Posts tagged with Social Responsibility
African American Is a Racist Term
Kevin Myles the president of the Kansas chapter of the NAACP recently claimed that a government retreat on enforcement of civil rights threatened the rights of blacks. Actually the threat comes from the perpetuation of the racist belief that skin color separates us into different "races".
http://www.hutchnews.com/Todaystop/naacp-speaker--2
The best way to eliminate discrimination is to recognize that skin color is only skin deep. Skin color does not automatically make us different in any other way.
Black leaders are just as guilty of perpetuating the belief color is important as whites. The media actively support this belief by using the racist term "African-American" to describe those Americans with dark complexions. The term perpetuates the old American racist belief of "part black, all black."
The media often refer to Tiger Woods as "African American" even though his ancestry is more Asian that African. His mother was Asian (Thai and Chinese with some Dutch). Although his father had some African ancestry, he also had Chinese and American Indian ancestry. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_Woods
Even President Barack Obama received less than half of his DNA from his African father. The "X" chromosome he received from his mother contains more DNA than the "Y" chromosome he received from his father. Obama also received mitochondrial DNA from his mother.
The fact that a person has dark skin doesn't mean that a majority of his ancestors came from Africa or that he received a majority of his DNA from African ancestors.
Skin color involves a relative handful of genes with the most important being SLC24A5 which produces melanin a molecule that absorbs solar radiation, particularly potentially harmful UV radiation.. There are two variations with the variation that produces the amino acid alanine being associated with a dark complexion and the variation that produces the amino acid threonine being associated with light skin. In general a pigment is black if it absorbs the entire visual light spectrum. It is white if it reflects the entire visual light spectrum. http://www.brighthub.com/science/genetics/articles/45821.aspx
Some of the other genes that affect the function of the melanin pigment include ASIP, MC1R, TYR, KITL, HERC2 and OCA. The most important protein responsible for variation in skin color is MC1R.
It would be possible to have a light complexion even though a majority of ancestors came from Africa. A person can have a dark complexion even though more than 75% of his ancestors came from Europe. Even a dark complexioned person with some African ancestors might have inherited most of his dark skin genes from a non-African including various North American peoples.
The version of SLC24A5 associated with dark skin is common among East Asian and North American peoples as well as Africans. The version associated with light skin is primarily associated with those of European ancestry.
The media refer to Barack Obama as the first African ancestry president, but as many as six other presidents may have had African ancestors. Like many other white Americans, they may or may not have known about African ancestors. My previous post looks at this issue and the general issue of why geneological records may not reflect one's biological ancestors.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08036/854713-51.stm?cmpid=elections.xml
After the broadcast of the "Roots" miniseries, many Americans decided to research their ancestry. Many whites were surprised to find ancestors who had served in the military in the 19th Century who had the letter "C" after their names meaning "colored".
The Spanish were the first to bring Africans to North American with the establishment of their Georgia settlement in 1526.
http://www.theledger.com/article/20030901/COLUMNISTS0404/309010305?Title=Spanish-Influence-Course-of-Slavery
For the English settlements, the first African "servants" arrived in Jamestown in 1619 only 14 years after the founding of the settlement. African and poor white indentured servants initially worked together in the fields. This practice would have led to sex across the color line. http://henryburke1010.tripod.com/id4.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamestow...
Some Africans became free and had their own farms. Antonio the Negro arrived in Virginia in 1621. He later became free, changed his name to Anthony Johnson and eventually had his own farm with indentured servants. The idea of servants being slaves developed gradually with the cost of replacing servants being a factor in the decision to make the Africans permanent slaves.
White servitude was abandoned in part because it was too easy for escaped white indentured servants to blend in on the frontier. Lighter skinned descendent's of Africans would have been able to do the same thing long before the American Revolution. Those on the frontier spent much of their time outside and would have had sun darkened skin. The small frontier populations would have led to marrying whomever was available without much concern about color.
Laws eventually prohibited marriage across the color line, but owners and overseers had sex with slaves throughout the period of slavery. During slavery a baby's status as slave or free usually depended upon the status of the mother because at the time they had no way to reliably determine who the father was. Some plantation owners might have claimed light skinned children born to them by slaves as the children of their wives.
Southern states allowed white men to rape black women without fear of punishment until the mid-20th Century.
Children of dark skinned parents who decided to leave home an pass for white would have eventually married those who considered themselves white.
We will never eliminate racism in the United States as long as politicians and media continue to claim that skin color defines a person's "race". The term "African-American" perpetuates the old American racist belief of "part black, all black."
The ancestors of some black Americans arrived in Virginia nearly 400 years ago and in Georgia nearly 500 years ago If white Americans whose families have lived here for only a century or so can be considered "regular Americans" ( to borrow Archie Bunker's term) then why must dark skinned Americans whose families may have lived here for four or five centuries bear a label implying they belong somewhere else. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archie_B...
Only about 500,000 Africans were imported into North America during the three centuries of the slave trade. Thus, the vast majority of the 4.5 million blacks living in the U.S. in 1860 were born here. Those Americans whose ancestors were slaves are regular Americans, not Africans. http://etymonline.com/columns/frenchslavery.htm http://us-civil-war.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_1860_census_and_slavery_in_the_united_states
The Census Bureau wants us to check our "race" on census forms. Even if Europeans and Africans are separate "races", we Americans are all mixed together and are not biologically divided into separate races according to the color of our skins.
We need to recognize the wisdom of the Lakota phrase Aho Mitakuye Oyasin (We Are All Related) regardless of the color of our skin.
http://www.jimbergmd.com/Way%20of%20Barefoot%20Doctoring/Poems%20wbfd%20web/We%20are%20all%20Related.htm
Seven African Ancestry Presidents?
The media refer to Barack Obama as the first African ancestry president, but as many as six other presidents may have had African ancestors. Like many other white Americans, they may or may not have known about African ancestors. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08036/854713-51.stm?cmpid=elections.xml
Skin color depends on only about seven genes which means if sex occurs across the color line frequently enough, the dark pigment genes could be lost in some children in a few generations.
After the broadcast of the Roots miniseries, many Americans decided to research their ancestry. Many whites were surprised to find ancestors who had served in the military in the 19th Century who had the letter "C" after their names meaning "colored".
President Warren G. Harding had black cousins and admitted that some of his ancestors might have "jumped the fence" as he put it.
Many believe that President Dwight Eisenhower's mother appears to have African features in her wedding photo. I've seen the enlarged photo at the Eisenhower museum. If I were to see an actor with a similar appearance in an old black and white movie about the pre-Civil War South, I wouldn't be surprised if her character was a slave.
Some have suggested that 19th Century Presidents Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln might have had African ancestry fathers. President Calvin Coolidge is another with possible African ancestors.
Those who argue that genealogical records fail to indicate these men had African ancestors, ignore the fact that birth records for much of the nation's history depended on the honor system. Many records come from family Bibles and it would have been easy to "steal an ID" particularly in families who moved from generation to generation. Families could have neglected to mention an ancestor with a questionable past, such as being a runaway slave or a criminal.
I don't know if any of these presidents had African ancestors, but I recognize it would have been possible for them, or the rest of us, to have had such ancestors without leaving a record of that ancestry.
The only people likely to question a politician's ancestry in the 19th Century would have been political opponents who would likely have been ignored by many because of the name calling that characterized American politics beginning with the administration of George Washington. Supporters of these politicians might have invented stories to make these presidents look better such as the story about George Washington cutting down his father's cherry tree..
The first African "servants" in the British colonies arrived in Jamestown in 1619 and Africans and poor whites initially worked together equally in the fields as indentured servants. This practice would have led to sex across the color line. Some Africans became free and had their own farms. Antonio the Negro arrived in Virginia in 1621. He later became free, changed his name to Anthony Johnson and eventually had his own farm with indentured servants. (Note: the Spanish had imported African slaves into Florida and Georgia in the 16th Century.) http://henryburke1010.tripod.com/id4.html
White servitude was abandoned in part because it was too easy for escaped white servants to blend in on the frontier. Lighter skinned descendent's of Africans would have been able to do the same thing long before the American Revolution.
The frontier early became a place people could run to to escape their past which could include knowledge about their ancestors. Some of my ancestors moved to the frontier from New York City after the Revolution because they had supported the losing side.
Those on the frontier spent much of their time outside and would have had sun darkened skin. The small frontier populations could have led to marrying whomever was available, as my ancestors did, without much concern about a spouse's ancestry.
Members of religious groups who opposed slavery might have allowed light skinned runaway slaves to take the ID of a relative who died as a child or have made up a relative to make it easier for an escaped slave to "pass for white"..
It would have been much easier to cover up unpopular ancestry in the 19th Century than today. Some people believe Jefferson, who saved many of his own documents, attempted to destroy his mother's documents, including letters sent to others, to cover up his ancestry. His virtual marriage to slave Sally Hennings indicates he didn't consider color important which could indicate he had mixed ancestry himself. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally_He...
Most blacks lived on plantations and what happened on the plantation likely stayed on the plantation. Many plantation wives might have tired of having babies early and encouraged their husbands to have mistresses.
Light skinned offspring might have been claimed by their fathers as children of their wives. It would have been easy to cover up who the mother was because the midwife who delivered it was probably a slave. Plantation wives might have used slaves as surrogate moms like Jacob's wives did in the Bible.
Even today a woman may lie about who fathered her child. Some have suggested Lincoln's mother may have done this because of accounts that the man listed as his father might have been sterile.
People looked down on women who didn't have children through the 19th Century. Some women might have arranged to quietly adopt the light skinned babies of slaves to cover up their inability to have children or to replace a child who was stillborn or died in infancy. Slave mothers might have welcomed the opportunity to have their babies escape slavery.
Ida Elizabeth Stover, Eisenhower's mother, could have been such a baby because she was born in 1862 in Virginia to a 40 year old woman. Even with today's medical knowledge there is a greater potential for problems at that age. Information about some of her ancestors is missing from the family tree on the Eisenhower Museum website so their origin is unknown. Considering her fair complexion, she would likely have been separated from any African ancestor by three or more generations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ida_Eliz...
http://eisenhower.archives.gov/All_About_Ike/Family%20Tree/Family_Tree.html
I don't know if these presidents had any African ancestors, but I realize it would be possible . It would also be possible for the rest of us who think of ourselves as white to have had one or more African ancestors. The number of our ancestors increases rapidly when we go back more than a few generations. At 10 generations in the past, we potentially have 1,024 ancestors, provided there is no duplication.
See my next post for a discussion of why skin color isn't important.
What Are Democrats Hiding on Health Care?
The Patriot Update has posted an online petition at Vision to America to "demand that CSPAN be allowed to provide live TV coverage of negotiations and committee meetings." They are concerned that "Failure to allow live TV coverage will provide Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid with the secret back-room necessary to make the secret pay-offs." http://www.visiontoamerica.com/
Democrats received some negative comments after it was discovered that they had bribed Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson by offering to pay for new Medicaid recipients in Nebraska only. Democratic Senators in most other states apparently gave their votes away without getting anything for their voters. We can only speculate about whether they received something of value for themselves such as campaign contributions or consideration for a federal job.
Barack Obama campaigned for President by claiming he was something new. Since being elected he has acted like President George W. Bush by pushing corporate bailouts and huge deficits. He is similar to former President Richard Nixon in is penchant for secrecy and anti-press attitudes, including wanting to keep health care negotiations hidden in the back rooms so voters and the media won't know what is really going on. His purchase of health care votes is like President Lyndon Johnson
If the real reason for health care legislation is to improve health care access there is no reason to handle the legislation in secret. Those of us who have been around for several presidential elections know that when politicians do things, other than foreign policy, in secret it is usually because they have ulterior motives.
Sometimes in foreign policy, particularly in negotiations, secrecy is necessary to get the best deal from other countries or to get an advantage on an adversary.
Democrats have essentially admitted that there is no hurry on health care legislation. Some provisions of the current bill won't even go into effect until 2013. Why are they hurrying unless they are hoping to get the legislation passed before we have a chance to read the fine print?
The demand for open discussion of health care should be led by the old media, particularly the Washington Post and New York Times who went to court to publish the Pentagon Papers dealing with the Vietnam War. Instead it is being led by the blogosphere in the form of the Patriot Update which describes it's site as "Free Press for the Conservative Revolution".
Is Western Society Doomed?
It is becoming increasingly clear that in western society the inmates are running the asylum. The idiot elite that holds power in most western nations have demonstrated their insanity by accepting the outright lie that the essential atmospheric gas carbon dioxide is a undesirable pollutant that needs to be regulated.
The scam begun by the crooked Enron corporation in the 1990's falsely claims that very slight increases in CO2 would substantially raise air temperatures. Enron, and its successors, hoped to profit from trading carbon credits like it had profited from trading credits in sulfur dioxide, a byproduct of coal combustion. http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fpcomment/archive/2009/05/29/lawrence-solomon-enron-s-other-secret.aspx
The scientific fact is air temperatures would rise substantially if atmospheric CO2 were to decline to a point insufficient to support plant life. Areas of bare ground are significantly hotter than comparably located plant covered ground because bare ground converts the solar radiation to heat.
CO2 is essential to functioning of the biosphere. Plants store solar radiation by converting atmospheric CO2 to complex carbon molecules instead of converting it to heat. The energy is stored in the form of the electron bonds that hold the molecules together. Plants also reflect solar radiation back into space, further reducing solar heating. http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1625289-CO2-Is-Essential-to-Biosphere
Those who talk about global warming have failed to provide any evidence of significant temperature change. They claim (depending on the source) only about a 0.5 - 0.7 C increase in temperature which is only a 0.23% change [Note: per cent changes are calculated using the Kelvin scale because of the arbitrary zero point of the Celsius scale - the only thing you can have less than nothing of is money.]
Such a small change could easily be the result of changes in equipment or the characteristics of measuring sites.
The claim about CO2 causing warming by trapping IR ignores the fact that physicist R. W. Wood demonstrated in a 1909 experiment that trapping IR did not heat greenhouses as many in the 19th Century had believed and thus the process could not heat the atmosphere either. http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1181679-Earths-Energy-System
Those who talk of magical greenhouse gases have no understanding of the complexity of earth's energy system. http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1181679-Earths-Energy-System
Earth gets virtually all of its heat from the sun and changes in heating are most likely caused by variations in solar output than human activity. If human activity is affecting temperature the most likely mechanism would be the heat generated by human activity or changes in the thermal characteristics of the landscape.
Except in tropical areas the human body is hotter than the air most of the time. Human activities such as cooking and operation of mechanical devices generates additional heat. Pavement produces more heat than plant covered areas.
Any Western leaders who think they can benefit from the adverse economic consequences of restrictions on CO2 emissions should be taken to the Happy Home by those nice young men in their clean white coats.
Western leaders who think an economic calamity can benefit them are living in the wrong century. Any economic collapse in the West would speed up the process of shifting the economic center of gravity from the West to Asia. China is already benefitting from the West's economic mistakes and is moving toward controlling the American economy by buying American assets and becoming the creditor for its government.
Why Cops Have to Be Suspicious
This is the city, Wichita, Kansas. Monday, September 28, it was warm in Wichita.
Deputy Sheriff Brian S. Etheridge was on patrol. At 11:42 A.M. he received a call to take a theft report in the 3600 block of South Rock Road.
11:51 A.M. he arrived at the residence. When no one came to the door, he notified dispatch he was going to check the rear of the residence.
12:01 P.M. Deputy Etheridge notified dispatch he had been shot.
Richard Lyons, a man with a long criminal history, was waiting in ambush with a deer rifle. Lyons fired hitting Etheridge in the back with the bullet penetrating the deputy's body armor. He then went over to the wounded officer and when his rifle failed to fire took the deputy's hand gun and shot him in the leg.
Later in the day officers spotted Lyons in a nearby field. Lyons opened fire on officers and was subsequently killed in the exchange of gunfire.
Officers later learned that Lyons might have told friends he wanted to kill an officer and that he may have been suicidal. Officers will never know for sure, but it seems likely that Lyons initiated the violence to provoke officers into killing him in what has come to be known as "suicide by cop".
A study published in February indicates 36% of shootings by police may involved suicide by cop. This is up from a 1997 study which suggested 11% of officer involved shootings were suicide by cop incidents.
Sometime police can identify situations in which a person may want to be killed. At other times, officers may not have time to evaluate the situation. They may have to act immediately to avoid being killed or to prevent someone else from being killed.
Last summer Harvard Professor Henry Gates complained after he was arrested for being out of control.
He failed to understand that the officers had no idea who he was or what his state of mind might be. They didn't know whether he could become violent or not. All they knew was that someone had seen him and another man force the door open.
When Gates came to the door yelling about an officer coming after him because he was black he likely created a suspicion in Sgt. James Crowley's mind that Gates might be guilty of something or had a grudge against the police which might lead to violence. I don't know if Crowley considered the possibility or not, but men of Gates' age sometimes consider suicide if diagnosed with an incurable debilitating disease like ALS or Alzheimers'.
Prof. Gates may have been tired and irritable because of his long trip from China. However, Sgt. Crowley didn't know that and could not be sure Gates was not being influenced by drugs, alcohol or a mental problem, which could include high blood pressure or a tumor.
Gates complained about Crowley following him into the kitchen, but Crowley had to do so because he could not be sure that Gates would not come out with a weapon. By staying with Gates, Crowley reduced the possibility of ending up with a standoff with Gates barricaded inside the house.
Down Syndrome Doesn’t Stop Eagle Scouts
Lucas Wondra has achieved something only about 4 % of those who enter scouting achieve. He has achieved the rank of Eagle Scout.
His achievement is particularly significant because the 16-year-old Hutchinson (Kansas) High School student has the genetic disorder Down Syndrome. Lucas is one of many who are demonstrating that individuals with Down Syndrome can be productive members of society. Maybe they are not capable of performing brain surgery or becoming professional athletes, but then neither are the vast majority of the rest of us.
Individuals with Down Syndrome have an extra copy of chromosome 21 , a condition called trisomy 21, which can cause physical and mental disabilities because having three copies of some genes interferes with the normal operation of cells and development. Down Syndrome children may not be geniuses, but many of them are able to attend classes with other students instead of being limited to special education classes as was once the case.
The cause of the extra copy of the chromosome is unknown, but it is known that an extra copy may be received from one of the parents or the extra chromosome may appear during the embryonic stage of development resulting in some cells with the extra copy and some with only two copies of chromosome 21. The possibility of an extra chromosome developing in embryonic cells is a major reason why embryonic cells may be unsafe to use in treating human disorders
Lucas isn't the first Scout with Down Syndrome to earn the rank of Eagle Scout. For example, Adam Townsend of Mesquite, Texas, became an Eagle Scout on June1, 2009. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-eaglescout_01met.ART.State.Edition1.5084f30.html
A. J. Trueblood of Lakeland, Florida, became an Eagle Scout in August, 2006. http://www.theledger.com/article/20060814/NEWS/608140355?Title=Disabled-Teen-Becomes-Eagle-Scout
Clayton "Trey" Henderson of Ridgeview High School in Orange Park, Florida, became an Eagle Scout in April, 2006. http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/040106/nec_21499327.shtml
Down Syndrome scouts have to meet the same requirements as other Eagle Scouts if they are physically able to do so. A. J. Trueblood didn't even mention that he had Down Syndrome on his application.
Lucas is unable to swim so he substituted a 20 mile hike. He also completed five 10 mile hikes. I don't know if I even hiked 20 miles when I took basic training in the army, although it sometimes felt like 20 miles.
Lucas is physically unable to speak but can communicate using sign language and a PDA with voice software. He used the PDA to communicate with a congregation while serving as a chaplain's aide including offering a thought for the day and leading in the Lord's Prayer.
Many of those with Down Syndrome never had the opportunity for achievement that these Eagle Scouts had because their mothers listened to ignorant, prejudiced doctors and others who persuaded them to have abortions. Many share the prejudiced (or is it bigoted) view of Nicholas Provenzo that "a person afflicted with Down syndrome is only capable of being marginally productive (if at all) and requires constant care and supervision." http://ruleofreason.blogspot.com/2008/09/palins-down-syndrome-child-and-right-to.htm
Provenzo obviously doesn't understand what those with Down Syndrome can do. I wonder how many of those who think Down Syndrome individuals cannot do anything had the drive to become Eagle Scouts.
Perhaps the lamest argument for aborting Down Syndrome babies has been suggested to students on more than one occasion by University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Professor Albert K. Harris. "In my opinion, the moral thing for older mothers to do is to have amniocentesis, as soon during pregnancy as is safe for the fetus, test whether placental cells have a third chromosome #21, and abort the fetus if it does. The brain is the last organ to become functional." http://www.newsobserver.com/news/health_science/story/947991.html
"I know somebody who had a child like this, and it ruined their life," he said.
Down Syndrome babies do require more time and effort than some other babies, but that doesn't mean they should not have the opportunity to be born and live.
Active "normal" children may actually require more supervision than Down Syndrome children because they may be physically able to get into dangerous situations faster than Down Syndrome children.
Potential parents who are concerned that a child with Down Syndrome might require more of their time should reconsider the decision to become parents. Down Syndrome isn't the worst thing that can happen to a child.
A child could be afflicted with a fatal form of cancer or Muscular Dystrophy. A child might be severely injured in an accident or abducted.
A child might require greater effort from parents because of hyperactivity or autism. A "normal" child may decide to get involved with drugs or gangs.
These and many other problems that can occur with children can adversely affect families, but the problem isn't with the children. Major illness of the death of a child from any cause potentially can destroy a family if parents start playing a blame game. The problem in these situations is with parents who cannot accept adversity.
Sue Thomas was born in May, 1950, and was a normal child until she suddenly lost her hearing at 18 months. The "experts" told her parents that she would never amount to anything and should be institutionalized. Her parents ignored the advice and made sure that she had the opportunity for as normal a life as possible including attending school with children who could hear.
At the age of 7 she became the youngest Ohio Champion free style skater in history. In 1979, she became part of an elite FBI surveillance team. In 2002 a tv series Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye debuted based on her career, although many of the episodes dealt with the type cases facing the FBI at the time of the series rather than cases from the 80's. The Gospel Music Channel is bringing that series back on September 14.
Some people try to define others by what they cannot do instead of what they can do. Lucas Wondra, Adam Townsend, A.J. Trueblood and Clayton Henderson have done something I couldn't have done when I was their age. They have become Eagle Scouts.
I was a Cub Scout, but my family moved to another town when I was in the 6th grade and I never became a Boy Scout. Even if I had participated, I doubt that I could have fulfilled the requirements for an Eagle Scout because I was the stereotypical "98 pound weakling" in high school.
I cannot play a musical instrument like Sarah Itoh who has Down Syndrome and who was playing the clarinet by the time she was11 years old. She is an accomplished public speaker who particularly enjoys telling audiences how she enjoys Special Olympics. At her age I had enough trouble just repeating lines in a church Christmas play. http://www.somi.org/blog.php?entryID=558
We all have different abilities and disabilities. We can do some things that others cannot do and they can do some things that we cannot do.
Sue Thomas responded to her loss of hearing by learning to read lips. That skill got her a job as an FBI agent because she could what other FBI agents could not do. She could tell what a suspect under visual surveillance was saying without the need to plant a microphone near him.
We don't know the full potential of what individuals with Down Syndrome can do because for many years people just labeled them "retarded" and assumed they couldn't do anything. Maybe none of the Eagle Scouts mentioned will become an astronaut like Eagle Scout Neil Armstrong or a movie director like Eagle Scout Steven Spielberg. However, drama student and cheerleader Clayton Henderson might become a successful actor like Joseph "Chris" Burke who has Down Syndrome and was a star of the successful tv series "Life Goes On.."
How many of us could star in a tv series?
Some people claim that Down Syndrome children cost to society in the form of government programs that have assisted them. I doubt seriously all Down Syndrome individuals together have cost society nearly as much as Bernie Madoff.
Obamacare = Bad HMO
A group of bicyclists are riding across the country raising money to provide the latest NASA developed rehabilitative equipment called secure ambulation modules for military veterans injured in the current conflicts. My first reaction to seeing the story on a local tv station was "isn't that great". We have people wanting to devote time and energy to help injured veterans. http://mobile.ksn.com/news/local/story/Trio-biking-across-country-to-help-injured/hyWwcQkzWUOCJkqNTCJ_Vw.cspx
After thinking about it for a while, I wondered why veterans needed outside assistance to fund their medical care. Don't we have a president who claims he will correct deficiencies in health care?
So why doesn't President Barack Obama provide state of the art health care to federal employees who were "injured on the job?" Why did he at one point suggest requiring veterans pay for their own treatment for service connected injuries? Pressure from veterans forced him to back down. http://blogs.courierpostonline.com/veteranvoices/2009/03/17/disabled-vets-to-pay-for-va-healthcare/ http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/white-house-drops-plan-bill-disabled-veterans-insurance-care
Obama's failure to fully cover current federal employees health care costs and attempting to reduce the health coverage provided to former federal employees with on the job injuries indicates he isn't telling the truth when he says his proposal won't result in reduced health coverage.
I learned long ago to evaluate politicians according to what they do rather than what they say. Obama says his proposal will increase health care, but his actions indicate he wants to do the opposite.
I also learned that if something sounds too good to be true it probably is. I doubt that Obama's promises about health care are worth any more than Bernie Madoff's promises to make his clients richer.
Abyssinian Baptist Church’s 200th Anniversary
One of the nation's oldest and most important churches celebrates its 200th anniversary this year. In 1808, 15 "people of colour" who were members of New York City's First Baptist Church decided it wasn't appropriate for God's house to have segregated seating and left to form their own church with the assistance of some Ethiopian merchants. The new church's name came from the ancient name for Ethiopia -- Abyssinia. Rev. Vanvelser was the church's first pastor.The exact seating arrangements First Baptist Church used aren't known, but many white dominated churches at the time required black members to sit in the back or in the balcony if the church had a balcony. Abyssinian wasn't the first black church in New York, but it was the first black Baptist Church. Mother AME Zion church had been established 12 years earlier in 1796. Abyssinian would be followed a year later by establishment of St. :Phillip's Episcopal Church. The first building was on Worth Street. When the building became too small it was sold and the church met in various locations until purchasing property on Waverly Street. During the ministry of Rev. William Spellman from 1856 through 1885 church membership reached 1,600. Perhaps the most significant event in the church's history occurred on December 30, 1908, when the church called New Haven, Conn., pastor Adam Clayton Powell, Sr., to be its new pastor. His son Rev. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., had been born a month earlier on November, 29.In 1937 Powell, Sr., retired and his son became the church's most famous pastor. Under Rev. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., between 8,000 and 10,000 people were affiliated with the church.The establishment of black churches played an important role in black social history. Black churches provided an opportunity for development of social leaders in the black community. Whites were in the majority and were unlikely to elect minorities to political office. Even post Civil War southern states allowed black churches to have their own leaders. It is no accident that the early leaders of the civil rights movement were preachers. Contrary to a popular myth, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., wasn't the first preacher to demonstrate for equal treatment. The movement to obtain equal opportunities and eliminate segregation began under a preacher at Abyssinian Baptist. King merely expanded the fight to the south where resistance was greater and the danger was greater. Rev. Powell, Jr.'s, duties as assistant pastor of the then largest Protestant Church in the country during the Depression included distributing food and clothing to those in need. He recognized that people really needed jobs that were in even shorter supply for blacks than for whites.He established the Coordinating Committee for Employment which used mass protests such as his "Don't Buy Where You Can't Work" campaign to persuade various businesses,including Harlem Hospital, to hire more blacks. In 1941 he used a bus boycott to force the hiring of 200 more blacks by the transit authority. These efforts reflected the spirit of those who established Abyssinian Baptist Church in 1808. They rebelled against being required to "sit in the back of the church" and left to start their own church. Powell rebelled against black job hunters having to stand at the "back of the employment line" and pressured employers into giving black job hunters more opportunities. In 1941, Powell adopted a new tactic, changing government from within. He successfully ran for the New York City City Council. Three years later he took advantage of redistricting to win election to Congress where, as I noted in a previous post, he worked to desegregate the military and the District of Columbia. He also was able to play a direct role in anti-discrimination legislation. Dr. King had greater visibility because his efforts involved public demonstrations, but Powell was at least as important because he had direct access to presidents and members of Congress. Presidents desired Powell's endorsement at election time. During this period Powell continued to serve as pastor of Abyssinian Baptist. He didn't retire until a year before his death in 1972. Abyssinian Baptist continues the effort to help those in need. It provides housing for the homeless and senior citizens. The non-profit Abyssinian Development Corporation oversees these projects and is seeking to revitalize the economy of Harlem.It's current pastor, Reverend Calvin Otis Butts III, is following in the tradition of Rev. Powell by holding two jobs. Butts also serves as president of State University of New York College at Old Westbury. Butts wasn't raised in Abyssinian Baptist, but he began working there as a graduate student. He is actively seeking to eliminate the last remnants of racism as well as seeking to eliminate negative lyrics and images in the recording industry.
Mr. Civil Rights
November 29 will be the 100th anniversary of the birth of the black preacher known as "Mr. Civil Rights". No, I'm not talking about Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., although this man was named after his preacher father. Rev. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr, was conducting civil rights demonstrations when Dr. King was still a child in the 30's. As assistant pastor at his father's Abyssinian Baptist Church he was in charge of providing food and clothing to those who couldn't afford them, on one occasion he even gave the shoes he was wearing to a man who couldn't find his size in the used clothing. When he succeeded his father in 1935 it was the largest Protestant congregation in America. The church itself began as a protest against the segregated seating at New York City's First Baptist Church in 1808. A century later the church would call Rev. Adam Clayton Powell, Sr., to be its pastor.Rev. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., recognized that providing food and clothing wasn't the best way to help people, so he began an effort to get jobs for blacks. His Coordinating Committee for Employment used mass protests such as his "Don't Buy Where You Can't Work" campaign to persuade various businesses, including Harlem Hospital, to hire more blacks. In 1941 he used a bus boycott to force the hiring of 200 more blacks by the transit authority. In 1941 he integrated the New York City City Council when he was elected as its first black member. In 1944, he became the first northern black from a state other than Illinois to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Rep. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., informed Congress: "I'm the first bad Negro they've had in Congress." The other black Representative, William Dawson of Chicago, had avoided challenging the status quo.Powell promptly integrated the House dining room and barber shop. He persuaded other members of Congress to stop using the n- word on the floor of Congress. He pushed for an end to segregation in the military and the District of Columbia and invented the "Powell Amendment" which, if successfully attached to legislation, prohibited racial discrimination in the use of federal funds. Many years later a similar provision later was adopted to require equal treatment for women.Later he played a major role in getting President John Kennedy's New Frontier and President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society legislation passed.Unfortunately, late in his career he succumbed to the temptations to misuse power and was eventually expelled from Congress for corrupt activities. Charles Rangel subsequently replaced him. Powell died on April 4, 1972. The focus on Dr. Martin Luther King's contributions has obscured the fact that King didn't start the fight to end segregation, he merely carried that fight to the south where the resistance was greatest. Rep. Adam Clayton Powell didn't start the fight either, but he escalated it. As a preacher he demonstrated that public protests and boycotts could change the situation. As a member of Congress he began the difficult process of changing government racial policies. Perhaps the military would have been integrated without his efforts, but his support certainly helped. He forced Presidents Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower to act against racial discrimination. Powell, a Democrat, later rewarded Eisenhower by endorsing him in the 1956 presidential election.The Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education didn't happen in a vacuum. Charles Sumner had argued before the Massachusetts high court that "separate but equal" was impossible a century earlier in the Roberts case which had served as a precedent for the ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson. Society had changed, at least outside the south. Integration was the coming thing. The nation's principle government organization, the military, had been integrated as had its most popular sport, baseball. The justices might have been aware of Dwight Eisenhower's role in eliminating segregated theaters and other facilities on military bases and eliminating segregated facilities in the District of Columbia even though Eisenhower had acted quietly.
Chris Rock Is Right
Chris Rock is right and the NAACP is wrong. The best way to eliminate any problems associated with the n-word is using it instead of burying it. White folks have been doing just that for generations. "Cracker" was once a derogatory term for southern whites. it also was the name of the Atlanta baseball team before the Braves moved there from Milwaukee. "Red Neck" was a derogatory term for lower income sourthern whites until Jeff Foxworthy made a fortune by suggesting that "you might be a red neck, if". Today there are even "red neck games" that many like to participate in.People cannot insult you if you don't treat the word as an insult.If dark skinned Americans want to protest a term they should be protesting the term "African American" which perpetuates the racists attitude that dark skinned Americans can only claim African ancestors. The fact is that dark skinned Americans are more justified calling themselves "Americans' than are light skinned Americans. African immigration to the U.S. ended after the Civil War and didn't begin again until after World War II. Thus the ancestors of most dark skinned Americans arrived long before the ancestors of many light skinned Americans arrived after the Civil War particularly those from the European continent. Some experts believe that a third of the ancestors of dark skinned Americans were already living here before the Europeans arrived.
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