The Debt Ceiling

This debate over whether President Obama should raise the debt ceiling has been raging for a long time...I feel as though I should have spoken on this weeks ago...but I was just waiting to see how all of this was going to play out.

First things first..Most Americans don't know the "Debt Ceiling" from their ceiling in their living room...Not to feel bad..I didn't know either until a few weeks ago...Thanks to the Tea Party....Most Americans probably believe that If President Obama doesn't raise the debt ceiling, that everything will be okay...

Wrong!  If he is not allowed to raise the debt ceiling...Our servicemen and women serving around the world and risking their lives for our country might not get paid...Medicare and welfare checks might not go out...Government workers won't get a check either...  Far worse than that...Our government will not be able to pay it's bills and we will default on loans to other countries (like China). This could throw our nation into a worse economic recession than the one of 2008.

Of course ,some Republicans and Tea Party folks would like nothing better than that...
It would make Barack Obama , a failure (In their eyes) and assure them the White House in 2012.

That they are willing to play chicken with the future of not only the American people ,but with the world economy simply appalls me.. What appalls me more is the fact that ignorant people...In the working class still continue to vote Republican , Time after time after time.

Some idiotic Tea Party official said to Barack Obama last week-"Mr. President, have you no shame...In three years that you have been in office, you have bankrupted the country."  Oh really? Really?   Ronald Reagon and both Bushes bankrupted this country with their tax breaks for the wealthy and their deregulation of big multi-national businesses...Did this escape everybody?

When elected ,President Obama had to bail out the banks and the auto-industry because he couldn't allow them to fail...Had he of allowed them to fail, I can tell you that things would be a lot worse than they are now...We wouldn't be talking about  recession...We'd be talking about depression...

I'll speak on this more tomorrow.

Weekend Humor

Leroy's pregnant sister was in a bad car accident, which caused her to fall into a deep coma. After nearly six months, she awoke and saw that she was no longer
pregnant.

Frantically, she asked the doctor about her baby.

The doctor replied-
"Ma'am, you had twins - a boy and a girl."

The babies are fine. Your brother,Leroy came in and named them.

The woman thought to herself, "Oh, no! Not Leroy; he's an idiot!"

 Expecting the worst, she asks the doctor, "Well, what's the girl's name?"

" The girl's name is Denise," the doctor answers.

The new mother  says, "Wow! That's a beautiful name; maybe I was wrong about my brother. I really like the name 'Denise.'  So ,What's the boy's name?"

The doctor replies, "Denephew."

Keith's Favorite Quotes

 

"Black Love is Black Wealth" - Nikki Giovanni 

My Family Reunion 2011

Greetings from Memphis, Tennessee!

Friday, July 8th - Sunday, July 10th
(That's me in the back on the far right....only time you'll see me on the far right of anything-lol....We had a great time..fellowshiping, dining and touring historic Memphis...We of course made trips to Beale Street and sampled their famous Barbecue....I'm ashamed of myself , the way I ate on this trip..LOL! We went to the Civil Rights museum as I mentioned yesterday and we went to the Stax Museum and Graceland.  (Yes..I've seen Elvis's gravesite.!!) I also took a ride on the mighty and muddy Mississippi river!! The highlight of course has to be the great cuisine ...Which I will talk about in a future blogpost and possibly on another blog. It was great seeing my many relatives from around the U.S. A. , but like they say..There truly is no place like home. I am truly glad to be back...Don't think I'll eat any ribs or pulled pork sandwiches for awhile.............................

We were in Memphis, The Home of Stax Records and Southern Soul...Hope you enjoy these samples of music recorded in Memphis during it's hey dey in the sixties and seventies.Soul Classics All!

Moved To Tears

I've just returned and I mean just as in last twenty four hours...from wonderful Family reunion in Memphis, Tennesee. Mind you..My family meets from around the country every two years somewhere...I have people in Florida, Texas and California...and of course, Philadelphia.

We had many activities planned...A trip to the Stax Museum where Otis Redding, Issac Hayes, The Staple Singers ,Sam & Dave and so many soul greats recorded their classics in the 60's and early 70's, a pilgramage to Graceland... Yes...I was in Elvis Pressley's house and of course a couple of tours to Beale Street...Our hotel was just four blocks from it....(I can't eat anymore barbecue ribs or pulled pork...it was so good and I was such a pig...More on that on another blog post)

The thing that moved me the most though was when I toured the Civil Rights museum....Which is actually...the hotel where Dr. Martin Luther King was murdered in 1968...It has been turned into a museum...Let me explain the history of this.

The first hotel on the site was the 16 room Windsor Hotel built on the northern side of the complex around 1925 which was renamed the Marquette Hotel. Walter Bailey purchased it in 1945 and renamed it for his wife Loree and the song Sweet Lorraine. During segregation it was an upscale accommodation that catered to a mostly black clientele. Bailey added a second floor and then drive up access for more rooms on the south side of the complex converting the name from Lorraine Hotel to Lorraine Motel. Its guests included musicians going to Stax Records to record hit records.. including Ray Charles, Lionel Hampton, Aretha Franklin, Ethel Waters, Otis Redding, The Staple Singers and Wilson Pickett.

Following the assassination of Dr. King, Walter Bailey left Room 306 outside of which King was assassinated and the adjoining room 307 unoccupied as a memorial to Dr.King. Bailey's wife Loree Bailey, who suffered a stroke hours after the assassination, died five days later. He converted the other motel rooms to single room occupancy.

Walter Bailey worked with Chuck Scruggs, program director of WDIA and attorney D'Army Bailey, to raise funds to "Save the Lorraine" in the newly formed Martin Luther King Memorial Foundation and bought the motel on the Shelby County Courthouse steps for $144,000 following foreclosure in December 1982.

It changed its name to Lorraine Civil Rights Museum Foundation in 1984. The Lorraine closed as a motel on March 2, 1988 when sheriff's deputies forcibly evicted the last holdout tenant, Jacqueline Smith, in preparation for an $8.8 million overhaul.Walter Bailey died in July 1988.

Smithsonian Institution curator Benjamin Lawless created a design for saving historical aspects. The Nashville, Tennessee firm McKissack and McKissack, which claims to be the oldest minority owned architect firm in the United States, was tapped to design a modern museum on grounds of the motel that were not directly related to the assassination.[1]

The museum was dedicated on July 4, 1991 and officially opened to the public on Sept. 28, 1991.

In 1999 the Foundation acquired the Young and Morrow Building and its associated vacant lot on a hill on the west side of Mulberry. A tunnel was built under the lot connecting it with the motel. The Foundation became the custodian of the police and evidence files associated with the assassination including the rifle and fatal bullet which are on display in a 12,800 sq. foot exhibit in the building which opened Sept. 28, 2002.

The Lorraine Motel had not only guests, but residents as well. The last resident of the motel, Jacqueline Smith, had resided there since 1973 as part of her work for the motel as a housekeeper. When faced with eviction for the museum project, Smith barricaded herself in her room and had to be forcibly evicted.

The neighborhood surrounding the Lorraine Motel was a lower-income, predominantly black area. At the time, the area had run-down homes that rented for $175 a month. The homes were demolished and later replaced with more expensive apartments and condominiums, as part of the rejuvenation of the downtown area.

Smith stated that the Lorraine "should be put to better uses, such as housing, job training, free college, clinic, or other services for the poor...the area surrounding the Lorraine should be rejuvenated and made decent and kept affordable, not gentrified with expensive condominiums that price the people out of their community." She has also stated that Dr. King would not have wanted $9 million spent on a building for him, and would not have wanted Lorraine Motel residents to be evicted.

Smith has maintained a vigil across the street from the Lorraine Motel for up to 21 hours per day for over 20 years, regardless of weather. She still holds vigil outside the Lorraine, although not as consistently as she has in the past.

But all that not withstanding... What moved me to tears was going inside and seeing the photos of the civil rights movement and those who participated...Known and unknown...The photos of buses being blown up ,of Freedom riders being hosed down, having dogs sicked on them, being beat and at times killed...

For the right to vote and for public accomodation and an end to racial segregation and hell, just basic rights of citizenship that had been guarunteed to us close to 100 years before (on paper) but never actually put into motion.

It's a sad sad part of American History that I'm only skimming over here as I write this in the wee hours of the morning...I was moved to tears by all of these people who like I said are known and unknown...who are honored at this museum along with Dr. King...I am just humbled and grateful for their sacrifice...What they did makes what I do here sometimes on this blog...All the more worthwhile and meaningful.

Weekend Humor

The subway car was packed. It was rush hour, and many people were forced to stand. One particularly cramped woman turned to the man behind her and said, "Look brutha, if you don't stop poking me with your thing, I'm gonna call the cops!"

The man responded " Aww baby, I don't know what you're talking about - that's just my pay check in my pocket."

"Oh really huh?  Your paycheck?," she said.


"That's right...it's my big paycheck, heh, heh,heh?" he laughed.

"Then you must have some job, because that's the fifth raise you've had in the last half hour!"she said.

What I've Learned

1.Men don't generally like to use the word closure...but eventually, you have to find closure with a lot of things in your life.

2.There is a difference between regret and remorse.

3.Apathy is the red headed step child of Delegation.

4.There is a difference between Time and Moments... life’s shade, import and value are defined by moments and time is just what we got left.

5.Loyalty is definitely a two way street.

6.Tuesday is the worst day of the week...You don't know if you should look forward or look back!

7.Some people you meet in life will make you crazy.....but the important people are the ones who make you better!

8.I love driving.....Sometimes when I'm driving somewhere alone in my car I'll be having these conversations with dead relatives or finishing up arguments with long ago girlfriends...you know..saying things I wish I had said so many years ago...Next to the restroom, My car is the best place for sorting out things.

9.I don't know anybody who is totally satisfied with their cell phone provider...do you?

10.Teenage girls want someone to listen to them...They don't really need your advice.  The same goes for their mothers.

Peace!

Got Away With It This Time!

I'm going to discuss the facts of this case as they have recently unfolded and then I'm going to give my opinion..  But then again...Don't I usually do that? I'm just saying....

Facts-I have learned that U.S. prosecutors are going to drop sexual assault charges against ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn at his next court appearance in two weeks, or earlier, because of doubts about the credibility of the alleged victim, according to the New York Post.

The newspaper quoted an unnamed (naturally) top investigator in the case who said the eventual dismissal of charges was "a certainty". "We all know this case is not sustainable,"(Do we really?) The New York Post quoted its source as saying.

"Her credibility is so bad now, we know we cannot sustain a case with her," the source told the newspaper, referring to the Guinean hotel maid who accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn of trying to rape her in a luxury hotel in Manhattan two months ago.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, 62, was arrested on May 14 at New York's JFK airport and subsequently resigned as managing director of the International Monetary Fund.

Then revelations that the accuser, A Black female immigrant had lied about being raped in Guinea in a U.S. asylum request and changed details of her story about what she did after the incident in Dominique Strauss-Kahn's hotel suite have undermined her credibility and left prosecutors struggling to make a case.

A judge released Strauss-Kahn from house arrest and lifted strict bail conditions on Friday, although serious charges including sexual assault and attempted rape remain in place against the man once seen a top French presidential contender.

"She is not to be believed in anything that comes out of her mouth — which is a shame, because now we may never know what happened in that hotel room," said the source quoted by The New York Post.

The newspaper said its source was at the center of the investigation and spoke only on the condition of anonymity.But of course.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn is not out of the woods yet.He, meanwhile faces a potential new sexual assault investigation Tuesday when a young French writer plans to formally accuse him of trying to rape her during a 2002 book interview.I wonder what will be uncovered about her past?

With France debating his possible return to presidential politics,Dominique Strauss-Kahn swiftly fired back at author Tristane Banon's plans to take him to court, labeling her account "imaginary" and countering with his own plans to file a criminal complaint of slander.Hmmmmmmmm!

The sordid exchange may have deep ramifications for the 2012 presidential race in France, where the surprise weakening of the sexual assault case against Mr.Strauss-Kahn in New York City last week sparked a fierce debate about whether he should return to politics if the American case against him collapses completely.

Some politicians and pundits see Strauss-Kahn, who won plaudits for his stewardship of the International Monetary Fund, as a victim of overzealous American prosecutors and journalists who denied him the presumption of innocence when a maid accused him of forcing her to perform oral sex in his Manhattan hotel room.

True...Everybody, including yours truly has denied Strauss-Khan the presumption of innocence based on his past reputation as somewhat of a ladies man and a real rascal of sorts...But let's be fair...Just as many people have denied the maid her presumption of innocence also!.

Because she lied about being in the country legally and because she may or may not have been a prostitute at one time and because she may have lied about another sexual assault in another country doesn't mean that she may have lied about being assaulted by him.  I know...I know how that sounds...But what if it's true? What if THIS time she was telling the truth??  See...He got lucky...She's an immigrant, She's Black and she's a menial laborer...Plus , she's got a sordid past....You can rifle through her past and create enough doubt to be able to literally do anything to her...

This is why a lot of women don't report when they have been raped and or sexually assaulted, because their entire life is hung out to dry and if they are "guilty" of having sex with two or more partners, if their skirt was short, if their pants were too tight....Then it is assumed (by males who do most of the investigating and pass most of the judgements) that somehow or other she must've asked for it and therefore deserves to be raped or assaulted. Most victims just don't want to be put through the ringer and they just don't say anything.

People like Dominic Strauss Khan depend on and prey on powerless women like this....I am not surprised that this happened...I figured the other shoe was going to drop soon.  Tell me this?  If this was consensual sex as he claimed...You know, one for the road...Then why did he rush out of the hotel, (so fast he left his cell phone behind) and grab the fastest thing smoking out of the big apple??? That's where Detectives arrested him...On a plane!!

Now for this other woman...This young French writer, who claims he did the same thing to her?? I in no way meant to demean her experience...I happen to believe her....What will happen to her?  What sordid facts will come out about her pre Dominic sex life???

See, he's done this before....And I don't think either of these two women are his first victims...He's been doing this so long that he expects to get away with it...That's why he keeps a battery of lawyers around...OKay...He got away with this one and he may get away with the other one....but the law of averages catches up with everybody sooner or later....All it takes is one slip up with the wrong person....Then....GOT'CHA! Stay tuned!

The Mystery of Danzinger Bridge

On Treme , the popular HBO original series that is a fictional account of the residents of Post Katrina New Orleans...There is a story line ,or rather I should say there was a storyline about two young men, one black, one white who may or may not have been murdered by rogue cops during the Katrina storm. The show concluded it's second season last night without the mystery being cleared up...

A quick check of the recent news has me seeing that there was in fact a real life murder mystery unfolding on the Danzinger Bridge in New Orleans that is coming to head in a courtoom right now that involves some New Orleans policemen.


Witnesses testimony began last week in a trial that has already shocked and polarized the people of New Orleans and brought some very urgent calls for reform of the city's entire criminal-justice system.

The incident, which occurred on Sept. 4, 2005, just days after the storm, police officers are accused of raining a hail of bullets on two African-American families as they were fleeing Katrina's floodwaters. Ronald Madison, a mentally challenged man, was shot at least six times, while James Brissette, a high school student, was shot seven times. Both men died at the scene. Four other people were wounded, including a woman whose arm was shot completely off and a young man who needed a colostomy bag after the shootings.Incredible!!!

The cops on trial are accused of engaging in an elaborate effort to cover up what happened by arresting innocent civilians, falsifying reports, conspiring in secret meetings, inventing witnesses and planting evidence. Three officers who were involved in the shooting and two officers who aided in the conspiracy have pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against their fellow officers. This is eerily close to the storyline on HBO's Treme...They are hinting at this, but their storyline hasn't gotten this far advanced yet.

The trial is expected to last eight weeks. The officers involved in the shooting -- Kenneth Bowen, Robert Gisevius, Anthony Villavaso and Robert Faulcon -- could receive life sentences if convicted. Sgt. Arthur Kaufman, who was not on the bridge, is charged only in the cover-up and could receive a maximum of 120 years. Sgt. Gerard Dugue, who is also implicated only in the cover-up, will be tried separately, in September. He faces 70 years.

Defense attorneys for the accused officers have said that the officers were shot at before they began firing. The attorneys have also pointed to the chaos and confusion of post-Katrina New Orleans as a contributing factor. NOPD spokespeople and officials in the Police Association of New Orleans have distanced themselves from the accused officers while refusing to comment in depth. "We have faith in our legal system," said New Orleans Police Union spokeswoman Remi Braden. She added-
"And we are confident that those who are found guilty of committing crimes will be sanctioned accordingly."Let's hope so...but I can't honestly say that I haven't heard this tune before..only to see no justice served at all. Still, I'm going to give the authorities of New Orleans, the benefit of the doubt.

The story is devastating. For more than three years, every check and balance in the city's criminal-justice system failed. Activists complain of judges who are too close to prosecutors; a city coroner who sides with the police version of events; and an entire system that seems focused on locking up people for misdemeanors instead of stopping violent crime. Welcome to my world....Are we talking about Philadelphia PA. or New Orleans ,Louisiana? I don't see the difference...or is it Baltimore,MD, St. Louis ,Missouri or Atlanta GA. or Washington D.C.?? What's the difference??

The shootings on Danziger Bridge are the most notorious of at least nine separate incidents -- most of which occurred in the days just after Katrina -- that are being examined by federal agents. "This trial is going to show the country and the world that we have a serious problem with our police department," says Eddie Jordan, the city's former district attorney. "This department is engaged in horrendous acts against its citizens."

In a wide-ranging 158-page report released this March, the U.S. Justice Department declared that the NOPD has deep structural problems, noting, "Basic elements of effective policing -- clear policies, training, accountability and confidence of the citizenry -- have been absent for years." The report criticized the department for "use of excessive force; unconstitutional stops, searches and arrests; racial and ethnic profiling and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) discrimination; a systemic failure to provide effective policing services to persons with limited English proficiency; and a systemic failure to investigate sexual assaults and domestic violence."

Eddie Jordan feels that investigators should pursue charges up to the very top of the department, including Warren Riley, who was promoted to police chief shortly after Hurricane Katrina and served in that role until 2010. "Warren Riley, by his own admission, never even read the report on Danziger,"Eddie Jordan points out. "It's so outrageous, it's unspeakable. It's one of the worst things that anyone can do. It's hard to understand why he's not on trial as well .I concur.

"Fish starts rotting at the head," adds Eddie Jordan. "This was all done in the backdrop of police opposition at the very top. It's not surprising that there was a cover-up. You just have to wonder how far that cover-up went." That we may never know...but it will still do the city of New Orleans good to weed out as many bad eggs as possible.

Warren Riley, who resigned in 2010, has said that any officers involved in a cover-up should go to jail. He has also defended his response to NOPD corruption, saying that he inherited a deeply troubled department and a civil service system that protects bad officers. "I've fired 178 police officers in 4 1/2 years," he told radio host Gerod Stevens shortly before he retired. "I've suspended over 600."

Once Again, I say, welcome to my world...Urban America...I'll be watching this trial. You should too....Anybody that has any questions about race , due process of law ,et al..Should keep an eye on New Orleans these next few weeks and not just for Essence Fest.

Happy July 4th

Wishing a very Happy Independence day to everyone.   Here is a thought for today...It's from a comedian ,but it's no doubt still relevant.

“If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn’t help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we’ve got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without conditions and then admit that we just don’t want to do it.” --Stephen Colbert, Real Talk!

Not to put a damper on your holiday spirit...but just something to ponder as you enjoy your freedom and the economic blessings you have been bestowed...Again..Enjoy the holiday!.

Keith's Favorite Quotes

"There is always something to do. There are hungry people to feed, naked people to clothe, sick people to comfort and make well. And while I don't expect you to save the world I do think it's not asking too much for you to love those with whom you sleep, share the happiness of those whom you call friend, engage those among you who are visionary and remove from your live those who offer you depression, despair and disrespect."

                                                                                             -Nikki Giovanni

 

Weekend Humor

A sweet grandmother
Telephoned Misericordia Hospital. She timidly asked,
"Is it possible to speak to someone who can tell me how a patient is doing?"

The operator said,
"I'll be glad to help, dear. What's the name and room number of the patient?"

The grandmother in her weak, tremulous voice said,
"Ester Robinson, Room 302."

The operator replied,
"Let me put you on hold while I check with the nurse's station for that room."

After a few minutes, the operator returned to the phone and "I have good news. Her nurse just told me that Ester is doing well. Her blood pressure is fine; her blood work just came back normal and her Physician, Dr. Cohen, has scheduled her to be discharged tomorrow."

The grandmother said,
" Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh Thank you baby, That's wonderful. Boootiful...Bootiful, Lawdd Jesus, I was so worried. God bless you for the good News. God is good."

The operator replied,
"You're more than welcome. Is Ester your daughter?"


The grandmother said,"Noooo, I'm Ester Robinson in Room 302... No one tells me a damn thing."