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Kids bearing the brunt of poverty
From Greenville Online
The effects of the Great Recession are lingering, and perhaps continuing to mount, for many American families, according to a pair of reports out recently. The news amplifies the need for local and state governments, and the federal government, to foster economic growth that will help create jobs and put the brakes on poverty. It also underscores the need for families and communities to take initiatives to ensure children have the best possible chance to escape the cycle of poverty. Chief among those needs is a high-quality education that leads at the very least to a high school diploma. In South Carolina, the recession has been particularly hard on children. According to the annual KidsCount report that was released last month, the percentage of children who are living in poverty increased by three points, to 26 percent from 23 percent, between 2005 and 2010. The percent of children living in homes where parents lack secure employment has jumped by 7 points, to 37 percent, from 2008 to 2010.
'UndocuBus' Heads Toward Democratic Convention Demanding Immigration Reform
From Fox News Latino
A group of self-outed undocumented immigrants emerged from the shadows to embark on a cross-country trip on July 29, from Phoenix, Ariz. to next month’s Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.. The group, known as the “Undocubus,” hopes to raise public awareness of the plight of living in what they call an atmosphere of fear and oppression. In the spirit of the "occupy" movement, the “No Papers! No Fear! Ride for Justice” is a grassroots organization that has no definitive action plan yet, other than to raise awareness.
Wade Michael Page, Sikh temple shooter, identified as skinhead band leader
From The Washington Post
The gunman who killed six people at a Sikh temple south of Milwaukee on Sunday and critically wounded three others, including a police officer, was identified Monday as Wade Michael Page, a 40-year-old Army veteran with reported links to the white supremacist movement.
Page was shot and killed by a police officer outside the temple after he opened fire at Sikh worshipers and at police responding to the scene, Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards said at a news conference.
Why Voter ID Laws Make Little Sense
From The New York Times
Rick Hasen, author of the must-read new book Voting Wars, calls out the Republican push for voter ID laws while noting, "I have not found a single election over the last few decades in which impersonation fraud had the slightest chance of changing an election outcome -- unlike absentee-ballot fraud, which changes election outcomes regularly. (Let's face it: impersonation fraud is an exceedingly dumb way to try to steal an election.)" "Consider Pennsylvania's new voter ID law, now before the courts. The state conceded that it knew of no instances of impersonation fraud. A top election official did not know how the law worked and played down official estimates that more than 750,000 Pennsylvania voters lacked photo ID, and that an additional 500,000 appeared to have expired ID's. The law gives dangerous discretion to local officials to decide which ID's should be acceptable." "Pennsylvania is a symptom of a partisan system gone wild. Republicans say they want to get rid of fraud, but they want to get rid of only some kinds -- using remedies that are likely to at least modestly depress Democratic turnout."
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