The U. S. Post Master, Patrick R. Donahoe, announced that the U. S. Post Office may discontinue mail delivery service on Saturdays beginning in August. The statement sounded very definitive. However, there is still a legal position that any changes to the Post Office must come through Congress and not unilaterally announced by the Post Office. Senator Harry Reid says the Post Office cannot unilaterally make changes such as discontinuing Saturday delivery. And labor unions are also questioning the move. In the past, there have been bills introduced to prevent the further decline of the Post Office. Unlike the help afforded to Wall Street and banks, Congress has not stepped in yet to help the U.S. Post Office from further decline and assist in its $20 billion gap. Many people living in urban cities do not believe the effect of Saturday non-delivery will affect them. And that may be true. But in many rural areas, the loss of Saturday mail will be felt by them. And there are other … [Read more...] about The Post Office May Not Be Able to Stop Sat. Mail Without Congress
Archives for February 2013
Pennsylvania GOP’s Attempts to Rig New Voting Laws
The 2012 election ended three months ago and ever since then, Republicans have been trying to enact laws to rig the next presidential election in 2016. The GOP tried to win the election by enacting voter ID laws in over half the states to make it difficult for minorities to vote and give the win to Mitt Romney. That obviously did not work well for them. Now, several states with Republican governors are considered making changes to the electoral college votes in their states. Ohio and Virginia law makers considered bills to allow their states to proportion their electoral college votes but rejected the idea. In 48 states, including Ohio and Virginia, the winner of a state’s presidential election, takes all of the electoral votes. Ohio and Virginia declined to make those changes. Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell vehemently opposed the change, as well as other prominent Republican leaders Now Pennsylvania, with its Republican governor, is the next state that is considering a bill … [Read more...] about Pennsylvania GOP’s Attempts to Rig New Voting Laws
Will an Amendment to Overturn Citizens United Become a Reality?
The U.S. Constitution has been amended 27 times. It was never meant to be a perfect and unchanging document as shown by the number of times that it has been amended. A quiet, slow moving train has been moving to change our election laws and the money spent by corporations. In 2010, the Supreme Court said that corporations are people and could spend as much money as they wanted to influence elections. The case is Citizens United. As a result of Citizens United, corporations can give as much money as they choose without naming names of individuals. On January 21, 2010, the Supreme Court decided Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission which turned our election campaign laws on their heads and overturned almost 100 years of campaign finance law. Unlimited corporate spending to influence elections became the law of our land. That’s one of the reasons, the last election raised $1 billion in total contributions for each candidate. If corporations, spent some of that money … [Read more...] about Will an Amendment to Overturn Citizens United Become a Reality?
Trayvon Martin Gets a 18th Birthday Present from the Judge
Trayvon Martin would have turned 18 today-February 5. Instead, in the case of Trayvon Martin, his parents are left, like many parents of senseless gun shootings, to mourn the loss of their son. Trayvon’s parents did get a birthday present from the Judge presiding in the case. Judge Debra S. Nelson, on the same date of Martin’s birthday, denied the defense’s request to further postpone and delay the start of the trial. “We are four months away from a trial date,” Judge Debra S. Nelson of Circuit Court told defense lawyers during a contentious hearing. “I don’t see any of your issues to be insurmountable.” The trial, as set last October, will start on June 10, 2013. It is expected to last three weeks. The defense stated it needed 6 more months to prepare for trial. Judge Nelson felt it was an unnecessary request for additional time. The prosecution stated the defense was dragging its feet by postponing depositions at the last minute. George Zimmerman’s lawyers told the Judge … [Read more...] about Trayvon Martin Gets a 18th Birthday Present from the Judge
Rosa Parks and the Making of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
February 4, 2013 marks the 100th birthday of Rosa Parks. The Civil Rights Act was passed on July 2, 1964. And a year later, the Voting Rights Act was passed. Those two Acts were started in part by the courageous act of this one woman, Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination against racial, ethnic, national and religious minorities, and women, at the workplace, in schools and by facilities that served the general public ("public accommodations"). It ended unequal application of voter registration requirements. The long road towards the Civil Rights Act was fueled by Mrs. Parks. Today, in celebration of her 100th birthday, the U.S. Post office issued a stamp in her honor. On February 4, 2013, the date of her birthday, President Obama issued a statement. “It has taken acts of courage from generations of fearless and hopeful Americans to make our country more just. As heirs to the progress won … [Read more...] about Rosa Parks and the Making of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Black History Month 2013 Version
Every February, we celebrate Black History Month. It started in 1926 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson as Negro History week. In 1976, it became Black History month. And in 2013, some wonder why we still celebrate it. After all, we have Barack Obama, our first African American president, Eric Holder, our first African American U.S. Attorney General and Rep. James Clyburn (D. SC) our third highest ranking Congressional Democrat. As I reflect on what Black History month means, I have mixed emotions. We learn from our history. President Obama, in his 2011 State of the Union speech, said he wants Americans to win the future. Winning the future depends on understanding our past. African Americans are the citizens whose labor, blood, sweat, tears and deaths helped make America a great country. Americans know the story of Ellis Island and immigrants. Yet, many do not know that African Americans were in America before the Mayflower landed in the 1620. The first known African … [Read more...] about Black History Month 2013 Version