The Ignorance of DOJ’s Civil Rights Division …

Much is being made, through Congressional chest-thumping and desperately needed oversight, of the brewing scandal involving Attorney General Alberto Gonzales (lampooned as “Gonzo” by vindictive pundits), but little is said about what appears to have gone on unabated for the entirety of Bush’s terms in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. 

With the bizarre and twisted reverse-voting rights discrimination case in Nuxobee County, Mississippi; the breakdown in the integrity of electronic voting machines and other irregularities; the non-commital attitude of Congress and the White House on renewing the Voting Rights Act; the brazen rapid dismantling of affirmative action and other quietly pursued initiatives to diminish Black political development, no wonder that such a division holds little priority.  Or, that it does but in a more sinister sort of way.

Also no wonder that recent attempts to secure DC Voting Rights have been stymied by Republican political maneuvers.  GOP resistance to civil rights is no great mystery, many within the party viewing Constitutional mandate as partisan/ideological dictate. Alia Malek in Salon.com  pulls no punches in this thorough piece:

The current U.S. attorneys scandal shows that the Bush administration was mistaken in its belief that it could politicize the nation’s top federal law enforcement agency, the Department of Justice, with impunity. The attorney general’s chief of staff and the director of the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys have both had to leave their jobs, and Congress has begun grilling DOJ leadership. But having decimated another entire sector of the DOJ in plain sight for six years with little consequence, is it any wonder the Bush White House figured nobody would miss a few prosecutors?

This is true.  That there is little discussion about the destruction of the civil rights division – in the wake of these latest allegations – is especially troubling.

‘08: The Not-So-Surprising Surge of John Edwards …

Recent polling data, courtesy of TIME Magazine, shows Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards surging heavily from 17% in mid-March to 26% since the announcement of his wife’s re-occurence of breast cancer – only 4 points behind 2nd place Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL). 

This isn’t as surprising as advertised since this current Presidential race is displaying some peculiar characteristics: it’s all personal.  It’s the first in most recent memory in which the most deeply personal revelations of the candidates are front and center.  Obama, over time, will lose his edge as the most culturally unique, with many soon forgetting his personal struggles with substance abuse.  Other Democratic and Republican candidates will be scrutinized for more compelling life-altering events or emotional challenges – Hillary Clinton will seem awfully dry in comparison.

CBC Finally Unveils a Budget …

From the wire:  

The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) presented its alternative budget to the House during debate this morning. The Congressional Black Caucus demonstrated its commitment to strengthen America’s families.   “We are proud to present this budget substitute. The budget is fiscally and socially responsible,” said Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, Chairwoman of the CBC. “Our budget addresses the needs of America’s families by funding programs, while reaching a surplus by 2012. The choices were tough.” “I congratulate Congressman Robert Scott, chair of the CBC Budget Task Force, for his hard work,” said Congresswoman Kilpatrick. “As a member of the House Budget Committee, he understands the importance of balancing the budget while ensuring that the needs of America’s families are met. This budget reflects the values of the people, restores accountability, and rebuilds our communities.”  The budget raises revenue by rescinding the tax cuts for the top two income tax rates, for people making over $200,000, rescinding the capital gains and dividend tax cuts, eliminating corporate tax incentives for off-shoring jobs, closes corporate tax loopholes, abusive shelters, and methods of tax avoidance, and closes the tax gap and reinvests these dollars into State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and fully funding No Child Left Behind.  The CBC budget uses this revenue to fund programs and services important to the American people.    The CBC budget balances the budget by fiscal year 2012 and creates a surplus of $141 billion. Over the next five years, the CBC budget saves $18.3 billion on interest on the national debt.  

OH – So Goes the Nation …

Ohio is typically considered a critical battleground gauge for determining who will be the next President.  A recent Quinnipiac poll shows:

Clinton 32%; Obama 22%; Gore 14%; Edwards 11%

Republicans: Rudy Giuliani 31%; McCain 31% to 20%; Gingrich 8%; Romney and Thompson tied at 6%.

General election match ups: 

• Clinton 46%, Giuliani 43%
• Clinton 46%, McCain 42%
• Clinton 51%, Romney 32%
• Obama 42%, Giuliani 42%
• Obama 45%, McCain 37%
• Obama 51%, Romney 26%
• Edwards 43%, Giuliani 42%
• Edwards 45%, McCain 37%
• Edwards 53%, Romney 26%

Obama’s reticence factor (level of support – or lack thereof – from White voters) could be reflected somewhat in these numbers as compared to Clinton’s reticence factor on account of her gender. 

Will Gates Donation to D.C. Public Schools Get Wasted?

Amid the heated political battles over whether Mayor Adrian M. Fenty will grab total control of the D.C. Public School system, the current and embattled DCPS Superintendent Clifford Janey gets a major boost in the form of a $112 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  Reports the Washington Post today:

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will announce today a $122 million investment to create a new crop of high school and college scholars among some of the city’s poorest and lowest-achieving students. It is the foundation’s largest investment to date in D.C. education and one of the largest grants it has made for education.

More than 2,000 students will become D.C. Achievers over the next 15 years and receive college scholarships of up to $10,000 each a year for a maximum of five years. The money is meant to jump-start low high school and college graduation rates among students living in parts of Northeast and Southeast Washington, where statistics show that within a span of five years, 66 percent of high school students fail to complete high school and just one in 20 high school graduates earns a college degree.

Our question here is exactly when – in the forseeable future – it will be realized that the $112 million is being flushed into a toilet of management malfeasance.  A system unable to renovate or repair aging facilities and unwilling to adapt best practices curriculum.  Still, massive sums of money are thrown at it.  An astounding 66% high school dropout rate signals something much more systemic and corrupt - D.C. (the nation’s capitol) is ranked 4th behind Georgia, Nevada and Florida in lowest overall graduation rates (2003).    Yet, the budget for FY2006 was $832 million for 54,800 students; that doesn’t include the additional $256 million budget for 19,300 schools in an embattled DC Public Charter School system that is presently under local and federal investigation. 

We applaud Gates’ intentions, but we have serious reservations about the overall plan.  Why throw good money into a system notorious for its inability to handle finances?  What are the conditions, performance measures and management controls are attached?  Beyond Superintendent Janey finding ammunition to secure his job (as the takeover war ensues), it’s difficult to see the viability in this plan. Perhaps it could be better spent by simply offering scholarships to low-income/high-risk students for reputable private schools in the area.