* What a year. What a year. What a year. So how about a year end review.
* I have a lot of respect for the Tea Party. I do not agree with most of their views. But, I have always admired people who have the guts to say, "I am mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore." America is full of people who whine and complain, but, for whatever reason do not do anything about their complaints. Not the Tea Party.
How long will the Tea Party last? Not long. Progressive, anti-government movements in America usually flame out in a few years. Still, the Tea Party shows if people unite behind a common cause, anything is possible.
* "The Party of No," now has to govern. One month after the November mid-term elections the Republican Party is already backtracking on cutting earmark spending, attacking the deficit and attacking the national debt. Talk is cheap. Governing is hard.
* Is President Obama soft? Last month it certainly seemed so. I even said so. So what gives? President Obama IS the smartest person in the room. Because of this, he can see through all the political smoke and mirrors and get straight to the heart of a matter. President Obama does not like playing politics when he knows it is a waste of time and he knows that running the country is much more important.
President Obama is something this country has not seen in a while. President Obama is a statesman. While members of the Democratic Party and Republican Party are playing checkers, President Obama is playing chess. President Obama is not looking at America today. President Obama is looking at America in the future.
* Someone needs to tell new Speaker of the House, John Boehner, there is not crying in politics. The man cries more than a little girl's baby doll. Once, ok. Twice, maybe. But, all the time? Come on. I do not know about you, but I get a little nervous when a person is walking around crying all of the time and they are next in line to become President of the United States if something happens to the current President and Vice-President.
* Sarah Palin and Michael Steele are a lot alike. They both look good. They both serve the Republican Party's purpose of not appearing sexist or racist. They are both as dumb as a sack of hair. Behind closed doors, the Republican Party wishes both would just go away; far, far away.
* Until we understand that we do not have to re-invent the wheel to fix public education, our schools will continue to suffer. Fixing education is simple.
1) If you do the work, you pass. If you do not do the work, you fail. If you get left behind a grade or two, so be it.
2) If you come to school and act like a fool, you will go home until you learn to act like you have some sense.
3) If you cannot teach, bye.
4) If you are a parent, lead, follow or get out of the way. Stress education. Support your children when they are right. Get after your child when they are wrong.
5) If you are a politician remember that a quality education costs money. It is money well spent. The smaller the teacher/student ratio, the better the learning environment in the classroom, the better the test scores, the lower the dropout rate, the higher the graduation rate, the higher the earning potential in that locality, the better the chance that locality has in attracting businesses that in turn hire local citizens to work for them.
Politicians have forgotten that a child's education is more important than their re-election campaign or their empty promise sound bites. And can we get rid of "No Child Left Behind" once and for all. While NCLB made sure education resources finally went to where they were needed the most, NCLB is horrible, horrible legislation.
6) We need to do everything we can to fund quality vocational education programs beginning in the 6'th grade. Not everyone is college material. There is nothing wrong with learning a trade.
* People who think President Obama is a Muslim or is not a native-born American are either a racist, an idiot or are creatures who have come from another planet. These people really need to give it up, already.
* Liberals sure got tough after the mid-term elections. Before the mid-term elections liberals were as meek as baby lambs, running aound whining, "I can't win in November." If liberals would have shown this same toughness during the mid-term elections that they are showing now, many more liberals would have won re-election and Democrats would still control the House of Representatives.
* My dear friend, Perneller Chubb-Wilson, founder of the Roanoke Southern Christian Leadership Conference and "Mother of the Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial Bridge," got an award from the United States Justice Department this week for her many years of working in Civil Rights. At a time when Civil Rights organizations in Roanoke, Va. have turned into social clubs, it is nice to know that Ms. Wilson is still fighting the good fight.
WE THE PEOPLE
SEE YOU IN JANUARY, 2011
ENJOY THE HOLIDAYS
THE ARTIS BLOG
12/15/10
* Cam Newton of Auburn University deserved to win the Heisman Trophy. It is a disgrace that he was left off the ballot of over 100 Heisman voters and left off of at least one All-American team. With everything that has happened, if I were Cam Newton, I would be turning pro ASAP.
* You now it had to happen and it happen in Virginia. A federal judge in Virginia has ruled against the President Obama's health care reform act. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson decided that part of the federal law that requires individuals to buy health insurance or pay a fine to the government is unconstitutional.
* Judge Hudson agreed with Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who claims Congress exceeded its authority under the Constitution's commerce clause by making the mandate to buy health insurance. Judge Hudson ruled the mandate to buy health insurance comes into conflict with state law which is designed to protect individuals from such a requirement.
*Judges in Lynchburg, Virginia and in Michigan have dismissed lawsuits filed by individuals and private citizens challenging the mandate. In the end, the Supreme Court will have to make the final decision on the Constitutionality of the Obama Health Care Plan.
* Next year marks the 150'th anniversary of the Civil War. Being a Virginia boy, I know all about Southern revisionist history when it comes to the Civil War and the so called nobility of the war.
* Some Southern folks like to call the Civil War a number of things. Some call the Civil War, "The War Against Northern Aggression." Some call the Civil War, "The Noble Cause." Others call the Civil War, "The Lost Cause."
* I will call the Civil War exactly what it was, "The War for the Preservation of Slavery." Only someone with a serious lack of knowledge or a serious mental illness would refer to the Civil War as anything else.
* Folks can talk about states rights causing the Civil War. Folks can talk about sectionalism causing the Civil War. Folks can say there was a conflict between the North and the South over tariffs and free trade which caused the Civil War. Those folks are dead wrong.
* The Civil War was all over slavery, specifically the maintaining of slavery in the South and the preservation of racist institutions and a racist way of life which was totally dependant upon slavery.
* In the real world, Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and Jefferson Davis are not heroes. They are traitors to their country. The Confederate Army was not noble. The Confederate Army was fighting to preserve a racist way of life. The Confederacy and its government was nothing to be proud. The Confederacy and its government was a banana republic with a racist government and racist institutions whose main goal was to totally suppress human and civil rights. The Confederate flag is not heritage. The Confederate flag is nothing more that the American swastika.
* So when I hear some folks talk about the so called, "noble cause," talk about, "heritage, not hate," or, "states rights," I know those people are delusional. I will not be celebrating the 150'th anniversary of, "The War for the Preservation of Slavery." The South will rise again? God, I hope not.
WE THE PEOPLE
SEE YOU SOON
THE ARTIS BLOG
12/13/10
* I was shocked to hear that Elizabeth Edwards has died. I thought she had more time. While I did not know the lady, I had a great deal of admiration for her. She struck me as a fighter and a role model. She will be missed.
* I saw a news report last week saying schools in other countries are better than schools in the United States. The report is a bunch of bull. The report failed to mention that every child in America, (citizen or non-citizen), has access to an education until they are 19 and 20-years-old.
* The report also did not mention that other countries refuse to educate certain children or refuse to educate certain types of children in their schools.
* The reality of the situation is this. American schools try to educate children that other countries would refuse to educate. American schools try to educate children that other countries wouldn't allow on the school bus, let alone allow in a school classroom.
* We need to remember these facts when we see misleading statistics that compare the quality of American schools to the quality of schools in other countries.
* Liberal Democrats have lost their minds. Liberal Democrats are talking about running someone against President Obama in the 2012 primaries. Liberal Democrats claim President Obama is not representing liberal interests. Liberal Democrats also believe President Obama is caving in to Republican and/or conservative interests.
* Liberal Democrats just need to shut up. Let’s say liberal Democrats run someone against President Obama in the 2012 primaries. Who is going to vote for this person? Blacks? No. Latinos? No. Moderate Democrats? No. Conservative Democrats? No. Independents? No.
Plus a primary challenge to President Obama insures a Republican President in November, 2012. Given the Republicans who are lining up to run for President in 2012, who in their right mind wants that?
* There is a new Democratic reality. First, the 60’s are over. Second, the new Democratic political reality is you win elections and govern successfully by staying in the center or slightly left of center. Liberal Democrats need to understand only Republicans can get away with winning elections and governing while promoting their political ideology. Liberal Democrats cannot.
* I support “The Dream Act,” (the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act), that would grant citizenship eligibility to young illegal immigrants if they go to college or serve in the military.
FROM THE WHITE HOUSE FACT SHEET
“The DREAM Act creates a path to citizenship for immigrants who entered the United States illegally as children under the age of 16 and have lived in America for at least five years, obtained a high school or General Education Development diploma and demonstrated "good moral character.” Even then, only a six-year conditional status would be awarded, and before moving to the next phase the students would need to meet additional requirements -- attending college or serving in the military for at least two years, and passing criminal background checks. Young people who do not fulfill the act's requirements will lose their legal status and would be subject to deportation.
DREAM Act applicants would be responsible for paying the processing fees associated with their applications, and would be subject to "rigorous criminal background checks and reviews."Undocumented youth adjusting to lawful permanent resident status are only eligible for federal student loans which must be paid back, and federal work-study programs where they must work for any benefit they receive.
Young people who do not fulfill the act's requirements will lose their legal status and would be subject to deportation. DREAM Act applicants would be responsible for paying the processing fees associated with their applications, and would be subject to "rigorous criminal background checks and reviews.""
Those who benefit from the DREAM Act would not be eligible for federal grants, such as Pell Grants, to attend college. Nor would they be able to petition for legal status for their family members until after they had satisfied all the requirements. They would also be subject to waiting periods. Simply put, this is a wonderful piece of legislation.
* The recent settlement in the case involving the U.S. Government’s discrimination against Black farmers and Native Americans is not a case of reparations. It is a matter of justice. Anyone who makes the claim that Black farmers and Native Americans are getting reparations is engaging in race-baiting.
The settlement gives $3.4 billion to American Indian tribes for past royalties from oil, gas, and timber extraction from their lands. African-American farmers get $1.15 billion for having been unfairly denied federal loans and other assistance. Justice has been served.
WE THE PEOPLE
SEE YOU SOON
THE ARTIS BLOG
12/10/10
* Let us not forget the brave men and women who gave their lives at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
* Liberals Democrats are wrong. Given the circumstances, President Obama did a good thing with the tax cut compromise. President Obama put the good of the country and the economy above petty politics.
* No, I am not giving the President a free pass on the tax cut compromise. President Obama signaled his want for a tax cut compromise way too soon. He cut his own legs from underneath himself. However, in this political climate, this country has forgotten that politics is all about compromise. I learned a long time ago that 50% of something is better than nothing at all. And you can always go back and get that 50% you didn’t get the first time at a later date.
* Sometimes you have to do things for the greater good. Frankly, we do not know for sure if getting rid of the tax cuts for the rich would hurt the economic recovery. My guess is the economy would do just fine after getting rid of the tax cuts for the rich. Still, with such economic uncertainty about the recovery, are we willing to take that chance? Plus, better the rich get tax cuts than the unemployed do without unemployment benefits, especially at this time of the year.
* Republicans should not get too overconfident by the Obama tax cut compromise. That would be a huge mistake. My gut tells me that President Obama is setting the stage for something big. President Obama is allowing the Republicans to paint themselves into a corner they will not be able to get out of. Personally, I cannot wait for all of those Tea Party folks to take their seats in Congress. Then the fun will really begin.
* I do not think Sarah Palin is going to run for President of the United States in 2012. Getting into a fight with Barbara Bush over Bush’s comments that Palin should, “stay in Alaska‘” just is not the way to win the 2012 Republican nomination. I think Palin is content to be the female version of Rush Limbaugh. It pays better than being President and you do not have to worry about accountability.
* A yearly report by the University of Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport says that the graduation success rate for college football players in this year’s bowl games is increasing at a higher rate for White players than Black players. The graduation success rate for Black players rose from 58% to 60% this year among the 70 colleges playing in bowl games. But for White players, the graduation rates rose from 77% last year to 80% this year.
* Notre Dame and Northwestern were the only schools that graduated 95% of their players and at least 95% of their Black players. Air Force and Northwestern had the highest academic progress rate with a 98% graduation rate for all football players.
* It is simple really. White football players are more likely to go to college to get an education and then play football. Black football players are more likely to go to college to play football, get ready for the pros and then get an education.
* Please say a prayer for Elizabeth Edwards as she battles cancer. While the cancer has overtaken her, please keep her in your prayers.
WE THE PEOPLE
HAVE A NICE WEEKEND
THE ARTIS BLOG
12/8/10
How do I feel about cutbacks to education? Check out the following video from March, 2010.
WE THE PEOPLE
SEE YOU SOON
THE ARTIS BLOG
12/6/10
A friend of mine sent me this. I enjoyed it so much that I thought you would too. This is a true story. Merry Christmas.
In September 1960, I woke up one morning with six hungry babies and just 75 cents in my pocket. Their father was gone. The boys ranged from three months to seven years; their sister was two. Their Dad had never been much more than a presence they feared. Whenever they heard his tires crunch on the gravel driveway they would scramble to hide under their beds. He did manage to leave $15 a week to buy groceries. Now that he had decided to leave, there would be no more beatings, but no food either.
If there was a welfare system in effect in southern Indiana at that time, I certainly knew nothing about it. I scrubbed the kids until they looked brand new and then put on my best homemade dress, loaded them into the rusty old 51 Chevy and drove off to find a job.
The seven of us went to every factory, store and restaurant in our small town. No luck. The kids stayed crammed into the car and tried to be quiet while I tried to convince who ever would listen that I was willing to learn or do anything. I had to have a job.
Still no luck. The last place we went to, just a few miles out of town, was an old Root Beer Barrel drive-in that had been converted to a truck stop. It was called the Big Wheel. An old lady named Granny owned the place and she peeked out of the window from time to time at all those kids. She needed someone on the graveyard shift, 11 at night until seven in the morning. She paid 65 cents an hour, and I could start that night.
I raced home and called the teenager down the street that baby-sat for people. I bargained with her to come and sleep on my sofa for a dollar a night. She could arrive with her pajamas on and the kids would already be asleep. This seemed like a good arrangement to her, so we made a deal.
That night when the little ones and I knelt to say our prayers, we all thanked God for finding Mommy a job. And so I started at the Big Wheel.
When I got home in the mornings I woke the baby-sitter up and sent her home with one dollar of my tip money-- fully half of what I averaged every night.
As the weeks went by, heating bills added a strain to my meager wage. The tires on the old Chevy had the consistency of penny balloons and began to leak. I had to fill them with air on the way to work and again every morning before I could go home.
One bleak fall morning, I dragged myself to the car to go home and found four tires in the back seat. New tires! There was no note, no nothing, just those beautiful brand new tires. Had angels taken up residence in Indiana? I wondered. I made a deal with the local service station. In exchange for his mounting the new tires, I would clean up his office. I remember it took me a lot longer to scrub his floor than it did for him to do the tires.
I was now working six nights instead of five and it still wasn't enough. Christmas was coming and I knew there would be no money for toys for the kids. I found a can of red paint and started repairing and painting some old toys. Then I hid them in the basement so there would be something for Santa to deliver on Christmas morning.
Clothes were a worry too. I was sewing patches on top of patches on the boys pants and soon they would be too far gone to repair.
On Christmas Eve the usual customers were drinking coffee in the Big Wheel. There were the truckers, Les, Frank, and Jim, and a state trooper named Joe. A few musicians were hanging around after a gig at the Legion and were dropping nickels in the pinball machine. The regulars all just sat around and talked through the wee hours of the morning and then left to get home before the sun came up.
When it was time for me to go home at seven o'clock on Christmas morning, to my amazement, my old battered Chevy was filled full to the top with boxes of all shapes and sizes. I quickly opened the driver's side door, crawled inside and kneeled in the front facing the back seat. Reaching back, I pulled off the lid of the top box. Inside was whole case of little blue jeans, sizes 2-10! I looked inside another box. It was full of shirts to go with the jeans.
Then I peeked inside some of the other boxes. There was candy and nuts and bananas and bags of groceries. There was an enormous ham for baking, and canned vegetables and potatoes. There was pudding and Jell-O and cookies, pie filling and flour. There was whole bag of laundry supplies and cleaning items. And there were five toy trucks and one beautiful little doll.
As I drove back through empty streets as the sun slowly rose on the most amazing Christmas Day of my life, I was sobbing with gratitude. And I will never forget the joy on the faces of my little ones that precious morning. Yes, there were angels in Indiana that long-ago December. And they all hung out at the Big Wheel truck stop.
THE POWER OF PRAYER. I believe that God only gives three answers to prayer: 1. 'Yes!' 2. 'Not yet.' 3! 'I have something better in mind.' God still sits on the throne, and the devil is a liar. You may be going through a tough time right now but God is getting ready to bless you in a way that you cannot imagine.
Let's continue to pray for one another. This prayer is powerful, and prayer is one of the best gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot of rewards. Here is the prayer:
"Father, I ask You to bless my friends, relatives and email buddies reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of Your love and power. Amen."
MERRY CHRISTMAS
SEE YOU SOON
THE ARTIS BLOG
12/3/10
* If you are a Black man living in America, a parent of young Black men or a mentor of young Black men, you have to check this out. You will not be sorry. Please share this with your friends. This film is about 25 minutes.
Bring Your A Game - A groundbreaking documentary film that sheds light on the resilience and influence of Black males.
* Regardless of race, if you are thinking about dropping out of school or know someone who is thinking about dropping out of school, this film is for them also.
* I don’t know about you, but I don’t have a problem working until I’m 70.
* The NAACP is holding a summit looking at the re-segregation of education. I am concerned about the re-segregation of our schools. However, I’m more concerned about the quality of education Black kids have access to.
* For me, the quality of education a Black child receives is more important than rather or not Black and White children are going to school together.
* The Black high school drop out is at roughly 50%. This needs to be addressed. If it is shown that Black children are getting fewer resources than White children in the area of education due to the re-segregation of our schools, then it is time to raise Cain. Until this is proven, quite frankly, we have more important things to worry about when it comes to the education of Black children.
* Am I promoting or supporting the re-segregation of our schools? No. I am for school integration. However, I am more for quality education. I am not concerned what the racial makeup of a school is as long as the students in that school are getting a quality education. This formula has worked for years at historically Black colleges and universities.
* A Federal court has thrown out Liberty University’s legal challenge to President Obama’s Health Care law, dismissing Liberty University‘s lawsuit. Liberty University is located in Lynchburg, Va. It looks like the Federal judge knows something the folks at Liberty University don’t know, the Commerce Clause in the United States Constitution. Liberty University says it will appeal the court’s decision.
* A Pentagon survey says repealing, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” (the policy banning openly gay men and women from serving in the armed forces), won‘t hurt our military. Let‘s hope the Republican Party and some Democrats in Congress get over their homophobia and repeal this horrible piece of legislation.
* As we celebrate this holiday season, please remember those who are not as fortunate as you. Please give. Give your money. Give your time. Just give.
WE THE PEOPLE
HAVE A NICE WEEKEND
THE ARTIS BLOG
12/1/10
* I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I have a lot to be thankful for this year. My wife is doing much better. I love my job. I have a wonderful family. I am most thankful for being an American and living in the greatest country in the history of the world. I am also thankful for being a Christian. My Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is the reason for my many blessings.
* I felt ashamed of myself while shopping for Thanksgiving dinner Wednesday night. I actually started stressing over the whole Thanksgiving dinner thing, something I never do. Then it hit me. There I was stressing over having enough money to get the right food for the perfect Thanksgiving dinner when there are millions of people across this country who had no idea where their Thanksgiving meal was going to come from. I chilled rather quickly after that realization.
* Funny how so many family value, religious businessmen & women had their stores open on Thanksgiving. Go figure.
* As Christmas approaches, remember one thing. Real Dads go without so their children can have.
* I bought the new Sarah Palin on Saturday. I love that it came with a 16 pack of crayons. You betcha.
* The only problem I have with the WikiLeaks controversy is WikiLeaks published the names of innocent people who are now in danger of being killed for helping the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan. Other than that, the people have a right to know what our government is doing.
* I am giving Congressman Charlie Rangel a pass on his problems with Congress. Yes, he did wrong. Yes, he broke the rules of Congress. However, if Rangel broke the law and he is the crook some people are saying he is, why hasn't?t the IRS gotten involved in this controversy?
* I hope you got to hear billionaire, Warren Buffet, on ABS?s, ?This Week? this past Sunday morning. Buffet said the rich need to pay more taxes. Buffet also said that having the rich pay more taxes, would not hurt the economy. He should know. Here that Republicans?
* I am often asked what political party I belong to. I do not belong to any political party. I just take a strong stand against any form of political hog wash. I am against Democratic hog wash. I am against Republican hog wash. I am against liberal hog wash. I am against conservative hog wash. We have too many problems in this country for any type of political grandstanding or political hog wash.
* That said, there is a large number of Obama critics out there who dislike the man simply because they cannot deal with having a Black President.
