Tuesday's Daily Brief: Maurice Sendak Dies, Santorum Endorses Romney, New Gay Marriage Poll

Tuesday, May 8, 2012 Mitt Romney: 'I'll Take A Lot Of Credit' For Auto Industry Recovery BOOKS Maurice Sendak Dead POLITICS Santorum Endorses Romney POLITICS Poll: Half Of Americans Support Same-Sex Marriage MEDIA WATCH: Anderson Cooper Calls Out Obama Over Gay Marriage WORLD New French Prez Confirms Dramatic War Policy Change BLOG POSTS Paul Krugman: How Bad Things Are If you have any familiarity with the world, in short, you know that involuntary unemployment is very real. And it's currently a very big deal. How bad is the problem of involuntary unemployment, and how much worse has it become? Noam Chomsky: Plutonomy and the Precariat The Occupy movement has been an extremely exciting development. If the bonds and associations it has established can be sustained through a long, dark period ahead -- because victory won't come quickly -- it could prove a significant moment in American history. Greta Van Susteren: Senator Marco Rubio and Elizabeth Warren! Can We Call It Even and Drop It? I believe both Senator Rubio and Elizabeth Warren when they talk about their family histories. I believe both of them heard those stories for years in their families and just repeated them. Big deal. No one died. Let's move on to more substantive issues. Mia Farrow: Making Mother's Day More Meaningful: A Different Way to Spend $14.6 Billion Mother's Day is our chance to honor the women who bind families together and raise children from babies to adulthood. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: Petro Plutocracy Last week the world got a preview of America's new, post-Citizens-United petro plutocracy, with the oil lords flexing their political muscles like oil-soaked bodybuilders pumped up on a steroid drip of campaign dollars. It was all about fracking.

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Second Annual Midwest Black Male Educational Achievement Conference

Second Annual Midwest Black Male Education Conference  The Black Star Project presents the Second Annual Midwest Black Male Educational Achievement Conference Saturday, May 19, 2012 at the Ramada Inn 4900 Lake Shore Drive Chicago, Illinois   Featuring Dr. Umar Abdullah Johnson Philadelphia, Pennsylvania    Umar Abdullah Johnson:   Dr. Johnson is CEO of African American Psychological & Educational Services For Children and author of The Psycho-Academic War Against Black Boys and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Black Boys      He will teach parents, community members and educators to keep Black boys out of special education and away from the psycho-chemical drugs designed to trap Black boys in a chemically induced slavery.    Dr. Ivory Toldson Washington, D.C.   Ivory A. Toldson:   Dr. Toldson is an associate professor of the Counseling Psychology Program at Howard University, senior research analyst for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, and current editor-in-chief of "The Journal of Negro Education.  He is also author of In Breaking Barriers: How School Leaders Can Help Black Males Achieve Dr. Ivory A. Toldson will review the findings from national surveys and explain how they can be used as classroom solutions. His research discusses the importance of personal, emotional, social and school factors and how those factors impact academic success for black males.     and Dr. Garrard O. McClendon Chicago, Illinois Garrard O. McClendon:   Dr. McClendon is an Emmy winning journalist, television host, author of "Ax or Ask?: The African-American Guide to Better English." and has a doctorate in education from Loyola University.   Many schools have difficulties creating an environment and designing programs that motivate parents to invest in their child's learning.  His presentation will teach educators and administrators how to effectively engage parents in ways that empower them to be more involved with their child's education and school activities.   ------------------------------------------------------  Parents, educators and community activists from St. Louis, Missouri; Davenport, Iowa;  Detroit, Benton Harbor, Lansing, Battle Creek, Flint and Ann Arbor - Michigan; Milwaukee, Madison, Racine and Beloit - Wisconsin; Rockford, Peoria, Springfield, Rock Island, Kankakee, Waukegan, Joliet, Elgin, Decatur, East St. Louis, Danville, Quincy, Champaign and Chicago - Illinois; Indianapolis, Gary, Fort Wayne, Hammond, Michigan City, East Chicago and South Bend - Indiana should attend this conference. ------------------------------------------------------ Join us for one of the best conferences in the United States on educating Black male students with workable ideas and concrete solutions.  The cost for this one-day conference is $200.00.  This is one of the last chances for schools to use their parental involvement funds for this school year.  Please call 773.285.9600 for more information or to RSVP.   Click Here to register for the conference.   Click Here for special hotel accommodations at the South Loop Hotel, a Black-owned hotel.

Register Now! 2012 National Forum on Criminal Justice & Public Safety

May 7, 2012

Register Now!  The 2012 National Forum on Criminal Justice and Public Safety will take place July 29-31 at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya, Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico. The theme of this year's National Forum is "Advancing the Business of Public Safety: Rethinking, Realigning, Restructuring, Realizing." With resources on the decline, continuing to fund the same programs year after year is no longer an option for public safety and justice agencies. This requires a rethinking of strategies. Realigning resources to promote smart strategic planning and collaboration is now a necessity. Restructuring partnerships and promoting innovative evidence-based and data driven programs are now the norm. It's all part of realizing the goal of keeping communities safe. The 2012 National Forum will help participants refocus their efforts on this new reality. Sponsored by the National Criminal Justice Association and the IJIS Institute the 2012 National Forum on Criminal Justice and Public Safety showcases programs and technologies that help justice practitioners and decision makers in states, local communities and tribal nations address pressing public safety issues today and in the future. Last year 91 percent of attendees reported that they learned useful strategies and ideas that they could take home and implement immediately. Eighty-seven percent of attendees said the Forum was important for their professional development. Workshop topics include: American Indian Cultural Education for Crime Prevention and Recidivism Reduction; Information Sharing Standards and Priorities; Women's Pathways to Jail: The roles and intersections of serious mental illness and trauma; Law Enforcement's Leadership Role in Juvenile Justice Reform;  Programs to Reduce Guns and Gangs in Indian Country; The Promise and Perils of Using Social Media in Investigations; Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs and Interstate Data Sharing Efforts; Preventing the Next Hate Crime; Partnering for Impact & Success; New Frontiers in Regional Information Sharing- Pawn, License Plate Readers and Related Privacy Issues; Determining the Value Premise of Technology; Swift, Certain and Consistent Sanctions- an examination of HOPE and similar promising strategies; Framing the Message; Focusing on the Mentally Ill: Pre-Trial Diversion, Assessment and Treatment; Statewide Victim Automatic Notification (SAVIN): Where it is Today and in the Future; Risk, Needs & Responsivity (RNR) simulation tool; Performance Incentive Funding: Strengthening Local Capacity through Strategic Public Policy; Strategic Planning for Victim Services; Hot Trends and Innovations at Nlets; Lessons from Tribal Courts: Using Traditional Tribal Justice Practices to Enhance State Court Systems; and Research Report & Dissemination on State Agency Administrator Evidence Based Program Decision Making. Plus as always the popular Inside the Beltway session and last year's big hit Breakfast with the Experts Roundtables. View the full agenda. Please note: the agenda is subject to change. The Hyatt Regency Tamaya is a perfect destination for families. Located outside of Albuquerque, the Tamaya offers an extensive array of activities for children and adults including horse back riding, hot air ballooning, a full service spa, hiking and biking trails, tennis, yoga, a championship golf course and a kids camp. Rooms are available at a special conference rate of $77 per night plus tax. Book your room now! NCJA and IJIS Institute members enjoy discounted registration rates of $425. Nonmembers pay just $475.  Click here to register. Please make your plans now to join your colleagues for this exciting and unique conference.

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Chicago Public Schools on Pace to Arrest 4500 Students this School Year; In United States, Latinos Are Closing Racial Academic Gap; In California, Brother II Brother Mentors Young Males; Outstanding Black Male Educational Achievement Conference in Chicago; Use Library Card to Free Black Male Prisoners

Making Progress; Moving Forward! Chicago Public Schools On Pace to Arrest 4500 Students Latinos Closed Racial Academic Gap Black Male Education Conference Brother II Brother Mentors Youth First Annual Mother/Son Dance Those Who Work For Peace Join Father Pfleger Links: The Black Star Project's website: blackstarproject.org Black Star Jounral: blackstarjournal.org Become a Member: Click Here Event Calendar: Click Here Like us on Facebook:   2,546 arrests of juveniles on Chicago Public School's property in 6 months from September 2011 through February 2012.  Chicago is on pace for 4,500 arrests of students this year. Black students 26 times more likely to be arrested than White students.   Age      2011-2012 School Year   7                        0                             8                        0                             9                        3                             10                      8                             11                     17                            12                     71                            13                    159                 14                    329 15                    575                             16                    705 17                    498                             18                    181                               Race       2011-2012 School Year  Black              1915 Hispanic           540 White                 75 Asian                 14 Amer. Indian        0 Unknown             2   Gender       2011-2012 School Year Female               707 Male                 1839    Total arrest of juveniles on CPS property between September 2011 and February 2012 - 2,546 arrests   Click Here to read full story Blacks and Hispanics Have Different Educational Needs In the United States, Latino Students Closed Racial Gap with White Students While Black Students Continue to Lag Behind Photo contributed by The Black Star Project By Richard Whitmire  MaY 5, 2012   Plenty of large urban school districts nationwide were making solid progress with Hispanic students closing achievement gaps with white students. But African-American students continued to lag.   Hispanic students in recent years have been making faster progress than black students.   At successful Hispanic schools, you are more likely to see a school culture based on connections to family with teachers employing an unstructured curriculum emphasizing visual instruction.   Read More... The Black Star Project presents the Second Annual Midwest Black Male Educational Achievement Conference Saturday, May 19, 2012 at the Ramada Inn 4900 Lake Shore Drive Chicago, Illinois  Featuring  Dr. Umar Abdullah Johnson, Philadelphia, PA Dr. Ivory A. Toldson, Washington, D.C.. Dr. Garrard O. McClendon, Chicago, IL Parents, educators and community activist from St. Louis, Missouri; Davenport, Iowa;  Detroit, Flint, Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Benton Harbor, Lansing and Ann Arbor - Michigan; Milwaukee, Madison, Racine and Beloit - Wisconsin; Rockford, Peoria, Springfield, Rock Island, Kankakee, Waukegan, Joliet, Elgin, Decatur, East St. Louis, Danville, Quincy and Champaign - Illinois; Indianapolis, Gary, Fort Wayne, Hammond, East Chicago, Michigan City and South Bend - Indiana should attend this conference. ------------------------------------------------------ Join us for one of the best conferences in the United States on educating Black male students with workable ideas and concrete solutions.  The cost for this one day conference is $200.00.  This is one of the last chances for schools to use their parental involvement funds for this school year.  Please call 773.285.9600 for more information or to RSVP. Click Here for More Information Click Here to Register for Conference Click Here to Learn About Hotel Accommodations In Riverside, California, BIIB (Brother-to-Brother) Partners with Delta Sigma Theta At The University of California Riverside to Mentor Young Men   May 12, 2012 Brother II Brother will host another Mentoring Day at the University of California Riverside. This is a RSVP event ONLY.   Click Here to RSVP for this mentor day.  Click Here to view photo's of 2011 UCR Mentoring Day   Join The Black Star Project for our First Annual Mother/Son Dance (The Day Before Mothers Day) Saturday, May 12, 2012 at The Black Star Ballroom 3509 South King Drive Chicago Illinois 3:00 pm to 5:30 pm for young men 13 to 18 years old and their mothers Please call 773.285.9600 to RSVP for the Mother/Son Dance or to learn how to bring a Mother/Son Dance to your city.   State Senator Jacqueline Collins Seeks to Help Students in the 16th Legislative District of Illinois Apply for an Illinois General Assembly Scholarship to a State University or College. Illinois State Senator Jacqueline Y. Collins (center) If you are a college eligible student who lives in the 16th Legislative District of Illinois, this is an opportunity for you to receive a state scholarship.   Click Here to see if you reside in the 16th Legislative District of Illinois.   Click Here for an application for a scholarship if you live in the 16th Legislative District.of Illinois. Join Father Michael Pfleger and St. Sabina Church   Use A Library Card and Help Free Hundreds of Thousands of Black Men Incarcerated in America   Join the movement to stop the American system of The New Jim Crow by checking a book out of your local library or by buying and reading a paperback copy of The New Jim Crow. All high school and college students must read this book!     Read More...

Monday's Daily Brief: Putin Sworn In, Hollande Defeats Sarkozy, Arne Duncan Backs Gay Marriage

Monday, May 7, 2012 Vladimir Putin Sworn In For Third Term As Russia's President POLITICS Who Are You Going To Believe: Karl Rove Or Your Lying Eyes? POLITICS Obama Cabinet Secretary Backs Gay Marriage WORLD HOLLANDE BEATS SARKOZY POLITICS Is The Air Force's F-22 Fighter Jet Making Pilots Sick? EDUCATION Feds: Alabama Immigration Law Will Have 'Continuing And Lasting' Consequences BLOG POSTS Anne Sinclair: Good Luck, Mr. President! There we go, it's done. The French wanted change. Nicolas Sarkozy has lost his bid for re-election. On Monday, we'll start evaluating the downfall of the outgoing president, who went from being a popular candidate in 2007 to a president quickly pushed aside by his fellow citizens. Scott Atran: What's Really the Matter With Kansas and Cairo? Structural failures in economic management bring on such crises when they fail to maintain expectations for improvement in the standard of living among the middle class, the mainstay of democracies and principal source of political stability in the modern world. Mohamed A. El-Erian: European Elections Complicate Outlook Europe's election results sound an alarm for European integration and, consequently, the wellbeing of both the region and the global economy. Let us hope that the inevitable short-term volatility is a precursor to a more decisive effort to deal with the continent's festering problems. Michelangelo Signorile: Joe Biden Was for Marriage Equality Before He Was Against It Before Obama could even spend a few days basking in the glory of the Romney campaign's hideous gay meltdown last week, another idiotic gay panic has gripped his own campaign. And it really makes you wonder, what are these guys thinking? James Warren: Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Meeting: The Takeaway Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger's philosophy is as basic and old-school as their railroad investments. It's somewhat the same with their basic view of life; of working hard at what you love, not being infatuated with success and money, and giving back to your community.

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