Jonathan Rapping wins MacArthur ‘genius grant'

AJC.com

Jonathan Rapping, an Atlanta lawyer, laughs when he says he’s no genius but is deadly serious when he speaks about the plight of poor people charged with crimes.

The United States, he says, “has come to accept an embarrassingly low standard of justice for poor people” who cannot afford their own lawyers and must rely on counsel provided by the state.

Rapping’s determination to change that earned him a 2014 MacArthur Foundation “genius grant."

The MacArthur program honors extraordinary originality and dedication in recipients’ creative pursuits.

Rapping is one of 21 recipients, announced Wednesday, who will each receive a no-strings-attached stipend of $625,000, paid out over five years. The fellowship comes with no stipulations or reporting requirements, and allows recipients maximum freedom to follow their own creative visions.

In 2007, Rapping created the Southern Public Defender Training Center, subsequently renamed Gideon’s Promise. Named after the landmark 1963 Supreme Court case Gideon v. Wainwright, Gideon’s Promise teaches public defenders to work more effectively within the judicial system by providing coaching, training and professional development, as well as a supportive network of peers and mentors from around the country.

Since its founding, the organization, based in Atlanta, has grown from a single training program for 16 attorneys in two offices in Georgia and Louisiana, to a multitiered enterprise with over 300 participants in more than 35 offices across 15 mostly Southern states.

The landmark Gideon case “says you have a right to a lawyer, and we haven’t lived up to that promise,” Rapping said in a phone conversation Tuesday evening.

Stephen Bright, president and senior counsel of the Southern Center for Human Rights, said Rapping “is making the Constitution of the United States a reality for the first time in courtrooms all over the Southeast.”

“He is teaching public defenders to be client-oriented — to recognize the dignity of their clients, treat them with respect and give them the same representation they would receive if they could afford the best lawyer in town,” Bright said.

According to Rapping, 80 percent of the people charged with crimes in the U.S. rely on public defenders, and those accused are disproportionately people of color.

“Public defenders are doing this generation’s civil rights work,” he said.

“I’ve met passionate defenders who entered the legal profession for the right reasons, and the system beat the passion out of them,” Rapping said. “The system expected them to just process human beings. Caseloads too high. … Insufficient resources. … So my wife and I started an organization, a supportive community of lawyers who are working to force the system to live up to its highest ideals.”

Rapping’s wife, Ilham Askia, is the executive director of Gideon’s Promise. She was a schoolteacher in College Park when she agreed to take a year off to help her husband launch his dream, and she’s never looked back.

Indeed, social justice is a family affair for Rapping. He says his mother was an activist, community organizer, writer and professor, and his two children — a 10-year-old daughter and a 6-year-old son — already see themselves as a team with Mom and Dad, “getting poor people out of jail.”

In 2014, Rapping established a partnership with the Maryland Office of the Public Defender, marking the first time the Gideon’s Promise model will be integrated into a statewide defender system. Rapping, who is also an associate professor at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, commutes to Maryland from his family’s Virginia-Highland home.

As for what will be done with the prize money, “I haven’t figured that out yet,” he said. “But it certainly takes a lot of the pressure off. My wife left a secure job. And when you run a nonprofit that supports public defenders, you really sort of, year to year, are trying to keep the doors open.”

Lord Jamar: I'm Worried for DMX, Not Chris Brown

[The Appearance of] Justice Department launches study of racial bias among police

CBS News

Broadening its push to improve police relations with minorities, the Justice Department has enlisted a team of criminal justice researchers to study racial bias in law enforcement in five American cities and recommend strategies to address the problem nationally, Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday.

The police shooting last month of an unarmed black 18-year-old in Ferguson, Missouri underscored the need for the long-planned initiative, Holder said in an interview with The Associated Press.

He said the three-year project, which will involve training, data analysis and interviews with community residents, could be a "silver lining" if it helps ease racial tensions and "pockets of distrust that show up between law enforcement and the communities that they serve."

"What I saw in Ferguson confirmed for me that the need for such an effort was pretty clear," Holder said.

The five cities have not yet been selected, but the researchers expect that the cities will offer training to officers and command staff on issues of racial bias.

Ebola exposes West Africa's pre-existing public health woes

Aljazeera

The Ebola virus has killed more than 2,400 people in four West African countries — spreading from Guinea to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria — in what the World Health Organization on Tuesday called an outbreak “unparalleled in modern times.” The United Nations, meanwhile, says it needs $1 billion to contain the outbreak before it infects up to 20,000 people and kills roughly half of those potential victims.

But public health experts say that containing the virus is only part of a wider health crisis facing West Africa, a region where most childhood deaths are caused by preventable or curable afflictions like malaria, diarrhea and pneumonia.

As already limited resources are diverted towards stopping the spread of Ebola, a dire shortage of medical workers and a generalized climate of fear surrounding the outbreak may be preventing people from getting treatment for equally deadly, but perhaps more readily treatable, diseases.

“Ebola’s ripple effects are extending to everything else, from children unable to receive care for malaria to women unable to deliver babies in a hospital,” said Andrew Maccalla, of the medical aid organization Direct Relief, in a commentary for the Huffington Post. Preventable ailments like typhoid and dysentery, meanwhile, “might be killing more West Africans than Ebola,” he added.

Much of the problem is due to underfunded, understaffed health systems, whose deficiencies have been exacerbated by the Ebola crisis.

The Vaguely Written Rule That’s Letting Corporations Get Away With Staying Very White And Male

ThinkProgress

The United States only has one requirement relating to diversity on corporate boards. But it’s so vague that employers get to fill in the blanks, and it’s unlikely to change the fact that boards remain overly filled with white men anytime soon.

In 2010, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) put rules into effect that require companies to disclose information about the consideration of diversity in their proxy statements. It came after the Federal Glass Ceiling Commission, formed in 1991, argued that pushing companies to publicly disclose diversity information “motivates organizations to begin a process of positive social change” and that reporting “data on the most senior positions…is an effective incentive to develop and maintain innovative, effective programs to break glass ceiling barriers.” The group specifically suggested using the SEC for this purpose.

Publicly traded companies now have to report on whether they consider diversity when picking board nominees and if so, how. If a company does have a diversity policy, it has to describe how it’s implemented and assessed. But the SEC’s rule doesn’t define “diversity,” so firms are free to define it any way they please.

That vagueness means few are actually looking at gender and racial diversity. Aaron A. Dhir, in a chapter of his forthcoming book Challenging Boardroom Homogeneity: Corporate Law, Governance, and Diversity from Cambridge University Press, compiled and analyzed proxy statements from the Standard & Poor’s 100 index between 2010, when the rule went into effect, and 2013. He found that only approximately half took diversity to mean gender, race, or ethnicity in any of those years. “Firms most frequently defined diversity with reference to experiential and related factors,” he writes.

Zeroing further in, he found that gender was referenced 47 percent of the time in 2010, 52 percent in 2011, 50 percent in 2012, and 52 percent in 2013. Race and ethnicity came up 45 percent, 50 percent, 48 percent, and 49 percent of the time, respectively. Age only came up about a quarter of the time. Only two companies, Bank of New York Mellon and Goldman Sachs, included sexual orientation in their definitions.

On the other hand, companies most frequently defined diversity as variety in experience or background. That’s how it was handled 83 percent of the time in 2010 and 88 percent of the time by 2013. Most of these were what Dhir calls “generic” factors such as “background,” “thought,” “personal attributes,” “perspective,” and “viewpoint.”

“The SEC’s decision not to define diversity left room for corporations to give the term content,” he argues. “That social identity categories were not more prominent in the disclosures serves as a preliminary caution that the SEC rule, in the future, may not produce diversity-enhancing results along socio-demographic lines.” In other words, because diversity can mean anything, the rule is not likely to prompt companies to bring on more women and people of color.

Companies are, for the most part, complying with the rule: in all four years, 98 percent had a description of whether the firm takes diversity into account. Just MetLife and Hewlett-Packard were noncompliant.

As he notes, however, “compliance does not necessarily correspond with active consideration of diversity.” He points to the example of Berkshire Hathaway, which fulfilled the reporting requirement by saying it “does not have a policy regarding the consideration of diversity in identifying nominees for director,” adding that when it picks nominees, the committee “does not seek diversity, however defined.” Few said they actually have a formal policy — just 8 percent. Most said they don’t have one a la Berkshire or were silent.

For its part, the SEC isn’t pushing very hard. Its enforcement mechanism is sending comment letters to companies about their proxy statements, but just 6 percent got such a letter about diversity in 2010 and none got one in the remaining years.

The rule seems not to be having much of an impact. Among Fortune 500 companies, women make up less than 17 percent of board directors, a figure that has stood still for eight years. Ten percent of companies have no women on their boards at all. Women of color fare even worse, holding just 3.2 percent of all board seats.

Other countries have taken a firmer stance and enacted gender quotas, starting with Norway in 2003, where women now hold 35 percent of non-executive board positions. Others at least have targets, like the United Kingdom’s 25 percent female goal by the end of next year, which has already spurred companies to select the highest number of women for their boards ever.

Increasing demographic diversity on boards isn’t just about equality. It’s also good business sense: multiple studies have found that the more women in leadership, the better the returns.

U.S. government may respond to Ebola pandemic with military force, martial law and forced vaccines

From [HERE] The U.S. government is putting plans in place right now to invoke extreme emergency actions across the USA in response to an anticipated Ebola outbreak sweeping through U.S. cities. Late last week, the U.S. State Department ordered 160,000 Ebola hazmat suits in anticipation of an outbreak, and President Obama has already called upon the Pentagon to dispatch troops and supplies to Africa.

Earlier this summer, Obama signed a curious executive order that claims to grant federal officers the lawful right to arrest and quarantine anyone who shows symptoms of an infection. Full details of this executive order are explained in this 11-part Natural News article series covering Ebola truths the government isn't publicly advertising.

This Republican Tried To Stop North Carolina From Apologizing For A Racist Massacre. He’d Like Your Vote, Please

MotherJones

In 1898, furious that a mixed-race coalition had swept the city's municipal elections, white supremacists burned down a black-owned newspaper in Wilmington, North Carolina; overthrew the local government; and killed at least 25 black residents in a week of rioting. It was one of the worst single incidents of racially motivated violence in American history. But in 2007, when a nonpartisan commission recommended that the state legislature pass a resolution formally apologizing for the massacre, Republican Senate nominee Thom Tillis, then a first-term state representative, rose to block it.

"It is time to move on," he wrote in a message to constituents. "In supporting the apology for slavery, most members felt it was an opportunity to recognize a past wrong and move on to pressing matters facing our State. HB 751 and others in the pipeline are redundant and they are consuming time and attention that should be dedicated to addressing education, transportation, and immigration problems plaguing this State."

But at the time, Tillis—who showed up in Wilmington on Tuesday with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in tow—offered another explanation for opposing the measure: Not all whites had participated in the riots. So Tillis pushed for an amendment introduced by a fellow state representative that would have added language to the bill commemorating the heroic white Republican lawmakers who had opposed the violence. "The proposed amendment would have acknowledged the historical fact that the white Republican government joined with black citizens to oppose the rioters," he argued. The amendment failed, and Tillis ended up voting no on the final version.

Although North Carolina has been targeted by the GOP as a top pickup opportunity, Tillis has struggled to gain traction—in part because of his leadership role in the unpopular state legislature. In the most recent poll, he trailed Kay Hagan, the Democratic incumbent, by nine points.

Darrien Hunt’s family blames racial discrimination behind his killing

WallStOC

The mother of a 22-year-old boy has accused the Saratoga Springs police to have shot dead her son just because he was ‘black’.

Darrien Hunt’s mother Susan Hunt and his family said that they wanted answers about the fatal incident that led to their innocent child.

According to the family, they can only figure out one reason that drove the police to shoot to death a “timid” 22-year-old in the back, even he was carrying a “toy” sword.

“He was black, and treated with extra suspicion because of it. It’s difficult to make any sense out of the situation any other way,” said Hunt’s aunt Cindy Moss on Saturday.

Darrien Hunt was killed by the police personnel on Wednesday morning in the Utah County city of Saratoga Springs.

According to the police, they were called about 9:40 am on Wednesday to look after a “suspicious” man who was walking near businesses along Redwood Road and he was carrying a “Samurai-type sword.”

In a statement, Utah County Chief Deputy Attorney Tim Taylor said, “When the officers made contact with Mr. Hunt, he brandished the sword and lunged toward the officers with the sword, at which time Mr. Hunt was shot.”

Refuting the claims that its officers’ actions were due to Hunt’s race, Saratoga Springs police issued a written statement saying “they are completely unfounded and speculative”.

North Korea court sentences American to six years of hard labor

[JURIST]

The Supreme Court of North Korea [JURIST news archive] on Sunday sentenced an American man to six years of hard labor for committing "hostile acts" against the country. The court convicted 24-year-old California resident Matthew Todd Miller of entering the country on April 10th illegally to commit espionage, a charge that can carry a sentence of five to ten years. The court stated [AP report] that Miller tore up his tourist visa when he arrived at the Pyongyang airport and "admitted to having the 'wild ambition' of experiencing prison life" to investigate the alleged human rights violations occurring in the country. At first Miller was thought to have been seeking political asylum in North Korea, but the prosecution argued that this was false and he was actually in the country to commit espionage. After Miller waived his right to an attorney, the trial lasted approximately 90 minutes, and afterwards the judges stated that an appeal would not be permitted.

No court martial for nurse who refused Guantanamo force-feeding

Jurist

A nurse who refused to force feed hunger strikers at the Guantanamo detention center [JURIST backgrounder] will not be court-martialed. Navy Captain Maureen Pennington, the nurse's commander, chose not to court-martial but recommended that the officer be required to show cause for retention in the Navy. A board will determine whether the nurse should be allowed to stay in the US Navy [official website]. Details of the episode will remain private for administrative review. According to UK human rights group Reprieve [advocacy website], this is the first instance of conscientious objecting [JURIST report] to force feeding prisoners since the mass hunger strike began last year.

Historic inequality levels continue in new Census report

MSNBC

The newest Census data on poverty and inequality, released on Tuesday, did not include very many big surprises. The gap between the top and bottom income percentiles did not change significantly from 2012 to 2013, according to the agency’s annual report. The official poverty rate went down from 15% to 14.5%, but the absolute number of people in poverty remained about the same. Median household income for the under-65 crowd ticked up very slightly, by about 0.4%.

In other words, the story of American poverty and inequality in 2013 is the same story that’s been told for years–even decades. The number of people in poverty is still elevated relative to where it was in the 1970’s. Inequality is still on a long-term upward trajectory. And household earnings for most Americans remain largely stuck in place.

“We’ve still got a large, ongoing crisis,” said Stephen Pimpare, a professor in Columbia University’s School of Social Work. “And it’s a crisis not just of economics and the Great Recession, which is the way a lot of people are going to talk about it. Because while it was true that poverty is greater than prior to the Great Recession, poverty is where it was in the early 1990’s and early 1980’s.”

Similarly, while it’s true that household earnings in 2013 haven’t recovered to their pre-recession levels, that doesn’t quite tell the full story. As it turns out, median household income even remains below where it stood in the year 2000, two recessions ago.

Unemployment Rises to Alarming Levels in Palestine, says World Bank

wafa

'In the labor force, one out of six Palestinians in the West Bank and nearly every second person in Gaza were unemployed even before the recent conflict,” said Steen Lau Jorgensen, World Bank Country Director for the West Bank and Gaza, describing it as an unsustainable situation.

“Without immediate action by the Palestinian Authority, donors and the Government of Israel to re-vitalize the economy and improve the business climate, a return to violence as we have seen in recent years will remain a clear and present danger.”

The World Bank said in a statement on Tuesday: “While it is expected from the private sector to play a vital role in creating jobs, the constraints are such that only 11% of formal firms have more than 20 workers compared to 35% in comparable lower-middle income countries.”

 “The recent conflict in Gaza will put further stress on an already struggling Palestinian economy with falling income per capita in 2013, projected to contract further by the end of 2014 according to the latest World Bank update on the state of the Palestinian economy.” 

“The nation’s official poverty rate in 2013 was 14.5 percent, down from 15.0 percent in 2012. The 45.3 million people living at or below the poverty line in 2013, for the third consecutive year, did not represent a statistically significant change from the previous year’s estimate,” said the Census report issued on Tuesday

From [HERE] The United States Census Bureau has said that over 45 million Americans are still living under the poverty line.

Although the poverty rate dipped from the previous year for the first time since 2006, the number of poor people has not declined nor has the real median household income increased.

“The nation’s official poverty rate in 2013 was 14.5 percent, down from 15.0 percent in 2012. The 45.3 million people living at or below the poverty line in 2013, for the third consecutive year, did not represent a statistically significant change from the previous year’s estimate,” said the Census report issued on Tuesday.

“Median household income in the United States in 2013 was $51,939; the change in real terms from the 2012 median of $51,759 was not statistically significant. This is the second consecutive year that the annual change was not statistically significant, following two consecutive annual declines,” added the report.

With 14.5 percent of Americans being poor, the level of poverty is two percent higher than that in late 2007 when the recession began. Although the National Bureau of Economic research believes recession ended in 2009, many US citizens assert that it is still dragging on.

The current trend is the result of US policy makers wholly ignoring the needs of the very poor. In the latest recovery, for instance, the Congress has deprived billions from the government food-stamp program and halted extended unemployment benefits.

In addition, poverty has increased due to the stagnant income among households with millions of people losing their jobs and incomes due to recession.

Wealth Gap Putting Squeeze on State Revenue

Epoch Times

Income inequality is taking a toll on state governments.

The widening gap between the wealthiest Americans and everyone else has been matched by a slowdown in state tax revenue, according to a report being released Monday by Standard & Poor’s.

Even as income for the affluent has accelerated, it’s barely kept pace with inflation for most other people. That trend can mean a double-whammy for states: The wealthy often manage to shield much of their income from taxes. And they tend to spend a lower percentage of it than others do, thereby limiting sales tax revenue.

As the growth of tax revenue has slowed, states have faced tensions over whether to raise taxes or cut spending to balance their budgets as required by law.

“Rising income inequality is not just a social issue,” said Gabriel Petek, the S&P credit analyst who wrote the report. “It presents a very significant set of challenges for the policymakers.”

Stagnant pay for most people has compounded the pressure on states to preserve funding for education, highways and social programs such as Medicaid. Their investments in education and infrastructure have also fueled economic growth. Yet they’re at risk without a strong flow of tax revenue.

The prospect of having to raise taxes to balance a state budget is a politically delicate one. The allure of low taxes has been used by states to spur job creation, by attracting factories, businesses and corporate headquarters.

“If you’ve got political pressure to spend more money and pressure against raising taxes, then you’re in a pickle,” said David Brunori, a public policy professor at George Washington University.”

Income inequality isn’t the only factor slowing state tax revenue. Online retailers account for a rising chunk of consumer spending. Yet they often manage to avoid sales taxes. Consumers are spending more on untaxed services, too. [MORE]

United Way says 1.2 million NJ residents struggling with poverty

PressofAC

38 percent of New Jersey households, a total of 1.2 million people, struggled to meet their basic needs in 2012, according to a study released by the United Way of New Jersey. According to the study, 32 percent of households met the same criteria two years earlier. 

The study combines federal poverty statistics with the United Way's own calculus for assessing poverty, known as ALICE, or "Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed." The United Way defines "ALICE households" as those led by working adults whose "jobs do not pay enough to afford the basics of housing, child care, food, health care, and transportation." 

According to official federal statistics, 10.5 percent of New Jersey households were in poverty in 2012. 

The study also found that from 2007-2012, the cost of household needs like child care and food increased by 19 percent.