Digital Bootstraps for Analog Problems -- A Reply to Gene Marks' "If I Were A Poor Black Kid"

A truly clueless if well-intentioned column by Gene Marks titled “If I Were A Poor Black Kid” in Forbes magazine is getting righteously ripped from journalists all around the web. They’re correctly pointing out how bereft Marks’ column is of history, research, practical awareness, racial sensitivity, or the sheer realities of hunger or even homelessness that low-income children face. Marks seems to suggest that kids from impoverished backgrounds – all too many of whom are African American – can simply access computers and lift themselves up by their digital bootstraps to use free websites and enter elite prep schools or colleges. Maybe a handful of motivated kids will manage a heroic feat like that despite all the odds, but is this going to work for the majority of poor kids?

--> Read the rest of this post here, at K12NewsNetwork.com.

Cynthia Liu is founder of the grassroots education news site K12NewsNetwork.com, which empowers parents, educators, and students to report on important events at their local neighborhood schools and provides tools for maximum civic engagement in support of public education. This piece originally appeared in Technorati.

Mom’s Clean Air Force Twitter Party

Thursday December 15th our friends at Clever Girls Collective will be hosting an historic twitter chat sponsored by the women at Mom’s Clean Air Force featuring EPA administrator Lisa P Jackson.

This is an amazing opportunity for MOMocrats readers to actually ask first questions about one of the issues that effects all of us, air quality.

Currently, there are no national limits on the amount of mercury and other toxic air pollution released from power plant smokestacks. The toxic air pollutants from the coal and oil fired plants have numerous and serious health effects, especially on children. Research has shown that Mercury harm’s children's developing brains, including effects on memory, attention, language, and fine motor and visual spatial skills.

The other toxic metals found such as arsenic, chromium and nickel are known to cause cancer. Not to mention the damage Mercury and many of the other toxic pollutants causes our nation's lakes, streams, and fish.

This is just a handful of the reasons why the EPA’s proposed Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rule will have a huge impact on our health, the air, the economy and even jobs.

The EPA estimates the value of the improvements to health alone total $59 billion to $140 billion by 2016 by preventing thousands of premature deaths and tens of thousands of heart attacks, bronchitis cases and asthma attacks. Meeting the standards created by the rule would also create new jobs such as building, installing and operating the equipment to reduce the harmful emissions of mercury and other toxics.

Got questions? Well join the Clever Girls Collective community Q & A session with Administrator Jackson where you can get your air quality-related questions by her! They’ll also be discussing clean air—how pollution has affected you and your family sharing tips for ways you can help ensure we leave a legacy of cleaner air to future generations. They’ll also be offering prizes throughout the hour — including Moms Clean Air Force prize packs and gifts.

Moms Clean Air Force Twitter Event ft. EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson on Thursday, Dec 15 at 12pm PT/3pm on Twitter! Use the Tweetgrid here: http://bit.ly/uJeZ26

Follow: @momsCAF, @lisapjackson, @clevergirlscoll—and hashtag #momsCAF

RSVP here to let us know you’re joining the event

Please spread the word with your networks by tweeting this out:

Join us! Moms Clean Air Force Twitter Event w/ EPA Admin @lisapjackson! 12/15 @ 12 P/ 3 ET! Fab prizes! #momsCAF RSVP http://bit.ly/mcafrsvp

This is a sponsored MOMocrats post written as part of the Clever Girls Collective campaign for greater awareness of Mom's Clean Air Force.

 

 

 

 

Michele Bachmann: Terrible GOP Presidential Candidate, But Terrific Democratic Party Opposition Researcher

The proof's right here:

I think Congresswoman Bachmann saved President Obama some legwork, don't you?

And something tells me she won't be on the GOP nominee's dance card to fill the seat for Vice President after pointing out all the Presidential nominee's inconsistencies like that.

So what do you say we help her spread this useful video around?

;)

 

Cynematic would like a nice, sane, democratic, fact- and reality-based country to entrust to her child for safekeeping. Wouldn't you also?

Salon op-ed compares Melissa Harris-Perry to Bachmann, KKK

Yesterday, Salon.com published an op-ed by white liberal columnist Gene Lyons in response to Melissa Harris-Perry's recent writing for The Nation on racism as a factor in declining white liberal support for the President. Rather than disagreeing thoughtfully and respectfully with Harris-Perry's argument, Lyons chose not to focus on criticizing the substance of her articles but instead on attacking her as a black female intellectual.

The short version: Lyons dismissed Harris-Perry as a "fool" and "a left-wing Michele Bachmann, an attractive woman seeking fame and fortune by saying silly things on cable TV." He claimed her argument that white racism may be a factor in liberal disillusionment with POTUS is a "photonegative of KKK racial thought," and dismissed her writings on race as "useful for intimidating tenure committees staffed by Ph.D.s trained to find racist symbols in the passing clouds." On top of all that, Lyons mocks black experiences of racism and our right to speak out about it thus: "Furthermore, unless you're black, you can't possibly understand. Yada, yada, yada. This unfortunate obsession..."

There's absolutely no question that this is an outright attack on Prof. Harris-Perry's race, gender, and professional accomplishments. Even more disturbing, it's an attack on all black people and all other people of color who dare to study or publicly raise the issue of racism on the left.

Too Little Too Late (about Too Much Too Soon)

While the entire eastern seaboard was obsessed with Irene, Gretchen Morgenson wrote in the New York Times this weekend about the Federal Reserve efforts to save the financial sector during the Great Recession, at enormous cost to the taxpayers and little benefit to Main Street.  Talk about burying the lede!

Based on information generated by Freedom of Information Act requests and its longstanding lawsuit against the Federal Reserve board, Bloomberg reported that the Fed had provided a stunning $1.2 trillion to large global financial institutions at the peak of its crisis lending in December 2008.

The money has been repaid and the Fed has said its lending programs generated no losses. But with the United States economy weakening, European banks in trouble and some large American financial institutions once again on shaky ground, the Fed may feel compelled to open up its money spigots again. (emphasis added)

This is NOT the TARP money bailout that was publicly debated and ultimately Congressionally approved, but additional amounts of money that were lent by the Federal Reserve to large banks (including foreign banks) largely in secret and at minimal interest rates in order to make sure that these banks could meet their minimum liquidity requirements so as to avoid bankruptcy. 

What Happens at BlogHer Rarely Stays at BlogHer: PunditMom Speaks

Several of the MOMocrats enjoyed a rare reunion in San Diego last week, at the sixth annual BlogHer conference. We recapped some of what we heard on yesterday's edition of MOMochat. And our own Joanne Bamberger (Pundit Mom), was interviewed by GenConnect's Randi Zucker:

Joanne Bamberger is the author of "Mothers of Intention: How Women and Social Media Are Revolutionizing Politics in America."

Michele Bachmann: Taking Political Motherhood to the White House?

If you thought Michele Bachmann was a conservative mom political superstar before the last GOP debate, then you're probably standing in line to get her autograph this week as she officially announces her 2012 presidential bid, as well as her special beauty secrets of how she still looks so young and fresh after 28 kids. I certainly don't look that put together on most days and I only have one child!

I'm no fan of Bachmann's political views or the fact that even though she's a lawyer, her understanding of the Constitution leaves a little something to be desired. But I have to hand it to her -- she pretty much hit it out of the ballpark with her debate performance alongside all those GOP guys.

Bachmann was prepared, poised and made sure her answers incorporated two things that are crucial to her campaign -- her Congressional experience and her motherhood. Plus, she lucked out that she didn't have any camera malfunctions or have to answer any questions about geography. I have no doubt that she's going to use the mom thing to her advantage wherever she can, because it worked pretty well for Sarah Palin when she was trying to whip GOP women into a political frenzy.

To President Obama on the Drawdown from Afghanistan: Put Veterans to Work Through 'Troops to Teachers'

Tonight at 8 pm ET, President Obama will outline his plan to begin drawing down troops in Afghanistan.

Not only is this a fulfillment of his promise at his West Point 2010 speech to do so, it's long past time we pivot away from battlefields and commit our precious people-power and national spending priorities to the many economic troubles we have at home. The American people favor, by large margins, a return of our troops and an end to the occupation of Afghanistan: 64% believe that troop levels should be decreased and 73% believe "substantial" numbers of troops should be withdrawn starting this summer.

It's an undeniable fact that our veterans will be coming home to a weakened economy. How will we absorb them into a job market that can barely sustain the people here already searching for work? We've heard nothing but "austerity" talk from the GOP, and both tax cuts and job cuts -- yes, government jobs are also jobs -- from the Republican party. Clearly they have nothing to offer.

Bob Fertik over at the USA Jobs Party has a great suggestion: immediately hire 3 million teacher's aides to help in the classroom, and give 99ers (those who have been out of work longer than the 99 weeks covered by unemployment benefits) and veterans first crack at work as teacher's aides.

APA History Month: Asian Pacific Americans Have A Great Deal At Stake in Education Debates

Shame on me, I haven't written anything for Asian Pacific Heritage Month (May), and the month is almost over.

Figures a post about APA culture would start with a guilt trip, eh? ;)

I'd like to argue that education is a "stealth" APA issue. It is both a particular obsession within our community and a key concern in the wider community as well. Public education in particular is often one of the first democratic institutions immigrant and American-born APAs are exposed to, and is a powerful acculturating force. At best, it really can be a means to economic and social upward mobility and exposure to a truly diverse society. At worst, it can be an alienating and lonely experience magnifying stratification by race, class, language, and gender/sexual identity.

We Interrupt the Conversation to Do a Little Campaigning On Our Own Behalf

I know. It's tacky to nominate yourself for a Top 25 list. It's even tackier to pander to your readers for votes. 

Nobody ever accused me of being classy. (I'm only speaking for myself here; I can tell you that the other MOMocrats are very refined, elegant women. Well, most of them.)

But when I noticed that some of our favorite bloggers (including some of our own contributors) were on Circle of Moms' list of Top 25 Political Moms, I hightailed over there to vote for them. And then I noticed that some of my least favorite bloggers were on their list, too.

OK, so those women happen to be Conservatives. Shoot me.

Scratch that. They're likely to be gun owners.

But you can understand why I'd want to see MOMocrats in that list... especially if we end up crowding out one of the Conservo-blogs.

I'm petty like that. 

I feel a little dirty - but not dirty enough to abstain from pandering to our readers and asking you to give us your "thumbs up." 

And while you're there, if you could also give a shout out to these individual MOMocrats and associates:

PunditMom

Queen of Spain

State of Discontent

Using My Words

K12 News Network

Lawyer Mama

Heartfeldt

Viva La Feminista

Writes Like She Talks

Moms Rising

THANK YOU.