Florida Sentinel Bulletin

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama accepted an award for making the government more open and transparent – presented to him behind closed doors with no media coverage or public access allowed.

The discrepancy between the honor and the circumstances under which it was delivered bothered open-government advocates in attendance, they said Thursday. They were even more perturbed when they discovered later that the meeting hadn’t even been listed on Obama’s public schedule, so there was no way for anyone to know about it.

“To have such a meeting not be transparent is the height of irony. How absurd can that be?” said one participant, Gary Bass, executive director of OMB Watch, which keeps tabs on the White House Office of Management and Budget.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that, “Given the number of pressing items on the president’s agenda, the White House didn’t carve out time for a public event on the president’s schedule for the sole purpose of accepting an award from journalists praising his commitment to government transparency.”

The award was given by Bass’s group and several others Monday to recognize Obama’s work toward government openness and encourage him to do more.

Obama took office promising the most open and transparent administration in history, and advocates have been encouraged by steps he’s taken including releasing White House visitor logs. They say more needs to be done in getting agencies to respond more thoroughly to public records requests, among other things.

Monday’s meeting was rescheduled from one set for March 16, which is National Freedom of Information Day. On that day the meeting was listed on the president’s public schedule, but it was canceled at the last minute.

Bass said he’d been assured that Monday’s meeting would be open to the media and didn’t learn it wouldn’t be until arriving at the White House.
Nonetheless he and other advocates were pleased with how the 20-minute discussion went, saying Obama expressed support for greater transparency and backed legislation to protect reporters’ confidential sources.

A couple of days later they learned from reporters that the meeting had been omitted from Obama’s public schedule altogether.

“I think the action by the White House has taken a meeting where the storyline could have been how to strengthen disclosure, and it’s become a storyline about how the meeting is a secret meeting,” Bass said.

NEW YORK — Improvements in the job market may finally be taking hold, as strong business hiring last month brought the unemployment rate down to its lowest level in two years.

The economy gained 216,000 jobs in the month. That’s better than the gain of 180,000 predicted by economists surveyed by CNNMoney, and also a significant improvement over the 194,000 jobs added in February.

“Almost two years after the recession officially ended, the labor market appears to finally be picking up,” said Kathy Bostjancic, director of macroeconomic analysis for The Conference Board.

The unemployment rate continued to edge down, dropping to 8.8%, the lowest level since March 2009. The unemployment rate has shed a full percentage point in the last four months, the largest four-month drop since 1984.

Email Print “The unemployment rate has broken through the sound barrier and is continuing to decline,” said Sung Won Sohn, economics professor at Cal State Channel Islands. “The recovery in employment is here to stay.”

While the payroll numbers are compiled from a survey of employers, the unemployment rate is determined by a separate survey of workers, which also showed significant improvement.

The number of discouraged job seekers who want to work but have given up actively looking was down slightly, as was the number of workers who wanted full-time jobs but could only find part-time work. Another encouraging reading — the number of people who lost their jobs during the month was down by 125,000, falling to the lowest level in two years.

“It’s strong across the board,” said Tig Gilliam, president of the North American unit of job placement firm Adecco. “Is it as fast as we’d all want? Probably not, but it’s moving in the right direction and it continues to accelerate.”

Who’s Hiring And Who’s Not

Private businesses added 230,000 jobs. Since businesses started hiring again a year ago, they have now added 1.8 million jobs, with nearly a third of those jobs added in just the first three months of this year.

The trend in business hiring is widespread, with 68% of industries adding jobs so far this year. Among the leading sectors were business and professional services, which added 78,000 jobs, health care and social services, which brought on 44,000 workers, and leisure and hospitality, which increased staffing by 37,000.

One closely watched sector, temporary workers, grew by nearly 30,000. That is important because many businesses will bring on temporary staff as a prelude to making permanent hires.

But while businesses continued to bring on new staff, public sector employers trimmed 14,000 jobs during the month, mostly at the local government level.

Local government staffing, which includes teachers, police and fire fighters as well as other administrative jobs, held up pretty well in the first 18 months of the recession while business payrolls were plunging. But those payrolls have now lost more than a quarter-million jobs in the last 12 months, with more than half coming from public schools.

And there is still continued pain for those without work. There are 13.5 million people who are unemployed, and another 6.5 million who would like a job but are not officially counted as unemployed because they’re not looking.

Of those who are counted as unemployed, 45% have been out of work for six months or longer, and the average length of unemployment is a record 39 weeks.

Even with March’s encouraging readings, climbing out of the 8.7-million job hole created during the recession will take a long time.

Economists say the labor market typically needs at least 300,000 new jobs each month to make a significant difference in the unemployment rate, and at least 150,000 just to keep pace with population growth.

“Job growth still isn’t strong enough to bring the unemployment rate down rapidly,” said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist for Capital Economics. “If the rate is only falling by 0.1% each month, it would take another three and a half years to get back down to the pre-recession level.”

After the controversy caused by Florida Pastor Terry Jones threatening to burn the Koran on September 11, Jones vowed not to do it, “not now, not ever.” But unnoticed at the time by the media, Jones did just that on March 20, after holding a “mock trial” for the holy book.

After listening to “evidence” and arguments from both sides, the jury pronounced the Koran “guilty” of five “crimes against humanity,” including the promotion of terrorist acts and “the death, rape and torture of people worldwide whose only crime is not being of the Islamic faith.”

The Koran’s “punishment” was determined by the results of an online poll. Besides burning, the options had included shredding, drowning and facing a firing squad. Mr. Jones, an evangelical pastor, announced that voters had chosen to set fire to the book, according to a video of the proceedings.

Although this was ignored in the United States, that was not the case in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where angry protesters looked for a symbol of the West upon which to take revenge, and did so at a United Nations building.

Stirred up by a trio of angry mullahs who urged them to avenge the burning of a Koran at a Florida church, thousands of protesters overran the compound of the United Nations in this northern Afghan city, killing at least 12 people, Afghan and United Nations officials said.

The dead included at least seven United Nations workers — four Nepalese guards and three Europeans from Romania, Sweden and Norway — according to United Nations officials in New York. One was a woman. Early reports, later denied by Afghan officials, said that at least two of the dead had been beheaded. Five Afghans were also killed.
Jones’ explained his motives with twisted rhetoric.

“It is not that we burn the Koran with some type of vindictive motive,” Mr. Jones said. “We do not even burn it with great pleasure or any pleasure at all. We burn it because we feel a deep obligation to stay with the court system of America. The court system of America does not allow convicted criminals to go free. And that is why we feel obligated to do this.”

State Department spokesman Mark Toner condemned Jones’ actions on Pakistani television.

Britain’s Channel 4 News has video of victims being carried from the scene.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama formally launched his re-election campaign Monday, urging supporters to mobilize again to protect the change he’s brought over the past two years.

Between now and the November 2012 election, the incumbent Democrat will work to convince a fickle America that he has delivered change, made the right moves and earned the chance to continue the job. He will have to defend policies that have proven divisive, chief among them his sweeping health care overhaul and his efforts to boost the slow-to-rebound economy.

Obama announced his bid just as the White House is in a budget standoff with Congress that could lead to a government shutdown, weeks after the commander in chief directed U.S. military operations to a third major warfront, Libya, and days after the post-recession economy showed more signs of a rebound with a report that the still high unemployment rate had fallen to 8.8 percent.

“We’ve always known that lasting change wouldn’t come quickly or easily. It never does,” the Democrat said in an e-mail to more than 13 million supporters announcing his candidacy. “But as my administration and folks across the country fight to protect the progress we’ve made — and make more — we also need to begin mobilizing for 2012, long before the time comes for me to begin campaigning in earnest.”

He told them he was filing the necessary paperwork with the Federal Election Commission, and directed them to his new campaign website where a launch video featured clips from supporters talking about their continued backing of the Democrat.

“I don’t agree with Obama on everything but I respect him and I trust him,” Ed from North Carolina says, delivering what’s certain to become a key part of the president’s pitch as he tries to re-energize liberals who have criticized some of his policies and independents who have fled from him in his first term.

Widely expected, the procedural step of launching a campaign was planned to coincide with the second fundraising quarter of the year. Filing paperwork will allow the president to begin raising money in earnest for what allies say could be a record-breaking haul of more than $1 billion for his campaign. That begins this month; he’s slated to visit major money venues of Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles in the coming weeks.

The campaign is based in Chicago, and many of the same people from his first bid remain involved, including former campaign manager David Plouffe, who now is in the White House, and chief political strategist David Axelrod.

Managing the campaign this time is Jim Messina, who played a senior role in the first bid and in the White House. Messina has spent the past few months touring the country to lay the groundwork with donors in hopes of building a massive fundraising network featuring both large and small contributions. He’s asked some 400 donors — called bundlers — to bring in at least $350,000 this year; the re-election website is geared toward raising money from grass-roots backers. Obama raised $750 million for his 2008 campaign.

Obama faces no primary challenger.

On the other side, the race for the Republican presidential nomination is just getting under way; more than a dozen Republicans are considering seeking the chance to challenge Obama in the next election. Only a few have taken the initial steps toward a candidacy, though several more are expected to this month. It’s a wide open race with no clear front-runner.

Nevertheless, Obama said he’s not taking anything for granted.

“We’re doing this now because the politics we believe in does not start with expensive TV ads or extravaganzas, but with you — with people organizing block-by-block, talking to neighbors, co-workers, and friends. And that kind of campaign takes time to build,” he said in the e-mail.

“So even though I’m focused on the job you elected me to do, and the race may not reach full speed for a year or more, the work of laying the foundation for our campaign must start today,” Obama added. He directed them to the new red, white and blue website for what he said was “a campaign that’s farther-reaching, more focused, and more innovative than anything we’ve built before.”

The website features Obama’s new campaign logo — 2012 with the rising sun in the background, a version of his 2008 campaign logo — and announces that the campaign is kicking off.

The video is a montage of testimonials from a demographically diverse group of backers who intend to stay involved in this campaign.

“It needs to reflect the changes that we’ve seen in the last two-and-a-half years,” says Katherine from Colorado. “Then we had an underdog senator. Nobody thought that he had a chance. And now he’s the president.”

Forty-three years ago, while in Memphis to support striking sanitation workers, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. While this date is marked with the laying of wreaths and glowing speeches, many will commemorate this historic tragedy by reading his works and asking the question, “If Dr. King were alive today…what would he say?”

Fortunately, his words are well documented and his speeches and writings are archived. When one looks back at his historic words and actions it is clear to even the most casual observer that Dr. King’s past was prologue.

In 2011, America is grappling with many of the same issues and conflicts that Dr. King fought for in 1968. He would look at state government’s attacks on unions, unrest in the Middle East, and America’s unnecessary ongoing wars and say as he did in 1968; “The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land. Confusion all around.”

In Ohio, Gov. John Kasich recently signed legislation curtailing public employee’s rights to strike and collectively bargain over health coverage and pensions. In Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker recently signed into law legislation stripping public workers of most of their collective bargaining rights. Republican lawmakers in Tennessee are feverishly trying to pass legislation that would overturn the 1978 law that gave teachers the power to form unions and negotiate collectively with local school districts.

The night before he was assassinated, Dr. King stood before a packed room of supporters of the striking sanitation workers in Memphis and spoke to the injustices that the city was imposing upon its public servants. Dr. King stated, “The issue is injustice. The issue is the refusal of Memphis to be fair and honest in its dealings with its public servants, who happen to be sanitation workers.”

The issue today is fairness and honesty. For example, the so-called “fiscal crisis” in Wisconsin was created by Gov. Walker’s tax policies not by the benefits being paid to unionized pubic employees. According to US News and World Report, “What was Walker thinking, cutting taxes by $117.2 million as his first act when his state faced a deficit of $137 million…The rich will take advantage of that boondoggle and it won’t create jobs.” He created the budget short-fall and then attacked the unions to solve the problem he created. At the national level, the “tax breaks for the wealthy” are having the same impact.

Dr. King also saw organized labor as a key to addressing racial strife in America. In Where Do We go From Here he wrote, “This potential strength (of the Negro worker) is magnified further by the fact of their unity with millions of white workers…As co-workers there is a basic community of interest that transcends many of the ugly divisive elements of traditional prejudice…In days to come, organized labor will increase its importance in the destinies of Negroes.”

As the people in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, and other countries struggle for freedom and democracy, Western governments, despite years of economic and military support for the dictators in these countries, are now claiming support for democracy and freedom. Dr. King tied the plight of sanitation workers in Memphis to people struggling for freedom all over the world. He stated, “… something is happening in our world. The masses of people are rising up. And wherever they are assembled today, whether they are in Johannesburg, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; Accra, Ghana; New York City; Atlanta, Georgia; Jackson, Mississippi; or Memphis, Tennessee — the cry is always the same — “We want to be free.””

Finally, whether it is the war in Iraq, Afghanistan, or the no-fly zone over Libya, Dr. King would say no. In his speech “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence”, he called the Vietnam War an “enemy of the poor.” It drained precious financial and human capital away from important poverty and other social programs of the time, “…like some demonic suction tube” of a “society gone mad on war…”

In this time of catastrophic domestic and global economic recession and as Congress struggles to deal with the $1.48 trillion US deficit, according to the Congressional Research Service as of 2010 Congress approved, “…a total of $1.121 trillion for military operations, (and associated costs) … for the three operations initiated since the 9/11 attacks: Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) Afghanistan and other counter terror operations; Operation Noble Eagle (ONE), providing enhanced security at military bases; and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF).”

In terms of actions in Libya, according to the Philadelphia Daily News every Tomahawk cruise missile sets us back $1.2 million, and as of March 23, we had fired 161 of “those puppies” at Gadhafi. The F15 fighter jet we lost? Another $31 million.

For those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it. The past is prologue.

If Dr. King were alive today, what would he say? He would believe today as he did in 1968 that, “The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land. Confusion all around.” He would demand of us today as he did of us in Memphis on April 3, 1968, “Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make America a better nation.”

Dr. Wilmer Leon is the Producer/ Host of the nationally broadcast call-in talk radio program “Inside the Issues with Wilmer Leon,” and a Teaching Associate in the Department of Political Science at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Go to www.wilmerleon.com or email: wjl3us@yahoo.com. www.twitter.com/drwleon

McDonald’s Corp. plans to hold its first national hiring day on April 19th to fill 50,000 openings at its restaurants nationwide.

The company says it is making a concerted effort to add staff as its business improves and as more of its restaurants stay open 24 hours a day.

The company’s hiring goal translates to between three and four new hires per restaurant.

McDonald’s says turnover slowed because of the weak economy. The company sees an opportunity to attract employees in a tough job market. Although unemployment has fallen by about 8 percent, the rate for African-Americans is nearly twice that. For African-American teens, the unemployment rate stands at 42 percent.

McDonald’s held a similar event in its Western region last year. More than 60,000 people applied for the 13,000 positions.

Those who are interested can apply in stores or online. Some restaurants will hold events and interviews that day.

McDonald’s is based in Oak Brook, Ill.

Family and friends of a young woman abducted during a home invasion in Atlantic City gathered together to pray for her safe return Sunday.

Hundreds gathered for the interfaith prayer vigil for Nadirah Ruffin at the Atlantic City Boys and Girls Club on North Pennsylvania Avenue.

Ruffin, 19, was taken from her cousin’s home during a violent home invasion on March 26. Investigators say three men and a woman wearing masks forced Ruffin out the home at gunpoint.

Several elected officials prayed and offered support to Ruffin’s family.

“I am a mother and for the past eight days I cannot in my wildest imagine what her mother is going through,” Atlantic County Freeholder Alisa Cooper said.

A $ 20,000 reward has been offered for any information leading to Ruffin and an arrest.

Anyone with information on the four suspects or Ruffin’s whereabouts should contact the Atlantic City Police at 609-347-5766 or the Crimestoppers tip line.

Chester Police arrested a man Sunday accused of robbing and raping a coffee shop worker in South Philadelphia, according to the United States Marshal Service.

Police arrested Christopher Reeves, 32, around 1 p.m. in Chester after receiving a tip.

The 29-year-old victim was working alone inside the Bean Exchange at 7th and Bainbridge streets the morning of March 31 when Reeves told her he was homeless and needed money, according to police.

Investigators say the woman gave Reeves a small amount of money and he left. Reeves returned an hour later and that’s when police say he allegedly stole $173 from her register, forced her into a bathroom and raped her.

Reeves was known to frequent the neighborhood, according to police.

The Bean Exchange’s owner says the arrest brings little relief.

“A little bit of light in a very bleak, dark tunnel won’t make up for anything my employee has suffered…the damage that this has done to her,” Matt Armstrong said. ” The real question is ‘why was he out walking on the streets to begin with?'”

Philadelphia Police offered a $ 7,500 reward Friday for information leading to an arrest.

Reeves is being held in the Chester City jail. He is expected be transported to Philadelphia Monday.

The coffee shop will re-open for business Monday morning.

A Domino’s deliveryman killed Sunday night was shot for pizza and chicken wings — not money, sources told NBC Washington.

Paul Bennett was shot and killed while making a delivery in Seat Pleasant, Md. Only the food was taken, sources said. Police found $53 on Bennett.

Three suspects were arrested — Ricardo Barton, 22; Desmond Garner, 23; and Gregg Starks III, 23. They are charged with first-degree murder and robbery.

Bennett’s family said he worked two jobs to pay for a party for his son’s first birthday. His family will throw a birthday party for Emmanuel Wright Bennett at his grandmother’s home in northwest Washington Saturday afternoon. Then they will begin planning his father’s funeral.

The suspects were ordered held without bond. Their next scheduled court date is at the end of April.