In the News
By Joseph Guyler Delva
The United States should only support November elections in Haiti if they include all eligible political parties, a group of U.S. lawmakers said, warning they saw signs of flaws that could be a "recipe for disaster."
In a letter sent this week to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the members of Congress said failure to hold free, fair and inclusive presidential and legislative elections on Nov. 28 could endanger Haiti's governance and reconstruction after the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake.
Forty-five members of Congress have urged US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton to support free, fair and inclusive elections in Haiti next month.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters and her colleagues say they are concerned that the exclusion of over a dozen political parties in Haiti's 28 November presidential and legislative elections is "undemocratic and unconstitutional".
Those left out are said to include the Fanmi Lavalas party of exiled former president Jean Bertrand Aristide.
US lawmakers are urging Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to make it clear that Washington will withhold funds for elections in Haiti next month if they are not going to be free, fair and inclusive.
The US State Department said Friday it would respond later to the letter from Maxine Waters and 44 other members of Congress.
In the letter published Thursday, the lawmakers expressed concern about the run-up to the November 28 presidential and parliamentary elections in Haiti, the first since January's devastating earthquake.
by Joseph Pimentel
California Assemblymember Ted Lieu (D-CA) and Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) are seeking a moratorium on foreclosures from banks while also calling on state and federal regulators to investigate them for possible illegal and improper actions.
Recently, banks like Ally Financial's GMAC mort-gage unit and JP Morgan Chase's mortgage unit both revealed that employees had signed and fi led thousands of affi davits in order to foreclose on properties without giving them appropriate review.
by John Taylor, President and CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition
If Washington is serious about addressing job creation, the White House and Congress should support the expansion of a 33-year-old law, the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), legislation that has invested over a trillion dollars into our economy during the past decade.
And, they don't have to spend a dime of taxpayer money.
By Robbie Whelan
Opponents of a newly-designed fee attached to the sale of homes have succeeded in getting the ear of Congress.
On Thursday, the Coalition to Stop Wall Street Home Resale Fees, an advocacy group representing special interests in the real estate title and brokerage industries, sent around a statement applauding Congresswoman Maxine Waters and several other congresspeople for sponsoring a bill to ban private transfer fees on real estate.
By Julianne Malveaux
For as long as I have known her, Maxine Waters has been one of my sheroes, a sister I love, admire, and emulate. When she was in the California State Legislature, she was a relentless advocate for the least and the left out, and distinguished herself by divesting California state funds from companies doing business with South Africa in 1986. She was a loyal champion of Rev. Jesse Jackson's presidential campaign in 1984 and in 1988, and a whirlwind force for social and economic justice in California.
by Betty Pleasant
Editor's Note: Wave Contributing Editor Betty Pleasant spent three days (Aug. 30-Sept. 1) in Haiti with members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church Global Mission. This is the third in a series of reports on the people and places she saw while visiting the earthquake-ravaged nation.
Haiti — a country created by Africans who were kidnapped and enslaved by Spain and France in the 17th and 18th centuries — has always been a land of extreme deprivation and misery caused by White people, Black people and people of both colors: mulattos.