(From Reuters)

A bipartisan bill to extend the 1965 Voting Rights Act, a crown jewel of the U.S. civil rights era, was unexpectedly and indefinitely delayed on Wednesday due to objections by some southern Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The controversy centered on extra scrutiny faced by nine states in the U.S. South with a legacy of civil rights violations, and on requirements that some districts supply bilingual ballots to voters whose English is poor.

House Republican leaders, who had expected a straightforward vote with support from both Republicans and Democrats on Wednesday afternoon, instead indefinitely put off consideration of the bill after a furor in a routine weekly party meeting in the morning.

A vote is not likely before the July 4th holiday break although Republican leaders issued a joint statement restating their commitment to passage “as soon as possible.”

Democratic Rep. Mel Watt of North Carolina, speaking for the Congressional Black Caucus, said he was “extremely disappointed” by the postponement. “We fear that pulling the bill could send the wrong message about whether the bill enjoys broad bipartisan support.”

Much of the 1965 law is permanent but parts must be renewed periodically. Those sections would expire in 2007 unless Congress acts.

For the rest of the story, click here. 

According to experts, minimum wage workers are poorer than ever.
Studies show that the buying power of the federal minimum wage is at its lowest level in 51 years. Despite the fact that 83% of Americans are in favor of an increase (50% are in strong support of an increase), there hasn’t been a full floor vote on the issue since 1997, when the last increase went into effect.

The pattern continued yesterday when the House Appropriations Committee (HAC) voted 34 to 28 against attaching a minimum wage amendment to an important spending bill. Essentially, this means that a vote cannot even take place on the House floor.

Interestingly, in the nine years since minimum wage was last raised, Congress has given itself nine pay increases to the tune of $35,000 a year. Compare that to the full-time minimum wage worker who has made $10,712 per year for nearly a decade. Tragically, this clear hypocrisy and indifference to poor people’s suffering has barely entered the public conversation. Today, the Senate will vote on an amendment to raise the federal minimum wage, in three gradual installments over two years, from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour. If passed, this would be a wonderful start towards a living wage for our most economically vulnerable citizens.

I won’t hold my breath.

The cover of this month’s Vibe Magazine features hip-hop group, Outkast. Under their photo is a very provocative question:

“Are they hip hop’s greatest group?”

Of course, the answer is likely “hell no.” Still, the question forced me to consider who actually is the “Greatest Group of All-Time.” To help answer the question, I’ve decided to come up with an initial list of groups who I think are in the running. Next, I plan to narrow this list down to 5. But I need your help.

I want you to decide who makes the next round by making your case for the 5 groups that meet the following criteria: Skills, Staying Power, Originality, and Impact on the culture.

“I’mma tell you who killed hip-hop… D4L and Dem Franchize Boyz. Those are the murderers of hip-hop, in my opinion. It was already dying. They just came over and killed it. Nobody doing hip-hop is selling records.” – Field Mob, talking about the state of hip-hop.

Lamont Reese, 28, had to be carried into the death chamber.

“I want everyone to know I did not walk to this, because this is straight-up murder,” he said. “I am not going to play a part in my own murder. No one should have to do that.”

He expressed love to his mother and to relatives of the murder victims as they watched from separate windows nearby.

“I do not know all of your names and I don’t know how you feel about me,” he said, addressing the victims’ relatives. “And whether you believe it or not, I did not kill them.”

As the drugs began taking effect, he said, “This is some nasty.” Then he gasped.

At that moment, his mother, Brenda Reese, began pounding with her fists on the chamber window and began screaming repeatedly, “They killed my baby.”

She kicked two holes in the death chamber wall and eventually was taken away. She sobbed and nearly collapsed as she reached the prison administration building across the street.

Reese was pronounced dead at 6:27 p.m., eight minutes after the drugs began to flow.

Evidence at the trial of Reese, who acknowledged dealing crack cocaine for years, showed that his 18-year-old girlfriend walked out of the convenience store and drew the attention of several men.

Reese became angry, and the couple left, met up with three other people and got handguns and assault rifles. The girlfriend, Kareema Kimbrough, drove them back to the store, and the gunmen sprayed the scene with bullets.

Detectives found ammunition in Reese’s car that matched bullets at the scene.

The Supreme Court rejected his final appeal about 20 minutes before he was to be taken to the death chamber.

Kimbrough, now 26, is serving life for capital murder. The three others are serving sentences ranging from 35 to 50 years.

(Story Courtesy of Associated Press)