By Andrew P. Napolitano
The president's men trash the Constitution to pursue antagonists
The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. (CBCF) conducts research on issues affecting African Americans, publishes a yearly report on key legislation, and sponsors issue forums, leadership seminars and scholarships. Although linked with the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation is a separate nonprofit group that runs programs in education, healthcare and economic development. - Source: Wikipedia
Just three years ago, only the longest-tenured Washingtonians could recall that the dilapidated and unmarked building at Wiltberger and T streets Northwest was once the cultural epicenter of what was then the nation's largest urban black population. Now, $29 million and countless man hours later, the Howard Theatre once again stands as the premier entertainment destination in the Shaw neighborhood.
Nicole Ari Parker was motivated by frustration. For Star Jones, it was a matter of life or death. Toni Carey wanted a fresh start after a bad breakup.
African-American women have the highest obesity rate of any group of Americans. Four out of five black women have a body mass index above 25 percent, the threshold for being overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By comparison, nearly two-thirds of Americans overall are in this category, the CDC said.
A cadre of black women are engaged in a revived wave of voting rights advocacy four years after the historic election of the nation's first black president. Provoked by voting law changes in various states, they have decided to help voters navigate the system — a fitting role, they say, given that black women had the highest turnout of any group of voters in 2008.
President Obama dropped by unannounced at a White House African-American policy conference Wednesday, telling the crowd that “better days lie ahead.”
Facing an uproar from President Obama's most loyal base of supporters, the White House on Thursday rejected claims that Mr. Obama stereotyped blacks when he told them to "take off your bedroom slippers" and work for his re-election.
The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) has not had a good run of luck before the House ethics committee lately. Two of its senior members face trials before the panel. Rep. Charles B. Rangel, New York Democrat, is accused of cheating on his taxes, abusing New York rent-control laws and improperly using congressional stationery. Rep. Maxine Waters, California Democrat, is alleged to have steered bailout money to a bank in which her husband had a sizable financial interest. Now come Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, Texas Democrat, and Rep. Sanford D. Bishop Jr., Georgia Democrat, who have admitted to improperly doling out Congressional Black Caucus Foundation scholarship funds to their relatives and a staffer's children.
Four years ago, newly installed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised that Democrats would lead "the most honest, most open, most ethical Congress in history."
Credit the Dallas Morning News for its determination to get to the bottom of the scandal surrounding Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, Texas Democrat, and the nepotism of her Congressional Black Caucus scholarship awards. After the Morning News exposed the fact that Mrs. Johnson had broken the rules set out by the caucus barring relatives from receiving scholarships, Mrs. Johnson attempted to parry that charge by claiming she had nothing to do with selecting the recipients and had left that to aides.
A Texas congresswoman admitted that she wrongly steered thousands of dollars in college scholarships from the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation to her own relatives and the children of a staff member but said she did so unintentionally.
The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation will investigate its scholarship program following the admission by a House member that she wrongly steered scholarships to her relatives and the children of a staff member, the longtime attorney for the tax-exempt group said Tuesday.
