11/24/2008

Sorry I missed a few days on the blog, But Daddy has fallen into the economic bullshyt like the rest of the country. My company has closed it's Denver office, so I've joined the ranks of the unemployed. To be honest I haven't felt like blogging the past few days, but I was sent this story this morning, and I felt I had to share.

I want to thank Amy Felsen for sending this to me.

You all have a great and blessed day. PEACE!

Daddy.

Remarks from CBS Sunday Morning (everyone should read!)

From Sunday November 23rd 2008

 

I only hope we find God again before it is too late!!

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning


Commentary.

My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish.  And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees..  I don't feel threatened.  I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are:  Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me.  I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto.  In fact, I kind of like it  It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu .  If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians.  I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period.  I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country.  I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him?  I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too.   But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different:  This is not intended to be a joke;  it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response.  She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this , just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives.  And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out.  How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'

In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc.  I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK.  Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school.  The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself.  And we said OK.


Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out.  I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell  Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says.  Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.  Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing yet?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit.  If not then just discard it... no one will know you did.  But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.



My Best Regards,  Honestly and respectfully,


Ben Stein

Black, white or neither? The mixed race dilemma

From The Times UK
November 11, 2008
David Aaronovitch

Barack Obama has identified himself as a ‘mutt'. We, too, should acknowledge our fastest-growing ethnic minority.

In America in the spring of this year, 2008, a widow named Mildred Dolores Loving died at the age of 67. Let me hand the story over to the late Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, Earl Warren, writing in 1967.

“In June 1958,” Warren explained, “two residents of Virginia, Mildred Jeter, a negro woman, and Richard Loving, a white man, were married in the District of Columbia pursuant to its laws.” But not pursuant to the laws of their native Virginia. When they returned to the state and set up home in Caroline County, a Virginia grand jury indicted them for violating the local ban on interracial marriages.

“On January 6, 1959,” Warren continued, “the Lovings pleaded guilty to the charge and were sentenced to one year in jail; however, the trial judge suspended the sentence for a period of 25 years on the condition that the Lovings leave the State and not return to Virginia together for 25 years. He stated in an opinion that: ‘Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, Malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix'.”

The case took nearly eight more years to resolve. The Attorney-General of the state of Virginia pleaded - through the Beatle mania era and into the hippy age - that, since the ban was equally applied to blacks and whites, the legislation was not discriminatory. The Supreme Court unanimously rejected this argument.

“The Fourteenth Amendment,” Warren wrote, “requires that the freedom of choice to marry not be restricted by invidious racial discriminations. Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State.” He concluded: “These convictions must be reversed. It is so ordered.”

This was the year that I turned 13. How, looking back is it possible that such laws existed well into the postwar era? Existed, in fact, in no less than 16 states? In Virginia miscegenation legislation dated back to 1661. In 1691 the state could fine any white woman who bore a mixed race child, or put her in indentured servitude for five years, and her child for 30. To the Virginians, mixed race meant black. In 1924 whites were forbidden to marry anyone with “a single drop of negro blood” in Virginia. Six other states already had such a provision.

If I have heard one phrase in continual use about Barack Obama, it is about how he “represents”, in himself, whatever virtue or trend the user wishes to associate him with. In particular, of course, he is continually referred to as the first African-American” or “black” president of the United States.

It seems pedantic, and something worse, to argue that Obama is, in fact, mixed race. In some mouths this sounds like - and probably is - an attempt to deprive black people of a victory. It's a bit like when the inevitable stupid soul, unaware of the origin of the term, objects that, since Arabs are Semites, one cannot appropriate “anti-Semitism” to mean Jew-hatred. I always suspect the motives behind such plausibility.

And in the case of the President-elect there do seem to be two Obama’s. The Hawaii Obama, brought up on that mixed-race island group by a white mother and two white grandparents, and a later Chicago Obama, living in the black community, marrying a black woman, attending a black Church and seeking his lost black father.

“He had to leave the island to find himself as a black man,” David Maraniss wrote in The Washington Post.

“He's black,” a friend said to me yesterday. “Most people would look at him and see him as being black.” Certainly 1924 Virginians would. And if the man see himself as being black, then where's the argument? Except, he isn't. To say that Mr. Obama is black is to say, in effect, that his mother had no race or that her race was somehow obliterated by her choice of husband. Is to say that no one much had realized, had quite noticed, that her son was, in fact, mixed race. Is to say that being mixed race is not also to be something.

To me this feels important partly because my mildly extended family now includes four mixed-race children, who are not black and are not white, or who are both. It may be important to me because my father was Jewish and my mother wasn't.

It is important in a bigger way because, both in America and here, the number of mixed-race children being born is growing steadily. In California, one estimate is that the proportion is now one in six; in the UK the fastest-growing ethnic category is that of mixed race.

Trevor Phillips, of the Commission for Equalities and Human Rights, has noted the “astonishing rise” in the number of mixed-race Britons, expecting that they will be the single largest minority group by 2020 - and by far the youngest. The evidence of this rise is all around us, first manifested - as ever - in the fields of sport and popular culture. Lewis Hamilton, of course, Theo Walcott, Leona Lewis and dozens more. As the geneticist Steve Jones pointed out at the weekend, demographic mobility combined with desire has rendered race-mixing far more likely, once prejudice has been abandoned.

But we are being very slow to recognize how this trend subverts the old categories. The ancient proscriptions, on all sides of the racial divides, for all their narrowness, render life less complicated. Even an Obama doesn't make it by being mixed race, he makes it in politics - finds himself - by identifying as black. A recent and admirable survey of the attitudes of mixed race people by Kent University referred to members of the “mixed-race community”. But, of course, there's no such thing to belong to.

And then, last week, safely selected and elected, the Obama’s went dog-hunting. One option was a “shelter-dog”. “A lot of shelter-dogs are mutts,” the President-elect said. “Like me.”
Not “black”, but “a mutt”, a mixture - the very mixture, perhaps, that allowed people to identify with him in such varied ways. This was surely a return by Mr. Obama to what Maraniss described as “the notion of Hawaii... the spirit of aloha, the transracial if not post-racial message - that has made his rise possible.

How I hope, in the year that Mildred Loving - married to Richard - died, that it is so ordered.

Will You Dance With Me?

11/17/2008

I recived this email this morning. It's a great message for us all.
I want to thank Lola, and Glen Brown for sending this to me.

You all have a great and blessed day. PEACE!

Daddy.

READ THIS VERY SLOWLY.... IT'S PRETTY PROFOUND.

Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine. I got to thinking one day about all those women on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible. How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does the word 'refrigeration' mean nothing to you?

How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched 'Jeopardy' on television?

I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, 'How about going to lunch in a half hour?' She would gas up and stammer, 'I can't. I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast, It looks like rain.' And my personal favorite: 'It's Monday.' She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together.

Because Americans cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our headaches. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect! We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Steve toilet-trained. We'll entertain when we replace the living- room carpet... We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.

Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to our selves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of 'I'm going to,' 'I plan on,' and 'someday, when things are settled down a bit.'

When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Roller blades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord. My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process. The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-Decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.

Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to......not something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?

Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butter fly's erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask ' How are you?' Do you hear the reply? When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head? Ever told your child, 'We'll do it tomorrow.' And in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die? Just call to say 'Hi?

When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift....Thrown away.....

Life is not a race Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over. It's National Friendship Week.. Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND. If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends. To those I have sent this to... I cherish our friendship and appreciate all you do. 'Life may not be the party we hoped for... but while we are here we might as well dance!

Quick Look.

Hillary Clinton's name mentioned as possible Secretary of State

November 13, 2008
Posted: 07:45 PM ET
From CNN's Jessica Yellin and Gloria Borger

(CNN) — Two sources close to the Obama transition team tell CNN that Senator Hillary Clinton’s name has been mentioned as a possible candidate for Secretary of State.

One source close to Hillary Clinton tells CNN that as of early yesterday, Senator Clinton had not been contacted by the transition team about a possible cabinet appointment. This same source tells CNN that Senator Clinton would not necessarily dismiss such an offer. Read More


Michelle O. made the power statement of her political career yesterday, and she did it without uttering a word. The red dress that she wore on her first visit to the White House said it all, and it said a lot.
Bonnie Fuller

Posted November 11, 2008 02:01 PM (EST)
#1: It announced: I'm ready to be Page One, top-of-the-news-hour, insta-blog news. I'm dressed to pop off any web screen or any sheet of news spread.

There's nothing demure about a stylish red dress. Michelle was stating boldly that she acknowledged her position as The Top First Lady of The World bar none. Hear me Carla Bruni-Sarkozy--you've been surpassed as a First Lady force in the news, and yes, even as a force in fashion. Read More

Rate New Lisa Lopes (With Fellow Members of TLC)
By Sonia Murray Friday, November 14, 2008, 09:00 AM The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Next Thursday Mass Appeal Entertainment is having a listening party in New York for the late Lisa “Left-Eye” Lopes’s last solo project, “EYE-Legacy” — due in stores Jan. 27.

But today, for you, we’ve got the single featuring fellow TLC members Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas; as well as Missy Elliott.

Hear it Here

The Joshua Generation
Race and the campaign of Barack Obama.
by David Remnick November 17, 2008

Obama could not run his campaign for the Presidency based on political accomplishment or on the heroic service of his youth. His record was too slight. His Democratic and Republican opponents were right: he ran largely on language, on the expression of a country’s potential and the self-expression of a complicated man who could reflect and lead that country. And a powerful thematic undercurrent of his oratory and prose was race. Not race as invoked by his predecessors in electoral politics or in the civil-rights movement, not race as an insistence on tribe or on redress; rather, Obama made his biracial ancestry a metaphor for his ambition to create a broad coalition of support, to rally Americans behind a narrative of moral and political progress. He was not its hero, but he just might be its culmination. Read More

You all have a great and blessed day. PEACE!

Daddy

A Little Something From Daddy

......The Struggle

This is a slideshow of images from the past, and present. These photos are meant to show a slow but persistant effort among Americans to do away with the politics of Slavery, Jim Crow, and finally the racism that is slowly being chipped away through communication, and understanding of the races. I hope I haven't upset anyone.

Actually I hope it comes out alright. I've never done this before. PEACE!

Daddy.

To some in Denver, Billups never left

Community, school still important part of his life
By Aaron J. Lopez, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published November 6, 2008 at 7:50 p.m.

In a span of 48 hours, Tony Wells saw two things he never thought possible.
A black man elected to the White House and Chauncey Billups back in a Nuggets uniform.
"Both of them are on the same level," said Wells, a longtime youth basketball and track coach, with a laugh. "I give (the edge) to Barack because he's a little older."

For Wells and the Hiawatha Davis Rec Center regulars, Monday's news that Billups was returning to his native Denver momentarily upstaged Barack Obama's bid for the presidency.
"They was dancing and partying," Wells said between pinochle hands. "This is Chauncey's home, man. This is his house."

Nearly 25 years after taking the court at Hiawatha Davis - formerly known as Skyland Rec Center - Billups returned home for the second time in his NBA career as the centerpiece of the trade that sent Allen Iverson to the Detroit Pistons.

Billups, who appeared in 58 games for the Nuggets from 1998 to 2000, is expected to be in uniform tonight against the Dallas Mavericks.

"Great timing for him," said John Hodges, a longtime friend and mentor. "He's heading toward the end of his career. Might as well retire where he grew up, close to family and friends. . . . It's always an honor to have one of your hometown heroes come back."

For those at Hiawatha and George Washington High School, Billups never really left the Park Hill community where he grew up.

In addition to helping finance the $4.5 million remodeling of Hiawatha Davis, he sponsors youth teams and helps run basketball clinics at the rec center during the summer. When the Pistons made their annual trip to play the Nuggets, Billups inevitably would stop by to play a game of cards or dominoes.

"Chauncey has been a young man who has remained connected to our school and community, even though he's been in Detroit for a number of years," said George Washington football coach Steve Finesilver, who was Billups' science and physical- education teacher in the early 1990s.

"He will reconnect with Denver and do even more wonderful things than he's already done."

Read More

Will we get Respect Now That Obama is President?

11/12/2008

I was reading an article in today’s LA Times that asked the question, will the perception of Blacks change with the election of Barack Obama.

Hey, I don’t know. That’s a hard one to call. It is true that White folks came out of the walls to vote for Obama. But that doesn’t mean they’re more comfortable with the rest of us.

Sometimes it’s hard to figure out if they see me as a Colin Powell, or a Flava Flav. My White acquaintances don’t seem to care one way or another. This would lead me to think that there are quite a few White folks that feel the same way.

As Black men we all have stories of being stopped by the police. I mentioned yesterday of being stopped because the neighborhood 7-Eleven had just been robbed. My youngest son (a 20 year old) gets stopped on a regular basis. It’s almost as if they have a schedule to follow. The story I read tells of other Blacks that get stopped for a variety of reasons. None of which have anything to do with them.

The entertainment business isn’t helping the cause either. There are a lot of White folks that see the young hip hopper in videos, or the Black jester on sitcoms as representation of all Blacks. We seem out of place to them in a Brooks Brothers suit, and wingtip shoes. But from my experience we all have problems taking the time to check out the other person, and we choose to read the cover.

My question asks do Black folks have a different perception of White folks now that Barack Obama has been elected.

There are some Black folks that are hard liners when it comes to trusting Whites. And I can’t call them wrong on it. But from my experience it’s all in how you approach a person that determines whether or not you gain a bit of their trust from the beginning. I’ve had gigs where people have said “Hey I don’t like Nigger music, but you guys are good”.

My point is that if we truly want change, we Black folk will have to reach out just as far as Whites to pull this thing off. We can’t sit back and wait for something to happen. We are demanding respect from the country, and we have to show some respect in return.

The country is changing. The good old boy network is slowly losing strength with young Americans. They seem to do a lot better spreading the love. I see groups of young folks that are diverse. They don’t seem to believe in the Black Fear. And thank you Lord! Hopefully my grandchildren will see a day where this conversation is null and void.

Now is the time to change our perceptions of each other, and every other race of people that live and work in this country. We are, and should believe that we all are in this fight together. We all have a job to do. Working together only helps to heal wounds that have festered for more than 400 years.

Personally I don’t want reparations. I don’t want forty acres and a mule. I just want the same opportunities and respect for all races in this country. PEACE!

Daddy.

Read the Story

My Opinion…Rant # 650,893

11/11/2008

By Daddy

Well with the 2008 elections behind us, it’s back to ranting for me. These are just a few subjects that I have a problem with. You must remember I’m a mad old Black man. But I am feeling a bit better these days.

A few things I would do as POTUS. So here we go!

1. The first thing I would do is pull the troops from Iraq, and Afghanistan. In the case of Afghanistan I would use Special Forces specifically trained for search and destroy in mountainous areas. I would not offer money to these people to bribe them for their help. Tell me what I need to know or get the f*ck out my way. Osama Bin Laden has a television studio somewhere in those mountains, and dammit we’re going to find it. I would use Arab Americans ONLY for these forces. Infiltrate for 2-3 years. Them BAM! Gotcha! And it won’t cost you 10 billion a month.

2. The second thing I would do as POTUS is change the laws on campaigning. No more lying to the public to tear down the opponent. You must deal with the issues concerning the people of this country. You lie, you are disqualified. Your opponent wins. No second chances. Nope, none!

3. I wouldn’t give a penny to the automakers until they had produced cars that get 40mpg in the city, and won’t cost you more than $12,000. PERIOD! Greedy bastards. Think about it. If you build a good decent automobile that gets 40 mpg in the city, and the people can buy it for $12,000, you probably won’t be able to make enough of them fast enough. DUH!

4. I would NOT bailout anyone else!

So let me get this straight. The predatory lender gives a loan with a very high interest rate to a person they know can’t afford it. They charge them maybe as much as $20,000 at closing. So the broker is now paid. Let’s say the person has now been in his home for 5 years. The bank that gave the loan has now collected interest for the past five years. And let’s not forget the people that took the loans for home they knew they couldn’t afford.

5. If we still have some of the 700 billion I want that back too. I want to get money to towns and cities for roads, and bridges. I want to build wind turbines in every city, and every town. YOU will pay for your own wind turbine. But if the numbers are correct you will be giving electricity back to the city, therefore instead of the credit back to you, it goes to pay for the wind turbine. You end up paying nothing. Or in reality the property will always make the payment. And the beauty of it is we may even clean up the air a bit, and help the environment.

6. I would bring back the draft. Everybody gets their chance to serve their country. Why should the poor be the only people putting their ass on the line for this country? If you are a citizen you should take your turn defending the people. We live here together. If a bomb were to drop, it can’t tell the difference who you are. Aside from medical care for the rest of your life, two years would get you two years of college paid in full. Four years would get you four years paid in full. This is along with the current benefits offered. Either way you would be required to give two years as a reservist after your service. This is in case of a national emergency.

7. I would require the oil companies to open capped wells on land they already lease from us, before giving them free reign in new areas of the country. I would take away the current tax break, and put a cap on what they can charge the people for a gallon of gas. 5 dollars a gallon is unacceptable when the oil companies are making 20 billion per quarter in profit.

8. I would start collecting the debts owed to us from countries around the world that have been delinquent for who knows how many years, with interest.

9. I would change the laws for the insurance companies. Let’s say you’re 50 years old. You have never had a claim filed on your auto or homeowners insurance that you’ve been paying for thirty years. We’ll say $850 per year. That’s $25,500 that would look very good in YOUR bank account right about now. You’ve never had to use the money, so shouldn’t they give some of it back?

10. Immigration. If you’re not here legally YOU MUST LEAVE! You can always come back after you sign zee correct papers, and entered the country legally. You must be in the system so you go through he same bureaucratic bullshit like the rest of us. I would offer 10 years of military service for citizenship. While the person is in active duty, his family will get the same benefits as every American that serves their country.

11. Any child that can hold a 4.0 GPA can have a full ride at THEIR city college. This means books, labs, etc…
Any child that holds a 4.0 GPA can have a full ride at state college at $5000 per year.

12. If you want to hold teachers responsible for raising your child forget it. Parents will have to be held responsible for having their child prepared each day for school. This means homework, and hygiene, and attitude. Failure to do so will cost the parents in fines. Teachers that pass stringent background checks should start at $50,000 per year.

13. Any child under the age of 18 will have FREE and COMPLETE health care. There are millions of hard working folks in this country that although they have been at a company for some time may not have company insurance. Their children should always be covered.

Any person that works for a living should have very affordable health care. We have to put a cap somewhere on the drug companies. It is not fair that money makes the difference in living or dying.

14. If you have worked your whole life you shouldn’t have to pay income or property taxes after the age of 65. We treat our elderly terribly. These are folks that have paved the way. These are folks that we’ve learned from. They deserve a hell of a lot more than they’re getting.

15. As far as gay marriage, get over it! I personally don’t believe in it, but that does not give me the right to tell two people what they can or can not do. Some same sex partners have put in years together whether you call it marriage or not. They should have the right to have their partners included how ever they wish.

16. I almost forgot abortion. I am a Christian. I do not believe in abortion. But again it is not my right to tell a woman what she can or can not do with HER body. It has always amazed me how MEN have set these laws. Being a Christian, I understand that we as human beings have the understanding to determine what is right and what is wrong. It is between you and your God what decision you make.

17. The police MUST STOP killing Black men for no reason. There have been too many instances where a Black man is shot reaching for his wallet. Too many instances of “I thought he had a gun”. Too many instances of looking like someone who just robbed the convenience store. If you are a police officer, and you don’t have the patience to know who you’re killing before you kill them, or the sight of a Black man freaks you out I don’t think you should be on the force. The motto is “To serve and protect”. Get it?

18. The racism must stop. Or at least the people that don’t want to be here with the rest of us should have a place they can call their own. We should give them an island. Tropical weather and sandy beaches. Nothing but Aryans and Nazis as far as you can see. Ah a beautiful life.

Lastly;

It is a great day in America that we have elected the first Black POTUS. IN AMERICA NOT BLACK AMERICA! I’m hearing some Black folk talk of how easy it’s going to be now that Barack Obama has been elected. FOOLS! It’s going to be a harder challenge. It’s going to take hard work from us all to regain our status in the world, and here at home. It will be even harder to get out of this economy we’re in. The first thing we have to get rid of are the folks who WANT to live on welfare. I’m sorry but the country is tired of taking care of your lazy ass, and your children’s lazy asses. If your child refuses to go to school, and would rather hang out with other little assholes that feel the same way, he becomes a prime target for the US Army. Get their asses off the streets, and into a disciplined society. Hopefully they’ll learn something there if it’s nothing more than how to properly clean a toilet. I understand there are certain situations for some folks in the welfare system. In their case this would not be mandatory.

These folks I’m talking about are the Niggers. Please don’t get me wrong. I love my people, but some of us just don’t get it. They are the ones that always try to find the easy way out. They are also the crabs in the barrel, swearing against others because of their own ignorance. We must be rid of this element. We must find a way to change the thinking of those who have no hope. We must find a way to bring these same people around to our way of thinking. Who told young Black children that only they do not have to put in the work along with everyone else? Who told Black children that only they do not have to have an education? THIS is a part of the change Obama talks about.

Working together we can make this a great country. We’ve already started, and it can’t go any way but up. I never heard Barack Obama mention helping Black America, But I heard him loud and clear that he will help AMERICA. So buck up soldier and let’s git er done. PEACE!

Daddy.

Inauguration 2009: How To Be a Part Of History

7 November 2008

Everyone I know and a lot of folks on the web are talking about coming to DC for the historic 2009 inauguration which takes place January 20th which is also the day after the Martin Luther King holiday. As DC area residents TheMom and I will serve as your BMWK concierge to give you the best of DC and to answer some of the questions you may have.

First up how can you get tickets to the inauguration? Now I’m sure the entire area will be flooded with folks anyway but if you want to get up close with the actual tickets this is what you can do.

Don’t by them on the web, at least not yet. If you see someone saying they have tickets already they are lying.

Tickets to the 56th Inaugural Ceremonies will be provided free of charge and distributed through Members of Congress. Contact your member of Congress to find out what you need to do. Most likely they’ll put you on a list and then you can take your chances from there.

Tickets will then be distributed as close as the day before the inauguration.

Some websites are offering parade route tickets starting at 600 bucks and going up to 1400. I’d check into that further, this is probably for the bleacher seating but for free you can get there early and stand on the street.

The inaugural balls have not been scheduled yet but when they are we’ll give you all of the details on that also.

To find your Congressperson you can go

here and enter your zipcode.

Washington DC, a Beautiful Place!

11/10/2008
By Daddy

Good morning, good morning!

Mommy and I returned home from Chocolate City last evening. And I must say it was a great trip. I think the best thing about it was the enthusiasm of folks no matter on the street, in the subway, Black, White, Latino, Asian, or European.

The buzz is everywhere. While sightseeing at the White House, folks began singing “We’re moving on up” (Theme from the TV show The Jefferson’s).

Folks from all over the world were at the Lincoln Memorial to sign the giant post card for Barack Obama. To be honest it seemed like the majority of folks waiting to sign were not from this country. But it didn’t matter. People stood in line for a chance to wish Barack Obama, and his family well, and to promise to pray for the change he speaks of. Beautiful thang!


Next it’s on to Ben’s Chili Bowl for a Half Smoke sandwich. This consists of a smoked sausage drowning in chili, cheese, and onions. May I have another? Bill Cosby is the only person in the world that never has to pay for a sandwich. Damn!!!

While there we were fortunate that a good friend of my brother in law invited us to sit in the back room, and it was worth it. The Rethuglican lobbyists were having their lost my job lunch. Each lobbyist would stand and tell who they worked for, and what they looking for now that the Rethugs are out in Washington. The best quote of the afternoon after one lobbyist stood and introduced himself, a voice from the back of the room suggested Barack Obama was looking for a driver! I didn’t get a chance to record it, and I know I’ll be kicking myself from now on. But none the less it made for great comedy.

You know I had to be a tourist for at least one day. We made the rounds to all of the monuments except two. I missed the Iwo Jima memorial, and we didn’t get a chance to visit the home of Fredrick Douglas. Those two will be first on my list in January. But for what we did see, it felt different this time. Being among the giant statues on the mall I felt that finally I was a part of all this. I didn't feel disconnected as I had in the past. The election of Barack Obama has changed me in a way I never thought would even happen. Yes I am an American. Not an African American. Not a Black American. I am an American, and damn proud of it. Hearing the people on the street talking about Obama and the future was an uplifting experience. It felt good to talk to folks that in the past probably would have never struck up a conversation with me. But this new deal feeling that we have to work together, brings a curiosity that can not be overcome without conversation, and communication.

Oh one last thing. If you’re planning on being in Washington for the inaugural I would suggest you get busy NOW. The main story in the paper everyday is that hotel rooms are going very quickly.
You may also want to purchase your airline tickets NOW. The companies plan on raising the fares for that destination for those dates.

If you can’t make it in January, and you never had the chance to visit, please make plans to visit with your children. There is so much history in this city. Your children will learn more in one day about the lives of Black folks in a Black city than a whole year in school. It’s not all murder and drugs as the MSM would have you believe. (Although there is a part of town you would be wise to stay away from) The District of Columbia is a very diverse city. Minorities have a lot going on. Suits, and dresses. Dresses and suits. Folks owning their companies. I don’t think I’ve ever visited a city with more Black men in Armani suits!

Well tomorrow its back to politics, and community subjects. But I had to share my trip with you.
Hope I didn’t bore you to death. Until tomorrow, PEACE!

Daddy.

We’ve come a long way baby.

11-05-08
By Daddy

Slavery in the United States began soon after English colonists first settled Virginia in 1607 and lasted until the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1865. (Wikipedia)

Well I made it through election night with just a slight hangover to show for it. I tried to write something last night but between the crying, the phone calls, and the Martini’s, I felt it might be better to wait until today.

This is truly a great day in America. Barack Obama has done what would truly be called a circus catch of the 25th level! The brother is The President of the United States of America after a decisive victory over John McCain, his Rethuglican rival. I just had a thought. Do we call him Mr. President, or Brother President? Hum.

This morning instead of my usual rant, I’m going to let folks from around the world get in their views, and comment on this game changing election. I saved the best one for last. PEACE!

Thanks to Phyllis Kajiwara for sending me the picture of the First Family.

Daddy.

jehanmal....Afghanistan

I congratulate president Obama on his victory. Change in America must accompany change in Central/S Asia, especially Afghanistan. Afghans/Pukhtuns will honour a strategic partnership with the US if they can gain their lands and people back from artificial State of Pakistan. The US can not have both, as is, and expect peace. From Oxus to Indus rivers are our land and people.

MW....United Kingdom

Oh how I hope this is true, that USA no longer defines its citizens by skin colour, pink, black, white or brown but can rise to a new concept of equality. I wish that Rosa Parks had lived to see the day, and Obama's grandmother. But no matter. Those of us who are older remember the old campaign song "We shall overcome" - some day. Now we see white and black Americans with a banner declaring, "WE HAVE OVERCOME." Way to go!

Milazim....Macedonia

Persuasive victory!!!
We hope it's going to be a change in American foreign policy...

Mahdi Kemal....Ethiopia

No more Black or White! Bravo Obama, you made the dream of Dr King and Malcolm X a reality. Time heals what reason cannot! This is a time to make America for all.

Ayaan Moussa Ahmed....Somalia

I think what America did is remarkable in this century, because they showed us what America really looks like. Before yesterday, we believed America was a White country club where there was no place for Black Americans at all, and now it will be remaining in our mind in a positive way, at least the new president is African-American. Here in the horn of Africa there are a lot of things going on, especially in Somalia, so I think the new strategy could be better than the ones of the last.

Arthur Visser....Netherlands

Obama gets my congratulations and from many other people of my country. We will think he will be a good president and wish him all the best.

mario22....Philippines

We just hope that President Obama will change the American foreign policy of war and change it to peace. We hope also that his government will help oppressed people like our brothers in Southern Philippines, the Bangsamoro people of Mindanao.

Moe Y....Lebanon

Bush said that Obama's win is "awesome"! Well guess what Bush: "awesome" describes only the beginning of the upcoming stunning Obama changes... He will start fixing all the awesome mistakes you've made! People get ready to see some major changes all over the world.

Thomas1993....Canada

We will see if Obama does better than Bill Clinton (who has the blood of a million Iraqis on his hands). Some people predict the same policies from Obama. However, we can all take pleasure in one certitude. Remember how Barbara Bush made fun of the black people who were evacuated after Katrina? Well now she must not only see the White House occupied by a black president, but also face the reality that it was her son's actions who put him there.

Dr Eka Airlangga....Indonesia

Congratulations! Hopefully, all the dreams of Americans for equality and a better future will be a good example for other countries. America will be changed for being good and mutual understanding to other countries. Don't start to be a world policeman. Keep your promise!

Riyaz....United Arab Emirates

Muslim welcomes this win! It's proved to some of the leaders who fought against Islam in the name of 'war on terror', as from the Holy Quran verse: "The unbelievers planned and plotted, He (Allah) also planned and plotted, and He is best in planning and all knowing!" Obama might not be a practising Muslim, but hopefully will not allow thousands of civilians to be killled in Iraq and Afganistan hereafter. Every Muslim over the world enjoys this victory! Masha'Allah! [Thanks be to God!]

Jameel Iqbal....India

Obama says, change has come to America. Good! I am eagerly awaiting to see if change will also come to American foreign policy too, especially in relation to the Middle East in general and Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan in particular.

JB....United States

God help us all. This inexperienced socialist will only deepen the global recession. His taxation policies will stifle growth in the US and the world and his anti-trade policies will further set back global growth even further. And his stated policy of meeting with leaders of terrorist-sponsored states will only embolden terrorists. His VP pick Biden, was correct, within six months there will be a terrorist incident to test this inexperienced socialist.

And the list goes on. Read More

A Black President

11-04-08 10:56 PM

Daddy.

Okay!  Mommy and I have been sitting here doing a bit of crying. It took me awhile to get the tears out of my face.

Can you believe it? I must remind you that I am old enough to remember not being able to use certain bathrooms, and water fountains, and etc...

I'm really not in the frame of mind to finish this blog, but the one thing I do know is that now its time to get down.. 

It's time to take that intelligence that you've displayed to win this thing, and turn this country around. I trust that you will make the same decisions that you have throughout your candidacy. I trust that you will make good decisions for my children and grandchildren. I trust you with my life, and the lives of my family. I know the forces that will work against you. And I also know that they will make it very hard for you.

God bless you, and your family. Obama_Biden 08

That's all I have to say right now.

Daddy.

Come on Haters Lighten Up!

11-04-2008
By Daddy

I was reading a blog by Christiane Amanpour at CNN.com today. The story is about how an Obama win could change the world. It seems that so many across the globe feel this way except for a few haters from this country. And of course you know the haters had to comment.

This election will change the world
Posted: 1613 GMT

NEW YORK — Finding myself in New York City this U.S. election Day, I saw scenes that reminded me of the first democratic elections I covered in Afghanistan in 2004, or Iraq in 2005.

Scenes that reminded me of the historic election in South Africa in 1994 when a black man, Nelson Mandela, was elected president thus ending generations of white minority rule known as apartheid.
Or 1998 in Iran when women and young people turned out en masse to elect the first ever reform president, the moderate cleric Mohammad Khatami.

The enduring motifs from those elections were the massively long lines at the polling centers. Men and women standing patiently, sometimes for hours, to cast their first ever vote for a hopeful secure future. Read More

By: Chief International Correspondent, Christiane Amanpour


This is the comment that caught my eye:

mike Roberts

November 4th, 2008 1646 GMT

the arrogance of thinking the US election will change the world is boring at best and grating at worst.yes it is historic, yes it is interesting, but it will not change the world.there will be troops in Iraq whoever wins, there will be an economic crisis, whoever wins, there will be famine and conflict in Africa, whoever wins, and there will still be terrorist elements all over the world aiming their anger at America and the rest of the world, whoever wins. So please, stop this rhetoric of “changing the world” and lets hope America can change itself and by this regain its Status as an admired democratic country worldwide. Don’t run before you can walk.

This type of thinking or non-thinking is exactly what’s wrong with this country. I mentioned a few weeks ago that my pahtnah Lareezy and his wife Kimberly honeymooned in Greece. His comment on the elections as seen from the Europeans point of view was that a win by Barack Obama would be very good for the world. They also talked to many other folks from around the world that are very excited for Barack Obama. The only haters they ran into were from the United States.

So, for those of you that don’t think an Obama win will make this a better world should check out political news sites from other countries. Their main concern is that Obama has the brains for diplomacy. They respect the fact that he would choose to talk, instead of bomb a country. He would rather come to a compromise before sending your children off to die. And he certainly won’t make up an excuse to invade another country.

These folks also see that America is trying to change its racist spots. You have to agree that for a Black man to be elected president of this country is, is? It’s such a game changer that I really don’t know how to explain it. I don’t know what to call it. Extraordinary?

What does it say about the state of America when the bigots confide that they are voting for the Nigger? It looks like George Bush has lost the support of those people that don’t want a Black man for president, but are smart enough to know they don’t need another 4 years of Bush politics. Damn!

Obviously this election means something different to Black folks than some White folks. But as we’ve seen, the White population of this country came out in droves to support and vote for Barack Obama. What does that tell you?

It says that diplomacy around the world is the way to go. We no longer are looked at as a soothing liaison between warring factions. We are no longer seen as a diplomatic powerhouse. Other countries look at us as the insurgents. They look at us as the terrorists. And a win by John Insane cements the notion of keeping things the same. Bomb bomb bomb, Iran? This is what we want from the leader of this country? I think not. And it’s looking like a whole lot of folks feel the same way.

I for one welcome the chance to be considered above the rankings of a third world country. While the comment above is one of a pessimist, it’s also the downward thinking that if anything will drive this country into a deep depression. And I’m not talking about the economy.

Yes the war in Iraq will still be there tomorrow. The failing bank system will still be there tomorrow. And yes the famine in Africa will still be there. But the one thing we will have tomorrow if Barack Obama becomes the POTUS will be a diplomat that knows how to talk to people. (You know, the one thing the Rethugs said he had going for him.) He will be a president that not only demands respect for himself, but for the rest of the country as well. And with this new respect he will find help in other countries to overcome these problems that seem so overwhelming to tackle alone.

We must remember America is still the destination for many who will leave their own country. America is still the place to be for the rights and freedoms so many will never experience.

So for you haters:

People get Ready There's a train a-comin You Don't need no baggage you just get on board. All you need is faith to hear the diesels comin. Don't need no ticket you just thank the lord.
(People Get Ready. Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions)

Well I’m off to Chocolate City (Washington DC) tomorrow for a few days of R&R, and partying with Mommy, but you know I’ll have something to say after midnight tonight. The blog will be back Monday morning.

But in the mean time! God bless, and have a great day. PEACE!

Daddy.

YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO!

VOTE!

Obama Reports Death Of His Grandmother

Madelyn Payne Dunham Was 86 Years Old
POSTED: 2:36 pm MST November 3, 2008
UPDATED: 2:58 pm MST November 3, 2008

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said his grandmother died Monday.

Madelyn Payne Dunham, 86, helped to raise Obama, and had not been well for a long time. She broke her hip recently. But Obama said Monday she died of cancer.

He announced the news in a joint statement with his sister Maya Soetoro-Ng.

"She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility. She was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances," he said.
Obama said he learned of her death Monday morning while he was campaigning in Jacksonville, Fla. He said he planned to go ahead with campaign appearances before Election Day on Tuesday.

In a campaign ad this year, Obama described Dunham as the daughter of a Midwest oil company clerk who "taught me values straight from the Kansas heartland" -- things like "accountability and self-reliance. Love of country. Working hard without making excuses. Treating your neighbor as you'd like to be treated."

Obama recognized Dunham when he accepted the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's convention in Denver.

"She's the one who taught me about hard work. She's the one who put off buying a new car or a new dress for herself so that I could have a better life. She poured everything she had into me," he said.
Obama broke away from campaigning in October and flew to Hawaii in order to be with Dunham after she fell.

Obama said the decision to go to Hawaii was easy to make, telling CBS that he "got there too late" when his mother died of ovarian cancer in 1995 at 53, and wanted to make sure "that I don't make the same mistake twice."

Read More

Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed

Barack Obama For President

03 Nov 2008 12:30 pm

Andrew Sullivan_The Atlantic

Thanks to Collinus Hutt for sending this out!!

On a spectacular September morning more than seven years ago, our world changed. I remain one of those who believe that that day remains indelible, and its lesson unforgettable. The civilized democratic world came under attack from a small but lethal band of religious fanatics bent on destroying free societies, and, more terrifyingly, eager to get their hands on weapons of mass destruction that could make 9/11 look like a dry run.

We are still under attack.

This confluence of fundamentalism and lethal technology is the greatest danger of our time. And in the last seven years, the threat has not abated. Al Qaeda remains at large, and the very top leadership that planned and executed 9/11 is alive. They have reconstituted a base of sorts in Pakistan. They have scored several major propaganda victories - from Abu Ghraib to Guantanamo Bay to trapping most of the US military in an unending counter-insurgency in one country where al Qaeda was weak before 2002, Iraq. Islamist factions in Pakistan's government are horrifyingly close to nuclear technology. Iran has gained in power and influence in the Middle East and its ability to launch and use nuclear weapons is much greater than it was on 9/11. At its best, the Iraq war will lead to a fractured petro-state, closely allied with Iran, beset by constant infighting and terrorism. At its worst, Iraq will keep over 100,000 young Americans trapped there for the rest of our lives. The war in Afghanistan against the Taliban is at a seven year nadir.

Now the really bad news: the view of co-presidents Bush and Cheney is that this is a war that can and should be controlled by only one branch of government and a war in which the job of the citizenry is to shop. It is a global war where force of arms remains too often a first resort and in which talking to our enemies is regarded as "the white flag of surrender," instead of another tool at our disposal. It is a war where the American government has alienated - in some cases deeply - democratic allies whose police work and intelligence we desperately need.

I do not doubt that military force is part of the mix to defeat this threat. (Like everyone else, I'm heartened that general Petraeus has introduced some minimal intelligence into the occupation of Iraq, although I fear it has merely made our presence more protracted and our withdrawal more difficult.) But the crudeness with which military force has been deployed, the absence of strategy or even due diligence in the execution of the long war, and the massive public relations blunders which have led the United States to lose a propaganda war against a bunch of murderous, medieval loons are unforgivable.

Read More

Barack Obama family gathers in Kenya

US vote excites Obama's ancestral home in Kenya

By TOM MALITI Associated Press Writer

Nov 3rd, 2008 KISUMU, Kenya -- From the capital of Nairobi to this bustling city near Barack Obama's ancestral home, Kenyans were excited Monday about the man they see as a "son of the soil" -- and ready to celebrate if he wins the U.S. presidential election.

In Kogelo, where Obama's late father was born, hordes of media set up cameras and photographed the landscape, even as police blocked access to the family's homestead.
"Everybody is extremely happy and excited and looking forward to celebrating the day after the elections," Malik Obama, Obama's half brother, said in Kogelo, 300 miles from Nairobi.

Kenyans believe an Obama victory over John McCain would not change their lives much, but that has not stopped them from splashing his picture on minibuses and selling T-shirts with his name and likeness. Kenyans were planning to gather around radios and TV sets starting Tuesday night as the results come in.

Other Obama fans worldwide were also gearing up to celebrate: In Japan, pictures of the Democrat adorned banners along a street in the town of Obama. Bars in Germany, where Obama is adored as the "black JFK," scheduled all-night parties.

Election fever was also high in Vietnam, where McCain was held as a POW for more than five years after being shot down in Hanoi during a 1967 bombing run.

Kenya's two main newspapers had Obama on the front page. The Standard said the atmosphere in Kenya was "palpable with expectation."

Some Kenyans were taking off work Wednesday to watch TV. Across the continent, many were basking in the glory of a successful black politician with African roots.

Read More

Some thoughts on the day before the election

By Dr. Alan Roper…11/3/2008

Why I dread November 5th

The theoretical foundations of the democracy in this country are often blurred during times of media generated fervor and advocacy of a point of view, a degree of advocacy, or support of a candidate. But the basis of this form of governance have strong theoretical foundations that every now and then, need to be recognized. This means, in communities which act by voting, that rule belongs to the majority, as no other method has been found for determining peaceably and legally what is to be deemed the will of a community which is not unanimous. Democracy is supposed to be the product and the guardian both of equality and of liberty, being so consecrated by its relationship to both these precious possessions as to be almost above criticism.

Over the course of several decades, the event of popular elections in this country have degenerated to resemble a raucous sporting event. The American voters not only take polarized positions for their candidate or issue, they develop a vitriolic sense of dislike for the opposing opinion, political party, or candidate. It seems they’ve lost the ability to make a decision without taking sides.

So what happens on November 5th? We’ll have a new president elect, and a candidate that didn’t achieve enough electoral votes to win the election. The part I am not looking forward to is how those who supported the candidate who is not elected will deal with the outcome. I can foresee accusations of voter fraud, racism, manipulation of votes via the electoral process, and worst of all, contempt for those who voted for the other candidate.

Somewhere along the line we lost the concepts and spirit of democracy. For those whose candidate doesn’t win the election, I certainly hope they can still give support to the candidate who did. My fear is that on November 5th we’ll see a country divided, and that we as a nation will be further polarized into an “us and them” collective consciousness. I sincerely hope that the American voters will recognize that even if their candidate didn’t win the election, democracy is supposed to be the product and the guardian both of equality and of liberty.

It’s Almost Over!

November 2, 2008
By Daddy.

Well it’s getting hot and heavy around here. We are coming down to the wire in an election that’s been hard fought, and emotionally draining, not only for the candidates, but for the whole country.

We’ve seen John McInsane zigzag the country with his message of change. And we’ve seen Barack Obama all over the airwaves with his message of hope.

Now it’s up to us to figure out whose message most includes our idea of a better quality of life. Should we continue on with the Bush-Cheney policies, and pray that things will get better in the next four years. Or should we go with Barack Obama, and overhaul the existing economic disaster, and try to salvage what we can for the future?

IF YOU’RE ON THE FENCE, I GUESS THE BIGGEST PICTURE TO LOOK AT IS, ARE WE BETTER OFF TODAY THAN WE WERE 8 YEARS AGO?

That seems pretty easy to me. But there are folks out there that say they can’t make up their minds. I’ve thought about it, and these are two completely different sets of ideals. One gives more to the lower, and middle class, while the other takes from those same people, and gives more to big business with the promise of trickle down economics.

I can see where the Rethuglicans try to make their point that giving more breaks to corporations in turn allows them to hire more people, who turn out more products. But the problem with this plan is that people are afraid to spend what little money they have. Therefore layoffs, early retirement, plant closures etc… Isn’t that where we’re at today?

It makes more sense to me if the people have more money left over after paying their bills, they will spend a little extra on themselves, and their families. Johnny can finally get those new Air Jordan’s. Family #2 can finally take that long overdue vacation with the kids. Uncle Chuck and Aunt Biddy don’t have to choose between Prescription drugs, and a meal. When the people have more money, the corporations make more money, and everybody is happy.

Hey I’m not an economist as I’m sure you can tell, but we’ve seen Barack Obama’s plan work in the past. “BILL CLINTON”!

But if you happen to be in the top 1% John McInsane is your man. He doesn’t have a clue as to how he’ll get your investment money back, but you can be sure that the poor and the have-nots will not be a threat to you at least for the next four years.

The Iraq Insurgency.

John McInsane says if we pull out of Iraq now we will be perceived as cowards. Hey John! We already look like a bunch of cowards. We invaded a country that did nothing to us. Our leader lied that there were WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION. And when it was clear there were no WMD’s we had to get rid of Saddam Hussein because he was a dictator that cared nothing for his people.

Now that all of this has been taken care of why are we still there? Why after 4000 of our children have lost their lives behind a lie, are they still in harms way? And I can’t go any further without mentioning the hundreds of thousands of Iraq civilians (women, and children) killed since 2003.. It seems we can’t get a straight answer on this one, but we know there have many more than has been reported.

Why does John McInsane keep saying that we are winning the war? Winning the war???????????

The Victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Forgot all about that didn’t you?

Three years after Katrina, New Orleans still a symbol of government failure
By John Mashek
Posted August 14, 2008

Nearing Katrina's third anniversary, the city shows signs of promise. Recent visitors report a city coming back—if too slowly for some residents.

Many African-American citizens who fled the low-lying wards will probably never return. There are few homes in those areas, and jobs are difficult to find. Some streets still look deserted.

The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation found in a recent survey that 6 of 10 in the city are feeling better about their future—a positive sign. However, 7 in 10 said affordable housing was not available and rising crime was a concern. Even this week there was another setback when the state gave up on a two-year contract for building homes because of an alleged conflict of interest with the two top bidders.

You all have a great and blessed day. PEACE

Daddy.