Beta Nu Boule'

3 things to tell a new graduate

2010-05-07T04:52:00.001-07:00

By Tyler Cowen, Money Magazine contributing writerMay 7, 2010: 6:37 AM ET

(Money Magazine) -- One reason behavioral economics has become such a hot field is that it has scads of practical applications. It can help you fire someone, choose a great restaurant, or get other people to do the dishes. But at your child's graduation from college or grad school, more important life lessons are in order. Three of them are based on the same insight: One of the hardest and most important things to do in life is to behave rationally -- or, put another way, to know your limits.

Your career: Heed your enemies.

In your business dealings, the people with whom you butt heads are often those who have the most insight into you. If someone thoroughly annoys you, chances are he has a good sense of your faults (maybe that's why you're annoyed!) or holds a point of view you don't often hear. Listen closely. Understanding the value of what your adversaries have to say will help you improve, giving you a big leg up.

Your investments: Buy and hold.In your business dealings, the people with whom you butt heads are often those who have the most insight into you. If someone thoroughly annoys you, chances are he has a good sense of your faults (maybe that's why you're annoyed!) or holds a point of view you don't often hear. Listen closely. Understanding the value of what your adversaries have to say will help you improve, giving you a big leg up.

People always like to think that they can beat the stock market. They're almost always deluded. No matter where you think the market may be headed, stick to a buy-and-hold strategy. You'll make more money in the long run, in part because you'll minimize your taxes and trading fees.

Your love life: Understand the odds.

When you have an argument with your future spouse, about half the time you're in the wrong. Grasping that hard-to-accept fact is one of the best ways to save yourself from a costly divorce.

Small Business Assoc. to stand trial in discrimination suit

2010-04-11T13:11:00.001-07:00

FYI, This suit was against the previous administrator/Administration but the current Administrator will have to deal with it.

http://www.bizjournals.com/extraedge/washingtonbureau/archive/2010/04/05/bureau6.html

http://www.louisianaweekly.com/news.php?viewStory=2583

Posted: Monday, April 5, 2010 2:44 pm
WASHINGTON, DC - District Court Judge Kessler Monday ruled against SBA's attempt to dismiss Diamond Ventures, LLC's (Dia_mond) landmark lawsuit against the Small Business Administration (SBA), setting the stage for SBA to stand trial for discriminatory practices in its Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program. (See case # 03-1449 Diamond Ventures, LLC V Hector Baretto and the United States Small Business Association (District Court of District of Columbia).

The judge's ruling marks a critical milestone in the suit between the SBA and Diamond. Judge Kessler found credible testimony and reports that the program had only .86 percent (two persons) of the 350 licensed managers in the program who were African-American managers, that SBA's own statistics show Black-owned firms received just 2.55 percent of SBA approved financings, that .49 percent of all SBA dollars were to Black-owned firms illustrating that SBA's policies for decades have had a disparate discriminatory impact on Blacks and minorities.

"The judge's ruling opens the door to providing funding to minority- and women-owned businesses. It will also open doors for other minority and women owned businesses to gain necessary access to capital, as managers with proven skills are approved to participate in the $5 Billion a year program" says C. Earl Peek, Managing Partner of Diamond Ventures, LLC. Industry experts note that the ruling will be helpful to the President and Congress as they grapple with ways to deploy capital to create jobs in underserved communities in the tough economy.

This monumental case against the SBA began in 2003 after Diamond managers applied to and was rejected from the New Markets Venture Capital (NMVC) program and the SBIC program. Court records show that SBA had concealed that Diamond was approved for the NMVC abundantlife@wi.twcbc.comprogram a year earlier. Judge Kessler also noted that during the lawsuit, "it was also discovered that the Report of the SBA Inspector General, issued March 20, 2003, concluded that 'the Division's evaluation of the application [of Diamond] and the decision to deny were not accomplished in accordance with the existing SBA procedures and criteria." See the full court opinion at www.dcd.uscourts.gov, https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/Opinions.pl?2010 or www.sba_li_ti_gation.com <http://www.sba_li_ti_gation.com/>.

/This article was originally published in the March 5, 2010 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper/

--
David E. Garnett, President
iAM Solutions, LLC
703.818-0859 (o)
703.926-9134 (m)
703.818-3101 (F)
www.emolis.com

How Racism Works ...

2008-09-11T02:58:00.000-07:00

From Letters to the Editors @ Fort Worth Star-Telegram - today

How racism works

What if John McCain were a former president of the Harvard Law Review?

What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class?

What if McCain were still married to the first woman he said "I do" to?

What if Obama were the candidate who left his first wife after she no longer measured up to his standards?

What if Michelle Obama were a wife who not only became addicted to pain killers, but acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?

What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard? What if Obama were a member of the "Keating 5"?

What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent speaker?

If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are?

This is what racism does.

It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in another when there is a color difference.

Think about it.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Some Republicans Worry About Party's Chances

2008-06-21T03:30:00.000-07:00

"It's hard being a member of the mean party," says Bob Borochoff, a lifelong Republican who was on Capitol Hill this week asking legislators to support bills that will benefit disabled people like his son, Bradley, and returning veterans suffering from mental illness. There's no shortage of horror stories when it comes to health insurance, but Borochoff's tale on behalf of his son took him on a political journey, as well, and his disillusionment is emblematic of the uphill climb the Republicans face in November. Borochoff's tidy life as a restauranteur and happily married father of three, including newborn twins, was shattered in 1988 when his 3-year-old son Bradley was bitten by a mosquito, which triggered encephalitis, a swelling of the brain and then uncontrollable seizures, leaving him disabled. The family's insurance premiums jumped from $300 a month to $2,500 a month. Borochoff hired a lawyer to fight the increase but was told he had no choice, so he paid the premiums. A year later, a notice arrived in the mail that the insurance company was canceling his policy along with coverage for his 100 employees. Well known in the restaurant business in Houston, Borochoff had political connections, and he worked every one of them, even securing an audience, along with other small-business owners, in the White House with President George H.W. Bush, all to no avail. In desperation, he contacted Sen. Ted Kennedy, telling a Houston Post reporter at the time, "I can't stand Ted Kennedy," but he hoped he would help. Kennedy intervened and the next day Borochoff got a call saying the insurance for him and his employees would be reinstated. It would be nice if the story ended there, but Bradley's care became more expensive. Medicine not covered by insurance was $2,800 a month. Borochoff's wife divorced him and in 2003, a single father with three teenagers, he filed for personal bankruptcy and received food stamps for six months. Kennedy's office contacted him several times over the years asking him to testify, which he did only rarely because he didn't always agree with Kennedy's approach. He was once a strong backer of Tom DeLay, and he counts himself a personal friend of DeLay's successor and the two other Republican congressmen representing the Houston area. But he's angry with them and his party over health care and immigration, and that's what brings him to Washington. He's rebuilt his life and now manages four Tex-Mex restaurants in Houston. He serves on the board of a local agency that provides mental-health services to the poor, and the tug he feels is reflected in his political donations; once almost exclusively to Republicans, now he estimates 40 percent goes to Democrats. This is one man's story but in a sense he is every man. Disillusionment with the Republican Party is profound. Retiring GOP Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia recently advised party leaders that the Republican brand was so damaged by war, corruption and incompetence, if it were a dog food it would be taken off the shelves. Republicans in Congress are bracing for major losses with Democrats expected to gain some 15 seats in the House and five in the Senate, bringing the Dems within striking distance of the 60-vote filibuster threshold. Whichever party captures the White House, Democrats will have a much stronger hand on Capitol Hill. Republican hopes that John McCain could salvage the White House got a jolt this week with the latest Quinnipiac Swing State polls showing Barack Obama ahead by double digits in Pennsylvania, comfortably leading in Ohio and edging out McCain in Florida. All three are key states for November that Obama lost to Clinton in the primaries, suggesting there could be some tectonic forces at play, and any Democrat (even Obama, or especially Obama) is positioned to bring home a substantial victory. If these numbers persist, McCain may have already peaked. His behavior this week suggests a certain amount of desperation. Why would he choose Houston, ground zero of the oil industry, to announce his support for offshore drilling, which he had previously opposed? A roomful of cheering oil executives is not the best advertisement. What's next, a photo-op on Wall Street next to Exxon's second-quarter earnings?The only reason McCain is competitive is his straight-talk brand, and he's squandering that with concessions that align him with business-as-usual in Washington. A moderate Republican and former Senate aide who asked to remain anonymous thinks the only way McCain gets back in the game is to come up with an eye-popping vice presidential pick. Her choice is New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. She doesn't think her party will do it, but she ticks off the reasons why it makes sense. He would make up for McCain's weakness on domestic policy, principally the economy, and he would help with the Jewish vote. A self-made billionaire with a social conscience, he could win over disaffected Republicans and independents. McCain made his name confronting partisan orthodoxy. Still, a lot more polls will have to show Obama a lot further ahead for McCain to venture that far outside of his party's comfort zone.

By Eleanor Clift Updated: 2008-06-20 T20:02:18
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Is MagicJack the new Skype?

2008-06-17T08:52:00.001-07:00

Internet-call device selling 8,000 to 9,000 units per day, company says

By Peter Svensson

The Associated Press

updated 4:17 p.m. PT, Mon., June. 16, 2008

NEW YORK - What's the fastest-growing fixed-line phone company in the United States?

It's not Verizon Communications Inc. or AT&T Inc. - they're losing lines. What about cable company Comcast Corp., which is raking in subscribers for its phone service? Even that company is being beaten by a small Palm Beach, Florida, company called YMax Corp., judging by its own figures.

YMax may not be well-known but the company has been running TV ads for its product, the MagicJack, which works with a broadband connection.

It's about the size of a matchbox and plugs into a PC. After plugging a regular phone into the MagicJack, the user can make and receive calls much like using a regular landline.

In January, just after the broad advertising campaign started, YMax was selling a few hundred MagicJacks per day, said Jim Donlon, its chief marketing officer. Now, it's selling 8,000 to 9,000 per day, and the company is on track to have half a million subscribers by the end of June.

That's a meteoric trajectory in the phone business, propelled by the pricing: The MagicJack costs $39.95, including one year of free calls in the United States and Canada. Another year of service costs $19.95.

"It's extremely low-risk. Most people I know are willing to gamble on 40 bucks," said TeleGeography analyst Stephan Beckert, who follows voice-over-Internet providers.

Unlike most voice-over-Internet Protocol - or VoIP - providers, YMax is licensed as a phone company in the continental United States and operates a wide network of servers to carry its calls. VoIP providers generally outsource that side of the business.

Comcast, the fastest-growing cable voice provider, signed up a net average of 7,100 customers per day in the first quarter, ending with 5.1 million on March 31. Vonage Corp., the leading independent provider of VoIP that works with regular phones was averaging 334 per day, for a total of 2.6 million.

YMax's subscriber numbers are "significant," Beckert said, but he noted that its revenue is much lower than that of competing providers because it charges about as much for a year of service as its rivals do for a month. Even eBay Inc.'s Skype, which uses computers for calling, charges significantly more.

It's unclear what effect the MagicJack is having on competitors.

YMax Chief Executive Don Burns said many customers buy a MagicJack as a complement to a cell phone, compensating for poor cell coverage at home. When the computer is off, the service can be set to forward incoming calls to a cell phone.

Burns and inventor Dan Borislow founded the company, financing it largely themselves. They're telecom industry veterans - Borislow pioneered selling long-distance service to AOL subscribers in the 90s and Burns was the CEO of Telco Communications Group, which provided discount long-distance calls.

Burns says YMax's structure helps keeps cost low and call quality high. In the future, the company plans to sell advertising that shows up on the PC screen while calls are being placed. It would use its knowledge of the customer's location to display relevant ads.

Even so, Beckert is skeptical of the business model. Like YMax, Vonage has recruited customers by TV advertising for years. But Vonage has consistently lost money.

"I'm still not sure how you make money at $20 a year," Beckert.

MagicJack's next moves are to get on the shopping channel QVC and possibly expand sales beyond the Web and call centers.

"We have big-box retailers jumping at this," Donlon said.

Greed on the Street

2008-05-11T15:54:00.001-07:00

This article talks to the greed on Wall Street. How the executives are grossly overpaid. Something has to be done. We need a ground swell.

I have highlighted some facts in the article in case you dont want to read the whole thing. Scroll down quickly.

David

FROM THE EDITOR
My Take on Greed
Greed may throw the entire country into an economic recession. But greed has its upside too.
By Fred W. Frailey, Editor
From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, April 2008

Lately, I've been thinking about greed. In our capitalist system, it does a lot of good by prodding us to become successful financially. But it can also do a lot of harm. People break laws under the influence of greed -- or they do only what's best for themselves, at the expense of everyone else.
Want some examples? Out of greed, mortgage bankers made home loans to people with poor credit histories, then immediately sold the loans. Now when borrowers default, it's somebody else's problem.

Out of greed, Wall Street's investment bankers packaged the same loans in ways that earned the securities undeserved investment-grade ratings, then sold them to eager clients. As those securities are now downgraded to junk, they become pretty close to worthless.
Four of the five biggest firms on the Street -- Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley -- recently took losses in the tens of billions of dollars for subprime skeletons in their own closets.

Rewarding failure
So what did greed accomplish? It destroyed the share prices of the investment banks, punishing those of you who invested in them. It cost thousands of employees their jobs as the firms downsized. It may throw the entire country into an economic recession, by causing the financial machinery to seize up.

And yet, the four investment banks, plus Goldman Sachs (which didn't underwrite securities that contained subprime-mortgage loans), handed out year-end bonuses in 2007 totaling $39 billion -- that's right, billion. That's more than three times the combined profits of all five firms last year.
Bloomberg News, which recently revealed these interesting facts, quotes an executive recruiter: "It's critical that pay is still there or you're going to lose really good people." Let me get this straight: In reckless pursuit of underwriting profits, the executives and talented people at four firms almost brought down their companies and the U.S. economy -- and their reward is an even bigger bonus pool so they won't jump ship?
Still, I think greed can be good. Bill Gross has spent his adult life building Pimco, in Newport Beach, Cal., into a bond-trading megabusiness. As its co-founder and managing partner, he has amassed a net worth of $1.3 billion, according to Forbes magazine. And now he and his wife, Sue, are happily giving it away through their family foundation.

Hoag Hospital, in Newport Beach, recently got $20 million to build a women's pavilion. The couple gave the University of California at Irvine $10 million for stem-cell research. Most interesting of all, Gross, a collector of classic stamps from around the world, auctioned off his entire collection of rare British stamps for $9.1 million, which he then donated to Doctors Without Borders.

When it hurts
As my colleague Manny Schiffres and I finished an interview with Gross (see The Big Picture Isn't Pretty), I asked Gross about his philanthropy and his face visibly brightened (I think he was tired of talking about bonds). He credits Sue with doing the couple's due diligence, and he says they've given away about a third of their fortune so far.

"When you're 80 years old and about to kick it, anybody can give away money. It's important to give away a piece when it really matters and when it really hurts," says Gross, who is 63. "I'd suggest people try that."

So good things as well as bad arise from the investment world's rush to make every last dollar. That's important to remember as we lurch through 2008.

Clinton's "Big State" Theory

2008-03-22T18:42:00.001-07:00

Obama Campaigns for All Americans, Not Just Some

By Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr.

In the 2000 election, the one that created the red/blue
map, Vice-President Al Gore was officially credited with
winning 20 states plus Washington, D.C. Had he captured
the electoral votes of even one more state, even one as
small as New Hampshire, he would have been sworn in as
President instead of George W. Bush.

So it make sense to look at who is winning the "Gore" states,
the "blue" states, the states that Democrats carried in 2000,
rather than focusing on some new argument about "big" states?
After all, one of the biggest states is Texas, Bush's home base,
which Gore never tried to carry. The point is, one key to
winning is your ability to carry "blue" states first (plus at
least one more!).

Barack Obama has won more "Gore" states so far, by a 2-1 margin.

Obama has won 12 Gore states:
                      Maine                   Vermont
                      Connecticut
                      Delaware                Maryland
                      Hawaii
                      Illinois                Wisconsin
                      Washington, D.C.
                      Iowa                    Minnesota
                      Washington

Clinton has won 6 Gore states:
                      New York                Rhode Island
                      Massachusetts
                      New Jersey              California
                      New Mexico

There are still 3 Gore states to go (plus we could mention
Florida, which Gore really won!):
                      Michigan                Pennsylvania
                      Oregon

Isn't it at least possible that the ability to carry these
"Gore" states is more important than the ability to carry "big"
states?

Let me make one more point related to this whole Clinton
argument about the "big" states—as Bill Clinton himself proved
in his 1992 victory, the ability to win a Democratic primary or
caucus is not directly correlated to your ability to carry that
same state in November.

Guess how many states Bill Clinton won in the fall that he had
lost in the Democratic primary and caucus process? I counted
13.

Of the 33 states he carried to win the Presidency, Clinton lost
2 states to Tom Harkin—Iowa Minnesota. He lost 5 states to
Jerry Brown—Nevada, Colorado, Maine, Connecticut Vermont. And
he lost 6 more states to Paul Tsongas—Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, Maryland, Rhode Island, Delaware and Washington.

The conclusion is obvious—losing a state in the primary/caucus
process to a Democratic opponent does not mean that you cannot
win that state in the fall against a Republican opponent. Bill
Clinton disproved that theory in 1992—13 times.

Both of the points I made above—that Obama is winning the Gore
states, and that losing a state in the Democratic primaries does
not prevent you from winning it in the fall against the
Republicans—cast further doubt on the Clinton campaign's
newly-invented "big state" theory. It may well be true that the
Clinton strategy for trying to win the Democratic nomination was
based on a group of big states—but that strategy has not only
fallen behind the Obama campaign strategy of treating all the
states as important, it is not necessary to win in November.

Al Gore showed us that in 2000. And Bill Clinton showed us that
in 1992.

(To confirm, contact Ken Edmonds at 202-445-1484. Feel Free to POST.)

A Critism of Black Politics

2008-02-18T09:45:00.001-08:00

by ALTON H. MADDOX JR.
Amsterdam News
Originally posted 2/15/2008
Many Blacks and especially Black leaders are arguing that white America is not ready for a Black president. I beg to differ. It is Black America that is not ready for a Black president. Stated differently, a Black president in 2009 would be of no benefit to Blacks because we have refused to do for ourselves politically. Sen. Barack Obama argues that a political campaign moves from the bottom to the top. This rule also applies to government. Congress makes laws and these laws are sent to the president for his signature. The president selects members of the cabinet but these appointees must enforce the laws that are authored by Congress.
CBC Monitor, a political watchdog organization, has issued report cards on members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Most of them flunked. If I had brought a similar report card home to my parents when I was a minor, my father would have beaten me as if I had stolen something. New York has four Black members of Congress. Two of them earned grades of "F." The others earned grades of "D." Those grades mean that our Black selected officials are consistently voting against our best interests. This can only happen to a disorganized people that also refuses to hold Black selected officials accountable.
For years, I have maintained that as we put more Blacks in public offices our condition is worsening. These report cards support my position. We are financing and endorsing our own oppression. Our political results also correspond to our economic behavior. We are already on a life-support system. Health care is a red herring. Sen. Obama should not become the scapegoat.
Before Kwame Ture made his transition, he urged me to help Blacks receive a political education. Rev. James Bevel, a top lieutenant for Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. and architect of the Million Man March, told an audience at a UAM forum that Black voters were responsible for putting political morons in public offices. Since we refuse to change our political behavior, politics is an exercise in futility. We are practicing plantation politics. Like enslaved Africans who would go to the cotton fields at sunset and return to the slave quarters at sundown, Black voters go to the polls and return to their homes without any promise of a quid pro quo. Between election days, we fear organizing or participating in political organizations.
With respect to my political expectations, I refer to Frederick Douglass who said, "You may not get everything you pay for, but you will pay for everything you get." For example, on June 7, 1892, Homer Plessy purchased a first-class ticket and Blacks, subsequently, had to ride on Jim Crow trains.
It would be misleading to suggest that our political flaws are self-inflicted. Politics is based on the exercise of First Amendment rights including the rights of a free press, political speech, political associations and political assemblies. Unless a Black person is a student of American jurisprudence, it is difficult to see the connection between politics and the First Amendment. Suffice it to say that the First Amendment preceded the Fifteenth Amendment, the Nineteenth Amendment, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Twenty-sixth Amendment. These are the political tools that have enfranchised historically-oppressed groups.
White males only needed the First Amendment to fully participate in politics. There is a reason why it is denominated the First Amendment. Blacks only have the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to get into the polling booth and it is temporal. Thus, we are pawns in political chess. Pawns have limited mobility. Like pawns in chess, we have too much to overcome to ever possibly say "checkmate." In politics, Blacks are gagged and handcuffed. We are also locked into a morontocracy. Our "best and brightest" are co-opted, assassinated, imprisoned or exiled.
This inference may be drawn from Dr. Carter G. Woodson's "The Miseducation of the Negro" and Hon. Elijah Muhammad's "Message to the Black Man." Whites follow the teachings of the "founding fathers." We disrespect the teachings of our revered ancestors. This is the foundation for a morontocracy. I put my life on the line in Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi during the 1960's and early 1970's to help Blacks secure political representation. We have gotten no further than the polling booth and Bush v. Gore is a reminder that the Black vote can be easily discounted if not discarded. Whites embrace the doctrine of stare decisis. Bush v. Gore is like Plessy v. Ferguson.
Sen. Obama's run for the White House is having one tangible benefit. He is positively inspiring the youth and especially the Black youth. His candidacy may inspire Black youth to run through minefields a little bit longer to avoid a life of hopelessness, despair and crime. These young people need a helping hand and it is not coming from Black leaders.
I spent my legal career defending young people. My last two youthful clients were Michael Briscoe of the Central Park 6 and Tawana Brawley. If I had not represented them pro bono, they would have had to fend for themselves. Briscoe was acquitted of the rape charges.
There was no legal defense fund for Brawley or Briscoe. I also had to organize a bail fund for the Central Park 6 amid criticism from Black leaders. This results from our refusal to establish an organization that provides legal protection for our youth. Compare the "Jena 6." My greatest lesson about our youth and their vulnerability came from my representation of Jonah Perry, a Harlem resident and student at Cornell University. A white cop killed his brother, Edmund, who was about to attend either Yale or Stanford. The cover-up involved a subsequent charge of robbery against Jonah who witnessed the fatal shooting. While the cameras were rolling, Jonah enjoyed community support and legal representation. When the cameras stopped rolling, Jonah was literally on his own. This was an indictment of our community.
While Jonah was standing alone, the Manhattan district attorney's office was attempting to send me to prison and to disbar me. The last thing I needed was another headache. Nonetheless, the Black community was unconcerned about either my plight or Jonah's. It was ready to jettison a good Samaritan and a college student matriculating at an Ivy League institution.
My conscience got the best of me and I filed a notice of appearance on Jonah's behalf in Manhattan Supreme Court. We were both broke. No prospective client would touch me with a ten-foot pole. The undefeated New England Patriots enjoyed better odds in Super Bowl XLII than I did in my pending trial.
No one expected me to be around for Jonah's trial, which was expected to be costly and protracted. It would immediately follow my trial. Whites were ready to conclude that Black youth were inherently incorrigible and a first-rate education for any of them was a placebo. In December 1985, the jury would say "not guilty" on all counts in my trial. Jonah's jury would repeat those same words on January 22, 1986. He had faced seven years in prison. My verdict would allow me to take on additional pro bono cases, although I did have to pay a $20,000 fine to the federal government for my representation of Jonah. Jonah was subsequently graduated from Cornell University.
So many of our young people are ensnared in a merciless and racist criminal justice system. Even a President Obama would be unable to save all of them under the law. There are no more Adam Clayton Powells to sponsor remedial legislation. Checks and balances are still alive and kicking. The criminal justice system has never been the subject of a presidential debate. Sen. Hillary Clinton is demanding more debates. Sen. Obama should agree. Heretofore, the candidates have avoided issues relevant to Black voters who are fixed assets in the Democratic Party.
There should be a full-scale discussion of the criminal justice system and automatic pardons for most felons after they pay their debts to society. In addition, survival insurance for Blacks should be added to the next CNN debate on February 21. Presently, this debate will seek to address Latino issues. Civil rights leaders continue to rush to courthouses to accommodate racial oppression. The "Jena 6" is an ongoing, racist prosecution with no relief in sight. These young men are getting it from all sides including from their lawyers who must sell them out to stay in business.
It is a crime for a Black defendant to enjoy Sixth Amendment rights. This should be a concern of the next president. Sen. Obama expressed an interest in the Duke rape case and demanded a vigorous investigation into the conduct of Durham District Attorney Michael Nifong, but he has remained sheepishly quiet on the misconduct of Robert Abrams, a special prosecutor in the Tawana Brawley investigation. So has Sen. Clinton.
Feb. 20 - Anthony Browder, author of Nile Valley Contributions to Civilization keynotes UAM Weekly Forum at the Elks Plaza, 1068 Harriet Tubman (Fulton Street) nr. Classon Ave. in Brooklyn at 7:00 p.m. SHARP. He will also highlight his "Egypt on the Potomac" tour. Parents are encouraged to bring their children. Take the "C" train to Franklin Ave.
April 19-20 - Overnight bus trip to Baltimore, MD and Washington, DC with tour of Reginald Lewis Museum in Baltimore and an "Egypt on the Potomac" and Civil War Memorial tours in Washington, DC conducted by Tony Browder, author of Nile Valley Contributions to Civilization.

For further information call United African Movement at 718-834-9034.
See: www.reinstatealtonmaddox.net for "Black Congresspersons Kiss White Doll," and "UAM: Make-up or Break-up."
2/12/08

THE 545 PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR AMERICA'S WOES

2008-02-17T04:22:00.000-08:00

BY CHARLEY REESE

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits? Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does. You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does. You and I don't write the tax code. Congress does.
You and I don't set fiscal policy. Congress does. You and I don't control monetary policy. The Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president and nine Supreme Court Justices - 545 human beings out of the 300 million - are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague
this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered but private central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman or a president to do one cotton- picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it.

No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

A CONFIDENCE CONSPIRACY

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy
convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a SPEAKER, who stood up and criticized G.W. BUSH for creating deficits.

The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it. The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes.

Who is the speaker of the House? She is the leader of the majority party.
She and fellow Democrats, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto.

REPLACE THE SCOUNDRELS

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts - of incompetence and irresponsibility.

I can't think of a single domestic problem, from an unfair tax code to defense overruns, that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.

When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair. If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red. If the Marines are in IRAQ, it's because they want them in IRAQ.

There are no insoluble government problems. Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can
take this power.

Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exist disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation" or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible. They, and they alone, have the power. They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses - provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees. We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess.

Don't get so focused on the Presidential candidates that you forget to listen to what the congressional candidates are saying!

We must stop the out of control spending for our grand children's sake.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

When Black is Enough

2008-02-04T19:55:00.000-08:00

Please, make me a believer! I must confess, I feel that in being a
Barack Obama supporter I have missed something or as the media portrays...I
have missed everything the Clinton's have done for me, a black woman in
America. Since I am truly a socialite at heart who hates to miss an event, let
alone a decade of the African-American migration to a better life; please can
someone?...Anyone? Tell me what exactly the Clinton's have done for
black people that has made our loyalty so steadfast and unwavering! Or are we still doing cartwheels for crumbs?

Some have said it was the end of the George Bush and Newt Gingrich era,
the appointment of Black Judges and high ranking officials, welfare reform,
a few jazz solos on late night television and of course his office inHarlem
sealed the deal. Are our hearts that cheap?

Both of the Bush presidents have appointed African-Americans as judges
or high ranking officials so what does that mean? Although the welfare lady
no longer does surprise home visits and counts the number of beers your
boyfriend may have bought you it still has left a trail of many unskilled
single mothers without viable employment options. I guess none of that
matters when videos are on...at least that's what former owner of BET
must have been thinking. It actually disappoints me that someone like Bob Johnson isn't astute enough to just speak for his candidate and not against any black man who has worked for the greater good of all people and specific to this argument-black people-like Barack Obama has done throughout his career. Even more disturbing is that fact that Bob Johnson owned the only black entertainment television station and failed to develop any programming or entertainment with substance other than videos and has made no apologies for that embarrassing fact. Maybe he was the one doing "who knows what" in the streets. That just may be the only excuse for not coming up with any
alternatives when we finally realized Seinfeld created a New York without
black people.

What hurts me as a black woman is this idea that "white people aren't
ready for a black president" so we might as well vote for Hilary. Since when
did black people defer to white people once our mind was made up for change? In truth, white people weren't ready for the emancipation of the slaves, they weren't ready for the Civil Rights movement or for us to vote, they
weren't ready for us to graduate from Harvard, and they weren't ready for us to
date their daughters.

WE were ready and we forced them to accept our decision for change and the way our lives were valued. It seems to me that black women of the Democratic Party who are unequivocally for Hilary Clinton have a bit of the "Dangerous Minds" or the "Freedom Writers" syndrome where we have to rely on a white woman to make things better for us. What happened to the argument that only a black person can truly understand our plight and what we really go through to thrive in America? This does not override the fact that white people have been instrumental in many facets of black life. However, being instrumental
versus being a musician are very different places when it comes to the
finished product.

The Barack Obama campaign believes the media's reports about the lack of
support he has from black women are untrue. In fact, they have said that
he has tremendous support from black women across America. The polls can be faulty as we have all witnessed. With all of the issues black people
have had with accurate media portrayal it is important to have all the bases
covered. That's why it amazes me that African-Americans are on television talking about how they would never vote for Obama just because he is black. I
wonder how many other people are voting against him based upon that same
premise. How many white women are voting for Hilary to see themselves sitting at the desk in the Oval office? Or how many Latinos voted for Richardson? No one blamed them for drawing support and capitalizing on their common threads.

Even more politically incorrect is this idea of black women being "torn"
between Hilary because she is a woman and Barack because he is black. I
hate to be the bearer of bad news, but when white women were talking about
women's liberation they were not talking about black women. At the time,
white women were burning bras while black women in the south were still
trying to make sure their husbands weren't being charred hanging from a
tree. Plus, who do you think was minding their children while they were
out protesting? Unfortunately, you only get to check one box and first thing is first: color. Not to mention the fact that feminism was different for white
women than any other race. It was their black female counterparts who were
able to break color barriers in terms of employment and historically have been
the breadwinners in their respective households. When white woman were
fighting not to stay home black women wished they had that luxury.

The race for Presidency is a long and drawn out job interview for the
highest ranking job in this country. We all know what it feels like when
being articulate over the phone meets shock in person. We also know what
happens when you are qualified for a job, but have one year less
experience in one category and therefore don't get an interview-then you realize if there were so many qualified diverse candidates there wouldn't be a need for that position to have a tag line. We finally have a chance to show our
children that they really can be anything and anyone in this world- no
limitations. That America is our America. Isn't that enough?

Let's face it, if there were no white people behind Obama he wouldn't
even be in the running. Nevertheless, this time, let's make this decision for
change on our own. Why do we need a Michelle Pfeifer or Hilary Swank to
show us the way?

I could understand if Obama was an uneducated, inarticulate knucklehead
without a plan. But that could be farther from the truth. It is time to
realize we can't survive on these crumbs. Honestly, when it comes to
finding out what roads the Clinton's have paved for us "I feel a lotta ways
tired!"

THANKS
MARY DYSON
ACCOUNTING ASSISTANT
HILB, ROGAL and HOBBS
303 INTERNATIONAL CIR, #400
HUNT VALLEY, MD 21030
phone - 410-584-8944
fax - 410-771-3540
e-mail - MARY.DYSON@HRH.COM

Campaign 2008

2007-12-27T11:10:00.001-08:00

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through Iowa house
Not a candidate was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that Caucus supporters soon would be there

(with apologies to Clement Clarke Moore)

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are engaged in the most dramatic and exciting race for the Democratic presidential nomination since 1968 - when Bobby Kennedy took on the party establishment to take back the heart and soul of America's progressives, angered and disheartened by the Vietnam War.

If history is a guide, you would have to say Obama will not make it.

As a general rule, in the Democratic primaries, the insurgent candidate is crushed by the Establishment. And so it was for Gary Hart (1984), Jesse Jackson (1988), Paul Tsongas (1992), and Bill Bradley (2000). Exceptions are rare: George McGovern routed the Establishment and became the Democratic nominee, on an anti-war crusade, in 1972 - only to get crushed by Richard Nixon. So the track record of insurgents is not pretty.

Obama seeks a different fate.

He is fully competitive: he has as much money as Hillary Clinton, as many smart advisers, as much web savvy, and almost as much incandescence from surrogates (Oprah - second only in drawing power to former President Clinton himself).

There is a fire burning in the belly of the Democratic Party for fundamental change. Iowa - conservative, overwhelmingly white, and both rural and urban - will determine how intense the fire is raging.

The irony for Hillary is that if Obama was not in the race, she would be the candidate of fundamental change: the first seriously contestable woman presidential candidate; against the war; for health care; progressive; dynamic.

If Obama can win Iowa next week, it is likely he can ride the wave to victory in New Hampshire five days later - and then conquer South Carolina (where half of the Democratic voters will be African American) on January 26. This is the decapitation strategy - and if executed it would put him on the cusp of capturing the nomination.

But to return to RFK: what made that campaign so compelling was that Kennedy found his voice and connected, across race and class, on the issue of change and the future of America. Obama drifted for much of this year, but beginning in November, at the Jefferson Jackson Dinner in Iowa, he found his voice - and has surged ever since. See the speech and read this account.

Many in the party are afraid of this race because of its explosive implications. But know this: whoever wins it will be a stronger candidate overall - and better placed to win in November.

The candidate sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard the man exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Caucus victory to me, and to all others: good-night!"

Posted by Bruce Wolpe

Brewer promises reforms after critical LAUSD...

2007-04-25T04:36:00.000-07:00

| 4/24/07 12:17 PM
By Joel Rubin and Howard Blume, Times Staff Writers
April 21, 2007

In the wake of a top-to-bottom review that harshly portrays the Los Angeles school system as inefficient and ineffective, Supt. David L. Brewer on Friday promised to quickly bring in outside experts, hire a chief academic officer and elevate almost all schools to academic success by 2013.

Using unsparing language, the sweeping analysis of the Los Angeles Unified School District by a consulting firm highlights serious shortcomings in instruction and fiscal management in the nation's second-largest district.

After becoming schools chief in November, retired Navy vice admiral Brewer called for the report to learn what was working and what wasn't, and to create a road map toward reforming the mammoth district with its roughly 78,000 employees, 700,000 students and $11-billion total annual budget.

The 115-page report - based on previously conducted audits and analyses as well as interviews with more than 100 district employees - describes an operation beset by an almost complete lack of accountability or consequences for poor performance, running from the most senior staff to school principals. Job descriptions are often unclear and evaluations rarely pegged to improved district performance, while communication among various corners of the organization is muddled or nonexistent, the report found.

"The most apparent and inhibiting deficit standing in the way of instructional coherence in LAUSD today is a lack of accountability," said the report by Florida-based Evergreen Solutions. "Currently, directives are given but few, if any, consequences are enforced for noncompliance."

Perhaps the overriding message in the report is that past recommendations, made in one study after another, have rarely moved from paper to reality. In an interview, Brewer promised that things would be different this time.

"We're going to set up a 21st century organization that is execution-oriented," he said. "The culture is going to change."

The first step, he said, is bringing in a temporary "transformation team" composed of outside experts who will be on the job by mid-May. Brewer said he will present his own 5-year strategic plan by June 30.

Brewer said he would initially focus on instruction "because that's our core mission. And the next thing is ... the budget. We have to make sure we get our finances and instruction properly aligned."

Permanent hires will include a chief instructional officer - tacit acknowledgment that Brewer is not a career educator.

The school system has two top administrators for instruction, one for elementary schools and one for secondary schools. A key finding of the audit is that there is no effective alignment between the two divisions.

In one example, the report noted students' high failure rate in algebra and criticized officials for not better preparing students in math when they are younger.

The report further questioned why the department in charge of elementary students who speak limited English is separate from the one that handles older students: "The use of multiple, often duplicative, and sometimes conflicting programs, such as those for students who are not fluent in English, fragments instruction and confuses students."

The school district also has failed to replicate programs that are successful. In one example, "principals of schools that had made exceptional progress in raising student achievement reported to the board and identified five strategies they believed had contributed to their success. When asked what had been done in the district as a result of that report, the answer was 'nothing.' "

Brewer also promised another new senior-level hire who will oversee ongoing training for teachers, administrators and other staff. The study criticized the district in this area.

The idea of a senior training official "sounds smart," said Ronni Ephraim, chief instructional officer of the elementary division. "The district spends a lot of money on professional development, and some of that has paid great dividends." But this training is managed by administrators in different departments who don't coordinate with each other: "An office like this can help us."

She added that the audit's criticisms didn't offend her: "I don't think Evergreen was tasked with looking at all the good things that we've done since 1999. This is a plan for how we move forward."

Brewer volunteered specific, ambitious academic benchmarks. He said that by 2013, he intended to have more than 90% of schools surpass a score of 800 on the state's Academic Performance Index. The index grades schools on a scale from 200 to 1,000 based on student test scores in math, English and other subjects; the state's goal for every school is 800. Only five of L.A. Unified's five dozen comprehensive high schools surpassed 800 in 2006.

"It will take time to do this, but we are going to get started right now," Brewer said.

Brewer replaced former Colorado Gov. Roy Romer who, in his six-year tenure, concentrated mainly on new school construction and improving reading and math in the elementary grades through a uniform curriculum. The Evergreen report recommended further expansion of that approach to upper grades.

The consultants, paid $350,000 so far for their work, found that the district had made somewhat better progress on its business side, citing the rollout of a $95-million computer system that, despite continuing widespread problems with payroll, is expected to streamline purchasing, budgets and other tasks.

A teachers union official had some reservations about the proposed transformation team.

"We would have concerns about bringing in outside consultants who probably charge a lot of money," said Joshua Pechthalt, a vice president of United Teachers Los Angeles. "There are 100,000 district employees. Tapping into that body of knowledge may be a better way to go. Supt. Brewer did indicate he wanted us to look at this report and give him feedback on it. I take him at his word."

Some facets of Brewer's reform plan may require negotiating with employee unions. All of its major provisions would need school board approval.

The report comes as district senior staff braces for an expected shake-up by Brewer in coming months and elected school board members recover from a protracted battle with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who has campaigned aggressively for substantial influence over the district.

Indeed, some of the report's most scathing conclusions echo criticisms by the mayor over the last year. "The current culture in LAUSD is one typified by not responding to priorities and deadlines, and there is no sense of urgency among managers," the consultants wrote.

Board President Marlene Canter chafed at such words, saying, "I don't think it's necessary. When we're asking for a tool we can utilize to help us improve, you don't need to use that type of language."

Canter nonetheless said she hoped the report would help Brewer.

Board member David Tokofsky agreed: "It's recycled material, but it's a one-spot look for the superintendent to see some of what's come before him and what's in front of him."As for the school board itself, Brewer elaborated on the consultants' analysis. The board, he said, needs to focus more on policymaking and less on trying to run the school district. Its bureaucracy, Brewer added, was largely to blame for such micromanaging, saying staff members have made the board "work too hard to get information."

The superintendent added that Villaraigosa could play a vital role, but stopped well short of offering the sweeping involvement sought by the mayor. The courts have thrown out as unconstitutional a law that would have given Villaraigosa control over three high schools and the elementary and middle schools that feed into them.

Janelle Erickson, an aide to the mayor, said Villaraigosa had been briefed on the report. It "makes clear what teachers and parents have been telling us for years: that the massive central bureaucracy is ... stopping any real reform effort," Erickson said.

The mayor, Brewer said, is "welcome to make an offer" of how he'd like to be involved. Rather than running a group of schools, "I would like to see the mayor help me out with the entire district."

What Teachers Make...

2007-01-13T19:53:00.000-08:00

Pass on to any good teachers you know…

WHAT TEACHERS MAKE

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life.

One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He
argued,"What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?"

He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about teachers:
"Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach."

To stress his point he said to another guest; "You're a teacher,
Bonnie. Be honest. What do you make?"

Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, "You want to know what I make? (She paused for a second, then began...)<p> "Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor. I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can't make them sit for 5 without an I-Pod, Game Cube or movie rental... You want to know what I make?" (She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table.) I make kids wonder. I make them question. I make them criticize. I make them
apologize and mean it. I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions. I teach them to write and then I make them write. I make them read, read, read. I make them show all their work in math. I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to know in English while preserving their unique cultural identity. I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe. I make my students stand to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, Because we live in the United States of America . Finally, I make them understand that if they
use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life.

(Bonnie paused one last time and then continued.) "Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant... You want to know what I make?

I MAKE A DIFFERENCE. What do you make?"

THIS IS WORTH SENDING TO EVERY TEACHER YOU KNOW. (And everyone on your mailing list, for that matter).

THERE IS MUCH TRUTH IN THIS STATEMENT: "Teachers make every
other profession "

Downside to athleticism

2007-01-02T08:52:00.000-08:00

By Jason Cole, Yahoo! Sports
December 21, 2006

Atlanta Falcons left tackle Wayne Gandy is about to finish his 13th season, continuing one of the most consistent and dependable careers in the league. Although 35, Gandy is still planning to play two or three more seasons. He's played well enough this season that the goal seems within reach.

But the most intriguing fact about Gandy is not that he has only missed one start in his career because of injury. That impressive mark, which has survived through a shoulder injury that forced Gandy to sleep in a chair for three months, is trumped by his impressive perspective of the game.

In particular, Gandy has a pretty interesting take on why black quarterbacks such as current teammate Michael Vick undergo so much public scrutiny. Gandy has watched teammates – Vick, Aaron Brooks in New Orleans, Kordell Stewart in Pittsburgh, Tony Banks in St. Louis and Dameyune Craig at Auburn – operate under a different set of standards.

Gandy, who could have a post-football future in anything from broadcast to working as a team executive, has seen the same situation play out from team to team.

"When fans and coaches see a black quarterback, it's automatic that they expect to see a guy who is more athletic," Gandy said. "So what happens when you get around the goal line or you get in those situations where most quarterbacks are taught to throw it away or get rid of the ball for a short gain if the play breaks down? The black quarterback is told, 'Do something, make a big play.'

"That's where you see a lot of Michael's sacks come from. He's supposed to make something happen in a situation where it's probably not going to work. You see where the coaches and fans are expecting that, but it's not really teaching him the right way to play.

"It's all about the tutelage they get from the time they're in college on. I saw that with Dameyune Craig. He was told, 'If your first read isn't there, take off and run.' Do you think that anyone ever told Peyton Manning or Tom Brady to do that? Again, it's about the tutelage they get."

Over the years, Vick, Brooks and Daunte Culpepper have consistently been sacked more than the likes of Manning and Brady. Vick has been sacked 39 times this season – one more combined than Brady (24) and Manning (14) – which is just under three per game. That's an odd number for someone who's seemingly hard to catch.

Furthermore, mobile quarterbacks such as Vick, Brooks and Culpepper have consistently had worse interception rates than Manning and Brady.

To Vick's credit, he is showing some progress this season. He has 19 touchdown passes, putting him one short of his first 20-touchdown season of his six-year career. Also, Vick's TD-interception ratio of 19-11 is the second best of his career to the 16-8 mark he had in his second season, which was also his first as a starter.

Vick has done that while also setting an NFL record for rushing yards (990) by a quarterback. He is a virtual lock to surpass 1,000 yards rushing and is currently averaging a stunning 8.5 yards per carry, meaning that Vick also appears to be picking the optimal times to take off.

Is that progress enough for a player of Vick's caliber? No, but the problem may be that he's being asked to do too much. Unlike Manning, for instance, Vick has played in an offense that has constantly changed. He began his career under Dan Reeves. Now, under coach Jim Mora, the offense has morphed from allowing Vick to be a runner to trying to rein him in as a passer to again being a more freelance offense.

Manning, by comparison, has played in only one offense with the same offensive coordinator (Tom Moore) his entire career. Moreover, Manning has played while surrounded by great skill players the entire time. The Falcons have struggled to find consistent receivers, although a significant share of the burden falls on Vick.

"The offense here has been different over the years," said Gandy, who was acquired by the Falcons via trade in the offseason. "Sometimes they've tried to make Michael work with a certain offense and sometimes they've tried to make the offense work to his skills. I think we've gotten back to making it work around his skills this year and he's made progress."

Gandy said one of the biggest problems the Falcons have had in running a conventional offense is that the timing is always off because Vick sets up so quickly. In most offenses, by the time the quarterback sets up on a standard three-step drop, the wide receiver is coming out of his break, ready to get open. With Vick, the receivers are still in their patterns. The problem impacts the entire timing of the offense, leading to further problems. On top of that, the Falcons wide receivers have had way too many drops this season.

"I see why people get on Michael, but there have been stretches where our receivers haven't made the catches. We had a lot of drops and the receivers have to help him out," Gandy said.

COMMENDABLE WORK
On the subject of Gandy, he again didn't make the Pro Bowl this season, but that shouldn't take away from his impressive career. After taking over as a starter midway through his rookie season, Gandy has missed just one game and one start because of injury.

This season, Gandy has been a stalwart on Atlanta's offensive line, justifying the trade the Falcons made with New Orleans before the season. Over his career, he has played through a variety of injuries. The worst was during his second season in Pittsburgh in 2001, when he had a 90 percent tear of his rotator cuff.

He was forced to sleep in a chair for three months because lying down would allow the shoulder to pop out of place and put him in constant pain. Sleeping in a chair was about as restful as living upstairs from a bar.

"I saw every hour of the day for those three months," Gandy said. "I'd wake up at 3:01 [a.m.], go back to sleep. Then it was 4:17, then 5:08 … Yeah, I fell asleep in meetings all the time because I could never get a good night's sleep. I just told them what was going on. The Steelers were good to me and told me that if it got to be too much, they'd put me on [injured reserve]."

Gandy never took them up on the offer. He'd tough it out during games. By halftime, the pain medication he took would wear off and he'd play through pain that brought tears to his eyes.

"I had to go to the dentist at one point and they put me in the chair laying down, but I had to have them let me up every five minutes because the pain was too much in my shoulder. I'd be in tears from the pain," Gandy said.

Still, Gandy showed up.

"That's something I'm extremely proud of over my career," Gandy said. "Everybody is always looking for the most talented guys they can find and there's nothing wrong with that. But what good are you if you're talented and you get hurt a lot. There's a value to being dependable. The team knows you're always going to be there, that you're going to show up and play and give them everything you can. That's important."

PRO BOWL MUSINGS
There has been a fair amount of talk this week about New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady not making the AFC Pro Bowl team. Manning, Carson Palmer of Cincinnati and Philip Rivers of San Diego made it ahead of him.

From a statistical standpoint, it's hard to argue. Manning, Palmer and Rivers all had superior numbers. But numbers don't serve as a proper measure for Brady, who is not surrounded by anything close to the type of talent that the other three have right now.

Or as Dolphins Pro Bowl linebacker Zach Thomas said: "Do you have to game plan for a guy? I don't care about stats. Stats don't tell the whole story. What really matters is if you have to prepare for a guy. You look at Tom Brady, he's a Pro Bowler. When we face New England, our whole game plan is about how to deal with him.

"Some guys might have more yards or more touchdown passes, but Brady is better than those guys. It's like on defense. You can have a lot of tackles if you're on a bad run defense because you're on the field so much."

SHULA TAKES SHOT
Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Don Shula made his feelings known recently about the University of Alabama's decision to fire his son Mike. The younger Shula went 6-6 this season, was unable to beat rival Auburn during his four years there, but also never had the advantage of being at full strength. The Crimson Tide was on probation for earlier violations until this season ended.

"I think it's time to evaluate the evaluators," said the elder Shula, who won more games than anyone in NFL history while coaching 33 years with Baltimore and Miami. That was an obvious criticism of Alabama athletic director Mal Moore, who fired Mike Shula.

While that comment is obviously tinged with emotion, it's hard to argue with Shula. Moore was unable to hire anyone immediately after the decision and failed in his attempt to woo West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez. At this point, Moore will have to wait until the college bowls and NFL season are done. Moore has expressed interest in Miami Dolphins coach Nick Saban, who has become somewhat close with the elder Shula since taking over in Miami.

Saban has said consistently that he will not leave the Dolphins. However, there was concern on his part recently about a story regarding a possible sale of the team by owner Wayne Huizenga to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., advertising exec Jordan Zimmerman. Huizenga and Zimmerman, who have extensive business ties, have both publicly denied the report. Still, Saban talked with Huizenga personally on the matter to gain reassurance about the future of the team and the owner told Saban that he wasn't selling.

At least not at this point. Huizenga has said numerous times that he will listen to any offers for the team and the stadium (which he also owns). The price for the entire operation is expected to be well north of $1 billion.

SAFETY CONCERNS
The San Jose Mercury-News put together an interesting story Sunday detailing letters between the San Francisco 49ers and the City of San Francisco regarding maintenance at Monster Park, the team's stadium at Candlestick Point.

The letters detail the high level of disrepair for the stadium. It includes talk about how a large speaker broke off its mounting after rust developed, how cement structures are beginning to crumble and how a one-ton lighting fixture in the parking lot fell at one point. All of the instances could have caused significant injury.

Furthermore, the article pointed out that the city spent only $3 million in repairs to the stadium last season, far from enough to maintain it properly. The 49ers also repeatedly used the word "negligence" in referring to the care of the stadium.

Of course, it's obvious where that language is going if ever there were to be an accident that caused injury because of deterioration of the stadium.

But the bigger point is that as bad as the article made Monster Park sound, Qualcomm Stadium (home of the San Diego Chargers) may be far worse. Chargers officials are continually worried about wiring and electrical issues in the upper deck of the stadium, leading to fears that some people could be electrocuted under the wrong conditions. Even more, water from the upper deck doesn't drain properly. Signs of that were obvious Sunday night during the game against Kansas City. At one spot on one of the concourses, a garbage can was set out to catch water leaking from the upper deck to keep a walkway from getting wet. Steel bolts and braces in several areas were unhinged by rust and cement structures around the stadium are showing obvious signs of decay.

Thus, while many citizens may decry the idea of investing in stadiums where private enterprises play, they may be playing with a much bigger problem if current stadiums aren't maintained or replaced.

THIS AND THAT

· Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens' appeal of his $35,000 fine for spitting on Atlanta cornerback De Angelo Hall last week is not expected to be heard until after the season, according to an NFL source. The hearing's delay is a product of the league's busy calendar this time of year.

· Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers made the Pro Bowl in his first season as a starter and third year in the league. Although Rivers has three years remaining on his contract after this season, the Chargers are already talking about extending the contract. Don't expect a lot to happen, but the Chargers could be in an interesting situation after the 2009 season. Not only will Rivers' contract be up, so will left tackle Marcus McNeils. McNeil, a second-round pick, has outplayed No. 4 overall pick D'Brickashaw Ferguson of the Jets as the top rookie tackle in a very good season for first-year players.

· It's appearing more and more that the Tennessee Titans will keep coach Jeff Fisher, picking up the option year on his contract. Word around the Titans is that general manager Floyd Reese, who is in the final year of his contract and has feuded with Fisher for years, is in the process of hiring an agent to negotiate his next contract. That would be a clear indication that Reese is about to leave. The one catch with the Titans is that there's some concern that Fisher and rookie quarterback Vince Young have a somewhat strained relationship. Young took note when defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz yelled at offensive coordinator Norm Chow after the victory over Jacksonville last Sunday. Schwartz was upset over a pass by the offense late in the game. Young had audibled to the pass play.

· Speaking of Schwartz, count him among a list of dark-horse candidates for a head coaching job this season. Prior to the rebuilding stage, when the Titans had to unload veterans because of salary cap reasons, Schwartz' defenses consistently ranked among the best in the league. This season, Schwartz kept together a mediocre unit after it allowed more than 40 points twice in the first half of the season and also had to deal with the Albert Haynesworth controversy. The most talented defender the Titans have is cornerback Pacman Jones, who also happens to be their most erratic. In short, kudos to Schwartz.

· Chargers team president Jim Steeg, who formerly was the lead man with the NFL for years in terms of planning the Super Bowl, has taken to wearing a pair of "lucky" shoes this season. Steeg said he has had the shoes for more than 40 years and wore them on the day of the Super Bowl each year. He started wearing them this year for San Diego games and the Chargers are now 6-0 in "shoe" games. The shoes look like something you might find at a '50s party or, more likely, at a bowling alley. Very lucky. Very ugly.

Mentee Book Reports

2006-12-12T11:46:00.000-08:00

This email is to inform all concerned about student book reports to be given this Saturday, December 16th and the Mentor Training for new mentors for the next Cohort program. You are receiving this message because you are (1) a current mentor; (2) a new mentor; (3) Archon in Beta Nu who supports the program an indicated the possibility of resources you can provide to help make the program a success or (4) you can provide part-time assistance.

THE SESSIONS ARE PLANNED FOR SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2006 AT 211 N. UNION STREET, ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA. THE PHONE NUMBER IS 703-519-1290 OR YOU MAY REACH ARCHON GILLESPIE AT 703-519-1290 OR ARCHON WARREN AT 703-915-1336 WHEN SEEKING ENTRY TO THE SECURE PARKING AREA AT THE MEETING LOCATION.

HERE IS THE SCHEDULE FOR SATURDAY;

0900 - 1230 hours will be for the mentees to present their book reports.

1:00 p.m - 3:30 p.m. is devoted to new Mentor Training Orientation.

PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOUR MENTEE IS AT THE LOCATION NOT LATER THAN 8:45 A.M. SO WE CAN BEGIN PROMPTLY. THE ARCHONS RECEIVING THE TRAINING ORIENTATION ARE INVITED TO COME AND OBSERVE THE BOOK REPORTS, MEET YOUR MENTEE AND REMAIN TORECEIVE THE TRAINING ORIENTATION. WE ARE ALSO INVITING THE NEW MENTEES TO OBSERVE THE OLD MENTEES GIVING THEIR BOOK REPORTS. WITH EVERYONE BEING THERE BY 0845, WE CAN START THINGS OFF WITH A BANG.

The Racial Scoring Gap on the New SAT Writing Test

2006-10-06T14:55:00.000-07:00

The 2006 high school senior class was the first group of students who took the new SAT which includes a third score measuring a student’s ability to communicate through writing. Many of the nation’s leading colleges are skeptical that the writing test is useful in predicting how well a student will perform in college. A great many of the nation’s highest-ranked colleges and universities do not even consider an applicant’s score on the writing test as a factor in the admissions process. Others give less weight to the writing score than they do to an applicant’s results on the reading and mathematical sections of the SAT.

Aside from how colleges use the results, readers may be interested in knowing how black students fared on the new writing section of the SAT. The mean black score on the writing section in 2006 was 428. For whites, the mean score was 519. Therefore, the 91-point gap on the writing portion of the SAT is slightly smaller than the gap on the reading portion of the SAT and significantly smaller than the racial gap on the mathematics section of the SAT.

The fact that blacks score lower on the writing portion of the test is not surprising. The College Board’s data on students who took the SAT show that 67 percent of whites had taken high school courses in composition compared to 52 percent of blacks. Some 71 percent of whites and 61 percent of blacks had completed coursework in grammar.

Many observers believe that by design the writing component of the SAT was introduced to lessen the racial scoring gap on the SAT in order to deflect criticism of The College Board that the test is racially biased. It is probable that in some instances the people who score the new writing section will be able to detect the race of the writer by the vocabulary and subject matter of the student’s essay. There is then a suspicion in some quarters that the scorers of the test may be inclined to ‘give a break’ to black students. Therefore, it is suggested that the examination is graded on a curve that benefits blacks and Hispanics.

Source: Journal of Blacks in Higher Education

October 6, 2006

Fellowship Opportunity

2006-07-19T16:29:00.000-07:00

Brothers Breaking Bread will again be meeting for our regular monthly breakfast discussion at the Dulles Hyatt this coming Saturday, July 23rd at 9:00 AM. This month’s discussion is entitled "Man in the Mirror: Biblical, Media and Self- Images of Black Men." Join us for Christian fellowship, great breakfast, as well as a faith driven, consistently intelligent, incisive, and down to earth discussion. Breakfast is $14.00. Please let us know how many brother guests you are bringing. RSVP at Bros&Bread@aol.com <mailto:Bros&Bread@aol.com> or call St. Luke AME Church at (703) 390-9305 to leave a message in the general mailbox. Please forward to friends and brothers who may be interested in joining the discussion and fellowship. Directions are attached below.

Your brother in Christ,

Rev. Cornell William Brooks

Maps & Directions

Hyatt Dulles2300 Dulles Corner Blvd.,
Herndon, Virginia, USA
Tel: 703 713 1234 Fax: 703 713 3410

Directions From Washington, D.C.:
Take *I-66 West to Exit 67, Dulles Toll Road West (Rt. 267). From the Toll Road, take Exit 10, Herndon/Chantilly. Turn left onto Centreville Road. Go 3 traffic lights to Sunrise Valley Drive, Turn right. Go 1.5 miles and the hotel is on your right.

From Baltimore and All Points North:
Take I-95 South to Exit 27, I-495 West. From I-495 take Exit 45A, Dulles Toll Road West (Rt. 267). From the Toll Road take Exit 10, Herndon/Chantilly. Turn left onto Centreville Road. Go 3 traffic lights to Sunrise Valley Drive, Turn right. Go 1.5 miles and the hotel is on your right.

Cornell William Brooks
Office of General Counsel
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 29554

Phone: (202) 418-7826

The Disturbing Health Status of the Black Male

2006-06-27T07:11:00.000-07:00

"The life expectancy at birth for black males in the U.S. is lower than that
for males in Iran."

Discuss Health Issues

By Sandra L. Gadson, M.D., BlackDoctor.org

In 1990, an article in the ‘New England Journal of Medicine’ reported that
“Black men in Harlem were less likely to reach the age of 65 than men in
Bangladesh.” A recent comparison of current federal health data with the
‘2005 Human Development Index’ published by the United Nations shows that
the poor international health status of black men in the United States
persists in the new millennium. Today, the average American can expect to
live 5 years longer than a Palestinian -- unless that American is a black
male, in which case he can expect to die three years sooner.

The life expectancy at birth for black males in the U.S. (68.8) is lower
than that for males in Iran (69.0), Colombia (69.3), and Sri Lanka (71.5) --
populations identified by the United Nations as having “medium human
development.” In fact, the average life expectancy for black males is much
closer to that of Vietnam, El Salvador, and Iraq than it is to the life
expectancy of white males in the U.S. What accounts for this strikingly poor
international health status for black males in the U.S.? And, most
importantly, what should we do about it?

Black Men and Suicide

Some stereotypes are harmless, but believing that blacks don’t contemplate
suicide isn’t one of them.

Find out why a reflection of racial disparities in health

The peculiar paradox of a “Third World” health status for a group living in
the richest and most medically advanced country in the world is deeply
unsettling. Grasping this phenomenon requires a core understanding of the
enduring racial differences in men’s health in the United States. Black
males have the shortest life span of all racial or ethnic groups in the
nation -- a fact that has remained unchanged for at least the past 100
years. In fact, black men have the highest overall mortality rate across all
geographic regions in the U.S. and across all age groups from birth to age
84, with the widest racial gaps in mortality occurring in the prime adult
years, ages 25-54.

Racial disparities in men’s health exist across virtually all major chronic
diseases. For example, in comparison to their white male counterparts, black
men have a 40 percent higher incidence of type 2 diabetes and they are 20%
more likely to die from heart disease. Black males ages 22-44 are 20 times
more likely to develop kidney failure due to high blood pressure than are
white males in the same age group. Black men also have the highest overall
cancer incidence and mortality in the country and the highest rates of
hypertension in the world.

Racial disparities in men’s health are hardly limited to chronic diseases.
For example, black men have the highest HIV incidence and AIDS mortality
rates, the highest STD incidence, and the highest homicide rates in the U.S.
5 black veterans are more likely to suffer combat-related post-traumatic
stress syndrome.

In addition, black men are severely over represented in the nation’s
prisons, and black male inmates have worse health, including higher rates of
circulatory disease, HIV, and dental health problems than do white inmates.
The black male incarceration rate (3,457 per 100,000) is 8 times higher than
that of whites, with black men comprising roughly half (47%) of the nation’s
2.1 million inmates but only 6% of the general population. Black males and
females are also over represented among other medically at-risk populations,
including foster care residents and the homeless.

Beta Nu Boule' makes a "Minor" Change!

2006-03-02T04:21:00.000-08:00

Message from Sire Archon on hot discussion topic for the week / moment. The archons can then add their comments daily.