The panel is part of “Diversity is a Way of L.I.F.E,” which is a statewide conference that happens annually at RIC “to bring together educators, students, artists and community-based activists.”  My session will run on Friday at 4:00 PM in Alger Hall, and Osorio will speak alongside Jim Vincent, President, NAACP Providence Branch and television host of the Jim Vincent Show; Erik Andrade, a spoken word artist and community/youth activist from New Bedford, MA; Talia Whyte, a Boston-based freelance journalist with over ten years experience reporting on social justice, media and technology; and Marco McWilliams, a RI-based educator, activist, lecturer, and published writer (including here on RIFuture.org) who covers the African Diaspora.

The entire conference kicks off at 11:00 AM, and directly following the conference there will be dinner, a poetry open mic, and performances that are part of Bilingual Poetry Festival I organizing at sites across the state.

Below is more information about the panel; updates will also be posted on www.Rhode2Africa.wordpress.com and on Twitter (follow me @rezaclif). Learn more about the conference here on Facebook or register by clicking here.

***

Rhode 2 Africa: Elect the Arts 2012 (R2A 2012), is a documentary and multimedia project being produced with the primary aim of motivating diverse constituencies to vote in November and engage in political conversations at the local, national, and global level.  The project does this through conversations with emerging and established Black musicians, community members and leaders, political experts and scholars, and media professionals – including those involved in or knowledgeable about alternative parties and platforms and underrepresented issues. The exploration of these topics is based on a very simple principle: there is room at every election to hear and examine new voices and ideas, and this year is no different.

Marco McWilliams is a Pan-Africanist intellectual, published writer, and lecturer whose ideas can currently be read at Voxuion.com and RIfuture.org. McWilliams is also an adult literacy instructor for Amos House and English for Action, two organizations based in Providence, RI. As founder of the Providence Africana Reading Collective, McWilliams is known for his rigorous scholarship on social justice and for creating a “progressive learning community dedicated to the interruption of normative narratives of oppression through a critical examination of the emancipatory thought chronicled in the canons of Africana literature.” He will pursue a Ph.D. beginning in 2013.

Barack Obama  will appear first on the Democratic ballot, followed “Uncommitted.”

 Mitt Romney was selected first in the GOP lottery. He will be followed on the ballot by Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Buddy Roemer, “Uncommitted” and Ron Paul.

Today’s lottery also determined ballot position for the nearly 120 Rhode Islanders who are running to be a delegate at the Democratic or Republican National Convention. The process played out before an audience of about 30 candidates and supporters at the State House.

In order to be eligible to cast a ballot in the presidential primary, Rhode Islanders must register to vote by March 24. April 3 is the deadline to apply for a mail ballot.

We will use equipment borrowed from the R.I. Lottery to determine the order in which the candidates for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations will appear on the state’s April 24 primary ballot.

In a scene familiar to Rhode Islanders who watch the state’s daily lottery numbers selected on TV, candidates will be assigned numbered, specially calibrated, white plastic balls. After each ball floats to the top of the machine, we will announce where the corresponding candidate’s name will appear on the ballot.

Barack Obama will compete with “Uncommitted” for the top spot on the Democratic presidential primary ballot. Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Buddy Roemer, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum will compete with “Uncommitted” for ballot position on the Republican ballot.

We will also use the lottery machine to determine ballot position for the 119 Rhode Islanders who are running for the right to attend the Democratic or Republican National Convention as a delegate.

In order to qualify to appear on the ballot, the candidates had to collect the signatures of at least 150 eligible voters. More than 18,000 signatures were validated by last Friday’s deadline, according to Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis.

Statewide, 36 Rhode Islanders will vie to represent Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention. Voters will elect 22 delegates on April 24.

Mitt Romney led all Republican candidates with 27 delegates hoping to go to the Republican National Convention. Twenty-three Rhode Islanders are Paul delegates, followed by 22 for Santorum and 11 for Gingrich. No one filed to run as a Roemer delegate. Voters will elect 16 delegates and 16 alternates.

Rhode Islanders must register to vote by March 24 in order to cast a ballot in the presidential primary. April 3 is the deadline to apply for a mail ballot.

April 24’s presidential primary will be the first test of the state’s new Voter ID law. Beginning this year, poll workers will ask voters to show a current and valid ID at the polls. A wide range of IDs will be accepted including a R.I. driver’s license, college ID, U.S. passport and social security card.

Although photo IDs will not be required until 2014, the Secretary of State’s office is visiting every city and town to provide free Voter IDs to registered voters who don’t already have a valid photo ID. This week’s stops include the Leon Mathieu Senior Center, Pawtucket, March 7 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the North Kingstown Senior Center March 8 from 10 a.m. to noon and the Cranston Senior Center March 9 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

This morning Obama for America – Rhode Island volunteer Jeff P. filed President Obama’s “Statement of Intent to Seek the Nomination for Office of President” with the Rhode Island Secretary of State’s office. Volunteers will now begin the process of gathering 2,500 signatures to put the president on the ballot in the Ocean State. Petitions must be filed with local city and town boards of canvassers by noon on Thursday, February 2nd, meaning the campaign has  just two weeks to collect the signatures of registered voters from across Rhode Island.

If you are interested in helping to collect signatures from friends, family, neighbors and supporters in your community RSVP here for our first signature gathering Day of Action THIS SATURDAY, January 21st. Volunteers will meet at OFA-RI HQ — 151 Broadway, Providence, RI 02903 (Suite 310).

If you have any questions,  please contact Devin Driscoll, OFA-RI state director, at ddriscoll@barackobama.com or (401) 935-1838.

“This is an important speech—one you, your friends and your family can’t miss,” says Devin Driscoll, Rhode Island state director with Obama for America. “President Obama will be talking about the issues and values that are central to his vision of an America that will out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the world.”

Rhode Island’s watch parties will be taking place in homes in Warwick, Cranston, Providence, Pawtucket, Newport and East Greenwich. Students will gather at Brown University’s Wilson Hall and state and city Democrats will head for McFadden’s Restaurant in downtown Providence.

Folks will be renewing neighborhood connections, making new friends and talking together about the next important event on the Rhode Island campaign calendar: forming teams to collect signatures to get President Obama on the ballot for November. For more information and to find the watch party nearest you, go to www.barackobama.com/state/ri and click the “Find an Event” tab.

For more information about State of the Union watch parties and to volunteer with the campaign, please contact Devin Driscoll at ddriscoll@barackobama.com.

This could potentially be very, very bad…

Tonight at 9 p.m. EDT President Obama will address the nation on the stalemate in Washington over avoiding default and the best approach to cutting deficits.

You can watch the speech live at www.WhiteHouse.gov/live starting at 9pm tonight.  The expectation among progressives is that President Obama will reiterate his frustration at Republican intransigence for his desire to dismantle the social safety net that millioins of Americans rely on.  To summarize:

Democrats asked Republicans to pass a clean bill, just as GOP leaders had supported many times in the past. Republicans said, “No.”Democrats invited Republicans to Biden-led bipartisan talks. Republicans quit. Democrats offered a $2.4 trillion debt-reduction package, 83% of which would come from spending cuts. Republicans said, “No.”Democrats sought a Grand Bargain, with more than $4 trillion in savings. Republicans said, “No.”Several Democrats offered some preliminary support for the “Gang of Six” blueprint. Republicans said, “No.”Many more Democrats signaled support for the McConnell/Reid “Plan B.” Republicans said, “No.”

Unfortunately, we can only rely on Republican intransigence to protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid for so long.  As I said before, it took a Democrat to “end welfare as we know it.”  And it’ll take this Democrat to gut the social safety net.  Will Obama offer yet another path that fully capitulates to Republican demands?  Will he abandon any and all revenue enhancements in the battle over the debt ceiling?  It has been a slow progression away from what would be desireable, what would be reasonable, to what is ridiculous.

From the Center for American Progress:

The infographic above shows that the president’s latest offer to House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) is heavily titled toward spending cuts. In fact, the president’s offer contained about $1 trillion less revenue than the recent proposal from the so-called Gang of Six, a group that includes three Republican senators and three Democratic senators. It also represents significant movement from the president’s original debt reduction framework, which itself was already more conservative than the recommendations from the chairs of the debt commission (Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson) last December.

I suppose we’ll see what happens at 9pm.  In the meantime, sign this petition asking our Congressional Delegation to stand strong against cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

There is no budget focus on the illegal wars and military occupations that the US government has underway in at least six countries or the 66-year old US occupations of Japan and Germany and the ring of military bases being constructed around Russia.

The total military/security budget is in the vicinity of $1.1-$1.2 trillion, or 70 per cent -75 per cent of the federal budget deficit.

In contrast, Social Security is solvent.  Medicare expenditures are coming close to exceeding the 2.3 per cent payroll tax that funds Medicare, but it is dishonest for politicians and pundits to blame the US budget deficit on “entitlement programs.”

Entitlements are funded with a payroll tax.  Wars are not funded. The criminal Bush regime lied to Americans and claimed that the Iraq war would only cost $70 billion at the most and would be paid for with Iraq oil revenues. When Bush’s chief economic advisor, Larry Lindsay, said the Iraq invasion would cost $200 billion, Bush fired him. In fact, Lindsay was off by a factor of 20. Economic and budget experts have calculated that the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have consumed $4,000 billion in out-of-pocket and already incurred future costs.  In other words, the ongoing wars and occupations have already eaten up the $4 trillion by which Obama hopes to cut federal spending over the next ten years. Bomb now, pay later.

imho, the so-called “compromise” can be viewed as nothing short of a stunning betrayal of the Democratic base. Is it to soon to say “Nader 2012?”

Join us to ask the RI delegation to stand their ground for Rhode Islanders by defending these principles:

• Defending the Well Being of Our Communities - Program cuts that eliminate benefits, reduce eligibility, demand participants pay more or force state governments to make cuts are not acceptable.
• Responsible Reductions in Defense Spending - National security is essential, but our defense spending wastes billions. We can responsibly reduce outlays for defense while maintaining a strong, secure nation.
• Fixing the Corporate Tax System is Imperative - We cannot afford a tax code that rewards corporations for hiding money offshore and permits them to benefit from accounting gimmicks and loopholes. As good paying jobs become harder to find and corporate profits continue to skyrocket, we need to strike the right balance of corporate citizenship and economic growth.
• Restoring Fairness to the Income Tax – While the income tax structure is progressive, it does not make up for the regressive nature of the many other forms of taxation in our nation – property taxes, the sales tax and so on. We allow far too many people to hide wealth, or claim income as something else that is taxed differently – or not at all. We must ask the wealthiest – from hedge fund managers to the inheritors of fortunes – to be good patriots and contribute more to the commonweal.
• Responsible Social Spending Reform - The only acceptable changes to programs like Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid are those that make the programs more efficient and successful. Any changes that result in the loss of income security or access to health care are unacceptable.

Add your name to the petition today and ask our Congressional delegation to HOLD THEIR GROUND!

It is with the utmost concern that we are following the negotiations between Congress and the President over the national debt ceiling. Many of the proposals, including those from Democrats as well as from Republicans, offer devastating reductions to programs including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid that are necessary to keep scores of millions of Americans healthy, educated, financially secure and free from desperate need.

During this difficult time, many of your constituents in Rhode Island have watched, with great pride, as you have been a voice of reason, calling on Congress to approach the issue of our nation’s long-term debt with compassion, fairness and moral principle.

We write to say thank you. On behalf of the people of Rhode Island, our working families and struggling unemployed, our cities and small towns, our schools, our health centers and our senior centers, we say “Thank you.” Thank you for understanding that harming the well-being of children, seniors, the poor and the disabled is not a solution of any kind. Thank you for taking action – through letters to the President, votes on the floor, interviews in the media, and messages to your constituents – on behalf of those for whom government programs provide support and hope during these hard times. Thank you for being the truly progressive leader that Rhode Island and America need today.

Thank you for recognizing that fundamental economic principles demonstrate that cuts during periods of high unemployment are counter-productive. Thank you for demanding that the long-term deficit be addressed not only by cuts, but also through fair, common sense revenue measures. You have articulated, cogently and forcefully, for the inclusion of these measures – including ideas like closing corporate tax loopholes, eliminating tax breaks for the wealthy, repealing the Bush-era tax cuts and asking the top brackets to chip-in as good patriots should. Thank you for being a voice that demands we ask as much of the fortunate few as we do of everyone else.

We also write to ask you to stay strong. As the negotiations continue, there will be pressure from within your party, from the press, and from powerful interests in our society to do the wrong thing. Those privileged few will call on Congress to cut programs instead of cutting corporate welfare. They will ask that you vote to devastate working families instead of asking the wealthiest to contribute a little more to the common good in return for the opportunities our nation has given them. They will ask that we base decisions on a faulty concept – that government is not an answer to our society’s ills, but rather the cause.

As representatives of communities and organizations that see, every day, how programs like Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid change people’s lives for the better, we know this view is wrong. We believe you share our belief that as a society, we have a moral duty to ensure that everyone has a chance to live a full, productive and economically secure life. That is the American Dream.

We ask that you support a resolution to this crisis based on the following principles:

• Defending the Well Being of Our Communities. Program cuts that eliminate benefits, reduce eligibility, demand participants pay more or force state governments to make cuts are not acceptable.
• Responsible Reductions in Defense Spending. National security is essential, but our defense spending wastes billions. We can responsibly reduce outlays for defense while maintaining a strong, secure nation.
• Fixing the Corporate Tax System is Imperative. We cannot afford a tax code that rewards corporations for hiding money offshore and permits them to benefit from accounting gimmicks and loopholes. As good paying jobs become harder to find and corporate profits continue to skyrocket, we need to strike the right balance of corporate citizenship and economic growth.
• Restoring Fairness to the Income Tax. While the income tax structure is progressive, it does not make up for the regressive nature of the many other forms of taxation in our nation – property taxes, the sales tax and so on. We allow far too many people to hide wealth, or claim income as something else that is taxed differently – or not at all. We must ask the wealthiest – from hedge fund managers to the inheritors of fortunes – to be good patriots and contribute more to the commonweal.
• Responsible Social Spending Reform. The only acceptable changes to programs like Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid are those that make the programs more efficient and successful. Any changes that result in the loss of income security or access to health care are unacceptable.

These are principles reflected in the Congressional Progressive Caucus’ Peoples Budget (introduced as an amendment to Rep. Ryan’s budget proposal and voted on in the House on April 14). That document can and should serve as a guide towards a responsible resolution of our national budget challenges.We respectfully request that you join the other members of the Rhode Island Congressional Delegation in transmitting to the President the sense of the people of Rhode Island as embodied in the principles above. As August 2nd approaches and America faces the real possibility of not being able to meet its debt and other payments, the people of Rhode Island need to know that any resolution will not occur at the expense of the common good.

Thank you for being the champion we need in these trying times. We support your good work and stand ready to help in any way we can.

SIGN THE PETITION HERE!

Step Two: Ignore the growth of income inequality in the U.S. over the past 30+ years, which is actually at the root of the economic problems the country faces.  Don’t even mention it, and especially don’t do anything about it.  Check!

I have watched in shocked horror over the past couple weeks, as conservative deficit hawks enabled by the Democratic Party, have marched toward a fiscal austerity program that will take the depressed and down economy and pummel it to a bloody pulp.  This is all being done in order to alleviate some mythical inflationary pressure that wealthy bankers are terrified of (remember, inflation is the biggest enemy of accumulated wealth).

Of course none of this really matters to the tens of millions of people who are looking for work, have had their hours cuts, have been forced into part-time work, or are in fear of losing their jobs (55% of all adults in the labor force have been affected by this recession in some way).

The real problem is that people aren’t spending money because of the recession, and that is directly related to the growth in income inequality, albeit in complicated ways.  Since the 1970s, U.S. wages have largely remained stagnant.  At the same time, the vast majority of all the wealth created in the country over the last 30 years has been flowing upward.

Because the super wealthy don’t actually work to generate their income, wages as a share of national income has been declining for just as long.  What that means is less and less money is being earned by workers, and that’s bad for the economy because workers spending money is what fuels economic growth.  Consumers earning more money means that they can buy more goods and services, increasing the effective demand in an economy.  Seems pretty simple, right?  Well, yes, it is.

But Brian, if wages have been stagnant for 30 years, then why has the economy been growing that whole time?  I’m glad you asked.  The economy didn’t tank sooner because people have been supplementing their stagnant or declining wage income with credit and debt.  As a society, America took out more and more, and larger and larger, loans either through credit cards, home equity loans, mortgages, payday loans, and all the other delightful financial products offered by financial institutions intent on making money off of your debt.  Notably, as fake housing wealth grew, people used their homes as ATMs – we’re currently seeing how good of an idea that was (and once the housing bubble burst, the $1 trillion of increased demand that was based on it vanished).

As a result of all this borrowing, middle class Americans tripled their debt over the last 30 years.  As we all know, when debt rises, service on the debt rises.  That is yet another mechanism that sucks dollars from a local economy and puts it in the bank account of CEOs, exacerbating the income inequality problem (always remember that when millions of people have been losing their jobs since 2007, Wall Street managed to find $145 billion to pay in bonuses in 2009 alone).

Yes, there’s more to the story, there always is.  But here we are, discussing the budget deficit and the national debt when the real problem is that average workers are getting screwed, they haven’t been making enough money to keep pace with the increases in the cost of living, virtually all the wealth accumulates into the hands of the few, and Democrats and Republicans continue to let it happen.

We need to put more money in the hands of people who will spend it in the economy – that’s the only way jobs will come back.  Why the federal government isn’t spending every waking moment developing a strategy for making this happen is beyond me.  Instead we get bank bailouts and financial reform legislation that makes Wall Street happy.

We expect Republicans to screw workers – that’s what they do.  But Democrats have, time and again, been complicit in the weakening of the middle class.  And it’s no different now.