Opposes Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to protect victims of discrimination

Elizabeth Dole today voted against the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act which would ensure that victims of pay discrimination can hold their employers accountable under existing anti-discrimination laws. Dole’s vote comes one day after Equal Pay Day, which highlights the disparity in wages between women and men – currently at 78 cents to the dollar in North Carolina.

“The last thing hardworking North Carolina families need is a paycheck further slashed by discrimination, but Elizabeth Dole passed on guaranteeing equal pay for equal work today,” DSCC spokesman Matthew Miller said. “With Elizabeth Dole’s record, it’s no wonder she voted against holding people accountable today, but that’s exactly what the voters are going to do to her in November.”

By MIKE BAKER, Associated Press

More than four times as many blacks have registered to vote in North Carolina during the first few months of 2008 as four years ago, a sign that bodes well for Sen. Barack Obama in the state's May 6 Democratic presidential primary.

There has also been a boom in voter registrations overall across age, race, gender and party affiliation, according to the North Carolina state board of elections. And, even though the traditional registration period closes Friday, the numbers may continue to climb if voters take advantage of North Carolina's new same-day registration law.

The North Carolina Democratic Party pauses today to mark the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr. King was murdered at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to lead sanitation workers on a protest against low wages and unsafe working conditions.

This grim anniversary comes at a time when Democrats are poised to elect the nation’s first African-American or female President.

We carry the embers of Dr. King’s unfinished work as Democrats have successfully worked to increase state and federal minimum wage rates.

The House Committee on Science and Technology’s Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight today examined how and why the Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a sister agency of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), failed to protect the public’s health after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The agency failed to translate scientific findings and facts into appropriate public health actions which would have resulted in properly informing and warning tens of thousands of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita survivors living in FEMA-provided trailers and mobile homes of the potential health risks they faced. Instead of pushing to have the residents removed immediately, the agency did virtually nothing.

Gov. Mike Easley has proclaimed February as Black History Month and urges citizens to observe and honor the influence of African Americans on the cultural heritage of North Carolina. Educational opportunities are planned for museums and historic sites across the state during the month of February.

“Black History Month pays tribute to the numerous outstanding accomplishments, past and present, which these individuals made to our state, nation and the world,” Easley said. “I encourage all citizens to take this opportunity to recognize, understand and appreciate the contributions of African-Americans to our society.”

The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources has scheduled a number of events and programs throughout the month of February. Highlights include:

· Town Creek Indian Mound: 4:00-5:00 p.m. Saturday, February 2. The state historic site will show the film “Black Indians: An American Story.” Narrated by James Earl Jones, this movie brings to light a forgotten part of America’s past – the cultural and racial fusion of Native and African Americans. Special viewing in museum auditorium.

Following a page from the national GOP playbook, nearly all of the Republican gubernatorial candidates refused to show up Saturday for the NAACP debate.

African-Americans make up more than 20 percent of North Carolina’s population.

Republicans would rather ignore 1.1 million African-American voters than address concerns about education, health care, jobs, and safe communities.

Republicans have no trouble pandering to special interests. But they can’t look black voters in the eye and tell them they will govern for all people, not just those who look like them.

Then Republicans complain that black people won’t vote for them.

Maybe it’s because a Republican redistricting lawsuit threatens to pack minorities in districts and dilute their vote and representation in the General Assembly.

Titan Barksdale, News and Observer

A federal judge has allowed NAACP attorneys to challenge a federal redistricting lawsuit that they say could weaken black voting strength in North Carolina and jeopardize the seats of 16 black legislators in districts across the state.

William Barber II, president of North Carolina chapter of the NAACP, said today that the suit promotes concentrating black voters into a single district and undermines the intent of the federal Voting Rights Act .

The drawing of legislative district lines, done by the legislature every 10 years, is subject to the federal Voting Rights Act. The act requires states to create election districts that do not dilute minority voting power.

Statement from the Rev. Dr. William Barber, President of the North Carolina NAACP:

"The light of Christmas has shown on the dark nightmare that James Johnson has suffered for 42 months in a false incarceration on murder, rape, and kidnapping charges without a trial. Tonight the special prosecutor dismissed all murder, rape and kidnaping charges against him. It is a major victory for truth and justice.

"James is an innocent young man who was falsely accused. It is not yet a total victory because one count of accessory remains, but we will celebrate tonight, and pick up the fight tomorrow for James' full exoneration tomorrow."

To read full media coverage of the case and to add your comments, go to
http://www.ncprosecutorialmisconduct.com

Bush Republicans have engaged in unprecedented obstruction. They have used every delaying tactic available to them, including filibusters and secret holds. But Bush Republican efforts to block floor consideration of even bipartisan and non-controversial bills clearly reveals their strategy: block everything.

Below is a list of the non-controversial, bipartisan bills blocked by Bush Republicans this morning.

ALS Registry Act. S. 1382, which would authorize $75 million for fiscal 2008 to create a registry with the Centers for Disease Control to collect and analyze data on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The bill was passed out of committee and has 67 bipartisan co-sponsors.

Elizabeth Dole's inaction on a key housing bill is worsening skyrocketing homelessness problem.

Today, victims of Hurricane Katrina and local advocates held a press conference at Sen. Elizabeth Dole's office in Raleigh calling on the Senator to take action to save homes in the still-devastated Gulf Coast region.

Homelessness in New Orleans has doubled since Katrina struck in August 2005, according to recent reports, and thousands of families still live in temporary FEMA housing. Yet despite a housing shortage, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development has authorized the demolition of more than 4,000 units of public housing in New Orleans – most of it barely damaged by Katrina. The homes are slated to be razed this week, without provisions for replacing them with affordable units.