Bull Connor Theophilus Eugene “Bull” Connor (July 11, 1897 – March 10, 1973) was the Commissioner of Public Safety for the city of Birmingham, Alabama, during the American Civil Rights Movement. Connor directed the use of fire hoses, and police attack dogs against peaceful demonstrators, including children during the Civil Rights era. Read more here.

Check out the WORD’s Michael Hensley’s story on NYPD’s Stop and Frisk taking place in primarily Big Apple Communities of Color.

This year has given us simply too many worthy contenders for FAIR’s annual P.U.-litzers–recognizing the stinkiest journalism of the year. A big part of the problem was that so many outlets were striving to distinguish themselves with especially awful coverage of the Occupy Wall Street movement. So to note those lowlights, we bring you a special installment of P.U.-litzers: The OWS edition.

Read full story here.

The WORD’s Senior Editor Colleen Siuzdak ran it down.

A related reading about the NYPD.

Huffington is the respondent in a class action lawsuit recently filed against the Huffington Post.com, Huffington Post owner Arianna Huffington, et al, and AOL.com, Inc.

The suit alleges that thousands of writers and other content providers were keenly responsible for the success of HuffPo’s rise on the Internet, having filled its online pages with the substantive content that gave rise to its reputation, enough so that, having acquired a solid grounding for HuffPo, the owners subsequently sold it to AOL for $315 million. Ms. Hufffington was then hired as content director by the new owners for four million dollars. She’s been quoted as saying to the effect that, in lieu of pay, writers garner attention to themselves.

To join the picket line, contact the new NWU HuffPo organizer Amanda Melpolder at 917.573.4118 or at amanda@nwu.org for travel arrangements.

No Surprise Here!

SJP reports:

The revelation this week that ABC News paid a second source close to the Casey Anthony murder trial – raising the total price of exclusive coverage to $215,000 – underscores a growing trend of buying news content and it stands to undermine journalistic credibility, the Society of Professional Journalists’ Ethics Committee said today.

ABC News and other networks have paid licensing fees for exclusive information in the past, and those practiceshave been challenged by SPJ as undermining news legitimacy and creating an environment of “truth-selling.”

Read full story here.

Over 60 million adults access ethnic media. Their voices should be heard by lawmakers considering this important piece of immigration legislation. Let your voices ring out.

Read more here:
— The WORD
— Harry Potter is a DREAM Act Kid

In the coming days, Congress will vote on the DREAM Act – a common-sense piece of legislation drafted by both Republicans and Democrats that will give young people who grew up in the United States a chance to contribute to our nation by pursuing a higher education or serving in the U.S. armed forces. It’s limited, targeted legislation that will allow only the best and brightest to earn their legal status, and applies to those brought to the United States as minors through no fault of their own by their parents, and who know no other home.

Here are 10 reasons we need the DREAM Act:

1. Like Ginkgo Biloba, It’ll Make Us Smarter: Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has stated that passing the DREAM Act will “play an important part in the nation’s efforts to have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020,” something vital for America to remain competitive in today’s global economy.
2. For Ivan Rosales: With the DREAM Act, young people like Ivan Rosales, who came to the United States when he was a year old, can become doctors and work towards a cure for cancer. Ivan’s brother, a National Guardsman, and his brother-in-law, an Iraq veteran, inspired his dream to serve as a doctor in the military, before going on to work as a cancer researcher. Without the DREAM Act, Ivan and others like him have no way to even stay in the country, much less serve it.
3. Uncle Sam Says, The DREAM Act supports our troops: Secretary of Defense Gates has written to DREAM Act sponsors citing the rich precedent of non-citizens serving in the U.S. military and stating that “the DREAM Act represents an opportunity to expand [the recruiting] pool, to the advantage of military recruiting and readiness.
4. For Gaby Pacheco: So Gaby Pacheco, who was the highest ranked J-ROTC student in her high school and president of her college student government, can serve in the Air Force and eventually live out her dream of working with special needs children.
5. It Helps Separate The Bad Guys From The Good Guys: Secretary Napolitano believes this targeted legislation provides a firm but fair way to deal with innocent children brought to the U.S. at a young age so that the Department of Homeland Security can dedicate their enforcement resources to detaining and deporting criminals and those who pose a threat to our country.
6. For David Cho: So David Cho, who graduated from high school with a 3.9 GPA, plays seven instruments and is the drum major at UCLA, can live his dream of serving the United States in the Air Force.
7. It’s Bipartisan: The DREAM Act is a bipartisan piece of legislation designed to stop punishing innocent young people for the actions of their parents by giving them the chance to obtain legal status by pursuing a higher education, or by serving in the U.S. armed forces for the country they’ve grown up in and love as their own.
8. For Cesar Vargas: So Cesar Vargas, a proud Brooklyn kid, can live his dream  to serve in the military as a JAG officer or on the front line as an intelligence officer with the Marines. He wants to “earn [his] place next to the great heroes of our nation that have and are fighting to defend our Constitution.”
9. It Will Help Our Economy: According to a recent UCLA study, students that would be impacted by the DREAM Act could add between $1.4 to $3.6 trillion in taxable income to our economy over the course of careers, depending on how many ultimately gain legal status. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, the DREAM Act in its current form will cut the deficit by $1.4 billion and increase government revenues by $2.3 billion over the next 10 years.
10. It’s The Right Thing To Do: It’s just plain common sense and it’s the right thing to do. For more information on the DREAM Act, view the fact sheet <http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/12/01/get-facts-dream-act> .

Check out these New York Daily News reports.

May 6, 2010 headline: Decades of bad busts by authorities costs the city $305 million
Lead and followup paragraph:
The city has shelled out $305 million in the last 10 years to settle claims of false arrest, wrongful conviction and excessive force by cops, the Daily News has learned.

The number of such suits has been rising steadily in the last decade and hit a high of 1,800 last year – possibly because of the recession.

Read full story here.

May 6, 2010 headline: Top 10 payouts for bad busts over past decade
Lead and followup paragraph:
Top 10 payouts for wrongful prosecution, false arrest and excessive force over the past decade:

Read more here.