NY court OKs $1M school racial harassment award

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The Grio

One of the biggest awards ever issued for racial harassment in high school — $1 million — was upheld Monday by a federal appeals panel that said it was fair for a jury to conclude a school district should have done more to stop demeaning, threatening and violent conduct directed at a student.

The decision by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan left in place the award for Anthony Zeno, a former student at Stissing Mountain High School in Dutchess County. The award had been reduced from the $1.25 million a jury originally awarded the now 23-year-old haircutter during a 2010 trial. The appeals court said the award wasn’t unreasonable given that payouts for harassment in similar cases have ranged from the low six figures to $1 million in one other instance.

The appeals court’s opinion noted that Zeno is “dark-skinned and biracial, half-white, half-Latino.” It said he “had been menaced, threatened and taunted” at a school where minorities represented less than 5 percent of the student population.

“He endured numerous serious — and sometimes life threatening — incidents of harassment,” it said.

It said the Pine Plains Central School District, the defendant in a lawsuit brought by Zeno, knew Zeno was called numerous racial slurs during his 3 1/2 years at the high school from 2005 to 2008 and it was fair for a jury to conclude that school officials should have known that greater action was required beyond punishing individual students each time an attack occurred or offering optional sensitivity training sessions.

The opinion written by Circuit Judge Denny Chin said the appeals court concluded that the school district’s “deliberately indifferent responses effectively caused Anthony’s continued harassment.”

Zeno’s lawyer, Stephen Bergstein, praised the ruling, saying: “It’s going to help a lot of kids.”

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In First Courtroom Battle, Gov. Jindal's Voucher Program Declared Unconstitutional

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ColorLines

The legal fight is so very far from over, but on Friday, the first act for Act 2's courtroom drama ended with a crushing defeat for private school choice and voucher proponents. A Louisiana judge declared Act 2 unconstitutional after a brisk three-day trial. The law was Gov. Bobby Jindal's crowning 2012 education reform achievement. Among other reforms, it instituted the largest statewide voucher program in the nation to give private schools and entities money designated for public schools in exchange for educating students from low-income families.

Gov. Jindal, whose reform playbook is borrowed from ALEC and other conservative forces who have aggressively introduced market forces into the public school sphere with the ostensible goal of improving public education, vowed an appeal. "Today's ruling is wrong headed and a travesty for parents across Louisiana who want nothing more than for their children to have an equal opportunity at receiving a great education," the governor said in a statement on Friday, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported.

"On behalf of the citizens that cast their votes for reform, the parents who want more choices, and the kids who deserve a chance, we will appeal today's decision, and I'm confident we will prevail," Jindal said. "All along, we expected this to be decided by the Louisiana Supreme Court."

In the meantime, the Louisana Federation of Teachers and other plaintiffs who brought the suit are celebrating their momentary victory. "This is a win for all of the children of Louisiana -- and for the taxpayers," Les Landon, the public relations director for the LFT told the Times-Picayune on Friday.

Act 2 sets aside tens of millions of dollars for the creation of the largest statewide school voucher program. More than half of Louisiana's public school students, 380,000, were expected to qualify for the first round of the program. Despite calls of concern from teachers unions and progressives who say that school vouchers are the wrong tact to improve public education, they remain a popular, if controversial measure for parents whose children are eligible. Many parents are agnostic about who is delivering their children's education, and ahead of a voucher application deadline this summer, Louisiana parents showed serious interest in the program. Already, Louisiana taxpayers are paying for some 4,900 public students who are enrolled in 117 private schools.

Minneapolis to settle Police Brutality lawsuit from ex-Viking Carl Eller

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MinnesotaPublicRadio

The Minneapolis City Council will vote Friday on whether to settle a police brutality lawsuit from Vikings Hall-of-Famer Carl Eller.

Eller sued the city after a 2008 DWI arrest. He was convicted of assaulting one of the arresting officers and refusing to take a drug test. Eller claimed police used excessive force to subdue him, including shooting him with Taser stun guns.

Eller originally sought more than $75,000 in damages. He and the city's attorney have agreed to settle the matter for just $2,000, pending council approval.

Israel withholds tax revenues from Palestinian Authority

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LATimes

 Israel said Sunday it would withhold more than $100 million in tax revenue this month from the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority, the latest reaction to last week's U.N. vote recognizing the Palestinian territories as a "nonmember observer state."

Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said he would use the money to repay part of an outstanding Palestinian debt -- estimated to be about $180 million -- to Israel’s electricity company for power supplied to parts of the West Bank.

The action was expected since Israel previously halted the transfer of monthly tax payments in response to a similar U.N. bid by the Palestinians last year. The money is collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority from West Bank importers using Israeli ports.

That Team with the Racist Name Defeated the Giants Tonight

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IndianCountry

Today, December 3, BleacherReport.com correspondent Stephen Sonneveld has an interesting column on one person's response to his recent columns "calling out the bigotry of the NFL, owners, players, sponsors and television networks for endorsing and profiting from the racist term redskin."

The reader Sonneveld reports on recently began a Kickstarter campaign with the intention of having global consulting firm Accenture conduct the appropriate market research needed to collect the data to see whether it would be in the economic interests of the franchise to create a new identity.

It's a fascinating idea, though one that's unlikely to come to fruition.

It also indicates that perhaps we have reached a turning point, that the use of the racist term redskin by the D.C. NFL team won't continue to be simply accepted. We hope the discussion progresses.

Steven Spielberg Lincoln Movie = Fake Like ET - Don't Pay for it

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FinalCall

This republic known as the United States was established on the basis of “White Supremacy.” The so-called forefathers wrote the infamous Declaration Of Independence to claim their alleged freedom from their Mother England. Then there was the bogus United States Constitution that with all of its fancy words of freedom, declared an Afrikan/Black person as being “three-fifths” of a human being.

 

So, in reviewing White history, you would get the impression that everyone was equal, including Afrikan/Black people and “living happily ever after.” You remember your White history lesson in school, wherein the George Washington “cherry tree” lie was told. How about the bold lie of Thomas Jefferson being the loving father of the children of an Afrikan/Black woman, which in reality was nothing more than rape. But, wait a minute!!! We’re not both the aforementioned Jefferson and Washington notorious slave owners?

 

Like so many other untruths that have been taught through the years, they were nothing more than “white lies!!!” 

Now here we are in the 21st Century and confused Afrikan/Black persons, in seeking the elusive love of White people, are trying to convince themselves that things are much improved racially. The reality is that nothing has really changed. Racism and White Supremacy are very much alive and well in this country, but with a different face and tone. We are now being lynched through imprisonment, high unemployment, inadequate healthcare, etc. Even modern day White story telling has a cherry tree-like flavor to it.

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Civil Rights Coalition Challenges Arizona Policy Denying Driver’s Licenses to Immigrant Youth

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A coalition of civil rights organizations today filed a class-action lawsuit challenging Arizona’s unconstitutional policy denying driver’s licenses to a specific class of immigrant youth even though they have grown up in the United States and are authorized to live and work here.

The lawsuit seeks to block Arizona Executive Order 2012-06, issued by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer on August 15 after the federal government implemented the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The program allows certain undocumented immigrant youth who came here as children to live and work in the United States for a renewable period of two years. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the Arizona Dream Act Coalition, an immigrant youth-led organization, and five young individuals.

ACLU

“Federal immigration authorities have lifted the shadow of deportation from these bright and hardworking DREAMers, but Arizona insists on pursuing its own immigration policy aimed at keeping them in the dark,” said Jennifer Chang Newell, staff attorney with the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project. “Rather than deny these young people the ability to drive – an everyday necessity for most people – our leaders should come together to enact long-term solutions that would allow our talented immigrant youth to achieve the American dream.”

The lawsuit states that Arizona’s policy violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution by interfering with federal immigration law, and also violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause by discriminating against certain non-citizens. Arizona’s motor vehicle division implemented Brewer’s order on September 18.

Alejandra Lopez, 19, has lived in the United States since she was four. A high school graduate, she is married to an American citizen.

“It’s hard to take my child to the doctor or help my two little brothers get to school and after school activities without being able to drive,” said Lopez, who was granted federally deferred action status, including a work permit, in October. “Somebody offered me a job interview in Tempe (AZ), which is about 25 miles away from where I live, but I had to turn it down because I’m not allowed to drive a car.”

An estimated 1.76 million youth in the United States are eligible for the DACA program, including 80,000 in Arizona, according to The Migration Policy Institute, an independent, non-profit think tank in Washington, D.C.

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The Government Can Still Black Bag Any American

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BlacklistedNews

The Senate passed the much ballyhooed Feinstein-Lee amendment last night, which supposedly partially nullifies the provision in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) allowing for Americans to be kidnapped by the government and disappeared without any charge or due process. Senator Rand Paul put out a press release declaring victory. But as Congressman Justin Amash points out, the wording of the amendment effectively codifies tyranny:

The heart of the Feinstein amendment:

“An authorization to use military force, a declaration of war, or any similar authority shall not authorize the detention without charge or trial of a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States apprehended in the United States, UNLESS AN ACT OF CONGRESS EXPRESSLY AUTHORIZES SUCH DETENTION.”

Well, that Act of Congress is the 2012 NDAA, which renders the rest of the Feinstein amendment meaningless.

I have some questions. Why are Americans who are traveling, working, living abroad left out of this legislation? Does one only have his rights when he’s within the sanctified borders of the U.S.? Why is it not being argued that ALL PEOPLE have the right to due process? Why are there libertarians celebrating this passage when rather than making us more free it really only further enshrines the idea that the State grants (and denies) us our rights?

 

 

 

Racist Suspect David Stern Tells Slaves to Get Back to Work: Coaches respond to $250,000 Spurs fine

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SportingNews

(above the unprofessional commish gets personal - troll like-- with Rome last summer) David Stern fined the San Antonio Spurs $250,000 for what was essentially a rotational decision by Gregg Popovich, and other coaches around the league took notice.

Prior to a Thursday game in Miami, Popovich sent four players—Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green—back to San Antonio to rest at the end of a run that included four games in five days.

Players like LeBron James, who competed to a close 105-100 Miami win in that fifth game, were OK with Popovich leaving the Spurs’ stars at home, while coaches who have used similar tactics became worried Stern’s fine could set a dangerous precedence.

MORE: David Stern fines Spurs $250,000

Former Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy, Boston’s Doc Rivers and Denver’s George Karl all sided with Popovich, to varying degrees. Here are their comments, which show obvious concern:

Jeff Van Gundy

“To me, fine yourself too, $250,000, because you’re just as culpable for what happened in the league office as Gregg Popovich is,” Van Gundy said on an ESPN broadcast.

“The commissioner to me, I understand his disappointment and frustration,” Van Gundy said. “I don’t understand him fining a team. This has been happening forever under his watch, healthy players sitting out games. I don’t understand the outrage today about that thing. Last year, Gregg Popovich sent all three guys home for two games at the end of the year. People said, ‘This one was on TV.’ Well, every regular season game is either important or it’s not. I just don’t understand opening up this can of worms.”

Doc Rivers

“I don’t like it, I just don’t like it,” Rivers said, according to ESPNBoston.com. “I do get the other side of it, but it’s a tough one. You have to coach your team to win in the long haul, and you have to do whatever you need to do. If that’s sitting players, then you sit players. It’s a tough one.”

“Listen, we’ll do it when we want to do it. And we should be able to do it,” said Rivers. “It can be early in the season, end of the season. Now if we give a guy [a day] off because he has a family thing — it’s just so many things here. Hopefully we all figure it out.”

George Karl

"If you're going to ask if 'Pop' is in the right, you've got to ask if the commissioner is in the right,” Karl told The Denver Post. “And I'm not answering either one. To me, how you coach the team should be on the organization and the coach."

Poll: Cory Booker favored by NJ Democrats for Senate run

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theGrio 

Newark mayor Cory Booker would be favored by a majority of Democrats to replace N.J. senator Frank Lautenberg, should he choose not to run for re-election in 2014, according to a new poll.

The Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling firm has found that 48 percent of N.J. Democrats back Booker, which puts him far ahead of potential rivals Rob Andrews and Frank Pallone.

Their poll also showed the 6 in 10 state Democrats would rather see Booker run than the 88-year-old incumbent.

While Lautenberg has yet to announce his intentions for 2014, his spokesman has said “retirement is the last thing on his mind.”

Both Booker and Lautenberg would be favored in the blue state against their likely Republican challenger Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno.

“Democrats will likely hold onto their Senate seat in New Jersey regardless of their 2014 candidate,” said Dean Debnam, PPP’s president.

Booker is said to be also considering a run for governor of New Jersey against popular incumbent Chris Christie. He has delayed an official decision about that race due to the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Former Attorney General Bill Baxley’s letter to the Ku Klux Klan goes viral

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TheGrio

Former Attorney General of Alabama Bill Baxley wrote a short and direct letter to the Ku Klux Klan back in 1976 after receiving a threatening letter of protest from white supremacist Edward R. Fields, according to Letters of Note.

In his letter, Baxley wrote, “Dear “Dr.” Fields, My response to your letter of February 19, 1976, is – kiss my a**.”

Baxley’s letter was in direct response to Field’s threats after Baxley reopened the 16th Street Church bombing case that involved a racially-motivated act of terrorism that resulted in the death of four African-Americans in 1963.

The initial investigation resulted in no action. Baxley’s commitment to seeking justice in the case attracted both hostility and anger among the KKK and its allies.

The following year, Robert “Dynamite Bob” Chambliss, a member of the United Klans of America, was found guilty of the murders and remained imprisoned until his death in 1985.

Bill Baxley letter to Ku Klux Klan (Letters of Note)

Bill Baxley letter to Ku Klux Klan (Letters of Note)

US appeals court stays Michigan affirmative action ban

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The Grio

The ruling that ended Michigan’s ban on affirmative action in college admissions was put on hold Friday until the U.S. Supreme Court decides to hear an appeal by the state’s attorney general.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati issued an order staying its Nov. 15 ruling that the voter-approved mandate was unconstitutional.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette filed a petition Thursday asking the high court to review the ruling.

“The ruling is on hold until the Supreme Court says it will take the appeal,” said Joy Yearout, a spokeswoman for Schuette.

If the high court hears the appeal, the stay will remain until the Supreme Court makes a ruling. If Schuette’s appeal is denied, then the affirmative action ban is ended, she added.

In 2006, Michigan voters amended the state constitution to ban the use of race in choosing students.

In their 8-7 decision, the appeals court said the amendment is illegal because it presents an extraordinary burden to opponents who would have to mount their own long, expensive campaign through the ballot box to protect affirmative action.

That burden “undermines the Equal Protection Clause’s guarantee that all citizens ought to have equal access to the tools of political change,” Judge R. Guy Cole Jr. wrote for the majority on the appeals court.

 

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Dying Federal Prisoners Rarely Granted ‘Compassionate Release,’ Study Finds

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ThinkProgress

Because a short-term criminal sentence is not necessarily a sentence to suffer with a terminal illness in prison, both the federal government and the states have a process by which those prisoners who have been diagnosed with a fatal illness – or who have some other change of situation such as a dying family member — can apply for release. But the chance of federal prisoners being granted release is exceedingly low, according to a new study by Human Rights Watch and Families Against Mandatory Minimums. While even tough states like Texas let out about 100 people per year on medical parole, the federal system releases on average around two dozen people, out of a population of more than 218,000 inmates. One such inmate highlighted by the report died while in prison for gun possession, despite a plea for release from the judge who sentenced him:

Michael Mahoney was sentenced in 1994 to a mandatory minimum term of 15 years as an “armed career criminal.” The “career criminal” designation derived from three drug sales totaling less than $300 to an undercover agent over a three-week period in the late 1970. Felons, like Mahoney, may not legally possess firearms. Erroneously believing that enough time had lapsed since his prior convictions to allow him to carry a gun, Mahoney had purchased one to protect himself when making night deposits from his small business. When the gun was stolen, he duly reported it to authorities, his error was discovered, and he was prosecuted. Years later, in 2004, Mahoney was dying in prison from lymphoma and asked for compassionate release. The warden at the Lexington Federal Medical Center thought the BOP should file a motion on his behalf, and the regional director agreed.

In late July, BOP Director Harley Lappin denied Mahoney’s request, even though the regional director had approved the request and it was unopposed by the US attorney. Lappin’s decision was based on “the totality of the circumstances” and Mahoney’s “multiple felony convictions.”

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Israel announces plans for 3,000 more housing units in West Bank

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CitizensforLegitGov

Following a landmark United Nations vote upgrading the status of the Palestinian territories to become a "nonmember observer state" in the international body, Israel said Friday it would construct an additional 3,000 units of Jewish housing in the West Bank. The government is also moving forward with preliminary planning for a controversial development on the outskirts of Jerusalem that U.S. officials have opposed for decades, according to a government official... The hillside development, known as E-1, would connect the West Bank settlement of Maale Adumim with East Jerusalem, cutting off access between the Palestinian cities of Ramallah and Bethlehem.

Teargas for Shiites: Anti-blockade rally clamped down in Bahrain

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Bahraini Shiite Muslim protestors run for cover from tear gas and bird shots fired by riot police during clashes in the village of Karranah, West of Manama, on November 30, 2012. (AFP Photo / Mohammed Al-Shaikh)

Bahraini Shiite Muslim protestors run for cover from tear gas and bird shots fired by riot police during clashes in the village of Karranah, West of Manama, on November 30, 2012. (AFP Photo / Mohammed Al-Shaikh)

Bahraini police used teargas and stun grenades against opposition activists overnight, as they rallied against the blockade of a Shiite neighborhood. The government is ramping up pressure as the wave of protests is approaching its third year.

The rally on Friday night came as people responded to the call of the opposition February 14 Youth Coalition, named after the date the protests first erupted in Bahrain back in 2011.

Residents of Shiite-populated villages around the capital Manama were calling to lift the government blockade of Mahazza, a Shiite neighborhood near the capital, which has been cut off since early November.

The protesters were waving of national flags and pictures of political prisoners as they chanted calls to Bahraini ruler King Hamad to step down.

Activists say some of the protesters were injured as police cracked down on the rally, firing teargas, stun grenades and buck shot. The exact number of casualties is unavailable, because injured protesters often fail to go to hospital for treatment out of fear of arrest.

Police also arrested a number of demonstrators, as skirmishes continued into the early morning, witnesses said.

Earlier on Friday, Amnesty International called on Manama to release the 13 prisoners who had been sentenced in June 2011 to terms between five years and live for their role in the anti-government protest. A military tribunal convicted them for crimes, including “setting up terror groups to topple the regime and change the constitution.”

The human rights organization said it found no evidence of the convicts’ doing anything other than taking part in peaceful protest. Amnesty called on a Bahraini civilian court, which is to review the cases starting next Monday to quash the sentences and set the prisoners of conscience free. The 13 include prominent opposition activists Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and Ebrahim Sharif.

"These men must be immediately and unconditionally released. Their sentences and convictions must be quashed. Bahrain's allies must also put pressure on the authorities to drop the pretense of reform and immediately back up their words with real actions," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, deputy director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa program.

Lawmakers consider dissolving Detroit

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Rt.com

With Detroit set to go bankrupt by mid-December, one state legislator has suggested that Michigan’s largest city should be dissolved as a municipality and merge with a neighboring county. Detroit is 82% Black [MORE].

State officials have come up with numerous farfetched ideas as to how to confront the fiscal situation, with some suggesting Detroit to vote itself into bankruptcy and others preparing to temporarily lay off nearly all city workers to compensate for the financial losses.

State Senator Rick Jones has emphasized that all options should be considered, including dissolving the city of 700,000 residents and merging it with neighboring Wayne County.

“If we have to, that is one idea we have to look at,” he told WWJ Lansing, an affiliate of CBS News. “We really have to look at everything that is on the table. Again, if this goes to federal bankruptcy, every employee down there will suffer, the city will suffer and the vultures will come in and take the jewels of Detroit and they will be gone.”

Out of desperation to solve the dire situation, even Gov. Rick Snyder said he wouldn’t count anything out. Jones said lawmakers outside of the City Council have grown frustrated with the lack of action from the Council and the delayed implementation of the financial consent agreement that was delayed in April.

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Fueled by War on Drugs, Mexican Death Toll Could Exceed 120,000 As Calderon Ends Six-Year Reign

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BlacklistedNews

In the first part of this year, Truthout posted a series of ten articles that dispelled the myths surrounding the failed US/Mexico war on drugs. As a follow-up, this article details newly released statistics that indicate the predicted death toll from the alleged war-turned-bloodbath will likely far exceed past estimates.

In late August, the internationally respected French newspaper Le Monde posted an editorial denouncing the war on drugs in Mexico: "The Spiral of Barbarity." The most important and ominous figure cited by Le Monde is that perhaps 120,000 (or more) Mexican citizens will have been intentionally killed during the presidency of Felipe Calderón:

Within Le Monde, two years ago, Mexican President Felipe Calderon welcomed the results of the large-scale war committed since the beginning of his term in December 2006, against organized crime and drug traffickers. "We will defeat crime," he asserted. He addressed the concerns of those who denounced the increased violence in the country: "If you see dust, it is because we clean the house."

Limited to one term of six years, Calderon will hand Enrique Peña Nieto the presidency at the end of the year (December 1), leaving him with a damning balance sheet of death. The National Institute of Statistics and Geography of Mexico has released startling figures: 27,199 homicides were recorded in 2011; between 2007 and 2011, the total came to 95,632 murders. On the basis of the trend in recent months, an estimated 120,000 homicides will have occurred during the term of Calderon. This is more than double the figure often mentioned - already staggering - of 50,000.

This carnage is by far the deadliest conflict in the world in recent years. The official homicide statistics are an implacable revelation that gangrene has overtaken the nation. But beyond the number of deaths allegedly related strictly to the fight against drugs there has developed a number of industries engaging in kidnapping, extortion, prostitution, trafficking of persons and bodies - and widespread disappearances. The map of the homicides in Mexico shows that homicides are no longer only confined to the regions of strong presence of gangs, but tend to spread over most of the territory. (Translated from the French)

Although the now estimated 120,000 to 130,000 intentional homicides in Mexico - called "homicidios dolosos" - outraged Le Monde, few other prominent news organizations in the United States or Mexico took notice. Mexico's La Reforma was an exception, when in August it estimated 95,000 homicides, based on newly released government statistics. A few other US and Mexican publications have mentioned the new figures in passing, but without recognizing the implications.

Why Is The US Building A Secret $100 Million Underground Facility Outside Tel Aviv?

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BlacklistedNews

Leave it to legendary Walter Pincus from the Washington Post to flesh out a Request for Proposal construction project planned for Israel called Site 911.

The oddly named project will cost up to $100 million, take more than two years to complete, and can only be built by workers from specific countries with proper security clearances. Palestinians need not apply.

When complete the well-guarded compound will have five levels buried underground and six additional outbuildings on the above grounds, within the perimeter. At about 127,000 square feet, the first three floors will house classrooms, an auditorium, and a laboratory — all wedged behind shock resistant doors — with radiation protection and massive security.

Only one gate will allow workers entrance and exit during the project and that will be guarded by only Israelis.

The bottom two floors are smaller, according to the full line of schematics uploaded to the Army’s Acquisition Business Web Site, and possibly used for equipment and storage.

As impressive as the American design features already are, Ada Karmi-Melamede Architects will decorate the entire site with rocks it chooses, but are paid for by the contractor, and provide three outdoor picnic tables.

Pincus also found this detailed description of the mezuzahs that will adorn every door in the facility:

These mezuzas, notes the [US Army] Corps, “shall be written in inerasable ink, on . . . uncoated leather parchment” and be handwritten by a scribe “holding a written authorization according to Jewish law.” The writing may be “Ashkenazik or Sepharadik” but “not a mixture” and “must be uniform.”

Also, “The Mezuzahs shall be proof-read by a computer at an authorized institution for Mezuzah inspection, as well as manually proof-read for the form of the letters by a proof-reader authorized by the Chief Rabbinate.” The mezuza shall be supplied with an aluminum housing with holes so it can be connected to the door frame or opening. Finally, “All Mezuzahs for the facility shall be affixed by the Base’s Rabbi or his appointed representative and not by the contractor staff.”

Along with this request is another called 911 Phase 2.

Obama Administration Opposes House Immigration Bill That Would Limit Legal Immigration

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ThinkProgress

The Obama administration announced its opposition on Wednesday to a GOP immigration proposal that would add visas for highly skilled workers while actually reducing legal immigration. The House will vote Friday on the bill, which Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) introduced. The measure failed in September when the House voted on it under a suspension of the rules, requiring a two-thirds vote.

Under the guise of trying to expand the number of visas available to international students who earn masters and doctorates in STEM fields — science, technology, engineering, mathematics — at U.S. universities, Smith’s bill would cut the Diversity Visa program, which is intended for immigrants from countries that do not already send large numbers of immigrants to the U.S. And any unused STEM visas would disappear, shrinking overall legal immigration into the U.S.

In the White House’s statement of administrative policy against the bill, the administration emphasized its commitment to an immigration reform plan that creates a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants in the U.S.:

As a part of immigration reform, the Administration strongly supports legislation to attract and retain foreign students who graduate with advanced STEM degrees, to establish a start-up visa for foreign-born entrepreneurs to start businesses and create jobs, and to reform the employment-based immigration system to better meet the needs of the U.S. economy. However, the Administration does not support narrowly tailored proposals that do not meet the President’s long-term objectives with respect to comprehensive immigration reform. [...]

Such an approach must provide for attracting and retaining highly skilled immigrants and uniting Americans with their family members more quickly, as well as other important priorities such as establishing a pathway for undocumented individuals to earn their citizenship, holding employers accountable for breaking the law, and continuing efforts to strengthen the Nation’s robust enforcement system.

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Wall Street Executive Salaries Skyrocketed After Deregulation

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ThinkProgress

Wall Street compensates its CEOs so well, one former executive walked off with $260 million despite crashing his company. Even Wall Street heavyweights have criticized the practice, which has helped widen the nation’s income inequality. According to a new study in Quarterly Journal of Economics, Wall Street’s generous pay began to skyrocket following deregulation.

The Glass Steagall Act, which separated commercial and investment banks, was gradually weakened in the late 1980s, until its full repeal in 1999. This changed organization and competition within finance, leading to the creation of mega-banks.

Deregulation coincided with Wall Street’s ever-increasing pay. By 2005, Wall Street earned 250 percent more than other industry executives (that ratio reaches 300 percent in the Tri-State area). “In other words, pay in the finance industry has become significantly higher, but also riskier and more backloaded.” But that could change when Dodd-Frank reforms go into effect:

Changes in financial regulation are an important determinant of all these patterns. The ultimate test of this hypothesis may be the evolution of wages in the next 5–10 years. If new regulations (Basel 3, the Dodd–Frank Act, etc.) are effectively implemented and if we are correct, then we expect both wages and skill intensity to converge and excess wages to disappear.

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