The horrific storm that hit central Oklahoma has, once again, shined a spotlight on the dedication, selflessness and heroism of public school teachers. Moore, Oklahoma, the town that is no more, lost 9 students when an elementary school took the full force of what has been determined to be an EF5 tornado. The monster storm flattened the one-story structure with 200 MPH winds and debris harnessed by the funnel cloud of destruction.… [Read more]
The rhetoric that is coming out of Washington DC is so loud that the Republicans in House of Representatives and Senate cannot hear the American people. It seems there is nothing more important than stopping President Barack Obama from accomplishing anything. This, of course, comes at a time in American history when ideology is more important than jobs, unnecessary gun deaths and poverty, all of which affect the American economy.… [Read more]
After this week’s congressional election between Mark Sanford and Elizabeth Colbert-Busch it is hard to think of the Republican Party standing for anything. The Grand Old Party of Lincoln, Roosevelt and Eisenhower has fallen to new lows in the election of often disgraced Mark Sanford, but it is the South, and politics below the Mason Dixon line is far from mainstream in any sense of the word.… [Read more]
People all across the Middle East and the world are wondering when will the violence in Syria end. The destruction of the Spire in Aleppo, one of the oldest religious sites in the world, is yet another example of what civil war can do to a country, its people and its society.
Thousands upon thousands of innocent citizens of the ancient civilization have been forced to flee their homes and families as the assaults by both sides in the ongoing civil war have left the once thriving society in ruins.… [Read more]
Rand Paul (R-KY) wants to be President of the United States. He also wants African-Americans to believe that he is not a bigot. During his recent outreach visit to Howard University he relayed to the students of the elite, predominantly African-American institution that he has never been against the 1964 Civil Rights Act and that he does not have a bigoted bone in his body or a racist feeling in his heart.… [Read more]
The last couple of days have been difficult for many Americans, especially those who have either lost a loved one or know someone who has been affected by gun violence. We watched as the United States Senate failed to pass background check legislation that could have helped curb the death, human destruction and financial costs of the one million plus men, women and children who have been senselessly killed by guns since 1968.… [Read more]
Religious leaders have called it immoral; some have even suggested that Jesus himself would oppose it. Various leaders of the Republican party have opposed it and even David Stockman, Ronald Reagan’s budget director, called it a fairy tale. Many on the left have referred to it as ‘austerity on steroids.’
What has all of these different people so upset?… [Read more]
“And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
I can remember April 4, 1968 as though it were yesterday. … [Read more]
The other day, I listened to a priest talk about the Parable of the Prodigal Son. As he spoke, I started to think about what it really means to be a Christian and a human being in America today.
By no means am I a religious person, but the philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth has always been one of my guiding lights.… [Read more]
On December 14, 2012, 26 lives were lost in one of the most horrendous acts of terrorism America has had to endure. The terrorist was not of a different nationality, nor did he speak with a foreign accent or have a ‘different sounding’ name, he was a home-grown, middle-class suburban white kid. He did not strap on a bomb and blow himself up or detonate a truck bomb.… [Read more]
This week Congressman Paul Ryan released the new Republican budget for the federal government. One thing was notably missing: anything different from the budget he proposed last year. Rep. Ryan and his colleges on the GOP budget committee produced a document that turns Medicaid into a voucher system, makes further cuts in programs that many Americans rely on for their daily survival and his core proposal being the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.… [Read more]
The stock markets soar and the rich get richer, but the middle class has lost ground and the poor live in stagnation. For many, the “American Dream” is nowhere in sight. Teachers, cops and other civil servants have seen their salaries erode before their own eyes as they struggle to try to fulfill a dream rigged by the powers that be.… [Read more]
During oral arguments on a provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia likened congressional support for the Act to a “perpetuation of racial entitlement.” Just what was Scalia saying? Was he saying black people do not have a right to have their vote protected?
When I hear “racial entitlement” I think of the first 350 years in this land and the fact white people were entitled to everything — jobs, education, social mobility, protection, pride, land and status — and black people were entitled to nothing.… [Read more]
A conservative gadfly said that what America needs is a “White History Month” She stated that white men have greatly contributed to make America the greatest and most powerful country on the planet and they should be celebrated – just as African-Americans are celebrated for their accomplishments during the month of February.
There is nothing wrong with honoring the accomplishments of white men.… [Read more]
“Poverty” was not represented in the State of the Union address by President Barack Obama. As I watched and listened, I realized the address is not intended to speak to all Americans but just a select few. There were gun supporters, gun opponents, CEOs and many more in attendance when the President gave his speech, but not one person represented the 50 million Americans who live in poverty.… [Read more]
“A little bit of fear is a good thing.” Those words were spoken to me by a relative just after he warned his 5-year old son of the dangers of stepping one foot into the woods behind the family home. The father, acting on his fear of the unknown, used that fear to control the behavior of his son by over-exaggerating the possible dangers of the suburban Connecticut forest.… [Read more]
Recently, Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey vetoed a bill that would raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.50 an hour. The Governor said he wants the minimum wage to increase in three stages such that it would bring the rate to $8.00 an hour in three years.
It is understandable how the Governor came to veto the bill; Christie and other politicians are so out of touch with the reality of living on minimum wage that they just don’t get it.… [Read more]
President Barack Obama’s second inaugural address to the nation on Monday was a reminder how far America has come and how far we need to go. He pointed out so boldly that America is at a turning point in its history. We can retreat back into the 20th century with old, stale and outdated thinking or America can forge ahead with a new dynamic, multiracial democracy, where all men and women of all races, sexual orientations and creeds are truly equal.… [Read more]
“The Second Amendment was designed to allow states to defend themselves against a possible tyrannical national government. Now that the federal government has stealth bombers and nuclear weapons, it is hard to imagine what people would need to keep in the garage to serve that purpose.” ~ Judge Robert Bork
I have been listening to the pro gun supporters and all their feeble reasons as to why they think the United States government does not have the right to infringe on an individual’s right to bear arms.… [Read more]
Teachers all across America have been asked to be more than teachers to their students for many, many years. After school programs, sports and other activities are all run by dedicated teachers and, in many cases, those teachers become closer and know more about the lives of the students they coach, mentor or supervise than the students own parents.… [Read more]
