LDF News and Media Today:

A sampling of Race, Justice, Equality and Democracy in the news.

By Mel Gagarin

Obama’s back-to-school speech is made public
The White House releases a transcript of the president’s talk to schoolchildren scheduled for Tuesday. Some critics were wary. But the text exhorts students to work hard and follow their dreams.

Kennedy says no, and race is on
After days of anguished deliberation, Joseph P. Kennedy II said yesterday that he will not seek the US Senate seat of his uncle, Edward M. Kennedy, probably ending the family’s half-century of political dominance in Massachusetts and opening up the Democratic primary race.

Is complaining against the law?
Courts have long recognized that people have a right to vent opinions about authority figures. People also have the right to be free from arbitrary state action, including arrests for perceived disrespect.

A Threat to Fair Elections
The Supreme Court may be about to radically change politics by striking down the longstanding rule that says corporations cannot spend directly on federal elections. If the floodgates open, money from big business could overwhelm the electoral process, as well as the making of laws on issues like tax policy and bank regulation.

Colin Powell Endorses Bloomberg at West Indian Day Parade
Former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell endorsed Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg for re-election on Monday at the West Indian Day Parade.

>Encouragement, Or Indoctrination? President Obama’s Speech to School Kids
President Obama plans a “back to school” address for school children, the first time a sitting president has spoken to the nation’s school children in 18 years.

Van Jones resigns from White House
After a week of withering criticism, White House adviser Van Jones abruptly resigned on Saturday.

Strokes in young blacks drain South Carolina’s pocket
South Carolina has a lot to gain, for its public health and its economy, by correcting racial disparities in stroke, researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston conclude.

Afternoon Blog Wrap-Up by Kasha Dragon:

Politics, not race, likely behind Obama speech uproar
After decades of criticizing public schools as places where hardly anybody learns anything, suddenly conservatives are upset that a 15- to 20-minute Web cast in schools might teach too much. That’s because the Web cast is by President Barack Obama. His critics fear he might teach something that they’d rather not have our schoolchildren hear.

McDonald’s Loses Trademark Fight Against Malaysia’s McCurry
The ruling by a three-member panel of the Federal Court ends all legal avenues for McDonald’s to protect its name from what it said was a trademark infringement.

As It Reconvenes, the Senate Honors Kennedy
The Senate convened on a solemn note Tuesday afternoon, opening for the first time in nearly half a century without Edward M. Kennedy as a member.

NY Discriminated Against Mentally Ill
New York state has been dumping thousands of mentally ill people into huge privately run retirement homes in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act, according to federal judge’s ruling on Tuesday.

Clinton: GOP waiting for Democrats to ‘mess up’
“All we have to worry about is getting things done and doing them as well as we can,” Clinton said. “Don’t even worry about the Republicans. Let them figure out what they’re going to stand for. ‘Cause as long as they’re sitting around waiting for us to mess up, they don’t have a chance.”