By Artur Davis, on Tue Jul 9, 2013 at 10:00 AM ET At the risk of upsetting a popular narrative, that the Supreme Court just dealt a crippling blow to the interests of black voters while handing a decisive win to gays on the future of marriage, I offer a few contrarian points. In random order,
(1) It’s a cheap misread to construe the Court’s rulings on Section 5 and the Defense of Marriage Act as some subversive proof that the Court, or more accurately Anthony Kennedy, the deciding vote in both cases, is more sensitive toward the aspirations of gays than blacks. Whatever you think of Kennedy’s analysis, it is at its core a judgment about the scope of federal v. state authority: put simply, Justice Kennedy’s view is that states should have more leeway to regulate their election practices, as opposed to Washington, and that states ought to determine what is or isn’t a marriage, as opposed to Congress doing so. Those are serious, entirely consistent positions that shouldn’t be dismissed by fixating on the politics or matching the gloom on the face of blacks outside the Court yesterday with the zeal of gays today.
(2) The Court’s complex holding on Prop 8 has a clean result-an explosion of gay weddings in California in the next month-but its winding procedural course had little to do with sweeping claims of autonomy or dignity. To the contrary, a rare coalition of conservative and liberal justices clung to some fairly basic rules of legal standing: You don’t get to file a lawsuit simply because you are rooting for one outcome or another. You have to be an injured party who is contending that either enforcing or violating said law injures you in some way. I am in the camp that thinks that the Court got it wrong here: by denying standing to the plaintiffs, the Supremes effectively let the Governor and Attorney General of California over-turn a majority of their voters by refusing to enforce or even defend Prop 8, their constitutional oaths of fidelity to California’s laws notwithstanding. But resolving Prop 8 with an ordinary technical legal point hardly suggests that the Court is poised to take on North Carolina’s referendum against same sex marriage last year, or any statute in any of the other 37 states that don’t recognize gay marriages.
(3) Combined with the decision to decide another day on affirmative action, this was a week of a cautious court (or again, two cautious jurists in Kennedy and John Roberts) that took pains to minimize the upset to the social and political landscape. Politicians who have linked the Voting Rights Act to the Obama presidency can certainly do so in a thematic, inspirational way, but they should remember that with the exception of Virginia, not one VRA covered state was part of President Obama’s winning coalition in 2012. In not one of these states will a black congressman’s job be imperiled, given that the Republicans who control the legislatures in these states are perfectly happy with heavily racially gerrymandered districts and the free ride they give Republicans in the rest of the state. (It is telling that every single southern redistricting plan in 2011, all but one drawn by a Republican legislature, was pre-cleared by the Holder Justice Department). To be sure, voter ID laws in the VRA states will pass more frequently and with less scrutiny, but in states that are already red and that haven’t been contested at the presidential level since Bill Clinton seemed momentarily capable of winning everything in October 1996. (I will allow for the possibility that Texas is the one state where a rollback of Section 5 confers an edge to Republicans, given the vagaries of drawing districts there and the tension between a heavily Republican legislative majority and a rising minority base that is not as geographically concentrated as in the South).
Read the rest of…
Artur Davis: Of Voting Rights and Gay Rights
By Jonathan Miller, on Sat Jul 6, 2013 at 12:00 PM ET
 Click here to find out how you can support this important effort Three years ago Kiley Lane Parker started to research why the United States didn’t have more women in elected office, something that troubled her after the 2008 and 2010 elections. Although there were some pretty significant female breakthroughs during these years, studies were showing that the high profile campaigns of Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton actually dampened women’s political ambition. Her research turned into Raising Ms. President, a documentary about raising the next generation of female political leaders. It’s in its final week of seeking finishing funds through Kickstarter.
In 2011, Parker traveled to California where she interviewed Richard Fox of It’s Takes A Candidate, Why Women Don’t Run For Office. Fox’s findings over a ten year period indicated that women don’t run for office because they a. feel less qualified than men and b. they lack the ambition to run for office. Unlike 20 years ago, most of the other obstacles like party support and money had little indication on whether or not a women decided to become a political leader in the 21st century, therefore, Parker began to ask the question, “well then, where does political ambition start?”
Her focus on the “next generation” became apparent after sitting with students from Ignite in Oakland, California and Running Start in Washington, D.C. These were the young women who were different. They didn’t have the same baggage of many women who grew up in the later half of the 20th century. They didn’t know what it was like to be told they couldn’t do something because they were a girl, yet they shared the same insecurities about running for office.
Fox’s research was right, therefore, Parker realized that perhaps getting more qualified women to run for office isn’t going to be that easy and that they only way to do so it to start encouraging all young women at an early age, before they leave high school.
It might be that we need to reevaluate how we raise our daughters and teach them in school. How social and cultural pressures still play a major role in how young women view themselves, seek leadership roles and stand out among a crowd.
Parker believes that with more women in office there will be better outcomes for everyone involved. Not only will younger women aspire to be political leaders because they see politics as a place where women serve, but policy decisions will be made with a broader view on life, family and living, strengthen our overall democracy.
Raising Ms. President answers the many questions about why women don’t strive to be our nation’s political leaders and what is being done to encourage more women to think about politics early.
I encourage you to join me in supporting this important film. Click here to find out how.
By Jonathan Miller, on Fri Jul 5, 2013 at 8:49 PM ET Goodluck Jonathan & Badluck Jonathan
For the past few days, I’d been thrilled to see that “Goodluck Jonathan” had been trending all over the world. Of course, I assumed that the global poker fan base had been united in supporting my entry in the World Series of Poker’s “Little One for One Drop” tournament.
Well, it turns out instead that the international community had been appealing to Nigerian ruler Goodluck Jonathan to cancel his planned executions of death row prisoners.
Oh, well.
I really could have used that good luck. Because as I explained in my last post, I was in real big trouble entering Day 2 of the tournament. While I was thrilled to have made it so far, due to an unlucky experience with three Jacks, I was left with only 950 chips. With blinds rising to 300/600., that would mean I would have to go all-in almost immediately.
It turned out that my chance came on the very first hand. Sitting on the button, the table folded around to me. I looked down at a 9 and a 8. Pretty lousy hand, but with only two players left to call me, I had a decent chance of tripling up.
I got one caller. Perfect.
He turned over an 8 and a 5. Excellent. I had a 70% chance of winning.
The dealer turned over the flop and then the turn (the 4th card). I was still ahead, and had a 90% chance of winning.
Then the dealer turned over the river. A 5. Ugh.
I lost, and was busted out of the tournament.
In all, however, it was a terrific ride. And being knocked out, I had the free time to do some interviews of poker pros for my second WSOP-related piece for Newsweek/The Daily Beast. When I got to sit down with both Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari — one of the hottest players in the game — and T. J. Cloutier — a legend, whose book, Championship No Limit and Pot Limit Hold ’em, taught me how to play tournament poker — I felt like I had won a bracelet.
Of course, I didn’t cash in either tournament I played. But in both, I finished in the top 15%. I’m not among the poker elite. But those finishes, combined with my final table last year, will keep me coming back for more.
So, back to the real world. Stay tuned for my series of pieces on the WSOP in Newsweek/The Daily Beast. And be ready for my next poker adventure, wherever it should take me.
By Jonathan Miller, on Wed Jul 3, 2013 at 10:00 AM ET  Photo courtesy of Thom Karmik One of the most critical bits of advice shared with me by my friend and nationally-celebrated mental performance coach Jim Fannin, was to never dwell on the past, keep my mind focused on the present, and when a setback occurs, say “Next!” and move onto the next challenge.
As a writer, I have to break the rule a little bit. After a nearly 13 hour ride in the $1000 no limit Texas hold-em tournament in the 2013 World Series of Poker — the same event last year in which I made the final table and won nearly $70,000 — I busted out when my Ace King suited (a very good hand) was beat by a pair of Jacks (a slightly better hand. I finished in the top 400 out of the nearly 3000 entrants — not too shabby, but far short of my goal of winning the championship bracelet.
I’m proud of how I played, and I don’t have any regrets. The trouble is that when you play the conservative “tight/aggressive” style I employ, you need to occasionally get dealt some good opening hands. And unlike last year, when a top hand appeared in my grasps when I really needed it, this year, in the 13 hours of play, I never was dealt any of the best 3 hands — Aces, Kings or Queens.
 So it is time to say “Next!” and prepare for the next challenge. That one starts at Noon PDT today (3:00 PM EDT), “The Little One for One Drop No-Limit Hold’em.” This will be the second largest competition of the World Series (behind the Main Event of course), and 10% of all proceeds are sent to One Drop—a non-profit organization established in 2007 by Guy Laliberté, Founder of Cirque du Soleil. One Drop strives to ensure that water is accessible to all, today and forever by developing integrated water-access and management projects around the world. In the U.S., One Drop is a public charity that undertakes innovative activities in which water plays a central role as a creative force to generate positive, sustainable change worldwide.
I’m headed to the gym, to take on my second day of weight training under the long distance training of the world’s great poker physical fitness expert, Josh Bowen. Check it out below, and I will keep you updated regularly as always on my progress at my Facebook Page and on Twitter.
By Jason Atkinson, on Wed Jul 3, 2013 at 8:30 AM ET
By RP Nation, on Tue Jul 2, 2013 at 2:00 PM ET  This has been one of the most difficult and most amazing 48 hours that I can remember. On the heels of a week that caused us to hurt and celebrate over the decisions of our United States Supreme Court, I thought that we had seen it all. Saturday afternoon, just after 1:30, the only lightning bolt to hit Indianapolis struck out of the clear blue sky and hit the sports field of Goldman Union Camp Institute. G.U.C.I. is the youth summer camp for this region of the Union for Reform Judaism. That bolt of lightning struck three campers. This news has been shared through media sources all across the country (and even in Israel). As those of us who were first responders provided emergency medical care until rescue teams arrived with ambulances, hundreds of children were provided for and cared for in ways that proved to me why this camp has been such a force in molding the future leaders of our communities over the last 60 plus years. I arrived at the sports field just after the first of five emergency vehicles. What I witnessed already happening was something horrific and amazing, and both at the same time. Yes, three campers were seriously injured. The emergency medical care that they were receiving from counselors and staff was nothing short of miraculous. Our camp is staffed primarily by college and post graduate school age young adults. The courage, the professionalism, and the obvious love that these people showed in the most awful of situations will stay with me for the rest of my life.
We helped get the three campers to the ambulances, and helped the emergency teams get out of camp, avoiding the media that had already gathered at our gates. At that point, we were able to learn that the rest of our staff had already rallied and engaging our youth in incredible ways. We gathered campers into one major area, and without prompting, our rising high school seniors launched into an immediate improvisational comedy act to keep campers’ attentions, and then took it upon themselves to plan the entire camp wide evening programs. By Sunday morning, our staff had camp running at a level that kept us moving forward and kept our youth focused, all ensuring the vibrancy of their experience. All who need to process are receiving love and appropriate care.
We have spent the last 48 hours taking care of families of our children, staying active at the hospital as our injured children and their families are receiving the finest of care, and taking care of each other. Two of the campers have been released and gone home. One wants to return for the rest of this session. I apologize that this took 48 hours to write, but I have been, as they say, “knee deep in the hoopla.” As a first responder, I have tried to take care of others who were even more immediately involved and affected, and at the same time, help keep camp celebrating. My hat is off to Rabbi Mark Covitz (Camp Director), to the Assistant Director Joe Slade, and to our senior leadership. These people (our “top deck”) are nothing short of amazing in how they handled and managed our efforts to heal and restore our camp family. Senior members of the URJ executive came to help, and expressed their own amazement at, and appreciation for, how well our crew was taking care of each other and of our camp.
In short, while I can never imagine using this episode as a tool for marketing this camp, I have to say that we learned firsthand something that we intrinsically always knew: Sending our kids to G.U.C.I. is not just a four week experience away from home. We groomed all of our leadership. From our Camp Director and Assistant Director, on down to our newest counselors: they were most all campers here, and grew up learning to love and care for this place and for each other. Over the last ten years serving as faculty here, I have watched many of these folks grow from awkward youth into amazing young leaders. These young adults are prepared for life and for leadership positions. They literally saved lives, physically, spiritually, and emotionally; a gift and blessing for which I will always stand in awe and for which I will always be grateful. Of course, we all pray for the healing of our campers and for their families. We are also thankful for God’s blessings that get shared here in such amazing ways. I worked with one unit today, as they were writing statements to go in a time capsule for the next generation of campers. I began to tear as I read the number of them that spoke of the campers love for their counselors, their cabin mates, and for the way in which they are cared for. Truly this is a day blessed by God.
By Nancy Slotnick, on Tue Jul 2, 2013 at 8:30 AM ET
“Don’t you know you’re my everything?” Chaka Khan sings in Sweet Thing. She is singing to her lover who is being shady and trying to run away. “I wish you were my lover, but you act so undercover.” Oh shoot- now I am distracted by “Chaka Khan let me rock you, let me rock you Chaka Khan. Let me rock you.” That’s all I want to do. Rock you. I feel for you. Chaka. I really do. But I also feel for me. Waiting for you is really hard. Chaka.
The waiting is always the hardest part. Waiting in line especially. I was waiting in line in the Ladies Room of the Empire Hotel Lobby recently and a stubborn-looking older woman was in front of me when I walked in. There were a few stalls there and one looked vacant to me, even though the door was closed. I attempted to check to see if it was available and the woman cockblocked me. Well, not literally because this was the Ladies Room but she did it in her own feminine way—by standing in front of me and blocking me!
 Then in a very faux helpful voice she said “there’s someone in there.” I had fully intended to let her go in first if it was free, but being the good girl that I am, I backed off, fuming. (She did have about 50 lbs on me.) As soon as she went into her stall, I breezed into the stall that was supposedly occupied and of course it was vacant. (I do know how to peek under and look for feet!) The dilemma was that there was no move for me to make that would bring me justice. Should I wait for her to come out of the bathroom just to say: “man, were you wrong, lady!”? It would defeat the purpose. But it’s still bugging me two months later.
Don’t blow my high, that’s all I’m sayin’. Chaka. (sorry it’s going to keep coming out of me like a hiccup now.) I feel for you, and if you want to wait in line in the Ladies Room, that’s your prerogative. But don’t stand in my way, please.
Read the rest of…
Nancy Slotnick: Sweet Thing
By Loranne Ausley, on Mon Jul 1, 2013 at 10:00 AM ET  So when I learned that my co-author and friend, Jonathan Miller, is heading back to Vegas today to revisit last year’s incredible 8th place finish in the World Series of Poker, it reminded me of my first gambling experience.
My dad, who I have written about several times, is an attorney and banker and still one of the most well respected political advisors in Florida. Somewhere along the way he learned a thing or two about gambling – and imparted this knowledge to me in a very memorable way.
I must have been about 12 or 13 years old and we were at our family beach house on Dog Island, Florida just off the coast of Florida’s Panhandle. It was a rainy day, so we were holed up inside and my dad was teaching me how to play backgammon. Just as I started getting the hang of it he asked if I wanted to play for money and I readily agreed.
We played game after game and I was really in the money – I was winning 3 out of every 4 games and after several hours of playing I had amassed quite a kitty of about $50 (which was a LOT in the mid 70s!).
Of course, we weren’t playing with real money because I was 13 years old and I didn’t HAVE $50 – but that didn’t matter because I was WINNING! Just as I was dreaming of all the records I could buy with that $50, my dad offered one last game – DOUBLE OR NOTHING.
Just like that, I thought, I could have $100 – and it was so EASY!
I know it isn’t hard to guess what ultimately happened – Dad cleaned my clock…AND he made me work off the $100. Easy lesson for him to teach and hard lesson for me to learn – thanks Dad – I love you!
Good luck Jonathan!!!
By Jonathan Miller, on Fri Jun 28, 2013 at 1:30 PM ET
By John Y. Brown III, on Fri Jun 28, 2013 at 12:00 PM ET Parenting Pride and Paradoxes
You know those extraordinary moments as a parent where you see your child behave in a particularly challenging situation that lets you know, “They are going to just fine as an adult”?
Those “moments” when your child acts adult-like provide a sense of satisfaction to a parent, a sense of relief and security and great pride.
And we never forget them.
 And they become more frequent with time.
And begin to correspond inversely with those extraordinary moments our children experience when they see a parent behave in a particularly challenging situation that makes them wonder, “I can’t believe my parent is acting like such a child.”
Those “moments” when the child’s parent acts child-like also provide a sense of relief, security and great pride–in the children —that they can be a successful adult.
And they never forget them.
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