Katie Wright: 5 Things to know about single mothers in poverty

  As we approach another Mother’s Day, we as Americans reflect on the challenges facing some of the mothers struggling the most out there—single mothers living in poverty—and what we can do to create greater economic opportunity for all kinds of families.

  Too often the space in the national discourse for this discussion is clouded by myths, personal attacks, and stereotypes about this group of women. This Mother’s Day let’s move beyond the stereotypes and take a fresh look at not only the challenges facing single mothers living in poverty but also some of the policy solutions that can lift them out of poverty.

Carl Chancellor: Critical education standards opposed by conservative group

  Members of the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC—the conservative states’ rights, free markets, and limited government advocacy group—are meeting today in North Carolina, where they are expected to adopt a resolution that will be used as model legislation aimed at derailing the Common Core Standards for state primary and secondary schools.

  Perplexingly, there has been a steady drumbeat of opposition to what most clear-thinking folks see as a key to America’s future success in a highly competitive global economy—these same Common Core Standards. Developed by a consortium of educators and state lawmakers in 2009 in response to fears that American education performance is slipping relative to many advanced countries, these voluntary standards aim to ensure children are equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to be successful in college and in their careers. By setting high-quality standards in reading and math, the goal is to provide a common understanding of what students are expected to know during their kindergarten-through-12th-grade educational experiences.

Laurence M. Vance: Does the First Amendment protect the feedom of asociation?

  The Augusta National Golf Club — where the Masters golf tournament has been played since 1933 — is in the news again, and not because Tiger Woods failed to earn a fifth green jacket.

  The exclusive club has come under fire again because of its male-only membership policy. And although the club has traditionally extended membership to the CEOs of its corporate sponsors, one of its major sponsors — International Business Machines (IBM) — has a new female CEO, Virginia Rometty, who has not been asked to join. The past four CEOs of IBM have all been Augusta members.

  "It’s just an embarrassment that it’s still all-male," said Debora Spar, president of Barnard College in New York — an all-women’s college. Seeming oblivious to the irony, she added, "Any argument that can be made anymore for male-only recreational sites is just kind of past its day."

Steve Flowers: Inside The Statehouse: And the monument you rode in on....

  On the morning of the March 13 Alabama GOP Primary, former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore rode his horse to the polls to vote. As the day wore on it became apparent that he was riding a wave of evangelical support to be returned to his old job.

  When Moore hopped off his horse at his voting place in Etowah County, he was hoping to regain the Chief Justice position he lost in 2003. That year a state panel expelled him from office for failing to comply with a federal court order to remove a monument of the Ten Commandments that he placed in the Alabama Judiciary Building in Montgomery. Moore accomplished his mission. He remarkably defeated two opponents without a runoff who outspent him over six to one. Moore garnered an amazing 51% of the primary vote. Mobile Circuit Judge and former Attorney General Charlie Graddick got 25% and incumbent Chuck Malone received 24% of the vote.

Sam Fulwood III: The Intersection of pop culture and race

  My friend Ernie told me recently about a phone conversation that left him amazed at how powerfully and pervasively pop culture meanders willy-nilly across what he once imagined as impermeable racial boundaries.

  Ernie, an African American, lives happily and leisurely in retirement at his suburban Atlanta home, where he loves gardening and watching baseball on television. On all-too-rare occasions, he escapes his house for another lifelong passion: listening to classical music at the Atlanta Symphony. But he hasn’t done this in more than five years.

  A week or so ago, however, he received a call from a man trying sell him a subscription to the Atlanta Symphony.

Michael Josephson: Grocery store ethics

  You can tell a lot about people’s character by how they act at the grocery store. I remember being in a crowded store when there was a shortage of shopping carts. A prosperous-looking fellow was pushing a cart when another man stopped him.

  “Excuse me,” the second man said, “but this is my cart.”

  The first guy looked really annoyed. Instead of apologizing, he protested, “But someone took my cart.”

Richard Schwartzman: HR 1983: Good idea, wrong reason

  The world is changing its view on drug laws and drug use — at least, most people and many countries are doing just that. Here in the States, recent polls indicate 50 percent of people favor full legalization of marijuana, while 80 percent advocate medical marijuana use. The federal government is lagging behind, however.

  Portugal decriminalized the use of all drugs 11 years ago, and the result has been no increase in usage. Indeed, removing the forbidden-fruit aspect of drug use resulted in less use by younger people. That country also saw a drop in HIV cases related to drug use.

Jennifer Marshall: Homemakers in an age of feminist mystique

  Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen hit close to many American homes with her comment that Ann Romney, stay-at-home mother of five boys, "had never worked a day in her life."

  The broadside didn't just hit a presidential candidate's wife but also a wide swath of Middle America moms.

  It turns out the typical stay-at-home mom doesn't live next door to the "Desperate Housewives" in a four-bedroom house on Wisteria Lane. Instead, as The New York Times reported after the Rosen-Romney dust-up, 65% of stay-at-home, married mothers of children under 18 live in a household with an annual income below $75,000.

Eric Alterman: Murdoch ‘unfit?’ Ya think?

  The headline says it all: “Murdoch Unfit to Lead Media Empire, Says British Report.” It was dated May 1, 2012 on The New York Times homepage (and appeared the following morning on page one). Thing is, if you leave out the part about the British report, the same headline could have appeared any time in the past 20 or more years. But by common agreement, owing to News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch’s power, influence, profit-making properties, and his ability to hire and fire people in any one of more than 50,000 jobs—to say nothing of his willingness to use all that power and influence to attack the character of anyone who had the temerity to question his actions—most folks decided to look the other way.

Steve Flowers: Inside The Statehouse: The RSA effect

  Alabama may be on the lower end of the financial spectrum when it comes to the per capita income of our population. However, our public employees have one of the most sound retirement programs in the nation. One group of state employees, our judges, have what is probably one of the most lucrative retirement programs in the entire country.

  The benefits accrued by members of our judiciary are nothing less than amazing. The judges can thank the late Supreme Court Chief Justice and U.S. Senator Howell Heflin for spearheading an effort to streamline and update our judicial system in the 1970s. This Judicial Article not only upgraded the court system and judicial compensation, it created unparalleled retirement benefits.