History of the Brownsville Affair

"The Brownsville Affair" - PBS

Overview

"An Unprejudiced Examination into the Brownsville Affair" - NY Times

More Overview

"Negro Vote Has Become an Important Factor" - NY Times

"Brownsville Revisited"

"The Brownsville Episode and the Negro Vote"

Election Guide: Representative in U.S. Congress, District Four (Florida)

This guide is for Representative in U.S. Congress, District Four (Florida)

The two candidates and their platforms:

1) Ander Crenshaw (Republican)

• Click here to see articles about him as well as his votes in Congress during the past few years.
  
• Click here to see his voting record.
  
• Currently the Congressman for Florida's Fourth district (since 2000).
  
• Serves on the Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and the Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations.
  
• Supports "policies that keep taxes low, expand access to credit, and reduce duplicative regulation."
  
• Supports "cutting all non-security spending to 2008 levels" and to reject "taxes on any American on January 11, 2011."
  
• Supports "a common sense, fiscally responsible health reform proposal."
  
• Supports a "four-point plan to lower energy costs by increasing environmentally sound American exploration of oil and gas, increasing the supply of domestic energy, encouraging research in advanced alternative and renewable energy technologies, and improving conservation and energy efficiency."
• "Safe communities begin with secure borders."
  
• Supports the Second Amendment.
  
• Established a Veterans Cemetery in Jacksonville.
  
• "Strongly" supports the FairTax proposal.
  
• Interestingly, he did vote down the National Defense Authorization Act (which provides funding for the military in FY2010-11), although he has voted for supplemental spending in the Iraq War.
• Voted "yes" on the Same-Sex Marriage Resolution.
  
• Voted "yes" on the Economic Stimulus Plan in 2008.
  
• He has flip-flopped a few times regarding unemployment extensions.
  

Sources: http://www.andercrenshaw.com/index.cfm/?CFID=19617090&CFTOKEN=35383647
http://crenshaw.house.gov/
http://twitter.com/andercrenshaw
http://www.votesmart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=31130

2) Troy Stanley (NPA).

• "No Bailouts or Government Takeovers."
  
• "Make Congress Cite Constitutional Authority for Proposed Laws."
  
• "Fair Taxation."
  
• "Strong National Defense."
  
• "Balance the Budget and Read Bills Before Voting."
  
• Supports the Second Amendment.
  
• He is "pro-life."
• He supports the recent Republican Party's Pledge to America.
• 20-year Navy Veteran.
  

Sources: http://www.stanley10.com/index.html
http://twitter.com/troydstanley

http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/403455/matt-dixon/2010-09-27/troy-d-stanley-gops-pledge-america-its-about-time

http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/403455/david-hunt/2010-05-04/stanley-move-going-npa-go-after-dem-vote

History of the 19th Amendment

"Women's Fight for the Vote"

The 19th Amendment

Overview

"Articles from the NY Times"

Timeline

"Battle for Suffrage" - PBS

"And Still They Persevered"

"Political Context and the Turnout of New Women Voters After Suffrage"

Primary Documents

"Congress Approves 19th Amendment"

Political Cartoons/Images

History of Susan B. Anthony

Overview

"The Trial of Susan B. Anthony."

More Overview

More on Trial

Primary Sources

Biography

More Biography

History of Alice Paul

Quick Biography

"Book Review"

Overview

"Equal Rights Amendment"

Pictures

More Overview

Even More Overview

Party Division of Congress During the Early 2000s

I am writing this post in response to something I heard on "progressive" talk radio. A host kept repeating about "Clinton's surplus" during the early 1990s and how the Republicans increased the federal debt. He also kept complaining about how Democrats today have no real power to change anything. I am writing this to learn more about the division of Congress over the past two decades.

What I learned:

During the past two decades, when there has been a surplus, the Congress was always controlled by Republicans and a Democrat was president (Bill Clinton). The surpluses averaged about $100 billion which is nothing comparable to the deficits that were run in other years which average about $250 billion (not counting the past two years). In addition, when the surplus' did occur, Republicans outnumbered Democrats by 10 in the Senate and only about 15 in the House.

I also learned that a Republican led government (both Congress and President) had extremely high deficits (averaging about $300 billion). Remember, this does not include extra spending during the year by Congress (i.e. military appropriations). During this time, Republicans outnumbered Democrats by about 5 in the Senate and about 30 in the House.

I learned that we have spent over $3 trillion dollars in the past few years. If you read my other post, you will learn that GDP, in that same period of time, hasn't even grown 1%. During this time, Democrats outnumbered Republicans by 13 in the Senate and about 60 in the House.

In conclusion, there is no real reason for Democrats to blame Republicans for any problems our economy currently faces. Democrats have a much higher margin today than the Republicans did in the late 90s, yet the outcomes are completely different.

FYI...I am not supporting Republicans or Democrats. I only support the truth which, in this case, are based on numbers presented by the U.S. government and a CNS article.

What I found:

Control of Congress Budget Balanced? Deficit/Surplus

President William J. Clinton (Left office Jan. 20, 2001)
1994 Democrat No --$203.2 billion
1995 Democrat No --$163.9 billion
1996 Republican No --$107.4 billion
1997 Republican No --$21.9 billion
1998 Republican YES $69.2 billion
1999 Republican YES $125.6 billion
2000 Republican YES $236.2 billion
2001 Republican YES $128.2 billion

President George W. Bush (Left office Jan. 20, 2009)
2002 Split No --$157.8 billion
2003 Split No --$377.6 billion
2004 Republican No --$412.7 billion
2005 Republican No --$318.3 billion
2006 Republican No --$248.2 billion
2007 Democrat No --$160.7 billion
2008 Democrat No --$458.6 billion
2009 Democrat No --$1.41 trillion

President Barack Obama
2010 Democrat No --$1.55 trillion

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/62793


Party Division in the House of Representatives from 1993 to 2011:

Congress (Years)	Number of House Seats	Democrats	Republicans	Other	Vac.	Del./Res.
105th (1997-1999)	435	206	228	Independent (1)	0	4/1
106th (1999-2001)	435	211	223	Independent (1)	0	4/1
107th (2001-2003)	435	212	221	Independents (2)	0	4/1
108th (2003-2005)	435	205	229	Independent (1)	0	4/1
109th (2005-2007)	435	202	232	Independent (1)	0	4/1
110th (2007-2009)	435	233	202	Independent (0)	0	4/1
111th (2009-2011)	435	257	178	Independent (0)	0	5/1

D R

103rd (1993-1995)	435	258	176	Independent (1)	0	4/1
104th (1995-1997)	435	204	230	Independent (1)	0	4/1

http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/house_history/partyDiv.html

Part Division in the U.S. Senate from 1993 to 2011:

103rd Congress (1993-1995)

Majority Party: Democrat (57 seats)

Minority Party: Republican (43 seats)

Other Parties: 0

Total Seats: 100

Note: Party division changed to 56 Democrats and 44 Republicans after the June 5, 1993 election of Kay B. Hutchison (R-TX).

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104th Congress (1995-1997)

Majority Party: Republican (52 seats)

Minority Party: Democrat (48 seats)

Other Parties: 0

Total Seats: 100

Note: Party ratio changed to 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats after Richard Shelby of Alabama switched from the Democratic to Republican party on November 9, 1994. It changed again, to 54 Republicans and 46 Democrats, when Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado switched from the Democratic to Republican party on March 3, 1995. When Robert Packwood (R-OR) resigned on October 1, 1995, the Senate divided between 53 Republicans and 46 Democrats with one vacancy. Ron Wyden (D) returned the ratio to 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats when he was elected to fill the vacant Oregon seat.

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105th Congress (1997-1999)

Majority Party: Republican (55 seats)

Minority Party: Democrat (45 seats)

Other Parties: 0

Total Seats: 100

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106th Congress (1999-2001)

Majority Party: Republican (55 seats)

Minority Party: Democrat (45 seats)

Other Parties: 0

Total Seats: 100

Note: As the 106th Congress began, the division was 55 Republican seats and 45 Democratic seats, but this changed to 54-45 on July 13, 1999 when Senator Bob Smith of New Hampshire switched from the Republican party to Independent status. On November 1, 1999, Smith announced his return to the Republican party, making the division once more 55 Republicans and 45 Democrats. Following the death of Senator Paul Coverdell (R-GA) on July 18, 2000, the balance shifted again, to 54 Republicans and 46 Democrats, when the governor appointed Zell Miller, a Democrat, to fill the vacancy.

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107th Congress (2001-2003)

Majority Party (Jan 3-20, 2001): Democrat (50 seats)

Minority Party: Republican (50 seats)

Other Parties: 0

Total Seats: 100

________

Majority Party (Jan 20-June 6, 2001): Republican (50 seats)

Minority Party: Democrat (50 seats)

Other Parties: 0

Total Seats: 100

______

Majority Party (June 6, 2001-November 12, 2002 --): Democrat (50 seats)

Minority Party: Republican (49 seats)

Other Parties: 1

Total Seats: 100

_____

Majority Party (November 12, 2002 - January 3, 2003): Republican (50 seats)

Minority Party: Democrat (48 seats)

Other Parties: 2

Total Seats: 100

Note: From January 3 to January 20, 2001, with the Senate divided evenly between the two parties, the Democrats held the majority due to the deciding vote of outgoing Democratic Vice President Al Gore. Senator Thomas A. Daschle served as majority leader at that time. Beginning on January 20, 2001, Republican Vice President Richard Cheney held the deciding vote, giving the majority to the Republicans. Senator Trent Lott resumed his position as majority leader on that date. On May 24, 2001, Senator James Jeffords of Vermont announced his switch from Republican to Independent status, effective June 6, 2001. Jeffords announced that he would caucus with the Democrats, giving the Democrats a one-seat advantage, changing control of the Senate from the Republicans back to the Democrats. Senator Thomas A. Daschle again became majority leader on June 6, 2001. Senator Paul D. Wellstone (D-MN) died on October 25, 2002, and Independent Dean Barkley was appointed to fill the vacancy. The November 5, 2002 election brought to office elected Senator James Talent (R-MO), replacing appointed Senator Jean Carnahan (D-MO), shifting balance once again to the Republicans -- but no reorganization was completed at that time since the Senate was out of session.

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108th Congress (2003-2005)

Majority Party: Republican (51 seats)

Minority Party: Democrat (48 seats)

Other Parties: Independent (1 seat)

Total Seats: 100

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109th Congress (2005-2007)

Majority Party: Republican (55 seats)

Minority Party: Democrat (44 seats)

Other Parties: Independent (1 seat)

Total Seats: 100

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110th Congress (2007-2009)

Majority Party: Democrat (49 seats)

Minority Party: Republican (49 seats)

Other Parties: 1Independent; 1 Independent Democrat

Total Seats: 100

Note:Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut was reelected in 2006 as an independent candidate, and became an Independent Democrat. Senator Bernard Sanders of Vermont was elected as an Independent.

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111th Congress (2009-2011)
Majority Party: Democrat (57 seats)
Minority Party: Republican (41 seats)
Other Parties: 1 Independent; 1 Independent Democrat
Total Seats: 100
Note: Senator Arlen Specter was reelected in 2004 as a Republican, and became a Democrat on April 30, 2009. Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut was reelected in 2006 as an independent candidate, and became an Independent Democrat. Senator Bernard Sanders of Vermont was elected in 2006 as an Independent.

http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/history/one_item_and_teasers/partydiv.htm

GDP growth during the Great Depression and 2010

I am writing this post because I wanted to lean more about whether government intervention in the economy helped during the Great Depression.

I was listening to "progressive" talk radio the other day and one of the hosts talked about how government intervention in the economy during the Great Depression led to growth in our GDP thus getting us out of the Depression. The host then advocated government intervention, specifically the trillions that have been spent over the past few years, to get us out of our depression (I use this word) today.

What I found:

From 1932 to 1940, GDP grew from about $600 billion to $800 billion. Thus, the GDP grew about 33% as a result of government intervention.

http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/recovery.htm

http://elsa.berkeley.edu/~cromer/great_depression.pdf

Today, the numbers are much different:

"The Commerce Department presents these revisions dispassionately, noting that the changes in real GDP are being revised down for all three years in the 2007-2009 time span: : 0.2 percentage point for 2007, 0.4 percentage point for 2008, and 0.2 percentage point for 2009. "

http://curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com/2010/07/30/todays-gdp-report-getting-real-about-the-recession/

What I learned:

I learned that our current GDP growth is remarkably low. I also learned that the GDP wasn't really as bad as the economists, politicians, and media made it out to be. Finally, I learned that today's intervention has not led to anywhere near as much GDP growth as in the Great Depression.

Smugglers of Drugs Burrow on Border

But there is another route across the border, one in which smugglers slither north. As enforcement efforts have increased and border barriers have been built, tunneling has gained in popularity, with Nogales becoming the capital.

Over the last four years, at least 51 unauthorized tunnels, or more than one a month, have been found in the two border cities. Some are short, narrow passageways that require those navigating them to slither. Others are long, sophisticated underground thoroughfares strung with electric cables and ventilation hoses.

Last year, a resident tipped off the authorities to a tunnel that extended 48 feet into Mexico and 35 feet into the United States, making it one of the longest ever found in Nogales.

States give few fines for pipeline violations

State regulators around the nation seldom impose large fines for violations of pipeline safety codes, even for incidents causing deaths or substantial damage, a USA TODAY analysis shows.

Fourteen states have not levied a single pipeline fine since 2001 and another 20 states have issued only one or two fines per year, federal records show.

State regulators oversee pipelines that run within state lines. The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Agency (PHMSA) has jurisdiction over pipelines that cross state lines. The pipelines move natural gas, oil, propane and other hazardous items.

Regulators say fines aren't always needed. "We don't do a lot of fines because there's a lot of compliance," PUC executive director Paul Clanon said.

Depression hits 9% of adults, worst in South, CDC reports

An estimated 9% of adult Americans currently meet the criteria for clinical depression, federal officials reported Thursday.

Rates of depression vary widely from state to state, ranging from a low of 4.8% in North Dakota to a high of 14.8% in Mississippi, according to researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Overall, more people in the Southeast met the criteria for depression, compared with other parts of the nation, the researchers found.

For the report, researchers collected data on 235,067 people in 45 states, the District of Columbia and two U.S. territories.

They found that besides state-to-state disparities, those more likely to have major depression — the most serious kind of depression — were women, racial and ethnic minorities, those without a high school education, people who were divorced or never married, those unemployed or unable to work, middle-aged people, and those without health insurance.

Lower-income U.S. families see government more favorably: survey

Lower-income American families rate government policies more favorably than those of higher-income brackets, according to a survey released on Friday showed.

This disparity in views between different income groups in the latest Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers could play a role in the November 2 elections and change the political landscape in Washington.

In September, 23 percent of households with an annual income below $75,000 viewed government policies favorably, nearly twice the share of households making more than $75,000 a year, according to the survey.

Back in May 2009, 34 percent of lower-income families and 29 percent of upper-income households rated government policies favorably.

New sex ed funding ends decade of abstinence-only

For the first time in more than a decade, the federal government is funding sex education programs that aren't based solely on abstinence. But they're not just about handing out condoms, either.

Beginning this school year, a five-year, $375 million grant is being divided among 28 programs that have been proven to lower the pregnancy rate among participants, no matter their focus. Many programs distribute condoms, but about half also aim to boost teens' academics, get them involved in extracurricular activities and even improve their parents' job status.

Abstinence programs will still receive a $50 million annual federal grant that requires states to match $3 for every $4, and about 30 states have applied for that money. The $375 million HHS grant does not require states to provide matching funds.

Almost all U.S. teens have had formal sex education, but only about two-thirds have been taught birth control methods, according to a CDC report released Sept. 15.

AIG and U.S. set faster, riskier exit path

American International Group Inc and the U.S. government agreed on Thursday agreed on a plan that would accelerate the payback of bailout money and could yield a profit for taxpayers but also increase their risk.

The plan comes a little over two years after AIG was first rescued with an aid package that ballooned to $182.3 billion. The plan allows the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to be repaid in full and ends its involvement in AIG, leaving AIG to deal with just the Treasury Department, while simplifying the bailout structure.

The Treasury will convert some of its AIG securities into common shares, raising its stake in the insurer to 92.1 percent from nearly 80 percent. That stake will be sold off over time.

The Treasury also will effectively buy out the Fed's interest in two large AIG units that are being sold.

The plan could lead to a loss for taxpayers if the stock price falls below roughly $30, at which the Treasury will break even, or if the company fails, as common shares sit lower in the capital structure.

U.S. Issues New Rules on Offshore Drilling

The Interior Department tightened its rules on offshore oil and gas operations on Thursday but left in place the moratorium on deepwater drilling that has left oil executives frustrated and Gulf Coast officials fuming.

The new rules — governing well casing and cementing, blowout preventers, safety certification, emergency response and worker training — provide offshore drillers with clarity on the terms under which drilling will resume when the current freeze ends.

The rules take effect immediately under emergency rule-making powers.

The moratorium on deepwater drilling, imposed in late April, is scheduled to end on Nov. 30, but officials have signaled that it will probably be eased before then.

Report: Jax is 18th-worst traffic city

Jacksonville has the 18th-worst traffic in the nation, according to a report that measures mobility based on total drive time, as opposed to delays.

Jacksonville's total hours of peak period travel hit 209. Nashville was the worst traffic city with 284 hours of peak period travel.

Survey: Americans don't know much about religion

A new survey of Americans' knowledge of religion found that atheists, agnostics, Jews and Mormons outperformed Protestants and Roman Catholics in answering questions about major religions, while many respondents could not correctly give the most basic tenets of their own faiths.

Forty-five percent of Roman Catholics who participated in the study didn't know that, according to church teaching, the bread and wine used in Holy Communion is not just a symbol, but becomes the body and blood of Christ.

More than half of Protestants could not identify Martin Luther as the person who inspired the Protestant Reformation. And about four in 10 Jews did not know that Maimonides, one of the greatest rabbis and intellectuals in history, was Jewish.

Respondents to the survey were asked 32 questions with a range of difficulty, including whether they could name the Islamic holy book and the first book of the Bible, or say what century the Mormon religion was founded. On average, participants in the survey answered correctly overall for half of the survey questions.

Atheists and agnostics scored highest, with an average of 21 correct answers, while Jews and Mormons followed with about 20 accurate responses. Protestants overall averaged 16 correct answers, while Catholics followed with a score of about 15.

Not surprisingly, those who said they attended worship at least once a week and considered religion important in their lives often performed better on the overall survey. However, level of education was the best predictor of religious knowledge. The top-performing groups on the survey still came out ahead even when controlling for how much schooling they had completed.

Texting bans may add risk to roads

Laws banning texting while driving actually may prompt a slight increase in road crashes, research out today shows.

The findings, to be unveiled at a meeting here of 550 traffic safety professionals from around the USA, come amid a heightened national debate over distracted driving.

"Texting bans haven't reduced crashes at all," says Adrian Lund, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, whose research arm studied the effectiveness of the laws.

Last year in the USA, 5,474 people were killed and another 448,000 injured in crashes involving distracted driving, defined as operating a vehicle in a careless or inattentive manner, the government says.

Blacks earn 54% of whites in Jacksonville

Income levels for African-Americans are a bit more than half of those for whites in metro Jacksonville, according to analysis of new U.S. Census Bureau data by a sister publication of the Jacksonville Business Journal.

The per capita income of whites in metro Jacksonville was $30,528 in 2009. Per capita income is defined as the average amount of money received by residents of a given area in a given year, encompassing such diverse sources of income as salaries, interest payments, dividends, rental income and government checks.

By comparison, African-Americans in metro Jacksonville made 54.3 percent of that, or $16,570, which ranks Jacksonville 53rd out of 101 metros for black per capita income.

Hispanics in Jacksonville made 55 percent of white per capita income, or $16,765. That ranks Jacksonville 17th for Hispanic per capita income.

The per capita income of local Asians was $25,794, or 85 percent of white PCI. That ranks Jacksonville 46th for Asian per capita income.

Income levels of African-Americans were less than half the income levels of whites in 31 major metropolitan areas, according to analysis by Business First of Buffalo.

The largest disparity exists in Bridgeport-Stamford, Conn., where the per capita income for black residents is $20,368, which is 35.9 percent of the comparable figure for whites, $56,729.

New Fla. laws cover 'pill mills,' street racing

Thirty-two new Florida laws go into effect Friday, Oct. 1. They include statutes that will:

- Crack down on the sale of prescription painkillers to addicts and drug dealers by "pill mills" through provision that limit advertising, bar patients without insurance from getting more than a three-day supply and impose stiff penalties on doctors and clinics that violate prescribing rules. (This law is being challenged in federal court.)

- Make prejudice-motivated attacks on homeless people hate crimes that can result in more severe penalties.

- Increase repeat offense penalties for street racers under what is titled the Luis Rivera Ortega Street Racing Act after a 15-year-old boy killed by an alleged street racer while riding his bicycle on New Year's Day 2009 in Orange County.

- Make threat of injury or death sent by e-mail or other electronic communications punishable by up to 15 years in prison as already provided for if those same threats are made on paper.

- Allow the death penalty for the unlawful distribution of methadone that causes a user's death.

- Make it illegal to impersonate military veterans when soliciting donations.

- Crack down on rogue debt collectors by making it easier to regulate the industry and increasing penalties.

- Create a "St. Johns River" specialty license plate to raise money for research projects and community outreach and access programs selected by the St. Johns River Alliance.

- Create an "Endless Summer" specialty license plate to promote surfing and fund such things as lifeguards, artificial reefs and beach protection.

- Create three specialty license plates: "Catch Me, Release Me" to fund marine research, education and outreach; "Discover Florida's Horses" to promote the Florida Agriculture and Horse Park in Marion County, and "Save Wild Florida" to aid the Florida Biodiversity Foundation.

- Let motorists donate $1 when registering and renewing their vehicle registration to the Florida Association of Agencies Serving the Blind to aid blind babies and youth, The Arc of Florida to help people with developmental disabilities or the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Tampa Bay.

- Allow motorists to donate $1 when registering and renewing registration for their vehicles to Prevent Blindness Florida or Lauren's Kids, a childhood sexual abuse prevention group.

Jacksonville City Council Approves New Millage Rate and Budget

The city council has approved the budget, and in its second vote on the city's millage today also approved a 10.0353 millage rate by a vote of 10-8 vote.

The vote means an 8 percent increase from the 9.27-mill property tax rate currently in Jacksonville.

The council took its first break of the morning around lunchtime today, following a vote on the millage rate increase which ended with a deadlock of 9-9. But Councilman Reggie Brown changed his vote to break the stalemate.

The budget, which includes the millage, passed 11-7, and is balanced.

Council President Jack Webb said the budget that passed was $4.3 million lower than the one proposed by Mayor John Peyton, which was $995 million.