The appointment will hardly still controversy over the 2010 census.
To guarantee the most accurate count of the 300 million or so Americans, federal officials promise confidentiality. But now a group of Latino clergymen is charging that widely published census data is being used to crack down on illegal immigrants. And they're calling on people in the country illegally not to answer the census.
"Law enforcement has been very effective in areas where the data of census 2000 has been used," said Rev. Miguel Rivera, head of the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian
Leaders, a Washington-D.C.-based group of 20,000 churches, many of them storefronts serving undocumented workers.
Required by the U.S. Constitution, the census is used to apportion
seats in Congress. With residents leaving amid a fiscal meltdown,
California could lose a congressional seat. With new residents moving
in, Utah or North Carolina could gain. And, beyond the politics of the
thing, the census is also used to apportion more than $300 billion in
federal dollars to states and cities. So, high stakes all around.
Disappointed that President Obama has not pushed harder for immigration reform to help the estimated 12 million undocumented Latinos in the country, Rivera told NPR that he hopes a boycott will put pressure on Congress to do just that. "If they don't want [a loss of] funding for their constituents, maybe losing seats at the congressional level, then what they have to do is roll their sleeves and move forward with comprehensive immigration reform," he said.
Los Angeles activist Nativo Lopez is trying to convince the group he heads, the Mexican American Political Assn., to endorse the boycott. Latinos -- who helped elect Obama -- feel betrayed, he said, believing that despite great campaign rhetoric, the Obama White House is just continuing the Bush crackdown on illegal immigration while ignoring the impact of the recession on undocumented workers.
"There is no incentive for me to cooperate with the federal government to conduct this count unless we get relief from the federal government on the types of issues that are devastating our families socially and economically," he said.
In North Carolina, where a Latino undercount could seriously damage the state's chances of getting another congressional seat, Roy Crisanto, pastor of El Tabernaculo De La Uncion, a Pentecostal church, is telling members to join the boycott.
“The government wants to count people,” Crisanto told the Charlotte Observer, “but not give them the benefits that come with being counted.”
Other Latino groups are gearing up to fight the boycott, fearing that it could undermine the very count that helps the community with needed funds.
Arturo Vargas, head of the National Assn. of Latino Elected Officials, called the boycott "irresponsible," reminding his colleagues that an undercount would affect funding and representation for a decade.
Catholic bishops have also joined the be-counted campaign. "It is important to get the word out because some of the populations we serve tend to normally be undercounted," said San Antonio's Archbishop Jose Gomez, an official in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. "The U.S. Census is a useful tool for learning about God's people, who and where they are, and many other facts that shed light on their lives, possibilities and struggles."
Census forms are to be mailed out in the spring. Between now and then, look for this debate to rev up.
-- Johanna Neuman
Photo: New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson speaks to Latino voters during a rally in Denver in October. Credit: Associated Press
Public opinion polls are showing a dip in the president's approval. Critics in Congress are piling on his healthcare plan. And lots of Americans are questioning why the mega-billion stimulus plan has not sparked a new era of job creation.
So the White House must have been less than thrilled at the timing of the Group of 8 meetings in Rome this week. Just
at a time when he might have been needed politically on the home front, President
Obama found himself in meetings with Russian officials in gilded halls in the Kremlin -- where those officials made sure the streets were empty of the usual Obamamania -- talking about climate control to a few European nations but without China, a critical player on the issue, and getting a private audience with Pope Benedict XVI in the august halls of the Vatican.
Even Obama, at a press conference from Rome, wondered about the wisdom of so many G-whatever meetings in so many forums to so little effect.
The one thing I will be looking forward to is fewer summit meetings,
because, as you said, I've only been in office six months now and there
have been a lot of these. And I think that there's a possibility of
streamlining them and making them more effective. The United States
obviously is a absolutely committed partner to concerted international
action, but we need to, I think, make sure that they're as productive as
possible.
The president also had a lot to say about healthcare, Iranian nuclear weapons and food security. You can read the full transcript below.
Then it was off with First Lady Michelle Obama and their daughters, Malia and Sasha, to meet with the Pope, followed by a trip to Ghana, a country Obama praised as "a functioning democracy [with] a president who's serious about reducing corruption, and ... significant economic growth."
Photo: Activists perform in masks of President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Rome this week where the G-8 failed to get developing nations on board for climate control. Credit: Reuters
Noted Chicagoan and basketballophile Barack Obama appears to be writing off the California vote in 2012, at least the basketball fans around Los Angeles.
In a pre-holiday interview with the Associated Press, Obama was asked who was the better player -- six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan or four-time champion Kobe Bryant?
Without even a moment's hesitation, the ex-senator from Illinois blurted out, "Oh, Michael!"
Then, apparently realizing what he'd just said and the profound impact on any 2012 election, the new president hastened to add: "I mean, Kobe's terrific. Don't get me wrong. But I haven't seen anybody match up with Jordan yet."
Too late.
Obama correctly picked the Los Angeles Lakers to thump the Orlando whatevers in the NBA Finals this year. And he was also right in picking North Carolina to win the NCAA championship this spring.
But then he also picked tax delinquent Tom Daschle as secretary of Health and Human Services.
Now, we'll see how the left-handed White Sox fan does on the mound at the upcoming All-Star Game in St. Louis.
Well, here we go again on theBarack Obama birth certificate controversy that just won't die because it's one of those zombie issues like who really killed JFK.
No less an authority on politics, history and government archives than thePat Boone is now raising serious questions about the legitimacy of the entire Obama administration and everything it has done since those 21 guns went off shortly after noon on Jan. 20.
This is because a lot of people, including firebrand conservative Alan Keyes (as The Ticket described here in February) and now Boone, insist or suggest or imply that Obama cannot be president of these United States because they insist, suggest or imply he wasn't really born in Hawaii but was actually born in Kenya, his father's homeland.
(Helpful Ticket Political Reminder: Obama thoroughly thumped Keyes, a last-minute hopeless fill-in GOP candidate, in his initial 2004 U.S. Senate run in Illinois. So there may be a lingering issue there in the mind of Keyes, wherever that is.)
Now, none of this should actually matter because Obama's mother was an American, if you consider Kansas America. So she could have been on Mars when wee Barry emerged and he'd still be American. All the courts have consistently thrown out challenges to the first African American president's legality. And Obama's spending, golfing and official POTUS Air Force One jacket sure don't indicate he's got any doubts about his legitimacy.
Anyway, the latest development is that Pat Boone, in an article headlined "Mr Obama, Show Us Your Birth Certificate," goes on a long while about the hassle of non-terrorists trying to board commercial American flights nowadays. Which is so true, isn't it?
It's gotten so bad, Pat reports, that he's actually turned down some gigs just to avoid the airport hassle. Which must be a nice position to be in, even with the hassle.
Pat -- we call him that because we've never met -- questions the validity of the certificate of live birth published on The Ticket. He raises dramatic fears about what will happen if years down the road Obama is actually proven to be legally barred from holding the Oval Office as is, say, California's Austrian-born Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
But then PB gets to his main point:
If I have to produce my passport, my driver’s license, my birth certificate, for things like leaving the country and returning, buying and selling and leasing and renting — all the things ordinary citizens are required to do all the time — why then, in the name of decency and equality, and, in the “open” and “transparent” approach to government Obama promised, should our elected leader not do the same?
Now, some might say, who is this Pat Boone to question the legitimacy of the president of the United States? Well, he's a lifelong conservative who had a very nice voice and made so many popular hits for your parents that for many years he was second only to a singer who died of drug issues (that would be Elvis).
Pat's qualifications also include popularizing the wearing of white suede shoes about a century or so ago, even though such foot gear is impossible to keep unscuffed for more than 27 seconds..
Pat says Obama is dismantling America’s free markets, taxing the higher-earning middle class into despondency, spending and taxing the nation into bankruptcy, imposing socialistic, government-run healthcare, seriously weakening our military and encouraging our enemies and enacting crippling and fraudulent “global warming” laws, among other nefarious things.
And, he asks, what if "he wasn’t even legally entitled to be president at all. Yes, it is important, crucially and everlastingly important. America’s very future depends on the defense of, and obedience to, our basic constitutional laws."
So while it seems unlikely Pat will be invited to perform at the next White House lesbian gay pride celebration, this birth certificate thing doesn't seem to be going away as quickly as white suede shoes.
Statement by Jenny Sanford, wife of South Carolina Republican Gov. Mark Sanford, June 24, 2009
I would like to start by saying I love my husband and I believe I have put forth every effort possible to be the best wife I can be during our almost twenty years of marriage.
As well, for the last fifteen years my husband has been fully engaged in public service to the citizens and taxpayers of this state and I have faithfully supported him in those efforts to the best of my ability. I have been and remain proud of his accomplishments and his service to this state.
I personally believe that the greatest legacy I will leave behind in this world is not the job I held on Wall Street, or the campaigns I managed for Mark, or the work I have done as first lady or even the philanthropic activities in which I have been routinely engaged.
Instead, the greatest legacy I will leave in this world is the character of the children I, or we, leave behind. It is for that reason that I deeply regret the recent actions of my husband, Mark, and their potential damage to our children.
I believe wholeheartedly in the sanctity, dignity and importance of the institution of marriage. I believe that has been consistently reflected in my actions. When I found out about my husband's infidelity I worked immediately to first seek reconciliation through forgiveness, and then to work diligently to repair our marriage.
We reached a point where I felt it was important to look my sons in the eyes and maintain my dignity, self-respect, and my basic sense of right and wrong. I therefore asked my husband to leave two weeks ago.
This trial separation was agreed to with the goal of ultimately strengthening our marriage. During this short separation it was agreed that Mark would not contact us.
I kept this separation quiet out of respect of his public office and reputation, and in hopes of keeping our children from just this type of public exposure. Because of this separation, I did not know where he was in the past week.
I believe enduring love is primarily a commitment and an act of will, and for a marriage to be successful, that commitment must be reciprocal. I believe Mark has earned a chance to resurrect our marriage.
Psalm 127 states that sons are a gift from the Lord and children a reward from him. I will continue to pour my energy into raising our sons to be honorable young men. I remain willing to forgive Mark completely for his indiscretions and to welcome him back, in time, if he continues to work toward reconciliation with a true spirit of humility and repentance.
This is a very painful time for us and I would humbly request now that members of the media respect the privacy of my boys and me as we struggle together to continue on with our lives and as I seek the wisdom of Solomon, the strength and patience of Job and the grace of God in helping to heal my family. ###
(UPDATE: 10:32 p.m. South Carolina Carolina First Lady Jenny Sanford issued a statement tonight on her husband's confession and revealing they have a trial separation underway. Her full text is available here.)
Full transcript of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's statement on his recent disappearance and affair, June 24, 2009
GOV. MARK SANFORD: OK. You all ready? Everybody ready? I won't begin in any particular spot. Let me just start with -- I don't see -- where's Gina Smith?
STAFF: She's not here.
GOV. SANFORD: She's not here? OK. I had a conversation with Gina Smith this morning when I arrived in Atlanta, and I told her about my love of the Appalachian Trail. And I used to organize hiking trips, actually, when I was in high school. I would get a soccer coach or a football coach to act as chaperone, and then I'd get folks to pay me 60 bucks each, or whatever it was, to take the trip, and then off we'd go and have these great adventures on the Appalachian Trail.
And I told her of adventure trips both in college -- I was a campus representative for Eastern Airlines and could fly free, which meant I'd fly different places around the world; get myself a job; carry a hundred dollars emergency money, and either find a job there with the locals and come back, or come on home.
Told her about my years in Congress and early years in the governorship, of different adventure trips, of leaving and traveling different places. Because what I have found in this job is that one desperately needs a break from the bubble wherein every word, every moment is recorded -- just to completely....
Oh Sergei, don't tell me you've lost another submarine?
What a relief for the GOP! It turns out that South Carolina's incumbent Republican Gov. Mark Sanford wasn't doing something loopy like hiking naked on the Appalachian Trail.
During the recent unexplained disappearance from his official job and from his wife and four sons on Father's Day, Sanford was simply off on another continent in South America with his married Argentinian lover, a relationship he says began as a "dear, dear friend" years ago and ended up, thanks to that common villain e-mail, in something internationally more during the last year.
Well, then, fine. He's only lost the naked hiker vote. And most married women. And non-philandering churchgoing voters.
On a slow summer news day when the country's attention should have been focused on the Oscars expanding its Best Picture category from five to 10 nominees and the U.S. upsetting Spain in some soccer game, the Sanford news rocked the Republican Party, which had otherwise been enjoying so much powerful good news recently with President Obama's popularity plateauing around 60% and about 1 in 4 Americans calling themselves Republican.
Anytime these days a Republican gets publicly expressed sympathy from Democrats, you know it's not only insincere, it's big trouble.
So, in other words, according to modern American political tradition, Sanford has joined the rapidly expanding bipartisan male club of big names to publicly admit embarrassing romantic affairs outside their marriage -- Bill Clinton, Gary Hart, Newt Gingrich, House Speaker-designate Bob Livingston, David Vitter, Eliot Spitzer, Edward Kennedy, Gavin Newsom, Antonio Villaraigosa, John Edwards and most recently another John named Ensign.
And before them, we now know, JFK and Ike and FDR and who knows who all. (And since then, Rep. Mark Foley, who wasn't married, but that's another story.)
At least Ensign and Sanford didn't make their wives stand beside their man during the video confessions. (See video below) Or maybe, hopefully, the wives told them what they could do with that invite.
Next to come will be examinations of Sanford's expense accounts to see if he spent public money on private tryst travel. And whether those overseas trade missions really were about stimulating state business or something else. And, of course, tabloid....
Today’s news out of South Carolina is a reminder of three important rules in politics: It isn’t the incident, it is the attempted coverup. It isn’t about sex, it’s about hypocrisy. Schadenfreude always wins in the end.
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has admitted having an affair with a “dear, dear” friend in Argentina. That explains why he disappeared for days without telling his wife or staff his whereabouts. Trying to cover for the boss, his staff told everyone he was hiking the Appalachian Trail, only to be embarrassed by today’s announcement.
At a nationally televised news conference, Sanford apologized to his wife, family and people of faith all over the nation for his actions. A strong political conservative, he said he would step aside as head of the Republican Governors Assn. as well. He looked extremely tired and at times appeared on the verge of tears. He took a few questions, among them:
“Were you alone in Argentina?”
“Obviously not,” he replied.
It is unclear what the announcement means for any presidential ambitions he may have. Or for the GOP in general. Nevada Sen. John Ensign, another Republican who some saw as having presidential potential, recently admitted that he had an extramarital affair.
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford pauses to look at his notes as he
admits to having an affair during a news conference Wednesday, June 24,
2009, and that was the reason why he was in Argentina. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)
You don't need to be a basketball-loving president of the United States to know that if you're trying to block opponents' shots in your end, you sure aren't increasing your own totals. You can't score points on D.
So President Obama's news conference this morning is his bid to steal the ball from his opponents and scoot down the court for his own layup. It's a classic political reset of the play clock. At 9:30 a.m. Pacific (12:30 p.m. Eastern, 4:30 p.m. GMT), Obama will make a statement in the White House Rose Garden and then take questions.
Obama has lost some mojo in recent days on this month's pressing issues, especially Iran's ongoing protests and healthcare reform. Obama's printed Saturday statement about Iran on his way out the White House door for ice cream with his daughters was insufficient media competition for the appallingly graphic video of the young woman Neda dying on a Tehran street. Some called the presidential statement ineffective and "mealy-mouthed."
On Father's Day, while the president played golf out of camera-sight, others were on TV declaring the U.S. must say more to support the unarmed protesters in Iran.
Here's the scary thing for the new White House: the terrifying words "Jimmy Carter" have started appearing in print and on the air, recalling the ex-Georgia governor's ineptness and....
Here's anew video involving the violent events in Iran and the politics they are now forcing within the United States.
The video is from C-SPAN of Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, who over the weekend said he'd like to see the president speak out stronger. Then, on the Senate floor today speaking in stronger terms than Democrat PresidentBarack Obama about the Tehran government's violent reaction to protests of the recent election that allegedly reinstated the existing regime.
The obviously angry McCain, Obama's GOP opponent in last year's presidential election, cites the tragic death of an Iran female protester called Neda whose name has suddenly become known globally as she was shot in Tehran and died in the street, bleeding profusely, on a now viral and very graphic video with friends screaming around her.
McCain's outspoken criticism of Iran's government for its violence mirrors his strong denunciations last summer when Russia invaded the democratic country of Georgia.
Obama, who was vacationing in Hawaii at the time, was more measured initially, calling on both sides to stop fighting. He later changed tone more in favor of the invaded democracy.
On the weekend, before taking his daughters out for ice cream, Obama issued a statement, published here on The Ticket, warning the theocratic regime that the world is watching and it should permit peaceful democratic demonstrations.
The new president is trying to walk a thin line between satisfying homegrown outcries to support democratic outbursts around the world and his promise in a recent Cairo speech not to interfere in other countries and to attempt talking with such regimes.
In recent interviews Obama has pointed to some success with that line, as Iran has instead accused Britain of interference; the UK began evacuating its embassy personnel's families from Iran today.
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Our Bloggers
Andrew Malcolm's immigrant parents repeatedly stressed the importance of active participation in a democracy. Early lessons included learning the alphabetical list of states by watching televised roll calls of national political conventions. That childhood exposure led to a lifelong fascination with politics, including 40-plus years of covering them and a brief stint practicing them as press secretary to Laura Bush in 1999-2000. A veteran foreign and national correspondent, Malcolm served on the Times Editorial Board and was a Pulitzer finalist in 2004. He is the author of 10 nonfiction books and father of four.
Johanna Neuman is a veteran Washington correspondent for both The Los Angeles Times and USA Today, having covered presidents and politics as far back as Ronald Reagan. A former president of the White House Correspondents Assn., she authored a book on media and foreign policy, “Lights, Camera, Wars.” Most recently she was co-author of the Countdown to Crawford blog here at The Times.
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