CONSIDEROURSOURCE

We love you Bill ...Amazing Story

2012-01-25T21:19:00.001-06:00

Just true, honest, raw and yet a very loving man. Bill Withers ...Amazing Artist, I wish more of our young black men today only knew what they really came from.

So Called Principled Conservative Leader- Allen West, Who is this Cat???! And what do you think of him?!

2012-01-25T07:59:00.001-06:00

I believe that the fiscal security of the United States is essential to long term prosperity. As your Congressman, I will curb out of control Government spending, I will work towards across the board tax cuts, and I will fight tirelessly to bring jobs back to South Florida. We must realize that American Exceptionalism depends on a strong and robust economy, which means that the fight begins here at home.

If we are serious about fixing our economy, then we must get back to basics. First, our tax code must be redefined. Second, we must understand that the true strength of our economy lies within small businesses, and as elected leaders in Congress, we have an obligation to support small business growth through tax cuts and incentives. Finally we need to challenge the status quo in Washington and stop the floodgates of government spending. As your Congressman, I carry the torch of conservative, small government principles with me to Washington. You can rest assured your voice will be heard loud and clear while I proudly serve as a member of the House Committee on Small Business.

ALMOST SOLD OUT!! GET YOUR TICKETS NOW FOR PLCCA'S 10TH ANNIVERSARY GALA "FROST YOURSELF BALL" FEATURING MORRIS DAY & THE TIME

2012-01-25T07:09:00.001-06:00

http://plcca.homestead.com/PLCCA-Events.html

2012-01-24T17:11:00.000-06:00

Friend --I'm heading to Capitol Hill soon to deliver my third State of the Union address.Before I go, I want to say thanks for everything you're doing.Tonight, we set the tone for the year ahead. I'm going to lay out in concrete terms the path we need to take as a country if we want an economy that works for everyone and rewards hard work and responsibility.I'm glad to know you'll be standing with me up there.Barack

Visit Dealiciousthings.com

2012-01-17T15:14:00.001-06:00

The Mental Health of African Americans:

2012-01-17T09:59:00.000-06:00

African Americans have made great strides in education, income, and other indicators of social well-being. Their improvement in social standing is marked, attesting to the resilience and adaptive traditions of African American communities in the face of slavery, racism, and discrimination. Contributions have come from diverse African American communities, including immigrants from Africa, the Caribbean, and elsewhere. Nevertheless, significant problems remain: 1.African Americans living in the community appear to have overall rates of distress symptoms and mental illness similar to those of whites, although some exceptions may exist. One major epidemiological study found that the rates of disorder for whites and blacks were similar after controlling for differences in income, education, and marital status. A later, population-based study found similar rates before accounting for such socioeconomic variables. Furthermore, the distribution of disorders may be different between groups, with African Americans having higher rates of some disorders and lower rates of others. 2.The mental health of African Americans cannot be evaluated without considering the many African Americans found in high-need populations whose members have high levels of mental illness and are significantly in need of treatment. Proportionally, 3.5 times as many African Americans as white Americans are homeless. None of them are included in community surveys. Other inaccessible populations also compound the problem of making accurate measurements and providing effective services. The mental health problems of persons in high-need populations are especially likely to occur jointly with substance abuse problems, as well as with HIV infection or AIDS (Lewin & Altman, 2000). Detection, treatment, and rehabilitation become particularly challenging in the presence of multiple and significant impediments to well-being. 3.African Americans who are distressed or have a mental illness may present their symptoms according to certain idioms of distress. African American symptom presentation can differ from what most clinicians are trained to expect and may lead to diagnostic and treatment planning problems. The impact of culture on idioms of distress deserves more attention from researchers. 4.African Americans may be more likely than white Americans to use alternative therapies, although differences have not yet been firmly established. When complementary therapies are used, their use may not be communicated to clinicians. A lack of provider knowledge of their use may interfere with delivery of appropriate treatment. 5.Disparities in access to mental health services are partly attributable to financial barriers. Many of the working poor, among whom African Americans are overrepresented, do not qualify for public coverage and work in jobs that do not provide private coverage. Better access to private insurance is an important step, but is not in itself sufficient. African American reliance on public financing suggests that provisions of the Medicaid program are also important. Publicly financed safety net providers are a critical resource in the provision of care to African American communities.6.Disparities in access also come about for reasons other than financial ones. Few mental health specialists are available for those African Americans who prefer an African American provider. Furthermore, African Americans are overrepresented in areas where few providers choose to practice. They may not trust or feel welcomed by the providers who are available. Feelings of mistrust and stigma or perceptions of racism or discrimination may keep them away. 7.African Americans with mental health needs are unlikely to receive treatment-even less likely than the undertreated mainstream population. If treated, they are likely to have sought help from primary care providers. African Americans frequently lack a usual source of health care as a focal point for treatment. African Americans receiving specialty care tend to leave treatment prematurely. Mental health care occurs relatively frequently in emergency rooms and psychiatric hospitals. These settings and patterns of treatment undermine delivery of high-quality mental health care. 8.African Americans are more likely to be incorrectly diagnosed than white Americans. They are more likely to be diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia and less likely to be diagnosed as suffering from an affective disorder. The pattern is longstanding but cannot yet be fully explained. 9.Whether African Americans and whites benefit from mental health treatment in equal measure is still under investigation. The limited information available suggests African Americans respond favorably for the most part, but few clinical trials have evaluated the response of African Americans to evidence-based treatments. Little research has examined the impact on African Americans of care delivered under usual conditions of community practice. More remains to be learned about when and how treatment must be modified to take into account African American needs and preferences. Adaptive traditions have sustained African Americans through long periods of hardship imposed by the larger society. Their resilience is an important resource from which much can be learned. African American communities must be engaged, their traditions supported and built upon, and their trust gained in attempts to reduce mental illness and increase mental health. Mutual benefit will accrue to African Americans and to the society at large from a concerted effort to address the mental health needs of African Americans.From:NCBI

MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL ANNOUNCES $3.6 MILLION FROM ONLINE AUCTIONS OF SURPLUS MATERIALS IN 2011

2012-01-16T20:43:00.001-06:00

Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced today that the Department of Procurement Services (DPS) collected $3.6 million in 2011 from selling City surplus materials through its online auction system, nearly twice the amount collected in 2010. The online auctions allow the City to sell unneeded surplus possessions including fax machine toner, scrap metal, old vehicles parts, and street sweepers. "It is our responsibility to the taxpayers of Chicago to leave no stone unturned or old fax machine unsold when it comes to bringing in new revenue to the City," said Mayor Emanuel. "For each dollar we bring in through our online auction system, it's one less dollar we have to find from someplace else which allows us to preserve critical City services that Chicagoans depend on. I commend the Department of Procurement Services for its aggressive pursuit of items that can be sold online. It is an example of the type efficient, ingenuity that we will continue to strive for every day." Through increased coordination and outreach between City departments, DPS doubled the amount it collected in 2010 from $1.8 million to $3.6 million. In addition, DPS has projected that it will increase that amount in 2012 for a total of $4.6 million in revenue. Already in the first month of 2012, DPS auctions have generated over $90,000in new revenue. Recently successful auctions include 450 tons of scrap metal, several pieces of heavy equipment and a set of decommissioned Micro-Turbine power generators. Most auction items are sold at the City's salvage yard, though some equipment is auctioned onsite at the City facilities where they were used. DPS also works internally with City departments and Sister Agencies to identify any items that still may have potential use to the City. DPS has sold surplus items to buyers all over the United States as well as South America, Mexico, and Canada. Anyone interested in purchasing surplus items should visit the City's website at www.cityofchicago.org/procurement or call DPS at 312.744.4900.

No Boundaries:Debra Simpson

2012-01-15T17:31:00.003-06:00

No Boundaries!Sometimes it feels as though your pain will last forever. You know what you want, but just how do you get there, or just how long can you wait? Each moment seems to last forever when you feel that you've lost your way. Do you have a reason to fight and not just walk away? No Boundaries! shares with you my struggles of abuse, neglect, the streets, all the way through attempted suicide. let me take you on a journey so you can see how I learned to fight and tear down the boundaries that I had placed in my life. You are not alone, and you can overcome your struggles and begin to live your life of purpose.Learn to remove the boundaries that stand between you and the rest of your life. And remember, how your life plays out is truly up to you! visit http://www.vimproductions.com/Store.htmlLove,Debra

North Carolina May Pay Forced-Sterilization Victims $50K

2012-01-15T13:30:00.003-06:00

eu-gen-ics: The study of or belief in the possibility of improving the qualities of the human species or a human population, especially by such means as discourging reproduction by persons having genetic defects or presumed have inheritable undesirable traits(negative eugenics) or encouraging reproduction by persons presumed to have inheritable desirable traits.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — People sterilized against their will under a discredited North Carolina state program should each be paid $50,000, a task force voted Tuesday, marking the first time a state has moved to compensate victims of a once-common public health practice called eugenics.The panel recommended that the money go to verified, living victims, including those who are alive now but may die before the lawmakers approve any compensation. The Legislature must still approve any payments.A task force report last year said 1,500 to 2,000 of those victims were still alive, and the state has verified 72 victims. If the estimate is correct, the payments could total around $100 million. Survivors will have three years to apply for payments from the time a measure approving them goes into effect."We have repeatedly acknowledged and stated as a task force that no amount of money can adequately pay for the harm done to these citizens," panel chairwoman Laura Gerald said. "We are not attempting through our work to place a value on anyone's life. However, we are attempting to achieve a level of financial compensation and other services that can provide meaningful assistance to survivors"Compensation also serves a collective purpose for the state and sends a clear message that we in North Carolina are people who pay for our mistakes and that we do not tolerate bureaucracies that trample on basic human rights."She said the task force was seeking a balance between the victims' needs and political reality, noting that "compensation has been on the table now for nearly 10 years, but the state has lacked the political will to do anything other than offer an apology."North Carolina is one of about a half-dozen states to apologize for past eugenics programs, but it is alone in trying to put together a plan to compensate victims. The task force recommendations also include that the state continue to support the N.C. Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation; that the compensation be awarded so that it doesn't affect victims' taxes or government services; and that mental health counseling be offered.The panel had discussed amounts between $20,000 and $50,000 per person, and some victims and their family members had reacted angrily to the proposals because they felt the amounts were too low. The panel had also considered whether to compensate family members or descendants, but ultimately decided not to.On Tuesday, some survivors said they were simply looking forward to the issue being resolved."I just want it to be over," said 57-year-old Elaine Riddick, who was sterilized when she was 14 after she gave birth to a son who was the product of rape. "You can't change anything. You just let go and let God."Riddick, a constant presence at the task force meetings, said she was surprised that the task force recommended $50,000 instead of $20,000.Despite the potentially high price tag to compensate survivors during uncertain budget times, there's bipartisan support to provide monetary assistance. Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue said during her 2008 campaign she wanted to provide compensation and later formed the task force. Republican House Speaker Thom Tillis of Mecklenburg County has said the state should agree next year to pay victims and wants to form a legislative committee to work out details so something can be voted upon during the Legislature's budget-adjusting session in May.The five-person panel was appointed in March 2011 by Gov. Beverly Perdue and included a judge, doctor, former journalist, historian and attorneyEugenics programs gained popularity in the U.S. and other countries in the early 1900s, but most abandoned those efforts after World War II because of the association with Nazi Germany's program aimed at racial purity. More than 30 states enacted laws authorizing surgical sterilization for certain individuals, but not all of them carried the procedures out. More than 60,000 people were forcibly sterilized around the country, and some historians think thousands more were sterilized in states without official programs under the authority of doctors or local officials.Overt rationalization for the programs ranged from protecting the potential offspring of mentally disabled parents to improving the overall health and intellectual competence of the human race. Before the atrocities of World War II, it was seen by many — both blacks and whites — as a legitimate effort to improve society.North Carolina's program stood out because it ramped up sterilizations after World War II. About 70 percent of all North Carolina's sterilizations were performed after the war, peaking in the 1950s, according to state records. The state officially ended the program in 1977.More than 7,600 were sterilized in North Carolina from 1929 to 1974.A 1933 state law authorized the sterilization of people deemed to be "mentally diseased, feebleminded or epileptic." People as young as 10 were sterilized for reasons as minor as not getting along with schoolmates or being promiscuous. Although officials obtained consent from patients or their guardians, many did not comprehend what they were signing.Melissa Hyatt of Kernersville, whose stepfather was sterilized, said the task force "did what was reasonable as far as budgets and economy.""It's not really about the money," she said. "It's about the suffering and the pain."Gerald, the chairwoman, urged the Legislature and Perdue to approve compensation during this year's session. "Any state or group of people can make a mistake, but it takes courage and strength of character to acknowledge wrongs and try to right them," she said.

Concert III – The journey, the dream

2012-01-13T10:46:00.002-06:00

Some things bring out the best in us. Some things remind us of times when our passions were ignited. And some things bring people together to share true moments of brotherhood. These things are rare and profound. The Annual Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. concert is one of these things. Join us. Zoltán Kodály: Dances of GalantaLudwig Van Beethoven: Fidelio: OvertureCharles Ives: Central Park in the DarkNicole Mitchell: Harambee: Road to Victory (Orchestral Premiere)Various: Gospel and SpiritualsMei-Ann Chen, conductorJeri Lynne Johnson, guest conductorNicole Mitchell, fluteApostolic Church of God Sanctuary ChoirConcert III - The journey, the dreamWhenSunday January 15 at 3:00PMbuy tickets ($35 – $45)Monday January 16 at 7:30PMbuy tickets ($26 – $50)WhereWentz Concert Hall171 E. Chicago AveNaperville, 60540Google MapsSymphony Center220 S Michigan AveChicago, 60604

Happy Birthday FLOTUS!

2012-01-12T12:44:00.001-06:00

We Love! Love! Love you in the Chi, Happy Birthday Michelle!

Friend --When you become president, one thing that happens overnight is that you and everyone you love get a bunch of new nicknames.I was already pretty used to this. But "FLOTUS," short for First Lady of the United States, is really something else.I'm writing because our FLOTUS, Michelle, turns 48 on Tuesday, and I know I'm not her only fan out there.Will you join me in wishing her a happy birthday?The decision to become part of this campaign was deeply personal for a lot of people, and Michelle and I are no exception. But we both knew, like anyone else who believes in what we're trying to do here, that this was never going to be easy.This fall, Michelle and I will have been married 20 years. The next 10 months will be harder than any we've experienced together, and I couldn't do it without her. I know she'd love to hear from you today:http://my.barackobama.com/For-MichelleThanks for your support,BarackP.S. -- This weekend, people are getting together to volunteer in their communities in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Find out how you can join in at serve.gov.

10 ways to avoid marrying the wrong person by Dr. Nafisa Sekandari & Hosai Mojaddidi

2012-01-11T10:23:00.001-06:00

Married Couple Kevin and Denise Sykes: Kevin and Denise are not perfect, but what they have done is perfected overcoming many challenges and building trust; through God, much prayer, restoring faith, and love.

There is a right way and a wrong way to get to know someone for marriage. The wrong way is to get caught up in the excitement and nuance of a budding relationship and in the process completely forget to ask the critical questions that help determine compatibility. One of the biggest mistakes that many young Muslims make is rushing into marriage without properly and thoroughly getting to know someone. A common myth is that the duration of a courtship is an accurate enough measure of how compatible two people are. The logic follows that the longer you speak with someone, the better you will know them. The problem with that premise is that no consideration is given to how that time is spent. Increasingly, young Muslim couples are engaging in “halal dating,” which is basically socializing with each other in the company of friends and/or family. This includes going out to dinner, watching a movie, playing some sport or other leisure activity, etc. Depending on the family or culture, conversations are either minimal & chaperoned or worse, unrestricted and unsupervised. When you consider these limitations it makes one wonder when exactly, if ever at all, would the critical conversations take place? Unfortunately, for many, the answer is never and they live to suffer the consequences. If you or someone you know is in the “getting to know someone” phase, the following guide offers advice on exactly what to look for and avoid:1) Do Not Marry Potential: Oftentimes men consider marrying a woman hoping she never changes while a woman considers marrying a man she hopes she can change. This is the wrong approach on both accounts. Don’t assume that you can change a person after you’re married to them or that they will reach their potential. There is no guarantee, after all, that those changes will be for the better. In fact, it’s often for the worse. If you can’t accept someone or imagine living with them as they are then don’t marry them. These differences can include a number of things such as ideological or practical differences in religion, habits, hygiene, communication skills, etc.2) Choose Character over Chemistry: While chemistry and attraction are no doubt important, character precedes them both. A famous quote follows, “Chemistry ignites the fire, but character keeps it burning.” The idea of falling “in love” should never be the sole reason for marrying someone; it is very easy to confuse infatuation and lust for love. The most important character traits to look for include humility, kindness, responsibility, & happiness. Here’s a breakdown of each trait:•Humility: The humble person never makes demands of people but rather always does right by them. They put their values and principles above convenience and comfort. They are slow to anger, are modest, and avoid materialism.•Kindness: The kind person is the quintessential giver. They seek to please and minimize the pain of others. To know if a person is a giver, observe how they treat their family, siblings, and parents. Do they have gratitude towards their parents for all that they’ve done for them? If not, then know that they will never appreciate what you do for them. How do they treat people they don’t have to be kind towards (i.e. waiters, sales associates, employees, etc)? How do they spend their money? How do they deal with anger; their own anger and their reaction to someone else’s anger?•Responsibility: A responsible person has stability in their finances, relationships, job, and character. You can you rely on this person and trust what they say.•Happiness: A happy person is content with their portion in life. They feel good about themselves and good about their life. They focus on what they have rather than on what they don’t have. They very rarely complain.3) Do Not Neglect The Emotional Needs of Your Partner: Both men and women have emotional needs and in order for a partnership to be successful those needs must be mutually met. The fundamental emotional need of a woman is to be loved. The fundamental emotional need of a man is to be respected and appreciated. To make a woman feel loved give her the three AAAs: Attention, Affection, & Appreciation. To make a man feel loved give him the three RRRs: Respect, Reassurance, & Relief. It is the obligation of each partner to make sure the other is happy and this extends to intimacy as well. As long as each partner is fulfilled by the emotional needs of the other, the intimate relationship will thrive. When a man takes seriously the emotional needs of his wife she will feel more encouraged to fulfill his sexual desires. Likewise, when a woman takes seriously the emotional needs of her husband he will feel more encouraged to give her the affection, love and appreciation she wants from him. Working together in this way encourages both giving and receiving.4) Avoid Opposing Life Plans: In marriage you can either grow together or grow apart. Sharing a common purpose in life will increase the chance that you will grow together.•You must know what the person is into. In other words, what are they ultimately passionate about? Then ask yourself, “Do I respect this passion?” “Do I respect what they are into?”•The more specifically you define yourself, i.e., your values, your beliefs, your lifestyle, the better chance you have of finding your life partner, your soul mate, the one you are most compatible with.•Remember, before you decide who to take along on a trip, you should first figure out your destination.5) Avoid Pre-Marital Sexual/Physical Activity:•Recognize that there is incredible wisdom in why God has ordered us to refrain from intimacy before marriage; they are to prevent great harms as well as to keep sacred what is the most blessed part of a relationship between a man and a woman.•Aside from the obvious spiritual consequences, when a relationship gets physical before its time, important issues like character, life philosophy, and compatibility go to the wayside. Consequently, everything is romanticized and it becomes difficult to even remember the important issues let alone talk about them.•Intellectual commitment must be established before emotional or sexual commitment.6) Avoid Lack of Emotional Connection: There are four questions that you must answer YES to:•Do I respect and admire this person? What specifically do I respect and admire about this person?•Do I trust this person? Can I rely on them? Do I trust their judgment? Do I trust their word? Can I believe what they say?•Do I feel Safe? Do I feel emotionally safe with this person? Can I be vulnerable? Can I be myself? Can I be open? Can I express myself?•Do I feel calm and at peace with this person?If the answer is “I don’t know, I’m not sure, etc.” keep evaluating until you know for sure and truly understand how you feel. If you don’t feel safe now, you won’t feel safe when you are married. If you don’t trust now, this won’t change when you are married!7) Pay Attention to Your Own Emotional Anxiety: Choosing someone you don’t feel safe with emotionally is not a good recipe for a long-lasting and loving marriage. Feeling emotionally safe is the foundation of a strong and healthy marriage. When you don’t feel safe, you can’t express your feelings and opinions. Learn how to identify whether you are in an abusive relationship. If you feel you always have to monitor what you say, if you are with someone and you feel you can’t really express yourself and are always walking on eggshells, then it’s very likely you are in an abusive relationship. Look for the following things:•Controlling behavior: This includes controlling the way you act, the way you think, the way you dress, the way you wear your hair/hijab and the way you spend your time. Know the difference between suggestions and demands. Demands are an expression of control and if the demands are implied, than you must do it or there will be consequences. All of these are clear indications of abusive personalities.•Anger issues: This is someone who raises their voice on a regular basis, who is angry, gets angry at you, uses anger against you, uses put downs, and curses at you, etc. You don’t have to put up with this type of treatment. Many people who tolerate this behavior usually come from abusive backgrounds. If this is the case with you or someone you know, get help right away. Deal with those issues before getting married or before even thinking about getting married.Beware of Lack of Openness In Your Partner: Many couples make the mistake of not putting everything on the table for discussion from the onset. Ask yourself, “What do I need to know to be absolutely certain I want to marry this person?” “What bothers me about this person or the relationship?” It’s very important to identify what’s bothering you, things that concern you, and things you are afraid to bring up for discussion. Then you must have an honest discussion about them. This is a great way to test the strength of your relationship. Bringing up issues when there’s conflict is a great opportunity to really evaluate how well you communicate, negotiate, and work together as a team. When people get into power struggles and blame each other, it’s an indication they don’t work well as a team. Also important is being vulnerable around each other. Ask deep questions of each other and see how your partner responds. How do they handle it? Are they defensive? Do they attack? Do they withdraw? Do they get annoyed? Do they blame you? Do they ignore it? Do they hide or rationalize it? Don’t just listen to what they say but watch for how they say it!9) Beware of Avoiding Personal Responsibility: It’s very important to remember no one else is responsible for your happiness. Many people make the mistake of thinking someone else will fulfill them and make their life better and that’s their reason for getting married. People fail to realize that if they are unhappy as a single person, they will continue to be miserable when they are married. If you are currently not happy with yourself, don’t like yourself, don’t like the direction your life is going now, it’s important to take responsibility for that now and work on improving those areas of your life before considering marriage. Don’t bring these issues into your marriage and hope your partner will fix them.10) Watch Out For Lack of Emotional Health and Availability In Your Potential Partner: Many people choose partners that are not emotionally healthy or available. One huge problem is when a partner is unable to balance the emotional ties to family members, the marriage ends up having 3 (or more) people in it rather than two. An example of this would be if a man is overly dependent on his mother and brings that relationship into the marriage; this is no doubt a recipe for disaster. Also important to consider are the following:•Avoid people who are emotionally empty inside. These include people who don’t like themselves because they lack the ability to be emotionally available. They are always preoccupied with their deficiencies, insecurities, and negative thoughts. They are in a perpetual fight with depression, never feel good, are isolated, are critical and judgmental; tend to not have any close friends, and often distrust people or are afraid of them. Another clear indication about them is they always feel their needs are not getting met; they have a sense of entitlement and feel angry when they feel people should take care of them and they don’t. They feel burdened by other people’s needs and feel resentment towards them. These people can not be emotionally available to build healthy relationships.•Addictions can also limit the level of availability of the partner to build a strong emotional relationship. Never marry an addict. Addictions are not limited to drugs and alcohol. They can be about addictions and dependency on work, internet, hobbies, sports, shopping, money, power, status, materialism, etc. When someone has an addiction, they will not and can not be emotionally available to develop an intimate relationship with you!Additional Points to Consider:1.The fact is no one looks 25 forever. Ultimately, we love the person we marry for more than their appearance. When we get to know someone we love and admire, we’ll love them for their inner beauty and overall essence.2.Once we find someone, we consciously or subconsciously want so badly for it all to work that we decide not to question or see what is clearly in front of our eyes: they were rude to the waiter, speaks ill of others, is rude to you, etc. We don’t stop to ask, “What does all of this mean about their character?”3.Never separate someone from their family, background, education, belief system, etc. Asking clear questions can clarify this. Ask questions like, “What does it mean to have a simple lifestyle?” “What are your expectations of marriage?” “How would you help around the house?” Compare your definition with theirs.4.Be flexible. Be open-minded!5.Giving in a happy marriage should not be confused with martyrdom. It should be about taking pleasure and seeing the other person as happy because of your connection with them.6.Morality and spirituality are the qualities that truly define someone in addition to beauty, money, and health. The morally upright and spiritual person will stand by your side during adversity and hardship. If someone isn’t God-conscience and doesn’t take themselves into account with God then why should you expect them to fulfill their rights owed to you? The ideal partner is someone who considers giving a gain and not causing a loss. Having a mutual and shared spiritual relationship will foster a successful marriage. Furthermore, a successful marriage is one that keeps the laws of family purity which require a certain degree of self-control and self-discipline, as well as the belief that the physical side of the relationship includes the spiritual and emotional side as well. Finding commonality and balance between the spiritual and emotional aspects of a relationship is a strong key to a healthy and thriving marriage.

Counting down the 12 things I'm incredibly grateful for. (In no particular order):Happy New Year!

2011-12-30T19:15:00.008-06:00

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity and it can bring peace and create visions for tomorrow
My Grandmother(Samantha Ward) was very animate about being grateful and often imparted the importance of Gratitued and being grateful, becuause the world owes you nothing
Gratitude

1. God's Grace and Mercies on my life;I'm clearly not worthy but he heard my cry to receive them both
2. My Parents, because of their never ending deep love and amazing values
3. My Family, i.e., Siblings, Cousins, Uncles and Aunts, nieces and nephews - they really are our inheritance
4. The blessings of warm enduring friendships(especially, Kathy, Anita,Karen, Latrice, Felecia, Niclowe,Joseph, Tommie,Sykes,Carmen,Mia,London)
5. My Health
6. Every Challenge I had to endure and overcome in 2011, which brought many
7. Couple(Rick and Kathy Lamanuzzi)
8. My Faith
9. Couple (Nat and Denise)
10. My Business
11. Janell Murphy
12. Change

Dealiciousthings, Trendy! Hot! Gemstone Bracelets.

2011-12-20T07:21:00.003-06:00

Friend --

2011-12-19T19:10:00.000-06:00

Beyond the titles, it's easy to forget sometimes that our President and First Lady are, when it comes down to it, regular people like us.

So I'd encourage you right now to enter our contest to do what few people will ever get to do -- not just have dinner with the President and First Lady of the United States, but have dinner with Barack and Michelle Obama.

Here's the link to throw your name in the hat for dinner with Barack and Michelle:

https://donate.barackobama.com/Barack-and-Michelle

This dinner isn't just some sweepstakes -- it's also a way to help build this campaign just days before our Republican opponents start competing in primaries and caucuses, and inevitably step up their attacks on the President and our campaign.

So make sure to enter before the deadline, and to spread the word to a friend or two -- if someone you tell about this opportunity ends up winning, I'd guess you'd be at the top of their guest list.

Thanks,

Julianna

Julianna Smoot
Deputy Campaign Manager
Obama for America

No purchase, payment, or contribution necessary to enter or win. Contributing will not improve chances of winning. Void where prohibited. Entries must be received by midnight on December 31st, 2011. You may enter by contributing to Sponsor here or click here to enter without contributing. Three winners will each receive the following prize package: up to $1200 towards round-trip tickets for winner and a guest from within the fifty U.S. States, DC, or Puerto Rico to a destination to be determined by the Sponsor; hotel accommodations; and dinner with President Obama on a date to be determined by the Sponsor (approximate retail value of all prizes $4,800). Odds of winning depend on number of entries received. Promotion open only to U.S. citizens, or lawful permanent U.S. residents who are legal residents of 50 United States, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico and 18 or older (or of majority under applicable law). Promotion subject to Official Rules and additional restrictions on eligibility. Sponsor: Obama for America, 130 E. Randolph St., Chicago, IL 60601.

Contributions or gifts to Obama for America are not tax deductible.
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A message from our President, Barack Obama

2011-12-18T11:13:00.000-06:00

Friend --

Early this morning, the last of our troops left Iraq.

As we honor and reflect on the sacrifices that millions of men and women made for this war, I wanted to make sure you heard the news.

Bringing this war to a responsible end was a cause that sparked many Americans to get involved in the political process for the first time. Today's outcome is a reminder that we all have a stake in our country's future, and a say in the direction we choose.

Thank you.

Barack

What would happen if China decided to cash in their U.S debt securities?

2011-12-13T12:15:00.008-06:00

China produces more than it consumes and ships the excess to the US. What dose this do to China's economy? Do we send them back other goods or services? Or, do we just incur more US debt? The Chinese economy continues to grow significantly and they continue to keep on producing.
Do you think that something has gone terribly wrong? Again, what do you think would happen if China decided to cash in their U.S debts securities which is currently around 1,160.00 BILLION. In addition, lets also look at other U.S debts securities the US owes: Russia,UK,Hong Kong,Thailand, ect.

Dr. Anita McLaughlin PhD. on Public Education 11/13 by Patrice Ward | Blog Talk Radio

2011-07-05T13:14:00.000-05:00

Dr. Anita McLaughlin PhD. on Public Education 11/13 by Patrice Ward | Blog Talk Radio

Anonymous.. Thanks...

2010-03-23T13:29:00.001-05:00

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Our Anticipated Inauguration - A Dream Fulfilled":

i seriously enjoy all your posting type, very helpful,
don't quit and keep posting in all honesty , because it simply just that is worth to look through it.
excited to look over way more of your current posts, goodbye ;)

House Passes Health Care Overhaul in Historic Win for Democrats

2010-03-22T10:10:00.002-05:00

Financial Management for your Small Business

2010-03-04T12:05:00.000-06:00

ChicagoUrban League Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Thursday, March 11, 2010
Developing a Business Plan for an On-line Business

6p.m. - 9p.m.

4510 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60653
nextSTEP Business Classes
Time:6:00PM Tuesday, March 9th
Location:4510 S. Michigan Ave.
about an hour ago · Share · RSVP to this event
ChicagoUrban League Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Financial Management for your Small Business

Thursday, March 11, 2010
Developing a Business Plan for an On-line Business

6p.m. - 9p.m.

4510 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60653
nextSTEP Business Classes
Time:6:00PM Tuesday, March 9th
Location:4510 S. Michigan Ave.

Feedback

2010-02-21T10:34:00.001-06:00

to publish anything supporting or failing to condemn Lacy Thomas shows a complete lack of knowledge of the situation that occured at University Medical Center, Las Vegas. Simply put, Lacy Thomas is a criminal, he associates with criminals, he funneled money to himself and other criminals at the expense of the taxpayers of Clark County, Nevada and he belongs in prison for a long time. My spouse and I were forced to leave UMC and Las Vegas due in no small part to this criminals actions. May he rot for the full 70 years - or longer - more indictments are in the works.

Friday, 20 June, 2008

Anonymous said...
Mr. Williams,
You are either ignorant, part of the scams set up by Thomas, or both. I witnessed first hand his unethical and egregious misuse of power and county funds. Regarding your use of the "race card", get over it. If anyone at UMC or the county were racist, they would never have hired him in the first place. The hospital was losing money far beyond the budgeted amount, so like a little kid, he tried to hide it from the county. He hired "buddies" due to the kickback arrangements he secured and then fired the honest people at the hospital who called him on these and other wrongdoings. And here you are defending him? You should be investigated next!

Thursday, 07 August, 2008

Anonymous said...
Lacy Thomas is now the Vice President,Client Services Director for ESI Network in Dallas, Texas, a Revenue Cycle Management Outsourcing company that does business at Cook County in Chicago.
Lacy was responsible for the original business for this company in Cook County several years ago.

Anonymous

Wednesday, 13 May, 2009

Anonymous said...
Mr. Thomas is in charge of assisting public healthcare companies with revenue management and public funds.

Friday, 15 May, 2009

Anonymous said...
I STILL BELIEVE IN JUSTICE AND THIS MAN DESERVES A FAIR TRIAL.WHAT HAPPEN TO INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY?

Thursday, 06 August, 2009

Anonymous said...
DANIEL WAS IN THE THE LIONS DEN BUT GOD DELIVERED HIM AND I BELIEVE HE WILL DELIVER YOU ALSO.HAVE NO FEAR AT YOUR LONELY TIMES IN THIS LIFE GOD IS NEAR AND HAS NOT FORSAKEN YOU SO HOLD ON A CHANGE IN YOUR SITUATION IS COMING.

Thursday, 06 August, 2009

Anonymous said...
REMEMBER YOU WHERE STRANDED ON THE HIGHWAY AND NEEDED HELP? GOD SENT SOMEBODY TO CHANGE THAT TIRE FOR FOR YOU! WELL GUESS WHAT YOU WILL GET HELP THIS TIME ALSO TOO.

Thursday, 06 August, 2009

Anonymous said...
Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!

Wednesday, 06 January, 2010

Anonymous said...
You have really great taste on catch article titles, even when you are not interested in this topic you push to read it

Saturday, 20 February, 2010

Patty said...
Anonymous, please let me know what topics you would like to see discussed. Thanks for you feedback.

Sunday, 21 February, 2010

TAKING YOUR CAREER TO NEW HEIGHTS

2010-02-19T07:50:00.000-06:00

The Workforce Development & Diversity Center presents
The Professional Development Workshop Series

A 9-part series for degreed professionals
looking to take their careers to the next level.

SESSION 1:

Dates:
Thursday, February 25 6:00p.m. - 9:00p.m.
OR
Saturday, February 27 9:00a.m. - 12:00p.m.

Designed to help you move forward in your career, this workshop addresses goal setting and decision making strategies that will help clarify specific career related objectives and learn ways to cope with potential obstacles to career development.

Online Registration is REQUIRED
http://www.TheChicagoUrbanLeague.org
(Click on Workforce Diversity)

Workshop Fees
______________________

Prepay online $20 per session
At the Door $25 per session
Full 9-part Series $175 (**$225 value!!**)

Chicago Urban League · 4510 S. Michigan Ave. · Chicago, IL 60653

How to Start a Not-For-Profit Business Part II

2010-02-01T16:21:00.000-06:00

ChicagoUrban League February 1 at 11:29am Reply
Learn how to start or refine your business by attending classes taught by business professionals at the Chicago Urban League!

Tuesday, February 2
Marketing Research

To succeed in business, you must understand the marketing landscape, competitive environment, target audience, industry trends, and the feasibility of entering and succeeding in your business. This session will provide the tools and knowledge for conducting primary and secondary research; and how to use the information to build a sound business plan and business.

Thursday, February 4

How to Start a Not-For-Profit Business Part II

This class is to be taken after the "How to Start a Not-For-Profit Business Part I" (1/28/10)
Learn how to apply for Tax Exempt 501(c)(3) from the I.R.S
Review I.R.S Form 1023-Application for Tax Exempt Recognition
Review Exempt Organization Report Requirements - I.R.S. Form 889. Learn what Exempt Organizations can do and cannot do to keep from losing exempt status

Time: 6pm - 8pm (Both days)
Where: Chicago Urban League
4510 S. Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60653

Space is Limited!
ONLINE REGISTRATION REQUIRED
http://www.TheChicagoUrbanLeague.org (click on Entrepreneur)

Payment Methods:
Online $20 per class | At the door $25 per class

Full Semester $200
(This includes both Tuesday and Thursday classes now- April 22, 2010) a $620 VALUE!!

For more information about the Chicago Urban League visit http://www.TheChicagoUrbanLeague.org. Follow us on Twitter http://www.Twitter.com/ChiUrbanLeague

“My job is to get this bill across the finish line,”

2009-09-30T14:51:00.001-05:00

A Senate committee drafting health care legislation soundly rejected two versions of a proposed government-run program Tuesday. Supporters of the “public option” vowed to resurrect the provision later this fall. Moderate Democrats twice voted with a unanimous bloc of 10 Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee to beat back attempts by more liberal Democrats to insert the public option into the $900 billion, 10-year plan under consideration by the committee. Defeat of the public option underscored divisions among Democrats and bolstered predictions by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., that the proposal doesn’t have the support it needs to pass in the full Senate. “My job is to get this bill across the finish line,” said Baucus, chairman of the Finance Committee and one of five Democrats who voted against the public option offered by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.(Taken from USA Today)

Lacy Thomas Update:Anonymous has left a new comment

2009-08-10T10:14:00.002-05:00

DANIEL WAS IN THE THE LIONS DEN BUT GOD DELIVERED HIM AND I BELIEVE HE WILL DELIVER YOU ALSO.HAVE NO FEAR AT YOUR LONELY TIMES IN THIS LIFE GOD IS NEAR AND HAS NOT FORSAKEN YOU SO HOLD ON A CHANGE IN YOUR SITUATION IS COMING.

I STILL BELIEVE IN JUSTICE AND THIS MAN DESERVES A FAIR TRIAL.WHAT HAPPEN TO INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY?

REMEMBER YOU WHERE STRANDED ON THE HIGHWAY AND NEEDED HELP? GOD SENT SOMEBODY TO CHANGE THAT TIRE FOR FOR YOU! WELL GUESS WHAT YOU WILL GET HELP THIS TIME ALSO TOO.

2009-07-22T09:47:00.001-05:00

We have to continue to show our support for President Obama and his administration in order to eliminate this nonsense by the Republicans and Conservative Democrats. Change will happen Only if Our Voices are heard!!!

All Things In Time
Tommie L. Williams

Tommie --

Last week, Republican Senator Jim DeMint made it pretty clear why the opponents of health care reform are fighting so hard. As he told a special interest attack group, "If we're able to stop Obama on this, it will be his Waterloo. It will break him." Here's how the President responded:
Think about that. This isn't about me. This isn't about politics. This is about a health care system that is breaking America's families, breaking America's businesses and breaking America's economy. And we can't afford the politics of delay and defeat when it comes to health care. Not this time, not now. There are too many lives and livelihoods at stake.
With Congress only days away from finalizing their plans for reform, it's time to stand up with the President and fight back against this disastrous brand of old-style politics. So we need as many people as possible to publicly support the President's principles for health care reform and call on Congress to act.

Before the first full votes in Congress, we'll publish the signatures in newspaper ads across the nation, to make sure your voice is heard.

Watch President Obama's full response, then add your name in support of reform. Or if you've already signed, please forward this message to every one of your friends and neighbors so they can join you.

The President is more dedicated than ever to passing health care reform that satisfies the three requirements he's been talking about for months: Health care reform must reduce costs, guarantee choice -- including the choice of a strong public insurance option -- and ensure all Americans have quality, affordable health care.

If we do not reform our broken health care system this year, we will only shackle future generations with spiraling costs and deteriorating care. The cost of inaction is simply more than this country can afford.

But the special interests who profit from the status quo won't go down without a fight. The ads, the smears, and the attacks -- targeting both President Obama and members of Congress who support reform -- will only get worse. So it's crucial that we show huge backing before Congress finalizes their plans this month.

Stand with President Obama on health care reform:

http://my.barackobama.com/hcdeclare

Thanks for standing up for change.

Thanks,

Mitch

Mitch Stewart
Director
Organizing for America

Paid for by Organizing for America, a project of the Democratic National Committee -- 430 South Capitol Street SE, Washington, D.C. 20003. This

Thanks Stephen!!!

2009-07-14T09:15:00.003-05:00

Conservative Free Republic blog in free speech flap after racial slurs directed at Obama children
By Chris Parry
July 13, 2009 3:41 PM

This photo of U.S. President Barrack Obama's daughter Malia, wearing a peace-symbol t-shirt touched off a storm of epithet-laced comments on the conservative 'Free Republic' blog

"A typical street whore." "A bunch of ghetto thugs." "Ghetto street trash." "Wonder when she will get her first abortion."

These are a small selection of some of the racially-charged comments posted to the conservative 'Free Republic' blog Thursday, aimed at U.S. President Barack Obama's 11-year-old daughter Malia after she was photographed wearing a t-shirt with a peace sign on the front.

The thread was accompanied by a photo of Michelle Obama speaking to Malia that featured the caption, "To entertain her daughter, Michelle Obama loves to make monkey sounds."

Though this may sound like the sort of thing one might read on an Aryan Nation or white power website, they actually appeared on what is commonly considered one of the prime online locations for U.S. Conservative grassroots political discussion and organizing - and for a short time, the comments seemed to have the okay of site administrators.

Moderators of the blog left the comments - and commenters - in place until a complaint was lodged by a writer doing research on the conservative movement, almost a full day later.

"Could you imagine what world leaders must be thinking seeing this kind of street trash and that we paid for this kind of street ghetto trash to go over there?" wrote one commenter.

"They make me sick .... The whole family... mammy, pappy, the free loadin' mammy-in-law, the misguided chillin', and especially 'lil cuz... This is not the America I want representin' my peeps," wrote another.

Such was the onslaught of derision on the site that the person who originally complained about the slurs, who goes by the nickname 'CatM', claimed on the left-wing DailyKos.com website that only one comment in the first hundred posted actually criticized the remarks as inappropriate.

A note on the front of Free Republic reads, "Free Republic does not advocate or condone racism, violence, rebellion, secession, or an overthrow of the government," but one comment on the thread read, "This disgusting display makes me more and more eager for the revolution," while another read, "I never actually wnated [sic] to be a pistol before but..."

After attention from other blogs, the thread was suppressed and placed under review, but before long it was returned to the site intact, and attracted a new series of racial slurs when the original complaint email was posted publicly to the site, with the sender's email address intact.

"The writer has a point," wrote site owner Jim Robinson sarcastically. "We should steer clear of Obama's children. They can't help it if their old man is an American-hating Marxist pig."

"I agree Jim," wrote commenter, by the nickname NoobRep. "The kids didn't pick their commie pinko pansy of a father. Nor did they choose to be put into the spotlight. But Obama/Soetoro is fair game and so is his witch of a wife."

"Poor kids. I hope they're not 'punished with a baby'," wrote another. "Hopefully they won't deal cocaine like the Kenyan."

"DIRTBAGS! All of them. Our [White House] is now a joke to the rest of the world. We have no respect and this is not going to turn out well, mark my words. We will be hit, and much worse than last time. We are now seen as weak and vulnerable. Ghetto and Chicago thugs have taken over."

Only after significant negative attention from a host of left wing political blogs did the maintainers of the Free Republic site place the thread under review for a second time, before finally pulling it.

In the wake of the controversy, some Free Republic posters complained about the vitriol.

One poster by the name of "fullchroma" wrote, "To Jim Robinson: The recent uptick here in racist vitriol, aimed at Barrack, Michelle and their children has made me wonder if I belong. My objection to Obama has nothing to do with skin tone. Is the ugly stereotype of Conservative racism true?"

Another, going by the name of TChris, wrote, "Free Republic is a political discussion forum. It SHOULD be beneath us as a group to stoop to such juvenile tactics as I see increasing here lately. Do we REALLY have to insult Mrs. Obama's appearance like a clique of nasty 14-year-old girls?"

But such opinions were not shared by all. Said Roses of Sharon, "Poor libs .... Too late, the battle has been joined."

2009-06-02T08:28:00.001-05:00

It's a shame that our community does not protest the assassination of this Officer. A car drove up and fired at him from behind while he was doing his job. If he had been in a shootout and had to kill someone, then the community would be in an uproar complaining about "bogus" Police harrassing the innocent. Officers of other races are dying to protect us from ourselves, and the community does not even acknowledge them. We harbor those among us that only serve to destroy us. It seems as if some of us truly have no souls.

Stephen

"Lacy Thomas Update:":

2009-05-14T09:17:00.001-05:00

Lacy Thomas is now the Vice President,Client Services Director for ESI Network in Dallas, Texas, a Revenue Cycle Management Outsourcing company that does business at Cook County in Chicago.
Lacy was responsible for the original business for this company in Cook County several years ago.

Anonymous

"Thinking about lending money to a friend or relative...":

2009-04-21T08:30:00.005-05:00

Steve on "Thinking about lending money to a friend or relative...":

If your thinking about it...Consider using ZimpleMoney.com. It's friendlier more social place, you can upload files and post messages and comments throughout the loan term.

Click here to check out this siteZIMPLEMONEY

THANKS STEVE

Thinking about lending money to a friend or relative?

2009-04-17T13:15:00.000-05:00

Lending money to a friend could be risky if you don't set up ground rules
By Eileen Ambrose | Tribune Newspapers
March 22, 2009
With banks being so tightfisted these days, you might find friends or relatives falling on hard times and turning to you for a loan.

Should you do it?

Your loan could prevent a loved one's foreclosure, bankruptcy or other dire fate.

Then again, the borrower might never repay. You fume, the borrower resents your hints to repay and the relationship blows up.

Loans to friends and relatives are dicey. You can play it safe by saying "No" to all loans or offering the money as a gift without expecting to be repaid. But if you do decide to play banker, set some ground rules for yourself and the borrower.

•Never lend more than you can afford to lose. That way, if the borrower defaults, you haven't put your finances in jeopardy.

•Make the loan as business-like as possible, drawing up a promissory note that both of you sign. The note should contain loan details, such as the amount borrowed, the interest rate and repayment terms. Discuss what you'll do if the borrower can't repay.

Indianapolis financial planner Grace Worley said some parents worry about favoring one child over others by making a loan. To be fair, some execute a promissory note so there's evidence of the loan to a child, and when the parents' estate is settled, the loan is subtracted from that child's share if necessary, she said.

The IRS requires that you charge interest if the loan is more than $13,000, the amount one person can give another this year without triggering gift tax issues, said Cindy Hockenberry, research coordinator with the National Association of Tax Professionals.

The IRS publishes minimum rates to charge, depending on the length of loan. •One option gaining in popularity is peer-to-peer lending site Virgin Money, which acts as an intermediary for loans between friends or relatives.

Under Virgin Money's Handshake Plus program, you can set up a promissory note with a borrower. Virgin Money will electronically debit payments from the borrower's account and forward them to you.

If the borrower doesn't repay, collection action can be taken or the default could be reported to the credit bureaus. Families usually, though, revise the loan terms if a relative is struggling to repay, said Asheesh Avandi, chief executive of Virgin Money USA.

The cost is a one-time fee of $199, plus $9 per payment.

Not all lending stories end well. And if yours doesn't, you might be able to get some consolation by writing off a bad loan on your tax return.

To pass muster with the IRS, it must be a bona-fide loan, meaning you have a written agreement and both parties have signed the pact, Hockenberry said. And you must be able to show that you took steps to try to collect the money—a trip to small claims court, for example, or letters from you or a lawyer seeking to wring out payments from the borrower, she said.

Losses on loans can be deducted as a short-term capital loss, the same way you write off investment losses, Hockenberry said.

Hockenberry's job is to answer questions for tax professionals, and queries about writing off bad loans to friends and family come up year after year. "It's really a common thing," she said.

And you say you don’t have any “Friends”. Wow!

2009-04-10T08:42:00.003-05:00

A message of hope for the young adults
Recently, I hosted a “Girls Night Out”, with some of my closest friends. We range in age from 30 to 50. We have different levels of education and varying job titles. We also vary in our marital statuses . In this group, there is a mother of 4, as well as a mother of none. Some I’ve known for 20+ years and others less than 2. We are all on a spiritual journey, but not all at the same place on this journey. Each of them hold a special place in my life and they are women that I love, trust and depend on.
For young women who think that people are only in your life because “they want something”, they’re right. Everybody wants something, but their perspective of what someone wants may be distorted. One friend offers me a reality check. Another a shoulder to cry on. Another offers a laugh just when I need it and another an uplifting word, and yes, I want all of these things. Each of them offers me something that I need and I’m more than certain I offer them something in return. I learned a long time ago, that in order to have a friend, you must be a friend. You can’t expect that someone will be a firend to you without reciprocating that action.
Have we failed the next generation of women? I hope not. Are their challenges different than the generation before them, not really, but perception is reality. They peceive that they do not have true friends, and that is true for them. What can we do to help mentor these women? How can we show them that the women they don’t trust, can be a great asset.
First, we have to acknowledge that this is what they feel. Pulling the sheets up to our necks won’t cover up what they are experiencing. We may not understand it, but be open to listening. Next, we need to address why they feel this way. Some of us have not experienced whatever it is that placed them on this path. Then, teach them that in order to pick a gem, they have to ensure that their jewelry is shining. Again, you can’t expect to have a friend, if you’re not willig to be one. Finally, teach them to LOVE themselves. Self-preservation is the first law of nature. When you learn to love yourself, the journey to loving someone else doensn’t seem so far.
This is not a one size fits all, but I feel we need to start somewhere or our next generation could trully be lost to the world.
To All my Friends, Thank you in advance for whatever it is you have to offer. May sun always grace your presence.

Felecia.....

There's always the Media's version and then there's the Truth!!! The Somalians are fending for themselves and their survival

2009-04-09T12:59:00.003-05:00

News, analysis and and reporting from independent journalist Jeremy Scahill.

I'm Putting Today's 'Pirate' Attack in Context

A US ship, owned by a Pentagon contractor with ‘Top Security’ clearance, was seized off the Somali coast. Reports say the US crew has retaken the ship. But the question remains: Why are the pirates attacking?

By Jeremy Scahill

The Somali pirates who took control of the 17,000-ton “Maersk Alabama” cargo-ship in the early hours of Wednesday morning probably were unaware that the ship they were boarding belonged to a US Department of Defense contractor with “top security clearance,” which does a half-billion dollars in annual business with the Pentagon, primarily the Navy. The ship was being operated by an “all-American” crew—there were 20 US nationals onboard. “Every indication is that this is the first time a U.S.-flagged ship has been successfully seized by pirates,” said Lt. Nathan Christensen, a spokesperson for for the U.S. Navy’s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet. The last documented pirate attack of a US vessel by African pirates was reported in 1804, off Libya, according to The Los Angeles Times.

The company, A.P. Moller-Maersk, is a Denmark-based company with a large US subsidiary, Maersk Line, Ltd, that serves US government agencies and contractors. The company, which is based in Norfolk, Virginia, runs the world’s largest fleet of US-flag vessels. The “Alabama” was about 300 miles off the coast of the Puntland region of northern Somalia when it was taken. The US military says the Alabama was not operating on a DoD contract at the time and was said to be delivering food aid.

The closest US warship to the “Alabama” at the time of the seizure was 300 miles away. At the time of the seizure, the US Navy did not say how or if it would respond, but seemed not to rule out intervention. ”It’s fair to say we are closely monitoring the situation, but we will not discuss nor speculate on current and future military operations,” said Navy Cmdr. Jane Campbell.

The seizure of the ship seemed to have been short-lived. At the time of this writing, the Pentagon was reporting that the US crew retook the ship and was holding one of the pirates in custody. At this point, it is unclear if the crew acted alone or had assistance from the military or another security force.

Over the past year, there has been a dramatic uptick in media coverage of the “pirates,” particularly in the Gulf of Aden. Pirates reportedly took in upwards of $150 million in ransoms last year alone. In fact, at the moment the Alabama’s seizure, pirates were already holding 14 other vessels with about 200 crew members, according to the International Maritime Bureau. There have been seven hijackings in the past month alone.

Often, the reporting on pirates centers around the gangsterism of the pirates and the seemingly huge ransoms they demand. Indeed, piracy can be a very profitable business, as the following report from Reuters suggests:

A rough back-of-the-envelope calculation shows that the operation to hijack the Saudi tanker, the Sirius Star, cost no more than $25,000, assuming that the pirates bought new equipment and weapons ($450 apiece for an AK-47 Kalashnikov, $5,000 for an RPG-7 grenade launcher, $15,000 for a speedboat). That contrasts with an initial ransom demand to the tanker’s owner, Saudi Aramco, of $25 million.

“Piracy is an excellent business model if you operate from an impoverished, lawless place like Somalia,” says Patrick Cullen, a security expert at the London School of Economics who has been researching piracy. “The risk-reward ratio is just huge.”

But this type of coverage of the pirates is similar to the false narrative about “tribalism” being the cause of all of Africa’s problems. Of course, there are straight-up gangsters and criminals engaged in these hijackings. Perhaps the pirates who hijacked the Alabama on Wednesday fall into that category. We do not yet know. But that is hardly the whole “pirate” story. Consider what one pirate told The New York Times after he and his men seized a Ukrainian freighter “loaded with tanks, artillery, grenade launchers and ammunition” last year. “We don’t consider ourselves sea bandits,” said Sugule Ali:. “We consider sea bandits those who illegally fish in our seas and dump waste in our seas and carry weapons in our seas. We are simply patrolling our seas. Think of us like a coast guard.” Now, that “coast guard” analogy is a stretch, but his point is an important and widely omitted part of this story. Indeed the Times article was titled, “Somali Pirates Tell Their Side: They Want Only Money.” Yet, The New York Times acknowledged, “the piracy industry started about 10 to 15 years ago… as a response to illegal fishing.”

Take this fact: Over $300 million worth of tuna, shrimp, and lobster are “being stolen every year by illegal trawlers” off Somalia’s coast, forcing the fishing industry there into a state of virtual non-existence.

But it isn’t just the theft of seafood. Nuclear dumping has polluted the environment. “In 1991, the government of Somalia collapsed,” wrote Johann Hari in The Independent. “Its nine million people have been teetering on starvation ever since – and the ugliest forces in the Western world have seen this as a great opportunity to steal the country’s food supply and dump our nuclear waste in their seas.”

According to Hari:

As soon as the [Somali] government was gone, mysterious European ships started appearing off the coast of Somalia, dumping vast barrels into the ocean. The coastal population began to sicken. At first they suffered strange rashes, nausea and malformed babies. Then, after the 2005 tsunami, hundreds of the dumped and leaking barrels washed up on shore. People began to suffer from radiation sickness, and more than 300 died.
…

What do you think?

2009-04-06T16:16:00.000-05:00

This is from one of my oldest friends. What do you think? SB

Black people are an intense people. Watch us in popular sports and we dominate; watch our church services - so much intensity & creativity. I had a conversation with a co-worker and we surmised that American Idol intentionally had to pick more white winners or Idol would have come to be dominated by Black folks - and who wants to see Blacks folks winning in open competition. A white early childhood instructor admitted to me that most people in her field knew that Black children at 3 or 4 years usually have better language & communication skills and better motor skills/muscle development; Black children are at the top of their class until 2nd grade; then bad upbringing, lack of motivation, laziness, shiftlessness from bad parenting diminish their lead steadily until 7th grade when we are probably the worst students in the country - and it goes downhill from there. I hate most Black conservatives, but as one Black conservative stated 'Black people in the US are at the bottom because we choose to be at the bottom' - there is some truth in that.

I held out for 20 years waiting on a good Sista, because I know the potential for greatness & happiness in our people; but eventually I had to get with a woman who chose to respect me & treat me nice rather than hoping that a Sista would finally decide to respect me as a man - you can't wait forever for things to change.
_____________________________________________________________

What’s up! I attended the Women of Color Conference this weekend, at U of I, in Champagne. I had the opportunity to hang out with some really cool young sisters. The conference addressed how we interact with one another, self Images, and relationships overall. Typically, women I’m around are between the ages of 38-60, that said; I’ve just not been around many young adults (21-35). Let me just say, I was extremely taken back by how they discussed and addressed the treatment of one another, their self-image, and their experiences. During and upon leaving the conference, I left knowing that some how, somewhere, we’ve failed them. Don’t get me wrong, the sisters are doing some amazing things, and the workshops were very interactive, and it gave me insight into what some of our young adults are dealing with. Apparently, I’ve had my head stuck in the sand; it was definitely an eye opener for me. Hearing you guys rant over some sisters, holds some truths,however, is it not the responsibility of each of us to somehow treat and teach our young sisters and young men the importance of loving self and others? I was taught as young girl that I was valued and special and if not to anyone else, but to the Ward Family. Knowing that, allowed me to love and also value others. I don’t have the answers, but for those of us that know better have failed our young. Let’s not go off into how terrible we are, but let’s began simply correcting our wrongs. Both my parents constantly drilled do’s and don’ts, and no, I can't argue that we are living in very different times, nevertheless, some things must not change…Our people need much help…Let’s stop making this about us and look at how we can help our young people. I left saddened… Cheech

Obama-Sarkozy

2009-04-03T10:39:00.000-05:00

Obama's message to Europe
Speaking before a French and German audience at a town-hall meeting, President Obama pledged to repair damaged relations with Europe. I watched coming in on the train this morning, and I'm hopeful that he will restore the damaged relationships inherited by the Bush administration. We're so proud of you Barack and Michelle!!!!!!

Obama and Michelle are doing their thing in Europe...

2009-04-03T10:27:00.000-05:00

President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle have received a rapturous welcome in the French town of Strasbourg ahead of a Nato summit. They were greeted by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni.

Why aren't Black folks discussing this? SB

2009-03-31T14:05:00.000-05:00

(NECN: Josh Brogadir, Milton, Mass.) - WARNING: Graphic details included in both the text and video of this report.

Milton Police held a news conference Saturday afternoon to explain more about the killings of three Milton, Massachusetts siblings that unfolded at around 5 p.m. On Saturday.

According to police, Kerby Revelus, 23, first went at his sister Samantha, 17, stabbing her with a kitchen knife.

Police said that she called 911, and then another sister, 9-year-old Sarafina, got on the phone with the dispatcher.

Kerby killed Samantha, according to police, before a police officer responding to the call broke down the door. That is when Kerby decapitated his 5-year-old sister Bianca in front of the police officer, Chief Richard Wells said.

"The assailant had the 5-year-old daughter in his arms and was holding her hostage," Chief Wells said. "The assailant was armed with a knife and had the 5-year-old by the neck and severed her head immediately."

All that occurred with Bianca's birthday cake resting on the table. Sarafina was also stabbed, but was taken to the hospital and survived.

Kerby had a prior arrest from 2004 on domestic abuse charges against one of his siblings.

2009-03-31T13:50:00.000-05:00

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew: 6:34

Slow me down, God. I use my energy each morning troubleshooting for the days ahead. I completely bypass the gift of today, the gift of now. Calm my spirit, expand my breaths, fill me with Your peace so that my spinning thoughts settle. I serve no greater good by thinking ahead, wringing my hands, and wondering what might happen.

Save me from my need to control every situation or possible situation. Lead me back to trusting You with all that will happen. I know that You do no ask me to handle everything on my own. You will be there with me, for me. So today, this moment is only about this moment. May I rest in it and experience it as You intended.

I Need Your Assistance

2009-03-30T08:16:00.001-05:00

I Need Your Assistance to help me find sponsorships for our high school students. It costs $1000 to sponsor a student but due to hard economic times we will take what we can get.

During the past three years, the ACAP Chicago has grown from 13 students in 2005 to 40 students in 2008. Each year we receive over 100 applications. However due to funding constraints, we have only been able to accommodate 40 students. Each year we have successfully recruited and encouraged a significant number of students to pursue careers in the accounting and business professions. All students attending the programs have graduated from their respective high schools. Additionally, each year, we have awarded three (3) $1,000 academic scholarships to the participants to aid them with their college expenses.

There is a substantial cost associated in providing this educational program, which includes but is not limited to meals, housing, transportation and program materials. Your corporation or company can contribute to the success of the program by supporting an ACAP student. (See Attachments)

If you have any questions feel free to contact me at 773-457-2078

Tommie L. Williams, Comptroller

Jackie, Stephen B & Joe responds....

2009-03-28T18:00:00.000-05:00

Hello beautiful,

I worked at WGCI for years as a announcer, and I started as Tom's afternoon producer. I know radio well, that's why I left it. Derrick Brown is right. Steve Harvey actually has more appeal in Chicago than Tom does. His radio career started in Chicago also. Combine that with his TV shows, movies and books, he has more face/name recognition with the demographic of WVAZ (35-54). Radio listeners aren't loyal. They won't fight for you, or switch the dial to a new station. Everything in radio has a shelf life, Tom's just expired. He had a great run. Stephen B

________________________________________________

Hello
You know I like to stay silent on a few issues but this Tom Joyner hoopla makes me want to vent a little. Every now and then I would listen to the music on his show but soon as his talk portion came on I would turn. He and Anthony J Brown would talk "Playa this" and "Playa that" and spew anti family values to an audience where 70% of black children are born into single family households. Is that what we as a community need to solve our problems or was he merely reflecting (mocking) the current trend. I believe he should've projected something more positive that would have inspired us to reach higher rather than laughing at our sad current state of affairs. Also that stereotypical soap opera was like a step and fetch it program to me. Tom and his crew basically performed to the delight of his listeners and of course "The Man" and besides his college donations he showed no social responsibility to me.

History shows there has always been some people that can profit from our misery by making light/fun of us and our situations but in the end those who sacrifice their character and dignity for money will eventually lose. Until we learn to own our mediums (WVON) so we can decide the information we want to disperse we will be toys and pawns for those in power to use to amuse those who should be changing or mislead others and when they are done with them they will be thrown away also!

Joe Thanks Joe!!!!

Stephen

What's up sweetie! Thx!

Tom Joyner calls firing from Clear Channel's WVAZ-FM 102.7 in Chicago different from the others

2009-03-27T15:24:00.000-05:00

Thanks Jackie! Tommie some insight please.....
Radio host Tom Joyner is based in Dallas but roots are in Chicago
Phil Rosenthal | Media
March 27, 2009
Monday's edition of "The Tom Joyner Morning Show" was typical, as far as Joyner was concerned. There were laughs, some solid information and encouragement. "And I talked a little bit about people who get laid off," he said. "Because every day there's a story about people getting laid off."

Four hours or so after he got off the air, he got the call. One of that day's stories would be his: Clear Channel pulled the plug on his show in Chicago, where his radio roots reach back to 1972.

Joyner's Dallas-based syndicated program, while continuing to be heard in dozens of smaller markets around the country as well as online, was replaced immediately on WVAZ-FM 102.7, his outlet here for the past 13 years, by comedian Steve Harvey, whose show has been airing on WGCI-FM 107.5.

"I've been fired a bunch of times, but this was up there," Joyner said by phone. "You know, I worked every radio station in Chicago, including as a cab dispatcher. I didn't walk from one station to the other, I got kicked. But I haven't been kicked in a long time, so this felt a lot different."

Suddenly, Joyner was off the air in the city he still considered home long after he returned to Dallas.

"Tom has been a great partner," said Earl Jones, president and Chicago market manager of Clear Channel. "This wasn't about that. This is about the direction we have to move."

Replacing Joyner, 59, on V103 with Harvey, 53, whose show is syndicated by a Clear Channel subsidiary, opened a slot for a new local WGCI morning program the company plans to launch Wednesday. The thinking is it will pay off long term.

Arbitron's switch from diaries to Portable People Meters to produce the radio audience estimates used to set ad rates has been accompanied by rating declines for almost all urban formats. But it has produced new data on listening habits.

With Tony Sculfield, 42, backed by WGCI evening co-host Leon Rogers and WKSC-FM 103.5 midday personality Nina Chantele, the company believes its new morning show will be more consistent with the rest of WGCI's programming.

"It's business," said Joyner, whose show's biggest markets are now Philadelphia and Detroit, where his syndicator, urban-focused Radio One, owns outlets. "If I were Clear Channel, I'd probably do exactly the same thing because you're in business to stay in business and, strategically, it's what they should have done."

Even if it ticks off listeners?

"Well …," he said, chuckling as his voice trails off. "I can't answer that one."

One need only check the Internet message boards to find resentment. Disgruntled Chicago fans have been pointed to BlackAmerica Web.com, where his show can be heard online. Joyner said there has been a surge in Web traffic, but online ad money simply doesn't match the broadcast numbers.

"I need the commercial-radio Chicago market," Joyner said. "I'm very concerned. Chicago, for all practical purposes, is the flagship. It is the mother ship. It is our largest market.

"Back in the day," he said, "whenever I got fired, there were options. And if there were no options, somebody who was not doing well in their format might flip to the urban format, and then that was an option. Now, [the Portable People Meters format] has made it so no one would think about flipping their signal to an urban station."

Chicago is where Joyner became a star, arriving at WVON-AM from Dallas in 1972. When new ownership cleaned house there six years later, he briefly went to old WBMX-FM. One fan was Johnson Publishing founder John H. Johnson.

"Mr. Johnson called and said he listened to me and he didn't listen to his own station [WJPC], so he wanted me to come there and I did," said Joyner, who eventually went back to Dallas only to make radio history a few years later by simultaneously signing contracts for a morning job in Dallas and afternoon gig here on WGCI without telling either station ahead of time.

For eight years, he was the Fly Jock, jetting back and forth daily. National syndication came later.

All the while, he never forgot what he was taught by Johnson, publisher of Ebony and Jet, who built a media empire by not only appealing to African-American audience but proving its value to marketers. Over and over he has said his philosophy is "to superserve the African-American community."

Little wonder his Chicago listeners feel a void, and that Joyner, ever-grateful for their loyalty, feels one too.

MIchelle

2009-03-06T11:10:00.001-06:00

You know I love me some Michelle, and it appears that their relationship is truly balanced, but this was funny.......

Blacks, whites hear Obama differently

2009-03-05T14:54:00.001-06:00

By: Nia-Malika Henderson
March 3, 2009 04:09 AM EST

On his pre-inaugural visit to Ben’s Chili Bowl, a landmark for Washington’s African-American community, President Barack Obama was asked by a cashier if he wanted his change back.

“Nah, we straight,” Obama replied.

The phrase was so subtle some listeners missed it. The reporter on pool duty quoted Obama as saying, “No, we’re straight.”

But many other listeners did not miss it. A video of the exchange became an Internet hit, and there was a clear moment of recognition among many blacks, who got a kick out of their Harvard-educated president sounding, as one commenter wrote on a hip-hop site, “mad cool.”

On matters of racial identity, many observers in the African-American community say he benefits from what's known as “dog-whistle politics." His language, mannerisms and symbols resonate deeply with his black supporters, even as the references largely sail over the heads of white audiences.

This is part of the reason that as a candidate, Obama won intense support among African-Americans while never being branded, in the fashion of a Jesse Jackson, as a candidate defined by race.

In January remarks about the economy, Obama made a reference to “American dreams that are being deferred,” a phrase black audiences understood without a citation as black poet Langston Hughes’. First lady Michelle Obama often cites her upbringing in the “South Side of Chicago.” On Election Night, the winner promised that “we as a people will get there,” an echo of Martin Luther King Jr. made more powerful by not expressly invoking King’s name.

Or a year ago in South Carolina, when he tried to swat down the persistent rumors that he is Muslim. “They try to bamboozle you, hoodwink you,” Obama said that night, in what many listeners heard as an unmistakable reference to activist Malcolm X, as portrayed in Spike Lee’s movie.

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Members partied with 'Mini-Madoff'
“All of us knew that he was referencing Malcolm X, and when he said it, the reaction was instantaneous,” said William Jelani Cobb, a professor at Spelman College who specializes in black history and politics.

Dog-whistle politics was hardly invented by Obama. One of its most deft practitioners lately was President George W. Bush. He regularly borrowed the language of evangelical Christianity and the anti-abortion movement to signal he was simpatico with their beliefs, even as he often avoided obvious displays of support that might turn off middle-of-the-road voters.

“The code words matter, how you dress matters, how you speak matters; it’s all subliminal messaging, and all politicians use it,” said Michael Fauntroy, an assistant professor of public policy at George Mason University, who specializes in race and American politics. “Ronald Reagan used to talk about making America the shining city on a hill, which is about America as divinely inspired, and it has a deep vein in the evangelical conservative movement. It goes on all the time, and there are so many circumstances when only the target people get the message.”

But Fauntroy said the stakes were higher for Obama, who had to “deracialize himself.”

John McWhorter, a linguist at the conservative Manhattan Institute, said that he believes that in Obama’s case coded messaging, which can be a matter of words, sound or grammar or all of them, is partly conscious because “he knows it arouses black audiences.”

“Black English, especially the cadence, is becoming America’s youth lingua franca, especially since the mainstreaming of hip-hop. Its sound conveys warmth, authenticity and a touch of seductive danger not only to blacks but many whites, especially ones below about 50,” McWhorter said. “Obama’s tapping into that cadence helped win him the election. Imagine John Kerry or Hillary Clinton saying, ‘Yes, we can!’ It would have sounded phony — only in what I call a ‘black- cent’ can it sound prophetic and arousing.”

Ari Fleischer, former press secretary for George W. Bush, said that dog-whistle politics at its best is not really about politics at all.

“The connection that Barack Obama has to the black community and the connection George Bush has to the evangelical community began long before they began running for president. It was a natural and deep connection, politics aside,” Fleischer said. “When they became candidates, it was a powerful, strong bond that created a base for both people. ... But genuine speech with conviction has tremendous power, and there always is a tendency for the base to hear the deeper message and say, ‘That was sweet. He’s talking to me.’”

Bush used phrases lifted from church hymns and the Bible to signal an affinity for like-minded Christians. The phrase “culture of life,” became part of the political lexicon when Bush used it weeks before the 2000 election — it was a less political, more evangelical version of “pro-life.”

Bush also recognized that he had to tread carefully with his evangelism — keeping his most loyal voters satisfied, even if following through on policy initiatives might be difficult.

As for Obama, an aide declined to talk about whether it was a matter of strategy.

Beyond speech, blacks have picked up certain of Obama’s mannerisms, particularly his walk, that signal authenticity. Bush had his cowboy strut, and Obama has a swagger — a rhythmic lope that says cool and confident and undeniably black. It was most noticeable on his first post-election trip to the White House, some said.

“The swagger was out of control, dragging the left foot, it was like, ‘Barack, you have got to calm down,’” said Melissa Harris-Lacewell, a Princeton University professor who teaches courses in politics and black studies. “The swagger thing just got worse and worse during the campaign. ... I am sure David Axelrod told him to stop swaggering. ... I can’t imagine that anyone is telling him to do that.”
“In those circumstances, it is his blackness kind of squishing out of the edges. It’s not the same thing as deploying it like Bush did, but it has the same effect ... solidifying his base of black folks,” she said.

Yet the question remains as to how far style or even swagger can take Obama among black people, without matching policies seen as beneficial to the black community.

“The swagger goes a long way for Barack, a long way,” Harris-Lacewell said, adding that the black support will mean a boost in polls. “Black people were strong supporters of Clinton because of race. ... If it works for someone who is just symbolically for the black president, it will be very powerful for the actual black president.”

Notably, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele has used phrases recently like “bling bling” to describe the stimulus package and “off the hook” to describe the new RNC outreach plans, at a time when he is trying to step up the party’s appeal to African-American voters.

Beyond stylistic gestures, Obama has made several overtures to the black press since winning in November. His first print interview as president-elect was given to Ebony and his first print interview as president was given to Black Enterprise. And at his first press conference, journalists from the black press were given prime seating — yet weren’t called on for questions.

Strategy or not, Obama’s efforts will likely continue, some said, and so far have helped.

“I think that the combination of his style and his swagger and his connection to the various currents of culture make him seem like a man who is much younger than he is,” Cobb said. “But the genius with Obama is that he is fluent in it, so it doesn’t come off as a deliberate kind of doling out of references or points. It winds up to being to his benefit politically.”

Offensive Obama Comic.doc

2009-02-19T09:45:00.000-06:00

It's time for our voices to be heard. President Obama has said he cant do it by himself and he needs our help. Let's show our support by calling the New York Post and voice our displeasure over this racist editorial cartoon!!!

Tommie L. Williams

If you would like to call and complain regarding the cartoon in the New
York Post, please call (212) 930-8000.

Our Anticipated Inauguration - A Dream Fulfilled

2009-02-09T20:58:00.000-06:00

By Cheryl Prater, Blog Reporter
Photographers: Felicia Bowser, Renae Edwards-Cruz, Shanah Young, Anthony Walker, Lovera Walker

I flew from Chicago to Tennessee on Sunday, January 18, 2009 and the flight was boring. My connecting flight to Washington, DC started setting the stage for the electrifying experience I was anticipating. People at the boarding gate were buzzing about their election adventures, from first-time canvassing to arriving at this gate. The conversation appeared to be amongst friends, not strangers. We were going to see more friends, about 2 million of them.

Even Dionne Warwick had time for some side conversations on her way to DC. She had planned an American Music Inaugural Ball at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, with tickets starting at $350.00 per person. Christopher "Ludacris" Bridges was to Co-Host the two-part event which was to include an Urban Ball and Legends Ball. The line-up featured: Fantasia, George Clinton, Marvin Sapp, Kirk Franklin, Cedrick the Entertainer, The Cheetah Girls, and Monica. Due to low tickets sales, the event was cancelled.

Once arriving in DC, I expected to join my cousin Renae (from New York) and secure a standing spot at the Inauguration Concert in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Renae had other plans, like pulling off a surprise birthday party for me. (Michelle Obama and I share the same birthday, January 17.) We viewed the concert from the comfort of her daughter’s Maryland home while partying. Several times during the evening, we cousins acknowledged our Mom’s journey through the Montgomery Bus Boycott and other similar events. (We thanked God for allowing them to see this historical moment.)

The Strategy
Sunday provided us time to strategize with another cousin, Felicia (from North Carolina) about finding a standing location on Monday for the Tuesday inauguration event. Secret Service provided a detailed web document about the event with a map which outlined street closures, Metro stations, and restricted areas. The news media strongly encouraged attendees to determine whether they were going to the inauguration or parade. An attempt to attend both events would be hard with the mass of people expected for this occasion.

Tasha, Renae’s daughter, provided us with directions from a native’s perspective about the Metro stations and best place to view the inauguration from the “I don’t have a ticket” zone. Now, it was time for us to talk about the needed clothing for the occasion. Renae and I had bought “Hotties” (a self-warming pack that is used in cold conditions) and layer of clothes. We had Hotties for the hands, feet, and body. The “Hotties” stay warm for different periods, 8 to 18 hours depending on the body area. Felicia only had layers of clothes. However, family came to the rescue and found enough “Hotties” to share with her.

On Monday, January 19, we did a dry run for Tuesday and took the Metro train from Largo Towne Center station (Maryland) to Federal Triangle (DC). There were thousands of people everywhere. People were commenting about the air of positive and peaceful vibes. It was amazing! A small group of protesters were drawing attention because they felt Bush and Cheney deserved to be jailed for our current problems. Their outrage was understood – Bush and Cheney did not represent the unity or peace we so desperately desired. Loads of street vendors lined the sidewalks with all kinds of Obama souvenirs. In addition, thousands of visible security personnel were sprinkled throughout the crowds.

No ticket to 8 tickets
While walking to the White House for pictures, I called my cousin regarding his location and activities in DC. (He is the co-owner of a media production company and has done extensive work for Barack Obama’s campaign.) I left this message, “Hey, I’m in DC for the inauguration event. I know you are here somewhere working and the chances are slim we will see each other. Call and let me know what you are doing.” My cousin called back and stated, “I’m not in DC. I'm working in Chicago. I had two ball tickets and two for the inauguration. I gave the ball tickets away.” I managed to scramble these words out, in front of the White House, “Are you serious? Can I have the inauguration tickets? Can the tickets be transferred to me? Can you overnight the tickets to me?” I had to calm myself down and realize overnighting the tickets was not going to be a good option. The delivery would occur on Tuesday around 10:00 am – maybe. All hopes were dashed.

My cousin provided a glimmer of hope when he said, “The tickets are in DC. Let me make a call and see what can be done”. In minutes, he called back and stated 4 tickets must be picked up by 4:00 pm. Felicia, Renae and I started jumping and screaming in front of the White House, “We got tickets!!!” (Those actions probably played well on the White House security cameras). Our passion drew excitement from the crowds around us and they started saying, “They got tickets!!!” Now we were on a mad dash to catch a cab and get to the ticket location. Once we arrived, I called the ticket holder. She met us at the door with 4 inauguration tickets and 4 parade tickets. Needless to say, we aborted our original strategy and returned to Maryland to develop a new plan – standing in the “Silver Zone” at the inauguration. In addition, we were hosting a pre-inauguration party that evening. My brother, Anthony and his wife, Lovera (from Chicago) joined us for this party. They received two seated tickets for the parade and other tickets were given to guests at the party. WOW!!!

Inauguration Day
The alarm clock sounds at about 4:00 am and our target time to leave the house was 5:00 am. All clothing (3 or 4 layers) are in place to meet the cold temperature of 18 degrees. We arrived at the Largo Towne Center Metro station to see other early morning risers. They were loaded down with smiles, greetings, minks, insulated boots, and even snow pants. As the train moves us closer to our destination, the crowds and lines are beyond belief. Exiting the train was a smooth process but all escalators were out of order which created massive lines to move from underground to street level. Moving through the train stations at a snail’s pace allowed us to notice the numerous happy and positive signs on the walls. The signs express love, soul, joy, etc.

We, along with hundreds of other, walked down lighted streets toward one of the inauguration entry points before sunrise. Capitol Hill, a massive white building with hundred of lights, is in the distance guiding our path. The crowd comes to a halt as we wait for 2 hours (tightly packed together) for the security checkpoint to open at 8:00 am. Everyone appears to be a friend not a stranger, the same feeling I had in the Tennessee airport. This two hour period prompted us to apply the “Hotties” to our hands and feet. The gate opened at 8:00 am and we started running about 500 feet to the security tables. The police requested, “Show the ticket. Open your coat. Open your purse.” I only saw one security checkpoint area for the “Silver Zone” which was behind the Reflecting Pool. The Reflecting Pool became the demarcation for the seated and standing zones. As the sun rises you can see sharp shooters on the roofs, helicopters, one Jumbotron, and rows of port-a-potties. We never saw a concession stand in the secured area.

Now we start a new waiting period for 2 ½ hours until the musical prelude, which is scheduled for 10:30 am. During the musical prelude, politicians and other dignitaries were shown on the Jumbotron taking their seats. The crowd loudly and pleasantly greeted their favorite people like Ted Kennedy, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Beyonce, Oprah, Aretha Franklin, and Joe Biden. Seeing Barack started a rally cry, “Obama, Obama, Obama”. However, the first appearance of President Bush started this chant from the crowd, “Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Hey, Hey, Hey, Goooodbye.” This chant was repeated several other times to Mr. Bush. Dick Cheney was sent cold goodbyes, too.

During the musical prelude, Felicia and I painfully noticed the “Hotties” on our feet were losing their warmth and our toes were hurting. The remedy became huddling on the ground with some other attendees to gain some warmth. People all around us were sharing blankets, leaning on each other for warmth, and coldly waiting for Barack to take the oath. The ceremonies started at about 11:40 am. By this time, we have been outdoors about 5 – 6 hours and the temperature had risen to 28 degrees with an unknown wind chill factor. The crowds stood quietly watching the Jumbotron as Barack took the oath. When the oath was finished, the hi-fives started, tears had frozen on faces, and bigger celebrations started. The benediction was powerfully provided by Rev. Lowery. As the crowds were leaving the search was on for loved ones, food, warmth and a ‘real’ bathroom.

Can’t Leave?
The city did a good job getting us to the event at 5:30 in the morning; however, they did a horrible job transporting thousands of people away after the event. Homeland Security’s plan included major street and bridge closures, only coach buses inside the restricted area and alternating train station closures. Calling a cab or loved one to pick us up was not an option with all the street closures inside the restricted zone – which covered numerous city blocks. The L’Enfant Plaza and Federal Center SW were both closed at the same time, stations closest to the “Silver Zone”. No one was able to tell the growing crowds when the train stations would be open; security was dumbfounded. The passion and energy we had to stand in the cold was long gone. Tempers were flaring as people felt caged by closed stations. The police and National Guard came to the Federal Center station, to bring peace. After waiting for about an hour or so, the police allowed us to cautiously enter the station for safety reasons. We arrived back in Maryland about 3:00 pm – 10 hours later and FROZEN. The coldness felt like it pierced the marrow in our bones. Thawing out brought warmth to our skin but our bones ached for hours.

Why…
My teenage cousin, Mercedes, while witnessing our discomfort from the cold asked, “Why did you go through this pain?” We reminded her that, “Our family members went through this and more to make sure their voices were heard by people that did not want to acknowledge there was time for a “change”. Our ancestries participated in the Montgomery Boycott from December 1 1955 – December 20, 1956. They lived in fear of the Ku Klux Klan going through their neighborhoods pushing their agenda of segregation in housing, buses, bathrooms, water fountains, schools, and restaurants. Aunt Alean (Jackson), was the Precinct Captain responsible for training the African American community about the 4-page application to become a registered voter and informing them about the poll tax. (The poll tax was levied on people rather than on property, often as a requirement for voting in poor neighborhoods.) As a result, we decided to work for “change” during this campaign and being at the inauguration was priceless for our mother’s sake and ours, too.”

“Change” is the beginning not the end.

The Inaugural & Parade Invitations

Blog Photographers (Shanah Young and Renae Edwards-Cruz) riding Metro to Inauguration before the sun rises

Blog Photographers (Felicia Bowser & Cheryl Prater) on their way to the Inauguration

Two blocks from the Inauguration location

Walking toward the Inauguration location at 5:30 am, the temperature is about 18 degrees

Inauguration attendees seating on blankets in the standing zone of "Silver".

The jumbotron for the Silver Zone section, numerous pictures taken from that view

Sunrise at Capitol Hill

Attendees in the "Silver Zone" section at the Inauguration

Inside the "Silver Zone" section at 8:30 am and the temps are about 20 degrees

Blog Reporter (Cheryl Prater) and Blog Photographer (Felicia Bowser) and other attendees sitting on ground to maximize heat from each other, until event starts.

Inaug Jumbotron view: Beyonce and Jay Z

Inaug Jumbotron view: Former President Bush and First Lady

Inaug Jumbotron view: Muhummad Ali

Inaug Jumbotron view: Senator Ted Kennedy

Inaug Jumbotron view: Former President Carter and First Lady
Inaug Jumbotron view: Michelle Obama bringing Abraham Lincoln's bible to the Inauguration with Jill Biden

Capitol Hill during the Inauguration

Inaug Jumbotron view: Aretha Franklin singing her version of 'My Country Tis Of Thee'

Inaug Jumbotron view: Joe Biden taking his oath of office

Inaug Jumbotron view: Obama's view of the crowds

Attendees watching the Inauguration

Inaug Jumbotron view: The Obamas preparing for the Presidential oath of office

Inaug Jumbotron view: President Obama starting his acceptance speech

Inaug Jumbotron view: Rev Lowery providing the benediction

President Obama exiting Capitol Hill

Inaug Jumbotron view: President Obama and Former President Bush

Inaug Jumbotron view: Former Vice President Dick Cheney

Inaug Jumbotron view: The First Couple and the Former First Couple

Inaug Jumbotron view: The other side of Captial Hill after Inauguration

The Bushes exiting by air to Texas. The crowds are singing "Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey Hey Goooodbye!!!"

Tree viewing the Inauguration

Attendees taking final pictures after the Inauguration is over

The artwork displayed on a coach bus

The Inaugural Parade Ticket

President Obama's car

Numerous security personnel

Lovera Walker passing through a security checkpoint at the parade site for ticket holders

Sharp shooter on roof overseeing the parade route

The Biden family walking in the parade

Vice President Biden and his sons walking in the parade

Vice President Biden's car

The Day before the Inauguration in DC

2009-02-09T20:11:00.000-06:00

Photographers: Felicia Bowser, Renae Edwards-Cruz, & Cheryl Prater

Blog Reporter (Cheryl Prater) riding the Metro train to DC for pre-Inauguration viewing of area

Tourists exiting the train

Happy sign at Metro Station - LOVE ETC

Happy sign at Metro Station - SOUL

Shopping for souvenirs on Monday, the day before event

A vendor displaying his souvenirs

Washington Memorial in the midst of numerous port-a-toliets

Statue by Washington Memorial Inscription: "The Liberty of Worship is not a concession nor a privilege but an inherent right"

Baracades stop crowds from entering street by White House, tourist must stay on sidewalks

The White House

Obama supporters in front of the White House

An office building along the parade route

Security checking equipment

Special seating in the bleachers along the parade route

Protestors of Bush and Cheney (The President's face is made-up of skulls)

Obama Takes Train Ride To History- The Baltimore Stop...

2009-02-09T20:04:00.000-06:00

Photographer: Shanah Young

Our Flag

A PROUD America

Blog Photographer Shanah Young, "It is Coooooold"

As we look on waiting...

Elijah Cummings speaks...

Barack & Michelle Obama at the train stop in Baltimore

Snipers on roof of the War Memorial

More snipers

Morgan State Choir singing at the War Memorial

The Story of the Negro Leagues of Golf

2009-02-05T10:37:00.000-06:00

If any of you remember the Negro golf associations that existed, this documentary should bring back some reminders. My own mother, Lillie Levison was the national women's golf champion back in the day...
Pete,

I will be copying all my friends plus the 100 Black Men Of America, The National Black MBA Association, The Black Hoteliers, Engineers, Physicians, Accountants, Athletes and more. This program which I already had the privilege to view needs to be seen by Every person of Color and everyone else. When Tiger confessed without these guys he would never had played golf it summed it up for me. Your book has finally come to life and I am asking everyone I know to tell all their friends to stay home Wednesday February 11, 9PM EST to view on the Golf Channel an incredible story. Samuel Jackson is a great host.

Renny Roker CEO/Founder

Teens On The Green Foundation

Teens On The Green World Championship Series

My documentary "UNEVEN FAIRWAYS-The Story of the Negro Leagues of Golf" premieres on the Golf Channel on Wednesday, February 11th at 9:00PM ET. It is hosted by Samuel L Jackson.

This documentary is close to my heart, and I am very proud of it. It took 6 years to get someone to make it, and it will be interesting to golfers and non-golfers alike. It is a story of segregation, American History, and the triumphs of the human spirit. The story is told through the personal stories of the men and women who had a passion for the game, yet were denied their rightful place on the PGA Tour. Instead, they formed their own tours.

I have attached some posters for you to get a feel for what you will see.

Please watch....I would greatly appreciate it. And if you think your friends would be interested, please pass along the info.

In NYC, on Time Warner it is on Channel 121.

All the best,

Holder Seen as a Chance To Right Racial Wrongs

2009-02-05T08:54:00.001-06:00

Thanks Aunt Sarah....

With First Black Attorney General Come Expectations That Justice System Can Change
By Carrie Johnson and Krissah Thompson
Thursday, February 5, 2009

For decades, the face of the criminal justice system in this country has been black and male: hundreds of thousands locked behind bars, arrested in disproportionate numbers and facing execution at rates far greater than those for the general population.
This week, Eric H. Holder Jr.'s swearing-in as the nation's first black attorney general and its top law enforcement official came weighted with heavy expectation that the system could change.
Known as a prosecutor who was unflinchingly tough on crime, Holder, 58, is also a former civil rights lawyer who has mentored young black men. Many advocates view him as the best chance in decades to right what they consider unchecked racial injustice and insensitivity by federal officials.
Civil rights advocates are already outlining a long list of priorities, including changing laws that lead to disproportionate prison terms for blacks, ending racial profiling and stepping up the policing of discrimination in employment and housing.
"The most important thing is that we have a person who gets it," said Benjamin Jealous, president of the NAACP. "He understands that the purpose of incarceration is not just punishment and protection but it is also redemption. He understands that people shouldn't be targeted because of what they look like but because of what they do. He understands that enforcing civil rights serves the interest of law enforcement. It's not about what he looks like, it's about what he believes."
Holder will oversee civil rights enforcement, crime prevention and racial justice -- issues with a broad impact and audience -- among many competing priorities in an agency that also plays a central role in fighting terrorism and policing corporate abuse. Fixing decades of perceived injustices is a difficult task at any time but will be especially challenging for Holder now, when government budgets have tightened and scarce money is allocated to national security and defense efforts.
In public statements since his nomination, Holder has emphasized civil rights enforcement, but he has not indicated a desire to plunge headlong into broad changes to the criminal laws. Civil rights enforcement represents a fraction of the Justice Department's wide-ranging responsibilities.
As he settles in during his first days in office, Holder said his personal story will inevitably shape his view of the job. His father served in World War II and was forced to stand in a segregated railroad car, Holder said. His grandmother was not allowed to sit at the counter at Woolworth in New Jersey. His sister-in-law was on the front lines of integrating the University of Alabama.
"As someone who witnessed the civil rights movement and whose family members literally suffered through the evils of segregation, I hope I can bring a unique perspective to the department," he said. "This department has played a historic role in civil rights over the years, and I owe it to those who came before me and to the American people I serve to oversee a vigorous enforcement program that deals with the realities we confront today."
On issues of crime and punishment, Holder brings his background as a hard-nosed, law-and-order prosecutor. As a U.S. attorney in the District, he lobbied for tougher minimum sentences for drug offenders but later changed course on nonviolent criminals, according to Families Against Mandatory Minimums, a D.C.-based group that calls for changing the sentencing system.
In his time away from the office, friends say, Holder worried about young black men caught up in the criminal justice system.
In the 1980s, he and his fellow public corruption prosecutor Reid H. Weingarten began to volunteer at the Oak Hill juvenile detention center. And as the crack epidemic ravaged the District in the mid-1980s, Holder became an early member of the local chapter of Concerned Black Men, a mentoring group founded to provide positive black male role models. From the judge's bench, he sent scores of young black men to prison, but in his chambers, he hosted children involved in the mentoring program.
At one of the group's fundraisers, Holder met his wife, prominent Washington obstetrician Sharon Malone. He still makes financial contributions to the organization, said Executive Director George L. Garrow Jr.
"We like to believe that we've helped him keep in touch with the community," Garrow said.
Holder's presence at the top of the Justice Department, along with his history, sends a powerful signal, said Larry Thompson, who succeeded Holder as the second black deputy attorney general.
"You bring your full self to the job, your experiences, your background," he said.
President Obama and Holder have vowed to restore public faith in the department, which was plagued by political hiring scandals during the years that George W. Bush was president. Last month, Inspector General Glenn A. Fine exposed hiring abuses and racial insults at the civil rights division, underscoring persistent complaints from Democrats that it had lost its way as the nation's premier protector of the rights of African Americans.
The black community's relationship with the department has long been complicated. The distrust of law enforcement organizations was increased by the FBI, which for years harassed and spied on the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
At the same time, activists have taken pride in the glory days of the civil rights division, which was established in 1957. Over the next decade, the department helped protect Freedom Riders and students seeking to break color barriers at state universities.
For criminal justice activists, a pressing concern has been sentencing disparities for convicts caught with crack cocaine versus powder cocaine. Possession of crack carries longer criminal penalties, and 80 percent of people prosecuted for crack offenses have been African American, according to the Sentencing Project. Obama has said repeatedly that he wants to end the sentencing disparity.
But when Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.) asked Holder at his confirmation hearing to work with Congress to promote more fairness in sentencing laws, he responded with the cool of a longtime judge and prosecutor: "We have to be tough. We have to be smart. And we have to be fair. Our criminal justice system has to be fair. It has to be viewed as being fair."
The sentence disparities have combined with social and economic factors to lead to the increasing number of African Americans in prison, a figure that has grown from 100,000 in 1954 -- the year of the Supreme Court's seminal school desegregation case -- to 900,000 today, according to the Sentencing Project, a research and advocacy group.
"When we look at the prison system, it's a much worse situation than we had seen before the rise of the modern-day civil rights movement," said Mark Mauer, executive director of the group. "If current trends continue, one of every three black males today can expect to go to prison in their lifetime. It is one in every six for Hispanic men."
Locally, four out of five D.C. prisoners are black men.
Holder seldom broaches the topic of race directly, but in a 1997 National Public Radio interview conducted soon after his appointment as the Justice Department's second in command, he shared a quote by the late Samuel Proctor, a pastor in Harlem, that he carried in his wallet.
"It says that blackness is another issue entirely apart from class in America," Holder said. "No matter how affluent, educated and mobile a black person becomes, his race defines him more particularly than anything else."

REMARKS OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

2009-01-26T15:44:00.000-06:00

Inaugural Address
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Washington, D.C.
**EMBARGOED UNTIL DELIVERY**
My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."
America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
###
EMBARGOED UNTIL DELIVERY
January 20, 2009
Contact: PIC Communications Office, 202-203-1700

A Pictures Worth a Thousand Words..........

2009-01-26T15:23:00.001-06:00

Vertie Hodge, 74, weeps during an Inauguration Day party near Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. in Houston on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009 after President Barack Obama delivered his speech after taking the oath of office, becoming the first black president in the United States. (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Mayra Beltran) #

Post Inauguration Celebration at 4th Fridays at the 50

2009-01-23T11:13:00.001-06:00

Join the Brothers from Bronzeville for a Post Inauguration Celebration as we salute the 44th President of the United States of America, PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA!

It has been an amazing week. I am so overwhelmed. See you tonight.

Host: Tommie and Orlando
Location: The 50 Yard Line
69 E 75th Street
Chicago, IL 60619 US
View Map
When: Friday, January 23, 6

Chicago, America's most segregated big city

2009-01-20T15:15:00.000-06:00

Racial lines were drawn over the city's history and remain entrenched by people's choice, economics
By Azam Ahmed and Darnell Little | Tribune reporters
December 26, 2008
(Left) Whites make up about 28 percent of Chicago's population and are largely located on the North Side. Slivers of the population live on the South Side. (Right) Blacks make up about 35 percent of the city's population and are largely concentrated on the South and West Sides. (Tribune photos by Chris Walker / December 10, 2008)

First of three parts

The paths taken by Colin Lampark and Rosalyn Bates help illustrate why Chicago is the most racially segregated big city in America.

Both are young professionals with handsome earning potential. Both moved to the city a few years ago—Lampark, 28, to Lincoln Park; Bates, 31, to Bronzeville. And both chose neighborhoods reflecting their race, a practice common in Chicago.

Their personal stories, and many others, explain why blacks in Chicago are the most isolated racial group in the nation's 20 largest cities, according to a Tribune analysis of 2008 population estimates. To truly integrate Chicago, 84 percent of the black or white population would need to change neighborhoods, the data show.
The calculations paint a starkly different picture from the ones broadcast across the nation during Barack Obama's Election Night rally last month, when his hometown looked like one unified, harmonious city.

The fact is, racial patterns that took root in the 1800s are not easy to reverse. Racial steering, discriminatory business practices and prejudice spawned segregation in Chicago, and now personal preferences and economics fuel it.

"Once institutions exist, they tend to persist, and it requires some act of force to get them to change," said Douglas Massey of Princeton University, an expert on segregation.

For Lampark, who is white, the move last year to Lincoln Park from Minneapolis came because he had friends there. It wasn't a racially motivated decision, he said. Lampark, an engineer, just doesn't know anyone on the South Side.

Bates, who is black, settled in Bronzeville for similar reasons.

"It put us closer to friends," she said.

She, however, may pay more dearly for her decision. Segregated African-American neighborhoods have less access to health care, quality education and employment opportunities than white areas, the research shows. Black homeowners can expect to receive 18 percent less value for their homes, according to one study—a tax the researcher attributed primarily to segregation.

James Hamilton, 50, a deckhand from Woodlawn, can live with that. In his experience, which includes 30 years on the South Side, he doesn't think that whites would welcome him to their neighborhood.

"It ain't never been us," he said. "It's always been [whites]—just don't want to be around us."

The research shows he may not be entirely wrong. While whites are willing to vote for Obama, they aren't nearly as interested in living in neighborhoods rich in color.

Blacks make up about 35 percent of Chicago's population of nearly 3 million and are largely concentrated on the South and West Sides. Whites make up nearly 28 percent, largely located to the north and in slivers of the South Side, while Hispanics, about 30 percent of the population, are scattered to the Northwest and Southwest Sides of the city center.

Dating back to the late 19th Century, blacks were confined to certain neighborhoods in Chicago by pen and sword, with legal restrictions and real estate practices ensuring whatever bombs and batons did not.

During the Great Migration in the early 20th Century, hundreds of thousands of blacks followed those patterns of settlement, creating densely populated communities on the South Side that hardened racial fault lines.

Real estate agents showing people homes only in certain neighborhoods and restrictive covenants guaranteed that blacks did not spread across the city or into the suburbs. Redlining ensured that black areas received less financing and investment.

Slum clearance and urban renewal in the 1940s and '50s displaced more blacks. Most found housing in the deeper South Side, in areas rapidly turning over with the onset of white flight. The poorest moved into public housing, which transformed into housing largely for blacks.

The city decided to build high-rises for public-housing residents, a move that would prove fatal to hopes for integration. White aldermen refused to place the high-rises in their wards, so nearly all were placed in black areas.

"By the time civil rights comes along, the die has already been cast," said Arnold Hirsch, a historian at the University of New Orleans and author of "Making the Second Ghetto: Race and Housing in Chicago 1940-1960."

"It's no longer how you set up something, but how do you uproot something that's already taken hold," Hirsch said.

More recently, income differences between racial groups have helped further entrench separation, clustering lower-income minorities into urban ghettos that beget further isolation.

But perhaps the most controversial driver of segregation today in cities such as Chicago is personal taste: People tend to select areas where their own color has a large presence or they have some familiarity.

Related links
Chicago is the most racially segregated big city in America Graphic
"It plays a huge role because the neighborhoods have been firmly established, and Chicago has had a greater history of racial segregation than other cities," said William Julius Wilson, professor of sociology and public policy at Harvard University.

Chicago's history meant that churches and family networks for whites and blacks developed in separate areas.

Those connections prompted Reginald Halbert's move to Kenwood 10 years ago. Halbert, who had been living in the suburbs, considered the North Side but decided to build his gated home on the South Side, where he grew up.

"We wanted to be in close proximity to all the things that matter to us," said Halbert, 44. "Our work, our family and our religious institutions."

Some studies show that blacks tend to prefer a more diverse neighborhood, something closer to a 50-50 split of blacks and whites, but those tend not to exist in a city as old as Chicago.

Research indicates that whites tend to have a lower tolerance for blacks and other minorities. A 2000 study found that whites prefer neighborhoods where they are nearly 60 percent of the population and blacks represent about 17 percent.

One theory posits that whites associate black neighborhoods with high crime and poor-quality schools. A recent study conducted in the Chicago and Detroit areas by the University of Illinois at Chicago and University of Michigan found that whites consistently rate a neighborhood higher when its residents are white regardless of the physical quality of the neighborhood.

Not only do the studies show a white reluctance to move into black neighborhoods, research shows that the share of whites who say they would leave a neighborhood grows as the proportion of black residents increases. That has proved true in Chicago.

"Chicago is a very, very large city with a large population of Hispanics and blacks and a declining white population," said Harvard's Wilson. "But it's still a city in which people can find housing in other areas, and as long as there are areas to which whites can retreat, it will be difficult to reduce the overall segregation."

Cities with smaller black populations, such as Tucson, Ariz., or Seattle, show greater integration. Chicago's large black population would exceed most white thresholds, experts say.

Another factor that separates Chicago from other places is its age. Older cities in the Midwest and Northeast were established before restrictive housing policies were outlawed. Experts say more newly developed cities—such as Austin, Texas; San Jose, Calif.; and Charlotte, N.C.—are likely to see higher levels of integration.

Said Jacob Vigdor, an economist at Duke University: "What integration requires is the presence of blank slates."

Even then, federal studies of equally matched black and white couples show that unequal racial treatment for both renters and buyers still exists.

"We live in a country where we think people should be able to move freely, so we don't have a lot of policies or laws that either encourage or constrain people's residential choices," said Mary Pattillo, a professor at Northwestern University. "Our laws that are supposed to defend against discrimination put the burden on the individual."

A final factor often cited as a reason that segregation persists is economics. Poor end up living with poor, and because blacks maintain the lowest place on the socioeconomic food chain, they are often lumped together.

But research shows that blacks largely remain segregated from whites across income levels, though to a lesser extent than 30 years ago.

Many higher-income African-Americans who could afford to live anywhere in the city choose to live among blacks, even at the expense of wealth accumulation in their homes.

"It provides a certain comfort for middle-class African-Americans who may work in a corporate environment where they are minorities to live in a neighborhood where they aren't a minority," said Richard Pierce, chairman of the Africana studies department at the University of Notre Dame.

Bates, of Bronzeville, might fit into that category. A clinical therapist, she and her attorney sister canvassed much of the city before selecting a neighborhood.

"There is a comfort level being among people of your own race," she said. "I don't think that there was any intention of segregation behind that."

aahmed@tribune.com

dlittle@tribune.com

Cheryl at the Inauguration in DC..

2009-01-20T09:18:00.000-06:00

I spoke with Cheryl yesterday, and I could hear the excitment in her voice,as she prepares to attend the parade and the Inaugral ball.

Roland Martin: Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich

2009-01-14T14:31:00.001-06:00

It is total hypocrisy for the naysayers of embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to assert that he didn't have the legal right to appoint Roland Burris to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

According to the Illinois Constitution, the governor of the state has the sole discretion of appointing the replacement. Has Blagojevich resigned or been impeached? Nope. If you call Springfield, Ill., and ask for the governor's office, they'll tell you that Blagojevich's name is still on the door.

It seems a lot of folks are excited and happy that Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White took a stand by refusing to sign the paperwork certifying Burris as the Senate appointee. Yet what these same folks somehow refuse to recognize is that Blagojevich isn't some guy sitting around in his office, twiddling his fingers, flipping through the cable channels with a remote, and waiting to get impeached. He still is carrying out his duties as governor.

Did you know that since his arrest in early December, Blagojevich has pardoned 22 people? I haven't heard a huge outcry over this tainted governor setting folks free.

Did you know that Blagojevich continues to sign bills that were passed by the General Assembly? U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald cited a pending bill on the governor's desk related to horse racing as a reason for arresting him, but Blagojevich still can sign any bill he so chooses.

Did you know that earlier this week, Blagojevich, as determined by state law, set March 3 as the primary date and April 7 as the general election date to fill the U.S. House seat of Rahm Emanuel, who resigned after agreeing to become Obama's chief of staff? By the way, guess who signed the certification of that election? Jesse White!

The law says Blagojevich can set a special election to fill a congressional seat, so doesn't the same law state that he can fill a U.S. Senate seat?

Yes, Blagojevich's appointment of a Senate seat is easily seen as being tainted because of what has been described by federal law enforcement officials in their criminal complaint against him. But the reality is that Blagojevich hasn't been indicted, convicted or impeached. And whether we like it or not, no matter how smelly it looks, he still maintains the absolute right to do the job he was elected to do.

I was one of the many voices who said that in light of what he was arrested for, Blagojevich should resign his seat because his presence paralyzes the state government.

And I still believe that.

But we are way beyond that now. He chose not to do so, which is his right.

Then the Illinois General Assembly had the authority to strip Blagojevich of the right to choose the Senate replacement, but the Democratic-controlled body got greedy and chose not to. Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, who is also chairman of the state Democratic Party, had a bill in committee to do so and had signaled that he was going to pass the bill. But Democrats were scared that a Republican could win a special election, and they didn't want to risk it. I'm sure they also were banking on a Blagojevich resignation.

So in the end, could the spectacle of Burris being turned away at the door of the U.S. Senate have been avoided? Yep. But Democrats chose not to do so, and now they look like fools for leading this circus.

But let's go back to Blagojevich and the law. Critics contend that Blagojevich doesn't have the right to appoint anyone to the seat. Yet even Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid conceded that according to their rules, and not law, Blagojevich has the right to walk on the floor of the U.S. Senate and talk with Senate members.

Think about that for a second. Senate Democrats are objecting to Blagojevich's appointment, saying they will reject Burris and not allow him to walk on the floor, but the guy who appointed Burris has floor privileges? Have we gotten to the point that we are picking and choosing what rules and laws with which Blagojevich must comply?

It's worth noting that Sen. Larry Craig was arrested in an airport bathroom and pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct yet got to keep his seat and focus on his job. Sen. Ted Stevens was arrested on corruption charges, tried and convicted, but he was still able to carry out his official duties. So if Craig, Stevens and any number of other House members who have been arrested were allowed to continue doing their jobs even after being arrested on state or federal charges, should the rules be different for Blagojevich?

We have moved beyond what we all think Blagojevich should do. Folks wanted him to resign; he didn't. Others wanted him not to appoint a Senate replacement; he did. All we are left with is the real question, and that is whether Blagojevich had the legal right to do what he did, and the fact is yes, he did.

It may not look right, feel right or smell right, but when it comes to the law, it's crystal clear. And if you don't like it, change the law.

To reach Roland S. Martin:
roland@rolandsmartin.com

To read Roland S. Martin's blog:
www.rolandsmartin.com/blog
If you want to listen to other podcasts of Roland S. Martin, click here.

2009-01-14T09:24:00.001-06:00

Planning to attend the presidential inauguration this month

2009-01-08T18:05:00.000-06:00

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- in Washington? Expect a fortress-like city bursting at the seams.

Inauguration preparations at the Capitol began before the Thanksgiving holiday.

1 of 2 An influx of nearly 2 million people is expected to hit the streets of the nation's capital alongside an unprecedented security presence for the swearing in of the nation's first African-American president.

Police will be shutting bridges across the Potomac River into Washington, along with a huge chunk of downtown D.C.

Security officials are investigating any and all potential security threats to Barack Obama.

Homeland Security officials said they have no credible reports indicating that there's any terrorist threat to the inauguration, and there are no adjustments being made to the nation's threat level.

But officials also see the celebration as a potential target because it's highly symbolic and highly visible and will bring hundreds of VIPs -- including foreign leaders -- into the city.

Of particular concern: the possibility of a lone wolf gunman, improvised explosive devices and suicide bombers. The FBI and Homeland Security have issued a threat assessment to law enforcement and other law enforcement officials nationwide. Watch more on Obama's new fortress-like limo »

Preparations and logistics for the inauguration ramped into high gear shortly after the election. Initially, city officials estimated that nearly 4 million could be expected to attend the inauguration, but they later scaled back that number.

For John Aravosis, who runs AmericaBlog.com and is a D.C. resident, the need for security is tantamount -- but it comes with a price for those trying to witness history.

"The problem here is, I don't mind the need for security. But it's increasingly looking like none of us can attend," he said. "I've got friends talking about renting $250 limos for the day to get them to places."

And then there's the traffic woes that tourists and residents alike will face. Watch more on inauguration plans »

Two of the major routes coming into the city, Interstates 395 and 66, will be closed to inbound traffic, at least for private vehicles.

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And for those coming from Virginia, all of the bridges between the state and Washington are going to be shut. In order to get in: walk or take public transport, such as the metro area's subway system.

But as for getting around easily underground? Aravosis said, "good luck."

"I have no idea how I'm going to get there or get home. The Metro?" he said, laughing. "You can't take the metro on the Fourth of July! When we have half a million, you can't take the Metro, and you walk home, and it's not 15 degrees. And it's not 3 miles away." Interactive: Secret Service details traffic, security plans (PDF)

But there is some good news for travelers.

Amtrak says that it has increased the number -- and length -- of trains running to Washington on inauguration day and that tickets are still available but are going fast.

Amtrak can accommodate 5,600 inbound passengers on a normal weekday but will accommodate 8,200 to 8,300 on Inauguration Day, Chief Operating Officer William Crosbie said.

"I don't think in the (37-year) history of Amtrak, we've put on this much capacity," he added.

Security officials also say charter buses, taxis and car services will be another option for those attending.

WTOP radio's Adam Tuss offers sage advice on his blog.

"Note to Self: Take the car keys and hang them on the key rack on Jan. 19. Another Note to Self: Stay at home, if at all possible on Jan. 20," he wrote January 6.

Frank Guerrero said city residents like himself should just stay home and watch Obama's swearing-in on television or the Web.

"Take the day off, stay home, don't deal with the traffic, and all will be fine, and if you're so inclined, walk down to the Mall with the masses and stand there in the cold, where you will probably see nothing," he said.

And it's not just going to be really tough for those who live in the capital area but for those working on Inauguration Day.

One top Senate aide involved in inauguration activities, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said she's going to hunker down in her office and sleep on an air mattress. She said many Congress staffers will also hold Capitol Hill office slumber parties.

"If we're lucky, we'll be able to come home near midnight the next day after they reopen the bridges to Virginia," she said. "It's going to be a long 24-hours, and that's why I'm bringing my [Nintendo] Wii."

And another concern for some tourists and residents: crime.

"D.C. isn't the kind of town that is really safe to walk by yourself at one o'clock in the morning in most neighborhoods. I don't know what people are going to do. ... This place isn't safe past 1 in the morning," Aravosis said.

Does anyone know where George W. Bush is?

2009-01-05T13:01:00.000-06:00

Add Up the Damage
By BOB HERBERT
Published: December 29, 2008
Does anyone know where George W. Bush is?

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Read All Comments (702) »You don’t hear much from him anymore. The last image most of us remember is of the president ducking a pair of size 10s that were hurled at him in Baghdad.

We’re still at war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Israel is thrashing the Palestinians in Gaza. And the U.S. economy is about as vibrant as the 0-16 Detroit Lions.

But hardly a peep have we heard from George, the 43rd.

When Mr. Bush officially takes his leave in three weeks (in reality, he checked out long ago), most Americans will be content to sigh good riddance. I disagree. I don’t think he should be allowed to slip quietly out of town. There should be a great hue and cry — a loud, collective angry howl, demonstrations with signs and bullhorns and fiery speeches — over the damage he’s done to this country.

This is the man who gave us the war in Iraq and Guantánamo and torture and rendition; who turned the Clinton economy and the budget surplus into fool’s gold; who dithered while New Orleans drowned; who trampled our civil liberties at home and ruined our reputation abroad; who let Dick Cheney run hog wild and thought Brownie was doing a heckuva job.

The Bush administration specialized in deceit. How else could you get the public (and a feckless Congress) to go along with an invasion of Iraq as an absolutely essential response to the Sept. 11 attacks, when Iraq had had nothing to do with the Sept. 11 attacks?

Exploiting the public’s understandable fears, Mr. Bush made it sound as if Iraq was about to nuke us: “We cannot wait,” he said, “for the final proof — the smoking gun that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud.”

He then set the blaze that has continued to rage for nearly six years, consuming more than 4,000 American lives and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. (A car bomb over the weekend killed two dozen more Iraqis, many of them religious pilgrims.) The financial cost to the U.S. will eventually reach $3 trillion or more, according to the Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz.

A year into the war Mr. Bush was cracking jokes about it at the annual dinner of the Radio and Television Correspondents Association. He displayed a series of photos that showed him searching the Oval Office, peering behind curtains and looking under the furniture. A mock caption had Mr. Bush saying: “Those weapons of mass destruction have got to be somewhere.”

And then there’s the Bush economy, another disaster, a trapdoor through which middle-class Americans can plunge toward the bracing experiences normally reserved for the poor and the destitute.

Mr. Bush traveled the country in the early days of his presidency, promoting his tax cut plans as hugely beneficial to small-business people and families of modest means. This was more deceit. The tax cuts would go overwhelmingly to the very rich.

The president would give the wealthy and the powerful virtually everything they wanted. He would throw sand into the regulatory apparatus and help foster the most extreme income disparities since the years leading up to the Great Depression. Once again he was lighting a fire. This time the flames would engulf the economy and, as with Iraq, bring catastrophe.

If the U.S. were a product line, it would be seen now as deeply damaged goods, subject to recall.

There seemed to be no end to Mr. Bush’s talent for destruction. He tried to hand the piggy bank known as Social Security over to the marauders of the financial sector, but saner heads prevailed.

In New Orleans, the president failed to intervene swiftly and decisively to aid the tens of thousands of poor people who were very publicly suffering and, in many cases, dying. He then compounded this colossal failure of leadership by traveling to New Orleans and promising, in a dramatic, floodlit appearance, to spare no effort in rebuilding the flood-torn region and the wrecked lives of the victims.

He went further, vowing to confront the issue of poverty in America “with bold action.”

It was all nonsense, of course. He did nothing of the kind.

The catalog of his transgressions against the nation’s interests — sins of commission and omission — would keep Mr. Bush in a confessional for the rest of his life. Don’t hold your breath. He’s hardly the contrite sort.

He told ABC’s Charlie Gibson: “I don’t spend a lot of time really worrying about short-term history. I guess I don’t worry about long-term history, either, since I’m not going to be around to read it.”

The president chuckled, thinking — as he did when he made his jokes about the missing weapons of mass destruction — that there was something funny going on.

Race to the Bottom

2008-12-24T14:56:00.001-06:00

By BOB HERBERT

Toward the end of an important speech in Washington last month, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, said to her audience:

Bob Herbert
“Think of a teacher who is staying up past midnight to prepare her lesson plan... Think of a teacher who is paying for equipment out of his own pocket so his students can conduct science experiments that they otherwise couldn’t do... Think of a teacher who takes her students to a ‘We, the People’ debating competition over the weekend, instead of spending time with her own family.”

Ms. Weingarten was raising a cry against the demonizing of teachers and the widespread, uninformed tendency to cast wholesale blame on teachers for the myriad problems with American public schools. It reminded me of the way autoworkers have been vilified and blamed by so many for the problems plaguing the Big Three automakers.

But Ms. Weingarten’s defense of her members was not the most important part of the speech. The key point was her assertion that with schools in trouble and the economy in a state of near-collapse, she was willing to consider reforms that until now have been anathema to the union, including the way in which tenure is awarded, the manner in which teachers are assigned and merit pay.

It’s time we refocused our lens on American workers and tried to see them in a fairer, more appreciative light.

Working men and women are not getting the credit they deserve for the jobs they do without squawking every day, for the hardships they are enduring in this downturn and for the collective effort they are willing to make to get through the worst economic crisis in the U.S. in decades.

In testimony before the U.S. Senate this month, the president of the United Auto Workers, Ron Gettelfinger, listed some of the sacrifices his members have already made to try and keep the American auto industry viable.

Last year, before the economy went into free fall and before any talk of a government rescue, the autoworkers agreed to a 50 percent cut in wages for new workers at the Big Three, reducing starting pay to a little more than $14 an hour.

That is a development that the society should mourn. The U.A.W. had traditionally been a union through which workers could march into the middle class. Now the march is in the other direction.

Mr. Gettelfinger noted that his members “have not received any base wage increase since 2005 at G.M. and Ford, and since 2006 at Chrysler.”

Some 150,000 jobs at General Motors, Ford and Chrysler have vanished outright through downsizing over the past five years. And like the members of Ms. Weingarten’s union (and other workers across the country, whether unionized or not), the autoworkers are prepared to make further sacrifices as required, as long as they are reasonably fair and part of a shared effort with other sectors of the society.

We need some perspective here. It is becoming an article of faith in the discussions over an auto industry rescue, that unionized autoworkers should be taken off of their high horses and shoved into a deal in which they would not make significantly more in wages and benefits than comparable workers at Japanese carmakers like Toyota.

That’s fine if it’s agreed to by the autoworkers themselves in the context of an industry bailout at a time when the country is in the midst of a financial emergency. But it stinks to high heaven as something we should be aspiring to.

The economic downturn, however severe, should not be used as an excuse to send American workers on a race to the bottom, where previously middle-class occupations take a sweatshop’s approach to pay and benefits.

The U.A.W. has been criticized because its retired workers have had generous pensions and health coverage. There’s a horror! I suppose it would have been better if, after 30 or 35 years on the assembly line, those retirees had been considerate enough to die prematurely in poverty, unable to pay for the medical services that could have saved them.

Randi Weingarten and Ron Gettelfinger know the country is going through a terrible period. Their workers, like most Americans, are already getting clobbered and worse is to come.

But there is no downturn so treacherous that it is worth sacrificing the long-term interests — or, equally important — the dignity of their members.

Teachers and autoworkers are two very different cornerstones of American society, but they are cornerstones nonetheless. Our attitudes toward them are a reflection of our attitudes toward working people in general. If we see teachers and autoworkers as our enemies, we are in serious need of an attitude adjustment.

Readers' Comments

From:Stephen B

2008-12-24T10:20:00.000-06:00

Chicago has hit a mark it would have preferred to miss: 500 homicides for 2008 with more than a week to go in the year.
Monique Bond, a Police Department spokeswoman, said the 500th slaying unofficially had been Monday night, but she wouldn't immediately identify the victim.
This would mark the most homicides in the city since 2003, yet homicides remain historically low compared with the last four decades.
For the first 11 months of 2008, slayings rose 16.4 percent over the same period in 2007. Yet last year's total of 443 was the lowest since 1965.

The Disciples of Hatred,

2008-12-23T11:56:00.000-06:00

In Their Own Words and Images

By BRENT STAPLES

Nazi hunters have made an art of exposing war criminals through photographs taken in the death camp era. This strategy would have worked well against Southern lynch-mob killers who posed for the camera while murdering African-Americans in a campaign of terror that persisted into the mid-20th century.

Black American lives were viewed as expendable in the pre-civil rights South. The murderers who hanged, dismembered or burned black victims alive — before crowds of cheering onlookers — knew well that the law would not act against them. These savage rituals were meant to keep the black community on its knees.

The white men and women who flocked to these carnivals of death sometimes brought along young children, who were photographed no more than an arm’s length away from a mutilated corpse. These photos were often turned into grisly postcards that continued to circulate even after Congress made it illegal to mail them.

A particularly vivid lynching postcard depicts the charred and partially dismembered corpse of Jesse Washington, who was burned before a crowd of thousands in Waco, Tex., in 1916.

The card, which appears to have been written by a white spectator to his parents, is signed “your son Joe.” He refers to the horrific murder — in which the victim’s ears, fingers and sexual organs were severed — as the “barbecue we had last night.” He identifies himself in the crowd by placing a mark in ink about his head.

By permitting images like this one to move through the mail at all, the government tacitly endorsed lynching, along with the presumption that African-Americans were less than human. The mailings also aided a propaganda campaign that was intended to terrorize the black population in the nation as a whole, not just in the South.

Joe from Waco is no doubt long dead. But many of the people who attended lynchings as children in the 1930’s and 40’s must be still alive and walking the streets of the principal states of the lynching belt. They include Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas, all of which voted against the first black president.

The nearness of the past was fully evident not long ago in Atlanta, when the collectors James Allen and John Littlefield were trying to mount an exhibition of lynching images that had drawn a huge audience and international attention when shown at the New-York Historical Society’s “Without Sanctuary” exhibition of 2000.

Influential Atlantans equivocated. As a person familiar with the issue told me recently: “There were concerns that people in crowds were still alive. And of course, family members and relatives of those people might come in and have to say, ‘That’s my dad’ or ‘That’s my mom.’ ”

“Without Sanctuary” was shown in Atlanta in 2002 at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site and drew more than 175,000 people, three times as many as viewed it in New York. But the tension surrounding the exhibition made it seem unlikely that the images and the accompanying documents would find a permanent home in Georgia or any other lynching belt state.

So it came as a surprise earlier this year when the collection was acquired by Atlanta’s Center for Civil and Human Rights, an ambitious cultural and historical institution that has yet to break ground for its building and plans to open in 2011. The center aspires to emulate the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington in method, linking the civil rights movement to national and international issues of the day.

The notion of housing the lynching material in the same institution as, say, Martin Luther King’s sermons and speeches strikes some as jarring. But this is just as it should be. The civil rights movement can only be properly understood in the context of the reign of terror that gripped black Southerners.

The victims of those public hangings and burnings were sometimes accused of crimes. But they were often guilty of nothing more than seeking the right to vote, speaking truth to white power. Black business owners who challenged white supremacy in the marketplace were favorite targets.

The victims were sometimes killed after they had been marched through the black section of town — with a stop at the school for the colored — and fully exploited as a testament to black powerlessness. Lynching, in other words, was a method of social control.

When visitors to the Center for Civil and Human Rights confront these realities, they will know what the civil rights pioneers faced — and what they feared — when they took those first, perilous steps along the path to freedom.

Beware of Garbage Trucks

2008-12-22T08:58:00.000-06:00

Rhonda Washington Campbell (aka Thomas Paul's momma)
"God may not always give us answers, but He always gives us grace."

Impact your life and your peace:

How often do you let other people's nonsense change your mood?
Do you let a bad driver, rude waiter, curt boss, or an insensitive employee ruin your day?

Unless you're the Terminator, for an instant you're probably set back on your heels.

However, the mark of a successful person is how quickly they can get back to focus on what's important.

Sixteen years ago, I learned this lesson. I learned it in the back of a New York City taxicab.

Here's what happened:

I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.
My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car's back end by just inches!

The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, whipped his head around and he started yelling bad words at us.

My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was friendly.
So, I said, "Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!"
And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call, "The Law of the Garbage Truck."

Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration,
full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it.
And if you let them, they'll dump it on you. When someone wants to dump on you, don't take it personally.
You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. You'll be happy you did.

So this was it: The "Law of the Garbage Truck."
I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me?
And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people: at work, at home, on the streets?
It was that day I said, "I'm not going to do it anymore."

I began to see garbage trucks.
Like in the movie “The Sixth Sense," the little boy said, "I see Dead People."
Well, now "I see Garbage Trucks."
I see the load they're carrying.
I see them coming to drop it off.
And like my Taxi Driver, I don't make it a personal thing;
I just smile, wave, wish them well, and I move on.

One of my favorite football players of all time, Walter Payton, did this every day on the
football field.
He would jump up as quickly as he hit the ground after being tackled.
He never dwelled on a hit. Payton was ready to make the next play his best.
Good leaders know they have to be ready for their next meeting.
Good parents know that they have to welcome their children home from school with hugs and kisses.
Leaders and parents know that they have to be fully present, and at their best for the people they care about.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let Garbage Trucks take over their day.
What about you?

What would happen in your life, starting today, if you let more garbage trucks pass you by?

Here's my bet: You'll be happier.

Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so..
Love the people who treat you right.
Forget about the one s who don't.
Believe that everything happens for a reason.
If you get a chance , TAKE IT!
If it changes your life , LET IT!
Nobody said it would be easy...
They just promised it would be worth it! J
Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.
I don't worry about tomorrow, TODAY IS A BLESSING!
Time is a dressmaker, specializing in alterations.
Any place that anyone can learn something useful from someone with experience is an educational institution.

Senate to Middle Class: Drop Dead

2008-12-17T08:54:00.001-06:00

From: "Michael Moore"
Friends,
They could have given the loan on the condition that the automakers start building only cars and mass transit that reduce our dependency on oil.
They could have given the loan on the condition that the automakers build cars that reduce global warming.
They could have given the loan on the condition that the automakers withdraw their many lawsuits against state governments in their attempts to not comply with our environmental laws.
They could have given the loan on the condition that the management team which drove these once-great manufacturers into the ground resign and be replaced with a team who understands the transportation needs of the 21st century.
Yes, they could have given the loan for any of these reasons because, in the end, to lose our manufacturing infrastructure and throw 3 million people out of work would be a catastrophe.
But instead, the Senate said, we'll give you the loan only if the factory workers take a $20 an hour cut in wages, pension and health care. That's right. After giving BILLIONS to Wall Street hucksters and criminal investment bankers -- billions with no strings attached and, as we have since learned, no oversight whatsoever -- the Senate decided it is more important to break a union, more important to throw middle class wage earners into the ranks of the working poor than to prevent the total collapse of industrial America.
We have a little more than a month to go of this madness. As I sit here in Michigan today, tens of thousands of hard working, honest, decent Americans do not believe they can make it to January 20th. The malaise here is astounding. Why must they suffer because of the mistakes of every CEO from Roger Smith to Rick Wagoner? Make management and the boards of directors and the shareholders pay for this.
Of course that is heresy to the 31 Republicans who decided to blame the poor, miserable autoworkers for this mess. And our wonderful media complied with their spin on the morning news shows: "UAW Refuses to Give Concessions Killing Auto Bailout Bill." In fact the UAW has given concession after concession, reduced their benefits, agreed to get rid of the Jobs Bank and agreed to make it harder for their retirees to live from week to week. Yes! That's what we need to do! It's the Jobs Bank and the old people who have led the nation to economic ruin!
But even doing all that wasn't enough to satisfy the bastard Republicans. These Senate vampires wanted blood. Blue collar blood. You see, they weren't opposed to the bailout because they believed in the free market or capitalism. No, they were opposed to the bailout because they're opposed to workers making a decent wage. In their rage, they were driven to destroy the backbone of this country, not because the UAW hadn't given back enough, but because the UAW hadn't given up.
It appears that the sitting President has been looking for a way to end his reign by one magnanimous act, just like a warlord on his feast day. He will put his finger in the dyke, and the fragile mess of an auto industry will eke through the next few months.
That will give the Senate enough time to demand that the bankers and investment sharks who've already swiped nearly half of the $700 billion gift a chance to make the offer of cutting their pay.
Fat chance.
Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com

2008-12-08T11:30:00.000-06:00

Good Morning Dunbar Family and Friends: Let's help our school and the children to attend this historic event. I will pick up your donation if you desire or you can send it to the school: 3000 S King Drive, 60616. The faculty and administration and certainly the students appreciate your support.
Tommie L. Williams, Comptroller
Community Mental Health Council, Inc.
773-457-2078 cell

Hello Mr. Williams,

The Dunbar Vocational Mighty Marching Band will be going to the Inauguration in Washington DC. We are in need of donations to help defray costs for the students. Would you please assist us in getting the word out? Donations can be made payable to Dunbar Vocational Career Academy. Memo section should state: donation for band. We are leaving Sunday, January 18, 2009 and returning on Wednesday, January 21, 2009.

P.S.
I am in the process of having new bleachers installed in the gym. When the project is complete, I am inviting all alumni to return for the ceremony. Details to follow.

Thanks,
Dr. Hall, Principal

2008-12-03T09:22:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone,

My sorority, Delta Sigma Theta, will be conducting a two part work shop to assist individual with,

Preparation of individuals in our community to pursue work;
Assistance in resume preparation;
Participation in interview workshops;
Communication of positive customer service skills.
If you know of anyone who could benefit from this workshop please forward this email on. If you can't think of anyone right of send it to all your friends and family as them may know of someone.

Lisa Adams

'Crash taxes' add hefty fees for aid

2008-12-02T13:06:00.000-06:00

If this tax is ever proposed in Illinois or Chicago it should be opposed by every taxpayer in the state and city. What the hell do we pay taxes for in the first place!?!
Tommie L. Williams, Comptroller

It's bad enough to be in a car accident, but getting billed for the police and/or fire department response can make matters worse. And your insurance may not cover that.

Published Dec. 2, 2008

By Peter Lewis

Imagine you're cruising down the road when you hit a patch of black ice and slide into a guardrail. A passing motorist calls 911. Soon firetrucks and police arrive.

Weeks later, a $1,400 bill does, too -- for the cost of the police and firefighters who answered the call. What's worse, it's not covered by insurance, and it might scar your credit if you ignore it.

Sound implausible? It's happening in a number of towns, cities and counties in at least 24 states. And given today's cratering economy (and property-tax revenue), more strapped local governments may be tempted to authorize so-called accident response fees.

Private vendors that promote such programs show up at city council meetings and police and fire chief conventions with model ordinances and fee schedules in hand. The vendors typically take a 10% cut of what's recovered.

Though five states (Georgia, Indiana, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Tennessee) have banned "crash taxes" outright, insurers, lawmakers and vendors are squaring off elsewhere, even setting up warring Web sites such as Municipal Fee Facts and AccidentResponseFees.com. Who's caught in the middle? Drivers like you.

That'll be $2,200
Two years ago, Luke Gutilla lost control of his motorcycle along a road in Richland Township in Cambria County, Pa. He suffered a leg injury and was taken by ambulance to get treatment, which his insurance covered.

Several months later, Gutilla received a bill for nearly $2,200 for the services of seven firefighters, an assistant chief, two fire vehicles, three police cruises and three officers. The bill also itemized things like "brooms and mops and things that were just kind of strange," he recounted recently.

Gutilla, 26, a cable-company technician in Johnstown, Pa., said he started receiving a string of demand letters from a third-party vendor. "I threw away the papers they sent me and just ignored them," he recalled.

He never paid the bill -- sent "inadvertently," according to the vendor -- and nothing showed up on his credit report.

Insurance trade groups estimate the typical bill for nonmedical accident response fees at between $100 and $300, although some run considerably higher. Ordinances establishing crash response fees typically distinguish between resident and nonresident, who's at fault and who has insurance. They usually go after the out-of-towners, especially if there's an interstate highway nearby that spurs the bulk of accident responses.

A sampling of fees from across Florida:

$28 an hour for a police officer.

$200 an hour for a fire chief.

$435 for a fire/rescue response to no-injury accident.

$1,000 for complex accident extrication.

Why doesn't insurance cover this?
Medical services, including ambulance transportation, have always been covered under medical payments, personal-injury protection and no-fault provisions, according to Jessica Hanson, a spokeswoman with Property Casualty Insurance Association of America.

But Joe Thesing, an industry lobbyist with the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, said the typical policy does not cover accident response fees because "it is our belief that local taxes pay for those."

It's up to each company to determine, based on policy language, whether to pay the fees. "But most instances that we learn of do not provide coverage," Hanson said.

The insurance industry contends that if accident response fees catch on, it will drive up everybody's rates. Without a consistent fee structure, it's impossible to estimate how much higher policies might run, according to Mary Bonelli, an Ohio Insurance Institute spokeswoman who has been tracking the issue for five years.

"You wouldn't get something for nothing," she said. Or, she said, a carrier might place a cap on such coverage, similar to the $500 allowed under homeowners policies for fire department runs.

Some examples
To get a broader sense of the kinds of accident response bills its customers have received, State Farm provided MSN Money with some edited summaries of incidents that took place in Ohio since 2004. The company said it never paid any of them, except for legitimate medical charges:

"$350 Billed -- This accident happened in front of a fire station. Our insured driver was at fault. He reports no fire vehicles left the station. He recalls five firefighters walked from the station to the accident scene. The fire department run sheet indicates they were on scene for 20 minutes, which calculates to $1,050 per hour."

"$593 Billed -- Our insured rolled into the rear of another car. There was no damage to either car. The fire department was at the scene for less than 15 minutes."

"$350 Billed -- This accident was at an intersection controlled by a traffic signal. Both drivers claimed to have a green light. There were no witnesses. The police investigation could not determine fault. The municipality decided to bill the insured driver $350 for scene response."

"$600 Billed -- The fire department billed $300 per person to take the vital signs of the driver and passenger. Neither was transported. They were not injured and didn't have any medical treatment after the accident. The fire department reduced the bill to $100 per person. The bills were paid under the medical payments coverage."

The case for fees
Fire Chief Chad Croft in Live Oak, Fla., says his small department would continue to exist without the $2,000 to $3,000 a month it gets from accident response fees but that its service would be diminished.

The additional revenue has made it possible to afford a new $600,000 ladder truck and saved local residents from tax increases. The new truck has also improved the community's overall insurance rating, reducing commercial and residential premiums, Croft said.

He said his department has done business with Cost Recovery, an Ohio company that collects fees on behalf of municipalities, for about two years. Croft said the money "has helped us keep the standard of care that we need." He said the additional money amounts to "10% to 15% of our budget on the operations side."

A lot of tourists pass through the area en route to Disney World or Florida's beaches, and the chief estimates that 75% of the calls his 25-man department (including 10 volunteers) responds to each year are vehicle accidents on interstates.

No charges are assessed unless blame can be attributed to a particular driver, and the department seeks to collect only from at-fault motorists who don't live in the county, he said. Among motorists fitting those criteria, the department collects 30% to 40% of the time, he said.

The outlook
Cost Recovery President Regina Moore said she collects on behalf of "hundreds" of local governments across the country and said her business is "growing exponentially."

Her largest customer is Toledo, Ohio, with a population of more than 300,000. Recently, her company has been picking up smaller cities in rural parts of Florida, and it just entered Kansas, she said.

Even the insurance industry sees more growth ahead.

"There's going to be more and more pressure on cities as their budgets are tightened or cut and on fire and police departments who obviously never have enough money to run their departments," predicted Mark Lane, a lawyer and lobbyist for State Farm who opposes accident response fees. "If they can do it and earn a little extra, more are more likely to try it."

But political pressure can be just as powerful. Dozens of cities have begun the process, only to back away or later repeal.

Do you really have to pay?
How many customers or carriers actually honor these bills is unclear. Moore asserted that more than half the insurance companies she bills -- 56% -- pay up.

By contrast, a survey conducted by the Ohio Insurance Institute indicated that more than 82% of carriers reject bills for uncovered accident response services.

Bob Brown said most folks have paid when, as fire chief in the Denver suburb of Castle Rock, he established such a program. "We might have gotten $25,000 a year" for services such as mopping up hazardous materials and putting out vehicle fires on a nearby interstate, he said.

Castle Rock handled the billing internally and charged only those who weren't local, he said. And even then, it didn't bother billing if it was "only a fender bender and we didn't do anything," he added.

The majority of ordinances aim to collect only from insurance companies, but that doesn't mean you won't receive a bill. In fact, Moore's position is that while payment from carriers is "voluntary," individuals are ultimately responsible because they benefited directly. Even so, she said "less than 5%" of bills get referred to collection agencies when individuals refuse to pay.

If you get billed for accident response, you should:

Contact your insurer and forward the bill.

Get a copy of a police report detailing what medical assistance, if any, was required.

Check into any criminal liability. In at least one municipality -- Lauderdale Lakes, Fla. -- nonpayment is a misdemeanor.

Consider contacting the consumer-protection division of your state attorney general's office if you and your insurance carrier determine the bill is not warranted.

Consider disputing the charge with credit reporting agencies if the bill is sent to a collection agency.

Anonymous Responds..."Black Men Missing"

2008-12-01T09:51:00.000-06:00

Being a black male I have but one question to ask: what part do African American women play in these numbers, because when I was in high school the girls were more likely to go with the "THUG" than the would a brother that was cool, fun, and was an all around good guy.

The burden of proof is on both men and women. Let us not focus on blame or difficult or disagreeable obligation; the task at hand, is to begin focusing on that disconnect. When, Where, and How did this disconnect occur, and how can we begin to rebuild and correct our wrongs. Let us just agree that we have failed our black men and we (male and Female) must initiate correcting our wrongs.Cheech Ref: Feb 08'Black Men Missing on this blog page

Re-imagining the Future With Obama:

2008-11-25T18:41:00.001-06:00

Being Aware, Organized and Engaged by Dr. Maulana Karenga
DR. MAULANA KARENGA / Los Angeles Sentinel - It is not difficult to recognize or respect the remarkable moment in the history of this country that the election of Barack Obama represents, nor the profound and particular meaning it has for us as a people; or the significance it holds for all progressives who contributed to it; and the promise it can hold for the world, if we reimagine the future in life-affirming and life-enhancing ways and dare continue the struggle to bring it into being. It is our foremother Anna Julia Cooper who reminds us, however, to be careful about our tendency to assume a singular person's achievement represents advancement of our people instead of simply an opening that still must be widened so that all can enter. She says, "we too often mistake individuals' honor for race development". And likewise, "we often mistake foliage for fruit and overestimate or wrongly estimate brilliant results". Certainly, the Obama victory is a brilliant result, but the fruit of full freedom, equal justice, real equality and shared power for us as a people is still to be cultivated, consummated and harvested. And thus the struggle must and does continue. But there is, still and rightfully so, a need to celebrate this moment in history which brings to mind and heart a wide range of thoughts and feelings: i.e., a shared happiness with and for our people; reverent remembrance and respect for our ancestors whose work and struggle before us brought us to this place; a sense of relief and redirection for the country; anticipation of new possibilities for us and the world; and a deepened appreciation for the need to continue the struggle to forge the good future we all hope for and deserve.
Indeed, Obama himself has said the campaign was a chance for change, not change itself. Likewise, the election is a change of the guardian of state interests, but not the change the Obama campaign promised of a new way to relate to each other and the world. And if Obama is to be more than a new moral mask for the established order and a political muzzle for us to preempt and prevent needed social criticism, we must honor our social justice tradition, continue the unfinished struggle and challenge him to do likewise.
So yes, I share the happiness of our people in their sense of winning a long-coming and hard-fought victory and vindication, their celebration of making the long journey from enslavement to the highest office of leadership of the very society that enslaved us and of winning within a system that didn't favor us, and that, it was said, was not ready to receive us in such a position of prominence, prestige and power. And yet we did it.
I also remember with reverent respect the ancestors and elders, those who opened the way down which we still walk on this long and unfinished journey and taught us the way to walk with dignity, strength, and determination in the world: Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Martin Delaney, Marcus Garvey, Mary McLeod Bethune, Malcolm X, Fannie Lou Hamer, Martin L. King, and others too numerous to name. And I pay hommage also to those who ran the political race before Obama, especially those who ran the presidential race-Shirley Chisholm, Jesse Jackson, and Al Sharpton, all who taught possibility, widened the circle of inclusion and kept alive the hope and commitment to change eventually chanted by Obama advocates during the campaign and victory celebrations around the world.
And there is this palpable sense of relief and redirection for the country, a hopeful feeling that an Obama administration will rescue the country from the Bush night-and-day-mare of corporate corruption, violations of human and civil rights, economic collapse and the cheap peddling of vulgar flag pin- wearing patriotism framed and fermented in fear and hatred against peoples of the world.
In its place is the need to respect the right and insure the capacity of the people of New Orleans to return and rebuild their lives and future; and to address issues of adequate and affordable housing, universal health care, employment, education, rebuilding the economy, improving multicultural relations and the practice of peace as central to U.S. recovery, respect and positive reassertion in the world. But again, relief and redirection will come not from a single man surrounded by corporate colleagues, lobbyists of every kind and conservative congresspersons who will caution slowness, minimum motion forward and maintenance of a system of trade-offs and back- slapping set in place centuries ago. Only an aware, organized and engaged people can call for and compel the steps needed to turn hope into policy and promise into practice.
All over the world, there is this widespread anticipation of the proposal and pursuit of new possibilities, beyond the Bush years of imperial illusions and aggressiveness, unjust and unjustifiable wars, institutionalized torture and state terror against citizens and various peoples of the world, efforts to dominate and occupy rather than cooperate and the military-might-as-right claim to the resources of the world. And in place of this international banditry and bludgeoning are perceived possibilities of non- interventionist aid for the people of Darfur, Haiti, Congo, Africa as a whole, and the rest of the world, the end of occupation and a just peace and repair for Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan, and framing of a future of common interests and cooperation. As a people who remain a key moral and social vanguard in this country, we must be in the front ranks of those who dare develop and put forth an agenda for ourselves and the country, to help frame the issues, to reimagine the future, and to inform and guide the work ahead to build a politics of social justice, just peace and a shared good in this country and the world. Dr. Ron Daniels, President, Institute of the Black World 21st Century, has called us to conference next week 2008 November 19-23 in New Orleans and we urge all to attend and participate in this historic dialog.
This State of the Black World Conference is the first national planning conference since Obama's election. It will engage African American leaders from around the country, representatives from African nations and other countries in the Diaspora in an intergenerational dialog to think thru issues in politics, culture, economics, community organizing and the academy, as we move beyond the election to turning ideas into action, hope into public policy, and the energy cultivated during the election to rebuilding and sustaining a movement for real, experienced and uplifting change. (To register visit: www.stateoftheblackworld.org)
Dr. Maulana Karenga, Professor of Africana Studies, California State University-Long Beach, Chair of The Organization Us, Creator of Kwanzaa, and author of Kawaida and Questions of Life and Struggle: African American, Pan-African and Global Issues.
www.MaulanaKarenga.org

Today, that new world is struggling to be born

2008-11-24T09:37:00.000-06:00

Out of these troubled times, our objective: a new world order
can emerge, Today, that new world is struggling to be born,
a world quite different from the one we have known."
-- George H. W. Bush told the U.N. on September 11th 1990

our penalty was having George W. Bush as president for 8 years, when we could've made a difference by using our right to vote a long time ago. too many of our people have died in the past for us to wait for President Obama to show our strength at the polls. lets not let this happen again!! continue to stay aware of our suroundings and our countries policies ( laws and finance ) because they do effect all of us! that's when we will be free at last! Peace.

"One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is
that you end up being governed by your inferiors."
-- Plato

Leatha Patton

2008-11-21T15:23:00.000-06:00

Words from Leatha. Thank You! Cheech

I went to your blog just minutes ago and, frankly, could not get past the first article because it was so preposterous that I could not believe what I was reading. The American people would rather have mediocrity because they are so very used to it, right? Am I actually reading that to speak in perfect, well structured sentences is incorrect or being a show off, and that we have succumbed to celebrating the past eight years of George W. Bushville as a hallmark? So I am to believe that now dumb is better, is that it?

Okay, and so...let's cite some of the problems that run roughshod over this country like scorched earth. I want to inject a sobering note and halt this train wreck. After enduring this country's longest, most grueling campaign (21 months), Barack Obama, because of his intellect, political shrewdness, a superior staff, and impeccable organizational skills (berated by his opponents, I might add), raised more money than any other campaign in this country's history, which enabled him to ascend to President-Elect, enabling him to become President of the United States of America on January 20, 2009. But let us not lose sight of the following facts: the country is on the brink of bankruptcy, in two (2) wars for which it currently spends $10 billion per month, is globally unpopular thanks to "W", homelessness abounds, health care is the pits, child hunger is approaching alarming rates, our jobs pay less, and other than our flailing automobile industry, we are at the mercy of products made any and everywhere. The list is long and I will stop there. And now, at last, at last, we have a Black man that we will soon address as Mr. President, and the complaint is that he's a show off and his speech is too grammatically correct? Huh? What?

Perhaps, just maybe, do you think this is why we are in such dire straights? Have we grown so accustomed to being in the ditch that deepens day by day that we can no longer see the sun and are are losing sight on what prosperity is all about? Do the American people want to continue to have parking lots (like in Santa Barbara) opened from late night to early morning so that the homeless can sleep in their cars? Do we want the rich to continue to prey on the American people? That act of Grand Theft (the $700 Billion Bailout at the expense of the taxpayers) was superb and, secondly, those in "high places" have dumbed us down, with the assistance of the news (faux) media, to the point that we actually believe the subprime lending scam is the fault of the American people. Not to elaborate at length, but just briefly, for the enlightenment of those unaware that this scam includes the following: hidden fees, padded fees, exorbitant ARMS (Adjustable Rate Mortgages) vicious and deliberate, repackaged loans, and the list goes on. Thousands of them were ominously calculated, written so that the victim (mortgagers) were destined for failure so that they could be repackaged and sold again. And now Wall Street, one of the prime orchestrators of this fiasco as they directing it from on high, together with all the other criminals, are attempting to blame the homeowners. Meanwhile, taxpayers are now stuck with bailing out the criminals, especially Wall Street. Furthermore, do the American people know that GMAC, the financial services group of GM, was also in on this? GM, whose CEO, separately, as did the other two, all in their corporate jets, flew to Washington a few days ago, hat in hand, begging for government dollars. As one of the senators said the other day to all the CEOs of the Big Three (Ford, GM, Chrysler), and he was not laughing: It is like showing up at a soup kitchen in top hat and a tuxedo. Please read the book "Plunder: Investigating our Economic Calamity and the Subprime Scandal" by Danny Schechter which reveals this fact among countless others. Folks, the term he used constantly was complicit meaning criminal. However, I dare say, the American people are literally numb with ignorance because they do not read, get all their news from NBC, CNN, MSNBC, etc., much to lazy to simply get involved and do their homework so that we discontinue our descent down this slippery slope. And now, and now, we want to judge being articulate as being a show off.

Now I am going to address my neck of the woods, the Black folks. Although I am proud of the fact that Obama won, cast my vote for him and even made donations, I do not want us to lose sight on the prize that should continuously remain part of our agenda so that we ultimately become a self-sustaining and independent people within this nation. Perhaps this feat achieved by Barack Obama can be the inspirational catalyst to move us a little closer to that goal because, for a start, an example of what a full sentence, grammatically correct with the verb, noun, adjective, etc., in place, is exactly what we need. Let us for once allow the majority society to backpedal, if they dare. For once, let us as a people not be derailed with no one steering the train or afloat with no one at the helm. I contend that we are people with strengths mostly unrealized and untapped. If the majority of the American people are clamoring for mediocrity, let them. It's time we are fully alert. Let's begin to also awaken that substantial number of us who are unfocused and willing to languish in a state of false euphoria while every other group is charting their course of action. We need to join them by also laying out an agenda of our demands. Obama received 95% of our vote, people. Did you know that the Jewish, Hispanic and Asian communities have already presented their demands to Obama even thought the Inauguration has yet to take place? Trust me, this is true. They listened carefully and they intend to have The Change We Can Believe In. And so, the singing, the tears, the applause, the chants and the voting, all of it is now over. I repeat, the election is over. We gave Obama 95% of our vote and cannot afford to simply be content that a Black man will sit in the Oval Office. Proof of this mindset is in the e-mails that I continuously receive that never utter one word about what comes next as if now we have arrived. I even received a calendar and thought it nice until I turned to view the last two pages. On every other page, Martin appeared, but now he was gone with only a picture of Obama remaining. To add insult, the last page read "Free at last, etc. Big, big mistake. I do not want us to be lulled asleep while each and every other ethnic group moves on and, as usual, leaves us behind with nothing but a good feeling.

As I have stated before to others, this ascension to the presidency is historical for Barack Obama's posterity (as the 44th president of the U.S.), inevitably impacting his family and his children, but remain mostly symbolic for the rest of us as an aspiration of future generations. Yes, the Obamas will live in the White House that our ancestors had a decisive hand in building. If not all, a lot of it. (They are now stating that even the immigrants were in on the construction of the White House!) I contend it is not called the White House without emphasis on who was to forever live there. I am sure some do not wish to hear this, but this accomplishment can be an inspirational stepping stone only if we use it as such. Listen up, everybody. We have not arrived, but are just a little closer to the prize by allowing this historical junctiure to become the corner stone for many future generations by continuously promoting excellence, hard work to move us from destabilization toward stabilization of our communities by STOPPING THE KILLING, the DRUGS, promoting higher education, quiet streets that are clean and orderly, and the list goes on.

Yes, beginning January 20th there will be a Black family in the White House. However, do not forget we will still live in our same houses, sleep in the same beds, go to the same jobs if we have a job at all, and life will go on as usual. Let us not lose sight on what is achievable, but only if we accept what has occurred as a giant step toward the bigger and brighter picture.

2008-11-21T14:11:00.000-06:00

Back in 1929 Financial Crash it was said that some Wall Street Stockbrokers and Bankers JUMPED from their office windows and committed suicide when confronted with the news of their firms and clients financial ruin . . . Many people were said to almost feel a little sorry for them . . . . . .

In 2008 the attitude has changed somewhat:

London

2008-11-21T10:43:00.000-06:00

I never cease to be amazed at how individuals feel intimidated and insecure!!

How can one who speaks a language in the form and art in which it was meant to be spoken be critized?

I'd say that is a terrible thing for those who are "threatened" by President-Elect Barack Obama's correct and appropriate use of the English language in its proper grammatical form to feel the need to express this publicly, allowing the public to see their weakness.

Journalists have strived for years to master this language in its written form and have failed dismally. News reporters have not even come close to mastering this art form of a language….so…critics….learn from the master who will soon become OUR president.

What's up London!!!! Cheech..

Obama's Use of Complete Sentences Stirs Controversy

2008-11-21T08:49:00.001-06:00

Obama's Use of Complete Sentences Stirs Controversy
Stunning Break with Last Eight Years

In the first two weeks since the election, President-elect Barack Obama has
broken with a tradition established over the past eight years through his
controversial use of complete sentences, political observers say.

Millions of Americans who watched Mr. Obama's appearance on CBS' "Sixty
Minutes" on Sunday witnessed the president-elect's unorthodox verbal tick,
which had Mr. Obama employing grammatically correct sentences virtually
every time he opened his mouth.

But Mr. Obama's decision to use complete sentences in his public
pronouncements carries with it certain risks, since after the last eight
years many Americans may find his odd speaking style jarring.

According to presidential historian Davis Logsdon of the University of
Minnesota, some Americans might find it "alienating" to have a President
who speaks English as if it were his first language.

"Every time Obama opens his mouth, his subjects and verbs are in
agreement," says Mr. Logsdon. "If he keeps it up, he is running the risk
of sounding like an elitist."

The historian said that if Mr. Obama insists on using complete sentences in
his speeches, the public may find itself saying, "Okay, subject, predicate,
subject predicate - we get it, stop showing off."

The President-elect's stubborn insistence on using complete sentences has
already attracted a rebuke from one of his harshest critics, Gov. Sarah
Palin of Alaska.

"Talking with complete sentences there and also too talking in a way that
ordinary Americans like Joe the Plumber and Tito the Builder can't really
do there, I think needing to do that isn't tapping into what Americans are
needing also," she said.

Lacy

2008-11-18T10:48:00.000-06:00

Tommie Williams has agreed to promote support for the Steppers' Party
and I would appreciate it if you would keep him posted as things
develop. His e-mail address is Tlwstepper@aol.com and his cell phone is
(773) 457-2078.

Thanks for everything.

Lacy ........ Details below

Fundraiser for Lacy L. Thomas

2008-11-18T10:45:00.000-06:00

Fundraiser for Lacy L. Thomas

Here is the information for the party on Thursday, November 20, 2008 -
Bar Louie on Taylor
1321 W. Taylor
500pm -800pm
After Work Cocktail Reception
$25.00 ticket donation
Cash Bar - Hors d'oeuvres Served
Thanks for all your help. If people want to write checks, they can make
them out to Lacy L.Thomas

Kenyada--"Inauguration Ball 2009":

2008-11-17T16:41:00.000-06:00

Thanks for posting my essay. I've been overwhelmed by the positive response to this piece that I first posted on the Internet about one week before the election. Somehow I knew Obama would win, mainly because he was standing on the shoulders of these giants. A longer version of the essay is included in my new book, Reflections in the Dark Room, available in January. Thanks again and Best Wishes.

Kenyada

Kenyada, please keep us posted when your new book "Reflections in the Dark Room", becomes available. Thanks so much for sharing Patrice.......

Eugene Allen, 89, a retired White House butler

2008-11-14T15:36:00.000-06:00

Eugene Allen, 89, a retired White House butler, tries on his old tuxedo for a photo. Allen, who served eight presidents during a period when America's racial history was being rewritten, is marveling at the election of Barack Obama.

Now retired, he started when blacks were in the kitchen.

By Wil Haygood

Reporting from Washington -- For more than three decades, Eugene Allen worked in the White House, a black man unknown to the headlines. During some of those years, harsh segregation laws lay upon the land.

He trekked home every night to his wife, Helene, who kept him out of her kitchen.

At the White House, he worked closer to the dirty dishes than to the Oval Office. Helene didn't care; she just beamed with pride.

President Truman called him Gene. President Ford liked to talk golf with him. He saw eight presidential administrations come and go, often working six days a week.

"I never missed a day of work," Allen said.

He was there while racial history was made: Brown vs. Board of Education, the Little Rock school crisis, the 1963 March on Washington, the cities burning, the civil rights bills, the assassinations.

When he started at the White House in 1952, he couldn't even use the public restrooms when he ventured back to his native Virginia. "We had never had anything," Allen, 89, recalled of black America at the time. "I was always hoping things would get better."

In its long history, the White House -- note the name -- has had a complex and vexing relationship with black Americans.

"The history is not so uneven at the lower level, in the kitchen," said Ted Sorensen, who served as counselor to President Kennedy. "In the kitchen, the folks h ave always been black. Even the folks at the door -- black."

Before Gene Allen landed his White House job, he worked as a waiter at a resort in Hot Springs, Va., and then at a country club in Washington.

He and wife Helene, 86, were sitting in the living room of their Washington home. Her voice was musical, in a Lena Horne kind of way. She called him "Honey." They met at a birthday party in 1942. He was too shy to ask for her number, so she tracked his down. They married a year later.

In 1952, a lady told him of a job opening in the White House. "I wasn't even looking for a job," he said. "I was happy where I was working, but she told me to go on over there and meet with a guy by the name of Alonzo Fields."

Fields was a maitre d', and he immediately liked Allen.

Allen was offered a job as a "pantry man." He washed dishes, stocked cabinets and shined silverware. He started at $2,400 a year.

There was, in time, a promotion to butler. "Shook t he hand of all the presidents I ever worked for," he said.

"I was there, honey," Helene said. "In the back maybe. But I shook their hands too." She was referring to White House holiday parties, Easter egg hunts.

They have one son, Charles, who works as an investigator with the State Department.

"President Ford's birthday and my birthday were on the same day," he said. "He'd have a birthday party at the White House. Everybody would be there. And Mrs. Ford would say, 'It's Gene's birthday too!' "

And so they'd sing a little ditty to the butler. And the butler, who wore a tuxedo to work every day, would blush.

"Jack Kennedy was very nice," he went on. "And so was Mrs. Kennedy."

He was in the White House kitchen the day Kennedy was slain. He got an invitation to the funeral. But he volunteered for other duty: "Somebody had to be at the White House to serve everyone after they came from the funeral."

The whole family of President Carter made Helene chuckle: "They were country. And I'm talking Lillian and Rosalynn both." It came out as the highest compliment.

First Lady Nancy Reagan came looking for him in the kitchen one day. She wanted to remind him about the upcoming state dinner for German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. She told him he would not be working that night.

"She said, 'You and Helene are coming to the state dinner as guests of President Reagan and myself.' I'm telling you! I believe I'm the only butler to get invited to a state dinner."

Husbands and wives don't sit together at these events, and Helene was nervous about trying to make small tal k with world leaders. "And my son said, 'Momma, just talk about your high school. They won't know the difference.'

"The senators were all talking about the colleges and universities that they went to," she said. "I was doing as much talking as they were.

"Had champagne that night," she said, looking over at her husband.

He just grinned: He was the man who stacked the champagne at the White House.

Colin L. Powell would become the highest ranking black of any White House to that point when he was named Reagan's national security advisor in 1987. Condoleezza Rice would have that position under President George W. Bush.

Gene Allen was promoted to maitre d' in 1980. He left the White House in 1986, after 34 years. President Reagan wrote him a sweet note. Nancy Reagan hugged him tight.

Interviewed at their home last week, Gene and Helene speculated about what it would mean if a black man were elected president.

"Just imagine," she said.

"It'd be really something," he said.

"We're pretty much past the going-out stage," she said. "But you never know. If he gets in there, it'd sure be nice to go over there again."

They talked about praying to help Barack Obama get to the White House. They'd go vote together. She'd lean on her cane with one hand, and him with the other, while walking down to the precinct. And she'd get supper going afterward. They went over their election day plans more than once.

"Imagine," she said.

"That's right," he said.

On Monday, Helene had a doctor's appointment. Gene woke and nudged her once, then again. He shuffled around to her side of the bed. He nudged Helene again.

He was all alone.

"I woke up and my wife didn't," he said later.

Some friends and family members rushed over. He wanted to make c offee. They had to shoo the butler out of the kitchen.

The lady he married 65 years ago will be buried today.

The butler cast his vote for Obama on Tuesday. He so missed telling his Helene about the black man bound for the Oval Office.

Inauguration Ball 2009

2008-11-12T12:08:00.000-06:00

Guests began arriving early. There are no place cards and
no name tags. Everyone knows everyone else here. Now, there's a grand
foursome - Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz sharing laughs with Martin and Coretta
Scott King. Looks like Hosea Williams refused the limo again, keeping it
real. And my goodness; is that Rosa Parks out there on the dance floor
with A. Phillip Randolph? Seated at a nearby table, Frederick Douglass has a captive audience in W.E.B. DuBois and Fannie Lou Hamer, and Medgar Evers has just joined them.

Marian Anderson was asked to sing tonight, but she only agreed to do it if
accompanied by Marvin Gaye, John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix.
Look, there's Harriet Tubman. No one knows how she arrived, but there she
is. And my guess is that, when the time comes, no one will see her leave.
There's Jackie Robinson swiftly making his way through
the hall as the crowd parts like the Red Sea to the unmistakable sound of
applause. "Run, Jackie, run!"Along the way he is embraced by Jessie Owens.
Three beautiful young women arrive with their escorts - Schwerner, Goodman and
Chaney. Ms. Viola Liuzzo flew in from Michigan, exclaiming, "I could not
miss this." Richard Pryor promised to be on his best behavior.
"But I can't make any guarantees for Redd Foxx and Moms Mabley," he
chuckled. Joe Louis just faked a quick jab to the chin of Jack Johnson, who smiled broadly while slipping it. We saw Billy Eckstine and Nat King Cole greet Luther
Vandross. James Brown and Josh Gibson stopped at Walter Payton's table
to say hello.
I spotted Congressman Adam Clayton Powell of Harlem having
a lively political discussion with Eldredge Cleaver. Pearl Harbor WWII
hero Dorie Miller shared a few thoughts with Crispus Attucks,
a hero of the Revolutionary War. And there is Madam C.J. Walker talking
with Marcus Garvey about exporting goods to Africa.
General Benjamin O. Davis flew into Washington safely with
an escort from the 99th Fighter Squadron - better known as The Tuskegee
Airmen. At the table on the left are three formidable women - Shirley
Chisholm, Sojourner Truth, and Barbara Jordan - gathered for a little
girl-talk... about world politics. As usual, all the science nerds seem to have gathered off in a corner, talking shop.
There's Granville T. Woods and Lewis Latimer needling each other about whose inventions are better. Someone jokingly asked Benjamin Banneker if he had needed directions to Washington. And George Washington Carver was overheard asking, "What, no peanuts?"

Dueling bands? Anytime Duke Ellington and Count Basie get
together, you know the place will be jumping. Tonight is special, of course,
so we have Miles, Dizzy, and Satchmo sitting in on trumpet, with Coltrane,
Cannonball, and Bird on sax. Everyone's attention is directed to the
dance floor where Bill "Bojangles" Robinson is tap dancing. Right beside
him is Sammy Davis Jr., doing his Bojangles routine. And behind his back, Gregory
Hines is imitating them both. Applause and laughter abound! The Hollywood
contingent has just arrived from the Coast. Led by filmmaker Oscar Micheau,
Paul Robeson, and Hattie McDaniel, they find their way to their
tables. Dorothy Dandridge, looking exquisite in gold lamé, is seen
signaling to her husband, Harold Nicholas, who is standing on the floor with brother
Fayard watching Gregory Hines dance. "Hold me back," quips
Harold, "before I show that youngster how it's done." Much laughter!

Then a sudden hush comes over the room.
The guests of honor have arrived.
The President and Mrs. Obama looked out across the enormous
ballroom at all the historic faces. Very many smiles, precious few dry eyes.
Someone shouted out, "You did it! You did it!"
And President Obama replied,
"No sir, you did it; you all - each and every one of you - did it.
Your guidance and encouragement; your hard work and perseverance. .."
Obama paused, perhaps holding back a tear.
"I look at your faces - your beautiful faces - and I
am reminded that The White House was built by faces that looked just like yours.
On October 3, 1792, the cornerstone of the White House was laid, and the
foundations and main residence of The White House were built mostly by both
enslaved and free African Americans and paid Europeans. In fact, most of
the other construction work was performed by immigrants, many of whom
had not yet become citizens. Much of the brick and plaster work was
performed by Irish and Italian immigrants. The sandstone walls were built by
Scottish immigrants. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that The White House is,
ultimately, The People's House, with each President serving as its steward. Since 1792
The People have trimmed its hedges, mowed its
lawn, stood guard at the gate, cooked meals in the kitchen, and scrubbed its
toilet bowls. But 216 years later, The People are taking it back!
"Today, Michelle and I usher in a new era. But while
we and our family look toward the future with so much hope, we know that we must
also acknowledge fully this milestone in our journey. We want to thank each
and every one of you for all you have done to make this day possible. I
stand here before you, humbled and in awe of your accomplishments and
sacrifice, and I will dedicate my Presidency, in your honor, to the principles of
peace, liberty and freedom.

If it ever appears that I'm forgetting that, I know I can count on you to remind me."
Then he pointed to me near the stage..."Kenyada, isn't it time for you to wake up for work?
Isn't it time for all of us to wake up and get to work?"
Suddenly I awake and sit up in bed with a knowing smile. My wife stirs and sleepily asks if I'm OK. "I've never been better," I replied, "Never better. It's gonna be a good day."
__._,_.___

by Kenyada

http://www.dailykos .com/story/ 2008/10/29/ 1643/9807/ 819/645987

smylie4me....Thank you!

2008-11-10T10:27:00.001-06:00

Bonita, on Rev Wright...

2008-11-10T08:49:00.000-06:00

"Jeremiah A Wright Jr.":

Keep up the good work.

Bonita,thanks for your support. Cheech!

Obama-Inspired Black Voters Warm to Politics

2008-11-03T12:53:00.000-06:00

This is why Senator Obama will be elected by a landslide victory. The pollsters are polling most likely voters and he is still ahead. There are a lot of newly registered voters and first time voters and those who have not voted on a regular basis that will go to the polls tomorrow. The media is aware of that but they are taking advantage of it to make more money. This election has been over for some time now. However, WE STILL MUST GET OUT AND VOTE!!!

Tommie L. Williams, Comptroller

By SUSAN SAULNY
Published: November 1, 2008
Growing up in St. Louis in the 1950s and ’60s, Deddrick Battle came to believe that the political process was not for people like him — a struggling black man whose vote, he was convinced, surely would not count for much of anything. The thought became ingrained as an adult, almost like common sense.

Armento Meredith, 43, right, a first-time voter, waited hours in Atlanta to vote on Thursday. “It’s time for a change,” he said.
Percy Matthews, 25, of Chicago, has voted just once in his life, but said he wasn’t certain for whom. This election is different.
But a month ago, at age 55, Mr. Battle registered to vote for the first time. Senator Barack Obama was the reason.

“This is huge,” Mr. Battle, a janitor, said after his overnight shift cleaning a movie theater. “This is bigger than life itself. When I was coming up, I always thought they put in who they wanted to put in. I didn’t think my vote mattered. But I don’t think that anymore.”

Across the country, black men and women like Mr. Battle who have long been disaffected, apolitical, discouraged or just plain bored with politics say they have snapped to attention this year, according to dozens of interviews conducted in the last several days in six states. They are people like Percy Matthews of the South Side of Chicago, a 25-year-old who did vote once but whose experience was so forgettable that he cannot recall with certainty whom he cast a ballot for or even what year it was. Now an enthusiastic Democrat, he says the old days are gone.

And Shandell Wilcox, 29, who registered to vote in Jacksonville, Fla., when she was 18, then proceeded to ignore every election other than the current one. She voted for the first time on Wednesday.

Over and again, first-time and relatively new voters like Mr. Matthews and Ms. Wilcox, far past the legal voting age, said they were inspired by the singularity of the 2008 election and the power of Mr. Obama’s magnetism. Many also said they were loath to miss out on their part in writing what could be a new chapter of American history — the chance to vote for a black president.

Mr. Battle, for one, remembers growing up in the Pruitt-Igoe housing project in St. Louis and how intimidated the adults were about voting, and that left an impression on him. The older women he knew were afraid to walk to the polls, he said, for fear of being attacked. “I didn’t think it was for black people, period,” he said of politics before the Civil Rights era. “We didn’t have any rights, really. We were just coming into voting and everything.”

Fast-forwarding to the present, he continued: “I never thought that I’d see this day. I never thought I’d see the day where an African-American was standing at the podium getting ready to be president.”

The swelling ranks of the newly enthusiastic are also the result of extensive nationwide voter registration drives and new early voting procedures in many states that have made the process easier and more accessible.

David A. Bositis, senior political analyst at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in Washington, said the states with the largest increases in early voting had been those where the black population was proportionally the highest. In Georgia, for instance, blacks represented a quarter of all voters in the 2004 presidential election. So far this year in early voting alone, they make up 35 percent of all voters.

“I am fully expecting record black turnout,” Mr. Bositis said. “It’s not just a question of Obama as the first black nominee; it’s also that African-Americans have suffered substantially under the Bush years and African-Americans have been the single most anti-Iraq-war group in the population.”

“Obama is like the icing on the cake,” he added, “but it’s not just a question of Obama.”

One early voter in Georgia was Armento Meredith, 43, who waited in line for two hours Thursday at the Fulton County Government Building in downtown Atlanta to vote for the first time. “It’s time for a change,” said Mr. Meredith, a telephone operator. “I want to see something different.”

The result is likely to be a level of black participation in the electoral process that is higher than ever before. If sustained, some of those interviewed said, it might also translate into a reinvigorated sprit of democracy in some communities where it has been long dormant.

“In the black community, I see a great many people coming out who were apathetic since ’84,” said Bob Law, 63, an activist in New York City and former radio host who worked on the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s campaign for the presidency in 1984, the first time a black candidate was a serious national contender. But in the years since, he said, blacks’ enthusiasm had waned.

“People didn’t vote before because they really didn’t think their vote was going to make a difference,” Mr. Law said. “Whenever black voters felt like there was a reason to vote, like it might mean something, they’ve turned out.”

That is exactly how Mr. Battle, the janitor in St. Louis, feels. In the past, he said, “I felt like Democrat or Republican, it didn’t matter who won.”

“But my guy Obama?” he continued. “I think it’s going to be a change if he wins. He’s speaking my language.”

For some black men and women, the sense of pride is overwhelming, as is the feeling that they are participating in what could become a touchstone moment, something that children and grandchildren will want to hear about.

“I’d feel bad forever if I didn’t get out this time,” said Ms. Wilcox of Jacksonville, a cafeteria worker. “I’d feel like I didn’t do my part to put him in the office. How would I explain that to my little girl? ‘Oh, I had something better to do?’ And sure, it’s partially because he’s African-American. But he also says there will be change, and I believe him.”

Timothy Hairston, 47, a bartender in Brooklyn who has never voted before, shared that point of view. “I wanted to be a part of a historical moment,” Mr. Hairston said, “to say that I was involved in history in the making, that I was an active participant as opposed to someone on the sidelines rooting for change but not involved in the process of making change.”

He added of Mr. Obama: “I think it’s a testament to his campaign that he can inspire. At the end of the day, no matter what party you vote for, I think every once in a while there are inspirational moments that call for people to wake up from their deep sleep and become alive and get involved. And I think Barack at the very least is an inspirational figure.”

For some, coming back to political life was a slow process that unfolded over months. Others said they were struck by something in Mr. Obama’s life or what he stands for and that conversion was immediate.

Ms. Wilcox saw some of her own biography reflected in Mr. Obama’s. They were both born to single mothers and raised mostly by their grandparents in modest settings. She said she felt validated, motivated and inspired all at once when she first heard Mr. Obama’s life story during the primary season. “I began to think that we had a lot of life features in common,” she said. “It gave me hope.”

Bianca Williams, 20, a hair stylist in Brooklyn, said the campaign had changed her life. After seeing Mr. Obama in the first debate, Ms. Williams decided to go back to community college part-time. “After seeing his success, I started thinking maybe I could help my community like he did,” she said. “If he could do it then I could do it. It woke me up, careerwise. It just gave me the willpower to go on.”

That is true for Mr. Matthews, who works in a Chicago coffee shop. Not too long ago, he said, he lied to his mother about having voted in an election so she would stop nagging him to get out and vote. What a difference this year has made: he said he watched the party conventions and three of the four presidential and vice-presidential debates. He followed coverage of the candidates in the local papers. He voted in the primary, and he cannot wait to vote on Tuesday.

“As I’m talking now,” he said, “I’m getting goose bumps.”

For Darnell Harris of Cleveland, an 18-year-old private in the Marines, the legal voting age could not come fast enough. “I’m excited that the first time I get to vote, it’s for Barack,” he said. And echoing many others, he said that race is only part of the reason. “Obama cares about everybody, whether they’re white, black, Chinese, whatever. He’s not just for one little group.”

For some new voters, family and peer pressure certainly played a role.

“Most of my life I didn’t want to get involved with anything political,” said Damien Henderson, a 26-year-old merchant seaman. “But everywhere I go lately, people are talking about Barack Obama. I could be standing in line at a grocery, and somebody’s going to ask me what I think about Barack Obama.”

Mr. Henderson said he started paying attention and fell for Mr. Obama’s charisma. He voted on Monday for the first time, for Mr. Obama.

How did it feel to cast that first vote?

“It actually felt really good,” he said.

Reporting was contributed by Robbie Brown, Catrin Einhorn, Malcolm Gay, Christopher Maag and Karen Zraick.

James M. Henderson, Sr.

2008-10-31T18:12:00.000-05:00

Sadly, Frank is not his father, whose legacy is better found in these words:

"Faithfulness to the Lordship of Christ means using the constitutional processes while we still have them. .... The Lordship of Christ means using these processes to speak and to act on the basis of the principles set forth in the Bible. .... We implore those of you who are Christians to exert all your influence to fight against the increasing loss of humanness--through legislation, social action, and other means at your disposal, both privately and publicly, individually and collectively, in all areas of your lives. .... On the basis of an unweakened Bible, we must teach and act, in our individual lives and as citizens, on the fact that every individual has unique value as made in the image of God. This is so from a child just conceived in the womb to the old with their last gasping breath and beyond . . . ."

C. Everett Koop and Francis Schaeffer, Whatever Happened to the Human Race, pgs. 132-34.

Thanks Cheryl!!!

2008-10-31T16:49:00.003-05:00

Very few of you know how special my paternal grandfather, who died in 1994, was to me -- he looked, walked, and talked like Fred Sanford :-).

I dont regret much of anything for reasons that I won't outline here, but one relative regret I have is that he did not live to see the armada movement towards this historical presidential election. So, today as I prepared to head for my early voting station, I decided to take him with me and my son, Micah.

I took his cane that he used to walk with - thankfully I didn't need to use it :-). I chuckled to myself as all three of us went to vote. I signed us in and we patiently waited in a ten person line.

As we got to the booth I had Micah to sit in the chair in fromt of the screen and vote - I stood behind him. It was just as important for him to experience the civil right moment as it was for me to create the moment. The touch screen machine is a 17-page document and it was about half way through that another proud moment came. It was there that I thought to "back-page" to page 1 and 'revote' (not to mention that Micah had accidentally selected the wrong appellate court judge). On the touch screen, to change your vote, you retouch your choice to get a fresh screen. I did so. But I stopped to reach over and grab Fred Sanford's walking stick, I hung it on the voting machine to the right and allowed him to vote for Barack Obama.

I know ya'll are trippin' on me, but it was a cool moment. For one, it conceptualized and contextualized all of this political hype for Micah and two, I was able to connect the past with the present and the very near future. I felt great. Please experience it. Take a picture, jewelry, piece of clothing, obituary, the spirit of an ancestor to vote...

Peace
brian

"Our existence is sequestered by both the known and the unknown

2008-10-29T15:52:00.001-05:00

CLICK PIC

Crispus Attucks fell so that Rosa Parks could sit, Rosa Parks sat so that Dr. Martin Luther King could march, Dr. Martin Luther King marched so that Barack Obama could run, and Barack Obama is running so that our children and grandchildren can fly.'

Rescuing Capitalism

2008-10-28T18:30:00.000-05:00

It would be fairly easy to dismiss the gleeful boast by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France that American-style capitalism is over, to file it with French critiques of fast food and American pop culture.

Except that the United States government now owns stakes in the nation’s biggest banks. It controls one of the biggest insurance companies in the world. It guarantees more than half the mortgages in the country. Finance — the lifeblood of capitalism — has to a substantial degree been taken over by the state.

Even Alan Greenspan, the high priest of unfettered capitalism and a former chairman of the Federal Reserve, conceded this week that he had “found a flaw” in his bedrock belief of “40 years or more” that markets would regulate themselves. “I made a mistake,” he said.

The question is what new direction capitalism should take. In a globally interconnected world, the United States cannot simply march back to the gray flannel capitalism of the 1950s and 1960s when regulations were tough and coddled monopolies dominated the corporate world. Still, the next president will have a chance, not to be missed, to re-evaluate some tenets of the freewheeling, deregulated version of a market economy that has dominated America since the Reagan administration.

Financial deregulation enabled our boom-and-bust dynamic — removing barriers to capital flows, allowing unrestricted trading of abstruse financial products and letting financial institutions take on more and more debt. Cheap money, from China or the Federal Reserve, fueled the fire. But America’s virtually unregulated shadow financial institutions — brokerages, hedge funds and other nonbank banks — played a particularly important role at the center of this process.

The solution will require rethinking the rules of finance. The amount of capital that banks must keep in reserve will have to rise; deregulated financial institutions will have to be regulated. Yet much more will be needed than just putting the bridle back on American banks.

The next government must re-establish some notion of equity of opportunity. Investment is desperately needed in health care, education, infrastructure. The social contract and the government’s role in it should be examined anew. Addressing these challenges will be an enormous task — especially amid the bitter recession that most economists expect over the next year or so. But they must be faced. Fixing finance is merely the start.

Thanks Aunt Sarah......

2008-10-28T12:06:00.002-05:00

Good Morning My People -

After watching the final debate last week it dawned on me that Obama
could actually win this thing. If that happens there will be a lot of
people (some of our co-workers included) who will be afraid that an
Obama presidency will usher in the end of days. They'll be watching us
on November 5th (the day after the election) for signs of the end times.
To keep the peace and keep a lot of folks from getting nervous, I think
we should develop a list of acceptable celebrations and behaviors we
should probably avoid - at least for the first few days:

1. No crying, hugging or shouting 'Thank you Lord' (at least not in
public). {Don't be ashamed}

2. No high-fives - at least not unless the area is clear and there are
no witnesses.
3. No laughing at the McCain/Palin supporters (those poor suckers).

4. No calling in sick on November 5th . They'll get nervous if too many
of us don't show up.

5. We're allowed to give each other knowing winks or nods in passing.
Just try to keep from grinning too hard.

6. No singing loudly, We've come this Far By Faith (it will be
acceptable to hum softly)

7. No bringing of barbeque ribs or fried chicken for lunch in the
company lunchroom for at least a week (no chittlings at all). This may
make us seem too 'ethnic.'

8. No leaving kool-aid packages at the water fountain (this might be a
sign that poor folks might be getting a breakthrough).

9. No Cupid Shuffle during breaks (this could indicate a little too much
excitement).

10. Please no 'Moving on Up' music (we are going to try to remain
humble).

11. No threats of painting the White House black (there are many other beautiful earthtone colors to choose from)

If I've missed anything feel free to add to the list. I just want to
make sure we're all on the same page when Obama brings this thing home
on November 5th. Now go get your early vote on and let's make this
thing happen!!!

-Author unknown

Barack Obama for President

2008-10-27T15:11:00.001-05:00

The United States is battered and drifting after eight years of President Bush’s failed leadership. He is saddling his successor with two wars, a scarred global image and a government systematically stripped of its ability to protect and help its citizens — whether they are fleeing a hurricane’s floodwaters, searching for affordable health care or struggling to hold on to their homes, jobs, savings and pensions in the midst of a financial crisis that was foretold and preventable.

As tough as the times are, the selection of a new president is easy. After nearly two years of a grueling and ugly campaign, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois has proved that he is the right choice to be the 44th president of the United States.

•

Mr. Obama has met challenge after challenge, growing as a leader and putting real flesh on his early promises of hope and change. He has shown a cool head and sound judgment. We believe he has the will and the ability to forge the broad political consensus that is essential to finding solutions to this nation’s problems.

In the same time, Senator John McCain of Arizona has retreated farther and farther to the fringe of American politics, running a campaign on partisan division, class warfare and even hints of racism. His policies and worldview are mired in the past. His choice of a running mate so evidently unfit for the office was a final act of opportunism and bad judgment that eclipsed the accomplishments of 26 years in Congress.

Given the particularly ugly nature of Mr. McCain’s campaign, the urge to choose on the basis of raw emotion is strong. But there is a greater value in looking closely at the facts of life in America today and at the prescriptions the candidates offer. The differences are profound.

Mr. McCain offers more of the Republican every-man-for-himself ideology, now lying in shards on Wall Street and in Americans’ bank accounts. Mr. Obama has another vision of government’s role and responsibilities.

In his convention speech in Denver, Mr. Obama said, “Government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves: protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools and new roads and new science and technology.”

Since the financial crisis, he has correctly identified the abject failure of government regulation that has brought the markets to the brink of collapse.

The Economy

The American financial system is the victim of decades of Republican deregulatory and anti-tax policies. Those ideas have been proved wrong at an unfathomable price, but Mr. McCain — a self-proclaimed “foot soldier in the Reagan revolution” — is still a believer.

Mr. Obama sees that far-reaching reforms will be needed to protect Americans and American business.

Mr. McCain talks about reform a lot, but his vision is pinched. His answer to any economic question is to eliminate pork-barrel spending — about $18 billion in a $3 trillion budget — cut taxes and wait for unfettered markets to solve the problem.

Mr. Obama is clear that the nation’s tax structure must be changed to make it fairer. That means the well-off Americans who have benefited disproportionately from Mr. Bush’s tax cuts will have to pay some more. Working Americans, who have seen their standard of living fall and their children’s options narrow, will benefit. Mr. Obama wants to raise the minimum wage and tie it to inflation, restore a climate in which workers are able to organize unions if they wish and expand educational opportunities.

Mr. McCain, who once opposed President Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy as fiscally irresponsible, now wants to make them permanent. And while he talks about keeping taxes low for everyone, his proposed cuts would overwhelmingly benefit the top 1 percent of Americans while digging the country into a deeper fiscal hole.

National Security

The American military — its people and equipment — is dangerously overstretched. Mr. Bush has neglected the necessary war in Afghanistan, which now threatens to spiral into defeat. The unnecessary and staggeringly costly war in Iraq must be ended as quickly and responsibly as possible.

While Iraq’s leaders insist on a swift drawdown of American troops and a deadline for the end of the occupation, Mr. McCain is still talking about some ill-defined “victory.” As a result, he has offered no real plan for extracting American troops and limiting any further damage to Iraq and its neighbors.

Mr. Obama was an early and thoughtful opponent of the war in Iraq, and he has presented a military and diplomatic plan for withdrawing American forces. Mr. Obama also has correctly warned that until the Pentagon starts pulling troops out of Iraq, there will not be enough troops to defeat the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan.

Mr. McCain, like Mr. Bush, has only belatedly focused on Afghanistan’s dangerous unraveling and the threat that neighboring Pakistan may quickly follow.

Mr. Obama would have a learning curve on foreign affairs, but he has already showed sounder judgment than his opponent on these critical issues. His choice of Senator Joseph Biden — who has deep foreign-policy expertise — as his running mate is another sign of that sound judgment. Mr. McCain’s long interest in foreign policy and the many dangers this country now faces make his choice of Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska more irresponsible.

Both presidential candidates talk about strengthening alliances in Europe and Asia, including NATO, and strongly support Israel. Both candidates talk about repairing America’s image in the world. But it seems clear to us that Mr. Obama is far more likely to do that — and not just because the first black president would present a new American face to the world.

Mr. Obama wants to reform the United Nations, while Mr. McCain wants to create a new entity, the League of Democracies — a move that would incite even fiercer anti-American furies around the world.

Unfortunately, Mr. McCain, like Mr. Bush, sees the world as divided into friends (like Georgia) and adversaries (like Russia). He proposed kicking Russia out of the Group of 8 industrialized nations even before the invasion of Georgia. We have no sympathy for Moscow’s bullying, but we also have no desire to replay the cold war. The United States must find a way to constrain the Russians’ worst impulses, while preserving the ability to work with them on arms control and other vital initiatives.

Both candidates talk tough on terrorism, and neither has ruled out military action to end Iran’s nuclear weapons program. But Mr. Obama has called for a serious effort to try to wean Tehran from its nuclear ambitions with more credible diplomatic overtures and tougher sanctions. Mr. McCain’s willingness to joke about bombing Iran was frightening.

The Constitution and the Rule of Law

Under Mr. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the justice system and the separation of powers have come under relentless attack. Mr. Bush chose to exploit the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, the moment in which he looked like the president of a unified nation, to try to place himself above the law.

Mr. Bush has arrogated the power to imprison men without charges and browbeat Congress into granting an unfettered authority to spy on Americans. He has created untold numbers of “black” programs, including secret prisons and outsourced torture. The president has issued hundreds, if not thousands, of secret orders. We fear it will take years of forensic research to discover how many basic rights have been violated.

Both candidates have renounced torture and are committed to closing the prison camp in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

But Mr. Obama has gone beyond that, promising to identify and correct Mr. Bush’s attacks on the democratic system. Mr. McCain has been silent on the subject.

Mr. McCain improved protections for detainees. But then he helped the White House push through the appalling Military Commissions Act of 2006, which denied detainees the right to a hearing in a real court and put Washington in conflict with the Geneva Conventions, greatly increasing the risk to American troops.

Frank Schaeffer

2008-10-20T12:39:00.000-05:00

Share Print CommentsSenator Obama would be ahead in the polls by twenty to twenty-five points if he was white. I can prove it.

With the economy in the toilet, an unnecessary war dragging on, America's standing at the lowest point it's ever been in the world, our dollar worthless, our educational system in free fall, any minimally fit Democrat would be dizzyingly ahead in the polls... if he happened to be white.

The Democrats have put forward the brightest, most compelling and inspiring candidate since Franklin Roosevelt. I say this as a white, fifty-six year-old life-long Republican and former Evangelical leader, who was turned into an independent voter and ardent Obama supporter by my disgust with the hijacking of the Republican Party by a bunch of anti-American revolutionaries. (See my book to better understand what I mean by the term "anti-American revolutionaries." Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back.)

Senator Obama won scholarships to America's top academic institutions, was voted by his peers to be editor of the Harvard Law Review, is a family man with an exemplary and obviously loving marriage, has a wife who is a brilliant charismatic woman, two lovely children, is a churchgoing born-again Christian comfortable with his faith, has avoided making the fast buck in the new gilded age of greed when he could have, served his community, is thoughtful, considered in his opinions, slow to anger, proved right in his judgment about the Iraq war, looks at every side of a question before making a decision, and is not given to grandstanding. He would be vastly ahead in the polls, even in polls of Evangelical voters who, after all, are also watching their savings and home values evaporate... unless he happened to be... black.

I speak as someone who was brought up in an Evangelical household by famous and influential Evangelical leaders (Francis and Edith Schaeffer). And this year even I've learned something new about my old Evangelical/Republican tribe! This election has shown the true nature of the Evangelical/Republican establishment as never before.

Turns out the Evangelicals would rather vote for a pagan reprobate compulsive gambler windbag philanderer of mediocre intellectual capability than for a well qualified fellow Christian (both in word and deed) because the reprobate windbag is white and their fellow Christian is black.

Everything else is just an excuse. Why? Because everything the Evangelicals and "conservatives" claim they are against is what McCain is. And everything they say they are for-compassion, justice, mercy, decency, family values, clean living, prudence and even temperament -- is what Obama is. (Note: Former diplomat African-American Alan Keyes, perpetual far right, the Rapture is on the way, support Israel, kill all Arabs, all-abortion-is-murder-from-zygot on, free-market purist, anti-welfare, anti-affirmative action Republican pro-Wall Street, trickle down, lower-taxes-on-the-rich candidate, never got more than tepid support from the same Republicans that have wildly embraced equally loony -- and white -- ideologue, Sarah Palin. So much for being "correct" on the issues!)

My point here is to cast a light on the gross hypocrisy of the Evangelical/Republican base using their own standards. By the Evangelical/Republican moral rule book McCain should be beyond the pale!

Here is how, say, Dr. Dobson or Pat Robertson or Rick Warren might describe McCain under other circumstances, say if he was running against a white Democrat:

According to a long exhaustive New York Times report (Sunday, Sept 28, 2008) McCain is a compulsive casino gambler and thus a waster of his God-given resources.

McCain is a man who has wasted hundreds of thousands of his wife's beer-empire dollars on blackjack tables across the country.

McCain has received millions of dollars in campaign funding from the casino industry and all the shady characters within that vice-saturated netherworld.

McCain is personally (and virtually solely) responsible for the spread of the Indian tribe casinos across the country that he both "regulates" (in the Senate) gambles in and receives money from.

McCain would bring with him to the Oval Office the stench of a high-flying and utterly corrupt (and corrupting) vice-based industry.

McCain has deep personal connections to the corrupt politicians and lobbyists in the pockets of the casino industry.

McCain has a reckless personal gambling habit, one that destroys untold American lives and families and drains tens of billions of dollars from those who can least afford it.

McCain pays for his gambling addiction with the money he got by dumping his first wife in favor of a rich young blond with who he had an affair before leaving his wife...

And this is the guy the "Evangelicals" are following!

As we head into the last weeks of this election season let's be very clear: in still supporting John McCain instead of defecting to Obama, the Evangelical/Republican base has shown that it's all about race. This is even the case when it comes to abortion.

The Republican policies of gutting social programs have led to more abortions not less. But the Republican/Evangelical base would rather have more abortions than vote for a black president who's programs would reduce the actual numbers of abortions.

Obama believes that abortion ought to remain legal, but he also believes in real and practical programs that would reduce abortion by doing everything possible to help women, babies and families. McCain says he believes that abortion should be illegal, but knows very well that no matter what, even if the Supreme Court reversed Roe, abortion will remain legal in almost all states since all the Court would do is return the issue to the states. So McCain's posturing is just that: more meaningless contemptible grandstanding while not actually caring about reducing abortion.

Anyone who wants more babies born than aborted would vote for Obama. Everything else is an excuse, just another smoke screen.

The Evangelical/Republican base is also ready to back Gambler McCain even though his choice of running mate is just another irresponsible gamble, roll of the national dice for personal political gain. Evangelicals will vote for a white man, even if he has shown himself to be recklessly unpatriotic, as has McCain instead of a black man who had the good sense to choose a qualified running mate.

McCain, by gambling with our future at this critical moment with his "I can see Russia from my window" Palin stunt has shown that he puts himself first, not his country. Evangelicals know, as do all Americans, that Palin is a joke. But, judging by the close poll numbers, they'd rather live in a joke country in ruins than one with a qualified black man for president.

The choice is clear. When we vote we'll be choosing between Obama; the most intellectually and emotionally even-tempered and best equipped candidate this country has produced in most Americans lifetimes' on the one hand, and McCain, a philandering gambling addict with deep and corrupting ties to one of the most dubious socially destructive industries in United States, who is emotionally reckless and unstable and willing to risk the entire future of his country by appointing a grossly unqualified running mate.

In this election we Americans will be:

1) Voting for a president and vice president.

But also...

2) Passing or failing the greatest moral test of our time; the "exam question" is: will we elect the self-evidently better candidate regardless of his race?

There is irony at work here, and a chance for grace. How sweetly ironic that the best chance the United States has to restore our standing in the world, and to overcome our self-inflicted wounds, comes to us in the form of a thoughtful, self-effacing and brilliant young black man!

By voting for our first black president we Americans may begin the slow climb back to the moral sunlight and send a message to ourselves (and the world) that we have -- at last!--turned the page on our sordid racism. We will also save our country from four more years of Bush/McCain/Palin.

We are about to learn who we are. Will we vote race or conscience, for common sense or prejudice, for national redemption or the mindless continuation of the Bush apocalypse?

In Obama we have been given two extraordinary gifts; a great candidate and a national mirror. We are about to learn who we really are.

Frank Schaeffer is the author of Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back, now in paperback

Obama hits McCain on Medicare

2008-10-17T10:49:00.000-05:00

Barack Obama, continuing to hammer John McCain on healthcare, is launching a new TV ad in battleground states today that warns that the Republican's plan would mean cuts to the existing government health programs for the poor and elderly.

The ad cites a Wall Street Journal article earlier this month that stated: "John McCain would pay for his health plan with major reductions to Medicare and Medicaid, a top aide said, in a move that independent analysts estimate could result in cuts of $1.3 trillion over 10 years to the government programs. The Republican presidential nominee has said little about the proposed cuts, but they are needed to keep his health-care plan 'budget neutral,' as he has promised. The McCain campaign hasn't given a specific figure for the cuts, but didn't dispute the analysts' estimate."
Obama has already been criticizing the centerpiece of McCain's plan -- a $2,500 tax credit for individuals and $5,000 for families -- because it would be offset by requiring workers to start including in their taxable income the value of insurance coverage paid by their employers.

"John McCain’s healthcare plan: first we learned he’s going to tax health care benefits to pay for part of it. Now the Wall Street Journal reports John McCain would pay for the rest of his health care plan 'with major reductions to Medicare and Medicaid,' " the announcer says.

"Eight hundred and eighty-two billion from Medicare alone," the announcer continues, as images of seniors are shown. "Requiring cuts in benefits, eligibility, or both. John McCain, taxing health benefits, cutting Medicare. We can’t afford John McCain."

Obama plans to piggyback on the ad in a speech this afternoon in Roanoke, Va.

"Senator McCain has been eager to share some details of his healthcare plan – but not all," he is to say, according to prepared remarks released by his campaign. "Like those ads for prescription drugs, you have to read the fine print to learn the full story. First, we found out that he wants to pay for his plan by taxing your health care benefits for the first time in history, just like George Bush. That was bad enough. But the Wall Street Journal recently reported that it’s actually worse than we thought. It turns out, Senator McCain would pay for part of his plan by making drastic cuts in Medicare –$882 billion worth. $882 billion in Medicare cuts to pay for an ill-conceived health care plan, even as Medicare already faces a looming shortfall.

"Now, this should come as no surprise – it’s entirely consistent with Senator McCain’s record during his 26 years in Congress where, time and again, he’s opposed Medicare. In fact, Senator McCain has voted against protecting Medicare 40 times. 40 times, he’s failed to stand up for Medicare. So what would Senator McCain’s cuts mean for Medicare at a time when more and more Americans are relying on it? It would mean a cut of more than 20 percent in Medicare benefits next year. If you count on Medicare, it would mean fewer places to get care, and less freedom to choose your own doctors. You’ll pay more for your drugs, receive fewer services, and get lower quality care. I don’t think that’s right.

"When you’ve worked hard your whole life, and paid into the system, and done everything right, you shouldn’t have the carpet pulled out from under you when you least expect it and can least afford it. Health care shouldn’t be some kind of either-or tradeoff where our seniors get left out in the cold."

"I think every single American has a right to affordable accessible health care. We can strengthen Medicare by eliminating wasteful subsidies to big HMOs in Medicare, and making sure seniors can access home-based care, and letting Medicare negotiate with drug companies for better prices. That’s the kind of change we need."

UPDATE: The McCain campaign issued a response via a statement from senior economic adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin:

“Barack Obama’s health care plan is a prescription for economic disaster that is being sold to the American people with the same deception, half-truths and distortions typical of his attacks on John McCain. While Barack Obama complains about any scrutiny of his record whatsoever, the airwaves are flooded with Obama’s lies and distortions about the McCain health care plan -- which according to independent groups would leave middle class Americans better off. Senator Obama refuses to explain his plans to fine firms and parents, and the Wall Street Journal reports ‘the campaign has no plans to answer that question before Election Day on Nov. 4.’ It gets worse: Barack Obama’s secret fine is essentially a small business tax on employment, and during an economic downturn, it’s a risky double-down on economic disaster that leaves hardworking Americans taking the hit.”
Comments (4) Posted by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor October 17, 2008 11:23 AM

Magic Johnson Rips Radio Talk Show Hosts

2008-10-10T11:06:00.000-05:00

Magic Johnson Rips Radio Talk Show Hosts Who Said He 'Faked AIDS'
Posted Oct 9th 2008 8:05PM by Brett Edwards (author feed)
Filed under: NBA Gossip, NBA Media Watch
the jump.

"I am extremely disappointed in KTLK in Minneapolis. I am outraged that Chris Baker and Langdon Perry would minimize such a serious and deadly issue. Millions are dying from HIV/AIDS and the fact that they would make jokes about my status is unbelievable," Johnson said. "Chris, Langdon and KTLK should use their power in a more positive light by encouraging people to get tested for this disease instead of making up such ridiculous lies."
So many times when something like this goes down, the celebrity won't want to dignify comments like these with a response. But Magic handled it the right way, by releasing a statement and letting these guys know that they should be using their platform for something more positive.

2008-10-03T15:09:00.000-05:00

Click

PLEASE READ ALL THE WAY AND FORWARD TO THE PEOPLE YOU CARE ABOUT.

2008-10-03T12:00:00.001-05:00

Thanks Latrice!

To those of you who are single or married, saved or not saved, this is for you. I am a 35-year-old African American or Black brother dying of Aids. I would like to share my testimony with you.

I am an owner of a Mortgage Company in Atlanta , GA. I own a 2007 Jaguar and I also own a $350,000 beautiful home in Cobb County . I have a beautiful Lady who is deeply in love with me and a loving family. But most important, I have Jesus, this is just a wake up call to all single brothers and sisters who are professing to be Christians, but don't want to be complete. Brothers, I had a beautiful young lady who loves the Lord and worships the ground I walk on. But I still wasn't quite happy because sometimes I would see another sister with a Coca-Cola bottle shape and just wanted to hit it. Because I was using a condom, I thought that I wouldn't catch the killer 'AIDS' but guess what? I did. And the person I caught it from was a girl that I knew well. But the condom came off and now I am dying of AIDS. Yes, I wore a condom. But yes it did happen. God gives us time after time to straighten our lives up. I do know the Lord in the pardon of my sins. I've been saved now for 7 years. I found out 7 months ago that I had the virus, and now I have full-blown Aids. I really didn't think that I was doing anything wrong, because I would t ell the women who I would deal with about the woman I love. I thought that was good enough. But it wasn't. I am a good man and also a God-fearing man; but my weakness was women... I really wasn't out there like you may think I was, but every once and a while I would see something I wanted to try. My girlfriend is a praying woman. I know now that she was intimate with me because she loved me and she wanted to make me happy. Now I've given AIDS to the woman I love (who has been faithful to me) because of lust.

Brothers and sisters, what I am telling you is that God is tired of us hurting each other and using each other for self-gratification. God has given me my home, my dream car and a beautiful woman and I took it all for granted. I've been tithing for 7 years. I am the chairman of my Deacon Board. But when I told my Pastor I had AIDS, he could not believe it because of the way I would carry myself. Brothers, If you have a sister who loves the Lord and who loves you for who you are and not for what you look like and not for what you have, cherish her. Sisters. If you have a brother who loves the Lord, love him and cherish him. My life has been altered. I've been with my lady since I was 20, and I've always used my young age as an excuse for not being loyal and not settling down with the woman I loved. I was being a hypocrite thinking that I was missing something, and not realizing that I had a good woman who loved and adored me. I wish I had been a real man and had appreciated the good woman God had sent me by not maki ng excuses and dedicating my life to her. I would love to travel and marry this beautiful young Lady, but now I can't. I've embarrassed my family, my church and my friends. But I was hardheaded and now I must suffer. God is cleaning up. Stop playing with God. God is revealing the secrets of us Christians. Brothers and sisters, we don't have to have so many 'friends,' you know what we call them. The ones we are planning to sleep with but haven't yet.' We often say that we don't want anyone to know our business, but God is about to reveal somethings. Especially to us young people. We think so carnal. But we say that we have been transformed. We have been transformed from what we want to be transformed from. Let's be real. God knows that t he opposite sex attracts us. And he knows the desires we have for each other, but we don't have to have multiple partners.

If I could do it all over again, I would marry the woman I love and live happy forever. But now I can't! But you can! Singles...I gotta tell you, it's not worth it. I love you all Get rid of casual sex. This is really deep. After you've read this, think about yourself. Could this have been you? Some of you may not relate, but think about anything you are doing right now that is not of God. We are living in the last and final days, and pretending to be saved is not going to cut it. Professing that He is Lord, and yet worshipping the devil every chance you get will lead you to the same path as me. Get your mind out of the gutter and put it in the Word of God and you'll have great success. Don't and you'll have great woe. I love the LORD and thank Him for all that He does in my life; therefore, I'm passing this on. Yes, I do love Je sus who has forgiven me of the repeated sins. That forgiveness does not cancel out the consequences, at least not so far. But that's o n me. Still, the Lord is my source of existence and Savior. He keeps me functioning each day and is letting me share my story with you.

I'm telling it like it is THIS REALLY is to help somebody. Without Him, I will be nothing. Without Him, I am nothing but with Him I can do all things. Phil 4:13

If you love Jesus, send this to lots of people!!!!!! Be Positive - Be Progressive...Take the time to make a positive difference in someone's life.

Minister Anthony J. Cox

God Bless

'When you reach the end of your rope, Tie a knot, HANG ON and PRAY'

Are you sure you are Registered To Vote?

2008-10-01T11:33:00.001-05:00

Read the message below. I received it from a friend today. We need to follow up by calling the Chicago Board of Election Commission to ensure that we are registered! THE LAST DAY TO REGISTER TO VOTE IS MONDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2008!!!

All Things In Time
Tommie L. Williams

Good afternoon family and friends,

Are you sure you are Registered To Vote? I went into the Chicago Board of Election Commission's website: www.chicagoelections.com to verify my registration status, and to my horror, the link for checking the status of my voter registration showed: "No Match."

I called the Election Commission (312) 269-7900, to determine the status of MY Registration, since I voted in January 2008, the last primary elections. Again, to my horror, I was told that my voter registration was "inactive" and that they did not have the last four (4) numbers of my Social Security Number. I was told that since I called, they could now reactive my voter registration by verifying my personal information (last 4 digits of my SS#).

Ralph also was told that he had to reactive his voter registration, which he did.

When Duane called, she was told that "someone" had challenged her voter registration, and that she would have to re-register.
What would have happened had she not called before November 4th? You guessed it!! Not permitted to vote on November 4th.

Your vote does count, but before you can vote, you MUST be registered. Take action! Check on the status of your voter registration.www.chicagoelections.com or call (312) 269-7900 if you live in Chicago, or check for the phone number of your local Board of Election Commission if you live outside of Chicago. I will be registering persons to vote on Sunday, October 5th, immediately following morning worship service (approximately 12:30 pm) at my church, Metropolitan Community Church, 4610 S. Prairie, Chicago, IL. I can make myself available to register persons. Call me (773) 493-6676.

This is serious time, Make Your Voice Heard!

Dolores

2008-10-01T10:45:00.001-05:00

The Depression of 2008?
By Jason Zweig, The Wall Street Journal
Last update: 2:42 p.m. EDT Sept. 30, 2008

Whether it was murder or suicide is beside the point: Wall Street as it has operated for the past 75 years has been obliterated in a matter of weeks. And witnessing this violent death in broad daylight has traumatized investors everywhere.

The Wall Street domino has toppled just about everything in sight: U.S. stocks large and small, within the financial industry and outside of it; foreign stocks; oil and other commodities; real-estate investment trusts; formerly booming emerging markets like India and China. Even gold, although it has inched up lately, has lost 10% from its highs earlier this year. Not even cash seems entirely safe, as money-market funds barely averted a "run on the bank."

Of all the dominos that have tipped over, the most psychologically damaging collapse was the last: the very notion of diversification itself.

Every day, my mailbox fills up with messages from agonized investors who can find nowhere to hide. The most common refrain: "I've lost money on everything."

If you feel this way too, you are certainly not imagining. According to the researchers at Morningstar Inc., 91% of all mutual funds in existence have lost money so far this year. To put that in perspective, in 2001 -- the year Enron imploded, Internet stocks kept crashing and al Qaeda attacked the U.S. -- more than one out of every three funds still managed to generate positive returns.

How much worse might things get? Is there any way to prevent Wall Street's death from taking you out too?

Let's consider some of the arguments that have been surfacing lately.

"We're going into another Great Depression." The failure on Monday of the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the bailout plan makes those G-D words seem possible for the first time. But I don't think another depression is likely, for two reasons.

First, when you spend time studying the Crash of 1929 and the depression that followed, what stands out the most is the dearth of doomsayers. Even Roger Babson, the economist known to posterity as "the man who called the crash," did no such thing; he forecast only a 15% to 20% drop, not the apocalypse that actually occurred. Depressions start not when lots of people are worried about them, as we have today, but when no one is worried about them, as in 1929.

Second, the Great Depression and the Panic of 1873 (which triggered what arguably was the worst depression in U.S. history) both occurred before the Federal Reserve Bank had aggressively grown into its role as "lender of last resort." In the wake of 1873, after a railroad-building boom had swept the nation and then gone bust, companies and consumers alike were left gasping for capital. Nothing but the passage of time could supply it; the Fed would not be established until 1913. After the crash of 1929, when the Fed was still weak, years passed before the federal government could flood the economy with cash.

A trader rubs his face as he works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange September 29, 2008 in New York City.

U.S. stocks took a nosedive in reaction to the global credit crisis and as the U.S. House of Representatives rejected the $700 billion rescue package, 228-205. Dow Jones Industrials fell as much as 700 points in midday trading.

Today, however, the resolve of the Fed is not in question; nor is there any doubt that the Treasury Department is willing to provide the financing it takes to get the economy moving again. Furthermore, U.S. nonfinancial companies have just under $1 trillion in cash on their books. Even though Wall Street is dead, innovation is not: In the months to come, clever new financial go-betweens will spring up and find a way to get that cash flowing again. It's hard to see how a depression could get under way when so much capital is waiting in the wings.

"Diversification is dead." There's an old saying that the only things that go up in a down market are correlations -- the tightness of the linkages among various assets like U.S. and foreign markets, stocks and bonds, commodities or real estate. Normally, one asset will tend to zig while another zags. But in bear markets, they converge -- and in really terrible bear markets, they move in complete lockstep.

That's what is happening now, but it will not last indefinitely. It never does. While diversification does not work all the time, it does work over the course of time.

There's nothing wrong with raising a little cash if that would prevent you from panicking completely. This is particularly true for retirees. Whittle down your stock position gradually, in baby steps -- say, 1% at a time -- not in one fell swoop. And set a limit beyond which you will not go; otherwise, when stocks stage their inevitable recovery, you will miss out.

"Investors hate uncertainty." Well, that's just tough. Uncertainty is all investors ever have gotten, or ever will get, from the moment barley and sesame first began trading in ancient Mesopotamia to the last trade that will ever take place on Planet Earth.

Not again? Bewildered investors milled about New York's financial district after the stock-market crash in October 1929.

If tomorrow were ever knowable with absolute certainty, who would take the other side of a trade today?

The financial future is no more uncertain now than it used to be; in fact, it's far less uncertain than it was in the summer of 2007, when the Dow shot above 14000, the future seemed bright, and utterly no one foresaw the disaster that would befall the financial system. The absolute certainty of blue skies ahead was an illusion then, and the notion that we all know that worse misery lies in store is an illusion now.

The only true certainty is surprise.

You've probably spent a lot more time worrying about negative than positive surprises lately. But we could get surprised on the upside by a further fall in oil prices, a kick from low interest rates -- and, of course, untold other possibilities that no one can foresee.

Whatever happens with the bailout, don't bail out.

Write to Jason Zweig at intelligentinvestor@wsj.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Looking for simple solutions to your real-life financial challenges? Check out WalletPop for the latest news and information, tips and

NOW THAT'S A GREAT IDEA !!!!!!!

2008-09-30T18:46:00.000-05:00

Yocheeta..

MR. PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS:

IT'S OUR MONEY YOU'RE GIVING AWAY!

President Bush told us last night that he is giving 700 billion dollars
to the financial institutions to "save them" and help the economy.

We think there's a better way . . .

Instead of awarding Wall Street - who created this mess and will be
rewarded for it - why not give 1 million dollars to each American
citizen-man, woman and child--to pay off their mortgages, cars and
credit card debts (which would be mandatory) for receiving the money.
The added bonus would be that the banks and lending institutions would
then be solvent or well on the road to being solvent.

With the money left over, we Americans could then pay for our children's
education, maybe start a small business to employ more people to help
the economy, or spend it to help the retail market.

There are over 306 million citizens in America. If each person received
1 million dollars that would be only 306 million that the government
would pay out. That amount sounds so much better than 700 billion--don't
you think!

I think everyone that receives this email should email, write and call
their congressman and the local newspaper to let them known the people
have a better idea on how to use OUR tax money.

If you agree, send this to everyone you know. At least our elected
officials will know how angry we are over the mess that they have
allowed to happen!

Leatha J. Patton

2008-09-30T12:47:00.001-05:00

Leatha J. Patton

What do you expect from Bubba (William Jefferson Clinton)who, other than being a Rhodes Scholar, is also a member of the Illuminati Trilateral Commission, and holds a membershipship with the Bilderburger group, i.e., the founders of the New World Order. If you wish to know more about this, please visit that website and, yes, he is listed in all categories. In 1994, Clinton signed into law NAFTA causing jobs to begin to leave this country for foreign lands and slave wages. I cannot for the life of me fathom how the majority of American people often act as if brain-dead. Remember Ohio during the primary and how that state (white folks!), riddled with poverty because of job loss, voted for the cheerleader of NAFTA, Hillary Clinton? More black men were imprisoned during Clinton's term than at any other time. This is just the tip of the iceberg (at least the remainder that has not melted into the sea due to global warming problems). Problems, problems, problems y'all. I believe Bubba doesn't want Obama to win and the party be damned. Their strategy, he and that wife of his, is to wait four years. Hillary can run again and Billary (the two of them) can then make it to the White House for Bubba's third term.

Posted by Anonymous to CONSIDEROURSOURCE at Monday, 29 September, 2008