End of a Decade: We Celebrated, We Mourned and We Survived

On this New Year’s Eve it is hard to simply look at it as the end of the year. The fact is it is the end of a decade. We spent 1999 in fear of 2000 or as they called it Y2K. There were businesses created to aid us in the transition into the new century. We feared our credit cards would not work, we stocked up on water and canned goods in the event the stores would not be able to open. All year our fears were heightened with new things to worry about as we faced the new century, but most of those fears were manufactured for maximum profit. So as we came into this new decade we faced an election year. We saw George W. Bush and Al Gore battle hard for the presidency and we witnessed the first president appointed by the Supreme Court. As I often say if something does not start out right it never gets right and that’s how this decade started…wrong.

We witnessed 9/11 that was a day that changed our country forever. It was the first terrorist attack on our home soil. It was a horrific sight to see the Twin Towers fall, but it was inspiring to see us come together as a nation. I remember seeing the members of Congress stand on the steps of Congress and sing God Bless America, but we are still baffled by this incident being used as the reason we declared war on Iraq. We went looking for weapons of mass destruction and to date we never found any, but we have lost over 4,000 of our citizens. We watched in horror in 2005 as American citizens displaced by Hurricane Katrina begged for food and water. We ere stunned when we heard President Bush tell the head of FEMA that he was doing a good job. The sad fact is at the end of this decade some portions of New Orleans look like the storm was yesterday and this is the state of new Orleans almost one year since President Obama took the helm.

We did have some bright spots this decade and one of them was Barack Obama. We saw him go from a quixiotic first term Illinois senator declaring his candidacy in January of 2007 to the President of the United States accepting a Nobel Peace Price in 2009. We witnessed the power of cable television. We saw unlikely people stepping up to the microphone and offering opinions that would never have been uttered on the big three networks. Glenn Beck, Rachel Maddow, and Keith Olbermann are now household names.  We were stunned when Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina called President Obama a lie during a televised joint session of Congress, and then we watched as his cohorts tried to make excuses for this egregious behavior, and to add insult to injury we saw Wilson turn his bad behavior into a source of profit. Tons of money came in after he insulted the president, and he became the poster child for hatespeak.

The townhall meetings this summer showed us that some Americans were mad at their government, but the tone was fundamentally different. It seemed more personality than policy. Were they protesting the healthcare bill or were they protesting the fact that the president was black? Many will say no it is his policies that they were protesting, but to simply look at the crowd one knew this was personal. When you heard people saying “I want my country back” or heard them questioning the legitimacy of the Obama election you knew some of if not all of it was about the fact that a black man was now leading this country.

We were proud to elect President Obama, but he spent this past year focusing on healthcare and trying to create alliances with people who will never support him. I hope as we enter this new decade that he will “dance with the one that brought him to the dance.” This is not a comprehensive retrospective on the decade. It would take a book to talk about everything, but this is a compilation of a few events that define this decade for me.  I started writing this blog in January of 2008 and my original plan was to write it until the election was over, but that plan fell by the wayside. I love politics and current events and I look forward to writing as we enter the next decade. Happy New Year and God Bless Everyone.

Do We Really Know What a Terrorist Looks Like?

In light of the attempted bombing of a Detroit bound plane the government has gone crazy. Law abiding Americans are now subjected to sitting at attention with their hands folded and their eyes forward as the plane lands.  Newt Gingrich put it this way “Today, because our elites fear politically incorrect honesty, they believe that it is better to harass the innocent, delay the harmless, and risk the lives of every American than to do the obvious, the effective, and the necessary.” What is the necessary? Profiling, but do we really know what a terrorist looks like?  Gingrich goes on to say, “before a lot more Americans are killed we must acquire the courage to tell the truth and to act on that truth. It is time to be honest about what we know. We know our opponents are radical extremists of the irreconcilable wing of Islam (Islamists, some would call them). We know they have an ideology which is anti-female, desires to impose fundamentalist Sharia as a form of law, is hostile to other religions and is prepared to kill the innocent to achieve their goals. We know how to identify these enemies but our elites have refused to do so.”  It would be easy to simply look at the obvious. Let’s look at everyone that has the last name of Mohammad or now let’s look at all Nigerians, but what about the born in the USA terrorists how will we identify them? This Nigerian bomber put a target on every foreign born black man and sadly every American born black man. The thing about profiling is it expands as it evolves. First it starts with let’s say Nigerian men and before you can say profiling it is looking at all black men. Where does it stop?  Since 2001 flying has gone from pleasurable to a miserable and soon it will just be intolerable, but is profiling going to solve our problem? Black men have complained of police harassment for simply driving while black. Well now thanks to the underwear bomber they will face that same harassment in midair.

*Human Events

NCAA Almost Blindsided Michael Oher’s College Career

Today I finally saw The Blind Side. My friend had been raving about the movie for weeks and she wrote a post on her blog (www.gaj1206.wordpress.com) where she compared The Blind Side to the movie Precious. She highlighted how two children had been forgotten by society, but someone finally saw them and helped them change their lives. Today I saw how Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy had helped a child because he needed help.  It was a feel good movie and the fact that it was based on a true story made it better. The movie did not gloss over the fact that the family was white and rich and the fact that Oher was black and poor. It was a thread woven throughout the film and that helped make the story so very believable and ultimately very touching. One thing that disturbed me in the movie was the role of the NCAA. The NCAA actually investigated the Tuohys involvement in Oher’s college choice Ole Miss. Both of them as well as the tutor that helped Oher prepare for college were Ole Miss alums. The NCAA contended they were boosters and that they had pressured him to go to Ole Miss.  In the movie the NCAA rep said “what would happen  if people just came down to the hood and took black kids in just to get them to go to their college?” She said this as if this was a bad thing. The Tuohys were actually a lifeboat for Oher. They rescued him from a life of poverty. This was a boy who had the clothes on his back and what he could carry in a grocery bag. Yes, others had helped him, but they took him as far as they could take him. The Tuohys had the resources to actually equip Oher for a future in college and ultimately a NFL career. It was absolutely galling to see the NCAA questioning their motives. The Tuohys did something that most people would not think about doing. They opened their home and their lives to a homeless boy and that should have been celebrated not investigated.

The Media Loves Charlie Sheen

Over the past few days I have been watching the coverage of the Charlie Sheen incident. Some might ask what Charlie Sheen incident? It is just not getting the kind of coverage that other high profile domestic violence cases received this year. On the Today Show this morning a former editor for Us Magazine said this is the kind of behavior people have come to expect from Sheen. She described him as “teflon” nothing sticks to him. In fact some have said this kind of behavior adds to his charm. Well there is simply nothing charming about a man threatening his wife with a knife. Sheen is loved by the media and therefore he is getting a pass from his buddies. His wife is seemingly recanting her initial allegations and the Colorado authorities will not be making a decision on if he will be charged with anything until February. It must be great to be Sheen because he can do no wrong even when he does.

It is Frightening to Think the Terrorist Almost Won

 The Nigerian terrorist would have been successful if he had been able to detonate his bomb. The frightening part is he was able to pass through the system while carrying this fatal substance. Now the airlines are on special alert. The horse has run off and now they are putting a new lock on the barn door. This guy came very close to committing a catastrophic act of terrorism on Christmas Day. His father tried to warn the US Embassy, the suspected terrorist bought a one way ticket and paid over $2000 in cash for it, but nothing he did set off any red flags. So now passengers must sit at attention the last hour of international flights. No pillows, no blanket, no nothing is allowed in your lap. On the Today Show Matt Lauer asked a terrorism expert what if he was traveling with his 3 year old son and the son needed to use the restroom in the last how what could he do? He responded that an airline official might accompany them to the restroom or take they might take his son to the restroom. Lauer might have to travel with pull ups for his son and himself in this new age of travel.

Why is the Media Not Putting Charlie Sheen on Blast Like they did Chris Brown?

 Charlie Sheen star of the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men has been charged with domestic violence. He was arrested and jailed on Friday in Colorado. “Sheen, 44, was charged with second degree assault and menacing, both felonies, and criminal mischief, a misdemeanor”.  What will CBS do about this? Will his sitcom be put on hold while this case moves forward? America can not stand an abuser. Case in point Chris Brown. Brown beat up his then girlfriend Rihanna and he became public enemy number one. What Brown did to Rihanna was indeed despicable, but America has refused to forgive him. Even the couple who used his song for that very popular viral wedding victim spoke out against Brown just a week ago. So I know Sheen is in for some of the same kind of American justice. Or is he? Sheen is said to have even brandished a knife in this incident. Sheen has a history of bad behavior, but the media tends to laugh it off and say that is Charlie Sheen being Charlie Sheen. He is simply the “bad boy” of Hollywood even though he is a middle aged man. It will be very interesting to watch how this case unfolds. Will Sheen be demonized or will he just give us his trademark smirk and simply film another Hanes commercial with basketball superstar Michael Jordan?

Are Black Celebrities Stealing ideas from the Common Folk or are the Common Folks Just Haters?

I just finished reading an article about the Wayans Brothers. One of their former assistants is suing them because he contends the brothers stole his idea for their book, You Know You’re a Goldigger…, Jared Edwards said he worked for them a decade ago and he wrote jokes about women using their wiles to secure status. He said the brothers rejected his book idea but later published a book that was similar in nature. After reading this I thought of the Chris Rock movie Good Hair. A woman that worked for him while he was doing Everybody Hates Chris said she showed Rock clips from her film Nappy Roots and some of the segments of Rock’s Good Hair are quite similar to the film she showed Rock. She too is currently suing Rock, and finally Steve Harvey’s book Think Like a Lady Act Like a Man. Sharon P. Carson  claims that Steve Harvey’s new book Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man is not his, but hers.  Carson said she holds the copyright to a book of the same exact title with the same exact premise. And much of his book is way too similar to hers. “She wrote her book back in 2004 and is speaking out about Steve (or his people) stealing it and changing some words, then slapping his name on it so he could go make money for the publishers and “writers”.” So are all of these people delusional or are celebrities actually taking their ideas and turning them into moneymakers? So often people know someone famous and they think that the person could help them. So they do share their idea with the celebrity hoping and trusting that they will help them make their dream come true  but sadly in some cases the celebrity sees a good idea and they have the clout and the connections to actually turn a concept into reality. I am no judge and I don’t know if the celebrities actually stole the ideas from these visionaries, but I believe the takeaway from this is before you share an idea you need to have the viewer sign a contract so that if they do steal your idea you will have some kind of legal recourse, and do not forget to copyright your work.

Sean Goldman will be Home for the Holidays, but where is Mitrice Richardson?

 Today David Goldman left Brazil with his son, Sean. This story has been in the news for at least 4 years. Goldman’s former wife was from Brazil and she took the boy there on a trip and ended up divorcing Goldman. She remarried and died in childbirth and the boy’s stepfather fought for years to keep the boy. David Goldman never gave up and he had powerful allies including NBC News. His story has been featured on Dateline, The Today Show and the Nightly Network News. His congressman intervened and there was talk of the Secretary of State Clinton even getting involved. Finally today he was able to bring his son home, but it truly took a village to make this reunion happen. This brings me to the Mitrice Richardson story. I first saw her story on the Today Show. Her parents appeared and shared the story of her disappearance. She had been arrested by the LAPD regarding a restaurant bill. She was taken to the station and her car was search and a small amount of marijuana was found in the car. She was released from custody in the middle of the night and no one has seen her since. It has now been 3 months since she left the station. Last week I read a blog by Jasmyne Cannick in which she said the family was trying to get Maxine Waters to initiate a federal investigation into to this case but at the time the family’s plea for intervention had not been answered. Publicity is the key to solving crimes. The Richardson case deserves more press than it is getting. It is wonderful that David Goldman will have his son for the holidays, but today they rejoice and Mitrice’s family is in agony because they simply want to know what happened to her. They need more media coverage of the events that led up to her disappearance. She deserves to be remembered for more than her disappearance.

http://www.bringmitricehome.org

Christmas 2009: A Different Kind of Holiday

Yesterday I read an article about a mother begging for Christmas presents on Craigslist. I remember as a child some years we got what we wanted and some years we did not. If the money was running funny we did not get the things we asked for and we survived.  My parents were hard workers and they never would have begged for gifts for us. It is understandable that parents want their children to have a Merry Christmas, but some things are nice and some things are necessary. It is nice to have a big tree surrounded by lots of presents, but it is necessary to be able to feed and clothe your children. Our society has commercialized this holiday to the point that it is unrecognizable. This is what makes parents feel guilty if they can fulfill the Christmas that their child has fantasized, and leads to begging on Craigslist.

Has President Obama Lost the Confidence of the Black Community?

Yesterday President Obama sat down for an interview with April Ryan of American Urban Radio Networks.  She asked him why were some portions of the black community losing faith in him. Ryan specifically asked “speaking of the African American community, this seems to be a shift in black leadership, as it relates to supporting you. You have the CBC that’s upset with you about targeting on the jobs front — African Americans, 15.6 percent unemployment rate, expected to go to 20 percent; mainstream America 10 percent. Then you have black actors who supported you — Danny Glover, who’s saying that you’ve not changed; your administration is the same as George W. Bush. What are your thoughts about the fact that black leadership is grumbling, and the fact that people are concerned with you being the first African American President, and they thought that there would be a little bit more compassion for black issues?” The president responded, “Well, first of all, April, I think you just engaged in a big generalization in terms of how you asked that question. If you want me to line up all the black actors, for example, who support me, and put them on one side of the room, and a couple who are grumbling on the other, I’m happy to have that. I think if you look at the polling, in terms of the attitudes of the African American community, there’s overwhelming support for what we’ve tried to do. And, so, is there grumbling? Of course there’s grumbling, because we just went through the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. And everybody is concerned about unemployment, everybody’s concerned about businesses not hiring, everybody’s concerned about their home values declining. And in each of these areas, African Americans have been disproportionately affected. We were some of the folks who were most affected by predatory lending. There’s a long history of us being the last hired and the first fired.” I find the president’s response to be very interesting. The fact is he has not lost all of the capital with the black community but there are more than a few voices grumbling and it would be very dangerous to simply dismiss it as the discontent of a few. Yes the president is president to all of America, but he assembled a coalition last fall that captured the black vote which was a critical part of his successful election so he needs to listen even to things he does not want to hear.  He also said  “ this notion somehow that because there wasn’t a transformation overnight that we’ve been neglectful is simply factually not accurate.” Mr. President no one expected an overnight transformation, but what we do expect is to be taken off the back burner and put on the 2010 To Do List.

*Transcript from April Ryan Interview