Latest Articles

vertical horizontal
  • Politics Is Like Hiring A Hitman
    by Scott Woods inPolitical on2020-08-13

    For me, politics is like hiring a hitman. I have values and things I care about. I care enough about them to at least bother voting for 5 minutes every year for one issue or another. And because I care at least that much, I vote for people who align with the ability to realize the things I care about.

    Read More ...

  • Punching Above Our Weight
    by Roger Madison Jr. inPolitical on2020-07-24

    I believe our vote is the punctuation of our voice. Without that resounding exclamation mark, I believe our voices are just incoherent noise.

    Read More ...

  • BLACK PROGRESS AMIDST SOCIAL CHAOS
    by Roger Madison Jr. inPolitical on2020-06-16

    Recent events have raised the profile of historical injustice and inequities here in the USA. The entire world has taken note of the fact that BLACK LIVES MATTER.   We invite all of our friends to engage in actions that result in the greatest movement for change in our history. It is imperative that we take advantage of this opportunity to affect a positive change by ACTING IN OUR SELF-INTERESTS.

    Read More ...

  • Living in a Black No-Man's Land
    by Roger Madison Jr. inOur Community on2019-10-28

    There are many narratives that define the Black experience in America in this 2nd decade of the 21st century. Our striving over the centuries of our sojourn in this nation is a tapestry of every human experience -- oppression, enslavement, forced assimilation, dehumanization, exclusion, segregation, isolation, struggle, perseverance, achievement, excellence, celebration, mourning, despair, progress, setbacks, lynching, assassination, genocide, terror, self-hatred, low esteem, pride,...

    Read More ...

  • Fighting Racism
    by Scott Woods inOur Community on2018-10-25

    I had a boss who was racist. Not an outright bigot, of course; her toolbox was more subtle than most. We bumped heads a lot over inconsequential things. She frequently couldn’t keep my name out her mouth. Lot of gaslighting. You know…2018 style. I tried a lot of ways to combat or navigate her issues. None of them worked, and that’s saying a lot because I’m really good at fighting racism. But at the end of the day – every day – she was my boss, I had to deal with her, and that was that. Finally I...

    Read More ...

The Vote Heard Around the World - Just Sayin

 

Barack Hussein Obama is President-elect of the United States of America. Rejoicing overflows hearts and streets the world over. Change has come to America; it is a bright new day in a shiny new world.

 

Dictionary.com defines change first as: (v) to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone: There is no doubt we have achieved this change. America will most certainly be different under Mr. Obama's leadership than it has been under Mr. Bush's or would be had we elected John McCain. The door is open; what has been so long deferred can no longer be denied; it can however go unclaimed.

 

Farther down the listing, change is defined as: (n) a transformation or modification; alteration. We've only just begun. While many are basking in the throes of impossible dreams realized this is still America. The inequities, atrocities, anger, mistrust and fear that have so long been the crux of our relationships at home and abroad did not blow away on winds singing yes we did, they did not acquiesce and join the Rodney King choir in a heartfelt rendition of, "Why Can't We All Just Get Along."

 

Two days after 52% of Americans voted for change http://abcnews.go.com/US/Story?id=6209255&page=2">ABC reported that gun sales have increased exponentially; storeowners are struggling to obtain stock. There appears to be a pervasive fear, particularly in the western US, that Barack will strip us of our right to protect our home and family. Are burglars the only fear haunting the primarily McCain voters now rushing the gun shops?  Also on November 6th, Jim Quinn, co-host of http://mediamatters.org/items/200811060012?f=h_popular">The War Room with Quinn & Rose, said, "You know, if you were a slave in the old South, what did you get as a slave? You got free room and board, you got free money, and you got rewarded for having children because that was just, you know, tomorrow's slave. So, you got a free house, you got free money, and you got rewarded for having children. Can I ask a question? How's that different from welfare? You get a free house, you get free food, and you get rewarded for having children. Oh, wait a minute, hold on a second. There is a difference: The slave had to work for it." There has been no public outcry; the story has not been picked up by CNN, ABC or the Reverend Al Sharpton. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/12/national/main2675273.shtml">Don Imus was vilified and fired for far less. This is still America.

 

John McCain has never been so eloquent as in his concession speech on Tuesday night; he praised our new president, vowed to serve him and called for unity. Many of his supporters are far less magnanimous and conciliatory. Amid the victory dances and triumphant shouts, indictments were handed down on two men who would see President-elect Obama and as many more African Americans as possible dead. Obama signs burned in a pit; police diffused an altercation between black and white students and a noose hung from a tree on Baylor University's campus while Oprah cried on Mr. Man's shoulder. This is still America.

 

This morning there are still 3 times as many young African American men in this country's penitentiaries as in her colleges and universities. Today, while our children soar on the wings of Sam Cooke and Martin fulfilled, http://www.noturmommasnews.com/">Read More