Hartford has the highest poverty rate in the nation at 33.5 %. The city’s unemployment rate is 14%. That figure is as high as 50% in some areas of the urban community. Read the full story

Got Equality? Not if you’re 51% of the population.

The new campaign slogan for the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women certainly gets right to the point. And if anyone is unconvinced of their assertion, then I wish you could have attended Women’s Day at the Capital on Tuesday.  Invited speakers and the public submitted testimony on Tuesday and called attention to many issues like health care, domestic violence and protection, education, employment, women in politics, and childcare.  Two high school students from the Young Women’s Leadership Program essay contest also read their winning essays which focused on breaking the cycle of domestic violence and the need for more women in leadership positions. Read the full story

The Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness is urging community residents and activists to attend a public hearing on Thursday, February 11th (time TBA) at the Legislative Office Building, 300 Capitol Avenue in Hartford. According to CCEH, Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s proposed budget includes a deplorable $ 2.4 million cut of funding allocated by the General Assembly in last year’s bi-annual budget, which is approximately 5% of the housing / homeless line item under Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS). Read the full story

President Barack Hussein Obama officially marked the end of the first year of his administration with his State of the Union Address Wednesday night. The First Black President kept his record of doing zero for Black America intact, as he announced a spending freeze which will result in the downsizing of already underfunded federal social services. According to the United for a Fair Economy State of the Dream 2010: Drained report, the national unemployment rate for blacks stood at 16.2 % as of December 2009. Latinos came in at 12.9 % while the rate for whites actually dropped for the second month in a row, to 9 %. The report finds that blacks earn 62 cents for every dollar made by whites, Latinos make 68 cents. Blacks possess 10 cents of net wealth for every dollar of whites, Latinos stand at 12 cents. Last month, ten members of the Black Congressional Caucus demanded that 10% of federal job creation funds be allocated to regions with the highest unemployment rates. This plan was shot down by the president. As a result of the CBC boycotting a key House vote on financial industry regulation, $6 billion dollars was added for targeted job creation, assistance to people facing housing foreclosure and other initiatives.

The conclusion of the State of the Dream report is that targeted job creation programs for communities with the highest unemployment rates is the only way to address the aforementioned racial economic disparities. The findings of the report have been met with deafening silence by blacks who still want to believe in their president and white progressives who participated in an unprecedented grassroots campaign to get Obama elected. Health care reform is dead – the president did not refer to this issue until he was 30 minutes into his speech. The vaunted public option was not mentioned, so the crappy bill that passed the Senate is apparently still on the menu. There were never any discussions during the Health Care No Holds Barred Steel Cage Match between the Democrats and Republicans about the impact of racial health disparities. According to a report by Johns Hopkins and University of Maryland researchers, these disparities cost the United States $229 billion annually, enough money to completely revamp the national health care system. The report finds that people of color are generally in worse health than whites and far more likely to die from a wide range of diseases. Militarism will still be well served by the Obama administration as the spending freeze exempts the Pentagon. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq rage on, with Yemen and Nigeria possibly being added to the mix very soon.

After a year of national obsession over health care, job creation (for who?) is now the mantra for the president – he announced that he will introduce a new jobs bill. Tougher bank regulation and cap and trade legislation was promised, along with dough for community banks courtesy of a fee to TARP bailout recipients. Obama announced plans for the abolition of tax breaks for employers who outsource jobs overseas and financial incentives for businesses who keep jobs in America. The most significant announcement was the president’s promise to repeal the Don’t ask, don’t tell policy regarding homosexuals serving in the armed forces. The winners of the first year of the Obama administration undoubtedly were the health insurance industry, Wall Street and war profiteers. Big businesses were provided with icing on their cake by the conservative justices of the Supreme Court, who ruled that a corporation is the same as a person. Political candidates will now be able to receive unlimited financial donations from corporate donors. The U.S. military occupation of Haiti following the earthquake which decimated the world’s first black republic was further proof that U.S. imperialism will continue unchecked under Obama’s watch.

So what’s next? Apparently, more bleak economic times for blacks and Latinos. The president and the Democrats have clearly demonstrated that they have no interest in changing the repugnant status quo, so change will have to come from the streets. I’m calling out white progressives – whether you’re a Democrat, Independent, anarchist, basket weaver, whatever – it’s not enough for you to decry racial injustice on blogs and Facebook. You cannot rub elbows with downtrodden people of color in the streets and feel as if you’ve done your good deed for the day – you are complicit by your failure to engage. I’m also calling out the black Obama disciples who are acting like everything is everything because an African American is in the Oval Office. The State of the Dream report clearly shows that people of color are in worse economic shape since Politician Soul Brother Number One has been in the White House. A warm and fuzzy feeling over seeing a black president doesn’t trump the reality that blacks and Latinos in this country are still catching hell.

Author Carlos Martinez discusses politics in Venezuela.  Martinez is co-author of Venezuela Speaks! Voices from the Grassroots.

Click here to download the MP3

The Office of Health Care Access convened a public hearing at the Legislative Office Building on Thursday regarding Governor M. Jodi Rell’s proposal to close Cedarcrest Hospital, a state funded mental health and addiction facility in Newington. The Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services made its case on paper, claiming that the closure can be offset through the utilization of beds at Connecticut Valley Hospital in Middletown and Bridgeport Community Mental Health Center, community based treatment providers and a diversion program. Read the full story

Due to the expectation of a large turnout, the Office of Health Care Access public hearing on Governor M. Jodi Rell’s proposal to close Cedarcrest Hospital has been moved to the Legislative Office Building, 300 Capitol Avenue in Hartford. The hearing will be held in Room 2E and begin at 10:00 AM.

(see previous post)

Governor M. Jodi Rell continues to wage war on Connecticut’s most vulnerable residents with her proposal to close Cedarecrest Hospital, a state run mental health and addiction facility in Newington. Cedarcrest is a refuge for clients who are routinely rejected by community based treatment providers. The General Assembly has allocated funds to keep Cedarcrest open, but the governor is attempting to circumvent this by using the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) to close the facility administratively. Read the full story

Downtown Hartford residents, business owners and activists will gather at City Hall, 550 Main Street in Hartford, Tuesday from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM to protest the relocation of the No-Freeze Shelter from Center Church in Downtown Hartford to Lafayette Street. The original proposed location of the shelter resulted in howls of protest from certain downtown business leaders, who used stereotypes and baseless arguments to force the move. A “Tent City” will be erected during the protest, then donated to those in the homeless community. Warm food and drinks will also be provided to those in need.

Dear Santa,

I would like the following presents – hook me up.

1. Justice for the family of Jashon Bryant.

2. A successful defense of social services by the General Assembly.

3. A single payer health care system.

4. A framed picture of Joe Lieberman’s face after the Democrats inform him that he has been stripped of his chairmanship.

5. A candidate who will turn Lieberman into a former U.S. Senator and truly serve the people of Connecticut.

6. An end to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

7. G.I. Joe with the Kung fu Grip ( and a comprehensive veterans health care plan).

8. A conscience for Governor M. Jodi Rell.

9. Jobs for the jobless and homes for the homeless.

10. A real progressive movement.

Sincerely,

David Samuels