

Yesterday, I got to witness an historic day in Los Angeles. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board voted in favor of negotiating an agency-wide Project Labor Agreement and Construction Careers Policy.

The purpose of a PLA agreement is to facilitate the construction industry and to promote employment opportunities by building high speed rail transportation. The PLA specifically will help out the people in low-income areas who need employment the most as well as provide a more green transportation option. 

Many organizations such as Strategic Concepts in Organizing & Policy Education (S.C.O.P.E.) came together as one coalition and fought to get this legislation passed. Check here for more info.

The reigning Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins visited the White House on Monday, but star goalie Tim Thomas made bigger news by choosing not to attend. Tim Thomas was one of only two Americans on last year’s championship hockey team. In a statement on Facebook, Thomas said, “I believe the Federal government has grown out of control” and ” This was not about politics or party.”

He made this about politics when he chose not to attend!

Did Tim Thomas have the right not to attend? Absolutely. But should he have actually attended?Absolutely. This is an issue politically and this is also an issue about being a good teammate. Very few people get the chance to be face-to-face with the President of the United States of America and voice their concerns. Tim Thomas had this rare chance and turned it down. He could have even written a letter to Obama and passed it to him at the ceremony, which I think that Obama probably would have read. If you have such passion about something politically, why not actually take the chance and really do something instead of just being a no-show and releasing a one-paragraph statement? This just seems very hypocritical to me.

I also believe that you should respect the office of the President of the United States and regardless of political views, when you are invited to do something by the president, you should do it. Former GOP presidential nominee Jon Huntsman took flack from some Republicans for serving as ambassador to China under the Obama Administration.

Huntsman responded by saying, “I worked for the President of the United States. The President asked me, the President of all the people. And during a time of war, during a time of economic difficulty for our country, if I’m asked by my President to serve, I’ll stand up and do it.”

That is the type of attitude and respect you should have for the president of this great country. By the time former President George W. Bush left office, he was one of the more unpopular presidents in recent history and I don’t remember seeing a single athlete turning down an invitation to the White House due to political reasons then. Tim Thomas was also on the USA Olympic hockey team in 2010 in Vancouver, so it’s interesting his feelings didn’t stop him from being there.

The second issue is that Tim Thomas is just not a good teammate. According to a Boston.com article, one team source called said that this was, “(Expletive) selfish (Expletive).”  A good teammate would have shown up and supported his team at this team event. The word team was used in that last sentence three times on purpose, because this shouldn’t be about one player, but a celebration of a TEAM. Tim Thomas took attention away from his team and put it on himself.

Everyone is entitled to their own political opinions, but the ceremony was about the Bruin’s first Stanley Cup in 39 years. Tim Thomas’ selfish act changed all that. There are also unconfirmed rumors circulating online that the Bruins may soon cut ties with Tim Thomas, the 37-year-old goalie, because they also have a young star back-up goalie in Tuukka Rask.

I really hope something good comes from this story. In a perfect world, Tim Thomas would make the best of this ugly situation. Tim could extend an invite to President Obama to come to a Bruins game (or when they play in Washington). Then, before or after the game they could have a quick private chat. Tim could, even if briefly, have the ear of the president, and I’m sure Obama (an avid sports fan) would accept the olive branch. If Speaker of the House John Boehner and President Obama can play golf together, certainly Tim Thomas and the president can have a quick chat, right?

With three different winners in three different primaries, it appears that the Republican presidential nominee is still anyone’s guess.  However, there is one interesting trend in the Republican primaries. Compared to 2008, overall voter turnout has remained low, but whom young voters are supporting says more about the voters than the party.

In Iowa, 18,000 people under the age of 30 participated in the caucus. They represented only 4 percent of their entire eligible electorate. Hardly an impressive showing, but almost half of those voters chose Ron Paul.

Ron Paul is the anti-war, libertarian candidate. In New Hampshire, young voters rallied and 29,000 people under 30 came out, 15 percent of all eligible young voters. Again Ron Paul received the majority with 46 percent of the youth vote. This week’s South Carolina’s primaries proved to be no different. With only 8% of young voter turnout, Ron Paul still managed to gain the majority of young voters with 31 percent of their votes.

Thus far, voter turnout for people under 30 in the Republican primaries has been low, but the majority of young voters support Ron Paul. In four years, Ron Paul has managed to double his support amongst young voters, and they have kept him in the race. His message of free markets, small government, legalized marijuana and isolated foreign policy make him the conservative establishment’s nightmare, and the champion of young Republican voters. Voters under 30 are still looking for someone to provide alternatives to the “business-as-usual” behavior of the established parties.  While Ron Paul may be the under-30 favorite, he remains behind in the polls.

This Tuesday, President Obama proceeded to address the nation through his State of the Union speech for the fourth time since he’s been elected. As always, everyone from around the world checked in to see what issues he and his administration will be prioritizing in the near future. However, this year’s speech is a little more important than the last, given the fact that this could be Obama’s last opportunity, as president, to make an impact that would satisfy constituents.

The Washington Post created the featured infographic identifying the amount of time the president spent talking about a specific issue in comparison to the last few speeches.

Did President Obama leave out an issue that was important to you?

Shouts out to @ArcaneofTCS for sending over the very inspiring bootleg artwork to he and his partner, Young Focus’s new collaborative project, “Paranormal Karaoke” which is set to be released on the 1st of February. The duo has come along away from their Sex and Pencil Shavings days. While their music has definitely matured, it’s safe to say they haven’t…which is what makes the Cranberry Show the indigestible group that they are! See below for their newest single release, “Traffic Lights.”

Avery Smith and Draelon Burns – tastemakers in Milwaukee, have come together to produce the #DravoCypher series, an a capella mash-up hosted by Martin 2 Cool. Shouts out to @Champ5Mic of KUSH Ent. It’s actually interesting how much buzz this production is creating online, specifically Twitter.

Most known for their high-energy, pause-filled sets of punchline delivery, the Milwaukee talent featured on the past and current installment are some of the best in the city. There are even a few new faces that broke exclusively in these series! Who do you think repped the city the best? You be the judge!

[1st Installment]

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich used his recent momentum to surge and win the South Carolina primary on tonight. Mitt Romney will finish in second. For the moment, Gingrich stopped all the momentum Mitt Romney was building up over the past few weeks.

It was an interesting week in politics in South Carolina. Newt survived a tell-all interview this week from his ex-wife who said he wanted an “open marriage,” but this controversy before the voting didn’t hurt Newt and may have actually helped him in South Carolina. Mitt Romney was actually still leading in the polls as recently as Tuesday until Newt began to surge in the past few days. Every Republican candidate who has won the South Carolina primary since it began, has gone on to win the nomination each time.  It will be interesting to see if this trend continues or not.

So what does this all mean? Well, it’s essentially a two-person race between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich for the 2012 GOP nomination. Romney should still be considered the front-runner, but he has an issue of his own right now. Romney now is faced with a dilemma where the public wants him to release his tax returns but Mitt, for the time-being, is not releasing this information. It’s been a down week for Romney, as his eight-vote win in Iowa this week was turned into a 34-vote win for Rick Santorum after Iowa officials certified the results on Thursday.

Next up is the Florida primary on January 31st. Romney is still the clear frontrunner of the GOP, but Mitt winning the nomination is not inevitable. Rick Santorum and Ron Paul are essentially afterthoughts as this looks to be a tw- horse race between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. What once looked like Mitt Romney was going to all but secure the nomination pretty quickly, now looks like it could be a longer battle than most previously expected.

Stay tuned to 99problems for all your 2012 information.

I was talking to a female activist in South L.A. who told me about a blog she read about a racist math problems teachers gave to some third grade Georgia students in Gwinnett County. The majority of the school was hispanic and black but the teachers who had issued the test were white.

This is insane. I can’t believe in 2012 society is still so racist. I thought Dr. King and other activists fought against this in the ’60s.

I really think those teachers need to be fired for even thinking of such horrible math problems.

Check this link out to see the homework the students were given.

For the last couple days I have been in L.A. with Dee-1 and Goldie Taylor preparing for #BarackTalk. They took visit to a local barbershops and beauty salons to have conversation with people from the community to hear what they had to say about the upcoming elections, their views on politics and how it affects them. I had a wonderful time listening to the conversation and hearing the different points of views coming from males and females. I also enjoyed Dee 1 and Goldie Taylor’s chemistry and passion for the work that they do.

Check out the video and mark your calendar for #BarackTalk on Jan. 24th at 7:30 ET.

Etta James, the powerful voice behind the timeless classic, “At Last” has lost her battle with leukemia this morning. In 2010, it was first announced that the singer had been diagnosed with dementia and leukemia.

She was portrayed by Beyonce Knowles in the film, Cadillac Records, which was based on the rise and fall of her record label, Chess. However, I remember her for lashing out at Beyonce because she [Beyonce] was asked to sing, “At Last” for President Obama at his Inaugural Ball, a tantrum of which was attributed to her Alzheimer’s disease that she acquired in 2008. Ms. James was discovered by Johnny Otis, who died three days ago at age 90. Time is winding up!