Politics. On Point.

 The president took to the podium to address the notion that there are those who think America is in a recession. The following are pool reporter notes from Biden's remarks: "Simply put, the bill will lower health care costs for millions of Americans and will be ... the most important investment" in clean energy. ADVERTISEMENT CMB BUSINESS SOLUTIONS   "This bill will fight inflation."  See also: Inflation reduction   "This investment in environmental justice is real."    "Let me be clear: this bill would be the most significant legislation in history to tackle the climate crisis."    "This legislation will bring down the deficit. Bring down the deficit."    "With this legislation, we're facing up to some of our biggest problems as a nation."    "This bill is far from perfect. It's a compromise. But it's often how progress is made."    "Pass it. Pass it for the American people. Pass it for Americ...

The first lady took to the heart the successes of her husband's tenure as president of the United States during a DNC event at Chicago Waldorf Historia hotel on Thursday in hopes encouraging Democratic supporters to get out and vote in the mid-term elections this November. In familiar wording, First Lady Obama lauded the latest employment numbers, the passing of the Affordable Care Act, jobs for veterans, and the number of children who, as a result of her own efforts with Let's Move,  are eating healthier. She said when she's asked if she still believes in the president's slogan of "hope" and "change" she says she tells people she believes it more strongly than ever before - "because I've seen it with my own eyes". Mrs. Obama  reminded the audience that despite her husband's accomplishments at the expense of the hard work of constituents like those in the audience, "there is still plenty of work to do", she said. S...

So, the last time Paul Ryan visited an "inner city" was when?   The last time Paul Ryan talked to a group of African American men, in any "inner city" was when? Long line in a Sodexho food service job fair. Photo/ John Spink of the AC Journal. We'll have to assume Paul Ryan doesn't spend a lot of time in inner cities, since he is a part of a crowd that does everything it can to disenfranchise residents of inner cities. Yes, the unemployment rate in inner cities across the country is high.  But it isn't because men of color don't want to work, as Ryan suggests when he stated the following on a a conservative talk radio show. Said Ryan, “We have got this tailspin of culture, in our inner cities in particular, of men not working and just generations of men not even thinking about working or learning to value the culture of work, so there is a real culture problem here that has to be dealt with.” Veterans crowd the "Hiring Our Heroes...

A bill making it unlawful for employees to question applicants about having a felony on their record has been approved. The 'Ban-the-Box' bill hopes to increase employment opportunities for applicants with prior convictions. Democratic Senator A. Donald McEachin  (Richmond, VA) was one of many in support of the bill. "This legislation means that a state employee applicant will not be kicked out simply because he has to check the box saying he had a prior conviction.  If qualified for a position and granted an interview, he will then have the opportunity to explain his history and the interviewer can make a reasoned judgment", McEachin wrote in a press release. Employees can still do background checks on prospective employees, but with the new legislation, applicants won't have to check whether or not they have previous convictions. Richmond, Virginia joins five other cities in Virginia: New Port News, Norfolk, Petersburg, and Portsmouth,  in support of...

From politics, to healthcare, to education -  the survey says... I write this post on a day when at least three items hit me dead in the face. I wasn't looking for them. Each of them, blatantly, presented themselves to me - in plain sight. While I realize that this is a political blog, I  have to wonder if there is some sort of polit-triking going on behind the scenes that continue to try to discredit, or exclude African Americans from being represented positively in this journey we call life. On this day, three such examples fell straight on my lap.  (Four if you count last week).  So, guess what?   With something so obvious, I had to write about it and wonder if it's just me, or are these things really happening? From housing and education, to music and culture:  African Americans in 2014.  Has much changed? I finished up earlier today on a conference call with Arizona officials who ...