DarkStar Spouts Off

Castrate Him NOW!!!!!

DAMN!!!!!!
CASTRATE HIM NOW!!!!!

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Denver Broncos running back Travis Henry's child support judgments might expose him to catcalls across the league this season, but they don't put him in line for disciplinary action by the NFL.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported over the weekend that court documents in a Georgia child support case show Henry, 28, has fathered nine children by nine women in four southern states and has been ordered to pay child support for seven of them.

He also had to borrow money from his former team, the Tennessee Titans, to fulfill one of those judgments, according to court records.

The revelations came in a case in which a judge in DeKalb County, Ga., last week ordered Henry to provide $3,000 a month and fund a $250,000 trust by the spring for a boy he fathered out of wedlock three years ago with Jameshia Beacham, now 29.

 

NINE!!!!!

Serena Williams

Is Serena in shape?

No FHA Bailout!

The FHA should not be used to allow people who's mortgages are resetting to get out of financial trouble because of the poor planning and or "keeping up with the Joneses" mentality of mortgage borrowers and because of the bad business practices of lending companies.

This means lending companies and the companies that buy packaged mortgages have less reason to practice sound lending standards because Big Daddy Government will bail them out yet again.

Open Letter To Maryland County Executives

The following letter has been sent to all Maryland county executives, Governor Martin O'Malley, and State Superintendent of Schools, Nancy S. Grasmick.

Dear County Executive,
As we start the new school year I would like for you to consider where the students who attend your school system REALLY live. Do they really live within your county or are they really living in another jurisdiction and attending your school system because it is perceived to be better than the school system they should attend?

For example, there are many Baltimore city parents who lie about where they live so that their children can attend better school systems in Baltimore County, Howard County, or Anne Arundel County. In the past I’ve read the Baltimore and Howard County school systems pay people to verify the addresses of students who are suspected of living outside of their jurisdictions. If they find a student does not live in the county, the student is removed from the school system. While this is fair for the counties to do, I would like to propose a “solution” to the situation that doesn’t involve removing the student from the school and allowing the student the chance to obtain a decent education.

Baltimore City has a few schools that rank near the top in the state; Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, Baltimore City College, Western High School, and the Baltimore School of the Arts High School are the schools. Each of these schools also has students from outside of Baltimore City who attend the school. Parents whose children meet the entrance criteria and who are accepted, and who live outside of Baltimore City, pay to attend the schools. My proposal would be to apply this same concept across the state of Maryland.

If parents live in one jurisdiction and want to send their children to school in another jurisdiction, they could pay for the privilege to do so. The amount paid would be cost per student of the jurisdiction to which they want to send their children. However, students who live in the jurisdiction would get priority. If there is room left in the school, then the out of jurisdiction students would be allowed to attend on a first come first serve basis or a lottery basis. Another payment option would be to “transfer” the money from one jurisdiction to another jurisdiction. For example, suppose the Anne Arundel system costs $5000 per student while the Howard County system costs $6000 per student. If there is space available in a Howard County school, the Anne Arundel County school system would “transfer” $5000 to the Howard County school system. The parent would make up the $1000 difference. If a Baltimore City parent wanted to send their child to a Howard County school, and it costs $9000 per student in Baltimore City, Baltimore City would “transfer” $5000 to Howard County. Baltimore City would keep the $4000 difference.

This solution should be amenable to those who advocate “school choice” and to those who advocate the current scheme of public schools. Additionally, since in jurisdiction students get preference over out of jurisdiction students and space has to be available, in jurisdiction parents shouldn’t fear school over crowding.

Thank you for seriously considering my ideas

Two Years Later...

Two years after Katrina and I have mixed thoughts.

A lot of money was looted and misspent by the government at all levels and by some charities. Insurance companies declined paying customer's claims when they knew the claims should have been honored.

Contractors are booked and people are waiting a long time to get work done. If people get a contractor, some are running off with the money if they start the job or after they start the job.

Now crime out of control in New Orleans. People who are fortunate enough to have the money to get their homes repaired, are victim to criminals who steal the appliances and wiring. They steal the wiring for copper.

The government is doing a poor job at rebuilding the infrastructure that is needed.

But, people have the responsibility to rebuild their homes and communities and make a life for themselves, there. If not, they must leave.

You Can't Tell Me Nuthin', Epilogue

A repost from Vision Circle.

Other than mental masturbation, what was my trip down memory lane all about?

Let's try multiple viewpoints from the same situation shall we?

In the grade school years, I noted actions taken by my family and teachers to help me in my education. I also noted hurdles faced during that time. I tend to like to point out the "positives" of things but I'm also a realist, so I feel compelled to point out the "challenges" of things.

Critics says that Black students don't take advanced classes in grade school and the numbers back them up. However, you can't take what isn't available.

Is it "liberal" to point out that I faced "acting white" charges, not in general, but only from a few who weren't doing well? Is it "liberal" to point out my "advanced" high school had the challenging classes but the "general" high schools didn't? Is it liberal to point out when Jesse Jackson said something right?

Is it "conservative" to point out the family intervention on my behalf? Is it "conservative" to point out the teacher intervention on my behalf?

In the college years, I noted who went to college, who didn't, and who didn't stay. I pointed out things that happened during my four year stay at the college I attended.

Is it liberal to point out that some people dropped out of college because of money or because of disinterest? Is it liberal to point out, because of this background knowledge, more information than just "drop out rate" is needed to determine if affirmative action is the reason why students drop out?

Is it liberal or conservative to point out what I had to go through just to take regular classes my first semester? Is it liberal or conservative to point out that I was the only Black person to graduate with a computer science degree? Is it liberal or conservative to note that whites and Blacks dropped out?

Is it liberal or conservative to note the differences in fighting "the war on drugs"?

Is it liberal or conservative to point out problems with the Honor System?

Is it liberal or conservative to point out that a school that graduates Black students at about the same rate as white students is targeted by Linda Chavez as being discriminatory to white students?

Is it liberal or conservative to point out that, despite the problems, I got through in "normal" time?

In the running the street years, I pointed out actions by citizens and inaction by the police. Is that conservative or liberal?

Is it liberal or conservative to point out that the general images of welfare don't always match the reality? Is it liberal or conservative to point out that there are Black students who do want to do well in school? Is it liberal or conservative to point out "Black civil rights groups" as well as other groups who helped tutor kids?

In the parent years, is it liberal or conservative to point out actions taken for the benefit of my child? Is it liberal or conservative to point out that as a parent, I tried to do what was best for my child? Is it liberal or conservative to point out that other parents made sacrifices for their children?

Is it liberal or conservative to point out a high performing majority Black high school, sending most of the kids to higher education, still being short on books and getting cuts in funding?

Or, is it just plain silly and stupid to assign a political label to a person because they may argue "one way" on a topic?

I said before and I'll keep saying, Blacks can't afford to get caught up in this "conservative" vs. "liberal" nonsense.

It's crap.

Both sides stink. Both sides are too damned self absorbed.

Again, a pox on both camps.

You Can't Tell Me Nuthin', The Parent Years

A repost from Vision Circle.

My kid was born and life did a major flip.

I had a chance to work a few years in Spain and turned it down because I didn't want to miss her growing up. Same for a chance to work in England for 3 years. The same for a chance to lead a team of Indian software programmers, in India, before the software outsourcing really became an issue.

But I'm skipping ahead.

She was born. Within a few days, I set up to have money taken out of my paycheck to purchase U.S. Savings Bonds. From my upbringing, that was the smart thing to do.

Years later, I learned about mutual funds from a co-worker. After doing my homework, I decided to invest money for college into a mutual fund. The company even had a plan that would keep the funds in a small-cap, large-cap blend until I stated and then would start to transfer the money into a money market account.

SWEET!!!!!!!

[ As an aside, later, a family member who I looked up to, mentioned mutual funds in passing. "Mutual funds! Can't beat 'em! Been doing it for awhile now!"

He told me, then! Not before... Anyway...]

I told my friends with children the things I was doing to save money. Hopefully, hey are doing what they can. I know in one case, they didn't. But the parents can be trifling.

When it was time for her to attend school, she went to a private school. After 2 years, she was placed into another private school. She had a well earned reputation for talking too much. But a teacher suggested that she be put on Ritalin and that was enough.

She couldn't handle the class, in general, and she wanted more than just one kid put on that crap.

My daughter stayed in the second school through the 8th grade. During that time, I meet many Black parents, some single, who made sacrifices to send their children there. Some parents had no problem affording the school. One set of parents won private voucher money and was able to send both of their kids to the private school.

Before, they wanted to send both kids to school, but even with the father working 2 jobs, they couldn't afford to send both kids, so instead of making the hard choice, neither kid went to private school.

They did poorly in school and got into a lot of fights. Within 4 weeks at the private school, the daughters grades went up and the behavior improved. By the end of he first quarter, the boys behavior improved and his grades shot up. That's why I support vouchers.

Then came high school. We visited many private high schools, but my daughter wanted to attend a "academic magnet" public school. The school had 90% of its graduates continuing their education. Of the 90%, 95% attended 4 year accredited schools or military academies. This is a school that has a graduation rate of 97.5% for Black students. The attendance rate for Black students is 94%. The dropout rate is 0.9% for Black students.

I let her talk me into it, but I believe it was a mistake. She got a decent education. She took AP and IB courses. She encouraged other students and they encouraged her.

But the first day of school, she told me that I should show up to support the school because they wanted to cut the school budget and give the money to other schools. Why? Because the school performed well on the state assessment tests. She also didn't have an English book her first year because there were not enough books to go around.

The second year, on the first day of school she told me that the students are being asked to bring reams of copy paper to school because the school doesn't have enough. She also didn't have enough English books.

The third year, on the first day of school, again, not enough English books. The class size was increased. Plus there is talk of the school losing more money.

The fourth year, we battled the school board because they wanted the academic magnet schools to retain students who had not performed well in school. When that happened, the students were "sent back" to their zoned school.

We went to the school board meeting where the zone school representatives made speeches saying that the money for kids "sent back" does not come with them, so there is a strain on resources. The representatives of the academic magnet schools said it is unfair to keep failing students in the schools when the zone schools could do a better job educating them and getting them back on the track to graduate.

Then, the students who were "sent back" came up to speak. Wouldn't you know it, each student said they did well in middle school, went to the magnet schools and didn't do well because they didn't do the work required to do well.

My daughter was told that to get a C, you had to do about 2 hours of work a night. To get a B, you had to do about 3 hours of work a night. To get an A, you had to do about 4 hours of work a night.

She graduated with a 91.5 average. But her mother and I had to place our foot up her butt one quarter a year to keep her in line.

The U.S. savings bond money was used to purchase a very nice laptop. She has a partial scholarship at a HBCU. The money saved comes in handy.

She has friends who are in the military because they needed to get out of the city and they had no desire to go to college. She has friends in the military to "get money to go to college." She has friends in 4 year schools. She has friends in junior colleges.

I've asked and she's never been accused of acting white. She has been told that she's boug-hetto. (Bougie and ghetto).

She is still a work in progress.

You Can't Tell Me Nuthin', Running The Street

A repost from Vision Circle.

"Running the street" is what my family calls it when single men are living the single life. It's also what they call it when men are up to no good.

The area where I hung out, we called it "The Way". "The Way" came from "around the way". So, instead of "The Hood", we had "The Way". The group I hung out with was called "The Fellahs". That came about because we were walking up a friend's steps when his mother said, "Here come the fellahs!"

One day around The Way, I joined a group of people boarding up an abandoned house that was being used for doing drugs, having sex, and general hanging out when people are up to no good. A patrol cop drove by, stopped, parked and watched us as we boarded up the house.

The "inhabitants" later took down the boards and went back in. Some time later, an old woman who lived across the street from that house, was raped by people in that house. The woman hurt no one, was nice to every one, and seemed to have no enemies around The Way.

As word spread, a teenage girl came forward and said she had been raped in that house before.

People around The Way had complained about that house before, but the police and the city did nothing about it until after the rapes. They tore down the house.

A guy we used to hang out with became a policeman. He took his job very seriously. One day in court, he testified against a street level drug dealer. He left the court to be confronted by two fellow officers who proceeded to tell him to stop his activities or else. In the corner was a higher level drug dealer. To him, the confrontation said it all. He pulled his kids out of school that same day. He got his wife from her job. He put them on an airplane. He gave power of attorney to his brother to sell the house. He then resigned.

We didn't like what was happening to The Way. So, The Fellahs found out about job openings and we approached the dealers that we knew. They were saying there were no jobs out there. We gave them leads. One took the leads and found a job. The others continued the hustle.

They bragged a lot and claimed they were hard core. Then the Jamaicans came and told them that they would sell the dope provided by the Jamaicans, or they would be killed.

They sold the Jamaican dope. So much for being hard.

One of The Fellahs confronted them about it and said that he hoped they all got killed because they destroyed the neighborhood.

It's often asked why people in drug troubled neighborhoods don't call the cops. I can tell you that people do call the cops. In the instances I mentioned, the cops did nothing. Here's one from Baltimore that happened about a year ago. It's about The Dawson Family. And here is what a politician decided to "do" about it.

I was after the "affections" of a foine young woman who happened to live in the Murphy Projects. Early one morning, I was awakened by the slamming of the big metal doors of the building. I looked out of the window and saw women taking their kids to the baby sitters or women on their way to work. Interesting... According to Reagan, they were lazy.

One day I'm watching the local evening news and there is a live shot from a helicopter of a line wrapped around the block. It was people standing in line for new job openings at a major hotel that was scheduled to be opening soon. But I thought they were lazy.

Now I'm living in the D.C. suburbs, but I help tutor kids in D.C. We tutor them in a high school cafeteria. They arrive in "cheese buses." Not just on foot. Not just by car. They arrive in full sized yellow school BUSES. Not one small bus but multiple full size school buses.

The tutors were women from 100 Black Women, men from Concerned Black men, people from the D.C. Urban League, people from the D.C. NAACP, and others.

In my neighborhood, there was a housing slump. Some people couldn't sell their homes so they rented them. One neighbor rented the home to people who received section 8 vouchers. The husband beat the snot out of the wife on a regular basis, threw trash out on the front, and had police visit the house on a number of occasions. They got thrown out of the home. They were white.

Another family rented another house. They also received section 8 vouchers. They sat outside on the summer evenings, being very loud and rude. The home owners association put up signs saying sitting outside was not allowed. I lived in a town home community where the town homes shared a common entrance walkway. The chairs tended to be in the common entrance walkway. They got thrown out of the home. The signs came down. They were Black.

People tried to get the home owners association to restrict home owners from accepting section 8 vouchers. The language used by proponents was racially tinged.

Irony In The News

Warren Brown is a local Baltimore defense attorney who is one of the few "go to" local attorneys in the area. When my wife told me about this, all I could do is think irony.

A man who had just been shot drove a sport utility vehicle through a concrete wall and into the backyard pool of a well-known criminal defense attorney and died early yesterday in Northwest Baltimore, city police said.

...

The victim apparently lost consciousness as he sped away and crashed through a wall behind the Spanish-style home of Warren A. Brown in the 3000 block of N. Hilton St., according to police.

...

"This is unimaginable," said Brown, who has represented a number of high-profile clients over the years. "I feel almost protected from this type of thing. When it ends up in my pool, a dead body, it's reality smacking you in the face."

...

Brown noted that he has represented many people who have been charged with violent crimes, including murder.

"I deal with this from a distance," Brown said. "I feel like a referee on the field. I'm representing guys who commit acts such as the one that led to his death. But it never touched me."

I remember him running ads on the radio saying that people need to "stop the violence" because he is tired of seeing "bruthas" going through the system.

Anatomy of a mortgage scam

Jackson eventually stopped dancing to focus on her career as a loan officer, moving from one mortgage firm to another. In September 2004, she teamed with McCall, 46, to open Metropolitan. They advertised on gospel and R&B radio stations and other African American media outlets, promising to help homeowners with cash-flow and credit problems.

Veronica Savoy was two months behind in mortgage payments on her Waldorf home when she contacted Metropolitan in summer 2006.

She said the firm promised to keep her home from going into foreclosure and to get her a mortgage with a lower interest rate. She signed on. Now the deed is no longer in her name, and $100,000 in equity is gone, she said.

"I guess that's where the equity in my home went," Savoy said after hearing about Jackson's big day. "It went to her wedding."

...

Essentially, the company would enlist investors with strong credit as "straw buyers" who would take ownership of the houses. The original homeowners could live rent-free for a year and then buy back their homes at the end of the year.

But when the homes passed to the straw buyer, Metropolitan would borrow as much as possible against the value, effectively siphoning out the equity and increasing the cost of the house, according to the suit. The original owners were often unable to repurchase their property; some said they were unaware they were signing over their deeds.

...

By the end of summer 2006, Metropolitan had begun to lay off employees. It stopped airing ads. Duncan said he realized something was wrong when he returned to his office one October afternoon and found employees having a "shredding party." All the documents on his desk, he said, were missing.

The company shut down in December.

In May, Jackson and Fordham put their house on Glasgow Court, with its designer carpet and marble floors, on the market.

In early June, an "estate sale" sign went up: Beds, expensive lamps, jewelry, designer clothes, even a rack of fur coats were for sale, neighbors said.

Last month, the house went into foreclosure.

Again, irony.

Points on "Immigration"

Some points on integration:

• The murder of the New Jersey college students by people which included two illegal immigrations, is not about immigration, it is about law enforcement which includes the courts. Why is a person let out on bail when they have pending weapons and rape charges?
• In Maryland, a Spanish only public television channel started last week. "Unfortunately," the areas with the highest Spanish speaking populations will not be able to see the station with their cable service. It seems the cable provider for those areas, Comca$t, doesn't have space for the channel. It seems to me, that if people are in this country with the idea of integrating, then this channel is in direct conflict with that ideal.
• Cities, declared to be sanctuary cities by LAWmakers, makes no LEGAL sense at all. Illegal immigrants, by entering the country illegally or staying past their visa expiration dates, are by definition breaking the LAW. Next, LAWS have to be broken when falsified identification is obtained and used.
• One more time: Baltimore was made a sanctuary city during the O'Malley administration. Police are not allowed to ask about legal status and identification of immigrants. In Baltimore, if police stop and individual and ask for identification, and the person does not have identification with them, the police are arresting those individuals. Guess who is impacted most by the former? Guess who is impacted most by the latter?

Music To Grill By

Loose Ends:

• Cheap Talk

Trouble Funk:

• Drop the Bomb
• Trouble
• Pump Me Up
• Let's Get Small

Jesse Johnson:

• Can You Help Me
• Jungle Love

Amy Winehouse:

• Rehab

Maceo Parker:

• Basic Funk: 101
• Speed Reading
• Advanced Funk

Maroon 5:

• If I Never See Your Face Again
• Makes Me Wonder

Macy Gray:

• Shoo Bee Do
• What I Gotta Do
• Okay
• One For Me
• So What

Loose Ends:

• Don't You Ever (Try To Change Me)
• Look How Long
• Cheap Talk

Los Lonely Boys

• Memories
• Texican Style

Cameo

• Single Life
• Candy
• Talkin' Out The Side Of Your Neck

Robert Randolph And The Family Band

• Diane
• Ain't Nothing Wrong With That

The J.B.s

• Givin' Up Food for the Funk

Comments R Us: Miami "Cubans"

This thought was generated from a post by Baldilocks highlighting the hope that Castro is dead.

Miami "Cubans" need to get a life and stop waiting for the end of Castro's life. When Castro dies, there is no way they can "go back" and "get back" their land and property. The Cuban "Cubans" aren't going to roll over and let them take what is now theirs. Plus, just because Castro dies, it doesn't mean the leadership currently in place is going to let "the revolution" die.

The Miami "Cubans" need to:

1. Push for the end of the embargo.
2. Push for an all out capitalist push into Cuba.
3. Just sit back and wait until the Cubans get used to buying NEW cars, traveling directly from the U.S. to Cuba and back, and directly taking U.S. money in other endeavors besides the sex trade.
4. Waltz on his and buy back their land once capitalism causes the communism to crumble.

But that makes too much sense and Republicans don't want to lose the sure money the Miami "Cubans" generate.

Grillin' On A Saturday

This is what my Friday night and Saturday morning is about.

Doing it for some Black families of the Mocha Moms.

Comments R Us: A Reply To Black Informant

This is reply to Black Informant. The comment filtering won't let this one get through.

 

1. Again, you misread me.
2. Why did HE apologize on Smiley's show for HOW he said it?
3. I never denied he is being invited. In fact I pointed it out. See #5.
4. I keep saying, and I'll keep saying, JUST SAYING STOP IT DOESN'T WORK for the most part. IN FACT, you follow the same reasoning here, when you commented: In MANY 'Black churches' that I have either attended or been a member, sex was a topic that was limited to "it's wrong, don't do it." Apparently this message alone is not effective as I have seen plenty of cases where teens and adults regularly have sex outside of marriage. Someone at work could have just finished talking about how they did so-and-so the other night and.
5. Your constant bashing of him because “HOW” he saying it is not only just as fruitless, but downright elitist.

Elitist my ***! Again, you read ONE part of it and ignore the rest. Look what I wrote here. If stated accurately, the language is FAR MORE EFFECTIVE.

It is the people who are not typically online that need it. You gotta take it to them. And even after you do that, they still got to make the choice if they are going to use it. So at best, this is something you can point to when someone ask you “What are you doing about it?”

First, you're right and I admit that right out the box. Second, the same applies towards your efforts. Third, the intent is for people who are looking for something and don't know, at least it's there. Fourth, and most importantly: It is the people who are not typically online that need it. You gotta take it to them.. That is what I have been writing all of this time.

100 Black Men brought Cosby into D.C. to speak at UDC. They, and others, brought the people they are mentoring or want to mentor. But the best thing 100 Black Men are doing, they were doing before Cosby and after. They were going directly to the need, as is Concerned Black Men, 100 Black Women, Peaceniks, the Urban League, and others in D.C. and across the country.

Locally, I hear and read of people and groups asking Black people, especially men, to mentor and get involved. THAT is more effective than SHOUTING STOP IT!

the same things are said UNCHALLENGED and uninhibited in a comedy routine.

It's COMEDY... Like Jackie Mason and his Jewish jokes.

Lastly, again I ask, why did Cosby apologize for HOW HE STATED IT on the Tavis Smiley show?

You Can't Tell Me Nuthin', The College Years

A repost from Vision Circle.

Allow me to ramble for a bit.

Now I'm about to enter college.

Some of my friends went into the service, either enlisted or military acadamies. Some went directly into the work force. Most of them had no desire to go to college because, for them, it wasn't a good fit. Some went to college and dropped out because they realized it wasn't there thing. Some dropped out because of funding. In fact, one friend dropped out because it came down to him or his sister going to college, and he decided to give her the shot.

Now...

It's now my 3rd day of my first year in college when I get the list of classes I'm supposed to take. I compare my classes to other engineering students when I see that I'm taking pre-101 level classes. I go to my adviser to find out why I have such an easy load when I find out that because I'm from Baltimore, whose students have not done well historically at the school, I'm in a "transition program." Simply put, I'm in a program to ease my way into the college life.

If I had attended any public school in Maryland, I would have qualified to go in at the sophomore level. If I would have attended RIT or Virginia Tech, I would have qualified to go in at the sophomore level.

And now, this school wants me to go in at a "pre-college" level. My SAT score exceeded the average score by more than 100 points. My senior year of high school was, essentially, a freshman level of college work except for English. In fact, some students in the A course, took an English class on Saturdays for their entire junior year, so that they could graduate a year early!

After discussing things with my adviser, I was told that the only way out was to get the approval of the transition program head. She told me I had to do exceptionally well on a placement test that all transition students had to take.

I was paired with a Black room mate. I was one of the very few Black students who was paired with a Black room mate. It turned out that he was also a transition program student. I told him about the situation and he said I should just go with the program. But I wasn't about to spend an additional year at that school if I didn't have to do so. I was paying for my schooling and I worried about my funds.

He studied hard for the test. I didn't study. We took the test. I finished the test in under 1 hour. I was the first one to finish. The proctor, who was the transition program head, asked me how I did. I told her I got every question right. She laughed and said we'll see. I was wrong. I got a 98 out of 100. I was let out of the program and scrambled through the ADD/DROP process to get a full load.

At the end of my first year of college, I chose to major in computer science, as did many other students. By many, my guess was that it was greater than 30 students, with a fair number being Black students. By the end of the first semester of my second year, about half of the computer science majors switched majors. By the end of the second year, most had switched majors. That means, most white students and most Black students.

I recall one major computer science project in the 2nd semester of my second year. One woman cried because she couldn't get it right. One man kept cursing and banging on the table. Another man just looked, stood up, flicked off the computer terminal, smiled, said he quit, and walked out of the computer lab.

I was an engineer. I was an athlete. I graduated in four years. I was the only Black person to graduate with a computer science degree from the engineering school that year.

My first full weekend at the school, I found out which frats were known for having drug parties. All frats had keg parties so that was no big deal. By the end of the first year, I found out that the police raided the Black "townie" area on a regular basis for drug raids. Meanwhile, one particular white frat was known for marijuana, mushrooms, and speed. But it wasn't raided until the year after I left. It took 4 years, and federal funding, for them to go after college kids. In the end, some college kids did time, one who was well known and later had a pro football career, and a national frat lost a frat house with the frat being kicked off of campus.

There was a house on campus that housed the Black student union. Near that house was a college bus stop. "We" knew it as the BBS -- Black bus stop. One day, someone decided to spray paint "NIGGER" on the sidewalk of the BBS.

The school has an honor code system. Black students were being disproportionately charged with honor code violations and many believed that racism played a part. A Black professor stated that Black students should sit as far apart from each other as possible when taking tests. They should not look at each other during tests or look at someone else's direction during tests. Years later, one student was thrown out of school for an honor code violation. His parents sued the school over lack of due process. They won in court but by the time the case was one, the student had attended another school and graduated. He was vindicated and the school's honor system took a hit.

The school responded by re-evaluating the honor system and how it functions. The student run re-evaluation, one where white students dominated the process, suggested changes which made the system MORE unfair. For example, they suggested that those accused not be given the chance for defense! The school ignored the recommendations, and made other changes.

Close to 10 years after I graduated, I attended a cookout where I met the mother of a student at the school. She told me she was trying to keep her son in the school, even though he didn't like the school. She, like I, am Black. I then listed the reasons why he didn't like the school and she shook her head in agreement. Things had not changed.

Four years ago, I was in the process of selling my previous house. The realtor, who was Black, had a daughter at the same school. In talking, she said that the daughter liked the school, but there were issues that bothered her. I gave the reasons and the realtor said I was correct. It was the same list that I gave previously.

About 5 years after I graduated, the school complained about high schools not properly preparing students for college work. They decided that the high school of students who needed to take remedial courses, would pay the cost of the student's remedial classes. About 2 years later, the school said the cost of remedial classes were too high. They were no longer going to offer the classes. It would be up to junior colleges to fill the gap.

The school graduates Black students at a similar rate as white students. It also has the highest graduation rate of Black students in the country.

Yet, Linda Chavez says that the affirmative action program at the school is unfair because white students, more qualified than the Black students, are not let into the school.

See the mixed bag here?

You Can't Tell Me Nuthin', Grade School Years

A repost of something from Vision Circle.

My mother had a friend who was a grade school teacher. After talking with her friend, my mother and father brought me a blackboard, magnetic letters, and instruction books concerning reading, writing, and simple math. On the first day of school, I was placed into the class of students who were already reading and writing.

This was a private school. My mother was a nurse at a public hospital, my father was a policeman. Gasp! Government workers!

At the start of the second grade, because of a family situation change, I was now in a public school in Baltimore. I was considered "smart", most likely because I was ahead of my peers.

At another school, in the 5th grade, some people said I was "acting white." But I recognized, even as a kid, that the people saying it were the FEW who were not doing well in school, so I ignored it. With very little effort, my grades were fine.

In the 7th grade in junior high school, I was placed into the "fast track" section. It was in the 7th grade that I discovered girls were nice in a different way. ;-) By the 8th grade, I was still in the "fast track," still getting good grades, and still doing so with very little effort.

We played spades at lunch, tried to flurt with the girls, and took life for what it was. One day, I noticed Tank and Billy talking about going to Poly. I owe Tank and Billy a big thank you because they said I was "too stupid" to get into Poly. Well, I got in. We all applied for Poly's "advanced college prep" course. We all got in.

In high school, we were in the "higher section" of the A course 9th grade, which meant we had a high probablity of leaving the A course. I faced a Spanish teacher who, really, just chose me to make an example of. I faced a self-professed redneck pig farmer who threw me out of class for responding "yeah". I faced a counselor who insisted that I wasn't capable of doing the work and should "fall" to the B course, which was the college prep track. Billy and Tank dropped, but I refused.

We were already behind when we entered Poly. Some had already had algebra and geometry in jr. high. We had "pre-algebra."

To get up to speed, which took 1 1/2 years, my mother enlisted the aid of family members who were engineers. There was also the help of the counselor, who hated the "pig farmer" because he didn't like her son, who was Jewish. There was the help of 2 Black teachers, one in math the other in history. Mrs. Wade, the history teacher, had her son, a Naval Academy attendee, tutor me.

I caught up and, in my senior year, was taking advanced calculus, electrical engineering, and thermodynamics.

I took the SAT test. After the test, I noticed some people leaving the test shaking their heads, literally, in dispair. It turned out that I knew some of them from elementary or jr. high school.

One girl who I knew from jr. high was crying. She kept saying she was never taught most of the things on the math test, nor were the words on the verbal portion familiar to her. She was just getting into a harder form of algebra. She was just taking geometry. Meanwhile, I had had algebra and geometry in the 9th grade. I knew she was smart. She just was not educated as well as I was at that point. We had taken the PSAT. Before that, we were given practice PSAT and SAT tests. We. Were. Prepared.

Tank, Billy, and I all attended a major four year college. I don't know what happened to the girl who was crying.

Again, Tank and Billy, THANK YOU. My grades were good in jr. high school. I was in the "fast track". When my mother checked with other parents concerning what their public school children were doing, I was doing well. But Tank and Billy teased me to going to an engineering and science high school. At that time, I had no such desire to go that route. Your teasing made a difference.

During this time, I happened to attend a speech given by Jesse Jackson, Sr. It was during this time when he was famous for his "Keep hope alive!" speeches. During this speech, he told us to stay in school. He told us to do the best that we could do. He told us to study. He told us to stay away from drugs. He told us to not give into crime. He told us to stay away from drug users and dealers. He told us to not be sexually active until we are married. He should have took his own advice on that one. Well, he should have only been with his wife.

Next, the college years.

This Is The Kind Of Commentary That Is Needed

From Joseph C. Phillips
Fathers and Sons

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated, the nation's first and largest predominately Black Greek-letter fraternity, has partnered with the March of Dimes to create Project Alpha. The national initiative is an extension of the work the fraternity does with Big Brothers and the Boy Scouts of America and seeks to teach young men to make better choices about their sexual behavior. While in Orlando, Florida celebrating the fraternities 101st anniversary, I participated in a Project Alpha workshop with some local boys at one of the YMCAs. Of the 10 boys that participated, only two lived with their fathers and only one other knew or had an even casual relationship with his father. What is more, a number of my fraternity brothers confessed that they too grew up without fathers. The 70% illegitimacy rate is real and has very real consequences. And the men of Alpha are working to end the cycle of fatherless children.

I was blessed with three beautiful sons. I watch them from across the room as they wrestle or sit quietly reading and I am in awe of God's handiwork. The miracle of their lives takes my breath away. I listened to their heart beats when they were no bigger than goldfish swimming in their mother's womb. I held them when they were helpless, fed them and cleaned them and every day they grow a little bit further into themselves and away from me and their mother. I cannot imagine being more in love with another human being. There is nothing I would not do for them; nothing I would not give.

That is a good article.

Again On Michael Vick

[Update]

Look, the federal case against Michael Vick is mostly about running a gambling enterprise across state lines. If Vick didn't plead guilty, RICCO would have been used to hammer him.

Next, because he was involved in gambling, he HAS to be kicked out of the league for life. The NBA referee who plead guilty is a prime example. He owed debts to a "low level" Mafia person. The NBA is now using statisticians to determine if the referee made calls to affect the final score against the spread. Consider Michael Vick in a football game. The point spread is heavily used "for entertainment purposes only." Think about what he may be able to do for just his games. Now consider OTHER football players who get involved in gambling.

Vick HAS to be barred from the league for life.

[ Update ]

Vick pleads guilty to the DOG CHARGES and is suspended indefinitely from the NFL.

Billy Martin must be ONEHELLUVA lawyer OR Vick is going to turn on someone else!

Skunk Rule!

When I played little league and "traveling team" baseball, there was a skunk rule in effect. If you were getting beat by 7 runs and couldn't catch up after 2 innings, the skunk rule kicked in and the game was over.

I know at some point, the Orioles wished it was in effect.

You Can't Tell Me Nuthin', Prologue

A repost of something I did at Vision Circle.

Many times, the "Black left" presents an image of Black America that is one of poverty and near hopelessness that cannot be overcome unless outside intervention is made.

Many times, the "Black right" presents an image of Black America that is one of poverty, laziness, and mired in self-induced hopelessness. A Black America that is incapable of thinking unless one of the appointed "leaders" tells Black America what to think.

That's what I get from much of the commentary by the elite "Black left" and "Black right" media figures.

"Both sides" are full of it. "Both sides" are negative. Both sides, for the most part, push negativity, in my opinion.

It's my strongly held belief that the "Black left" dwells too much on the plight of Blacks who are not achieving instead of also highlighting those Blacks who are achieving.

It's my strongly held belief that the "Black right" dwells too much on the plight of Blacks who are not achieving, instead of also highlighting those Blacks who are achieving.

The only difference between the two is how they go about their hyper-criticism. And, frankly, it's to the testimate of Black America that Blacks, as a whole, aren't more mind scrambled.

I had the opportunity to be a part of a "Black conservative" email list for a time. There were conflicts among the "Black conservatives" that took me by surprise because at the time because all I read from "Black conservatives" seemed to indicate a "Black conservative unified front."

All "individual thought" but thinking as a unified group. But, that wasn't group think...

But on that email list, I read Black conservatives calling some other Black conservatives "sell out" or "Black CON-servatives".

From that point on, you couldn't tell me nuthin' about the so-called "Black left" vs. "Black right" debate. From that point on, I've been convinced that it's all a bunch of useless nonsense that Blacks shouldn't be taking a part in.

Seeing that debate solidified the idea that I had in my mind at the time: the view of the Black community, be it from the outside or the inside, was too simplistic and all of the noise from the "elite" members kept it that way. And the Black community as a whole should be ashamed because no one is calling "both camps" out on their foolishness.

This is a prologue. I intend to give insight to what I have seen in my now four decades of life. I hope that I'm capable of showing the mixed bag to which life in the Black community is. I'll touch on:

1. The grade school years;
   
2. The college years;
   
3. The "running the street" years; and
   
4. the parent years.
   

If I do my job well enough, you should be able to see that the "Black left" and the "Black right" media elite are selling a bunch of goods.

P.S.
One last thing, the major driver behind this series is the inability of people to take questioning of ideas (dogma?) without assigning a political label to it.

I challenge global warming support, anti-capitalism comments, ultra-Black nationalism, the "definition of Blackness", the Black support of Democrats, the Black support of Bill Clinton, etc, and I get called a conservative.

I challenge the dogma that the support of Democrats is not based on Republican action/inaction, the idea of "victimology" in Black America, that Blacks are some how anti-American, that Blacks are sheep of "Black leaders", etc, and I get called a liberal.

Can't a person intellectually embrace both? Seems like many people don't think so.

Math Question

You send your child to a public school. Because you don't believe the child is getting the proper education, you pay $5,000 to send her to someplace like Sylvan.

In your area, Catholic schools cost around $3,200 a year.

What is more cost effective?

"You Can't Tell Me Nuthin'", The Series

Coming soon... :-)

Some Advice For New College Students

Some Advice for College Students

YOUR Life

• Your mother believes in you. Your father believes in you. Your family believes in you. God believes in you. This counts for a lot, but it really doesn't mean anything if you don't believe in yourself.
• Your preparation has gotten you to the point where you are now. You have to continue to prepare yourself to get to the point where you want to be. But you have to prepare yourself to go beyond that point.
• Don't be afraid to do things some people say you can't do. Don't be afraid to try to do things they say that can't be done. If you fail, at least you tried. If you succeed, you prove them wrong. If you never tried, you'll never know.

YOUR Personal Responsibility

• Your safety is your responsibility. "Date rape" or "friend rape" happens when you allow yourself to get into situations that you cannot handle. Do not allow yourself to be alone with someone and assume that he will not try to get you to have sex. No means no but many people believe that saying "no" is just a part of "the game". Remember, "The only thing open at 2AM is legs".
• When a young woman says "No", it means "No".
• You are more than what is between your legs.
• You have to act as though every picture you take will be placed on the internet. Will your family be ashamed of the picture you take?
• You have to act as though every video you are in will be placed on the internet. Will your family be ashamed of your behavior in the video?
• "Bootie cams" are sure to get raves from your boys, but what about the young women being disrespected?
• You will be judged by the company you keep.
• Blacks between the ages of 20-35 are 55% of the reported HIV/AIDS cases in the United States. Washington D.C. and Baltimore are the number 1 and number 2 "leaders" in that category. The South is seeing a big increase in the number of HIV/AIDS cases.
• Many people will get to school and then get "buck wild" their first year. They will spend the next 3 years trying to live down what they did in their first year. Years after you graduate, you will remember the young women and young men who got "buck wild".
• In a couple of weeks or months, many people will lose their reputation because they are "sexing" around or drinking or drugging. They will never get their reputation back at the school; NEVER.
• No matter how many credit card offers you get, DO NOT GET A CREDIT CARD! You will get into debt and it will be your responsibility to pay off the debt. You may already be in debt from the cost of your education. Why make it worse by being $1,000 in debt that you have to pay back with an 18% interest rate.
• If you are at a party, never drink anything that you haven't opened yourself. If you leave your drink, don't come back to it and drink it. People will put something in your drink and take advantage of the situation. Your safety is your responsibility.
• Never leave the door to your room unlocked. Make sure your roommate never leaves the door to your room unlocked. NO MATTER HOW QUICKLY YOU THINK YOU WILL BE BACK TO YOUR ROOM.

YOUR Education Responsibility

• Associate with people who are serious about their education.
• You will do better if you study with people who are serious about their education. Study groups are important.
• Find people who are 1 or 2 years ahead of you in your major.

• They can help you avoid the bad professors.
• They can help you try to get the good professors.
• They can give you study tips.
• They can give you past quizzes and tests.
• They can help you with the classes you need to take.

• Find a quiet place to study. There will be places that many people go to "study," but they will be more about socializing than studying. You have to find out where those places are and avoid them when you really need to study.
• You will have a counselor assigned to you. Make sure the counselor knows your name and face. You do this by visiting him or her on a regular basis.
• Keep track of the number of credit hours you have earned and the number of credit hours you need to meet your degree requirements.
• The first day of classes, you will get a syllabus. Make a copy of each syllabus you receive. Tape one onto the inside front page of your notebook for the class. Keep the other in a folder that you keep in your room.
• It is your responsibility to keep up with your work. This is college. The professor will not keep behind you to get your work done. If it is not turned in, you will get a zero.
• Know the deadlines for the Add/Drop dates.
• It is your responsibility to make sure that the number of credits you have earned matches what the administration office says you have earned.

Your life is in your hands.

Comments R Us: Mentoring Plan

Over at Booker Rising, in response to this post, I wrote the following:

Why is it few seem to mention changing actions by mentoring and the need for more mentors?
You can't keep spouting this stuff and not say anything about HOW people CHANGE negative behaviors.

I was asked to lay out "a plan," so here it is:

• Find people who did a good job in raising their children and use them for advice.
• Raise your kids properly.
• If you have someone in your family who "needs help," help out.
• Know your children's friends and don't be afraid to "raise them" as well. They will have more impact on your children than you really care to know.
• Join a church group, local group, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Urban League, 100 Black Men, Concerned Black Men, or some such group and mentor. If that isn't your thing, go to a local school and offer your services.
• Reach out to kids in your neighborhood.

Michael Vick

Mrs. D.S. said, "I couldn't care less about Michael Vick and don't know who he is, but all of this over a DOG!?!?!? There are murders and such every day but we get weeks of THIS!?!?!?!

Anyone who says Vick is an example of a Black man being a target of "the system" is an idiot. If Vick had stayed with football, instead of dog fighting and gambling, he wouldn't be in this mess. I say the same thing when people start complaining about the "Prison Industrial Complex."

Don't do the crime and you increase your chances of not being involved in the P.I.C.!"

Vick is an "man" who was excused of previous bad behavior because he is fast, strong, and can throw the rock. Now it's time to pay the piper.