Tuesday, May 01, 2012

Tuesday's Daily Brief: Introducing HuffPost Voces, Murdoch Bombshell, Bin Laden Death Anniversary

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Arianna Huffington: ¡Bienvenidos a la Familia! Introducing HuffPost Voces

Arianna Huffington: I'm delighted to announce the launch of HuffPost Voces, a Spanish-language vertical that will bring the power of HuffPost's blogging platform to the legacy of AOL Latino, which has been devoted to telling the most important and most entertaining stories about Latino life in America since 2003. At Voces, we will use all the tools at our disposal to capture the diverse voices that make America what it is. More than 50 million Latinos live in the United States, yet we have a debate that, regrettably, is far too often detached from the Latino experience. So there's no better time than now to renew our focus on the shared human values that are so key to solving the many problems and challenges we're facing as a country.

	MEDIA Rupert Murdoch 'Not Fit' To Run Major Company: Bombshell Report
	POLITICS Obama Campaign Strikes Squarely At Romney's Swiss Bank Account
	WORLD One Year After Bin Laden Raid, No Answers From Pakistan
	POLITICS Obama Camp's Bin Laden Ad Sparks Outcry, Ethics Debate And Duplicity
	SCIENCE EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Chilling Video Of Challenger Disaster Unearthed

BLOG POSTS

	Ryan Gosling: Watch I Am Congo -- Because We're Not in It After you learn a little about Fidel, there are other profiles of courageous Congolese living their lives and standing up for what they believe in. We hope you'll take the time to watch these profiles and get to know Congo and its people a little better.
	Agapi Stassinopoulos: Bridging the Gap: Unbind Your Heart a Little More At every moment we have the power invested in us to touch another human, heart-to-heart, and affect their lives by conveying the truth of all truths: We are One. We have the power to bridge the illusion and pain of separation.
	Evan Shapiro: Sex Is Bad Welcome to TV in America, where violence, no matter how malicious or senseless, is just fine but sex is decried, maligned and verboten in all but the most secure corners of the schedule. TV's ban on sexuality not only covers scenes of nudity or sexual acts, but our very language itself.
	Dr. Peggy Drexler: Turning Boys Into Men: 4 Ways to Expand Your Son's "Boy Power" We as a culture have held fast to the idea that we need to protect the boundaries between male and female. This is wrong, and even dangerous. Instead, we need to be reframing the discussion, and asking: What makes a boy a boy?
	Bill Maher: Celebrating 20 Years of Free the Animals Free the Animals tells the riveting, real-life story of the people who put on disguises, use fake IDs, or jimmy their way into laboratories in order to carry out the daring rescues of animals used in experiments and of the insiders, the whistleblowers, who risk their jobs to help them.

Osama Died, The GOP Cried

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Joe Conason

Carl Hiaasen

Connie Schultz

E.J. Dionne

Gene Lyons

Jonathan Alter

May 01, 2012

THE BIG STORY, BY JOE CONASON

Why Bin Laden's Death Still Drives The GOP Nuts

Beset by guilt and pretending indignation, the Republicans -- remember "Mission Accomplished"? -- can't accept that Obama actually finished the job. READ MORE

FEATURED COLUMN: MARY SANCHEZ

Why Wal-Mart's Mexican Bribe Machine Matters

This is not a brand of capitalism the U.S. needs to export. It's cheating. READ MORE

BAD EGO TRIPS

The Failed Cult Of Newt

Gingrich is broke, and no one wants him as their dear leader. READ MORE

SPRINGTIME FOR ANARCHY

May Day! May Day! 'Occupy' Is Back?

Will they try to shut down entire cities? READ MORE

MITT-FLOP

Romney Advisor: Obama Stole Mitt's Idea For Auto Bailout

Why the guy responsible for that "etch-a-sketch" comment keeps on saying silly things. (Hint: He thinks you're stupid.) READ MORE

TAKE THAT, AL QAEDA

No More Ground Zero As One World Trade Center Rises [VIDEO]

More than a decade later, the site of the 9/11 attacks is once again home to the tallest building in New York City. READ MORE

CARTOON OF THE DAY

See Romney's quote below

I have no words that would really convey the import of what we could possibly face at the presidential level coming up. But read and let it roll around in your mind. Let the kindergartener point the finger at the Phd. and say "you don't know what you are talking about".

Subject: Fw: Fwd: See Romney's quote below

Pass this to everyone that you can think of please! Is this what you want for president.

How do Black republicans react to quotes like this?? SMH...

See Romney's quote below.

Maybe the politicians don't think we vote, or that we have to take whatever they say to us or about us. As in previous elections, it is not the politician who feels the pain (they legislate themselves out of laws they pass for us). All of us end up hurting from bad policies. We had better look past racial lines and look out for what's best for all of us, be we women, Jew, Gentile, Black, Hispanic, white, rich, poor, or other.

This information needs to be shared.

I just had to share these comments that Mitt Romney made and I'm telling you all we better take this election business serious cause these GOP folks are way beyond crazy

Mitt Romney was addressing a crowd in Prattville, Alabama this past Monday

Here's what Romney said:

"I understand how difficult it can be for an African-American in today's society. In fact, I can relate to black people very well
indeed. My ancestors once owned slaves, and it is in my lineage to work closely with the black community. However, just because

they were freed over a century ago doesn't mean they can now be freeloaders. They need to be told to work hard, and the incentives

just aren't there for them anymore. When I'm president I plan to work closely with the black community to bring a sense of pride and

work ethic back into view for them". -Mitt Romney.

He must love the taste of his toes because he keeps putting his foot in his mouth. And we thought Bush was dumb!!

Intelligence plus character is the true meaning of education. DR. Martin L. King, JR

Friday, April 27, 2012

Biden's New Slogan -- Simple And Razorsharp [VIDEO]

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Joe Conason

Carl Hiaasen

Connie Schultz

E.J. Dionne

Gene Lyons

Jonathan Alter

April 27, 2012

THE BIG STORY, BY MATT TAYLOR

Biden Eviscerates Romney's 'Cold War' Foreign Policy [VIDEO]

Vice President Joe Biden continued to frame the fall campaign against Mitt Romney in a foreign policy address at New York University Thursday:
"If you're looking for a bumper sticker to sum up how President Obama has handled what we inherited, it's pretty simple: Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive....[I]f Gov. Romney had been president, could he have used the same slogan in reverse?" READ MORE

RYAN SHRUGGED

Under Fire, Paul Ryan Ditches Ayn Rand For Aquinas

Rep. Paul Ryan became a right-wing hero for policies based on the philosophy of deceased novelist Ayn Rand -- absolute devotion to laissez-faire capitalism and the conviction that selfishness is a virtue. According to a new interview, however, Ryan has learned something about his heroine that ruined her allure. READ MORE

FEATURED COLUMN: NOAH FELDMAN

Arizona Immigration Argument Leads To National ID

Can the police stop you and make you show your papers? In Europe, the answer has long been yes. On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court took up the issue -- and from what the justices said at oral argument, it seems the U.S. might soon be getting more European. Or at least one step closer to requiring a national ID card. READ MORE

ON THE WEB

How Would The New Cybersecurity Bill Affect You?

The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, up for debate in the House of Representatives today, has privacy activists, tech companies, security wonks and the Obama administration all jousting about what it means -- not only for security but Internet privacy and intellectual property.
What would CISPA mean for Internet users? READ MORE

WAR ON WOMEN

House GOP Responds With Own Bill To Protect Women

House Republicans determined to show women voters that GOP will protect their interests, announced plans on Wednesday to renew the Violence Against Women Act, the federal government's main domestic violence program.
But the GOP proposal set up a possible showdown over a different version of VAWA advanced by Senate Democrats, which has been pending for several weeks. READ MORE

FEATURED COLUMN: CONNIE SCHULTZ

An Empty Lot Full Of Meaning

Two and a half years ago, a house in a poor neighborhood in Cleveland made international headlines for the saddest of reasons. For 10 years, I lived only a couple of miles from this house, but I was in Hong Kong when I heard the news. I mention this only to convey the magnitude of the story -- and the horror of watching it unfold so many miles from home. READ MORE

CARTOON OF THE DAY

Thursday, April 26, 2012

EEOC Updates Criminal Background Check Policies: Good News for Unemployed

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Public Policy and External Relations

April 26, 2012

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EEOC Votes in Strong Bi-Partisan Fashion to Update Criminal Background Check Policies, Clarifying Civil Rights Standards for Illinois Employers & Workers

[Chicago, Illinois] With more Americans affected by employer use of criminal background checks than ever before, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) voted this week to update its decades-old guidance on how employers may use criminal background checks in their hiring decisions. The old EEOC guidance dates back to 1987, when current Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas chaired the EEOC.

The updated guidance provides employers with greater clarity on the fair use of background checks, in order to help the vast majority of employers who want to do the right thing, but who are often unaware of federal civil rights laws. The guidance will also go a long way to educate workers, especially workers of color, who face tremendous challenges in navigating the expanded use of criminal background checks for employment in today's competitive job market.

"We applaud the action of the EEOC in taking on this issue of critical concern to today's employers and workers. This is a major civil rights issue that affects thousands of people with criminal records in Chicago and throughout Illinois," said Diane Williams, President and CEO of Safer Foundation. "A major goal of our organization is to advance criminal justice reforms that guarantee equality for all under the law, so that our clients can become responsible, employed members of their communities. With the help of the new guidelines, we look forward to working with both employers and workers across the state to do the hard work of making sure that background checks are fair, accurate, and truly protect safety and security on the job.

In the 25 years since the EEOC issued its initial guidance, the use of background checks by employers has exploded in popularity. Today, more than 90 percent of employers conduct criminal background checks on some or all job applicants (up from 51 percent in 1996), according to a 2010 Society of Human Resources Management survey.

The ramped-up use of background checks today adds a major hurdle to the job prospects of a vast segment of U.S. workers. An estimated 65 million people in the United States-or one in four adults-have an arrest or conviction record that can show up on a routine criminal background check for employment. The problem is especially severe for African Americans and Latinos, who are overrepresented in the criminal justice system and are hit hard by higher rates of unemployment.

Unfortunately, some employers still violate the federal civil rights laws by imposing blanket restrictions against hiring people with criminal records. Just this year, Pepsi agreed to a $3.13 million settlement after denying jobs to anyone with an arrest-even if the arrest never led to conviction or was minor and not job-related. A 2011 report by the National Employment Law Project documented these kinds of violations based on an analysis of job ads posted on Craigslist by small and large employers across the United States.

In the wake of the updated EEOC guidance, groups in Illinois and around the country will be stepping up their efforts to educate employers, as well as workers, on the fair use of criminal background checks.

Demand for the revised guidance was strong. Following a 2011 hearing on the issue, the EEOC received more than 300 public comments, which-by a two-to-one ratio-supported the need for updating the guidelines, to better reflect changes in the economy, workplace, and world of criminal records screening since issuance of the initial guidance 25 years ago.

For more details on the EEOC's new guidance, the National Employment Law Project will be sponsoring a telephonic press briefing on Thursday, April 26^th, at 11:30 a.m. ET. To participate, please contact Tim Bradley of BerlinRosen at tim@berlinrosen.com or 314-440-9936.

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Follow Us on Twitter! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Follow @SaferFoundation on Twitter for more updates on criminal justice news and more information about the organization. We appreciate your support!

Public Policy and External Relations Contacts

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B. Diane Williams, President / CEO

Veronica Cunningham, Vice President, Public Policy and External Relations

Jon Kaplan, Director, Marketing and Communication

Anthony Lowery, Director, Policy and Advocacy

phone: 312-922-2200

www.saferfoundation.org

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* Many articles refer to people with criminal records as "ex-offenders" or "offenders". While we appreciate all the positive press these issues receive, we are working to use other terms to describe our clients that do not carry such negative connotations. These terms include "people with criminal records" or "people reentering society".