The Greene County Democrat

Category: Newswire

  • Trump wins, but a record number of African Americans will now serve in Congress

     

    kamala-harris

    Kamala Harris

    By Lauren Victoria Burke (NNPA Newswire Contributor)

    Reality star billionaire Donald Trump won the presidency in shocking fashion, but African American candidates also made history on November 8.

    There will be a record number of African Americans in Congress during the time Trump is in the White House. That number will rise from 48 to 52. There have never been more African Americans elected to Congress in American history.

    Kamala Harris of California will be the second African American woman to serve in the U.S. Senate. Former Maryland Lt. Governor Anthony Brown will serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. Both Republicans in the House, Mia Love (R-Utah) and Will Hurd (R-Texas) won re-election, as did the only Black Republican in the Senate, Tim Scott (R-S.C.).

    Lisa Blunt Rochester was elected to the U.S. House in Delaware. Former Orlando Police Chief Val Demings will also serve in the House. Virginia State Senator Don McEachin was elected to the House in a newly configured seat in Virginia that covers Richmond.

    Though there will be more African American members serving in Congress, the dilemma they find themselves in is obvious: All but three are Democrats who will be serving in the minority in the House and Senate. Being a member of the minority party in the House is one of the most powerless positions in Congress. It’s the majority that sets the agenda, the hearing schedules, the floor schedule and when the Congress will be in recess.

    The Senate is different. The two African American Democrats who will serve next year, Senator-elect Harris and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) could have some opportunities to influence the agenda moving forward. The Senate will be a narrower 52-48, and the rules allow for some disruption from members of the minority party.

    But it won’t be easy. Currently members of the Democratic leadership in both the House and the Senate are in a period stunned silence and are not even harping on the fact that Hillary Clinton won more votes than Trump and therefore no Trump has no real mandate.

    The Democratic Party in recent years has not been anywhere as militant as the rightwing, who created the so-called Tea Party movement and the “alt-right” to deal with the growing influence of African Americans and Latinos at the ballot box. Democrats in Congress are primed for a new set of younger leaders to take the place of those who are in their mid-70s and who have failed strategically to win over voters in a country where Democrats are in the majority.

    That the Democrats had two candidates over the age of 68 running for the presidency as Republicans fielded a candidate in his mid-40s is a sign it’s time for younger and more dynamic leadership on the left side of the aisle. One of those young leaders could come out of the Congressional Black Caucus, who is soon to elect a new caucus chair.

  • Army halts construction of Dakota Access Pipeline

    By: Chris D’AngeloAssociate Editor, HuffPost Hawaii, and

    Lydia O’ConnorReporter, The Huffington Post

    indians-celebrate-victory

    Dakota Access Pipeline protesters celebrate

     

    OCETI SAKOWIN CAMPGROUND, N.D. ― Federal authorities have halted construction of the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline amid growing protests that were expected to draw some 2,000 U.S. military veterans.

    The Department of the Army has denied the final easement required for the $3.8 billion project to cross under Lake Oahe in North Dakota, it announced Sunday. Instead, it will conduct an Environmental Impact Statement to examine the impacts and explore alternative routes, it said.

    “Although we have had continuing discussion and exchanges of new information with Standing Rock Sioux and Dakota Access, it’s clear that there’s more work to do,” Jo-Ellen Darcy, the Army’s assistant secretary for civil works, said in a statement. “The best way to complete that work responsibly and expeditiously is to explore alternative routes for the pipeline crossing.”

     

    Dakota Access Pipeline protesters celebrated as they march back to the Oceti Sakowin campground after they found out the Army Corps of Engineers denied the easement to drill under Lake Oahe on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2016.

    The 1,172-mile pipeline is being built to carry Bakken oil from North Dakota to an existing oil terminal in Illinois. Most of it is completed, except for a 20-mile section near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation. The tribe and demonstrators have raised concerns about the threat the pipeline poses to water and sacred Native American sites. The tribe has also argued, in a lawsuit to stop the pipeline’s completion, that the project violates federal laws and its environmental impact has not been fully studied.

    In a statement, Standing Rock Tribal Chairman Dave Archambault II applauded the news. “We wholeheartedly support the decision of the administration and commend with the utmost gratitude the courage it took on the part of President Obama, the Army Corps, the Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior to take steps to correct the course of history and to do the right thing,” he said.

    The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and all of Indian Country “will be forever grateful to the Obama Administration for this historic decision,” Archambault added. He noted his hope that the incoming Trump administration would respect the decision.

    “My hands go up to all the water protectors who have stood up to protect tribal treaty rights and to protect Mother Earth,” National Congress of American Indians President Brian Cladoosby said in an emailed statement. “Thank you for Standing For Standing Rock.”

     

    Native American and other activists celebrate after learning an easement had been denied for the Dakota Access Pipeline at Oceti Sakowin Camp on the edge of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation on December 4, 2016 outside Cannon Ball, North Dakota. The US Army Corps of Engineers announced today that it will not grant an easement to the Dakota Access Pipeline to cross under a lake on the Sioux Tribes Standing Rock reservation, ending a months-long standoff.

    Within hours of the announcement, Jack Gerard, president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, a trade association for America’s oil and natural gas industry, called on Trump to “reject the Obama administration’s shameful actions to deny this vital energy project, restore the rule of law in the regulatory process, and make this project’s approval a top priority as he takes office in January.”

    In a joint statement release late Sunday, project developers Energy Transfer Partners LP and Sunoco Logistics Partners LP said the pipeline has “done nothing but play by the rules” for more than three years, and that the action by the Obama administration is “purely political.”

    “The White House’s directive today to the [Army Corps of Engineers] for further delay is just the latest in a series of overt and transparent political actions by an administration which has abandoned the rule of law in favor of currying favor with a narrow and extreme political constituency,” the companies said.

    They added that they remain “fully committed” to completing the pipeline, without rerouting around Lake Oahe. “Nothing this Administration has done today changes that in any way,” they said.

    Philip George, 37, from the Six Nations of the Grand River reserve in Ontario, Canada, was among the demonstrators gathered Sunday at Standing Rock. He described the victory as “bittersweet,” something “due to our people for the hundreds of years of genocide and oppression.”

    “This fight is part of what’s going on here for centuries,” he told The Huffington Post. “I’m glad they denied the easement, but I don’t know how long this victory will last with Donald Trump being elected president. I’m not sure if he will respect our people and respect our culture. Money can corrupt a man’s heart.”

    George added that he sees this as a small victory in the grand scheme of things and believes there is much more work to do regarding indigenous representation and nation-to-nation relations. “The federal government needs to respect our ability to govern ourselves, our land and who we are,” he said.

    Military veterans place a flag that says ‘one water’ on a hillside above Oceti Sakowin Camp on the edge of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation on December 4, 2016 outside Cannon Ball, North Dakota.

    Lance King, 44, of Kyle, South Dakota, located on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, has traveled to Standing Rock twice to join in the demonstrations. His most recent visit has lasted two weeks.

    King said he was “excited” and “happy” about the Army’s decision, which he sees as a “victory for the American people. “Everything was up in the air. I don’t think anyone saw this coming,” he told HuffPost. “There was a high rate of excitement and worry, so we didn’t see this ― but we stuck with our prayers.”

    Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch said that in light of Sunday’s decision, the Department of Justice would continue to monitor the situation.

    “The department remains committed to supporting local law enforcement, defending protestors’ constitutional right to free speech and fostering thoughtful dialogue on the matter,” she said. “We recognize the strong feelings that exist in connection with this issue, but it is imperative that all parties express their views peacefully and join us in support of a deliberate and reasonable process for de-escalation and healing.”

     

    Fireworks fill the night sky above Oceti Sakowin Camp as activists celebrate after learning an easement had been denied for the Dakota Access Pipeline near the edge of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

    Conservation groups quickly celebrated the news. “Today, the voices of an indigenous people were heard,” Natural Resources Defense Council president Rhea Suh said. “The rights of a sovereign nation were respected.”

    Greenpeace spokeswoman Lilian Molina praised the decision, but noted that the incoming Trump administration “must respect today’s decision and recognize the will of the people to stop this disastrous pipeline. The fight doesn’t end today.”

    Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune said he looked forward to further environmental review of the pipeline. “History has taught us that it is never a question whether a pipeline will spill, but rather a question of when,” he said. “A comprehensive environmental review will show that this dirty and dangerous project will threaten the safety of every community it cuts through.”

  • Hillary Clinton is now more than 2.5 million votes ahead of Donald Trump

    hillary-clinton Hillary Clinton

    It’s three weeks after the US election, but we’re only just getting a final tally (and it’s not set in stone yet) as some of the ballots took a long time to be counted. This is the current situation:

    Votes for Hillary Clinton: 65,152,310

    Votes for Donald Trump: 62,626,216

    Votes for other candidates: 7,373,248

    The Democrats are 2,526,094 votes ahead – but they won’t be in power after January 20. Due to the American ‘electoral college’ system, it doesn’t matter that Hillary won the popular vote by such a striking majority.

    Her vote share, at 1.9% ahead of Trump, is bigger than that of 10 US presidents. In most situations, it would be an impressive victory. She actually got more votes than any presidential candidate in history, except for Barack Obama.

    If all the extra people who voted for Hillary over Trump came together to form a state, that state would be more populous than New Mexico, Hawaii, Nebraska and West Virginia (and a dozen others that we didn’t have the space to list).

    Why has it taken so long to count votes? States such as California still counted postal votes even if they arrived days after the election, as long as they were mailed on election day. Other states delayed their declaration because they thought the vote could be close and they might need a recount. Problems with voting machines could lead to a delay too, as well as actual recounts.

    You generally expect that the person who wins the most votes wins the election, but that’s not how it always works in practice. You can bet that if Donald Trump had won the popular vote but lost the election, many of his supporters would have been out on the streets calling for blood. The ‘rigged system’ was a major feature of Trump’s campaign and he regularly complained that US democracy was in crisis.

    ‘The electoral college is a disaster for a democracy’, he even tweeted in 2012.And in a now-deleted tweet, he claimed in 2012 (inaccurately): ‘[Obama] lost the popular vote by a lot and won the election. We should have a revolution in this country!’

    Since that same system helped him get to power, however, he seems to have had a change of heart. Now, it’s ‘actually genius’.

    However, people who feel their vote effectively didn’t count are unlikely to agree. You’d imagine that one person, one vote, makes things equal. But actually, there are vastly different numbers of individual votes which make up one electoral college vote (the one that actually counts).

    In California, for example, it takes around half a million people to make up one electoral college vote. But in Wyoming, which will contribute three electoral votes in total, there are only around 143,000 voters for each one. In other words, a vote in Wyoming is worth around four times as much as in California.

    – See more at: http://nehandaradio.com/2016/12/02/hillary-clinton-now-winning-popular-vote-ridiculous-amount/#sthash.AlE96Jjc.dpuf

     

     

     

  • Fidel Castro, Cuban leader was ‘strong voice for social justice’ says U. N. Secretary General

    castro-and-do-santos

    President Fidel Castro of Cuba with President J. doSantos of Angola

    Nov. 28, 2016 (GIN) – U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon extended sympathies to the Cuban people on the passing on Friday, Nov. 25, of their longtime president, Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz, who he called ‘a strong voice for social justice.’

    Admired by leftists and people of the developing world as a revolutionary champion of the poor, the former president died at the age of 90. On Monday, tens of thousands of Cubans, some wrapped in red, white and blue Cuban flags, lined the streets from Havana to Santiago de Cuba as a funeral cortege made its way across the country, carrying the ashes of the renowned leader.

    Speaking to reporters at a conference in Turkmenistan, Ban Ki-Moon praised Fidel Castro’s advances in the fields of education, literacy and health. “As Prime Minister, President, Commander of the Cuban Armed Forces and First Secretary of the Cuban Communist Party, his role at the helm of Cuba spanned nearly 50 years, during which he left a major imprint on his country and on global politics,” said the U.N. chief. “His revolutionary ideals left few indifferent. He was a strong voice for social justice in global discussions at the UN General Assembly and international and regional forums.”

    “I offer the support of the United Nations to work alongside the people of the island,” he said, adding his hope that Cuba “would continue to advance on a path of reform and greater prosperity.” Fidel Castro served as Cuba’s President from 1976 to 2008.

    The U.N.’s General Assembly president, Peter Thomson, called Mr. Castro “one of the iconic leaders of the 20th century… an inspirational figure for developing countries in particular,” adding that “his dedication to their advancement, especially in the fields of education and health, would be long remembered.”

    Bill Fletcher, founder of the Black Radical Congress and a columnist for BlackCommentator.com, recalled Fidel’s storied role in Africa’s anticolonial movements.

    After Cuba’s first venture in Algeria that ended French domination there in 1962, Cuba under Fidel “went on to support the various anticolonial movements in Africa,” said Fletcher. “These included, in particular, the anti-Portuguese movements in Guinea-Bissau, Angola and Mozambique. And (the Cubans) were unquestioning in their support for the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa.”

     

    In the film “Fidel: The Untold Story” directed by Estela Bravo, the documentary highlights strong ties forged between Fidel and such national liberation leaders as such as Sékou Touré, Amílcar Cabral, Julius Nyerere, Samora Machel and Agostinho Neto. South African President Jacob Zuma is reportedly on route to Cuba for Fidel’s funeral.

     

    It was the “unwavering commitment of Fidel Castro to Namibia’s freedom that led to the destruction of apartheid in the country,” said Namibian leader Hage Geingob.

     

    The late Castro had no interest in the natural resources of a free Namibia,” recalled President Geingob, nor did Cubans come to collect gold and diamonds. Instead, Castro offered an education to more than 3,000 Namibian children; many of whom today occupy influential positions in all sectors of the economy.

     

  • SPLC report: since election U. S. has seen nearly 900 hate incidents

     

    BY LUCY WESTCOTT, Newsweek

        There were nearly 900 reports of hate incidents in the 10 days after the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and schools across the country reported an uptick in violence, derogatory comments and verbal harassment, according to a new study from the Southern Poverty Law Center.

    The Montgomery, Alabama-based organization, known for tracking hate incidents and groups across the country, said that 867 hate incidents involving harassment and intimidation took place in the 10 days after the election, with many culprits reportedly invoking Trump’s name. California saw the largest number of crimes, 99, followed by New York, with 69. On the other hand, no hate incidents were reported in Hawaii, Wyoming, North Dakota or South Dakota.

    The details of several incidents are included in the report. A Los Angeles woman said a man told her he was “gonna beat [her] pussy”; an Asian-American woman was told to “go home” when she left an Oakland train station; and a black man said his apartment was vandalized with a derogatory word referring to his race. The majority of the incidents took place in public spaces, including K-12 schools and workplace or retail settings. Anti-immigrant and anti-black acts were the most widely reported hate incidents, and Muslim women who wear hijabs “have been particularly vulnerable to threats and assault,” according to the report.

    While the numbers of daily hate incidents have dropped since the 202 that were reported on November 9, the day after the election, there were 26 reported on November 18. Of the 867 hate incidents recorded by the Southern Poverty Law Center, 23 were directed at Trump supporters. A man riding the subway in New York while wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat was grabbed around the neck, according to the report.

    On Monday, the  released a separate report that surveyed more than 10,000 teachers, counselors and other staff at K-12 schools. They described a deterioration in the school climate after the election that was dubbed the “Trump effect.” Nine out of ten educators said there has been a negative effect on students’ behavior, while 80 percent of respondents said that marginalized students, including LGBT, Muslim and immigrant students, have heightened anxiety. Four out of ten respondents say they’ve heard derogatory language directed at marginalized students and students of color since the election.

    Among the incidents reported by teachers are sexist, xenophobic and racist remarks or actions. One middle school teacher in Indiana said she has had to deal with “boys inappropriately grabbing and touching girls, even after they said no”—which, according to the teacher, “never happened until after the election”—and white students telling their friends who are Hispanic or of color “that their parents are going to be deported and that they would be thrown out of school.” A middle school teacher from Washington reported a student blurting out “I hate Muslims” during a class on major religions.

    “In over 15 years of teaching high school this is the first year that swastikas are appearing all over school furniture. The day after the election I overheard a student in the hall chanting, ‘White power,’” said a high school teacher in Washington state. Some educators, meanwhile, said they didn’t notice any change in their school’s environment.

    The Southern Poverty Law Center recommends that superintendents and school principals send letters to staff and families that “should affirm your school’s values, set expectations about inclusion and respect, and explain your vision for the school community.” The organization also says schools should have resources for marginalized students who have been particularly at-risk since the election, and should encourage staff and students to speak up if they see or hear something that is derogatory or that puts students at risk.

  • Democrats ask Oversight Committee to investigate Trump’s potential conflicts of interest

    Matt Fuller, Congressional Reporter, The Huffington Post

    WASHINGTON ― Democrats on the House Oversight Committee on Monday asked the committee’s chairman, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), to look into President-elect Donald Trump’s financial entanglements and make sure he’s not breaking the law.

    “The scope of Mr. Trump’s conflicts of interest around the world is unprecedented,” the 17 Democrats on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee wrote. “Over the past two weeks, new revelations have raised serious concerns about the intermingling of Mr. Trump’s businesses and his responsibilities as president.”

    Trump’s potential conflicts of interest are staggering, with business interests across the globe and no clear firewall between those businesses and the office of the presidency. Trump had said previously that he would enter into a blind trust, which would require him to sell many of his businesses and be unaware of his holdings, but he’s backed away from those promises. Trump also said he would step away from his dealings and have his children run day-to-day operations. But several of Trump’s children are intimately involved in his political operation ― Ivanka, Eric and Donald Jr. are all on the presidential transition team ― and simply handing over the businesses to his children wouldn’t disassociate Trump from his enterprises. He still knows what businesses he owns.

    Trump’s potential conflicts of interest have already raised serious questions about his actions and the actions of foreign governments. Just three days after a phone call between Trump and Argentine President Mauricio Macri, the development company building the $100 million Trump Tower in Buenos Aires said construction could begin as soon as June 2017.

    Trump also owes a foreign bank over $300 million, and has foreign diplomats booking hotel reservations at his hotel in Washington, D.C., so they can curry favor with the president.

    Trump himself seems unconcerned about the potential conflicts of interest. In an interview with The New York Times last week, the president-elect offered the Nixonian thought that “the president can’t have a conflict of interest.”

    As the letter noted, no one truly has a handle on Trump’s finances, since his exorbitant wealth has allowed him to list assets in overly broad financial disclosure categories, and he’s kept his tax returns private.

    “Mr. Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns has already demonstrated a troubling lack of transparency and accountability, making it even more critical that the Committee conduct rigorous oversight right away ― before he is sworn in as President,” the letter said.

    The ranking Democrat on the Oversight Committee, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), asked for a congressional probe of Trump’s potential conflicts of interest two weeks ago. Democrats say they have yet to hear back from Chaffetz. A Huffington Post request for comment from an Oversight spokeswoman on Monday was not returned.

    Chaffetz had promised a thorough investigation of Hillary Clinton when she was expected to win the presidency. Even after the election, Chaffetz said he still wanted to investigate Clinton’s handling of a private email server to determine if she had broken the law. (An FBI investigation determined that she had not.)

    “You acted with unprecedented urgency to hold ‘emergency’ hearings and issue multiple unilateral subpoenas to investigate Secretary Clinton before the election,” the letter said Monday. “We ask that you show the same sense of urgency now.”

    Chaffetz promised rigorous oversight in August, saying he didn’t care which party won the White House. “My job is not to be a cheerleader for the president. My job is to hold them accountable and to provide that oversight,” he said then.

    “If you’re going to run and try to become the president of the United States, you’re going to have to open up your kimono and show everything, your tax returns, your medical records,” he went on. “You are… just going to have to do that.”

  • Sioux Tribe leaders respond to army eviction notice of #NoDAPL camp, refuse to give up

     

    By: Whitney Webb, Nation of Change Newsreport

     

    Indians protest Dakota Access Pipeline

    Throughout the months of protests against the controversial Dakota Access pipeline project, the federal government has tried to “spin” its indirect support for the project in order to quell national outrage and prevent further growth of the resistance movement.

    In September, the Department of Justice ordered a temporary halt to all construction on the pipeline as the government “reconsidered” its approval for the project. However, construction never stopped as the injunction was voluntary and Energy Transfer Partners, the pipeline’s parent company, continued building. Then again, last month, the US Army Corps of Engineers ordered another temporary halt on construction, which was also ignored, while the Corps held “talks” with the tribes leading the resistance.

    This past Friday, the federal government finally made its intentions public when the Corps sent a letter to Sioux tribal leaders, telling them that their camps of peaceful protestors and water protectors would be evicted to protect “the general public.” To add insult to injury, the Corps’ commander told the protestors they could move to an officially sanctioned “free speech zone” away from the construction site. These hollow words are clearly more “spin” designed to distance the government from its obvious, though indirect support of the $3.8 billion pipeline project.

    Tribal leaders have now responded to what they termed the Corps’ “direct and irresponsible threat to the water protectors.” The Cheyenne River tribe, who are co-litigants in a lawsuit against the pipeline, sharply rebuked the plan, citing that the area on which the targeted camps lie are Sioux territory per the 1851 Fort Laramie treaty signed by the Sioux and the US federal government. Their leader, Harold Frazier, also pointed out that much of the Sioux’s territory had been illegally claimed by the Corps via the Pick-Sloan Flood Control Act, lamenting the US government’s habit of ignoring the numerous treaties it has signed with the indigenous tribes within its borders.

    The leader of the Standing Rock Sioux, David Archambault II also seconded this statement, saying that the news of the eviction notice was “saddening” but not surprising considering the US government’s historical treatment of indigenous people. Frazier said that, in light of the government’s failure to respect tribal land or autonomy,that his tribe and their allies “will no longer allow our rights as a Tribe or as indigenous people as a whole to continue to be eroded.”

    Frazier also argued that the Corps’ notice “appears to further empower the militarized police force that has been brutalizing and terrorizing our water protectors while imposing the blame and risk on unarmed peaceful people.” He called the Corps’ decision “a grave and dangerous mistake” and said that the protestors would not be leaving their camps regardless of the threat of removal. When the Army Corps’ enforces its eviction notice on December 5th, they will be greeted with peaceful resistance, civil disobedience, and prayer. However, groups of military veterans from around the US are set to arrive at the camps to protect protestors on December 4th, a day before the eviction notice takes effect. This could make for a truly explosive confrontation between the Americans who have chosen to fight for their beliefs and those who have chosen to back the will of the state and corporations.

  • Clinton hits 2M popular vote lead amid calls for recount

     

    By Theodore Bunker   

    hillary-clinton

     Hillary Clinton

    Hillary Clinton’s lead in the popular vote over President-elect Donald Trump has reached more than 2 million, UPI reports.

    Last Wednesday, Cook Political Report announced that Clinton reached 64,225,863 votes, compared to Trump’s 62,210,612. There are still a million uncounted votes in California.

    Clinton’s loss of the Electoral College despite winning the popular vote prompted outcries from her supporters. Now some are calling for a full audit of the election results in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, states Clinton narrowly lost and could have brought her the election.

    “I’m interested in verifying the vote,” Dr. Barbara Simons, who advises the U.S. election assistance commission and is an expert on electronic voting, said to The Guardian. “We need to have post-election ballot audits.”

    Clinton was only the fifth presidential candidate to win the popular vote and lose the election.

    “Unfortunately, nobody is ever going to examine that evidence unless candidates in those states act now, in the next several days, to petition for recounts,” J. Alex Halderman, the director of the University of Michigan’s center for computer security and society, wrote in a Medium post Wednesday that focused on election fraud.

    Jill Stein, Presidential candidate of the Greene Party, has raised $7 million on the internet for a recount of votes in three pivotal states: Wisconsin (Trump’s margin – 27,000 votes), Michigan (11,000) and Pennsylvania (68,000) which provided the margin of victory for Trump by 107,000 total votes.

    “The person who received the most votes free from interference or tampering needs to be in the White House,” said Alexandra Chalupa, former consultant to the Democratic National Committee, to the Guardian. “It may well be Donald Trump, but further due diligence is required to ensure that American democracy is not threatened.”

     

     

  • State Senator Bobby Singleton named as member of Gov. Bentley Advisory Council on Gaming

    state-senator-bobby-singleton-150x150

    By: John Zippert,  Co-Publisher

    State Senator Bobby Singleton, who represents Greene County and other counties in the Alabama Black Belt, was appointed by the President Pro Tem of the Senate, as one of the eleven members of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Gaming.
    The Council created by the Governors Executive Order No. 24 will assess the current state and local laws on gambling, as well as the taxes generated therefrom, and will evaluate the best practices in other states, including the tax revenue structures and the enabling and implementing regulations and laws, as well as compare Alabama state laws to applicable federal gaming laws.
    Singleton is one of two African Americans on the Advisory Council. The other is Curtis Stewart, Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Revenue, one of five members appointed by the Governor. Singleton is one of seven current and former legislators on the Advisory Council.

    The Council is to report its findings and recommendations by January 31, 2017 to the Governor, the President Pro Tem of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House.
    In an interview with the Greene County Democrat, Singleton said, “ I am not overly optimistic but I am hopeful that this Advisory Council can develop a meaningful set of recommendations for gaming, including electronic bingo, gaming on Indian reservations, and a statewide lottery, for adoption by the state legislature.”
    Singleton went on to say, “ There are opponents of any kind of gambling on the Council, and so we will need to educate them about the revenue implications of gaming. We plan to look at models from other states on revenues and their uses. We will also study compacts and relations with Indian gaming in other states and the Federal regulations affecting gaming.”
    When asked if the Advisory Council will hold open hearings and solicit comments from the public, Singleton said that the final plans and schedule for the group were still being formulated and he will advise us of future meetings and opportunities for public input.
    “I am looking forward to the recommendations presented by this 11 person Advisory Council,” Governor Bentley said. “In recent years, a considerable amount of time and resources have been spent debating gaming in Alabama; however I am hopeful this group will present some new ideas or solutions that can help resolve this ongoing dispute and provide a clear direction going forward.”
    The Governor has selected Finance Director Clinton Carter as chairman of the Council. The appointments are as follows:
    Governor’s appointments:
    •Jim Byard, Jr., Director of Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs
    •Clinton Carter, Director of Finance Department
    •Curtis Stewart, Deputy Commissioner of Alabama Department of Revenue
    •Carrie McCollum, General Counsel for Alabama Credit Union Administration
    •Connie Rowe, State Representative
    Pro Tem’s appointments:
    •Bobby Singleton, State Senator
    •Greg Albritton, State Senator
    Speaker’s appointments:
    •Jim Carns, State Representative
    •Craig Ford, State Representative
    District Attorneys Association:
    •Barry Matson, Deputy Director
    Sheriffs Association:
    •Bobby Timmons, Executive Director
    The Democrat plans to follow closely the work of this Governor’s Advisory Council on Gaming because of the implications for electronic bingo in Greene County.

  • A community of journalists and politicians deliver an emotional farewell to Gwen Ifill

    By Lauren Victoria Burke (NNPA Newswire Contributor)

    gwenifillfuneral_lburke_1273_web120A community of journalists and politicians mourn the loss of veteran journalist Gwen Ifill. (Lauren Victoria Burke/NNPA)

    A low key, but solid strain of references to current affairs was heard in the eulogies for much loved and respected journalist Gwen Ifill at her funeral on November 19.

    The name of the next president of the United States was never spoken, but the subtext of her death six days before the end of an unstable political season was a repeated refrain. Several eulogists noted that her passing was the end of a career featuring clarity and objective reason, qualities that journalism is desperately in need of at this moment.

    Ifill was a former reporter for “The New York Times” and “The Washington Post” before joining NBC News and then PBS in 1999 as host of “Washington Week” and the “NewsHour.”

    Ifill’s co-anchor on the PBS “NewsHour,” Judy Woodruff, said her on-air partner was needed “more than ever” in light of current events. Her cousin NAACP Legal Defense Fund President Sherrilyn Ifill, mentioned the importance of the immigrant experience. Gwen Ifill was the daughter of immigrants from Barbados. After Sherrilyn Ifill spoke the words, “she was the daughter of immigrants” the crowd in the packed church delivered a standing ovation.

    Before those words former Attorney General Eric Holder told the crowd full of journalists of the importance to live in the principles Gwen Ifill demonstrated in her journalistic career. Warning against losing principles and avoiding asking tough questions and instead choosing to sell out those principles for “access maintenance.”

    Ifill died at age of 61 on November 14 at a hospice in Washington, D.C. after battling endometrial cancer for a year. The faces and themes of her funeral were a tribute to a well-connected, busy life full of shared experiences with close friends.

    Ifill’s jarring death was another substantial loss in the African American journalistic community just 86 days after the sudden death of former NNPA Editor in Chief George Curry on August 20. Many of Ifill’s friends and co-workers were seen crying during and after the sometimes sober but often jovial service and the historic Metropolitan A.M.E church a few blocks from the White House.

    The funeral was the second part of a series of tribute events for Gwen Ifill. The veteran journalist was a member of Metropolitan A.M.E. since 1989. Leaders of the historic church honored her by announcing the dedication of a pew in the seventh row of the church.

    Ifill was eulogized by her friends including Woodruff, Holder and former New York Times senior editor Richard Berke and “Face the Nation” host John Dickerson. She was also eulogized by the first African American woman to be hired as a reporter at “The Washington Post,” Dorothy Gilliam.

    First Lady Michelle Obama, Mayor Muriel Bowser, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett and Assistant to the President Broderick Johnson also attended.

    Also in attendance during the memorial on November 18 and at her funeral the next day, were interim DNC Chair Donna Brazile, journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Vernon Jordan, New York Times columnist David Brooks, Federal Housing Finance Association Director and former Congressman Mel Watt, Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH), NBC News’ Chuck Todd, Ifill’s close friend Michelle Norris and Michele Martin, former CNN anchor Bernard Shaw, former ABC News producers Lynne Adrine, Rocci Fisch and Karen DeWitt, FCC Board member Mignon Clyburn, Omorosa Manigault, journalist Roland Martin, former NPR executive Madhulika Sikka, journalist Richard Prince, Children’s Defense Fund President Marian Wright Edelman and PBS correspondent Jeffrey Brown.

    The funeral ceremony ended with a “ceremony of the sistahood.” The ceremony was a silent prayer circle of seven of Ifill’s female friends who held hands around an urn containing Ifill’s ashes. At the end of the ceremony, the participants cried and hugged marking the end of the almost three-hour service.

    Lauren Victoria Burke is a political analyst who speaks on politics and African American leadership. She can be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on Twitter at @LVBurke.