Dispassionate Question - Would YOU Choose To Live Around These People?

The news about the out of control homicide rates and unsolved cases in Metro Atlanta that I have long been talking about is finally getting some attention in the media. Fulton County recently released crime statics which show that what has been clearly aparent by anyone who watches the news already knew - the homicide rates in Metro Atlanta are on the increase.

Sadly the report shows that 84% of those killed by homicide in the county are Black. When I attack John Lewis for his obfuscation - this is the basis of my anger. While it is popular to talk about what the police are doing in the way of harrasment - it seems clear to me that it is the CONTEXT by which the police are forced to respond that is the greater issue. No one - White or Black would ever put themselves into such a notedly dangerous situation. These status are totally unacceptable.

It is time for those who call themselves leaders of the Black community to stand up and stand accountable.

Restaurant Racism?

Yesterday I had two encounters surrounding race and restaurants that proved to be interesting to me.

First - during the day while I was in my training class two White men who are my class mates and are from out of town noted that in the Chinese restaurant that they dined in "I only saw 2 White tables of diners and one Black table....the rest did not speak English". He was talking about Gwinnett County Georgia. I told him that this was a very "diverse county". I pumped up the efforts of the Asian and Hispanic communities in that they have built up their own shopping districts and thus economic development along the main strip - Buford Highway.

Of course these two White men knew they were talking to a Black man. It turns out that it was not necessarily an attack on the Hispanic and Asians that they saw. It was to make notice of the great changes that are taking place in this country. One of the White men noted that he had been a career military officer and been trained about the importance of diversity on his teams while in the military. He learned valuable lesson - he said - in regards to this and the ability to communicate with people from different backgrounds.

After the class finished I went to my favorite Jamaican restaurant to eat some of their famous jerk chicken which I love so much. As I was eating a Black American female came in to eat. She obviously knew the waitress from her previous visits. The waitress commented favorably on her weight loss and the fact that she had not seen her for a while. The woman noted that she "had moved across town". She now lives in Fayette County. The woman complained that she doesn't like it down there. She said loudly enough for me to hear across the room "My family moved there and I was over here. I moved to be close to them. But I don't like it down there are too many WHITE PEOPLE DOWN THERE. I don't feel comfortable there".

I couldn't help but to think about the situation that happened earlier in the day. No doubt these White men were as RACE CONSCIOUS as this Black female. And no doubt in talking to me they were not going to let out a "racist" statement - instead they made an "American normal" reference. This comment in the evening showed me that prejudice and bigotry has no boundary of race.

This woman did not beg to ask why her family moved to Fayette. It is known for its great schools, low crime and small town living - as compared to Dekalb County that is best with problems. It seems that in moving near to "all these White people" her family made the decision to consume a quality of life that they were not receiving in Dekalb.

Label Thus Under "A Hit Dog Will Holler"

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2007/07/24/guadian.tx.controversial.signs.ktrk


"Welfare Was Orginally A Hand Up Not A Lifestyle"

"If You Can't Feed'em Don't Breed'em"

Seeing very general yet provocative messages.
How then are they RACIST unless you assume that Black people are Welfare cases.
For me as a Black man who has no inclination to be on Welfare - I would not make an assocation of these messages toward Black people nor do I take offense.

It seems to me that the people taking offense to the messages are the ones that need to check themselves.

Hillary Attacks Several Heros of Black Revolutionaries

In the latest spat with Obama about "visiting US enemies" around the world, Hillary Rodham states that "I don't want to see the power and prestige of the United States president put at risk by rushing in to meetings with the likes of Chavez and Castro and Ahmadinejad". It is funny to see this play out. Ms. Rodham is seemingly attempting to play the "cool and calculating" veteran politician while Obama - who is clearly showing a bit of his inexperience and idealism - gets a little bit frayed over the matter.

But again folks.......my focus is NOT on the sparing match between the Democrats. My primary focus is on the BLACK COMMUNITY AND THE 90%+ PERCENT SUPPORT THAT WILL BE GIVEN TO WHICH EVER DEMOCRAT IS LEFT STANDING. Ms. Rodham can do anything short of calling Obama a "Nigra" and this percentage will not erode. If this were to happen the PARTICIPATION RATE of Black voters would plummet, not the percentage of Black votes for the Democrats on election day.

I wonder just how much the Black Progressive who has supped with both Castro and Chavez and that showcase their social reforms will reconcile these painful truths that will come out of Ms. Rodham's campaign as she has the inevitable battle with Obama. Obama, in a bit of desperation will no doubt have to go negative, stepping down off of his idealism as he seeks to close the gap. In doing so the Rodham campaign is going to have to strike back. Each punch means a quantifiable number of Black voters will not bother to go to the polls - as sad as it might sound. I can assure you that Mr. Clinton told Ms. Rodham that she must walk a fine line with Mr. Obama. She cannot look at him as just another candidate. She must look at what he represents......A BLACK MAN who is a VEHICLE OF HOPE FOR THE BLACK PROGRESSIVE who needs something to latch onto. If she pummels him with her known vitriol she will reduce the number of Blacks who come to the poll to vote for Democrats on election day. (I beg any of you who disagree with me on this very point to please speak up.)

I predict that upon her victory in the Democratic primary Ms. Rodham will request that Mr. Obama "give one to the party"........put aside the Democratic Primary slaps upon his head that she gave him and work to make amends with her so that the Black voter can come to the polls. (Of course they are not going to say this so bluntly be WE ALL KNOW that this is the FUNCTIONAL result of this unity effort).

I personally hope that the Democrats take control of the entire federal government for at minimum of 4 years. This will work to neutralize the debate that I had with a friend of mine last night in which he blamed Bush for "taking money out of the mouths of babes" with regard to his war spending. My comeback that we should base this judgment on the "PRE-EVIL BUSH" levels of spending on things of interest to Black people for him to make such a charge. Unfortunately for him - nearly across the board his claims don't stand up. From Education to various spending in Health & Human Services the budgets are far greater now than previously - even factoring for inflation (www.federalbudget.com). After 4 to 6 years GONE will be the claims that the "Republican Congress has blocked the deeds of the Democratic administration". We will see if the Black Progressives are more Democrats or Black Progressives after these series of years.

But again - I was not arguing on behalf of Bush in refuting my friend's charges. I was ultimately asking him why he was not protesting against Clinton when the spending levels back then did not measure up either. In these debates my Black debate opponents are allowed to say whatever they want about Bush - true or not true. Any attempt by me to set the record straight in the context of having an on the level debate makes me a "Bush Defender". I am therefore expected to fight my battle with one hand tied behind my back as I pursue my goal that Black people's tendency to "Live Vicariously through the electoral success of Democrats and Black Democrats" is one of the key reasons for our political impotence.

Hillary Rodham's election to president, the continued control of the House & Senate by the Democrats coupled with the Democratic representative at the state house/senate that ALL majority Black districts in America have along with the Democratic mayor, city council majority and school board head........from local to national THEY HAVE A FULL HAND OF DEMOCRATS representing their cause.

I have been disappointed before in attempting to allow REAL WORLD EVIDENCE TO THE CONTRARY convince a fundamentalist that he needs to change his ways.....but at least this will be more evidence to add to the pile.

The New "All White Jury"

It is official - Certain Black people are no less bigoted and prone to 'jury nullification' than are the White folks who sat in the jurior's box in the past and casted their form of "justice" upon Black folks. With them..."No Black man was innocent of any crime regardless of what the evidence showed to the contrary and no White man was guilty of assaulting a Black person, regardless of what the evidence showed to the contrary". For some Black people today "they have learned well from their long time oppressors". I have said for a long time that there is little difference between the inclinations of hatred between White folks or Black folks, the only difference is that in recent history it has been White folks who have been in a position of power to have their bigotry trample upon others.

Black people are quickly catching up in their abilities to project bigotry.

Aside from the continuing comments that I am listening to on the radio concerning the Michael Vick case there are other key examples of what I say. In the case of Michael Vick some people, on both sides of the debate have chosen to remove their primary focus on his INDIVIDUAL actions and instead make this a trial about him as a Black man in the context of the legacy of racism, oppression and discrimination against Black people. It is kinda difficult for me to see people who are living pay check to pay check plead on behalf of a Black man who has a $120 million contract. If the argument is that despite this boat load of many that is more than many people COMBINED will never see in their life times is evidence that "He is still a Nigga" then please by all means "Make me a Nigga" and give me this same amount of money. I am quite sure that I won't disappoint and that I will not be caught having anything to do with dog fighting or anything else blatantly illegal.

In a phenomenon that I have called "Expanding the police tape" there is a tendency by many people to not just strictly focus on the evidence at the crime scene but "expand the police tape", placing it in a time machine and have it stretch back several centuries ago "when we wuz slaves" and consider the impact of "cultural theft" and "economic oppression" has on who we are today. Again, I am sorry, $120 millions to express the value of the WORTH of this man's WORK is hardly a residue of slavery.

But this is not the focus of my report today, however. I wanted to highlight a story out of Milwaukee.
http://www.workers.org/2007/us/milwaukee-0802/

It seems that a Black political activist turned elected official on the city council is being held for, among other things, election fraud, bribery and conspiracy. He is charged with extorting money in exchange for licensing favors from the city council. It seems that the NAACP is more concerned about the "treatment" of Mr. McGee upon his arrest as compared to other elected officials suffering a same fate more than they are concerned about his GUILT in election fraud and extortion. I am not surprised though.

Among his character references is the fact that Mr McGee has pleaded for discounted oil from Venezuela's Hugo Chavez for the benefit of the poor in the area. No mention if he also asked Mr. Chavez to change his stance in OPEC in which Venezuela is part of the faction that manipulates OPEC supplies to insure that quantities are kept low so the prices can go up. Mr. McGee also supports the release of cop killer Mumia Abu Jamal - a standard litmus test for most Black radicals.

It is becoming increasingly aparent that the Black community must itemize what it believes to be right or wrong BEFORE any incidents occur and the race of the person can be injected. From this list, which will sit in escrow so that it can't be altered as events play themselves out the community will judge a person's guilt or innocence according to the FACTS and what they have recorded on the list. As it stands now the current system is favorable for the Black criminal who receives ardent defense from many in the community while the VICTIMS of his actions (if he is guilty) are left as casulaties in the "proxy war on race" that all of this is being faught for.

"What Are You Doing To Help The Black Community?"

"What Are You Doing To Help The Black Community?"

So goes the words of the ardent defenders of the status quo in Black elected leadership, social activists and aggrieved masses. They are able to list all of the "activity" of their favored organizations and then make the case that critics such as myself will never enjoy mass favor WITHIN the Black community because we are "negative".

Hummmmmmm

"Negativity", as used by them, is a SUBJECTIVE measure. If we were to judge a man by the amount of criticism that he spouts but not the context then indeed these are some of the most "negative" people in this country. The police, the politicians (in the other party that is), the White folks, the corporations, the Black folks who don't think as they do....all of these are subjects of their constant criticism. The key difference is that THEY THINK THAT THEY ARE CORRECT and they go out to find selected bits of evidence that bears their claims out.

The key thing that they don't like about me is that I often check their rants by pointing out things about Black folks (or forces that they favor) which are just as guilty as the people on their "select enemies" list. This is what pisses them off. They are typically in fine company when they are around another Black who will listen to their grievance and then add on with their own grievance and thus the conversation goes on - rather unchallenged. When they run across a Black man like me who is seeking to NOT just reside within the same rut that they find themselves into but to challenge them to be less subjective and consider valid counter points then certain tried and true tactics are used to enforce group cohesion.

On the radio yesterday a discussion about the planned press conference that the local NAACP chapter has scheduled for next week to discuss Michael Vick was the hot topic. A few callers questioned why, after having a 9 year old Black girl get shot in the face and die yesterday from a drive by shooting is Michael Vick important to the NAACP and not these other issues that are 'burning Rome'? The following caller condemned him for criticizing the NAACP and other organizations and he asked "What are you doing to help the Black community? These organizations have press conferences and then follow up with actions. They are doing a lot in the community. The critics that always call in about them aren't doing anything".

My response to all of this is that ACTIVITY in and of itself is not proof of EFFECTIVENESS. If the metro police department, after a spat of shootings of Black men had a press conference detailing all that they have done to address this problem (training of the officers, civilian review board, internal investigations).....but the incidents not only failed to decrease but increased.....certainly the ACTIVITIES alone would not be enough to pacify the activists. Why then should we be pacified with the claims of all of the ACTIVITIES that the local NAACP, Concerned Black Clergy and other activist groups are doing when clearly IT AIN'T WORKING!! A casual peek at the evening news will show you the bloodbath that is going on throughout Black America.

For me - I am content that I am a resident father, that me and my wife form the largest imprint upon the character and value of our own children, that we are the managers of their education. Interestingly enough some people call this SELFISH. What they are saying is that I should leave my home and go provide care for the home of the product of another Black woman and Black man who is not being raised in a similar fashion. My big question to these critics is.......are these parents HANDICAPPED or INFERIOR to me in any way that they can't do the very same thing? Did my family exit slavery decades earlier than theirs so that while their culture was destroyed mine was left intact? WHAT DO YOU ASK OF THEM?

I volunteer frequently in such intervention programs. I see, however, that it is important to get BUY IN from those you are attempting to help in that you are not the only one GIVING. While you might receive some cathartic experience and get closer to your God for doing good works.......at the end of he day your goal should be to HELP-CHANGE the person's condition and not just HELP. In Helping both they and you could grow content in knowing that you have conditioned them to show up to your back door 3 times a day for a square meal. Is this helping the person to grow? Of course not.

So it is with the ACTIVITIES of these organizations. As my former retired military boss used to say "All airspeed but no direction" will have you fooled that DOING SOMETHING is actually ACCOMPLISHING SOMETHING desirable.

It is time for the Black Community to demote our tendency to choose IDEOLOGICAL UNITY over EFFECTIVE RESULTS.

In A Wave Of Homicides Pressure Grows On Philly Police Chief

It's a good thing that the Black Community stays united in a voting bloc........

It's a crime Sylvester Johnson's still in office.
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/articles/15098

Some of those standards are based on numbers: 2005, 377 murders; 2006, 406 murders; 2007, 233 so far, on pace to be the highest body count in a decade.

But as Carr points out, in many ways Johnson's hands are tied. He's managed by the mayor, his budget is controlled by City Council, and his efforts to keep criminals off the street ultimately fall to the district attorney.

Police Chief - Black & Democrate

Mayor - Black & Democrat

City Council - Super Majority Democrat

All of them need not worry about losing their seats via an electoral uprising in the BLACK community who is "sick and tired".

Of course the problem is with the actual people on the streets who are pulling the triggers. I just want to point out how the events on the streets within the Black community are so abstracted from the political loyalties that many of us have.

"Progressive" Radio Host: Black Conservatives Are Selfish

There are three females on this Earth who have a special knack for grabbing on my nerve and pinching the hell out of it - Julianne Malveaux with her comments. Editorial writer Cynthia Tucker of the AJC with her "the conservatives did it" columns and the Monday night host of WAOK AM in Atlanta - Georgia Representative Alisha Thomas Morgan.

Tonight Ms. Morgan had a dialogue about the "apathy and selfishness" that is present within the Black community. It seems that the Black community has had "heart failure" in that we have an increasing number of people who have "made it" and turned their backs on the poor within our community. In a simplistic example she stated that the "Black Conservatives that she knows are selfish and that the Progressives seek to help everyone". This is interesting that Sean Puffy Combs, Snoop Dogg, and so many other wealthy Black celebrities must be "conservatives" because many of them sure hold on to their money rather than making sound investments WITHIN the Black community.

With the Black community voting upwards of 92% for Democrats nationally and with Black elected officials on a local level somewhere near 98% Democrat - how is it that such simplistic claim can be made? Where are the Conservative Black Democrats? Blacks are supposed to be social conservatives after all.

Ms Morgan suffers from the strategy of "all offense". She is going to stay on the attack and always play the "mantel of Blackness" in all that she does. Tonight was reflection and a bit of frustration on her part. It seems that the Black community, despite having a super-majority of Democrats is still not able to overcome many of the challenges that she and her like-minded politicians have promised us. At her wits end - she can only blame that insidious Black Conservative for our current state.

I find it interesting that she and a few of her callers tell of how our elders FAILED to tell us "what they struggled for". "Now that we can get into that restaurant, we no longer respect that hard won battle.". Hummmm. I need to find my self in OPPRESSION and RACISM rather than making note that today so much has been lifted out of my way? This sounds like a perversion to me. It seems that she and others are hearkening back to a day when the lack of laws to protect us allowed the Whites to give us hell. By necessity we had to fight the common enemy. Now that there are laws to punish those who trample our rights - we are in discord? This sounds like a MANAGEMENT problem in getting the NOW FREE MASSES to make full use of their potential. Some people have been bounded for so long and fighting against the straps that they got their muscular exercise fighting against this external force. Now that they have open land in front of them and have a new set of challenges - they can only hearken back to the "good ole days" when we were in the same pit together. Which of us sound more indoctrinated?

I recall a few months ago battling Mrs. Morgan on the radio. It seems that during the last GA Legislative session the evil Republicans decided to show a video of a COP KILLER to justify their alterations of the state's death penalty sentencing laws. Was Mrs. Morgan's primary concern that the GUY KILLED A COP? You would be so wrong if you assumed this. Her outrage was that the RACIST REPUBLICANS decided to show a video that contained a BLACK MALE who SHOT A WHITE COP? This was the greater offense to her. This move played to the RACIST FEELINGS of that mostly White legislative body, she felt. There was no mention about what the DEADLY ACTIONS of the KILLER had upon the entire community - Black, White, or otherwise. To this I say - she is all in the Koolaide and don't know the flavor.

The game dun changed and certain people with certain styles are rendered useless. They are ACTIVISTS when we need EXECUTIVES to take the raw materials and assemble them into a SYSTEM to propel us forward. Many of these people can tell of their experiences as Activists. Few have ever MANAGED anything INTERNALLY, having synergized something as a result of their inward focused efforts.

So let's set the stage up correctly. The Black community today is dominated by the same Revolutionary Progressives that Ms. Morgan claims to be. Thus far these people have controlled the megaphone, the voting booths and the pulpits WITHIN the Black community. Instead of doing some INTROSPECTION about the failures that they have wrought they instead have a need to tell about the POWER OF WHITE SUPREMACY which has caused their current fate. How many times have you heard the tale "Back in the day we knew who our enemies were because they wore a hood and make their feelings clear. Today their actions are not as explicit. They do in the boardroom what was done on the streets or in the Klan rally".

Left without an EFFECTIVE means to work INTERNALLY this is what must be resorted to.
Mrs. Morgan rubs me the wrong way in nearly every thing that she does. No one can tell her that she might be off track.

The SCLC Anniversary - Clinton, Jackson Vs Corporations

The 50th Anniversary of the Southern Christian Leadership foundation is scheduled for early march. The same Civil Rights battle axes were announced for the line up - Rev. Joseph Lowery, Andrew Young, Jesse Jackson. The radio cut had former President Bill Clinton testifying about his goals for the world. He said that his goal was to give everyone around the world an opportunity to make a good living. How touching. Clinton will always be more popular within the Black community than the people who actually hire us.

This got me to thinking about creating a dispassionate comparison between the economic state of the Black community while during the last 40 years when we were left all alone in these big cities with the leadership that has taken over versus the period of time before massive change took place in these same cities when these same forces who are now elected leaders were activists. Where as Bill Clinton is able to tug at heart strings with his "global goals" it seems to me that for the Black inner city the time when the "corporate adversary" was present was a more economically sound time for our communities. All the while we were 'being exploited' by these corporations our spending power, as in Detroit, for example was greater then than it is now. Why is it that speakers such as Bill Clinton - who will no doubt be followed by Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Andrew Young and Rev. Joseph Lowery are able to talk about their VISION for all but have so little to show for it on the streets where they have upwards of 90% support?

According to my calculations it is that much hated corporate CEO who has a track record of handing out checks that have lead to more Black communities being able to thrive than any of these men who will grace the stage during this black tie affair. This is clearly shown in my favorite cities (Baltimore, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Camden, Newark, Detroit, Gary and East St Louis). Once the corporations departed and they were left with the activists and the politicians the standard of living for these same communities plummeted.

Why is it that these facts will not be mentioned on that stage during the celebration for the SCLC?

"Blacks generally are more liberal than average voters" - No Kidding?

Blacks generally are more liberal than average voters - liberal longshot Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio was the other audience favorite - so the trick for candidates is to appeal to blacks without alienating the rest of the electorate. Because Clinton is white, she has more liberty to give black voters what they want to hear without fear of being seen strictly as a black candidate.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/06/29/ap3873837.html

I am so happy that there is documented proof of the engineering that goes on by Democratic candidates before they speak before a Black crowd. It seems pretty obvious to me.

Clinton and Obama are both pulling on the heart strings of black voters," Democratic consultant Jamal Simmons said. "Most black voters are very fond of the Clintons, and having Hillary Clinton running for president and bringing back that feeling after years of President Bush is pulling on black voters out of a sense of loyalty. But Obama is pulling on them out of a sense of history."

Bring back that Clinton FEELING they say. I actually ran across the above article while attempting to find Hillary Clinton's comments which claimed that the past 6 1/2 years have been a disaster for Black America. Of course she and other Black Quasi-Socialist Progress-Fundamentalist Racism Chasers are talking about their SENTIMENTS rather than statistical facts that show that Black achievement has been stifled or that Federal funding for programs that are PROVEN to help Black people have been significantly slashed. It is all the general dislike of George Bush that she is talking about.

The purpose of this (and a continuing series of my entires) will be to bring forth the actual numbers to prove or disprove the charges by Hillary Clinton. It is often said that "the Right" allows politics to trample science. I have little doubt that this is the case in several notable examples can be brought forth. At the same time - from the Black community's perspective - there are few forces that have abstracted the realities that Black people should be focusing on and instead have put forth partisan disinformation to have the Black community thinking otherwise than the various Democratic operatives who dominate politics within the Black community - lead primarily by the Democrats who are Black (distinguished from Blacks who are Democrats).

To date the average Black person no doubt believes that less money is being spent on education under Bush than was the case under Clinton. Please note - this is not an advocacy for Bush. This is an attempt to reverse the LIES that have been told to the Black community so that we might be more evenhanded regardless of who is in the White House. This is no less than the "Permanent Interests over Permanent Friends" that is so often stated but so frequently violated by various Black Democrats who have power.

Why do I attack Black Democrats? Look around - who else is presiding over majority Black political districts? For me to do otherwise would be to participate in the common practice that is going on right now - which has our communities suffering but the same operatives being sent back into office again and again. They control the seat and the loudspeaker that is cast upon the Black community. When this is the case you can best believe that they will come out smelling like a rose and the other guy will be the smelly one.

The point that must be made most clear, however, is that in 2007 the Black community has the slate of political leadership of it's own choosing over its most vital assets - its children's education, its police forces keeping streets safe, its judgeships and those in the state house and US congress - supposedly representing the "best interests of the Black community". It is beyond me then as to why so little expectation is placed upon them to create change WITHIN the Black community. Instead we seem to be operating on the notion that they must change the over all SYSTEM and that benefit will RAIN DOWN UPON THE BLACK COMMUNITY. Even areas where the Democratic Machine totally eviscerates all competitors - in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Detroit, New Orleans and Chicago.......for some strange reason these same people at the controls of the machine are able to redirect blame and have our community bite. When I see a city that has an open general election and ALL DEMOCRATS are running for office doesn't this indicate the machine that is in place? The open general election has been put in place because there is no two (or more) party system working in the area. To have a primary election is basically a waste of time as the general election takes place in the Democratic primary.

When is the Black community going to distinguish itself from the party machine that sees its vote as an important, but dependable vote? One should use their importance to draw out benefits and concessions from the power broker. Instead it seems that in the Black community the operatives want the Democrats to win more than they want to themselves so there is no need for concessions. Recall that long after John Kerry conceded the 2004 presidential race Jesse Jackson and others told him that "he did not know what he was doing. This race is not over. Ohio is still in play". No doubt John Kerry after hearing this news said "Really? You mean you have an angle in which I can win if I go along with it?".

Ultimately some counter force (which I will be participating in) needs to make a DISPASSIONATE look at where our community stands in 2007 and what exactly have we benefited WITHIN THE BLACK COMMUNITY from our alliance with the Democratic party as a means for racial development. I will be the first one to agree that when it came to making systematic changes in the past to counter White Racism from 'without' that Progressives (not necessarily the Democratic Party) were there fighting for the change. Fast forward to 2007 and we see Blacks having political control of several cities, for several administrations even and despite this control and the population numbers BENEFIT HAS NOT BEEN MASSIVELY RECEIVED AMONG THE COMMUNITY.

My central thesis is that the same PROGRESSIVISM that is such a handy tool when fighting an external enemy, having his changes being rained down upon the community, becomes a liability when there is a need to focus internally and having the INTERNAL PEOPLE to change their behaviors and priorities so that benefit can be projected from the inside out. It does not take a rocket scientist to see this.

The Progressive knows how to make rebels and revolutionaries. They value people who are "sick and tired of being sick and tired" of the powers that be. Unfortunately when you get a "region of your own" and YOU have to be the police forces enforcing the laws, the school administration dispensing education, and most critical......must take the role of the JOB CREATOR and thus assume the role that the Labor Left has often fought against.......new tactics and rhetoric is called for. While no doubt the governments have been taken over by various progressives - the Progressive movement has thus far FAILED to provide adequate employment in the areas that they dominate (once their corporate adversaries have departed - as in the Rust Belt). Years of attacking the corporation as the enemy has placed them in a situation to do what their enemy had been doing.

Now I am not so naive as to claim that a region is hot or cold, black or white and thus that all elements of the corporations have departed - ie: Detroit still maintains a significant corporate base of operations that employ their people. It is true, however that there is a major void that is in place right now - now that so many of the vehicles for employment in the past have departed. These were said to be "exploiters of labor" in the past and thus the target of many struggles. Now that many regulations and benefit packages have been placed upon them, the laborers seemingly have priced themselves out of the market.

I wonder what the hourly value of that young, inner city male who currently sits on his porch doing nothing is? I saw a lot of this on my recent trip to Philadelphia. Where as certain policies have told the CONSUMER OF LABOR that if you hire this man you must pay him $7.25 per hour or you are committing an illegal act ........What is the real COST of this Progressive policy in that it increases the bar that potential employers who will never come into existence because this as yet another obstacle to being a solvent business is placed in their way? The Progressives talk about all of the poor workers who will benefit from their "pay raise". They stay strangely away from the discussion about the consequences that are evident in the street of the MACRO-ECONOMIC EFFECTS of their policies that have been enacted for the past 40 years.

How else do you explain that Black Detroit has less buying power today than in 1967? The two things that have departed Detroit has been White folks and several major corporations that produce jobs. Now I don't know about you but I can find few points to detail how the presence of White folks impact Black purchasing power. I can, however, easily make the case that when Black people were working at these corporations in Detroit that their buying power was boosted. Corporations gone....buying power declines. But wait - as we consider the stance of the PROGRESSIVES.....who were they aligned against BUT none other than the corporations?

Where as many people will make the case that GREED motivated the corporation to move to "right to work states".......where are those bold enough to make the case that the LABOR negotiators OVER PLAYED THEIR HAND, to the DETRIMENT OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY IN DETROIT AND ELSEWHERE?

When we get to this point of acceptance as a community we will then see that we have something to EXCHANGE in the market. We will continuously seek to IMPROVE THE VALUE of these resources in order to gain the maximum price because the INHERENT Value is high, not because some government policy maker told the CONSUMER OF YOUR LABOR TO PAY YOU MORE!!! Also outsiders will be investing into your market because you do excellent work and offer some cost advantages (did someone say India).

The time has come for the Black community to fundamentally shift gears. Rather than have someone WORK ON OUR BEHALF to change the system it is time to turn internally and develop VALUE for the resources that we have control over and compete on the market place of ideas and value.

Michael Vick - Left Versus Left Fight Unavoidable

After a week of listening to Black talk radio on the subject of Michael Vick and the natural defensiveness that was evident, this weekends protests by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in front of the NFL Headquarters demanding that Vick be sent packing from the NFL.....I predict that there will be a long simmering fight between Black Progressive/Leftist defenders of Vick and White Progressive/Leftists who are Animal Rights Activists.

If you take a look at the videos of the various PETA protests around the country - all of them have been nearly lily White in their content. This will serve as making the case for the Black Defenders of Michael Vick that RACISM undergirds all of these allegations against this rich and famous Black male. Lost in all of this will be the fact that on these picket lines stand their typical "brothers in arms" when it comes to all things political. You bet your dog fighting purse that most of the PETA people will vote for the same presidential candidate that the average "Black Quasi-Socialist Progressive-Fundamentalist Racism Chaser" is inclined to vote for.

I want to make special note of this moment because the typical BQPFRC would like the Black community to believe that only White Conservatives are "racists" and stand opposed to the interests of the Black community. Please note - I am not indicating any particular personal believe that these PETA people are motivated by race. I am expressing the view of many radio callers who indicated this as their motivation.

Again - many of the radio callers who talked about how the "good ole boys" in the South fight dogs made reference to White folks that are anything but PETA supporters. In fact even VP Dick Cheyney was brought into the argument as his hunting accident and the "deaths of over 100,000 people in Iraq" was brought into the argument in defense of Vick. I seriously doubt that Cheyney - a known hunter and meat eater is a PETA member.

Even the man who got 88% of the Black vote for president in 2004 had a press conference last week to call for the immediate suspension of Michael Vick. {John Kerry's Press Conference}. I won't even bother to bring up the comments by Senator Robert Byrd.

“As we have read in the Vick indictment, poor-performing dogs are tortured, maimed and killed. This illegal and despicable activity has no place in a civilized society,” Kerry, a former Democratic presidential nominee, said in a letter to the commissioner.

He added, “On behalf of millions of sports fans and dog lovers, I urge you to treat Mr. Vick’s dogfighting indictment with the very serious attention it deserves and suspend him from the League until the resolution of legal proceedings.”

OK - I changed my mind. Here is what Senator Robert Byrd said:

"Who are the real animals? Who are the real animals? The creatures inside the ring? Or the creatures outside the ring?"

(I can only guess what the reaction would be if Senator Trent Lott made an indirect reference to a Black man being an "animal" but that's another story for another time.

I am left to ask - why is it that the BQPFRC so disinclined to peg these PETA people accurately? They seem so much more comfortable attacking White Conservatives rather than those who stand in the same end of the ideological spectrum at which they stand.

It is clear to me that every major incident with a Black man on trial (Michael Jackson, OJ Simpson, Kobe Bryant) or a White person who slides out of the criminal justice system (Paris Hilton) is yet another opportunity for the "Black/White Proxy Fight" to take place.

For the Whites it is the eventual conclusion that the "Thug image" which Vick portrayed via his braided hair, scarf, diamond earrings and tattoos has lined him up for. For the Blacks it is yet another example of "The Man" not wanting to see a Black man succeed and how they will take him out by any means necessary.

Lost in much of this is the question the actions of one Michael Vick as it relates to the dog fighting charges.

The Dismantling Of Detroit

The Man Who No One Will Hold Accountable For The Conditions of His District



Why is it never argued that the Detroit of today is a consequence of a labor movement that has gone too far? If a local store raises its prices too high and it loses its customers then THE STORE MANAGEMENT is blamed for introducing the high prices which caused the customers to response. When we consider the strategy of the Labor Movement, however, the CONSUMERS of their labor - the manufacturers who were PURCHASING THEIR LABOR, having moved out of town, adapting to the higher costs of doing business......for some reason Labor's failed strategy which ultimately hurt the Black community is not brought up for debate. I heard one Black Progressive say that the corporations who departed from the Rust Belt cities were "immoral" for leaving so many people behind and unemployed.

The truth is that many of these companies chose to open up plants in "right to work" states in the South. Where as today the Big 3, unionized, legacy auto makers have as much as a $10,000 disadvantage per car against their US based, Japanese, non-unionized manufacturers - it is clear that the labor movement went too far and did not acknowledge the harsh competitive realities of the hard bargains that they were driving.

The Black community in Detroit is now suffering from their miscalculations. The said part about it is that the Labor Left will never be held accountable for their actions that have hurt the Black community.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070720/METRO/707200407/1003

Baltimore Voters: "We Think That The City Is On The Wrong Track But We Are Still Going To Reelect The Democrats"

As a follow up to my two previous blog entires on the state of "voter nullification' going on within majority Black cities such as Baltimore:

Baltimore -Preside Over A Failed, Majority Black Community – Get A Promotion Because They Don’t Blame You Nor Hold You Accountable
http://withintheblackcommunity.blogspot.com/2006/11/baltimore-preside-over-failed-black.html


Baltimore's New Black Female Mayor
http://withintheblackcommunity.blogspot.com/2007/01/baltimores-new-black-female-mayor.html

Here is the latest entry on this long running abstraction between the lives of African-Americans within the inner city and their propensity to "stay the course" with the elected leadership that is presiding over their decline:

Dixon dominates field
Incumbent has only fair record with voters, poll finds
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-te.ci.mayor16jul16,0,6341243.story

I recall during the 2006 elections US Representative Elijah Cummings did a commercial in which he stated "they are incompetent, they have failed, they need to be held accountable". I thought that he was talking about the leadership in his home city of Baltimore which included the mayor and his partner Cardin who represents one of the 3 congressmen representing the city. Instead Mayor O'Malley was promoted to be governor by the voters in Baltimore and Mr. Cardin was promoted into the Senate by these same voters. Mr. Cummings was talking about the Bush Administration despite the grossly failed track record by the leadership of the city of Baltimore of which he is a part of.

The new mayor, Ms. Dixon, presides over a city that has been dominated by Democratic Political Machines since the Civil War. Unfortunately the Black community's statement that the city is "on the wrong track" does not include any thoughts of purging the machine that has its finger prints all over the problems of the city. Instead they promote changing people but not the fundamental change of machines and ideology that is necessary.

Please don't get me wrong. I don't believe in the binary choice between Democrat and Republican. Thus in purging the Democratic machine one should not believe that Republicans should be selected and that they would save the day. I am suggesting that many of the assumptions that come with the current machine needs to be purged so that a different strategy can be brought forth and the city's resurgence to take place. It is not for me to define what it is that will actually make this difference but one this is sure - the people of Baltimore can clearly see that what ever they are doing now.......AIN'T WORKING. They could start by rejecting leadership that sound anything like the current leadership.

Arnold Feldman, a 77-year-old money manger who lives in North Baltimore, said he is undecided but will pay close attention to the candidates during the next several weeks. He said he is looking for a mayor who can address the city's biggest problems, including crime and education.

"I'm not very happy with the entire political scene in Baltimore," he said. "I don't want the best politician. I want the person who's going to have some inventive ideas and who's going to try to correct some of these problems in the city."

Once again - when a Democrat who is Black asks me "Why should the Black community vote for the Republicans?". After telling them that "I am not a Republican, you should ask one of them", I follow up with the question "Based on the high amount of discontentment in the majority Black communities in regards to education, crime and economic development.......how do you justify CONTINUING DOING WHAT YOU ARE DOING without holding the current leadership ACCOUNTABLE?". It is antithetical to have a person who is complaining make you JUSTIFY why he should accept doing something different when he is extremely unhappy with the RESULTS OF WHAT HE IS DOING NOW. Maybe instead of switching over to support his long time adversary (who is also the adversary of the current leadership and it is the leadership who has the megaphone upon the Black community and thus they shape the view of this adversary to the public) the community should begin demanding change by expecting change on a more local level rather than having their leadership go outside of their community and "fight on their behalf". This tactic allows these leaders to tell the masses what the adversary is doing against them from afar while allows them to get away with their failures to deal with the LOCAL situation. (See John Lewis and the high crime in his district while he attempts to go after Civil Rights killers of Black folks).

The Ideological & Subjective Politics Of "Leadership"

As no surprise I am constantly entangled with a stream of debates with so called "Black Progressives". They argue as if they possess exclusive legitimacy of the "Black Agenda" and that all who challenge them are rogue Blacks. I can't help but notice one train of thought that they have been using over the years and how selectively they apply this notion only toward identifying the weaknesses of their adversaries but not as any particular explanation for the reason why our people seemingly reside in a perpetual funk.

The concept that I speak of is the notion of "leadership" and "policies". With the current debate going on in this country where the various ideologies are at each other's throats there is a constant critique of "this Administration" regarding it's lack of leadership and their policies on everything from Global Warming - as I saw when I watched PBS "Now", on the subject of the Iraq War as I listened to the late night debate the other night and on the issue of fears of terrorism as I read various opinions regarding the recent steam pipe explosion in New York City and the resulting panic. This article is not intended to speak on any of these important debates that are going on today.

The purpose of this article is to allow these constant critics to being to look at the problems that face our Black community from the perspective of LEADERSHIP & the policies that are popularly applied to the communities that we predominate. Where as the current mental state that Americans as a whole feel about terrorism and how we might have been "exploited" so that greater objectives could be obtained......it is interesting that my progressive friends would not dare to apply this same rationale in explaining how baby Black males born in the late 1980's and who are now in their late teens through early 20's have been molded into their current state with many of whom cause us grief.

Where as the gang of 10 young Black males in West Palm Beach Florida forced their way into the home of a 35 year old Black woman and mother and repeatedly raped her and then, unconscionably, forced her 12 year old son to have sex with his own mother....the prognosticators who I frequently debate with will no doubt pin the actions of these males on SOCIETY. It will be said that society spat on them and it is society that is now suffering from the consequences. Now of course if we were to scroll back about 75 years we would be hard pressed to find a gang of Black males who would do such a thing and in particular few would blame society for the actions of the sadistic crew. ({Details of the Assault}

Why is it then that these same people are so averse to placing JUDGMENT upon the households and culture that these boys have come from and seek to hold the adults who raised these children without such moral bounds accountable for the results?

Few people would argue that parents are LEADERS of the effort to indoctrinate their children into this world. They make certain choices, apply certain policies, withhold damaging information from their children and protect them from harm. They also serve as models for their children who are constantly observing their behavior and their integrity. Clearly children and the character the posses are a product of what the parents and other immediate loved ones have provided for them.

If my logical foundations stand it would also stand to reason that if our goal was to change the products that are being produced that we would work to primarily change the "Hands that rock the cradle", making sure that they are fully prepared to mold the minds of the next generation so that they are crafted to achieve their maximum potential.

If this is so then why don't we see the same advocacy for "change in leadership" (and thus the behavior and assumptions that they base their actions upon) in the political realm in the realm of our local communities? I believe I know the answer.

You see people's perception of CONTROL play a vital part in their actions and protests. A leader must have some measure of control over the variables that go into a process that creates a certain outcome. Thus if you feel that these parents, local advocates and elected local leaders are not in CONTROL then it logically the aggrieved masses are not going to look to hold them accountable in producing change. Unfortunately the more seats of power that is assumed by the group along with the presence of these feelings of inferiority in their ability to control the environment will result in the failures of these local power figures being blamed upon their lack of control and it will be shifted higher until a greater figure is targeted. Now interestingly enough "back in the day" the main Civil Rights adversaries were sheriffs, judges, mayors and school boards.....today with many favorable characters in place in these positions with the party making judgment HAVING VOTED FOR THEM, for some reason these same positions don't have the same power that they once had when an adversary was in place.....if you allow them to tell it.

The bottom line with all of this is the selective judgment and ideological biases of those who are in possession of an opinion. These people too often are not interested in EFFECTIVE RESULTS. They are instead interested in maintaining and protecting that which they are biased toward.

Activists Go After US Government For "Katrina Response"

Katrina Survivors Take Government to Court
http://www.vibe.com/news/news_headlines/2007/07/katrina_government/

The long laundry list of "anti-Capitalists" but the very same people who remind us that "The United States is the most wealthy nation in the world" reference WHAT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED during the recovery from this storm which took out an entire region and not just New Orleans. There is some magical response in their mind which says "If mostly White folks were in danger, the response would have been better".

Monday floods, concerted rescue on Friday.
If someone could articulate to me what a "Non racist response" would have looked like during this week I would love to see it. Would a Tuesday rescue have done it? What about Wednesday? What about more than what happened on Thursday?

Please note the difference. We can hear very detailed accounts of the experiences of various VICTIMS in this storm. Likewise I have documented the rich texture of the resource challenges noted by the various first responders who I have worked with over the past few years (hospitals, fire departments, police departments, federal government agencies). In my view it is the lack of details over what allows a 15 minute response during normal times that causes these various activists to be enraged. They have been indoctrinated to expect an "American standard of response" even IF it is the case that their response in the poor Black communities was 20 minutes to receive an ambulance rather than 10 in the rich White community. The bottom line is that Hurricane Katrina which wiped out ALL OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN MANY KEY SYSTEMS THAT THESE FIRST RESPONDERS RELY ON made the entire Gulf Coast seem more like the coast of Sri Lanka after their tsunami.

No worry. The key activists pushing this issue have less concern or knowledge of the logistical challenges that these agencies face. This is of no interest to them. Sadly instead of being able to step in and be ADMINISTRATORS in these organizations, thus improving the operations and fail-safe abilities.....they instead are rock throwers. One thing that is for sure - if and when the next disaster happens the activists will be relegated to their same role which is to be an after the fact critic because they offer nothing constructive to the process before hand. To the Administrator they are CRITICAL FORCES who's attack they will face if they lose focus on their key mission. At the same time these activists will never be bound by the real world impact of a storm's wake.

So buses that are needed to cart people away need drivers who have not left town for their own safety to operate them and roads who's bridges are not washed out bridges in order to ride over. Police 800 Mhz radio needs towers that are still standing and power to these towers in order to allow these first responders to coordinate. Louisiana National Guardsmen need barracks and equipment that are not under water to allow them to reach out and conduct an effective response. Helicopters need a close supply of fuel to keep them from falling out of the sky. Water soaked fuel after their fuel storage tanks that have been submerged do them no good.

I notice that Spike Lee and others tell the tale from the viewpoint of the civilian victims. They have every right to do so as there was a large community of people who were gravely impacted.

I am left, however to depend on the Discovery Channel, the History Channel or personal contact with various agencies as part of my job in the telecommunications industry to get the perspective of those who were charged with providing rescue services. For some reason these people were to have "walked on water" and not be impacted by the same powerful force that covers two thirds of the world.

Someone should take the critics to Sri Lanka for a reference to what life is like 2 years after your natural disaster. From the stand point of the average Katrina survivor they would be forced to say to the Sri Lankan who still sleeps in tents..."there but for the grace of God I go".

http://www.bengarvin.com/tsunami/index.htm

Did You Hear The Funny Joke That The NAACP Official Told?

Edited : 7/18/07

"The NAACP is a nonpartisan organization but President Bush and the Republican Party have continuously disrespected this organization," said Ruthie Stevenson of Mount Clemens, president of the Macomb Chapter of the NAACP. "It's totally disrespectful only one Republican came."

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070713/METRO/707130393


Now help me understand this. After listening to the opening salvo for the gathering by the Chairman of the organization a few days prior, Ruthie Stevenson, president of the Macomb Chapter feels "disrespected" by Bush and the Republicans? Another example of fake moral outrage if I have ever seen one. This was a message sent to other Black people rather than to the Republican party. The NAACP must bill itself as "the voice of Black people" to the political powers that be. Disrespect the NAACP and you have committed an offense against ALL Black people.

The NAACP now functions as a branch of the Democratic Party who's job it is to go deep into the Black community where no White Liberal Democrat dares to go unaccompanied. The NAACP operates a large "Get Out The Vote" campaign during each election. In FUNCTION, however, this is really a "Get out the Black voters to put a Democrat in place". Even though they bill themselves as being non-partisan the "Black Issues" that they bring up and the angle at which they discuss them and the elements who they SELECT to criticize makes it be known who they favor. At the end of the day in the Black community if there is no appealing Democratic candidate fielded in an election - Black folks will stay home. Where as in general America a significant portion of people will vote for one or the other slate of candidates from the array of parties depending on the winds that are blowing and thus "their vote is at play", the NAACP and other operatives are so far to the left and so blinded by their own dogma that the choice for Black people is to vote Democrat or not to vote at all. To be clear this is not a problem unique to the NAACP. During a recent radio interview for an upcoming Black community event the sponsor of the event stated that he wanted to find out who Black people are going to vote for "Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton or John Edwards". It was a foregone conclusion in his mind that Black = Democrat. Why waste the airtime listing any other option?

The NAACP ultimately plays its own self in the end, however. They are so aligned to a certain dogma that real world results and consequences don't factor in to their strategy. If you stand against the way the NAACP sees a particular issue then you stand against the best interests of Black people. I have no problem with their RIGHT as an organization to detail their positions. As a Black man I have a big problem with this clearly biased organization to attempt to link their ideological positions as being the final word for Black folks". They have so abstracted the notions of "effective proof on the ground WITHIN the Black community" which make the case that they are on sound footing. In a Black community that is increasingly becoming more segregated as people make housing choices it is vitally important that they get it right. In 2007, unlike 1947 we have a body of laws in place to provide recourse for unsavory actions put upon us by offending forces from the outside. Despite this the basis rhetoric and actions of the organization have not changed. They have so focused on "Progressivism" which is inherently based on EXTERNAL ADVOCACY that they are not in a position to MANAGE BLACK PEOPLE toward a certain end as we live more among ourselves and need to be employed more from within these same communities, be educated from within these communities and live healthy lifestyles while being within these communities.

The gig is up NAACP. Your actions are outdated. The question is not "Why hasn't Bush come to your festivities?" The question should be "What have the people who have been coming year after year and who have up to 92% of support of your electorate, who run your city halls, who sit atop your school boards and who are your police chiefs.....What have they done for you? Are you SATISFIED with the conditions in the communities that they have most influence over?" These are the real question. It is not the NAACP that should be asking these questions ultimately. It is the BLACK COMMUNITY that needs to be asking. The NAACP is but ONE PERSPECTIVE ON BLACKNESS. The community as a whole needs to ask if this perspective can work for us in 2007 and beyond?

For most people the guy who "shouldn't even bother trying to get in to an office that YOU have a say so about it" is not the guy who is held accountable for the problems that you face in your community, he is on the outside. This seems logical....but not in Black America. We are so heavily influenced by a Democratic/Progressive operatives from head to toe. You see in this same space where the same guy who is in office and who SHOULD BE held accountable is also the same guy who is at the microphone shaping the perspective of the masses as they look for answers. He is also had the ink pen in his hand writing the newspapers & magazines that the community consumes and he is in the pulpit making prognostications to the masses. Just to close the loop - he is also on television and making movies from this same perspective. All of which come together to influence the outlook of Black people.

Clearly the normal explanations of - you are in the seat, you stand accountable - are not going to be said by the same guy with the microphone in his hand. He is going to position himself as "working on YOUR behalf". Any shortcomings that result is the fault of the OTHER GUY because he stood against the "great plan" that was fielded except. The only problem is that the designer of the strategy forgot to factor in what the DEFENSE was going to do to protect their wallets and their power. This is the ultimate flaw of Affirmative Action.

In the wake of all of this, the Black community endures. Despite having our entire human population cycled whole every 90 years and a chance for radically new ideas to take root, the "NAACP types" are left to conclude that the insurmountable force of "White Supremacy" is upon us and thus it is their jobs as "racism chasers" to extinguish as they turn over every rock. Few words are said, however, about the impact of our own selves upon our condition in concert with these external forces. What we do to perpetuate our condition and cause injury to our own people? What do we FAIL to systematically that could change our condition? If not our own condition then what about the conditions that our offsprings will receive their indoctrination of this world when they get their start decades in the future?

The NAACP has played itself. It is a political pawn having been used to deliver Black votes to the hands of the Democrats for far too long. We have a rock stuck under our wheel preventing the natural CYCLE that would ordinarily take place as time and experience proves to be the corrective force. Where as harsh INTROSPECTION and critical analysis is the pill that most entities are forced to take in reconciling the gap between where they now stand and where they aspired to be after having set out on a journey for change, the NAACP-types have the far too frequently used cushion of Slavery/Jim Crow and Perpetual White Slavery that they make use of to stymie any particular resolve in the implementation of a fundamental course change. "I don't care about what you learned about management with that MBA that you have......I marched with Dr. King when you were in diapers. I know how White folks work much better than YOU DO. You need to do your time in the movement before you come trying to make changes.". And so it goes.

This past 6 months of my intense review of the Civil Rights Industrial Complex from my perspective in the heart of Civil Rights territory - Atlanta Georgia has taught me a lot how these people work and the influence they have over my people. This past weekend there was a rally sponsored by the Douglas County NAACP on behalf of Genarlo Wilson, the young Black man who is currently incarcerated for having sex with an underage girl. The NAACP chose to focus on this fracture point because there is an evil villain in the justice system who they can organize against. The District Attorney in the county and the state AG (a Black Democrat, by the way) are currently in their sights. All the while Atlanta is having a record bloody summer. There have been a near daily log of senseless murders of Black people going on. The NAACP is not going to do anything to effectively address the 32% closure rate on homicides in the Vine City area of the city. This resides deep in the congressional district of John Lewis. Instead Representative Lewis has decided to sponsor a bill to receive millions of dollars to study cold case Civil Rights era murders stretching back to 1948. What about the cold case murders of today Mr. Lewis? It is my view that the life blood of the NAACP and other operatives to cherry pick issues that can best get Black folks marching while they ignore the more substantive issues that keep our community oppressed, terrorized and our communities unfavorable to anyone seeking to maintain their property values. MANAGEMENT vs ACTIVISM is the problem.

An activist is by definition a person who is seeking to change an external force on behalf of a given party that is under threat. The benefit of this change will rain down upon that party with the change in the offending behavior of the external party. The aggrieved party does not necessarily have to fundamentally change in order to receive the benefits. With the external force no longer able to act against them in with impunity the community is free to blossom. The problem that the Black community has in circa 2007 is that most of our vehicles for forward progress are ACTIVISTS. As our communities resort back to the natural racial and class based preferences it is clear, at least to me, that MANAGERS are needed to transform our communities and get the most utility out of our people.

A manager - is an entity who must inventory the assets which he has at his disposal and develop a system in which the maximum utility can be obtained from all of these resources in order to obtain the organizational goal. He must develop them into practitioners of their specific roles. First the goals must be identified. Then the system is constructed. Then the individuals are told of their role in the division of labor that is defined. Then training for the development of these people takes place. And finally the manager collects feedback as to the operation and then manages the exceptions so that they are kept in line with the goal. It is just that simple folks.

The major obstacle that is no doubt mentioned by the NAACP and others is the "lack of resources" and the "purposeful racism" that is present to deny resources and "an equal playing field" and thus thwarting any plans that may be fielded. The body of laws that are in place to provide recourse is of no consequence to them. Without financial reparation the freedom that is before is us worthless - or so they say. The laws that are in place are not preemptive in nature and thus, Yes Mr. Bond there is still racism that you can point to in this country but surely they provide recourse and correction after the fact. Thus people, seeking to avoid prosecution are inclined to change their behavior on the front end as we have clearly seen in the past 50 years.

The key problem with the NAACP's strategy is that it is based on REPARATION. If this external resource fails to give us what "they owe us" then our future plans are stifled. They have the expectation that resources are going to be given based on NEED as fellow Americans rather than based on the desire to retain one's own interests. The question of the "just state" of this notion is not relevant. More relevant than "just" is the question of IF YOU ARE GOING TO ACTUALLY RECEIVE THESE RESOURCES from this long time adversary of your in order to accomplish your mission. If the answer is "Hell No" then your repeated attempts to force him to share what he is not willing to share is ALSO evidence of your FUNDAMENTALISM. Real world results need not apply for your consideration. You are guided by your idealism/ideology.

To this - the standard reply I receive is "well if the Slaves thought this way - we would not be free today". To this my response is - the long history that we can both inspect shows that only MARGINAL accommodation on this point has been granted to you on the economic front - you have been GIVEN your "RIGHTS" not GIVE your share of the loot. Please note the difference.

You have been freed from your role as unpaid labor, the question of reparation is not assured. A flow of others are coming in to this nation, centers around the world that were once in disarray are now nearly inexhaustible sources of cheap labor - the role that you were brought here to play. What leverage or power do you have but to draw upon your RIGHT to not be assaulted under the law? Have you thus far been able to FORCE an unwilling participant to share his wallet and his school building with you? When do you being to inventory your own POWER and POTENTIAL as an equal human being?

To this I will hear - "So you are BLAMING THE VICTIM NOW?" Please understand. "Who did this to you" is NOT the same concept of "What do we need to do now to TRANSFORM OURSELVES?" Those who miss this distinction risk the role of the permanently aggrieved. They seek action from those who disassembled their system to make them whole again. What motivation does one entity have to create an equally powered competitor and threat to his wellbeing?

I am not writing this out of racial hatred. I am writing this strictly out of dispassionate observation about the past and disciplined focus on the possibilities that are likely to happen in the future.

The truth is that many people find America - too uncomfortable to totally settle their souls within yet too much of a good thing to radically depart, yielding their spot and venturing out into the unknown, the risk of this void being less painful than the current circumstance. Certainly for our ancestors in the "Underground" the balance was skewed much in favor of the unknown leap through marshland and forests.

The NAACP and other organizations supposedly leading the way need a serious make over. The game dun changed yet their leadership was honed during a different time period. More engagement and pull upon Black people to fundamental change is need.

New York City Officer Shot In The Face, Killed - There Will Be No Protest Activities From The Usual Suspects

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_197162942.html

After six days of struggling for his life, Timoshenko died from the gunshot wounds he received when he and his partner, Officer Herman Yan, pulled over a stolen SUV in Crown Heights on June 9. When they approached the vehicle the two officers were fired upon. Timoshenko was shot in the face; Yan was saved by his bulletproof vest.

The routine traffic stop of an SUV turned into a murder case as 3 armed car theives opened fire upon 2 offiers who stopped and approached the van. Officer Russel Timoshenko was shot in the face and later died. Officer Herman Yan's life was saved by a bulletproof vest.

I am forced to place this one incident into the context of the larger debate that takes place WITHIN THE BLACK COMMUNITY about the long running conflict between Black (mostly male) drivers and the approaching police men who don't know the people in the vehicle nor their intentions. If the police take the worst case scenario approach with each stop they would pause and wait for back up and then have everyone exit the vehicle and then spread eagle on the ground prior to approaching the vehicle. Of course this would be a gross violation of the rights of individuals and excessive and unjustified. At the other extreme is to have police policies to force officers to resist making use of their instincts and obervations and use the environmental feedback to make the determination of when to use this higher level of defensive posture to protect the their own lives and the lives of the innocent public.

Calling Out The Chief "Racism Chaser" Of The NAACP

Another year, another NAACP convention. Once again the chairman of the organization, Julian Bond stands before the podium, rips the Conservative/Republicans and then tells of all of the RACISM that still exists in the United States and thus his organization is still needed more than ever. The purpose of this note is to analyze Mr. Bond's justifications and focus of the "Racial Justice" organization known as the "National Association for the Advancement of Colored People".

The key point of Mr. Bond's rant is that "racism" is still present and negatively impacting Black Americans. Their job is to stand in the breach and defend Black people from the perils of racism. I content that as long as we have human characteristics that enable an observer to distinguish us as a member of a particular "race" that there will always be the tendency to seek association with and advantage for one's own race. Thus it is a foregone conclusion that there will always be "racialism" in this world.

Mr. Bond is alleging something greater however. He is attempting to make the case that racial hatred of Black people where we are marginalized and the lingering impact of slavery, Jim Crow and other systematic forms of discrimination are responsible for the woeful conditions that are present in the lives of too many Black people. In addition he mixes a heavy dose of ideological bias into the formula which says that any force that attempts to keep the status quo with regards to power in this country is "conservative" and thus against the interests of Black people. They might even be "racists" for acting against the interests of the NAACP with regard to "Affirmative Action", School integration and other policies that have not turned things around for Black people over the past 40 years.

In putting forth such a charge Mr. Bond is inclined to itemize incidents that prove his point that there is a White on Black negative force that keeps Black people down in 2007 and that his group will remain vigilant in opposing this force. He has the entire canvas of the United States to pick from. Any ignorant White person having assaulted a Black person and violated their civil rights is a candidate for inclusion on his list to make his point.

My word for 2007 is "proportionality". This has thus far been an effective tactic in a debate as I attempt to add proper quantity and context into people's arguments, attempting to prevent them from diverting us into dealing with problems that lack the gravity to be considered primary. While it is true that there have been a significant amount of Police shootings of Black people over the last year, for example, it is also true that unlike 1952 a system of checks and balances is in place to have the police officer's actions scrutinized and them held accountable for crossing the line if they have done so. Several members of the Atlanta Narcotics Squad now sit in jail as testament to this new day. Where as Mr. Bond might be inclined to view the fact that a 92 year old Black woman was killed in a hail of bullets from the gun of a rogue police task force as evidence that "things have not changed" I make note of the fact that they were not able to act with impunity of my proof that "things have indeed changed". This brings us to my central argument and key disagreement with Mr. Bond and many other "Racism Chasers" that I often clash with. (PS: The full functional label for them is 'Black Quasi-Socialist Progressive-Fundamentalist Racism Chasers').

It is my view that the actions of INDIVIDUALS is not necessarily evidence of the state of race relations in this country. We don't have control over what an individual might do to offend someone. The state of race relations in this country is a function of what the GOVERNMENT, having noted that its laws have been violated by an individual as he assaults someone , will do to maintain the integrity of the body of laws that are on the books via the vigorous enforcement of these laws. The official government policy must be "Here is the law that the law making body that society has promoted to be the rules of the land. You are free to do what you want to as long as your actions are within the limits of the law and thus don't infringe on the rights of others. If you do break the law as you carry out your personal hatred for another person......we will prosecute you, not for your thoughts of hate but because you violated the law". If someone can find me a different set of demands to manage the intersection of race and rights - I would love to see it. It is impossible for the government to change someone's heart. It is the responsibility of the government to change someone's behavior by adding consequences for acting against someone else in an unjustified manner.

Julian Bond and the NAACP find themselves in a desperate situation today. As a self described "racial justice" organization they, by their own description set on a course of "racism chasing". Sadly - there are plenty of ignorant people who given them choice pickings to choose from. I choose to place the current mission of the NAACP into the CONTEXT of problems that Black America faces today. With gun violence killing our future foot soldiers, HIV/AIDS lynching us and an array of schools that are not centers of academic excellence the course that the NAACP appears to be taking seems like that of a vessel that is out of touch. For so long the organization and the people in the activist community have waged the EXTERNAL fight for the enemy on the outside was greater than any problem that we had inside the Black community. With the body of laws that I speak of in place, the role of the NAACP should have shifted ever so precisely to more of a mix of internal management/external activism.

The challenge that the NAACP and many other advocacy groups find, however, is that it is much easier to fight against an external adversary than it is to MANAGE internal resources as a means of accomplishing a certain end. In fact some of the people who are comfortable with a microphone in their hands only know how to rile up people for an external battle, this is what they honed their skills in doing. I am not saying that there is no longer a need for this external activism. I am attempting to put it into the context of all of the problems that we face and indicating that this falls short of addressing the entire slate of major problems that we face as a people.

The recent NAACP sponsored rally for Genarlo Wilson of Douglas County Georgia provides ample evidence of this. More than 1,000 protesters drove from Atlanta to Douglasville to protest last Saturday. In the process most of them drove on Interstate 20, right past the Vine City section of Atlanta where 68% of the murders of Black people are never caught and are still walking the street. The fight against an external district attorney proves more appealing than the MANAGEMENT of a community that is terrorized by the actions of the criminally insane as they force Black mothers to keep their children indoors for fear of having a stray bullet suck away their life's potential.

Mr. Bond and others live another day having successfully created the agenda of focus for those who are highly aggrieved. Some believe that in just "doing something" they are actually "doing something". The broad facts collected in vital statistics provide the real story. Where as persuasive orators at the podium can draw upon that which he knows will hook you due to your life's experiences, the hard facts that are documented by various data collection entities too often damn these people to be liars, out of touch with the real source of our community's bereavement.

Ultimately I don't blame Mr. Bond or the others who step to the microphone and tell us what we want to hear. I must hold the Black community as a whole for following after them without a serious challenge to their cogency.

Congressman John Lewis - If There Is No "Civil Rights" Angle You Need To Find Help Elsewhere

Pictured: Deceased Officer Mark Allen MacPhail



As Georgia ponders the execution of convicted killer Tyrone Anthony Davis (The GA Parol (Update: Board gave him a 90 day stay of execution last night) I couldn't help but notice the presence of US Congressman and Civil Rights Legend John Lewis in the court room testifying on behalf of community the sentence to life. Having spared Mr. Davis from execution this would give the defense team more time to get the conviction over turned. This post is not about the details of the case nor the individuals who have later recanted their testimony so I will not provide my views on the matter.

The purpose of this blog entry is to plot out the views and actions of one John Lewis and consider his consistency on the subject of "Unsolved Homicides". If it is true that 7 eye witnesses lied and thus an innocent man is on the verge of death....since we still have a DEAD POLICE OFFICER then, logically this is a "Cold Case File" and the real killer is still walking the streets of Savannah Georgia. This past Sunday the Atlanta Journal Constitution interviewed one woman who has changed her testimony, claiming that it was the heavy handed police who forced her to pin the crime on Mr. Davis ( AJC Report of Recanting Witness). The witness, Tonya Johnson, says that a "bad man" who roams the community is the real killer but she feared for her safety in what he might do if she fingered him. He is a free man none the less - if her story is true.

Let us expand our view from the perspective of John Lewis. A few weeks ago I heard that he was partnering with US Senator Chris Dodd - Democratic Presidential candidate, to sponsor legislation which would provide funding to solve "Cold Case Civil Rights Era Murders". Mr. Dodd, during an interview on NPR, stated that no killer should be allowed to sleep at night, figuring that he has gotten away with the crime that he has committed. I am a law and order type of guy and I agree with this sentiment. Since we are focusing on the consistency of John Lewis on the subject of murder further analysis is due.

Where as Mr. Lewis believes that we should apply resources from all level of government to find the real killers of individuals and thus provide justice for the victim and their families - he offered no such vision of justice for the family of Officer Mark Allen MacPhail who is now dead of the results of the night in question in Savannah. Officer MacPhail was working an off-duty security guard to make ends meet for his family when he was shot twice in the head. Details If Mr. Lewis has a strong belief that Mr. Davis is an innocent man then logic holds that there is a guilt man still - "sleeping easy at night", walking the streets. Why is Mr. Lewis for "springing an innocent man" on the one hand but so dispassionate about finding the killer of the officer on the other hand. Isn't this a bout of inconsistency over the august pursuit of killers?

Expanding our focus on Mr. Lewis one more time.....in the Vine City section of Atlanta which resides squarely in his district a local television station recently labeled it "Atlanta's Most Violent Zipcode". It turns out that there is only a 32% closure rate on homicides in this majority Black community. A killer of a Black man stands a 68% chance of walking away from accountability for his actions.

As we adjust the microscope on Mr. Lewis the picture of one John Lewis. He is a strong advocate of justice for falsely accused men and for victims of Civil Rights Era murders. At the same time the "Cold Case files" of dead policemen and Black people who are killed in modern times absent the banner of "Civil Rights" are left out of Mr. Lewis' vision of Justice. They clearly don't fit within his "Civil Rights champion" niche. (I would love to be proven wrong on this point but the evidence says otherwise.)

The Color Of The Jury Pool - "A Jury Of Our Peers"

Washington DC, a city that is 60% Black there was a recent debate over the fact that a jury pool called into service for a criminal trial was 90% White. Let us clarify - the jury pool is not the jury to be seated AFTER the dueling attornies strike juries from the panel for what ever reason. The jury pool is the crop of individuals who respond to the jury duty summons that has been sent out. Thus we have 90% of the people who bothered to respond being White. While it is true that the juries are pulled from the voting register, in a 60% Black city it is unacceptable for such a low number of Black people to respond.

The judge who sat for the case was offended about the racial make up of the jury pool and requested that they be sent back and another group found. Clearly this judge believes that the statement "a jury of your peers" means your "racial peers".

While the usual angst will be heaped upon "the system" the fact remains that the Black people who were sent the summons did not do their part that every citizen must play in the system of JUSTICE.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution did a story a few months ago about the lower rate of response from Black voters in Fulton County in response to jury summons. In this case the judge began to sanction them for failure to respond.

Who can chant "judicial injustice" when they don't do their part to insure that a diversity of brains get to hear the testimony?


Judges Respond to Concerns About Jury Pool Diversity
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/14/AR2007071401033.html

Back Slapping & Cherry Picked Priorities – The Symbiotic Relationship Between The Black Elected Official and the Civil Rights Operative

Back Slapping & Cherry Picked Priorities – The Symbiotic Relationship Between The Black Elected Official and the Civil Rights Operative

On Saturday, July 14, 2007 the Civil Rights Industrial Complex will converge on the Douglass County Georgia Court House for a mass demonstration for justice. The local Black talk radio station has an announcement of the march which is being broadcast about every 15 minutes about the "non-justice" that is at hand with the excessive sentence given to one Genarlo Wilson, a teen-ager who was incarcerated for having oral sex with a minor while he was 17 years old.

As I listened to the local Black talk radio station, WAOK and the guest host who is an operative within the "Rainbow/PUSH" organization entertain a Georgia state senator I began to understand the relationship between the Black Elected Democrat and the Civil Rights Movement of 2007. As I sat on hold waiting to ask my "big picture" challenge question, caller after caller congratulated the state senator for going after the Douglas County GA District Attorney for releasing the video tape of this act which they have concluded was the distribution of "child pornography". The talk show host repeatedly read a report about the sexual harassment history of the District Attorney. Their tactic was to get him disbarred in the same way that the rogue prosecutor in the Duke Rape case has been disbarred.
I was on hold for more than 35 minutes and was forced to hang up because I had an appointment which I could not be late for.

My question to these two individuals was going to be:

"I want to take advantage of the presence of a Black elected official and a Civil Rights official to ask the question – How are the priorities set with regard to the focus on major problems within the Black Community from a proportional standpoint? Right now there is a full court press of all of the Civil Rights Industrial Complex standing behind this "Genarlo Wilson" case. The Black Caucus of the state legislature lobbied for a special session calling back all law makers in order to deal with the case of this one Black male who sits in jail. All the while there is Vine City in Atlanta where 68% of all Black families who have a loved one killed in this district have the killer of their loved one still walking the streets not being held accountable for their actions. The radio ad talked of 'non-justice' and had the voice of Martin Luther King Jr. in the background. How is it that there is so much energy placed on this one Black male but so much silence on the constant stream of Black people who have been laid to rest and who will be laid to rest this summer as we are at a record pace with respect to Black on Black homicide and violence? The national average for closure of Black homicides is 50%. How sets the priorities for the Black community to focus upon?”

The most disturbing part of listening to the radio interview was the pride that many of the callers took in the tactics that were being used by the senator and Rainbow/PUSH. Some called it brilliant. One caller noted that many of the callers who are younger than 35 are not aware of how things work in confronting a racist system and that only people over 45 who have seen it first hand can appreciate how to effectively deal with corrupt and racist officials.

My bottom line is that the Black elected official and the civil rights operative are allowed to define the priorities today. They are going to always choose to focus upon issues which play to their strong suit. They are experts at focusing upon external threats. These threats are the offending judicial official, police official or opposition politician who had done something which is disagreeable for this group. In the domain of problems facing Black people today is a very large and encompassing problem of internal attacks upon other Black people. This is were the Civil Rights Industrial Complex falls on its face. Regardless of the net or proportional damage upon Black people their tactics are rendered useless.

When it comes to Black on Black gun violence – rather than dealing with the assailants who have killed another Black man they are going to attempt to 'big picture' the issue and go after the gun dealer or gun manufacturer who sold the weapon. In between is the supply chain of – the person who made the “straw man” purchase of the weapon legally from the dealer, the operative who transported the weapon from the state with the liberal gun laws over to the state with a more regulated gun sale policy and finally to the illegal gun distributor who actually sells the gun to the person who needs to pack heat for protection on the streets. In many cases the supply chain racketeers are also Black. The Civil Rights Community are more inclined to see them as Black males having been discriminated against in society and thus they turn to crime as a means of survival. The same graces will never be placed upon the gun dealer though. They seek to throw the book at them where possible.

The way I see it – many of the problems that we face WITHIN the Black community are not going to be solved until we remove the notions of the QUALITY of the killer rather than look at the QUANTITY of the killings that are taking place. Of course a police killing of a Black man ranks higher than a thug on the street doing the same during an attempted robbery. The police must be held to a higher standard because of their duties and obligations. At the same time when the quantity portion of the quality/quantity index gets so far out of balance it is time that we reassess our interpretations. As it stands right now it seems rather ridiculous for the so called Civil Rights Movement (of 2007) to so passionately pursue the case of this one Black boy while being so silent as to the blood bath that is going on within our communities right now. It seems to me that in this heightened focus they are attempting to maintain their base of unity within the Black community by fighting AGAINST a force that is bearing upon them. All the while an insidious insurgent group that festers within is doing far more damage but operating with near impunity.

The Black establishment must be held accountable by the Black community for change to take place. Much of these problems are cultural in nature and thus it will take more than one full cycle of a group of Black young people, having been indoctrinated within a new culture to see fully measurable results from this change. In the mean time this tendency to cherry pick problems must be called for what it is and the community as a whole must take over the prioritization or they will continue to be used by various operatives who know how to pull the strings of Black people.

The Impact of Hate Crimes Prosecutions On Blacks...You Were Warned

http://lahumanrelations.org/publications/HCRarchive.htm

As seemingly aways...a body of laws that are meant to "get tough on crimes" AGAINST Black people will one day morph into a law that is used to the detriment OF Black people. So is the case with Hate Crimes legislation. Where as the original intent of the law was to have White assailants who use racist motivations to assault Blacks or even Jews and have them pay with more prison time, unfortunately this law has been increasingly applied to battles between Blacks and Hispanics where race is the most distinguishing feature between the victim and the assailant. The end result of this is that both Black and Brown will fill our jails. First with the punishment for the original illegal assault, which I fully agree with, and then with the "bonus time" given by the Hate Crimes statute which I strongly disagree with.

"Logistical Ignorance" Opens The Door To Emotionalistic Exploitations

Logistics - noun
1. organization of complex task: the planning and implementation of a complex task

2. movement management: the planning and control of the flow of goods and materials through an organization or manufacturing process

3. organization of troop movements: the planning and organization of the movement of troops, their equipment, and supplies

A recent viewing of the show "Ice Road Truckers" on the History Channel brought home the importance of logistics in accomplishing any task. Without going too deep into the story - there is a diamond mine in Canada that is not too far from the Arctic Circle. The critical supplies to build and operate this facility can only be brought in during a 2 month window in the winter-time when all of the lakes are frozen to allow passage. If they miss this 2 month window then the plant could shut down because it does not have the vital parts and resources to operate this otherwise self-contained facility.

A set of logistical planners have been hired to queue up all of the supplies needed by the plant at a warehouse that is at the beginning of the Ice Road. These managers job is to order the equipment and supplies by importance and then index the shipping of them with respect to the conditions on the trial. They must cross 30 frozen lakes to get to their destination. These lakes vary from 28 inches of ice thickness to over 36 inches, depending on weather conditions. If these planners send critically important piece of equipment when the ice is too thin......both the equipment and the driver of the semi might end up at the bottom of the lake and the road might have to close due to the big hole in the frozen lake which would halt all traffic until frozen again. All the while there is the temperature which hovers at -32 degrees below. Neither man or equipment was designed to operate at this extreme.

The bottom line of this above tale is that for the goal of this diamond mine to operate as planned....LOGISTICS is critical in considering all of the real world variables that stand in the way of this plan and to MANAGE their way around them. The complex intertwining of the concept of RISK was at the forefront of each decision of these Logistical Managers.

So frequently when I hear outrage expressed by the "consuming public" over some issue of the day, upon further inspection I get the sense that their outrage is founded on LOGISTICAL IGNORANCE, the inability for them to identify the intricate steps that would be necessary for results to turn our as they want them to be while being bound by the realities of scarcity of resources, travel times and other threats that were identified above.

On the subject of the government response to Hurricane Katrina the fact that the government (of course for many people it will be a charge against the "Federal Government" for the sake hitting their intended target) was slow to respond is evidence of some conspiracy, racism or the consequence of having our "troops stretched too thin". Rarely do I hear mentioned the logistical realities that must be put in place in order for any coordinated effort to have taken place any sooner.

In my job as a communications consultant "Hurricane Katrina" has been used as a reference for a tragic disaster with regards to having all major systems swept away and them being left in an 'every man for themselves' type situation. I work with police forces, fire departments, medical facilities and various federal and state government agencies. When I listen to them I hear TEXTURE behind their goals to provide public safety services to the public. In their world Katrina would be expressed in logistical challenges such as

1) How much of my staff showed up for duty? (Some went AWOL, some may have perished)
2) With the roads flooded....how can I get my vehicles to the scene?
3) Where will I obtain fuel to refuel my vehciles?
4) Double is the case for #3 with regards to helicopters as they don't fly too well with no fuel. They need enough fuel to return to the fueling center to get more fuel
5) Since FEMA owns no buses and must charter them - of the bus companies that they must contract with - how did these companies deal with #1 through #3?

If you listen to the various critics they tend to focus on ONE MAN - this might be "Brownie" or "Bush". The bottom line is that there were THOUSANDS of dedicated individuals who had to deal with the LOGISTICAL realities that stood before them that week. The evacuation route for an entire caravan of buses is only as good as that one small bridge that provided a pathway across the smallest of creeks that might have been damaged and thus cut off the passage way.

I challenge the various critics to articulate how they could have done any better. They first need to get a clue as to all of the moving parts that are present and that the fate of New Orleans was sealed not on 4 days while the masses of people waited for assistance but on YEARS AND YEARS of denial that they were indeed surrounded by 3 sides by water. Since prior to Katrina graves in New Orleans require a heavy slab of cement to be placed over them so that the casket does not float away as the ground becomes saturated in water I strongly suspect that this risk was known and that......the flooding will happen again sometime in the future.