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Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Haitian president makes surprise visit to Dade School Board
Haiti's president made a surprise appearance before the Miami-Dade School Board to thank the district for storm- relief efforts and to appeal for more assistance.
Haitian President René Préval -- on a brief layover in Miami while en route to a summit in Quebec City, Canada -- made a surprise visit to the Miami-Dade School Board on Wednesday.
Préval thanked the district for its support of Haiti's hurricane-relief effort and also made a pitch on behalf of his efforts to rebuild classrooms in the storm-ravaged country, asking Miami-Dade for its surplus portable classrooms.
Préval's unexpected visit brought members of the board and others in the audience to their feet with a standing ovation when he entered the auditorium. His appearance came after a private meeting with Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, who visited the devastated country last month.
''As you know, over the past two months, Haiti has suffered two hurricanes,'' Préval said, speaking in French with a translator at his side. ``It is like Katrina in Haiti. All of the schools have been damaged, all of the health centers are damaged and all of the homes have suffered damage.''
The portable classrooms, Préval said, would be used for schools, shelters and health centers. ''We still have people sleeping on the street, or on the roofs of their houses,'' Préval said. ``The children are exposed to the sun and the rain. It is unimaginable.''
The request for Miami-Dade's surplus portables comes after Broward School Board member Benjamin Williams offered to donate 600 of that district's portables.
APPEAL FOR DONATIONS
When Carvalho made an expected appearance at a spiritual revival at Notre Dame d'Haiti Catholic Church in Little Haiti Tuesday night, The Rev. Reginald Jean-Mary asked him about donating Miami-Dade's surplus portables to Haiti. Carvalho agreed.
Last month, both men visited two of the hardest-hit areas in Haiti -- the northwestern port city of Gonaives and Cabaret, just north of the capital of Port-au-Prince. Carvalho said he paid for his own ticket.
During a meeting with Haitian Prime Minister Michèle Pierre-Louis, Carvalho offered the school district's assistance. He told board members that the district was supplying 20,000 book bags and supplies to school children on the island, along with an out-of-service school bus.
''The fact that children in the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere still have not begun school is something that we can help with,'' Carvalho said. ``Here, we have an opportunity to turn our surplus into a valuable commodity in Haiti.''
Préval told The Miami Herald that Carvalho told him there were between 6,000 and 7,000 surplus portables statewide and offered to help Haiti obtain them. Carvalho confirmed this, telling the board that he plans to contact Gov. Charlie Crist and the State Department of Education about the portables.
School Board members said they would look into donating the portable classrooms -- which could number in the hundreds -- and would otherwise be destroyed. Board Chairman Agustín Barrera asked that the district ensure the portables are usable -- even if it means tapping into dollars that would have been used to destroy the classrooms to repair them before sending them to Haiti.
''I am very happy,'' Préval told The Herald. The portables were ``something that could rescue Haiti from the situation in which we are living.''
SCHOOLS HELPING OUT
School leaders and students have also been collecting food and supplies at schools throughout the county. And Carvalho asked a number of community organizations and corporations to donate backpacks for kids.
Carvalho said 15 shipping containers worth of goods had already arrived in Haiti and he hoped to send an additional 15 containers in coming weeks. He said he thinks the portables could be sent to Haiti for free.
''In the name of the children of Haiti, I thank you,'' Préval said.
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http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/story/728086.html
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
The End of American Spending and Reaganomics
The greatest economic crisis since the great depression did not happen because of Wall Street or predatory lenders. No, the greatest economic crisis of our time has occurred for two reasons - American spending and Reaganomics.
American Spending
We can blame Wall Street, or predatory lenders, or the realtors who kept telling potential home owners to “go bigger.” I’m sure there is plenty of blame to go around, but the true culprit in this mortgage meltdown is the American consumer and its insatiable appetite for more stuff.
American spending has gotten so out of control it’s become a disease, a pandemic that plaques the majority of American households. The fact is, if the mortgage meltdown didn’t happen it would have been something else, the credit card meltdown, the car loan meltdown, or the equity loan meltdown, this economic crisis was bound to take shape in one form or another, and now that it has everyone is in panic mode.
The reality is we have spent ourselves into a state of financial paralysis, there is a negative savings rate in America, which means that the average American spends more than they take home, and most likely are having to resort to credit cards, with ballooning interests rates, or quick and easy refinancing, which have since disappeared, to pay off their excess bills every month.
Everywhere you look in the American economy, the excesses of our poor spending habits are apparent. The government, with the highest national debt in history; Wall Street and it’s heavily over leveraged banks; Americans and their exceedingly high credit card debt. Over spending has become so much a part of American culture that the economy has come to depend on it. On Black Friday, we see lines spanning for blocks at all hours of the night waiting for the electronic stores to open, or on Christmas, with the latest Christmas toy going for unconscionable prices. American spending has become a pandemic, and unless we end it now and learn to live within our means, we haven’t seen the last economic crises of our great nation.
In middleclass China, there is a 30% savings rate, which means 30% of what middleclass china takes home is saved. I wish I could say that. The Chinese government has bought up billions of dollars of American issued bonds which we use to pay for the war in Iraq, and our economy is falling into crippling debt. If we do not do something about our spending, our children will bare the burden of our debts and they will be paying it off for generations to come. Is this the legacy our generation wants to leave behind? A legacy of unadulterated financial excess, a legacy of lack of self control, a legacy of borrowing and never being able to pay it all off.
We, the American consumer, are as much to blame for our economic woes as the CEOs on Wall Street, or the politicians in Washington. How can we possibly expect them to be fiscally responsible with our money, when we ourselves aren’t?
Reaganomics
After almost 30 years of Tax cuts and Tax incentives we’ve finally realized what the most downtrodden of our society have known all along, the trickle down effect does not work. For close to 30 years we’ve been led to believe that cutting taxes is the way to keep our economy strong, we’ve been led to believe that when taxes are low, it helps to stimulate the economy and create jobs. Now we know it was all a lie. The truth is only the rich benefit from tax cuts, the middleclass and the poor end up suffering. The fact is when you cut taxes, as time goes on and inflation drives up the cost of living, those short falls in government spending inevitably lead to the rising cost of government institutions such as our State universities. For example, State universities in the past half-decade have become unaffordable to most middleclass Americans. Cutting taxes lead to budget short falls in cities and towns which inevitably lead to, Municipal issued bonds for new construction of libraries and community centers which lead to even more debt. Only the rich benefit, because they are not concerned with the price of tuition at the State schools because their kids attend an even more costly out-of-state private school. That $3500.00 tax cut, you so eagerly anticipated has led the cost of tuition for the State University to double. Let me do the math for you; that $3500.00 tax break you received just caused tuition to go from, $5000.00 to $10,000; so now you have to come up with an extra $1500.00 in order to send little Timmy off to college. The middleclass has been bamboozled, hoodwinked. Reaganomics is a hoax, a sham, it doesn’t work, it only allows the rich to get richer as individual families bare a greater burden of costs that were once spread throughout the collective.
Taxes are good people. We’ve been led to believe, by the same politicians who are vying so hard for a steady paycheck within the government; that giving your hard earned money to the government is bad; that the government will only use your money to further screw things up. Well if the government is so bad why do you want a job with them? Well if the answer is, as it so often is with these politicians, that they plan to fix Washington, then I should trust that once you’re elected you will do everything in your power to handle my hard earned money responsibly, so why should I be concerned with a tax break.
Taxes help to do for us as a society what the poor and middleclass cannot do as individuals. You see we have been lied to, for almost three decades, we’ve been told that the government is bad, and taxes are evil. But on the contrary taxes help keep the post office running smoothly and keep the cost of a stamp under a dollar, taxes help to build roads, and fund Social Security, and as we watch our 401ks vanish into thin air, Social Security has become that much more important. Could you imagine if Social Security had been privatized? Taxes are good people, it will one day fund Universal Healthcare, and supplement our retirement, it should supplement the cost of State Universities, libraries, museums, and zoos. Taxes aren’t a punishment; what taxes achieve are the spoils of a strong and thriving Nation, which everyone should be allowed to enjoy, not just the rich. All these shortfalls in government spending has forced the middleclass to spend more and more just to maintain the same quality of life their parents were accustom to, which has created this culture of spending that has sent the economy spiraling out of control and collapsing under the weight of it’s on debt. The days of Reaganomics are over.
American Spending
We can blame Wall Street, or predatory lenders, or the realtors who kept telling potential home owners to “go bigger.” I’m sure there is plenty of blame to go around, but the true culprit in this mortgage meltdown is the American consumer and its insatiable appetite for more stuff.
American spending has gotten so out of control it’s become a disease, a pandemic that plaques the majority of American households. The fact is, if the mortgage meltdown didn’t happen it would have been something else, the credit card meltdown, the car loan meltdown, or the equity loan meltdown, this economic crisis was bound to take shape in one form or another, and now that it has everyone is in panic mode.
The reality is we have spent ourselves into a state of financial paralysis, there is a negative savings rate in America, which means that the average American spends more than they take home, and most likely are having to resort to credit cards, with ballooning interests rates, or quick and easy refinancing, which have since disappeared, to pay off their excess bills every month.
Everywhere you look in the American economy, the excesses of our poor spending habits are apparent. The government, with the highest national debt in history; Wall Street and it’s heavily over leveraged banks; Americans and their exceedingly high credit card debt. Over spending has become so much a part of American culture that the economy has come to depend on it. On Black Friday, we see lines spanning for blocks at all hours of the night waiting for the electronic stores to open, or on Christmas, with the latest Christmas toy going for unconscionable prices. American spending has become a pandemic, and unless we end it now and learn to live within our means, we haven’t seen the last economic crises of our great nation.
In middleclass China, there is a 30% savings rate, which means 30% of what middleclass china takes home is saved. I wish I could say that. The Chinese government has bought up billions of dollars of American issued bonds which we use to pay for the war in Iraq, and our economy is falling into crippling debt. If we do not do something about our spending, our children will bare the burden of our debts and they will be paying it off for generations to come. Is this the legacy our generation wants to leave behind? A legacy of unadulterated financial excess, a legacy of lack of self control, a legacy of borrowing and never being able to pay it all off.
We, the American consumer, are as much to blame for our economic woes as the CEOs on Wall Street, or the politicians in Washington. How can we possibly expect them to be fiscally responsible with our money, when we ourselves aren’t?
Reaganomics
After almost 30 years of Tax cuts and Tax incentives we’ve finally realized what the most downtrodden of our society have known all along, the trickle down effect does not work. For close to 30 years we’ve been led to believe that cutting taxes is the way to keep our economy strong, we’ve been led to believe that when taxes are low, it helps to stimulate the economy and create jobs. Now we know it was all a lie. The truth is only the rich benefit from tax cuts, the middleclass and the poor end up suffering. The fact is when you cut taxes, as time goes on and inflation drives up the cost of living, those short falls in government spending inevitably lead to the rising cost of government institutions such as our State universities. For example, State universities in the past half-decade have become unaffordable to most middleclass Americans. Cutting taxes lead to budget short falls in cities and towns which inevitably lead to, Municipal issued bonds for new construction of libraries and community centers which lead to even more debt. Only the rich benefit, because they are not concerned with the price of tuition at the State schools because their kids attend an even more costly out-of-state private school. That $3500.00 tax cut, you so eagerly anticipated has led the cost of tuition for the State University to double. Let me do the math for you; that $3500.00 tax break you received just caused tuition to go from, $5000.00 to $10,000; so now you have to come up with an extra $1500.00 in order to send little Timmy off to college. The middleclass has been bamboozled, hoodwinked. Reaganomics is a hoax, a sham, it doesn’t work, it only allows the rich to get richer as individual families bare a greater burden of costs that were once spread throughout the collective.
Taxes are good people. We’ve been led to believe, by the same politicians who are vying so hard for a steady paycheck within the government; that giving your hard earned money to the government is bad; that the government will only use your money to further screw things up. Well if the government is so bad why do you want a job with them? Well if the answer is, as it so often is with these politicians, that they plan to fix Washington, then I should trust that once you’re elected you will do everything in your power to handle my hard earned money responsibly, so why should I be concerned with a tax break.
Taxes help to do for us as a society what the poor and middleclass cannot do as individuals. You see we have been lied to, for almost three decades, we’ve been told that the government is bad, and taxes are evil. But on the contrary taxes help keep the post office running smoothly and keep the cost of a stamp under a dollar, taxes help to build roads, and fund Social Security, and as we watch our 401ks vanish into thin air, Social Security has become that much more important. Could you imagine if Social Security had been privatized? Taxes are good people, it will one day fund Universal Healthcare, and supplement our retirement, it should supplement the cost of State Universities, libraries, museums, and zoos. Taxes aren’t a punishment; what taxes achieve are the spoils of a strong and thriving Nation, which everyone should be allowed to enjoy, not just the rich. All these shortfalls in government spending has forced the middleclass to spend more and more just to maintain the same quality of life their parents were accustom to, which has created this culture of spending that has sent the economy spiraling out of control and collapsing under the weight of it’s on debt. The days of Reaganomics are over.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Who Is Joe Biden?
With the word on the street being, that Delaware’s Senior Senator Joe Biden will be Barack Obama’s Vice Presidential running mate; people are asking, who is Joe Biden? Well as a five year resident of the State of Delaware and an avid political enthusiast, I have been following the more recent events of U.S. Senator Joe Biden’s political career for sometime. I did not support Joe Biden during his unsuccessful Presidential Bid in 2004; not because I didn’t believe he was a qualified presidential candidate, but because during the 2004 presidential primaries the war in Iraq was at the center of the political spectrum and I felt, Wesley Clark, being a former U.S. General and a leader in foreign conflicts was the best choice, at the time. However, Wesley Clark, while being a great leader and a U.S. General, is not a very good politician, but that’s a whole other story.
As I speak with my fellow Delawareans, informing them of the possible Joe Biden VP news, you can tell there is a sense of excitement and pride in knowing that the next Vice President of the United State of America could be from the State of Delaware. However, there is also a sense of confusion, people keep asking me: Why not Hilary? Why not Hilary?
The answer to that question can only be answered by Bill and Hilary Clinton, who have single handily Thelma and Louise’d themselves off the proverbial political cliff.
As you all know, I was once an advocate for an Obama/Clinton ticket, in the May and June time frame. I believed it would be a landslide victory for the Democratic Party. My opinion of Hilary Clinton or the belief that it would be a winning ticket hasn’t changed, but what has changed is the dynamics of the political race, and most of it is due to the antics of Bill and Hilary Clinton (Thelma and Louise). After the heated and emotional Democratic Presidential Primaries of 2008, instead of trying to unify a divided and tense Democratic Party, Bill and Hilary chose to be bitter and remorseful about their defeat. Bill Clinton and his sly comments regarding Barack Obama; Hilary Clinton, and her lackluster support of Obama’s campaign, all added to an already divisive Democratic primary, and then to top it all off, the insistence that Hilary’s nomination be cast at the Democratic Convention. Historically; failed presidential hopefuls have had their names cast during the Convention, however, in this instance, in the aftermath of such an intense political primary, you would have hoped, in the spirit of Democratic unity, she would have taken her name out of the nomination, but I digress. My point is, Bill and Hilary Clinton, have chosen personal political self-interest above Democratic unity, giving Obama no choice but to take her out of the VP race. As much as I like the Clintons, my loyalties, for now, rests with the Democratic Party.
Joe Biden.
Who is this Senior U.S. Senator from the second smallest State in the Nation? Joe Biden has 36 years of political experience, and is currently the chairman of the U.S. Foreign Relations Committee. Joe Biden can certainly counter any claim John McCain would have of Barack Obama’s inexperience. Joe Biden is also a political attack dog, with the ferocity of a Dick Cheney, and the Charm and familiarity of a George W. Bush. Joe Biden is a wise and safe VP choice when pinned against the other VP hopefuls on Obama’s short list. Outside of a few political gaffes, he is overwhelmingly the best and most knowledgeable politician on the VP short list. And not to mention a powerful enough political player to squash any super delegates thoughts of making a circus of this years Democratic Convention by changing their last minute votes to Hilary instead of Obama at the Convention.
The other members on the short list such as Governor Tim Kaine of Virginia, who has only been Governor for 3 years and would do nothing to shore up voter’s concerns regarding Obama’s inexperience. Governor Kaine would certainly give Obama a chance at winning Virginia but would hurt him in other States. Then there’s Senator Evan Buyh of Indiana, who would definitely help to win the State of Indiana and the electoral votes that come along with it; however, Senator Buyh isn’t the attack dog that Joe Biden is, and hasn’t done anything to demonstrate he could be. And after seeing the disaster of the Cheney/Edwards debates, we all know the importance of being a political attack dog when you’re a VP.
So as a Delaware transplant, I say, GOOD LUCK JOE! We’re rootin’ for you.
As I speak with my fellow Delawareans, informing them of the possible Joe Biden VP news, you can tell there is a sense of excitement and pride in knowing that the next Vice President of the United State of America could be from the State of Delaware. However, there is also a sense of confusion, people keep asking me: Why not Hilary? Why not Hilary?
The answer to that question can only be answered by Bill and Hilary Clinton, who have single handily Thelma and Louise’d themselves off the proverbial political cliff.
As you all know, I was once an advocate for an Obama/Clinton ticket, in the May and June time frame. I believed it would be a landslide victory for the Democratic Party. My opinion of Hilary Clinton or the belief that it would be a winning ticket hasn’t changed, but what has changed is the dynamics of the political race, and most of it is due to the antics of Bill and Hilary Clinton (Thelma and Louise). After the heated and emotional Democratic Presidential Primaries of 2008, instead of trying to unify a divided and tense Democratic Party, Bill and Hilary chose to be bitter and remorseful about their defeat. Bill Clinton and his sly comments regarding Barack Obama; Hilary Clinton, and her lackluster support of Obama’s campaign, all added to an already divisive Democratic primary, and then to top it all off, the insistence that Hilary’s nomination be cast at the Democratic Convention. Historically; failed presidential hopefuls have had their names cast during the Convention, however, in this instance, in the aftermath of such an intense political primary, you would have hoped, in the spirit of Democratic unity, she would have taken her name out of the nomination, but I digress. My point is, Bill and Hilary Clinton, have chosen personal political self-interest above Democratic unity, giving Obama no choice but to take her out of the VP race. As much as I like the Clintons, my loyalties, for now, rests with the Democratic Party.
Joe Biden.
Who is this Senior U.S. Senator from the second smallest State in the Nation? Joe Biden has 36 years of political experience, and is currently the chairman of the U.S. Foreign Relations Committee. Joe Biden can certainly counter any claim John McCain would have of Barack Obama’s inexperience. Joe Biden is also a political attack dog, with the ferocity of a Dick Cheney, and the Charm and familiarity of a George W. Bush. Joe Biden is a wise and safe VP choice when pinned against the other VP hopefuls on Obama’s short list. Outside of a few political gaffes, he is overwhelmingly the best and most knowledgeable politician on the VP short list. And not to mention a powerful enough political player to squash any super delegates thoughts of making a circus of this years Democratic Convention by changing their last minute votes to Hilary instead of Obama at the Convention.
The other members on the short list such as Governor Tim Kaine of Virginia, who has only been Governor for 3 years and would do nothing to shore up voter’s concerns regarding Obama’s inexperience. Governor Kaine would certainly give Obama a chance at winning Virginia but would hurt him in other States. Then there’s Senator Evan Buyh of Indiana, who would definitely help to win the State of Indiana and the electoral votes that come along with it; however, Senator Buyh isn’t the attack dog that Joe Biden is, and hasn’t done anything to demonstrate he could be. And after seeing the disaster of the Cheney/Edwards debates, we all know the importance of being a political attack dog when you’re a VP.
So as a Delaware transplant, I say, GOOD LUCK JOE! We’re rootin’ for you.
Barack Obama Has Made Mistakes
Barack Obama and his champagne have made mistakes.
This whole texting my VP choice sounds like some antiquated second season American Idol stunt. But I must admit I have had more then a few people ask me if I received a text today. I am not even sure I signed up to receive a text, but the Obama political machine is so well oiled and efficiently ran, forget my cell phone, they’ll probably text message my landline while there at it, but I digress.
As well oiled as Barack Obama’s campaigned maybe, I am of the opinion that mistakes were made. And I have a couple U.S. election polls to back my assessment. I think this whole wait until two days before the convention to announce my VP is a mistake, Barack Obama since the end of the Democratic Primaries has been out spent in TV and radio ads by John McCain and the deep pockets of the Republican National Committee two to one. John McCain and the Republican’s spin machine have been working overtime to damage Obama presidential credibility. It has become so absurd that if you watch FOX News, you’d think that John Edward’s elicit affair with his former campaign staffer was Barack Obama’s fault. And Obama has done little, until recently, to counter any of this. And Michelle Obama, an invaluable asset to his Presidential bid in my opinion, is nowhere to be found. Week after week, ever since Obama has come back from his international tour, he’s been loosing traction and media attention, which is crucial.
It wouldn’t be fair to blame Obama and his Campaign completely for the reduced media attention, the Olympic Games, as exciting as they have been, have taken attention away from the political champagnes. But with that said, mistakes were made. One big mistake in my opinion is waiting until the last minute to announce his VP decision. Despite what many people may think, Barack Obama is still a media darling, and hasn’t been using his media capital enough to grab some crucial free press to combat John McCain and the deep pockets of the Republican spin machine.
Take this whole text my VP choice, stunt, how much media coverage is it really going to get, if he announces his VP on Friday afternoon, or worse yet on Saturday, it may get two days of coverage and then the Convention begins, that in my opinion is a mistake.
If Barack Obama had announced his VP decision the Monday before the convention; him and his new VP would have had an entire week dominating the media coverage and then dominating it again next week during the Convention, it would have been in all, two whole weeks of crucial and valuable air time. It was a strategic mistake not to do that.
Fine, Obama wants to wait until after the convention to begin spending his campaign war chest, so he can go head to head with McCain and the Republicans, I can understand that. But in the meantime, use the two greatest assets you got going for you, which is the media’s love affair with Barack Obama, and second, Michelle Obama, where the hell is she?
This whole texting my VP choice sounds like some antiquated second season American Idol stunt. But I must admit I have had more then a few people ask me if I received a text today. I am not even sure I signed up to receive a text, but the Obama political machine is so well oiled and efficiently ran, forget my cell phone, they’ll probably text message my landline while there at it, but I digress.
As well oiled as Barack Obama’s campaigned maybe, I am of the opinion that mistakes were made. And I have a couple U.S. election polls to back my assessment. I think this whole wait until two days before the convention to announce my VP is a mistake, Barack Obama since the end of the Democratic Primaries has been out spent in TV and radio ads by John McCain and the deep pockets of the Republican National Committee two to one. John McCain and the Republican’s spin machine have been working overtime to damage Obama presidential credibility. It has become so absurd that if you watch FOX News, you’d think that John Edward’s elicit affair with his former campaign staffer was Barack Obama’s fault. And Obama has done little, until recently, to counter any of this. And Michelle Obama, an invaluable asset to his Presidential bid in my opinion, is nowhere to be found. Week after week, ever since Obama has come back from his international tour, he’s been loosing traction and media attention, which is crucial.
It wouldn’t be fair to blame Obama and his Campaign completely for the reduced media attention, the Olympic Games, as exciting as they have been, have taken attention away from the political champagnes. But with that said, mistakes were made. One big mistake in my opinion is waiting until the last minute to announce his VP decision. Despite what many people may think, Barack Obama is still a media darling, and hasn’t been using his media capital enough to grab some crucial free press to combat John McCain and the deep pockets of the Republican spin machine.
Take this whole text my VP choice, stunt, how much media coverage is it really going to get, if he announces his VP on Friday afternoon, or worse yet on Saturday, it may get two days of coverage and then the Convention begins, that in my opinion is a mistake.
If Barack Obama had announced his VP decision the Monday before the convention; him and his new VP would have had an entire week dominating the media coverage and then dominating it again next week during the Convention, it would have been in all, two whole weeks of crucial and valuable air time. It was a strategic mistake not to do that.
Fine, Obama wants to wait until after the convention to begin spending his campaign war chest, so he can go head to head with McCain and the Republicans, I can understand that. But in the meantime, use the two greatest assets you got going for you, which is the media’s love affair with Barack Obama, and second, Michelle Obama, where the hell is she?
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Two Americas- Posted by makandal
Two Americas
There is, and always has been, and always will be, two Americas. These two Americas, in one hand, is what makes America great, and in another, what makes America a harsh and unforgiving reality. These two Americas are not separated by race, or gender, or sexual orientation; no, these two Americas are separated by the Almighty Dollar.Today in downtown Manhattan, in good old U.S. of A, a man decides that he’s going to risk big and sell short on Google stocks, and by closing bell, Google was down $3.46 on the day; and by 4:00pm, this man was a million dollars richer than he was yesterday. On the other side of the continental U.S.A in place called Irvine, California; a man watches as his house is auctioned off the county courthouse steps, and by 4:00pm, he had no job, no home, and no place to go. This is our two Americas; and the harsh reality is that these stark imbalances in our nation’s economy are only growing in disproportionality. So at 4:15pm as one man scurries to leave his office high above in a glass tower, hustling to beat traffic, to pick up his family and head to their customary weekend get away in the Hamptons; another man wanders aimlessly through the streets of southern California wondering if he will ever get his life back in order.
No one wants to be the guy from Irvine, California, but too many Americans all over the country are finding themselves in his shoes, and too few are find themselves on the inside looking out those glass tower windows. In the month of June, 62,000 jobs were lost, and foreclosures are still at record levels, as CEOs and hedge fund managers walk away with windfall profits, some of the biggest in our nation’s history. With gas prices at record highs, food prices up, the cost of living skyrocketing, I can’t help but wonder whether these two Americas have some how diverged off course to the point of eliminating Americas greatest asset, its Middleclass.
If today’s economy is affecting you, please tell us how, at least one blogger thinks it’s worth sharing.
"CNN Presents: Black in America" a six-hour television event
Some of the topics.
• Black and single: Is marriage only for white people? | Black men respond
• DNA provides clues to family's African ancestry
• AC360.com: The Rand family's black and white cousins meet for the first time
• Keeping it real: Sisters and brothers talk about modern love and marriage
• AC360.com: Why Soledad O'Brien, Barack Obama and others are black
• Soledad O'Brien: Shopping while black in America
• Lola Ogunnaike: Italian Vogue says black is the new black
• Expert: Recessions often 'demonstrably worse" for black Americans
• Volunteers save high-school dropouts one student at a time
• Essence: Women of war share their courageous stories from combat
• Interactive: Vanessa Williams, Whoopi Goldberg talk about what it means to black
• Angela Burt-Murray: Black women consider interracial relationships
• Black hair: Long, short, natural, permed, locked or braided
• Tatsha Robertson: Education is No. 1 issue for black America
• Jury: Black community denied water for decades
• Woman beats poverty, aims for her Ph.D.
• I AM: Author Bliss Broyard's father kept his race a secret
• I AM: Barbara Hillary is the first black woman to reach the North Pole at age 75
• Aggressive, drug-resistant breast cancer affects black women
• Teens from single-parent, female-headed households defy the odds
• Essence Music Festival: A festival of empowerment
• Essence: Extreme Lockup: Why are so many children being treated like criminals?
• Lynya Floyd: Why are so many black women single?
• Obama calls absent black fathers to task
• Essence: Black women whose roles shape the 2008 presidential campaign
• Commentary: Why Americans can't get over race
• CNN HBCU Tour: Students share what it means to be black in America
• Young People Who Rock: Rissi Palmer is changing the face of country music
• Celebrities talk about what it means to be black in America
• HBCUs, business leaders help groom future entrepreneurs
• Essence: Experts discuss greatest challenges for black Americans in 2008
• Wounds still linger for children of civil rights activists
• 'Call My Name' adds color to AIDS quilt
• iReport.com: Morehouse student wins HBCU student contest
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Monday, July 7, 2008
Women in Society
I was watching Hiphop vs. America on BET yesterday. Michael Eric Dyson was talking about Eccleciastical Apartheid. Which he described as using the bible to hold women down in the church as well as in society. I couldn't help but think about the Nas track "America" where he mentions that women have been told they're the reason sin is here. What place do women have in society, specifically black women? What do you think of Dysons analogy?
George Jackson
Nas shouted him out on "Testify" off the Untitled album... I researched him... interesting read...
George Jackson (September 23, 1941 – August 21, 1971) was a Black American militant who became a member of the Black Panther Party while in prison, where he spent the last 12 years of his life. He was one of the Soledad Brothers and achieved fame due to a book of published letters.
Contents[hide]
1 Biography
2 Marin County incident
3 Jackson's death
4 The Bingham trial
5 Tributes
6 See also
7 References
8 Further reading
9 External links
9.1 Jackson's writings, interview, advocacy of his views
//
[edit] Biography
Born in Chicago Illinois, Jackson spent time in the Youth Authority Corrections facility in Paso Robles because of several convictions. He was convicted of armed robbery, a felony, for robbing a gas station at gunpoint and at age 18 was sentenced to serve one year to life in prison.
While at San Quentin State Prison in 1966, he founded the Black Guerrilla Family, a Marxist prison gang with political objectives.
On 16 January 1970 along with Fleeta Drumgo and John Clutchette he was charged with murdering guard John V. Mills as retaliation for the killing of three black activists by guard O.G. Miller at Soledad prison. Miller had been not been charged with a crime, as a grand jury had ruled the killings to be justifiable homicide[specify]). Incarcerated in the maximum security cellblock at Soledad Prison, Jackson and the other two inmates became known as the "Soledad Brothers".
Isolated in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day, Jackson studied political economy and radical theory and wrote two books, Blood in My Eye and Soledad Brother, which became bestsellers and brought him world-wide attention.
[edit] Marin County incident
On 7 August 1970 George Jackson's 17-year-old brother Jonathan Jackson burst into a Marin County courtroom with an automatic weapon, freed three San Quentin prisoners, and took Judge Harold Haley, Deputy District Attorney Gary Thomas and three female jurors hostage to demand freedom for the "Soledad Brothers".
Judge Haley and prisoners William Christmas, James McClain, and Jonathan Jackson were killed as they attempted to drive away from the courthouse. Eyewitness testimony suggests Haley was hit by fire discharged from a sawed-off shotgun that had been fastened to his neck with adhesive tape by the abductors. Thomas, prisoner Ruchell Magee and one of the jurors were wounded.[1] The case made national headlines.
Ruchell Magee, the sole survivor among the militants who attacked the court, was convicted for Haley's kidnapping and murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, which he is serving in Corcoran State Prison. Now 56 years old, he has lost numerous bids for parole.
[edit] Jackson's death
On August 21, 1971, three days before he was to go on trial, George Jackson was gunned down in the prison yard at San Quentin during an escape attempt.
According to the state of California[citation needed], lawyer-activist Stephen Bingham had smuggled a pistol concealed in a tape recorder into the prison to Jackson, who was housed in San Quentin's Adjustment Center time awaiting trial for the murder of a prison guard. On August 21, 1971, Jackson used the pistol, an Astra 9-mm semi-automatic, to take over his tier in the Adjustment Center. In the failed escape attempt, six people were killed, including prison guards Jere Graham, Frank DeLeon and Paul Krasnes, two white prisoners, and Jackson himself.
Some prisoners who witnessed the event claim that there was no weapon and that Jackson had not been planning any escape or rebellion.[citation needed]
Following the incident, Bingham fled the country, living in Europe for 13 years before surrendering in 1984 and returning to the United States to stand trial.
[edit] The Bingham trial
In the Stephen Bingham case, defense attorney Gerald Schwartzbach (Schwartzbach later successfully defended Robert Blake on murder charges) courted the media in the run-up to the trial. A Bingham Defense Fund was established by sympathizers, allegedly by some who had enabled Bingham to stay on the run for 13 years, having furnished him with a counterfeit passport and money. Bingham attended fund-raisers, where he spoke about his upcoming trial and his years as a fugitive. He explained that he had fled the country and remained on the run for so many years as he had believed it would have been impossible to receive a fair trial since the crime of which he was accused resulted in the death of prison guards.[citation needed] (Critics held[citation needed] that the argument was disingenuous as Angela Davis had been acquitted of similar charges within two years of the incident.) The alternative press in the San Francisco Bay Area was sympathetic to Bingham, as were the jurors at his trial.[citation needed] Bingham was acquitted.
George Jackson (September 23, 1941 – August 21, 1971) was a Black American militant who became a member of the Black Panther Party while in prison, where he spent the last 12 years of his life. He was one of the Soledad Brothers and achieved fame due to a book of published letters.
Contents[hide]
1 Biography
2 Marin County incident
3 Jackson's death
4 The Bingham trial
5 Tributes
6 See also
7 References
8 Further reading
9 External links
9.1 Jackson's writings, interview, advocacy of his views
//
[edit] Biography
Born in Chicago Illinois, Jackson spent time in the Youth Authority Corrections facility in Paso Robles because of several convictions. He was convicted of armed robbery, a felony, for robbing a gas station at gunpoint and at age 18 was sentenced to serve one year to life in prison.
While at San Quentin State Prison in 1966, he founded the Black Guerrilla Family, a Marxist prison gang with political objectives.
On 16 January 1970 along with Fleeta Drumgo and John Clutchette he was charged with murdering guard John V. Mills as retaliation for the killing of three black activists by guard O.G. Miller at Soledad prison. Miller had been not been charged with a crime, as a grand jury had ruled the killings to be justifiable homicide[specify]). Incarcerated in the maximum security cellblock at Soledad Prison, Jackson and the other two inmates became known as the "Soledad Brothers".
Isolated in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day, Jackson studied political economy and radical theory and wrote two books, Blood in My Eye and Soledad Brother, which became bestsellers and brought him world-wide attention.
[edit] Marin County incident
On 7 August 1970 George Jackson's 17-year-old brother Jonathan Jackson burst into a Marin County courtroom with an automatic weapon, freed three San Quentin prisoners, and took Judge Harold Haley, Deputy District Attorney Gary Thomas and three female jurors hostage to demand freedom for the "Soledad Brothers".
Judge Haley and prisoners William Christmas, James McClain, and Jonathan Jackson were killed as they attempted to drive away from the courthouse. Eyewitness testimony suggests Haley was hit by fire discharged from a sawed-off shotgun that had been fastened to his neck with adhesive tape by the abductors. Thomas, prisoner Ruchell Magee and one of the jurors were wounded.[1] The case made national headlines.
Ruchell Magee, the sole survivor among the militants who attacked the court, was convicted for Haley's kidnapping and murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, which he is serving in Corcoran State Prison. Now 56 years old, he has lost numerous bids for parole.
[edit] Jackson's death
On August 21, 1971, three days before he was to go on trial, George Jackson was gunned down in the prison yard at San Quentin during an escape attempt.
According to the state of California[citation needed], lawyer-activist Stephen Bingham had smuggled a pistol concealed in a tape recorder into the prison to Jackson, who was housed in San Quentin's Adjustment Center time awaiting trial for the murder of a prison guard. On August 21, 1971, Jackson used the pistol, an Astra 9-mm semi-automatic, to take over his tier in the Adjustment Center. In the failed escape attempt, six people were killed, including prison guards Jere Graham, Frank DeLeon and Paul Krasnes, two white prisoners, and Jackson himself.
Some prisoners who witnessed the event claim that there was no weapon and that Jackson had not been planning any escape or rebellion.[citation needed]
Following the incident, Bingham fled the country, living in Europe for 13 years before surrendering in 1984 and returning to the United States to stand trial.
[edit] The Bingham trial
In the Stephen Bingham case, defense attorney Gerald Schwartzbach (Schwartzbach later successfully defended Robert Blake on murder charges) courted the media in the run-up to the trial. A Bingham Defense Fund was established by sympathizers, allegedly by some who had enabled Bingham to stay on the run for 13 years, having furnished him with a counterfeit passport and money. Bingham attended fund-raisers, where he spoke about his upcoming trial and his years as a fugitive. He explained that he had fled the country and remained on the run for so many years as he had believed it would have been impossible to receive a fair trial since the crime of which he was accused resulted in the death of prison guards.[citation needed] (Critics held[citation needed] that the argument was disingenuous as Angela Davis had been acquitted of similar charges within two years of the incident.) The alternative press in the San Francisco Bay Area was sympathetic to Bingham, as were the jurors at his trial.[citation needed] Bingham was acquitted.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Brown Vs. Black =???
“The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color-line -- the relation of the darker to the lighter races of men in Asia and Africa, in America and the islands of the sea. It was a phase of this problem that caused the Civil War.”
W.E.B. Du Bois
The other night I woke up to the idiot box, which was tuned in on CNN, there was a segment on about an Indian man by the name of Chiman Rai, who financed the murder of his 22 year old daughter-in-law who was also the mother of his then 7 month old grand daughter. The young lady was introduced to Chiman Rai’s son at her place of employment, which happened to be a hotel owned by Mr. Chiman Rai himself. This heinous act financed by Chiman Rai is known in some parts of the world as an honor killing, yes, “HONOR” killing... Mr. Rai brought honor back to his family name by killing his Black daughter-in-law. You see, there is class systems in India, and in this class system the lighter you are the more beautiful you are believed to be. Chiman Rai was a professor at Akron University, and like a lot of individuals who accept this class system, who maybe your dentist, your local business owners, your cab drivers and even your friends; they have been brought up to believe that mixing with your black behind or Latino tail will bring dishonor to their family.
AMAZING Isn't it...
I love my black skin, I love the fact that this country was built on the sweat, tears, and blood of black men, woman, and children. Every minority group in this country owes their opportunities to the struggles of black men, women and children... If it were not for them lil rock, Patel, Lopez, or Chang would not have the opportunity to go to an integrated college or university.
"Before black I'm first human" My faith doesn't permit me to hate any race or person. But I do hate racism in any form self racism and racism from the masters. I believe that our racial diversity is the creator’s way of bring beauty to the planet, similar to the diversity you see in flowers in a garden.
Black and brown peoples throughout history have been brainwashed to believe that beauty is not from within, but that the "master" is beautiful, not their brothers and sisters who toil with them on the plantation. Today the plantation has changed, it’s no longer picking cotton to survive, but now going to school for fours years only to become what amounts to an indentured servants trying to pay off your debt. Working two or three jobs to provide for our families and accepting whatever little incentive the master willing to give.
Some enslavement is mental I can't sympathize nor do I have any apathy for self hate. The most perverse side of slavery is to make the slave hate himself, to hate his skin, to hate those who look like him, because this hate type of hate only drives him to love his master. This mentality is only beneficial to the master, further enslaving the slave in not only physical but mental bondage. No matter how much we may act White, or pray for lighter skin, live near or with White people; we will never be White. That's not the way God intended it.
I don't know how to feel... Or what to think of this type of class system, it doesn't make me angry. I went to school/clubbing with people of Indian descent and I they would use the “n” word, and for the most part I considered them to be black like me, but maybe they were using the word the same way White bigots use it. They are obviously not like us, because it brings shame to their family to unite with us. Or maybe they are just like us, accept it that self hate is openly displayed in their culture, and it is embedded in ours; whatever the case:
Honor killing is when a solder puts his comrade to rest instead of allowing him to suffer. Honor killing is sending a child molester to meet his maker.
Honor killing is not killing the mother of your grandchild.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Download Here!!!Tracklist
1. Intro
2. Gangsta Rap rmx.(Prod by Dj Greenlantern)
3. Cops Keep Firing (Prod. By Dj Greenlantern)
4. Hero (Prod by Polow Da Don)
5. Black President (Prod. By Dj Greenlantern)
6.Association (feat. and Prod. by Stic Man of Dead Prez)
7. Legendary (Mike Tyson)..(Prod by Salaam Remi)
8. Ghetto rmx feat. Joell Ortiz (Prod by Dj Greenlantern.
9. Seen it All (Green Mix)
10. Esco Let’s Go (Full Song).(Prod by Dj Khallil)
11. N.I.G.G.E.R. (Slave and Master). (Prod by Dj Toomp)
12 “Be a Nigger too” rmx feat. Dante Hawkins (Prod. by Dj Greenlantern)
13. Surviving the times (Original Cool and Dre Version)
14. Nas Timeline mixed by Statik Selektah (Nararated by Nas)
15. Outro feat. Richard Pryor
Pic of the Day
My man and yours, Barak Obama, graces the cover of Ebony, along with 7 other black men, heraled as one of the 25 black coolest men of all time.
Jay-Z, not only makes the list, but has his own cover as well. My question is: why did Jay get a cover and Puffy not? Furthermore, did Puffy even make the cut?
("the hood's barak")
When Did You Fall In Love With Music (HipHop)?
This is from My brother Smooth
It was a hot summer day, I was 9 years old playing on the porch with my little brother. As usual, my stepmother was playing one of her records and singing her heart away. This day would be extraordinary; I was about to fall in love with music. With an amazing vocal instrument, the artist belted out the song. She utilized dynamics, which shift from different sonic texture with dexterity from jazz, rhythm and blues, to gospel. The experience was surreal, my body shivered as my temperature erupted, an emotional by-product of what music introduced to the newly captured servant. I was in love with her (Music). With my eyes closed, I swear that every note were tangible. Treble Clef were flying with wings and swirling around my head. The music was lush and the artist's vocal dexterity very well oiled. The song was over and I was still in a daze. As it seems, I could not wait to close my eyes to meet Music, I was captivated by her strength and out of my fondness for her, I began to reciprocate my love in the exact form I was indentured. I melodically pronounced my love. The process was slow and through my rituals of exercise performance, words were beginning to birth out of me and emerged from the darkness of my sleep. I composed my first song to Music when I was 11 years old. Every emotion I had felt during the first phase of the clinical trial of Music was transcribed into the song and followed good clinical practices. I wanted a flow that was unadulterated nor misbranded. I'm so glad I fell in love with you Music; you've been my cornerstone in good time and through my hardships. So, whenever you see me close my eyes, just know that I'm visiting my first love for a close contact with Music, which serves vivid imagery, metaphor and analogy in her interactions with his indentured servant.
So, when did you fall in love with Music (hiphop)?
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
"America" Independence Day
On the approaching Anniversary of our great nation, and NAS’ unofficial debut of his eventual hit song “America Dirty”, I give you the Declaration of the Independence.
What’s inspiring about the Declaration of Independence for me, is not the alliance of the thirteen colonies, and the fifty-six egos with varying interests who signed the document, but the revolutionary rhetoric of the document, throughout the document you read statements direct towards Great Britain and King George III such as, “We have warned them”, “unfit to be the ruler of a free people”, and “Enemies in war.” As I bang NAS’ unofficial release song “America Dirty”, I can’t help but wonder what happen to America’s liberal revolutionary spirit, though the answer is simple… $$$, I still can’t help but inquire and share my thoughts. As a black man in America, the dichotomy that America presents can only be understood and reflected by the dissidence of the ancestors of the Dark Continent, so I am compelled to share, as our folks Barb B Q and catch up with old friends on this national holiday, I ask the question: How do you feel about AMERICA? The country of Barack Obama, but also the nation of Sean Bell; I want you to read the Declaration of Independence, and take in the words: “all men are created equal”, “unalienable rights”, and “life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” And ask yourself, has America lived up to the promises of its humble begins, has America live up to the Declaration of Independence in your eyes? Or is America, NAS’ America: “It’s like waking up from a bad dream, just to figure out you weren’t dreaming in the first place”, “Pussy and money the only language I clung too”… I am still uncertain… Read it, and express to the world what you think on this great nation's anniversary.
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
"The 56 signatures on the Declaration appear in the positions indicated"
1. Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton
2. North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn
3. South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton
4. Massachusetts:
John Hancock
5. Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton
6. Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton
7. Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross
8. Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean
9. New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris
10. New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark
11. New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple
12. Massachusetts:
Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry
13. Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery
14. Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott
15. New Hampshire:
Matthew Thornton
What’s inspiring about the Declaration of Independence for me, is not the alliance of the thirteen colonies, and the fifty-six egos with varying interests who signed the document, but the revolutionary rhetoric of the document, throughout the document you read statements direct towards Great Britain and King George III such as, “We have warned them”, “unfit to be the ruler of a free people”, and “Enemies in war.” As I bang NAS’ unofficial release song “America Dirty”, I can’t help but wonder what happen to America’s liberal revolutionary spirit, though the answer is simple… $$$, I still can’t help but inquire and share my thoughts. As a black man in America, the dichotomy that America presents can only be understood and reflected by the dissidence of the ancestors of the Dark Continent, so I am compelled to share, as our folks Barb B Q and catch up with old friends on this national holiday, I ask the question: How do you feel about AMERICA? The country of Barack Obama, but also the nation of Sean Bell; I want you to read the Declaration of Independence, and take in the words: “all men are created equal”, “unalienable rights”, and “life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” And ask yourself, has America lived up to the promises of its humble begins, has America live up to the Declaration of Independence in your eyes? Or is America, NAS’ America: “It’s like waking up from a bad dream, just to figure out you weren’t dreaming in the first place”, “Pussy and money the only language I clung too”… I am still uncertain… Read it, and express to the world what you think on this great nation's anniversary.
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
"The 56 signatures on the Declaration appear in the positions indicated"
1. Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton
2. North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn
3. South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton
4. Massachusetts:
John Hancock
5. Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton
6. Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton
7. Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross
8. Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean
9. New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris
10. New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark
11. New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple
12. Massachusetts:
Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry
13. Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery
14. Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott
15. New Hampshire:
Matthew Thornton
"Ain't No Love"
You know the song from Jay-Z "Ain't No Love" you know how the lyrics go. "ain't no love in the heart of the city ain't no love in the heart of town" That is exactly what happened to Jesus he was shown love in his city in his own town...why do we continue as human beings amongst ourselves one is show more support outside of where they grew up, why is that?
tipoppi325
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
WE ARE PDUBB
My brothers and I decided to have a place where we can share our thoughts philosophies on the ills of this world, religion, love, education, health generally whatever we want...
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