LIBERATION CHANNEL MEDIA

"For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit." -- I Corinthians 12:13

Just finished reading Trapped In The Lawyers' Den With Blood Suckers again.

An exerpt:

"And, too, bloodsucking is destroying all competition to the legal profession's fixed monopoly. In his article, HOW LAWYERS MONOPOLIZE THE LAW, Paul Wallace, a staff writer for the Long Beach Press-Telegram, part of the Knight-Ridder Newspaper chain, addressed this problem:

'Any changes in the American legal system face a unique and daunting obstacle--the lawyers. It is the lawyers who run the system as a protected monopoly, virtually an arm of the government.

...The enforce the laws that give them exclusive franchise to sell legal assistance and advice. Terms they define. It is only they who are empowered to license, regulate and police themselves. Through their domination of state and national lawmaking bodies, they hold the major power to alter their scope and influence. And they guard their profession's right to self-regulation fiercely.'"

Hmmm. Legal Mafia? Murderers Incorporated?

There seems to be several misconceptions about African American Black Folks by African American Black Folks (particularly women) concerning our collective transition from the coercive plantation breeding ground to the modern-day pseudo-liberated sexual playground.

On this 2006 Mothers' Day, I'd like to commend those women who have understood the dynamic of sexual liberation in the context of revolutionary warfare and denounced the modern-day expression of "breeding ground" philosophy as civilized behavior.

Once forced to have sex with anyone or any beast that plantation masters so desired, black women, eager for control of their own bodies, now practice willingly what used to be forced upon them through threat of death. For those who take issue with this: Why are so many children being born to single mothers whose impregnating fathers don't give a damn about them or their children?

Unlike Fathers' Day--at least on this day, all brothers and sisters of a family know that they come through a single mother. In some homes on Fathers' Day--a convention of fathers can be held.

This is what is referred to as liberation?

What's liberating about a community that doesn't even know if blood brothers and sisters are having children together? What's liberating about women, believing that liberation is being able to place themselves in any situation and being raped because of the belief that they have control of when sex takes place in that situation? Indeed, they understand that sex doesn't take place until they "consent" to it. Everyone also understands that the contra idea and outcome is rape that sometimes includes murder.

Historically, the most civilized societies have been those where women have been protected and both men and women respected control of sexual activity as being a civilizing need.

I suspect that the majority of those mothers who have sons and daughters languishing on the "new plantations" called prisons are understanding of the fact that the majority of those children are part of a statistic called "illegitimate births." If they don't...then Happy Mothers' Day anyway!

By the way, Mothers--just because some of you escaped being raped or not having one of your children in prison, don't be so quick to pat yourselves on the back. Assimilation ain't too cool either. What do I mean? Just because you have sons and daughters who are caretakers of the plantantion doesn't mean that you raised them properly. You just raised a plantation caretaker called LEGITIMATE NIGGER. And...Happy Mothers' Day to you, too.

That's how much contempt I have for the so-called "illegitimate" and "legitimate" African American Black Folks after almost forty years in the trenches with both.

http://www.brook.edu/comm/policybriefs/pb05.htm

By now, many of you know that I am Brother At The Gate. I am a wanderer visiting as many of the world's plantations as possible, participating in as many diverse social movements as possible--and attempting to understand the insanity of them all.

My activism will be explained in more detail near the end of the journey. Right now, enjoy the ride--I'm not--not really.

Check out the latest interview with T.C. Brennan at: http://homelessdave.com/tt20060407tcaseybrennan.htm

I heard this one while breaking bread today with a few of the homeless or near-homeless folks in Charlotte, NC. Of course, all of the food comes with many testimonies and prayer about The Almighty Universal Creator's grace, mercy and love.

"If I get in a fight with a bear, throw sand in my eyes and give the bear a stick!"

You'd be surprised what that attitude, along with the aforementioned grace, mercy, and love, will do to keep yourself tenaciously digging out of the pit.

Laughter. What would we do without it? By the way, if your're not bad enough to fight the bear under those circumstances--then don't ever become homeless.

Peace and Love

From YOUTHBUILD USA Mail List <mquinn-davidson@youthbuild.org>

Dear Friends and Colleagues, YouthBuild USA recently received a one year grant from the Corporation for National & Community Service to fund a project to help build or rebuild up to 300 homes in the small community of North Gulfport, on the Mississippi coast, that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The YouthBuild Katrina Rebuilding Project is comprised of two parts, a permanent residential corps of YouthBuild graduates who reside in North Gulfport for 12 months (the “Graduate Corps”), beginning June 2006, and 350 current YouthBuild AmeriCorps members who rotate in for two-four week shifts in groups of 35-45 (the “National Teams”). There will a construction program during the weekdays, and a residential education and living program in the evenings and on weekends. Full time staff for both parts of the program begin in June, 2006, and continue for 12 months. Participants, traveling staff, and several permanent staff will be located in Gulfport, Mississippi at the Gulfport Naval Construction Battalion Center.

We will be hiring 11 new staff to run the Katrina Rebuilding Project in Gulfport, MI. Time is of the essence. We need your assistance in recruiting and recommending quality and skilled staff for this important project, to be in place in Gulfport by June 1! Please think on friends and contacts you have who might jump at the chance to play a leadership role in this project. This is an ambitious and challenging project. The staff who manage it have to abilities to work in demanding conditions, while caring for the well-being and development of the young adult participants, while providing disaster relief through construction. It will test the leadership and character of all involved. It is also an amazing opportunity to serve. I would like you to recommend the most qualified people you know.

Thanks. We greatly appreciate your help. This project is an exciting, challenging, and serious way to make a real contribution to the lives of real people hit by Katrina. Here are brief descriptions of the positions.

Katrina Project Director. Manages the project on the ground in Gulfport, MS. Oversees both the construction side and the residential living side of the project, and interfaces with community and government officials.

Construction Manager. Manages the entire construction operation, supervises five construction site supervisors, finds and coordinates the subcontractors, coordinates the flow of work and materials, cooperates with local housing partners.

Construction Site Supervisor (5). Acts as construction foreman on job sites, supervising the work of the YouthBuild building crews of young adults, with the aim of building or rebuilding 300 homes. Hiring five.

Program Manager. Responsible for for creating, organizing and implementing a safe, educational, and enjoyable residential program for 70-80 young adults during non-construction hours; supervises two Program Coordinators.

Program Coordinator (2). Provides counseling, educational, recreational, and enrichment services for the residential program for 70-80 young adults during non-construction hours. Hiring two.

Adminstration Coordinator. Provides administration support to the project and is responsible for record keeping for project and the grant.

YouthBuild USA will begin formal consideration of applications on May 12. The project begins in North Gulfport on June 1! FOR FULL JOB DESCRIPTIONS, VISIT www.youthbuild.org John Bell Vice President, Leadership Development & the Academy for Transformation YouthBuild USA 58 Day Street Somerville, MA 02144 617.741.1217 jbell@youthbuild.org

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Vendors looking to provide products or services in Alabama , Louisiana , Mississippi, Florida or Texas should contact the following resources that are coordinating the disaster relief efforts at:

http://www.fbo.gov/katrina.html

Today is the birth date of my mother. She entered into another realm on September 30, 1982. May she continue to walk with me. And may I continue to be aware that she is with me.

THE HOLY TABLETS: TABLET NINE (19 x 1 = 19)

1 Lo! My sons I know you by your motherly deeds,
2 I know you as a true mate, many others have I, but you are my beloved.
3 Teach your sons that they cannot associate with all mortals, or those in the image of mortals, but are Jinns and that their very spirits are from the poison wind, of the fire of the disagreeable, nevertheless, refuse thou not all associations because of this.
4 For they are such as their fallen countenance with you who are of the Sarufaat, spirits of pure green light.
5 And such as a disagreeable to you, sons of disagreeable, are nevertheless compatible to others, Jinn and man. Man and Jinn are who walk the Earth, cursed be them until the day you're raised.
6 El Basur have created a large field; his people are numerous and there are many in the world, so like the others; they are as one in all things.
7 Choose such, and as you are one with another,
8 So are you one with the Creator.
9 But most of all: will, virtue, industry and good works come into the world by the examples you place before the young.
10 Better is it to hide and subdue your temper in the presence of the young, than to conquer a whole state by force.

Note: Better for me that I would not have pursued any knowledge of the spirit life!

The following is Chapter II of my Masters thesis THE BLACK SOLIDARITY COMMITTEE FOR COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT: THE DYNAMICS OF BLACK LEADERSHIP IN DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA, 1968-1970.

PSYCHOHISTORICAL IMPACT OF RACISM ON THE SOCIECONOMIC CONDITION OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY
by Afi G. Osakwe

(Part One)

In February 1968 the Vietnam War was raging and America’s young men were being slaughtered. Among them were African American military personnel from Durham, North Carolina who had left to fight for democracy abroad without having realized it at home. Some performed heroically in battle and never returned—such as Sergeant Harold Eugene Couch of the United States Army. He was killed in action in Vietnam on November 12, 1967 and posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart for Heroism on December 9, 1967. The Carolina Times used the term “”his country” in citing the date of his enlistment. This is an example of the experience(s)of African American military personnel throughout the many wars fought in the name of United States of America. (“Posthumous Awards for Sgt. Couch”, Sunday, Durham, 20 April 1968, 1A)

Nationwide, university campuses buzzed with political activity, which addressed issues that governments—local, state and federal—viewed as being subversive and unpatriotic. Hippies, yippies, Black Nationalists, feminists, environmental and other activists—aligned to an inexhaustible number of issues—alarmed the status quo institutions of America. The ghettos of America’s largest cities rumbled with calibrated fury in the wake of such rebellions as Watts and Newark.

There is a tendency to label inner city rebellions of African Americans as “riots.” But, as Robert Allen points out in Black Awakening in Capitalist America:

"Rebellion, however, connotes an undirected emotional outburst. It what Camus called an ‘incoherent pronouncement.’ The rebel may transform himself into a revolutionary—he may conclude that liberation really does require the ‘final destruction of this mad octopus’—but this is not an automatic consciousness, however rudimentary, which imbued the rebellions with political meaning. While the rebellions did not constitute a conscious assault on American capitalism, they did involve attacks on some exploitative aspects." (Allen, Black Awakening, 1990)

Martin Luther King, Jr. and presidential aspirant Robert Kennedy were assassinated that year; and the agendas of both parties were highlighted by platforms of “Law and Order” at their national conventions. Americans, regardless of race; ethnicity; gender; age; political affiliation; and religion, took to the streets in sustained protest over government policies (Ibid).

Student protesters were particularly incensed concerning American domestic policy and denounced it as racist, classist, sexist, homophobic, ecologically insane and xenophobic. United States foreign policy in general, Vietnam especially, supplied the fuel that the white youth of this nation needed to forge an intense moral challenge to the government after southern black student participation in the Civil Rights Movement had ignited national student protest in 1960. The result of the initial thrust was the Free Speech Movement, Anti-War Movement, and Black Studies Movement. All met with stiff and sometimes deadly force. The federal government responded to those movements with force, subterfuge, provocateurism and militaristic repression. University as well as high school, and in some case, junior high school campuses erupted in violence as educational administrations were viewed as tentacles of the government—places where freedom of expression would not be tolerated. The Feds and the “rednecks” had become not-so-strange bedfellows who were even less tolerant than in years past of those who threatened their ideas of God and “democracy.” (Ward Churchill and Jim Vander Wall, Agents of Repression: The FBI’s Secret Wars Against the Black Panther Party and the American Indian Movement, 1988)

“Regardless of its precise technical meaning in ‘Bureauese,” reads a passage from Agents, “COINTELPRO [code name for FBI counterintelligence program] is now used as a descriptor covering the whole series of sustained and systematic campaigns directed by the Bureau against a wide array of selected domestic political organizations and individuals, especially during the 1960s.” (Ibid)

The words of former U.S Marshall and Community Relations Officer James A. Davis describe the stance of the U.S. Marshall Service, which is the law enforcement branch of the Department of Justice this way:

“During that period of time, the focus of federal law enforcement was on radical groups and individuals such as the Weathermen, Bonner Meinhoff Gang, Black Panthers, SDS (Students for a Democratic Society), Angela Davis, Stokely Carmichael, and H. 'Rap' Brown." (Interview by author 13 April 1994)

Davis also analyzes these factions as having characteristics, which were threefold—economic, Vietnam war resistance, and a rigid generation gap. Black objectives were more economic, whites had agendas, which centered more on social change—they also viewed their parents as not being concerned about their future. Black students were concerned with prosperity. The former 82nd Airborne “Screaming Eagle” depicts black military experience, “The average black male was going to ‘Nam and never returning while whites were getting deferments and fleeing to Canada. This dichotomy created a nationalistic revolutionary mindset for which the country was not prepared.” (Ibid)

“Most black nationalistic movements,” Davis asserted, “sprang from out of the Martin Luther King assassination; and local law enforcement agencies were caught by surprise. They did not have the equipment, tactics, or training. The Feds were thrown off balance also and had to reassess its analysis of the problem. There are two problems that permeated America law enforcement circles before large-scale violence erupted. One was the need to develop a rationale for the formation of these groups; and the second was determining a profile of member-types. The interesting thing was that the only profile that could be developed was that they were young people concerned about change.”

The federal government finally began to understand nationalistic groups during the de-escalation of the Vietnam War. The Community Relations Service was developed as a direct result of this understanding as a vehicle to address the pressing needs of the nation’s communities. This department worked with them to change the institutions and mindset that were the major contributors to social conflict. Finally, the government fashioned policies that were in the interests of those who felt that the gap between “demos” (the people) and “kracy” (rule) was too wide. (Ibid)

The tenor of Black southern protest quickly began to shift toward the premise of self-defense as the more militant voices of the African American Community rejected the Civil Rights Movement as a symbol of castration, ineffectiveness, and misguided ideology. Durham’s African American Community had erupted as early as the 1940’s during WWII. It erupted again in 1967—a prelude to an even more violent demonstration of frustration after the death of King. (Interview by author, 15 April 1994, A. J. Howard Clement, North Carolina Mutual Insurance Company)

As the Black Community labored in the wake of King’s death, its leadership determined that it could no longer apply traditional methods to address the state of social, political, and economic inequality that existed between black and white.

Black nationalism had been spreading throughout the country for years in the expressions of “dap” (a national embodiment of black solidarity symbolized through a series of handshakes and body language) and rhetoric of the war-weary, freedom-hungry, no-nonsense-taking black veteran. By 1968, it was steadfastly moving throughout the black citizenry of Durham. They loudly, clearly, and forcefully expressed that no longer would they tolerate “business as usual.” (Ibid)

Lerone Bennett Jr. (now Amiri Baraka) succinctly describes the major requirement of the Black Rebellion in the August 1969 issue of Ebony Magazine:

Power: that’s the requirement of the situation. The white problem in America cannot be solved without the creation of new currents of power which can mount sustained assaults on industries and institutions which derive enormous profits from bigotry and bias. The problem cannot be solved without profound structural modification in American society. (Lerone Bennett, “Of Time, Space and Revolution, Ebony Magazine, August 1969)

Bennett further explains that the problem was of such proportion that “real changes” in the tax structure, relations between the private and public sectors, values; definitions of work, leisure and private property, and redistribution of income had to be realized in order to effect a relevant revolution. In effect, his assessment called for an allocation of billions of dollars be applied to a well-planned incremental reconstruction of American cities.

Since it was utopian to believe that America would adopt a program of such magnitude without “massive pressure,” he underscored the need for Black Power and the need for sustained and unrelenting pressure.

One year earlier Durham’s African American leadership had begun to understand the simplicity of the relationship of power in an institutionally racist society—their understanding embraced the belief that there would be no power shift toward the African American Community if those who were beyond the scope of reason continued to control the dynamics of power from warped interpretations of what economic redistribution and political power signified. (R. Kelly Bryant, Jr., North Carolina Mutual Insurance Company Officer, Durham, Interview by author, October 1992)

Those who were beyond reason included blacks and whites who were headed toward the abyss of urban war. Both parties, one as oppressor, the other as oppressed, were so blinded by this dialectic that they could not conceive of anything less than violent confrontation. Saner voices were needed to divert bloodshed. Whatever social and psychological construct one may use to analyze the situation, these opposing forces were extreme expressions of a society which had long ago made peace with violence.

Paulo Friere (Pedagogy of the Oppressed), plunges into the morass when he states:

“Never in history has violence been initiated by the oppressed. How could they be the initiators if they themselves are the result of violence? How could they be sponsors of something whose objective inauguration called forth their existence as oppressed? There would be no oppressed if there had been no prior situation of violence to establish their subjugation. Violence is initiated by those who oppress, who exploit, who fail to recognize others as persons—not by those who are oppressed, exploited, and unrecognized. It is not the unloved who initiate disaffection, but those who cannot love because they love only themselves. It is not the helpless, subject to terror, who initiate terror, but the violent, who with their power create the concrete situation which begets the ‘rejects of life.’ It is not the tyrannized who initiate despotism, but the tyrants. It is not the despised who initiate hatred, but those who despise. It is not those whose humanity is denied them who negate man, but those who denied that humanity (thus negating their own as well). Force is used not by those who have become weak under the preponderance of the strong, but by the strong who have emasculated them. For the oppressors…it is always the oppressed (whom they obviously never call ‘the oppressed’—but depending upon whether they are fellow countrymen or not—‘those people’ or ‘the blind and envious masses’ or ‘savages’ or ‘natives’ or ‘violent,’ ‘barbaric,’ ‘wicked,’ or ‘ferocious’ when they react to the violence of the oppressors.”

Next: Part Two

Freedom's Epitaph

The streets are empty except for an occasional car the roars down the rain-slick pavement.

A gust of early morning wind scatters paper, leaves, and other debris to momentary places of rest.

The sign over Gentry's Grocer sways to and fro like a battleship in labor, as a dog saunters across Melvin's Gas Station lot, stops near a pump, raises a shaggy hind leg and continues its journey--finally disappearing the two-story houses that line the street.

Lamp posts are resolute, almost as if at military attention, in the drizzle as each drop passes within their brilliant light.

The poolroom at the corner projects a faint shimmer into the darkness surrounding it. The same darkness that earlier succumbed to blaring music, street-corner gambling, neighborhood vice, Christians on their way to Mother Bowman's Tabernacle (a building that once housed a nightclub), Muslims enroute to Dar-Ul Masjid for the last prayer of the day, and little children on their way to Gentry's for goodies and mischief.

A variety of empty wine bottles line the wall beside the barbershop. They are a vivid proclamation of deterioration to all who use this major thoroughfare.
There is blood on the sidewalk from last night's stabbing and robbery of an intoxicated white man who sought directions while passing through the area--evidently from the wrong people. Time will have to wash all the blood away. The rain has failed.

Dogs begin to howl at the distant wail of sirens. They had done the same hours earlier during the emergency that involved the crimson spot on the concrete. Their sounds tend eerie vibrations to this now vacated area of Greensboro.

There is a man laying in the fetal position in Mother Bowman's doorway. It is as if the brick and mortar of the church has become his mother--protecting him from the environment but incapable of shielding him from what is supposed to be.

The hazards of living are imprinted upon his face; a face that reflects the total anguish of self-depravity.

Acrid odors of wine and an unbathed body blend with a surge of wind heading North.

Maybe the derelict's search for freedom touched many points of the globe before ending in the bottle's snare of deadly sweet juices.

Can there be hope for this man who now languishes in the calm repose of dreams upon the steps of a nightclub/bar, now turned holy? Somehow the memory of the music, the profanity of the bar and, now, the fire and brimstone preachings that occupy the memory have coughed and spat this being to his present reconciled position.

The eternal paradox is himself.

He stirs--momentarily, mumbles pitifully to himself as much as he does to God his epitaphical question: "Why?"

The word continues to linger as if a chimed note in a well-polished orchestra, while the conductor of death batons the musician to finis.

The streetlights flicker in soldier-like salute to the dead as the rain mixes with the dribble of foam flowing from his mouth; and the wind whistles in to guide his soul to freedom.

Beauty: The Love Drug

Beauty is the culmination of mankind's deepest
Desire to please itself

It can be seen in moments of despair or in
The ultimate of living.

When God said "Be"--Beauty stepped forward
Before all things.

All things drank the elixir of its being

According to Divine Design.

Passion became intoxicated with the effects of the elixir and created

Jealousy...

The Immature Monster.

The monster chokes the tenderness,

Stifles the harmony,

Turns cold the caress of Love and

Love/making.

Love is everlasting!!

Love is delicious

Love is reproductive

Love is reverence of Beauty.

Love is what is naturally intended.

---

"Beauty: The Love Drug" is an analysis of the synonymous existence of Love and Beauty and how both can be diminished by passionate greed to possess them both for one's own exclusively.

"Let us continue to pray and struggle for justice, meditate and attain it." Since I posted one of my poems, "Diamonds," the other day, I decided that I will post more selections from my manuscript: "Scrach-Analyis of a 36-Year Itch."

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SEASONS

What manner of thought
As nimble fingers on bowstring taut
Has caressed the lyrical
Golden Harp?

The illusion can be found
In the spiritually applauded sound
Of an attempted Summer/Winter Tryst.

Yet...

From the silver-laden loins of
Mystical Spring
Dancing the edge of
Terrestrial Prism's Ring
Seeds of scented powder disperse the colorband/
A prerequisite of galactic change of command.

And every
Autumnal Excursion
Produces mankind's immersion
Into lofty praising of
Saints Now In Repose.

The Seasons'
Cascading Nectars are profound.

They can be embraced from
The Blue Ridge Parkway

To...

Saturn's Crown.

---

The glorifying of The Creator through divine living should be the major purpose of human beings. Yet, we seem determined to destroy or negatively alter ourselves and other forms of life.

We have created a grand illusion of spiritual well-being while ignoring Universal Law--the Golden Harp.

Our experimentation with life forms creates some positive results; overall we have tampered with the equilibrium of the planet.

We have also fashioned the illusion that degree of technological advancement is synonymous with degree of civilization or civilized behavior. We have instituted laws that support our ideas of what civilized behavior should be regardless of their negative consequences to the spiritual stablility of society.

The collective actions of mankind have been disastrous to our environment.

Our illusions are nothing more than the attempted 'Summer/Winter Tryst'--two seasons,opposing characteristics.

Unlike male and female, they will never exist side-by-side. However, they inevitably adopt characteristics of one another in a natural quest to become balanced within the context of unnatural change.

Therefore, since human beings have tampered with the natural harmonious progression of life, we have failed to realize that seasons have mathematical identifying equations; no matter how intensely we have tried to re-adjust their natural order through destructive technologies.

In our arrogance to proclaim ourselves greater than The Creator, we have also attempted to control time.

Spring has always been the season of hope and new-birth after Winter's depression or restful stage. Our children recognize the spriritual energies of change manifested through exact formulas of Unversal Law. Everything in the Universe operates according to the Law of The Creator--except so-called human beings.

As we praise saints for the harvests of Autumn, a remarkable awareness of the sustaining forces of harvest is evoked.

The seasons are indicators of mankind's ebb and flow. The seasonal vibrations are divine.

This was my perception in the summer of 1986 and it is my overstanding--now.

My question: What is the hidden agenda in New Orleans/Louisiana and whose behind it?

By Jennifer Vitry and Jordan Flaherty

Rebecca G. Brown has lived at 3317 Erato in the BW Cooper Public Housing Complex for 24 years. A retired certified nursing assistant, she is known around the area for her tidy, well-decorated home. According to her neighbor, Dorris Johnson Frohm of 3316 Erato, she has “the loveliest house on the block, and always welcomes ya in.”

Last week, Ms. Brown stood in her doorway crying. Her home was destroyed – not by flooding or wind damage, but by theft. Two beautiful mirrors that hung in her stairwell are gone. The computer that her son uses for college work is gone. Her TV and two DVD players are also gone, along with most of her pictures and valuables.

Nearby, Yasmond Perry, 13, and his brother, Deseon Perry, 12, stand outside of their home at 3201 Erato, waiting for their mother, Josephine. “We haven’t been inside yet,” she says. “I’m kind of scared. Everyone’s been calling me saying that they are taking all of our stuff—furniture and all. We were only here once right after the storm—but I’m hearing people have been in here since.”

“Oh my God, they took everything!” The boys stare in shock. Surveying her home, Josephine goes down the long list of furniture items that is missing from their home - sofa, loveseat, television, table, and chairs—all gone.

“How did they have time to take all this,” exclaims Josephine, who had been home a few weeks after the storm to check on her house. “It was fine really then. Not much different than I’d left it.”

During that visit, her son Yasmond “was standing on the porch and the National Guard pulled up within 5 minutes pointing guns at him.” She ran outside and showed the military proof that she lived there. “So, if they are here in minutes pulling a gun on my boy, how do people have the time to unload whole households without any notice? And, it’s not just me, it’s my whole block!” Upstairs, the rooms were turned upside down, with drawers and boxes emptied. In shock, the boys each grabbed two things and walked downstairs. “This is all I need I guess,” said Deseon with a grim look, “everything else is messed up.”

The B.W. Cooper Housing Development –popularly known as the Calliope projects - was home to 1,400 African American working-class households in 1,546 units on 56 acres of land. It is the third largest housing development in Louisiana and the largest tenant-managed housing development in the country. Most of the complex was not damaged in Hurricane Katrina or the subsequent flooding.

After Hurricane Katrina, residents were scattered throughout the United States, including many in shelters and motels here in Louisiana. Although most of these dispersed residents ache to return to their communities, the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO) posted a general notice in the projects informing residents that they may not move back, and some Cooper tenants report receiving notice that they have to clear out their possessions.

HANO has also hired a Las Vegas company named Access Denied to install 16-gauge steel plates over windows and doors at B.W. Cooper and other city projects, including the Lafitte projects in the Treme neighborhood.

In previous interviews with the Times-Picayune and other media, HANO spokespeople expressed concerns about “looting,” “troublemakers” and “squatters.” Although its true that there appears to have been massive theft from homes in these projects, in a recent visit to at least twenty homes that been broken into, most had their locks intact - the apartments had been broken into by someone with keys and access. In several interviews, residents placed the robberies as having occurred within the last few weeks – long after Mayor Nagin began urging people to return to the city, and weeks after the National Guard had finished breaking into homes to check for bodies.

More than four months after Katrina, public housing tenants are still facing displacement and victimization. Grassroots groups such as NOHEAT (New Orleans Housing Emergency Action Team) and advocates such as the Loyola Law Clinic and grassroots Legal Network are calling for justice for public housing tenants, but for many residents, the city seems to be sending them a louder message – “stay out.”

This fight is nothing new. For years, developers have coveted the city’s public housing projects, many of which occupy prime real estate. New Orleans real estate mogul Pres Kabacoff, who currently sits on Mayor Nagin’s rebuilding Commission, transformed the St. Thomas projects into condos and a WalMart. Kabacoff has made clear his designs on the Iberville housing projects, which occupy prime real estate near the French Quarter.

Now, more than ever, housing is the front lines of the battle for New Orleans, every day’s headlines are full of bulldozers vs. injunctions, and evictions vs. restraining orders - words and phrases that have come to shape the daily struggle over what – and who -New Orleans will become.

Yasmond and Deseon desperately want to return to New Orleans. “The kids in Houston don’t like us. They treat us funny. I just want to come home.” Josephine had a meeting at her previous job. “They are offering us something to come back. I’d be happy to come back. I just don’t have nowhere to live.” Josephine is a cook, and before the storm worked at two jobs. “I don’t mind working, as long as the kids have a solid home.”

Josephine said she spoke with a woman identified as Ruth Hayes, assistant manager at the Calliope project office. “She told me to get my stuff out by December 31st or it would be thrown into the dumpster. Then, she said the deadline was pushed back two weeks.” Josephine cannot move her or her son’s possessions, as she has nowhere to store them. The boys don’t want all of their toys and books thrown away. “We don’t get a say I guess,” says Deseon.

Many of the residents and occupants of B. W. Cooper stayed during the storm. Rebecca Brown ended up at the Superdome for 5 days without food or water. “Oh, don’t even ask me about those days,” said Brown, “I am trying everything to forget them—it was so painful to watch people suffer and die.”

Five days later, Brown boarded a bus for Fort Worth, Texas. She and her family made their way to Arlington, Texas. From there they headed to Atlanta, Georgia. And, finally, landed in Houston, Texas.

While Brown was away, her daughter, Tanya Glover, returned about 2 weeks post-Katrina to check on her mothers’ home. She noticed the National Guard’s spray painted message—“0 dead—0 animals” outside. Her mother’s door was unlocked. Tanya checked inside, and everything was orderly—just as she had last seen her mother’s home. She called her mother and reported the lack of any water damage, and that her valuables were intact. Tanya locked the house and left. Weeks later, Brown returned to the house to find the front and back doors again open. This time, her son’s computer was missing. She also noticed “a pair or two of Leon’s jeans missing,” but that was it. The house was not in disarray. She locked the front door and boarded up the back door before she left.

A week later, Brown received a call from her neighbor, Ms. Sylvia Hall. Ms. Hall told Brown that her door was open, and the house had been ransacked. “Someone stole my mirrors on the wall, went through my jewelry, dumped every drawer out, stole my kids computer and many other things. The storm did not hurt my house, someone with a key destroyed it.”

Brown also reports being told by HANO that she had to have her property out of her dwelling by December 31st, or “it would be thrown away, " and if she came back to her property after December 31st, she would be arrested for trespassing. Brown phoned HANO last week to let them know she had reserved a storage unit. They informed her, according to Brown, that she had an additional 2 weeks “because of the holidays” within which to “get everything out.”

Brown worries about many elderly residents who have no way of getting around. “Everything they have in the world is in that apartment. And, ‘cause of the storm—they are in some other state, unable to get back.”

Reached by phone today, Ruth Hayes, an assistant manager at BW Cooper, confirmed, "we are experiencing a high volume of burglary. People are coming home and what they expected to be there is not there," she said. However, Hayes had no other information on the robberies. “The crimes that were reported here reported their doors broken down," she said.

As to whether and when people would be allowed back in, she had no information. "There is no policy at this time," on when people may return. "There is no timeline," on when a decision would be made. In addition, she said, "there is no plan, currently" to throw out peoples possessions. She did say that tomorrow HANO and BW Cooper management would be meeting, and its “possible” a decision on when or if people can move back could come out of that meeting.

Dorris Johnson of 3316 Erato, was also busy sifting through her wrecked home. “They trashed my house—look at this. The storm didn’t do this!” Last week is the first chance Johnson had to return to New Orleans. “I called HANO to find out what was going on. They told me to get my stuff out or it was going in the dumpster. Good thing I have a good son who could bring me all the way here.” Johnson wants her house back. “There’s nothing wrong with these houses. We could all be back living here.” Johnson’s house, like every other apartment on the river side of Galvez, did not get water. Only half of the development, located on the far side of Galvez Street - commonly called “back-a-town” - flooded on the first floor.

Johnson estimates approximately 2000 people lived on the dry side of the complex. “That’s 2000 people that could have housing tomorrow,” she said. Johnson and her son sifted through their apartment in search of pictures and memorabilia. “This is what I came for,” holding up a picture of her granddaughter’s graduation picture. “It was clean around here,” motioning to her area. “No kids sat on these steps. This was a family area. No drugs around here.” Johnson is saddened by the disregard and neglect of her neighborhood, and community. She is outraged by those that trashed her apartment: “I know that I come into this world with nothing and leave with nothing—but let me decide what I get to keep in the meantime. I worked hard for those few things.”

In interviews conducted while walking through the neighborhood, family after family reported similar, heartbreaking, stories. Barbara Trymore and Caroline Clark, also Cooper residents, were told to get their items out of their homes before mid-January or it will be in the trash. They were told if they step foot on the project grounds to get their things after that date, they will be arrested for trespassing.

Despite the struggle they’ve been through, Trymore, Clark, and Brown all want to return to New Orleans—if only they had a place to live.

We may never find out who broke into all of these homes in the Calliope. However, one thing is certain: if residents had been allowed to return, this massive theft would not have happened. Calliope is by no means a dream home, but it did offer a community for many people, and community brought a kind of security and comfort that is now notably absent from the city.

New Orleans, now more than ever, is a city with different laws for rich and poor, and for Black and white. We are supposed to accept that because people are poor, because they live in public housing, they have less right to return, less say over their housing decisions, than other people in the city. Somehow, it becomes ok for HANO, or the mayor, or the federal government, to make decisions, “for their own good.”

In a recent interview, Denny LeBoeuf, Director of the Capital Post-Conviction Project of Louisiana notes, “these people have the right of return. This humanitarian principle is good for our NOLA folks as well as for Rwanda refugees. After the war, and the air clears, people have the right to return to their home. Poor people of color occupy 100% of the Calliope and other dwellings where return has been refused. These folks make our culture what it is—whether thru music, or food, or other venues—they connect us to this authentic thriving culture. They are the unbroken line of history to the 1800s.”

Ms. Trymore stares at her wall. She is missing her framed picture of Rosa Parks. “We saved to get that picture, ya know,” says Trymore. “It cost like $200. We didn’t have that kind-of money. But, we admire that woman, ya know. Now it’s gone. Who would steal that?”

Jennifer Vitry is a defense fact investigator for homicide cases and a death penalty abolitionist. She teaches forensics, and formerly worked with Sister Helen Prejean and the Moratorium Campaign.

Jordan Flaherty is a union organizer and an editor of Left Turn Magazine. Jordan’s previous articles from New Orleans are at http://www.leftturn.org/articles/SpecialCollections/katrina.aspx

GRASSROOTS, PEOPLE OF COLOR-LED GULF COAST ORGANIZATIONS TO DONATE TO: http://www.leftturn.org/Articles/Viewer.aspx?id=689&type=W New Orleans Housing Emergency Action Team - http://www.no-heat.org/

Comprehensive website for information and action related to prisoners in New Orleans: http://www.criticalresistance.org/katrina/

Other Resources for information and action:

Reconstruction Watch - http://www.criticalresistance.org/katrina/
Common Ground - http://www.commongroundrelief.org
Peoples Hurricane Fund - http://www.communitylaborunited.net
Resource for Journalists - http://www.katrinainfonet.net
Justice for New Orleans - http://www.justiceforneworleans.org/

Writings about New Orleans by Catherine Jones: http://floodlines.blogspot.com/

For many years, I have been deeply troubled by the historical colonization, neo-colonialist constructs, and the undepinning foundation of them both through imperialistic forces of The West. The results have been globally devastating. The mirror that reflects world chaos resides in the hearts and minds of the perpetrators regardless of nationalistic and ethnic prerogatives. To that end, my spoken word performances have included a poem I wrote in 1989 -- "Diamonds."

Kareem Edouard's documentary "Bling: Consequences and Repercussions" probes the insanity and extreme inhumanity of capitalists' quests to dominate a people and their resouces--in this case, the diamond reserves of Africa. The genocidal forces unleashed in Africa is a direct consequence of European incursions beginning in the late 15th century that continues in the diseased minds of those of African descent who perpetrate crimes upon their own people for riches--in every nook and cranny of Earth. If this isn't terrorism, what is?

View the documentary here: http://www.wghfilms.com/bling.htm#

---

DIAMONDS©

We are as diamonds that have smoldered beneath Earth’s Visible tapestry for millions of years.

Our loins, from which the hues of humanity flowed, Were formed from the very same earth That houses the fossils That produced the coal And thermo-sculpts the Brilliant diamond others worship.

O’ heat of Africa! On the banks of your vast lakes, In the crevices of your mighty mountains, And in the groves of your nurturing valleys, We sought solace.

Meanwhile,

You fashioned us into ebony receptacles of light/ Gods and goddesses of the planet/ And vested within us the gift of harmony So that we might teach…

Peace.

The disagreeable ones of humanity Rejected our worth as the fathers and mothers Of the planet, Made war instead of peace As they began to exalt the “rock that glitters.”

O’ Motherland, we are the true diamonds! And all of our offspring—humanity—must Stop killing us for your material diamonds, Gold and silver, Zinc and platinum, Tusks and hides.

Indeed, when the “rock” was being molded into the “diamond” The Father of the Universe had manifested within you The sperm of living beings.

And we rose out of the heat of your ebony chamber/ Dark bodies, Darker than the blackest coal, Needing only spiritual formulas for perfection.

Our disagreeable children created the tool called The Market Place And placed us upon it in their lust for ownership.

They spill our blood constantly-- Now, we spill our blood constantly In search of diamonds for our egos, wealth, and wives.

Note: Boycott the diamond industry!

Afi G. Osakwe, Copyright 1989 From the manuscript: Scratch Analysis of a Thirty-Six-Year Itch

"Know just what any people will quietly submit to and you will know the exact measure of wrong or injustice that will be imposed upon them." - Frederick Douglass

"Nine ether grew from 9 to the 9th power of 9; a symbol beyond infinity...." -- The Holy Tablets http://www.soulsnatcherz.com/tookie/

By Stanley ‘Tookie’ Williams

-Guest Columnist-

Updated Nov 19, 2005, 12:28 pm

[Note: The following guest perspective by Stanley "Tookie" Williams" was originally published by FinalCall.com News on March 13, 2001].

http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_2279.shtml http://www.sfbayview.com/113005/redemption113005.shtml

---

To say the least, I am a controversial figure with an unenviable gang legacy (Crips co-founder) that will forever haunt me.

Thus, it was highly improbable that I, a Black man on San Quentin’s death row, would overcome egregious odds to radically transform my life, author nine children’s books, create a viable program for youth (the Internet Project for Street Peace, an international peer mentoring and violence prevention effort), meet Winnie Mandela, gain worldwide recognition and be nominated for the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize.

For nearly 20 years I have been pitted against the morbid mind-set of certain unethical prison officials and their confidential informants. On the other hand, I spent half of those 20 years functioning in a predictable pattern of negative behavior. Throughout that first decade on death row, I was a quasi-slave to the prison conditions that dictated how I should think, act and survive.

Being a "condemned" man, I was expected to languish, unchanged, in the silent misery of the doomed. However, from 1988 to 1994, while in solitary confinement, I learned how to battle my hypocritical conscience, gang mentality and personal demons. I underwent many years of soul-searching and re-education, without "debriefing" (another word for "snitching"), without a broken spirit and without violating my moral convictions.

By 1993, I had rediscovered my humanity through the knowledge of God, culture and self, which became the "natural elements" for reshaping my life. I had become a man of principle and accountability, and a servant of God. For me, it was both a spiritual blessing and therapy for my soul to meditate on the teachings of the Qur’an, Metu Neter, the Perennial Psychology of the Bhagavad Gita, the Bible and other uplifting literature.

I became culturally conscious through the literary instructions of Cheikh Diop, Dr. Yosef S. Jochannan, Ivan V. Sertima, John H. Clarke, Jacob Carruthers and other Black historians. I even began to tackle topics such as politics, religion, law, math, psychology, philosophy, economics, leadership and others.

I have been disciplinary-free for over seven years. Still, prison officials continually challenge the merits of my positive transition; behind these walls, I remain the "whipping boy" for an unforgivable gang past. Hence, the public vilification of me launched by San Quentin’s spokesman, Vernell Crittendon. In a previous Final Call article dated December 26, 2000, the spokesman had stated, "We have many independent sources, the last as early as June, 2000, which indicated that he (Stanley Williams) is still involved with the Crips."

Apparently, Crittendon has selective amnesia. I appealed the bogus June 2000 allegations through the inmate appeal process—and won. A copy of the document confirming that fact was mailed to The Final Call. San Quentin was somewhat tactful in hand-picking Crittendon, a Black man who was opportunistic enough to fabricate and deny his own conscience. But for Crittendon to rely upon his Blackness to project validity on his now-discredited statements made against me, will not work. Crittendon should really be ashamed of himself.

Needless to say, my nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize has been opposed by a few vulturous journalists, victim rights groups, death penalty proponents, law enforcement groups and other self-imposed opposition. The focal point continues to elude their train of thought. Obviously, the nomination is not for my gang past, but for the present Internet Project for Street Peace work that I initiated from a death row cell and for the nine anti-gang and anti-violence books for schools and libraries that I have authored.

Nonetheless, I have been called an unrepentant sinner, a moral coward, criminal beast, serial killer and a Fox News network reporter even compared me to Adolph Hitler. My belief is that such ungodliness in the judgment of me is the toxic product of American racism. A Black man is not supposed to be capable of redeeming himself.

People tend to forget the transitions of Saul, who became Paul, Moses, King David and Saint Aurelius Augustine, who was not always saintly, given the boy he sired by a mistress. Another controversial transformation was Alfred Nobel, himself, who invented dynamite and, ultimately, created the Nobel Peace Prize. A newspaper mistakenly printed Alfred Nobel’s obituary instead of his dead brother’s: the headline accused Alfred Nobel of earning his wealth through an invention (dynamite) that countless people had used to kill one another. The misprint served as a premonition for Alfred Nobel, allowing him to see how the world would judge him. It provoked his transition.

Yet, my detractors contend that it is inconceivable that I could reorient my life. Back in the day, I was devoted to building a Crip nation at the expense of other Black people. Today, my life is dedicated to building unity among youths, to promoting youth programs, computer literacy and youth empowerment, and to developing an initiative for a broad-based progressive agenda for youth throughout the world.

In fact, I hold out, here and now, an olive branch to those of you who desire to unite in peaceful solidarity to reverse the cycle of self-destructive madness afflicting too many of our people, Black people, young and old alike.

Please contact me through my web site, http://www.tookie.com. In conclusion, I realize that the process of "self-transition" begins and ends with the determination of my faith. Indeed, the value of my transition cannot be determined by the perception of what people think I am, but rather by the ethics of my deeds.

Thank you Final Call for affording me the opportunity to unchain the truth in my own words. Amani (peace).

© Copyright 2005 FCN Publishing, FinalCall.com

Just heard that Skip Alston was ousted as NC State NAACP President by Rev. William Barber by a vote of 166 to 117 at the convention in Greensboro, NC. "A Change "Gon Come" is finally here. In addtion, Carolyn Coleman and Curtis Gatewood have been elected as First and Second Vice Presidents respectively.

I read this somewhere:

"I still have to do what I need to, in order to do what I choose to."

Does it incorporate "anything goes"?

A "friend" sent this to me:

Today is the international day for the mentally disabled. Please send an encouraging message to a mentally retarded friend--as I have just done for you. Just thought I'd let your retarded ass know I don't mind being friends with you. I don't care if you lick windows or even if you wear a football helmet to work. It doesn't bother me that you wear your underwear on the outside of your pants. All I ask is that when we go to the club, you drive so we can park up front. You hang in there because you are doing great! You are special, so keep trying! Have a great day!

Your friend Always

Friends, Last week I closed my New York production office and sent my staff down to New Orleans to set up our own relief effort. I asked all of you to help me by sending food, materials and cash to the emergency relief center we helped set up on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain with the Veterans for Peace. We did this when the government was doing nothing and the Red Cross was still trying to get it together. Every day, every minute was critical. People were dying, poor people, black people, left like so much trash in the street. I wanted to find a way to get aid in there immediately.

I hooked up with the Vietnam veterans and Iraqi war vets (Veterans for Peace) who were organizing a guerilla, grass-roots relief effort. They were the same group that had set up Cindy Sheehan's camp in Crawford and now they had moved Camp Casey to Louisiana.

I have good news and horrible news to report. First, your response to my appeal letter was overwhelming. Within a few days, a half-million dollars was sent in through my website to fund our relief effort. This money was immediately used to buy generators, food, water, a mobile medical van, tents, satellite phones, etc.

Others of you began shipping supplies to our encampment. People in communities all over the country started organizing truck caravans to us in Louisiana. Twenty-two trucks from southern California alone have already arrived. A semi-truck from Chicago delivered ten tons of food. A group of friends in New Jersey got two 24 foot trucks, got their community to load them up with goods, and arrived in Covington tonight. Fifteen iMacs are inbound from California. One man gave us his pick-up truck and another donated truck is en route from Houston.

Your response to my appeal has been nothing short of miraculous. And it has saved many, many lives.

A number of you decided to just get in your cars and drive to our camp to volunteer to help. We now have had 150 volunteers here doing the work that needs to be done. Last night they unloaded twenty tons of food from a tractor trailer in under two hours. Each day more volunteers arrive. Everyone is sleeping on the ground or in tents. It is a remarkable sight. Thank you, all of you, for responding. I will never forget this outpouring of generosity to those forgotten by our own government.

My staff and the vets spend their 18-hour days delivering food and water throughout the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. What they have seen is appalling. I have asked them to post their daily diaries on my website (www.michaelmoore.com) along with accompanying photos and video so you can learn what is really going on. What the media is showing you is NOT the whole story. It is much, much worse and there is still little being done to bring help to those who need it.

Our group has visited many outlying towns and villages in Mississippi and Louisiana, places the Red Cross and FEMA haven't visited in over a week. Often our volunteers are the first relief any of these people have seen. They have no food, water or electricity. People die every day. There are no TV cameras recording this. They have started to report the spin and PR put out by the White House, the happy news that often isn't true ("Everyone gets 2,000 dollars!").

The truth is that there are dead bodies everywhere and no one is picking them up. My crew reports that in most areas there is no FEMA presence, and very little Red Cross. It's been over two weeks since the hurricane and there is simply not much being done. At this point, would you call this situation incompetence or a purposeful refusal to get real help down there?

That's why we decided not to wait. And we are so grateful to all of you who have joined us. The Veterans for Peace and my staff aren't leaving (and that's why we are hoping those of you who can't get to Covington will make it to the Veterans for Peace co-sponsored anti-war demonstration in DC on September 24: www.unitedforpeace.org.)

If you want to help, here's what we need in Covington right now:

• Cleaning Supplies (glass cleaner, bleach, disinfectant, etc.
• Aspirin and other basic over the counter drugs.
• Bottled Water
• Canned Goods
• Hygiene Supplies
• Baby Supplies - Baby Food Formula, diapers #4, #5, Wipes, Pedialyte
• Sterile Gloves
• Batteries - All kinds, from AA to watch and hearing aid batteries.
• Volunteers with trucks and cars
• Self contained kitchens with generators, utensils, workers

Consider sending supplies in reusable containers. List the contents on the outside of the package so the folks in the warehouse can easily sort the items.

Clothes are not needed. If you go, keep in mind that you MUST be self-sufficient. Bring a tent and a sleeping bag. People are driving to Covington from across the country and often have extra room in their cars for you or for an extra box of supplies. For more information, go to the Veterans for Peace message board:

www.vfproadtrips.org/katrina/.

Send supplies via UPS to:

Veterans for Peace
Omni Storage
74145 Hwy. 25
Covington LA

Thanks again for funding and supporting our relief efforts. It has been a bright spot in this otherwise shameful month.

Yours,
Michael Moore
mike@michaelmoore.com
www.michaelmoore.com

Austin, TX -- For a bunch of "compassionate conservatives," the Bush administration sure has a lot to learn about responding to the compassion of others.

When nations the world over offered humanitarian aid in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said, "No offer that can help alleviate the suffering of the people in the afflicted area will be refused."

Then Cuba stepped up.

Putting politics and nearly 50 years of U.S. ridicule aside, Fidel Castro offered to send nearly 1,600 medics and 83 tons of medical supplies to aid the hurricane-stricken Gulf Coast. And how did the Bush administration respond to this generous offer from a tiny island that has had its fair share of strife and troubles?

"When it comes to Cuba we have one message for Fidel Castro: He needs to offer the people of Cuba their freedom," White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said Thursday.

Because a free Cuba is undoubtedly just what hurricane evacuees need to get back on their feet.

At face value, the administration's refusal of Cuban aid seems to be made on moral grounds. But if "freedom" is a prerequisite for donating to the United States, someone forgot to tell the guy who accepted $5 million and 100 tons of supplies from China.

Various organizations, from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International to the U.S. State Department have reported on China's abysmal human rights record. For decades U.S. foreign policy has overlooked these skeletons in China's closet in favor of cheap goods and labor.

In 1999, as the U.S. government embargoed Cuba for the 37th year for, well, being communist, Congress voted to extend permanent normal trade relations status to China - clearing the way for the still-communist nation to enter the World Trade Organization in 2000.

If communism - the kind that restricts basic political and human rights - isn't that big of a deal anymore in China's case, it shouldn't be in Cuba's and Castro should be waiting for a call from the WTO any day now.

Instead, Cuba has become the U.S. government's last ideological stand against communism - mostly because of its small stature and the fact that Cuba has few goods we can't get cheaper elsewhere. McClellan's political ultimatum further demonstrates this point.

It's easy to tell Castro we don't need his doctors. But turning down $5 million at a time when hundreds of thousands of people have lost everything would be a difficult political pill to swallow.

Castro may politically repress his people, but at least he knows that in a disaster it's appropriate to put politics aside - a lesson the Bush administration would be wise to learn.

Source: The Daily Texan

Columbia, SC -- First the bad news: Only about two-thirds of American teenagers (and just half of all black, Latino and Native American teens) graduate with a regular diploma four years after they enter high school.

Now the worse news: Of those who graduate, only about half read well enough to succeed in college.

Don't even bother to ask how many are proficient enough in math and science to handle college-level work. It's not pretty.

Of all the factors combining to shape the future of the United States, this is one of the most important. Millions of American kids are not even making it through high school in an era in which a four-year college degree is becoming a prerequisite for achieving (or maintaining) a middle-class lifestyle.

The Program for International Assessment, which compiles reports on the reading and math skills of 15-year-olds, found that the United States ranked 24th out of 29 nations surveyed in math literacy. The same result for the United States — 24th out of 29 — was found when the problem-solving abilities of 15-year-olds were tested.

If academic performance were an international athletic event, spectators would be watching American kids falling embarrassingly behind in a number of crucial categories. A new report from a pair of Washington think tanks — the Center for American Progress and the Institute for America's Future — says an urgent new commitment to public education, much stronger than the No Child Left Behind law, must be taken if that slide is to be reversed.

This would not be a minor task. In much of the nation the public education system is in shambles. And the kids who need the most help — poor children from inner cities and rural areas — often attend the worst schools.

An education task force established by the center and the institute noted the following:

“Young low-income and minority children are more likely to start school without having gained important school readiness skills, such as recognizing letters and counting. By the fourth grade, low-income students read about three grade levels behind nonpoor students. Across the nation, only 15 percent of low-income fourth graders achieved proficiency in reading in 2003, compared to 41 percent of nonpoor students.”

How's that for a disturbing passage? Not only is the picture horribly bleak for low-income and minority kids, but we find that only 41 percent of nonpoor fourth graders can read proficiently.

I respectfully suggest that we may be looking at a crisis here.

The report, titled “Getting Smarter, Becoming Fairer,” restates a point that by now should be clear to most thoughtful Americans: Too many American kids are ill-equipped educationally to compete successfully in an ever-more-competitive global environment.

Cartoonish characters like Snoop Dogg and Paris Hilton may be good for a laugh, but they're useless as role models. It's the kids who are logging long hours in the college labs, libraries and lecture halls who will most easily remain afloat in the tremendous waves of competition that have already engulfed large segments of the American work force.

The report makes several recommendations. It says the amount of time that children spend in school should be substantially increased by lengthening the school day and, in some cases, the school year. It calls for the development of voluntary, rigorous national curriculum standards in core subject areas and a consensus on what students should know and be able to do by the time they graduate from high school.

The report also urges, as many have before, that the nation take seriously the daunting (and expensive) task of getting highly qualified teachers into all classrooms. And it suggests that an effort be made to connect schools in low-income areas more closely with the surrounding communities. (Where necessary, the missions of such schools would be extended to provide additional services for children whose schooling is affected by such problems as inadequate health care, poor housing or a lack of parental support.)

The task force's recommendations are points of departure that can be discussed, argued about and improved upon by people who sincerely want to ramp up the quality of public education in the United States What is most important about the report is the fact that it sounds an alarm about a critical problem that is not getting nearly enough serious attention.

Source: The State.com

Write to Mr. Herbert, author, at bobherb@nytimes.com

BY TOM McNAMEE SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST

Some spelled his name DuSable, others preferred DeSaible. Some said he was passing through, others said he founded this town.

His mother was Haitian, or maybe a free black Canadian woman, and he lived in a primitive cabin, or maybe a good frame house.

He rates either a footnote in Chicago history or a whole chapter.

For the longest time, Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable was the lost man of Chicago history. He came and he went, historians often wrote. He built a crude cabin on the river and traded with the Indians, and then one day he just got antsy and went away.

And oh, by the way, not that it matters, but he was black.

And then the real founders of Chicagoans came.

And oh, by the way, they were white.

That's not, of course, the way they tell Du Sable's story today. More typically now, historians and teachers present Du Sable as being an important player in the city's history, the visionary entrepreneur of the dangerous prairies who established the "can do" tone for all that followed.

Which, I have always suspected, is half baloney.

I mean, for one thing, the guy picked up and left more than 30 years before the village was formed.

But what do I know.

Handsome, well-educated

In a new book, Black Chicago's First Century, Roosevelt University historian Christopher Robert Reed makes a strong case for why Du Sable really was a pivotal figure in early Chicago, and for why -- perhaps with great reluctance -- he finally left.

In Reed's view, Du Sable not only was Chicago's true founder, but also may have been the first victim of white racism here against black people.

Du Sable, whose father was a Frenchman, was born sometime around 1745 in either Haiti or near Montreal, and may have been educated in France. He arrived in Chicago around 1775 and built a trading establishment. He was described by one acquaintance as a physically big and "handsome Negro, well-educated."

He chose as a wife a Potawatomi woman and they had two children, Reed says. They lived in a frame house that measured 40 by 22 feet -- sizable for a home in the middle of nowhere.

"It bore absolutely no resemblance to the 'rude cabin' described by racial detractors," Reed writes, "and was surrounded by a bake house, a milk house, a smokehouse, a chicken house with '44 big hens,' a workhouse, a cow house, and a barn that housed '30 big horned beasts.' "

Du Sable traded furs, did skilled carpentry work and sold pork, flour and bread to fur trappers and settlers. He was highly successful, Reed writes, because he had a monopoly at that spot, and because he maintained good relations with the Potawatomi. He was, Reed writes, "the embodiment" of Chicago's "entrepreneurial and business spirit."

When Du Sable finally did move on in about 1800, heading West to the Mississippi and St. Louis, he may have felt he had no choice, Reed writes. The Treaty of Greenville had been signed five years earlier, in 1795, and the United States was now clearly in charge. The Potawatomi and other Indian groups soon would be forced out. Anglo-American settlers would be pouring in.

Early racism

The treaty, Reed writes, would have ended Du Sable's "plans for continued commercial activities at Chicago because of American condescending, and even hostile, racial attitudes toward persons of African descent. It is unimaginable that he could have lived in peace with American whites after the Greenville treaty."

And that same racism, Reed writes, would have threatened to rub away even the memory of Du Sable.

"In the wake of Du Sable's departure in 1800, American expansionism took only three decades to expel the Potawatomi and other resident native peoples -- economically, physically and culturally. Consistent with American public sentiments on race it can be well imagined that the memory of this successful and 'handsome Negro' was deliberately allowed to fade by both civilian and military authorities."

By the time Du Sable left the Chicago region, a small number of other folks had settled nearby and would carry on, meaning Du Sable truly deserves credit for establishing the continuous community that would become Chicago. It's an honor the old history books don't always grant him.

But Reed also makes the argument -- and this, to me, seems like a stretch -- that Du Sable's success as a businessman directly inspired African Americans for the next 60 years.

"Sometime in the 19th century, perhaps as early as the 1830s, African Americans recognized in Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable's accomplishments a model of what could be achieved through agency without the impediments of slavery obstructing their advancement," Reed writes. "Then, there is the probability that Du Sable's success was known popularly by blacks throughout the sprawling frontier network where freedom was limited but not memory. It is not too difficult to imagine that stories or references to Du Sable remained pervasive among the French traders and mixed-bloods of French and Native American heritage for some time after his departure."

I dropped by the Harold Washington Library one morning last week and dug through some of those old history books. I was surprised to discover that Du Sable gets more attention than I would have guessed, but it's not all good press.

One old history, from the 1890s, damns Du Sable with strange praise, saying at least he didn't scalp people like the "savages" did. Another says his chief claim to fame was building the cabin that later became the home of Chicago's "first citizen," John Kinzie.

Other major histories of the city, by A.T. Andreas and Bessie Louise Pierce, however, give Du Sable more of his due.

Andreas, writing in 1884, describes Du Sable as an "ambitious mulatto" and a "handsome and well educated pioneer." Du Sable, he writes, "is the initial point from which may be traced the growth of Chicago."

Pierce, writing in 1937, makes a point of listing all of Du Sable's substantial holdings -- the house and the barns and all -- putting to rest false notions that Du Sable was little more than a squatter.

Old civics book overlooked much

I found it all the more strange, then, to come upon a 1951 civics book published by the Chicago Board of Education that ignores just about every known fact about Du Sable -- everything Andreas and Pierce and others had already reported.

A child of the 1950s reading this civics book, Chicago, would have learned only that there had been a man named Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable who built a cabin. And that was the "important" thing -- the cabin.

The child would not have learned where Du Sable came from, what he did or where he went.

The child would not have learned that Du Sable built much more than just a cabin.

The child would not have learned that Du Sable was black.

Then again, what did I expect? The Chicago public schools in the 1950s were as racially segregated as any place in South Africa.

You wouldn't want to upset anyone.

---

Tom McNamee's "The Chicago Way" columns runs Monday in the Sun-Times.

Source: Chicago Sun Times

From Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL) Distribution List

Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., said today, "The Chief Justice of the United States, William Rehnquist, died last night. To his family and friends we extend our most sincere sympathy and prayers in their personal loss.

"But the Chief Justice was also a public man with a conservative political agenda and a judicial philosophy of state-centered federalism. There will be attempts to sugar coat his life, legal work and judicial views, but his legal legacy should be critically examined. And when his record is laid bare I believe the American people will prefer a new Justice on the Supreme Court who is committed to building `a more perfect Union' rather than one who is committed to continuing his legacy of advancing states' rights - especially in light of what we have witnessed over the last week in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region of our country.

"The legal legacy of the Rehnquist Court, and what we have witnessed in Louisiana this past week, are connected. What really happened this week with respect to Hurricane Katrina was the cumulative result of an `anti-federal government' philosophy of government, and Chief Justice Rehnquist was the leading advocate of the `evolution of devolution' of the federal government!

"There were other players, both Democrats and Republicans, who helped to create this legacy. When President Ronald Reagan said `the federal government was the problem, not the solution` he was contributing to the collapse of the infrastructure and the levy in New Orleans. When President Bill Clinton said `the era of big government is over` he was contributing to leaving the Black and poor people behind who have come to light this week. And when President Bush said he wants to appoint `strict constructionist' justices in the mold of Scalia and Thomas to our highest court, he was contributing to the disaster we have witnessed this week. If President Bush chooses to appoint Clarence Thomas as Chief Justice he will simply be using race as the Trojan horse to hide Thomas' commitment to state-centered federalism. The American people should not go for the old horse trick.

"With the exception of Bush v. Gore in 2000 - a decision that will go down in history alongside Dred Scott (1857) as Chief Justice Rehnquist joined in a 5-to-4 decision ignoring his traditional `states' rights' philosophy and electing George W. Bush President of the United States - the Rehnquist Court has rather consistently supported state-centered federalism.

"Less than a month after Bush v. Gore, in an environmental case involving the 1972 Clean Water Act, the court returned to its old states' rights ways. Writing for the majority in another 5-to-4 decision, Chief Justice Rehnquist defended `the states' traditional and primary power over land and water use. In an act of judicial activism, it read language in the statute selectively, dismissing environmental agency expertise and congressional intent with respect to protecting all U.S. waters and wetlands. The court effectively rewrote the statute to fit its states' rights views.

"William Rehnquist was appointed to the Supreme Court by Richard Nixon and elevated to Chief Justice by Ronald Reagan. While gifted intellectually, this conservative states' rights Justice, while clerking for Justice Robert H. Jackson in 1952-53, wrote a memorandum arguing in favor of upholding the `separate but equal' doctrine of the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ruling in preparation for the 1954 Brown decision. As a conservative Phoenix lawyer, he appeared as a witness before the Phoenix City Council in opposition to a public accommodations ordinance and took part in a program of challenging African American voters at the polls.

"From 1969 until 1971 he served as assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel. In that capacity, he supported the use of executive authority to conduct wiretaps and surveillance without a court order, a no-knock entry policy by the police, preventive detention, and abolishing the exclusionary rule - that is, he supported the admission of evidence gathered in illegal ways.

"Rehnquist held a strict constructionist view of the 14th Amendment's mandate to the states not to deny individuals equal protection of the laws. He interpreted the equal protection clause narrowly, seeing it merely as preventing states from treating black and white citizens differently. He argued that the 14th Amendment should not apply when a state has not intentionally discriminated (Columbus v. Penick, 1979). He argued it should not be applied to the private sector unless the state is a participant in the discrimination (Moose Lodge v. Irvis, 1972). And Rehnquist argued against applying the equal protection clause to protect women from disparate treatment (Craig v. Boren, 1976; Michael M. v. Superior Court of Sonoma County, 1981). "His states' rights philosophy may have come through most clearly in his 1976 National League of Cities v. Usery decision, which deemed unconstitutional a federal statute extending the maximum hours and minimum wage provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act to most employees of state and local governments. Breathing new life into the 10th Amendment, the Court held that part of the Fair Labor Standards Act was unconstitutional because it interfered with a state's sovereignty and, thus, violated the 10th Amendment. It was the first time since the days of FDR's New Deal that the Supreme Court had ruled against a federal law on the basis that Congress had overstepped its federal boundaries.

"The most important values for Rehquist were his state-centered federalism, the priority of private property, and individual rights. In other words, his views were consistent with the core of the states' rights legal philosophy of a century and a half ago, when the individual right to own property (slaves) was to be protected by a states' right government. If the court continues to pursue Rehnquist's conservative strict constructionist philosophy, there will be many more New Orleans or similar situations in the future where a national commitment to build a more perfect Union will have been obstructed or denied by court decisions and a court philosophy that is detrimental to building a better country for all of the American people." Jackson concluded.

Nuff said: http://www.atypical.net/mm/nagin.mp3

Other links:

NOI

HurricaneHousing.org (A project of MoveOn.org)

NOLA

Castro Offers to Send Cuban Doctors to Help Katrina Victims

Letter from New Orleans

Evacuations Finally Appear to Increase

"Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?" -- Hebrews 12:9

Yes, if you haven't noticed, I occasionally don't post a thing for months. Not really part of my process--just part of my life circumstances. I haven't posted anything here since March 5, 2005 except the one a few hours ago concerning extreme media bias--just to break the ice.

During my time away, much has taken place. The recent New Orleans tragedy is just one of many to have occurred during my hiatus. Of course my prayers go out to everyone directly affected. If we have any humanity and compassion it should affect us empathetically, at least. I beseech The Ancestors to embrace those that are in dire circumstances at this very moment. I pray for those who are missing loved ones and those who have lost the same.

When Christina and I went to New Orleans several years ago we met this very colorful Brother named "Oscar" of Oscar's Originals. Chris bought several pieces of the costume jewelry, which were unique, to say the least, and had the endorsement of celebrities such as Joan Rivers. His consignment shop was located at the Flea Market fronting Governor Nichols Street. The wharf of the same name was to his rear along the Pedestrian Walkway on Peters Street.

We interacted with Oscar for about an hour; watching a master salesman/wit with a naturalness that went beyond a purely capitalistic bent. He genuinely appeared to love all people. Interacting with everyone with enthusiastic control, making everyone feel as equally comfortable in their search to claim specific pieces of his "wearable art."

Having stayed until he wrapped up shop, we savored his style to the end. He hopped on his little motor scooter--the kind with just enough room for both feet to barely fit--and we exchanged expectations of blessings. I can see him now waving, interweaving between pedestrians with that scooter music mixed in.

I wonder if Oscar made it through. I wonder if his family is OK. I wonder. I wonder if all the people we met in N'Orleans are safe, fed, clothed. What about the staff at the Pontchartrain Hotel? We really enjoyed our stay there. How did they fare there on the lake? What about Bourbon Street, the Quarter?

Yes, I wonder about all the folks in The Parish.

I wonder if the noble Satch played his Jericho trumpet as a warning that Katrina was more than they had ever considered. I can hear that trumpet saying, "Get the hell out of there. Now!!

But, they didn't hear. They weren't tuned in. Or were they? Maybe the cost of gasoline was too high to travel, have a place to stay, and eat too. Maybe there wasn't a choice for the homeless. Where are they? Now, everyone is homeless. Maybe those without jobs simply had no place to go. It's hard to flee when you don't even have tram fare. And what about those in poor health because we have a government that doesn't value the health of its citizens. How can you get away when you're SICK!!!!? How can you flee when you've been left to die anyway and every other place you go has the same old outlook? How?

Everybody please shout, "CREATOR!!!" Everybody please shout, "ANCESTORS!!!"

Maybe some of the terrified could hear Satch. Maybe they even saw him riding Katrina toward the city he made super famous with his horn wailing the doom about to occur and cried, "Lord have mercy!!

McGruder stays on everybody's case:

In one of my earlier posts, I provided information concerning the corrupt institution called the IRS. Couple that information with this post on the Federal Reserve and you get a clear picture of what US citizens are up against. Of course, there are many more tentacles to the equation--not the least of which is maintenance of poverty, Black Land Loss, and globalism.

A statement by Aaron McGruder, via The Boondocks, concerning DRUGS and so-called whistleblowing on the situation. Wead? What a joke!

Nasruddin used to take his donkey across a frontier every day, with the panniers loaded with straw. Since he admitted to being a smuggler when he trudged home every night, the frontier guards searched him again and again. They searched his person, sifted the straw, steeped it in water, even burned it from time to time. Meanwhile he was visibly more and more prosperous.

Then he retired and went to live in another country. Here one of the customs officers met him, years later.

"You can tell me now, Nasruddin," he said. "Whatever was it that you were smuggling, when we could never catch you out?"

"Donkeys," said Nasruddin.

What if we just resorted to the same tactics that prosecutors employ against those whom they want incarcerated--THE PLANTING OF EVIDENCE! Move over Michael.

Anytime you have the opportunity to capture some of their DNA, clothing, or any PERSONAL property, SEIZE IT! Then fabricate a crime against them.

For instance: The DA and his cronies are sitting in public place. Wait until they leave and GET THEIR DNA! Use your imagination afterward. IT'S NOT VOODOO.

Hmmm... or, is it?

The privatization of intelligence interrogation operations is under the umbrella of information technology systems companies such as the following. Dig deep to find out what you need to know:
CACI
ISS
ANTEON
TITAN
OK. Moving on to something else...

How much more can the Colony of the District of Columbia be colonized? The deep thing is, it's the Porch Negroes building baseball parks, destroying the only public hospital working in the best interest of the poor, and setting up the fat cats for contracting bonanzas. This is happening all over the country--not to mention all over the world. It's just another step in the onslaught of global genocide.

DC General Hospital Update

If you don't know what's at stake, read the background information and then sign the petition. It's in our best interests.

*

Last year today, the United States government overthrew the democratically elected government of Haiti. The consequences have been devastating to the country that is the first in the Americas, after the United States, to declare its independence.

I will be back to discuss the consequences of the historical animosity and militarism by the United States against Haiti, from its inception. The war against the people who have occupied that land goes back to the day Christopher Columbus (Crisotbal Colon) anchored there.

Stay tuned.

OK. Here goes:

I remember visiting Haiti in 1972 with the United States Navy. Sadly, I was restricted to the ship because of "Frequent Involvement With Military Authorities of Discreditable Nature." At least, that's the way my subsequent discharge read. I couldn't go ashore because I was fighting the same vicious regime as the saner elements of Haiti. My closest confidantes came back and related stories of the utter squalor of the place (I can't even remember if we pulled into Port- au-Prince or not). They also communicated that underlying all of the visible poverty, there existed a spirit in the people to overcome the consequences of Western imperialism--particularly that of the United States. Years later, in Greensboro, North Carolina, I befriended a Haitian musician, guitarist Jean LaBossiere, who fled his country and certain death at the hands of the Tuton Macoute. We became very good friends. The irony is that he was murdered by a Black man, thousands of miles removed from his country, plagued by the same mental illness of all those who have attempted to survive economic imprisonment and oppression. So, on this day, let us ponder the role of Haiti in the liberation efforts of Black people and all oppressed humanity worldwide:

The Tainos
African Slavery
African Revolution: The Defeat of Three Empires

Bottom line: Haiti has been under attack by Western colonial/imperial powers since the day Columbus landed. May those who continue to live and die in the struggle have freedom and self determination as redemption. Long live the Haitian people and their spirit!

For many of us, today's celebration of imperialist United States presidents takes an appropriate backseat to today's 40th anniversary of the assassination of Malcolm X at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem, NYC.

The celbration of Malcolm X Day is the third Sunday in May. He was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925. He was the cutting edge, a man ahead of his time in denouncing imperialism, sexism, and the dehumanizing effects of negative globalism. He was a leader of such imperatives when it wasn't popular even among grassroots organizations to do so.



EULOGY OF MALCOLM X

Ossie Davis
Faith Temple Church of God in Christ
Harlem, NYC
February 27, 1965.

My appreciation of Malcolm in addition to all of the other things he meant as a leader, as a teacher, as a man, a philosopher, as a man who knew the facts of life, as an Africanist, as an economist, as a political scholar, as an agitator. The thing that struck me the most about him was that Malcolm was a man. I mean man in a particular sense. Malcolm had created a new style for those of us who would be men to follow. Not only black men, but also white men. Malcolm left us the heritage of manhood, which in our country has long been going out of style. And if you don't believe it, if you remember last February, last March when 38 people sat by the telephone and refused to pick it up when a young lady was calling for help, and she called three times, and these 38 citizens who represent us let the lady die without picking up the phone to call the police, that is the state of our manhood in this country today. And those were not Negro people who did that. They were whites. We have ceased to care. We have ceased to be concerned. We have ceased to remember our humanity. We are things, we are counts, we are close to being dehumanized in this great country of ours.

Malcolm came along and said, stop, stop, you are men. Stop, you do care. Stop, there is life in you. Stop there is still the possibility that manhood, that courage, that strength, that imagination, will make the difference. It was he who rallied our flagging efforts, who taught us to stand up off of our knees, especially the black men, but also the whites, but to stand up off of our knees, to address ourselves to the truth, even if we were killed for it, and it's been a long time since that kind of courage and bravery was abroad in our land.

We've had men, men who were mountains, men who were mighty, men who set us great and good examples, but they had one advantage that Malcolm did not have. They were men of education. They were men of college. They had had training. Malcolm came from the lowest depths. And therefore, in measuring the man we have to measure the place from whence he came. All of us sitting here tonight, men and women, black and white, can stand a little taller because a man like Malcolm X walked on our earth, lived in our midst, smiled his smile on the face of Harlem.

I am happy to have known him and if there is a possibility of redemption for me, for you, for Harlem, for our country, Malcolm is the man who said that such a redemption was possible, and when he died, he was pointing the way to this redemption. We sat tonight. We were uplifted by the singing, by the dancing, by the presence of great leaders among us, and you must have noticed that our greatest leaders turned out to be women. Now, this, there is a reason why this is so. And it's the same reason why a man would hesitate to keep a picture of Malcolm X on his wall. And that reason is that as black men we have been the most systematically emasculated people on the face of the earth. And we have learned unfortunately to accept and live with our emasculation as if this is the definition of what we are. Malcolm said no, you are a man. I will make you see that you are a man. He insisted on ripping the lies from our face, our middle class smugness. He talked to all of us.

Get up off your knees. Come out of your hiding place. If your hiding place is gold, come out from behind it. If your hiding place is prestige, come out from behind it. If your hiding place is poverty, if you live in the slums, if you live in the gutters, stand up, look at the sun, you too are a man. And when Malcolm said it, when he looked at you, when he gave you the stuff of your own manhood, how could we resist or deny or do less than the little we did to honor him when he died and here tonight. Great things sometimes show up very small. The cloud no bigger than a man's hand betokened the flood that destroyed the earth. Many looking on the reception, what has happened since Malcolm has been dead, seeing the kind of reception that we have gotten and we have not gotten, might make the mistake of thinking that we have measured the man, we have put him in his place, and therefore, we can safely turn around and forget him forever. But that is not so. I say this to you, as I say to myself: If Malcolm and his message so strong, so bright, and so pure, was too good for those of us who have already reached manhood, there is a generation who is not yet spoiled, not yet degutted, not yet de-bold, not yet emasculated, who when they come to the light of this truth will rise up and redeem him and us and all of the rest of the world. That is the meaning of Malcolm X.

Here—at this final hour, in this quiet place—Harlem has come to bid farewell to one of its brightest hopes—extinguished now, and gone from us forever. For Harlem is where he worked and where he struggled and fought—his home of homes, where his heart was, and where his people are—and it is, therefore, most fitting that we meet once again—in Harlem—to share these last moments with him.

For Harlem has ever been gracious to those who have loved her, have fought for her and have defended her honor even to the death. It is not in the memory of man that this beleaguered, unfortunate, but nonetheless proud community has found a braver, more gallant young champion than this Afro-American who lies before us—unconquered still.

I say the word again, as he would want me to: Afro-American—Afro-American Malcolm, who was a master, was most meticulous in his use of words. Nobody knew better than he the power words have over minds of men.

Malcolm had stopped being a Negro years ago. It had become too small, too puny, too weak a word for him. Malcolm was bigger than that. Malcolm had become an Afro-American, and he wanted—so desperately—that we, that all his people, would become Afro-Americans, too.

There are those who will consider it their duty, as friends of the Negro people, to tell us to revile him, to flee, even from the presence of his memory, to save ourselves by writing him out of the history of our turbulent times.

Many will ask what Harlem finds to honor in this stormy, controversial and bold young captain—and we will smile. Many will say turn away—away from this man; for he is not a man but a demon, a monster, a subverter and an enemy of the black man—and we will smile. They will say that he is of hate—a fanatic, a racist—who can only bring evil to the cause for which you struggle! And we will answer and say to them:

Did you ever talk to Brother Malcolm? Did you ever touch him or have him smile at you? Did you ever really listen to him? Did he ever do a mean thing? Was he ever himself associated with violence or any public disturbance? For if you did, you would know him. And if you knew him, you would know why we must honor him: Malcolm was our manhood, our living, black manhood!

This was his meaning to his people. And, in honoring him, we honor the best in ourselves. Last year, from Africa, he wrote these words to a friend: My journey, he says, is almost ended, and I have a much broader scope than when I started out, which I believe will add new life and dimension to our struggle for freedom and honor and dignity in the States.

I am writing these things so that you will know for a fact the tremendous sympathy and support we have among the African States for our human rights struggle. The main thing is that we keep a united front wherein our most valuable time and energy will not be wasted fighting each other.

However we may have differed with him—or with each other about him and his value as a man—let his going from us serve only to bring us together, now.

Consigning these mortal remains to earth, the common mother of all, secure in the knowledge that what we place in the ground is no more now a man—but a seed—which, after the winter of our discontent, will come forth again to meet us.

And we will know him then for what he was and is—a prince—our own black shining prince!—who didn’t hesitate to die, because he loved us so.

Keep up with the casualties In Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. I'll move it over to the menu when I get some time. Iraq Coalition Casualties

Need some help, Vets? Vets for Justice.

Don't get confused. This doesn't mean I'm for imperialism.

Here's a little info: check out some word-use origins here.

And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. -- Daniel 8:16

What is a revolutionary?

We're simultaneously in two ages:

The Information Age and... The Age of Spiritual Regression.

Wynton Marsalis is a revolutionary. I realized the mathematics when I first heard him express himself verbally and as master musician. Gather all the children, sit them down, turn on Marsalis.

Now...do the same for all those adult-crazies out there. Revolution accompished.

Why haven't significant numbers of our elected officials begun the process of targeting Bush and cohorts for treason? After all, if Monicagate, was necessary in the minds of NeoCons, then surely there is enough ammunition to go after those same folks for high treason. Where are our so-called elected officials when we need them? Why are they afraid to go after these criminals?

From the Akha Heritage Foundation

Check out De-Central Intelligence Agency.
More is forthcoming.

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy. -- Hamlet, Act 1. Scene 5

Perhaps many of you have never heard of T. Casey Brennan. I imagine Hamlet's statement to Horatio is something that T.C.B. proposes to many who write him off without investigation.

Click on the photo to be taken on a journey.

Whether you have or haven't heard of him, for those of you who want to explore the world of mind control, you should get acquainted with him, his work, his place in United States history. He has a fantastic story to tell. It is appropriate that I received email from him a few days ago, just before the Vampire Ball that took place in the nation's capital. I'm sure that his fanclubs also know that he is into the music scene highlighting aspects of the Shadow Government that confront us as illusions each day. Just do a search for "Frankenhead" once you're on the site, and voila!

Peace to you T.C.B. and may you get your testimony before the American people.

Washington, D.C. looks like a fortress on this Inaugural Day. Why? Several reasons.

(1) Some of the most vile persons who have ever been against human rights work and play here. From elected officials to their bureaucratic henchmen, they spread death and destruction throughout the planet as swiftly as the ink on the diabolical policies which perpetrate these iniquities dries. However, most of the acts they perpetrate against humanity don't require official recognition as they stealthily operate on a global scale that continues the practices of their forefathers and foremothers. They know that people the world over are after them. And they know that some of the so-called "terrorists" are Americans--the very people they have failed to protect. They live in fear behind razor wire, tanks, and stormtroopers. Looks like the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc states of old. Tyrants know that tyranny breeds opposition.

(2) It appears as if the Kremlin won the Cold War afterall. No? Then how do you explain that the principles and practices that were once features of the Russian regimes of old have now become our own? Why has this country adopted practices that we so-called fought against during those years of the ideologically opposed "SuperPower States?"

As a political scientist and historian, I eventually recognized the illusion that the USSR and USA presented to the world: two insidiously opposed giants appearing to want tear one another's heart's out--yet, never doing so. What they did was coerce developing nations to fight one another and suppress their citizens to establish which regime would have economic and militaristic control in those nation states. They still do. The difference now is that the veil is lifted and each has common characteristics. In actuality, the U.S. has adopted Soviet civil and economic management principles. Make no mistake about it. Russia is still a Super Power with the capability of matching, blow for blow, U.S. military strategy and offense. Putin is more of a maddened cowboy than Georgie and his co-rustlers ever thought about being. His swagger and strut says, "I will buckle your knees and tear out your heart." American leadership dances around in tutus when contrasted to Vladimir.

After World War II, it only took a little more than forty years to lift the veil off the illusion that the two countries were ever enemies. From stealing Palestine to Afghanistan to the Desert Shield to Desert Storm all doubt was removed.

Read a little about Glasnost and you will quickly realize that the nature and complexity of American democracy, beginning with McCarthyism, then Reganism and the "Contract With America" spawned by Gingrich also contains coded elements that spell doom and gloom for African Americans while raising the spectre of global domination to new heights. American policy toward its residents (all are not treated as citizens) is as equally reciprocal in moving away from Glasnost to a nation ruled by tyrants as Gorbachev was in moving Russia toward openess. Tyrants know that tyranny breeds opposition.

(3)Evidently, the power elite have studied European Intellectual History and the American Revolutionary War. George Bush and Congress have now become King George III and Parliament in practice--disemboweling the power of the people and maintaining an allegiance to secret societies not in the best interest of the people. They have committed treason and they know. But as long as they claim fifty percent of the population who favor this treason, then they claim the high ground. But even on the high ground, they are vulnerable and therefore they barricade themselves. Yet, they must appease the middle class in order to continue their march toward global domination and fascism. The majority of their supporters are Whites and a growing number of crazed people of color. That's to be expected from folks who suck diseased teats.

Got to run. Will be back with more commentary later. I forgot to mention one thing: Elections are just an exercise in America today. They have no effect on the agenda of the Real Terrorists--our government.

March On | No Justice, No Peace |For The Revolution | By Any Means Necessary

Are there any profound conclusions you'd like to share concerning the placement of the TurboTax banner just below the Hon. Marcus Garvey's quote?

For the more observant, knowledgeable, and discerning:

What message is there in the aesthetic juxtaposition of placing the TurboTax banner just under the Marcus Garvey quote in the heading of this blog?

Here's one redemptive effort as I continue to search for a complete withdrawal of not sucking the various teats of The Bloodsuckers.

As DuBois so eloquently observed, we wrestle with double-consciousness everyday. At least you do if you are not in denial and have not been sheltered. Any ideas? Perhaps we can discuss "cash flow- blood flow" economics later. And while we're exploring, check out 31 Questions.

Tuesday, January 4th, 2005

Dear Members of the U.S. Senate,

Welcome back! The 109th session of Congress has just begun. I'm watching you on C-SPAN right now and you all look so snap-happy and clean-faced. It's like the first day of school all over again, isn't it?

I have a favor to ask of you. Something isn't right with the vote from Ohio. Seems a lot of people didn't get to vote. And those who did, thousands of theirs weren't counted.

Does that seem right to you? I'm just asking. Forget about partisan politics for a moment and ask yourself if there is a more basic right, in a democracy, than the right of the people to vote AND have ALL their votes counted.

Now, I know a lot of you wish this little problem of Ohio would just go away. And many of you who wish this are Democrats. You just want to move on (no pun intended!). I can't say I blame you. It's rough to lose two elections in a row when the first one you actually won and the second one you should have won. And it seems this time around, about 3 million more Americans preferred to continue the war in Iraq and give the rich more tax breaks than those who didn't. No sense living in denial about that.

But something isn't right in Ohio and more than a dozen members of the House of Representatives believe it is worth investigating.

So on Thursday at 1:00pm, Rep. John Conyers of Detroit will rise and object to the vote count in Ohio. According to the laws of this land, he will not be allowed to speak unless at least one of you -- one member of the United States Senate -- agrees to let him have the floor.

A very embarrassing moment during the last session of Congress occurred in the first week when none of you would allow the members of Congress who were black to have the floor to object to the Florida vote count. Remember that? You thought no one would ever notice, didn't you? You certainly lucked out that night when the networks decided not to show how you shut down every single member of the Congressional Black Caucus.

No such luck this year. Everyone now knows about that moment of shame. Thank you? You’re welcome.

But this Thursday, at 1:00pm, you will have a chance to redeem yourself.

Congressman Conyers and a dozen other members of Congress have some serious questions about how the Republican secretary of state in Ohio (who was also the state’s co-chair of Bush’s reelection campaign) conducted the election on November 2. The list of possible offenses of how voters were denied access to the polls and how over a hundred thousand of their votes have yet to be counted is more than worthy of your consideration. It may not change the outcome, but you have a supreme responsibility to make sure that EVERY vote is counted. Who amongst you would disagree with that?

If you would like to read more about the specific charges, I ask that you read these two links: “Senators Should Object to Ohio Vote” —by Jesse Jackson and “Ten Preliminary Reasons Why the Bush Vote Does Not Compute, and Why Congress Must Investigate Rather Than Certify the Electoral College”. I am asking everyone on my mailing list to send you a letter joining me in this call to you to do your job and investigate what happened before you certify the vote.

It only takes one member of the House and one member of the Senate to stop the acceptance of the Electoral College vote and force a legitimate debate and investigation. Do you know why this provision is set in stone in our nation’s laws? I mean, why would we allow just two officials in a body of 535 members to throw a wrench into the works? The law exists because nothing is more sacred than the integrity of the ballot box and if there is ANY possibility of fraud or incompetence, then it MUST be addressed. Because if we don't have the vote, what are we left with?

C'mon Senators! Especially you Democrats. Here is your one shining moment of courage. Will you allow the gavel to come down on our black members of Congress once again? Or will you stand up for their right to object?

We will all be watching.

Yours,

Michael Moore
www.michaelmoore.com
mmflint@aol.com

P.S. My whereabouts this week: I will be on the Today Show Thursday morning, Jay Leno on Friday night. And... the People's Choice Awards are this Sunday night, live on CBS at 9pm! Can we defeat the superheroes Spiderman, Incredibles and Shrek for best picture? A documentary??? Whoa... tune in...

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