DarkStar Spouts Off

Weak Handshake

I met my daughter's "beau" last week.

Yesterday, I was talking with her and I said, "Oh, and tell him the next time I meet him, he better not have a wimpy handshake again."

She laughed and text'd him. He didn't appreciate my comment.

My response?

"Tell him to get over it and get a better handshake."

Later, in the car, we had a conversation that continued along the lines of boys/young men raised without men around.

I won't go into that conversation because of too much personal bidness would get put out there, but it was interesting to have that conversation and to hear how much I said actually was heard.

Working On Monday, 5/1?

Provided with no further comment:

Some of the nation's largest meatpacking companies are planning to pare production or shut down entire plants Monday in part to accommodate workers' requests for time off to participate in pro-immigration reform rallies and demonstrations.

Greeley, Colo.-based Swift & Co. will shut down four of its five beef processing plants and two of its three pork processing plants, spokesman Sean McHugh said in a statement.

Tyson Foods, headquartered in Springdale, Ark., will close about a dozen beef and pork plants, the company said in a statement.

And Cargill Inc., based in Minneapolis, will shift production from Monday to Saturday at five beef plants, and shut down pork plants in Iowa and Illinois.

[ Update ]

I've decided to provide further commentary. But, as usual it is going to be short and sweet:

Here is a situation where you have businesses willing to shut down for their workers, who, I assume, are going to a rally to support illegal immigrants being provided the chance to become legal citizens.

I assume the people working are legal, but I know the I.R.S. and/or Social Security Administration could tell us more about that by giving aggregated information concerning Social Security numbers that don't match workers.

I don't recall businesses shutting down on the day of the Million Man March. Some people took off because they "didn't want to get caught in the traffic headaches." Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.

But companies shutting down?

These companies know the number of possible illegal immigrants they have working for them because they are notified about Social Security numbers that don't match the given names. That's why they are shutting down. They are using illegal immigrant labor.

Online Personality Test

You Should Get a PhD in Science (like chemistry, math, or engineering)

You're both smart and innovative when it comes to ideas. Maybe you'll find a cure for cancer - or develop the latest underground drug.

What Advanced Degree Should You Get?

Terrorism

What's happening in the Sudan.

A Keeper Of A Quote

Michelle Singletary wrote a keeper of a quote that applies to more than just money:

I'll confess. For years, I thought I had to school my family and friends on how to better handle their money. I frequently offered unsolicited financial advice.

And guess what? To my surprise, people resented my "I know I'm better at money matters than you are" attitude.

They were right to be offended.

Trust me, people who don't handle their money well are quite aware of this fact.

What has worked for me is to stop offering unsolicited advice. Wait to be asked. Then once you are, people can't (or shouldn't) complain that they don't like what they hear because they are the ones who invited you into their business.

When I read those paragraphs, I thought of AA.

An alcoholic doesn't go to AA based on the pleadings of other individuals. Wait...
An alcoholic doesn't go to AA, AND SUCCEED, based on the pleadings of other individuals. Instead, then go because they have hit their bottom and at that point, they are ready to SEEK help.

The point is, they recognize they have a problem and are ready to address the problem.

Think about that in the context of individuals, who are Black, who demonstrate "socio-economic" patterns of behavior that are destructive or not productive in the long term.

Think about how "those" Black individuals are being addressed in the public square.

Weed and Greed(?)

Weed

Ricky Williams will sit out another season. The NFL suspended the troubled Miami Dolphins running back for one year Tuesday after he violated the league's substance abuse policy for the fourth time.

You can't tell me weed ain't addictive. That fool proves it.

Greed?

An attorney representing Reggie Bush says that Bush had no knowledge of an agreement between his parents and San Diego businessman Michael Michaels, the man who owned a $750,000 home the Bush family lived in for the past year.

...

The family — Bush's mother Denise Griffin, stepfather LaMar Griffin and brother Jovan Griffin — moved out of the house after questions over its ownership arose. Reporters from several news organizations visited the house on Thursday.

"We have nothing to hide," Bush said on ESPN's NFL Draft special Monday. "When all is said and done … everyone will see we have done absolutely nothing wrong."

Bush added that his "parents leased a house like any other parent" and the Texans "should not be concerned at all. Nothing to be worried about."

There are rules that college atheletes on scholarship live by. These rules are clear. Let's see what comes out of this, but this provides an opportunity for me to spout off, so...

I was an athlete in college. I ran track, which isn't a revenue producing sport such as football and basketball. The resources athletes have available to them to get a degree are nothing short of amazing. I don't think the blather about college athletes being paid makes much sense when those athletes are being given the opportunity to get an education that could help them earn a decent living after college life and/or professional sports.

Black Unemployment

This is provided without comment:

Discrimination: The Root of the Black Job Crisis

...

But several years before the immigration combatants squared off, then-University of Wisconsin graduate researcher Devah Pager pointed the finger in another direction -- a direction that makes most employers squirm. That's the persistent and deep racial discrimination in the workplace. Pager found that black men without a criminal record are less likely to find a job than white men with criminal records

...

But in 2005, Pager, now a sociologist at Princeton, duplicated her study. She surveyed nearly 1,500 private employers in New York City. She used teams of black and white testers, standardized resumes, and she followed up their visits with telephone interviews with employers. These are the standard methods researchers use to test racial discrimination.

The results were exactly the same as in her earlier study. Black men with no criminal records were no more likely to find work than white men with criminal records. That's true despite the fact that New York has some of the nation's toughest laws against job discrimination.

...

In a comprehensive seven-month university study of the hiring practices of hundreds of Chicago-area employers (a few years before Pager's graduate study), many top company officials said they would not hire blacks. When asked to assess the work ethic of white, black and Latino employees by race, nearly forty percent of the employers ranked blacks dead last.

The employers routinely described blacks as "unskilled," "uneducated," "illiterate." "dishonest," "lacked initiative," "unmotivated," "involved with gangs and drugs," "did not understand work," "unstable," "lacked charm," "had no family values," and were "poor role models."

The consensus among these employers was that blacks brought their alleged pathologies to the work place, and were to be avoided at all costs. The researchers found that black business owners shared many of the same negative attitudes.

Hat tip to P6.

Money

I had an interesting thought about money today:

• For retirement, there are 401(K)s available. That's a government program that "allows" you to set aside "your" money, tax free, for retirement. But when the money is withdrawn, you will have to pay gains on the amount. The calculation for that amount for people who are young is going to be hard.
• For health care, you can have money set aside, tax free, that "allows" you to set the money  aside for medical purposes. What you don't use in the year, you lose. That's another government program.
• For kid's college education, you can have money put into a college savings account that "allows" you to place money into the account where the gains are tax free as long as the money is used towards college. That's another government program.
• For kid's, you can place money into an education account where the gains are tax free as long as the money is used for grade school educational purposes: private school tuition, tutors, etc; That's another government program.

It would be far easier if they just didn't tax capital gains and interest and let people do what they will with the money they earn.

Random Edness

Some random thoughts...

• When we recycle cans and glass containers, we wash them out. It appears to me, still, that we are wasting more water this way.
• When we place the cans and glass containers into the bins, we do so unsorted. The glass containers and cans are thrown into the recycle truck unsorted. What happens with the broken glass? Is that "recycled"? I'm starting to question what happens after the recycle materials are placed into the truck.
• Gas is going up. OK, after whining about it, now what? Politicians who claim they "are going to do something about it" are lying and you know it.
• I met my daughter's "beau." I was told he was nervous because he had never met a girl's father before. Either the girl didn't know her father or they were not on good terms. 'nuff said.
• Teena Marie is back again. Just on G.P. she has some of my money. Oooh weeee.
• I don't understand why anyone would want to watch a television show on their cell telephone.
• If you are strong in your faith, then "The DaVinci Code" is nothing to be upset about. If you ware weak in your faith, then "The DaVinci Code" is something to be upset about. If you are strong in your faith, but know those who are weak in their faith, then isn't it a part of your calling to help them get stronger? Peter denied Jesus 3 times.
• That VW Jetta ad. Whoa.

That VDub Ad

Whoa!

See the ad a YouTube if you don't know what I'm writing about.

Ain't This A ..............

Creating a meth prision for meth users?

OH, it can't be because meth users are majority white, can it?

April 24, 2006 issue - As the methamphetamine epidemic continues to ravage the country, some states are responding with a new innovation: "meth prisons" dedicated exclusively to inmates addicted to the drug. The Montana Department of Corrections just approved construction of two of them—an 80-inmate unit for men and a 40-inmate unit for women. Illinois, which already has a two-year-old drug prison that handles a variety of addictions, plans to open two meth-specific facilities by July 2007; each one will house 200 male inmates.

"Leaking" Classified Information

This is going to be terse and to the point: Mary McCarthy did not "leak" information to the press. Mary McCarty released classified information to a person who was not authorized to receive this, nor any, classified information. As such, she should be prosecuted, fined, and jailed. (She admitted to releasing the information).

Mary McCarthy signed paper work stating that intentionally releasing classified information to someone who is not authorized to receive the information, is against the law and is punishable with a fine and or imprisonment.

Recently, a former worker of the NSA was found to have had classified information at his house. He was arrested and is facing jail time for this offense.

DuBois Circle

Provided without comment:

Where civility, history and black culture meet

The ladies wore gloves and hats, the tables were set with the good china and the white lilies filled the front hall with the scents of spring.

Nannette K. Mitchell, the hostess, had misplaced the silverware she uses for entertaining, so she reluctantly rented stainless steel flatware and served creamed chicken in pastry shells, rice, string beans, peas, baked chicken, molded ice cream and iced tea with lemon slices. Someone recited a poem, another woman played "Climb Every Mountain" on the grand piano and everyone listened attentively to a speech about justice, murmuring politely at the most rousing parts.

It was this month's meeting of the Du Bois Circle, an African-American women's club established in Baltimore before the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was created, before women could vote and decades before the civil rights movement. Members of the club, which is celebrating its centennial anniversary this year, think it might be the oldest such group in the country.

The spring finery, the menu and some other period flourishes were planned as a nod to the circle's history, but even on ordinary occasions, the club is a throwback to a bygone era. Here -- where Mitchell half-seriously claims the average age is 79 (she is 59) -- honorifics are typically employed and Wedgwood china, volunteer work, manners and morality are held in high regard. Differences of opinion, if they exist, are shooed aside in favor of respectful discourse.

"It's learning that we want, not arguing," said Betty Williams, the straight-backed, white-haired octogenarian who wore a hat festooned with pink flowers and animatedly recited Andrea Paul Razafkeriefo's poem "The Negro Woman."

More at the link provided.

Commenting On Comments

Some quick comments.

Independence:

In "I'll Be Working 2 or 3 Political Campaigns This Year" I wrote:

For the record, I am an independent.

Duane wrote this post, maybe in response, maybe not. In the comment section, this is how I responded:

I don’t know what my leaning is:

I believe in the right to own a gun, but I think gun registration is a good idea.

I believe in family and that stable and “good” families are the core of great and productive societies. But I don’t label that belief as conservative or liberal.

I believe in the rule of law, but I think the law should be applied equally and fairly. I don’t like mandatory minimums but if they are in place, instead of trying to get rid of them, get people to abide by the law. (I’m thinking about drug slinging).

I think government is too much a part of our lives, directly and indirectly. For example, there is no good reason for the existence of the SBA if you believe in “survival of the fitest.”

I believe in capitalism as it is practiced in the U.S., but the U.S. version of capitalism is actually regulated, ie, restrained capitalism.

I think education is the true and surest way of getting the foundation that is needed to build a “comfortable” life.

Strike that, make it the 2nd, the first is faith.

But neither education nor faith are conservative or liberal values.

All of that to say, I have no idea how to classify myself and I don’t. I just find it interesting how people do apply a label towards me. The most interesting is some have called me liberal, others have said conservative.

At the end of the day, people are still people.

True, but I would like that to be at the start of the day and during the “political” conversations, especially for Blacks.

When I tutored in D.C., someone told me there were people from the NAACP and Urban League involved. But I didn’t know who they were. We were all just people.

Education and Responsibility:

A commenter, Mark Bey, has been providing his thoughts about education, personal responsibility, and what individuals in the Black community are not doing.

With the mess that is going on in Baltimore, I don't want to down play or ignore the responsibility of the parents in the situation. For the few people that I know who are parents of kids in the Baltimore Public School System, they are doing what should be done to make sure their kids are successful in the system. For them, I may have some influence if I were to suggest tactics on getting their kids to improve in school, but they appear to be doing what is required. That's why I wrote that there is not a critical mass of parents in Baltimore who give a damn. Some do, but not enough.

What I can do is try to affect the politicians. I'm going to try to do that by working campaigns against the politicians who voted to keep the kids in those failing schools.

Black Politician, Immigration, and Representation:

I heard Elijah Cummings on WEAA today discussing immigration.

He said when the CBC and Hispanic Caucus drew up their concerns about their respective communities, all of the interests aligned except for immigration. Immigration wasn't a concern of the CBC while it is a major concern of the Hispanic Caucus. Based on that, Cummings said after discussions and thinking, he thought that making the illegal immigrants, legal, wouldn't harm employment of Blacks.

He said many illegal immigrants are working for sub-scale or sub-minimum wage. He thought once they become legal, the wages would rise to scale or at or above minimum wage and that wouldn't hurt Black Americans.

To that I say: Cummings is on crack. What part of ILLEGAL doesn't he understand?
What part of rewarding illegal behavior doesn't he understand?
What part of Black unemployment being 2 times that of whites doesn't he understand? If that number is with illegal immigration, what makes him think it will improve if they are made legal?
Two words come to mind, with the initials of significant other.

Black Conservative vs. Black Liberal Nonsense:

Cobb is on a mission to bust some myths about Black conservatives.

One of his tactics is to generate a list of 100 Black conservatives to use against those who want to generalize about Black conservatives. That's fine as far as I'm concerned. When he's done, I'll make sure I tag him on the generalizations about Black liberals, if he goes that route.

Since I was one of the "rock throwers" Cobb mentioned, but didn't name, I want to state this here:

I'm all for the so-called "debate" between the "Black left" and the "Black right." Now, I think that it is nothing but a big waste of time that masks work Blacks can do and/or are doing, and masks ideas developed and/or being developed. I just don't think "we" can afford to be involved in it. But, in it I am.

Present ideas, I'll agree with some, disagree with some, come up with alternatives or just think things through. What irks me most are the sound bite lines that malign and degrade the average Black person.

One example is the line that "Blacks are sitting around waiting for a hand out." Let's do a quick debunking of that b.s.

About 2/3rds of the Black population is middle class or above according to statistics. This is a number that conservatives seem to use as well. Another 15% of the Black population is working class but not in poverty. That leaves roughly 20% of the population that is at or below the poverty level.

If you make an assumption that those who are not in poverty are productive citizens, then exactly what handouts are those productive citizens waiting on?

OH, it's said that affirmative action is a handout. There's a big problem with that statement:

1. For students who attend college, they have to have the grades.
2. For people in the work place, they still have to perform their duties.

I've been reading conservative commentary and listening to conservative radio for a very long time. My thoughts on public conservatives, Black or white, don't come from "lies the liberals tell" but from what I've read, heard, interactions, and observed.

Here's one thing that public Black conservatives and public Black liberals have in common: they both present the Black community in a bad light, rarely, if ever, presenting the positive things going on in the Black community.

Public Black liberals would have you believing that most Blacks are poor, beat down, and unable to succeed because of racism. Public Black conservatives would have you believing that most Blacks are lazy, looking for handouts, and not progressing because Blacks are "lead" by liberal "Black leaders" and white liberals.

This is much longer than I wanted this to be and I have things to do. So, that's it for now.

I'll Be Working 2 or 3 Political Campaigns This Year

This will be the first time, ever, that I will volunteer for a campaign.

I asked my 2 state representatives and state senator how they voted.

The Republican state sentator voted to override the veto. So he voted for keeping Black kids in schools that has failed for at least 9 years.

Only one state representative has replied. A Democrat, she voted to override the veto. This means she voted for keeping Black kids in schools that have failed for at least 9 years.

How I'm going to work 2, probably 3 campaigns at one time, I don't know. But I will do it.

Here is the boiler plate response I've sent to those who voted to override the veto.

Thank you for your reply.

Because of your vote, I will work to have you defeated when you are up for re-election.

There is no reason why students should be stuck in a school that hasn't performed for the past 9 years. Lemmel was bad then and it is worse now.

To me, this is the same as George Wallace standing in the doorway of the school to defend school segregation.

If you don't know or remember what has me so steamed, follow this link about Maryland taking over "under performing" schools in Baltimore.

For the record, I am an independent.

[ Update ]

It looks like all 3 voted the same way.
How I'm going to help 3 campaigns at one time...

Class vs. Race

Please, read the entire article by Greg Kane.

High School Graduation gap More than Racial

The study's authors have come up with statistics that leave you pondering whether boys are slackers or whether girls have simply picked up the education ball and run with it, yelling "Goodbye fools!" to the boys.

White females had the highest graduation rate nationwide for the school year that ended in 2003, at 79 percent, according to the study. White males had the second highest rate of graduation at 74 percent, followed by Asian females at 73 percent and Asian males at 70 percent. Overall for 2003, the graduation rate was 72 percent for girls and 65 percent for boys.

Hispanic females led their male counterparts by 58 percent to 49 percent. Black females had a 59 percent graduation rate and black males had the lowest rate: 48 percent, the study shows.

...

Baltimore ranked 91st with an overall graduation rate of 48 percent in 2003. According to the study, black females in Baltimore graduated at a rate higher than white females, at 58 percent to 43 percent. And for all the talk about how black males don't finish high school in Baltimore, the study says both black males and white males had a 39 percent graduation rate in 2003.

Well, it's nice to know we're underserving all races equally.

...

But "Leaving Boys Behind" reveals that Howard County, one of the nation's most affluent counties, had the country's highest graduation rate for black males in 2003: 72 percent. (The mdreport card.org figure is 86 percent.) Doesn't that indicate that the problem with graduation rates, academic achievement and drop-out rates is as much about class as race?

Please read the entire article.

Black Business

Some information concerning Black owned businesses from the Census:

Black-owned businesses are among the fastest-growing segments of the American economy, the government said today.

The number of black-owned businesses grew by 45 percent from 1997 to 2002, more than four times the national rate for all businesses, according to a report by the Census Bureau.

Revenues from black-owned businesses increased by 25 percent during the period, to about $89 billion.

However, nearly all black-owned businesses are small -- 92 percent had no employees other than the owners. By comparison, about three-fourths of all U.S. businesses had no employees.

"We do have challenges, [but] we are making progress," said Ronald Langston, director of the Commerce Department's Minority Business Development Agency. "This is the real challenge: to move these smaller businesses into the next step of growth."

The report is the third in a series of Census Bureau reports on businesses owned by women, Hispanics and blacks. Together, the reports show that the three groups are underrepresented in business ownership but are narrowing the gap with white men.

...

The largest sector for black-owned businesses was health care and social assistance, with 246,000 back-owned firms. The second largest was other services, such as personal services, repair and maintenance, with 210,000 firms.

Black-Owned Firms, 2002

Thinking For Yourself

Cobb made me think so I generated some of this in the comment section of this blog entry about "Republican While Black."

Everyone has the basic human right to think how they want to think.

When people get on a "groups" case about thinking "outside" the group, they have a right to respond. But, when they are hypocritical about their response, then it's right to call them out. Being called "sell out" for being a member of one party is wrong. Responding by calling people "slaves on the plantation" is just as wrong.

Being a member of a party, no matter what party or why, automatically casts doubts that the person is an "independent thinker." True "independent thinkers" don't like to be considered to be a member of a group. Not only that, but true "independent thinkers," eventually, makes everyone mad because, over time, they probably disagree with everyone on something.

Think about it: a political party is kept together by similar beliefs about something or some things. By definition, if you are a member of a political party, you are not an independent thinker. So, when someone calls a "Black conservative/Republican" an "independent thinker," they are either deluded or trying to fool you.

Thinking the way "you do" is not the issue, it's the party to which you are a member that is the issue. It's not different thought, it's different party.

Cobb closes his piece up with this:

More specifically, I stand with the Republican party for my own reasons, reasons I happen to believe are objectively superior reasons, and we are headed in the same direction. You can say what you like about every other Republican, living or dead. You can call me delusional because of what you interpret must be my rationale. But I am very clear about which direction I am headed, and I am convinced that it is the correct and proper direction.

I have no problem with that, but I'm not all Black folk. But, since I like to flip the script, for those Blacks who stand with the Democratic party for their own reasons, I'll trust that those people's reasons are given due respect.

Greg Kane Writes

Gregory Kane is a Black conservative who writes opinion articles for the Baltimore Sun.

I like Greg Kane because, over time, you will find he is consistent and principled. From a current article in The Sun he writes:

The investigation into the alleged rape is continuing. No one has been charged. Not one Duke player has had to cool his heels in Durham's city jail while awaiting a bail hearing. That's a better deal than three young men got in an incident at Mount Hebron High School in Howard County two years ago.

A review of that case may prove instructive. Three Mount Hebron boys, ages 18, 16 and 15 at the time, were charged with rape. A girl said one of them held her wrists, another watched at a restroom door and the third forced himself on her sexually. The three were charged as adults and denied bail.

The girl's story soon unraveled. She later admitted the sex was consensual. The girl was white. The three boys she accused were black. That's a complete flip-flop of the situation in Durham.

But he follows up with this gem:

A more appropriate one might be why a lacrosse team of 46 white players and one black one ended up with two black strippers dancing at a party. I don't know much about Durham, having only driven through there twice on trips to Atlanta. But I'm sure there are white strippers in the town.

These guys chose two black women. But before black folks start talking about how, at the very least, Duke lacrosse players obviously don't hold black women in very high esteem, we'd better ask ourselves where they got that notion. Could it have been from those black rap artists who feature black "exotic dancers" in their videos doing the same thing those two black women in Durham were probably doing at the lacrosse team's party?

Respect for black women should start at home. Before we get angry at Duke lacrosse players who may only be guilty of excessive boozing and ogling, we should call into account Jay-Z and Ludacris and 50 Cent and fill-in-name-of-black-male-rapper-here for how black women are portrayed in their videos.

Now, that's lovely!!!!
No one comes away unscathed from the wrath of his computer keys.

Lately, Kane has been writing about the over aggressive, and probably illegal, tactics being used by the Baltimore City Police Department. Here is an example:

I've said it at least twice before. It merits saying again: Baltimore's police department has a cup that overfloweth with arrogance. Cops don't sign and return warrants because they feel they're not accountable to anyone but the commissioner and the department's unofficial micro-manager, O'Malley.
...

I have a copy of Howard's statement of charges from the District Court for the night he was arrested. The arresting officer was Jemini Jones. Isn't he the Southwest District officer now accused of raping a suspect? Well, as I live and breathe.

It's no surprise that at least one Circuit Court judge is wondering why many Baltimoreans don't trust cops. When will our mayor and police commissioner - or, more appropriately, police commissioner number one and police commissioner number two - start wondering?

Lovely.

Sunday Talking Head Show Thoughts

• If Republicans control both halves of congress, how can Democrats block any measure that Republicans really want passed? How can Sen. Reid block a bill from being brought to the floor?
• Yes, only 5 retired general, out of hundreds(?), are speaking out against Rumsfield. And, yes, some have a grudge and it can be said they are whining because they felt their words weren't taken seriously. But, even with all that, given the protocol drummed into military members, 5 military men, at their level, speaking out against the civilian command, is serious.

Given the situation our men and women of the military are currently in, these men speaking out, now, cannot be simply dismissed.

• I still can't figure out why I watch the dang shows.

[ Update ]

After reading what I wrote, I have to write this: I think the generals are hurting our men and women who are fighting in Iraq. It may give our foes over there more resolve to dig in and fight. That translates to more of our men and women getting injured or killed.

If You Are Tired Of The Negative

If you are tired of the negative and want more balance, spend "dinner for 2" money and get a subscription to Black Enterprise.

From The Comment Section

In the comments of one of my rants about Baltimore schools, Mark Bey made some comments that made be "go positive" in response to what I saw as the comments being "too negative".

I could tell you what 3 "small" churches in Baltimore are doing [ to address education ], but instead, I'll point out the "megga churches" in the area:

Empowerment Temple Acadamy:

Bethel AME
Bethel Christian School - 505 W. Lanvale Street - Baltimore, MD 21217- (410) 523-4204

Daniel Payne Scholarship Committee

Freedom Now (Substance Abuse Ministry)
From the Heart (Cancer Ministry)

Bethel Information Technology Ministry

Saturday School

Mount Pleasant:
Mount Pleasant Education Ministry
Mount Pleasant MOPS Ministry

New Shilo Baptist Village (Votech center)

Mount Olive (check the calendar of events)

Here are some [ Black parents ] in Baltimore who are [ doing something right with there kids ]:

Baltmore City College (High School)

Baltimore Polytechnic Institute (High school)

Western High School:

All majority Black. These happen to be schools in the top 10 of the state.

Now What?

I've been sitting on this one for awhile. Now is the time to put it out there.

When the "Million Man March" was done, I wondered "What happens now?" Will the men go home and go on living the lives they lived or will they "do something"?

About 1 year later I asked that question on the 'net some where and received responses that documented the increase in volunteer work by Black men. A few years later, I think I remember seeing an article that showed that increase sustained itself.

I asked the same question after "The Black Covenant". I wrote that I expected nothing to really come of it but time will tell.

Now, Coz is sounding off again, and I wonder, "Now what?"

Correct me if I'm wrong, but those who are going to hear him speak, are they the ones who DON'T need to hear it?

In Baltimore, I was told that people who "needed to hear it" were taken to hear it. But if they have people who would take them to hear what Cosby had to say, didn't need Cosby in the first place; they already have someone.

Maybe I'm reading this wrong, but I find it interesting that conservatives who tell Blacks to put away the groupism, have no problem in individual Blacks taking on group responsibility for individual actions.

"Black leaders" have received some grief, rightly, for talking but not doing anything. How is Cosby different?

Here's my point: there are plenty of individuals and groups doing things to address problems in the Black community, but if it's not done by the media appointed "Black leaders," the work and deeds of these people are mostly ignored.

From what I was told, the work of people in Baltimore wasn't highlighted by Cosby. So, what's the point? "Now what?"

Anyone who says that "we" speak these things "in private" but not in the open and they state that's bad, I respond by asking them to define what "in private" means?

If these individuals and groups are working to better things, then so what if it is happening under the radar?

And I will ask again, why aren't "they" show casing those people and groups who are working to better things?

Put Up or Shut Up

Jeese Jackson, Sr. is offering to pay the tuition of the stripper who alleges she was raped by members of the Duke lacrosse team.

If, indeed, she is stripping to pay her way though college, this is a good move by Jackson to provide a good reason for her to leave that life behind.

In other words, "There is a claim you are doing this to pay your way through college. College is paid for. Now what?"

"Put up or shut up!"

Heh.
So to speak.

Tithing, Prosperity Ministers

The Washington Post has an article on Blacks and tithing. This is an interesting read, in general, and gives glancing coverage to the issue of "prosperity preaching."

LaVonne and Bernard Snowden have three children in private school, two flourishing careers and an elegant house in Mitchellville. As thanks for those blessings, the Snowdens say, they give 10 percent of everything they make to their church.

Carla Brooks, a Howard University graduate student, doesn't bring in much except her financial aid and what she earns working part time. Even so, she puts 10 percent of her money in an envelope marked "tithes."

"Anything that I get, I tithe," Brooks said. "It's not a hardship at all. It's like when anyone else gets their check. They see what they have, they pay their bills and live on what is left. I tithe, and I live off the rest."

Tithing, an ancient practice described in the Bible, is particularly strong in African American communities, where it is reinforced by centuries of family tradition. That has helped propel Prince George's into the top five counties in the nation for charitable giving, as documented by a Chronicle of Philanthropy study based on donations as a percentage of income.

A Washington Post analysis using the same data found that 14 of the top 20 Zip codes for per capita giving in the region were in Prince George's.

Across the spectrum of faiths, religious institutions draw much of the nation's charitable money, accounting for three out of every four dollars given, the chronicle's study of 2002 IRS data found. In African American communities, the figure is closer to nine out of every 10 dollars.

...

"What we are seeing is more giving, but I wouldn't attribute it only to people adhering to the principle of tithing," said the Rev. Bucas Sterling, pastor of Kettering Baptist Church in Upper Marlboro. "There is also an increase in what is called 'prosperity ministry,' the approach that says the intention of God is for all of his children to be financially well off. Materialism is being promoted, in a way. The whole idea is that God wants them to have money."

"The hook that this ministry is promoting is that you must give a lot to receive a lot. You put money in, you get money out. Almost like an investment, whereas the principle of tithing is that you should give to be obedient to God."

The issue of prosperity preaching is one that is in serious debate in the Christian church, as well as it should be. I have to admit that it makes me uncomfortable because the idea of Rev. Ike pops into my mind.

And, as "fate" would have it, today I received the May 2006 edition of Black Enterprise and guess who is on the cover? Pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell, Bishop T. D. Jakes, and Bishop Eddie L. Long.

I haven't read that article yet, but I have read a good portion of this edition. As always, it's a good read.