Friday, October 30, 2009

Deneen Borelli to Appear on Hannity

Comments by Project 21 full-time fellow Deneen Borelli will be broadcast as part of a pre-recorded segment on this evening's edition of the Fox News Sean Hannity show.

The topic: The United States Department of Justice overruling a 2 to 1 vote by Kinston, North Carolina voters to end the use of party labels in local elections.

Deneen's segment is expected to run at approximately 9:45 PM ET.

E-mail comments to info@nationalcenter.org. | Subscribe to this blog's feed. | Follow the National Center for Public Policy Research on Twitter. | Download our book Shattered Lives: 100 Victims of Government Health Care.

Labels: Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 5:00 PM

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Rush Should Sue

Bob Parks believes Rush should sue.

I believe he should also, although I am agnostic on which individuals and/or businesses have met the legal definition of libel in this instance. (For one thing, I haven't seen everyone's comments in context.)

Aside from whatever satisfaction Rush might get from the experience (assuming that would outweigh the hassle factor), I think Rush would be doing a significant public service inasmuch as the news media is way, way too casual about throwing around false information. Yes, about conservatives, but generally as well. A few lawsuits might remind some reporters and editors that if they don't care about accuracy out of pride in a job well done, they might care about it to save their own bank balances.

Labels: Conservatives, Limbaugh, Media, Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 12:13 AM

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Deneen Borelli to Appear on Fox and Friends

Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli will be a guest on the Fox New Channel show "Fox and Friends" Monday, October 19. She is expecting to discuss the White House war on Fox News as well as left-wing pressure on the White House to adopt a second "stimulus" package.

If you want to tune in, you can catch her at approximately 6:15 AM Eastern.

Labels: Government Spending, Liberals, Media, Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 11:08 PM

Friday, October 16, 2009

Quote of Note: Did Rush Really Lose?

"...most of the same people who want Limbaugh ostracized are the same ones who think it is OK for Roman Polanski to drug and rape a 13 year old. These are also the same people, the white ones, who do not want Michael Vice to ever play again, or at least to make his life a living hell as long as he does play.

In the end, and to their shame, the group of potential owners caved in and removed Rush Limbaugh from the investor group saying that it was not worth it to keep Rush involved if it risked their not getting the franchise.

In the past 2 days ESPN and other media outlets have been announcing that Rush Limbaugh has been punted, and there is I am sure great rejoicing in this in many quarters, particularly in the black community and on the left. They see this as some great victory. This is very sad. Why? Because I ask the simple question, who really won and who really lost? Did Rush really lose? Did black players or even more so black Americans win?

Rush is still the most popular radio personality in America. He will still earn over $25 million a year, and he will still want Barack Obama to fail. Nothing has changed.

At the same time, will one black child do better in school? Will one less gang killing take place in Chicago, Philly LA. Will the Rams play any better? The answer is of course no. No new jobs have been created and Iran, North Korea are still feverishly building nuclear weapons.

This is a sad state for our nation. Black America in the grip of the Liberal establishment is more addicted to mediocrity than they are to 'Crack Cocaine.' They are the willing pawns in the Liberal game. This is a sad state. In the end everyone that needs to win loses."

-Eddie Huff, "NFL vs. Rush Limbaugh - Who's The Real Loser," New Black Thought, October 14, 2009

Labels: Business, Culture, Liberals, Limbaugh, Project 21, Quotes, Race, Radio

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 11:56 PM

What's Happening Now

Bob Moffit on a new way the Senate leadership is trying to deceive you.

Roundup of black conservative opinion of NFL-thinks-it-is-too-good-for-Rush-Limbaugh dustup.

Judge tosses out yet another lawsuit trying to set global warming policy in the courts instead of the legislatures.

Is the Honduran constitution negotiable?

Snow in New Jersey on October 15 does not disprove the global warming theory.

Daniel Henninger: Donald Rumsfeld was right.

Obama says the damage from Katrina was caused in part by a "breakdown of government." If gov't came make a hurricane worse, why would we want it to run health care?

Labels: Business, Climate, Courts, Environment, Project 21, Race, Retirement, White House

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 12:51 AM

Inside the Beltway on Deneen Borelli

The Washington Times' popular Inside the Beltway column today is covering Project 21's Deneen Borelli's comments on Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson's attacks on Rush Limbaugh.

Written by Amy Ridenour, president of the National Center for Public Policy Research. E-mail comments to info@nationalcenter.org. | Subscribe to this blog's feed. | Follow the National Center for Public Policy Research on Twitter. | Download our book Shattered Lives: 100 Victims of Government Health Care.

Labels: Media, Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 12:30 AM

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Sharpton and Jackson Attack on Rush Limbaugh a "Racist Act," Says Black Conservative

It's not up on the Project 21 webpages yet, but Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli has issued a statement about the Rush Limbaugh situation that may interest readers:

Jackson & Sharpton Effort Against Rush Limbaugh is an Effort to "Get Whitie" and a "Racist Act," Says Leading Black Conservative

Statement of Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli

The left-wing jihad against Rush Limbaugh is un-fair and un-American. Rush is being targeted simply because he is a conservative and a leading critic of President Obama's wealth redistribution policies.

With conservative blood in the water, it's predictable to see the 'race card duo' -- Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton -- circling the victim. Since the election of the first black president, they have been searching for some white meat to feed on and Rush just happens to be a juicy target. Whipping up unjustified black anger is their specialty.

Frankly, I see their effort as 'get whitie' -- an inherent racist act.

It's outrageous that the 'race card duo' are worried about Rush buying a football team following a graphic example of black on black gang violence in Chicago -- Jackson's home town. As so-called black leaders they should be putting their time and effort in dealing with the human tragedies in the urban community: crime and failing schools and not a conservative exercising his right to play in the free market.

Written by Amy Ridenour. E-mail comments to info@nationalcenter.org. | Subscribe to this blog's feed. | Follow the National Center for Public Policy Research on Twitter. | Download our book Shattered Lives: 100 Victims of Government Health Care.

Labels: Business, Liberals, Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 7:40 PM

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Outrage of the Day: More Racist Rants from the Anti-Black-Conservative Left

Sometimes I wonder how stupid you have to be to be a liberal. I mean, really. Take this, for example. Some liberals are so, I guess the word would be "threatened," that not all black Americans chose to live on the liberal plantation that they actually have an Internet thread going about how Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli (who is black) looks lighter-skinned in one of the four photos of her they found online than in the other three.

The guy who started the thread, an "administrator" of the website U.S. Politics Online who goes by the pseudonym (presumably it is a pseudonym) "O'Sullivan Bere," questions whether it is "unethical" for there to be a photo in circulation in which Deneen's skin looks lighter.

What is it, buddy? Afraid she'll "pass"?

Another dope on the thread opines, "She obviously realizes that most conservatives won't listen to her if she looks really black."

People, get real. The photo in which Deneen looks "lighter" is a professional studio shot. Studios have special lighting. Everybody looks different in professional portraits -- that's why people pay good money for them. (As to whether the portrait studio photoshopped it a bit, who knows. That's standard nowadays, even for white subjects. If the "administrator" used his own photo instead of one I bet he stole off a movie-related website for his own picture, he'd probably know that.)

So the guy, the dishonorable "O'Sullivan Bere," questions Deneen's ethics in his headline while using stolen photos on his website to raise the ethics issue. I took the Fox News photo O'Sullivan Bere posted on my home computer -- a screen shot of Fox programming off my computer monitor using a $29 piece of software (gee, I wonder why a screen shot looked different than a professionally done studio pic?) and I don't remember the fellow who is pretending to be a character in a movie asking me for permission to re-post the photo. Deneen's husband, Tom, took the shot of her at the Tea Party rally in which she looks darker, and sent it to us for this blog -- so if the Borellis have a plot to make Deneen look lighter in public photos, they sure have a weird way of going about it.

I suppose in all fairness I should note that it appears the apparently-fake O'Sullivan Bere did not steal Tom's Tea Party photo of Deneen directly from my blog. He took it (with permission? I bet not) from this blogger, another idiot. Presumably, that blogger, who also wrote disparagingly about Deneen's skin tone, stole it from our blog, although I won't rule out the possibility that there was another racist little photo-stealing twerp in the mix somewhere, and they all stole from one another after they stole from us.

Now that I have said all that, I'm going to go all moderate for a minute and admit not all liberals are stupid. I bet most of them would find this sort of thing at to be an embarrassment -- for their side. They'd be right.

P.S. Ironically, the thread about Deneen supposedly being unethical for supposedly having her her studio shot photoshopped to make her look lighter had the following ad running when I visited:

Labels: Liberals, Outrage, Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 11:39 PM

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Project 21's Bob Parks on Sirius and XM Satellite Radio This Wednesday

Project 21 member Bob Parks is scheduled to appear on the satellite talk radio program "Make It Plain with Mark Thompson" on Wednesday, October 7 at approximately 6:15 PM eastern for around 20 minutes.

The program can be heard on Sirius channel 146 ("Sirius Left") and XM channel 167 ("America Left"). Bob has been asked to talk about the Obama Administration's handling of the economy and Afghanistan.

Listeners can call into the show at (866) 99-SIRIUS.

This post was written by David Almasi, executive director of the National Center for Public Policy Research. Write the author at info@nationalcenter.org. As we occasionally reprint letters on the blog, please note if you prefer that your correspondence be kept private, or only published anonymously.

Labels: Media, Project 21, Race

Posted by David W. Almasi at 4:29 PM

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Project 21's Bob Parks Discusses Health Care Policy on BET Special This Sunday

Project 21 member Bob Parks has taped a panel discussion on health care policy that is scheduled to air on Black Entertainment Television this Sunday, September 27, at 9:00 PM eastern.

Bob participated in BET's "Critical Condition: What's at Stake in Health Care Reform" with White House Domestic Policy Advisor Melody Barnes and Representatives James Clyburn (D-SC) and Maxine Waters (D-CA).

You can read Bob's comments about the taping of the show by clicking here.

Check your local listings for BET on cable. BET is available on channel 230 on Fios, channel 124 on Dish Network and channel 329 on DirecTV.

Editor's note: BlackNews.com has published a story about the broadcast, which can be accessed here.

Written by David Almasi, executive director of the National Center for Public Policy Research. Write the author at info@nationalcenter.org. As we occasionally reprint letters on the blog, please note if you prefer that your correspondence be kept private, or only published anonymously.

Labels: Congress, Government Health Care, Health Care, Media, Project 21, Race

Posted by David W. Almasi at 12:53 AM

Friday, September 25, 2009

Project 21's Borelli to Discuss ACORN on Fox

Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli is scheduled to appear on Fox & Friends on Saturday morning, September 26 at 9:50 AM Eastern.

The topic is on the undercover filmmakers who investigated ACORN and whether they should be prosecuted.

Labels: Media, Project 21, Race, Scandals

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 11:50 PM

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Project 21's Joe Hicks to Discuss Race and Opposition to Obama on CNN HLN Friday Afternoon

Project 21 member Joe Hicks is scheduled to appear on CNN HLN (Headline News) to discuss the myth that racial animosity is fueling opposition to the policies pushed by the Obama White House.

Joe will be a guest of "Prime News" host Richelle Carey between 5:30 and 6:00 PM eastern on Friday, September 25.

Check your local listings for CNN Headline News on cable. HLN is available on channel 100 on Fios, channel 202 on Dish Network and channel 204 on DirecTV.

Labels: Conservatives, Project 21, Protests, Race, White House

Posted by David W. Almasi at 6:25 AM

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Project 21's Deneen Borelli on "Hannity" on Thursday Night, "America's Newsroom" on Friday Morning

Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli is scheduled to appear on two Fox News Channel panels later this week, discussing the pressing issues of that day.

On Thursday night, September 24, Deneen will be a member of Sean Hannity's "Great American Panel." "Hannity" airs at 9:00 PM eastern.

On Friday morning, September 25, Deneen will participate in a similar panel-style discussion on "America's Newsroom" at approximately 9:30 AM.

The topics of both panels will depend on the headlines at the time.

Check your local listings for Fox News Channel on cable. Fox News is available on channel 118 on Fios, channel 205 on Dish Network and channel 360 on DirecTV.

Editor's note: Deneen's appearance on the September 25 show has been changed to 10:45 AM Eastern.

Labels: Media, Project 21, Race

Posted by David W. Almasi at 11:44 PM

Monday, September 21, 2009

AFRO: One-on-One with Deneen Borelli

Danyel Jones of AFRO interviewed Project 21's Deneen Borelli.

You can read his interview here.

Labels: Media, Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 6:46 PM

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Deneen Borelli to be on Fox and Friends Monday

Project 21's full-time fellow, Deneen Borelli, will be a guest Monday morning on the Fox New Channel's Fox & Friends show.

Deneen will appear at approximately 6:15 AM Eastern. She is scheduled to discuss President Obama's lackluster reaction to the ongoing ACORN scandal as well as the Obama Administration's Department of Justice's investigation of the CIA.

As noted here Saturday, Deneen also will be a guest of the nationally-syndicated G. Gordon Liddy radio show on Monday at noon Eastern and on the Great American panel on the September 24 9-10 PM Eastern Hannity Show on the Fox News Channel, among other upcoming appearances.

Posted by Amy Ridenour, president of the National Center for Public Policy Research. E-mail comments to info@nationalcenter.org.
Subscribe to this blog's feed.

Labels: Defense, Media, Project 21, Race, Radio, Scandals, Terrorism, White House

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 10:30 PM

Saturday, September 19, 2009

G. Gordon Liddy to Interview Black Conservative Deneen Borelli

Project 21's Deneen Borelli will be a guest on the national G. Gordon Liddy radio program Monday, September 21, at noon Eastern.

The Liddy Show archives interviews online, so if you are a hard-working taxpayer who can't listen in live, you can catch it later here.

Momentarily walking down memory lane, I recall that when Project 21 was first formed in 1992, Gordon Liddy was one of the first major talk show hosts to interview its members. He hosted several Project 21 members in a roundtable-style discussion in his studio, covering a variety of issues, not least of which was the hypocritically intolerant and unacceptably hostile way (my terms) the left treats black Americans who choose to believe in free markets.

Seventeen years later, the left still can't stand it when a black American holds an opinion contrary to those of the socialist left.

As noted earlier, in other upcoming major interviews, the Fox News Channel has also booked Deneen for an appearance Sunday, September 20 at 11:05 AM Eastern and Deneen will appear on the Great American panel on the September 24 Hannity Show on the Fox News Channel.

Labels: Conservatives, Media, Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 7:57 PM

Friday, September 18, 2009

What's Happening Now

No independent thought tolerated: A sample of the abuse black conservatives routinely receive.

Polish newspaper: "Betrayal! The U.S. sold us to Russia and stabbed us in the back."

Czech newspaper: "An ally we rely on has betrayed us, and exchanged us for its own, better relations with Russia, of which we are rightly afraid."

Lauri Regan/American Thinker: "Missile defense Obama will ditch, but General Electric he'll enrich?"

Timothy Carney/Washington Examiner: Obama helps strengthen General Electric-Putin ties.

ACORN to file criminal complaint. (H/T The Other McCain)

Speaking of ACORN, defend Glenn Beck.

The Max Baucus money trail. (Is it that expensive to run in Montana?)

John McCain IDs "certainly the worst President of the 20th Century."

Labels: Defense, Europe, Foreign Policy, FreeEnterpriseProject, Government Health Care, Health Care, Media, Project 21, Race, Scandals

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 1:41 PM

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Rebutting False Racism Claims - Upcoming Deneen Borelli TV Appearances

Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli will be a guest on Fox's "Your World with Neil Cavuto" today at approximately 4:10 PM Eastern to discuss claims by former President Jimmy Carter and others that critics of the Obama Administration are motivated by racism. Speaker Nancy Pelosi's comments today comparing current political rhetoric to that preceding the murders of two San Francisco elected officials in 1978 are also likely to be discussed.

The Fox News Channel has also booked Deneen for an appearance Sunday, September 20 at 11:05 AM Eastern.

Deneen also has been scheduled to appear as a part of the Great American panel on the September 24 Hannity Show on the Fox News Channel, and, as noted yesterday in this blog, will be a guest on Fox and Friends on Friday, September 18 at approximately 6:20 AM Eastern.

Deneen also continues to be interviewed by a variety of print and radio news organizations, so if you are a fan, keep an eye & ear out for her as she continues to rebut the offensive nonsense being spewed by the intolerant left (for example, this).

Labels: Conservatives, Culture, Liberals, Project 21, Race, White House

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 2:03 PM

What's Happening Now

Even the anecdotes are lies. (Does this White House vet anything?)

Would you support a sex tax to pay for Obama's health care reform?

When a health care system has other priorities: "We were told to wrap him in a blanket and let him die."

How the poor cheat the IRS.

Scott Johnson: Who is lower, ACORN or the New York Times?

538: Baucus compromise draws enthusiastic support of Senator Max Baucus.

Obama Treasury Department admits: Cap-and-trade a huge energy tax.

This time, it's caribou: The left is trying to regulate energy using the Endangered Species Act again.

David Harsanyi: Conservatives have never opposed a president before. (So it must be racism.)

Congratulations to Mark Levin. (I'm one of the million.)

Labels: Climate, Congress, Energy, Government Health Care, Health Care, Media, Project 21, Race, Taxes, White House

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 12:46 AM

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Project 21's Deneen Borelli on "Fox and Friends" on Friday Morning to Discuss Race and Obama Opposition

Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli is scheduled to appear on the "Fox and Friends" program on the Fox News Channel on Friday September 18 at approximately 6:20 AM eastern.

Deneen has been asked to discuss the issue of race and opposition to the Obama Administration agenda. Deneen's comments on the issue of race and Obama in light of former President Jimmy Carter's comments on the issue can be found here.

Last Saturday, Deneen spoke at the 9/12 rally on the Capitol grounds. Coverage of her speech can be found here.

Check your local listings for BBCAmerica on cable. BBCAmerica is available on channel 118 on Fios, channel 205 on Dish Network and channel 360 on DirecTV.

Labels: Media, Project 21, Protests, Race, White House

Posted by David W. Almasi at 11:09 PM

Project 21's Deneen Borelli on BBCAmerica Wednesday Night to Discuss Race and Obama Opposition

Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli is scheduled to appear on the "BBC World News America on the BBCAmerica channel on Wednesday September 16 at 7:00 PM and 10:00 PM eastern.

Deneen has been asked to discuss the issue of race and opposition to the Obama Administration agenda. Deneen was a speaker at the 9/12 rally on the Capitol grounds this past Saturday. Coverage of her speech can be found here.

Deneen's comments on the issue of race and Obama in light of former President Jimmy Carter's comments on the issue can be found here.

Check your local listings for BBCAmerica on cable. BBCAmerica is available on channel 189 on Fios, channel 135 on Dish Network and channel 264 on DirectTV.

Labels: Conservatives, Liberals, Media, Project 21, Race, White House

Posted by David W. Almasi at 6:35 PM

Deneen Borelli to Address Race and Criticism of Obama on MSNBC Wednesday

Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli is scheduled to be a guest Wednesday morning on MSNBC's "Morning Meeting" with host Dylan Ratigan.

The topic to be discussed: Are there underlying issues of race in regard to Obama's policies?

The segment should air between 9-9:10 AM Eastern.

Note: The time of Deneen's appearance has been changed to 9:15 AM Eastern.

Labels: Project 21, Race, White House

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 12:02 AM

Racial Politics and Pop Culture

Leftist reactions to the Tea Parties, Joe Wilson's 'liar' comment, and the recent expose of ACORN illustrate and verify that old sardonic joke often bandied about in conservative circles: "What is the definition of a racist? Anyone winning an argument against a liberal."

From Maureen Dowd's recent tirade in the New York Times chalking Wilson's outburst up to racism, to the charges of bigotry emanating from the ignorant lips of Bill Maher and Janeane Garofalo about Obama's dissenters, the humorous aphorism is proving evermore true. Mainstream talking heads on cable networks have not shied away from engaging in such vitriolic accusations either, fallaciously asserting that Obama's opponents do not oppose his policies, rather, they oppose and fear him because he is black, as Joe Klein elucidated recently on "The Chris Matthews Show."

All humor has an element of truth; sadly, this old joke has become indubitable fact. The reflexive reversion to the race card, as disgusting and transparent as it is, does show, however, that those in opposition to the administration's mass power grab and irreparably-flawed worldview are winning.

But while on this touchy subject of race, perhaps we ought to delve into a recent pop culture snafu which, though outside the purview of current policy debates, provides an interesting commentary on the societal double standard of contemporary racial finger pointing. Infamously at the MTV Video Music Awards Sunday night, Kanye West, black rapper and outspoken Obama supporter, rushed the stage as the award for Best Female Video was awarded to the young, soft spoken country singer Taylor Swift. Snatching the microphone from her small white hands, West proceeded to protest that it was Beyonce who deserved to win (leaving the subject of his rant shocked and tastefully outraged). West has been known in the past for his racially-charged criticisms of the Bush Administration and his frank words about his fundamental identity as a black man in America... Would he have done the same if Swift were black?

Had the tables been turned and say, Toby Keith had rushed the stage and wrestled a microphone from Beyonce's hands to protest for Taylor Swift, the charges of racism would be fast and loose from all corners of society. Little to no racial connection has been made to Kanye West's outrageous actions. Charges of racism, it seems, go one way (often erroneously and with unfortunate results, a la the Gates 'profiling' affair, the Duke lacrosse injustice, and the current subversion of honest consideration of Obama's policy agenda).

To be sure, there are individuals across the ideological spectrum who see the world through racially-tinged glass. It is, however, the liberal wing of American politics which wields the charge of racism as a convenient tool to avoid debate and achieve desired political ends. As we have seen, time and again, and as Project 21 consistently reveals with alacrity, charges of racism are often an exercise in leftist hypocrisy. Best to move forward and attempt to relegate such ugly sentiments to the proverbial dustbin of history.

This post was written by Caroline May, policy analyst at the National Center for Public Policy Research. Write the author at info@nationalcenter.org. As we occasionally reprint letters on the blog, please note if you prefer that your correspondence be kept private, or only published anonymously.

Labels: Culture, Project 21, Race, White House

Posted by Caroline May at 12:01 AM

Sunday, September 13, 2009

AP Quotes Deneen Borelli's Tea Party Speech

Deneen Borelli's Tea Party speech begins at 3:30 on this video

An Associated Press story has quoted the Washington DC Tea Party speech of Deneen Borelli, who is a full-time Fellow of the Project 21 black leadership network.

Said the AP:

...Race also became an issue when a black Republican leader denounced African-American politicians that she said had an "affinity" for socialism.

"I'm outraged prominent black politicians use the race card" to cover up their failed policies, said Deneen Borelli of New York...

I have no clue why the AP referred to Deneen as a "Republican leader." Project 21 is completely non-partisan. I've worked with Deneen for years, and I don't even know if she is a Republican.

Some of my favorite lines from Deneen's remarks:

...I will not sit silently and allow our critics to say our cause is about race and that we are a bunch of rednecks.

Hey, Janeane Garofalo, my neck isn't red!

Speaking of race, I am outraged that prominent black politicians are using the race card to deflect attention from their failed policies and leadership. I’m also stunned that black politicians have an affinity for socialism....

...The goal of cap-and-tax is to force Americans to use less energy by making it more expensive. The consequences of higher energy prices will be devastating: it will reduce our disposable income and our standard of living; it will lead to jobs loses when manufacturing jobs move overseas [and] it will reduce economic growth. That's why cap-and-tax is a ball and chain for all Americans, but especially for low-income households. It’s an energy policy that will enslave all of us...

The complete AP story can be read here.

Labels: Climate, Media, Project 21, Protests, Race, Socialism

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 2:26 AM

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Project 21's Kevin Martin Rebuts Obama Health Care Address

Project 21 member Kevin Martin watched President Obama's address to Congress last night and didn't see much difference in what the White House and liberals on the Hill proposed before their summer vacation when it comes to reforming health care and what they are peddling now:

After losing control of their message on health care reform and having heard the criticism of their proposal at town hall meetings throughout the recent recess, one would expect the President and his liberal allies to return to Washington with new and innovative ideas about such reform. Instead, what the President said last night was a mish-mash of the same talking points, half-truths and misleading statements.

President Obama and his allies are ignoring the real reform Americans want in our health care system - namely reining in high costs and lessening the burden of lawsuit abuse on caregivers. Dealing with waste, fraud and abuse is something Americans have long wanted and this can be a point of agreement with the President - but it is odd that this is a cause the President's team is late in joining. What took them so long?

When supporters of a government option preach that their plan will be cost-effective and deficit-neutral as Obama did last night, it rings hollow. One has to look no further than the pork projects in this year's partisan "stimulus" package and the resulting explosion of the deficit to realize that being cost-effective and deficit-neutral are not the President's forte.

Labels: Congress, Government Health Care, Health Care, Project 21, Race, White House

Posted by David W. Almasi at 4:47 PM

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Project 21's Bob Parks to Critique Obama Health Care Speech on BET

Update on post below: BET has decided to schedule Bob for a different panel discussion to be recorded at another time, so he will not be appearing on BET this evening.

Project 21 member Bob Parks is scheduled to appear as a commentator during Black Entertainment Television's coverage of President Obama's address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, September 9.

President Obama is going to Capitol Hill to push for his foundering socialized health care agenda.

BET's coverage of Obama's speech is scheduled to begin at 8:00 PM and continue until 9:00 PM or 9:30 PM, depending on the length of the speech. Its coverage will be broadcast from the Newseum.

BET is available as a basic service on most cable TV systems. Check your local listings for the channel. On national services, it is channel 329 on Direct TV, channel 124 on Dish Network and channel 270 on FiOS.

Labels: Government Health Care, Health Care, Project 21, Race, Retirement, White House

Posted by David W. Almasi at 6:29 PM

Tom and Deneen Borelli to Speak on Global Warming Alarmism at Independence Mall in Philadelphia

Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli and Tom Borelli, director of the National Center's Free Enterprise Project, will speak at Americans for Prosperity's rally "Hot Air Tour Global Warming Alarmism: Lost Jobs, Higher Taxes, Less Freedom," on Wednesday, September 9th at Independence Mall in Philadelphia (rain or shine) from 4:30 pm to
6:30 pm.

Deneen will focus on the negative economic consequences of cap-and-trade legislation and Tom will urge concerned citizens to "vote with their wallet" and not purchase products from companies that are actively lobbying Congress to impose climate change-related economic restrictions.

You can keep up with Tom by reading his FreeEnterpriser blog. Deneen's most recent nationally-distributed op-ed, "Cap-and-Trade is a Ball-and-Chain for Poor Americans," can be read here.

Labels: Business, Climate, FreeEnterpriseProject, Project 21, Race, Regulation

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 1:48 PM

Thursday, August 20, 2009

What's Happening Now

The British government health care waiting list problem has been solved.

"Racial overtones," says MSNBC, capping its entry into the Stupidest News Clip of the Decade Contest.

British tax dollars at work: National Health Service gives Viagra to man with 30-year history of child sex crimes.

Sweden's largest newspaper claims Israel is kidnapping Palestinians and harvesting their organs. On MSNBC next?

White House deal with PhRMA undermines democracy.

Another polar expedition trapped in ice. Bonus picture of Al Gore's houseboat. Or go here.

Obama has lowest Gallup approval rating at this stage since Truman, except for one President. Find out which.

Ukraine's Got Talent.

Thomas Sowell on death guidance.

E-mail any comments to the National Center for Public Policy Research at info@nationalcenter.org. | Subscribe to this blog's feed. | Follow on Twitter.

Labels: Culture, Europe, Foreign Policy, Government Health Care, Health Care, Media, Project 21, Race, Retirement, Scandals, White House

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 8:46 AM

Saturday, August 08, 2009

Project 21 Members Come Out Swinging Against Krugman Racism Allegation

Members of the Project 21 black leadership group have come out swinging against New York Times columnist Paul Krugman for "scurrilously pinning racist motives on critics of President Obama's health care proposals."

Project 21 has also called on President Obama to condemn "this effort to stifle debate with race-baiting tactics"; as well as "all efforts to derail legitimate public debate."

Krugman's column drew the following specific comments from Project 21 members:

Mychal Massie (Pennsylvania):

"Paul Krugman is the one with race on the brain. Specifically, he is using race in the lowest and most repulsive declinations. He is using it because every other argument to stem the growing tide of condemnation for the proposed health care reform bill has failed. Ergo, when all else fails, parade out the race card and attempt to incite blacks into becoming the useful idiots.

"Opposition to the proposed health care bill isn't based on race. It is based on a people who are tired of Congress and the President spitting in their faces. It is the collective resolve of a people who are tired of being tread upon. One would think a Nobel prize-winner such as Krugman could figure that out."

Mychal Massie is chairman of Project 21.

Joe Hicks (Los Angeles, California):

"I must have somehow missed the articles from Krugman and other liberal and leftist members of the mainstream media that were critical of the activities of ACORN - the radical, leftist group Barack Obama once represented. Somehow, their heavy-handed activities - that many argue bent the boundaries of legality - were just considered to be the organized expression of disadvantaged communities.

"Now the same shameless, clueless writers are trying to convince us that those Americans who rightfully feel threatened by government-run health care and confront Obama's noxious scheme at public forums are somehow the acts of a 'mob.' Krugman reveals his bias by admitting that people are genuinely angry without bringing himself to understand exactly why they are mad. Smearing the rightful anger and concern of everyday Americans as collections of angry, old white folks - or part of the 'birthers' movement - shows the elitist disdain that liberal journalists such as Krugman have for democracy in action."

Joe Hicks is a Pajamas Television commentator and vice president of Community Advocates, Inc. of Los Angeles. He is a former executive director of the Los Angeles City Human Relations Commission and former executive director of the Greater Los Angeles chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Deneen Borelli (East Chester, New York):

"Krugman's commentary shows he is as out of touch as many of our elected officials are with real Americans. What's happening at town hall meetings has nothing to do with race and everything to do with concern over the rapid expansion of government.

"Americans are frustrated that letters, phone calls and e-mails to their elected representatives have had no impact on significant pieces of legislation such as cap-and-trade and stimulus spending. Americans are taking the next logical step by directly voicing their opinions to their representatives at town hall meetings."

Deneen Borelli is a full-time fellow with Project 21. She serves on the board of trustees of The Opportunity Charter School in Harlem, New York and previously served as Manager of Media Relations with the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE).

Bishop Council Nedd II (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania):

"I have nothing to do with the 'birther' issue, but I do have concerns about health care. So do the people in my parishes and in the local diner where I eat every day. Living in central Pennsylvania, these truly are the people portrayed in the Norman Rockwell painting about freedom of speech that Krugman reference in his column. To imply these people are now racists is racist in itself.

"Approximately half of the U.S. population didn't vote for Obama in the first place. Why is Krugman shocked that there is opposition to the Obama health care plan, and that people dare to voice their concern at public meetings? The Obama plan inserts government officials into end-of-life decisions for seniors and those among us with the least. That is not a race issue, that is a privacy issue. The Obama plan has given a whole new meaning to the idea of government for the people. This health plan is a bitter pill shoved down people's throat against their will."

Council Nedd is an Anglican bishop, serving the Diocese of the Chesapeake.

Bob Parks (Athol, Massachusetts):

"Why is it when liberals want to make their points, their knee-jerk reaction is to go racial? Paul Krugman is supposedly a journalist. Before throwing out the race card while speculating, he should give us some attributed quotes. Minus that, what he thinks is irrelevant."

Bob Parks is a Project 21 member and media commentator, and operator of the Black and Right web site.

Jimmie Hollis (Millville, New Jersey):

"I knew the moment Obama became a presidential candidate that anyone disagreeing with him would be called a racist, and that any opposition to his political views would be seen as racism. The left has always played the race card because it works.

"But I am nonetheless happy to see that people on the right and many in the middle are now beginning to speaking out firmly and with passion against policies they oppose. President Obama should speak out and condemn Paul Krugman racial commentary."

Jimmie L. Hollis is a Project 21 member and is retired from the U.S. Air Force, in which he served from 1962-1987.

Geoffrey Moore (Chicago, Illinois):

"This is not about race. It is about government control. The system is not perfect, but there is no need to have the government take over control of the entire health care system. The government has not demonstrated the ability to efficiently control costs and provide good service.

"Believe it or not, there are a lot of people who are not up in arms about their insurance. There are people who are somewhat pleased with the coverage they have. The government getting involved will create enormous expense and waste, while creating more problems than they intend to solve."

Geoffrey Moore is a Project 21 member and a marketing analyst in Chicago.

Project 21's entire statement can be read here.

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Labels: Congress, Media, Project 21, Race, Retirement, White House

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 7:32 AM

Thursday, July 30, 2009

"Mouthing Disingenuous Assurances Isn't Leadership or Change"

Project 21 Chairman Mychal Massie, writing in his personal column on WorldNetDaily, asks: "Why the rush on Obamacare?"?

Mychal (as usual!) doesn't mince any words in his conclusion:

Parading in front of teleprompters and mouthing disingenuous assurances isn't leadership or change. It is simply more of the same from another smarmy politician who will say and do anything to advance a diabolical agenda – no matter how bad it is for the nation.

You can see what Mychal has to say by reading his column here.

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Labels: Government Health Care, Government Power, Government Spending, Project 21, Race, White House

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 10:27 AM

Friday, July 24, 2009

Video of Project 21's Bob Parks Discussing Obama and Gates on Fox's O'Reilly Factor

Here's a video of Project 21's Bob Parks (right on the panel), guest host Monica Crowley and Earl Ofari Hutchinson on Thursday's Fox News O'Reilly Factor.

The three discussed President Obama's comment that the Cambridge MA Police Department "acted stupidly" when it arrested Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. for disorderly conduct.

Hat tip to jbranstetter04 for posting the video on YouTube.

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Labels: Project 21, Race, White House

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 12:12 AM

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Project 21's Parks to Debate Obama's Comments on Henry Gates Arrest on Tonight's "O'Reilly Factor"

Project 21's Bob Parks is scheduled to appear on the Fox News Channel's "O'Reilly Factor" program on Thursday, July 23 at 8:00 PM eastern. Monica Crowley is guest host.

Bob has been invited to discuss President Obama's remarks last night about the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Gates was arrested at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts last week for disorderly conduct after officers responded to a neighbor's call that Gates' home was possibly being burglarized. In fact, Gates had just returned from a trip and was trying to open a jammed door. The charges later were dropped.

In his nationally televised press conference, President Obama was asked about the arrest. While admitting he didn't "know all the facts," Obama nonetheless implied that he was angry about the arrest and said the officers acted "stupidly."

On his personal "Black and Right" web site, Bob says: "President Obama admits he didn't know much about the case, and yet slams a police department on national television. Is this stupid or what?"

The person Bob will be debating had yet to be determined at the time Bob was booked for the show.

Labels: Crime, Project 21, Race, White House

Posted by David W. Almasi at 5:12 PM

Race Preferences in Health Care Bill

Project 21 issued this press release this morning:

Obama Health Care Bill Contains Race Preferences

Black Activist Speaks Out Against Proposed Unequal Allocation of Health Resources

For Release: July 23, 2009
Contact: David Almasi at 202/543-4110x11

An examination of the 1018-page "America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009" (H.R. 3200) - the official Obama health care bill - finds several cases in which grant money for medical training can be awarded solely on factors of race and class.

Project 21 member Bishop Council Nedd II, an Anglican bishop and director of the Ecumenical Institute for Health Policy Research based at Valley Forge Christian College, is condemning the addition of racial preferences to the President's legislation.

"The U.S. Supreme Court just struck down racial preferences. So why does a newly-introduced bill want to perpetuate something that has just been declared unconstitutional?" asked Project 21's Nedd. "Racial preferences will not improve health care. They will increase tensions when some people are being unfairly put at the front of the line."

Between pages 878 and 909 of H.R. 3200, in an area related to grants for medical training, the Secretary of Health and Human Services is empowered to grant preference in awarding training grants. For the specialties of "family medicine, general internal medicine, general pediatrics, geriatrics and physician assistantship" (pages 878-882); "medical residents on community-based settings" (pages 883-886) and "general, pediatric and public health dentists and dental hygienists" (pages 887-891), it is written that "the Secretary shall give preference to... entities that have a demonstrated record of... training individuals who are from underrepresented minority groups or disadvantaged backgrounds."

Further, the bill amends the Public Health Service Act to give preferences in "advanced education nursing grants" to programs that "increase diversity among advanced education nurses" (pages 892-895). Grants for "enhancing the public health workforce" similarly give preference to "entities that have a demonstrated record of... training individuals who are from underrepresented minority groups or disadvantaged backgrounds" (pages 907-909).

A PDF version of H.R. 3200 can be found at http://tw8.us/qW.

Nedd added: "By making racial preferences a shortcut to federal funding, schools will reduce their quest for the best and turn it into a hunt for the right racial numbers. This, in the long run, will hurt the quality of our nation's health care. We need to stop the social experimentation and focus on cost and performance."

Project 21, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization sponsored by the National Center for Public Policy Research, has been a leading voice of the African-American community since 1992. For more information, contact David Almasi at (202) 543-4110 x11 or Project21@nationalcenter.org, or visit Project 21's website at http://www.nationalcenter.org/P21Index.html.

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Labels: Congress, Government Health Care, Health Care, Project 21, Race, Retirement

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 9:03 AM

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

NAACP Endorsement of Climate Legislation Puts It at Odds With Views of Black Americans

Project 21 says the NAACP's apparent search for purpose is leading it down the wrong road:

NAACP Endorsement of Climate Legislation Puts It at Odds With Views of Black Americans

For Release: July 22, 2009
Contact: David Almasi at 202/543-4110 x11 or dalmasi@nationalcenter.org

Struggling for purpose in light of the election of the first black president, the NAACP moves in the wrong direction, says a group of black conservatives, when it endorses a climate policy in tandem with the World Wildlife Federation that is opposed by a majority of black Americans.

"I'm all in favor of the nation's oldest civil rights group redefining its mission and agenda; however this indicates that the NAACP continues to struggle with current realities that face the nation's black communities by promoting policies they are opposed to," said Project 21’s Joe Hicks, who is also a PajamasTV commentator. "If this group simply wants to be defined as another left-wing organization touting the weak science on climate change, then it is destined to face ever-growing irrelevancy."

Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli added: "It's outrageous for the NAACP to place liberal ideology over the welfare of the nation. By aligning with the environmental activist lobby, the NAACP is now an official member of 'Club Green' - the exclusive club of elites waging war against fossil fuels. Tragically, the cover charge for their membership - job losses, reduced standard of living and high energy costs - will be borne disproportionately by the very people the NAACP claims to represent."

The NAACP's zeal for regulation is opposed by most black Americans. A recent poll of 800 black Americans found 76 percent believe Congress should make economic recovery, not climate change, its top priority. 56 percent believe policymakers do not adequately consider the quality of life of black Americans when addressing climate policy. When asked how much they would pay for gas and electricity to reduce greenhouse emissions, 76 percent said they would be unwilling to pay more than $50 a year while 52 percent were unwilling to pay anything at all.

Hicks added: "The NAACP shows how out of touch it has become by advocating Obama Administration policies on so-called climate change that impact the very population that claim to represent - poor, black Americans. Adding an increased burden of higher coast for essential things like gasoline and electricity at a time of economic hardship demonstrates that they have no independent course of leadership, but instead is blindly following this administration's disastrous lead."

The survey was conducted by Wilson Research Strategies for The National Center for Public Policy Research, which sponsors Project 21, and has a margin of error of +/- 3.4%. It can be viewed at: http://www.nationalcenter.org/BlackOpinion.html.

- 30 -

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Labels: Climate, Congress, Conservatives, Economics, Energy, Environment, Environmental Justice, Liberals, Project 21, Race, Regulation

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 8:01 AM

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Video of Project 21's Mychal Massie on the O'Reilly Factor

Here's a video of Project 21 Chairman Mychal Massie (right), guest host Laura Ingraham and Mark Sawyer, Ph.D. of UCLA on Friday's Fox News O'Reilly Factor.

They discussed President Obama's speech at the NAACP convention (including the President's curiously changed accent) and Senator Barbara Boxer's patronizing comments this week to a witness from the Black Chamber of Commerce at a recent hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

Mychal also mentioned the National Center for Public Policy Research's recent poll of African-Americans on cap and trade.

Hat tip to AmericasNewsToday1 for posting the video on YouTube.

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Labels: Climate, Congress, Culture, Environmental Justice, Media, Project 21, Race, White House

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 1:00 AM

Friday, July 17, 2009

Project 21's Massie Critiques Obama NAACP Speech On Tonight's "O'Reilly Factor"

Project 21 Chairman Mychal Massie is scheduled to appear on the Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" program on Friday, July 17 at 8:00 PM eastern. Laura Ingraham is guest-hosting. Also on with Mychal will be Professor Mark Sawyer of UCLA.

Mychal has been invited to discuss President Obama's remarks last night to the NAACP convention in New York City. Along with praising the group on its centennial, Obama specifically promoted his vision for education reform.

Fellow Project 21 member Kevin Martin made the following remarks following the President's remarks to the NAACP:

President Obama may believe his speech before the bobbing heads of the NAACP won him some points in the black community, but the reality is that it is the past and present actions of elected officials such as Obama that are responsible for the current state of education in our community. Obama and his liberal allies on Capitol Hill have sought to crush any alternative to our failed public education system - such as public charter schools, vouchers and increased parental involvement - most likely because it would ultimately make the teacher unions and elected officials have to become more accountable.

Expect Mychal to echo Kevin's feelings as well as discuss how Obama's plan to institute new energy taxes is also against the best interests and will of black Americans.

Labels: Climate, Education, Energy, Media, Project 21, Race, White House

Posted by David W. Almasi at 1:36 PM

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Project 21's Borelli to Speak About Sotomayor Confirmation Hearing on Fox News Channel Monday

Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli is scheduled to appear on the Fox News Channel's online "Strategy Room" program on Monday, July 20 between 9:00 AM and 10:00 AM eastern.

Deneen expects to discuss the judicial confirmation hearings for Sonia Sotomayor. Deneen wrote about the nomination, and Sotomayor's opinion on racial preferences, in a recent New Visions Commentary from Project 21.

In the commentary "Special Treatment and Sotomayor," Deneen wrote:

After all of the significant strides that have been made for equal opportunity over the years, one would think that winners and losers today would no longer be decided based on skin color...

...But America changed.

From the White House to the worlds of sports, entertainment and corporate America, most blacks have moved on and are taking advantage of opportunities and leading successful, productive lives...

...Fortunately, the Court's ruling on the Ricci case won't allow the clock to continually be turned backward. But based on comments made by the nominee, Sonya Sotomayor could reinvigorate racial preferences.

This disturbing possibility puts change at a crossroads.

In light of the Court's ruling in the Ricci case, Sotomayor's opinions should be closely scrutinized to determine her judicial philosophy.

To access the live Internet broadcast, click here and then click the "STREAM THIS NOW" headline in the center or the page under the photo.

Labels: Constitutional Law, Courts, Project 21, Race

Posted by David W. Almasi at 11:30 AM

Monday, June 29, 2009

Black Activists Praise Supreme Court

Project 21 has issued a press release on the Supreme Court's affirmative action decision today:

Black Activists Praise Supreme Court's Affirmative Action Decision

Justices' Ruling Throws Sotomayor Nomination into Serious Question

For Release: June 29, 2009
Contact: David Almasi at 202/543-4110 x11 or Project21@nationalcenter.org

With the U.S. Supreme Court dealing a stinging blow to race-based employment practices, members of the Project 21 black leadership network are praising the Ricci v. DeStefano decision as a step toward removing the racial trappings of a by-gone era and putting all Americans on equal footing.

"It was clear to this Court that barring people from promotion because of the color of their skin is wrong. The only downside is that four justices still cling to an outmoded and discriminatory line of thought," said Project 21 chairman Mychal Massie. "True equality allows people to rise and fall on their merits. That's what this decision protects. How can one oppose such fairness?"

In a 5-4 decision, the Court reversed the lower court ruling, barring the use of race as the sole factor in promotions. In his majority opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote, "Fear of litigation alone cannot justify the City's reliance on race to the detriment of individuals who passed the examinations and qualified for promotions."

The decision also casts serious doubt on the Supreme Court nomination of Sonia Sotomayor. She was a member of the appeals court panel that issued the one-paragraph opinion overturned today. Now, she must explain to senators how she could be so much at odds with her potential future colleagues.

"Justice is supposed to be blind, but the opinion she joined in the Ricci case - now overturned by the Supreme Court - shows Sonia Sotomayor believes justice should be based on ethnicity," added Project 21's Massie. "Her ruling in Ricci is an unambiguous example of her placing her feelings and personal prejudices above what the law dictates or allows."

The Ricci case revolves around a 2003 promotions exam given to firefighters in New Haven, Connecticut. After the tests were scored, only two Hispanics and no blacks scored high enough to qualify for promotion. After black and Hispanic activists pushed to have the test results thrown out, the city's Civil Service Commission effectively did so by deadlocking 2-2 on the decision to certify the exam.

After the results of the exam were set aside by the city, 20 New Haven firefighters - one Hispanic and 19 white - sued based on the claim of reverse discrimination. The city was granted summary judgment at the district court level, and a panel of judges that included current U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor sided with the lower court in a eight-sentence opinion that called the previous opinion allowing the city to throw out the test scores based on race "thorough, thoughtful and well-reasoned."

In a concurring opinion, Justice Antonin Scalia wrote of the question of empathy for those passed over: "But 'sympathy' is not what petitioners have a right to demand. What they have a right to demand is evenhanded enforcement of the law... And that is what, until today's decision, has been denied them."

The release is online here.

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Labels: Conservatives, Constitutional Law, Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 1:15 PM

Subjects of Congressional Ethics Probe Fight Back

Project 21 just issued a press release criticizing the Congressional Black Caucus's apparent plans to retaliate against the House Office of Congressional Ethics, which concluded that several CBC members should be investigated by the full Ethics Committee for alleged violations of gift rules.

The release says:

Project 21 Critical of Members of Congress Under Ethics Investigation for Retaliating Against House Ethics Office and for Playing 'Race Card'

For Release: June 29, 2009
Contact: David Almasi at 202/543-4110 x11 or Project21@nationalcenter.org

An apparent effort by the Congressional Black Caucus to deter ethics investigations of its membership is drawing sharp criticism from members of the black leadership group Project 21.

CBC members reportedly are considering changes to the law authorizing the House Office of Congressional Ethics, or OCE, in retaliation for the OCE referring allegations against several CBC members to the House Ethics Committee.

CBC members reportedly also have complained that the OCE does not have enough minority staffers, adding a racial element to the apparent retaliation.

"What does the racial or ethnic makeup of the Office of Congressional Ethics have to do with the fact that these members of the Congressional Black Caucus may have violated ethics laws? It has absolutely no bearing on the charge, and to claim that is a lack of diversity at the OCE is playing the race card plain and simple," said Project 21 member Joe Hicks, also a commentator for Pajamas Television. "It is laughable that CBC members are charging the OCE with some sort of racial targeting. The OCE was created by Speaker Pelosi, someone who shamelessly bends over backwards to be politically correct."

Of the three investigative counsels hired by the OCE, one is black. The chairman of the formal Ethics Committee investigation sparked by the OCE referral is a black Member of Congress, Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), a CBC member.

"A legitimate complaint has been filed and an investigation has begun, but political pressure is now being applied to cover up the allegations and brush everything under the rug," said Project 21 member Bishop Council Nedd II. "So much for those promises to 'drain the swamp' and root out the 'culture of corruption.' It seems that swamp has turned into a hot tub for them rather quickly."

"President Obama has long proclaimed that it is special interest lobbyists who are the root of what is wrong with our federal government. This latest lapse in congressional sensibilities exposes the fact that it is wayward members of Congress themselves, whether Republican or Democrat, who pose the greatest threat to good government for the citizens of this country," said Project 21 member John Meredith. "The idea of disbanding the one avenue the citizens of this great nation have to track congressional malfeasance is an affront to the pledge of transparency in government and the use of the race card to facilitate the closing of the Office of Congressional Ethics is insulting not only to black people but to people of every color."

The controversy was sparked by an ethics complaint (PDF) filed with the OCE by National Legal and Policy Center President Peter Flaherty.

In November 2008, Flaherty attended the "Caribbean Multi-Cultural Business Conference" on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten. Although the conference officially was sponsored by the Carib News Foundation, according to Flaherty, signs and materials present indicate the event was funded by Citigroup, Pfizer, American Airlines, Verizon, IBM and other large corporations with business before Congress. CBC members Charles Rangel (D-NY), Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-MI), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Donald Payne (D-NJ), Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Delegate Donna Christensen (D-Virgin Islands) attended the event.

Members of Congress have been prohibited since 2007 from taking funded trips of over two days if those trips are paid for or coordinated by companies that "employ or retain a registered lobbyist."

Flaherty alerted the OCE. In his letter to the OCE, Flaherty noted: "My characterization of the trip as a 'junket' is based on my observation that the sessions were lightly attended. Most attendees spent significant time at the beach or the pool. Members of Congress attended the sessions when they had a speaking role." Flaherty also said any suggestion that attendees could not see evidence of corporate involvement was "implausible."

The press release can be found online at http://www.nationalcenter.org/P21PR-Congressional_Ethics_062909.html.

Labels: Congress, Conservatives, Corruption, Liberals, Project 21, Race, Scandals

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 8:16 AM

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Project 21 Critical of Voting Rights Decision; Slavery Apology

Project 21 isn't particularly thrilled by either the U.S. Supreme Court or the U.S. Senate just now.

In this press release, Project 21 Chairman Mychal Massie criticizes the Court for side-stepping the issue of the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act despite noting "serious Constitutional concerns" with the law in the decision in Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One v. Holder.

Project 21 had joined in an amicus brief on the Voting Rights Act case with the Pacific Legal Foundation and Center for Equal Opportunity.

When it comes to the Senate, Project 21 members Jerry Brooks, Jimmie L. Hollis and Bob Parks are concerned about the Senate's recent apology for slavery and segregation, fearing the apology will be used to advance the call for financial reparations for slavery.

As Jerry Brooks put it:

I'll accept the Senate's apology, but let's move on already. This apology is something that might have been more appropriate long ago, and now it's likely going to be misused by those with a political axe to grind. In particular and despite its intention to the contrary, it is already being used to promote reparations. Not only is this an idea without merit, but an extremely foolish one to be clinging to while our nation is trying to recover from its current economic distress.

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Labels: Constitutional Law, Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 7:09 AM

Friday, June 19, 2009

Project 21's Borelli to Discuss MSM's ObamaCare Bias Monday on Fox

Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli is scheduled to appear on the Fox News Channel's online "Strategy Room" program on Monday, June 22 between 9:00 AM and 10:00 AM eastern.

Deneen expects to discuss the President's seemingly unfettered access to a sympathetic mainstream media as President Obama promotes legislation to increase the role of government in individual health care decisions. In particular, Deneen plans to speak about ABC's hour-long "Prescription for America" program that will air this coming Wednesday.

To access the live Internet broadcast, click here and then click the "STREAM THIS NOW" headline in the center or the page under the photo.

Labels: Government Health Care, Health Care, Media, Project 21, Race, Retirement

Posted by David W. Almasi at 5:25 PM

Black Conservatives Warn of Threat to Continued Freedom

On the occasion of the annual holiday "Juneteenth," which celebrates the end of slavery in the U.S., black conservatives associated with Project 21 are warning the continued growth of government poses a significant threat to continued freedom.

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Labels: Government Power, Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 5:57 AM

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Raising Taxes By the Mile

Project 21's Ak'Bar Shabazz has an op-ed opposing a new federal tax on driving in Sunday's Washington Examiner.

It begins:

During the 2008 presidential campaign, President Obama endeared himself to many voters with a promise that 95 percent of Americans would get a tax cut and those making under $250,000 "would not see a single dime of tax increase - not on anything."

Since Obama won and he's already spent so much, it was only a matter of time before his pledge went by the wayside. First came new taxes on tobacco to pay for middle-class kids' health care.

Now Rep. James Oberstar, D-MN, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, wants a vehicle mileage tax (VMT) imposed on every vehicle. And he wants it right away.

When a colleague suggested state-level pilot programs to test the feasibility of the tax, Oberstar replied: "It's going to be done, it's something we have to do. Why not just move it along?" Oberstar hopes for a vote as early as June.

Obama's transportation secretary, former Illinois Republican Rep. Ray LaHood, promoted a VMT back in February. Although the White House backed off LaHood's trial balloon then, Congress may now try to ram it down Americans' throats...

Read the rest here.

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Labels: Congress, Project 21, Radio, Taxes, White House

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 11:18 PM

Sunday, June 07, 2009

"I Think It Might Be A Little Intimidating That You Have A Stick In Your Hand"

Michelle Malkin's latest column looks at Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to dismiss default judgments the Department of Justice had won against defendants charged with violating the Voting Rights Act in Philadelphia.

Project 21's Mychal Massie has called for a special counsel to investigate the matter, as dismissals of default judgments are very rare, and the Obama Administration has an undeniable conflict of interest in this case.

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Labels: Crime, Project 21, Race, White House

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 10:14 PM

Monday, June 01, 2009

Michelle Malkin on New Black Panther Case

Michelle Malkin has been covering (here and here) the Department of Justice's decision on the Philadelphia New Black Panther Party alleged voter intimidation case.

She writes, "According to a legal source familiar with DOJ procedures, dismissing a lawsuit won by default is unheard of."

Hmmmm.

Michelle mentioned Project 21 Chairman Mychal Massie's call for a special counsel, writing:

Project 21's Mychal Massie wants an investigation: "From all accounts, this was a clear-cut violation of peoples' right to vote without fear and intimidation, but the Obama Administration appears to be trying to sweep it under the rug," said Massie. "After all of the allegations about the Bush Administration politicizing the Justice Department, this smacks of either extreme ignorance or extreme hubris on the part of their successors. Whatever the case, an independent investigation is needed to get to the bottom of what's going on over there."

Michelle has a copy of the full affidavit of one of the eyewitnesses in this case. She has a link to a PDF of it in this post.

Mychal's press statement can be read here.

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Labels: Courts, Project 21, Race, White House

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 12:16 AM

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Black Leader Says Sotomayor Nomination Perfect Catalyst for Debate About Judicial Activism

Project 21's Mychal Massie has thoughts on the Sonia Sotomayor Supreme Court nomination.

Among other things, he says the Sotomayor nomination is the perfect catalyst to begin a national debate on the appropriateness of "judicial activism," when judges essentially cut lawmakers out of the legislative process and try to rule from the bench.

More here.

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Labels: Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 2:12 PM

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Exercise Your Freedom

In his independent column for WorldNetDaily, Project 21 Chairman Mychal Massie reminds us:

Our fallen military did their part; now it is time for us to do ours. They didn't just pay the price for malevolent marplots and anarchists -- they also paid a price for us. It is time we not only realized it, but started acting like it too. It is time for us to stop wringing our hands, whining and lamenting that we don't know what to do -- and get to work taking back our country.

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Labels: Defense, Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 1:37 AM

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

No Way It's Torture, Says Mychal Massie

No way it's torture, says Project 21 Chairman Mychal Massie in his latest independent column for WorldNetDaily.

Some excerpts (I particularly like the line about Senator John Kerry):

It is a misnomer to call the techniques employed in the extraction of information from terrorists "enhanced" anything. They should simply be called "basic interrogation techniques."

The word enhanced, by definition, means to augment with improved, advanced or sophisticated features. Therein lies my complaint in part. Forced nakedness, sleep deprivation, sensory deprivation, prolonged isolation, sensory bombardment (e.g., prolonged loud music and/or bright lights), scriptural desecration, simulated drowning, i.e., waterboarding, and stressful positions are not enhanced or extreme, nor are they torture.

Torture would be a battery with cables connected to one's more personal or sensitive areas. Torture would be being placed in a stressful position that caused bones to break or legs and arms to pop out of their sockets. Torture is pliers to fingers, hammers to toes, and the removal of teeth by blunt force trauma. Rough interrogation is being beaten until the person is bloodied and permanently disfigured beyond recognition.

Keeping someone awake is not torture, nor is it sophisticated. Keeping bright lights on in a room with the temperature turned up is not torture. It is being made uncomfortable...

...Neither time nor space allows me to explain fully the difference, but the plaintive cries and pleadings that the Geneva Conventions were somehow violated are scurrilous. Captured terrorists are being treated with more respect than they deserve – certainly more than Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and John Murtha, D-Pa., have shown our military personnel. In my mind, John Kerry, D-Mass., has treated our military more inhumanely with his specious accusations than the pouring of water on someone to help them remember information could ever be.

This isn't about whether Nancy Pelosi lied about being briefed. It's a reasonable belief that she did. It isn't about mistreatment of captured terrorists. It is about saving the lives of American military personnel and American citizens. It is about the disruption of terrorist activity and the incapacitation of terrorists...

...Political correctness and politically correct verbiage has sullied and redefined everything it has been applied to – and EIT is a further example. With that said, when does America's treatment of the captured get the recognition it deserves as the most humane in the history of warfare?...

Read it all here.

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Labels: Defense, Liberals, Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 12:52 PM

Friday, May 08, 2009

Watch Deneen Borelli Live Online on Fox's "Strategy Room" Monday, May 11

Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli is scheduled to appear on the Fox News Channel's online "Strategy Room" program on Monday, May 11 between 9:00 AM and 10:00 AM eastern.

Deneen expects to raise the issue of the seemingly high wall of separation between church and state erected by the Obama White House. This discussion would include the covering of religious symbols during Obama's recent speech at Georgetown University and his lack of active participation in the National Day of Prayer. It will also likely include discussion of his upcoming planned commencement address at Notre Dame that has outraged many Catholics and social conservatives.

In comments on the issue that have been submitted to the "Fox Forum," Deneen wrote:

Judging by his actions, it seems President Obama's true spiritual devotion lies more with to politics than religion. Religious institutions apparently only present a prominent forum for him to enhance his reputation.

...Given Obama's track record, it's not surprising that his possibly most direct religious statement as president thus far has been his declaration that "we are not a nation of Christians."

To access the live Internet broadcast, click here and then click the "STREAM THIS NOW" headline in the center or the page under the photo.

This post was written by National Center for Public Policy Research Executive Director David Almasi. To send comments to the author, write him at info@nationalcenter.org.

Labels: Project 21, Race, Religion, White House

Posted by David W. Almasi at 6:56 PM

Monday, May 04, 2009

Watch Deneen Borelli Live Online on Fox's "Strategy Room" Tuesday

By David Almasi:

Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli is scheduled to speak about current events and breaking news as part of the group discussion on the Fox News Channel's online "Strategy Room" program on Tuesday, May 5 between 9:00 and 10:00 AM eastern.

To access the live Internet broadcast, click here and then click the "STREAM THIS NOW" headline in the center or the page under the photo.

To learn more about Fox's "Strategy Room" Internet talk show, click here to see an article about the program that appeared in the New York Times.

This post was written by National Center for Public Policy Research Executive Director David Almasi. To send comments to the author, write him at info@nationalcenter.org. Please state if a letter is not for publication or if you prefer that it be published anonymously.

Labels: Media, Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 9:27 PM

Thursday, April 23, 2009

GE-Owned Networks' Media Bias, Conflicts-of-Interest Remain Focus Day After Stockholder Meeting

As readers here know, at yesterday's annual GE shareholder meeting, CEO Jeffrey Immelt was challenged on the subject of media bias at GE-owned NBC, CNBC and MSNBC.

The story is far from over. I encourage those interested in it to watch the O'Reilly Factor tonight for additional in-depth reporting, including the airing at least part of an audio recording of the Q&A session inside the stockholders' meeting made by Tom Borelli. (As of this writing, Fox has also made a tiny portion of the tape, the part featuring Fox reporter Jesse Watters asking about about Keith Olbermann's handling of the recent infamous Janeane Garofalo interview, and the shareholders booing when GE cut off Jesse Watters' mike, available on its website now here, and it has been linked to by Drudge.)

Borelli is co-director (with Steve Milloy) of the Free Enterprise Project of the National Center for Public Policy Research, and, independently, a long-time shareholder activist with the Free Enterprise Action Fund pro-free enterprise mutual fund.

Leading the questioning about media bias at the shareholder meeting (the unidentified woman whose microphone was cut off by GE in Noel Sheppard's report) was Deneen Borelli, Tom's wife and full-time fellow at the conservative African-American group Project 21.

Here's how Tom described events on the Free Enterprise Project's Free Enterpriser blog:

The Hollywood Reporter described the events at yesterday's GE shareholder meeting in its story Drama at GE Shareholder Meeting

In addition, here is our first hand account from yesterday's meeting. Deneen is my wife.

Censorship and limited government was a theme at the General Electric (GE) shareholder meeting in Orlando, FL.

Deneen had the opportunity to ask the first question, directed at GE CEO Jeff Immelt. She inquired whether he tried to silence anti-Obama criticism on CNBC as it was reported in the media. The New York Post reported that GE executives were concerned that CNBC was perceived as too critical of President Obama. Immelt responded that he does not interfere with the opinions of his networks even though he doesn't necessarily agree with them.

Deneen's concern is Immelt will do anything to preserve a favorable relationship with Obama in order to sell GE's green technologies. At some point in Deneen's dialogue with Immelt, Deneen's microphone was shut off.

I told Immelt he was not only a threat to shareholders but also to liberty and limited government. I reminded Immelt that the company's stock was underperforming the stock market before the economic crisis.

I advised Immelt that we have an online petition that encourages GE never to trade with enemies, to stop pursuing cap-and-trade legislation that would raise energy prices, and that he uses his media empire to advance his agenda.

I also told Immelt that "We surround you" and that it was time for a "GE Tea Party" to reign in this out of control corporation.

In cutting off Deneen's microphone when she asked about media bias at CNBC (GE restored the mike when Deneen kept talking anyway), and then that of Fox producer Jesse Watters, when he asked about Keith Olbermann's handling of the Janeane Garofalo interview, GE showed itself to be defensive. (It also showed itself to be ineffective, as the next person up at a microphone was Tom Borelli, who asked Immelt about GE's business with Iran; GE's lobbying for cap-and-trade, and GE's double-hit on senior citizen stockholders [by cutting dividends after saying it wouldn't while lobbying for cap-and-trade regulations that will dramatically raise consumer energy prices].)

It's no wonder GE is defensive, however. As Tom's pointed questions, and Bill O'Reilly's comments tonight on the Glenn Beck TV show ("We're in an area right now that makes Watergate look like a Shirley Temple movie.") illustrate, the best that can be said about General Electric is that it is hip deep in conflict of interest. It's running TV networks that prop up liberalism, the global warming issue and Obama, while privately lobbying hard for cap-and-trade, from which it intends to profit heavily.

It is that last angle we can expect O'Reilly to illuminate tonight.

Meantime, in an apparent counterattack against Tom Borelli for his long-time free-market activism against GE's left-wing activism, media allegations are being made that Tom is employed by or is on the payroll of Fox News. This allegation is incorrect. Tom is not now nor has he ever been employed, paid or funded by Fox News. He is employed by the National Center for Public Policy Research to co-direct its Free Enterprise Project and, separately, he is co-director of the Free Enterprise Action Fund mutual fund. In these capacities Tom attends many shareholder meetings (such as one in March in which Disney CEO Robert Iger swore at him), including each of the last four GE shareholder meetings.

Arguments that the Borellis are agents of Fox News are a diversion intended to take interest away from GE's use of media outlets it owns to promote global warming policies from which it can handsomely profit. We shouldn't let the diversion succeed.

Cross-posted at Newsbusters.

Addendum: Jeff Poor, writing for Newsbusters, has a good write-up of the O'Reilly broadcast on this tonight.

Addendum 2: Moonbattery does, too.

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Labels: Business, Climate, Foreign Policy, FreeEnterpriseProject, Project 21, Race, White House

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 7:50 PM

Her Microphone Was Cut Off: GE Executives Respond to Questions About Media Bias, More at Shareholder Meeting

Tom and Deneen Borelli have emailed this report about their participation in the General Electric Shareholder meeting today:

Censorship and limited government was a theme at the General Electric (GE) shareholder meeting in Orlando, FL.

Deneen had the opportunity to ask the first question directed at GE CEO Jeff Immelt. She inquired whether he tried to silence anti-Obama criticism on CNBC as it was reported in the media. The New York Post reported that GE executives were concerned that CNBC was perceived as too critical of President Obama. Immelt responded that he does not interfere with the opinions of his networks even though he doesn't necessarily agree with them.

Deneen's concern is Immelt will do anything to preserve a favorable relationship with Obama in order to sell GE's green technologies. At some point in Deneen's dialogue with Immelt, Deneen's microphone was shut off.

Tom told Immelt he was not only a threat to shareholders but also to liberty and limited government. He reminded Immelt that the company's stock was underperforming the stock market before the economic crisis.

Tom advised Immelt that he has an online petition that encourages GE never to trade with enemies, to stop pursuing cap-and-trade legislation that would raise energy prices, and that he uses his media empire to advance his agenda.

Tom also told Immelt that "We surround you" and that it was time for a "GE Tea Party" to reign in this out of control corporation.

For more information, visit the National Center for Public Policy Research's Free Enterpriser website, or read other recent posts on this blog.

And remember to catch Tom on the Glenn Beck radio show Thursday morning at 10 AM Eastern (the start of the show's second hour, if you listen via a podcast) for more detailed information.

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Labels: Business, FreeEnterpriseProject, Media, Project 21, Race, White House

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 1:29 AM

Drama at GE Shareholders Meeting

Image by MatthewBradley via Flickr

Tom Borelli tells me the GE shareholders' meeting today was very interesting.

The first of several questions about media bias at GE-owned CNBC and MSNBC was asked by Mrs. Tom Borelli, aka Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli.

We'll have more details from Tom and Deneen about what happened shortly (they're writing up a summary of events right now, in between talking to journalists), but for now, you can whet your appetite with this story by the Hollywood Reporter (which was just linked to by Drudge, so you can tell it's interesting).

For an even better report, catch Tom on Glenn Beck's radio show Thursday morning at 10 AM Eastern.

And if you haven't already done it, sign the online petition to GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt.

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Labels: Business, FreeEnterpriseProject, Media, Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 12:17 AM

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

On Nancy Pelosi's Contempt

Easton, Pennsylvania Tea Party Photo by Mychal Massie

Writing in his regular, independent column for WorldNetDaily, Project 21 Chairman Mychal Massie has strong words for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and no doubt others (such as David Axelrod) who belittle the Americans of all political persuasions who gathered across the country last week in "tea party" protests.

Said Mychal:

Any doubt about the condescending arrogance of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her ilk was laid to rest when she attacked the tea parties as being initiatives "funded by the high-end, we call it Astroturf -- it's not really a grass-roots movement -- its Astroturf by some of the wealthiest people in America to keep the focus on tax cuts for the rich, instead for the great middle class."

The Obama White House said those attending the tea parties were either disaffected, bitter Republicans, or voters acting out of frustration. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano characterized military veterans and the types of Americans attending tea party events as right-wing extremists and warned that said extremists (i.e., anyone that dares disagree with Obama policies) would use the bad economy and the election of a black man as president to recruit members. Government officials fomenting the agitprop that the rich white boogeyman is out to get you shows how far those in government are willing to go to increase their control over our rights, liberties and pursuits of happiness.

Americans are angry. Americans are disaffected, and voters are darn sure frustrated...

...I not only attended a tea party, I watched them develop and take root. I can assure the White House and Pelosi that those in attendance were of all political persuasions. I can assure Napolitano that we are angry, and we are recruiting members...

...The line in the sand has been drawn -- the pressing issue for those of us, from every political persuasion, who are fighting back is: What do we do next? We turned out by the hundreds of thousands across the nation -- but what now? What now is that we stay disgusted, determined and focused. Our enemy is worried because they know that if we do, they are in trouble.

They have insulted us as extremists, while Pelosi and the mainstream media referred to the illegal aliens that attempted to disrupt our economy by staging nationwide job walkouts as patriots.

We cannot afford to forget or relent. We have their attention and we must keep it...

...This isn't about Republican, Democrat, Libertarian or Independent -- it is about those of us who collectively have had enough of the wasteful spending and taxation. It is about those of us who are outraged over the debt that is being passed on to our children and grandchildren. It is about those of us who refuse to have foreign courts tell Americans in Kansas, Iowa or Kentucky what they can do with their land. We may not agree on every political issue -- but the tea parties are showing that we are united on those crucial issues...

Read it all here.

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Labels: Congress, Government Spending, Project 21, Race, Taxes

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 6:29 PM

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Watch Deneen Borelli Live Online on Fox's Strategy Room Monday

By David Almasi:

Project 21 fellow Deneen Borelli is scheduled to speak about current events and breaking news as part of the group discussion on the Fox News Channel's online "Strategy Room" program on Monday, April 20 between 9:00 - 10:00 AM eastern.

To access the live Internet broadcast, click here and then click the "STREAM THIS NOW" headline in the center or the page under the photo.

To learn more about Fox's "Strategy Room" Internet talk show, click here to see an article about the program that appeared in the New York Times.

Labels: Media, Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 10:55 PM

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Don't Tax Me, Bro! - Tax Day Tea Party Pictures

Research Associate Devon Carlin braved the rain today to attend the Washington, D.C. Tea Party outside the White House today (along with other other staff members from the National Center for Public Policy Research and Project 21's Kevin Martin, who spoke at the event).

An assortment of pictures Devon took at the White House Tea Party follows (see the note at the end of this post for reprint information; go here to see pictures taken by Executive Director David Almasi):

And, of course, a shot of some of the many tea bags...

Note: Bloggers, webmasters, journalists and others who would like to use any of these pictures are welcome to do so under the following conditions: We ask that you not sell them or deface them, and that they be credited as follows: "Devon Carlin/National Center for Public Policy Research," with a link back to this location.

More pictures, an assortment taken by David Almasi, are available here on the same terms.

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Labels: Government Spending, Project 21, Protests, Race, Taxes

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 10:41 PM

Mychal Massie at Pennsylvania Tea Party

Mychal Massie sent along these photos from the Easton, Pennsylvania Tea Party, which he attended today:

Speaking of Mychal, folks might be interested in his latest column for WorldNetDaily, "Anti-Gun Laws Favor Criminals." Mychal's regular WorldNetDaily column is done separately from his work as chairman of Project 21, but it's still pure Mychal.

A sample from this column:

...It is as easy to target and vilify gun owners as it is to target and vilify smokers, but it won't end gun crimes. It certainly won't end the brutal murder of law-enforcement officers, who are the line of defense between criminals and us. It is easy for the anti-Second Amendment groups to blame conservative commentators for being responsible for these killings based on their support of private gun ownership -- but that is a crude banausic idiocy based on agenda-driven contempt for any and all who disagree with their agendas.

And to that point, how many anti-firearm groups contribute to funds set up to help the families of slain officers? How many funerals of slain officers have Susan Sarandon, Rosie O'Donnell, Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton attended?...

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Labels: Project 21, Protests, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 9:32 PM

Friday, April 10, 2009

Watch Deneen Borelli Live Online on Fox's "Strategy Room" Friday

By David Almasi:

Project 21 fellow Deneen Borelli is scheduled to speak about current events and breaking news as part of the group discussion on the Fox News Channel's online "Strategy Room" program on Friday, April 10 between 9:00 AM and 10:00 AM eastern.

To access the live Internet broadcast, click here and then click the "STREAM THIS NOW" headline in the center or the page under the photo.

To learn more about Fox's "Strategy Room" Internet talk show, click here to see an article about the program that appeared in the New York Times.

Labels: Media, Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 1:25 AM

Thursday, April 02, 2009

President Obama and Alinksy's Rules

Project 21's Mychal Massie has been thinking about President Obama and Saul Alinsky:

Black Leader Speaks Against the Radical Underpinnings of Obama's Bailout Agenda

For Release: Immediate

Contact: David Almasi at (202) 543-4110 x11 or dalmasi@nationalcenter.org

Washington, D.C.: President Barack Obama has now laid the groundwork for sweeping government intervention in the free market with his announcement of new government requirements for its continued support for struggling American automakers.

Mychal Massie, the chairman of the Project 21 black leadership network, had this to say about Obama's announcement:
I am not aware of any part of the U.S. Constitution in which the government is given the right to dispense taxpayer money to private institutions and then use that ability to hire, fire and make other major decisions for that business. But I am aware of Saul Alinsky's infamous rules for radicals. So is the President, having been a disciple of Alinsky's teachings since his days as a community organizer.

These rules are now being employed at the peril of our economy.

Alinsky's eight rule advocated keeping up pressure so critics are kept off balance. We have seen this is the relentless march toward the heavy regulation of our financial and manufacturing sectors to the brink of nationalization.

Alinsky's ninth rule advised making the threat more terrifying than the reality. It is the exactly the opposite of FDR's first inaugural assertion during the Great Depression that the "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Today's dire assertions about the futures of GM and Chrysler without government involvement plays into this strategy

Then there is Alinsky's twelfth rule of personalizing and polarizing targets, with a preference of demonizing individuals rather than institutions. That's what we saw with the AIG executives before and are seeing now with General Motors's Rick Wagoner.

What must not be forgotten is Alinsky's first rule: "Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have." In whipping up the anger and the fear of the American people, Obama is attempting to blind people to the power of the free market.

We must not forget that ours is a society based on and reliant on a vibrant free market. To upset it with overregulation and domineering government intervention could be crippling now and for generations to come.

I am the owner of both GM and Chrysler vehicles. I don't want these prominent American companies to go out of business, and I don't want their workers or the workers of their subsidiaries to lose their jobs. That being said, however, I do not want the government - especially this government - to be in the power to call the shots.

This nation was founded on a rebellion against a tyrannical government. We should not now create a new one in our haste to return to the comfort of years past.
Project 21, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization, has been a leading voice of the African-American community since 1992. For more information, contact David Almasi at (202) 543-4110 x11 or Project21@nationalcenter.org, or visit Project 21's website at http://www.project21.org/P21Index.html.

-30-

Labels: Liberals, Project 21, Race, White House

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 6:36 AM

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Watch Deneen Borelli Live Online on Fox's "Strategy Room" Friday

By David Almasi:

Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli is scheduled to speak about current events and breaking news as part of the group discussion on the Fox News Channel's online "Strategy Room" program on Friday, April 3 between 9:00 AM and 10:00 AM eastern.

This is the second time this week Deneen will be a guest on the show.

To access the live Internet broadcast, click here and then click the "STREAM THIS NOW" headline in the center or the page under the photo.

To learn more about Fox's "Strategy Room" Internet talk show, click here to see an article about the program that appeared in the New York Times.

Labels: Media, Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 11:03 PM

Friday, March 27, 2009

Watch Deneen Borelli Live Online on Fox's "Strategy Room" Monday

By David Almasi:

Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli is scheduled to speak about current events and breaking news as part of the group discussion on the Fox News Channel's online "Strategy Room" program on Monday, March 30 between 9:00 - 10:00 AM eastern.

To access the live Internet broadcast, click here and then click the "STREAM THIS NOW" headline in the center or the page under the photo.

To learn more about Fox's "Strategy Room" Internet talk show, click here to see an article about the program that appeared in this past Monday's New York Times.

_____

Labels: Media, Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 1:30 AM

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Pickens Plan May Test Obama's Leadership

From David Almasi:

Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli's commentary on the inherent problems within the "Pickens Plan" was published in today's Washington Examiner newspaper.

Billionaire T. Boone Pickens claims altruistic reasons for promoting the construction of massive wind farms and converting trucks and fleet vehicles to be powered by natural gas in order to lessen U.S. demand for foreign oil. Deneen points out the plan may result in both misery for politically-weak urban communities and money for Pickens.

Ultimately, she notes, the Pickens Plan may be a test of President Barack Obama's leadership.

In "Pickens Plan is Hot Air That May Burn America," Deneen writes:
Converting vehicles to natural gas taps a resource now used by power plants to generate electricity. To compensate, the Pickens Plan suggests massive wind turbines. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 100,000 such turbines - many the size of 40-story buildings - would be necessary to handle just 20 percent of the nation's electricity needs.

To deliver that power, the Energy Department further estimates 12,650 miles of new transmission lines would be needed by 2030 at a cost of between $64 and $128 billion...

...Pickens compares the proposed new power grid to the construction of the 46,000-mile interstate highway system decades ago. Sadly, back then it was often the poorest neighborhoods selected for eminent domain evictions to make way for new roads.

So-called "negro removal" in Detroit's Paradise Valley and Newark's Central Ward helped spark the July 1967 riots that collectively led to 66 deaths. Highway construction destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes in a process the San Francisco Chronicle in 1959 called "a crime that cannot be prettied up."

Pickens has not assured the public his plan would not repeat this exploitation of minorities and the politically-disadvantaged.

Pickens would also likely profit from his plan, thanks to taxpayer support. He testified before Congress that his plan might succeed only with the wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC), which was recently extended by the $787 billion bailout bill.

Mesa Power, a Pickens' company, wants to build a 2,700-turbine wind farm in Texas. According to a report by the National Center for Public Policy Research, "Pickens' firm stands to receive between $1.66 billion and about $3 billion in PTC payments alone over 10 years, a significant portion of its original investment."
Regarding the proposal as a challenge for the President, Deneen notes:
Obama's leadership will soon be tested. Will he side with the little guy, protecting their homes and guarding their access to affordable energy? Or will he deliver for special interests like T. Boone Pickens and anti-energy environmental organizations?

If he chooses the latter, it won't be the change so many people thought they voted for last November."
To read the entire commentary, click here.

_____

Labels: Business, Energy, Environment, Project 21, Property Rights, Race, Regulation, White House

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 7:13 PM

Saturday, March 21, 2009

New Tax Betrays the Founders, Borelli Charges

Project 21's Deneen Borelli says it's not just the issue of the ban on bills of attainder that make Congress' anti-AIG tax constitutionally suspect.

It's also unconstitutional to interfere this way in contracts:

Legislation to specifically target AIG employees with a 90 percent tax on retention bonuses directly conflicts with the founding principles of the United States, Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli charged today on the Fox News program "Strategy Room."

Saying Article I, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution prohibits the government from passing laws "impairing the obligation of contracts," Borelli says the AIG bonus controversy is a creation of the lawmakers who rushed bailout legislation earlier this year without due consideration. These are the same lawmakers who now seek to hide their mistakes by pushing this new and selective tax.

"Politicians need to be reminded that we are a nation of laws. To impose a hastily-concocted tax as a means of rectifying a problem that the government itself created and mismanaged calls their ability to lead into question," says Borelli. "To suddenly enact a new tax to punish a few dozen people for something that was legal at the time is ludicrous, and it smacks of the British treatment of the colonists that provoked the revolt that created the United States. Have we come full circle already?"

Read the rest here.
_____________________________

Labels: Business, Congress, Constitutional Law, Government Power, Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 7:25 AM

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Watch Deneen Borelli Live on Fox's "Strategy Room" Friday

by David Almasi:

Project 21 fellow Deneen Borelli is scheduled to speak about current events and breaking news as part of the group discussion on the Fox News Channel's online "Strategy Room" program on Friday, March 20 between 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM eastern.

To access the live Internet broadcast, click here and then click the "STREAM THIS NOW" headline in the center or the page under the photo.

To learn more about Fox's "Strategy Room" Internet talk show, click here to see an article about the program that appeared in this past Monday's New York Times.

_____

Labels: Media, Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 8:19 AM

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Project 21 Chairman Meets with Irish Delegation

By David Almasi:

On March 4, Project 21 Chairman Mychal Massie met with a delegation of young Irish politicians and civil servants touring the United States.

The group was in the United States as part of a program administered by the Irish Institute of the Boston College Center for Irish Programs. The mission of the Institute is to bring “officials and policymakers from Ireland and Northern Ireland for professional development programs in areas such as government, non-profit, business, and education.” The ultimate goal is “to facilitate rewarding personal, corporate, and professional educational exchanges with the goal of promoting a more lasting peace on the island of Ireland.”

This particular group was made up of people affiliated with the Ulster Unionist and Sinn Fein political parties, the Dublin City Council, the Irish Traveler Movement and the Northern Ireland Electoral Commission, among others.

While in America, the delegation met with state and federal lawmakers, diplomat and professors and opinion leaders affiliated with think tanks and activist groups. Prior to their visit with Mychal at the National Center headquarters on Capitol Hill, the delegation had met with the vice president of the National Organization for Women. They also met with the Family Research Council and Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

The spirited discussion ranged from topics of personal responsibility to the historical progression toward equality in the United States to the feasibility and wisdom of the policies of the Obama Administration. While the overwhelming majority of the delegation tended to embrace liberal politics, Mychal’s comments were well-received and appeared to have an impact on the delegation.

At the conclusion of the discussion, one member of the visiting Irishmen commented about Mychal: “I’m a liberal, but this guy is alright!”

_____

Labels: Foreign Policy, Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 1:28 PM

Project 21 Hails Supreme Court Decision Against Racial Gerrymandering

Project 21 issued a press release Monday evening on the new Supreme Court decision:

Supreme Court Decision Against Racial Gerrymandering Hailed

For Release: Immediate
Contact: David Almasi at (202) 543-4110 x11 or dalmasi@nationalcenter.org

Washington, D.C.: Project 21 Chairman Mychal Massie today hailed a new U.S. Supreme Court decision prohibiting the use of the Voting Rights Act to supercede other laws to create predominantly black voting districts, saying the decision is a new protection against the abuse of civil rights laws for potential partisan gain.

"It continues to confound me that those whose party is responsible for preventing blacks from voting until 1964 now want to illegally redefine voting districts because it serves their best interest," said Massie. "It should go without saying that creating special black voting districts - for partisan gain or otherwise - is against the spirit of civil rights."

In the case of Bartlett v. Strickland, a 5-4 decision by the Court struck down the redistricting of District 18 in North Carolina. The prevailing concern among lawmakers involved in the redistricting process after the last census was adherence to Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. This requires the political process to be "open equally" to minority voters. In doing so, a state law prohibiting the division of counties to create voting districts was violated to raise the percentage of blacks of voting age in the new District 18 from 35 percent to over 39 percent. One of the affected counties challenged the North Carolina General Assembly's process.

This decision is important because it can prevent the political manipulation of voting district boundaries based on race. In his majority opinion, Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote: "Section 2 does not guarantee minority voters an electoral advantage."

District 18, as previously drawn, gave Democrats a 59 percent to 41 percent electoral advantage among registered voters. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT), however, criticized the decision as a "cramped reading" of the Voting Rights Act and a "serious blow" to civil rights.

"The only cramped reading is on the part of Leahy and his ilk. Even if his rhetoric is spoken without intended malice, his comments aid the nefarious work of partisans who seek to preserve ill-gotten political gains under the guise of promoting civil rights," added Project 21's Massie. "It's amazing the things that liberals can say with a straight face."

Project 21 is a black leadership network dedicated to promoting free-market ideals and the diversity of opinion among black Americans.

Project 21, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization, has been a leading voice of the African-American community since 1992. For more information, contact David Almasi at (202) 543-4110 x11 or Project21@nationalcenter.org, or visit Project 21's website at http://www.project21.org/P21Index.html.

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Labels: Conservatives, Constitutional Law, Project 21, Race, Social Welfare

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 12:05 AM

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Project 21 Wins Dubious Honor

By David Almasi:

Project 21 was awarded the "House Negroes of the Day" award from the radical black web site The Field Negro [Caution: the site contains language and graphics some may consider offensive] on February 16.

The black conservatives of Project 21 were branded "house Negroes" by blogger Wain Bennett, an attorney in Philadelphia who fancies himself a "citizen of the world." In calling someone of whom he disapproves a "house Negro" and himself and others he favors "field Negroes," Bennett harkens back to slave-era slang that is used today as an insult along the lines of "Uncle Tom." It refers to those in bondage who sought to curry the slaveowner's favor and be allowed to work supposedly better jobs in the house.

The award is not supposed to be something to be celebrated.

In bestowing the award, Bennett explained:
Taking the position that blacks and Latinos were trying to politicize the census reports, and supporting Judd Gregg on the issue is house Negro behavior.
Actually, Project 21 Chairman Mychal Massie expressed concern that the White House may be politicizing the very important and constitutionally-mandated job of counting people in the United States. White House Chief-of-Staff Rahm Emanuel, who previously spoke about the partisan nature of political redistricting that is a by-product of the Census, told USA Today in 2006 that partisanship after the 2010 Census would be "on steroids."

Now Emanuel may be signing off on the mechanics of the Census process. If a fair census process is impeded by manipulation of data rather than a thorough counting, voting districts could be awarded on false pretenses.

This growing constitutional concern - and not a concern about blacks or Latinos - fueled Massie's comments and apparently led, in part, to Commerce Secretary-designate Judd Gregg withdrawal of his name from consideration.

Traditionally, the bulk of the Census is run out of the Commerce Department.

As Mychal said in the press release that brought Bennett’s ire:
One of the principal jobs of the Commerce Secretary is to conduct a census every 10 years that will decide voting districts and in part creates a new political playing field. Senator Gregg seems to have recognized that the White House wants to usurp this power and rightly wanted nothing to do with it. Senator Gregg's act should be seen as a wake-up call to America that strong oversight is needed over the census process lest it be abused for partisan gain.
As protecting the Constitution from potential partisan abuse is what brought about this name-calling episode, Bennett's attempted disrespect is being taken as an honor by Mychal Massie and other members of Project 21.

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Labels: Census, Project 21, Race, White House

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 3:41 PM

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Watch the Borellis Live Online on Fox's "Strategy Room" Wednesday

By David Almasi:

Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli is scheduled to discuss ACORN and the so-called "stimulus" bill and other current events as part of the group discussion on the Fox News Channel's online "Strategy Room" program on Wednesday, February 18 between 9:00 am and 10:00 am eastern.

Tom Borelli, the director of the National Center's Free Enterprise Project, is set to be participating in the"Strategy Room" discussion later on the same day - 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm eastern - to discuss the detrimental economic effects of "cap-and-trade" regulatory policy and breaking news.

To access the live Internet broadcast, click here and then click the "STREAM THIS NOW" headline in the center or the page under the photo.

To learn more about Fox's "Strategy Room" Internet talk show, click here to see an article about the program that appeared in this past Monday's New York Times.

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Labels: Business, Climate, Environment, Government Spending, Project 21, Race, Regulation, Social Welfare

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 12:34 AM

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Project 21's Deneen Borelli Joins Discussion on Fox's "Strategy Room" Friday - Watch Live Online

By David Almasi:

Project 21 fellow Deneen Borelli will discuss the so-called "stimulus" bill and other current events as part of the group discussion on the Fox News Channel's on-line "Strategy Room" program on Friday, February 13 between 9:00am and 10:00am eastern.

To access the live Internet broadcast, click here and then click the "STREAM THIS NOW" headline in the center or the page under the photo.

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Labels: Economics, Government Power, Government Spending, Media, Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 10:38 PM

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

"Stimulus" to Stimulate ACORN

Project 21 says there are at least three provisions in the so-called "stimulus" bill that could funnel money to the radical left-wing activist group ACORN:

Black Activist Slams "Stimulus" Spending Making Billions Available to ACORN

Contact: David Almasi at (202) 543-4110 x11 or dalmasi@nationalcenter.org

In the nearly trillion dollars in spending contained in the so-called "stimulus" bill the U.S. Senate is now considering are programs that could go into coffers of the left-wing group ACORN (the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now).

"It's outrageous that potentially billions of taxpayer dollars may end up aiding a group instrumental in causing the economic crisis in the first place," said Deneen Borelli, a fellow with the Project 21 black leadership network.

ACORN became infamous during the 2008 presidential campaign when it's involvement in fraudulent voter registration efforts and ties to the presidential campaign of Barack Obama were revealed. ACORN lobbying and intimidation tactics targeting financial institutions are also blamed for helping to create the current mortgage crisis.

In an analysis of the Senate bill by Matthew Vadum of the Capital Research Center on the web site of The American Spectator, there are at least three provisions in the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009" that could be used to funnel money to ACORN:
* Title XII would make $1 billion available for Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). Vadum writes: "The [CDBG] program gives [local politicians] wide latitude... to use federal dollars on local projects that they wouldn't dream of spending their own local tax dollars on. ACORN loves CDBG because it is adept at lobbying for CDBG funds."

* The Self-Help and Assisted Homeownership Opportunity Program would provide $10 million for rehabilitating low-income housing.

* The 4.19 billion Neighborhood Stabilization Program would help with foreclosure relief. $3.44 billion would be available to states, localities and nonprofit groups such as ACORN, while $750 million would be available to exclusively to groups.
ACORN has been linked to multiple vote fraud investigations. 63 percent of voter registrations submitted by ACORN in St. Louis in 2003 were determined to be invalid. In Washington last year, only six of 1,800 voter registrations filed in Seattle were valid. Washington Secretary of State Scott Reed called the incident "the worst case of voter-registration fraud" in state history.

Additionally, in a New York Post commentary on the mortgage crisis, University of Texas at Dallas economics professor Stan Liebowitz wrote: "From the current hand-wringing, you'd think that the banks came up with the idea of looser underwriting standards on their own, with regulators just asleep on the job. In fact, it was the regulators who relaxed these standards - at the behest of community groups and 'progressive' political forces" such as ACORN.

Project 21's Borelli added: "Just imagine the havoc ACORN could accomplish with as much as $5 billion in taxpayer money. It's obvious that giving ACORN billions of dollars will do nothing to stimulate the economy - but it will guarantee left-wing political success. It seems like little more than a political payoff, and it is just plain wrong."

Vadum's analysis of the Senate bill can be found at http://spectator.org/archives/2009/01/27/acorns-stimulus.

Project 21, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization sponsored by the National Center for Public Policy Research, has been a leading voice of the African-American community since 1992. For more information, contact David Almasi at (202) 543-4110 x11 or project21@nationalcenter.org, or visit Project 21's website at www.project21.org/P21Index.html

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Labels: Congress, Conservatives, Government Spending, Liberals, Project 21, Race, White House

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 10:32 AM

Friday, February 06, 2009

Project 21's Deneen Borelli on WWOR-TV This Sunday

By David Almasi:

Project 21 fellow Deneen Borelli will discuss black history and politics this Sunday (February 8) on WWOR, the New York-area television superstation.

Deneen will be a guest on the "Real Talk" program that will be broadcast at 12:30 pm eastern. She will be discussing, among other things, what it means to be a black conservative and her feelings about the progress of the new Obama Administration. She is joined on the program by the Reverend Forrest Pritchette of Seton Hall University and host Brenda Blackmon.

Outside of the New York City media market, WWOR can be found on the Dish TV satellite system on channel 238. Additionally, WWOR is carried on many local cable systems - sometimes under the name MyNetworkTV.

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Labels: Conservatives, Media, Project 21, Race, White House

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 7:12 PM

Ak'Bar Shabazz: States and Localities Should Be Wary of Federal Strings

Columnist and spokesman Ak'Bar Shabazz of Project 21 says states and localities should be very wary that huge federal infusions of cash don't bring with them a decline in local autonomy.
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Labels: Congress, Conservatives, Government Power, Government Spending, Project 21, Race, Regulation

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 1:16 PM

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Drop the Green Earmarks from the "Stimulus"

Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli says the green earmarks in the so-called "stimulus" plan are wasteful and should be dropped:

$8.6 Billion of Stimulus Plan Earmarked for Pet Causes of Environmental Activists Should Be Jettisoned

Contact: David Almasi at (202) 543-4110 x11 or dalmasi@nationalcenter.org

At least $8.6 billion of President Obama’s proposed $1.2 trillion stimulus plan is meant to fund dubious special interest policy initiatives of environmental activists and should immediately be jettisoned, says Deneen Borelli, full-time Fellow with the Project 21 national black leadership network.

"It's outrageous that taxpayer money is slated to be used to fund the agenda of environmental special interest groups. These special interest groups are using global warming alarmism to fund dubious projects while discouraging the use of fossil fuels," says Borelli. "If liberal lawmakers really cared about stimulating the economy, they would remove rules and regulations that block the development of more fossil fuels. This would provide good-paying jobs and lower energy costs for Americans. Instead, they appear only interested in using their combined force of money, power and influence to fleece taxpayers of their money and their freedom."

Among the green earmarks in the bill legislation cited by Borelli:

* A $2 billion expenditure for "near zero emissions powerplant(s)." This money apparently will be used to revive the FutureGen coal-fired power plan in Mattoon, Illinois. Federal funding for FutureGen was cut off by the Department of Energy in 2008 due in part to excessive construction costs. Reviving funding has been a goal of Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL), and is included despite past criticism of coal-based power generation by President Obama, Vice President Biden and Energy Secretary Stephen Chu.

* $600 million set aside to purchase new hybrid vehicles for federal employees. While there is no documented need for the replacement of vehicles in the federal motor pool, hybrid vehicles have been criticized for performance, cost, safety and the environmental risks created through the production and disposal of their batteries.

* In a December 6, 2008 address, then-President-elect Obama called for a "massive effort" for “replacing old heating systems and installing efficient light bulbs" in federal buildings. The stimulus bill would earmark $6 billion to address this by, among other actions, changing the use of conventional incandescent light bulbs to riskier compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), which pose a risk of mercury poisoning if broken.

Borelli added: "Lawmakers are cramming a feel-good energy and environmental agenda into this so-called stimulus bill. Investing in FutureGen, hybrid vehicles and light bulbs will only stimulate the special interest groups that are inflating the 'green bubble' that could be the next thing to threaten our nation's economic stability."

Project 21, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization sponsored by the National Center for Public Policy Research, has been a leading voice of the African-American community since 1992. For more information, contact David Almasi at (202) 543-4110 x11 or project21@nationalcenter.org, or visit Project 21's website at www.project21.org/P21Index.html

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Labels: Congress, Conservatives, Energy, Environment, Government Spending, Liberals, Project 21, Race, White House

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 3:24 PM

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Black Organization's Leader Slams So-Called Stimulus Earmarks

Project 21 Chairman Mychal Massie is staunchly against the stimulus proposal:

Black Organization's Leader Slams So-Called Stimulus Earmarks

For Release: Immediate

Contact: David Almasi at (202) 543-4110 x11 or dalmasi@nationalcenter.org

Washington, D.C.: Responding to GAO estimates that the full cost of the so-called "stimulus" legislation under consideration now on Capitol Hill could reach $1.2 trillion over 10 years, Chairman Mychal Massie of the Project 21 black leadership network is condemning this collection of earmarks, saying it is less about economic growth and more about growing government at the expense of future generations.

"The pretense that passage of this bill will in some way stimulate the economy is an attempt to obfuscate and deceive on a scale not witnessed since Satan suggested Eve try an apple," said Massie. "There seems to be very little in this abominable bill to stimulate our economy. It looks like more of the same congressional pillage and payback that voters have rejected in the past. How is spending $75 million on stop-smoking programs going to jump-start our economy? How is giving Hollywood $246 million in tax breaks for buying film going to create jobs for laid-off autoworkers? How will spending $200 million to lease alternative energy vehicles keep open small businesses in my area, much less protect us all from terrorists? Senators have yet to explain these things as they rush to a vote."

According to the office of Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), egregious spending provisions include a combined $1 billion for construction and renovation of buildings for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Public Health Service and National Institutes of Health, $150 million for Smithsonian Institution museum facilities and $400 million more to the CDC for sexually-transmitted disease screening and prevention programs.

Taxpayer money also is earmarked for "youth" job programs for "youths" aged 21-24 and federal home "winterization" assistance for households 200 percent above the poverty level.

"It is refreshing that President Obama has chosen to speak out in favor of people being self-reliant, but the Senate's so-called stimulus bill flies in the face of his encouraging words," added Massie. "These earmarks - planned or not - will only make people more reliant on the government while putting us all further in debt. We must keep in mind that proponents of this legislation are many of the same people who have long aided and abetted the culture of financial corruption and malfeasance that put us in this crisis. Now, they propose to correct it by mortgaging the future of our children and grandchildren."

Project 21, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization sponsored by the National Center for Public Policy Research, has been a leading voice of the African-American community since 1992. For more information, contact David Almasi at (202) 543-4110 x11 or project21@nationalcenter.org, or visit Project 21's website at www.project21.org/P21Index.html.

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Labels: Economics, Government Spending, Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 11:05 PM

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Project 21 Chairman Mychal Massie to Appear on C-Span’s “Washington Journal Sunday” – Watch or Listen Live

By David Almasi:

Project 21 Chairman Mychal Massie will be a guest on C-Span’s “Washington Journal Sunday” program this coming Sunday (February 1, 2009).

Mychal is scheduled to be interviewed one-on-one with host Steve Scully and take phone calls. Later in the hour, he will participate in a roundtable discussion with WOL-Washington and XM talk radio host Joe Madison.

You can see Mychal live at 8:00am eastern on C-Span (please check your local cable listings for station). You can also watch or listen to it live from your computer by clicking here and selecting the format appropriate for your computer on the right-hand side of the page (choose the format to the right of the blue C-Span logo to watch or the black C-Span Radio logo to listen only).

C-Span Radio is broadcast in the Washington/Baltimore area at 90.1 FM and available nationwide on XM Channel 132.

Later in the day, the show should be available for viewing at the "Washington Journal" web page.

To contact author David Almasi directly,
write him at dalmasi@nationalcenter.org

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Labels: Media, Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 2:05 PM

Monday, January 19, 2009

Project 21 Chairman Mychal Massie on Don Kroah Show

Project 21 Chairman Mychal Massie is at this minute being interviewed on the Don Kroah Show on WAVA AM radio on President Bush's commutation of the sentences of jailed Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean.
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Labels: Courts, Project 21, Race, White House

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 4:51 PM

Thursday, January 15, 2009

At Energy and Commerce Hearing, House Conservatives Call CEOs to Account

Looks like conservatives on the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee are calling turncoat corporate CEOs to account on the Hill today:

From Stephen Power's account on the Wall Street Journal's Environmental Capital blog, as posted there by Keith Johnson:

The Waxman era begins: The first congressional hearing of 2009 on climate change got off to an acrimonious start Thursday, as House Republicans blasted a group of corporate CEOs and environmental groups for staging a press conference instead of appearing before the House Ènergy and Commerce Committee to answer lawmakers’ questions about their ideas for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The Republicans also vowed to hold members of the US Climate Action Partnership accountable for their own use of fossil fuels, by demanding they explain to the committee whether they traveled to Washington by corporate aircraft and how much fuel they used.

“Be prepared for a battle,” Illinois Republican John Shimkus said at the start of the hearing by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Mr. Shimkus vowed to “hold accountable” any Democrats from coal-abundant and petroleum-producing states who vote in favor of legislation to cap greenhouse gas emissions and set up an emissions trading system in which companies would have to buy permits allowing them to pollute.

Mr. Shimkus and other Republicans called such legislation, which is favored by President-elect Barack Obama, “a shell game designed to hide” the true costs of regulation from consumers...

Good, good, good.

Using Congress for profiteering is reprehensible; doing it in the name of conservation while flying in on corporate jets to lobby for disproportionately-higher energy costs on lower-income and minority populations makes it doubly so.

I'm not at the hearing, but who wants to bet they have it heated nice and toasty on this bitterly cold global warmy January day?

The only creature comfort the conspirators will be missing is a collection of puppies for the CEOs and the liberal Congressmen to kick on their way out of the hearing room (or so I assume).

We issued a press release on this expensive nonsense earlier this morning:

Energy Bubble, Anyone?

Henry Waxman Gives Public a Look at the Corporate-Congressional Alliance that Threatens to Raise Energy Prices in Pursuit of Private Profit

Thursday's first hearing of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee since Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) ousted Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) as chairman is drawing criticism from the National Center for Public Policy Research, which says the hearing illustrates how powerful corporate interests are working with influential special interests and with the liberal majority in Congress to use government to enhance private profits at great cost to economic growth and liberty.

The hearing will, according to the committee's announcement, "present the perspectives of members of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership ('USCAP'), a coalition of over 30 businesses and nongovernmental organizations that has called for Congress to pass legislation to address the climate change threat."

"Today's hearing on the U.S. Climate Action Partnership exposes the dangers posed by the new political economy," said Tom Borelli PhD, director of the Free Enterprise Project at the National Center for Public Policy Research. "The alignment of corporations, special interest groups and liberal members of Congress aiming for this legislative goal is frightening. The housing bubble was born from an alliance of similar interest groups and now we are about to repeat the same mistake with energy policy."

Corporate members of USCAP are trying to profit from a government-mandated "cap and trade" anti-global warming policy by selling so called carbon credits from reductions in greenhouse gases. Under cap-and-trade, emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, would be limited by the federal government. Companies that are over their emission allotment will be forced to purchase credits from another company that is below its allowance.

Under a cap-and-trade policy, companies would be forced to raise energy prices to reduce their emissions. This would unleash a series of adverse economic consequences and hardships for Americans, as the National Center's Vice President David Ridenour noted in a recent article in Investor's Business Daily:
* A study by the National Association of Manufacturers projected that emissions caps, similar to those rejected earlier this year by the U.S. Senate calling for a 63% cut in emissions by 2050, would reduce U.S. gross domestic product by up to $269 billion and cost 850,000 jobs by 2014.

* According to a study conducted by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the restrictions could raise gasoline prices by 29%, electricity prices by 55% and natural gas prices by 15% by 2015.

* A 2007 report by the Congressional Budget Office, examining the costs of cutting carbon emissions just 15%, noted that customers "would face persistently higher prices for products such as electricity and gasoline. Those price increases would be regressive in that poorer households would bear a larger burden relative to their income than wealthier households would."
"The alignment of corporate and government agendas for the so called "social good" is eerily similar of the warnings in Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged which described the unraveling of capitalism" said Deneen Borelli, a full-time Fellow with the National Center for Public Policy Research-sponsored African-American leadership network Project 21.

"Pursuing legislation that will raise energy prices in the middle of a recession is economic suicide. It exposes the inability of these CEOs to connect the dots between economic growth and their future earnings," added Tom Borelli. "Let's not forget USCAP corporate membership reads like a who's who list of corporate losers; AIG and Lehman Brothers were founding members and General Electric stock is trading at multiyear lows. Ford, Chrysler and GM are also members -- need I say more?" said Tom Borelli.

"Unfortunately for shareholders, the USCAP CEOs, like their banking industry colleagues, have executed poor risk management regarding the impact of cap-and-trade on their businesses. While banking CEOs thought real estate prices could only go up, USCAP CEOs somehow think there is no downside risk to high energy prices and handing over more power to government bureaucrats. They also think the environmental special interest groups are their friends. That's incredibly naïve," Tom Borelli said.

"We know for a fact that some USCAP CEOs have not analyzed the impact of cap-and-trade on their business. In response to my question about the company's participation in USCAP at the Caterpillar shareholder meeting in 2007, CEO James Owens admitted he did not conduct a cost benefit analysis of cap-and-trade on his business. Shareholders should be outraged over such incompetence," said Deneen Borelli.

"ConocoPhillips CEO James Mulva has also not done his homework," said Tom Borelli. "ConocoPhillips has made a significant investment in Canadian oil sands, which release about three times the amount of carbon dioxide than traditional oil. Since cap-and-trade will increase the cost of carbon emissions, Mulva is lobbying to increase the cost of his investment. In addition, his USCAP partner Natural Resources Defense Council is taking legal action to block the processing of the oil sands at a ConocoPhillips refinery."

"Finally, if General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt is so concerned about the state of the planet," Tom Borelli Continued, "why was he selling electricity infrastructure equipment to Iran? Nuclear Iran poses a much greater threat than carbon emissions."

America doesn't need cap and trade and it doesn't need a carbon tax. Any look at the sorry state at the USCAP portion of America's business community, however, makes clear that of the two, cap and trade is worse, because it pits the profit interests of big business directly against the pocketbook interests of the little guy.
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Labels: Climate, Congress, Conservatives, Energy, Environment, Environmental Justice, Government Power, Liberals, Project 21, Race, Regulation, Taxes, White House

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 10:55 AM

Monday, December 08, 2008

Marlboro Didn't Sell as a Pinko Brand

Project 21 Senior Fellow Deneen Borelli spoke on the future of the conservative movement at the 2008 Restoration Weekend. FrontPage Magazine has now reprinted a transcript of her remarks, along with those of others from the conference.

From Deneen's remarks:

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Restoration Weekend. I am feeling restored! I don't know about you. I'm glad to be here among this distinguished panel, and I think it's very important for us to talk about the future of the conservative movement. And briefly I'm going to describe the reasons I see the recent political defeat and the outline of a strategy that will carry us to victory.

Now, let me state the obvious: we lost, okay? During this past election the conservatives suffered a significant political loss. Not only did Obama win all the states that Kerry and Gore won, he also won the traditional red states like Virginia and North Carolina. Obama won by an electoral landslide, with momentum that carried him with a good number of Senate and House seats. In summary, using a football analogy, it was a rout, and we got rolled!

So, where do conservatives go from here? Let's start with the good news. I don't believe the election was a referendum on conservative principles. How could it be when John McCain was the candidate? While McCain is a true American hero, he's not a conservative. We remember legislation like McCain-Feingold, McCain-Lieberman – I think you know where I'm going with this.

Similarly Obama's victory was not a referendum for liberalism. Obama won simply because the majority of the America people were mad at the Bush Administration. And, boy, are they going to get the change that they never seen before in their lives!

Now, one major problem is that too many Republican politicians have abandoned the conservative principle of limited government. From a marketing perspective, some of our Republican politicians have muddled the message of the conservative brand.

Since I have more experience in marketing than politics, I view our challenges chiefly from a marketing perspective. To summarize, brand management failed, the conservative market share dropped, and the competition forged ahead.

Now, the conservative brand has been mismanaged from our sales force, Republican elected officials. Over the last eight years we've seen an explosion in spending: the expansion of government under Bush's watch, Ted Stevens from Alaska, the "bridge to nowhere"….

Going back to marketing basics, the success of any brand depends on whether the product or service can successfully deliver on its core attributes, consistency, quality, and also deliver as a feel good for a person to relate to that product.

So, tell me something, how many of you were proud to wear the McCain button? How many of you are happy to get those RNC donation letters in the mail still? Not too many. The bottom line is this, the future of the conservative movement depends on communicating the brand's key attributes: limited government, national security, and low taxes.

Now, by adhering to these themes through policies and actions, the conservative movement can generate political momentum to win elections. Now, given this fractured state, the conservative brand needs to be reinvented.

First, we need to demand that our Republican politicians communicate these core values. Knowing that once elected, that some officials tend to go to the dark side, and so we need to establish a mechanism for them to enforce these values.

Our conservative leaders need to be reminded that actions have consequences. To ensure compliance we need to establish a grassroots effort of quality control, sticking with the marketing theme.

Individuals can blog, write letters, attend townhall meetings, and report on what our elected officials are doing and saying. And, believe me, elected officials tend to have e-mail alerts that let them know that their name is in the press. They don't like negative press. So if an elected official claims to be conservative, and they don't live-up to their words, they should be recalled, just like a defective product.

The conservative movement must also reach new demographics, something that has been mentioned already by some of our panelists. Now, Obama got 67% of the Hispanic vote. He also got 95% of the black vote. Now, this is where an extension of the brand is necessary. Copying the way consumer products are marketed to different groups, the advertising of conservative values need to be tailored to reach new demographic audiences.

Now, unfortunately, many blacks voted for Obama because of his race and not his policies. Now, tragically, Obama's policies will propagate government dependency in urban communities. His overall message is, "Ask not what you can do for your country, but ask what your country can do for you," the opposite of John Kennedy's message.

With all the problems in urban communities -- failing schools, single parent households, unemployment, drugs, gangs, big government cannot solve these problems. So to chip away at Obama's overwhelming popularity, the conservative movement needs a top, down and bottom, up approach.

Now, from the top, conservatives need to communicate the conservative message by, let's say, a popular, well-known, trusted black leader. Maybe in the entertainment world, sports world, media world. Oprah Winfrey comes to mind, but we all know where Oprah Winfrey stands. And if she would only say, "School choice is great," can you imagine what a game changer that would be? Someone like Lynn Swann comes to mind.

From the bottom, conservative principles can be communicated through popular mediums which were referenced up here, such as YouTube, videos, music videos. It is a hit means of reaching our younger generation to get them involved, educated and informed about the issues. To this point, there are several popular videos on YouTube right now, where there's a young Black man, a formal liberal mind you, who raps about the message on the conservative movement. If you're interested, you can find it on Macho Sauce Productions, and he's got a really positive message. I'm hoping it's connecting with the younger generation. And we have Joe the Plumber.

So, in conclusion, despite the recent election and the overwhelming support of demographic groups for Obama, anything is possible. I didn't think I would be standing up here talking a year ago, so anything is possible.

But I'd like to leave you with this thought. I wonder how many of you know that the Marlboro brand cigarette was formerly marketed towards women, complete with a pink filter. It had a pink filter to match lipstick. Now, in the '60s the brand was remarketed, totally transformed, with the Marlboro country western theme. Now, ladies, you remember the cowboys – the handsome men, tall, chiseled features. It was the creativity of this vigilant brand management that helped Marlboro maintain its brand identity, its brand loyalty, and the 50% market share that it still has today.

So as we look towards the future of the conservative movement, the brand must be revitalized, and it must be communicated, and we must stay on message with our values: limited government, low taxes, and national security. These are the powerful concepts that can attract newcomers and reinforce brand loyalty.

Thank you.

Marlboro didn't sell as a pinko brand. There's a lesson in that.
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Labels: Conservatives, Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 11:33 AM

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Not Giving Thanks

The Washington Times Inside the Beltway column today is quoting Project 21 Senior Fellow Deneen Borelli from this press release Wednesday.
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Labels: Conservatives, Liberals, Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 1:17 AM

See Project 21 Chairman Mychal Massie in NYC Panel Discussion on Effects of Obama Victory on Black Youth This Monday

By David Almasi:

Project 21 Chairman Mychal Massie will participate in a panel discussion sponsored by The Smith Family Foundation on "Does the Election of Barack Obama Portend the Effective End of American Racism?"

The event will be held on Monday, December 1st at 6:30pm at the Lighthouse Theater (111 East 59th Street Between Park and Lexington Avenue, New York, NY). The event is free and open to the public, but people wishing to attend must RSVP by clicking here.

Joining Mychal on the panel will be Dr. John McWhorter of the Manhattan Institute, Fredrick C. Harris of Columbia University and Elaine Gross of ERASE Racism.

This is how the Smith Family Foundation describes the premise of the panel discussion:
Barack Obama's 2004 Democratic Convention speech made reference to inner city black children with books being mocked by their classmates for "Acting White." Will these smart children now have a new answer, "Acting White? No, I'm acting like the President!" - laying an inspirational foundation for their better educational outcomes and better futures? Or are the problems of inner city children far too entrenched, with failing schools, gang violence and too few male role models, for the election of a President to materially affect their lives?

And will Barack Obama's rise to the highest office in the land change how African-Americans see opportunity, spurring more black entrepreneurs into business and increasing the general belief that success in America is possible? Or does that ignore a historical truth - that enthusiasm for any political candidate is inherently fleeting once the rough and tumble of modern Beltway politics takes its inevitable toll - and that Obama's ability to inspire people might wane, right along with his newness?

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Labels: Conservatives, Liberals, Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 12:35 AM

Friday, November 21, 2008

Project 21 Chairman Mychal Massie on al Qaeda's Racial Slur and the Continuing Threat of Terrorism with Janet Parshall Monday - Listen Live

By David Almasi:

Project 21 Chairman Mychal Massie recently spoke out against al Qaeda deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahiri for calling President-elect Barack Obama and Bush Administration Secretaries of State Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell "house negroes" in a video posted on Islamist web sites.

Mychal will discuss the topic further and the ongoing threat of terrorism with syndicated talk radio host Janet Parshall on Monday, November at 4:15 pm eastern.

“Janet Parshall's America” can be heard on over 250 stations nationwide (click here to find a local station) and on XM "Family Radio" (channel 170). You can stream the show on the Internet or download a podcast (for a fee) by clicking here.

In the Project 21 press release, Mychal said:
While no fan of Barack Obama, I am a proud American. I find this terrorist's remarks directed at our nation's incoming leader to be highly offensive...

Liberals fail to grasp the reality that Muslim extremists such as al-Zawahiri hate them just as much as they hate the rest of America. At the very least, his crazed diatribe should prove this very point. I hope it jolts the incoming administration into reality. Being President isn't like playing senator or being a community organizer - it is about protecting the American people. That cannot be done without a strong military and the backbone to make decisions that might be unpopular among his friends.
To read the entire press release, click here.

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Labels: Conservatives, Foreign Policy, Liberals, Project 21, Race, Terrorism

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 6:40 PM

Project 21's Deneen Borelli Joins Discussion on Fox's "Strategy Room" Today - Watch Live Online

From David Almasi:

Project 21 fellow Deneen Borelli will discuss her new column about the perils of unconditional black support for President-elect Barack Obama today as part of the group discussion on the Fox News Channel's on-line "Strategy Room" program on Friday, November 21 between 11:00am and 1:00pm eastern.

To access the live Internet broadcast, click here and then click the "STREAM THIS NOW" headline in the center or the page at the top right of the photo.

In her latest New Visions Commentary - "Black Backing of Barack Should Not Be Unconditional" - Deneen writes:
It is quite possible to be black and be proud - even excited - about Barack Obama's achievement while opposing him politically. This black woman, for instance, did not vote for Obama. Furthermore, I don't believe his policies are sound.

I find it unfortunate that Obama's personal keys to success - hard work and perseverance - are tragically absent from the agenda he espouses. Instead of lauding the virtues of self-reliance and independence, he is pushing massive federal growth and government intrusion.

Collectivism replaces individualism, and government intervention replaces self-preservation...

...Unfortunately, the "We" in Obama's "Yes We Can!" literally means collectivism and a statist government that stifles our liberties.

I'd rather endorse a "Yes I Can!" philosophy. I think those who came before me would agree.
To read all of Deneen's commentary, click here.

To contact author David Almasi directly, write him at dalmasi@nationalcenter.org

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Labels: Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 11:34 AM

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Anti-Obama Racial Slur Denounced

Labels: Climate, Energy, Environment, Foreign Policy, Government Power, Human Rights, Media, Project 21, Property Rights, Race, Regulation, Social Welfare

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 11:45 PM

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Project 21's Borelli on WWOR-TV this Sunday

By David Almasi:

Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli will discuss presidential politics and race this Sunday on WWOR, the New York-area television superstation.

Deneen will be a guest on the "New Jersey Now" program that will be broadcast at 12:00 pm eastern on September 7. She is scheduled to address the issue of how race may play in the upcoming presidential election (and if it should at all) with host Brenda Blackmon and former New Jersey lawmaker Leroy J. Jones, Jr.

Outside of the New York City media market, WWOR can be found on the Dish TV satellite system on channel 238. Additionally, WWOR is carried on many local cable systems - sometimes under the name MyNetworkTV.

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Labels: Media, Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 11:05 PM

Detroit Mayor Finally Removed from Office, Project 21 Member's Suggestions Finally Acted Upon

By David Almasi:

After months of controversy, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick (D) finally admitted his guilt this morning and resigned from office. He pleaded guilty to two felony counts of obstruction of justice related to his lying under oath during a police investigation into his political inner-circle.

In addition to Kilpatrick's resignation, he is expected to serve up to four months in jail, five years of probation, up to a $1 million in fines and at least a temporary revocation of his law license.

Back in April, Project 21 member Tara Setmayer wrote a New Visions Commentary entitled “Haters Didn't Hurt the Hip-Hop Mayor, He Did” that points out how politicians have a duty to live up to the public trust. If they want to live fast-and-loose, as Kilpatrick did, Setmayer noted that public office is not the place for them.

Among other things, Setmayer wrote:
From Marion Barry to Eliot Spitzer and Richard Nixon to Mark Foley, character and integrity - or the lack thereof - know no party affiliation or skin color.

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, "King Kwame" or the "Hip-Hop Mayor" to some, is yet another example of a politician drowning in his own narcissistic sense of infallibility. The opportunity to earn the public trust is a privilege, and politicians often forget who they are working for.

Anyone aware of Mayor Kirkpatrick's tenure shouldn't be surprised. Arrogance and a sense of entitlement are a recipe for disaster, especially when the resources of an entire city are at one's disposal and "yes men" who occupy high-ranking city positions act as enablers.
She added:
I'm sick and tired of people saying the very serious felony charges are the product of an overambitious prosecutor's witch-hunt over a sexual affair. Let's not forget that Mayor Kilpatrick not only took an oath to uphold his office with honor, but another to honor his marriage. He has apparently failed miserably at both and has only himself to blame.

We all make mistakes, but part of learning from those mistakes is accepting responsibility for them. This often requires paying a heavy price.

No one is above the law. Not even Mayor Kilpatrick. Not even in Detroit. No matter how large the entourage, how luxurious the vehicle or how flamboyant his clothing, he is still a public servant accountable to the people of Detroit.

If the Hip-Hop Mayor wants to live the lifestyle of a 50 Cent, he needs to relinquish his public office and become a member of G-Unit on his own time - not on the taxpayers' dime.
This post was written by National Center for Public Policy Research Executive Director David Almasi. To send comments to the author, write him at info@nationalcenter.org. Please state if a letter is not for publication or if you prefer that it be published anonymously.
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Labels: Corruption, Project 21, Race

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 10:51 PM

Monday, July 28, 2008

Project 21's Borelli on Civil Rights Shakedowns in Philadelphia Inquirer

By David Almasi:

An article critical of activists Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson by Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli was published Friday in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Said Deneen:
Al Sharpton is making headlines again, but it's not for one of his crusades. Instead, Sharpton, his National Action Network (NAN), and several major corporations that have donated to NAN have been subpoenaed in recent months by federal investigators.

While Sharpton's attorneys reported Tuesday that the criminal probe over millions allegedly owed in taxes by Sharpton and NAN has been dropped in lieu of civil action by the IRS, federal authorities remain tight-lipped over the status of any investigations.

Critics have long accused Sharpton of obtaining corporate contributions by threatening racial boycotts.

Sharpton denies this, saying "That's the old shakedown theory that the anti-civil-rights forces have used against us forever."

But there's plenty to wonder about. In November 2003, according to the New York Post, Sharpton picketed a DaimlerChrysler air show, threatening a boycott. After the company began sponsoring NAN's annual conference in 2004, however, Sharpton bestowed an award on it for corporate excellence. General Motors and American Honda also began giving to the group after similar threats.

Sharpton's not alone. Critics of Jesse Jackson claim he has perfected the art of the shakedown. Suspicions persist, for instance, about motives behind repeated generous contributions from mortgage giant Freddie Mac to Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. As the National Legal and Policy Center has reported, "Jesse Jackson's relationship with Freddie Mac began in 1998 when Jackson accused Freddie Mac of racial discrimination and encouraged major shareholders to sell their stock. Freddie Mac began financial support for Jackson's organizations and his criticism of Freddie Mac stopped."

Freddie Mac donated $150,000 to a Rainbow/PUSH conference earlier this month, even as Congress was debating a bailout of the struggling firm and Fannie Mae, a bailout that the Congressional Budget Office says might cost taxpayers as much as $100 billion.

A 16-year crusade against Anheuser-Busch for not having enough minority beer distributors ended with Jackson's sons being awarded a lucrative Chicago distributorship. Businesses that Jackson has criticized, including Toyota and NASCAR, have become sponsors of his annual Wall Street Conference...
Deneen then discussed her own experience challenging Jackson directly at the recent JPMorgan Chase and Company shareholder meeting. To read more about this or hear Deneen in action, click here.

To read the full Philadelphia Inquirer commentary, click here.

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Labels: Business, Corruption, Project 21, Race, Taxes

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 7:00 PM

Monday, July 14, 2008

Project 21 Chairman Mychal Massie on the Death of Tony Snow

Project 21 Chairman Mychal Massie asked that we pass along his comments on behalf of Project 21 on the passing of former White House press secretary, columnist and Fox News Channel host Tony Snow this past Saturday:

America has lost a true patriot and is the poorer for it.

Tony Snow was the perfect embodiment of what a newsman should exemplify. A fighter to the end, while we mourn his passing, we applaud his victorious example.

Project 21 extends our most sincere condolences to his family, friends and the great nation he served selflessly.

Project 21 speaks for everyone at the National Center for Public Policy Research as well. Tony Snow was a great American, and he will be sorely missed.
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Labels: Conservatives, Project 21

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 3:49 PM

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

A Segregation Without Perpetrator or Benefactor

A new New Visions Commentary op-ed by National Center for Public Policy Research Research Associate Reece Epstein says implementing voter ID laws can benefit the poor.

Reece writes, in part:

...Fighting voter ID laws rather than focusing on helping people comply with them champions a disconnected status, leading to further disfranchisement. Not only might people not be able to vote, but they also cannot protect and grow their savings, travel by bus, train or air, wire money or visit government buildings.

Put that in perspective. Denying that people need ID in our modern society sounds more criminal than virtuous. Theirs is a segregation without perpetrator or benefactor, but it is segregation nonetheless. Voter ID laws don't change that.

After spending lots of money on lawyers, lobbyists and grassroots campaigns to keep people from needing ID, might it be wiser to instead spend perhaps a fraction of that money on a non-profit group that is a resource to help those without ID?

Instead of perpetuating a flawed system that potentially disfranchises all voters, why not provide a public service. Don't know what to bring or where to get an ID? If it's not on the web site, someone can research it. Having trouble getting a birth certificate? Find out where to call. Need cab fare or money to purchase an ID? Fill out an application and get reimbursed.

The bottom line is that someone without proper identification is out of step. And those who want to keep them there are out of line.

Read it all here.
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Labels: Project 21, Social Welfare

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 6:23 PM

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Horace Cooper on Ruling Against the D.C. Gun Ban - Listen Live

From David Almasi:

Project 21 member Horace Cooper, a former constitutional law professor at George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia, will discuss the U.S. Supreme Court's Thursday ruling overturning the Washington, D.C. ban on handgun ownership live with Scott Sloan on WLW in Cincinnati on Friday, June 27 at 10:00 am eastern.

You can listen live over the Internet.

To listen, click here and look for the listen live tab at the top left of the page under the station logo.

To contact author David Almasi directly,
write him at dalmasi@nationalcenter.org

_____

Labels: Constitutional Law, Media, Project 21

Posted by Amy Ridenour at 7:28 PM

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Historic Documents

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Highlighted Project

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Friday, October 30, 2009

Deneen Borelli to Appear on Hannity

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Rush Should Sue

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Deneen Borelli to Appear on Fox and Friends

Friday, October 16, 2009

Quote of Note: Did Rush Really Lose?

What's Happening Now

Inside the Beltway on Deneen Borelli

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Sharpton and Jackson Attack on Rush Limbaugh a "Racist Act," Says Black Conservative

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Outrage of the Day: More Racist Rants from the Anti-Black-Conservative Left

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Project 21's Bob Parks on Sirius and XM Satellite Radio This Wednesday

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Project 21's Bob Parks Discusses Health Care Policy on BET Special This Sunday

Friday, September 25, 2009

Project 21's Borelli to Discuss ACORN on Fox

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Project 21's Joe Hicks to Discuss Race and Opposition to Obama on CNN HLN Friday Afternoon

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Project 21's Deneen Borelli on "Hannity" on Thursday Night, "America's Newsroom" on Friday Morning

Monday, September 21, 2009

AFRO: One-on-One with Deneen Borelli

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Deneen Borelli to be on Fox and Friends Monday

Saturday, September 19, 2009

G. Gordon Liddy to Interview Black Conservative Deneen Borelli

Friday, September 18, 2009

What's Happening Now

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Rebutting False Racism Claims - Upcoming Deneen Borelli TV Appearances

What's Happening Now

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Project 21's Deneen Borelli on "Fox and Friends" on Friday Morning to Discuss Race and Obama Opposition

Project 21's Deneen Borelli on BBCAmerica Wednesday Night to Discuss Race and Obama Opposition

Deneen Borelli to Address Race and Criticism of Obama on MSNBC Wednesday

Racial Politics and Pop Culture

Sunday, September 13, 2009

AP Quotes Deneen Borelli's Tea Party Speech

Deneen Borelli's Tea Party speech begins at 3:30 on this video

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Project 21's Kevin Martin Rebuts Obama Health Care Address

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Project 21's Bob Parks to Critique Obama Health Care Speech on BET

Tom and Deneen Borelli to Speak on Global Warming Alarmism at Independence Mall in Philadelphia

Thursday, August 20, 2009

What's Happening Now

Saturday, August 08, 2009

Project 21 Members Come Out Swinging Against Krugman Racism Allegation

Thursday, July 30, 2009

"Mouthing Disingenuous Assurances Isn't Leadership or Change"

Friday, July 24, 2009

Video of Project 21's Bob Parks Discussing Obama and Gates on Fox's O'Reilly Factor

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Project 21's Parks to Debate Obama's Comments on Henry Gates Arrest on Tonight's "O'Reilly Factor"

Race Preferences in Health Care Bill

For Release: July 23, 2009 Contact: David Almasi at 202/543-4110x11

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

NAACP Endorsement of Climate Legislation Puts It at Odds With Views of Black Americans

For Release: July 22, 2009Contact: David Almasi at 202/543-4110 x11 or dalmasi@nationalcenter.org

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Video of Project 21's Mychal Massie on the O'Reilly Factor

Friday, July 17, 2009

Project 21's Massie Critiques Obama NAACP Speech On Tonight's "O'Reilly Factor"

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Project 21's Borelli to Speak About Sotomayor Confirmation Hearing on Fox News Channel Monday

Monday, June 29, 2009

Black Activists Praise Supreme Court

For Release: June 29, 2009Contact: David Almasi at 202/543-4110 x11 or Project21@nationalcenter.org

For Release: July 23, 2009
Contact: David Almasi at 202/543-4110x11

For Release: July 22, 2009
Contact: David Almasi at 202/543-4110 x11 or dalmasi@nationalcenter.org

For Release: June 29, 2009
Contact: David Almasi at 202/543-4110 x11 or Project21@nationalcenter.org

For Release: June 29, 2009
Contact: David Almasi at 202/543-4110 x11 or Project21@nationalcenter.org

For Release: Immediate

Contact: David Almasi at (202) 543-4110 x11 or dalmasi@nationalcenter.org

For Release: Immediate
Contact: David Almasi at (202) 543-4110 x11 or dalmasi@nationalcenter.org