WTF!

First of all I have to thank Melody Prentice for the tickets to Sunday's Cutler Bowl at Mile high Stadium!  Melody they were great seats and the Mrs., and I had a great time until,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,The Denver Broncos took the field.

I had brats, beer, a couple of shots of Tequila, and the opportunity to to scream, and stomp my feet with 76,000 other rabid Bronco fans!  But alas, it did no good. 

Okay, I was trying to hang in there and support my boys, but this shit is ridiculous. 

Kyle Orton does not have what it takes to be a Denver Bronco. Sure he may be able to play with the PAL leagues 7-9 year olds, but I'm not so sure about  the NFL.

Now I like to think of myself as a guy who knows football. But being completely honest here, I have to admit that my wife Val knows the stats., the players, the plays, the history, and anything else about football. A little known fact about my in-laws is that after taking a hand off in a Thomas Jefferson high school football game, My younger brother in-law Lloyd Day ran it all the way back for a touchdown. And all the while my mother in-law ran the field with him, and spiked her purse in the end zone after the touchdown. Whoo!  Moms!!!!!! That said, I may be the the most blessed man in the world because my wife and mother in-law are avid football fans.

But back to the Broncos. They Suck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To my recollection Orton only threw one pass for more than 10 yards. And most of that effort was attributed to number 19, Eddie Royal.  It was so bad that the Chicago defense never played more than 6 or 7 yards off the line of scrimmage. Therefore even the dink and dunk passes weren't going anywhere.

Okay, I'm not an expert on the game of football, but i've seen enough games to know that if you don't have a downfield threat with your quarterback, you don't win.

And ladies and gentlemen we don't have it!

We have a decent defense that if not left on the field for the whole game, may be able to pull off some good plays, and stop the opposing team. We have decent backs, receivers, and linebackers.

Orton may, and I say may be fine to bring in if your number one gets hurt, but by no means is this guy who we need to lead our team. What happened to the 80 yard pass on first down for the very first play of the game?

It's gone. That's what happened to it. We have no way to get our team to play like the Broncos of old. No how! No way!!

I suggest trading Brandon Marshal for Michael Vick. Hey now, Vick has served his time and paid his debt to society. He would bring excitement to Mile High. He would keep the fans in their seats past halftime. On the other hand, Brandon Marshall will probably end up being the guy he is today. A professional football player that beats up on every woman he has ever known, but still will never get the sentence of a Michael Vick for having dog fights!  

You all have a great and blessed day. PEACE!

We Loved Ye Prince T.

Aug 26th 2009

I first met Thierry in 1968 at East High School. We didn't hang in the same circles, but if you went to East, you knew Prince T. I remember him being a sports guy back then. Brother had the biggest Fro in the entire school, and always  impeccable white Chucks. He played basketball, and managed the varsity football team. I had lost track of brother until seven or eight years ago until hearing him on KKFN. I would make the occasional call to say hello, ask my question, and get the sports education I needed that day. He first would always ask how I was doing, if the music was still flowing, and hows the family. He would even give the occasional shout out as to where the band was gigging that weekend. 

In these days of misinformation, mistrust in people, and a general feeling that folks just don't give a damn anymore, Thierry was a breath of fresh air,. An honest man with an honest opinion. And this was not a condition that he mellowed to after getting older. This was the man I remembered from the very first time I met him.

God bless you my brother.

Denver sportscaster Thierry Smith dies

By The Denver Post

POSTED: 08/26/2009 01:00:00 AM MDT

UPDATED: 08/26/2009 01:07:38 AM MDT

Longtime Denver-area radio broadcaster Thierry Smith died Monday night, his former employer, KKFN 104.3 FM "The Fan" said Tuesday.

Smith, who graduated from Denver East High School in 1971 and went on to a degree in communications from the University of Denver, was a fixture on sports radio talk shows since the 1980s.

He started as a cub reporter for the now-defunct KDKO, where he eventually hosted a midday "Sports Rap" show. He later moved to KYBG and to KKFN, where he worked both the AM and FM side of the dial.

Smith, who for years was the only African-American voice in the crowded Denver sports talk-show business, in 2000 was given the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Colorado Association of Black Journalists.

He also was closely involved in Colorado high school athletics and for several years was part of a Denver Post panel that awarded a weekly prep football coaching award.

Smith had multiple sclerosis, a disease that left him unable to walk.

"It's a very sad day for anyone who knew Thierry, and for Denver in general," KKFN program director Tim Spence told Westword on Tuesday. "Thierry was the consummate professional, the consummate journalist and one of the hardest-working guys I've ever known."

"And he did all of that while dealing with MS. He was a true warrior."

Day/Wilburn Dueling Dinners 08/23/09

Wilburn Dueling Dinners 08/23/09

Well it turned out to be a great weekend. Yesterday I did Dueling Dinners with my Bro' in-law JD back in Maryland. Jim's nickname is OBJ. Old Black Jim the Cook. 

We call him that because of his culinary expertise. The brother can burn. Scald sky high. Can put his foot in it. You know, cook his ass off! 

JD is usually cooking something up every weekend. So I decided to duel and see if I could match his perennial favorite, BBQ Brisket. 

I started out at 9:00AM by soaking my chips. I did hickory instead of mesquite this time. Don't know why. I think I just picked up the wrong bag. Anyway, got the chips soaked and started my fire. I learned to make a great BBQ sauce from my Dad years ago but I haven't done that in a long time. I usually end up using a bottled BBQ sauce and modify it to my liking. But this time I did "Shag  Sauce". This is a sauce created by my father in-law JD Sr. I can't tell you what he or I use to modify our sauces, but I will say in my case green chiles, and jalapeños are involved. Enter the ribs at 9:45. These I smoked until 11:30. Then over the fire, seared for about 30 minutes then introduced to the pot. With my ribs done I did burgers, chicken wings, and Italian sausages for the kids, and did a nice NY Strip for Mommie, and choice tenderloin for myself.

So here ya go! Dueling Dinners from Denver Co..  Ribs, Burgers, Chicken Wings, Italian sausages, NY strip, Filet mignon along with Potato Salad, Baked Beans, Collared Greens, Spinach Salad, A Day in The Life "Wes Montgomery", Grape Koolaid, and a taste of Tequila on the side.

Bon Appetite. PEACE! 

Jim Day Dueling Dinners 08/23/09

I was calling to check on my sister Sunday morning because the previous day, she had experience a bad flare up of her arthritis.  My brother in-law answered the phone and said Val was unavailable at the moment and we began to chat as we regularly do—we have a great relationship.  In the course of our discussion the subject of Sunday dinner and the menu(s) came up.  As it turned out, we were both grilling...in our community certainly amongst my generation, you take your skills at the grill seriously.  It is part pride in your craft i.e., understanding technique which is passed down from generation to generation, controlling the fire, how to smoke with wood etc. and creating a slam’in bar-b-que sauce, which is another subject.  Well it was on then—the Sunday dinner challenge.  We agreed it was about the celebration of our families especially in these difficult times and the tradition of gathering at someone’s home for a good home cooked meal, usually following church.  Our menu here on the east coast featured; Maryland farm fresh green beans we got from our local farmer’s market, hickory smoked beef brisket, grilled chicken, bratwurst and hotdogs, scalloped potatoes, cornbread, beautiful sweet tea and cupcakes for desert.   I can’t say how good the meal was in Denver but our effort would be hard to beat—check out the photos.

 

JD

Well there you have it. Our first of many Dueling Dinners. It made for a great day to spend with family even if we are 2000 miles apart. All I know is after dinner it was time to unbuckle the belt, get a toothpick, and squeeze in a little snooze.

That would be called old Negro man's Disease! 

But with all the sh*t talking back and forth, I think my sister in-law Michelle put it best.

"We had slap your momma food"!

You all have a great and blessed day. PEACE!

What Have We Turned Into?

Okay have you had enough yet? Enough with the lies, the smear, the whole disgusting way some of our elected politicians are dealing with the healthcare reform debate. I know there will always be opposition to certain  ideas, but if your idea is so much better than my idea, why do you have to lie to get your point across. And to make matters worse, we the people seem to have accepted this as the status quo. 

First there was "Obama was not born in the US. Then there was "Obama wants to kill your grandma, and your disabled children". Then there was "Obama is a Communist". Obama is a Nazi!

Now this morning the pundits on the internet are declaring that "Americans are losing faith in Obama".  Bullshit!!!!

This guy has barely been in office for a little more than six months, and Americans are losing faith? What happened to all those same people, and why didn't they lose faith in George Bush? I mean this guy not only made it his first priority in office to give the rich folks a tax cut, but then went on to lie about the need to invade Iraq, and sent more than 4000 of your children to their deaths. Yes 4000 of YOUR children! And how about his idea to privatize Social Security, and invest that money in the stock market? Now there's something to lose faith in. George Bush and his cronies fixed the economy so that no one but the rich could succeed.

George Bush and his best bud Big Dick Cheney worked it so the majority of people in this country could do nothing but lose. And what gets me to this day, after eight years of nothing from our government, we still have those George Bush people out on the street corners declaring that anything Barack Obama suggests is somehow a communist ploy.

Now I'm not the smartest person in the world, but it seems to me when your government dismisses the will of the people for their own gain, that is communism. That is socialism. That's a Nazi. 

Now granted Barack Obama may have a different way of going about his business, but I haven't heard any lies coming out of his mouth. Here's a guy who was left with an insurmountable situation, and it seems that at every turn there are folks waiting to cut him down. And it hasn't been proven otherwise that all the guy wants to do is make it right for millions of people to live a better life. 

While the pundits, and the street corner preachers are proclaiming that giving money to the auto makers is socialist, I wonder what they're saying in those towns where GM is now calling folks back to work.

Where they're screaming that Obama's heath care reform is nothing more than a ploy to give the government free reign over our very souls, what is being said among the folks who have no way of taking care of health issues they've been dealing with for more than a year. The craziest thing may be the people so upset over a public health option while being on Medicare, or Medicaid. And the one question I haven't heard from these folks that are so upset is to ask these people in office how come Obama's idea is so bad for the country, but we haven't heard a peep out of the senators, and congressmen about how bad their health care insurance is. (Things that make you go Hum!).

There is so much misinformation out there these days it boggles the mind. And to hear these people on the news proclaiming they know what's going on because they use the internet, someone should hip them to FACTCHECK.ORG.

I listened to the pundits say Obama doesn't need the Republicans to pass anything. Just go it alone. Well that's not how he campaigned for for president. He campaigned on leaving that type of bullshit alone, and coming together to get things done. Now we have folks in his own party working against him because they don't want to lose their lobbyist monies to his healthcare plan. We have people questioning his strength as a leader. When this whole mess got started no one in Washington agreed with the public option. Now that Obama backed off that just a little, it now has become the most important issue in passing this bill. WTF!

Come on people. We can't have it both ways. Either we will change the way government has been run or we leave it alone and continue down this road to ruin.

Obama didn't borrow trillions of dollars from other countries to pay our way. Obama didn't take from the poor to give to the rich. Although, my personal take on the war in Afghanistan is that it's a mistake. Get out of other folks business, and that would almost pay for health care on it's own.

Before I finish this rant I have to speak on the folks carrying guns to town hall meetings. Why? All you hear from those people is that it is their right to bear arms. Yeah I can agree with that. I have guns and I don't want anybody telling me that a can't keep them, but why do you have a gun at a town hall meeting? Are you planning on taking somebody out? And just who are you targeting? Obama? Me? So maybe Obama was right in saying these people cling to their guns. 

The eight years under the Bush administration has turned this country into a sniveling pile of wimps. Fear, fear,fear,fear,FEAR! Everybody is afraid. All the way from raising their children to choosing our quality of life. When will we stand up and be men and women again? When will we take it upon ourselves to find out the facts? We have gotten so used to depending on others to tell us what they say is the truth that we live our daily lives believing lies. 

I know there will be those of you that read this and think I've got it all wrong, but I feel that this screaming down your representatives when they're trying to explain or answer your question is stupid. If you don't give them the chance to speak how will you get their information? I feel that the posters of Barack Obama as Hitler is nothing more than to show your disappointment that a Black man is in charge of running this country. The swastikas painted on offices of politicians is abhorrent.  The show of guns is an attempt to intimidate those who do not feel the same way they do. And I respect your opinion on these matters. But tell me where this does our country any good. Explain to me that this is the best avenue of approach. 

I am not a rich man. To be perfectly honest I'm one of millions of people finding it harder and harder to get along each month. My situation warrants my faith in a public option. Without Medicare I would've lost my home, and gone bankrupt long ago. Why don't I see these people in my situation on the news, and on the internet. Why don't I see them standing with their signs and posters on street corners proclaiming the need for the public option? Where are you? Why won't you speak up?

PEACE!

Main Street Live - Summer Concert Series - Jakarta @ Northfield at Stapleton

Well summer is just about outta here and you only have 3 chances left to catch the hardest working show band in Denver. Jakarta will be at Northfield at Stapleton to close out their summer concert series tonight at 6PM.

Jakarta would like to thank all of you that came out and supported us this summer at the various outdoor concerts we've done around the city. It was a treat for the band since private events take up most of our schedule. 

With the closing of The Supreme Court in downtown Denver we haven't had a chance to see our most loyal fans in a while. So we want you to know that we will be hanging out at Jazz@Jacks periodically throughout the coming months. Please check our MySpace page for the calendar and mark those dates! 

So, it's going to be a great evening of music and fun. So get on your dancing shoes and get over to Northfield at Stapleton for a night of Snake Funk in the Dump baby.

Don't get took! Don't be hoodwinked! Don't be bamboozled! Don't be led astray!

http://www.myspace.com/thejakartaband

Main Street Live - Summer Concert Series

DANCE LIKE NOBODY'S
WATCHIN'...  

Join us on Northfield's Main Street
the 1st and 3rd Friday, June - August
from 6pm - 8pm! 

With no opening bands, you can enjoy
your favorite music all night long!

Jakarta - Evergreen park 8/26

Jakarta - Southglenn Mall 8/29

Check out the video below.

The KINGDOM CLARION

By Larry W. King

Volume II, Number XX

August 16, 2009

 

 

Broken Yet Fixed!

“The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.  You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.  My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.” – Psalm 51:17 (New Living Translation); Psalm 57:7 (KJV)

 

As a singer and musician, I am quite fond of the entire book of Psalms, which is essentially a lyrics file authored by various ancient songwriters, including (among others) King David and Asaph, the chief musician.  Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun were leaders of the special class of Levites (Jewish priests) specifically assigned to provide worship music and singing in the temple and elsewhere.  The first half of our text comes from the 51^st Psalm, often called “The Penitent’s Psalm”, which is my very favorite of all 150 Psalms.  At some point, I’ll likely dedicate an entire Clarion to it, but in the meantime here’s a thumbnail sketch.

King David wrote the 51^st Psalm after the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to confront David regarding his wanton lust for Bathsheba, his flagrant adultery with her and his subterfuge devolved into conspiracy to murder her husband, Uriah the Hittite – a foot soldier in the King’s warring army (see II Samuel, chapters 11 and 12).  The 51^st is a masterpiece of repentant prose from beginning to end, and many songs have been spawned from its rich text.  Cherished reader, I urge you to read and ponder Psalm 51 in its entirety.  I am convinced that a powerful blessing awaits you!  Here are a few excerpts to whet your appetite (from the King James Version):

“Have mercy upon me, O God … according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions” – v1.

“… I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.  Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom” – v5-6.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God: and renew a right spirit within me.  Cast me not away from thy presence: and take not thy holy spirit from me.  Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation: and uphold me with thy free spirit” – v10-12.

“O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise” – v15.

Is there any doubt that David was truly sorry for his sins?  Can you see why God said “… I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will” (Acts 13:22b)?  In part, it’s because once David truly faces the gravity (and consequences) of his sinful actions, he is heartbroken.   David realizes that through his selfish behavior he’s failed God, ruined his family and imperiled his kingdom.  He sincerely wants forgiveness and restoration.  And that’s EXACTLY what God wants from us!

The 57^th Psalm was actually written before the 51^st.  It comes from a time prior to David becoming monarch over Israel, when he was being pursued by King Saul.  Early on, Saul had recognized that the Spirit of the Lord was upon David.  Indeed, it was David - the young shepherd boy and skillful instrumentalist - who played the evil spirit out of King Saul with his lyre. The future king was first a musician, singer, songwriter and dancer.  WAAAY KEWL! 

But the slingshot-wielding giant killer had grown up to become a skillful, battle-tested warrior, of whom Jerusalem’s women sang, “Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his TEN thousands” – I Samuel 18:7b (KJV).  Needless to say, King Saul was NOT a happy camper when it came to the adult David; the upstart soldier bidding to usurp his throne.  Yet, even as David hides out in the lonely cave of Adullam, being hunted down by Saul’s minions, he writes: “my heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed.  I will sing and give praise”.  Say what?!?!?

God grant that, regardless of circumstances, each of US should be so determined in our faith; so unyielding in our zeal for the Lord; so steadfast in our daily walk with Him!  Why aren’t WE – who live under the grace of the cross of Christ, and have the awesome power of the Holy Ghost within us – convicted like David?  Shouldn’t WE too give our gracious and loving Lord joyous psalms of praise and worship at ALL times?  Why aren’t OUR hearts equally broken and contrite before Him? 

Was David so different from you and me?  Dear reader, I submit to you that he was NOT.  The same Spirit which rested mightily upon David, King of Israel, is also living and active in each of us.  What an inspiring thought!  We have the power to sing like David sang, to dance like David danced and to praise God just like David did.  Every one of US can sing with David, “I will bless the Lord at all times.  His praise shall continually be in my mouth” – Psalm 34:1.  Hallelujah!  God is GREAT!

So, my prayer for each of you is that as you live every day wholly consumed by the wondrous, life-changing power of the Holy Spirit, and that your hearts – like David’s - will be broken yet fixed!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Larry W. King is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (Magna cum Laude) and heads the Denver-based music group, Kingdom Kru.  He serves as Minister of Music at Faith Community Baptist Church under the leadership of co-pastors Rev. Douglas and Katherine Farley.

COSTCO Pulls Little Monkey Doll From Stores

A doll depicting an African-American child wearing a hat that reads "lil' monkey" was pulled  from Costco shelves following a customer complaint. The toy, called "Cuddle with Me", features several ethnicities (if plastic has an ethnicity) of dolls in cutesy outfits, packaged with plush monkeys. The Brass Key,the company that makes the Cuddle with Me dolls, also has a "Pretty Panda" version on the shelves, which has not been pulled. The Brass Key has issued a public apology to any they may have offended. (From Now Public)

Personally I think this sucks, but with most toys coming from other countries you never know what you're going to get. But the buyer for the store obviously didn't do their homework on this one. This should have never made it to the shelf. Now I won't call COSTCO racist, but somebody had to know what they were buying, and we would hope that whoever stocked the shelves would bring this to the attention of someone in charge. But they did take them out of the stores after receiving complaints.

But what pisses me off are some of the comments on the story. So many people supposedly not seeing a problem with the doll. Now with all of the references to Barack Obama and monkeys since he ran for president, and references to Blacks and monkeys in history you'd have to be pretty vile or pretty stupid not to see the what's wrong with this picture. Yes this is the country we live in. There are always going to be a few making it bad for everybody else. Like the folks carrying guns to town hall meetings. Read on. PEACE!   

 I'd like to thank Becky Hudson for sending this to me!!

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - A state Republican activist has admitted to and apologized for calling a gorilla that escaped from the Riverbanks Zoo Friday an "ancestor" of First Lady Michelle Obama.

A screen capture of the comment, made on the Internet site Facebook, was obtained by FITSNews, the website of South Carolina politico Will Folks.

The image shows a post by an aide to state Attorney General Henry McMaster describing Friday morning's gorilla escape at Columbia's Riverbanks Zoo.

Longtime SCGOP activist and former state Senate candidate Rusty DePass responded with the 

comment, "I'm sure it's just one of Michelle's ancestors - probably harmless."

DePass told WIS News 10 he was talking about First Lady Michelle Obama.

Originally Posted by Niggerologist

Of all the ridiculous things -- I guess since niggers realize they're a step lower on the evolutionary ladder, we need to shield them and their little niglets from anything that reminds them of that fact. Perhaps we just need to exterminate all the primates to make niggers happy and to reduce the unfair competition. Look at this stupid niglet with the monkey doll -- the monkey looks so cute and intelligent by comparison.

Monkey toys and dolls offensive gifts for niglets?

Costco in Florida is in trouble. They offered for sale a seemingly cute baby doll, colored like a nigger. It was packaged with its own stuffed monkey friend, and the doll has "lil monkey" embroidered on its hat. Parents are outraged. The company has apologized and taken the toy off the shelves.

Uncle_Cracker

Captain Join Date: Jul 2009

Location: Where there are no niggers.

Posts: 537

The stuffed monkey is far more evolved then the niglette.

She's a Bad Mutha...Shut Yo Mouth!

I gotta give a shout out to my sister in-law Michelle Day.  This past April she was in India with the Thelonious Monk Institute to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther Kings visit to that country.  Also this year along with hubby Jim Day and his company JD Associates she helped produce the celebration of the 39th anniversary of Earth Day on the National Mall in Washington, DC. This event themed "the Green Generation" was the start of a ramp up to the 40th anniversary celebration in 2010 in April.

Here's a little bit about this sister. PEACE!

Michelle M. Day, Vice President, Operations

Michelle Day has provided production and logistical services for leading political figures, corporations, nonprofit organizations, and the entertainment industry for more than a decade. Since 1997, she has directed a variety of events for the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, including international jazz education tours sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, as well as the annual Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. From 1993 to 1995, Day served as Director of Advance for former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ronald Brown, managing the logistics for a number of international trade missions, including visits to Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Through this work, she became well versed in the composition of the Washington, DC embassy community, as well as the U.S. State Department desk and worldwide embassy system. Day has also been involved in producing high-profile events held on The National Mall, including The March to Conquer Cancer, Earth Day, the Million Mom March, and the March for Women's Lives. Through her work with Festival Productions and the Institute, Day has worked with celebrities including Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Prince, Barbra Streisand, and Stevie Wonder.

Ravi Shankar surrounded by students that attended the joint Shankar School/Monk Institute of Jazz workshop

February, 2009

Institute Musicians Participate in U.S. State Department Mission to India Marking 50th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Visit to India

The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz was pleased to partner with the U.S. Department of State for a February 2009 mission to India, marking the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott Kings' historic trip to India to study Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violence movement.  The King's month-long journey proved to be a pivotal cornerstone of the Civil Rights movement because of lessons learned throughout the course of the trip and adopted upon Dr. King’s return to the United States.

This was the first diplomatic, educational, and cultural mission under the Obama Administration.  Martin Luther King III, who represented the King family, was joined by the current class of students at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance and world-renowned musicians including Herbie Hancock, Dee Dee Bridgewater, George Duke, Chaka Khan, and other distinguished guests.  Rep. John Lewis led a Congressional delegation that included former Congressman and United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young.  Both Lewis and Young were close associates and lieutenants to Dr. King.

The Institute presented several exciting jazz education programs as part of the 10-day mission highlighting Dr. King’s message of justice, equality, and peace.  In addition to presenting "Living the Dream" concerts for the people of New Delhi and Mumbai, the musicians conducted a master class at the Ravi Shankar Institute for Music and Performing Arts, with Ravi Shankar participating, and led several other education programs throughout India.

                                                                                                                                        Numerous public programs involving

government officials, civic leaders, scholars, and youth underscored the enduring importance of the Gandhi and King legacies and the wisdom of the two visionaries.  The group also retraced some of the important steps taken by Dr. and Mrs. King, traveling across India to principal sites associated with Mahatma Gandhi’s work.  

Earth Day Celebration, National Mall, Washington, DC 2009

Read more on what the Thelonious Monk Institute is doing for young musicians around the world:

http://www.monkinstitute.org/

Angered About Healthcare Reform? I Don't Think So.

Okay.

I know by now you've all seen the video clip of a Black woman being dragged from a town hall meeting on healthcare. And most likely you figured she was just another person there trying to disrupt  Senator Claire McCaskill. But what they fail to tell you is that the woman had a rolled up poster of Rosa Parks. When approached by a reporter that wanted to see what she had, the woman unrolled the poster. Then a few seconds later a White man walks up from behind and rips the poster apart balling it up and throwing it on the floor. Security immediately grab the Black woman and drag her from the room. I did read the White man that tore up the poster was ESCORTED from the premises.

Healthcare? Bah! Humbug! You've seen the posters, and pictures of Obama in these crowds. We all know what this is about. You hear the rage in the crowd that they're losing their freedoms. That President Obama is Hitler, and his folks are Nazi's. Bullshit!!! And first finding a gun that someone had dropped at another town hall meeting, and then the smart-ass wearing his gun to the Obama town hall.

This is about a Black man being elected the President of these United States of America. And after seeing this video it seems we're not so united after all!

I'm sorry folks. I'm not trying to start anything here, but it's getting pretty obvious what this anger is all about. I may be a little crazy, but I'm not stupid.

Please check the video below.

You all have a great and blessed day. PEACE!

Republicans Propagating Falsehoods in Attacks on Health-Care Reform

I had to post this article after reading it this morning. And especially after reading that a town hall meeting in Tampa FL turned into a brawl. What the hell is wrong with these people? Fear. Scared of everything. Where's the backbone people? You'd think after being scared about Iraq you would have learned something. This is an article by Steven Pearlstein at the Huffington Post. He breaks this down so my puppy can understand it. Now maybe I've missed something along the way, but I haven't heard anything different than this coming from the presidents mouth.

I'm very passionate on this subject. After having needed help from the government for the past 15 years I'm sure IF we were faced with a government run healthcare system, it would work just fine. But I'll let Mr. Pearlstein tell the story. PEACE!

 

By Steven Pearlstein

Friday, August 7, 2009

As a columnist who regularly dishes out sharp criticism, I try not to question the motives of people with whom I don't agree. Today, I'm going to step over that line.

The recent attacks by Republican leaders and their ideological fellow-travelers on the effort to reform the health-care system have been so misleading, so disingenuous, that they could only spring from a cynical effort to gain partisan political advantage. By poisoning the political well, they've given up any pretense of being the loyal opposition. They've become political terrorists, willing to say or do anything to prevent the country from reaching a consensus on one of its most serious domestic problems.

There are lots of valid criticisms that can be made against the health reform plans moving through Congress -- I've made a few myself. But there is no credible way to look at what has been proposed by the president or any congressional committee and conclude that these will result in a government takeover of the health-care system. That is a flat-out lie whose only purpose is to scare the public and stop political conversation.

Under any plan likely to emerge from Congress, the vast majority of Americans who are not old or poor will continue to buy health insurance from private companies, continue to get their health care from doctors in private practice and continue to be treated at privately owned hospitals.

The centerpiece of all the plans is a new health insurance exchange set up by the government where individuals, small businesses and eventually larger businesses will be able to purchase insurance from private insurers at lower rates than are now generally available under rules that require insurers to offer coverage to anyone regardless of health condition. Low-income workers buying insurance through the exchange -- along with their employers -- would be eligible for government subsidies. While the government will take a more active role in regulating the insurance market and increase its spending for health care, that hardly amounts to the kind of government-run system that critics conjure up when they trot out that oh-so-clever line about the Department of Motor Vehicles being in charge of your colonoscopy.

There is still a vigorous debate as to whether one of the insurance options offered through those exchanges would be a government-run insurance company of some sort. There are now less-than-even odds that such a public option will survive in the Senate, while even House leaders have agreed that the public plan won't be able to piggy-back on Medicare. So the probability that a public-run insurance plan is about to drive every private insurer out of business -- the Republican nightmare scenario -- is approximately zero.

By now, you've probably also heard that health reform will cost taxpayers at least a trillion dollars. Another lie.

First of all, that's not a trillion every year, as most people assume -- it's a trillion over 10 years, which is the silly way that people in Washington talk about federal budgets. On an annual basis, that translates to about $140 billion, when things are up and running.

Even that, however, grossly overstates the net cost to the government of providing universal coverage. Other parts of the reform plan would result in offsetting savings for Medicare: reductions in unnecessary subsidies to private insurers, in annual increases in payments rates for doctors and in payments to hospitals for providing free care to the uninsured. The net increase in government spending for health care would likely be about $100 billion a year, a one-time increase equal to less than 1 percent of a national income that grows at an average rate of 2.5 percent every year.

The Republican lies about the economics of health reform are also heavily laced with hypocrisy.

While holding themselves out as paragons of fiscal rectitude, Republicans grandstand against just about every idea to reduce the amount of health care people consume or the prices paid to health-care providers -- the only two ways I can think of to credibly bring health spending under control.

When Democrats, for example, propose to fund research to give doctors, patients and health plans better information on what works and what doesn't, Republicans sense a sinister plot to have the government decide what treatments you will get. By the same wacko-logic, a proposal that Medicare pay for counseling on end-of-life care is transformed into a secret plan for mass euthanasia of the elderly.

Government negotiation on drug prices? The end of medical innovation as we know it, according to the GOP's Dr. No. Reduce Medicare payments to overpriced specialists and inefficient hospitals? The first step on the slippery slope toward rationing.

Can there be anyone more two-faced than the Republican leaders who in one breath rail against the evils of government-run health care and in another propose a government-subsidized high-risk pool for people with chronic illness, government-subsidized community health centers for the uninsured, and opening up Medicare to people at age 55?

Health reform is a test of whether this country can function once again as a civil society -- whether we can trust ourselves to embrace the big, important changes that require everyone to give up something in order to make everyone better off. Republican leaders are eager to see us fail that test. We need to show them that no matter how many lies they tell or how many scare tactics they concoct, Americans will come together and get this done.

If health reform is to be anyone's Waterloo, let it be theirs.