Alvin Greene Shuffling His Way to Election Day

Alvin Greene might not have the answer to the problems facing South Carolina, but he is more than willing to keep them laughing. The sad fact is this guy is the Democratic nominee for the Senate, and that’s no joke. Watch the video: http://news.yahoo.com/video/greenville-wyff-18211287/alvin-greene-shows-off-dance-moves-21672469

What Part of “No Nepotism” Did Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson Not Understand?

You know what I get sick of? Politicians feigning ignorance when they violate the law or an ethics rule. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson awarded thousands of dollars in college scholarships to her relatives and her top aides since 2005. “The recipients were ineligible under anti-nepotism rules of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, which provided the money. And all of the awards violated a foundation requirement that scholarship winners live or study in a caucus member’s district. Johnson, a Democrat, denied any favoritism when asked about the scholarships last week. Two days later, she acknowledged in a statement released by her office that she had violated the rules but said she had done so “unknowingly” and would work with the foundation to “rectify the financial situation.” Scholarships have been rewarded to two of the Congresswoman’s grandsons and two great nephews. Give me a break she knew what she was doing. She just never thought she would get caught. “The foundation’s general counsel, Amy Goldson, said Saturday that the scholarships Johnson awarded violated eligibility rules regarding relatives and residency and are “of great concern.”*  Goldson went on to say “It is inappropriate for a lawmaker to certify the award of a scholarship to a relative in a situation where the lawmaker or their staff is involved in the selection of the recipient.”  So is restitution enough or should something else be done to Rep. Johnson? Tell me what you think.

*tgillman@dallasnews.com;

Rick Sanchez Apologizes for “Cotton Picking President” Comment

He is the “cotton picking president” of the United States. This is what Rick Sanchez said. The point he was trying to make is that the president with his bully pulpit should be able to convince Americans that he is a Christian, but that is not what he said. A few months ago Newsweek editor Julia Reed said the president must be out of his “cotton picking mind.” I did not have a problem with the Reed statement, but I am having more of a problem with the Sanchez statement. Tell me what you think.

Antoine Dodson’s “Bed Room Intruder” is a hit…Who would have thought it

These days you can not get away from Antoine Dodson. He is the latest youtube sensation. He rescued his sister from an intruder and his animated interview was so lyrical that it was set to music. Yesterday Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker devoted her column to him, “Taking a viral road to Fame.” Parker said “Nobody’s laughing about what happened, least of all dodson and his sister. But both admit laughing all the way to the bank about what has transpired since. With the help of the Gregory Brothers and that undeniable something that causes a moment to become a movement, dodson has taken a lemon and made lemonade franchise.” When I first saw the video I really wondered why would the station give this guy so much air time, but a friend of mine pointed out what he did took bravery. In this “Stop Snitching” culture most people are afraid and retreat when they are victimized, but not Dodson. The sad thing is the attempted break-in turned into a breakthrough for Dodson and his family, and that is a good thing, but there are thousands of Dodsons walking around and unfortunatley for them their sob stories are not nearly as lyrical.

It’s the First Day of School, but Alicia Debolt will never enter high school

Today is the first day of school and for my youngest it is the first day of high school. She was understandably nervous but she left with a big smile on her face. This is a joyous time for her, but last week I read a story about another girl who should have been starting high school today, but instead she is in the morgue. Alicia Debolt was a cheerleader from Great Bend, Kansas who was about to enter her freshman year of high school. She was last seen at her home last Saturday night, when she left with her 19-year-old boyfriend at 11PM to attend a party. Her body was found burned beyond recognition in a dumpster. Two questions come to mind: why is a 19 year old allowed to date a minor and why is a 14 year old allowed to leave her home at 11PM to go out partying? A fourteen year old is not an adult and should not be treated like she is one. Parents want to have good relationships with their children, but their children have plenty of friends and they need parents that are there to actually teach them right from wrong. I would not be so callous as to judge this situation, but I will just say today I was grateful to see my 14 year old do what 14 teen year olds should be doing and that is starting high school.

Glenn Beck’s labor of Love?

It is hard to dismiss Glenn Beck as a nut. Yesterday he drew thousands of people who believe in him and his message. He did not take the opportunity to bash the president, but then he doesn’t have to convince the true believers. It would be like preaching to the choir, but if all Beck wants to do is reclaim honor and embrace Christianity why is it his crowd is 99% white? Black folks love Jesus and they to want honor in America. Yesterday African American singers attempted to sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing–the James Weldon Johnson poem set to music and known as the black national anthem – few in the crowd knew any of the words. Why aren’t more minorities swaying to the melodious words coming out of Beck’s mouth? Maybe they have not forgotten that this same mouth declared President Obama to be a racist, and this is the same mouth that mocked the president’s daughter.  Oh yes he has apologized for doing that.  He is moving on and embracing a love and happiness approach, but spreading anger is much more lucrative. We’ll see how long it will be before Beck is back to doing what he does best…Keeping the true believers angry.

Mississippi Nettle Middle School Ends Segregation in Class Elections

 It is hard to believe this policy has been in place since 1980. Nettle Middle School in an effort to encourage racial diversity in class elections instituted a controversial policy. Students were allowed to run for class office according to race. This year only white students were eligible to run for president and black students could only run for some of the lesser offices.    ”It is the belief of the current administration that these procedures were implemented to help ensure minority representation and involvement in the student body,” Superintendent Russell Taylor said in a statement. “Therefore, beginning immediately, student elections at Nettleton School District will no longer have a classification of ethnicity. It is our intent that each student has equal opportunity to seek election for any student office.” Brandy Springer pulled her two children from the school after her 12-year-old daughter, who is half native-American and in the 6th grade, was told she didn’t meet the qualifications to run for the office of reporter on grounds that she was not black. The sad thing about this situation is the school thought they were doing something good in 1980. They were trying to insure diversity within the elections, but this policy needed to have been revisited and they weren’t until this situation occurred and so now finally in 2010 the situation has been changes.

What would Dr. King think about Glenn Beck’s March on Washington?

Tomorrow Glenn Beck will be holding a rally in Washington DC on the same date that Dr. King gave his I Have a Dream Speech 47 years ago. Beck claims the date is purely coincidental. His rally is called “Restoring Honor” and one of the featured speakers will be Sarah Palin. Palin’s presence is a no brainer, but the more interesting speaker will be Alveda King who is the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. She is very conservative and her viewpoints seem to be in line with Beck and the Tea Party. She definately has a right to her opinion but the problem is that her viewpoint is not as inclusive as the viewpoint of her uncle. As a matter of fact he will probably be flip flopping in his grave tomorrow when she takes the podium. Her relationship to Dr. King is one of the reasons that her stature is elevated among this crowd. As I said before she has a right to her opinion but please let us not get this thing twisted. She speaks for herself not for Dr. King. Here is a link to an excellent story about Alveda King from Salon: http://shar.es/0WR6v

When Did Hatred Become Patriotism?

Should a mosque be built near Ground Zero? This question has been debated everywhere. Some say it is a local issue, but it has taken on national interest. Some of the relatives of the 9/11 victims do not want it built near the site, but the Mayor Bloomberg said that it is in accordance to the local laws and they have a right to build. The other night he said “We would feed the false impressions that some Americans have about Muslims. We would hand a valuable propaganda tool to terrorist recruiters, who spread the fallacy that America is at war with Islam.”  So how did we get to this point? The rhetoric we are hearing is laced with hate that is wrapped into some kind of sick patriotism. We have made Muslim the M-word. When did Muslim become a dirty word? What happened to us? The thing that frightens me is if they are successful in stopping the mosque what is next? I saw a minister on one of the cable networks proudly proclaiming that his church would be having a burn the Koran rally. Here was a man of the cloth proudly proclaiming religious hatred.  This is a diverse country and now we seem to be shifting wildly to the right. What happened to us?

Why Do You have to Give Up So much Information to Apply for a Job?

I have been looking for a job for a while now. One of the things that bugs me is you are required to give up so much personal information at the beginning of the process. Why? Why do you need to furnish 3 references when the employer has not even met you? Why do they need your social security number and you are not filling out a W2? Why do they  always have the optional page that asks for gender and race, and if you opt not to fill it out does it count against you? Why do you have to set up an account to apply? I guess it is just the cost of looking for employment in 2010. It still bugs me though.