Hasta La Gadget!

Sameera planned carefully for her attempt at breaking a world record. She obtained permission from the store where her attempt would take place, and even made sure to alert media outlets ahead of time. She even brought the proper equipment and a support team.

WASHINGTON — With political pressure mounting over the wave of unaccompanied minors on the nation’s southern border, Democrats began showing signs of internal division on Tuesday over how to address the crisis.

Lawmakers in the party are grappling with how to handle a proposal pushed by Republicans and some in their own party that would expedite the deportation of many of those minors. Republicans have shown no such internal divisions on their part, demanding that current law be changed as a precondition for spending money to address the problem.

Recent months have seen a major surge in young, undocumented immigrants from Central America entering the United States along the southern border. A 2008 law intended to protect victims of human trafficking entitles these children to an immigration hearing before deportation — a process that can take months or even years.

For the GOP, it’s time to make it easier to get these young people out of the country.

“That’s front and center,” Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.), a member of the House GOP working group on the border crisis, told reporters Tuesday.

Whether Democrats will stand and fight against the changes — potentially at the risk of derailing funds to deal with the crisis — or accept weakened protections will be a major question as talks move forward. Cracks are already showing. A Democrat, Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar, introduced a bill on Tuesday meant to expedite removal proceedings for unaccompanied minors, more than 57,000 of whom have come to the U.S. illegally this fiscal year. He already picked up one Democratic co-sponsor in Rep. Ron Barber (D-Ariz.).

The bill is getting considerable praise from Republicans, and was jointly introduced in the Senate by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). Its title intentionally spells out the word “humane” — the Helping Unaccompanied Minors and Alleviating National Emergency Act.

But advocates and many Democrats say its anything but humane to put unaccompanied minors through a rapid removal process that would give them less time to access legal counsel and make their case for why they should be able to remain.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) said in a statement that the bill was “the deportation-only agenda dressed up in sheep’s clothing.” He and other members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, along with the Congressional Progressive Caucus, have vowed to fight against efforts to change the laws meant to protect unaccompanied minors.

The Hispanic Caucus will meet with President Barack Obama on Wednesday to discuss the crisis. Obama and the White House have voiced support for amending current law so unaccompanied minors can be more quickly deported. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday at a briefing that the administration will review the bill and “give it due consideration.”

While a small group of House Democrats are already on board with the proposal and the White House has signaled it would accept changes to the 2008 law, Senate Democrats have continued to withhold their support. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Tuesday that he opposes the bill.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said last week that modifications to the law on unaccompanied minors were not a “deal-breaker,” but that any changes must ensure due process.

House Republicans have rejected Obama’s request for $3.7 billion to deal with the border crisis, which would go toward caring for the minors already in the U.S., removing those who don’t qualify for relief and attempting to deter others from entering the country.

Instead, they are working on their own funding plan, led by Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.). He said Tuesday that his committee is “combing through the numbers” and awaiting policy recommendations from the GOP working group, which is chaired by Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas).

Along with changes to the law on unaccompanied minors, members of the Republican working group said they will propose sending National Guard troops to the border, bringing on additional immigration judges, bolstering border patrol, helping foreign countries with repatriation efforts and encouraging Mexico to secure its southern border.

Members would not comment on the cost of their proposal, but Politico reported that senior House Republicans are discussing a bill that would fund about half of the president’s request.

One thing missing from the members’ statements about their proposal: funding for the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency is tasked with caring for unaccompanied minors from countries other than Mexico and Canada, and has been overburdened by the recent influx. Obama’s spending request included $1.8 billion for HHS. Salmon said that a significant increase in funding for HHS wouldn’t be necessary if their plan were to be implemented, because minors would be deported more quickly.

House Republicans are likely to face some internal turmoil as well as the border crisis continues. While leadership and many others say additional funding is necessary, some conservatives argue the president should make do with the money he already has.

“I’m not in favor … of giving this president, who owns this problem and created this problem, who’s not doing his job, any more money to not do his job with,” Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas) said at an event with fellow conservative members.

Have you noticed that it seems these days everyone is an expert? I use an app called ZITE on my iPad and in the morning I flip through all the stories that the app finds relevant to my interests. Out of the maybe 50 or 60 stories it shares with me, I open maybe 5 and share only 1 or 2. And I get that I’m a tough customer, I haven’t “seen it all” but I have become a tad jaded when it comes to experts vs. someone who is a fan. I love fans, don’t get me wrong, but it’s a big stretch from fan to expert and, if you’re publishing a book, you should know why this matters.

“In today’s content rich digital economy there are literally hundreds of thousands of pieces of user-generated content published every minute. With the evolution of social media that number continues to grow exponentially and this is precisely why 90% of the worlds data has been created in just the past 2 years.” Daniel Newman, Forbes Contributor

The current count, as we’ve seen, is 3,500 books published each day. Now this doesn’t count the thousands of eBooks that are published without a trackable ISBN. What does this mean? Well it means that if you’re going to compete, you need to bring a bigger game to the table. When I speak with authors, coach or work with them, I can tell right off the bat who’s a pro and who’s a fan. Want to know what gives it away? The tips they create to pitch themselves to the media or bloggers or whatever. Tips are a dead giveaway and if I can tell, I can guarantee you the media can tell, too.

The other problem is that there are certain topics where you really do need credentials. Like dieting, health, anything medical for that matter, dating, finances, etc. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve talked with authors who have a book on, let’s say, finances only because they found a way to make money with a particular stock or something that doesn’t necessarily translate to a general consumer market. It’s great that you’ve figured this out for yourself, but if you’re going to share this with the world and expect to sell books, you’ll have to bring your A game when you start marketing.

Also, keep in mind that you will waste so much money if you don’t know the difference and don’t make the decision, right up front, which one you are. Why? Because if you keep pushing yourself as an expert but don’t have a compelling, unique message readers will know this and you’ll throw a lot of money at a whole lot of nothing. How can you be an effective, credible expert with something useful to market? Let this checklist be your guide:

1. Open up ten articles on your topic from a variety of sources, and what do you see? Maybe you see something unique but, in many cases, you’ll see the same thing. Now there’s nothing wrong with saying the same thing, but you cannot say it the same way. Be different. Find a unique spin on the solution or find a new solution. Don’t be afraid to take chances.
2. If you’re not an expert and you know you’re not an expert, don’t be afraid to say something and pair yourself with someone who can offer you insight, or perhaps you want to get an expert to co-author the book, write an endorsement or find some other way for them to be involved. If you are not an expert, your #1 goal should be to get many, many endorsements from folks who are. This will help give your credibility a solid boost.
3. And speaking of tips, have you written any? Blogging is a great way to get a feel for what your audience wants. Some authors will say to me, “I’d blog but I don’t think anyone is listening.” I can tell you with utmost certainty that people will listen when you start blogging about what matters to them and say it in a way they haven’t heard a million times already.
4. If you realize you are more a fan than an expert, it’s time to get serious about what you want this book to do for you. If you want it to build your expertise, a book can certainly do that but you will, in fact, need to become an expert on your topic. What does this mean? It means you’ll need to read (a lot) in your market. You’ll need to go to events (live or in-person) and learn from the pros who are in this and doing it for a living. If you become an expert, or if you are working towards that people will want to ask you questions and while “I don’t know” is certainly an acceptable response, it should not be your go-to.
5. Start early: When you’re considering launching a book and you don’t have an existing fan base, platform, blog or even any ties to the industry beyond your own expertise you’ll really need some time to grow this. How much time? Well, that depends on the industry. If you’re in a busy market like dieting or dating it could take a year, if not several. I don’t say this to discourage you but rather to give a reality check. It used to be that if you published a book you were an instant expert, that’s just not the case anymore. What you do, outside of the book, has to build your expertise.
6. And speaking of expertise: How is your message different/unique? Are you contributing to the conversation in a way that stands out? What are you saying that’s different and, most important: how are you changing the conversation? If you’re an expert, you don’t want to be an echo of what everyone else is saying. Yes, you may agree with many of the others out there, but you also need your unique spin on the topic.
7. As I mentioned above, there’s a lot of content online and a lot of people spouting their own ideas about certain topics. But these folks probably aren’t being retweeted or interviewed for podcasts, radio or print media. If you’re going to go down this path, you’ll need more than just your own ideas to carry you, you’ll need others to spread them because they believe you are the expert. You should be pitching yourself to the media for interviews but don’t wait until you finish the book. Remember books are great but they aren’t the automatic door-openers they once were.
8. Social media, while time-consuming, is mandatory. Get out there and start the conversation, share information from others and build your virtual tribe. Savvy consumers will pay attention to your social footprint so make sure it’s there.

Becoming an expert or even a very engaged fan takes work, and if you wrote a book on a topic you feel passionate about, it’s important to know that without aligning yourself with the right people and the right business model, your entire message might fall on deaf ears. Deciding early on what your position is will not only help you with your marketing, but could save you a lot of money in the long run.

Transforming low-wage jobs into good jobs that provide living wages is a critical path to robust economic growth. Just ask Flora Johnson, a home care worker from Illinois, whose salary is rising from just under $6 an hour before joining a union to $13 an hour by year’s end and is now able to make ends meet. That increase came from a worker-organizing model that may no longer be possible thanks to a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.

Home care aides in Illinois were able to win substantial wage increases due to a contract won through union bargaining. The current wage for home care aides in the state increased from $7 in 2003 to $12.25 today and will increase again to $13 on December 1. Even though not all workers covered are union members, they all benefited from the power of collective bargaining. This effective model is now under threat because the court ruled in Harris v. Quinn that non-union members could opt out of making contributions to the costs of collective bargaining. Workers were never required to join the union, but instead, paid a small contribution to help cover the cost of negotiating better contracts. Now, the entire cost of contract negotiations will fall on the shoulders of only some workers, even though everyone benefits from contract wins.

But, must workers organize in order to increase wages and benefits? The simple answer is yes. Without organizing, workers lack the leverage necessary to win higher wages and benefits. Collective worker power is especially beneficial for women and people of color, who are too often left behind economically. The demographics of in-home care aides – over 90 percent women, more than 50 percent people of color – overlap with populations suffering from significant wage disparities, making union representation all the more important.

In the decades to come, raising the floor for home care workers will become increasingly important. Home health care is the second-fastest growing occupation in the United States and also a major source of employment for women and people of color. Between 2012 and 2022, the number of home health aides across the country will increase nearly 50 percent, requiring nearly 600,000 new workers for this workforce. With an aging population across the nation, demand for this work will grow. By 2050, the number of senior citizens is projected to nearly double and more than 10,000 Americans turn 65 every day.

Unfortunately, many of those who take care of our most vulnerable – even full-time workers – are still in poverty. Nationwide, women in direct care jobs are more than twice as likely to be poor than working women in general. Low wages contribute to high turnover rates, which can impact the quality of care. Turnover rates for direct care workers can range from 40 percent to 100 percent annually. High turnover rates are disruptive to people who need care, especially for people with disabilities, and discontinuous care is a challenge to developing trusting relationships with care givers.

Poverty wages also drag down a state’s economy. For example, studies show that increasing hourly wages to $14 in California would save the state over $5 billion per year because workers would not need supplemental public programs for additional income. A study of home care workers in San Francisco found that turnover fell by 57 percent following implementation of a living wage policy city-wide.

Without organizing, the fight for better wages, benefits, and basic work supports becomes an individual, not a collective, struggle, an outcome that is a step backwards for workers, those in their care, and state economies. Efforts to undermine economic prosperity come from all angles and we must be vigilant about tracking these attacks. The court may have ruled against working families but with strong support from all of us, workers can overcome this hurdle through organizing, joining a union, and using their collective power to build an equitable economy.

Cross-posted at Equity Blog

PATERSON, N.J. (AP) — One of three men charged in the death of a 12-year-old girl who was killed by a stray bullet while riding a scooter pleaded not guilty Tuesday to murder and weapons charges.

Jeffery Ellerbee, 21, appeared in handcuffs and entered his plea through his attorney, Susan McCoy. He did not look over to the gallery at friends and family members of Genesis Rincon during the brief arraignment as he answered several questions from state Superior Court Judge Marilyn Clark. Ellerbee’s bail was continued at $2 million cash. McCoy told the judge that Ellerbee has no previous criminal record as an adult or juvenile.

Genesis was struck in the head July 5 as she rode to a family gathering in Paterson. She was kept on life support for several days until her organs were donated.

Nineteen-year-old Jhymiere Moore pleaded not guilty last week to murder and weapons charges, while 19-year-old Marshae Anthony has not yet made a court appearance on weapons charges.

Moore is being held on $3 million bail and is in protective custody at the Passaic County Jail because of the high-profile nature of the case. Tensions have risen in Paterson since Genesis’ death, in the midst of what police say is a sharp rise in shootings.

Prosecutors have said Rincon was not the intended target but haven’t offered further details. Prosecutor Jason Statuto said last week that authorities believe Moore and Ellerbee each fired shots.

Prosecutor Peter Roby left court without speaking to reporters Tuesday. Family members also declined to be interviewed.