Controversy in Nebraska over "African-American" identity

A white South African boy has stoked a controversy in a Nebraska high school by calling himself African-American and applying for an award designed to recognize distinguished black students.

The kid and two of his friends were suspended for disrupting classes as they distributed posters about their little campaign on MLK day.

EURWEB has a story about it. Check out what some of the kids defenders have to say. It helps clarify things.

NEWSWEEK: Young voters are Bush's Secret Weapon?

Here's the lede of the Newsweek article:

"Jan. 26 - Young voters are sharply divided on the economy, the Iraq war and overall approval of President George W. Bush’s job performance, according to an exclusive new NEWSWEEK poll conducted among young voters, the Newsweek Genext Poll. While the near-equal partisan divide among young voters mirrors the split between U.S. voters overall, the poll also suggests that on social issues like abortion and gay marriage, 18-29 year-olds are eager to move beyond the partisan battles of the past."

In 2000, Gore and Bush nearly split the youth vote. Gore won 48% to Bush's 46%.

That was a big win for Bush----his father lost the youth vote by 11% to Clinton. That's hundreds of thousands of additional votes.

But what's in the cards for 2004? Young voters seem split. Only 37% would definitely re-elect him, 34% would definitely vote against him and the rest are up for grabs.

So the question is, which candidate will fight hardest and offer the best agenda for the new generation's vote?

Highlights from NEW HAMPSHIRE!
We thought you might enjoy some of the highlights of what Rock the Vote has been up to here in New Hampshire these past days! Here are some of the best items:

** Rock the Vote teamed up with New Hampshire for Health Care to raise the issue of health care for young voters. We released a report showing how the candidate plans for health care would improve coverage for the new generation. MTV News covered our report on-air and on mtv.com---a tremendous fulfillment of Rock the Vote's mission to educate young people about the issues that affect their lives!

MTV News stream and MTVNews.com story using the candidate comparison:

** Working with NH for Health Care, our street teams went out to canvass voters on campus and in neighborhoods to pass out literature and talk to young people about the importance of health care and voting. Outlets including NH Public Television, Boston's ABC News affiliate, Portsmouth Herald, the Utica Observer Dispatch, PoliticsNH, and the UNH campus paper did stories about it.

** We have also used the NH primary to launch the new Ben & Jerry's Rock the Vote ice cream, Primary Berry Graham. As part of our grassroots outreach, we made students take an "oath to vote" to get free ice cream. They were putting it down NH style.

New York Times story:

The Oath to Vote:
On January 27th
I will Rock the Vote
I will not be too busy
I will not get caught up with other things
I will not "just forget"
I affirm this oath
With each delicious bite
On January 27th --- I, _______, will vote!

** As the candidates prepared to debate on January 22, we worked with WMUR to get a debate question about health care for young adults. Here's the transcript:

"GRIFFITH: This one came to me and has reputed to come to me from rockthevote.com. We hear about health care coverage issues involving older voters, particularly prescription drugs, but young people also have serious challenges getting adequate health coverage. How would your plan improve health insurance coverage for this new generation?"

** As part of the effort, we asked the campaigns to release statements about their plans for health care affecting young people in order to help highlight the issue and prepare groundwork for the future. So far, we have candidate statements from Dean, Edwards, Kerry and Kucinich (these will go up on our website shortly).

** We stormed The Daily Show's event and gave out free Rock the Vote ice cream to the audience of reporters. Jon Stewart, if you're reading this, thanks for the memories! CNN got a real kick out of it, and wrote a story including the following quote:

CNN Report:
It's hard to go to any event in New Hampshire without having a scoop of Ben & Jerry's Primary Berry Graham ice cream handed to you by Rock the Vote, the youth-oriented voter education group. Dressed as a cow, RTV volunteer Aaron Taylor, 24, said his goal is "getting people off their ass to vote. People forget it's 18 to vote, not 30."

So, now, we are on the trail of the campaigns, attending the major events with our Rock the Vote Street Team and waving the flag for all to see. The candidates have been giving us shout-outs from the stage and encouraging young voters to turnout on Election Day.

Just last week in Iowa, while the caucus turnout overall doubled from the 2000 election, 17-29 year olds nearly quadrupled their turnout. As a result, they doubled their percent of the overall caucus vote, from 9% to 17%.

We're all hoping for a big turnout of young voters on January 27th---the start of something big!

Sweet article about youth voting and Rock the Vote

Check this one out.

Here's the lede:

"With an extra-large "Rock the Vote" T-shirt pulled over her down parka, Holly Teresi is fired up in the subzero New Hampshire afternoon. She and a small band of young people slip between the crowds of Dean, Kerry, and Clark supporters, hollering with equal enthusiasm.

They're not here for any one candidate, but for a generation - their own."

Nice.

More about where the new generation gets its news

An article from the Christian Science Monitor...

How the Dean remixes were born

E! Online has the story.

Make your voice heard!
From our friends at Y * VOTE 04:

Y * VOTE 04 is a series of live, interactive election programs for young adults which will air on the national satellite channel Link TV. In preparation for the primaries, the 4 episodes be broadcast on February 24h and 25th, between 9:00 pm - 9:30 pm EST and 11:00 pm - 11:30 pm EST.

Above all, the viewers are the program. This is the first time young voters will have an interactive, televised forum where they can talk about the issues that matter most to them. Internet users are connected to a two way TV portal via a link on youth-voter websites, where they can watch the show online, and participate in the conversations via webcam, email and instant polling, joining viewers of Link TV, which reaches 20 million US homes via satellite systems DirecTV (channel 375) and the Dish Network (channel 9410). Viewers and web visitors can both take part and watch, seamlessly moving back and forth between the portal and the services offered by the sites, such as chat, voter registration, and candidate information.

Y* VOTE 04 is looking for young adults who want to appear on the programs live or via webcam, and who want to submit video on key topics that will be broadcast by the programs.

To learn more, visit www.yvote04.org!

Sorry for the paucity of postings

We're up in New Hampshire campaigning to raise the issue of access to health care for the new generation. Its going VERY WELL. A full update to come.

Bush endorses constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage

In tonight's State of the Union address, President Bush said that the public supports banning gay marriage, and that if "activist judges" continue to weaken the restrictions on it put into place by the Clinton-signed Defense of Marriage Act, a "the only alternative would be a constitutional amendment."

Can you imagine an amendment to the constitution---like the ones that gave women the right to vote, or established freedom of speech---banning gay marriage?

You know, the (unfinished) legacy of the constitution has been to expand rights to all the people, not take them away.

This is an area where the President really loses us. Gay marriage may not be all that popular with the older generations, but the new generation sees things differently.

We say, live and let live.

Tell us what you think. Send an email or use the comment app.

A new generation rocks the vote in Iowa!

If the Iowa Caucus is a bellwether, a surge in turnout for the new generation of voters is in the works for the 2004 presidential election. An MSNBC report notes that 17-24 year olds may have nearly doubled their share of the vote in the Iowa Caucus compared to 2000. At the same time, the increase in turnout for these voters was not tied to Governor Dean as some pundits have predicted, but rather was a more general phenomenon���they were energized about the election in general.

The election is strong evidence that the new generation will be a classic battleground demographic for the 2004 presidential election: A voter bloc that can suddenly increase its turnout while swinging from one candidate to another. Note that an increase in 2004 of about 5% compared to the 2000 election would bring 20 million 18-30 year olds to the polls.

According to the national election pool entrance polls, 17-29 year olds were a larger share of the voting population than 30-44 year olds.

17-29 vote share 17%
30-44 vote share 15%
45-64 vote share 41%
65+ vote share 27%

At the same time, young adults gave Senator John Kerry a strong margin in the initial vote reported in the national election pool entrance polls.

Preference for 17-29 voters
Kerry: 35%
Edwards: 25%'
Dean: 20%
Gephardt: 7%

MLK speech set to beats

From allhiphop.com:

Adisa Banjoko's "One Mic," a political radio show, premiered excerpts of a
rare speech made by Dr. Martin Luther King set to hip-hop music. Producer
Inspector Double Negative debuted the exclusive remix last night. "Now let
me make this clear in the beginning, that I see this war as an unjust,
evil & futile war. The time has come for America to hear the truth about
this tragic war," King said of the Vietnam war. The speech can be found at
iciclenetworks.com.

The link is here.

Where does the new generation get news

"A study released on Sunday by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press suggests that young people, classified here as 18- to 29-year-olds, are relatively uninterested in election news. Meanwhile, those who are watching the election somewhat closely are moving away from traditional new sources, often relying on comedy programs for the latest headlines."

Here's the article, which focuses on the Generation Dean activity at LSU.

So what do you think? Where do you get your news? Where do you turn to get educated about issues? Where do your friends go?

Celebs on the stump

A run-down from the Atlanta Journal Constitution on the role of celebrities in politics notes, "In a celebrity-centric culture in which People outsells Newsweek by a half-million copies a week, Hollywood stars can reach into a crowded field of candidates and confer instant buzz on any one of them."

Punk Voter

A story in the Fort Collins Weekly about the group Punkvoter.com has a lengthy interview with Fat Mike, the group's founder.

During the interview, Fat Mike confuses Rock the Vote with MTV. MTV is a media company based in New York. Rock the Vote is a nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles. Rock the Vote and MTV work together, but they are separate organizations.

We get that all the time.

Curious what you think about his comments, though.

Britney Spears on marriage

Britney doesn't know what all the fuss is about regarding her 55 hour marriage. We're not going to give her a hard time in particular about this; people make mistakes.

But here's the thing. Why do straight people feel like marriage is something that gays can't handle? Can straight people really say that they are doing such a great job with marriage in the first place?

All these "reality" marriage shows, for example----is there really any moral high ground on this issue?

What will make marriage stronger in this country is when people commit to one another for a lifetime and stick to it through thick and thin. Straight or gay.

You only live once. Make it a long time.
The National Institute of Health, the country's official advisory group on health care issues, has issued a new report saying the government should commit itself to delivering universal health care by 2010.

Here's the lead from the Reuters article:

--

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Saying 18,000 people die every year because they lack health insurance, federal advisers said on Wednesday the U.S. government must come up with universal health coverage by 2010.

The Institute of Medicine, an independent, non-profit group which advises Congress and the federal government on health matters, said taxpayers are paying for 43 million uninsured Americans anyway -- and footing a much bigger bill than they would if those people had decent health care.

--

Why does this matter to the new generation? Because young adults are twice as likely to be victimized by having now health insurance as older people. In fact, nearly one-third of the 46 million uninsured Americans are age 18-24!

Find out where the presidential candidates stand on this issue. Let us know what you think.

If you are a young person who does not have health insurance and you have a story to tell about it, let us know---send an email to the blog team.

New Jersey same sex couples get some basic legal rights

Excerpt from the article follows:

With the stroke of a pen at 1:29 p.m. McGreevey said, "It's now law. Thank you, everyone. It's a great victory."

The law, which also applies to unmarried heterosexual couples age 62 and older, takes effect in six months.

It gives registered couples a raft of rights that married couples currently enjoy, including an inheritance tax exemption, the right to make critical medical decisions for an incapacitated partner, hospital visitation rights and a state income tax deduction for dependents.

Registered partners of state employees will be eligible for health insurance coverage. Private employers are not obligated to extend health coverage to an employee's partner but all insurance companies must make such coverage available to employers who wish to make it part of their employee benefits package.

"This legislation is a matter of fundamental decency," McGreevey said moments before signing the bill. "Today, New Jersey takes a strong step toward equality and decency. The promise of an open, fair and honest society exists for all New Jerseyans."

Members of Congress reach out to Florida students

Rep. Kendrick Meek, one of the rising stars of Congress for the new generation, is encouraging young people to rock the 2004 election. "You don't have to be elected to lead," said Meek. "The game is not inside the Capitol; it's outside."

Meek was joined by Rep. Elijah Cummings, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, at Florida A&M University.

Read the article.

What would you do if your dad was president?

The Washington Post writes about the life of the Bush twins. A must read.

Music plays on the campaign trail

Check out the Boston Globe write-up of how the candidates are using music to give their politics some appeal.

Outkast on the positive tip

Outkast won a whole mess of NAACP image awards.

Gay marriage debate splits Democrats

Conflict in Massachusetts over civil unions and gay marriage:

"Robert Reich, the former US labor secretary who ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 2002, said he hopes the party takes the step of supporting gay marriage.

"I think it should be a plank," Reich, who came out in favor of gay marriage on the campaign trail, said in a telephone interview. "Massachusetts has always been a leader in human and civil rights, and we ought to continue that tradition. Massachusetts voters, particularly young voters, are very progressive on issues of sexual orientation. There's absolutely no reason why the Massachusetts Democratic Party should not be a pioneer with regard to the issue of same-sex marriage."

Job situation not getting any better

Today's news throws some cold water on predictions for a sharply rebounding economy. Only 1,000 new jobs were created in December---and the only reason the unemployment rate dropped is because people gave up on the job search.

According to the Associated Press, "The nation's unemployment rate dropped to 5.7 percent in December to the lowest level in 14 months, but employers finished the year without many help wanted signs for the holidays, adding just 1,000 new jobs. The 0.2 percentage point drop in the jobless rate occurred because fewer people were looking for work, the Labor Department said Friday. More than 300,000 people gave up their search for jobs and dropped out of the pool of available workers."

A spike in turnout for 2004

The Dallas Morning News has an article today about the youth vote in 2004. A good quote:

"Along with a voter registration blitz and Internet-savvy political campaigns, the heightened interest could produce a spike in young voters this year, political analysts and organizers said."

Why you have to rock the boat to rock the vote

Its an old trick. Local elected officials sometimes try to keep students from voting because they rock the boat. Although students bring large amounts of money into the local economy and their schools employ many local residents, local officials try to exclude them from the community when it comes to electing the government.

Its happening all over the country. Here's an article about a current instance in Texas, where there is an even more troublesome dynamic: the students are largely black, and there are no black elected officials in the county.

So the students are fighting back.

LA Times article

Sorry, more tech troubles... :)

Here it is.

Gov. Schwarzenegger proposes making college more expensive

An LA Times article (reg. req'd) has the scoop.

Village Voice article
Here it is.

Village Voice article about Russell Simmons

The Village Voice has a piece about Russell Simmons worth checking out---about his many initiatives to empower the hip-hop generation. It also includes this exchange:

===

Chavis and Simmons reject the idea that one of hip-hop's biggest problems is itself. "Rap is a mirror image, and all of it is not pretty," says Chavis. "What hip-hop does is take the negative and flip the script. 'Dog' is now a term of endearment. 'Pimp' has become a term of endearment. 'Bitch' and 'ho' have become terms of endearment. It's hard to take the dictionary of the oppressor to understand the dictionary of the oppressed."

"That's bullshit," counters Bakari Kitwana, author of The Hip Hop Generation: Young Blacks and the Crisis in African American Culture . "I think if we can't be self-critical, then that will be the death of hip-hop. It's just backwards. Just because we all love hip-hop, we shouldn't defend something that is indefensible." Kitwana is working with other grassroots hip-hop activists on the National Hip Hop Political Convention, slated for June in Newark. Its aims are similar to HSAN's, although the group will be pushing the hip-hop generation to be more introspective, to look to themselves for solutions.

===

How one person makes a difference

Cool article in New Hampshire's Concord Monitor about the college convention that is going on right now in New Hampshire. Like 1000 students have gotten together and the presidential candidates are mostly going to be there to speak.

We're back

Had some technical difficulties, and then there was that holiday break. But we're back now.

Technical Difficulties

We're having some technical difficulties with the blog. We're working on it right now and we'll be back soon.