BET Wire: Voting Rights Activists Locked Out By House Speaker's Office
Plus, Obama announces sexual assault awareness campaign.
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In Case You Missed It - House Speaker John Boehner's office shuts door on voting rights activists; President Obama and Vice President Biden launch anti-sexual assault campaign; Attorney General Eric Holder speaks up against bullying; that high school in Chicago won't bear the president's name after all; and more. —Joyce Jones (@BETpolitichick) (Photo: BET)
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Locked Out - The VRA for Today Coalition got a nasty shock when it tried on Sept. 17 to deliver to House Speaker John Boehner a petition signed by more than 500,000 Americans who support the Voting Rights Amendment Act: the door was locked. House offices are always open during business hours except in case of emergency. "Today the speaker's office was closed to voting rights," said Wade Henderson, president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. "This is symbolic of how House leadership has ignored voters who are being discriminated against now." (Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
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Arming Syrian Rebels - The House on Sept. 17 in a rare show of bipartisan support approved by a vote of 273-156 Obama's request for funding to arm and train Syrian rebels as part of it's plan to destroy the Islamist terrorist group ISIL. The bill was supported by 159 Republicans and 114 Democrats. The Senate also voted to arm and train the rebels before returning to their home states for the election season. (Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah)
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Paid Up - As of Aug. 15, 7.3 million Americans were signed and paid up on Obamacare, a figure that exceeds forecasts. “We are encouraged by the number of consumers who paid their premiums and continue to enroll in the marketplace coverage every day through special enrollment periods,” Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services Administrator Marilyn Tavenner told the House Oversight Committee. She said that the administration has been working on "significant technological improvements" to the sign-up website. (Photo: AP Photo/Jon Elswick, File)
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Testing the Waters - Dr. Ben Carson has created a new political action committee called USA First to support conservative policies and candidates. Could it one day support his own candidacy? In an email, Mediaite reports, Carson said he has “decided to answer the call” of participating in electoral politics and the PAC is his "biggest step yet. (Photo: Laura Segall/Getty Images)
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It's On Us - Obama and Biden on Sept. 19 launched a public awareness and action campaign designed to prevent sexual assault at colleges and universities. "It's On Us" aims to change the culture on campuses and engage men in the effort and builds upon recommendations from the White House Task Force to Protect Students From Sexual Assault. "Campus assaults insult our most basic principles," the president said, adding that the nation needs to value women more. He also said that sexual assault is a civil rights violation. (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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Double Oops! - Sometimes the affable Vice President Biden just can't help putting his foot in his mouth. In a speech to the Legal Services Corp., in which he told a story about veterans facing foreclosure, he referred to predatory lenders as "shylocks," which has anti-Semitic connotations. He later apologized for his "poor choice of words." The next day, in a speech in Iowa, he referred to parts of Asia as "the Orient," which is also considered offensive by some. (Photo: AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
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Speaking Up - Attorney General Eric Holder is the latest in a group of government officials, educators and celebrities participating in the Cartoon Network's "I Speak Up" campaign to fight bullying. “The violence of bullying has a devastating effect on young people. Help me defend childhood by speaking up for those who — too often — cannot speak for themselves," Holder says in his video. "I’m Attorney General Eric Holder, and I am joining Cartoon Network to challenge one million people to speak up against bullying. Please go to StopBullyingSpeakUp.com to learn more.” (Photo: Cartoon Network via YouTube.com)
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Busted - Jacob Dorsey, a 19-year-old Wisconsin Republican, was running for a seat on the state assembly. He was forced to drop out after the NOManiancs blog revealed that Dorsey called gay people "f#gs" in a tweet and on YouTube and also used the N-word in a video. (Photo: Janesville Community Page via Facebook)
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Name Change - It turns out the new selective enrollment high school being built in Chicago that was to be named after President Obama will be named something else, the Chicago Tribune reports. “Over the last few months, my team has listened to questions and concerns from the community, ranging from location of the building to the naming of the school. We take that community input seriously, which is why — as we continue to look for a thoughtful way to honor President Obama — we will look for other possible names for this future school," Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement. (Photo: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)
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Molotov Cocktail Thrower Caught on Camera - The FBI has arrested Eric King, 28, for throwing two Molotov cocktails into Rep. Emanuel Cleaver's Missouri district office. A surveillance camera caught him throwing first a hammer and then the two bombs through a window. "Property can be replaced, people cannot,” Cleaver said in a statement. “I will be forever grateful that no one was hurt in the senseless attempt recently to destroy my Kansas City office.” (Photo: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)