Rock your vote-Candidates Edition-President Barack Obama

Howdy guys! I'm back and this time I am highlighting non other than President Barack Obama. I have already profiled Governor Mitt Romney and his position on several key issues surrounding what affect us most. Now I will highlight our 44th President and his position on the issues.

Part 1 of 2

Barack Obama was born August 4th 1961 in Hawaii to a Caucasian American mother and a Kenyon born father. He grew up in a predominately white household due to the fact that his father was a foreign student who married his mother in 1961 and divorced in 1964 when he returned to Kenya. He would only visit Barack once before passing away in 1982. His mother pasted away in 1995. Barack attended Occidental College from 1979 to 1981 and later transferred to Columbia where he received his BA. He would later go on to attend Harvard Law and obtain his law degree. He married Michelle in 1992. In 1996 he was first elected into the Illinois state senate and in 2004 he was elected to the US Senate. In 2008 Barack became the first African-American to hold a primary ticket in a presidential election and would win the 2008 election against opponent John McCain. 

• Abortion
• President Obama is Pro-Choice- According to his website "President Obama believes a woman’s health care choices are personal decisions, best made with her doctor—without interference from politicians".  President Obama voted against the Partial-Birth Abortion ban act stating that the state can properly restrict late-term abortions. He also voted for a $100 million education initiative to reduce teen pregnancy and provide contraceptives to young people. With Obamacare, many insurance plans are beginning to fully cover birth control without copays or deductibles as a part of women's preventive care.
• Equality of Opportunity (Race & Gender)
• President Obama opposes offering reparations to the descendants of slaves. He has stated that the best reparations we can provide are good school in the inner city and jobs for people who are unemployed. Obama supports affirmative action based on college admission. President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter fair pay act to help women fight back against pay discrimination. 
• Crime & Punishment 
• President Obama has send that the death penalty is use too frequently and inconsistently. He does favor it for cases in which the "community is justified in expressing the full measure of it's outrage". 
• Education
• President Obama has vowed to strengthen the public school education in our country. In 2004 He opposed education vouchers for use at private school because he felt that it would undermine public schools. In 2007 he supported merit pay for teachers. He also called for hight pay for teachers. He has also proposed the American Opportunity Tax Credit which would provide a refundable tax credit for education in exchange for community service.  
• The President has also doubled funding for the Pell Grant and fought to prevent federal student loan interest from doubling for more than 7 million students, and capped federal student loan repayments at 10% of income. One of his platforms is to invest in community colleges to provide education and career-training programs. 
• Immigration
• President Obama has said that he does not believe that 12 million illegal immigrants should be deported. He stated that we should give them a pathway to citizenship. He supported a guest worker program and voted in favor of the Bush administration back Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007. President Obama tried to pass the DREAM Act which didn't pass however he states that he refuses to give up on the act and he believes that young people who were brought to America through no fault of their own should be able to earn citizenship through military service or the pursuit of a higher education. President Obama does want to focus on enforcement efforts on those who endanger our communities and de-emphaize low-priority cases. 
• Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered rights
• President Obama has openly stated that he does not agree "that homosexuality is immoral". He supports expanding the protection afforded by hate crimes statues to cover crimes committed agains individuals because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. President Obama signed a bill repealing Don't ask don't tell during his presidency. In 2009 President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes prevention act into law. The president has also said that he support same sex couples adopting children.

Affirmative action in higher education is still necessary to remedy a long and lasting history of segregation in American public schools

Affirmative action in higher education is still necessary to remedy a long and lasting history of segregation in American public schools.

Written by Kene Anusionwu

keneanusionwu.com-Kenmix23@gmail.com

When I arrived in America in 2005 I realized several  hidden problems that existed in this country, although as a child in England I had been taught that American’s pioneered a great civil rights movement to end segregation during thr 1960’s , all one had to do was enter the average public school in any major city in America and see that  segregation still exists within public schools across the nation, and the clear inequality in resources from predominantly white to predominantly minority  based schools is having an adverse long term effect on ethnic minority students within this country. Affirmative action admission plans in higher education is and has been a step towards mending these discrepancies that exist within public elementary and high schools across the nation.

Affirmative action when first administered by American Universities and Colleges  was considered a  way to help remedy the long and lasting history of discrimination against African Americans and ethnic minorities within higher education. The U.S Supreme court has held that it is constitutional for state or local governments to implement plans to remedy past discrimination.[1]The United States Supreme court in Regents of The University of California v. Bakke [2] for the first time addressed the issue of determining whether admissions based affirmative action plans in higher education were a constitutional means of admitting students when a school admits students based on race. Although the court did not uphold the Universities affirmative action admissions plan, the court mentioned the importance of diversity in higher education “The nation’s future depends upon leaders trained through wide exposure to that robust exchange of ideas which discovers truth out of a multitude of tongues, rather than through any kind of authoratuve selection. Id. . Grutter v. Bollinger[3] a recent U.S. Supreme court decision furthered the court’s reasoning in Bukke, however Grutter applied justice powell’s conccurance in Bakke and made it the law. Grutter held that diversity is a compelling state interest for Colleges and Universities  to implement Affirmative action plans and is narrowly tailored towards reaching such interests therefore passing strict scrutiny equal protection clause review.

Despite this country’s highest court affirming the need for affirmative action admission plans in higher education several state Colleges and Universities across America believe that such admission plans are no longer necessary,  because minorities presently have equal opportunity in  completing higher education, however statistics speak otherwise.  “Racial and ethnic minorities are approximately 33 percent of the U.S. population, but represent only 10 percent of the U.S. lawyer population , less than ten present of the judges , and approximately 6 percent of law firm partners.”[4]  “The number of African American males entering the legal profession remains stagnant with only marginal increases during the past fifteen years.”.[5] Recent social science studies show the benefits of diversity in higher education, students who arrive at college with little or no previous interracial contact can see physiological benefits of interracial interactions within the first few weeks of being on campus.[6] In 2012 researchers from Columbia, Stanford, and Tuffs Universities released a study that examined over forty years’ worth of research on interracial interactions compiling data from 81 different studies. [7] This study showed that interracial group contact reduces prejudice and improves attitudes towards each other , these interactions help reduce bias , anxiety and reduces the possibility of  negative emotional responses  Id. Studies have also shown that the random assigning of interracial roommates in first year dorm’s reduces prejudice and increases ethnic heterogeneity of students and within such students friendship circles. Id at6

Affirmative action admission based plans not only benefit ethnic minority groups, they also help to educate others who ordinarily would never encompass other cultures or even share space with other racial groups. Diverse class rooms add a certain benefit to the environment of  Colleges and Universities and prepare students for the realities of this country which is gradually becoming more and more diverse every day. In all aspects of life an individual within this country will have to encounter a situation where they will be confronted with individuals from different cultures and backgrounds, through a diverse education ignorance and hostility can be avoided and a true respect for others may slowly but surely be installed within all educated Americans. Racism generally does not come from a hatred towards a specific group, racism usually manifests from a misunderstanding of others and a generational implementation of ethnocentric beliefs where one has never been exposed to the cultures of ethnic groups which they have been taught to hate.  Affirmative Action admission based plans are extremely important for all ethnic minority students within this country, and without these admission plans ethnic minority students will be significantly underrepresented in higher education.

[1] Richmond v. Croson, 488  U..S. 469 (1989).

[2] Regents of The University of California v. Bakke , 438, U.S. 265 (1978).

[3] Grutter v. Bollinger 539, U.S. 306, (2003).

[4] Anthony Jenkins, Diversity matters here and now, 90 JAN Mich, B.J. 14 (2011).

[5] Floyd Weatherspoon, The status of African American males in the legal profession a pipeline of institutional roadblocks and barriers, 80 Miss, L.J. 259 (2010).

[6] Brief of social and organizational phycologists as amici curiae supporting  Respondents. Fisher v. University of Taxas at Austin. Catolougue, inc 12 U.S. (2012) (No. 11-345), WL. 3308289.

[7] Negin R. Toosi Nalini Ambady, Laura G Babbitt & Samuel R. Sommers, Dyadic interracial interactions A meta Anlysis, 138 Psychol Bull 1. 6-7 (2012).

Rock the vote!!! Candidates edition- Governor Mitt Romney

In continuing in my quest to educate vote on the candidates I am continuing to highlight each candidate and hopefully this will help you determine who has your vote in the 2012 Presidential Election. The next Candidate that I will be profiling is Governor Mitt Romney.

Mitt Romney was born on March 12, 1947 in Detroit. Mitt came from humble beginnings with a father who never graduated from college and a mother who gave up an acting career to marry Mitts father and raise a family. Mitt met and married his wife Ann in 1969. Mitt was never a career politician. He worked mainly in the private sector creating a distinguished career for himself. Mitt was elected Governor of Massachusetts in 2002 and in 2008 ran for President but lost the Republican ticket to John McCain. He came back strong in 2012 beating out hard hitters such as Herman Cain, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich to become the Republican candidate for the Presidential election. I am going to try and sum up a few of Mitt Romney's views found on his personal website. Hope you find them helpful.

Social Policy:

• Abortion
• Mitt Romney is Pro-Life-  "I am pro-life. I believe that abortion is the wrong choice except in cases of incest, rape, and to save the life of the mother. I wish the people of America agreed, and that the laws of our nation could reflect that view. But while the nation remains so divided over abortion, I believe that the states, through the democratic process, should determine their own abortion laws and not have them dictated by judicial mandate". During the 2012 presidential campaign, Romney promised to nominate Supreme Court justices who would help overturn Roe v. Wade, allowing states to individually decide on the legality of abortion. His website states that he would "nominate judges who know the difference between personal opinion and the law.
• Equality of opportunity (race and gender)
• As governor of Massachusetts, Romney eliminated the state’s Office of Affirmative Action. Romney has expressed support for decreasing barriers to entry into the workforce for women and minorities. He has expressed support for Muslims who face discrimination due to their religion.
• Crime and Punishment
• Mitt Romney supports sentencing under the three strikes law. He also supports mandatory increases in sentencing for repeat drunk drivers. He supports the death penalty. 
• Education
• Mitt Romney supports offering school choice options such as school-voucher programs and charter schools for both public and private schools. He supports performance based pay for public school teachers along with bonuses for the best teachers as well as incentives to help improve the quality of education. Governor Romney stated that as president he will stand to the National Teachers Union. 
• Governor Romney has stated in 2012 that college students should not expect government handouts to fund their education. He encourages young people to be more entrepreneuially-minded and take risks, even considering borrowing money from their parents if necessary to further their careers.
• Immigration
• Romney favors increased legal immigration and opposes illegal immigration. In 2008 he showed support for Arizona's Maricopa County Sheriff and his tough stance on immigration. He called Arizona's approach to illegal immigration "a model for the nation". Romney stated that he would seek to make the U.S. a much less hospitable place for undocumented immigrants. He openly opposed the DREAM Act and vowed to have it vetoed if he became president and if it was enacted. Romney has said that making employers have systems set up such as E-verify will reduce undocumented workers.
• Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Rights 
• Romney supported domestic partnerships and stated "We must make equality for gays and lesbians a mainstream concern". He supported Don't ask don't tell during the Clinton administration and have shown support during the Obama administration. Romney supports traditional marriage and is opposed to both same sex marriage and civil unions, though he has shown support for domestic partnership benefits. He also supports anti-discrimination laws to protect gays and lesbians in the workplace. 
• Social Welfare
• Romney called for increase state funding for childcare so that the mothers of two year old children can "have the dignity to work".  However in August 2012, he stated his opposition to Obama's plan to offer more flexibility to those states that move more people from welfare to work.
• Healthcare
• As governor of Massachusetts in 2006, Romney proposed and signed into law a private, market-based reform that ensures every Massachusetts citizen will have health insurance, without a government takeover and without raising taxes.Romney opposed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare) that was ultimately passed by Congress and signed by President Obama in 2010. In June 2012, Romney pledged to enact a system to replace the Affordable Care Act, but did not release details of how it would be paid for. Romney's plan includes expanding health savings accounts to pay for premiums, increased competition and consumer choice, and lawsuit reform. In August 2012, Romney indicated that he might retain parts of Obamacare such as coverage for pre-existing conditions, but this was quickly clarified as only ensuring insurance coverage for people who already had insurance coverage.
• Jobs Plan
• Romney argued during the 2012 presidential election campaign that his proposals to reduce government regulation of business activity and to revise the federal tax code and federal trade and energy policies would foster an environment that would lead businesses to create 12 million jobs within his first four years in office.
• Taxation
• As the new Governor of Massachusetts in 2003, Romney declined to publicly support the federal tax cuts proposed by the Bush Administration. In 2007, after leaving the governor's office and deciding to seek the party' presidential nomination, Romney said that he had supported the Bush tax cuts overall.  In that same year, Romney signed the anti-tax pledge put forth by Americans for Tax Reform, pledging no new taxes or increases of existing taxes. Romney opposed the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, the compromise tax package between President Obama and the Republicans Congressional leadership that centered around a two-year extension of the Bush tax cuts.During his 2012 presidential campaign, Romney said he would seek income tax law reforms that he says would help lower federal deficits and would stimulate economic growth. Among the series of tax changes he has proposed are: reducing individual income tax rates across the board by 20 percent, maintaining the Bush administration-era tax rate of 15 percent on investment income from dividends and capital gains (and eliminating this tax entirely for those with annual incomes less than $200,000), cutting the top tax rate on corporations from 35 percent to 25 percent, and eliminating the estate tax and the alternative minimum tax.

Hope this helps, its not everything but it is key information. Thanks for reading. Here are the links to where I got the info from below.

Retesha

www.mittromney.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitt_Romney

Rock your vote!!! Learn the candidates edition-Justice R. Fred Lewis

I wanted to do this blog particularly because a lot of voters don't know who their voting for outside of the Presidential candidates. In Florida alone the ballot is 3 pages long. Meaning if you are in a rush, you may want to vote early or take the time out to ready about the candidates and amendments that you will be voting for. The first candidate that I will be profiling is Florida Supreme Court Justice R. Fred Lewis. 

Justice Lewis will be on the November ballot on page 1. Because Judges are not usually associated with a Political Party it will be listed under Nonpartisan Supreme Court.

The question that is listed on the ballot states "Should Justice R. Fred Lewis of the Supreme Court be retained in office? Followed by a yes box and a no box. Many will mark an answer without knowing much information about him, therefore I am going to lay down the facts about Justice Lewis so you can make your own education decision come election time.

According to his wikipedia here are some key facts about the Justice:

• Appointed to the Supreme court of Florida in 1998
• He Founded Justice Teaching, which is an organization that now has over 3,900 volunteer lawyers and Judges placed with and active in all Florida public schools, which enhances civic and law-related education through active programs in all levels of Florida school.
• "Convened the first commission and statewide all-branch mental health summit which developed and proposed a unified and comprehensive plan to address the increasing problems with the intersection of mental illness and the justice system".
• "While in private practice, he was heavily involved in providing counseling to families with disabled children and provided pro bono legal services and counseling for cancer patients seeking proper treatment for multiple conditions"
• "The University of Central Florida honored Justice Lewis by creating the Justice R. Fred Lewis Award, which will be awarded annually to the individual who has demonstrated the highest level of social responsibility. Justice Lewis received the inaugural award for his service to the youth of Florida".
• "In June 2008 Justice Lewis received the prestigious William M. Hoeveler Judicial Award representing the highest level of professionalism in the Florida judicial system"

Currently Justice Lewis is one of the main targets of the Republican Party. "Until now, a political party has never formally involved itself in merit retention since it was adopted in the 1970s to reform a corrupt judiciary. Three weeks ago, Lewis told the Hillsborough Bar Association that the election "is the most stressful time I've ever experienced in my life. There is an entire branch of government to protect and defend. We cannot sacrifice fairness and impartiality and the court system to political whims."

In my own opinion he has done a lot in his 14 years as a Justice and I don't see why he should be bullied out of his seat, to read more about Justice Lewis and the attack against him from Republicans click the links below...

Remember to rock your vote and make a difference

Tampa Bay Times Article

R. Fred Lewis Wikipedia

30 years old going to Law School... Is it possible ???

Oh my dear sweet girkins- * in my Ru-Paul voice* lol! I will be 30 in less than 1 month. Yes I said it, 30. Sweet Jesus where did the time go. For as long as I can remember I have wanted to be an Attorney. It's been a passion that I dreamed of making a profession. I remember watching Clair Huxtable, Maxine Shaw, and Joan Clayton, all black powerful lawyers portrayed on TV. I thought to myself that I want to be that strong, black, powerful woman. So since I have rambled on and on Ive decided to put my money where my mouth is. I plan to take the LSAT (Law school admissions test)... Again... And this time get into law school. I have 3 children and a husband that is a 2L with barely enough time to eat let alone help me with my studies lol. So feel free to follow me on my journey and hopefully I can inspire you to achieve your untimate goals as well. My motto is that it's never too late. Whether your 30, 45, 25 or 50!!! Stay tuned folks

For-Profit Institutions of Higher Learning-What you need to know before you enroll

I have personally never been a fan of For-Profit Colleges such as Everett, University of Pheonex, and Keiser College. Their ads plague day time television convencing people that they can simply enroll, some even offer enrollment without a High School Diploma or GED. They tell you that once you graduate you will earn up to $25.00 per hour in nursing, or have a business degree, or working in so field that is gurenteed to be considered to be high paying. What they fail to mention is the cost of attendance. On adverage, For-Profit schools charge 3 time the tutition rate as a Private College, Community College or a reguar 4 year college.

Whats worse is that many of the students who attend these for-profit institutions either graduate with tens of thousands of dollars in debt or they don't finish yet still have the mounting debt from attending the schools. Please educate your self on the cost of these schools before enrolling. I know it may seem good to take classes online that work around your schedule however mostly all community colleges offer the same classes online and for a fraction of the cost. Something else to consider is the accreditation. Many of these schools are not fully accredited, meaning you cannot transfer their credits to another school such as a 4 year college (UF, UCF, FSU) or a 2 year college. This usually traps a lot of students into staying and completing their program at the school while continuing to have more and more student loans to cover the cost of attendance. 


Please take a moment to watch this video that Front Line did on For Profit Colleges.




College Inc.

The business of higher education is booming. It's a $400 billion industry fueled by taxpayer money. But what are students getting out of the deal? Critics say a worthless degree and a mountain of debt. Investors insist they're innovators, widening access to education

Congo- Africa's deadliest War that I bet you didn't even know about it...

It hurts me to read about the ongoing conflicts that transpire in Democratic Republic of Congo. To date Democratic Republic of Congo has been noted as being the place of the deadest conflict in world history behind World War II. Since 1998 a reported 5.4 million people have died in wars, conflicts, and disease and starvation. Although the war is technically over thousands continue to die daily due to the control of Congo’s vast mineral wealth. The media never talks about the Conflicts in Congo, this may be because of a few reason that myself and others have researched and came up with.

·         Reason #1-After record growth in the 1950s, a series of internationally orchestrated local conflicts have kept Africa right where the US can manage it without becoming threatened (Walters, 2008).  Moreover Between 1960 and 1974, there were nine coups and seven major conflicts in Africa, including Ghana, Uganda, Angola, and the Congo. According to Apocalypse Africa, all the coups between 1956 and today have involved the US in some capacity. The US has been known to supply weapons or money to both sides of the conflicts, in order to foster instability and dependence on American wealth (Walters, 2008).  Supposedly, the African bureau of the Department of State looked the other way as Uganda’s notorious despot Idi Amin led the murder of 300,000 of his citizens. John Stockwell, a former CIA chief and member of the Angola Task Force, explains “The CIA maintains prepackaged stocks of foreign-made weapons for instant shipment anywhere in the world.”  With those reserves, our government can influence conflicts without obvious culpability (Walters, 2008)

·         Reason 2 Congo currently holds the world’s largest reserves of Colton and cassiterite. In the coltan mining industry, Children are forced to work for pennies a day to produce Colton, a mineral used to make cell phones, video games, and laptops. DR Congo currently holds 80% of the world’s reserve of Coltan that sells over $400.00 per pound. Congo mineral war has led to the death of over 4 million people. Congo holds 80% of the worlds’ Coltan reserves, historically, the U.S. government identified sources of materials in Third World countries, and then encouraged U.S. corporations to invest in and facilitate their production. Dating back to the mid-1960s, the U.S. government literally installed the dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko, which gave U.S. corporations access to the Congo’s minerals for more than 30 years

·          Reason 3- In 1998, U.S. military-trained leaders of Rwanda and Uganda invaded the mineral-rich areas of the Congo. The invaders installed illegal colonial-style governments which continue to receive millions of dollars in arms and military training from the United States. Our government and a $5 million Citibank loan keeps the rebel presence in the Congo. Their control of mineral rich areas allows western corporations, such as American Mineral Fields, to illegally mine. Rwandan and Ugandan control over this area is beneficial for both governments and for the corporations that continue to exploit the Congo’s natural wealth (Ray).

·     Reason 4- The UN had a strong presence in DR Congo since the beginning of the civil wars that claimed the lives of over four million people. Unfortunately their intensions were not always the best. In 2004 a major scandal book out involving UN peacekeepers rapping young children and women in Congo. In 2005 a classified United Nations report prompted Secretary General Kofi Annan to admit that U.N. peacekeepers and staff have sexually abused or exploited war refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The worst of the 150 or so allegations of misconduct--some of them captured on videotape--include pedophilia, rape, and prostitution. U.N. report found "widespread" evidence of sexual abuse of West African refugees (Loconte, 2005).  Allegations of sexual abuse or misconduct by U.N. staff stretch back at least a decade, to operations in Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea. A 2001 report, released by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Save the Children, found that sexual violence against refugees in West Africa was endemic (Loconte, 2005).  Most of the sexual abuse and exploitation, says the report, involves trading sex for money, food or jobs. However, some victims say they were raped, but later given food or money to make the incident appear to have been consensual – "rape disguised as prostitution” (Loconte, 2005).

             Walters, D. (Director). (2008). Apocalypse Africa: Made in America [Motion Picture].

Ray, E. (n.d.). American Companies Exploit the Congo. Retrieved 04 16, 2011, from Project Censored: http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/19-american-companies-exploit-the-congo/

Loconte, J. (2005, 01 03). The U.N. Sex Scandal. Retrieved 04 17, 2011, from The Weekly Standard : http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/005/081zxelz.asp

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