No longer just a black face on a box of rice Uncle Ben
has been elevated to board chairman of his famous
rice and side dishes. And along with the promotion
he's got his own website. Read the article below and
feel free to comment.
A racially charged advertising character, who for decades has been relegated to a minor role in the marketing of the products that still carry his name, is taking center stage in a campaign that gives him a makeover — Madison Avenue style — by promoting him to chairman of the company. The character is Uncle Ben, the symbol for more than 60 years of the Uncle Ben’s line of rices and side dishes now sold by the food giant Mars. The challenges confronting Mars in reviving a character as racially fraught as Uncle Ben were evidenced in the reactions of experts to a redesigned Web site (unclebens.com), which went live this week.
“This is an interesting idea, but for me it still has a very high cringe factor,” said Luke Visconti, partner at Diversity Inc. Media in Newark, which publishes a magazine and Web site devoted to diversity in the workplace.
“There’s a lot of baggage associated with the image,” Mr. Visconti said, which the makeover “is glossing over.”Uncle Ben, who first appeared in ads in 1946, is being reborn as Ben, an accomplished businessman with an opulent office, a busy schedule, an extensive travel itinerary and a penchant for sharing what the company calls his “grains of wisdom” about rice and life. A crucial aspect of his biography remains the same, though: He has no last name.
Vincent Howell, president for the food division of the Masterfoods USA unit of Mars, said that because consumers described Uncle Ben as having “a timeless element to him, we didn’t want to significantly change him.”
“What’s powerful to me is to show an African-American icon in a position of prominence and authority,” Mr. Howell said. “As an African-American, he makes me feel so proud.”
The previous reluctance to feature Uncle Ben prominently in ads stood in stark contrast to the way other human characters like Orville Redenbacher and Colonel Sanders personify their products. That reticence can be traced to the contentious history of Uncle Ben as the black face of a white company, wearing a bow tie evocative of servants and Pullman porters and bearing a title reflecting how white Southerners once used “uncle” and “aunt” as honorifics for older blacks because they refused to say “Mr.” and “Mrs.”
Before the civil rights movement took hold, marketers of food and household products often used racial and ethnic stereotypes in creating brand characters and mascots.
In addition to Uncle Ben, there was Aunt Jemima, who sold pancake mix in ads that sometimes had her exclaiming, “Tempt yo’ appetite;” a grinning black chef named Rastus, who represented Cream of Wheat hot cereal; the Gold Dust Twins, a pair of black urchins who peddled a soap powder for Lever Brothers; the Frito Bandito, who spoke in an exaggerated Mexican accent; and characters selling powdered drink mixes for Pillsbury under names like Injun Orange and Chinese Cherry — the latter baring buck teeth.
“The only time blacks were put into ads was when they were athletic, subservient or entertainers,” said Marilyn Kern Foxworth, the author of “Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben and Rastus: Blacks in Advertising Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.”
After the start of the civil rights movement, such characters became “lightning rods” in a period when consumers started to want “images our children could look up to and emulate,” Ms. Kern Foxworth said.
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
Friday, March 30, 2007
Thursday, March 29, 2007
A License Today-Insurance Tomorrow !
I can't recall how many automobile accidents
I've seen and heard about where the illegal
immigrant that was at fault didn't have insurance,
because they didn't have a drivers license. I've
also seen a few take off running, leaving the scene of
an accident because more than likely they had
no drivers license or insurance. So whats the harm
in letting these people drive legally instead of
illegally by granting them a drivers license? This
would lift financial burdens off those involved in
accidents with illegal immigrants. Say they won't
buy insurance? Well I don't know about your neigh-
borhood but in mine small insurance agencies have
sprung up everywhere. Right-On Illinois!
Illinois would become one of only a handful of states that authorize illegal immigrants to drive under legislation the House passed Wednesday to create a special driver's permit for undocumented residents. Immigrant advocates called the 60-54 vote an important victory."Today we make history," said Rep. Edward Acevedo (D-Chicago), the measure's sponsor. "Immigrants can drive to church, to work, and take their children to school legally and without fear."The controversial proposal for a driver's certificate for immigrants, which proponents say would encourage many of the state's undocumented immigrants to get proper training and automobile insurance, now goes to the state Senate.
A Senate committee approved a similar measure earlier this year, and supporters believe they can muster enough votes for passage by the full Senate. Gov. Rod Blagojevich has pledged to sign the bill. Seven states — Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington — grant driver's licenses without demanding proof that people are in the country legally, according to Jim Reed of the National Conference of State Legislatures.Tennessee created a special class of driver's permits for undocumented immigrants in 2004, but suspended the program after unearthing problems with identity theft and fraud. In March 2006, the state created a new program requiring applicants to prove a "legal presence," such as a work or student visa.
Now lawmakers are retooling the program again.In what may be the closest program to what Illinois envisions, Utah issues "driver privilege cards" instead of regular licenses for undocumented residents. Officials said the program increased the number of insured motorists. Illinois insurance regulators expect the same type of boost.California has debated a similar measure since the 1990s. In the wake of last year's immigrant rights marches, which drew hundreds of thousands to the streets of Chicago, organizers have tried to channel that energy into political action. Last week, thousands arrived in Springfield on buses, filling the Capitol rotunda with a chanting, flag-waving demonstration.
The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights estimates 250,000 uninsured illegal immigrants are on Illinois roads. Advocates believe as many as half of them would apply for the driving certificates.
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
I've seen and heard about where the illegal
immigrant that was at fault didn't have insurance,
because they didn't have a drivers license. I've
also seen a few take off running, leaving the scene of
an accident because more than likely they had
no drivers license or insurance. So whats the harm
in letting these people drive legally instead of
illegally by granting them a drivers license? This
would lift financial burdens off those involved in
accidents with illegal immigrants. Say they won't
buy insurance? Well I don't know about your neigh-
borhood but in mine small insurance agencies have
sprung up everywhere. Right-On Illinois!
Illinois would become one of only a handful of states that authorize illegal immigrants to drive under legislation the House passed Wednesday to create a special driver's permit for undocumented residents. Immigrant advocates called the 60-54 vote an important victory."Today we make history," said Rep. Edward Acevedo (D-Chicago), the measure's sponsor. "Immigrants can drive to church, to work, and take their children to school legally and without fear."The controversial proposal for a driver's certificate for immigrants, which proponents say would encourage many of the state's undocumented immigrants to get proper training and automobile insurance, now goes to the state Senate.
A Senate committee approved a similar measure earlier this year, and supporters believe they can muster enough votes for passage by the full Senate. Gov. Rod Blagojevich has pledged to sign the bill. Seven states — Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington — grant driver's licenses without demanding proof that people are in the country legally, according to Jim Reed of the National Conference of State Legislatures.Tennessee created a special class of driver's permits for undocumented immigrants in 2004, but suspended the program after unearthing problems with identity theft and fraud. In March 2006, the state created a new program requiring applicants to prove a "legal presence," such as a work or student visa.
Now lawmakers are retooling the program again.In what may be the closest program to what Illinois envisions, Utah issues "driver privilege cards" instead of regular licenses for undocumented residents. Officials said the program increased the number of insured motorists. Illinois insurance regulators expect the same type of boost.California has debated a similar measure since the 1990s. In the wake of last year's immigrant rights marches, which drew hundreds of thousands to the streets of Chicago, organizers have tried to channel that energy into political action. Last week, thousands arrived in Springfield on buses, filling the Capitol rotunda with a chanting, flag-waving demonstration.
The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights estimates 250,000 uninsured illegal immigrants are on Illinois roads. Advocates believe as many as half of them would apply for the driving certificates.
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
The Vietnamese Are Comming !
Congratulations are in order for Janet Nguyen and for two
reasons. One she is the youngest person to ever hold this
job in Orange county history and two, she is of Vietnamese
descent. But there is a bit of irony to this story and that is
that her long fought battle was with another person of
Vietnamese descent-Trung Nguyen (not related).
For those of you not familar with Cali, Orange County
is a very affluent community and the home of the first
Disneyland and many more Southern California attractions.
So you can look for more Vietnamese to become elected
officials as their power base continues to increase.
After a marathon election battle that required a judge to determine who won, a beaming Janet Nguyen, Orange County's first Vietnamese American supervisor, was sworn in Tuesday. Nguyen, also the youngest supervisor in county history, received a bouquet and a standing ovation from an audience dotted with supporters from Little Saigon."Only in America can you find a 30-year-old Vietnamese woman given the opportunity, who can run and become a supervisor," she said.
The special election that landed Nguyen in the 1st District seat took place Feb. 6, but the legal wrangling over the results didn't end until Monday when Superior Court Judge Michael Brenner ruled that the recount of the election ballots was proper and should stand. Trung Nguyen, a Garden Grove school board member, was the initial victor, winning by seven votes. But after a recount, Janet Nguyen pulled ahead by an identical number.
That lead was narrowed to three votes when the matter landed in court after Trung Nguyen filed suit. An attorney for Trung Nguyen said they were considering an appeal. Nevertheless, Janet Nguyen is — officially now — a county supervisor. The two rivals split nearly half of the 46,000 votes cast in the special election, upending the political establishment and signaling the emergence of Vietnamese American political power. Board Chairman Chris Norby, who introduced Nguyen, said she was the victor in the "longest, most difficult and certainly closest vote" in the history of the board.
"It's been a short election but a very, very, very long election day," said Nguyen, who added that she would work hard to unite the district.She becomes the first woman to represent a supervisorial district from the county's central area, which has cities with the most minorities, such as Santa Ana, Westminster and Garden Grove, where Nguyen served as a City Council member.Nguyen came to the United States from Vietnam when she was 5. While at UC Irvine, she took a political science class that changed her life.
Her instructor, William Steiner, who administered the oath of office, is a former supervisor and later became Nguyen's mentor. "She was a 20-year-old premed student who got an 'A,' and changed her major to political science," Steiner said.After graduation, Nguyen was an intern in Steiner's office, then worked for various elected officials including then-Republican Assemblyman Ken Maddox before she decided to run in 2004 for the Garden Grove council and won.
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
reasons. One she is the youngest person to ever hold this
job in Orange county history and two, she is of Vietnamese
descent. But there is a bit of irony to this story and that is
that her long fought battle was with another person of
Vietnamese descent-Trung Nguyen (not related).
For those of you not familar with Cali, Orange County
is a very affluent community and the home of the first
Disneyland and many more Southern California attractions.
So you can look for more Vietnamese to become elected
officials as their power base continues to increase.
After a marathon election battle that required a judge to determine who won, a beaming Janet Nguyen, Orange County's first Vietnamese American supervisor, was sworn in Tuesday. Nguyen, also the youngest supervisor in county history, received a bouquet and a standing ovation from an audience dotted with supporters from Little Saigon."Only in America can you find a 30-year-old Vietnamese woman given the opportunity, who can run and become a supervisor," she said.
The special election that landed Nguyen in the 1st District seat took place Feb. 6, but the legal wrangling over the results didn't end until Monday when Superior Court Judge Michael Brenner ruled that the recount of the election ballots was proper and should stand. Trung Nguyen, a Garden Grove school board member, was the initial victor, winning by seven votes. But after a recount, Janet Nguyen pulled ahead by an identical number.
That lead was narrowed to three votes when the matter landed in court after Trung Nguyen filed suit. An attorney for Trung Nguyen said they were considering an appeal. Nevertheless, Janet Nguyen is — officially now — a county supervisor. The two rivals split nearly half of the 46,000 votes cast in the special election, upending the political establishment and signaling the emergence of Vietnamese American political power. Board Chairman Chris Norby, who introduced Nguyen, said she was the victor in the "longest, most difficult and certainly closest vote" in the history of the board.
"It's been a short election but a very, very, very long election day," said Nguyen, who added that she would work hard to unite the district.She becomes the first woman to represent a supervisorial district from the county's central area, which has cities with the most minorities, such as Santa Ana, Westminster and Garden Grove, where Nguyen served as a City Council member.Nguyen came to the United States from Vietnam when she was 5. While at UC Irvine, she took a political science class that changed her life.
Her instructor, William Steiner, who administered the oath of office, is a former supervisor and later became Nguyen's mentor. "She was a 20-year-old premed student who got an 'A,' and changed her major to political science," Steiner said.After graduation, Nguyen was an intern in Steiner's office, then worked for various elected officials including then-Republican Assemblyman Ken Maddox before she decided to run in 2004 for the Garden Grove council and won.
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Police Captains Have Opinions Too !
I once ventured to downtown Los Angeles on more
than one occassion before the mayor and chief of
police decided to clean house. I can tell ya that it
was like being in a third world country. But then
I wonder if third world countries put up with drug
use that was on display there. A few month ago I
went through downtown LA and was amazed.
The whole place had changed and for once I was
not so afraid. No bodies laying on sidewalks in
cardboard crackhouses, instead the people that
were on the sidewalks seemed to be trying to make
a legitimate living selling merchandise. So Captian
Andrew Smith is allowed his opinion to since he is
partly responsible for the tranformation of skid row.
I AM THE CAPTAIN for the LAPD's Central Division, which encompasses downtown and all of skid row. Like the police officers who patrol skid row, I was sorely disappointed by Ramona Ripston's complete distortion — in a column on this page — of our efforts to stem the lawlessness, suffering and human misery that was commonplace on skid row just a few months ago. I am outraged that Ripston, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, implied that our officers are violating the very Constitution they are sworn to uphold and protect.
The officers in skid row, who all volunteer for the assignment, have one of the lowest rates for the use of force in the city. And I am even more appalled by her views because she walked skid row streets with our officers and rode around in a black-and-white last year and was shocked then at the horrific conditions under which our most vulnerable citizens survived. How quickly she forgot!How quickly she forgot that convicted murderers, rapists, robbers, 3,800 parolees and 300-plus registered sex offenders called the 50 square blocks of skid row home. How quickly she forgot the dealers dangling narcotics in front of those trying to kick drugs.
Many other predators were hiding among the street population, preying on the weak, addicted and mentally ill. Fortunately, the terrible culture of lawlessness that was once the norm on skid row is quickly changing for the better. Despite the efforts of the ACLU and other self-appointed champions of the homeless to thwart us, the Los Angeles Police Department is succeeding in protecting the vulnerable on skid row and in curbing the lawlessness: Fewer people are dying of drug overdoses; paramedic calls are down; crime has plummeted 36% so far this year, on top of an 18% reduction in 2006, and nobody who has wanted a bed and follows the rules has been left on the streets.
Moreover, missions report that more people are seeking beds and treatment, and our Streets or Services (SOS) program is diverting misdemeanor arrestees away from jail and into treatment and housing programs. The people living on the streets and the people living in the missions, hotels and apartments in the area report that they are feeling safer — because they are safer. Ripston referred to several people on skid row who claimed that they were "harassed" for no reason. She decried the "jaywalking tickets" our officers write. We write traffic tickets to change behavior, not to harass the homeless. Consider that, in 2006, four out of six traffic deaths in the Central Division were caused by pedestrians in the roadway, as were all three traffic deaths so far this year.
Just a few months ago, skid row was where "anything goes" — an open-air drug bazaar with blatant outdoor acts of prostitution. Today, about 1,200 of those dealing (selling heroin or rock cocaine) are in jail. Hundreds of parole violators are back in prison. Ripston asks: Where did all the homeless people go? I am sure some people have chosen to go to other communities where they can continue their criminal behavior. But many others who used to hang around skid row actually had a home; they just chose to stay on skid row because of the cheap and plentiful drugs, alcohol and prostitution.
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
than one occassion before the mayor and chief of
police decided to clean house. I can tell ya that it
was like being in a third world country. But then
I wonder if third world countries put up with drug
use that was on display there. A few month ago I
went through downtown LA and was amazed.
The whole place had changed and for once I was
not so afraid. No bodies laying on sidewalks in
cardboard crackhouses, instead the people that
were on the sidewalks seemed to be trying to make
a legitimate living selling merchandise. So Captian
Andrew Smith is allowed his opinion to since he is
partly responsible for the tranformation of skid row.
I AM THE CAPTAIN for the LAPD's Central Division, which encompasses downtown and all of skid row. Like the police officers who patrol skid row, I was sorely disappointed by Ramona Ripston's complete distortion — in a column on this page — of our efforts to stem the lawlessness, suffering and human misery that was commonplace on skid row just a few months ago. I am outraged that Ripston, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, implied that our officers are violating the very Constitution they are sworn to uphold and protect.
The officers in skid row, who all volunteer for the assignment, have one of the lowest rates for the use of force in the city. And I am even more appalled by her views because she walked skid row streets with our officers and rode around in a black-and-white last year and was shocked then at the horrific conditions under which our most vulnerable citizens survived. How quickly she forgot!How quickly she forgot that convicted murderers, rapists, robbers, 3,800 parolees and 300-plus registered sex offenders called the 50 square blocks of skid row home. How quickly she forgot the dealers dangling narcotics in front of those trying to kick drugs.
Many other predators were hiding among the street population, preying on the weak, addicted and mentally ill. Fortunately, the terrible culture of lawlessness that was once the norm on skid row is quickly changing for the better. Despite the efforts of the ACLU and other self-appointed champions of the homeless to thwart us, the Los Angeles Police Department is succeeding in protecting the vulnerable on skid row and in curbing the lawlessness: Fewer people are dying of drug overdoses; paramedic calls are down; crime has plummeted 36% so far this year, on top of an 18% reduction in 2006, and nobody who has wanted a bed and follows the rules has been left on the streets.
Moreover, missions report that more people are seeking beds and treatment, and our Streets or Services (SOS) program is diverting misdemeanor arrestees away from jail and into treatment and housing programs. The people living on the streets and the people living in the missions, hotels and apartments in the area report that they are feeling safer — because they are safer. Ripston referred to several people on skid row who claimed that they were "harassed" for no reason. She decried the "jaywalking tickets" our officers write. We write traffic tickets to change behavior, not to harass the homeless. Consider that, in 2006, four out of six traffic deaths in the Central Division were caused by pedestrians in the roadway, as were all three traffic deaths so far this year.
Just a few months ago, skid row was where "anything goes" — an open-air drug bazaar with blatant outdoor acts of prostitution. Today, about 1,200 of those dealing (selling heroin or rock cocaine) are in jail. Hundreds of parole violators are back in prison. Ripston asks: Where did all the homeless people go? I am sure some people have chosen to go to other communities where they can continue their criminal behavior. But many others who used to hang around skid row actually had a home; they just chose to stay on skid row because of the cheap and plentiful drugs, alcohol and prostitution.
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
Monday, March 26, 2007
Pets Now-Humans Next ?
The recent problem in the pet food industry is one of
catastrophe and grows worse as it is revealed that the
source of contamination is rat poison! So the next question
is how did it get there and could it happen in the human
food chain? This incident has to be investigated vigorously
and questions answered to the fullest. Check out the article
below and feel free to comment on this serious matter.
Rat poison was identified Friday as the substance suspected of contaminating pet food that has killed or sickened dogs and cats across the nation, although it is still unclear how the deadly chemical got into the food.Federal officials, meanwhile, reported an expanded recall of dog and cat food produced by Menu Foods of Ontario, Canada. The company last weekend voluntarily recalled 60 million cans and pouches of potentially contaminated products — including popular brands such as Iams and Eukanuba and private-label brands sold by large retailers.The expanded recall and the findings released by New York state health officials raised concerns that the death toll from the contaminated food could rise significantly as more cases come to light.
"This is a massacre," said Valerie Marz, a Pasadena elementary school teacher whose 15-year-old cat, Zenith, was euthanized a week ago after suffering suspected kidney failure, which is the cause of death linked to the contaminated food. "I think the number of deaths here is going to turn out to be much higher."The Food and Drug Administration estimated that the contaminated food has caused 14 pet deaths in the United States. However, the agency said it had received 4,400 complaints and inquiries from pet owners and veterinarians about the matter, and others say the death toll may be higher.As of midday Friday, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported 10 confirmed pet deaths — five cats and five dogs — from kidney failure in recent days and 15 additional cases of very sick animals with similar symptoms.
Dr. Jonathan Fielding, the county's public health director, said the department was investigating 86 suspicious cases in which pet food might have played a role in an animal's recent illness."It's going to take a while before this stops," said Madeline Bernstein, president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Los Angeles. The number of victims "could be in the thousands."Health officials in New York said laboratory tests of pet food made by Menu Foods found aminopterin, a substance that is used to kill rodents in other countries but is banned in the United States. The tests found levels of at least 40 parts per million. "Any amount of this product is too much in food," said New York Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker.
The pet food samples were tested by the New York State Animal Health Diagnostic Center at Cornell University and the New York State Food Laboratory, which identified aminopterin as the toxic substance. The labs are part of a nationwide network set up after the 2001 terrorist attacks to test for contaminants in the nation's food supply.
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
catastrophe and grows worse as it is revealed that the
source of contamination is rat poison! So the next question
is how did it get there and could it happen in the human
food chain? This incident has to be investigated vigorously
and questions answered to the fullest. Check out the article
below and feel free to comment on this serious matter.
Rat poison was identified Friday as the substance suspected of contaminating pet food that has killed or sickened dogs and cats across the nation, although it is still unclear how the deadly chemical got into the food.Federal officials, meanwhile, reported an expanded recall of dog and cat food produced by Menu Foods of Ontario, Canada. The company last weekend voluntarily recalled 60 million cans and pouches of potentially contaminated products — including popular brands such as Iams and Eukanuba and private-label brands sold by large retailers.The expanded recall and the findings released by New York state health officials raised concerns that the death toll from the contaminated food could rise significantly as more cases come to light.
"This is a massacre," said Valerie Marz, a Pasadena elementary school teacher whose 15-year-old cat, Zenith, was euthanized a week ago after suffering suspected kidney failure, which is the cause of death linked to the contaminated food. "I think the number of deaths here is going to turn out to be much higher."The Food and Drug Administration estimated that the contaminated food has caused 14 pet deaths in the United States. However, the agency said it had received 4,400 complaints and inquiries from pet owners and veterinarians about the matter, and others say the death toll may be higher.As of midday Friday, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported 10 confirmed pet deaths — five cats and five dogs — from kidney failure in recent days and 15 additional cases of very sick animals with similar symptoms.
Dr. Jonathan Fielding, the county's public health director, said the department was investigating 86 suspicious cases in which pet food might have played a role in an animal's recent illness."It's going to take a while before this stops," said Madeline Bernstein, president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Los Angeles. The number of victims "could be in the thousands."Health officials in New York said laboratory tests of pet food made by Menu Foods found aminopterin, a substance that is used to kill rodents in other countries but is banned in the United States. The tests found levels of at least 40 parts per million. "Any amount of this product is too much in food," said New York Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker.
The pet food samples were tested by the New York State Animal Health Diagnostic Center at Cornell University and the New York State Food Laboratory, which identified aminopterin as the toxic substance. The labs are part of a nationwide network set up after the 2001 terrorist attacks to test for contaminants in the nation's food supply.
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
Friday, March 23, 2007
Movin On Up!
Since the weekend is almost here, I decided
to get into something a little less negative.
You know to show that the world isn't all bad.
One of Japan's wealthiest decided to open up
eight of his twenty-two homes in Hawaii to
homeless or low-income familes. Since their
were no details I was wondering will the
families have to maintain the residences or
is that part of the deal? Anyway check out
the article below and enjoy the weekend.
Dorie-Ann Kahale and her five daughters moved from a homeless shelter to a mansion Thursday, courtesy of a Japanese real estate mogul who is handing over eight of his multimillion-dollar homes to low-income native Hawaiian families.
Tears spilled down Kahale's cheeks as she accepted from billionaire Genshiro Kawamoto the key to a white, columned house with a circular driveway, a stone staircase and a deep porcelain bathtub. Her family will live there rent-free, but must pay utility bills.
"I'm shocked. I'm overwhelmed," Kahale said. "From the little box we had to what we have today." Kawamoto, whose own eyes started welling up as Kahale cried, handed over two other homes Thursday to homeless or low-income families. Kawamoto, one of Japan's richest men, said he planned to open eight of his 22 Kahala homes to needy Hawaiian families. They will be able to stay in the homes for up to 10 years, he said.
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
to get into something a little less negative.
You know to show that the world isn't all bad.
One of Japan's wealthiest decided to open up
eight of his twenty-two homes in Hawaii to
homeless or low-income familes. Since their
were no details I was wondering will the
families have to maintain the residences or
is that part of the deal? Anyway check out
the article below and enjoy the weekend.
Dorie-Ann Kahale and her five daughters moved from a homeless shelter to a mansion Thursday, courtesy of a Japanese real estate mogul who is handing over eight of his multimillion-dollar homes to low-income native Hawaiian families.
Tears spilled down Kahale's cheeks as she accepted from billionaire Genshiro Kawamoto the key to a white, columned house with a circular driveway, a stone staircase and a deep porcelain bathtub. Her family will live there rent-free, but must pay utility bills.
"I'm shocked. I'm overwhelmed," Kahale said. "From the little box we had to what we have today." Kawamoto, whose own eyes started welling up as Kahale cried, handed over two other homes Thursday to homeless or low-income families. Kawamoto, one of Japan's richest men, said he planned to open eight of his 22 Kahala homes to needy Hawaiian families. They will be able to stay in the homes for up to 10 years, he said.
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
Thursday, March 22, 2007
A Change Must Come !
The Article below express my exact sentiments about
what the NAACP must do in order for it to be more
effective as vangarde to the civil rights of African
Americans. No longer can they fight the battle of
discrimination by protesting and marches. It's time
we fought 20th century problems with 21st century
tactics!
The resignation of Bruce S. Gordon as president and chief executive of the NAACP this month portends an important and long overdue shift in black America's struggle for racial justice.
Gordon resigned after only 19 months because he disagreed with the NAACP's board on the best focus for the historic civil rights group. Gordon wanted to direct more resources toward social service programs such as wealth-building, tutoring and pregnancy counseling. The board wanted to maintain its traditional emphasis on fighting racial discrimination and advocating for social justice.
No matter where one stands in this debate, Gordon's resignation signals a critical impasse. The civil rights old guard, represented by the board, seems stuck in a 1960s mind-set that expects a particular form of response from black America -- pushing for government action to remedy the effects of discrimination. This type of response was popular, successful and necessary during the civil rights movement and, in some cases, remains a powerful form of redress.
The successes and failures of the civil rights movement, however, fundamentally changed the country's racial landscape. Of course racial discrimination remains. But we have entered what has been called a post-civil-rights age that requires an array of strategies to address the complex problems many African Americans face.
Gordon sought to extend the reach of the NAACP to include another form of African American dissent: the politics of self-empowerment. Regrettably, the NAACP was not inclined to alter its long-standing approach. Julian Bond, chairman of the NAACP board, rejects even the notion that we are in a post-civil-rights period, which requires imaginative and innovative struggle for social justice. Indeed, many current civil rights leaders fetishize the form of dissent most associated with the civil rights movement. They confuse principle with tactics. They behave as though marching and petitioning the government for redress of grievances is the only principled response to the maldistribution of burdens and benefits in our democracy. And they bristle at other forms of dissent, tactics designed to reach the shared goal of equality under law for all Americans. For many, it is either the old way or no way at all.
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
what the NAACP must do in order for it to be more
effective as vangarde to the civil rights of African
Americans. No longer can they fight the battle of
discrimination by protesting and marches. It's time
we fought 20th century problems with 21st century
tactics!
The resignation of Bruce S. Gordon as president and chief executive of the NAACP this month portends an important and long overdue shift in black America's struggle for racial justice.
Gordon resigned after only 19 months because he disagreed with the NAACP's board on the best focus for the historic civil rights group. Gordon wanted to direct more resources toward social service programs such as wealth-building, tutoring and pregnancy counseling. The board wanted to maintain its traditional emphasis on fighting racial discrimination and advocating for social justice.
No matter where one stands in this debate, Gordon's resignation signals a critical impasse. The civil rights old guard, represented by the board, seems stuck in a 1960s mind-set that expects a particular form of response from black America -- pushing for government action to remedy the effects of discrimination. This type of response was popular, successful and necessary during the civil rights movement and, in some cases, remains a powerful form of redress.
The successes and failures of the civil rights movement, however, fundamentally changed the country's racial landscape. Of course racial discrimination remains. But we have entered what has been called a post-civil-rights age that requires an array of strategies to address the complex problems many African Americans face.
Gordon sought to extend the reach of the NAACP to include another form of African American dissent: the politics of self-empowerment. Regrettably, the NAACP was not inclined to alter its long-standing approach. Julian Bond, chairman of the NAACP board, rejects even the notion that we are in a post-civil-rights period, which requires imaginative and innovative struggle for social justice. Indeed, many current civil rights leaders fetishize the form of dissent most associated with the civil rights movement. They confuse principle with tactics. They behave as though marching and petitioning the government for redress of grievances is the only principled response to the maldistribution of burdens and benefits in our democracy. And they bristle at other forms of dissent, tactics designed to reach the shared goal of equality under law for all Americans. For many, it is either the old way or no way at all.
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Is Justice Eluding New Orleans ?
Justice is not being served in New Orleans. Commit
a murder there and your chances of walking are fairly
good. Is that because the powers that be in prosecuting
cases are turning their back to black on black crimes and
putting priorities elsewhere like on cases that are a sure
win? Think about it. It takes a lot of work and manpower
to gather enough evidence in some cases to prosecute. With
New Orleans manpower streached thin does this give criminals
the edge and put the general public at greater risk? Check
out the article below and offer up your comments
Garelle Smith, a resident of one of New Orleans' toughest neighborhoods, was already a sort of poster boy for the city's troubled criminal justice system before prosecutors declined to charge him this week in the Aug. 4 slaying of Mandell Duplessis. When Smith was arrested in January, an editorial in the Times-Picayune newspaper noted that he had been a suspect in two previous slayings but never went to trial. The paper called Smith "the beneficiary of a gummed up criminal justice system." If he wasn't put away this time, the paper said, the police chief and head prosecutor would "face the full brunt of an angry public.
"Smith, 25, was released from jail Tuesday.Craig Famularo, chief of the homicide division in the Orleans Parish district attorney's office, said the evidence against Smith was thin.Famularo said police arrested Smith because someone had heard him admit the crime. But two witnesses said Smith was not at the scene.So far, four men have been arrested on suspicion of killing Duplessis, a 24-year-old drug dealer and aspiring rapper. But each has been released because witnesses were either not credible or uncooperative.It is a familiar story in New Orleans. Before Hurricane Katrina, a study by the Metropolitan Crime Commission found that only 12% of homicide arrests resulted in jail time.
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
a murder there and your chances of walking are fairly
good. Is that because the powers that be in prosecuting
cases are turning their back to black on black crimes and
putting priorities elsewhere like on cases that are a sure
win? Think about it. It takes a lot of work and manpower
to gather enough evidence in some cases to prosecute. With
New Orleans manpower streached thin does this give criminals
the edge and put the general public at greater risk? Check
out the article below and offer up your comments
Garelle Smith, a resident of one of New Orleans' toughest neighborhoods, was already a sort of poster boy for the city's troubled criminal justice system before prosecutors declined to charge him this week in the Aug. 4 slaying of Mandell Duplessis. When Smith was arrested in January, an editorial in the Times-Picayune newspaper noted that he had been a suspect in two previous slayings but never went to trial. The paper called Smith "the beneficiary of a gummed up criminal justice system." If he wasn't put away this time, the paper said, the police chief and head prosecutor would "face the full brunt of an angry public.
"Smith, 25, was released from jail Tuesday.Craig Famularo, chief of the homicide division in the Orleans Parish district attorney's office, said the evidence against Smith was thin.Famularo said police arrested Smith because someone had heard him admit the crime. But two witnesses said Smith was not at the scene.So far, four men have been arrested on suspicion of killing Duplessis, a 24-year-old drug dealer and aspiring rapper. But each has been released because witnesses were either not credible or uncooperative.It is a familiar story in New Orleans. Before Hurricane Katrina, a study by the Metropolitan Crime Commission found that only 12% of homicide arrests resulted in jail time.
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Thought Can Kill !
In all my years on the planet I have heard and read
a number of stories in which people have been killed
by law enforcement officers because they thought
rather than saw actual weapons on suspects. I
applaude the New York city Grand Jury for returning
indictments against officers involved in the shooting
death of a groom just hours before he was to be married.
Officers should rely on their training rather than the kill
or be killed mentality and this way the public won't fear
them as much as they do criminals
Two officers charged with killing an unarmed man in a flurry of bullets on his wedding day pleaded not guilty Monday in a case that led to widespread rallies against police brutality.The charges were announced after a grand jury last week voted to indict three of the five officers involved in the shooting of Sean Bell, 23.Detectives Michael Oliver, who fired 31 times, and Gescard Isnora, who fired 11 shots, are accused of first- and second-degree manslaughter. If convicted, they could serve up to 25 years in prison, Queens Dist. Atty. Richard Brown said at a news conference.
The two officers also are charged with assault and reckless endangerment in the wounding of Bell's friends, Trent Benefield, 23, and Joseph Guzman, 31. Oliver also faces a reckless endangerment charge for firing a shot through a residence.The third officer, Det. Marc Cooper, faces one year in prison if convicted of reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor. He is accused of endangering people by firing four shots on a street and through the window of a train station.
He too has pleaded not guilty.At their arraignment Monday, a judge set bail for Oliver and Isnora at $250,000 in the form of a bond or $100,000 in cash. Cooper was released without bail."This was a case that was, I'm sure, not easy for [the grand jury] to resolve. But they did so, in my judgment, in a conscientious fashion," Brown said. "And now we've got to try this case."Michael Palladino, president of the New York detectives union, called the charges excessive. "It sends a very chilling message to all of law enforcement," he said.
"If they can't get it done in three shots or less, [they're] in trouble." Two officers who fired three shots or less were not indicted. Police are instructed to fire three shots, pause and reassess.Appearing with Benefield, Guzman and Bell's fiancee, Nicole Paultre Bell, before the arraignment, the Rev. Al Sharpton said all five officers should have been charged. Bell, who was black, was killed around 4 a.m. Nov. 25 outside a strip club where he was attending his bachelor party. The officers have said they thought he and his friends were armed. Police later searched Bell's car and found no gun.
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
a number of stories in which people have been killed
by law enforcement officers because they thought
rather than saw actual weapons on suspects. I
applaude the New York city Grand Jury for returning
indictments against officers involved in the shooting
death of a groom just hours before he was to be married.
Officers should rely on their training rather than the kill
or be killed mentality and this way the public won't fear
them as much as they do criminals
Two officers charged with killing an unarmed man in a flurry of bullets on his wedding day pleaded not guilty Monday in a case that led to widespread rallies against police brutality.The charges were announced after a grand jury last week voted to indict three of the five officers involved in the shooting of Sean Bell, 23.Detectives Michael Oliver, who fired 31 times, and Gescard Isnora, who fired 11 shots, are accused of first- and second-degree manslaughter. If convicted, they could serve up to 25 years in prison, Queens Dist. Atty. Richard Brown said at a news conference.
The two officers also are charged with assault and reckless endangerment in the wounding of Bell's friends, Trent Benefield, 23, and Joseph Guzman, 31. Oliver also faces a reckless endangerment charge for firing a shot through a residence.The third officer, Det. Marc Cooper, faces one year in prison if convicted of reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor. He is accused of endangering people by firing four shots on a street and through the window of a train station.
He too has pleaded not guilty.At their arraignment Monday, a judge set bail for Oliver and Isnora at $250,000 in the form of a bond or $100,000 in cash. Cooper was released without bail."This was a case that was, I'm sure, not easy for [the grand jury] to resolve. But they did so, in my judgment, in a conscientious fashion," Brown said. "And now we've got to try this case."Michael Palladino, president of the New York detectives union, called the charges excessive. "It sends a very chilling message to all of law enforcement," he said.
"If they can't get it done in three shots or less, [they're] in trouble." Two officers who fired three shots or less were not indicted. Police are instructed to fire three shots, pause and reassess.Appearing with Benefield, Guzman and Bell's fiancee, Nicole Paultre Bell, before the arraignment, the Rev. Al Sharpton said all five officers should have been charged. Bell, who was black, was killed around 4 a.m. Nov. 25 outside a strip club where he was attending his bachelor party. The officers have said they thought he and his friends were armed. Police later searched Bell's car and found no gun.
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
Monday, March 19, 2007
The Smuggler is Black-The Cargo Brown
In Houston Texas a black man fights for his life in federal court.
It seems that Tyrone Williams was smuggling 55 latino
immigrants into the country by way of refrigerated
tractor-trailer truck. 19 of those immigrants died of
suffocation. Should Williams receive the death penalty
or life in prison? Read the article below and offer your
comments.
IN his opening statement, the attorney for truck driver Tyrone Williams conceded a central point. Yes, the lawyer declared, Williams was "clearly guilty" of hauling illegal immigrants in a sealed trailer — a tortuous, four-hour passage up the Rio Grande Valley that 19 of them did not survive.It was also true, added Craig Washington, that once his client discovered all those "poor people" piled in stacks, he hastily unhooked his trailer and high-tailed it for Houston, concocting an alibi on the fly:
"He doesn't get any merit badges for that," the attorney allowed.As these concessions made clear, the United States vs. Tyrone Mapletoft Williams would not be a search to determine who was behind the wheel one steamy May night in 2003, or whether the trucker was in league with smugglers.Rather, the trial would turn on intent, on what Williams knew, or should have known, was unfolding in the back of his 18-wheeler as he rolled up U.S. Highway 77 — windows down, music on the CD player, a young woman at his side.
Seeking the death penalty, the prosecution painted Williams as a "vile and heartless truck driver" who ignored pounding and pleas from inside his trailer. In the defense telling, the truck driver was a poorly used tool of smugglers, who distracted him as they overloaded his trailer at a field outside the border town of Harlingen, Texas, and then, once the rig was underway, tripled the length of the journey.The trial opened on a Monday in late October 2006, in the 11th-floor courtroom of U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal. It was not completed until mid-January, in part because of holiday breaks, in part because of illness, and in part because of the nature of the contested ground.
This was a courtroom struggle fought on the margins of the story line, with protracted wrangling, for example, over nuances such as whether Williams' passenger in the truck cab, a drug courier named Fatima Holloway, had heard a "bumping" or a "banging" coming from the trailer."Am I correct, Ms. Holloway," Washington asked during cross-examination, "that the description you gave to the noise here in your testimony … you described it as a 'banging' noise, did you not?""Yes, I did.""OK. And my question is: Did you describe it on May 24th of 2003" — in a debriefing by investigators — "as being a 'bumping' noise?"
"I may have. I don't remember."
"Is there a distinction in your mind between 'bumping' and 'banging'?"
"Yes."
"Which is louder?"
"Banging."
So it went, witness after witness, with the lawyers lingering over points that, though strategically pivotal, could seem almost picayune given the grotesque dimensions of the tragedy: Exactly how many illegal immigrants boarded? Who closed the trailer doors? What was the greater cause of death: a lack of oxygen or excessive heat?
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
It seems that Tyrone Williams was smuggling 55 latino
immigrants into the country by way of refrigerated
tractor-trailer truck. 19 of those immigrants died of
suffocation. Should Williams receive the death penalty
or life in prison? Read the article below and offer your
comments.
IN his opening statement, the attorney for truck driver Tyrone Williams conceded a central point. Yes, the lawyer declared, Williams was "clearly guilty" of hauling illegal immigrants in a sealed trailer — a tortuous, four-hour passage up the Rio Grande Valley that 19 of them did not survive.It was also true, added Craig Washington, that once his client discovered all those "poor people" piled in stacks, he hastily unhooked his trailer and high-tailed it for Houston, concocting an alibi on the fly:
"He doesn't get any merit badges for that," the attorney allowed.As these concessions made clear, the United States vs. Tyrone Mapletoft Williams would not be a search to determine who was behind the wheel one steamy May night in 2003, or whether the trucker was in league with smugglers.Rather, the trial would turn on intent, on what Williams knew, or should have known, was unfolding in the back of his 18-wheeler as he rolled up U.S. Highway 77 — windows down, music on the CD player, a young woman at his side.
Seeking the death penalty, the prosecution painted Williams as a "vile and heartless truck driver" who ignored pounding and pleas from inside his trailer. In the defense telling, the truck driver was a poorly used tool of smugglers, who distracted him as they overloaded his trailer at a field outside the border town of Harlingen, Texas, and then, once the rig was underway, tripled the length of the journey.The trial opened on a Monday in late October 2006, in the 11th-floor courtroom of U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal. It was not completed until mid-January, in part because of holiday breaks, in part because of illness, and in part because of the nature of the contested ground.
This was a courtroom struggle fought on the margins of the story line, with protracted wrangling, for example, over nuances such as whether Williams' passenger in the truck cab, a drug courier named Fatima Holloway, had heard a "bumping" or a "banging" coming from the trailer."Am I correct, Ms. Holloway," Washington asked during cross-examination, "that the description you gave to the noise here in your testimony … you described it as a 'banging' noise, did you not?""Yes, I did.""OK. And my question is: Did you describe it on May 24th of 2003" — in a debriefing by investigators — "as being a 'bumping' noise?"
"I may have. I don't remember."
"Is there a distinction in your mind between 'bumping' and 'banging'?"
"Yes."
"Which is louder?"
"Banging."
So it went, witness after witness, with the lawyers lingering over points that, though strategically pivotal, could seem almost picayune given the grotesque dimensions of the tragedy: Exactly how many illegal immigrants boarded? Who closed the trailer doors? What was the greater cause of death: a lack of oxygen or excessive heat?
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
Thursday, March 15, 2007
In Muslims We Must Trust!
Ask any American Muslim how they feel about
their government and the answer you'll probably
get will pretty much be the same as any other
American. So therefore the notion that a
disgruntled American Muslim is a terrorist
threat has to be smashed. Instead this nation
has to embrace as well as trust it's Muslims if
there is to be a victory in the war on terrorism.
The article below tells how the government must
find ways to bring American Muslims into the fold.
Senior Homeland Security officials told a Senate panel Wednesday that they were having a hard time employing enough interpreters and analysts to counter domestic terrorist threats and that they needed to do more to reach out to American Arabs and Muslims.They also warned that some American Muslims were at risk of becoming radicalized and might try to execute homegrown terrorist attacks of the sort carried out on London subways and buses in 2005.
And even though they said they were aware of the sensitivity of the situation, Secretary Michael Chertoff and other officials acknowledged that they did not fully understand the radicalization process or know the size of the problem. In testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, they said the department had taken steps to better communicate with Arab, Muslim and South Asian Americans but said more needed to be done to build trust and encourage them to enter public service.
"We believe that a critical element of our strategy for securing this country is to build a level of communication, trust and confidence that is unprecedented in our nation's history," said Daniel W. Sutherland, the department's officer for civil rights and civil liberties.
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
their government and the answer you'll probably
get will pretty much be the same as any other
American. So therefore the notion that a
disgruntled American Muslim is a terrorist
threat has to be smashed. Instead this nation
has to embrace as well as trust it's Muslims if
there is to be a victory in the war on terrorism.
The article below tells how the government must
find ways to bring American Muslims into the fold.
Senior Homeland Security officials told a Senate panel Wednesday that they were having a hard time employing enough interpreters and analysts to counter domestic terrorist threats and that they needed to do more to reach out to American Arabs and Muslims.They also warned that some American Muslims were at risk of becoming radicalized and might try to execute homegrown terrorist attacks of the sort carried out on London subways and buses in 2005.
And even though they said they were aware of the sensitivity of the situation, Secretary Michael Chertoff and other officials acknowledged that they did not fully understand the radicalization process or know the size of the problem. In testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, they said the department had taken steps to better communicate with Arab, Muslim and South Asian Americans but said more needed to be done to build trust and encourage them to enter public service.
"We believe that a critical element of our strategy for securing this country is to build a level of communication, trust and confidence that is unprecedented in our nation's history," said Daniel W. Sutherland, the department's officer for civil rights and civil liberties.
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
The Fat Kid And The Candy Jar
The fat kid in this case is the FBI and the candy jar is the
2001 Patriot Act. The fat kis promised that he would only
dip into the jar occassionally and so no one was left to watch
him. While the managers of the store were busy doing other
things the fat kid couldn't resist the temptation and went buck
in the candy jar. By the time the managers of the store found
out it was way too late what the fat kid hadn't already eaten
he'd stashed for a rainy day. Now for the the more intimate
parts of this story and how it may end you must read on then
speak up on it.
Angry lawmakers on Friday threatened to amend the USA Patriot Act and limit the FBI's powers in the wake of a disclosure that agents had improperly obtained confidential records of people in the United States.
A scathing report issued Friday by the inspector general of the Justice Department found widespread problems in how the FBI has used a form of administrative subpoena — known as a national security letter — to gather phone, bank and credit information on thousands of citizens without court oversight.
The problems included the issuing of letters that circumvented Justice Department rules and regulations; in addition, the report found a record-keeping system in such disarray that annual reports to Congress substantially understated the number of subpoenas the FBI was issuing.
The inspector general also disclosed that the bureau had an unusual contract with three phone companies to provide call records and subscriber information without legal process.
The revelation was a major embarrassment for the FBI, which had vowed to use its investigative powers carefully when Congress reauthorized the Patriot Act last year.
National security letters do not require the approval of a judge, and have long been popular with law enforcement. The 2001 Patriot Act made them even easier to get in terrorism and espionage cases. The act also for the first time permitted FBI agents in the field to issue the letters; that authority had previously been reserved for officials at FBI headquarters.
FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III on Friday took responsibility for failing to establish an adequate monitoring system for the anti-terrorism measure. "How could this happen, who is accountable? And the answer to that is I am to be held accountable," Mueller said in a briefing with reporters. He cited problems with training and oversight of personnel, as well as the bureau audit system, and announced a number of steps to overhaul the process.
Mueller's boss, Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales, pointedly criticized the FBI and its director for falling down on the job.
"During the discussion of the reauthorization of the Patriot Act, I believed that the FBI was acting responsibly in using national security letters," Gonzales told a conference of privacy experts Friday. "Because of the good work of the IG, I've come to learn that I was wrong."
Gonzales said the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility had opened an investigation into possible misconduct by lawyers at the FBI who failed to monitor the subpoenas.
"Once we get that information, we'll be in a better position to assess what kinds of steps should be taken," Gonzales said after his speech. "There is no excuse for the mistakes that have been made, and we are going to make things right as quickly as possible."
Two influential senators Friday expressed anger at the inspector general's disclosures and said they were considering tightening the Patriot Act regulations that allow the FBI to use the national security letters with such wide latitude.
Sens. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) also said they would call Mueller and Gonzales to testify in the coming weeks to get more answers and determine how widespread the problem is. Leahy is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has oversight of the Justice Department and the FBI, and Specter is its ranking Republican and former chairman.
"The inspector general's report shows a massive misuse by the FBI of the national security letters for law enforcement," Specter said. "There'll be oversight hearings. And I think we may have to go further than that and change the law, to revise the Patriot Act … and perhaps take away some of the authority which we've already given to the FBI, since they appear not to be able to know how to use it."
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net
2001 Patriot Act. The fat kis promised that he would only
dip into the jar occassionally and so no one was left to watch
him. While the managers of the store were busy doing other
things the fat kid couldn't resist the temptation and went buck
in the candy jar. By the time the managers of the store found
out it was way too late what the fat kid hadn't already eaten
he'd stashed for a rainy day. Now for the the more intimate
parts of this story and how it may end you must read on then
speak up on it.
Angry lawmakers on Friday threatened to amend the USA Patriot Act and limit the FBI's powers in the wake of a disclosure that agents had improperly obtained confidential records of people in the United States.
A scathing report issued Friday by the inspector general of the Justice Department found widespread problems in how the FBI has used a form of administrative subpoena — known as a national security letter — to gather phone, bank and credit information on thousands of citizens without court oversight.
The problems included the issuing of letters that circumvented Justice Department rules and regulations; in addition, the report found a record-keeping system in such disarray that annual reports to Congress substantially understated the number of subpoenas the FBI was issuing.
The inspector general also disclosed that the bureau had an unusual contract with three phone companies to provide call records and subscriber information without legal process.
The revelation was a major embarrassment for the FBI, which had vowed to use its investigative powers carefully when Congress reauthorized the Patriot Act last year.
National security letters do not require the approval of a judge, and have long been popular with law enforcement. The 2001 Patriot Act made them even easier to get in terrorism and espionage cases. The act also for the first time permitted FBI agents in the field to issue the letters; that authority had previously been reserved for officials at FBI headquarters.
FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III on Friday took responsibility for failing to establish an adequate monitoring system for the anti-terrorism measure. "How could this happen, who is accountable? And the answer to that is I am to be held accountable," Mueller said in a briefing with reporters. He cited problems with training and oversight of personnel, as well as the bureau audit system, and announced a number of steps to overhaul the process.
Mueller's boss, Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales, pointedly criticized the FBI and its director for falling down on the job.
"During the discussion of the reauthorization of the Patriot Act, I believed that the FBI was acting responsibly in using national security letters," Gonzales told a conference of privacy experts Friday. "Because of the good work of the IG, I've come to learn that I was wrong."
Gonzales said the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility had opened an investigation into possible misconduct by lawyers at the FBI who failed to monitor the subpoenas.
"Once we get that information, we'll be in a better position to assess what kinds of steps should be taken," Gonzales said after his speech. "There is no excuse for the mistakes that have been made, and we are going to make things right as quickly as possible."
Two influential senators Friday expressed anger at the inspector general's disclosures and said they were considering tightening the Patriot Act regulations that allow the FBI to use the national security letters with such wide latitude.
Sens. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) also said they would call Mueller and Gonzales to testify in the coming weeks to get more answers and determine how widespread the problem is. Leahy is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has oversight of the Justice Department and the FBI, and Specter is its ranking Republican and former chairman.
"The inspector general's report shows a massive misuse by the FBI of the national security letters for law enforcement," Specter said. "There'll be oversight hearings. And I think we may have to go further than that and change the law, to revise the Patriot Act … and perhaps take away some of the authority which we've already given to the FBI, since they appear not to be able to know how to use it."
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Muslim Meets Muslim
For a long time I was under the impression that the Black
Muslims in this country were far different from Muslims
in the rest of the world. I wasn't alone in this observation.
The Muslims felt the same way too! All of that is about to
change as the indigenous Muslim and the immigrant Muslim
join forces to work out their differences for the betterment
and survival of both in this country. Read on and you may
find youself asking, damn what took them so long?
Under the glistening dome of a mosque on Long Island, hundreds of men sat cross-legged on the floor. Many were doctors and engineers born in Pakistan and India. Dressed in khakis, polo shirts and the odd silk tunic, they fidgeted and whispered.
One thing stood between them and dinner: A visitor from Harlem was coming to ask for money.
A towering black man with a gray-flecked beard finally swept into the room, his bodyguard trailing him. Wearing a long, embroidered robe and matching hat, he took the microphone and began talking about a different group of Muslims, the thousands of African-Americans who have found Islam in prison.
“We are all brothers and sisters,” said the visitor, known as Imam Talib.
The men stared. To some of them, it seemed, he was from another planet. As the imam returned their gaze, he had a similar sensation. “They live in another world,” he later said.
Only 28 miles separate Imam Talib’s mosque in Harlem from the Islamic Center of Long Island. The congregations they each serve — African-Americans at the city mosque and immigrants of South Asian and Arab descent in the suburbs — represent the largest Muslim populations in the United States.
Yet a vast gulf divides them, one marked by race and class, culture and history.
For many African-American converts, Islam is an experience both spiritual and political, an expression of empowerment in a country they feel is dominated by a white elite. For many immigrant Muslims, Islam is an inherited identity, and America a place of assimilation and prosperity.
For decades, these two Muslim worlds remained largely separate. But last fall, Imam Talib hoped to cross that distance in a venture that has become increasingly common since Sept. 11. Black Muslims have begun advising immigrants on how to mount a civil rights campaign.
Foreign-born Muslims are giving African-Americans roles of leadership in some of their largest organizations. The two groups have joined forces politically, forming coalitions and backing the same candidates.
It is a tentative and uneasy union, seen more typically among leaders at the pulpit than along the prayer line. But it is critical, a growing number of Muslims believe, to surviving a hostile new era.
“Muslims will not be successful in America until there is a marriage between the indigenous and immigrant communities,” said Siraj Wahhaj, an African-American imam in New York with a rare national following among immigrant Muslims. “There has to be a marriage.”
The divide between black and immigrant Muslims reflects a unique struggle facing Islam in America. Perhaps nowhere else in the world are Muslims from so many racial, cultural and theological backgrounds trying their hands at coexistence. Only in Mecca, during the obligatory hajj, or pilgrimage, does such diversity in the faith come to life, between black and white, rich and poor, Sunni and Shiite.
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
Muslims in this country were far different from Muslims
in the rest of the world. I wasn't alone in this observation.
The Muslims felt the same way too! All of that is about to
change as the indigenous Muslim and the immigrant Muslim
join forces to work out their differences for the betterment
and survival of both in this country. Read on and you may
find youself asking, damn what took them so long?
Under the glistening dome of a mosque on Long Island, hundreds of men sat cross-legged on the floor. Many were doctors and engineers born in Pakistan and India. Dressed in khakis, polo shirts and the odd silk tunic, they fidgeted and whispered.
One thing stood between them and dinner: A visitor from Harlem was coming to ask for money.
A towering black man with a gray-flecked beard finally swept into the room, his bodyguard trailing him. Wearing a long, embroidered robe and matching hat, he took the microphone and began talking about a different group of Muslims, the thousands of African-Americans who have found Islam in prison.
“We are all brothers and sisters,” said the visitor, known as Imam Talib.
The men stared. To some of them, it seemed, he was from another planet. As the imam returned their gaze, he had a similar sensation. “They live in another world,” he later said.
Only 28 miles separate Imam Talib’s mosque in Harlem from the Islamic Center of Long Island. The congregations they each serve — African-Americans at the city mosque and immigrants of South Asian and Arab descent in the suburbs — represent the largest Muslim populations in the United States.
Yet a vast gulf divides them, one marked by race and class, culture and history.
For many African-American converts, Islam is an experience both spiritual and political, an expression of empowerment in a country they feel is dominated by a white elite. For many immigrant Muslims, Islam is an inherited identity, and America a place of assimilation and prosperity.
For decades, these two Muslim worlds remained largely separate. But last fall, Imam Talib hoped to cross that distance in a venture that has become increasingly common since Sept. 11. Black Muslims have begun advising immigrants on how to mount a civil rights campaign.
Foreign-born Muslims are giving African-Americans roles of leadership in some of their largest organizations. The two groups have joined forces politically, forming coalitions and backing the same candidates.
It is a tentative and uneasy union, seen more typically among leaders at the pulpit than along the prayer line. But it is critical, a growing number of Muslims believe, to surviving a hostile new era.
“Muslims will not be successful in America until there is a marriage between the indigenous and immigrant communities,” said Siraj Wahhaj, an African-American imam in New York with a rare national following among immigrant Muslims. “There has to be a marriage.”
The divide between black and immigrant Muslims reflects a unique struggle facing Islam in America. Perhaps nowhere else in the world are Muslims from so many racial, cultural and theological backgrounds trying their hands at coexistence. Only in Mecca, during the obligatory hajj, or pilgrimage, does such diversity in the faith come to life, between black and white, rich and poor, Sunni and Shiite.
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
Friday, March 9, 2007
Time Off For A Good Kidney ?
On the one hand trading a body part to get time
knocked off of ones sentence is a novel idea. After
all many of the people that are locked up abuse
their bodies anyway with alcohol and drugs. On
the other hand though many would be more than
willing to give up a body part for their freedom and
most would be doing it out of duress. So the ethics come
into play and then what about future medical expenses
for those that give up say a kidney and down the road
the remaining kidney goes bad. These are just a couple
of obstacles that have to be overcome before this law
sees the light of reality. What do you think? I'd like to
hear from you.
Prison inmates in South Carolina could get up to six months shaved off their sentences if they donated a kidney or their bone marrow, under a proposed bill before the state Senate. "We have a lot of people dying as they wait for organs, so I thought about the prison population," said state Sen. Ralph Anderson, the bill's main sponsor. "I believe we have to do something to motivate them. If they get some good time off, if they get out early, that's motivation."
The proposal was approved Thursday by the Senate Corrections and Penology Subcommittee. But it is almost certain to prompt fierce opposition from legal experts and prisoner rights advocates about whether inmates are able to make such a decision freely."For a prisoner to actually have a benefit for giving up an organ violates every ethical value I'm aware of," said Lawrence Gostin, a professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center and chairman of the Institute of Medicine's committee on human subject research in prisoners.
"It's grossly unethical, if not unlawful," he said. The institute is part of the National Academy of Sciences.Legislators said they would not debate the measure until they established whether exchanging prison time for body parts violates federal law. Under current law, it is illegal to exchange an organ for "valuable consideration." Lawmakers are attempting to determine whether a reduced sentence constitutes a consideration.
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top.
"It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
Posted by iloveeur at 12:11 PM 0 comments
knocked off of ones sentence is a novel idea. After
all many of the people that are locked up abuse
their bodies anyway with alcohol and drugs. On
the other hand though many would be more than
willing to give up a body part for their freedom and
most would be doing it out of duress. So the ethics come
into play and then what about future medical expenses
for those that give up say a kidney and down the road
the remaining kidney goes bad. These are just a couple
of obstacles that have to be overcome before this law
sees the light of reality. What do you think? I'd like to
hear from you.
Prison inmates in South Carolina could get up to six months shaved off their sentences if they donated a kidney or their bone marrow, under a proposed bill before the state Senate. "We have a lot of people dying as they wait for organs, so I thought about the prison population," said state Sen. Ralph Anderson, the bill's main sponsor. "I believe we have to do something to motivate them. If they get some good time off, if they get out early, that's motivation."
The proposal was approved Thursday by the Senate Corrections and Penology Subcommittee. But it is almost certain to prompt fierce opposition from legal experts and prisoner rights advocates about whether inmates are able to make such a decision freely."For a prisoner to actually have a benefit for giving up an organ violates every ethical value I'm aware of," said Lawrence Gostin, a professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center and chairman of the Institute of Medicine's committee on human subject research in prisoners.
"It's grossly unethical, if not unlawful," he said. The institute is part of the National Academy of Sciences.Legislators said they would not debate the measure until they established whether exchanging prison time for body parts violates federal law. Under current law, it is illegal to exchange an organ for "valuable consideration." Lawmakers are attempting to determine whether a reduced sentence constitutes a consideration.
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top.
"It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
Posted by iloveeur at 12:11 PM 0 comments
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Cubans Are Left Stuck
It looks as if everything socially the Bush administration
touches turns to do-do. Now it seems that the prez has
extended an open invitation to a certain group of Cuban
nationals that have excepted the offer. Now a large
number of them are stuck in Columbia waiting while
U.S. officials figure out their what to do next. Why
wasn't the details of this invitition worked out befor-
hand or was this some ploy by the administration?
Well for what ever reason I'd like to here from you
on this.
Family practitioner Alberto Hernandez suffers anxiety attacks. Dentist Norah Garcia is prone to bouts of uncontrollable sobbing. General practitioner Cesar Fernandez, 31, has high blood pressure.
They are among the tens of thousands of doctors, nurses, surgeons and dentists dispatched from their Cuban homeland as medical missionaries to some of the world's poorest countries, in the process earning hard currency for the communist regime. But instead of providing much-needed healthcare, they have been caught up in a wider struggle between leftist Latin American leaders and the Bush administration.
Last summer, the administration announced that any Cuban medical professional sent abroad was eligible for political asylum. Frustrated with their efforts in a program that took them to Venezuela's barrios, or hoping to start a new life in the United States, dozens of Cuban healthcare professionals sneaked across the Colombian border.
Now they're holed up in Colombia, unable to work, while U.S. authorities mull whether to accept them as political refugees.
"We don't know why it's taking so long. We hope the United States government hurries up and makes up its mind," said Ariel Perez, a general practitioner who shares a small apartment with Garcia and another Cuban dentist in southern Bogota.
The approval process would take one to two months, they were told. But several Cubans here say the process has dragged on for half a year.
"All our hopes and dreams are wrapped up in [Bush's] decree," said Garcia, a 46-year-old from Havana whose husband made it to Florida on a raft three years ago. "The uncertainty is the worst, not knowing what will happen while we sit here and do nothing."
Officials at the Department of Homeland Security, which is handling the applications, declined to comment on the process. But government officials who asked for anonymity said it could take a long time if applicants lacked key documentation such as passports and medical licenses.
Colombia has welcomed the Cuban defectors with less than open arms. Most have been denied visas or work permits while the U.S. Department of Homeland Security processes the applications. Colombia, though a close U.S. ally in the region, has no desire to encourage the deserters, analysts say. Bogota is also reluctant to offend Cuba or Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, for whom the presence of Cuban doctors is an important policy and public relations initiative of his "21st century socialism."
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top.
"It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
touches turns to do-do. Now it seems that the prez has
extended an open invitation to a certain group of Cuban
nationals that have excepted the offer. Now a large
number of them are stuck in Columbia waiting while
U.S. officials figure out their what to do next. Why
wasn't the details of this invitition worked out befor-
hand or was this some ploy by the administration?
Well for what ever reason I'd like to here from you
on this.
Family practitioner Alberto Hernandez suffers anxiety attacks. Dentist Norah Garcia is prone to bouts of uncontrollable sobbing. General practitioner Cesar Fernandez, 31, has high blood pressure.
They are among the tens of thousands of doctors, nurses, surgeons and dentists dispatched from their Cuban homeland as medical missionaries to some of the world's poorest countries, in the process earning hard currency for the communist regime. But instead of providing much-needed healthcare, they have been caught up in a wider struggle between leftist Latin American leaders and the Bush administration.
Last summer, the administration announced that any Cuban medical professional sent abroad was eligible for political asylum. Frustrated with their efforts in a program that took them to Venezuela's barrios, or hoping to start a new life in the United States, dozens of Cuban healthcare professionals sneaked across the Colombian border.
Now they're holed up in Colombia, unable to work, while U.S. authorities mull whether to accept them as political refugees.
"We don't know why it's taking so long. We hope the United States government hurries up and makes up its mind," said Ariel Perez, a general practitioner who shares a small apartment with Garcia and another Cuban dentist in southern Bogota.
The approval process would take one to two months, they were told. But several Cubans here say the process has dragged on for half a year.
"All our hopes and dreams are wrapped up in [Bush's] decree," said Garcia, a 46-year-old from Havana whose husband made it to Florida on a raft three years ago. "The uncertainty is the worst, not knowing what will happen while we sit here and do nothing."
Officials at the Department of Homeland Security, which is handling the applications, declined to comment on the process. But government officials who asked for anonymity said it could take a long time if applicants lacked key documentation such as passports and medical licenses.
Colombia has welcomed the Cuban defectors with less than open arms. Most have been denied visas or work permits while the U.S. Department of Homeland Security processes the applications. Colombia, though a close U.S. ally in the region, has no desire to encourage the deserters, analysts say. Bogota is also reluctant to offend Cuba or Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, for whom the presence of Cuban doctors is an important policy and public relations initiative of his "21st century socialism."
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top.
"It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Hate-Equal Opportunity Style
After reading the article below I had to scratch my
head and ask how and why did this paper allow this
wet behind the ear youngster to write and then they
publish such garbage. Kenneth Eng should not bear
the brunt of this alone. His boss editor Ted Fang
should also be fired, he after all is solely responsible
for what gets printed in the publication.
WHERE DID we go wrong? That was the predictable question raised last week, notably in the ethnic press, after Kenneth Eng wrote a column titled "Why I Hate Blacks." The column, published in the San Francisco-based AsianWeek newspaper in the waning days of African American History Month, was so astonishingly hateful that activists of all stripes immediately rushed forward to condemn it. AsianWeek Editor Ted Fang issued a lengthy apology and fired Eng, who is in his early 20s and also writes science fiction novels. The small press that published Eng's books announced last week that it was taking them off the market. There was a hastily arranged community forum about strengthening black/Asian relations and improving coverage across color lines. More are surely on the way.
This kind of hand-wringing is to a degree appropriate. It's also inherently limited, a first step that all too often stands as the entire response to ugly racial moments that generally say more about our so-called enlightenment than we like to imagine. Containing the mess, therefore, is critical. From Trent Lott to Michael Richards to Kenneth Eng, our impulse in the wake of black insult is to kick-start big, rhetorical debates about race that tend to divert attention from hard questions about accountability, about who said what and why.
In Eng's case, that's easy. A quick check of his writing reveals an immature, belligerent, insensitive, self-aggrandizing, self-described "Asian supremacist." His previous AsianWeek columns include such subtle titles as "Why I Hate Asians" and "Proof that Whites Inherently Hate Us."Eng comes off as an equal-opportunity hater — he derides religion, calls white folks "Aryan" and once proclaimed that Hitler was "not a coward." But his hatred is stoked by the idea that blacks are exempt from the rules of political correctness, especially when they make derogatory remarks about other groups.
Eng himself got away with racist stuff for months; he only got caught when he blasted blacks. What this genius missed is that anti-black venom has a particular history in this country and is the bedrock measure of our national principles of fairness and equality. Put another way, blacks are historically the least advantaged group, and their treatment by the more advantaged — i.e., everybody else — is where the rubber of democratic ideals hits the road.
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top.
"It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
head and ask how and why did this paper allow this
wet behind the ear youngster to write and then they
publish such garbage. Kenneth Eng should not bear
the brunt of this alone. His boss editor Ted Fang
should also be fired, he after all is solely responsible
for what gets printed in the publication.
WHERE DID we go wrong? That was the predictable question raised last week, notably in the ethnic press, after Kenneth Eng wrote a column titled "Why I Hate Blacks." The column, published in the San Francisco-based AsianWeek newspaper in the waning days of African American History Month, was so astonishingly hateful that activists of all stripes immediately rushed forward to condemn it. AsianWeek Editor Ted Fang issued a lengthy apology and fired Eng, who is in his early 20s and also writes science fiction novels. The small press that published Eng's books announced last week that it was taking them off the market. There was a hastily arranged community forum about strengthening black/Asian relations and improving coverage across color lines. More are surely on the way.
This kind of hand-wringing is to a degree appropriate. It's also inherently limited, a first step that all too often stands as the entire response to ugly racial moments that generally say more about our so-called enlightenment than we like to imagine. Containing the mess, therefore, is critical. From Trent Lott to Michael Richards to Kenneth Eng, our impulse in the wake of black insult is to kick-start big, rhetorical debates about race that tend to divert attention from hard questions about accountability, about who said what and why.
In Eng's case, that's easy. A quick check of his writing reveals an immature, belligerent, insensitive, self-aggrandizing, self-described "Asian supremacist." His previous AsianWeek columns include such subtle titles as "Why I Hate Asians" and "Proof that Whites Inherently Hate Us."Eng comes off as an equal-opportunity hater — he derides religion, calls white folks "Aryan" and once proclaimed that Hitler was "not a coward." But his hatred is stoked by the idea that blacks are exempt from the rules of political correctness, especially when they make derogatory remarks about other groups.
Eng himself got away with racist stuff for months; he only got caught when he blasted blacks. What this genius missed is that anti-black venom has a particular history in this country and is the bedrock measure of our national principles of fairness and equality. Put another way, blacks are historically the least advantaged group, and their treatment by the more advantaged — i.e., everybody else — is where the rubber of democratic ideals hits the road.
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top.
"It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions
Things continue to heat up in the Democratic race for president.
And caught up in the middle is the black vote. One thing for sure
is that black voters must stay united in order not to dilute the
power of the black vote. How will you vote, any idea? Read on.
Representative John Lewis, whose political career grew out of the civil rights movement, had longed for the day he could vote for someone that he believed could become the nation’s first black president. So when Senator Barack Obama entered the race, he was on the cusp of declaring his support. Until Bill Clinton called.
Now, Mr. Lewis said, he is agonizing over whether to choose Mr. Obama, whom he once described as “the future of the Democratic Party,” or Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.
“One day I lean one way, the next day I lean another way,” said Mr. Lewis, Democrat of Georgia. “Sometimes, you have to have what I call an executive session with yourself, a come-to-Jesus meeting, and somehow, some way we will all have to make a decision.”
In the opening stretch of the 2008 Democratic presidential contest, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Obama and John Edwards, the former North Carolina senator, are embroiled in what party officials believe is one of the most competitive scrambles for black supporters since the Voting Rights Act was passed four decades ago. The chief rivals will be here on Sunday when the Clintons and Mr. Obama commemorate the 42nd anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when hundreds of activists — Mr. Lewis among them — crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge during a civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery.
Representative Artur Davis, Democrat of Alabama, invited Mr. Obama to deliver the keynote address at the historic Brown Chapel on Sunday. After Mr. Obama agreed, Mr. Davis said, Mrs. Clinton accepted an invitation to speak at a church just down the street. And two days ago, Mr. Clinton said he would join his wife in Selma, the first time since she formally entered the race that he has been called on to use his clout so directly to give her a hand.
“Her timing speaks for itself,” said Mr. Davis, who supports Mr. Obama.
It will be the first time Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama share the same campaign turf, and curiosity was building Saturday evening as hundreds gathered in the historic district for the weekend festival. Aides to Mrs. Clinton dismissed suggestions that they were following Mr. Obama, but members of Congress traveling to Selma said they were encouraged by her allies to attend her speech, not his.
Mr. Obama also adjusted his schedule, a spokesman said, postponing a fund-raiser in Boston on Sunday evening after learning that the Clintons would be attending the daylong series of events here.
Mr. Edwards declined an invitation. He plans to be in California on Sunday to deliver a speech — about Selma and civil rights — at the University of California, Berkeley.
Black voters are a crucial component of the Democratic electorate. In 2004, despite intensive efforts by President Bush to break the Democratic dominance, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts won about 89 percent of the black vote.
In contested primaries, particularly in South Carolina, black support could be vital to the Democratic nominee. About 50 percent of the primary voters in South Carolina are black, and the state is fourth in line on the nominating calendar. Alabama, where about 60 percent of the primary voters are black, is making plans to move its contest to Feb. 2. And at least 16 states are considering voting on Feb. 5, including Florida, California, Illinois, New York and Texas, all states where black voters could hold considerable sway.
But the weekend appearances also offer a window into a broader struggle among the candidates to define themselves to the country and to associate themselves with the legacy of the civil rights movement in a way that could help them appeal not only to blacks but also to white Democratic voters who are proud of their party’s role in that struggle.
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top.
"It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program, click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net
And caught up in the middle is the black vote. One thing for sure
is that black voters must stay united in order not to dilute the
power of the black vote. How will you vote, any idea? Read on.
Representative John Lewis, whose political career grew out of the civil rights movement, had longed for the day he could vote for someone that he believed could become the nation’s first black president. So when Senator Barack Obama entered the race, he was on the cusp of declaring his support. Until Bill Clinton called.
Now, Mr. Lewis said, he is agonizing over whether to choose Mr. Obama, whom he once described as “the future of the Democratic Party,” or Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.
“One day I lean one way, the next day I lean another way,” said Mr. Lewis, Democrat of Georgia. “Sometimes, you have to have what I call an executive session with yourself, a come-to-Jesus meeting, and somehow, some way we will all have to make a decision.”
In the opening stretch of the 2008 Democratic presidential contest, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Obama and John Edwards, the former North Carolina senator, are embroiled in what party officials believe is one of the most competitive scrambles for black supporters since the Voting Rights Act was passed four decades ago. The chief rivals will be here on Sunday when the Clintons and Mr. Obama commemorate the 42nd anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when hundreds of activists — Mr. Lewis among them — crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge during a civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery.
Representative Artur Davis, Democrat of Alabama, invited Mr. Obama to deliver the keynote address at the historic Brown Chapel on Sunday. After Mr. Obama agreed, Mr. Davis said, Mrs. Clinton accepted an invitation to speak at a church just down the street. And two days ago, Mr. Clinton said he would join his wife in Selma, the first time since she formally entered the race that he has been called on to use his clout so directly to give her a hand.
“Her timing speaks for itself,” said Mr. Davis, who supports Mr. Obama.
It will be the first time Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama share the same campaign turf, and curiosity was building Saturday evening as hundreds gathered in the historic district for the weekend festival. Aides to Mrs. Clinton dismissed suggestions that they were following Mr. Obama, but members of Congress traveling to Selma said they were encouraged by her allies to attend her speech, not his.
Mr. Obama also adjusted his schedule, a spokesman said, postponing a fund-raiser in Boston on Sunday evening after learning that the Clintons would be attending the daylong series of events here.
Mr. Edwards declined an invitation. He plans to be in California on Sunday to deliver a speech — about Selma and civil rights — at the University of California, Berkeley.
Black voters are a crucial component of the Democratic electorate. In 2004, despite intensive efforts by President Bush to break the Democratic dominance, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts won about 89 percent of the black vote.
In contested primaries, particularly in South Carolina, black support could be vital to the Democratic nominee. About 50 percent of the primary voters in South Carolina are black, and the state is fourth in line on the nominating calendar. Alabama, where about 60 percent of the primary voters are black, is making plans to move its contest to Feb. 2. And at least 16 states are considering voting on Feb. 5, including Florida, California, Illinois, New York and Texas, all states where black voters could hold considerable sway.
But the weekend appearances also offer a window into a broader struggle among the candidates to define themselves to the country and to associate themselves with the legacy of the civil rights movement in a way that could help them appeal not only to blacks but also to white Democratic voters who are proud of their party’s role in that struggle.
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top.
"It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program, click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net
Monday, March 5, 2007
Double Standards-The American Way!
There is a new scandal brewing on “American Idol,” the Fox Network’s hit TV competition that is no stranger to incidents, which have led to the dismissal of one or two contestants.
The latest involves 20-year-old contestant Antonella Barba who has been the subject of much speculation after pictures surfaced on the Internet showing a woman, purportedly Barba, lying on her back covered in rose petals, posing in her underwear, sitting on a toilet and performing oral sex on a man.
And while such may have caused scandal in the past for the show, interestingly, the pornographic web photos are apparently of no concern this time around.
That’s right; Barba has not been released from the show. A spokesman for the Fox Network only had to say that the show does not comment on contestant’s personal lives and even infamous judge Simon Cowell only reprimanded Barba’s so-called friends for leaking the photos. Yet and still, Barba’s alleged photos are not really the scandal.
However, TV fans might recall four years ago, on season 2 of the show, when Franchelle “Frenchie” Davis was disqualified from the show for appearing topless in photos on the Internet. Scandalous!
The show has been quite quiet about the Barba brouhaha as well as Barba herself, but Davis had a few things to say.
“I had stopped watching ‘American Idol’,” Davis admitted, “and I’ve tried to avoid even speaking about or thinking about what happened four years ago. But I couldn’t help but overhear what was happening with Antonella. I couldn’t help but notice the manner in which she was dealt with was the complete opposite of how I was dealt with.”
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top.
"It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program, click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net
The latest involves 20-year-old contestant Antonella Barba who has been the subject of much speculation after pictures surfaced on the Internet showing a woman, purportedly Barba, lying on her back covered in rose petals, posing in her underwear, sitting on a toilet and performing oral sex on a man.
And while such may have caused scandal in the past for the show, interestingly, the pornographic web photos are apparently of no concern this time around.
That’s right; Barba has not been released from the show. A spokesman for the Fox Network only had to say that the show does not comment on contestant’s personal lives and even infamous judge Simon Cowell only reprimanded Barba’s so-called friends for leaking the photos. Yet and still, Barba’s alleged photos are not really the scandal.
However, TV fans might recall four years ago, on season 2 of the show, when Franchelle “Frenchie” Davis was disqualified from the show for appearing topless in photos on the Internet. Scandalous!
The show has been quite quiet about the Barba brouhaha as well as Barba herself, but Davis had a few things to say.
“I had stopped watching ‘American Idol’,” Davis admitted, “and I’ve tried to avoid even speaking about or thinking about what happened four years ago. But I couldn’t help but overhear what was happening with Antonella. I couldn’t help but notice the manner in which she was dealt with was the complete opposite of how I was dealt with.”
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top.
"It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program, click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net
Friday, March 2, 2007
Coming To A Jail Near You!
Otis the town drunk in Andy of Mayberry would
have loved doing his time in southern California
jails. Yeah if one can afford to pay for it then you
might want to consider this route the next time you
do time. Low risk offenders get such amenities as
cell phones, laptops and contact visits. But is this
the way justice should be served up? Let me hear
your take on this plush way of doing time. Otis did
have one advantage these current inmates won't
have-access to the cell keys.
It is not the Mayberry jail, where justice is tempered with Southern hospitality, but for George Jaramillo it is the next best thing.The former Orange County assistant sheriff will rent a cramped cell at Fullerton City Jail to serve his one-year sentence for lying to a grand jury and unauthorized use of a county helicopter, police and district attorney officials said Thursday.Jaramillo, 46, has until April to begin serving his term at a private or municipal jail of his choice after pleading no contest in January to two felonies.
In return for his plea, the Orange County district attorney's office dropped nine other counts and agreed he would not have to serve his term in a county jail. He could have gotten 13 years in state prison if convicted of all charges.Instead, Jaramillo will pay his debt to society in a spartan cell 3 feet from the drunk tank. The tank has no shortage of noisy occupants on weekends, mostly drunks picked up in the city's trendy downtown area. One of his jail chores will include cleaning the drunk tank. Pay to stay can be summer camp compared with state prison. A criminal who can afford to pay for his jail stay enjoys privileges that make his punishment more bearable.For starters, Jaramillo may be able to bring his cellphone and a laptop computer.
A screenwriter who paid to do his brief sentence in Fullerton was able to finish his screenplay on his laptop, said jailer Efren Ragay. Jail officials said Jaramillo will have trusty status, as do all pay-to-stay inmates, and he will be allowed to roam outside the building but not off the unfenced grounds. They are not concerned about him walking away, because that would earn him a transfer to the type of lockup he is trying to avoid. While in custody, he will have to wear an orange smock with the letters "FPD" at all times.
Jaramillo will also be allowed family visits in a patio in front of the police station, where he can enjoy restaurant meals that visitors can bring him. Otherwise it is frozen dinners from the microwave. The cost to be the city's guest is $75 per day. Usually, the entire sum is payable in advance, but because of Jaramillo's longer sentence he will probably be able to pay in installments, said Lt. John Petropulos.
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top.
"It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program, click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
have loved doing his time in southern California
jails. Yeah if one can afford to pay for it then you
might want to consider this route the next time you
do time. Low risk offenders get such amenities as
cell phones, laptops and contact visits. But is this
the way justice should be served up? Let me hear
your take on this plush way of doing time. Otis did
have one advantage these current inmates won't
have-access to the cell keys.
It is not the Mayberry jail, where justice is tempered with Southern hospitality, but for George Jaramillo it is the next best thing.The former Orange County assistant sheriff will rent a cramped cell at Fullerton City Jail to serve his one-year sentence for lying to a grand jury and unauthorized use of a county helicopter, police and district attorney officials said Thursday.Jaramillo, 46, has until April to begin serving his term at a private or municipal jail of his choice after pleading no contest in January to two felonies.
In return for his plea, the Orange County district attorney's office dropped nine other counts and agreed he would not have to serve his term in a county jail. He could have gotten 13 years in state prison if convicted of all charges.Instead, Jaramillo will pay his debt to society in a spartan cell 3 feet from the drunk tank. The tank has no shortage of noisy occupants on weekends, mostly drunks picked up in the city's trendy downtown area. One of his jail chores will include cleaning the drunk tank. Pay to stay can be summer camp compared with state prison. A criminal who can afford to pay for his jail stay enjoys privileges that make his punishment more bearable.For starters, Jaramillo may be able to bring his cellphone and a laptop computer.
A screenwriter who paid to do his brief sentence in Fullerton was able to finish his screenplay on his laptop, said jailer Efren Ragay. Jail officials said Jaramillo will have trusty status, as do all pay-to-stay inmates, and he will be allowed to roam outside the building but not off the unfenced grounds. They are not concerned about him walking away, because that would earn him a transfer to the type of lockup he is trying to avoid. While in custody, he will have to wear an orange smock with the letters "FPD" at all times.
Jaramillo will also be allowed family visits in a patio in front of the police station, where he can enjoy restaurant meals that visitors can bring him. Otherwise it is frozen dinners from the microwave. The cost to be the city's guest is $75 per day. Usually, the entire sum is payable in advance, but because of Jaramillo's longer sentence he will probably be able to pay in installments, said Lt. John Petropulos.
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top.
"It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program, click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
Thursday, March 1, 2007
It's All About The Money!
Not having a million dollars in the bank as of yet,
I've decided to invest a few dollars weekly in the
California Lottery. And why not cause I'm doing
a civic duty helping out our schools and who knows
maybe the lottery gods will bless me. They have
showed me a little love in the past and I expect
some in the future. Now the lottery is losing
money so what do they do? They want to go out
and hire some high powered consultants to tell them
how to get profits back up. After all the years of running
a lottery you'd think they'd have it down by now.
The answer is quite simple, SHOW ME THE MONEY!
Do that and I'll show you more of mine, It's just that simple.
Check out the story and feel free to offer an opinon. Who
knows maybe we can collect some of those consultant fees.
After three years of record sales, the California Lottery has hit a slump, triggering introspection about how the 22-year-old agency does business.Lottery officials blame a lack of big jackpots in its Mega Millions and SuperLotto Plus games for forcing them to lower their projected revenues this year from $3.6 billion to $3.2 billion. By law, just over a third of lottery income goes to education. Last year, the lottery gave $1.29 billion to schools. This year, because of lower revenues, the lottery expects to give schools $1.13 billion, a loss of $160 million.
"We're seeing a definite trending down in sales," Lottery Director Joan Borucki told the Lottery Commission on Wednesday. Such a midyear correction has not occurred at the lottery in more than a decade. Concerned officials say they have hired marketing consultants to study their "brand image" and suggest improvements.They will examine the Saturday half-hour "Big Spin" television show to see whether it's worth keeping, and survey players and store owners about the games. Another point for review is whether higher payouts on games might boost sales.
When California joined the 11-state Mega Millions game two years ago, lottery officials hailed it as a giant-jackpot draw that would boost sales by half a billion dollars a year. On Wednesday, the Lottery Commission voted to downgrade its Mega Millions sales projections for this fiscal year from $560 million to $355 million. Sales are driven largely by prize size, and for the first half of this fiscal year Mega Millions jackpots were significantly below average. That's because players won smaller jackpots, and jackpots grow each time there is no winner.
The average Mega Millions jackpot in the last fiscal year was $83 million. So far this fiscal year, it is $50 million. However, officials are hoping the rest of the year brings big jackpots like the current $267 million. There could be a winner Friday.
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top.
"It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program, click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
I've decided to invest a few dollars weekly in the
California Lottery. And why not cause I'm doing
a civic duty helping out our schools and who knows
maybe the lottery gods will bless me. They have
showed me a little love in the past and I expect
some in the future. Now the lottery is losing
money so what do they do? They want to go out
and hire some high powered consultants to tell them
how to get profits back up. After all the years of running
a lottery you'd think they'd have it down by now.
The answer is quite simple, SHOW ME THE MONEY!
Do that and I'll show you more of mine, It's just that simple.
Check out the story and feel free to offer an opinon. Who
knows maybe we can collect some of those consultant fees.
After three years of record sales, the California Lottery has hit a slump, triggering introspection about how the 22-year-old agency does business.Lottery officials blame a lack of big jackpots in its Mega Millions and SuperLotto Plus games for forcing them to lower their projected revenues this year from $3.6 billion to $3.2 billion. By law, just over a third of lottery income goes to education. Last year, the lottery gave $1.29 billion to schools. This year, because of lower revenues, the lottery expects to give schools $1.13 billion, a loss of $160 million.
"We're seeing a definite trending down in sales," Lottery Director Joan Borucki told the Lottery Commission on Wednesday. Such a midyear correction has not occurred at the lottery in more than a decade. Concerned officials say they have hired marketing consultants to study their "brand image" and suggest improvements.They will examine the Saturday half-hour "Big Spin" television show to see whether it's worth keeping, and survey players and store owners about the games. Another point for review is whether higher payouts on games might boost sales.
When California joined the 11-state Mega Millions game two years ago, lottery officials hailed it as a giant-jackpot draw that would boost sales by half a billion dollars a year. On Wednesday, the Lottery Commission voted to downgrade its Mega Millions sales projections for this fiscal year from $560 million to $355 million. Sales are driven largely by prize size, and for the first half of this fiscal year Mega Millions jackpots were significantly below average. That's because players won smaller jackpots, and jackpots grow each time there is no winner.
The average Mega Millions jackpot in the last fiscal year was $83 million. So far this fiscal year, it is $50 million. However, officials are hoping the rest of the year brings big jackpots like the current $267 million. There could be a winner Friday.
This Article Continues Here:
Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top.
"It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program, click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/
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