The Stimulus Plan: A Detailed List of Spending

Hat Tip to: propublica.org for providing this great document. Michael Grabell and Christopher Weaver did a great job outlining what's in the plan. Yes as they say, you could read the 1,071-page gorilla that passed yesterday. Or you could let them do the work for you. The appropriations section of the bill details spending in excess of $311 billion for programs ranging from Pell grants for college students to clean water in central Utah to nearly $100 billion in new transportation and infrastructure projects. Source: propublica.org

Program	Funding
Accountability	$323,500,000
Department of Agriculture - Office of Inspector General	$22,500,000
Department of Commerce - Office of Inspector General	$10,000,000
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - Office of Inspector General	$6,000,000
Department of Justice - Office of Inspector General	$2,000,000
NASA - Office of Inspector General	$2,000,000
Defense Department - Office of Inspector General	$15,000,000
Department of Energy - Office of Inspector General	$15,000,000
Department of the Treasury - Inspector General for Tax Administration	$7,000,000
General Services Administration - Office of Inspector General	$7,000,000
Recovery Act Accountability and Transparency Board	$84,000,000
Small Business Administration - Office of Inspector General	$10,000,000
Department of Homeland Security - Office of Inspector General	$5,000,000
Bureau of Indian Affairs - Office of Inspector General	$15,000,000
Environmental Protection Agency - Office of Inspector General	$20,000,000
Department of Labor - Office of Inspector General	$6,000,000
Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General related to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology	$17,000,000
Department of Education - Office of Inspector General	$14,000,000
Corporation for National and Community Service - Office of Inspector General	$1,000,000
Social Security Administration - Office of Inspector General	$2,000,000
Government Accountability Office salaries and expenses	$25,000,000
Veterans Affairs - Office of Inspector General	$1,000,000
State Department - Office of Inspector General	$2,000,000
Department of Transportation - Office of Inspector General	$20,000,000
Department of Housing and Urban Development - Office of Inspector General	$15,000,000
Aid to People Affected by Economic Downturn	$36,910,807,000
Rural Housing Service insurance fund program account - direct loans and unsubsidized guaranteed loans	$11,672,000,000
Rural community facilities program account	$130,000,000
Special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children (WIC)	$500,000,000
School lunch programs for schools in which at least 50% of students are eligible for free or reduced price meals	$100,000,000
Food bank commodity assistance program	$150,000,000
Temporary increase in benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps)	$19,900,000,000
Food distribution program on Indian reservations	$5,000,000
Agricultural disaster assistance transition - Federal Crop Insurance Act
Farm operating loans	$173,367,000
Direct farm operating loans	$20,440,000
IRS health insurance tax credit administration	$80,000,000
Emergency food and shelter	$100,000,000
Bureau of Indian Affairs job training and housing improvement programs	$40,000,000
Indian guaranteed loan program	$10,000,000
Community service employment for older Americans	$120,000,000
Extra funding for state unemployment insurance	$150,000,000
State re-employment services for the jobless	$250,000,000
Child care assistance for low-income families	$1,651,227,000
Child care assistance for low-income families through state programs	$255,186,000
Child care assistance for low-income families to improve infant and toddler care	$93,587,000
Community Service Block Grant Program	$1,000,000,000
Social Security Act funding	50,000,000
Social Security Administration processing of disability and retirement workloads	$460,000,000
Aid to State and Local Governments	$58,355,000,000
State administrative expenses to carry out increase in food stamp program	$295,000,000
Economic development assistance programs	$150,000,000
Violence against women prevention and prosecution programs	$225,000,000
Office of Justice Programs state and local law enforcement assistance (Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants)	$2,000,000,000
State and local law enforcement assistance grants to improve criminal justice systems, assist crime victims and mentor youth	$225,000,000
Southern border and high-intensity drug trafficking areas	$30,000,000
ATF Project Gunrunner	$10,000,000
State and local law enforcement assistance to Indian tribes	$225,000,000
Crime victim assistance	$100,000,000
Rural drug crime program	$125,000,000
Internet crimes against children initiatives	$50,000,000
Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grants	$1,000,000,000
Justice Department salaries and expenses for administration of police grant programs	$10,000,000
Community Development Financial Institutions Fund for financial assistance, training and outreach to Native American, Hawaiian and Alaskan native communities	$100,000,000
Local and state fire station upgrades and construction	$210,000,000
Disaster assistance direct loans may exceed $5,000,000 and may be equal to not more than 50% of local government annual budget if the government lost 25% or more in tax revenues
State Fiscal Stabilization Fund to avoid cutbacks and layoffs (82% must be used for education while 18% may be used for public safety and other government services. The latter part may be used for repairs and modernization of K-12 schools and college and university buildings.)	$53,600,000,000
Business	$870,000,000
Rural Business - Cooperative Service: rural business program account	$150,000,000
Small Business Administration salaries and expenses, microloan program and improvements to technology systems	$69,000,000
Surety bond guarantees revolving fund	$15,000,000
Small business loans	$636,000,000
Education	$48,420,000,000
State grants for adult job training	$500,000,000
State grants for youth job training and summer employment opportunities	$1,200,000,000
Dislocated worker job training	$1,250,000,000
YouthBuild program for high school dropouts who re-enroll in other schools	$50,000,000
Job training in emerging industries	$250,000,000
Job training in the renewable energy field	$500,000,000
Head Start programs	$1,000,000,000
Early Head Start program expansion	$1,100,000,000
Education for the disadvantaged - elementary and secondary education	10,000,000,000
Education for the disadvantaged - school improvement grants	$3,000,000,000
Education impact aid	$100,000,000
School improvement programs	$650,000,000
Innovation and improvement of elementary and secondary schools	$200,000,000
Special education funding under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act	$12,200,000,000
Pell grants for higher education	$15,840,000,000
Institute of Education data systems	$245,000,000
Institute of Education state data coordinators	$5,000,000
Dislocated worker assistance national reserve	$200,000,000
School improvement grants awarded based on the number of homeless students identified in a state	$70,000,000
Student aid administrative costs	$60,000,000
Energy	$41,400,000,000
Energy efficiency and conservation block grants	$3,200,000,000
Weatherization Assistance Program (increases maximum income level and maximum assistance)	$5,000,000,000
State energy program	$3,100,000,000
Advanced batteries manufacturing, including lithium ion batteries, hybrid electrical systems, component manufacturers and software designers	$2,000,000,000
Modernize electricity grid	$4,400,000,000
Electricity grid worker training	$100,000,000
Fossil energy research and development	$3,400,000,000
Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund	$390,000,000
Department of Energy science programs	$1,600,000,000
Advanced Research Projects Agency	$400,000,000
Innovative technology loan guarantee program	$6,000,000,000
Western Area Power Administration construction and maintenance	$10,000,000
Bonneville Power Administration borrowing authority	$3,250,000,000
Western Area Power Administration borrowing authority	$3,250,000,000
Leading edge biofuel projects	$500,000,000
Federal building conversion to "high-performance green buildings"	$4,500,000,000
Energy efficiency federal vehicle fleet procurement	$300,000,000
Health Care	$18,830,000,000
Indian Health Service information technology and telehealth services	$85,000,000
Indian health facilities	$415,000,000
Grants for public health centers	$500,000,000
Construction, renovation, equipment and information technology for health centers	$1,500,000,000
National Health Service Corps funding	$75,000,000
Addressing health professions workforce shortage	$425,000,000
National Institutes of Health grants and contracts to renovate non-federal research facilities	$1,000,000,000
National Institute of Health grants and contracts for shared resources and equipment for grantees	$300,000,000
National Institutes of Health fund to support scientific research	$7,400,000,000
National Institutes of Health Common Fund	$800,000,000
National Institutes of Health renovations of high-priority buildings at the Bethesda, Md., campus, and at other locations	$500,000,000
Comparative effectiveness research	$300,000,000
Comparative effectiveness research by the National Institutes of Health	400,000,000
Comparative effectiveness research by the Department of Health and Human Services	$400,000,000
Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology	$1,680,000,000
National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's regional or subnational efforts	$300,000,000
Department of Commerce health care information enterprise integration activities related to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology	$20,000,000
Department of Health and Human Services computer and information technology security	$50,000,000
Department of Health and Human Services Prevention and Wellness Fund	$1,000,000,000
Prevention and Wellness Fund immunization program	$300,000,000
Prevention and Wellness Fund evidence-based clinical and community-based prevention strategies	$650,000,000
Prevention and Wellness Fund reduction in incidence of health-care-associated infections	$50,000,000
Rehabilitation services and disability research	540,000,000
State grants for rehabilitation services and disability research	$18,200,000
Rehabilitation services in independent living centers	$87,500,000
Rehabilitation services for older blind individuals	$34,300,000
Other	$2,147,000,000
Census Bureau programs	$1,000,000,000
Digital-to-analog television converter box program	$650,000,000
President shall establish arbitration panel under FEMA public assistance program to expedite recovery efforts from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
Requirement that Department of Homeland Security uniforms be manufactured and sewn together by U.S. fabric and apparel companies
National Endowment for the Arts grants	$50,000,000
Department of Labor salaries and expenses	$80,000,000
Additional awards to existing AmeriCorps grantees	$83,000,000
AmeriCorps program salaries and expenses	$5,200,000
AmeriCorps program administrative costs of expansion	$800,000
National security trust appropriation	$40,000,000
Social Security Administration health information technology research	$40,000,000
Filipino World War II veterans compensation	$198,000,000
Science and Technology	$13,142,000,000
Farm Service Agency salaries and expenses to maintain and modernize the information technology system	$50,000,000
Distance learning, telemedicine and broadband program	$2,500,000,000
National Telecommunications and Information Administration - broadband technology opportunities program	$4,690,000,000
National Institute of Standards and Technology scientific and technical research and services	$220,000,000
National Institute of Standards and Technology construction of research facilities	$360,000,000
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration operations, research and facilities	$230,000,000
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration procurement, acquisition and construction	$600,000,000
NASA science	$400,000,000
NASA aeronautics	$150,000,000
NASA exploration	$400,000,000
NASA cross agency support	$50,000,000
National Science Foundation research and related activities	$2,500,000,000
National Science Foundation education and human resources	$100,000,000
National Science Foundation major research equipment and facilities construction	$400,000,000
National Science Foundation - Office of Inspector General	$2,000,000
Veterans Affairs for hiring and training of claims processors	$150,000,000
Veterans Affairs information technology systems	$50,000,000
State Department technology security upgrades	$252,000,000
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) technology	$38,000,000
Transportation and Infrastructure	$98,325,000,000
Agriculture buildings and facilities and rental payments	$24,000,000
Agricultural Research Service buildings and facilities	$176,000,000
Natural Resources Conservation Service watershed and flood prevention programs	$290,000,000
Watershed rehabilitation program	$50,000,000
Rural Utilities Service water and waste disposal program account	$1,380,000,000
Defense Department facilities operation and maintenance, Army	$1,474,525,000
Defense Department facilities operation and maintenance, Navy	$657,051,000
Defense Department facilities operation and maintenance, Marine Corps	$113,865,000
Defense Department facilities operation and maintenance, Air Force	$1,095,959,000
Defense Department facilities operation and maintenance, Army Reserve	$98,269,000
Defense Department facilities operation and maintenance, Navy	$55,083,000
Defense Department facilities operation and maintenance, Marine Corps Reserve	$39,909,000
Defense Department facilities operation and maintenance, Air Force Reserve	$13,187,000
Defense Department facilities operation and maintenance, Army National Guard	$266,304,000
Defense Department facilities operation and maintenance, Air National Guard	$25,848,000
Army research development, test and evaluation	$75,000,000
Navy research development, test and evaluation	$75,000,000
Air Force research development, test and evaluation	$75,000,000
Defense-wide research development, test and evaluation	$75,000,000
Defense Department medical facilities repair and modernization including energy efficiency	$400,000,000
Corps of Engineers investigations	$25,000,000
Corps of Engineers construction	$2,000,000,000
Corps of Engineers - Mississippi River and tributaries	$375,000,000
Corps of Engineers operations and maintenance	$2,075,000,000
Corps of Engineers regulatory program	$25,000,000
Corps of Engineers formerly utilized sites remedial action program	$100,000,000
Bureau of Reclamation water and related resources, including inspection of canals in urbanized areas	$900,000,000
Central Utah Project water programs	$50,000,000
California Bay-Delta restoration	$50,000,000
Non-Defense environmental cleanup	$483,000,000
Defense environmental cleanup	$5,127,000,000
Federal buildings and courthouses	$750,000,000
Border stations and land ports of entry	$300,000,000
Department of Homeland Security headquarters consolidation	$200,000,000
Customs and Border Protection non-intrusive inspection systems	$100,000,000
Customs and Border Protection tactical communications equipment and radios	$60,000,000
Border security fencing, infrastructure and technology	$100,000,000
Land border ports of entry construction	$420,000,000
Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactical communications equipment and radios	$20,000,000
Transportation Security Administration checked baggage and checkpoint explosives detection machines	$1,000,000,000
Coast Guard shore facilities and aids to navigation facilities	$98,000,000
Coast Guard alteration of bridges	$142,000,000
FEMA public transportation and railroad security	$150,000,000
FEMA port security grants	$150,000,000
Bureau of Land Management maintenance and restoration of facilities, trails, lands, abandoned mines and wells	$125,000,000
Bureau of Land Management construction of roads, bridges, trails and facilities, including energy efficient retrofits	$180,000,000
Wildland fire management and hazardous fuels reduction	$15,000,000
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service maintenance and construction on wildlife refuges and fish hatcheries and for habitat restoration	$165,000,000
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service roads, bridges and facilities, including energy efficient retrofits	$115,000,000
National Park Service facilities and trails	$146,000,000
Historically black colleges and universities preservation	$15,000,000
National Park Service road construction, cleanup of abandoned mines on parkland and other infrastructure	$589,000,000
U.S. Geological Survey facilities and equipment, including stream gages, seismic and volcano monitoring systems and national map activities	$140,000,000
Bureau of Indian Affairs construction of roads, schools and detention centers	$450,000,000
Superfund site cleanup	$600,000,000
Leaking underground storage tank cleanup	$200,000,000
Clean water state revolving fund grants	$4,000,000,000
Safe drinking water capitalization grants	$2,000,000,000
Brownfields projects	$100,000,000
Diesel emission reduction grants and loans	$300,000,000
Forest Service road, bridge and trail maintenance; watershed restoration; facilities improvement; remediation of abandoned mines; and support costs	$650,000,000
Wildfire mitigation	$500,000,000
Smithsonian Institution repairs	$25,000,000
Construction, renovation and acquisition of Job Corps Centers	$250,000,000
Social Security Administration's National Computer Center replacement	$500,000,000
Military construction, Army - child development centers and warrior transition complexes	$180,000,000
Military construction, Navy and Marine Corps - child development centers and warrior transition complexes	$280,000,000
Military construction, Air Force - child development centers and warrior transition complexes	$180,000,000
Military hospital construction and energy conservation investments	$1,450,000,000
Military construction, Army National Guard	$50,000,000
Military construction, Air National Guard	$50,000,000
Family housing construction, Army	$34,507,000
Family housing operation and maintenance, Army	$3,932,000
Family housing construction, Air Force	$80,100,000
Family housing operation and maintenance, Air Force	$16,461,000
Temporary expansion of military homeowner assistance program to respond to mortgage foreclosure and credit crisis, including acquisition of property at or near military bases that have been ordered closed.	$555,000,000
Veterans Affairs hospital maintenance	$1,000,000,000
National Cemetery Administration for monument and memorial repairs	$50,000,000
State extended care facilities, such as nursing homes	$150,000,000
State Department diplomatic and consular programs for domestic passport and training facilities	$90,000,000
International Boundary and Water Commission - Rio Grande levee repairs	$220,000,000
Additional capital investments in surface transportation including highways, bridges, and road repairs	$1,298,500,000
Administrative costs for additional capital investments in surface transportation	$200,000,000
Capital investments in surface transportation grants to be awarded by other administration	$1,500,000
Federal Aviation Administration infrastructure	$200,000,000
Grants-in-aid for airports	$1,100,000,000
Highway infrastructure investment	$26,725,000,000
Highway infrastructure investment in Puerto Rico	$105,000,000
Highway infrastructure funds distributed by states	$60,000,000
Highway infrastructure funds for the Indian Reservation Roads program	$550,000,000
Highway infrastructure funds for surface transportation technology training	$20,000,000
Highway infrastructure to fund oversight and management of projects	$40,000,000
High speed rail capital assistance	$8,000,000,000
National Railroad passenger corporation capital grants	$850,000,000
National Railroad passenger corporation capital grants for security	$450,000,000
Federal Transit Administration capital assistance	$6,800,000,000
Public transportation discretionary grants	$100,000,000
Fixed guideway infrastructure investment	$750,000,000
Capital investment grants	$750,000,000
Shipyard grants	$100,000,000
Public housing capital improvements	$3,000,000,000
Public housing renovations and energy conservation investments	$1,000,000,000
Native American housing block grants	$510,000,000
Community development funding	$1,000,000,000
Emergency assistance for the redevelopment of abandoned and foreclosed homes	$2,000,000,000
Additional capital investments in low-income housing tax credit projects	$2,250,000,000
Homelessness prevention and re-housing	$1,500,000,000
Assistance to owners of properties receiving section 8 assistance	$2,000,000,000
Grants and loans for green investment in section 8 properties	$250,000,000
Lead hazard reduction	$100,000,000

What The Obama Stimulus Plan Will Do For America and Black Folks

CNN has a great article and breakdown of who gained, who lost and who survived in the final economic stimulus bill:

Winners

High-speed and inner-city rail: Went from $300 million in House bill to $2.25 billion in Senate to $8 billion in final version. There also is a $6.9 billion provision for public transit.

Amtrak: Picked up $500 million from both House and Senate versions to total $1.3 billion. The bill stipulates that no more than 60 percent can go to the Northeast Corridor.

National Institutes of Health: Ends up with $10 billion in the final bill. The House proposed $3.5 billion and the Senate wanted $10 billion -- $8.2 billion goes to the NIH director for his discretion.

Government oversight: Board to oversee stimulus bill spending will get $84 million to do the job. House bill allocated $14 million while the Senate bill called for $7 million. There is also more than $100 million more for various inspectors general in different agencies.

NASA: Banked just more than $2 billion, including $400,000 for science/global-warming research.

Losers

Veterans: Nearly all items for Veterans Affairs were reduced and the $2 billion the Senate wanted for VA construction was wiped out altogether. The VA did get one thing: $1 billion for medical facilities renovation and retooling.

Military construction: Cut and put into a general pot, a change from targeted money for each branch of the services. Army construction alone went from $600 million in the Senate and $900 million in the House to $180 million in the final bill. But negotiators compromised over a general military construction fund -- the House wanted $3.75 billion while the Senate allocated $118 million and settled on $1.45 billion for all services.

FBI: Senate had allocated $475 million but all was cut out of final bill.

Survivors

Pandemic flu research: Although senators agreed it wouldn't produce jobs, it's getting $50 million in the final bill, down from nearly $900 million. Watch the latest on the stimulus bill »

Damage control

Foreclosures: $2 billion is set for a neighborhood stabilization program that helps areas plagued with foreclosures by buying back properties and preventing blight.

Homeless: $1.5 billion is directed to homelessness prevention.

Passports: $90 million is going to the State Department to deal with domestic facilities that deal with passports and training.

Social Security: $500 million goes to replace its 30-year-old computer system.

Tax breaks

Car buyers: Anyone who buys a new car in 2009 gets to deduct the sales tax. To qualify, buyer must make less than $125,000 individually or $250,000 jointly. Cost is $1.7 billion.

Homebuyers: First-time homebuyers who purchase this calendar year get an $8,000 tax credit which does not have to be repaid like a similar measure last year. This phases out for people making more than $75,000 individually or $150,000 jointly. "First-time homebuyer" is defined as someone who has not owned a home for the past three years. Cost: $6.63 billion.

Paying for college

Pell grants: will increase to a maximum of $5,350 per student in 2009-2010 year thanks to two provisions in the stimulus.

Tax credits: Individuals making less than $80,000 or families making less than $160,000 can get up to $2,500 in tax credits for college tuition. 40 percent ($1,000) of the credit is refundable. Cost: $13.9 billion over 10 years. More at CNN

The Stimulus Plan and Black Folks:

As reported by New America Media.org, responding to an inquiry by the editor of The St. Louis American newspaper, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood last week outlined portions of the $827 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan that he says will specifically impact the Black community.

The White House response came after a telephone press conference with Midwest reporters during which NNPA award-winning editor Alvin A. Reed asked LaHood about the minority participation aspects of the act, which President Obama has implored Congress to pass this week.

Initially, LaHood hedged, responding, “That’s a point I have really not considered. We’ll have to get back to (him,) rather than give an answer I don’t really know.”

Only hours after a story reporting the inquiry and response was posted on stlAmerican.com Feb. 5, LaHood issued the following detailed strategy, titled, “African Americans and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan” (The response has been lightly edited for style and clarity by the NNPA News Service):

• General: The majority of the provisions in this recovery and reinvestment plan will assist African-Americans, who have been dramatically impacted during these tough times, in making it through this period with tax cuts for 95 percent of families, programs including extension of unemployment benefits, COBRA healthcare benefits, and food stamps and temporary assistance for needy families (TANF), while also preparing them for new opportunities with training for new jobs in existing and emerging industries.

• Tax Cuts: This plan seeks to put money in the hands of consumers as quickly as possible through tax cuts for 95 percent of families. This is especially important for African-Americans who have experienced a reversal of fortune in the gains in wages and salary reached during the 1990s compared to others in the workforce. This immediate infusion of resources will not only allow them to purchase the items they need for their families, but also help rebuild our economy.

• Job Creation: The unemployment rate for African-Americans was 12.1 percent and had risen to 12.6 percent when new job numbers were announced Feb. 6. This plan will create jobs with its investments in rebuilding roads and bridges and retrofitting government buildings while also working to help prepare job seekers for the 21st century economy with training for new “green jobs” and other emerging industries. The key is ensuring that African-Americans have access to information about all of these opportunities.

• Education: Right now 95 percent of African-American children rely on public schools in America, yet a great number of these systems lack the funding they need to deliver the education that our children deserve and the facilities themselves are generally inadequate. This plan makes a historic investment in school modernization sufficient to renovate and modernize 10,000 schools, which also saves or creates jobs.

The plan also invests in our children’s future by doubling the Early Head Start program which will provide additional pre-k services to more than 350,000 children and create at least 15,000 new teaching and teaching assistant jobs. Efforts are also being made to increase the Pell Grant maximum award above $5000 making college affordable for 7 million students. Finally, understanding that we are living during a time when tough choices have to be made, state and local governments should not have to cut education to make their budgets work. This plan provides resources so that potential education cuts can be bypassed in the immediate future.

• Healthcare: African-Americans suffer from higher percentages of chronic diseases such as heart disease, kidney disease and diabetes while also suffering from a lack of access to quality care. Therefore during a time when many who rely on receiving healthcare through their employers are losing jobs, access to quality healthcare is an even greater concern. This plan offers a new tax credit to help families keep their health insurance through COBRA as well as a new option in Medicaid for low-income people who lack access to COBRA. Adjustments will also be made in funding formulas for state Medicaid programs so that Medicaid and SCHIP are not impacted by state budget shortfalls, protecting 20 million people whose eligibility might be at risk. More HERE

AAPP: There are doubts in many quarters of the African American community to whether the Obama Stimuus plan will provide minority owned businesses and minorities a fair shake. I agree with, Ernesta G. Procope, who said, "The stimulus program will pump some $800 billion into the economy over the next two years. Ultimately, most of it is expected to go to businesses that will rebuild our infrastructure and create renewable energy resources, as well as to the firms that provide services to them—from accounting to food service to insurance. If minority-owned businesses don’t receive their fair share, President Obama would be wasting a golden opportunity to accomplish the many changes he has envisioned for our great country."

AAPP: What do you think? Will blacks get any of these jobs and business opportunities through the Obama Stimulus Plan or will the states give contracts and jobs to their buddies? One only has to be reminded about FDR and Blacks.

As Jim Powell over at the CATO Institute Noted, Good intentions are over-rated. Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal, for instance, has been hailed for its lofty goals of reforming the American economy and helping the under-privileged. Yet mounting evidence, developed by dozens of economists across the country, shows that the New Deal prolonged joblessness for millions, and black people were especially hard hit.

The flagship of the New Deal was the National Industrial Recovery Act, passed in June 1933. It authorized the president to issue executive orders establishing some 700 industrial cartels, which restricted output and forced wages and prices above market levels. The minimum wage regulations made it illegal for employers to hire people who weren't worth the minimum because they lacked skills. As a result, some 500,000 blacks, particularly in the South, were estimated to have lost their jobs. MORE HERE.

A $787 billion stimulus package - Is It A Early Victory For Black Folks?

As reported by The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, USA Today, Reuters and other newspapers, magazines, journals, black political bloggers blogs and news outlets from around the world have noted that The United States Congress yesterday approved a $787 billion stimulus package that aims to spur millions of jobs through massive new investments in energy, transportation, education and health-care projects, while reviving social safety-net programs that have been shrinking for nearly three decades. More HERE

As reported by WaPo Twenty-four days into his presidency, Barack Obama recorded last night a legislative achievement of the sort that few of his predecessors achieved at any point in their tenure. In size and scope, there is almost nothing in history to rival the economic stimulus legislation that Obama shepherded through Congress in just over three weeks. And the result -- produced largely without Republican participation -- was remarkably similar to the terms Obama's team outlined even before he was inaugurated: a package of tax cuts and spending totaling about $775 billion.

WAPO, The BBC and other news outlets report the Republicans are not happy and the deal may cost relationship with GOP: House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (Ohio) described the stimulus package as a "billion-dollar-a-page" spending plan and accused Democrats of not wanting people to read it "because they might actually find out what's in it. And in the days and weeks and months to come, we'll know how this money will be spent."

Obama aides had predicted several weeks ago that Republican lawmakers from states such as Michigan, Florida and California, where many communities are struggling, would feel compelled to vote for the bill's final passage because of the impact it promised for their constituents. Instead, opposition to the plan only increased over that time.

"This was not an easy vote for me. I had to dig down deep," said Rep. Candice S. MillerMore HERE (R-Mich.). Her conclusion: "Michigan, we are getting railroaded."

AAPP: The fact of the matter is, this $787 billion stimulus plan, won't even put a dent into the problem that America faces. We are losing jobs everyday to China, and no one seems to have a plan to bring them back. The fact is Congress will be back in a few months with another stimulus plan and no is willing to discuss that not even the new President. But then again, maybe the he is telling us.

Did you notice that there was something missing from the Congress' stimulus negotiations: transparency.

Black Folks get the short end regarding the Stimulus Package

The Black Agenda Report noted, Obama's economic stimulus plan is built around "shovel-ready" projects already vetted by the states. That means "Mississippi will be enabled to do more of what Mississippi always does." More HERE

The African American Environmentalist Association notes, "Blacks do not own energy companies because they have been locked out of this capital intensive area. There are some exceptions but, for the most part, African Americans do not own the oil, coal, natural gas, nuclear, pipelines, railroads, trucking, electricity lines or even the wind and solar companies in America." Do you see what I and many others see? The $787 billion stimulus package - Is It A Early Victory For Black Folks? What do you think?

$787 billion plan, no Republicans vote "yes"

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., center, flanked by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Md., left, and Rep John Larson, D-Conn., right, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Feb. 13, 2009

The House has passed a $787 billion plan to resuscitate the economy, handing President Barack Obama a big victory. Well that's what some news outlets are saying. The measure was passed on a 246-183, with no Republican "yes" votes. It will now go to the Senate, where a vote is expected later Friday.

As reported by The LA Times, He also called on business leaders to help his administration as their forbears helped President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the early days of his presidency. Speaking to the Business Council -- founded in 1933 by FDR's secretary of Commerce -- Obama asked dozens of chief executives gathered in the White House East Room to help him bring their "best practices" to the enterprise of government.

"Even as our president was leading unprecedented public interventions into the private sector," Obama said of Roosevelt, "he did so always in concert with the private sector's leaders."

Obama said he expected that a House vote today on his $789-billion rescue plan would get the U.S. economy on the road to recovery.

But passing the plan is only the first step, he told members of the council, now a self-appointed panel that meets once a year.

"To truly address this economic crisis, we need to address the crisis in our financial sector to get credit flowing again to families and businesses," Obama said. "We need to confront the crisis in the housing sector that has been at the root of our economic challenges, and I'll be discussing that soon. More HERE

Now the President Obama vows to turn next to housing crisis. He plans to detail his foreclosure Plan According to the Washington Post, President Obama will release the details of his foreclosure prevention plan Wednesday, the White House announced today as several large banks pledged to temporarily stop foreclosures until the program is in place.

Obama will make the eagerly awaited announcement from Arizona, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters this afternoon.

That schedule came as J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup announced temporary moratoriums on foreclosures at the urging of a key House member.

Top executives from these firms endured tough questioning before the House Financial Services Committee earlier this week, including about whether the banks have done enough to help struggling homeowners. In public statements and letters to the committee released today, the banking firms sought to show the extent of their efforts.

AAPP: Get this, The White House cautions realism over Obama housing plan. I'm in agreement with John Taylor, "The move by some lenders to suspend foreclosure is helpful, and hopefully sign of a trend that other lenders will follow." John Taylor is president and chief executive of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.

John Taylor also noted to The Washington Post, however, "the move delays foreclosures, but will not prevent them. The Treasury Department must move expediently to enact a meaningful foreclosure prevention program, or efforts to stall foreclosure will delay the inevitable but not provide real relief for homeowners and the economy." Your Right John, your right! More HERE

Do you agree with John Taylor?

Billy Joe Johnson - A Foul Play? The Killing of Billy Joe Johnson in Mississippi

UPDATE: The Killing of Billy Joe Johnson in Mississippi

You remember the story about Billy Joe Johnson, star running back for George County High, Mississippi, who died on a December morning in deep Mississippi alleged by a "self-inflicted" gunshot wound during a traffic stop.

As reported by NCAA Foot Ball Fan House Billey Joe Johnson was considered one of the top high school football recruits in Mississippi, as well as the country, until his shocking death early Monday morning.

Johnson, hailing from Jackson, Miss., rushed for more than 1,500 yards his last season, totaling over 4,000 for his career, and received scholarship offers from a number of major schools including Alabama, LSU and Mississippi as a top-rated recruit by both Scout and Rivals.

Johnson died of a (possibly self-inflicted) gun wound early Monday after being pulled by a sheriff's deputy. (UPDATE: The NCAAP, in an independent investigation, has ruled out suicide as the cause of death.)

It's not clear why 17-year-old Billey Joe Johnson was stopped in Lucedale, but authorities say the junior tailback shot himself with a shotgun after the deputy walked back to the patrol car to run a license check.

"The deputy was sitting in his patrol vehicle ... when he heard a gunshot and saw the victim laying on the ground by the driver's side door of the vehicle that Johnson was driving. A shotgun was lying on the victim," according to a statement from the George County Sheriff's Department.

Authorities would not immediately say whether they believed the shooting was a suicide or an accident.

The last portion of that quote is particularly perplexing, because it is hard to believe that Johnson would have attempted to pull a shotgun on police officers ...although equally confounding is the notion that Johnson would kill himself at what, according to all current reports, appears to be a basic traffic stop.

Nothing is ever certain, but this story appears to be so odd, at least in the manner of death, that it would be even more shocking if further details didn't at least emerge as to why the young man apparently panicked and pulled a gun that resulted in the tragic and early end to his life. More MORE

Many in the black community suspect foul play.



Billey Joe Johnson Sr. has a difficult time accepting the police department’s explanation of his son’s death. “They must have tortured my baby,” he says.

(Dan Wetzel/Yahoo! Sports)

As reported by yahoo sports local authorities stopped Billey Joe for a traffic iolation on the morning of Dec. 8, and they say the truck is simply the site of a terrible tragedy. But to the elder Johnson, it’s a crime scene. Nearly two months later, only one fact is certain: Instead of running out of George County as a football hero, Billey Joe was buried beneath it at the age of 17.

---

The George County Sheriff’s Department claims that on that fateful morning, Billey Joe attempted to break into the home of an on-again, off-again girlfriend in the nearby city of Lucedale. According to the sheriff’s department, he left the scene and ran a red light at 5:34 a.m. After a 1½-mile pursuit, Billey Joe got out of his truck, met sheriff’s deputy Joe Sullivan and handed over his license. Then Billey Joe returned to his truck, put a 12-gauge shotgun he used to target deer to his head and committed suicide. It was 5:40 a.m.

Sullivan’s patrol car was not equipped with a camera, and his is the only account of the event. Billey Joe’s friends and family don’t believe the story.

Billey Joe was black. Sullivan is white. The case, as such, is shrouded by race in this small community in the Deep South. Everyone wants answers. No one is getting them. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the local district attorney – the two bodies in charge of the case – have issued neither a ruling nor many pertinent details.

Tony Lawrence, the district attorney running the state’s investigation, met with the family Dec. 19 and urged patience.

“I have said from the beginning that this investigation will be exhaustive and not based on any timeline other than that which leads to the truth,” Lawrence said at the time. His office declined further comment this week.

With no answers and a state investigation that is dragging on, the region has descended into a cauldron of speculation, suspicion and conspiracy. Theories are easy to find, the truth all but impossible.

Johnson fixates on the truck that is stained with what is left of his son. The day after the incident, police returned it to the family as is. Rather than wash it, junk it or sell it, Johnson keeps it in a garage, driving it out to re-examine. He stares at it. He imagines his son.

He’s convinced someone forced Billey Joe on his knees, shoved the shotgun barrel in his mouth and pulled the trigger.

“They must’ve tortured my baby,” Johnson says.

---

Here is what the police say about Billey Joe’s death: During a routine traffic stop, Billey Joe Johnson Jr. shot himself in the head.

He woke at 4:30 a.m. that day, a school day, at his parents’ trailer and took a shower. His dad thought he was going hunting. Instead, he drove 15 miles to Lucedale, the 2,700-person county seat and location of both his high school and a girlfriend.

Billey Joe’s truck had notes from multiple female admirers, and his friends said he enjoyed the attention offered to a star athlete. He’d already run for 4,000 yards in his high school career and helped make George County a state powerhouse. Everyone knew him. Many wanted to be with him.

One girl, whom Yahoo! Sports will not name since she is a minor, had been around the longest. It was a typical high school relationship – “they’d break up every day and then get back together,” said one of his friends, Drew Bradley. The fact that she was white bothered some people.

“It’s George County, it’s a little Southern town,” said Bradley, who is white. “You’ve got a bunch of racist people down here. You have people who hated on them because it was black and white.”

Timeline

The alleged timeline of events on Monday, Dec. 8, 2008, leading up to the death of Billey Joe Johnson:

4:30 a.m. – Billey Joe Johnson Sr. hears his son showering and preparing to leave the family’s Benndale, Miss. residence. He believes his son plans to go hunting before heading to school.

5:34 a.m. – George County Sheriff’s Deputy Joe Sullivan witnesses Billey Joe Johnson’s maroon Chevy Silverado run a red light at the corner of Church Street and Winter Street. He pursues the truck with his blue lights flashing and witnesses the truck running a stop sign at the 4-way stop of Winter Street and Old Highway 63.

5:37 a.m. – The Lucedale Police Department receives a 911 call from Esther Parker, who says her daughter called her and informed her that someone was attempting to break into a trailer where her daughter and ex-husband were living. Parker informs the LPD that her daughter is home alone.

5:39 a.m. – After a pursuit of nearly 1½ miles, Sheriff’s Deputy Sullivan witnesses the truck pulling into a service entrance near Benndale Carpet. Billey Joe Johnson exits the truck and informs Deputy Sullivan that he was on the way home “because his mother was sick”. Deputy Sullivan takes his license and instructs Johnson to return to his vehicle.

5:40 a.m. – While attempting to call in the license number, Deputy Sullivan informs dispatch that Johnson has shot himself and requests assistance.

5:40 a.m. – LPD Sgt. James O’Neal arrives at the trailer and secures the perimeter. He makes contact with Parker’s daughter, who informs him that the person who attempted to enter the residence was Billey Joe Johnson Jr. She says Johnson left before police arrived, but that she would like to go to the police station and “sign charges” against him.

5:48 a.m. – LPD Sgt. O’Neal departs for the police department, following Parker and her daughter in a separate vehicle. While in transit, he is informed by dispatch that Johnson had shot himself at service road near Benndale Carpet.

5:50 a.m. – LPD Sgt. O’Neal arrives at Benndale Carpet, where he observes the vehicle of deputy Sullivan as well as Johnson’s maroon Silverado, which is parked with the door open. As he pulls forward to make room for the pending arrival of an ambulance, O’Neal observes Johnson lying on his back on the ground, with his head pointed away from the open door of vehicle. Sgt. O’Neal observes a shotgun on top of Johnson’s body, and blood on the ground around his head.

5:55 a.m. – Paramedics arrive on scene. Dispatch is informed that Johnson is DOA.

More HERE

UPDATE: Get this, A grand jury has ruled that his death was accidental. Many in the black community, including this AAPP still suspect foul play. What do you think?

US judges take kickbacks to sentence youth into private youth detention centers

Justice in America - Judges Sentence Youth To Keep Private Youth Detention Centers Filled - $2.6 million in kickbacks!

As reported by the The NY Times, and the BBC, At worst, Hillary Transue thought she might get a stern lecture when she appeared before a judge for building a spoof MySpace page mocking the assistant principal at her high school in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. She was a stellar student who had never been in trouble, and the page stated clearly at the bottom that it was just a joke.

Instead, the judge sentenced her to three months at a juvenile detention center on a charge of harassment.

She was handcuffed and taken away as her stunned parents stood by.

“I felt like I had been thrown into some surreal sort of nightmare,” said Hillary, 17, who was sentenced in 2007. “All I wanted to know was how this could be fair and why the judge would do such a thing.”

The answers became a bit clearer on Thursday as the judge, Mark A. Ciavarella Jr., and a colleague, Michael T. Conahan, appeared in federal court in Scranton, Pa., to plead guilty to wire fraud and income tax fraud for taking more than $2.6 million in kickbacks to send teenagers to two privately run youth detention centers run by PA Child Care and a sister company, Western PA Child Care.

While prosecutors say that Judge Conahan, 56, secured contracts for the two centers to house juvenile offenders, Judge Ciavarella, 58, was the one who carried out the sentencing to keep the centers filled. More HERE

AAPP: It's instructive to note what Senior Judge Arthur E. Grim said; “In my entire career, I’ve never heard of anything remotely approaching this,” who was appointed by the State Supreme Court this week to determine what should be done with the estimated 5,000 juveniles who have been sentenced by Judge Ciavarella since the scheme started in 2003. Many of them were first-time offenders and some remain in detention. This is not just a NY problem it's a national problem that the afrospear, color of change, NAACP, The Poor People's campaign, The Lawyers Committee on Civil rights, and other groups need to address.

I wonder how many Black Americans, Latinos and Native Americans have been impacted by these judges, sounds like the U.S. Justice Department needs to be involved in this case.

The NAACP 100 Years... What NEXT?

The Washington Post and The Root have great articles on The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People which turns 100 today. The writer of the Washington Post article, Krissha Thompson looks at some very good and provocative questions confronting the group like: How relevant is the NAACP in the age of Barack Obama? Now that an African American occupies the nation's highest office, is there still a crying need for an organization founded in 1909 after a half-dozen black men were lynched in Springfield, Ill., their homes burned to the ground? More HERE

In the article, notes that Benjamin Jealous, the 36-year-old activist who became president of the association six months ago, has been taking on such questions eagerly. He argues that black Americans are really facing a new beginning as the nation's oldest and most prestigious civil rights organization crosses into its second century.

Jealous says the NAACP already has more influence in the Obama administration than any civil rights group did during George W. Bush's term. The association's lobbyist, Hilary Shelton, had over a dozen meetings with Obama transition officials and has already been to the White House a handful of times to discuss the group's agenda, which includes ensuring fair distribution of federal bailout funds, reducing black unemployment, reducing racial disparities in the criminal justice system and ensuring that minority children have access to good schools.

The Writer of The Root Article, Dayo Olopade highlights how the NAACP struggles to remain relevant in a time of shifting attitudes about race, politics and how to best achieve equality, a look back at the rise of The Crisis, and its period of dominance, offers insight into some potential strategies for the future of an organization that many believe is past its prime. More HERE

AAPP: Hmmm... "The NAACP already has more influence in the Obama administration than any civil rights group did during George W. Bush's term." Well that's not any great big deal, you see George Bush refused to meet with the NAACP for five straight years. If it has so much influence, where is the discussion regarding the poor in America, the need for a real green technology jobs training program for those low income people out of work? Where is the conversations that A. Philliph Randolph and Dr. Leon Sullivan would have with the administration, and where is it in the Stimulus Plan? Where is the public conversation about the report by United for a Fair Economy which found that the subprime lending crisis has cost the greatest wealth loss to "people of color' in modern United States history. The loss--documented in a report titled "Foreclosed: State of the Dream 2008"--is estimated to be between $164 and $213 billion. More HERE Where is the public conversation about the Gaps in black construction jobs and how the stimulus may work for all but black men?

It's interesting that, as reported by the Washington Post, the NAACP's Jealous, the youngest leader the NAACP has ever selected has increased the NAACP's list of cellphone numbers from 5,000 to 30,000, grown its e-mail list to 400,000. "The only problem is that when Change.org and Change.gov were allowing citizen input into American priorities and were debating real issues impacting America, those 400,000 email voices from the NAACP Chapters around America were not heard on Change.org or Change.gov" I and other black bloggers have written a number of times regarding the NAACP's own battle over it's future. I know I have been critical of the old guard for some time, as has Blogger Francis L. Holland and others, who have laid out in very clear terms our concerns regarding the future of the organization.

Almost 9 months ago, I re-joined the NAACP after many years (I used to be the Youth Affairs Board member at the Boston Branch of the NAACP back in the day). I have been eager to work with my local and national NAACP but have not received returned phone calls or responses to emails. Surprise, Surprise!

but i do have the audicity to hope, that maybe, just maybe, my local NAACP branch will respond to an email, my offer to help in any way I can. But then again, I guess I'm one of those 400,000 email addresses collected by the NAACP, but not engaged by the NAACP itself.

Chuck Turner Wants Support from Pres. Obama and U.S. Attorney General?

File this under small time Crooks and liars.

The Boston Hearld is reporting that a newly fired-up Chuck Turner lashed out against “corrupt” prosecutors yesterday, calling on President Obama to come to his rescue and drop all bribery charges against him.

In a statement, Turner called on Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder to “drop the fraudulent charges in my case.”

Teaming up with former Attorney General Ramsey Clark, Turner also plans to crusade against what he called “eight years of corrupt practices of President Bush’s Department of Injustice.” Mote HERE

Ok, this is something I'm just not getting. Now City Councilor Chuck Turner of Boston who was caught red handed (above) on tape taking money in a pay to play scheme, is involved in what the Bay State Banner calls, "the latest salvo in the dramatic effort to rescue his reputation." Get this folks, as reported by the Bay State Banner, (Boston's Historically black newspaper) on Monday of this week, Turner has now attempted to tie his prosecution to what he termed "the judicial atrocities of the Bush administration" and asking his supporters to petition President Barack Obama to drop the federal charges against him. More HERE

Rewind: November 2008

As you may remember, I wrote about this situation back in November of 2008, when I reported that he was Caught On Tape and Arrested.

First it was, Massachusetts State Senator Diane Wilkerson "BUSTED" by FBI

This time again in Boston. Get this Chuck Turner, a Boston City Councilman, whom this AAPP has known for years is caught taking silly $1,000 dollar from federal agents. Damn, this brotha is going down for a $1,000 ??? silly man. I guess he will be going to Federal prison for taking a silly bribe instead of just doing his work. He gets paid enough as a city councilman, why is he disgracing himself and black folks like this? Now I understand why he defended Diane Wilkerson, who got caught on tape by the FBI as well. He has turned out to be just like her, a two-bit crook, who attacked Latino Leadership in Boston to cover himself and Dianne Wilkerson. I feel sorry for my old home of Roxbury, Massachusettts, as they come to grips with the fact that black leadership in Boston has Sold them out, If I lived in Boston I would run for his seat. as I said about a month ago, Diane Wilkerson and old Black Political Leaders in Boston are out of touch and corrupt.

As reported by the Boston Globe The FBI arrested Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner this morning on charges he accepted a $1,000 bribe and then lied about taking the money in a widening federal corruption probe.

Chuck Turner

A 12-page affidavit filed this morning in US District Court alleges that Turner was surreptitiously videotaped accepting the cash in his district office on Aug. 3, 2007, in exchange for pushing for a liquor license of the Roxbury nightclub Dejavu. Included with the affidavit are two photographs of Turner allegedly accepting the bribe. In one image, Turner's trademark white goatee is clearly visible as folded green bills are pressed into his hand.

Turner was arrested at 7 a.m. at City Hall on charges stemming from the undercover probe, which lead to the arrest on Oct. 28 of state Senator Dianne Wilkerson on allegations she accepted eight bribes worth $23,500. The day of Wilkerson's arrest, two FBI agents visited Turner at his City Hall office and he "repeatedly denied ever being offered the money," according to the affidavit. During the interview, however, Turner rued the pervasiveness of corruption among politicians.

"If you took out all the corrupt politicians, you take out 90 % and be left with us 10 %," Turner said, according to the affidavit.

The five-term city councilor is expected to make his initial appearance today in US District Court in Worcester before Magistrate Judge Timothy Hillman, who is handling Wilkerson's case. Turner's alleged crimes took place in Boston, but Hillman ordinarily sits in Worcester.

“The public deserves, and should expect, honest services from our public officials,” US Attorney Michael Sullivan said in a statement. “Public officials who line their pockets with cash while claiming to act in the public interest, violate our laws and the trust and confidence of the public we serve." More HERE

Photo by Ted Fitzgerald (File), FBI

As Reported by the Boston Hearld, City council President Maureen Feeney temporarily removed Turner from all committee assignments, including his chairmanship of the committees on Education and Human Rights, according to a statement from her office today.

She called for a special meeting of the City Council for 3 p.m. Monday to discuss further council action.

"These charges are disturbing and shake an already fragile public trust in elected leaders," she said.

"If these charges prove true, I will not let the actions of one member cast a dark cloud over this entire body," she continued.

Feeney said she was "outraged at the recent disgrace brought to public service." More HERE

H/T BlogTalkRadio Host/and activist, Seventies Soul Child for the link.

Fast Foward

Now as reported by St. John Barned-Smith at the Bay State Banner, City Councilor Chuck Turner fired off the latest salvo in the dramatic effort to rescue his reputation on Monday, tying his prosecution to what he termed “the judicial atrocities of the Bush administration” and asking his supporters to petition President Barack Obama to drop the federal charges against him.

“We move beyond the first phase of my Campaign for Truth, Light and Justice by focusing national and international attention not just on my arrest and indictment but also on the eight years of corrupt practices of President Bush’s Department of Injustice,” Turner wrote in an e-mail to supporters.

In the e-mail, sent just after 8 a.m. on Monday, the District 7 city councilor called for the president and newly confirmed U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to drop the “fraudulent” charges of bribery and conspiracy that have been filed against him and to examine whether the investigation against him had racial or political motivations.

Turner also asked supporters to sign an online petition created by the activist International Action Center, founded by former U.S. Attorney General and Turner supporter Ramsey Clark. Addressed to Obama and Holder, the petition requests that in addition to Turner’s own case, the attorney general also review the cases of all public officials tried during the Bush administration “to determine which ones should have new trials because of political and/or racial motivation.” The petition also asks Holder to “initiate legal action against those [state] Attorney Generals who set up politically and/or racially motivated indictments and prosecutions.”

In addition to Obama and Holder, electronic carbon copies of the petition are apparently being sent to a wide variety of parties, including local and national news outlets, civil rights organizations, the Congressional Black Caucus, Gov. Deval Patrick and even U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Finally, Turner called for legislation “to end collusion between prosecutors and media that destroys the opportunity for a fair trial by distributing governmental allegation as evidence before any arraignments, indictments or trials have taken place.”

Turner also used the letter to call into question the motivations of U.S. Attorney Michael J. Sullivan and Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan, who are not related. The U.S. attorney’s office keyed the investigation that led to Turner’s arrest and subsequent charges. More HERE

AAPP says: OK, Chuck Turner is fired up and has lashed out against “corrupt” prosecutors. But the fact of the matter is he was "caught red handed" taking a bribe. His call on President Obama to come to his rescue and drop all bribery charges against him, makes great urban political theatre but no common sense. Chuck Turner unfortunately has it twisted. It's not the “eight years of what he called corrupt practices of President Bush’s Department of Injustice,” that residents of his district should be looking at, it is him taking that money. It's as simple as that.

African American Political Pundit, grew up in Boston, and was a long time resident of Roxbury, the district that Chuck Turner represents.