The proposal said that it would do what John McCain, whom it labels “a crusty old politician” (Ouch!), would not do in 2008.

It called for using Wright to “increase the unease” and “inflame the questions” among independents using the episode “that’s never been properly exploited.” How I love the use of sinister verbs.

There was one description of the president that truly seized me: “The metrosexual black Abe Lincoln has emerged as a hyper-partisan, hyper-liberal, elitist politician with more than a bit of the trimmer in him.”

The original legislation, HB 56, included provisions requiring police who make lawful traffic stops or arrests to try to determine the immigration status of anyone they suspect might be in the country illegally.

A federal appeals court has blocked some components, however, including one requiring Alabama officials to check the immigration status of children in public schools. Bentley had called lawmakers in for a special session Thursday to consider, among a handful of other reasons, revising that law.

The new bill, HB 658, addresses some of its unintended consequences, including clarifying the types of documents that can serve as a form of official identification. But it does not address parts of the law that are at issue in federal courts. Among other changes, the new bill eases the most strict measures against subcontractors who unknowingly hire illegal immigrants.

1. Girlfriend Recounts Phone Call Right Before Fatal Shooting

She and Trayvon were talking on the phone in the moments leading up to his death. "I know he was scared," the girl recounts. "I told him, 'Keep running!' ... He told me the guy was getting real close to him. And the next I hear is [Trayvon saying], 'Why are you following me for?' … I heard this man... say, 'What are you doing around here?' ... And I call Trayvon, 'Trayon, what's going on? What’s going on?’ ... Then, I am calling him and he didn’t answer...You could hear someone had bumped Trayvon...I was still screaming, I was saying, 'Trayvon! Trayvon!'...And then the next thing the phone just shut off." [Audio here] 

2. Two days after Trayvon Martin’s death a woman called the police to say that George Zimmerman has “racist tendencies” and is “fully capable of instigating a confrontation.”

The woman refused to identify herself.

3. PHOTO: Trayvon Martin’s can of Arizona Iced Tea

According to the police, Martin’s body was under the yellow tarp in this photo.

4. The lead police investigator wanted to charge Zimmerman with manslaughter.

“The encounter between George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin was ultimately avoidable by Zimmerman, if Zimmerman had remained in his vehicle and waitied the arrival of law enforcement, or conversely if he had identified himself to Martin as a concerned citizen and initiated dialogue in an effort to dispel each party’s concern.” The lead investigator wanted to charge Zimmerman with manslaughter notwithstanding the fact he believed it was Zimmerman, not Martin, yelling for help on the 911 tapes.

5. PHOTO: The gun George Zimmerman used to shoot Trayvon Martin.

6. One witness was “adamant that there was no physical fighting at the time the gunshot rang out.”

The Republican governor said Kansas had never really apologized for the "hateful practice" of segregating black people from white in public places after the abolition of slavery.

Brownback signed the proclamation on the 58th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 1954 ruling in Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education in which "separate but equal" schools for black and white students were declared unconstitutional. Topeka is the state capital of Kansas.

The proclamation apologized for the dehumanizing nature of laws that allowed racial segregation in public places and said it was "important for the citizens of Kansas to at last move forward and seek reconciliation."

It’s not just the private sector that’s preying on the poor. Local governments are discovering that they can partially make up for declining tax revenues through fines, fees, and other costs imposed on indigent defendants, often for crimes no more dastardly than driving with a suspended license. And if that seems like an inefficient way to make money, given the high cost of locking people up, a growing number of jurisdictions have taken to charging defendants for their court costs and even the price of occupying a jail cell.

In 2000, Florida officials mistakenly threw thousands of eligible voters off the rolls after incorrectly determining they were felons. There were accusations at the time that the state government, which firmly was in Republican hands, was targeting voters likely to vote Democratic.

This time the state has asked elections supervisors to purge their lists of people ineligible to vote because they are not U.S. citizens. The list contains up to 180,000 names.

Most of the money came in through a PayPal account link which debuted May 3.

Most donations to Zimmerman's legal defense fund were $25 to $100, and "many include notes of support for Mr. Zimmerman and his family," the website set up by his lawyer says. The largest donation received was $3,000, while the smallest was $1.The fund is maintained by a third party who Zimmerman's defense team says will "ensure the monies raised are allocated to reasonable living expenses for Mr. Zimmerman, defense costs and legal fees."

Previously, Zimmerman raised more than $200,000 through another account he set up himself. About $30,000 of that money was used to help Zimmerman go into hiding while $20,000 has been kept liquid for Zimmerman's living expenses. That initial account was shut down in April.

From [ThinkProgress] A front-page New York Times story today exposed a shocking $10 MILLION racist campaign to smear the president that was prepared by GOP operatives and was merely awaiting final sign-off from a politically active right-wing billionaire. The campaign was to focus on the president’s previous ties to Rev. Jeremiah Wright, a racially inflammatory topic that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) declared firmly off-limits during his 2008 presidential campaign.

Here’s the rundown on the latest right-wing effort to attack the president.

What was the smear campaign going to involve?

• A 5-minute “film” meant to “inflame opinion” about Obama’s character and former ties Wright.
• More than $8 MILLION in television and online ads.
• A national tour of spokespeople, specifically to include an “extremely literate” black male.
• A launch press conference and other activities in Charlotte, NC to coincide with the Democratic National Convention.

You can check out the entire 54-page attack plan, entitled “The Defeat of Barack Hussein Obama: The Ricketts Plan to End His Spending for Good,” here.

Who was going to pay for it?

Joe Ricketts, a right-wing  billionaire who founded TD Ameritrade and whose family owns the Chicago Cubs. Ricketts, who just so happened to sell $10.46 MILLION in TD Ameritrade stock last month, was to bankroll the project through his Ending Spending Super PAC.

From [HERE] and [HERE] WASHINGTON — After years of speculation, estimates and projections, the Census Bureau has made it official: White births are no longer a majority in the United States.

Non-Hispanic whites accounted for 49.6 percent of all births in the 12-month period that ended last July, according to Census Bureau data made public on Thursday, while minorities — including Hispanics, blacks, Asians and those of mixed race — reached 50.4 percent, representing a majority for the first time in the country’s history.

Such a turn has been long expected, but no one was certain when the moment would arrive — signaling a milestone for a nation whose government was founded by white Europeans and has wrestled mightily with issues of race, from the days of slavery, through a civil war, bitter civil rights battles and, most recently, highly charged debates over efforts to restrict immigration.