Thursday, December 30, 2010

Scott Sisters Finally Free – Have to Share Kidney as Condition of Release

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse UniversityScholarship in Action 

 

 

Jamie and Gladys Scott have sat behind bars for nearly two decades over a robbery that netted just $11 dollars. The two women also dispute the fact that they even participated in the robbery, and many wondered if there were political motivations behind the magnitude of their original sentence. But the Scott sisters, who are 36 and 38 years old, were released this week when Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour suspended their sentences indefinitely.
The sisters were given two life sentences in 1994 when they allegedly ambushed a man, hitting him in the head with a shot gun and making off with $11 dollars. Nancy Lockhart, an activist, fought tirelessly for the women to be released, and there were rallies held in Mississippi on their behalf. She was finally successful when the governor made the decision to release them.
One interesting aspect of the release conditions for the Scott sisters is that they are actually required to share a kidney or will be asked to come back to prison. While bizarre as a request, this doesn't seem to be a problem, given that Gladys offered to share her kidney with her sister. Governor Barbour cited the high cost to the state of Jamie's kidney condition (she has complete kidney failure), and also noted that he doesn't feel that the sisters are a threat to public safety.

 

Click to read.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

The Scott Sisters are Released after 17 Years in Prison

 

Gov. Haley Barbour has issued orders for the release of Jamie and Gladys Scott, sisters serving life sentences for a 1993 armed robbery. Barbour granted the Scott sisters an indefinite suspension of their sentences, which is "tantamount to parole," he said in a statement posted on his website this afternoon.
A large movement of civil-rights advocates and online activists has lobbied for the sisters' release, arguing that their sentences are disproportionately severe for an armed robbery that allegedly netted as little as $11. The sisters have spent 16 years in prison, and Jamie Scott is currently suffering from total kidney failure.

Reached by phone en route to the grocery store, the Scott sisters' mother, Evelyn Rasco, had to pull her car over upon hearing news of Barbour's order.
"Oh my God. You're kidding me," Rasco said. "Oh, please--oh my God." Rasco said that she had not been informed of the governor's decision but had plans to listen to Charles Evers' radio show this evening, on which Barbour is scheduled to appear as a guest.
Nancy Lockhart, a South Carolina-based activist who has worked with Rasco since 2005 to publicize the sisters' case, said that she looked forward to meeting the women she has only known through letters and phone calls.
"I am elated," Lockhart said. "I would like to thank Governor Barbour, and I can't wait to meet to meet Jamie and Gladys."

 

Click to read.

NAACP of GA Tours Prison After Georgia Prison Strike

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse UniversityScholarship in Action 

After the Georgia prison strike that took place earlier this month, the NAACP in Georgia took notice. Officials from the Georgia State NAACP have decided to address the issue head-on by touring one of the prisons in the state to determine the depth of concerns by the inmates. The inmates said that their strike was organized to ask for educational opportunities, adequate healthcare, just parole decisions, less expensive access to their families and an escape from cruel and unusual punishment. Most significantly, they are leading the public to question the 13th Amendment's slavery exemption, which allows corporations to earn profits with slave labor as long as the state finds a way to label someone to be a convict. Similar to slavery a century ago, a disproportionate number of those controlled by the system are black.
Georgia State NAACP President Edward DuBose said that there was evidence to support the complaints of some of the inmates:

Click to read.

Tucker Carlson Says that Michael Vick Should Have Been Executed

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse UniversityScholarship in Action 

Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson followed the company's interesting tradition the other day by making one of the most distasteful and egregious comments in recent media history. Filling in for Sean Hannity, Carlson said that Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick should have been executed for dogfighting.


"I'm a Christian, I've made mistakes myself, I believe fervently in second chances," Carlson said. "But Michael Vick killed dogs, and he did in a heartless and cruel way. And I think, personally, he should've been executed for that. He wasn't, but the idea that the President of the United States would be getting behind someone who murdered dogs? Kind of beyond the pale."

 

Click to read.

 

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Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Eddie Long Linked to Alleged Financial Fraud

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse UniversityScholarship in Action 

Bishop Eddie Long is in the media again, and not for good reason. Long and another Atlanta megachurch pastor, Gary Hawkins, have been linked to a mortgage company that is being investigated by federal authorities for allegedly stealing money from church members.
The company, Matrix Capital, has been allowed to hold financial seminars in the churches of both men, offering to help lower their mortgages in exchange for $1,500 payments. According to police, thousands of people paid money to Matrix, but ended up filing bankruptcy and/or losing their homes.
Fred Lee, the proclaimed front man for the company, was allegedly able to convince quite a few church members to give him their money primarily because he addressed them within the confines of their joint church environment. The Secret Service and the DeKaulb County Police are now investigating Lee.

 

Click to read.

 

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Monday, December 20, 2010

Duchess Harris: The State of Black Women Under President Obama

by Duchess Harris 

History was made in November 2008. Record breaking numbers of voters lined up to vote the first African-American President into office, with Barack Obama handily beating Arizona Republican Senator John McCain, winning 52% of the electoral vote, a clear mandate for change.[1] African-Americans made up 13% of the electorate, a two percent increase from the 2006 elections,[2] and approximately 95% of black voters cast their ballots in favor of Obama.[3] Within that 13%, black women had the highest voter turnout rate among all racial, gender, and ethnic groups.[4]

As the election results were posted, the media and the President-elect himself made grand proclamations about the significance of the election, as well as what it portended for the country's future. New York Times writer Adam Nagourney described voters' election of Obama as "sweeping away the last racial barrier in American politics," continuing with a quote from Obama's victory speech in Grant Park, Chicago:

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.... It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment, change has come to America.[5]

 

Click to read.

 

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Man Arrested After Publishing Book on How to be a Pedophile

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse UniversityScholarship in Action 

Phillip Greaves, like many other struggling authors, decided to self-publish a book and put it on Amazon.com. The style of book Greaves chose to write landed him in hot water with authorities, and eventually led to him being arrested.
Greaves wrote a book entitled, "The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure: A Child-Lover's Code of Conduct." The book taught potential and practicing pedophiles how to have sex with children and rape them. Greaves was arrested this week in Colorado and will be extradited to Florida.
"You cannot engage or depict children in a harmful relationship," said Polk County, Florida, Sheriff Grady Judd. Judd was explaining an obscenity statute in Florida which precludes individuals or groups from distributing obscene materials depicting minors in harmful situations.

Click to read.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

From AOL: Bride Sues Groom for Dumping Her at the Alter

Dominique Batitia: bride sues groom for leaving her at the altarWhat would you do if the love of your life up and left you days before your wedding? Well, you couldsue his butt off.
Dominique Buttitta, a lawyer in Chicago, is taking her ice-footed former fiancé to court for bailing on their big dayjust four days before the ceremony was supposed to go down. The jilted bride claims that by calling it quits, the groom "intentionally inflicted emotional distress" on her. She's reportedly seeking more than $95,000 from her ex -- money, she says, that she'd already spent on the wedding.
I think she may have a case, and not just because people sue for less than this every day. I've had neighbors sue other neighbors when their dog crapped on the lawn. Buttitta's fiance crapped on her life. Not only is she now being portrayed as a bitter, spurned woman, she's in the hole for a whole lot of zeros.
Planning a wedding is a big, long, intricate process. I know; I'm in the middle of planning mine. Pick up any issue of "The Knot" and they'll tell you: planning a wedding takes about nine months to a year. And those are a packed nine to 12 months of making lists, touring venues, tasting cakes and spending thousands of dollars in nonrefundable deposits. There's the dress, the rings, flowers -- Buttitta says she spent over $12,500 on those -- invitations, escort cards and a ton of other things that take up a whole lot of time and even more of your money. It's ridiculous.

Click to read.

Friday, December 17, 2010

All Americans Must Support the Georgia Prison Strike

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse UniversityScholarship in Action 

You may have heard about the prison strike occurring in Georgia right now.  Inmates in four facilities have come together in an amazing show of solidarity to demand that they be treated like (gasp) human beings, not slaves or animals.  Rather than continuing to fall for the game of divide and conquer that has kept them apart for so long, the whites, blacks, Muslims, Mexicans, and other groups have mobilized forces to fight for something worthwhile.

The guards and wardens of these prisons are nervous.  For the longest time, they were able to convince the inmates to take their aggression out on each other.  Now that the intellectual and spiritual guns are pointed at their overseers, the inmates are gaining access to the liberation that has been denied to them for so very long.  The Georgia prison strike is not just a one-time event; it is a model for success in organizing that can be replicated around the country.

I stand with these men as they fight for what they deserve, while fully understanding that they must pay a debt to society.  They are not asking for anything dramatic, just the basics of what any human being might expect:  an escape from involuntary servitude, adequate healthcare, educational opportunities, the ability to see their families without exorbitant expense and just parole decisions.  They are not asking to be treated like royalty or to even be released without good cause.  They are simply demanding that they be allowed to repay their debt to America and simultaneously create sustainable paths toward contributing to the society in which they live.  These men and women are not garbage to be thrown out and destroyed, but are actually individuals with tremendous productive capacity that remains untapped in a system structured to ruin both good people and bad.

Click to read.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Why Has the Congressional Black Caucus Not Supported the Prison Strike in Georgia?

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse UniversityScholarship in Action 

In case you haven't seen it much in the media, history is being made in Georgia. Prison inmates in the state have come together for the largest prison strike in United States history. The event is significant, since the prison system is one of the last remnants of slavery in our nation. Among other things, the inmates are demanding access to education, decent heathcare, the ability to see their families, just parole decisions and an escape from cruel and unusual punishment. In other words, they are asking to be treated as human beings.


I've spoken to as many people as I could about what the inmates in Georgia are doing and I've also reported on the activities that I've begun in conjunction with the Your Black World Coalition. But as I was working with my team to figure out how we could help the inmates, one question came to mind: Where are the black folks in Washington?

 

Click to read.

Why We Should Support the Georgia Prison Strike

Why we should support the biggest prison strike in US history

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse UniversityScholarship in Action 

The other day, I was inspired. I was also shocked, amazed and uplifted by the courage being shown by the individuals who helped to pull off the largest prison strike in United States history. The effort evolved by sneaking cell phones into the facilities, leading to inmate communication and virtually unprecedented coordination between six different prisons. I wanted to help them.

The inmates are protesting against slavery, which is actually still legal in the United States. The 13th Amendment of the United States Constitution abolishes slavery for most of us, but it deliberately leaves one gaping loophole: Being convicted of a crime. In that regard, the Constitution makes it clear that enslaving another human being is OK as long as you've found a way to label them as being a bad person.

To that end, corporations now earn millions of dollars from prison labor. The participants in this labor pool are not given a choice, they are forced into corporate servitude. Given that black and brown people are more likely to be searched, arrested and incarcerated, we have a prison system that is filled with black men. Justice requires money, and public defenders are only wired to offer plea deals. So many of the men and women in prison are either innocent of the crimes for which they've been convicted or are less guilty than others who were able to walk free.

 

Click to read.

 

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Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Why Isn’t the GA Prison Strike All Over the News?

 

Ga. prisoner protest puts spotlight on institutionalized slavery

by R. L’Heureux Lewis

For nearly a week, prisoners throughout the state of Georgia have been engaged in one of the largest prison protests in this nation's history. Why is this not plastered across mainstream media, blogs, and 24 hour cable news? The simple answer maybe that the more we focus on prisoners' rights, the more we are forced to focus on human rights and community transformation.

It is erroneously taught in many U.S. schools that the 13th amendment abolished all slavery, when in fact the amendment reads, "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." The italicized text leaves a powerful "loophole" in the American narrative of equality and freedom. In fact, the conditions in many U.S. prisons continue to spiral towards a peculiar form of industrial slavery.

The cost of not noticing the disproportionate incarceration of black people and the steady erosion of already limited rights of prisoners may allow the abuses of the past to be revisited in the present.

 

Click to read.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Coalition To Respect Prisoners’ Rights Holds Press Conference on GA Inmate Strike

Press Release
Concerned Coalition to Respect Prisoners’ Rights

STRIKING GEORGIA PRISONERS GAIN NATIONAL SUPPORT

Coalition of NAACP, Nation of Islam, Elected Officials, Prisoner Activists
Demand Governor Perdue and DOC Commissioner Brian Owens
Stop Violence Against Striking Prisoners

PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY

December 13, 2010, 3:30 p.m.
State Capitol
100 Washington Street
Atlanta, Georgia

    NAACP State Chairman Edward Dubose joined by representatives from the Nation of Islam, elected officials and others, who have formed the Concerned Coalition to Respect Prisoners’ Rights, will hold a press conference at 1:30 p.m. today at the Capitol to urge Governor Perdue and Department of Corrections Commissioner Owens to halt the violent tactics being employed by guards against thousands of striking prisoners.  They have reached out to Perdue and Owens for meetings earlier in the day.

Begun on December 9, 2010, the prisoners’ peaceful protest has been historic in scope and in the unity of thousands of black, brown, white, Muslim, Christian, Rastafarian prisoners, including those at Augusta, Baldwin, Calhoun, Hancock, Hays, Macon, Rogers, Smith, Telfair, Valdosta and Ware State Prisons.  For five days, now, these men have shut down all activity at most of these facilities.

Click to read.

Bloomberg: U.S. Health-Care Law Requirement Thrown Out by Federal Judge in Virginia

By Tom Schoenberg and Margaret Cronin Fisk - Dec 13, 2010 11:13 AM CT

The Obama administration’s requirement that most citizens maintain minimum health coverage as part of a broad overhaul of the industry is unconstitutional because it forces people to buy insurance, a federal judge ruled, striking down the linchpin of the president’s plan.

U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson in Richmond, Virginia, said today that the requirement in President Barack Obama’s health-care legislation goes beyond Congress’s powers to regulate interstate commerce. While severing the coverage mandate, Hudson didn’t address other provisions such as expanding Medicaid that are unrelated to it. He didn't order the government to stop work on putting the remainder of the law into effect.

Hudson found the minimum essential coverage provision of the act “exceeds the constitutional boundaries of congressional power.” Hudson was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2002.

The decision left intact other provisions of the law and only affects the part that requires most U.S. citizens to maintain minimum health coverage beginning in 2014.

The ruling is the government’s first loss in a series of challenges to the law mounted in federal courts in Virginia, Michigan and Florida, where 20 states have joined an effort to have the statute thrown out. Constitutional scholars said unless Congress changes the law, its fate on appeal will probably hinge on the views of the U.S. Supreme Court’s more conservative members.

U.S. health-care stocks extended gains after the ruling. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Health Care Index rose 0.5 percent at 12 p.m. New York time. UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Coventry Health Care Inc. led gains.

Tracy Schmaler, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Justice, did not immediately reply to voicemail and e-mail messages seeking comment on Hudson’s decision.

The case is Commonwealth of Virginia v. Sebelius, 10-cv- 00188, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia (Richmond).

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-13/u-s-health-care-law-requirement-thrown-out-by-judge.html

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Major Protests in Six Georgia Prisons: Inmates Demand Human Rights

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse UniversityScholarship in Action 

Six major prisons in the state of Georgia have begun a strong peaceful protest against inhumane conditions in the facilities in which they live. The protest is unique because it represents a coalition of black, brown and white inmates, jumping the line of racial segregation so prominent in prisons across America.
While the wardens at the prisons are not speaking to the public, the public is certainly speaking to the system. Across the nation, supporters of the movement are making calls to various officials to request that they help with the problem (you can see who to call by clicking here).
Thousands of inmates stayed in their cells Thursday, leading to strong and swift retaliation by the prison guards. According to those familiar with recent events, inmates have been beaten and had their personal items destroyed. Inmates also say that the authorities have cut off their hot water and shut off the heat when outside temperatures were in their 30s.

 

Click to read.

 

 

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Inmate Protests in Georgia Prisons – How You Can Help

Friends of VOICE OF DETROIT, this is an emergency update. We have just received news that thousands of prisoners in Georgia have been on strike against inhuman conditions in at least six major prisons since Dec. 9. Supporters in Georgia say it is the LARGEST PRISON STRIKE IN NATIONAL HISTORY.  It is urgent that you read the story from Black Agenda Report at  http://voiceofdetroit.net/?p=3134. The strike is uniting Black, Brown and white prisoners, who are determined to maintain, but they are facing vicious retaliation. They are asking supporters to call the wardens of the following facilities at the numbers listed:

Macon State Prison is 978-472-3900. 

Hays State Prison is at (706) 857-0400

Telfair State prison is 229-868-7721

Baldwin State Prison is at (478) 445- 5218

Valdosta State Prison is 229-333-7900

Smith State Prison is at (912) 654-5000

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Congressional Black Caucus Angry at Obama Over Tax Cuts

Congressional Black Caucus Bashes Obama on Tax Cuts

1:23 PMDec 11

Source: BV on Money

The Congressional Black Caucus has joined the chorus of Democrats currently at war with President Barack Obama. The feud was built on the recent tax cut compromise the president made with Republicans. President Obama and the Democrats were pushing to ... Read More

Thursday, December 9, 2010

No, Wesley Snipes Should NOT Be Going to Prison

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse UniversityScholarship in Action 

I've been sitting on the sidelines during the tax trial of actor Wesley Snipes, primarily because I didn't quite know what was going on. I wasn't sure if Snipes was guilty or innocent, since I've seen a lot of wealthy folks who've lived as if they were above the law. Part of me wants to believe that the justice system works if you're rich, so I figured that nature would simply take its course.
I took the time to watch Wesley appear on CNN to plead his case to the public. I was honestly skeptical, since I've rarely met a man on his way to prison who didn't try to convince me that he was innocent. In fact, I've received countless letters from prison inmates, many of whom want me to believe that they didn't do it. In most cases, I choose not to judge, but I know the game quite well.

 

Click to read.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

15-Yr Old Gets Convicted in Death of Honor Student Derrion Albert

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse UniversityScholarship in Action 

The jury didn't deliberate for more than half an hour, but in that time, a 15-year old boy was convicted in the beating death of 16-year old honor student Derrion Albert.The boy was convicted of first-degree murder when it was determined that he laid a punch to the face of Albert as he tried to stand up. The jury decided that the punch played a significant role in Albert's death.


"I am pleased. Justice was served," Norman Golliday, Albert's grandfather told the Associated Press. "The facts were there from the start, they stared you right in the face. The jury saw that."


The teen's lawyer, Richard Kloak, admitted that his client punched Albert, but said that the crime was not as serious as the conviction.

 

Click to read.

Why the Democrats are Angry with Obama

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse UniversityScholarship in Action 

President Barack Obama is at a unique point in his presidency. This is a place where no one thought he'd be, but then again, no presidency ever turns out the way we would expect. The president is finding that in addition to the burden of dealing with unrelenting Republicans, many of whom can't stand seeing a black man in power, he now has to deal with Democrats who are angry at him for compromising on the latest tax agreement.


I admit that I was shocked to see such strong Democratic opposition to Obama's tax deal with the Republicans. Effectively, the Republicans were holding the nation's unemployed hostage in exchange for having Bush tax cuts extended for the rich. This was a prime opportunity for the Democrats, given that the Republicans were revealing themselves to be working on behalf of the wealthy, at the expense of middle class Americans. Additionally, their push to give tax cuts to those who needed them the least was in stark contrast to their proclaimed objective of embracing fiscal discipline as it pertains to the federal debt.

 

Click to read.

Why Is Bishop Eddie Long Avoiding a Public Trial?

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse UniversityScholarship in Action 

I was up working one night when someone reached out to me on Facebookmessenger.
The brother was asking me why Bishop Eddie Long chose mediation in his sexual coercion suit, rather than aiming for a public trial. In case you've been buried under a rock, Bishop Eddie Long has been in the media quite a bit these days, after being accused of using his authority to coerce four young men in to having sex with him.
Long has vowed to fight the charges, but he never really said much about whether he was guilty or innocent. Actually, he simply said that he is "not a perfect man." That could easily translate to Long admitting that there are a few things about his personal life that he wouldn't want to see on the 6 o'clock news.

Click to read.

U. Iowa Star Receiver Accused of Running a Drug House

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse UniversityScholarship in Action 

Derrell Johnson-Koulianos is the star wide receiver for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Well, he was the star receiver until this weekend. Iowa City police just arrested Johnson-Koulianos on a long list of drug charges, including: possession of a controlled substance, keeping a drug house and unlawful possession of prescription drugs. Police allegedly found cocaine, marijuana and prescription drugs in his home, along with $3,000 in cash.
Johnson-Koulianos is currently in the Johnson County Jail in Iowa City, being held on $8,000 bail. His first court appearance was set to occur Wednesday morning. Clearly, the city and coaching staff are in shock over recent events.

Click to read.

Trial Begins for 16-Yr Old Honor Student Who was Killed

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse UniversityScholarship in Action 

The trial is about to begin for a 14-year old boy who was one of five suspects accused of beating Derrion Albert, a 16-year old honor student, to death last year. The beating occurred in September 2009 as Albert was on his way home from school. It was captured on cell phone video and seen around the world.
The teen on trial isn't being identified because he is a juvenile. But there are four other suspects awaiting trial as adults. The prosecutor portrays the young men as part of a mob who attacked Albert and eventually killed him. The video shows the men kicking and punching Albert and eventually slamming a board onto his head. He died from the injuries to his skull.
The defense attorney for the boy claims that the suspect was caught up in a fight that he didn't initiate. He did acknowledge that the boy hit Albert when he stood up, but says that his client didn't cause Albert's death.

Click to read.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Group Protests Lack of black media ownership

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse UniversityScholarship in Action 

The National Coalition of African American Owned Media has a serious concern about the lack of black ownership in American media. The group expressed its discontent by running a full page ad in the Washington Post today speaking to President Obama about his decision not to challenge the pending merger between NBC and Comcast.
The group is arguing that the NBC/Comcast merger should not be allowed to proceed without Comcast agreeing to allocate 10 percent of its channel capacity and 10 percent of its programming budget to African American owned networks.

According to the group's website,
two of the men behind the move are Stanley Washington, a former media executive, and Kevin Martin, former Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Martin has gone as far as filing a lawsuit challenging the pending merger between NBC and Comcast, and has even pushed for a Comcast boycott.

Click to read.

 

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Friday, December 3, 2010

CBC Says Black Farmers Won’t Be Able to Get Money Because of Complicated Claims Process

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) are complaining that legislation funding a settlement for discrimination against black farmers sets too high a bar for claimants.

The lawmakers argue language added by the Senate, which is meant to prevent fraud in the program, sets higher standards for proving a claim than were required for other groups trying to prove loan discrimination by the Department of Agriculture.

“There's no question. The bar is much higher,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), a CBC member and chairman of the Homeland Security Committee.

The legislation to be sent to the president would provide $4.55 billion to settle longstanding discrimination claims with the Department of Agriculture from black and Native American farmers.

The additional steps added to the claims process include an audit by an inspector general and oversight by the attorney general's office, as well as a review by the secretary of Agriculture, who must sign off on a farmer’s claim.

Attorneys involved in cases must swear in writing that the claims are legitimate, and a special federal “adjudicator” must also take an oath that the claim is legitimate and may request additional information and documentation. At the end of the process is another round of oversight and review from the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Justice at the top levels.

Thompson argues the additional standards are unfair, and that black farmers are being treated differently from other groups.

“Even when black people are about to receive a settlement, just because they raised the issue they are being treated differently. There should be a uniform standard for everybody,” Thompson added.

Click to read.

Former NBA Player Antoine Walker Being Sued for Stealing Another Man’s Fiancee

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse UniversityScholarship in Action 

Former NBA star Antoine Walker is being sued for $5 million dollars by a man who claims that Walker stole his fiancee. Kevin Jenkins says that he caught Walker and his fiancee in an "intimate moment," and confronted Walker about it. He said that Walker laughed in his face to deliberately cause him emotional distress.
Jenkins then says that he became so emotionally distressed that he thought about killing himself.
To date, I haven't heard of anyone being sued for cheating with another person's fiancee. However, I do know that in some states, you can be sued for cheating with someone else's spouse. These "alienation of affection" lawsuits are legal in several states: Hawaii, Illinois, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Dakota and Utah.

Click to read. 

 

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