President Obama, Israel, Africans & Racism
President Obama, Israel, Africans & Racism
President Obama has been so busy that it is hard to keep up with him. The news reports that his administration was feverishly discussing whether the United States should have a presence at the United Nations Racism Conference being held in Geneva, Australia. They regrettably decided not to attend because they felt that Israel’s settling of Palestine was being unfairly singled out. It is very interesting that President Obama’s administration chose to look out for the interests of Israel over the objections of the Congressional Black Caucus. This is a tough question but it must be asked. I want to ponder how does President Obama work his way through this diplomatic mine field? Let me take a stab.
It appears that President Obama does not want to acknowledge most of the world’s opinion that the Jewish acquisition in 1948 of land occupied by Palestinians was based on racism. When I use the term racism I am defining it as one human group discriminating against another human group because the one group feels superior by birth over the other group. In other words, for example, the Jews feel they were born superior to the Palestinians so anything that they would do to the Palestinians is alright because of Jewish superiority. This is just an example. I am not saying that racism was the underlying foundation on why Jews decided to forcibly occupy land that Palestinians had traditionally occupied. When Jewish leadership was discussing places to establish a homeland they contemplated Uganda as well as Palestine. They settled on Palestine because the Bible could be used as a tool to justify their aggression. They co-opted the story of Genesis and Exodus as though they were the people of Moses and Palestine was the land promised to them by God as they were freed from bondage in Egypt. Uganda just did not lend itself to this story line. So we see that the issue was not race, but which piece of land could best be used to sway public opinion to support the establishment of a Jewish homeland. Therefore, the question for me is not the term used to identify the wrong. Wrong by any name is a wrong. Let’s muddy the water just a bit.
When Hitler was burning these same Jews in furnaces if President Obama was then President would he boycott a United Nations Conference on racism because the conference singled out Germany? In fact, would the Jewish people whose family and friends were being burned in the furnaces care what name was being given to the wrong that Hitler was bestowing upon their people? I would think not!! I would think the position would be I don’t care what you call the wrong, just do what you can to stop the wrong. Now in my understanding of history, Hitler clearly believed that Germans were superior to Jews so anything thing was fair to be done to the Jews because of German superiority. I am sure that Jewish control of the German economy greatly figured in on Hitler’s decision to try and annihilate the German Jewish population, but that was not the justification that he used to wage his domestic war. Hitler used white German supremacy as the tool to get the German populace to support his genocide. Again I ask, if this were taking place today would President Obama or present day Israel want the world to boycott the United Nations on Racism because Germany was singled out? OK, let’s widen the discussion.
Truly when Britons, or the Dutch, followed Cecil Rhodes to forcibly settle present day Zimbabwe it was a white supremacy philosophy that was used to justify the oppression of the Zimbabwean people. Ian Smith used the same white supremacy philosophy to forcibly occupy present day South Africa. At that time of this history I do not think that either Zimbabwean or South African people would have demanded that their oppressors’ philosophy be called racism before they would accept help from the outside world. Who cares about language if you allow the wrong to continue? The key is not the use of language. The key is stopping the oppressive behavior!! Even right now an argument can be made that the sanctions against Zimbabwe that are supported by the United States government and Britain is an act of racism. I am sure that both governments would vehemently contest being called racist. OK, let’s grant that wish. Let’s grant that the policies of Israel toward the Palestinians, and the U.S. and British policies toward Zimbabwe are not racist. Let’s grant that. However, I would now use the language is these policies fair? Are these policies right? Is it right for Israel, or any country to take somebody’s land because they can? Was it right for white people to take the very land that is now America from the indigenous people who occupied the land? Was it right for whites to take the land of South Africa and Zimbabwe because they could? Forget the term racism. Let’s deal with right and wrong. Is stealing anything from a person right? Whether the theft is land, oil, diamonds, copper, gold, or something as small as a tootsie roll when it is taken without permission then the act is wrong. If anything is/was taken without consent then the acquisition was not right. This is the issue that the United Nations Conference on Racism is trying to deal with. America and all other nations of the world should be there. The God of justice demands our presence. President Obama, your calling is to be the change agent. Don’t let politics taint your calling. The world has been waiting for you. You must engage all players in the world about all the major issues. President Obama, I humbly say, on this one my brother, I believe you should have listened to the Congressional Black Caucus. America’s attendance would have helped the world to decrease the hate and increase the love. Thank you for listening to AjabuSpeaks.
YOU+ME=US
Rev. Ajabu
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http://www.abim.org/news/press-releases-pdf/JAMA%20Article%20090104.pdf
The best and most concise article about Board Certification. Significant note to the article: these studies are difficult to do because most hospitals will not allow non certified physicians admitting privileges, making data difficult to gather. Furthermore, 85% of physicians are Board Certified. Making comparisons between a sample where sample sizes are so disparate is not easy to design.
Regardless, most studies show a positive correlation between certification and the ongoing physician education process and patient outcomes.
John, Dawn,
Party politics are killing America.
Ajabu,
I never said that I didn't agree with you. I think anyone who believes that party politics will save this country is delusional.
Dawn,
If you agree with me then why do you and Marshall continue this back and forth based on party identification? Subvert the party thing. Dialogue on the issues. I must admit that I notice a great change in your written attitude. I like it. You appear to be more humble and willing to engage from a position of seeing the the other person's view even though you may disagree. Please stay right there. I think your advice to Marshall is good advice. He should keep his board status current. Even though board status does not in itself dictate a good doctor, it is an indication to a possible patient that the doctor has kept up with developments of their particular body of knowledge. I saw Luwanna at church on last evening. Girl you missed it. It was a fired up service. She is trying to get a return contact from you. Is that possible? She is really interested in following up on your inquiry of how to participate at Horizon House. I think that some compassion is shining through that disgruntle conservative Christian demeanor. God bless.
Ajabu,
I have already spoken with LuWanna. If you spoke with her last night at church, I'm surprised she didn't tell you.
I have always been a compassionate person, Reverend Ajabu. Just because I don't see the world's problems as racially driven, but rather as sin driven doesn't make me less compassionate. You really do need to get to know more conservatives. You really don't understand us at all.
Rev Ajabu and Dawn
I appreciate your concern for professionals who remain up to date with the requirements of that profession. You must factor in the independent thinking of the individual. The vast majority of us know what we need. You don't survive 23 years of practicing medicine in a racist community and a racist America without learning some survival skills.
Dawn is so pitiful with her statistics and googles that do not address what individuals go through in any profession. As far as medicine is concerned, the profession is changing very rapidly and it is not appealing to many of us who are veterans and we are certainly losing our young people going into primary care.
The major problem is that doctors are not getting paid and the bulk of the healt care dollars go to HMO type hustlers who have raped the profession. I have lost respect for primary care as it is today. Many of my colleagues feel that the medical boards for recertification every 7 years is more about dollars than quality healthcare. We who have taken and passed those stupid boards know that it is NOT a good predictor of quality care by a physician in Family Practice. We know because there are too many board certified doctors that are killing these patients. Just with all professions, if the person does not CARE and is driven by money, then the quality of care declines greatly.
My hospital grandfathered all of us who have been around for some time. They even grand fathered the doctors who never were board certified like I was.
I have not practiced in our hospital since 2001 and in the interim the hospital landscape changed. We have hospitalists [doctors who care for patients that are hospitalized]. I love it because it was grueling trying to run the office, see patients in the critical care unit in the hospital and emergencies. We had to be supermen to maintain that pace but we did.
I am in a retiring mode and as an indivdual I have decided for myself what I want to do. Rev and Dawn, your concerns are well received but you have to know the needs and interests of each doctor and let the doctor make his or her decisions. I have enjoyed a glorious career in medicine and I have helped the poor and voiceless through my newspaper and as president of the NAACP for 14 years. We tried to deal with the medical and non medical needs of our patients in this Southern racist town.
I want you and Dawn to concentrate on your own areas and do the best you can there. Based on some of the ridiculous statements from Dawn as a "Conservative", she needs a lot of continuing and beginning education. Her last concern should be what a 23 year veteran doctor who passed his boards should or should not do. I think we all will be better served if Dawn deals with her psychiatric problems that could have resulted from having been raped and a child who was raped.
I will seek advice for my career from someone who is qualified to advise me and trust me the last thing I need is to be advised by a Christian Conservative. The word conservative in the ears of Blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans is very much like the words Ku Klux Klan. I mean that very sincerely. If we can only keep Dawn's discussion political and not personal, then these discussions will be more productive. I know I have not solicited any advice about my profession from Dawn the Conservative. I do welcome her political views as weak and as disjointed as they are but it beats her advice about the medical profession.
Let us stick to the politics and not the personal discussions because it forces me to tell all who go there to please attend to your own business.
john
Your attacks are so pathetic, John.
The fact that you identify the words Conservative with Klan really is ridiculous and shows an incredible level of narrow mindedness.
Conservatives (particularly those who are religious conservatives) are people who are highly generous with their personal financial resources. Study after study shows that they give more money and time to charity. They live within their means. They pay their taxes. They save more. They spend less.
Politically, they are more likely to have concern about abortion.
They tend to support States rights and a smaller central government thinking that government that is closer to the people is more likely to represent the people.
They tend to support the constitution and a fairly tight definition thereof. They similarly are likely to support a fairly tight interpretation of the Bible.
Here's my thing. I believe that God knew what he was doing when he built ALL kinds of people....liberal and conservative, rich and poor....all races, genders, abilities. I believe that all people have different gifts so that the entire tapestry of humanity can fulfill all needs of humanity.
I believe that liberals are needed in this world to point out injustice, to bring us the arts, to encourage us to reach the more sensitive parts of ourselves.
I believe that conservatives are needed in this world to make sure that we live within our means, to help create rules and structure.
It is all important.
And John, you can stop worrying about my psychological health. My whole family has been in outstanding Christian therapy with my daughter as we help her work through her rape and subsequent eating disorder. We are all doing well. I will pray that you find a similar level of peace. In fact, I start a second Master's degree this fall in Family Counseling. Our therapist believes that I have a unique understanding of the problems that parents face in addressing the needs of parents whose children face addiction.
You see, I believe that all of life is an education. I have learned a lot from my suffering, from my husband's chronic illness, from my daughters illness. All you seemed to learn was anger.
Oh, and John, please don't place your words in the mouths of all Blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans. You don't speak for us all.
Dawn
I will make this short and sweet; do you have any idea how hard we Blacks in the South had to fight States Rights. These Confederate red necks made laws that kept us segregated, we were relegated to inferior schools, we couldn't get simple jobs like driving a city bus, we had to endure insulting voting practices, and so much more.
Let me give you a personal example,I went to high school and my father was a switchman on the local railroad; we were not allowed to use the public library that my parents help support by paying taxes. The same segregated school system expected me to do what the White high school grads had to do on the SAT exam. Can you imagine these racists dogs would prevent us from using the Whites only public library and yet expected us to compete with White students who had all of those advantages.
[This is where my near paranoia comes from when you mention White controlled exams of any type]
Did you forget how virulentand rabid white men and women were when they screamed and cursed seeing a Black child integrate a white school.
We had to rely on the Federal government to give us relief from these Confederate so called Christian Conservative red necks who used their states rights to oppress Blacks and other minorities.
Dawn, you do not have a clue as to what is and has happened in the United States of America. Your statement about states rights sums it all up and it demonstrates that you are lost in some fog. You can get all of the Masters degrees and pass your boards but you are stricken with the worst kind of mindset and that is, you lack Common Sense.
John
John,
You are living 100 years ago and you don't even know it. How sad for you.
Dawn
You have the same problems in Indiana, the home of the KKK. As the past president of the NAACP after 14 years, we are still having to fight White racists in this state who discriminate against people because of their color or national origin or gender. If you don't believe it, go to your nearest NAACP office and ask if we are living 100 years ago.
What planet have you been living on if you don't see the mass incarceration of Black men, the brutal killing of Black men by law enforcement around the country, we still have to fight these racist registrars who find ways to block the Black vote, we had to run out a probation company that was criminalizing Blacks; and a White police officer in my town beat a Black man so badly that he knocked his eye out of the socket and the man died weeks later. That White cop is still on the force. The family has a huge lawsuit against the city, police chief, the officer who beat the man and the mayor.
I wish I had the time to bring you up to date on the abuses of power and the oppression of Blacks in this country. Remember, intelligent and knowledgeable readers of this blog can finally see that you are the one 100 years off if you don't know how racist and low down your majority can be to Blacks. I have the evidence in 2009 to prove my point.
Dawn, you are a very hopeless case. You will not realize what America has been to many of its non White citizens and the devastation continues. We can point to your conservative Christian Republicans who are the major perpetrators and that is why so many Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Jews, and other minorities flock to the Democratic Party. The Democrats in the South are truly Conservative, mostly Christian, Republicans who call themselves Democrats. One day you will realize that your conservatives do not love America and that is why many of them are calling for secession from the United States just as the Confederates did prior to the Civil War. Technically, they want to separate from the melting pot of Asians, Blacks, Hispanics and Jews so that they can preserve the purity of the White race. As a consequence, we who are under their control in the South are paying a hell of a price.
Poor Dawn, you will wake up when you see them do further harm to our Native Americans who have been victims of genocide. I bet your relatives who are Native Americans do not agree with you that my thinking is 100 years old. Something has to be wrong with you to deceive yourself by thinking that you live in a country that is fair and compassionate. Had it not been for the Liberal Democrats, all minorities would be 100 years behind. It has been Liberals who fought the George Wallaces and Strom Thurmonds of the South who would rather die than allow Blacks and others to live out the American dream.
Will somebody else tell this woman that she is in denial and needs to wake up to the reality that exist in America and it is not pretty. A Lutheran came on C-Span this AM and reported that there are 36 million Americans who do not have enough to eat. [Did you hear that Jayson, it is more than the 22 million that I quoted].And I can't stop reminding us that there are nearly 60 million Americans who do not have health insurance.
I think I have gone as far as I can go with Dawn, somebody else will have to deal with this basket case that is half Native American and is in total denial about the racism in America. Good bye and good luck!!
john
America in 2009:
President of the United States: Barack Obama
Highest paid female in the the media: Oprah Winfrey
Highest paid male golfer: Tiger Woods
Highest paid couple - Jay Z and Beyonce
#3 - Will Smith and Jada
In my first professional job at Indiana's largest hospital - Methodist Hospital of Indiana
President: Frank P. Lloyd
Sr. Vice President of Administration: Sam Odle
Sorry, John. It's time to take off the mud colored glasses. You really need to stop looking only at the dirt on the window and look through the glass. There's a whole new world out there. I'm sorry that you're missing out on it. Personally, I am very very proud to be an American and a religious conservative who shares a very deep and special bond with my Black religious conservative friends...of whom I have many. Thankfully, not all Black people are as racist as you are.
http://newsbusters.org/node/9704
Just another example how you can use statistics to lie.
Anyone being hungry is too many, but this lie was patently ridiculous on its face.
Dawn Dawn
I hope you don't think you have made a point by naming the successful Black millionaires. It is not about those few at the top. You say your husband is a doctor and you are not alarmed by the 40 to 60 million Americans who have no health insurance. Picture yourself right now being unable to go to the doctor or to a hospital because you don't have insurance. Tiger Woods and Beyonce are not going to pay those bills.
I don't know why I continue to spa with you on the obvious shortcomings of America. This rich America has allowed for people to the tune of 36 million who are hungry every night. I know you don't believe that large number because you want to preach that America is so great and these suffering masses don't exist.
Have you heard of the tent cities where homeless Americans are going because so many are put out of their foreclosed homes. Why don't you and your husband visit some of the shelters for women and children who have no place to stay and watch some of them get turned away. I have worked those shelters and I can't believe this actually happens in America.
Jesus was about the poor and the suffering. That's why I am in the medical field. I could care less about Oprah and Tiger and Beyonce unless they are helping to relieve so much suffering in this so called great America. This country is suffering right now because she allowed so many within her boundaries to starve, left homeless, we have the highest incarceration rate in the world, our education is disgraceful, and the primary reason why we are so insensitive is the phony Christian Conservative Republicans like yourself. Look what George Bush left us with and his fellow Republicans went lockstep with that idiot.
Democrat Clinton had cleaned up after the Republicans and Bush came in and made things worst. Rev Ajabu rails against party politics but I guarantee you if it was left up to Dawn's Christian Conservatives they would have tried to conserve Slavery.
Finally, the Americans had enough of these phony Christian Conservatives who talk a good game while babies starve and our Americans are left out in the cold. That's why they voted for Barak Obama and the Democrats this time.Thank God for the Clintons, Kennedys, Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, John Conyers, Sheila Jackson Lee, Charie Rangel, the commentators on MSNBC, Barack Obama, and all of the Liberal Democrats who have to fight Dawn and her Christian Conservatives in order to rescue the suffering masses in this so called rich America.
Maybe you got one Masters degree too many because you desperately need to open your eyes and see how much suffering that is going on right this minute in America. As I said before, Dawn you don't even have COMMON SENSE.
Dawn, Jesus told you that if you do it to the least of these my children you have also done it unto me. America would have done better but we had to fight the Christian Conservative Republicans who are comfortable with the starving masses. Democrats try to live up to what Jesus said, "Feed my sheep."
Don't write that I am a racist and that I am a hater, all you need to do is tell me that I am a liar and prove it. If what I have stated is a lie then back up your position. This is a debate that calls for reasoning and evidence of what you are alleging. Talk to me!!!
John the Liberal Democrat
Dawn Dawn
I hope you don't think you have made a point by naming the successful Black millionaires. It is not about those few at the top. You say your husband is a doctor and you are not alarmed by the 40 to 60 million Americans who have no health insurance. Picture yourself right now being unable to go to the doctor or to a hospital because you don't have insurance. Tiger Woods and Beyonce are not going to pay those bills.
I don't know why I continue to spa with you on the obvious shortcomings of America. This rich America has allowed for people to the tune of 36 million who are hungry every night. I know you don't believe that large number because you want to preach that America is so great and these suffering masses don't exist.
Have you heard of the tent cities where homeless Americans are going because so many are put out of their foreclosed homes. Why don't you and your husband visit some of the shelters for women and children who have no place to stay and watch some of them get turned away. I have worked those shelters and I can't believe this actually happens in America.
Jesus was about the poor and the suffering. That's why I am in the medical field. I could care less about Oprah and Tiger and Beyonce unless they are helping to relieve so much suffering in this so called great America. This country is suffering right now because she allowed so many within her boundaries to starve, left them homeless, and we have the highest incarceration rate in the world, our education is disgraceful, and the primary reason why we are so insensitive is because of the phony Christian Conservative Republicans like yourself. Look what George Bush left us with and his fellow Republicans went lockstep with that idiot.
Democrat Clinton had cleaned up after the Republicans and then Bush came in and made things worst. Rev Ajabu rails against party politics but I guarantee you if it was left up to Dawn's Christian Conservatives they would have tried to Conserve Slavery.
Finally, the Americans had enough of these phony Christian Conservatives who talk a good game while babies starve and our Americans are left out in the cold. That's why they voted for Barak Obama and the Democrats this time.Thank God for the Clintons, Kennedys, Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, John Conyers, Sheila Jackson Lee, Charie Rangel, the commentators on MSNBC, Barack Obama, and all of the Liberal Democrats who have to fight Dawn and her Christian Conservatives in order to rescue the suffering masses in this so called rich America.
Maybe you got one Masters degree too many because you desperately need to open your eyes and see how much suffering that is going on right this minute in America. As I said before, Dawn you don't even have COMMON SENSE.
Dawn, Jesus told you that if you do it to the least of these my children you have also done it unto me. America would have done better but we had to fight the Christian Conservative Republicans who are comfortable with the starving masses. Democrats try to live up to what Jesus said, "Feed my sheep."
Don't write that I am a racist and that I am a hater, all you need to do is tell me that I am a liar and prove it. If what I have stated is a lie then back up your position. This is a debate that calls for reasoning and evidence of what you are alleging. Talk to me!!!
John the Liberal Democrat
John,
The right hand is supposed to give and not tell the left hand what it is doing. While you are busy patting yourself on the back, the rest of us will take care of the problems.
My point was that this is no longer about color. It IS about the poor. Christian conservative give more to the poor than ANYBODY. It is an indisputable fact. One that drives rich liberals crazy.
Dawn
Please provide those facts. If your Christian Conservatives are doing so much giving, why are so many Americans are still in dire straits. That giving is no match with policies that the liberal Democrats have provided that reach far more of our people than the little crumbs from the guilt ridden Conservatives who have caused more poverty than any other group.
Starting with President Roosevelt, my parents and grandparents loved that Democrat because he fed the hungry back in the 1930's. Your conservative Republican president Herbert Hoover starved them.
Democrats are reaching far more Americans because their policies have provided jobs as was done under Clinton. Look at the jobless rate under George W Bush, this is what leads to increased poverty and homelessness. All of the giving from your Christian Conservatives and anybody else could never match the policies that put people to work, minimum wage laws, medicare and medicaid, social security, and so much more.
Stop wasting our time on this blog with your weak points that do not even make sense. We are talking about helping the masses and saving them from starvation and homelessness. Tell us all how much that little Conservative donated money comes to and will it truly meet the needs of our people.
Just watch the liberal policies of Barack Obama and you will see how to impact the needs of the masses of Americans and it will lift them up where they belong. Conservatives block policies that would help the needy and the hard working poor while the Democrats spend so much time trying to overcome the Republican road blocks. If they[Conservative Republicans] are giving to the poor, it is out of guilt for making so many of them poor in the first place.
I'll take policies that reach the large numbers who need help any day over some loose change thrown at them by your so called Christian Conservative Republican crowd.
Remember, God has always dealt with rulers who oppress his people beginning with Pharoah and the Children of Israel. Any reasonable observer can admit that the ordinary Americans are helped by the Democrats while the rich fat cats are supported mainly by your Christian Conservative Republican Klan.
Dawn, you are hanging with the wrong crowd, you need to check yourself.
john the proud liberal Democrat
http://www.timeswatch.org/articles/2008/20081222130915.aspx
John, This study has been conducted and reconducted. Analyzed and reanalyzed. Bottom line. Conservative Christians believe that THEY. PERSONALLY. are called by Christ to serve. The government has some overarching purpose to do those things that individuals have a hard time doing on their own. They are best responsible for a system of roads, a military, a monetary system. But most things are better done closer to the need. Hearts and lives are changed by people serving people than by bureaucrats
Despite your insults, John, I know my responsibility. I live it. Clearly, based on study after study, liberals do not.
I think Reverend Ajabu knows quite a few Christian conservatives, because in Indianapolis, the largest churches in our area are Christian conservative churches. East 91st Street, Grace Community and Northview are three of the largest. These churches are full of people with a heart for service, for one another, and for their Lord Jesus Christ. I am proud to associate with people like these. If you visited any of these churches on any day of the week, you would find yourself in a place where Christ is alive and working through his people.
John, I'll keep praying for you. You have obviously been hurt somewhere along the way and need to place blame, no matter how irrational your feelings might be.
You're welcome to call me names and draw judgements about me and other Christians based on Klan activity in the 50's if that makes you feel good.
I think that arguing politics is foolish. I have a very different perception of what is effective government. Personally, I think that divided government has been the best government in this country, when we have played off the strengths of both parties and have reached popular compromise. The Clinton years were a prime example. I do not think that the country functions best in the hands of one party. Either party.
Dawn
I am always receptive of anyone who prays for me in a good way. However, you did not answer my question: why are so many Americans suffering from starvation, homelessness, and lack of health insurance if your Christians who love God and mankind are doing His work. The good intentions of your conservative Christians is not enough. It will take policies put forth by the current administration. Under George Bush, the poverty level and the unemployed have increased. I never heard from the Christian Conservatives speaking out against their Republican leader, instead, they loved the Bush policies.
The Black community has voted against Bush and the Christian Conservatives ever since president Roosevelt. The masses of Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians know that the Democratic policies do make a difference for the Americans who need help.
Your head is still in a fog and your feet are not firmly planted on solid ground if you think that anybody is impressed with those guilt ridden gestures which are crumbs thrown at the suffering masses of Americans by Conservatives.
I think you could really get my point if you and your husband visited a shelter for homeless women and children. Your Christian Conservatives are simply putting a band aid on a gaping flesh wound that they themselves inflicted. President Herbert Hoover, Reagan, BushI and Bush II reigned over the dismantling of the progress that Presidents Roosevelt,Kennedy, Johnson,and Clinton made for the ordinary hurting Americans.
You are also in deep denial about the racism and sometimes Klan activity that is still going on in America. It was not long ago when the Black man [Byrd] was dragged to his death in Texas and many Blacks have been hanged recently throughout the South. Our Black men have been gunned down by racist police officers who do their dirt with a badge. I am involved with a dirty cop down here who hit a disabled Black man so hard that his eye came out of the socket. The man had a history of seizures and he died weeks later. That cop just two weeks ago slammed an 18 year old Black female to the ground injuring several of her joints.
To you Dawn, these things took place in the 50's but you can start in that racist state of Indiana and you will see that the oppression of Blacks has not stopped as the Klan hoods are gone but the Klan hearts remain.
You still want to attach me to some hurt that happened earlier in my life and to a certain extent you are right. I told you how hurt I was to be barred from the public library in a large Southern city where White high school seniors could go and do their studies and research while we had to go to a very tiny library in the Black community that did not have what we needed.[They tried to name that tiny library The Clarence Thomas Library but Blacks protested against it] When it was time to take the SAT exam, we were compared to the same White kids who were allowed to use the big city library. Wouldn't that hurt your precious daughter if she was made aware of such blatant and unfair racism? Yes, I was brought up in the 40's and 50's and much damage was done to us [Blacks] as we were young people facing the ugly face of White oppression in the red state South.
I think I am even more hurt to see that the same racism is present in 2009 but in more disguised forms. As and adult, I owe it to my community to fight the good fight against the main perpetrators of rabid racism and that is the Conservative so called Christian Republicans and Southern Dixiecrat Democrats. They are our enemies and one day you will agree with me.
I guess I will help you by going toe to toe with your weak and irrational positions on what is going on in America. Until you go and see the suffering, you will remain ignorant of your own United States of America. Don't get me wrong, I am with America when she is right but I will not pretend all is well when America is wrong. I am trying to stop you from that type of pretense and your support of the worst of America and they are the Conservative Republicans and Southern Democrats. I can finally tell that you are beginning to understand some of what I am trying to get you to see; so take your time, I know the truth hurts, we will wait on you, hang in there Dawn.
John the satisfied Liberal Democrat
John,
What makes you think that I am not working in homeless shelters or in poor urban areas?
One of the ministries that I work with is Jireh House in Indianapolis. It is an inner city ministry that provides tutoring services and sports programming to inner city kids. They provide the school books and supplies to the local elementary school. They have since started a live-in school to help the most at risk teen boys because they have found that even if you work with these kids, as soon as they go to school and are in the bad environment that exists at many schools, they start to lose their heart and fall back into bad patterns. My kids tutor there and teach sports programming. We donate financially and have for the past 5 years chosen to only give eachother a single gift at Christmas and donate the rest to Jireh. I happen to love this ministry because the man who runs it lived in this neighborhood as a child. His father was killed right in front of him in his driveway by a man who stole $1.00 from them. His name is Tim Streett. Tim and his family now live in this community and have built this amazing ministry with very hands on Christian people who teach/tutor/feed/clothe the people there.
I work in soup kitchens and food pantries, serve at the Salvation Army and at a woman's shelter for abused women, called 3rd Phase. We support Habitat for Humanity and Angel Tree Ministries. All are conservative Christian ministries. I have an appointment on Thursday to meet with LuWanna to see how my family can help support her ministry at Horizon House. Since my son has a very high math aptitude and both my kids speak Spanish, they can help tutor. I am a good cook and servant. I can help with meals. I have administrative skills and contacts. We can help raise money.
Why are we not any further along? I don't know. Conservative Christians pay their taxes, tithe and serve. Liberals don't pay their taxes or serve. I'm not saying that to be mean, it's just a documented truth supported by evidence from tax records.
I will never say that terrible things are no longer happening to the poor and disenfranchised in this country. Why do you think I believe that? But hamstringing business with high taxes won't be the answer. Businesses do not pay taxes. They pass them through as a cost of business. High taxes on businesses result in high prices to consumers. And if you try to control prices, the businesses close or lay off workers. It is a very straightforward equation. People want to work. They want to be involved in productive labor. Government work is necessary, but not productive. It has to be funded by the work of the productive market through taxes. If you overburden the productive market you will destroy the economic engine. That is why every time you raise taxes, the actual revenue collection decreases and when you cut taxes, you increase tax revenues. Although it is not intuitively obvious, it is a fact. It's the reason why John Kennedy reduced federal taxes so successfully. It's also one of the reasons that the Carter Presidency was so unsuccessful.
I hate to tell you this, John, but Bush was a universally unpopular President. Conservatives didn't like him either. The biggest reason he was so unpopular among conservatives was that he did not control the budget. You cannot increase spending AND cut taxes. If you cut taxes, you have to decrease spending. But President Obama is talking as if he will both raise taxes AND increase spengind which is worse. President Clinton was very effective because he both kept taxes reasonable AND he cut spending. That is the magic combination that creates a strong economic engine. We will still have economic downturns. Economies contract about every 8 years. If your economy is in a deficit when that happens, you are in REAL trouble. And that's where we are now.
Indiana has a terrific Governor who has been really controlling spending in our state. As a consequence, despite the fact that Indiana has been hit very hard by the closure of so many factories in our state, we have still managed to stay above water. We have a pretty irresponsible legislature that is very hard to keep in line, but the taxpayers lean on them pretty hard to stay in tune with our very talented governor who happens to have a very strong background in finance. Have we cut services? Yes. But we have focused on improving healthcare, taking care of kids and education and the key programs are better funded in Indiana because we have made hard choices in other places. We also work very hard to bring jobs to our state and have been very successful at it because Indiana has a very favorable business environment.
I am sorry that you were hurt and that kids continue to be hurt....white and black. Even in wealthy families, hurt exists...abuse, neglect, alchohol and drugs. My own daughter, a "rich white kid" was raped and had an emotional breakdown. Sin will sadly always be a part of this world until the Savior comes again. But the mission of the churches I have belonged to has been to hate the sin and love the sinner. We fight drugs, alcohol, pornography and sin...not the people who are victimized by them. And we don't do it out of guilt, it is done in love. The reason I am taking the MS program in Family Counseling is so that I can work in my church, free of charge to help families dealing with addiction. My husband and I have had a very blessed life, despite my husband's juvenile diabetes and celiac disease. It hasn't been an easy life, but we are richly blessed. I don't really see myself retiring. I don't see myself staying in a corporate role for the rest of my life, either. I will be working full-time in a service position. I am sure that you will stay active in service with your medical training as well.
But the statistics are pretty clear in terms of giving. If there were more people who had a Bible-based level of faith, the world would be a better place
I did pray for you this morning, John. I prayed that you would heal from the wounds that have made you so angry in order that you could be a more effective servant for your savior. I suggest that you visit an evangelical church in your area and see for yourself what christian conservatives really believe. I think you would be surprised.
Based on the website, I might suggest Cornerstone might be a good church to explore evangelical Christianity.
Marshall, Dawn,
Partisan politics is killing America. Did Jesus say to treat people like you want to be treated? Would y'all want to be treated like your treat each other? Just a question.
As far as race problems in America in light of the progress of some Blacks, listen to President Obama in his own words.
Obama, like so many Americans who supported his campaigns over the years, expressed exhilaration over the changes that the country has shown over these years. The election of a Black president is a monumental feat in U.S. history and a symptom of progress for a nation that King, as expressed in the earlier illustration, had concluded was still mired in moral ineptitude. Yet, it is clear from Obama’s writings, and the treatises by several authors regarding Obama’s win as a sign of a “post-racial” society, that the enthusiasm has to be tempered with the reality that the country has a considerable ways to go in overcoming these deep-seated problems.
To say that we are one people is not to suggest that race no longer matters, that the fight for equality has been won, or that the problems that minorities face in this country today are largely self-inflicted. We know the statistics: on almost every single socioeconomic indicator, from infant mortality to life expectancy to employment to home ownership, Black and Latino Americans in particular continue to lag far behind their White counterparts. In corporate board rooms across America, minorities are grossly underrepresented; in the United States Senate, there are only 3 Latinos and 2 Asian members, both from Hawaii, and as I write today, I am the chamber’s sole African American. To suggest that racial attitudes play no part in these disparities it to turn a blind eye to both our history and our experience; and to relieve ourself of the responsibility to make things right. . . . Better is not good enough” (pp. 231-233).
Reverend Ajabu,
I continue to be decent and honest with Dr. Marshall. He continues to call me ridiculous names...which you never seem to mind. I'm not sure I understand that.
There ARE significant problems that remain. But many of them DO now reside within the community to fix. I'm not saying the Black community. I'm saying the COMMUNITY. Not the government.
Big problem. In all urban school districts, kids without means tend to get shuffled from one home to another, never allowing them to become stable members of a school community. Kids that move around do not get a good education. Kids who are not well educated in high school start college behind and it is difficult to catch up. The town of Anderson is a prime example. 25% of all of the kids in the district move every 9 weeks.
Big problem. Kids being raised in communities of violence and substance abuse. Some communities are really dealing with this and making a difference, but it isn't easy. You are probably familiar with the Arlington Dads. Men of character giving up their time and watching over the kids during the school hours. Part of the problem, as I see it is that because there has been a history of racism in the police department, police departments are treated with skepticism even though 90% of the officers are trying to do a good job. It ain't easy to be a police officer in a difficult community. It is hard to stay positive, to stay honest, to stay committed when you are not trusted. It is a lot like trying to grow up in a bad community. It wears on your heart. People of good will need to come together to allow the police departments to become more effective in helping to create better communities. And a part of that requires a well-functioning police department that has the support of the people they are trying to protect.
Indianapolis has been pretty well blessed with our largest and most urban district having been led by a powerful and influential Black man who has high expectations and a heart of kids. But people of this level of leadership are few and far between. People with the courage to stand up against people who fight him constantly. Furthermore, Dr. White has never made rash political accusations about people, like both you and John have made against conservatives. Conservatives have a place in his schools. He brings the skills of individuals together for the good of all. I have said many times on this blog. There is a place for the conservative and a place for liberals in God's world. He made them both for a reason.
One of the things that Dr. White has constantly battled is the level of energy that is directed by young black kids in the arts and sports to the exclusion of academics. Dr. White has told his kids repeatedly that although the arts and sports have an appropriate place, that the success of MOST kids will be determined in the classroom...not in the extracurriculars. This became very apparent to me when I was teaching 8th grade Junior Achievement to a group of kids who largely could not compute the percentage of a number. But these same kids could engage you all day in a discussion of popular culture. The lead teacher in my classroom was a black male who was deeply concerned about the priorities of "his kids". This is where I looke to people like our President and his wife, Dr. White and even Dr. Marshall to make a difference. I have made note of how President Obama has really been trying to take the focus off of Hollywood and high rolling and put more emphasis on education and service. He has recently made a commitment to businesses to allow R&D money to get special tax benefit to begin to encourage more kids to go into things like science and engineering in the private sector....and fewer into the financial sector. That's good stuff.
My complaint about this administration is that we are REALLY piling up the debt. And the Chinese hold 2/3 of this debt. I pray with my pastor fervently once a week that our leaders receive wisdom. It just doesn't seem wise to have this much debt. The Bush debt was scary. This is horrifying. Each child born today will have an extra 110,000 in debt they will owe just to service the interest on the debt....making NO dent in the principle. You should be worried about that.
Just as a rising tide lifts all boats, a sinking ship drowns all of its occupants.
Dawn,
My counsel to both you and Marshall, is, are you treating each other like you want to be treated. Would you want to be treated like you treat Marshall? Marshall would you want to be treated like you treat Dawn? Party politics is killing America. Your interchanges are a good example of the death of a nation.