DarkStar Spouts Off

Vouchers, Pro and Con

I think the following paragraphs from a Washington Post article lays out the issues involved in the disagreement among Blacks who are against vouchers and who are for vouchers:

On one side are black elders who remember when school choice meant no choice at all because of state-mandated segregation. Many also remember how vouchers were given to white children to attend private academies during "Massive Resistance," when Virginia closed its public schools rather than desegregate as ordered under the Supreme Court's Brown v. The Board of Education decision. Opponents argue that school choice might re-segregate the schools, this time by class and ability.

But on the other side is a younger generation of single parents and working-class black families who are looking for any way out of the state's most troubled schools in places like Norfolk, Petersburg and its capital. Even if it's difficult to rescue all schoolchildren, an effort should be made to save some, they argue.

"This is the 21st century. Go look at the areas where the schoolchildren are trapped and look what the color of their skin is," said Alberta Wilson of Chesapeake, an African American who founded a scholarship organization to help children attend private schools.

And so the struggle has led to scenes like the one in Virginia's legislature last week when Jameera, 18, and 16 classmates - all African American and all neatly attired in navy blue school uniforms - spoke up for school choice, only to be shot down. Riding home on their church bus, they wept in frustration not only at having lost, but because Marsh had lectured them that their best hope lay in the public schools.

"... but because Marsh had lectured them that their best hope lay in the public schools."

How do you tell children this when they are refugees from those public schools and they know, first hand, that those public schools offer little hope?

Wow...

You mean to tell me, it's gotten so bad that Sean Hannity, who used to
preach about democratic uprisings happening in the Middle East would
be a good thing, is now saying the uprisings are a show of Obama's
weakness and are a bad thing?

Neoconservatives are nuts.

Black College Degree Attainment

For my own personal storage

When we break down the statistics on bachelor's degrees, we see that there is very little difference in the fields of study chosen by black and white college students.

For blacks, business management was by a large margin the most popular major. Blacks earned 33,404 bachelor's degrees in the field of business management and administration in the 2003-04 academic year. This was 25.5 percent of all bachelor's degrees earned by blacks. African-American college students, in common with whites, are heavily career oriented and they tend to shape their course studies accordingly. They want to learn skills that will help them get a good job after graduation so that they can pay off their student loans and ensure that they will have a good shot at achieving higher income status than their parents, most of whom entered their wage-earning years in Jim Crow society.

Most white college students have the same goals. As a result, business management was also the most popular field of study among whites. More than 20 percent of all white bachelor's degrees were earned in the field of business. For both blacks and whites, the percentage of all college students who major in business has increased in recent years.

The next most popular field of study for blacks who earned bachelor's degrees was the social sciences. This includes sociology, economics, and political science. Education was the second most popular major among whites. The fields of psychology, communications, and health sciences were popular majors among both racial groups. It is noteworthy to point out that computer science was the fifth most popular major among blacks but was not among the 10 most popular majors for whites.

Some graphs:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black Business Growth Snippets

From the Census on Black Growth, a few snippets.

While the results are not yet in on how well they are doing, the creation of Black-owned businesses surged upward on the eve of the economic recession. According to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau, from 2002 to 2007, the number of these firms increased by 60.5 percent to 1.9 million, tripling the national growth rate of 18 percent.

According to the Census Bureau’s “Survey of Business Owners: Black-Owned Businesses: 2007,” the receipts produced by Black businesses also increased 55.1 percent to $137.5 billion. The survey, conducted by the Census every five years, provides in-depth information about Black firms’ sales, receipts, paid employees and payroll.

“Black-owned businesses continued to be one of the fastest growing segments of our economy, showing rapid growth in both the number of businesses and total sales during this time period,” Census Bureau Deputy Director Thomas Mesenbourg said in a statement.

...

According to the report, New York holds the top spot for African-American firms, with nearly 204,032 Black-owned businesses. The state also accounted for 10.6 percent of all Black-owned businesses in the nation.

...

Black businesses accounted for 34.6 percent of all businesses in Baltimore City in 2007, while in Washington D.C., they accounted for 28.2 percent of all businesses that same year.

The report also found that nearly four in 10 Black-owned businesses in the U.S. in 2007 were in the healthcare and social assistance; repair and maintenance and laundry services fields.

The last paragraph I quoted and emphasised was for my use later on.

Qadaffi Is Hard Core

Qadaffi is hard core. He isn't going out without a fight. Right now they are using military air support to take out protesters in Libya.

If Qadaffi falls, which I doubt, will President Obama get credit from the critics for "letting Egypt fall" and starting the domino effect of democracy?

 

Unions

"Back in the day," unions were needed. Today, in some areas they are probably still needed but in other areas, like government workers, I don't think they are needed. The situation in Wisconsin is interesting because some are saying the union and members are protesting because they don't want to contribute to pensions and contribute more to health care. But that is not the case, the union has said they have conceded to those requests.

When the governor of Wisconsin goes after collective bargaining for the benefits package, this is more than cutting the deficit, this is going after the unions because they support Democrats.

So be it, but let's admit what's going on and go from there. Right now, though, the union members look like cry babies.

I Need To Know Why

I need to know why:

• The same people who preached that democracy has to come to countries in the Middle East, have problems with the people of Egypt protesting against a totalitarian government to the point where the leader steps down.
• The same people who preached against totalitarians supported one in the Middle East.
• The same people who said the seed of democracy was needed in the Middle East now are saying little to nothing about the rise of protests in the Middle East.
• The same people who argued against democracy seeding in the Middle East are saying nothing about the rise of protests in the region.

 

I'll Take Him At His Word

I'll take him at his word that he is not a child molester.
I'll take him at his word he is not a criminal.
I'll take him at his word he is not a drug fiend.
The speaker of the house is full of it.
Republicans now realize how hard it is to deal with the Tea Party backed politicians. Keep winking at the birthers and see what happens.

Drop Squad Candidate: Nee Nee Leakes

If you know, you know, 'nuff said.

Nee Nee Leakes, you are Drop Squaded.

Mubarak slammed U.S. in phone call with Israeli lawmaker

This is for the neo-cons. Note the comment about democracy.

 

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Hosni Mubarak had harsh words for the United States and what he described as its misguided quest for democracy in the Middle East in a telephone call with an Israeli lawmaker a day before he quit as Egypt's president.

The legislator, former cabinet minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, said on Israel TV Friday he came away from the 20-minute conversation Thursday with the feeling the 82-year-old leader realized "it was the end of the Mubarak era."

"He had very tough things to say about the United States," said Ben-Eliezer, a member of the center-left Labor Party who has held talks with Mubarak on numerous occasions while serving in various Israeli coalition governments.

"He gave me a lesson in democracy and said: 'We see the democracy the United States spearheaded in Iran and with Hamas, in Gaza, and that's the fate of the Middle East,'" Ben-Eliezer said.

"'They may be talking about democracy but they don't know what they're talking about and the result will be extremism and radical Islam,'" he quoted Mubarak as saying.

If Bush were in office, conservative commentators would be having an orgasmic event. The media would probably be saying beware. I'm just watching and waiting.

Mubarak Resigns

Mubarak has resigned and the military is in charge.

Now what?

The "Baltimore Delegation" Ain't Worth Spit

The "Baltimore Delegation" is a Democratic group of state politicians
who are supposed to look out for Baltimore City interests during the
Maryland State Assembly session. When Toby [ Kurt Anderson ] said he
was joining the state Tea Party caucus, the Baltimore Delegation
quickly acted in concert to let Toby know they are not happy with his
joining the group. They told him if he didn't resign from the group,
he would be stripped of his chairmanship position of the Baltimore
Delegation.

Toby resigned and apologized to the delegation.

But I have a real problem with the delegation.

Did they raise a ruckus when the governor wanted to raise the state
sales tax from 5% to 6%? No. This despite the regressive nature of the
sales tax and the harm it would bring to Baltimore residents.

Did they raise a ruckus when the Baltimore City Council instituted a
bag tax? No. This despite the regressive nature of the bag tax and the
harm it would bring to Baltimore residents.

Did they raise a ruckus when the Baltimore City Council instituted a
beverage tax? No. This despite the regressive nature of the beverage
tax and the harm it would bring to Baltimore residents.

Did they raise a ruckus when then Mayor Martin O'Malley made the
police use "broken windows" policing which caused many innocent
people, especially innocent Black people, to get arrested and thus
have arrest records, which in itself, can disqualify people from
holding certain jobs.

The Baltimore Delegation, from my point of view, are sell outs, with
Kurt Anderson being Toby.

He Said Nothing That Hasn't Been Said Concerning Immigration

What is the big deal about what South Carolina Legislator Robert Ford said?

http://www.thegrio.com/politics/black-sc-lawmaker-immigrants-are-hardest-workers.php

Can we be real a moment?

What is the difference between what he said and what Republicans and
Democrats, white and Black alike, said when they said we need
immigration because "they" do the jobs Americans won't do? In this
context what is the difference between "work harder" and "won't do"?

Is it because it was a Democrat? Is it because it was a Black man? Is
it because it is a Black Democrat?

Kurt Anderson's Name From This Point Is Toby

From this point, if I ever mention Kurt Anderson's name, I will refer
to him as Toby.

http://www.wbal.com/absolutenm/templates/story.aspx?articleid=67251&zoneid=3

A lawmaker who chairs the Baltimore City Delegation in Annapolis
has quit a House of Delegates tea party caucus after his Democratic
colleagues complained of his membership.

Delegate Curt Anderson, D-Baltimore, said he quit the tea party caucus
on Wednesday, after fellow Democrats expressed their displeasure.

Anderson says he joined because he agrees with the tea party caucus
position against taxes. Anderson says his constituents are taxed more
than most other state residents. He cites the city's property tax rate
as an example.

Anderson says he explained his reasons for joining to his
Democratic colleagues and apologized if his tea party membership
"caused them embarrassment."

Yes, I have a problem with Democrats and because of it, I've never
been a Democrat. I have problems with the Republican party as well,
and am thinking about going back to Independent because of those
problems. But this one ticks me off. One, because he got whipped for
having a principle, and two because he punked out.