Jon Popham
December 16, 2008 | 8:15 pm EST
We’ve kind of let the Illinois drama go here on TakePart, which is fine by me. In some ways the entire thing is too much like an episode of The Wire without the stellar writing or acting. Luckily we have folks like Stephen Colbert (and Alan Colmes) to sum it up for us.
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Caroline Kennedy has begun a full court press to be appointed Senator from New York, replacing Hillary Clinton who’s vacating the seat to become Secretary of State. The law dictates that the replacement New York Senator will be appointed by the Governor of New York, David Paterson.
The news has generated some controversy in that the 51 year old Kennedy has never held elected office before, having spent most of her career working with various non-profit organizations. She prominently ascended to the national political stage this year however with her highly publicized support of Barack Obama during the Democratic primary season and in a speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention in Denver this summer.
But legitimate questions remain regarding her qualification for the job. Ms. Kennedy, with her undergraduate degree from Harvard and law degree from Columbia, certainly seems well prepared to run for a seat in the House of Representatives or some other elected office more suited to someone at the very beginning of their career in public life. But the US Senate, often touted as the most exclusive club in America, is generally the realm of more seasoned politicians with much more experience under their belts. Ms. Kennedy, the daughter of President John F. Kennedy, will no doubt benefit from the vast experience and connections her family has in the political establishment of this country. However if I were still a resident of the State of New York I would be more than a little reticent to accept a Senator being appointed, without any mandate from the electorate, based almost entirely on their surname and ensuing family connections. Ms. Kennedy’s quest for the New York Senate seat demonstrates once again in the wake of the Blagojevich scandal the desperate need to change the selection process for replacement Senators from Gubernatorial appointment, a system with obvious flaws built into it, to strictly special elections. This is a democracy after all and if people are going to have someone representing them in the Senate they deserve the chance to vote for them.
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Commonwealth of Virginia
The Virginia NAACP has sued the Commonwealth of Virginia and its Governor Tim Kaine over fears of a lack of preparation for the upcoming election. The suit alleges that with a record voter turnout predicted for the November 4th Presidential election, the state has not provided enough polling locations for residents to cast their votes. The state chapter of the NAACP contended that the lack of polling places, particularly in districts with large African American populations, who are expected to come out in full force this year, violates the Virginia state Constitution, the United States Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The lawsuit asks the judge to rule for more voting machines in Virginia precincts in order to cut waiting times down to less than 45 minutes for voters, and should the wait exceed 45 minutes, for the passing out of paper ballots for those in line to cast their votes with. It also asks for an extension in the voting day, pushing the poll closing time back to 9:00PM from its current time of 7:00PM.
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Coalminers shut down a mine in Blacksville, WV (the red dot on the map) last week in protest of the filming of an Anti-Obama ad at the facility. The work stoppage, which gave 440 miners the day off, was in response to a film crew, hired by the National Rifle Association to shoot interviews for an attack ad against Barack Obama, being given permission by the management at the Blacksville #2 coal mine to enter the facility and ask miners their opinions on the Illinois Senator and Democratic Presidential candidate. Workers at Blacksville #2 took notice of the production and phoned in their concerns to the headquarters of their union, the United Mine Workers of America. The union, which has endorsed Mr. Obama for President, subsequently called for a work stoppage “Memorial Day”, a part of the union’s contract, to protest the exploitation of their workers in the political advertisement which they felt was contrary to their interests.
While the response of these West Virginia coal miners to the NRA ad might have come as a surprise to the right wing, it makes perfect sense to me. While I was in West Virginia over the summer I was pleased to find a region much more diverse and open than the stereotypes leveled against it. It’s not West Virginia either, indeed both southern and rural areas across the United States are coming more and more to realize the integrated America on display in, say, a Craig Brewer movie or HBO’s True Blood than the typical racist depictions of the past. All of this is very good news for those working for true equality in this country, and bad news for those who continue to play on hate and fear politics in order to distract people from the real issues that affect their lives.
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In case you’re in need of some more quality internet reading, I recommend heading over to the ACLU’s Blog of Rights. The entire blog is great but a specific piece caught my eye today for two reasons. First, it deals with an issue that is extremely important, racially-biased enforcement of drug laws. Second, it deals with that issue specifically in Cuyahoga County, Ohio (Cleveland for you not in the Ohio know) - 20 minutes from where I am now and where I grew up.
The blog entry looks at a report that came out recently called “Selective Enforcement of Drug Laws in Cuyahoga County, Ohio: A Report on the Racial Effects of Geographic Disparities in Arrest Patterns.” The report was published in January by Citizens for a Safe & Fair Cleveland (CSFC) and is by Mona Lynch, Ph.D.
A horrifying result of the report lies in the fact below:
In 2005, 81 percent of all county drug arrests involved black people, despite the fact that only 27 percent of country residents are African-American. [ACLU]
Morgan Freeman was in a car accident Sunday night and is currently hospitalized and in serious condition. I’ve always enjoyed the work of Mr. Freeman and I bet you’d be hard pressed to find someone that truly dislikes the Oscar winning actor.
We here at TakePart are sending out our best wishes and I couldn’t think of a better way to think about Freeman than to post clips from some of his more TakePart friendly roles. Watch below and after the jump.
And if you’d like, takepart to learn the specifics of the crash and keep up to date.
1) TakePart Action - Redemption and Prison System Reform : www.criticalresistance.org
More after the jump
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The Onion’s AV Club has a great list up of 19 awesome one scene wonders - or scenes where an actor comes in just for that scene and completely steals it. And while the choices on their list are great and include some of my favorites, they also missed a few - so here are 5 more one scene wonders along with takepart links so you can act.
1) Crispin Glover in Dead Man - you have to wait a little while for it, but it is completely worth it!
takepart and learn how you can help save the buffalo today
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All this election back and forth having to do with racism and how it’s influencing politics got me to thinking about one of my most favorite Sesame Street songs. I think everyone should take a step back and give a watch the video below - because in a sense, I think it spells out the truth of the matter.
I also find it pretty inspiring. It’s funny how Sesame Street never gets old in terms of entertainment or message.
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On Monday I blogged about 5 songs that had helped shape Civil Rights Movement, and were sung during the rallies, sit ins, marches, arrests and beatings. These songs, often spirituals adapted during or after slavery, had no authors, but belonged to everyone. They were a civil rights soundtrack made of the people, for the people, and by the people. But what about the original songs that were written, composed, performed, and recorded to capture the injustice and racism that made the Civil Rights Movement so urgent? They may be written by songwriters, and not by the people. But they were certainly written for the people. These next songs are 5 of the countless ballads whose poignant lyrics and moving melodies raised awareness, called for action, and helped create that the Civil Rights Movement.
1. Old Man River (1927) was written by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II for the 1927 musical Show Boat and is sung by the character Joe, a black dockworker. But it was Paul Robeson who immortalized the song in the 1936 film version of Show Boat directed by James Whale. Paul Robeson, the singer, actor, athlete, trained lawyer and activist performed the song on countless occasions in recitals all over the world. But he would sing his own version, with his own lyrics which made the character of Joe more empowered and dignified. For example, instead of saying “Tote that barge! Lift that bale! Git a little drunk, An’ you land in jail,” Robeson sang “Tote that barge and lift dat bale! You show a little grit and You lands in jail.” And Robeson replaced “Ah gits weary. An’ sick of tryin’; Ah’m tired of livin, an skeered of dyin. But Ol’ Man River, he jes’ keeps rolling along!” with “But I keeps laffin, Instead of cryin, I must keep fightin; until I’m dyin. And Ol Man River, he’ll just keep rollin’ along!” Although the film was extremely popular, the 1936 version was taken out of circulation because of the black list against Paul Robeson until it debuted on cable television in 1983. Both Show Boat, which was the first integrated musical, and the song Old Man River highlight taboo subjects like passing for white, interracial relationships, and the tragedy of racism.
My pick for Best Picture this year is overwhelmingly There Will Be Blood - everything about it is amazing, the performances, the direction, the music, the cinematography and even the social commentary on religion and greed.
Even though it’s not my preferred Oscar winner, Atonement has a lot to offer as a piece about class and the dangers of prejudice:
With lush photography and a beautiful cast, Joe Wright’s Oscar nominated Atonement is being advertised as an epic romance, and while romance does weave itself in and out of the plot, it doesn’t really get to the heart of the film.
From the opening shot, a long line of animal figurines representing all of the jungle and the natural order of things, it’s clear that instead of love, this is a movie about class. For in England, the natural order of things, no matter how unnatural it may seem, is their rigid class system.
For more on Atonement, check out the full length article over at OpenLeft.com
And 
to help bridge cultural divides here in the US.
